Months after the central government tried to quell land speculation in oil-rich Bunyoro by suspending the issue of new land titles, Oil in Uganda visited Kasenyi, on the north eastern shores of Lake Albert, and unearthed a tale of double-dealing and thuggery seemingly abetted by district leaders and security officials. Eriakimi Kaseegu, the Kasenyi Local Council One Chairman, revealed that community land–including the plot where Tullow Oil’s Kasemene 3 well is located–was fraudulently sold by 'outsiders' and that the community’s efforts to investigate the sale were met with violence and arbitrary arrests.

The Industrial Court in Swaziland has refused to allow the government to jail the entire executive of the teachers’ union for leading a pay strike. The Swazi Government had previously gained an order at the same court outlawing a strike over a 4.5 per cent pay claim. But, some members of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) went ahead with the indefinite strike. For the past week the strikers have been visiting schools where some teachers continue to work to persuade them to join the strike.

In this podcast, Africa Today talks with Dr. Peter Lewis of the Center for Strategic International Studies at John Hopkins University on contemporary politics in Nigeria and the 4th Republic.

There were 800,000 new refugees in the world in 2011, according to the latest data out this week from the UNHCR. 2011 is a record year for forced displacement, with more people becoming refugees than at any time since 2000. This online map provides an excellent data visualization tool for patterns of displacement globally.

A survey of international refugee assistance organizations has found widespread failures to protect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) refugees. As increasing numbers of refugees flee persecution because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration (ORAM) and Indiana University sociologists have released the first ever survey of attitudes of the international refugee assistance non-governmental organizations (NGOs) serving asylum seekers and refugees worldwide.

Egypt’s first democratically-elected President, Mohamed Morsi has ordered the formation of a commission to review the cases of the people arrested following last year’s popular revolution. The commission is going to be made up of members of the military and the Interior Ministry as well as a general prosecutor, the country's official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. It quoted Morsi as saying 'this commission should be formed as soon as possible to release all who were proved not involved in any criminal cases'.

One in three children in Ghana are engaged in child labor, which is increasing in Africa. Ghana’s government, international organizations and local associations used the recent World Day Against Child Labor to pledge their commitment to getting children out of the workplace and into the classroom, reports Global Press Institute.

Government accuses local groups of receiving foreign funds to recruit children into homosexuality.

This page provides information for the communications procedure of the Commission on the Status of Women. 'Any individual, non-governmental organization, group or network may submit communications (complaints/appeals/petitions) to the Commission on the Status of Women containing information relating to alleged violations of human rights that affect the status of women in any country in the world. The Commission on the Status of Women considers such communications as part of its annual programme of work in order to identify emerging trends and patterns of injustice and discriminatory practices against women for purposes of policy formulation and development of strategies for the promotion of gender equality.'

The colloquium will discuss the topic 'The Reproduction of Cheap Labour in Post-Apartheid South Africa' according to two themes:
I. The low wage regime problem in South Africa
II: Strategies towards a wage-led and sustainable growth path.

Members States 19 June announced that they have reached an agreement on the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20). The agreed outcome document spells out action points such as the need to establish sustainable development goals and mobilize financing for sustainable development, as well as the promotion of sustainable consumption and production, among others.

Campaigning for Libya's first national election in a generation has kicked off ahead of July 7 polls to choose an national assembly which will re-draw the autocratic system of rule put in place by ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi. In a statement published on its website, Libya's electoral commission said that candidates will have 18 days to campaign, from June 18 until July 5, with 2,501 independents and 1,206 political association candidates eligible to stand.

This article gives some pointers for NGOs experiencing a funding crisis. 'In recent years, NGOs nationally have faced dire circumstances due to the reduction of funding by, or the exit of, key funders both local and international, inadequate funding and, in numerous cases, delayed disbursement of funds by the South African government. These funding shocks - financial challenges with deep negative impact - have resulted in many NGOs downsizing staff, services and branches, or closing altogether.'

Dakar, Senegal
XOF 42,877,548

We bring change for the better worldwide. But to improve human rights in over 150 countries we must always strive to improve ourselves. Our Organizational Development professionals make us more effective in the countries that need our help most. In this consultative role, you’ll strengthen our operations in the global south.

Governments have tasked the United Nations with a growing number of global mandates, but they have provided it with very few resources to carry out the work, according to this article on Worldwatch Institute's website. 'UN funding is minuscule in contrast with that of other public bodies. The regular budget of the organization - $2.2 billion in 2011 - is less than the total annual spending of the Tokyo Fire Department. The small UN budget is striking in view of the multiplying global crises that need commonly decided international solutions - including climate change, financial instability, resource limits, transborder disease, and poverty.'

One and a half years since the beginning of the Arab Spring, activists who guided their fellow citizens through the relatively unchartered terrain of social media activism feel their fight for human rights, democracy and transparency is only just beginning. Many of the leading social media activists in Tunisia, birthplace of the ongoing wave of revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, are not satisfied with the results of the uprising and have set their sights on more ambitious goals: transparency in government actions, monitoring of electoral processes and abolition of laws limiting internet freedom.

The Angolan Constitutional Court has received lists of candidates from 27 political formations for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 31 August. Making the announcement, court boss Onofre dos Santos said the 19 parties and eight coalitions now had 10 days to correct their nomination irregularities or inadequacies. Mr Santos said the irregularities or inadequacies would include replacement of candidates.

Global Voices reports on the crackdown on political activists in Angola. On 11 June, Luaty Beirão, also known as Ikonoklasta or Brigadeiro Mata Frakuxz, was arrested at the airport of Lisbon, for allegedly carrying cocaine in his luggage. 'On social media, many people commented that the real reason behind #Ikonoklasta's detention was political. In recent times, the rapper's voice of dissent has become more and more visible, as he openly lent support to the frequent street protests in Luanda.'

Egyptian women's rights activists have only bad options in the current power crisis. If the Islamists in parliament hold power, they could erase years of legal gains for women. But if the military has its way, a police state could re-emerge, reports

This is a short clip from the event 'No Economic Justice without Gender Justice: Building Inclusive Movements for Change', held at the AWID forum in Istanbul, April 2012, and organised as part of the BRIDGE Cutting Edge programme on gender and social movements. It discusses gender relations within social movements.