Sources say the peacekeepers are struggling with equipment problems, poor training of some contingents and the reluctance by some governments to send their soldiers into combat zones

Ethiopia is a major US ally in the Horn of Africa, yet America does not seem to be concerned about the blatant violations of human rights, lawless governance and unmitigated corruption by the regime in Addis Ababa

Gay, lesbian and HIV-infected refugees fear violent persecution should they return home

Trafficking syndicates operating between Kenya and Tanzania are actively involved in the trade of handicapped children

Harold Wilson, then British prime minister, actively supported the genocide in Igboland during the Biafra War. Britain owes the Igbo an apology for this complicity

This phase of the revolution will require clarity from those who understand that the future of Egypt depends on the conscious and organized action of the people to avoid open warfare. The agents of militarism are ready to use the excuse of violence and security to hijack the will of the people

In January 1967 historic talks were held in regards to the on-going civil war in Nigeria. Revisiting the talks via the audio transcripts of the deliberations reveals the success the leader of the Ibos, Colonel Odumegwu-Ojukwu had in persuading the rest of the participants to accept an extensively decentralised structural solution to Nigeria’s crisis

The July 2013 issue of the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is now available: Please help us distribute it, and consider contributing in the future. You can also like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter!

Capitalism has failed to provide adequate housing, jobs, medical, educational and other services to many people in the West. As well, China’s global influence is rising. These are some of the reasons behind the US quest for mineral resources and strategic dominance in Africa and Middle East

Humanitarian intervention provides the U.S. the perfect ideological cover and internal rationalization to continue as the global ‘gendarme’ of the capitalist order. America should leave the rest of the world alone

The Kenyan government’s decision to prosecute 17 peaceful protestors on the spurious charges of breach of peace and disturbance after a demonstration to oppose parliamentary salary increases is in direct violation of the constitutional right of all Kenyans to peacefully assemble and is a serious abuse of the court process

Given that the roots of so much intra-state conflict is lack of social justice, inequality and marginalisation suffered by different groups, strategies on removing these obstacles and building intra-group solidarity should be the key peace-building pan-African project of the next 50 years

Wednesday 29 May 2013, a fortnight away, is the 47th anniversary of the beginning of the Igbo genocide. Starting from that fateful mid-morning of Sunday 29 May 1966 and through the course of 44 months of indescribable barbarity and carnage not seen in Africa for 60 years, the composite institutions of the Nigeria state, civilian and military, murdered 3.1 million Igbo people or one-quarter of this nation´s population. The Igbo genocide is the foundational genocide of post-(European)conquest Africa. It inaugurated Africa´s current age of pestilence.

This year´s commemoration will, as in the past, be a day of meditation and remembrance in every Igbo household in Igboland and the Igbo diaspora for the 3.1 million murdered, gratitude and thanksgiving for those who survived, and the collective Igbo rededication to achieve the urgent goal of the restoration of Igbo sovereignty. There will also be lectures, discussions and exhibitions on varying features and phases of the genocide organised by individuals, students, the youth, women, family unions, village, town, district, regional and professional associations.

The 50 million Igbo people heartily welcome all peoples of goodwill across the world to join them in commemorating the 47th anniversary of the launch of the genocide.

* Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe is the author of Readings from Reading: Essays on African Politics, Genocide, Literature (Dakar and Reading: African Renaissance, 2011).

City cannot ‘throw up hands in horror’ when asked to house the homeless, Judge says

With the recent loss of 12 South African troops in the Central African Republic and the US bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq, the extent to which an African peace keeping mission will meet a similar fate seems likely

Chinua Achebe’s recent book has revived fierce discussions about the Biafra genocide, the darkest chapter in Nigerian history. The country is still divided over the issue and ‘Biafrans’ want out of Nigeria

The May 2013 issue of the Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter is now available: Please help us distribute it, and consider contributing in the future. You can also like our Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter!

Activists pile pressure on the Chadian government to prohibit international crimes suspect Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir from entering the country for the fourth time

Although the declaration is a major political milestone in the struggle to end impunity for rape in war, not enough states have opened their doors to prosecuting grave breaches wherever they occur despite international law

There is likely to be a crackdown on NGOs and movements ahead of the election. Political parties are illegal in Swaziland