In 2006, Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) relocated its Head Office to Kampala, Uganda and is seeking a Regional Coordinator, Africa Programmes, who will oversee the Africa regional programmes. Based in Kampala, Uganda, AMwA’s Regional Coordinator, Africa Programmes will work with the Executive Director to give overall direction to the formulation, leadership, achievement and programmes on the African continent in line with the AMwA objectives and strategy. Closing date for applications is Monday 3rd December 2007.

Africa's science academies are engaging more with policymakers, but this entails further challenges, heard delegates at the third African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI) conference in Dakar, Senegal, this week (November 12–15). There is a risk that policymakers could expect more than small academies, struggling with poor Internet access and staff shortages, have the capacity to provide, warned David Mbah of the Cameroon Academy of Sciences.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights is investigating a large number of alleged executions and disappearances. Preliminary investigations suggest that between June and October 2007 close to 500 bodies of young men have been deposited in various mortuaries in the country by the police and the KNCHR has evidence suggesting that other bodies were dumped in the wild for hyenas and other wild animals to eat

The External Peer Review of the Economic Report on Africa for 2008 (ERA 2008) will take place in Addis Ababa on 18 November 2007. ERA is one of the Commission's annual flagship publications prepared by the Trade Finance and Economic Development Division (TFED) in collaboration with the African Union.

This is a publication from the German Foundation for World Population (DSW) that provides tips and tricks on how to apply successfully for development grants from donor governments and organisations.

Equalinrights is engaged in the initial phase of a long term action research project for the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights in East Africa. This project will centre on how the most impoverished and marginalised groups in communities can demand greater accountability and responsiveness of governance structures and mechanisms for their fundamental human rights. Men and women involved will gain greater sense of their human rights and how they can use them to meet their critical needs, their capacity to claim them, and negotiation space to do so.

This weeks roundup will focus on some of the new African blog portals, aggregators, social bookmarking and technology blogs.

Portals

The two main blog portals are African Path and African Loft. Both portals have a list of regular authors some of whom are bloggers and both syndicate content from select blogs.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_01_africanpath.gif includes a news feed of African news, a blog written by selected authors, an Directory section with a list of African related businesses many in the Diaspora.

“African Path is the premier online channel for reaching affluent Africans in America, Africa, Europe, China, and elsewhere in the world, providing daily breaking news and discussions on issues affecting Africans and Africa.

With an engaging mix of breaking news in Africa, blogs, biographical profiles, thoughtful discussion and an international community calendar, African Path connects Africans across the world with informed dialogue that leads to progress and growth on the African continent and its contribution to world culture.

To fill the void left by big media in covering information on Africa, African Path provides a forum for Africans anywhere in the world to discuss important issues affecting Africans within and outside the African continent.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_02_africanloft.gifAfrican Loft similar to African Path except it also includes a social networking community feature with a growing community. The “chatterbox” feature acts as an aggregator of the “top 50” African blogs though it is not clear how these are selected and for some reason also includes mainstream media sites such as Bua and the BBC. The “discussion forum” seems to be just an extension of the blog area and again the purpose of this section is not clear. One useful addition is the Job Board with a list of both non-profit and corporate jobs.

Both African Path (created by Joshua Wanyama) and African Loft created by blogger Grandiose Parlor provide excellent up to date content on Africa and the Diaspora. Technorati rates African Path with an authority of 236 (22,775) and African Loft an authority of 103 (63,934)

Aggregators

Aggregators are sites that auto collect posts from registered blogs which can by region, country or content.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_03_afrigator.gifAfrigator aggregates blogs from across the continent and the Diaspora and divides them into channels, best rated posts and new members as well as the real time updates of all registered blogs. Afrigator is described as

“Afrigator is a social media aggregator and directory built especially for African digital citizens who publish and consume content on the Web......You can use Afrigator to index your blog, podcast, videocast or news site (i.e. any site that publishes an RSS feed) and market it to the rest of Africa and the world. You can also use it to discover new sites in the Afrosphere.”

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_04_kenyaunlimited.gifKenya Unlimited incorporates an aggregator and a webring of Kenyan bloggers. KU also includes an annual set of blog awards to it’s members who must be Kenyan or invited by a Kenyan.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_05_nigerianbloggers…Nigerian Blog Aggreator is as the name suggests an aggregator of blogs by Nigerian bloggers at home and in the Diaspora. Unlike Kenya Unlimited, the NBA only provides feeds from Nigerian blogs in real time and is undated hourly.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_06_amatomu.gifAmatomu is an aggregator of South African blogs started by SA newspaper the Mail and Guardian. Unlike Kenya Unlimited and Nigerian Blogs Aggregator, Amatomu is more of a social media aggregator similar to Afrigator.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_africanwomenblogs.gifAfrican Women’s Blogs is an aggregator of blogs by African women on the continent and in the Diaspora

Social Bookmarks

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_07_muti.gifMuti is a social bookmarking site similar to Digg but with African content. Muti enables users to submit links to posts and media stories and then these can be voted on by other users. There are also “hot”, “new” “most viewed” and “stats” features.

Technology Blogs and Websites

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_08_whiteafrican.gifWhite African writes about technology and how it impacts and can change, Africa. Erik is also a web developer and is presently working on a number of African related projects including Zangu News “ a new way to handle news in Africa” and “List’d Express” an easy eBay listing tool. He is also a contributing author to AfricanGadget.com.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_09_kiwanja.gifKiwanja.net with the tag line “Where technology meets anthropology, conservation and development” is a blog by Frontline SMS (software to manage sms) creator, Ken Banks and is largely dedicated to the opportunities provided by mobile phone technology in Africa and other parts of the global South.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/328/blogs_opencafe.gifOpen Cafe is a non-profit internet café specialising in the usage, distribution, training and technical support for open source software and open content materials. It is based in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

* Sokari Ekine is online editor of Pambazuka News and author of Blacklooks [www.blacklooks.org"> and African Women's Blogs [www.africanwomensblogs.com">

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

At least 47 migrants died trying to reach Spain's Canary Islands after drifting for more than two weeks off the west coast of Africa in two boats, police sources in Mauritania said on Tuesday. Mauritania soldiers discovered 42 bodies in the sea near the northern port city of Nouadhibou, which lies on the frontier with Western Sahara, the sources said.

On behalf of the African Council for Distance Education (ACDE), the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) is privileged to announce the 2nd General Assembly and Conference of ACDE, which is to take place in Lagos, Nigeria from the 8th to 11th July 2008. Abstracts of not more than 300 words (in English or French) may be submitted by using the forms provided on the conference website. The latest date for submission of abstracts is December 10 2007. Abstracts will be reviewed by a panel of experts and notification of acceptance will be sent by February 7 2008.

The Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) is organizing a Pan Africa Workshop on Service Delivery to Small Holder Farmers (Feb 4 – 6, 2007). IREN is inviting farmers, industry players, media, academia and health experts from Africa to discuss how best the continent can exit dependency and be prosperous through commercializing agricultural ideas.

The Journal of Family History will be publishing a special issue on Children in African History. Professor Martin Klein and I will be serving as guest editors for this issue. The editors are interested in a range of themes including education, crime, health, slavery, adoption, pawning and child-rearing. This list is by no means exclusive and other relevant themes are welcome. We are particularly interested in articles focusing on the colonial period. Submissions must be original and previously unpublished. Interested individuals should send an abstract (400 words) and CV as an email attachment to by January 15th, 2008 for consideration.

The International Service for Human Rights is currently recruiting one Human Rights Officer for its International Human Rights Defenders Programme, Geneva. The responsibilities of the position will include: monitoring, authoring and editing ISHR’s publications on the UN Human Rights Council, its special procedures, Advisory Committee and other intergovernmental working groups, the universal periodic review and on the plenary sessions of the human rights treaty monitoring bodies; contributing to advocacy and coordination in relation to the UN human rights system; assisting in conducting training courses on the international human rights system; organising and overseeing the work of interns and fellows.

“Young Men at Risk: Transforming the Power of a Generation” seeks to collect groundbreaking approaches to addressing these challenges and to sponsor informed debate and comment on work being done to help young men thrive. The competition will award funding for the most innovative work in fields from music to mental health to support the expansion of their impact on a generation of young men. Entry is between now and January 23, 2008.

This latest briefing from the International Crisis Group examines the risk of violent confrontation and new bloodshed in a country that is as fragile as ever. The popular movement that brought Kouyaté to power is splintering, giving the discredited President Conté and his clan opportunity to regain control. Kouyaté must urgently demonstrate that he is serious about changing how government operates.

ARTICLE 19 condemns the blatant and unjustified harassment of Journalists and Human rights activists, Faisal Elbagir, Lemiaa el-Jaily and Sabah Mohammad Adam by the government security forces. On Sunday 4 November, the three journalists were summoned to the offices of the National Security Services (NSS) in Khartoum, Sudan. The three were summoned again on Monday 5 November and were held for six hours without explanation.

One of Nigeria’s most famous authors, Cyprian Ekwensi has passed away after an undisclosed ailment. Cyprian Ekwensi was aged 84 years and has been a doyen of the Nigerian literature scene for over 50 years.

Is there only one model for empire, based on European empires? How might the critique of European empires serve to understand imperial forms elsewhere? This collection by Ann Laura Stoler, Carole McGranahan and Peter C. Perdue moves beyond the Euro-centric slant of colonial studies to compare European and non-European empires with socialist states and empire beyond colonialism.

Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of volunteers and professionals standing up for human rights. Our purpose is to research and take action to effect change and protect individuals wherever justice is denied. This high profile role is key to shaping and driving AI's human rights agenda in this region. Providing strategic and political analysis to the movement, you’ll lead AI's regional and country work and motivate your team both in London and in the field. Closing date: 28 November 2007.

On 22nd October 2007, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights marked twenty years of promotion and protection of human rights in the continent. Although Malawi ratified the charter in 1989 and it has eight outstanding state party reports to write to the African Commission, and it is yet to submit its initial report, writes Levi Mvula.

The adoption of the first post – colonial constitution in 1995 brought jubilation to many Malawians. This was so because the new constitution established a democratic system of government and included a bill of rights. This was in contrast with the 1966 Constitution, which, despite stating that Malawi would recognize the rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, failed to include a comprehensive bill of rights. In this regard, it was difficult to understand how the state was going to achieve the fulfillment and protection of rights. Indeed for the first 23 years of its independence, Malawi did not sign up to any international human rights instruments and in practice, the government and its agents were responsible for widespread human rights violations against political or perceived opponents. However, the major turning point in Malawian constitutional history occurred in 1994, when the 1966 Constitution was replaced by a Constitution designed to create a more liberal political order. After a rigorous process of consultations, the constitution entered into force in May 1995. The new constitution, among other things included a bill of rights in chapter four that guarantees a wide range of justifiable human rights and also provided a framework in which the government can fully undertake its international obligations.

Despite the ‘gross violations of human rights occurring in the country’ during the one party state era, Malawi ratified most of the major relevant International and African human rights treaties. Such treaties include the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, ratified on 17 November 1989, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both ratified on 22nd December 1993. Malawi is also a state party to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women which it ratified on 22nd March 1987 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified on 2nd January 1991. Ratification or accession to these human rights instruments comes with certain obligations on the part of the ratifying state. Such obligations include giving effect to the provisions of the treaties at a national level through the process of domestication. One of the most important duties of state parties under international human rights law to these instruments is the submission of periodic reports to the treaty monitoring bodies on the steps they are undertaking to give effect to the rights contained in the treaties to their nationals.

Malawi has largely failed to discharge its reporting treaty obligations under the international treaties it is party to. To date, Malawi has only submitted some of the reports due under the CEDAW and CRC and none under the various other treaties the country signed without coercion including the reports to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights. In June 2004, the government made some efforts to redress the situation by submitting a report which combined the second, third, fourth and fifth periodic reports on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The shadow report to this particular state report was prepared by Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), Women Lawyers in Southern Africa (WLSA) and National Association for Business Women (NABW). The reports were considered by the committee on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women during its 35th session from 15th May to 2nd June 2006. As required by the procedures of the committees, the committee of Elimination on all forms of Discrimination against Women made several recommendations such as appealing to the Malawi government to set a clear time frame for the adoption of the revised Citizenship Act, Immigration Act and the Wills and Inheritance Act and for the New Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Bill, designed to eliminate discrimination against women. On the CRC state party report, the committee had recommended, among other things, that Malawi harmonize the definition of the age of a child and requested it to consider raising the age of the child up from 16 to 18. Much time has passed since then but there is still no sign on the ground that the government is undertaking steps to implement the recommendations that were made by the committee.

Recently, it was revealed that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) which is responsible for the convention on elimination of racial discrimination announced that it was going to consider Malawi’s country situation in August 2007 in the absence of the state party report from the Malawi Government. The committee reached that decision after Malawi ignored several reminders to comply with its reporting obligations. It is embarrassing to learn that the committee has since decided to give Malawi more time until next June 2008 to submit the report. A recent enquiry on the responsible ministry, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, indicated that the process of preparation of the report had not started as of first week of October 2007 and one wonders if the exercise will be carried out at all.

On 22nd October 2007, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights marked twenty years of promotion and protection of human rights in the continent. Although Malawi ratified the charter in 1989 and it has eight outstanding state party reports to write to the African Commission, and it is yet to submit its initial report. Sources from the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights indicate that Malawi is the one of the three states in the SADC region yet to report and one of the three will be presenting its maiden report this November 2007 when the African Commission hosts its 42nd session which will sit in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Michelle Hansungule, a Human rights professor at the University of Pretoria labeled states who are never bothered with treaty obligations such as submission of state reports like Malawi as permanent defaulters. Surprisingly, states that are being accused of massive human rights violations like Zimbabwe take the reporting obligation under the African Charter very seriously by submitting its state party reports. It is important to note that all neighbouring countries have been submitting their state party reports. Tanzania and Mozambique have been reporting to the African Commission though they still have outstanding reports whilst Zambia and Zimbabwe are amongst those states that submitted all their reports and no outstanding reports. The African Commission continues to urge member states of the African Union that have not yet submitted their reports like Malawi to submit their initial and periodic reports. Of great significance to Malawi is that we can combine all the overdue reports (eight) into a single report for submission to the African Commission.

Efforts to understand the cause of this non compliance with reporting obligations under various international instruments reveals very troubling excuses. According to the Malawi Human Rights Commission, the government has attributed its current failure to fulfill its treaty reporting obligations to the lack of human and material resources to fund the process of preparing the reports and subsequent submission of the reports. The issue of lack of human resource as one of the reasons for non – compliance with the treaty monitoring bodies of various treaties is difficult to understand. This is because there are several well qualified men and women in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs who have attended refresher courses on state party reporting and other important trainings. Besides, there are several men and women in the civil society and the academia that have the capacity to assist in the process of writing the state party report. After all, the state party report on CEDAW was done by various experts from the academia, civil society and government. It is important to note that the requirement is not necessarily that the Ministry should write the report on its own particularly where there is no enough capacity but that it should take a leading role in the report writing process.

On the other hand, it is widely rumoured that the government has finalized a state party report on the convention of the rights of the child. If this rumour is true, then the government through the ministry responsible should be applauded. I also hope that this will motivate us as a country to clear all the outstanding reports under various treaties. An appeal though to those responsible is that issues of reporting ought not to be secretive but rather open and it is my hope that the state will offer the civil society copies for them to shadow the report as encouraged by the human rights norms.

In conclusion, it is worthwhile to emphasize that submission of state party reports is very important in as far as promotion and protection of human rights is concerned. By ratifying the treaties, the country accepted to comply with the treaty obligations and it is frustrating that we are failing to do as is expected of us. Reporting needs to be taken seriously and there is need for political will since it is only the submission of these reports that can highlight the implementation of various human rights provisions as is required by these international human rights treaties since the international human rights law gives states near to total discretion to implement internationally recognized human rights within their own countries. All Malawians have noted that the situation of human rights in Malawi has tremendously improved since Malawians voted for politics of pluralism. Today, Malawians are enjoying rights that could have landed them in conflict with the law some fifteen years ago. The success stories of the human rights regime in Malawi need to be shared with other states after Malawians had lived 31 years under a regime that never recognized human rights and violated them. Reporting obligations also grant the independent experts on human rights the opportunity to offer recommendations, which may sometimes be referred to as General Comments or views on how states can ensure full realization of certain rights depending on the type of the treaty. This may well prove extremely beneficial to Malawi. It is thus wholly unheard of for Malawi to continue disregarding its reporting obligations, obligations it assumed voluntarily, as this paints an extremely depressing image of the government’s commitment to the promotion, protection and fulfillment of various human rights. The Attorney General as the chief government advisor can the nation service to remind the relevant authorities on the significance of the reporting obligations and assist where gaps exists.

* Levi Mvula is a human rights activist in Malawi working for the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), a non-governmental organisation working in the area of human rights and governance in Malawi.

* Please send comments to or comment online at www.pambazuka.org

African Journal of Reproductive Rights (AJRR) is currently accepting manuscripts for publication. AJRR publishes scholarly articles and advanced empirical research in all areas of the reproductive rights. We welcome articles or proposals from all perspectives on reproductive rights pertaining to Africa, legislations, comparative policies, case laws, global perspectives etc.
Further details are available in the Journal section of