The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is establishing a second reception centre in Zimbabwe to provide a 'soft landing' for undocumented Zimbabwean migrants being deported from neighbouring countries. Last year 38,000 Zimbabweans were repatriated from Botswana to Zimbabwe. Earlier this year President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF government requested the IOM to assist in setting up the country's second reception centre, in the Matabeleland town of Plumtree near the Botswana border, to assist undocumented migrants repatriated from Botswana.

Over the past 2 months, as communities all over the Gauteng again take to streets in protest against the pace and neoliberal frame of service delivery, there has been an unprecedented escalation of state violence, repression and the criminalisation of protest. While the Anti-Privatization Forum (APF) has managed to provide activists with legal and jail support, this has been severely circumscribed by the limited financial means of the organisation.

The scale of corruption carried out in Kenya by family and associates of its former president, Daniel Arap Moi, has been revealed in a secret report which alleges that more than £1 billion of government money was stolen during his 24-year rule. Mr Moi’s regime, which came to an end in 2002, has long been regarded as one of Africa’s most corrupt, but the extent of the graft has never been exposed in so much detail.

TrustAfrica is pleased to announce the first in a series of publications on the state of philanthropy in Africa. We are now soliciting abstracts of papers that can help measure the state of philanthropy in Africa. Successful abstracts will be developed into book chapters that will be published in the beginning of 2008. Abstracts (250 words maximum) are due no later than September 15, 2007.

Mango training is delivering two of our most popular courses for NGO managers in Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Botswana during October and November 2007.

A few bursaries are available to poorly-resourced local NGOs. We are also able to offer more bursaries for the Botswana course this year due to a generous supporter. - more details from

All of Mango’s course can now be booked online. Please go to

It is 10.30am on a sunny Thursday morning in the self-declared republic of Somaliland’s capital and 15-year-old Mohamed Yusuf is skipping school. Mohamed is not playing soccer or smoking cigarettes or shining shoes for a few extra shillings; instead he and a half-dozen of his classmates have trekked 5km through the dusty streets of Hargeisa to attend a session of Biyo Dhacay primary school’s Child-to-Child (CTC) club.

Israel should stop summarily expelling Sudanese nationals who enter the country illegally from Egypt and reinstate its policy of allowing them to remain in Israel pending refugee status determination, Human Rights Watch has said . Egypt's official refusal to accept them combined with recent allegations of mistreatment by border guards suggests that Sudanese returnees are likely to be treated harshly and with no guarantees that they would not be returned to persecution.

About 100 secondary schools will at the beginning of next term be linked together through the computerised school Internet connectivity project. This was revealed through a Savingram circulated to all the 235 secondary schools Head teachers in the country.

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (the Justice Initiative) are pleased to invite applications for the Human Rights Fellows Program for the 2008-2010 session. The deadline for applications is September 17, 2007. This program was launched in 2003 by OSISA and the Justice Initiative, in collaboration with Conectas Human Rights, the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, and civic organizations in South Africa, Mozambique, and Angola.

The Institute for Social, Statistical and Economic Research (ISSER) is based at the University of Ghana in Legon and has a long track record of research on regional economic and social issues in West Africa. The Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), also at Legon specialises in the demography of West Africa. All internship applications should be sent to Meera Warrier at [email][email protected] by Monday, 3 September 2007.

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (the Justice Initiative) are pleased to invite applications for the Human Rights Fellows Program for the 2008-2010 session. The deadline for applications is September 17, 2007. This program was launched in 2003 by OSISA and the Justice Initiative, in collaboration with Conectas Human Rights, the Open Society Foundation for South Africa, and civic organizations in South Africa, Mozambique, and Angola.

Computers, deemed essential in schools to help improve education, are in fact leaving as many as three-quarters of city pupils suffering preventable back and neck pain. In a study to track computer-related pain in our children, it was found that 74 percent of more than 1 000 pupils who took part reported headaches, lower back and neck pain in the month before they were surveyed.

The Senior Program Officer for Africa will be based in New York and responsible for shaping and implementing the strategic direction of AJWS’ grantmaking in Africa and directly managing grants in Southern Africa. S/he will represent AJWS’ Africa program at international forums as well as AJWS Board and donor meetings. S/he will manage the work of the two Africa Program Officers and consultants in the field.

The National Human Development Report 2007 released on Thursday in Kigali has called for a new agenda of scaling up of investment, increase in the quantity and quality of Official Development Assistance (ODA). The report further urges development stakeholders in Rwanda to promote a greater coordination and management of aid. The report entitled “Turning Vision 2020 into Reality: From Recovery to Sustainable Human Development” has been commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Rwanda and prepared by a group of researchers from the National University of Rwanda.

The Researcher will be based in Goma, eastern DRC, after an initial period of orientation (in HRW's New York, Washington, D.C., Brussels or London offices). Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, monitoring violations of human rights and international humanitarian law; curbing abuses through monitoring, investigating and documenting human rights violations in DRC (with a focus on the eastern provinces); applying sound judgment to investigation, reporting and advocacy work; writing and publicizing concise and accurate reports.

This open conference brings together business, multilateral institutions, governments and civil society to discuss the role of business in respecting and promoting human rights. In today's business environment, companies play a critical role in ensuring that international standards of human rights are being upheld and promoted. This relation-ship is highlighted in the United Nations Global Compact, which lists adherence to human rights as its first principal, emphasizing the need for business to use its re-sources and expertise to rebalance global inequality.

Torture, assault, unlawful detention and other violations of human rights are increasing rapidly in Zimbabwe, according to a new report. The report, by the independent Human Rights Forum, highlighted the government crackdown on the country's political opposition. Monitors said they collected evidence documenting 5 307 human rights violations in the first six months of this year - nearly double the number during the same period a year ago, the report said.

All parties to the Darfur conflict continue to carry out “gross violations” of human rights, including killings, disappearances, torture and sexual violence, an independent United Nations rights expert has reported after wrapping up her latest visit to Sudan. Sima Samar, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan, called for greater action to protect civilians in violence-wracked Darfur from breaches of international law.

The lives of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, who daily try to cross the border from Egypt into Israel, may be in danger, following the use of excessive force by law enforcement officials in the area. This follows the reported death of two men believed to be of Sudanese origin, who were allegedly shot dead by Egyptian security forces as they attempted to cross the border during the night of 1 August 2007.

The EQUINET Secretariat at Training and Research Support Centre with local hosts, REACH Trust (Malawi), invite personnel working on health equity in east and southern Africa to apply for participation for a capacity building workshop on “Writing scientific papers and peer reviewed journals” to be held in Lilongwe, Malawi from 20-24 October 2007. Call Closes On 3 September, 2007.