A "Conference on International Criminal Court Ratification and
Implementation in the SADC Region" was held in Windhoek, Namibia, from
28-30 May 2001. The Conference was organised by the Ministry
of Justice of Namibia, the Parliament of Namibia, Parlimentarians for
Global action and the ICC Technical Programme Assistance (ICCTAP-Canada),
with the support of the Government of
Canada and the European Commission.

The Conference was attended by representatives of the legislatures,
governments, civil society and media from most SADC States.

At the end of the Conference a Plan of Action was adopted for ICC
ratification and implementation in the SADC region. The Plan of Action
contains specific steps to be taken at the regional level to enhance
ratification and ensure effective implementation of the ICC Statute.
Certain countries expressed at the Conference a new and favorable position
towards ICC ratification.

In addition, a very interesting common position on the crime of aggression,
proposed by the Portuguese-speaking member States of the SADC, found
consensus at the Conference and this will be submitted to the SADC Justice
Ministerial meeting in Gaborone, Botswana, at the end of the next month.

The civil society sector also drafted a Civil Society Plan of Action. The
Plan commits this sector to advocacy work and lobbying governments in the
SADC region to promptly ratify and implement the ICC Statute. It also
offers technical support to SADC governments for the drafting of
implementing legislation and seeks to empower citizens with knowledge about
the ICC.

At the closing plenary session of the Conference Adv. Anil Naidoo, Convenor
of the South African Coalition for an ICC, spoke on behalf of the civil
society sector and said that NGOs in the region are working hard to make
sure that a strong, fair and effective ICC is established by
'constructively engaging' government for the mutual benefit of both
parties. Later at the media conference, Adv. Naidoo stated that the ICC
will be established whether the USA ratifies the ICC Statute or not, and
despite efforts by the US to dilute the effectiveness of the Court. Milimo
Moyo a member of the civil society component talked about the effect
ratification by the DRC would have on the war there. She said that as the
ICC will not apply retrospectively, crimes which have been committed and
crimes which are currently being committed will not come before the Court.
She said however, that the message that will be sent by such a ratification
would have a profound effect on the war.

So far 32 countries have ratified the ICC Statute. Of these, three SADC
states, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa have ratified. The ICC will into
being after sixty ratifications.

Africa-EXpo is now scheduled for December 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Africa-Expo is a joint cultural-trade exposition with the fifty-five nations of Africa in order to present for the first time the cultural heritage of the continent and to provide an opportunity to sell each country’s manufactured products, arts, and handicrafts now and in the future. All the funds made from the events at the Expo will go to our charities: a children’s cancer ward in Johannesburg; an orphanage for little girls under five in Rwanda who have been raped by those who think that sex with a child will cure their AIDS; tribal women whose husbands have died of AIDS and who are the sole support of their families; a group of women attorneys in Nigeria who are working for rights for women in all African nations; and scholarships for poor American youngsters in the arts. No one who is on the Board of Directors receives any compensation. All are volunteers. No salaries are paid. There will be forty-five booths available for non-profit groups which will be available gratis upon application.

NOVIB and December 18 invite all migrant organizations and others involved with migrant issues to participate at a first round table on the preparation of this year’s International Migrant’s Day in The Netherlands. Interested groups should contact Leila Rispens-Noel of NOVIB before June 10 at [email protected] (Tel.: 070-3421869, Fax: 070-3614461). Note that the first meeting will be held before July 10. Time and place are to be confirmed. All NGOs and governments are invited to inform December 18 about scheduled activities, events and campaigns and eventual plans. December 18 is looking for groups interested to act as national contact for France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada. Interested groups in other countries are also welcome to contact December 18.

Published earlier this year, this report from Oxfam "sets out the scale of the worldwide education crisis, identifies the causes, and sets out an agenda for reform." Divided into seven sections that examine data concerning education worldwide, the report discusses the critical connection between education and poverty globally, the progress made in achieving the goals set out at the 1990 UN conference -- Education for All, and the worldwide inequalities in education. The report also examines efforts at international cooperation on education, "partnerships for change," and presents a nine-page agenda for action. According to the report, the promises concerning education made at the 1990 UN conference have been "comprehensively broken," and, if current trends continue, none of the conference's quantitatively measurable goals for 2015 will be reached.

USAID has provided support to JHU/PIP on behalf of the Population and Health Materials Working Group to expand RHGateway into a true multi function portal site for international reproductive health. The intended audiences include developing-country researchers and managers, research and academic organizations, health communicators, USAID CAs’ field offices, donor organizations, and RH Gateway participating organizations themselves.

REDRESS, the innovative and proactive human rights charity which assists torture survivors to obtain justice and reparation worldwide is now looking for experienced and committed individuals to fulfil a number of challenging posts, based in London. Closing date for all positions: 20th June 2001 Contact Details: Bill Dishington, Administration and IT Manager REDRESS, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR Tel : +44 (0)20 7278 9502; Fax : +44 (0)20 7278 9410

To complement the online job-matching we do at Idealist, we recently launched a series of nonprofit career fairs where organizations and nonprofit job-seekers can meet face-to-face. The first cycle of fairs, in March and April of this year, drew 500 organizations and 4,200 job seekers in nine cities across the United States, and we are now opening the next cycle for registration.

Job Title: Bram Fischer Visiting Professorship in Human Rights; Location: Wits Law School, University of Witwatersand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Contact:Professor Skeen, Head School of Law, Tel (011) 717-8411. The Bram Fischer Visiting Professorship represents a major new endowment in the School of Law, University of Witwatersrand. Named for a leading human rights advocate, the Visiting Professorship is intended to advance a tradition of advocacy and scholarship in human rights that will ensure South Africa's vibrant constitutional democracy and influence students to regard human rights as an integral part of their practice of law.

Job Title:Regional Director, Africa -- ActionAid; Location:Harare; Closing Date for Applications: 15 July 2001; Contact Details:For further information on ActionAid and the Africa Director post, see www.actionaid.org CVs with covering letter and names of two referees should be emailed to [email protected] Ref. 0105-01
ActionAid is looking for a visionary individual to lead ActionAid in the Africa region and join our International Directors' team during a period of exciting change. This is a senior position in the organisation, reporting to the Chief Executive . A strong belief in social justice and positive civic action is essential.

The latest opportunities from OneWorld Volunteers www.oneworld.net/volunteers - the place on the internet for volunteering posts in sustainable development, environment and human rights. For all the latest news and information from the OneWorld network of organisations working for global justice worldwide visit www.oneworld.net.

FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR CANDIDATES APPLYING FROM AFRICAN COUNTRIES. APPLICATION SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Application form can be requested by e-mail or can be downloaded from:

The Saturday after the 17th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning there will be a symposium on Strategies for International Humanitarian Organizations.

Shell has refused to publish the independent report it commissioned on its multimillion-pound community development programme in Nigeria, despite denying that the document is secret. Pressure on the oil giant was increased yesterday when Glenys Kinnock, the MEP and patron of the Ogoni Foundation, a human rights group, wrote to Shell demanding that it publish the independent report.

According to the American Association of Fundraising Counsel Trust for Philanthropy's new "Giving USA" estimates, U.S. charitable contributions in 2000 totaled $203.45 billion, an increase of 6.6 percent over the previous year.
Charitable contributions represented 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2000, a slight drop from the 28-year high of 2.1 percent achieved in 1999 and the same percentage as recorded in 1998.

Jointly sponsored by UNESCO and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO). The purpose of the International Workshop is to bring together educators and representatives from other sectors, from international agencies and NGOs to exchange information, discuss experiences and to come up with a common strategic framework within which all stakeholders can take action to improve performance in Primary Education. The strategic framework will identify what steps and change processes are needed in the various dimensions of the primary education sub-system to make progress towards the goal of improving performance and, ultimately, providing learning that is more meaningful for children.

Abandoned children in Morocco get a new chance at life through an education programme that is the envy of all, writes Pierre Wolf.

The ministry of Internal Affairs finally released the voluminous report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into corruption in the police force yesterday, more than one year after it received it from the Commission. Key among the many recommendations of the Commission, which was chaired by Lady Justice Julie Sebutinde, is that the Scotland Yard be brought in to investigate the three interdicted former senior officers in the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

In keeping up with the spirit and traditions of International Children’s Day, COSATU will tomorrow be celebrating with the children countrywide, and most importantly, engaging them in the crucial agendas in the general workplace activities. The federation’ eight regions countrywide together with its affiliated unions have organized picketing and various brainstorming, educational programmes set for the children of this country.

The Federal Government might have ordered stoppage of salary of the striking university lecturers who declared their trade dispute on April 2, 2001. Making this disclosure yesterday in Lagos was a member of ASUU negotiating team, Dr. Kayode Bamgbose of University of Agriculture, Abeokuta who briefed the zonal congress of the union on the development.

This report documents human rights issues during the year 2000. It also reflects the activities undertaken during the year to promote human rights and to campaign against specific human rights abuses. In October 2000 Amnesty International launched a new campaign to mobilize people around the world in a collective effort to combat torture. As this report shows, the powers ranged against the human rights movement are formidable. However, so are the forces marshaled in support of human rights. The international human rights movement, is growing, diversifying and gaining strength. The outrage at injustice that led to the founding of Amnesty International 40 years ago continues to inspire and motivate millions of people determined to build a better world.