Items related to "Human Security Gateway: Southern Africa". Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:19 +0000 Sat, 17 May 2008 0:30:19 +0000 robert_hartfiel@sfu.ca (Robert Hartfiel) Wed, 14 May 2008 15:47:41 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24369 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24369 « Grande campagne de miracle », « programme spécial de guérison divine », « soirée de délivrance et de prophétie » : de telles annonces fleurissent sur les murs des grandes métropoles africaines, témoignant de la visibilité croissante des manifestations pentecôtistes en Afrique subsaharienne. Depuis plusieurs années, l’expansion du pentecôtisme sur le continent suscite un intérêt grandissant. Pour beaucoup d’observateurs, la croissance de ce courant chrétien, qui se manifeste notamment par une pratique religieuse expressive et démonstrative, provoque une certaine méfiance. Un grand nombre d’idées reçues accompagne en effet le développement des Églises et des mouvements pentecôtistes : le phénomène serait entièrement nouveau, il serait massif et déstabiliserait les autres forces religieuses, il enfermerait les individus dans de nouvelles identités, il serait dirigé depuis les États-Unis, correspondrait à l’imposition d’un modèle américain et ferait le jeu de la politique états-unienne, etc… Pourtant, des études novatrices ont été conduites depuis une quinzaine d’années, tant par des chercheurs européens qu’africains. Elles permettent de dresser un état des lieux du pentecôtisme sur le continent en soulignant notamment, par ce biais, l’insertion de l’Afrique subsaharienne dans la globalisation. Elles soulignent également la pluralité du phénomène, représenté par des milliers d’Églises différentes et sa complexité. Elles insistent enfin sur l’ambivalence d’un mouvement qui contribue à la création de nouvelles sociabilités tout en renforçant l’individualisation, et entretient de multiples formes de relation au politique. SOURCE: Institut français des relations internationales Institut français des relations internationales Wed, 14 May 2008 12:51:54 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24354 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24354 Ce rapport contient des résumés sur les régions suivants: Afrique australe, Afrique de l’Est, Afrique de l’Ouest et Afrique centrale, et Afrique centrale, et aussi sur les thèmes suivantes: le double défi de la tuberculose et du VIH, circonsion masculine et préventions du VIH, epidémies latentes parmi les hommes ayant des rapports sexuels avec des hommes, la consommation de drogues injectables: un facteur croissant dans plusiers épidémies de VIH de L'Afrique Subsaharienne, et signes de changements vers des comportements à moindre risque. SOURCE: Nations Unies // Programme Commun Des Nations Unies Sur le VIH/SIDA Nations Unies // Programme Commun Des Nations Unies Sur le VIH/SIDA Wed, 14 May 2008 11:35:42 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24338 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24338 Le Rapport sur la gouvernance en Afrique est le fruit de larges travaux de recherche sur les pratiques de gouvernance entrepris dans 27 pays africains par la Commission économique pour l’Afrique (CEA), par l’intermédiaire d’instituts nationaux de recherche, qui ont recueilli, ensemble par échantillonnage, les opinions de plus de 50 000 ménages et de 2 000 experts. Les conclusions, soumises à la CEA entre 2002 et 2004, ont fait l’objet d’un processus rigoureux d’examens auxquels ont participé des experts nationaux et internationaux travaillant sur la gouvernance et les questions politiques et économiques. Ce rapport est la première grande étude de ce type initiée par les pays africains, qui vise à analyser de façon empirique les opinions des citoyens quant à l’état de la gouvernance dans leurs pays, tout en mettant en évidence les principaux déficits de capacité dans les pratiques et institutions de gouvernance et en recommandant des pratiques optimales et des solutions pour y faire face. On s’est attaché à assurer l’appropriation locale de l’ensemble empirique de résultats afin de renforcer l’efficacité et la légitimité de la prise de décisions et de l’effort de sensibilisation aux niveaux national et infrarégional. Les données ainsi générées peuvent être utilisées pour mesurer la performance des gouvernements et de toutes les principales parties prenantes dans leur réponse aux préoccupations exprimées par les citoyens et pour suivre la mesure dans laquelle le contrat qu’ils ont passé entre eux est respecté. Nous avons pris soin de ne pas être trop directif. Le Rapport sur la gouvernance en Afrique contient des recommandations qui découlent essentiellement des réalités propres aux pays, car, pour être durable, la gouvernance doit être replacée dans son contexte et internalisée. SOURCE: Nations Unies // Commission économique pour l'Afrique Nations Unies // Commission économique pour l'Afrique Wed, 14 May 2008 11:02:26 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24335 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24335 Le présent rapport fait la synthèse de la première grande étude continentale visant à mesurer et contrôler les « Progrès accomplis sur la voie de la bonne gouvernance en Afrique », entreprise par la Commission économique pour l’Afrique. Dans le cadre de cette étude, des enquêtes et des recherches ont été menées sur 28 pays. Les résultats complets et l’analyse de l’étude seront publiés en 2005 dans le premier «Rapport sur la gouvernance en Afrique ». La CEA a entrepris ce travail pour évaluer l’idée que les citoyens se font de l’état de la gouvernance en Afrique, pour rassembler des informations sur les meilleures pratiques et pour identifier les principaux besoins de la région en matière de développement des capacités. Le projet a identifié quatre tendances positives sur la voie de la création d’États compétents en Afrique: transitions démocratiques, ouverture politique, liberté d’expression et obligation comptable, et gestion économique. SOURCE: Nations Unies // Commission économique pour l'Afrique Nations Unies // Commission économique pour l'Afrique Wed, 14 May 2008 10:25:02 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24332 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24332 Ce document porte sur le conflit des Grands Lacs en Afrique, qui a donné naissance au génocide rwandais en 1994 avant d'aboutir à l'affrontement de sept pays sur le même sol de la république démocratique du congo. Ces nombreux affrontements de plus de quarante ans qui ont opposé les hutu et les tutsi ont coûté beaucoup à l'Afrique, particulièrement sur le plan économique. Il a fallu attendre les années 2004 pour qu'un espoir de paix se fasse jour ; une paix à laquelle la communauté internationale veut apporter un timide soutien. Le portail propose également une rubrique "Repères", ainsi qu'une carte géographique du continent africain. Table des matières : Introduction I- Un conflit ancien 1.Hutu et Tutsi : 40 ans d'affrontements 2.Le génocide rwandais de 1994 3.Le premier conflit du Zaïre 1996-1997 II- La régionalisation du conflit 1998-2003 1.Sept pays en guerre sur le sol de la Rép. dém. du Congo (RDC) 2.Un conflit meurtrier 3.Le pillage des ressources naturelles III- La RDC entre paix et guerre depuis 2003 1.La transition démocratique 2.Persistance des violences SOURCE: La Documentation française, Paris, France La Documentation française, Paris, France Tue, 13 May 2008 12:30:36 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24325 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24325 Zimbabwe is facing a deepening political crisis, marked by state-sponsored violence against opposition party supporters. Following the March 29 presidential and parliamentary elections, in which the opposition won control of parliament and won more votes in the presidential contest, the government unleashed a nationwide campaign of violence against opposition groups. At least 32 supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, have been killed, over 700 have sought medical treatment, over 6700 have been displaced, and over 1000 people have been arrested. All signs point to the situation worsening, with the government using violence and intimidation ahead of a runoff presidential election announced by the government. SOURCE: ENOUGH Project ENOUGH Project Fri, 09 May 2008 11:12:36 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24271 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24271 This case study uses the analytical lens of human security to conduct a retrospective analysis of the conflict and humanitarian crisis of the last ten years (1991-2001) in Angola. This study develops a set of indicators to measure rising instability that might be effective for predicting conflict or crises in other settings. The close analysis of the situation in Angola also illustrates how an ex ante human security assessment might have improved the international community’s interpretation and possible response to the shifting conditions on the ground over the last decade of civil war. SOURCE: United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative United States Agency for International Development // Complex Emergency Response Transition Initiative Wed, 07 May 2008 17:23:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24231 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24231 La FIDH et son organisation affiliée, la Ligue mozambicaine des droits humains (LMDH), publient conjointement un rapport issu d’une mission internationale d’enquête effectuée au Mozambique du 11 au 18 mars 2007. Le rapport met en exergue le fait que si l’on peut saluer les efforts d’harmonisation du droit interne mozambicain avec les dispositions régionales et internationales de protection des droits des femmes ratifiées par le Mozambique, il existe encore des lacunes législatives et de nombreuses pratiques illégales qui engendrent de graves discriminations à l’égard des femmes. SOURCE: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme Wed, 07 May 2008 12:05:23 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24207 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24207 What can Zimbabweans learn from others about accounting for past injustices? The regime of president Robert Mugabe is not yet history, but only pessimists deny some foreseeable future transition. How might Zimbabweans then deal with past systematic and widespread human rights abuses? What forms of justice best secure sustainable peace? To lay sure foundations for a peaceful future, will there be a case for a deliberative formal national process of remembering, dwelling, telling, uncovering, admitting, accusing, apologising? In going forward, to what extent should Zimbabweans be looking back? SOURCE: Institute for Security Studies Institute for Security Studies Wed, 07 May 2008 11:15:50 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24195 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24195 • Comment le développement économique et social influencera-t-il l’évolution de l’environnement à l’horizon 2030 ? Quelles politiques seront nécessaires afin de répondre aux principaux défis environnementaux ? Comment les pays membres et les pays non membres de l’OCDE peuvent-ils unir leurs efforts pour relever ces défis ? • Les Perspectives de l’environnement de l’OCDE à l’horizon 2030 présentent des analyses des tendances économiques et environnementales jusqu’en 2030, ainsi que des simulations de politiques visant à faire face aux principaux problèmes. Sans nouvelles politiques, nous risquons de causer des dommages irréversibles à l’environnement et à la base des ressources naturelles nécessaires pour soutenir la croissance économique et le bien-être de tous. L’inaction des pouvoirs publics a un coût élevé. • Mais les Perspectives montrent que relever les principaux défis environnementaux d’aujourd’hui – y compris le changement climatique, l’appauvrissement de la biodiversité, le manque d’eau et les impacts de la pollution sur la santé – n’est pas impossible ni inabordable. Elles mettent en lumière un ensemble de politiques qui pourraient permettre de relever ces défis d’une manière économique. Le champ d’observation des Perspectives a été élargi par rapport à l’édition 2001, afin de tenir compte des évolutions concernant aussi bien les pays de l’OCDE que le Brésil, la Russie, l’Inde, l’Indonésie, la Chine et l’Afrique du Sud (BRIICS), et d’examiner comment ils pourraient mieux coopérer pour résoudre les problèmes d’environnement au niveau mondial et local. SOURCE: Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Economiques Wed, 07 May 2008 10:59:11 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24189 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24189 The fear of crime has a negative impact on quality of life at the individual, community and societal levels. This phenomenon, which tends to rely on racial stereotypes, has the effect of reducing the sense of trust and cohesion within communities, limiting people’s mobility and hastening retreat from public spaces. This Policy Brief shows that the scope of fear extends beyond a specific minority of the population and that urban, informal settlement dwellers are the most concerned about crime. These insecurities, however, have not tempered the resolute optimism about South Africa’s prospects. The brief recommends that reducing the fear of crime should be recognised as a priority alongside that of reducing crime itself. SOURCE: Human Sciences Research Council Human Sciences Research Council Fri, 02 May 2008 11:32:33 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24079 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24079 Whatever happens in their country during the foreboding days ahead, Zimbabweans know that an "after" is inevitable. An "after Mugabe" will come even if Robert G. Mugabe, the country's 84-year-old president, manages - through a campaign of violence or other means - to claim another term in office. Zimbabwe's political crisis did not begin with this disputed election. Its roots include long-standing limits on free speech, widespread human rights abuses, the failure to resolve issues of land distribution dating from colonial times, cataclysmic mismanagement of the economy, corruption on a gargantuan scale. And, not least, the impunity of the wrongdoers. Fortunately for Zimbabweans, even impunity has an "after." Wrongs of the present and the past have victimized millions and generated deep bitterness. SOURCE: International Center for Transitional Justice International Center for Transitional Justice Fri, 02 May 2008 09:35:11 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24070 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24070 Zimbabwe is a failed State on the verge of collapse. Robert Mugabe and his party –the Zimbabwe African National Unity Front-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)– have remained in control since the country gained independence in the early 1980s and have done so by abusing the State’s resources, using violence and perpetuating themselves in power through electoral fraud. If we add to this the fact that the country’s economy and humanitarian situation is deteriorating daily, we are clearly looking at a time bomb, which could explode at any time in the form of a civil war that is merely waiting to be triggered. Zimbabwe is a prime example of the consequences of the unlimited abuse of power and the incapacity of international pressure to prevent the entirely foreseeable failure of a State which jeopardises regional stability. This ARI examines the structural causes of the problem: violence and the monopoly of power by the Mugabe regime. It also describes the catastrophic social, humanitarian and economic situation facing the population. Against the backdrop of the forthcoming elections on 29 March, the paper looks at the possibilities of a turnaround in the situation which would lead to the final downfall of Zimbabwe or the start of its recovery. SOURCE: Real Instituto Elcano Real Instituto Elcano Thu, 01 May 2008 10:04:06 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24032 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=24032 Armed conflicts are defined as political conflicts in which armed combat involves the armed forces of at least one state or one or more armed factions seeking to gain control of all or part of the state, and in which at least 1,000 people have been killed by the fighting during the course of the conflict. Globally, the number of armed conflicts has been decreasing since 1995, when it peaked at 44 recorded civil wars. By 2003, seven of these conflicts had ended, and in 2003 there were 37 active conflicts in the world. More than 80 percent of these conflicts were in Asia and Africa. The latter continent harbored 42 percent of all conflicts in 2003, involving 28 states and their neighboring countries. Many governmental and nongovernmental organizations, as well as research scholars, evaluate the human impact of civil conflict for operational and policy purposes. These evaluations typically measure not only direct casualties due to violence but often indirect casualties among persons affected by the breakdown of the health and social-service infrastructure and its consequences. SOURCE: John Hopkins University John Hopkins University Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:31:20 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23977 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23977 Le présent rapport est la mise à jour d’un précédent document publié en octobre 2005 et constitue une déclinaison régionale du rapport de la FIDH intitulé « L’antiterrorisme à l’épreuve des droits de l’Homme : les clés de la compatibilité », en apportant un éclairage sur la situation prévalant en Afrique sub-saharienne. Si la menace d’attentats terroristes en Afrique subsaharienne est avérée (pour exemples, les attentats terroristes à la bombe perpétrés le 7 août 1998 à Nairobi et à Dar es-Salaam), les leaders de la campagne internationale de lutte conte le terrorisme – au premier chef les États-Unis d’Amérique - considèrent surtout que cette partie du monde peut être un terreau fertile au recrutement de terroristes, une cache potentielle pour les terroristes, un lieu sécurisé pour l’acquisition illicite d’armes ainsi qu’un terrain privilégié pour les transactions financières opaques liées aux activités terroristes. Pour ces raisons, le Comité des Nations unies contre le terrorisme, créé par la résolution 13733 du Conseil de sécurité, appelle les États africains à ratifier les conventions internationales de lutte contre les actes terroristes et harmoniser leur droit interne en conséquence. Notamment, le Comité insiste sur la nécessaire criminalisation de l’acte terroriste et du financement du terrorisme dans leur législation pénale, ainsi que sur la mise en oeuvre de politiques d’asile et d’immigration plus strictes. Ainsi, sous pression diplomatique mais aussi politique et économique de la communauté internationale et parfois même par opportunisme sécuritaire, les États d’Afrique subsaharienne ont massivement ratifié les conventions internationales et régionales de la lutte contre le terrorisme, notamment la Convention de l’Organisation de l’unité africaine sur la prévention et la lutte contre le terrorisme. Par ailleurs, de nombreux États ont intégré dans leur droit interne des dispositions spécifiques de lutte contre le terrorisme. Si la lutte contre le terrorisme est légitime et nécessaire, l’analyse du cadre juridique régional et des législations nationales y afférentes démontre cependant les potentialités liberticides de certaines dispositions. En effet, au prétexte de lutter contre le terrorisme, nombre d’États ont adopté et appliquent des dispositions qui dérogent aux normes internationales de protection des droits de l’Homme qui les lient. D’autres prétendent lutter contre le terrorisme en s’affranchissant de tout cadre légal et ainsi de tout contrôle. En dépit du fait que la lutte anti-terroriste est une question sensible et, en conséquence, se caractérise par le manque de transparence des mesures prises par les États en la matière, le présent rapport présente de nombreux exemples de violations des droits de l’Homme dans le cadre ou au nom de la lutte contre le terrorisme en Afrique Subsaharienne. Il est pourtant nécessaire d’assurer « la compatibilité des législations anti-terroristes avec les droits de l’Homme et les principes démocratiques, pour le succès même de la lutte contre les auteurs d’actes terroristes », comme le soulignait M. Kofi Annan, ancien Secrétaire général des Nations unies devant les membres du Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies en janvier 2002. Loin de constituer un obstacle, la revendication d’une lutte anti-terroriste respectueuse des droits fondamentaux participe en effet tant de la recevabilité que d’une plus grande efficacité de celle-ci. Quelle que soit son origine, le terrorisme a pour effet et parfois comme objectif ultime d’annihiler les principes de démocratie, de liberté et d’humanité. Déroger à ces valeurs pour combattre ceux qui cherchent précisément à les détruire reviendrait à leur prêter main forte et à les conforter dans leur aversion des normes universelles qui fondent l’organisation de nos sociétés, qu’elles soient mondiales, régionales, nationales ou locales. Le respect des droits de l’Homme et la lutte antiterroriste sont compatibles. Il faut cesser de les aborder de manière antagoniste. A cet égard, la Commission africaine des droits de l’Homme et des peuples et la future Cour africaine des droits de l’Homme et des peuples devraient jouer un rôle important dans le contrôle de la conformité des mesures et pratiques des États dans le cadre de la lutte contre le terrorisme avec les dispositions internationales et régionales de protection des droits de l’Homme. SOURCE: Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme Fédération internationale des ligues des droits de l’Homme Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:56:05 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23972 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23972 After 28 years of increasingly violent misrule, the reign of Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has entered its endgame. Frustrated by his failure to secure victory in the March 29 parliamentary and presidential elections, Mugabe has turned loose his security forces, ruling party militias, “war veterans,” and youth gangs to terrorize populations suspected of sympathizing with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Reports of violent assaults and killings are proliferating. As in Burma in September 2007, resort to repression has raised the specter of both a spasm of state violence against civilians and the consolidation of security chiefs’ power, organized under the Joint Operations Command. It has undermined already slim hopes that a runoff presidential election could be a free and fair contest. SOURCE: Center for Strategic and International Studies Center for Strategic and International Studies Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:23:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23962 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23962 PAPER 1: Transformation and the independence of the judiciary in South Africa Researched and written by Amy Gordon, with David Bruce. PAPER 2: RECONCILIATORY JUSTICE: Amnesties, indemnities and prosecutions in South Africa’s transition Edited by Carnita Ernest, with papers by Ken Oh and Theresa Edlmann. PAPER 3: NEITHER LOYALTY, NOR FEAR: Some thoughts on building greater respect for justice and the law in South Africa SOURCE: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:21:18 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23961 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23961 Why talk about torture in post-apartheid South Africa? Is torture not something that we have left in the past? Regrettably torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment still takes place in South Africa; this reality did not end on 27 April 1994. Official statistics are not kept on the incidence of torture, but from departmental annual reports, research and media reports it is evident that torture remains a problem. No country, regardless of the strength and maturity of its democracy, can afford to become complacent about the issue of torture. In 1998 South Africa ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and in 2006 signed the Optional Protocol to CAT (OPCAT). By signing a convention a state expresses, in principle, its intention to become a party to the Convention or Protocol. However, signature does not, in any way, oblige a state to take further action (towards ratification or not). Ratification involves the legal obligation for the ratifying state to apply the Convention or Protocol.1 These two actions have placed significant obligations on South Africa to take measures to prevent and combat torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. SOURCE: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:18:12 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23960 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23960 Countries that have been through transition find themselves faced with the task of (re)building political, economic and social stability. One of the main areas of concern for countries that have experienced some form of conflict on the path towards democracy (like South Africa) is the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants. DDR programmes have been developed and implemented across the continent. According to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone (Harsch, 2005), long-term stability depends on the existence of a comprehensive DDR programme. In reality, however, these programmes tend to fall short of being comprehensive. SOURCE: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:17:41 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23955 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23955 On 29 April the Council is expected to be briefed by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Lynn Pascoe, in private consultations on the situation in Zimbabwe. No formal statement or decision is expected at this stage. SOURCE: Security Council Report Security Council Report Fri, 25 Apr 2008 15:35:33 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23912 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23912 This module features teaching notes and supplemental resources for Toward an Angola Strategy: Prioritizing U.S.-Angola Relations, a report of an Independent Commission sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations Center for Preventive Action. This report argues that it is in the interest of the United States to help develop a sustainable and lasting peace in Angola. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:54:13 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23752 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23752 Récemment, le CRDI a examiné pourquoi et comment il avait travaillé, au cours des trois dernières décennies, dans des pays en transition — transition de la dictature à la démocratie, d'une économie planifiée à l’économie de marché, de la guerre à la paix. L’objectif du CRDI était de mieux comprendre comment il recueille et diffuse l’information destinée à éclairer l’élaboration de la programmation et les prises de décisions. Comment le Centre avait-il été informé de l’imminence d’une transition? Comment s’était-il renseigné sur la situation ? Comment était-il intervenu? Des études de cas ont été préparées sur l’Algérie, la Birmanie, le Cambodge, le Kenya, l’Afrique du Sud, les pays du cône Sud, le Vietnam et la Cisjordanie et Gaza. Ces huit études de cas et le texte d’introduction qui les accompagne montrent que le CRDI est depuis longtemps capable de travailler dans les situations à haut risque que l’on retrouve avant les transitions et dans la phase initiale de celles-ci. Il en ressort également qu’il a joué un rôle distinct dans l’aide à la recherche et à la conception de politiques axées sur le développement et qu’il a su habituellement adapter sa programmation à des contextes mouvants. SOURCE: Centre de recherches pour le développement international Centre de recherches pour le développement international Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:38:15 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23747 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23747 Récemment, le CRDI a examiné pourquoi et comment il avait travaillé, au cours des trois dernières décennies, dans des pays en transition — transition de la dictature à la démocratie, d'une économie planifiée à l’économie de marché, de la guerre à la paix. L’objectif du CRDI était de mieux comprendre comment il recueille et diffuse l’information destinée à éclairer l’élaboration de la programmation et les prises de décisions. Comment le Centre avait-il été informé de l’imminence d’une transition? Comment s’était-il renseigné sur la situation ? Comment était-il intervenu? Des études de cas ont été préparées sur l’Algérie, la Birmanie, le Cambodge, le Kenya, l’Afrique du Sud, les pays du cône Sud, le Vietnam et la Cisjordanie et Gaza. Ces huit études de cas et le texte d’introduction qui les accompagne montrent que le CRDI est depuis longtemps capable de travailler dans les situations à haut risque que l’on retrouve avant les transitions et dans la phase initiale de celles-ci. Il en ressort également qu’il a joué un rôle distinct dans l’aide à la recherche et à la conception de politiques axées sur le développement et qu’il a su habituellement adapter sa programmation à des contextes mouvants. SOURCE: Centre de recherches pour le développement international Centre de recherches pour le développement international Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:36:30 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23656 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23656 Du 31 octobre au 2 novembre 2005, le Secrétariat de la Banque Mondiale/MDRP a organisé un atelier de consultation visant à renforcer le genre dans les programmes nationaux du MDRP. Environ 80 participants provenant de sept délégations nationales (Angola, Burundi, République Centrafricaine, République Démocratique du Congo, République du Congo, Rwanda et Ouganda), l’UNICEF, le PNUD, l’ONUB, la MONUC, l’UNIFEM, la société civile et le Secrétariat du MDRP y ont participé ainsi que des experts internationaux en matière du genre et du DDR, de même que les femmes ex-combattantes de la région. SOURCE: Programme multi-pays de démobilisation et de réintégration Programme multi-pays de démobilisation et de réintégration Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:15:11 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23503 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23503 Violence against children is a significant global health and human rights problem, and a growing concern in sub-Saharan Africa. The problem of violence against children spans geographical boundaries, culture, race, class, and religion. It can be expressed in the form of physical or sexual assault or abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, and deprivation or neglect. Violence against children is a profound violation of human rights and has devastating short- and long-term mental and physical health consequences. This report focuses primarily on sexual violence against female children. According to the World Report on Violence and Health, sexual violence is defined as “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.” Existing research shows that sexual violence is a major health problem throughout the world. Although nationally representative studies on child sexual violence are limited in sub-Saharan Africa, available data show that sexual violence against children is an important problem in the region. SOURCE: United Nations Children's Fund United Nations Children's Fund Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:15:58 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23463 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23463 The Safe Schools Program (Safe Schools) is a five-year project under the U.S. Agency for International Development, Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, Office of Women in Development. The objective of Safe Schools is to create safe environments for both girls and boys that promote gender-equitable relationships and reduce school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) by working in partnership with children, youth, parents, teachers, schools and communities. This report summarizes the results of the participatory learning and action (PLA) research activity conducted in October and November 2005 to help raise awareness, involvement, and accountability at national, institutional, community and individual levels of SRGBV in the Machinga District in the Southern Region of Malawi. Altogether, 952 pupils participated in the PLA workshops. The focus group discussions included more than 2,000 participants. In addition, 370 key informants including traditional leaders, initiation counselors, members of school management committees and parent teacher associations, head teachers, government Primary Education Advisers, religious leaders, members of the school disciplinary committees (where these existed) and club patrons were interviewed. SOURCE: United States Agency International Development United States Agency International Development Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:29:14 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23449 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23449 Over the last two decades, the rapid growth of private security companies (PSCs) has been discussed and analysed from various angles. Scholars, the media, as well as governmental and nongovernmental organizations embarked on a discourse about the advantages and disadvantages of the private security industry. Studies on PSCs tackled issues such as PSCs’ legal status, questions of accountability, or options for regulations.2 Yet, so far little attention has been paid to how PSCs affect local populations in the countries in which they operate. PSCs are hired by a diverse clientele such as governments, private companies, humanitarian organizations or individuals. In addition to providing security to their clientele, the activities and presence of PSCs may have unintended consequences not only for those that employ them but also for local populations. A better understanding of how private security firms influence the lives of third parties and how local populations view PSCs seems relevant for an informed discussion on the regulation of the commercial security industry. This exploratory study aims to contribute some new insights and perspectives into this field by discussing these aspects for two country cases, Afghanistan and Angola. SOURCE: Swiss Peace Foundation Swiss Peace Foundation Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:57:13 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23430 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23430 After years of economic crisis and repressive leadership under President Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe looks poised for change. The opposition party contends Mugabe lost March 28 presidential elections, and delays in announcing poll results have fueled intense speculation about what is next for the beleaguered country. Andrew Meldrum, a Nieman fellow at Harvard University and former Zimbabwe correspondent for the Guardian, says the inner circle of Mugabe’s party, ZANU-PF, is looking at its options. SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations Council on Foreign Relations Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:42:37 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23408 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23408 On 7 February 2008, the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) hosted a conference on Zimbabwe. This conference, which attracted a full house, discussed the current crisis with a particular focus on the March 2008 elections and the prospects for reconstruction and improved security in its aftermath. International and regional experts from academe, NGOs, the media, political and security fields were joined by a number of speakers and participants from Zimbabwe, representing both opposition parties and the government. SOURCE: Royal United Services Institute Royal United Services Institute Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:57:48 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23401 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23401 The effects of armed conflicts on mortality fall into one of two categories: direct and indirect. By direct mortality we mean those violent deaths caused by military operations among both soldiers and civilians, often called battle deaths. The loss of life caused by armed conflicts does not stop there. In fact, much more death and misery is inflicted on civil populations by indirect means. Those collateral effects of conflict are commonly known as “indirect” or “excess” mortality. They account for those non-violent deaths among civil populations that would not have occurred without the conflict. Over the last decades, indirect deaths have greatly outnumbered direct battle-deaths in most conflicts. The main causes of those indirect deaths include economic collapse, food shortages and malnutrition, the disruption of health systems, mass population movements to overcrowded settlements, and the stretching of public safety systems due to long conflicts. SOURCE: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:46:10 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23379 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23379 This paper, which results from nearly a decade (1997-2006) of continuous field research in the centre of Mozambique, analyses the ways in which Mozambican war survivors managed to develop socio-cultural approaches to deal peacefully with the legacies of an extremely violent past. More specifically, it focuses on the contributions of a civil-war-related spirit named gamba in the former war zones of the Gorongosa district, and central Mozambique more generally. This paper is organised in three sections. Following a brief introduction in which the goals of the paper are stated, Section Two outlines some aspects of the Mozambican civil war and its consequences at community level. Section Three describes the emergence of the magamba spirits in the Gorongosa district and demonstrates how these war-related spirits break the prevailing conspiracies of silence over a past of civil war violence. This section also presents how magamba deal with issues of truth, justice and reconciliation. In Gorongosa, reconciliation is a multidimensional phenomenon and magamba spirits demonstrate the multiplicity of reconciliation processes and achievements. The last section gives the main conclusions and suggests the necessity of taking the various sociocultural processes that are developed in various post-civil war countries seriously, in order to deal with the extreme legacies of violent conflicts. SOURCE: Peace Justice Conference // Crisis Management Initiative Peace Justice Conference // Crisis Management Initiative Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:36:06 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23242 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23242 This study contributes to what is currently known about the experiences of girls in fighting forces as distinct from those of boys. It is meant to assist policymakers in developing policies and programs to help protect and empower girls in situations of armed conflict and postwar reconstruction. Within the context of Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone and Mozambique girls in the fighting forces have suffered major human rights violations, especially gender-based violence. The rights of these girls are under threat from their own governments, armed opposition forces, and, occasionally, by members of their communities and families. At times, girls are discriminated against by local groups and officials, governments and international bodies that are unwilling to recognise their presence, needs and rights during conflict, post-conflict, demobilisation and social reintegration. Yet, within the fighting forces, girls carry out a number of diverse roles, including as fighters. Current approaches to understanding the role of girls in conflict, where girls are understood only to be captive "wives," "sexual slaves" or "camp followers", are limited and inaccurate. Among the key findings is that social reintegration, especially of girl-mothers and young women who were girls when they were taken and who return with babies, is particularly difficult and these girls and their children are at high risk. Girls and young women in most of the study areas were also clear that access to education and training in skills would be the most meaningful contribution that national and international agencies could make in assisting their reintegration. SOURCE: International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:51:21 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23069 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23069 Although Zimbabwe has a troubled history, both pre and post-Independence, it has been in extended turmoil since the year 2000. The origin of the crisis lies in failed government policies, which have led to economic collapse and a devastating fall in the standards of living of the large majority of the population. As a result, civil society became stronger and more vibrant and a viable political opposition was formed, both of which began demanding change of both policies and political leadership. The ruling party’s response has been to revisit and intensify its repressive ways of the 1980’s, stifle any criticism and frustrate any organisation not enjoying its blessing. At the same time it has introduced irresponsible policies and strengthened the role of patronage to retain sufficient support to create a façade of legitimacy. These in turn destroyed the productive bases of the economy and created massive impoverishment for all except the few beneficiaries of government’s misplaced largesse. But the resulting protest by pro-democracy groupings has been met only with violence from state agents. This report describes the violence that has been visited upon the members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), a movement founded in 2003 to create a voice for women to speak out about the injustices they encounter in their every-day struggle for survival. SOURCE: Women of Zimbabwe Arise Women of Zimbabwe Arise Thu, 20 Mar 2008 13:47:08 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23066 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23066 Cette étude permet de mieux comprendre la militarisation de la vie des filles au sein des forces et groupes armés, et les fonctions qu'elles y assument. À partir des informations recueillies au cours de leur travail d'enquête dans le nord de l'Ouganda, en Sierra Leone et au Mozambique, les auteures montrent que les filles incorporées dans des groupes et forces armées ne sont pas et n'ont jamais été de simples « civiles associées aux troupes ». Cette étude s'adresse à tous ceux qui interviennent sur le terrain dans les pays en situation de conflit ou ravagés par la guerre, qu'ils soient d'organismes multilatéraux, d'organisations gouvernementales, de groupes communautaires ou d'organisations non gouvernementales. Où sont les filles, si elles ne sont pas recensées comme membres des forces et groupes armés quand vient le temps de désarmer, de démobiliser et de reconstruire les sociétés ? SOURCE: Droits et Démocratie Droits et Démocratie Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:33:43 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23056 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23056 The regional mediation offering the most realistic chance to resolve Zimbabwe’s eight-year crisis has failed. South African President Thabo Mbeki’s stated objective in talks between the ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was to secure conditions for free and fair elections that would produce an undisputed outcome. But on 29 March 2008, Zimbabwe will hold elections already flawed by pre-poll misbehaviour, notwithstanding what may occur on polling day and thereafter. The results are likely to be heatedly disputed. Though the playing field is far from even, and efforts to create a united opposition have failed, ex-ZANU-PF politburo member Simba Makoni is seriously challenging Robert Mugabe’s re-election. The 84-year-old president probably has the means to manipulate the process sufficiently to retain his office, though possibly only after a violent run-off, but there is little prospect of a government emerging that is capable of ending the crisis. If the situation deteriorates, the African Union (AU) needs to be ready to offer prompt mediation for a power-sharing agreement between presidential contenders and creation of a transitional government with a reform agenda. SOURCE: International Crisis Group International Crisis Group Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:53:24 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23054 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23054 From October 31 to November 2, 2005, the World Bank/MDRP Secretariat and UNIFEM held a consultation workshop aimed at strengthening gender in the MDRP national programs. Approximately 80 participants from the seven national delegations (Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda), UNICEF, UNDP, ONUB, MONUC, UNIFEM, civil society, and the MDRP Secretariat participated, as well as international experts on gender and DDR, and women ex-combatants from the region. SOURCE: Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:49:38 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23031 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23031 In the 30 years between 1960 and 1990, South Africa was subject to a complex and evolving set of sanctions aimed at influencing the South African government to dismantle the apartheid system. In the process, numerous innovative strategies were forged that have been a subsequent inspiration for other solidarity movements in support of oppressed peoples around the world. The resulting diplomatic, cultural and economic isolation confirmed the apartheid government's pariah status. These international initiatives were not intended to pressure the main parties in South Africa to engage in a process of negotiations but rather aimed to end apartheid. Later the proponents of 'constructive engagement' - and most notably the British government under Margaret Thatcher - were able to draw on their credibility as 'friends' to encourage South African President F.W. De Klerk to engage with the African National Congress (ANC). At the same time, by the late 1980s the Soviet Union and many African governments encouraged the ANC to negotiate a political resolution to the conflict. SOURCE: Conciliation Resources Conciliation Resources Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:48:34 -0700 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23004 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=23004 On March 29, 2008, Zimbabweans will participate in presidential, parliamentary, senatorial, and local government elections synchronized for the first time, following changes to Zimbabwe’s constitution in September 2007. As the elections near, all indications are that once again the people of Zimbabwe will not be able to freely exercise their civil and political rights and vote for the candidates of their choice. As in the last parliamentary elections in 2005, the playing field for candidates and their parties is not level. SOURCE: Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:27:54 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22828 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22828 With South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994, there was great expectation on the part of the international community that the country would actively engage in conflict resolution efforts on the continent. However, particularly during its fledgling years, the African National Congress (ANC) led government was heavily focused on its pressing domestic agenda and thus displayed a reluctance to engage in what would likely become expensive and cumbersome ventures outside of its national borders. Towards the late 1990s, however, there was a growing recognition that South Africa’s stability and prosperity would be intimately linked to the economic and political development of the continent as a whole, a realisation that reflected an appreciation of the close nexus between regional stability and national interest. This awareness contributed to the change in attitude in South Africa, and there was a display of greater willingness to engage in African conflict resolution endeavours. Thus, with South Africa’s increasing role and importance in multilateral engagements, it became evident that the country’s responsibility and participation in furthering Africa’s peace agenda would expand. SOURCE: African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:15:27 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22790 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22790 Children living as refugees and returnees in eight sub-Saharan Africa locations1 are suffering not only due to their refugee and returnee status, but also other factors over which they have no control: hostility and violence from local people (arising largely from competition over scarce resources and services), and pervasive sexual and gender-based violence. Children encounter violence and sexual assault in schools, communities and homes. Yet these problems are rarely acknowledged and the voices of young refugees are rarely heard. Between 2005 and 2007 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) carried out a series of groundbreaking Participatory Assessments (PAs) with children living in refugee and returnee situations in Southern Africa to discover: how children are being treated, how they perceive the violence with which they are often faced, how they cope, and what suggestions they have for improving their situation. The holding of such assessments forms part of UNHCR’s strategy for Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming (AGDM), the overall aim of which is to promote gender equality and the rights of all refugees. SOURCE: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:25:25 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22698 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22698 In April 2007, the Phoenix Justice and Restoration programme (JARP) began offering restorative justice and other alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services in the Phoenix community of the South African province of KwaZulu Natal. The pilot project sought to lower court backlogs and to help those in the community develop ways of responding to crime and conflict without resorting to the court system. This article summarises the evaluation results from the first few months of Phoenix JARP from a report prepared by Professor Herman Conradie of the Department of Criminology of the University of South Africa, Hema Hargovan and Dr. VR Chetty from the Department of Criminology of the University of KwaZulu Natal. A link to the full report is included. SOURCE: Prison Fellowship International // Restorative Justice Online Prison Fellowship International // Restorative Justice Online Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:47:05 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22386 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22386 The Angolan civil war began even before independence in 1975, and raged, albeit with periods of calm, until 2002. The formal Angolan diamond industry came to a virtual standstill, paralysed at first by the departure of technical personnel during the Portuguese exodus, and later as UNITA guerrillas drove off foreign companies and took control of Angolan’s rich diamond provinces, mining the diamonds illegally, using the revenue to continue the civil war. The implementation of international controls on these conflict diamonds helped starve the rebel forces of funds, leading eventually to the defeat of Jonas Savimbi and the end of the civil war. Only with the end of that long conflict have the government and its foreign partners had the security to resume the long-delayed development of Angola’s diamond potential. SOURCE: Partnership Africa Canada Partnership Africa Canada Thu, 07 Feb 2008 09:50:30 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22257 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22257 Zimbabwe's economic meltdown and political repression just keep accelerating. Four million Zimbabweans have now fled the country, and most of the 8 million remaining there face extreme hardship. Since 1994, average life expectancy in the beleaguered nation has plummeted from 57 years to 34 years for women, and from 54 years to 37 years for men--the shortest lifespans in the world. And small wonder. Some 3,500 people die every week from the combined effects of HIV/AIDS, poverty and malnutrition. State-sponsored killings and torture of the opposition activists are common as well. More people die in Zimbabwe every week than in Afghanistan, Darfur or Iraq. There has never been a time like the present to call for a tightening of the noose on the Mugabe regime. Clearly, African leaders--most notably South African President Thabo Mbeki--have failed the people of Zimbabwe. Yet, as the crisis worsens, there is hope that a new regional leadership will address Africa's forgotten tragedy more forcefully. The United States, too, must reconsider its past policy toward Zimbabwe and seize this new opportunity. SOURCE: American Enterprise Institute American Enterprise Institute Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:13:09 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22218 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22218 Le produit le plus récent et le plus détaillé à être conçu par securitehumaine-villes.org, cette publication s'appuie sur les travaux de 40 collaborateurs externes qui appliquent un prisme urbain à des thèmes tels que les enfants et les conflits armés, la réforme des systèmes de sécurité, les armes de petit calibre et les armes légères, la stabilisation et la reconstruction, la consolidation de la paix et la promotion de la démocratie. SOURCE: securitehumaine-villes.org securitehumaine-villes.org Mon, 04 Feb 2008 11:36:36 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22191 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22191 Emerging from a history of institutionalized racial inequality, South Africa has made admirable progress in transforming the state and society to ensure respect for fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, an independent judiciary, and free and fair elections. Nevertheless, widespread poverty, unemployment, persistently high levels of violent crime, and gender inequality continue to inhibit the full enjoyment of human rights. Poverty in South Africa has a strong rural dimension: the rural poor suffer from higher unemployment rates, lower educational attainment, and lower access to essential services. South Africa’s Bill of Rights provides for binding and justiciable rights for all South Africans to education, housing, health care, food, water, and social security. A priority concern for the nongovernmental human rights sector in South Africa is to ensure that the government continues to address the progressive realization of socioeconomic rights and to hold the government accountable to fulfill these rights as binding obligations rather than programmatic aspirations. SOURCE: Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:30:18 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22164 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22164 This study explores the development and dynamics of non-state actors in Angola and Mozambique and so contributes to the ongoing debate at the German Development Institute on the issue of non-state (armed) groups and governance impact on development conditions. The study discusses the effect of various dimensions on the historical process of the two countries from the perspective of the rebel movements: the Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) in Angola’s case and the National Resistance of Mozambique (RENAMO) in Mozambique’s. The analysis focuses on two dimensions: geography and endowments. SOURCE: Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:16:52 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22115 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=22115 The race-based structure of South African society promoted a sense of separateness among the black communities, as well as a sense of unity borne of an overarching common experience. These two tendencies - towards differentiation and integration - determined the configuration of the freedom struggle in South Africa. On the one hand, each black community developed separate political organisations to champion its cause. The Natal Indian Congress was formed in 1894; the African People’s Organisation (APO), which came to be identified with the Coloured population, in 1906; and the African National Congress (ANC) in 1912. On the other, the separate communities and their organisations sought to unite around the common cause of liberation. The foremost expression of this common purpose is to be found in the Freedom Charter, which was adopted in 1955 at the Congress of People held in Kliptown, near Johannesburg.1 Embodying the central demands and aspirations of the national liberation movement led by the ANC, it became the common platform of the ANC, the allied Congresses and the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU). SOURCE: Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:55:09 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21989 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21989 The Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and Regulation of Certain Activities in Country of Armed Conflict Act, 2006 (Act No. 27, 2006) was, after a considerable delay, assented to and signed by President Thabo Mbeki on 12 November 2007. The act replaces the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act, 1998 (Act No. 15 of 1998) and also provides for two amendments to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1997 (Act No. 105 of 1997). The Regulations to this Act are still to be promulgated. The intent of the Act is to prohibit mercenary activity, to regulate the provision of assistance or service of a military or military-related nature in a country of armed conflict, to regulate the enlistment of South African citizens or permanent residents in other armed forces, and to regulate the provision of humanitarian aid in a country of armed conflict. It provides for extra-territorial jurisdiction for the courts of the Republic with regards to certain offences and it provide for penalties for offences related to the Act. SOURCE: http://www.issafrica.org/index.php?link_id=5&slink_id=5421&link_type=12&slink_type=12&tmpl_id=3 http://www.issafrica.org/index.php?link_id=5&slink_id=5421&link_type=12&slink_type=12&tmpl_id=3 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:50:49 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21941 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21941 The Public Service Accountability Monitor is an independent research and monitoring institute dedicated to strengthening democracy in South Africa. Accountability is an obligation by politicians and government officials to explain their performance and justify their decisions. It is not a personal favour. The PSAM hopes by providing information on the management of public resources, the delivery of public services and handling of misconduct and corruption we will assist parliament and South African citizens to hold government officials accountable for their performance. SOURCE: Public Service Accountability Monitor Public Service Accountability Monitor Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:17:48 -0800 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21877 http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/showRecord.php?RecordId=21877 Mineral wealth has distorted the economy for generations. Moeletsi Mbeki, brother of South Africa's president on why people want jobs not handouts SOURCE: The New Statesman The New Statesman