Weekly anb12131.txt #7

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 13-12-2001      PART #1/7

* Africa. Human Rights Day  -  10 December -- Human Rights Day. The United 
Nations' Human Rights Day is aiming to increase awareness of the growing 
global problem of exploitation. Slavery, indentured and bonded work and 
trafficking in human beings are on the increase, according to the latest 
estimates from the Geneva-based International Labour Organisation (ILO). 
Juan Somavia, the ILO's director-general, thinks something must be done. 
The first step, Mr Somavia believes, is to raise public awareness of the 
evil, which he sees increasing in Africa, areas of the former Soviet Union 
and parts of Asia, especially the subcontinent. (...) A recently published 
ILO report, which examines trafficking in children for labour exploitation 
in west and central Africa, reveals just how intractable and complex the 
problem is. The report reveals disturbing evidence of entrenched and 
elaborately organised networks of trafficking in children between Côte 
d'Ivoire, Mali, Benin, Gabon, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Boys and 
girls as young as five years old are trafficked by their families to 
intermediaries who exploit or sell them as labour. In general, girls work 
as unpaid domestic workers or street traders. Boys tend to work on 
plantations, or in construction and mining sites. The children endure 
unsafe conditions and long hours and often receive no pay. Both girls and 
boys are also being forced to become prostitutes. But Mr Somavia thinks the 
issue of forced labour has "not yet really caught the world's attention". 
What he wants to emphasise is that this is "not some relic of a bygone age 
but a continuing problem of serious proportions".   (Financial Times, UK, 
10 December 2001)

* Africa. US to help Africa find terrorism funders  -  Walter Kansteiner, 
the US assistant secretary of state for Africa, said on 7 December that 
Washington was looking to help Africa's banking sector establish oversight 
mechanisms that could better identify possible terrorist financing 
operations. Speaking in Nairobi, following a trip to Ethiopia and on the 
way to Zimbabwe and South Africa, Mr Kansteiner: "An important part of this 
trip was to look at how we can assist African governments in financial 
oversight and forensic accounting. I've gotten a very good response from 
both the Kenyans and Ethiopians." Kenya's bankers have been concerned at 
rumours that financial institutions in Nairobi and Mombasa might have links 
to terrorism, and have asked the central bank to set the record straight. 
Mr Kansteiner said his mission was to lay the political groundwork for 
co-operation, and would be followed by more in-depth technical 
discussions.   (Financial Times, UK, 11 December 2001)

* Afrique. Conférence internationale sur le sida  -  La 12e Conférence 
internationale sur le sida et les MST (maladies sexuellement 
transmissibles) en Afrique, sur le thème "Les communautés s'engagent", 
s'est ouverte le 9 décembre à Ouagadougou et se clôturera le 13. Mobiliser 
les communautés africaines, chercheurs, travailleurs sociaux, personnes 
vivant avec le VIH, décideurs politiques, religieux... contre le fléau sera 
l'un des principaux enjeux de ce grand rendez-vous auquel participent 
quelque 4.000 personnes. Si les efforts de prévention doivent être 
maintenus, sinon renforcés, plus que jamais l'accès aux médicaments semble 
prioritaire. Il y a encore beaucoup de chemin à parcourir pour que les 28 
millions de personnes vivant avec le virus en Afrique subsaharienne 
disposent des traitements au même titre que les patients des pays riches. - 
Le 10 décembre, le directeur de l'Onusida, Peter Piot, a appelé à un 
"soutien international massif" pour financer la lutte contre le sida en 
Afrique, notamment l'accès aux traitements. Il a relevé que les fonds 
consacrés cette année à la lutte contre le sida sur le continent étaient 
estimés à 500 millions de dollars, alors qu'il faudrait 5 milliards de 
dollars annuels. De son côté, l'envoyé spécial de l'Onu, Stephen Lewis, a 
souhaité que "2002 soit l'année d'une percée pour les donateurs 
internationaux". - Notons par ailleurs que les Eglises en Afrique, lors 
d'une réunion des secrétaires des conférences épiscopales catholiques et 
lors d'une consultation internationale à Nairobi organisée par le Conseil 
oecuménique des Eglises, ont décidé d'intensifier leur participation à la 
lutte contre le VIH/SIDA.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 décembre 2001)

* Africa. Action against the Media  -  Congo RDC: In an open letter to 
President Kabila (11 December), Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) urges the 
President to consult with the relevant authorities to make plans for the 
release of sports journalist Frédéric Kitengie who was arrested on 5 
December. Egypt: The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights says (11 
December) that the Government should "put an end to all security measures 
and practices that run counter to Egypt's commitments as a state, party to 
international human rights. Freedom of opinion and expression has continued 
to deteriorate". Ethiopia: On 5 December, the Ethiopian Free Press 
Journalists' Association expressed concern over the alarming increase in 
the harassment of journalists. Morocco: Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has 
said (10 December) it is outraged over the authorities' relentless 
harassment of Demain Magazine's publication's director, Ali Lmrabet, who 
was recently sentenced to four month's imprisonment and a fine. Mozambique: 
On 3 December, Mediacoop, the cooperative that owns the weekly newspaper 
Savana, announced its intention to sue a district court judge for what it 
terms the unlawful arrest of Kok Nam, a photojournalist and director of 
Savana. Niger: Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) on 3 December asked the 
Speaker of Niger's National Assembly to explain the recent adoption of a 
new law which will considerably increase the tax bill of the independent 
press. Togo: RSF has written to the Togolese govt. (4 December) protesting 
the suspension of two radio programmes broadcast by the independent radio 
station Radio Victoire. Tunisia: In a letter to President Ben Ali (10 
december), RSF protested the fact that Tunisian opposition figures are 
prevented from communicating with the outside world.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 
12 December 2001)

* Africa. UN targets child sex trade  -  The United Nations Children's 
Fund, Unicef, is calling for a co-ordinated global approach to the problem 
of sexual exploitation of children, which it says affects millions 
worldwide. Unicef has produced a new report, entitled "Profiting from 
Abuse", to coincide with a world congress in Japan next week which will 
examine commercial sexual exploitation. It calls on every government to 
adopt and enforce laws against the sale of children, child prostitution, 
and pornographic material involving children. The trade in child sex is 
growing, according to the Unicef report; in the Philippines alone there are 
estimated to be about 100,000 child prostitutes, five times the number 
there were 15 years ago. The report's authors say about a million children 
worldwide are sold into sex every year, with the problem more acute in 
developing countries. Not surprisingly, some of the most common causes are 
listed as poverty, gender discrimination, war, and the drugs trade. The 
document notes the increased vulnerability of people forced to flee their 
homes through conflict, who can then become subject to demands for sex by 
border guards or military personnel. The one positive note is struck by the 
declaration earlier this year at the International Criminal Tribunal for 
the former Yugoslavia, which became the first world body to declare rape in 
times of war a crime against humanity. Unicef says the multi-billion dollar 
sexual exploitation of children can only be tackled by a global approach of 
zero tolerance involving tough criminal penalties against 
abusers.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 December 2001)

* Africa. Christians and Muslims dialogue  -  Three meetings on 
Christian-Muslim dialogue at local, regional and international levels will 
take place in Cairo, 17-21 December. An informal meeting between World 
Council of Churches (WCC) staff and about 30 local Christian and Muslim 
leaders will consider the educational use in the local context, of a recent 
WCC publication: "Striving Together in Dialogue: A Muslim-Christian Call to 
Reflection and Action". A second meeting will focus on how Arab Christians 
and Muslims see the Arab world as such, and in relation to other countries 
and countries, after 11 September. The meeting: "Relations between Nations, 
Cultures and Religious Communities Today: A Perspective from the Arab 
World", is being sponsored by the Arab Group on Christian-Muslim Dialogue, 
This group works with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the 
WCC. The meeting will involve about 30 participants. The MECC and the WCC 
will then facilitate a discussion with approximately 25 scholars and 
leaders engaged in Christian-Muslim dialogue from the Middle East, the USA, 
the UK and Pakistan. This meeting will attempt to assess Christian-Muslim 
relations, local and global, after 11 September.   (WCC, Geneva, 13 
December 2001)

* Algérie. Accord avec l'UE  -  Le 5 décembre, après plusieurs années de 
discussions, l'Union européenne et l'Algérie sont parvenues à conclure les 
négociations sur leur accord d'association qui bloquait encore sur la libre 
circulation des travailleurs et la lutte contre le terrorisme. Cet accord, 
dont le contenu exact sera divulgué ultérieurement, sera paraphé le 19 
décembre à Bruxelles en présence du président Bouteflika. La clause "droits 
de l'homme" prévue dans l'accord, restera de pur style, comme dans les 
autres accords d'association, en dépit des violations massives des droits 
de l'homme en Algérie dénoncées par toutes les organisations humanitaires. 
De plus, profitant de l'effet du 11 septembre, les militaires algériens ont 
obtenu que l'UE fasse figurer dans l'accord une coopération dans la lutte 
antiterroriste.   (Libération, France, 7 décembre 2001)

* Algeria. Violence never far away  -  6 December: Fighting breaks out in a 
north east Algerian town between security forces and thousands of Berber 
demonstrators calling for cultural and linguistic recognition in the 
country. Police in Tizi Ouzou, the capital of the predominantly Berber 
region of Kabylie, use tear gas grenades in an attempt to move the young 
Berbers staging a sit-down protest outside the headquarters of military 
police. Stones and Molotov cocktails are thrown and anti-government slogans 
are chanted by the protesters, who are furious at attempts by more moderate 
members of the Berber community to enter dialogue with the Algerian 
Government. Meetings are scheduled, today, between the moderates and 
Algerian Prime Minister Ali Benflis to discuss the Berber community's 
demands for better social, economic and cultural conditions. 7 December: 
Suspected Algerian Islamic militants have killed 17 civilians and wounded 
four others in the worst attack so far during this year's Ramadan, the 
Muslim holy month. Algerian security sources said the attack occurred late 
on Thursday night in the area of Cadat in the province of Ain Defla, about 
130 kilometres south west of Algiers. The security forces have launched "a 
vast operation to look for the criminals." No details on the identity of 
the victims have been given.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 8 December 2001)

* Algérie. Nouveaux massacres  -  17 personnes ont été tuées et 4 blessées 
dans un massacre perpétré le soir du 6 décembre par un groupe d'islamistes 
armés à Aarib, dans la région d'Aïn Defla (160 km à l'ouest d'Alger). Selon 
des "sources locales de sécurité", un groupe de "terroristes", terme 
désignant les islamistes armés, serait à l'origine de l'attaque. Les forces 
de sécurité ont lancé une vaste opération de recherche des criminels. Ce 
massacre porte à 48 le nombre des morts dans des violences liées aux 
islamistes armés depuis le début du ramadan. - Le 7 décembre, six personnes 
ont encore été assassinées dans des attaques menées par des groupes armés 
islamistes près de Aïn Defla, de Saïda et de Oum El-Bouaghi.   (ANB-BIA, de 
sources diverses, 10 décembre 2001)

* Algérie. Kabylie: accord et émeutes  -  La rencontre qui a regroupé 
autour de M. Ali Benflis, le chef du gouvernement algérien, un millier de 
délégués des comités villageois de Kabylie s'est terminée le ventredi 7 
décembre au petit matin sur une note d'espoir. Les deux parties ont convenu 
de mettre en place 4 commissions pour débattre des différents points de la 
plate-forme de revendications. La première commission s'attellera à trouver 
la meilleure réponse à la revendication identitaire (langue berbère), la 
seconde se chargera d'étudier la prise en charge, sous toutes ses formes, 
des victimes du "printemps noir". La 3ème et 4ème commission plancheront 
respectivement sur les poursuites pénales à l'encontre des gendarmes 
coupables de dépassements et l'examen des revendications socio-économiques. 
- D'autre part, le lundi 10 décembre, les journaux d'Alger ont rapporté 
qu'une dizaine de personnes ont été arrêtées en Kabylie, où des 
manifestations contre le pouvoir ont encore éclaté ces derniers jours. Des 
émeutes ont fait une quinzaine de blessés entre jeudi et dimanche à El 
Kseur.   (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 11 décembre 2001)

Weekly anb1213.txt - #1/7