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Weekly anb05161.txt #8

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 16-05-2002      PART #1/8
* Africa. IISS's scathing report - Zimbabwe faces economic ruin unless President Robert Mugabe changes his policies, an influential report has said. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) made the claim in its annual report on Africa, released on 9 May sharply criticised South African President Thabo Mbeki for failing to take coherent action when Mugabe was controversially reelected. It added that the political and economic disintegration of Somalia and Kenya were causes for serious alarm. The London-based think-tank listed as positive developments in the ravaged continent the ceasefire in Angola, tentative peace in West Africa and calm in the Horn of Africa. It said the biggest single threat to regional security on a continent plagued by AIDS, poverty and instability lay in the political repression and imminent economic collapse of Zimbabwe, where famine is looming as inflation runs wild and state-backed farm seizures slash food production. It said Mugabe, who has held power since independence from Britain in 1980 and who won a new six-year term in March in what the Commonwealth said were deeply flawed elections, was practising "state terrorism." "Mugabe's re-election has created an unsustainable and deeply damaging situation in Zimbabwe, from which no escape route is apparent. Unless he changes course, 2002 is likely to witness the ultimate collapse of Zimbabwe's economy and more food shortages, as well as Mugabe's total international isolation," IISS said. The report was scathing about the leaders of Zimbabwe's neighbours of the former Rhodesia who had endorsed Mugabe's reelection even though refugees were already pouring over their borders. But it was particularly savage about Mbeki's dithering approach to the problem. "Mbeki has moved from tacitly supporting Mugabe to having no identifiable policy whatsoever," it said. "He has managed to endorse the reports of two election observer teams that reached diametrically opposing conclusions." Kenya too was a cause for growing concern as tribal unrest bubbles under the surface ahead of elections due by the end of the year at which President Daniel arap Moi is constitutionally bound to step down after 23 years in power, IISS said. On a positive note, the IISS report said Africa might in the long term be an unwitting beneficiary of the September 11 attacks, as nations backing the US-led "war on terror", try to prevent militancy spreading to unstable and poor nations. (CNN, USA, 9 May 2002)
* Afrique. La longue marche vers l'Union - Engagé le 17 septembre 2001, le processus de mise en place de l'Union africaine (UA) risque de prendre plus de temps que prévu. La durée de 12 mois prévue dans le traité de l'UA pourrait bien être prolongée par le prochain sommet africain de Durban (8-10 juillet). A la dernière réunion du Groupe consultatif, les 3 et 4 mai à Addis Abeba, une dizaine de personnalités africaines ont donné leur avis sur le fonctionnement des cinq principaux organes de l'UA: la Conférence des chefs d'Etat, le Conseil exécutif, la Commission, le Comité des représentants permanents et le Conseil de sécurité et de paix. Le traité prévoit la création de 17 organes. Mais déjà, la mise en place des cinq organismes clés et leur financement posent problème. L'Union, qui succède théoriquement à l'OUA le 10 juillet, aurait besoin d'une année supplémentaire avant de pouvoir fonctionner correctement. (Ndlr.: Cependant, le 14 mai, le secrétaire général de l'OUA, Amara Essy, a exprimé son optismisme sur le fait que le sommet de Durban serait l'occasion de la naissance de l'UA). (J.A./L'Intelligent, France, 13 mai 2002)
* Africa. Christian Aid Week - 13 May: Rock star Bob Geldof is to lead a bid, to day, to press British Prime Minister Tony Blair to declare war on poverty in Africa. The call will come in a report marking Christian Aid Week that suggests nearly 600m people could be living in extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa by 2016. The Christian Aid agency wants Mr Blair and other leaders of the world's richest countries to change trade rules and commit more money to Africa to relieve poverty. The "Listen to Africa" report is written as an open letter to Mr Blair and will be launched at the Commonwealth Club in London by Mr Geldof. He will be joined by representatives from Christian Aid-funded organisations in Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi. A copy of the report is to be presented to Mr Blair at Downing Street. It says it is right that Africa is treated as a priority at the forthcoming G8 summit. But it goes on: "The need now is genuinely selfless aid to be given, targeted at projects that African people themselves say are priorities. And for this to happen, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation and the governments of donor countries like Britain, simply must "listen to Africa"." (BBC News, UK, 13 May 2002)
* Africa. OAU into African Union delayed - The transformation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) into the African Union has been postponed, just two months before it was scheduled to take place. Senior personalities overseeing the transformation believe more time is needed to complete the process of setting up the 17 key components of the new body. No time frame within which this process will be completed, has been given. However, the African Union is still scheduled to be officially launched in Durban, South Africa, between 8-10 July. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 13 May 2002)
* Africa. Action against the Media - Kenya: On 8 May, Parliament approved a new Books and Newspapers Act, making it illegal to sell newspapers, magazines or books that have not been submitted to the government for review. Journalists say the purpose is to control the Media during an election year. On 11 May, Human Rights Watch said that President Moi should not sign the bill into effect. Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) and the World Association of Newspapers have also expressed their concern. Zimbabwe: On 12 May, reports from Zimbabwe said the ruling party, Zanu-PF, is suing the main opposition party and media organisations for alleging that its supporters had beheaded a woman in front of her children. A pro-government newspaper the Sunday Mail says Zanu-PF has instructed its lawyers to take legal action against the opposition MDC -- for originating the story. It has also threatened all media outlets not to repeat the story. -- On 14 May, the state-owned daily newspaper The Chronicle called for the government to ban the Daily News. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 May 2002)
* Africa. Human Rights - Equatorial Guinea: On 12 May, it was reported that the authorities have thrown several key opposition figures into jail on charges ranging from "breach of national security", to "insulting the Head of State". Liberia: On 14 May, Human Rights Watch condemned the Liberian government for persecuting human rights defenders. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 15 May 2002)
* Afrique de l'Ouest. La fièvre Lassa - La fièvre Lassa, hautement contagieuse, affecte au moins 300.000 personnes par an en Afrique de l'Ouest, mais risque d'affecter plus de 100 millions de personnes dans la région si elle n'est pas judicieusement contrôlée, a averti Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin). En Sierra Leone, des années de conflit ont créé des conditions propices à sa propagation, a précisé Merlin. Beaucoup de services de santé ont été détruits, ce qui n'a fait qu'augmenter les risques d'une épidémie. Au Liberia voisin, l'insécurité continue et, en particulier dans le comté de Lofa, empêche l'accès aux populations vulnérables, a noté l'ONG. Merlin effectue une étude en Sierra Leone sur les effets de la maladie, en vue d'un éventuel financement d'une approche plus intégrée. La fièvre Lassa, une maladie virale transmise à l'être humain par un contact avec les rats ou avec de l'eau contaminée par eux, est endémique en Afrique de l'Ouest. En l'an 2000, elle a tué cinq conseillers internationaux en Sierra Leone. (IRIN, Abidjan, 8 mai 2002)
* East Africa. Devastating floods - 9 May:Heavy rains caused by unusually high temperatures over the Indian Ocean have killed more than 112 people in east Africa in the last two weeks. Floods and mudslides have forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. This is the rainy season in the region, but meteorological experts say the rains have been much heavier than usual. Rwanda has suffered the heaviest toll, with more than 50 dead in the last 10 days, many of the deaths caused by landslides. "The toll could rise because the rainy season does not stop before mid-June," Benjamin Ndahirwa, a member of Rwanda's National Committee for Disaster Management, said. "At least 1,577 homes have been destroyed and many cattle killed." In Kenya, floods and mudslides have killed 46 people in the two weeks, police have said. In two incidents in central Kenya, 15 people died when mudslides overran their homes as they slept on April 30 and May 4. The spokesman for Kenya's National Disaster Operations Centre, Bonventure Wendo, says some 50,000 people have been displaced in western Kenya. In northeast Kenya, local authorities have also asked up to 50,000 people living near the Tana River to move to higher ground. Several hydro-electric dams have been built along the river and are now overflowing. Further south, in Tanzania, reports say at least nine people died in floods and hundreds of families have been left homeless. Local officials say there has been considerable damage done to buildings and farms. In Uganda, a man and his six children were buried alive in a landslide caused by heavy rains and hundreds of families have had to leave their homes. In Burundi, 147 homes have been destroyed at a centre for displaced people. Paddy fields around the capital's airport lie under a metre of water. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 10 May 2002)
* Afrique de l'Est. Pluies torrentielles - Près de 150 personnes sont mortes et 173.000 ont dû quitter leurs habitations en Afrique de l'Est et à Madagascar en raison de pluies torrentielles qui s'abattent sur ces régions, provoquant glissements de terrain et inondations. Le pays le plus touché est le Kenya avec 68 morts et 150.000 déplacés, selon des bilans officiels établis le 13 mai. (Le Soir, Belgique, 14 mai 2002)
* Afrique centrale. Pauvreté en milieu rural - Décideurs politiques, experts, bailleurs de fonds et représentants de la société civile de la sous-région se sont concertés à Yaoundé (Cameroun) les 14 et 15 mai 2002, dans un séminaire sur l'évaluation de la pauvreté en milieu rural et les options et stratégies visant la réduction du phénomène en Afrique centrale. L'atelier était organisé par le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA), en collaboration avec les ministères camerounais de l'Agriculture et des Forêts et la Commission économique des Nations unies pour l'Afrique (CEA). Les statistiques indiquent qu'aujourd'hui, 1,2 milliard d'êtres humains demeurent enfermés dans le piège de la pauvreté extrême et vivent avec moins de 1$/jour. Sur ce chiffre, 24% se trouvent en Afrique subsaharienne. 150 millions de personnes, dont quelque 120 millions dans les zones rurales, vivent dans le dénuement en Afrique occidentale et centrale. Les pays suivants ont participé aux travaux: Cameroun, Gabon, Guinée équatoriale, Congo-Kinshasa, Congo-Brazzaville et Sao Tomé et Principe. (S. Tetchiada/ANB-BIA, Cameroun, 15 mai 2002)
* United Nations. Special Session on Children - 8 May: UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has accused adults worldwide of failing children, forcing far too many to grow up in poverty or threatened by war. "To the adults in this room, I would say: let us not make children pay for our failures any more,"he told the first UN Special Session on Children in New York. The three-day conference is being attended by 60 world leaders and numerous celebrities, as well as about 250 child delegates. Addressing the children directly in his opening speech, Mr Annan told them they had the right to education, health, a clean environment, and to live without the shadow of war, poverty, abuse or exploitation. "These rights are obvious. Yet we, the grown-ups, have failed you deplorably in upholding many of them. We the grown-ups must reverse this list of failures. And we are pledged to do so," But there are serious divisions at the conference, which aims to produce a final document setting new goals for the international community on issues such as reducing child poverty. 9 May: Today, the speakers concentrate on the negative impact of armed conflict on children. President Jammeh of The Gambia says that as long as wars and violence sparked by hatred and greed continue, one might think that world leaders were the true enemies of children. Zambia's President Mwanawasa says that in light of the tragic events of 11 September, it is clear that tomorrow can be guaranteed for the world's children only if the entire international community comes together to combat emerging threats to peace and personal security. Ali Mohamed Shein, Vice-President of Tanzania, says in order for his country to realize a world fit for children, it has to break the cycle of poverty in which over 50% of households are unable to meet their basic needs. 10 May: Differences over sex education and the plight of Palestinian children are holding up negotiations at the Special Session. The draft General Assembly resolution says children under Israeli occupation "remain deprived of many basic rights". This has angered the Israeli's and the USA. --Children from across Africa have a face-to-face encounter with their leaders, and hold them to account. One child says: "Parliaments are only used as "democratic decorations"". Another, accuses the leaders of embezzling the loans they have been granted. One 12-year old tells Africa's leaders: "When you get the money, you embezzle it, you eat it". The King of Lesotho says it is the first time he has been addressed in such blunt, direct terms. -- The summit eventually approves a new blueprint to improve the world for children in the next 15 years. The agreement comes after contentious negotiations between the United States and other nations on sex education, abortion and the death penalty. More than 180 nations attending the General Assembly special session on children approve the hard-fought agreement just before midnight and adopt the final summit document: "A World Fit For Children", by consensus with a round of applause. Carol Bellamy, executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund, says the final document of the UN's children's summit focuses on four areas: promoting healthy lives, access to and completion of quality education, protection of children against abuse violence and exploitation and fighting HIV and AIDS. (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 11 May 2002) 

Weekly anb0516.txt - #1/8