Weekly anb08221.txt #5

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WEEKLY NEWS ISSUE of: 22-08-2002      PART #1/5

* Africa. AMECEA General Assembly  -  The main theme of the 14th Plenary 
Assembly of the Association of member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern 
Africa (AMECEA) held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 14-27 July 2002, was 
"Deeper Evangelization in the New Millennium". The choice of the theme was 
motivated by the pastoral call of Pope John Paul II to the universal Church 
in his Apostolic Letter, "At the Beginning of the Third Millennium", in 
which he invites all the local Churches to renew their pastoral programs 
and to adapt them to the circumstances of each community. This invitation 
came also at the time in which AMECEA is celebrating its 40th year of 
existence. In their final message, delegates emphasised the need for active 
and full participation of the Lay Faithful in evangelisation and 
development. They called for a peaceful settlement in Sudan and Somalia. 
They also called upon all Christians to fully recognise that working for 
and witnessing to justice is constitutive to what it means to be a true 
follower of Christ.   (AMECEA, 26 July 2002)

* Africa. Earth summit urged to focus on Africa  -  18 August: The World 
Bank says the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which opens in 
Johannesburg next weekend, should give special focus to food production in 
famine-blighted sub-Saharan Africa. "Present trends show the world as a 
whole having comfortable food supplies, but with a continued problem in 
sub-Saharan Africa. More focused efforts are required to expand food 
production in the lowest income countries, with a particular focus on 
sub-Saharan Africa," the World Bank said in its summit agenda: 
"Johannesburg and Beyond: an Agenda for Action". An acute food crisis, 
deepened by the region's HIV/Aids crisis, is on the doorstep of the 
inter-governmental forum. Severe food shortages are expected to peak in 
September and October. The UN's World Food Programme estimates that 14m 
people are threatened with starvation in the region as a result of a 
drought and poor economic management. Almost half of the hungry are in 
Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform 
programme and economic collapse have deepened the food crisis. James 
Morris, the WFP's executive director, said the humanitarian crisis in 
Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho was the most 
severe anywhere in the world. The high prevalence of HIV/Aids in the region 
has weakened rural communities' ability to survive drought conditions and 
farm their land. "The combination of widespread hunger, chronic poverty and 
HIV/Aids pandemic is devastating and may soon lead to catastrophe. This is 
WFP's largest emergency operation," he said. In its agenda, the World Bank 
hopes to focus delegates' minds on the lack of food security in the states 
surrounding the host country, South Africa. In spite of development 
projects --funded by multilateral organisations such as the World Bank and 
the International Monetary Fund -- development indicators in southern 
Africa have slipped over the past 10 years.   (Financial Times, UK, 18 
August 2002)

* Africa. Vatican and Muslim Leaders unite against racism  -  Muslim and 
Vatican representatives have jointly rejected racism and called for the 
building of a world of justice and peace. Their joint statement was 
published by the Vatican Press Office, as the result of a meeting of the 
Catholic Liaison Committee, held in Markfield, England, last month on 
"Religion and Racism: Towards a Culture of Dialogue." The objective of the 
committee, created in May 1998, is to promote dialogue between Christians 
and Muslims. It comprises representatives of the Pontifical Council for 
Interreligious Dialogue and the Al-Azhar Permanent Committee for Dialogue 
with Monotheist Religions. Cairo's millennium-old Al-Azhar University is 
the most prestigious research and study centre of the Muslim world. On this 
occasion, the Muslim delegation was headed by professor Kamel Al-Sharif, 
secretary-general of the International Islamic Council for Da'wah and 
Relief. Following the debates, the Catholic and Muslim leaders agreed on a 
number of conclusions, which they expressed in a five-point statement. "We 
affirm that our religions both teach that Almighty God has created all 
people equal in dignity and, therefore, we reject every form of racism," 
the statement begins. In the second point, the leaders condemn "the racist 
practices that exist today in many societies, and we accept our 
responsibility to endeavour to eliminate misconceptions and prejudices that 
in turn generate racial discrimination." In the third place, the Catholic 
and Muslim representatives "call upon individuals, educational and social 
institutions, and the media to join this effort against racism." In the 
fourth place, the leaders consider "that adherence to religious values and 
engaging in dialogue to achieve mutual understanding and mutual respect are 
conducive to a world of justice and peace." Lastly, the leaders commit 
themselves "to continue to promote a culture of dialogue and to work 
together in order to introduce this culture of dialogue into our respective 
communities and, more specifically, in educational and cultural 
programs."   (Zenit, Italy, 20 August 2002)

* Afrique. Commerce de diamants  -  L'Union européenne a adopté une 
proposition de règlement destiné à mettre en oeuvre le système de 
certification universelle des diamants bruts décidé par les pays 
participant au processus de Kimberley, indique un communiqué officiel 
publié le 20 août à Bruxelles. Le processus dit de Kimberley vise à mettre 
fin au trafic illicite des diamants qui alimente les guerres en Afrique. En 
vertu du règlement adopté par l'UE, le commerce de diamants bruts ne sera 
autorisé qu'entre pays participant au processus de Kimberley avec 
certification du pays d'origine du diamant brut. Le règlement précise que 
les diamants doivent être "logés dans des conteneurs inviolables et 
convenablement scellés" par les autorités compétentes du pays d'origine, le 
certificat "attaché de manière inséparable" au conteneur. Le non-respect de 
ce règlement entraînera la confiscation immédiate des diamants et leur 
renvoi dans le pays d'origine. La date de son entrée en vigueur sera 
décidée lors de la conférence ministérielle du processus de Kimberley prévu 
le 5 novembre.   (PANA, Sénégal, 20 août 2002)

* Africa. Four sets of peace negotiations  -  Four sets of peace 
negotiations are going on or about to start in Africa, raising cautious 
hopes that there could be breakthroughs in some of the continent's longest 
and most intractable conflicts. Talks are going on in Machakos, Kenya, 
aiming to end Sudan's civil war, modern Africa's longest. Negotiations in 
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, are trying to resolve Burundi's civil strife. 
There also have been positive signs for the Congo RDC conflict at the 
negotiating table. And next month, factional leaders in Somalia will talk 
to, instead of shoot at, their rivals. "We seem to be in the midst of one 
of the ebbs of conflicts and one of the flows of peacemaking," said John 
Prendergast, director of the Africa program at the International Crisis 
Group, a research organization based in Brussels.   (Int. Herald Tribune, 
USA, 21 August 2002)

* Afrique australe. Crise alimentaire  -  Le 19 août, la directrice de 
l'Unicef a accusé la communauté internationale de ne rien faire face à la 
famine qui menace l'Afrique australe, et réclamé le déblocage de 30 
millions de dollars d'aide d'urgence pour les femmes et les enfants. "Sans 
aide de la communauté internationale, la situation va devenir ingérable", a 
déploré Carol Bellamy, en visite au Malawi. Ce pays s'est déclaré en 
février en état de catastrophe, la pénurie alimentaire menaçant de plonger 
dans la famine près de 3 millions de personnes. Dans six pays (Zimbabwe, 
Zambie, Malawi, Lesotho, Swaziland et Mozambique) plus de 12 millions de 
personnes sont menacées par la famine à cause de la sécheresse, des 
inondations, de la destruction des réserves alimentaires, d'une mauvaise 
gestion gouvernementale et de l'instabilité économique. ONG et agences 
internationales ne cessent de tirer la sonnette d'alarme depuis quelques 
mois, sans guère de résultats.   (AP, 19 août 2002)

* Algérie. Nouveau massacre  -  16 août. 26 personnes, dont des femmes et 
des enfants dont le nombre exact n'a pas été précisé, ont été assassinées 
par un groupe armé islamiste dans la nuit du 15 au 16 août à Harchoune, 
dans la région de Chlef, à 200 km d'Alger, a-t-on appris de source 
sécuritaire. Les assaillants ont attaqué et égorgé trois familles dans le 
hameau isolé de Bokâat Lâakakcha. C'est le plus important attentat perpétré 
par des islamistes armés depuis le 5 juillet dernier, lorsqu'une bombe 
avait explosé à Larbâa, à 20 km d'Alger, faisant 38 morts. Les deux 
dernières semaines, les forces de sécurité avaient procédé à des opérations 
antiterroristes, faisant 70 morts dans les rangs des islamistes armés. -- 
21 août. Une centaine d'islamistes armés sont encerclés par les forces de 
sécurité depuis le début de la semaine en Kabylie. L'armée a détruit 
plusieurs casemates contenant des armes, des munitions et des denrées 
alimentaires. Selon les journaux, ces hommes sont du "Groupe salafiste pour 
la prédication et le combat" d'Hassan Hattab.   (ANB-BIA, de sources 
diverses, 22 août 2002)

* Angola. Refugee returns decrease  -  14 August: Spontaneous returns of 
Angolan refugees from Congo RDC had slowed down, amid reports of the lack 
of food, schools and medical facilities in Angola, UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Kris Janowski said in a statement. "In 
August, only 660 returns have been recorded so far, with numbers falling 
last week. Between February and July, an average of 1,500 returns were 
recorded per month. Angolan refugees living in settlements in Congo RDC 
told the UNHCR they preferred to wait for the UNHCR-sponsored repatriation 
next year, rather than rush back to Angola now. They said refugees who had 
already gone back claimed that famine and the lack of schools and medical 
facilities in the return zones in Angola made reintegration extremely 
difficult." Since February 2002 a total of 9,500 refugees had been recorded 
as having spontaneously returned to Angola from Congo RDC. However, there 
was also an unknown number of refugees who had left for Angola without 
reporting their departure to the UNHCR.   (IRIN, Kenya, 14 August 2001)

* Angola. Security Council approves UN mission  -  A decision by the UN 
Security Council to establish a UN Mission in Angola is expected to bolster 
humanitarian efforts in the country. With just a fraction of the funds 
needed to assist close to 3 million people in need, aid agencies have moved 
rapidly to expand emergency operations to cover the critical needs of the 
most vulnerable populations, following the 4 April ceasefire. By April only 
13 percent of the US $233 million requested in the 2002 Consolidated 
Inter-Agency Appeal had been received, increasing to about 34 percent by 
July said the UN. The UN Security Council on 15 August approved the 
establishment of the United Nations Mission in Angola (UNMA), a follow-on 
to the United Nations Office in Angola (UNOA) for a period of six months 
until 15 February 2003. One of its key tasks will be to chair the Joint 
Commission charged with implementing the November 1994 Lusaka peace 
agreement between the government and UNITA.   (ANB-BIA, Brussels, 16 August 
2001)

* Botswana. AIDS pandemic stunts southern African growth  -  On 19 August, 
the Central Bank of Botswana said the HIV/Aids pandemic ravaging the 
southern African country could halve its economic growth rate over the next 
15 years if left untreated. Forecasts predict the disease may shave as much 
as 3 percentage points off growth. The economic impact of HIV/Aids on 
southern Africa is expected to be high on the agenda of the United Nations' 
World Summit on Sustainable Development, starting in Johannesburg this 
weekend. Rising infection rates have emerged as one of the main obstacles 
to development across the region and are blamed for worsening the effects 
of food shortages affecting 14m people. "GDP growth [in Botswana] is 
projected to fall from around 5.5 per cent a year without the pandemic to 
between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent a year with Aids," said an International 
Monetary Fund report on the disease's effect on the country's 
mining-dependent economy. Independent research by the Gaborone-based 
Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis predicts a fall of 1-2 
percentage points in growth each year. Estimates of the economic impact of 
the disease on the region vary. South Africa believes its 25 per cent 
infection rate among the economically active population will only cut 
growth by 0.4 per cent a year over the next 15 years. The government is 
confident the economy can maintain growth rates above 3 per cent. South 
Africa believes the economic effects of the disease can be limited without 
providing anti-retroviral drugs -- which prolong the lives of sufferers -- 
through the public health system. But rising costs surrounding HIV/Aids 
persuaded large South African companies such as Anglo American and De Beers 
earlier this month to make the drugs available to employees. Botswana is 
already feeling a drag on its performance. Diamond production has helped it 
become one of Africa's fastest-growing countries over the past 10 years but 
the growth rate is tumbling. The central bank expects growth to fall from 
9.2 per cent last year to nearer 5 per cent this year as a result of flat 
diamond production, the effects of HIV/Aids and the political crisis in 
neighbouring Zimbabwe. Botswana's population of 1.7m has the highest 
HIV/Aids infection rate in the world. An estimated 38 per cent of those 
between the ages of 14 and 49 years are HIV positive, according to ministry 
of health figures. Local doctors say the infection rate is still 
growing,with tuberculosis infections tripling over the past decade and now 
accounting for 30 per cent of Aids-related deaths.   (Financial Times, UK, 
20 August 2002)

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