Sunday, September 29, 2013

23-29 September 2013

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BURUNDI
EASTERN CONGO
RWANDA

  • ▶ Rwanda. Reconciliation a must | Contrast.es - YouTube

    In Rwanda, people live peacefully. However, is it the same coexisting peacefully than living in peace? Eighteen years after the genocide, Hutu and Tutsi are all part of a country officially and apparently in peace. Reconciliation was the only way to survive and a political priority for the government that arose after the genocide and it is still in power. The justice of the Gacaca, Memory and the press, all pushed on that direction. But at the same time, reconciliation has been imposed. It has been a one-way process that created cracks. The suffering and the wounds of so many atrocities are still present. "The first day we ex-prisoners and survivors sat face to face, we thought that the survivors would revenge. But they were also worried. They thought we had returned to commit another genocide. "

    tags: rwanda reconciliation gacaca video

UGANDA

  • The LGBTIQ and sex worker movements in East Africa | Eldis

    How have the emerging LGBTIQ and sex worker movements in East Africa developed and connected with each other? What lessons can be learnt about inclusive movement building for social justice and human rights? This case study, written especially for the BRIDGE Cutting Edge programme on gender and social movements, describes how these movements are struggling with many issues: identity, marginalisation, denial of citizenship, invisibility, discrimination, human dignity and oppression. Despite the fact that they are dealing with contentious issues within and between movements that can make it difficult to forge common interests, goals and strategies, common ground and alliances have been built.

    tags: uganda east africa Lesbian Gay Bisexual Queer sex workers minorities social movements analysis advocacy

  • Can democracy deliver for Africa? | BBC News 

    Multiparty democracy swept across Africa in the early 1990s, as single-party states and authoritarian leaders bowed to pressure from outside and within. Activists hoped greater political freedoms and strong institutions would lead to more government accountability - and more effective development. But two decades later, is this the reality?

    tags: uganda rwanda africa democracy elections democratisation analysis

     

  • Disabled people in Africa have been marginalised for too long | Africa at LSE

    Disabled people are severely marginalised and among the poorest in developing countries. Having a disability increases the risk of poverty, and being poor also increases the risk of getting a disability. This can come from poor living conditions, lack of access to safe water and preventative health treatments such as immunisations and vaccinations, as well as injury through employment or conflict. In Uganda, various estimates suggest there are between 2.4 and 5m disabled people, most of whom are poor (or live in poor households) and nearly half suffer from a physical disability.

    tags: uganda disability poverty impact study analysis

 

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Saturday, September 28, 2013

16-22 September 2013

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BURUNDI

  • Rwasa n’est pas seul | Iwacu

    S’il y a une « qualité » qu’il faut reconnaître à notre justice, c’est sa capacité à sélectionner les criminels à poursuivre, cette amnésie de certains épisodes et acteurs de nos tragédies. Pourquoi Gatumba et oublier Bugendana, Buta, Teza … Et l’on pourrait même remonter plus loin dans notre triste histoire : 1993, 1988, 1972, 1969 … La liste est loin d’être exhaustive malheureusement.

    tags: Burundi Rwasa history violence transitional justice editorial opinion

  • Le dernier serment de Charles Ndizeye| Iwacu

    Les points obscurs de notre histoire ne s’arrêtent pas aux conflits ethniques entre les Bahutu et les Batutsi. Les Batwa et les Baganwa ont eu aussi leur part. Aujourd’hui, j’aimerais m’arrêter sur un document exceptionnel rédigé par Charles Ndizeye à l’adresse de son père le roi Mwambutsa IV

    tags: burundi history ndizeye politics report

  • Rumonge : les paysannats de Mutambara divisent | Iwacu

    Des habitants de Mutambara qui avaient fui le pays en 1972 réclament les terres de paysannat qu’ils exploitaient depuis longtemps. Leurs occupants soutiennent que c’est l’Etat qui les y a installés, en « détenteurs ». Il en va de même des anciens, qui y furent installés par le même Etat, eux aussi en détenteurs. L’administrateur communal les renvoie à la Commission Nationale des Terres et autres Biens (CNTB) mais le code foncier désigne explicitement une autre commission-la Commission Foncière Nationale – de création récente, pour arbitrer tout litige qui naîtra de l’application de l’article unique du code foncier qui dispose sur les paysannats. Regards perplexes sur une situation complexe !

    tags: burundi land peasantry CNTB 1972 report

EASTERN CONGO
RWANDA

  • Elections are too important for Rwandan government to leave to the whims of voters – By Kris Berwouts | African Arguments

    These elections had very little to do with democratic political competition.  People couldn’t even elect individual candidates. They voted for parties who will appoint the MPs  representing the people. Most critics of the current Rwandan regime consider the results of these elections as hardly relevant because they took place in  an entirely controlled political environment. I don’t agree with that. I think the results are relevant. Of course, the elections will not reveal anything about the power balance between political parties, visions or strategies. But they were not meant to do that.  They might, however, tell us something about the power balance within the RPF. Kagame’s regime has, on several occasions, been under heavy fire in recent years and this has caused a lot of internal tensions.

    tags: rwanda parliamentary elections analysis opinion

UGANDA

  • ADF rebels:  My abduction, camp life and escape | New Vision

    The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels are back in the news. They are said to be conscripting children as  young as five years, according to a video clip the Uganda People's Defence Forces released recently. But way back  on Saturday August 16, 1997, the ADF rebels abducted students of St. John the Evangelist Minor Seminary, Kiburara, Kasese district.   BRIGHT ANTHONY MALERE was one of them. He recounts the harrowing experience and his escape from captivity

    tags: Uganda ADF rebels report

  • Left Behind: The Case for Disability-Inclusive Development | Huffington Post 

    Nepal and many other countries have made important progress toward achieving universal primary education, as part of their commitment to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But because the goals are not grounded in a human rights framework, make no reference to an inclusive and non-discriminatory approach, and have no specific goals or targets for people with disabilities, this group has been left behind as development has moved forward. The problem is not limited to education. Worldwide, people with disabilities are excluded from development activities and deprived of the benefits of development. For example, in northern Uganda, we interviewed numerous women with disabilities but found only one woman with who had benefited from government development projects mandated to support farmers with disabilities and other marginalized groups. Most women with disabilities we interviewed were not even aware that the programs existed.

    tags: uganda development human rights disability analysis advocacy 

  • Bwindi study shows poverty is not major cause of wildlife loss | The Independent 

    The first findings of a project that aims to help low-income communities benefit more from living near Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where conservation priorities can impose limits on their livelihoods has dispelled perceptions that poor people who live closer to the park pose a danger to wildlife conservation efforts.

    tags: uganda bwindi poverty national park wildlife ecology analysis

  • Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders awards 2013 - the winners | Insight on Conflict

    Today we announce the winners of this year’s Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders competition. Out of 244 applications, from 54 countries, an international group of experts have found four of the most exciting and innovative peacebuilding organisations from around the world.

    tags: uganda drc peacebuilding awards insight

  • Le chant joyeux d'une ancienne esclave de l'Armée de résistance du Seigneur | UNHCR

    La voix forte et claire de Monique* s'élève au sein d'une petite chorale animée et composée de jeunes, à l'extérieur d'une église dans la ville reculée de Dungu au cœur de l'Afrique. Elle et ses amis répètent la messe de dimanche en tapant des mains et en dansant. Mais, il y a à peine quatre ans, la jeune fille de 18 ans ne chantait ni ne dansait. Elle pensait qu'elle allait mourir.

    tags: congo uganda LRA sexual violence slavery report

  • Forest Communities Draw a REDD Line | Inter Press Service

    As the ink dries on a 3.6 million dollar agreement between Uganda and the World Bank to support the country’s preparations for REDD, some analysts are pessimistic over the mechanism’s potential. REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation) was formally agreed to at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations in Bali, Indonesia in 2007. REDD is intended to reward the preservation of forests with carbon credits which can be sold to polluting companies in the North wishing to offset their harmful emissions. (REDD+, agreed later, extends the concept beyond forests and plantations to include agriculture.)

    tags: Uganda World Bank Aid Climate Change Environment Green Economy Natural Resources Policy Analysis

  • Ivory beyond the LRA: why a broader focus is needed in studying poaching – By Kristof Titeca | African Arguments

    Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to the LRA’s involvement in ivory trade. This was sparked off by the Enough report ‘Kony’s ivory’ released in June, which described the LRA’s ivory activities in Garamba Park, North-Eastern DRC. The report was followed by a range of articles highlighting how ‘tusks fund terror’; and further elaborated in other reports. All of these highlight how the LRA “gains vital resources through its participation in the illegal ivory trade” – as the Enough report summarized (p.11). Yet, narrowing down the ivory problem in and around Garamba Park to the LRA is problematic for several reasons. Most importantly, in order to effectively address the ivory issue, it is crucial to understand the functioning of the commodity chain in and around Garamba Park. Below I discuss a few basic points about this commodity chain, based on ongoing field research, in order to contextualize the LRA’s engagement in ivory.

    tags: uganda congo LRA poaching ivory analysis

  • Mix of old and new helps cut child deaths in Uganda | UNICEF

    The 2013 Progress Report on Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed shows that major progress has been made in lowering child mortality in all regions of the world and at all levels of national income. Nonetheless, even bigger gains are needed if the world is to meet Millennium Development Goal 4 – reducing under-5 mortality by two thirds by 2015. UNICEF’s Web series on A Promise Renewed focuses on some of the successful and innovative programmes that have helped save the lives of millions of children around the world. A blend of tradition and innovation has helped make a drastic difference in the survival rate of Ugandan children, over the past generation.

    tags: uganda child deaths mortality tradition innovation policy UNICEF report

 

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9-15 September 2013

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BURUNDI
 
EASTERN CONGO

  • DRC Peacebuilding Ignores Local Solutions | Inter Press Service

    Despite existing local expertise and strategies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to build peace-supporting structures at the community level, official debates and media coverage continue to focus predominantly on military interventions. “Local actors work in isolation and their actions are not part of a global peacebuilding process in the DRC. Their recommendations and their work on the ground are not taken into account,” Eric Malolo from Reseau Haki na Amani (RHA), a network of civil society organisations, told IPS.

    tags: congo peacebuilding grassroots analysis policy

  • A Political Solution––Yes, But... | Congo Siasa

    The phrase "political process" has attained holy status in UN parlance––it is sometimes bandied about as a catch-all solution for everything. (An organization I used to work for even had an acronym they often used: SFURPP––Shut the **** Up and Respect the Political Process). But what does it actually mean?

    tags: congo m23 kampala talks analysis

  • The National Consultations: Selling Out? | Congo Siasa

    On Saturday, Joseph Kabila opened the Concertations nationales in Kinshasa with this speech, and the first plenary is supposed to take place today. But the political elite in Kinshasa is deeply divided, with some opposition members boycotting the proceedings. While the concertations were initially intended to foster national unity following the debacle of the 2011 elections, it now appears that they are more about positioning ahead of the upcoming 2016 elections. How so? 

    tags: congo national consultations kabila analysis

RWANDA
 

  • Who will plan Africa's cities | Africa Research Institute

    Africa’s cities are growing – and changing – rapidly. Without appropriate planning, they will become increasingly chaotic, inefficient and unsustainable. In many countries, planning legislation dates back to the colonial era. It is ill-equipped to deal with contemporary urban problems. A shortage of urban planning and management professionals trained to respond to urban complexity with progressive pro-poor approaches exacerbates urban dysfunction.As planning educators seek to train students for employment within the existing system, the urban and rural planning curricula of many planning schools are as outdated as planning legislation. Some African countries have no planning school. The reform and revitalisation of planning education – and legislation – could contribute significantly to sustainable and more equitable urban development in sub-Saharan Africa.

    tags: africa cities Rwanda planning policy urban growth analysis

  • Cabinet adopts EDPRS2 | EDPRS.rw  

    Strategy set to propel Rwanda to middle income economy On 8th May 2013 Cabinet approved the Second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS2). The elaboration process was launched in February 2012 by His Excellency President Paul Kagame. The EDPRS2 was developed through a participatory approach that included wide consultations with the public and various stakeholders. The strategy follows the successful implementation of EDPRS I (2008 – 2012) which registered a unique hat trick of; high growth (8.2%), poverty reduction and reduction in inequality. This resulted in more than one million people being lifted out of poverty and made important strides towards the achievement of the Vision 2020 and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). EDPRS2 targets to transform Rwanda into a middle income economy. This will be achieved through accelerated growth averaging 11.5% from 2013 to 2018 and reduced poverty from 44.9% to 30% over the same period. These targets are set to be achieved through four thematic areas and foundational issues that include: Economic Transformation, Rural Development, Productivity and Youth Employment as well as Accountable Governance. The Strategy will put a strong focus on growing the private sector, increasing exports, urbanization and rural development, increasing agriculture productivity, creating jobs especially for the youth and improving efficiency in service delivery in both public and private sectors.

    tags: rwanda EDPRS development poverty cabinet policy policy document

UGANDA

 

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2-8 September 2013

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BURUNDI 
EASTERN CONGO
RWANDA 

UGANDA

  • Israels uganda plan | Africa is a country

    Last month we blogged about the revelation that a number of African countries (dubbed "third countries") are on the verge of signing an agreement with Israel to absorb African asylum seekers currently in Israel. These asylum seekers were mostly from Sudan and Eritrea and could not be sent there, so Israel was looking for "third countries" to take them. In return, Israel offered the new host countries "benefit packages" that include weapons and other arms. On Thursday, the Israeli paper Haaretz reported that the "third country" is Uganda, and an agreement has been signed. According to Haaretz, Israel refuses to expose the details of that agreement but as far as it knows, the country would fund the flights of "immigrants to Uganda and their absorption there." Haaretz also reported that the Israeli government would also provide deportees with a grant-about $1500.

    tags: Uganda israel asylum seekers opinion analysis

  • Dispatches: Shoot-to-Kill, all Over Again, in Uganda | Human Rights Watch

    Uganda’s police force recently announced that the “Flying Squad,” a new unit tasked to fight violent crime, had instructions to shoot-to-kill robbers. Activists were right to quickly point out that this is a clear violation of presumption of innocence and violates Uganda’s constitution

    tags: uganda human rights police unit analysis advocacy

  • Two Kingdoms of Uganda: Snakes and Ladders in the Scramble for Africa | African Affairs

    tags: Uganda Book Review

 

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