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Saturday, 21 June 2014
Friday, 20 June 2014
Snoozing’ President bans TV station for reporting his ‘nap’
By YEMI DIPEOLU - Fri Jun 20, 3:10 pm0 Comments
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Popular Ugandan TV station NTV has been banned from covering presidential events after showing mages of an apparently asleep Museveni, during a parliamentary hearing.
The government media centre manager Dennis Katungi has insisted that the president was not fast asleep as reported, but had in fact been meditating.
“The president has his habits,” he told AFV. “He meditates and they know it, and they still go out and say he was sleeping.”
The long standing president is no stranger to issuing bans on various media outlets. Last year he shut down two major independent newspapers for ten days after they reported that army generals had been arguing about whether or not Museveni’s son should take his place when the time comes.
On the sleeping incident, government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo accused NTV of “a lack of professionalism” and stated: “We have suspended their coverage of the president as we reconsider our relationship with them.”
President Museveni is himself facing sanctions from the US, as punishment for the government’s anti-gay laws, which they have refused to budge on.
The White House has withdrawn funding for various projects within the country, including planned aviation exercise that was sponsored by the US-military. They have also banned any Ugandans involved in actions against homosexuals from entering the country.
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden wrote: “The Department of State is taking measures to prevent entry into the United States by certain Ugandan officials involved in serious human rights abuses, including against LGBT individuals”
In addition, the nomination of Uganda’s foreign secretary Sam K Kutesa as president of the UN general assembly was denounced by US senator Kirsten Gillibrand. She said that it would be “disturbing to see the foreign minister of a country that passed an unjust, harsh and discriminatory law” in such a post.
The law, which was passed officially passed in February punishes homosexuality with life imprisonmen
Lack of factoring services hinders SME participation in Africa’s value chain - Afreximbank
Cairo, 2014 – Although the volume of factoring business in Africa has risen substantially from $5 billion in 2000 to about $25 billion in 2012, the continent’s volumes remain significantly less than those of other regions of the world, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has told legislators and regulators attending a seminar on factoring.
In a message to the opening of the one-day seminar organised by the Bank in Lagos, Afreximbank President Jean-Louis Ekra said that the continent currently accounted for only 1 per cent of global factoring business and that, until recently, all factoring business in Africa took place in South Africa, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.
Ninety per cent of the African factoring business took place in South Africa, he stated in the message, read on his behalf by Kanayo Awani, Director of the Bank’s Trade Finance and Branches Department.
“The limited access to factoring services is a major obstacle to SMEs participating in Africa’s gradually expanded value chain,” noted the President, saying, however, that the Bank saw “a very bright future for factoring across the continent” and that “indications are that strong and credible factors will soon emerge in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Senegal.”
“The potential for the emergence of factoring also exists in several other countries,” continued Mr. Ekra, who said that because Afreximbank recognised the importance of factoring as a trade finance tool, it was working very hard to offer support to enable businesses to seize the opportunities in the market.
Attended by more than 75 legislators and regulators from across West and Central Africa, the seminar sought to heighten awareness about factoring in Africa and to begin the groundwork toward a facilitative legal and regulatory environment across the continent.
A prime focus of the discussions was the design and introduction of a model 'best practice' factoring law for Africa.
Closing the seminar, Dr. Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Banking, said that the Bank would continue to hold training and awareness creation events in order to foster a facilitative legal and regulatory environment for factoring in Africa.
Presentations on the legal and regulatory aspects of factoring were made by David Tatge of the law firm of Epstein Becker Green of the United States and Erik Timmermans, Secretary General of the International Factors Group. Peter Brinsley of the consulting firm, PointForward, delivered a paper on factoring concepts.
Participants included law makers, central Bankers, heads of national stock exchanges and representatives of factoring companies and law firms from 15 countries in the West and Central Africa sub-region.
Factoring is a trade finance tool under which is a seller assigns his receivables (invoice) on a transaction to a factor who pays him an agreed value. The factor assumes ownership of the receivables and then collects the actual payment for the service/product from the buyer.
The AU-Western Africa Regional IXP and Regional Internet Carrier Workshop of the Internet Exchange System Project, 16-20 June 2014, Abuja, Nigeria
Organised by the Infrastructure and Energy department of the African Union Commission(AUC) in collaboration with the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS), the workshop made its debut with opening statements from Dr Raphael Koffi from ECOWAS and Mr Moses Bayingana from the African Union Commission.
The workshop is a strategic follow up of the support already provided towards the establishment of internet exchange points in AU Member States to aggregate efforts at regional level to realize local exchange of intra-regional internet traffic.
“The Program on Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) has highlighted the importance of establishment of Internet Exchange Points in its priority action plan. Africa is currently paying overseas carriers to exchange “local” (continental) traffic on our behalf. This is a costly and inefficient way of handling inter-country exchange of internet traffic in Africa. The African Internet Exchanges System project has been designed to address this challenge and contribute to the reduction of cost and enhance quality of service of the Internet in Africa,” said Mr. Moses Bayingana in his opening remarks.
“The presence of Regional Internet Exchange Points will be an indicator of the vibrancy of the Internet ecosystem in the region. This is the fact why Member States need to push for the evolvement of national IXPs to grow and become regional internet hubs on the continent. I am confident that the outcomes of this workshop on Regional Internet Exchange Points and Regional Internet Carriers will contribute to addressing the cost of Internet access in the ECOWAS region.” said Dr. Raphael Koffi, Head of Telecommunications, ECOWAS
The workshop is attended by sixty participants representing Ministries of ICT, regulators and the private sector from the ECOWAS Member States of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Thursday, 19 June 2014
23rd Ordinary Summit of the AU Kicks off in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea: Commission Chairperson has arrived for the summit
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea - 19 June 2014: African Union Commission Chairperson H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma arrived in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on Thursday 19 June, ahead of the 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union set for 20-27 June 2014.
Hosted by the President of Equatorial Guinea, H.E. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the Summit is holding under the theme “Agriculture and Food Security”, the main topic for the year 2014.
Dr. Dlamini Zuma is due to address the opening session of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee on Friday 22 June, alongside H.E. Hamadi Meimou, Mauritania's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU.
The AU Commission Chairperson will later on address the opening sessions of both the Executive Council and the Assembly of the Union, on 23 and 26 June respectively.
In keeping with tradition, the newly elected Presidents of Malawi, H.E. Peter Mutharika; H.E. José Mário Vaz of Guinea Bissau and H.E. Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt will be welcomed by the Assembly and will address the opening session on 26 June 2014. Special guests of the summit are UN Secretary General, H.E. Ban Ki-moon and Spain’s Prime Minister, H.E. Mariano Rajoy Brey, along with other invited guests.
Representatives of AU member states,
23rd Ordinary Summit of the AU Kicks off in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea: Commission Chairperson has arrived for the summit
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea - 19 June 2014: African Union Commission Chairperson H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma arrived in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea on Thursday 19 June, ahead of the 23rd Ordinary Session of the African Union set for 20-27 June 2014.
Hosted by the President of Equatorial Guinea, H.E. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the Summit is holding under the theme “Agriculture and Food Security”, the main topic for the year 2014.
Dr. Dlamini Zuma is due to address the opening session of the Permanent Representatives’ Committee on Friday 22 June, alongside H.E. Hamadi Meimou, Mauritania's Ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the AU.
The AU Commission Chairperson will later on address the opening sessions of both the Executive Council and the Assembly of the Union, on 23 and 26 June respectively.
In keeping with tradition, the newly elected Presidents of Malawi, H.E. Peter Mutharika; H.E. José Mário Vaz of Guinea Bissau and H.E. Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt will be welcomed by the Assembly and will address the opening session on 26 June 2014. Special guests of the summit are UN Secretary General, H.E. Ban Ki-moon and Spain’s Prime Minister, H.E. Mariano Rajoy Brey, along with other invited guests.
Representatives of AU member states, AU organs, observers, partners and the media have been arriving in Malabo ahead of heads of delegations and the AU Heads of State and Government.
In line with the theme of the year, a summit side event on African Agribusiness Forum is scheduled for Sunday 22 June. It will build on a series of consultations bringing out critical agribusiness issues aimed at translating political commitments into concrete action, and to accelerate agricultural transformation as an engine for inclusive growth and private sector investment in agriculture.
Meanwhile a pre-summit consultative meeting on the theme “Women at the Center of Africa’s Growth in Agriculture, Food Security and Agribusiness”, which is part of the AUC Chairperson’s initiative to enhance women’s involvement in agriculture and agribusiness, kicked off on Thursday, with over 60 participants representing women networks and organizations from Senegal, Mali, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Kenya, Liberia and Zimbabwe.
AU’s Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Mme Bineta Diop and Mr. Leo Heileman, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Coordinator delivered opening statements at the consultative meeting, which was officially opened by Equatorial Guinea’s Presidential Adviser for Gender Equality in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Gender Equality, Ms. Antonina Miko Mikue. Recommendations of the two-day conference will be submitted to the AU Summit.
JEE/wzmAU organs, observers, partners and the media have been arriving in Malabo ahead of heads of delegations and the AU Heads of State and Government.
In line with the theme of the year, a summit side event on African Agribusiness Forum is scheduled for Sunday 22 June. It will build on a series of consultations bringing out critical agribusiness issues aimed at translating political commitments into concrete action, and to accelerate agricultural transformation as an engine for inclusive growth and private sector investment in agriculture.
Meanwhile a pre-summit consultative meeting on the theme “Women at the Center of Africa’s Growth in Agriculture, Food Security and Agribusiness”, which is part of the AUC Chairperson’s initiative to enhance women’s involvement in agriculture and agribusiness, kicked off on Thursday, with over 60 participants representing women networks and organizations from Senegal, Mali, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Togo, Kenya, Liberia and Zimbabwe.
AU’s Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security, Mme Bineta Diop and Mr. Leo Heileman, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Coordinator delivered opening statements at the consultative meeting, which was officially opened by Equatorial Guinea’s Presidential Adviser for Gender Equality in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Gender Equality, Ms. Antonina Miko Mikue. Recommendations of the two-day conference will be submitted to the AU Summit.
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Tuesday, 17 June 2014
WILPF has been extremely busy at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict hosted by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London this week.
Apart to catching sneaky selfies with Angelina Jolie, WILPF has hosted three side events with a delegation of over 30. One of the volunteers, a law student in the UK, Chiara Cordone has written about her time with the WILPF delegation and the summit.
TUESDAY 10TH OF JUNE
As your average undergraduate student, it will come as a surprise to no one that I do not like early mornings. However I found myself awake and on the train at an ungodly hour (7:00 am) for once without the slightest shred of resentment.
The subject matter of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict is hardly a topic for joy but I fear I cannot keep the glee from my voice when describing my first day there with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
I have a particular interest in international humanitarian law (IHL), and intend to hone my studies to its application in conflict with a gender perspective. The summit could be phrased as a once in a life time experience. It is, it would be even if I were simply attending as a member of the public, but I am lucky enough to be here with WILPF which has made it all the more fascinating. Perhaps this will explain my contentment and even excitement at being up in the early hours.
WILPF Orientation
Listening to their orientation meeting gave me a small glimpse of the colossal work that has been done, in terms of sheer organisational power to get women from all over the world to come as delegates, along with the masses of work being done on the ground.
As I watched in awe, I couldn’t help feeling similarly to when I was a small child and would wish to be a grown up so I could do things like stay up past bed time and watch TV after 9pm. I wished to be done with school and be a member of such organisations like WILPF. I’m hoping this will be the first step.
The most striking thing for me, has been working with a group that is all women. It surprisingly refreshing. Perhaps the highlight of Tuesday was WILPF’s panel discussion on the violence in Syria. I have attended various events through my university about conflicts, where the gendered aspect of the violence is often ignored, or given a cursory mention by usually a male academic.
This is not to say that these people have nothing of value to say, but at the summit and being able to see experts, who are Syrian women, working in Syria (or on Syria in neighbouring Lebanon) is quite something else. Testimony, analysis, and discussion, all done by Syrian women speaking on behalf of themselves was more compelling than anything else I have heard or seen on the subject.
The discussion went deeper than merely the fact of violence, into the way it impacts women who are not direct victims as well, that such pervasive violence has a profound effect upon everyone.
Syrian Panel
The event discussed women’s roles in preventing and ending violence in their own communities, which I had not yet heard commented upon in any formal forum. The work that WILPF and it’s partners have been doing in this area is clearly singular and invaluable.
Another event I attended at the ‘Fringe’ section of the summit was the first part of a mock trial of UN Security Council Resolution1325, tone of the first that established the Women, Peace, and Security agenda.
Aside from the official events, watching WILPF backstage as it we’re has so far been fascinating. Seeing the inner workings of an organisation like WILPF, from how it’s members from all over the world coordinate and relate to each other, the logistics of organising 30 delegates, down to making tuna and mayo wraps with them for lunch, has been eye-opening and enjoyable.
I hope that I can help in at least a small way for the WILPF members during the summit, but one cannot help but feel humbled when watching them work, they truly are an incredible organisation. I return excited to continue working with WILPF at the summit, to learn and see more about a subject that is not only dear to my heart but of immense importance to the global community. And I am still delighted to be getting up so early.
Monday, 16 June 2014
Nobel peace laureates call for swift action to bring home abducted Nigerian girls
(Ottawa—, 2014)—The April 14th abduction of over 270 girls from a secondary school in Chibok in the state of Borno, Nigeria is a chilling reminder that society’s most vulnerable citizens—our children—remain targets of violence.
Tragically, attacks against girls pursuing an education are all too common in many parts of the world. In recent years, the escalation of violence targeting girls—including sex trafficking, attempted assassinations and mass kidnapping—is testimony to the extraordinary efforts being undertaken to deprive girls of an education and our societies future women leaders.
Three weeks have passed since the girls in northeastern Nigeria were abducted and their families are still living in limbo. The misinformation and apparent inaction of the Nigerian government to secure the girls’ return—as evidenced by the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to make a public statement on the situation until this past weekend—exacerbates this tragedy.
Urgent action is needed to bring these girls home. We call upon the government of Nigeria to take full responsibility for locating the missing girls, and the international community to fully support and prioritize these efforts. These girls have rights recognized under international law to live free from fear of violence—including sexual violence—and have full access to education.
We also call upon the government of Nigeria to respect freedom of expression, and the rights of activists and citizens across Nigeria publicly expressing their profound concern over the lack of government action in the case of the missing schoolgirls.
We join our hands in solidarity with our Nigerian sisters and activists who are using every means, including street protests and social media, to spur action nationally and globally so that the girls of Chibok are returned safely to their families.
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate (1976) — Northern Ireland
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Laureate (1980) — Argentina
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate (1984) — South Africa
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Nobel Peace Laureate (1992) — Guatemala
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate (1997) — USA
Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Laureate (2003) — Iran
Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Laureate (2011) — Liberia
Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Laureate (2011) — Yemen
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For more information, please contact:
Rachel Vincent,
Director of Media & Communications
Phone +1 613-569-8400 ext.113
rvincent@nobelwomensinitiative.org
Director of Media & Communications
Phone +1 613-569-8400 ext.113
rvincent@nobelwomensinitiative.org
Zuzia Danielski
Online Media & Outreach Coordinator
Phone +1 613-569-8400 ext. 114
zdanielski@nobelwomensinitiative.org
Online Media & Outreach Coordinator
Phone +1 613-569-8400 ext. 114
zdanielski@nobelwomensinitiative.org
The Nobel Women’s Initiative was established in 2006, and is led by Nobel Peace laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Leymah Gbowee, Tawakkol Karman and Mairead Maguire. The Nobel Women’s Initiative uses the prestige of the Nobel Peace Prize and of courageous women peace laureates to magnify the power and visibility of women working in countries around the world for peace, justice and equality.
(London)—June 13, 2014. Members of The International Campaign to Stop Rape & Gender Violence in Conflict today expressed their disappointment that the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence, hosted by the UK government, ended with few tangible results that will make an immediate impact on the ground.
“Time to act?” asked Leymah Gbowee, Nobel peace laureate and co-chair of The Campaign. “We’ve been acting for decades. What civil society wants is not more talk—we know how bad it is out there—we need governments to put their full weight behind ending sexual violence.”
Gbowee and other Campaigners noted that sexual violence in conflict was discussed at the Summit “in a silo” – instead of being addressed in the larger context of militarism and the low status of women across the globe.
“Sexual violence and rape doesn’t arise solely out of conditions of war; it is directly related to violence that exist in women’s lives during peace time,” said Gbowee. Militarization and the presence of weapons legitimise new levels of brutality and impunity. This violence, unfortunately, continues in post conflict.”
The Campaign brought to the Summit a delegation of 90 people – including experts on sexual violence, survivors of sexual violence and four Nobel peace laureates. The Campaign was frustrated that the government meetings included little or no civil society representation, despite the fact that civil society represents those impacted by sexual violence. Few national governments announced financial or policy commitments as a result of the Summit.
“Survivors and grassroots organizations need more support,” said Jody Williams, Nobel peace laureate and survivor of sexual violence. “In communities across the globe, we are not only picking up the pieces of our own lives but also acting as first-responders in situations of crisis—helping women and communities impacted by sexual violence.”
The Campaign yesterday launched a survivor-activist network comprised of sexual violence survivors from different parts of the world. The Campaign is calling for a greater voice for survivors in all peace processes and negotiations, as well as in policy discussions focused on the prevention of sexual violence, protection of survivors and prosecution of perpetrators of violence.
Moving forward, the Campaign would like women’s full participation in meetings convened by governments to address sexual violence---participation that includes survivors of sexual violence.
“We are watching,” said Campaign member Rada Boric. “Civil society—particularly women’s groups—needs to be an integral part of policy and governments conversations on sexual violence.”
At this week’s Summit, The Campaign also called for three main actions:
1) World leaders to commit to having policies in place by the time of the 2015 UN Security Council High-Level Review of UNSCR 1325 to ensure women’s participation and independent civil society representation in 100% of peace processes and negotiations.
2) World leaders to commit to the sustained resources for the full range of medical, psychosocial, legal and livelihood services for survivors and increase direct funding to local women’s organizations providing survivors with these services.
3) World leaders to commit to the development and enforcement of robust national laws to hold perpetrators accountable for sexual violence, with particular focus on the training law enforcement officials in investigation and support for prosecutors.
Capacity Development Training on European Development Fund (EDF) Rules and Procedures comes to an end
Addis Ababa-16 June 2014- A four day training workshop aimed at building the capacity of pertinent AUC personnel came to an end on Friday 13 June 2014, at the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa. The training workshop sought to build better understanding of the European Development Fund (EDF) rules and improve the utilization of European funded projects.
Opening the four-day training (10-13 June 2014), Professor Khalil Timamy, Head of Environment, Climate Change, Land and Water Management Division, Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, recalled that the Service Contract for the Monitoring for Environment and Security in Africa (MESA) programme aims to provide technical and development assistance to the implementation of the programme across the participating African regions and to the AUC. During the design of the MESA programme, lack of knowledge and understanding of EDF rules and procedures was foreseen to be the main potential risk to affect programme implementation. Professor Timamy then applauded the MESA Programme for conducting the training in all participating African regions where representatives of the regional implementation centres (RICs) and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) participated.
He also expressed AUC’s commitment to execute the MESA Programme in accordance with signed contractual agreements and rules and procedures of the EDF. The training covered the topics: historical background and introduction of EDF rules, and Financial Management and Procurement Procedures, accompanied by practical exercises. 24 trainees from different departments of the AUC who are involved in implementing European Union funded projects participated in the training which is organized by the MESA Programme and Human Dynamics.
The MESA program was proposed through the Ouagadougou Declaration (September 2010) by the African Union Commission, the ACP Secretariat and the African Regional Economic Communities. The aim of the program is to support African decision-makers and planners in designing and implementing national, regional and continental policies and development plans towards sustainable development, thereby advancing the socio-economic progress and well-being of African populations towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The program ensures continuity of past investments on use of Earth Observation data in Africa and to provide an initial contribution to the GMES Africa initiative, which was called upon through the Maputo Declaration (October 2006) and included in the Joint EU-Africa Strategy as of December 2007.
Beneficiary countries of MESA program are 48 ACP countries of five African regions, namely Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS), The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and The Southern African Development Community (SADC). The AUC is the contracting authority for the program which is funded by the European Union through the 10th EDF with a budget of 37 million euros.
African States (ECOWAS), The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and The Southern African Development Community (SADC). The AUC is the contracting authority for the program which is funded by the European Union through the 10th EDF with a budget of 37 million euros.
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