Africa

Photo: Security Council votes to authorize a 4,000-strong regional protection force within the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). UN Photo/Manuel Elias

UN Security Council's South Sudan Resolution Faulted

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) - Two of the five veto wielding members of the Security Council, China and Russia, and two from among the ten non-permanent ones, Egypt and Venezuela, abstained from the resolution renewing on August 12 the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until June 30, 2017, authorizing the expansion of peacekeeping forces and stressing the priority of civilian protection in its mandate.

The Council adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution that also threatened to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan if the government blocks the deployment of a robust force of 4,000 troops.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 14 August 2016

Photo: Liberian women promote messages of peace and non-violence during the 2011 elections in Liberia. UN Photo/Emmanuel Tobey

Africa’s Civil Society Faces Up to Hostile Governments

By Kingsley Ighobor*

NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) - A Liberian women’s peace movement led by 31-year-old Leymah Gbowee did something extraordinary in July 2003 to force Liberian warlords to sign a peace agreement that ended 10 years of a bloody civil war.

After months of fruitless negotiations, hundreds of women, members of Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace, gathered at the venue of the peace talks in Accra, Ghana, and sat at the entrance to the conference hall. They looped their hands and vowed to stop the warlords from leaving the venue until they had reached a peace agreement.

: Africa Renewal; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 August 2016

Photo: Zuma and his fourth wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli during a visit of Iranian city of Isfahan in April 2016. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Mandela’s Political Heirs Get a Beating from Voters

PRETORIA (IDN | GIN) – It was a long night for the African National Congress (ANC) party faithful as a popular revolt in the cities of Tshwane (Pretoria) and Port Elizabeth upended its long-held power base in those two key municipalities.

The ANC was beaten in working-class “black township” areas such as Mamelodi in Tshwane, and Motherwell in Port Elizabeth.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 09 August 2016

Ugandan Police Attack LGBTI Pride Event

KAMPALA (IDN | GIN) – Police are resuming their attacks on Uganda's mostly underground LGBTI community – raiding nightclubs and making arrests.

The renewed police activity comes as gays and rights activists mark the day and month in which a law requiring homosexuals to be jailed for life was overturned.

During the latest crackdown on August 4, police unlawfully raided a pageant in Kampala’s Club Venom to crown Mr/Ms/Mx Uganda Pride, according to a release by a coalition of activist gay rights groups including Human Rights Watch.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 09 August 2016

Africa’s Great Green Wall a New World Wonder in the Making

By Rodrigo Pérez

RIO DE JANEIRO (IDN-INPS) – Beneath the glitz and glamour, the Samba and Rio’s Carnival-like atmosphere, this year’s Olympic Games Opening Ceremony showcased the most impossible sounding dream of all – Africa’s Great Green Wall.

The initiative started a decade ago. Once completed it will be the largest man-made structure on Earth and a new Wonder of the World.

The progress made shows that land restoration efforts on a mass scale are both possible and offer hope. Senegal has already planted 12 million trees, Ethiopia has restored 15 million hectares of degraded land and Nigeria has created 20,000 jobs in rural areas.

: Rodrigo Pérez; THE WORLD; Africa; 06 August 2016

Britain's Exit from EU Threatens African Economies

Analysis by Amelia Tan

NEW YORK (IDN | Africa Renewal) - By 6:30 a.m. on June 24, less than 12 hours after a successful referendum on Brexit (Britain’s exit from the European Union), South Africa’s currency, the rand, took the first blow. It plunged by almost 8% from R14.33 to R15.45 against the U.S. dollar, its steepest single-day decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Brexit sent shock waves through the global markets, including those in Africa.

Investors in African markets panicked because many economies (such as Angola, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia) were already reeling from low commodity prices exacerbated by a sluggish global demand. In these countries, Brexit added salt to the wounds of injured economies.

: Africa Renewal; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 August 2016

Photo: Scenes from UNMISS Tomping POC Site, Juba. Credit: UN Photo/Isaac Billy.

UN in Desperate Need of Contributions to Peacebuilding Fund

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is concerned about the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) facing "a desperate funding shortfall" and has asked Governments to help achieve a funding target of $300 million at its pledging conference in September.

The Fund was established in 2005 through resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council to stand alongside the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) and Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and "support activities, actions, programmes and organizations that seek to build a lasting peace in countries emerging from conflict".

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 04 August 2016

Photo: The power of Tomorrow's Peacebuilders: Willie Kerenga - Peace Direct

NEWSBRIEF: Kazakhstan Ready as Mediator in Africa

NEW YORK (IDN) - "Kazakhstan always stands ready to build peace in Africa as a steady and trusted mediator and partner", the country's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Barlybay Sadykov told the Security Council during an open debate on 'Peacebuilding in Africa'.

Kazakhstan was elected on June 28 as non-permanent member of the Security Council for 2017 and 2018.

In a statement on July 28, Sadykov urged the international community to develop and implement a coherent assistance strategy to rebuild Africa and declared that as a Member-Observer of the African Union and strong supporter of Africa's revival, "Kazakhstan fully supports the vision of Africa 2063 to make the region conflict-free".

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 04 August 2016

Photo: Mandela Washington Fellow Chipo Chikomo visits the Iowa City Famers' Market. Photo courtesy of Helaina Thompson.

Young African Leaders Trained at State Department Programme

WASHINGTON (IDN | GIN) – With media attention glued to the salacious details of the U.S. election, a signature program of President Obama is flying under the radar, preparing young African leaders with advanced leadership skills to bring home to their countries.

Participants in the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders are enrolled in an intensive, six-week program on academic excellence and leadership focused on business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, public management, and renewable energy at U.S. colleges and universities.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 02 August 2016

Photo: Congolese musician Koffi Olomide (centre) with his handlers in Nairobi moments after the incident at JKIA. Credit: Nairobi News Correspondent

NEWSBRIEF: Uproar Over Star's Attack on a Dancer in Kenya

NAIROBI (IDN | GIN) – A well-known soukous star from the Congo got a quick lesson in the evolving status of Kenyan women when he was detained and summarily deported, his performance scuttled, after he was caught striking a woman with his foot on a bystander’s cell phone camera.

In the grainy video image posted online, Koffi Olomide, age 60, his musicians and dancers are seen arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Without warning, he pivots to one of his dancers and aims a vicious kick at her midsection.

Band members said he overreacted after being informed that the unidentified dancer had slapped his purported girlfriend.