Archives of Famed African Photographers Recall Ground-breaking Work

NEW YORK (IDN | GIN) – The vast archives of two remarkable photographers from West Africa who passed this year will ensure that authentic images of African life will be their legacy to future generations. The images radically depart from the clichés of colonialism.

Malick Sidibé, whose pictures of Mali’s youth conveyed the high-spirited feeling of a country that has just gained its independence, passed away at 80 years of age. His black-and-white pictures influenced many of his contemporaries in Africa and beyond. Sidibé died of complications of diabetes, according to Associated Press reports.

Mali’s culture minister N’Diaye Ramatoulaye Diallo, expressed the nation’s grief. “It’s a great loss for Mali. He was part of our cultural heritage,” he told The Guardian. “The whole of Mali is in mourning.”

How Lies Were Concocted Before the Iraq War

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – President Barack Obama has observed, “ISIL [Islamic State] is a direct outgrowth of Al Qaeda in Iraq that grew out of our invasion – which is an example of unintended consequences- which is why we should generally aim before we shoot”.

Many of us, looking at the horror of the Iraq war, waged by the U.S. and the UK against the regime of Saddam Hussein when 200,000 civilians died and a total of 800 billion U.S. dollars was spent on the campaign, need little to be persuaded that there was a Machiavellian plot to find an excuse to make war. Yet there are many in the circles of power in Washington who believe the U.S. should shoot on sight and to kill whenever danger is thought to have appeared- in Iraq, Syria, Libya and, before that, in Vietnam.

Search for Quake Survivors in Afro-Ecuadorian Villages

By Lisa Vives

NEW YORK (IDN | GIN) – The death toll in Ecuador’s African coastal communities continues to rise as rescuers dig for survivors of a massive earthquake in the battered villages.

On April 18, reports from the Esmeraldas, called the birthplace of Afro-Hispanic culture, estimated that 350 people died in the massive quake that sent buildings tumbling and roads buckling. Over one million African descendants reside in the area settled in the 1600s by escapees from Spanish slave ships.

Ecuador’s seismological institute reported more than 135 aftershocks following April 16 magnitude-7.8 quake that ravaged the country’s coastline. It was said to be 20 times greater than the quake that hit Japan early April 16. Ecuador could see a greater loss of life and greater damage due to the country’s less stringent construction codes.

Global Citizenship Commission Releases a Ground-Breaking Report

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – A ground-breaking report by a high-level commission, headed by former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has tabled a series of far-reaching proposals for an urgent reform of the United Nations Human Rights architecture.

Composed of some of the world’s notable public leaders and thinkers, the Global Citizenship Commission (GCC) asks the international community to “recognize that asylum seekers have three rights that should not be forgotten: a right to security in transit; a right to a fair and responsible process at borders; and a right to good reason for a refusal to allow entrance or settlement”.

The Commission, established in 2013, also asks the five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council – Britain, France, Canada, Russia and China – to “voluntarily suspend their veto in situations involving mass atrocities”.

Rwandan Government Implements an Ambitious Development Master Plan

By Busani Bafana

KIGALI (IDN | Africa Renewal) – Rwanda’s moniker, “land of a thousand hills,” not only attests to the country’s unique geography but also suggests the trajectory of Kigali through its many crises to become a model sustainable city.

Kigali is one of Africa’s rising cities: it is clean and organised and, thanks to an ambitious national development plan, the city has become an ultramodern metropolis that boasts recognizable social, economic and environmental successes. It is a city under construction, in which new buildings are fast replacing outdated ones. Tarred, dual-carriage roads crisscross Kigali, providing a seamless connection between urban settlements and the fog-covered countryside uplands. The city is now a preferred destination for many organizers of international conferences.

It is easy to understand why Kigali sparkles. Among other impressive environmental measures, city government banned the importation of non-biodegradable plastics and designated a day each month for the residents to clean the city and spruce up the surroundings. It is difficult to find litter on Kigali streets.

Women Police Climb the Ranks Across Africa

A UN Women News Feature

NEW YORK (IDN | UN Women) – At 8 years of age, Sadatu Reeves came across photographs of women police officers in a magazine her father brought home from abroad. The empowered images sparked a deep-seated desire to don her own uniform.

She pursued a university degree in criminal justice, graduating in 2004, just after Liberia’s 1989-2003 Civil War. Her family opposed her idea of becoming a police officer, citing low salaries and public mistrust, bred by the violence and rape carried out by some police during the Civil War.

“Even though the reputation of the police was badly tarnished and its morale was very low, I wanted to be part of the new breed of Liberian National Police Force (LNP) officers to help restore the image and pride of the force,” Officer Reeves explained.

She was 27 when she joined the LNP in 2004. Today, the newly appointed Assistant Police Director for Administration is the only woman director and one of its three top commissioners.

UN Chief Defends Refugees’ Right to Asylum, Urges ‘Greater Solidarity’

By J C Suresh

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – “Refugees have a right to asylum – not bias and barbed wire,” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared at the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group here.

Taking up cudgels on their behalf, Ban emphasized that refugees bring new skills and dynamism into aging workforces, and are “famously devoted” to education and self-reliance. “When managed properly, accepting refugees is a win for everyone,” he said. “Demonizing them is not only morally wrong, it is factually wrong,” he added.

In an impassioned plea to resolve the biggest refugee and displacement crisis of our time, he reiterated a call to leaders across Europe and throughout the world to show greater solidarity as they strive to combat the deeper roots of conflict and continue to work towards securing human rights for all.

Achieving UN Goal of Development Aid Remains an Uphill Task

Analysis by Jaya Ramachandran

PARIS | NEW YORK (IDN) – Revitalizing the global partnership is Goal 17 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – adopted by world leaders in September 2015 at an historic Summit at the UN headquarters in New York.

It urges developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance (ODA) commitments, including the commitment to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of the Gross National Income (GNI) given as ODA to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent to least developed countries.

“ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries,” says one of the Goal 17 targets endorsed by the world leaders.

First Phase of Historic Process to Elect New UN Chief Concludes

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – There was quite some disquiet particularly among a large number of developing countries when Helen Clark, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand and current head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), announced her official candidature on April 4, underlining her conviction that she was “up to the task” of leading the United Nations.

Earlier, on February 29, Antonio Guterres, former UN High Commissioner for Refugees and ex-Prime Minister of Portugal, had announced his official candidature for the post of the UN Chief.

In doing so, the two aspirants had virtually undermined the longstanding claim that Ban’s successor should be from Eastern Europe under a system of traditional geographical rotation. “This system has ensured that the post of the world’s topmost diplomat is not monopolized by the rich and powerful,” a developing country diplomat told IDN.

EU-ACP – A force for South-South & Triangular Cooperation

Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick Gomes*

BRUSSELS (IDN) Development cooperation in the 21st century is compelled to move beyond the simplistic paradigm of transferring funds from the developed North to the developing South.

With the global endorsement of Agenda 2030, including new modes of development finance, the proliferation of actors, and the rise of emerging economies, the traditional “donor – recipient” aid paradigm needs to be buried.

The long-standing and comprehensive North-South approach to development cooperation between the 28-member EU and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, could well have invaluable horizons for innovation and enhanced development effectiveness.

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