Latest News
-
AFJN Mentioned as a Signer of Letter to Obama in The Guardian on Failed Rwandan Foreign Policy
Eighteen years ago, President Bill Clinton watched passively as the Hutu extremist regime in Rwanda oversaw the murder of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis.
-
NGOs letter to President Obama: U.S. quiet diplomacy to address Rwandan involvement in eastern D. R. Congo failed
AFJN is one of the signatories of this letter December 10, 2012 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President: As the situation once again dramatically deteriorates in eastern Congo, the U.S. response to the crisis has patently failed and is out of step with other Western…
-
Don’t Let Congress Cut Funding for the Global Fund Initiative
There is good news out of Washington: even with its low approval rating, Congress has been supporting bi-partisan funding to fund the Global Fund Initiative since 2002. With your tax dollars the Initiative has been leading the way in efforts to treat, prevent or cure malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV-AIDS. The number of children dying…
-
Congress Hearing on Rwanda’s devastating destabilization of the D.R.Congo
In his testimony, Mr. Steve Hege, Former Coordinator of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) told Congress that: “We found that since the very outset of the M23 rebellion, the Government of Rwanda has provided direct military support to M23, facilitated recruitment, encouraged desertions from the Congolese army, and delivered arms, ammunition, intelligence and political advice to the rebels.”
-
AFJN’s Work in Africa Mentioned in Periodista Digital
Plantearse la cuestión de la incidencia política de mujeres cristianas conlleva superar un doble condicionamiento.
-
Senate votes to sanction those helping M23 in Eastern Congo
Press Release Source: www.coons.senate.gov Amendment imposing an asset freeze and visa ban on those supporting the M23 added to Defense Authorization bill (Read the full text here) WASHINGTON – The United States Senate unanimously passed an amendment Thursday night imposing sanctions on those providing financial, material, or technological support to the M23 rebel group in the Democratic…
-
SECAM to set up Faith, Culture and Development Agenda
AFJN’s Executive Director, Aniedi Okure, OP was one of the presenters at this conference of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) which took place from November 20-24, 2012 Press Release Friday, November 23, 2012 The establishment of an Organ on Faith, Culture and Development has been adopted at a Workshop in…
-
Bishop Presidents of National Caritas in Africa Call for respect of the territorial integrity of the DR Congo
Posted on Novmber 22, 2012 “In communion with the Bishops of the Congo who have frequently taken position on this situation, we launch a pressing appeal to the UN, the AU, the EU, the DRC Government and the governments of the other countries involved in some way in this war as well as to multinational…
-
UN Report on Rwanda’s Support of M23 Released Two Days After Goma Fell
The following is an excerpt from the report’s executive summary: “The Government of Rwanda continues to violate the arms embargo by providing direct military support to the M23 rebels, facilitating recruitment, encouraging and facilitating desertions from the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and providing arms, ammunition, intelligence and political advice. The…
-
UN Security Council adopts a resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of ‘M23’
“The Security Council this evening demanded the immediate withdrawal of the armed group known as the 23 March Movement (M23) from the major eastern Congolese city of Goma and the cessation of any further advances, calling for a clarification of reports of external support provided to the group and stating its readiness to act on…
-
AFJN at SECAM Meeting in Dar-Es-Salaam
By Aniedi Okure, OP, Executive Director This article was first published in our Oct-Dec 2012 “Around Africa” newsletter On November 21, 2012 AFJN, had an opportune to make a presentation on Catholic Social Teaching and Empowerment of Local Communities for Good Governance to about seventy church leaders and consultants gathered in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania from November 20-25,…
-
D.R. Congo: Women’s Advocate Dr. Mukege Narrowly Escapes Assassination
A news reports from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, confirms the assassination attempt on Dr. Denis Mukwege, a world-renown surgeon known for his remarkable dedication to caring for victims of rape at Panzi Hospital in South Kivu. Four gunmen entered the residence of Dr. Mukwege on…
-
Help Prevent the US from Being a Safe Haven for War Criminals
The United States government is seeking help from the general public and specifically from the African diaspora in an effort to ensure human rights violators and war criminals do not find a safe haven here. If you have information about any foreign government official, military, police, or members of an armed group that you believe…
-
Massive, irresponsible lease of African farm land threatens Africa
Since 2008, foreign investors, some of whom are private banks and pension funds, have acquired farm land in Africa resulting in the displacement and loss of livelihood of many families. Africans cannot financially afford to entrust their food security to foreign large-scale commercial agriculture multinationals.
-
Religious Freedom: Reflections on Nigeria
By Aniedi Okure, Executive Director This article was first published in our July-September Newsletter. On September 12, 2012 Aniedi Okure made a presentation at International Religious Freedom Conference: An Imperative for Peace and the Common Good. The following is a summary of the conversation. The bombing of numerous churches and killings of Christians in Nigeria…
-
Sudanese church leaders’ statement following the agreements between Sudan and South Sudan
The old Sudan was a family which has found itself divided. The family assets must be shared in an equitable way, so that neither side finds itself badly disadvantaged. This is the spirit which should guide negotiations about oil and borders. We welcome the agreement to allow the oil to flow once more, to the…
-
The attitude of the bullies [the West] must be challenged
On October 4, 2012, in a speech to parliament, Rwandan President Paul Kagame made clear his position on D.R.Congo-Rwanda crisis. Though the occasion was the launch of 2012-2013 as the Judicial year, he spent much of the time explaining how he will not accept to be bullied by the West which uses foreign aid to just do…
-
The Activities of International Criminal Tribunals in Africa: Lessons Learned
Some people argue that the importance of the ICC is to build lasting peace and democracy through accountability and to pass a legacy of holding those who commit atrocious crimes responsible to the next generations. Others argue that if the ICC had been there, it would have been impossible to end Apartheid in South Africa….
-
One Man’s Pirate is Another Man’s Coastguard: Piracy and Toxic Dumping
by Bahati Jacques While there has been an international coalition against Somali pirates, nothing has been done to stop the industrialized world from dumping toxic waste in the water off the coast of Somalia. Along with industrial overfishing, toxic dumping on the shores of Somalia is a major and important part of the piracy story…
-
Examining the Role of Rwanda in the DRC Insurgency: It’s Not the Only Problem
On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights of the US House of Representatives held a hearing on the ongoing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The distinguished panel elaborated on the Rwanda’s role in the crisis, but almost nothing was said about weak leadership in…
