Latest News
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Fate of Africa’s youngest state lies with U.S. and its allies
Barthelemy Bazemo The memories of the two-decade long civil war leading to the independence of South Sudan in July 2011 are still vivid and fresh in the minds of most South Sudanese and people in the Horn of Africa. At the critical moment in the peace process between the North’s Bashir and the South’s John…
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Remembering Fr. Gerard G. Furlan, sx, Misionary to Sierra Leone West Africa (1980 – 2000)
“Come good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Mt 25:21). On December 11th, 2013 in the early hours of the morning, Fr. Gerard G. Furlan, a member of the Xaverian Missionaries, passed away. The previous day, while walking on the grounds of Fatima Shrine, Holliston MA, he fell backwards and hit…
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Young Africa Leadership Initiative: A call for Application
Africa is endowed with abundant natural and human resources and yet it is the poorest continent on the planet. Various factors may account for this state of affairs but the analysis of most experts on Africa seem to point to one major common denominator: the lack of conscientious and visionary leadership. Since the early days…
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Madiba Nelson Mandela: Africa’s Most Distinguished Elder Statesman
Africa’s greatest political icon, former South African President Madiba Nelson Mandela has joined the ranks of Africa’s ancestors. Madiba Mandela was by all accounts one who believed in the goodness of people and had a strong faith in the goodness of human nature. He preached and practiced forgiveness. He was keenly aware of the role…
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President Nelson Mandela’s Legacy a message to African Heads of State
Posted on December 6, 2013 As the world mourns and readies for the funeral of Nelson Mandela, the greatest tribute you can pay the former South African President would be to respect the presidential term you were originally elected to serve under the constitution of the country you are still leading. This message is particularly…
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Welcoming a New Wave of Diplomacy in Democratic Republic of the Congo
On November 21, the Great Lakes Forum held a briefing at John Hopkins University in Washington DC featuring US Special Envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes Region and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Senator Russ Feingold. Two Congolese asked Senator Feingold for a meeting with the Congolese diaspora to discuss policy going forward. Knowing…
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A l’Est de la RD Congo, la terreur fait place aux jubilations; témoignage de viols et pillage par les forces gouvernementales
Read it in English Dans l’Est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), les habitants de plusieurs villages qui étaient en liesse au début du mois de Novembre pour célébrer la victoire des troupes gouvernementales sur les milices du M23 sont en train de vivre maintenant un cauchemar; et pour cause, ces mêmes libérateurs se…
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Terror replaces jubilation in Eastern DRC; Witnesses Report widespread looting and rapes by Government Forces
Residents of several isolated rural villages in the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo who celebrated earlier this month when government troops expelled members of M23 rebel militia from the area, now say some government soldiers are terrorizing them with a campaign of rape and looting. According to accounts collected this week…
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Intensifier les efforts diplomatiques après la défaite du M23 en RDC
Read in English Les rebelles du M23 ont finalement jeté l’éponge par l’annonce de leur défaite le 6 Novembre 2013. Tout compte fait, une nouvelle ère s’ouvre pour les populations de l’Est de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC). Le Réseau Foi et Justice (Africa Faith and Justice Network) basé au Etats-Unis, fondamentalement attaché aux…
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Redouble diplomatic and advocacy efforts after the defeat of M23 rebels in DRC
Read it in French The M23 rebellion has acknowledged total defeat by surrendering on November 6, 2013. Thus, a new era has dawned for the suffering populations of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN), committed to peace and justice, salutes the end of hostilities and shares the…
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In Solidarity with the People Affected by Land Grabs in Cameroon
By Jacques Bahati On July 18, 2013 I arrived in Mundemba, a village in Southwest Cameroon, with a team from Joining Hands (a project of the Presbyterian Church USA) and a team from the Yaoundé-based Cameroonian organization, Network to Fight Against Hunger (RELUFA). We were on a facts-finding mission on land grabbing by the US-based…
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La fin de la rebellion du M23 : efforts tous azimuts de plaidoyer et diplomatie.
L’anéantissement du groupe rebelle du M23, n’aurait pas été possible sans les modifications de la politique étrangère opérées par les gouvernements de certains pays qui jadis avaient ignoré les guerres d’agression du Rwanda et de l’Ouganda contre la RDC. Le plus ardent vœu de tous est que le président Barack Obama et le secrétaire d’Etat…
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The Demise of the M23 Rebellion; Advocacy and Diplomacy in Focus
By Jacques Bahati The surrender of the rebel group in eastern DRC, M23, would not have been possible without the foreign diplomacy changes made by governments which have previously turned a blind eye to Rwanda and Uganda’s proxy wars in and against DRC. Hopefully President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry will continue…
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A l’Est de la RD Congo, la terreur fait place aux jubilations; témoignage de viols et pillage par les forces gouvernementales
Read it in English Dans l’Est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), les habitants de plusieurs villages qui étaient en liesse au début du mois de Novembre pour célébrer la victoire des troupes gouvernementales sur les milices du M23 sont en train de vivre maintenant un cauchemar; et pour cause, ces mêmes libérateurs se…
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Blessing of AFJN Office – Feast of All Souls 2013
Blessed be God, who has guided us in our ministry of justice for our African sisters and brothers. From the beginning of Creation, we see God at work, fashioning, decorating, and bringing order into a chaotic universe. The Creator God commands us to continue fashioning a better world in love and justice.Our Lord Jesus often…
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AFJN Celebrates with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
Under the leadership of Congresswoman Karen Bass, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s (CBCF) Africa Braintrust held its annual conference on Friday 21, 2013 in Washington DC. This year’s conference focused on the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s Speech, “I have a dream”, and 50 years of the Africa Union. The CBCF brought to Washington…
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Fifty nine civil society groups urge the EU to pass sweeping conflict mineral law
On September 16, 59 civil society organizations from across the globe, among them Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN), published a position paper urging the European Union (EU) to pass a more sweeping conflict mineral law. This push for regulatory mechanisms to break the links between natural resources and armed groups led to the passage…
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African Bishops Urge the Church to Engage in the Transformation of Society
By AFJN Executive Director Aniedi Okure, OP, On February 16, 2013 the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) issued a pastoral letter titled “Governance, Common Good, and Democratic Transitions in Africa” calling on the Church to be fully involved in an “in-depth transformation of our society.” The letter builds on Benedict…
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African Bishops Urge the Church to Engage in the Transformation of Society
By AFJN Executive Director Aniedi Okure, OP On February 16, 2013 the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) issued a pastoral letter titled “Governance, Common Good, and Democratic Transitions in Africa” calling on the Church to be fully involved in an “in-depth transformation of our society.” The letter builds on Benedict…
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AFJN mentioned in Global Witness press release on NGO coalition calling for legislation from EU.
On September 16th, 2016, the Global Witness published a press release titled “Una nueva ley de la UE podría detener el recrudecimiento de los conflictos por el comercio de recursos naturales”.
