Latest News
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UN Mapping Report: 34 Congolese Organizations call for an independent and credible Special Court
Driven by the publication of the UN Mapping Report of October 2010, Congolese, international officials and civil society representatives met in Goma from April 6-8th, 2011 “on the establishment of a specialized mixed court for the prosecution of the most serious International crimes committed on Congolese soil since 1990”. Such a mixed court (composed of both Congolese…
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California State on its way to enforce federal regulations on conflict minerals from DRC
On Tuesday April 12th, California Senate’s Governmental Organization Committee furthered the bill SB 861 which aims to enhance the State of California’s compliance with section 1502 on conflict minerals of U.S federal law, N0 111-203 also known as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and the Consumer Protection Act signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 21, 2010. However, this…
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American and European NGOs call for high level diplomatic appointments in Africa’s Great Lakes Region
Humanitarian and advocacy groups in the US and Europe are pressing their respective governments to appoint special envoys to Africa’s Great Lakes region. On the US side, this appointment is long overdue. The necessity for a special envoy was recognized by US lawmakers when they passed the “Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy…
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Global Day Against Military Spending
Africa Advocates can get behind this event, come and show your support! From their website: “We are organizing a Global Day of Action on Military Spending on April 12, 2011to coincide with the release of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) new annual figures on world military expenditures. On this day, people on all continents will…
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AFJN Policy Analyst Jacques Bahati quoted in The Final Call on Justice for Victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Final Call published an article by Saeed Shabaz titled “Advocates: Six million Congolese war victims deserve justice”.
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AFJN Signs on to Letter Urging Commodity Speculation Regulation
AFJN has signed on to a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which urges the Commission to implement the financial reforms (Dodd-Frank Act) passed last year in terms of firmer regulations on commodities speculation. Commodities speculation (specifically, buying food or fuel en masse with the intent to sell as prices increase) has been massively…
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California Says NO to Conflict Minerals
California State Senator Ellen Corbett has introduced SB 861, a bill that (if passed) would prohibit the state of California from contracting with companies who do not follow the federal rules of transparency that prohibit the trading of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). AFJN sent this letter of supportto Senator Corbett, and…
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Beyond the International Criminal Court conviction of D. R Congo war lord Thomas Lubanga
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted Congolese war lord Thomas Lubanga of recruiting children and sending them into battle. The conviction is good news for his victims, but it does not match the scope of his crimes. This is just a drop in the bucket considering the list of people connected to the crimes committed…
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Justice in the World, 40 years Later
From the Jan-March 2011 edition of Around Africa, by Fr. Rocco Puopolo, Executive Director AFJN “If you want peace, work for justice.” This pithy saying can still be found today as a bumper sticker on a number of cars in Church parking lots. It has been a long serving indicator of our desire to reconcile…
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The Softer Side of AFRICOM
From the Jan-March 2011 Edition of Around Africa, by Melaura Homan-Smith, AFJN Staff In 1961, just three days before John F Kennedy was inaugurated, President Eisenhower gave his historic farewell speech where he said: “We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.” Fifty years later this…
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Videos of March 2, 2011 UN Mapping Report briefing Capitol Hill
March 2 Congressional Briefing on D.R. Congo – Jacques Bahati’s Introductory RemarksMarch 2 Congressional Briefing on D.R. Congo – Claude Gatebuke’s Introductory RemarksMarch 2 Congressional Briefing – Nita Evele’s Introductory RemarksMarch 2 Congressional Briefing on D.R. Congo – Nii Akuetteh’s Introductory RemarksMarch 2 Congressional Briefing on D.R. Congo – Recommendations for Congress read by Kambale…
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Mining Ban and US law: Cause for Economic Crisis in Congo?
From the Jan-March 2011 Edition of Around Africa, by Bahati Jacques, AFJN Senior Policy AnalystSince President Barack Obama signed into law the Conflict Mineral Act on July 21, 2010 (section 1502, of US public law N0 111-203), non-profit organizations and electronics companies have been working to influence the Department of State and the US Securities and…
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AFJN’s Jacques Bahati mentioned in San Francisco Bay View
KPFA News Anchor Cameron Jones: On Tuesday the House Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the Democratic Republic of Congo, the most lethal conflict in the world since World War II, which has continued since the International Rescue Committee estimated over three years ago that more than 5.4 million people had died in the conflict, most of whom had died of hardship after being driven from their homes.
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Lenten Witness for Peace and Justice
A note from the Dorothy Day house: Please vigil with the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and other peacemakers at the White House during the Fridays of Lent from 12:00-1:00 p.m. Lent is a time for personal and societal repentance, a time for radical conversion, renewal and transformation. Living under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire,…
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Resist AFRICOM
ResistAFRICOM was a campaign comprised of concerned U.S. and Africa-based organizations, including AFJN, and individuals opposed to the new U.S. military command for Africa (AFRICOM). As of 2010, resist AFRICOM became the Africa Human Security Working Group. Because AFRICOM is firmly in existence, the people involved sought to be for better human security instead of…
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House Africa Subcommittee Hearing on DRC Urges the Appointment of a Special Envoy to the Africa’s Great Lakes
Yesterday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights held a hearing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) thanks the subcommittee for its interest in DRC issues. AFJN expressed its concerns to the subcommittee about the absence of a Congolese on the panel,…
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House Africa Subcommittee Hearing on DRC Urges the Appointment of a Special Envoy to the Africa’s Great Lakes
Yesterday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights held a hearing on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) thanks the subcommittee for its interest in DRC issues. AFJN expressed its concerns to the subcommittee about the absence of a Congolese on the panel,…
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Election Fever Grips Africa During 2011
By Mr. Ezekiel Pajibo, former policy analyst of AFJN, now working and residing in South Africa. Includes specific commentary on Uganda, Nigeria, Central Africa and Zimbabwe Africa, it is said, is a continent always gripped by paradox. On the one hand, its people are resilient and hopeful while on the other, its leaders are self-serving and do…
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International Women’s Day: The Struggle is not over
As we commemorate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, we agree with the UN Secretary- General, Ban Ki-moon, that although there has been significant economic, political and social achievements and “… the gender gap in education is closing, there are wide differences within and across countries, and far too many girls are still denied…
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UN mapping report on Congo: Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle Hopes for a Hearing
On March 2, 2011, on Capitol Hill, in the House of the Representatives, the African Great Lakes Advocacy Coalition (Africa Faith and Justice Network,Friends of the Congo, Foreign Policy in Focus, African Great Lakes Action Network, Foundation for Freedom and Democracy in Rwanda, Congo Global Action Coalition, International Humanitarian Law Institute of St. Paul, Mobilization for Peace and Justice in…
