Latest News
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Update: International Violence Against Women Act
Approximately one third of all women worldwide have been or will become victims of physical or sexual abuse in their lifetimes. In some countries, the rate is as high as 70 percent. Violence against women poses a global health crisis, a severe impediment to development, and above all an entirely unacceptable human rights violation. On…
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It is the Law: The US Secretary of State mandated to get involved in conflict mineral Reform in DRC
Warning! If you or your company is involved in the trading of natural resources from the relatively stable Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United States made it official that it will get involved in tracking you down. On July 21, 2010, when President Barack Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street…
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Rwandan President Paul Kagame & US Policy
As the August 9th election day approaches, fear and uneasiness continues to grow for many Rwandans. The incumbent President Paul Kagame is running for reelection and is expected to win. But, what kind of leader has he been? He has made headlines in recent months for causing trouble for his challengers ahead of elections. There…
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The 15th African Union Summit: What were the Issues?
Since the African Union (AU)’s establishment in 1999 and their first assembly in 2002, the AU has had annual summits; this year’s is its 15th. From July 19-27, 2010 in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, Heads of State and Government convened to discuss pertinent issues facing the African continent. The 15th AU summit’s theme was…
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AFJN and other organizations called on Obama not to recognize Kagame
President Obama said, in his 2009 speech in Accra, Ghana, that America should support strong institutions and not strong men.
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Rwandan Elections: Legitimacy Questioned
The United States foreign policy with the continent of Africa has been to support strong men and strong-handed governments and the U.S. interest abroad. With the election of President Barack Obama many thought there would be a change to this African policy.
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ARLPI Letter Respponds to LRA/Northern Uganda Legislation
In response to the recently-passed LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 (S.1067/HR 2478), the lead voice for a peaceful resolution of the LRA conflict submitted an open letter to Obama last month, a letter that AFJN signed as well. The Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI) has long called on the international community to emphasize peacebuilding,…
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ICC Review conference: Peace, Justice, and AFRICOM
Eight years after its July 2002 founding, state parties and observers participated in the first ever review of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at a conference in Kampala, Uganda, earlier this month. The purpose of the conference was to review the Rome Statute (the court’s founding documents) and its impact on affected communities, as well…
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A Move towards Global Health Equality
In many Western nations, a woman who is about to give birth has to go to the hospital, call her doctor, and be admitted for observation. The mother and child have some of the best professional attention, even if both are healthy. However, for many African mothers the process is much more arduous. The essentials…
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A Call to the US to support Freedom, Human Rights and Democracy in Rwanda
Current Political Climate in Rwanda Since the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, true democratic governance has never been on the agenda of the party that won the war, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF). Officially, Rwanda is a multiparty system, but only one party, that of President Paul Kagame, is allowed to function. Currently, it is clear…
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Congolese Political Science Professor Arrested in Rwanda
Translated and edited by Africa Faith and Justice Network The South -Kivu governor’s communication Office, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mr. Buhendwa Eluga, a political science professor and the President of the Higher Institute of Commerce (ISC) of Uvira was arrested by Rwandan authorities while he was lecturing in a school in Rwanda…
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ICC indictment of Sudanese President Raises Questions
On July 14, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. In the ICC’s first ever attempt to indict a sitting head of state, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has stated that he has sufficient evidence…
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The Burundi Elections: Democracy Nipped in the Bud
For the first time since gaining independence from Belgian colonization in 1962, democratically-elected leaders in Burundi have ended their term in office. For many, this highlights the quest towards restoration of peace and security following decades of political turmoil. As an important part of this journey, the May 24 communal elections kicked off a four-month…
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A Change in the Approach to Neglected Diseases
1.The burden of the neglected diseases While “the big three” infections AIDS, TB and malaria have caught the world’s attention, other disabling and fatal infectious diseases in Africa are being ignored. Sleeping sickness, elephantiasis, leprosy, helminthiasis, trachoma, leishmaniasis, Buruli ulcers, schistomiaisis and yaws are among neglected diseases that still ravage lives covertly. These disabling and…
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Liberian Women Lay Foundation for Strength and Progress
By: Josh Perry For women in the United States, the rights of today were achieved by courageous women with a cause and a drive to see change. These women came, and continue to come, in all shapes and colors. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were among the first to begin the United States…
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Liberian Women Lay Foundation for Strength and Progress
For women in the United States, the rights of today were achieved by courageous women with a cause and a drive to see change. These women came, and continue to come, in all shapes and colors. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were among the first to begin the United States women’s movement; Rosa…
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Voice of America TV: In Focus Features Bahati on the Kampala Bombings
Voice of America TV, In Focus Jacques Bahati take on the Bombing in Kampala and US Policy in Africa
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Congo’s Quest for Liberation Continues
Congo has long been the focus of resource exploitation. The first era of colonization in Africa, beginning in the mid-1880s, was most pronounced in this central African country. Belgium’s King Leopold brutalized the population in his quest for rubber and riches, leaving a legacy of natural resource exploitation by white Europeans in the heart of…
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ICC Review conference: Peace, Justice, and AFRICOM
Eight years after its July 2002 founding, state parties and observers participated in the first ever review of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at a conference in Kampala, Uganda, earlier this month. The purpose of the conference was to review the Rome Statute (the court’s founding documents) and its impact on affected communities, as well…
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Peter Erlinder Released! Thank Members of Congress who acted
Thank you for raising your voice on behalf of human rights and rule of law last week by speaking out about Peter Erlinder’s arrest and imprisonment. As you may know, largely thanks to pressure from around the world, last week Erlinder was released on medical grounds, though the charges against him have not yet been dropped.
