By Angelo Izama THE United States will not provide a safe haven for money stolen from Africa by its corrupt leaders, US President Barack Obama has announced. Addressing at least 23 African leaders attending the African Union summit in Munyonyo, Obama's Secretary General Eric Holder said Washington would seize money stolen by corrupt leaders and hidden in America and the West. Mr Holder is part of the American delegation to the Kampala summit led by Mr Johnnie Carson- America's top diplomat on Africa. In a wide ranging speech which touched on the terror attacks and America's help to Uganda in Somalia, Mr Holder delivered a stinger on the touchy issue of corruption. The Kleptocracy recovery effort, he said, would target large-scale corruption perpetrated by foreign nationals. "I have assembled a team of prosecutors [to deal exclusively with this]" he said adding that the US was also willing to support the development of African judiciaries to deal with the monster of corruption. International cooperation over money leaving national treasuries and entering tax havens and western banks- has long been a sticking issue. The United Nations in 2005 pioneered the Convention Against Corruption- that sought to cast a wider net against criminality across borders. Many African leaders have long been accused of personal extravagance at the expense of their populations- whose excesses like that of former Congolese leader- Mobutu Sese Seko have become legend. Governments in Africa- including Uganda, which lose close to Shs500 billion million in corruption each year, have also been accused of cosmetic attempts at fighting the vice. Money recovered For countries like Nigeria however, authorities worked with Switzerland to recover some money stolen by Gen. Sani Abacha. He was accused of stealing £3 billion from government coffers. While the move is a good initiative, it will require a more global effort to solve the problem. Yesterday Mr Holder, however, promised more support for the African Union force in Somalia saying America was bound "not only by friendship and partnership but loss from the July 11 terrorist attacks in Kampala that also claimed the life of a US citizen. At least 76 people were killed in the twin attacks at the Kyadondo Rugby grounds in Lugogo and the Ethiopian Village Bar and Restaurant in Kabalagala. Mr Holder said AU forces were making "heroic contributions" on the ground in Somalia and described attempts to justify the attacks as ‘unambiguously shameful". (Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug)

Antoine Treuille (President, French-American Foundation) delivering the opening address. By Clement Ogar THE second international media dialogue on covering immigration took place from May 7-9 this year in Miami Florida. The event, which was held in the conference suites of Epic hotel, had Covering Immigration; an International Media Dialogue as its main theme. Several topics were covered by all the speakers, some of which included: the economics of migration, culture and media coverage of immigration; the case of religion, balancing stories and integrating all voices, ethnic media in north America and Europe; comparative approach, etc. Participants came from around the world representing several ethnic media and other organisations involved in the improvement of media coverage of immigration issues. One of the major aspects of the event in Miami Florida was the reporting opportunities which allowed participants to be hosted by diverse migrant communities and a chance to appreciate their rich cultural heritage at first hand. What the participants discovered during their trip is that, despite the plights of immigrants, there is an enormous entrepreneurial spirit amongst them that can be seen all around Miami. One of such opportunities, which this humble writer took part in, included a short trip to the Haitian restaurant Tap Tap and a further trip to little Havana in down town Miami only a few minutes' drive from Biscayne Boulevard Way. Our first stop was at the Tap Tap restaurant richly decorated by Haitian paintings and artworks on the wall. Our mission here was to sample authentic Haitian cuisine and hold a discussion with three advocates, whose work have helped tremendously to address some of the issues faced by immigrants in Florida. But before we could settle down for our meal, Steven Forrester one of the advocates, guided us through the history of the rich art and culture of Haitians so vividly depicted on the walls of the restaurant. From Left: Steven Forrester, Clarel Cyriaque and Randy McGrorty   Once we settled down for our meal, the remaining advocates Randy McGrorty and Clarel Cyriaque, joined us for a fantastic Haitian meal and some discussions. Steven Forrester, immigrant policy advocate with the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti began by explaining how he and his organisation have been using the media to help in their fight for immigrant rights in Florida. He said that before the recent earthquake, Haitian immigration issues were largely ignored and numbers routinely exaggerated in order to fraudulently deport them even though their government would rather they stay, work and send remittances home. "After the earthquake we started fighting to get TPS (Temporary Protected Status) for Haitians", said Steve. He added "but it's difficult to get government to do anything good for anyone like they did for Nicaraguans". Randy McGrorty, immigration Attorney agreed and said that "fear and cost has made it very difficult for them to apply for TPS, and the government count black faces up to 5 times to make up the numbers". Steven believes that the wrong perception about the number of Haitian migrants has made things really difficult. However, Mr Forrester added that despite some editors having confided in him that they don't like covering immigration too much because it doesn't do them any good; the press has been an ally in dramatising immigrants' stories. He said that Haitians are largely excluded from society and they have no prominent people to fight for them. "Miami Dade is over 50% foreign born, however largest political group there is Cuban", Steven said. As a result he said he has dedicated most of his time trying to get editors to write favourable editorials about Haitians' plight by dramatising some of their stories. "Influential media are very good at making you believe that you are being listened to", Steve said. He said he has been focusing more on trying to affect opinions "because there is some sympathy within the general population as Haitians have had a heck of a time while Cubans have been treated better". In his effort to help address the injustice faced by Haitians in Florida, Clarel Cyriaque, Attorney and advocate for Haitian rights, said that "there is paranoia about the need to control Haitian immigration, there is need to have independent press". He added that he is overwhelmed by the number of immigration cases relating to Haitians that he has to deal with on a daily basis. After stocking up on our energy supply on sumptuous Haitian cuisine, we proceeded to our next port of call, Little Havana. Here the contrast was as shocking as it was amazing. It was full of life and people, rich in culture and history and alive with entrepreneurial spirit. Little Havana was like a country within a country, a city within a city. One of the most dramatic moments was the speed at which the rain arrived almost as soon as we stepped out of our van, and disappeared at a speed faster than it had arrived. Once the rain subsided, which lasted only a few minutes, our guide Corinna Moebius showed us to the Miami Domino Club where hordes of men were busy enjoying the game. After a few hi's and hello's, we moved on to Fruiteria, a vegetable store that plays key role of local business providing job connections for other immigrants and also serves as cultural site for sharing and discussing local news. After sampling the local coffee and a chat with the shop owner and locals, we shifted our attention to Cuban Memorial Plaza, ignoring the rain, which was back once again threatening to ruin our day. This park demonstrates the sense of history and spirituality of Cuban exiles in Miami with the hero sculpture and spiritual tree as its centrepiece. They use this place as a key public space for petitions and advocacy. It is also used for spiritual sacrifice even though in exile, many still prefer to keep their spirituality under wraps. While confessing that she herself is a priestess, Corinna Moebius said "you can notice here that some of these people are priests by some of the things they are wearing but they are keeping very low profiles". After popping into a few other places where we were offered subsidised drinks and had chats with locals, we capped our day at the famous Cuban tobacco factory next to the Domino Club. Concluding our tour here in Little Havana, we dashed into our van before the rain has anything to say about it. What our experience showed us was that the richness of the Haitian art displayed on the walls of Tap Tap restaurant, the vibrancy of Little Havana and the zest for life of its inhabitants demonstrate the resilience of the migrant community in Miami. It showed that despite the difficulties of migration that these people experience in their daily lives, they remain unbowed and unrepentant. Their hospitality so strongly embedded in their culture would persevere through all their tribulations. Surely this trip has left a lasting impression on the conference participants that would serve to enhance the way they cover immigration issues and go a long way towards reshaping the way immigrants are perceived around the world.

By Abel Ugba THE weekend (November 13 -15) of International Media Dialogue on Covering Immigration organised by the French-American Foundation provided an auspicious platform for European journalists and experts to exchange ideas and form links with their transatlantic colleagues. Hamid Senni's keynote speech on the first day provided a justification of why Paris was a suitable location to launch the dialogue. A highly educated French citizen of immigrant background, he recounted the multiple rejections doled out to him by the French society every time he attempted to find a sense of belonging and acceptance. Frustrated he emigrated to Sweden and then to the United Kingdom. In both places he thrived, securing management positions with industry giants like Ericsson, British Petroleum and Philip Morris. In between he returned to France for family reasons and attempted to get a respectable job. Not unexpectedly, his experience and additional qualifications counted for nothing. The only job he was offered was a door-to-door vendor of vacuum cleaners. It was for him the loudest statement of the unwillingness of white and Catholic France to accept the likes of him. He returned to continental Europe where he is self-employed as a consultant on diversity in employment places. His keynote reiterated the content of De la Cite a la City, a detailed account of his encounters with racism and discrimination, published in 2007. Curiously, racism and racially-motivated discrimination did not feature much in other presentations as speaker after speaker strenuously sought to explain mainstream (white-dominated) media often negative coverage of immigrants and ethnic minorities without mentioning race, social hierarchy and unequal power relations. It was a futile attempt and the hypocrisy and nonchalance of a few speakers were plain to see. A tiny minority showcased their ignorance loudly. They were there simply to discharge official duties or to enjoy a weekend in the city of romance. Claude Grunitzky's closing keynote on the last day and Sandy Close's contribution were notable exceptions. The founder and chairman of Trace Magazine and True Agency, Grunitzky is the son of a Togolese ambassador who grew up rubbing shoulders with the elites of the diplomatic corps. But his narration and attitude was down-to-earth. He painted a vivid picture of the struggles of ethnic minorities who have mingled in the heavily-racialised media industry of Europe. While admitting that his rise has been helped by his background and unforeseen occurrences, he underlined the connections between race and self-representation. Grunitzky's personable disposition and matter-of-fact narratives left participants in a good frame of mind for the closing dinner. Without doubt the highlight of the entire programme for me was a visit to the offices of Bondy blog on the outskirts of Paris. The visit provided desperately-needed assurances that there could be a silver lining at the end of the dark tunnel of France's colonial misadventure in Africa. Bondy was one of many suburbs where the 2005 riots in France were most violently played out. The blog is the brainchild of the Swiss weekly L'Hebdo. Frustrated by the inability of its reporters to file detailed and robust reports of the riots, the newspaper decided to employ the services of the residents of Bondy who had experiential and historical knowledge of the crisis. That bold and unorthodox approach to news reporting gave birth to Bondy Blog, which transferred to the local residents after the riots when the newspapers staff returned to Switzerland. During our visit we met activists, community of bloggers and the management. The majority are children and grandchildren of immigrants from north and west Africa.  Nordine Nabili (pictured above speaking to reporters), the current editor-in-chief, welcomed our party and provided information on the history, aim and operation of blog. No fewer than 12 bloggers were present. They were of different ethnic background, including a university professor, a former mayor, a town council official and a few young but purposeful women. The growth and popularity of the site was helped by the presidential contest that brought Nicola Sarkozy to power. Sarkozy and other politicians played the race card and engendered wide-spread public debate on ethno-racial issues. Bondy bloggers found instant recognition because they provided an alternative to the dominant discourse that took place in the mainstream media. Nabili told our visiting party that the blog was still very much in the business of representing alternative/suppressed voices and of telling the story from below. To be sure, alternative discourse had existed in France before the birth of Bondy blog but, as Nabili and his colleagues emphasised, the medium of blog has amplified their voices and made their intervention more impactful. To buttress this claim Nabili said that the blog is visited mostly by journalists working in mainstream French media and politicians. In total it is visited by over 200,000 users a month and the day before our visit there were 26,000 visitors. The publishers are targeting an average of 400,000 monthly users by the end of 2010. Nabili was optimistic that the goal would be achieved although it would pose new technical challenges relating to capacity and speed. The crew of bloggers consists mostly of enthusiastic and committed persons, some of them without a background in journalism. The management has therefore arranged for fortnightly journalism writing exercise. It also has weekly editorial meetings. Bloggers are part-time contributions who receive about €40 per contribution. The main motivation for participating is a keen desire to contribute to public discourse and to tell their stories in their own words. As one blogger put it: "The French elite have refused to recognise the changing nature of France's demography and ethnicity. Bony Blog enables us to not only live and endure our situation but also to fight it." And a good and worthy fight it is!

A REVIEW of student visas is to be held after the number of students coming to the UK rose by one third last year. Home Office figures show the level of non-EU students coming to Britain increased by more than 75,000 to about 300,000 in the 12 months to March. Immigration minister Damian Green said a "thorough evaluation" of the system would be held to try to minimise abuse. Earlier this year the previous government introduced tougher student visa rules, following its own review. According to current Home Office statistics, some 313,011 non-EU students were granted visas in the 12 months up to March, bringing with them 31,385 dependants. The figure compares with 235,295 students and 24,780 dependants the previous year. Mr Green said: "We are committed to attracting the brightest and the best to the UK, and welcome legitimate students coming here for study. "However, in the past there has been significant abuse of the student route, and we need to ensure that every student who comes to the UK is genuine. "I am undertaking a thorough evaluation of the student system over the coming weeks and months and I will introduce new measures to minimise abuse and tighten the system further," he said. English language rules In February the former Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson announced new rules to try to stop people using the student visa system to remain illegally in the UK. Under the new system, applicants were required to speak English to near-GCSE level, and those on short courses were no longer allowed to bring dependants. However, last month a number of English language schools won a High Court battle over the language restrictions. English UK, which represents 440 language schools, said it was "absurd" that students were being required to know English before they came to Britain to study it. It argued in court that the Home Office should have brought the issue back to Parliament for proper debate, and the judge agreed. Following the ruling the coalition government said it was reviewing English language requirements across the visa system. Also this year, student visa applications from Nepal, northern India and Bangladesh were suspended amid a big rise in cases. (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10834526?print=true)

In Europe's toughest package of measures targeting immigrants, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced plans to strip French citizenship from those who threaten the lives of police and other public officials. For the opposition Socialists, the new laws proposed Friday by Sarkozy "challenge the key principle of our republic, equality before the law." Green party leader Noel Mamere told France-Inter radio that Sarkozy "was leading us toward a police state -- this man is dangerous." Former Europe Minister Pierre Moscovici said Sarkozy's plans "recall the darkest hours of our history," referring to Vichy France's collaboration with the Nazis in sending French Jews to death camps in World War II. And commentators in the French media questioned whether Sarkozy would have gone so far had his approval ratings not been down to less than 30 percent, amid the ongoing scandal over questionable campaign funds from the Bettencourt family, owners of the L'Oreal cosmetics group. But the core message of Sarkozy's speech resonated strongly with many French voters, opinion polls indicate, and reflects a reassessment across Europe of the consequences and desirability of mass immigration. "We are suffering the consequences of 50 years of ill-regulated immigration, which have led to a setback for integration. We are so proud of our system of integrating immigrants, but perhaps we should wake up and see where it has led. It has worked but it works no longer," Sarkozy said. "It is unbelievable that the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of immigrants feel themselves less French than their ancestors," he added. Sarkozy was speaking in the Alpine city of Grenoble, which was rocked last month by riots after police killed a young immigrant who was being chased after allegedly robbing a casino. Shots were fired in the riots and local police then received death threats. Last week, dozens of local police and their families were moved to other towns and police reinforcements sent in from elsewhere. Tensions between police and young immigrants have been simmering since the three weeks of riots that swept France and saw more than 10,000 cars burned in the fall of 2005. A report into the violence described the high-rise public housing estates where immigrants congregate as "the lost lands of France." Some had become no-go zones for the police and were virtually ruled by criminal gangs and drug-dealers. Declaring "a war against delinquency," Sarkozy's latest speech comes after new laws to ban the wearing of the full face-veil worn by some Muslim women and after the unprecedented conviction of Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux for "racist insult." The minister refused to resign and appealed his $4,100 fine, after he was filmed saying: "When it's just one, that's OK. It's when there are a lot that you get problems." Before his election as president three years ago, Sarkozy, as interior minister, described young immigrant rioters as "trash" and talked of clearing them away with high-pressure hoses. His tough stance then was credited with helping him win the presidency by gaining votes from the far-right Front National party. After a brief attempt to govern from the center and appointing a woman of North African background, Rachida Dati, as justice minister, Sarkozy has shifted to the right. He brought in a new law against "outrage against the national flag" and announced tough new action against the Roma immigrants (sometimes called gypsies, many from Eastern Europe), clearing their caravans from "illegal sites" and deporting them. Other measures already passed make it easier to deport illegal immigrants and to suspend welfare payments from the parents of young delinquents. Another new law imposes fine of $6,500 and up to three years in prison for anyone who "abets" illegal immigrants. "It's just words, more words and yet more words from Sarkozy," sneered Front National leader Jean-Marie le Pen. "When I started this party 50 years ago my slogan was 'Before it's too late' -- and look how late it is now." France isn't alone in this backlash against immigration. Italy has bulldozed Roma camps and deported them by the hundreds. Holland is about to get a new center-right government that will depend on the votes of Geert Wilders's anti-immigration Freedom Party. Spain and Belgium have passed laws against the full face veil and the Swiss voted in a referendum against permitting new mosques with minarets. Britain's new coalition government is imposing annual limits on immigration from outside the European Union. Home Secretary Theresa May has set a temporary cap of 5,400 skilled workers without job offers and 18,700 who have job offers will be allowed in from now until next April, when the new quotas will be announced. Britain will "bring immigration down from the hundreds of thousands that it became under Labor to the tens of thousands that it used to be," May said. France has the highest proportion of immigrants in Europe, with an estimated 6 million immigrants of Islamic origin in a total population of 61 million. So France appears vulnerable to extremist claims that higher Islamic birth rates could lead to native French becoming a minority in their own country. In fact, immigrant birth rates across Europe are declining fast toward the local norm and native birth rates have been rising sharply in France, Britain, Holland and Scandinavia. The combination of a recession and unemployment, which affects young immigrants twice as hard as native French, plus concerns about crime and about militant Islam, is heating tensions over immigration across Europe. But in France the mix has been made more explosive by a rattled and unpopular president who is always ready to deploy populist rhetoric when under pressure. The question now is whether Sarkozy's hard-line new laws can solve the challenge of integration that he has described. If not, there are few steps left to take -- short of mass deportation. (Source: http://www.upi.com)

AS Gambia celebrates its national holiday, christened “Freedom Day” by President Yahya Jammeh, hundreds of activists from more than 87 non-governmental organisations protested in 14 countries. The protesters drew attention to the appalling human rights records of President Yahya Jammeh’s government. Naming Gambia’s national holiday ‘Freedom Day’ is a shameful travesty, Amnesty International said.   President Yahya Jammeh’s government has cracked down on political freedom and commits widespread human rights violations with total impunity. Freedom remains an illusion for most Gambians, who live in fear of arbitrary arrest, torture, incommunicado detention, unfair trials, rape, disappearance, and extra-judicial executions. Hundreds were incarcerated and held incommunicado in appalling conditions after waves of arrests in November of 2009 and in March 2010. Only eight have been tried, in a so-called treason trial where they are accused of fomenting a coup. The eight men were accused of procuring arms, equipment, and mercenaries to stage a coup against President Yahya Jammeh’s government. Judge Emmanuel Amadi found them guilty of treason and sentenced them all to death last week. The trial violated a host of international fair trial standards. Detainees had little or no access to their lawyers or even their families. Sources indicate that the accused have been tortured, while others were pressured to provide false testimony at the trial, under threat of imprisonment and torture. The government persecuted those who refused to give false testimony, allegedly going to far as to make death threats. Conditions in Gambian prisons, especially in Mile 2 Central Prison and other secret detention centres, military barracks, secret quarters in police stations, police stations in remote areas, and warehouses are appalling. They amount to a violation of the right not to be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. Arbitrary detentions Gambia’s human rights situation deteriorated after 1994, when Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh came to power and banned all political parties or political activities.  Since March 2006, when President Jammeh claimed to have uncovered an attempted coup plot, the situation has gotten steadily worse. Members of the President’s own personal protection guard – who are under his direct control – carry out the most egregious abuses, as do certain units in the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) often referred to as green boys, ninjas, or drug boys. However, the army and police also commit serious human rights violations. The security services routinely detain people without charge (during which time they are often tortured or ill-treated), or unlawfully imprisons them after unfair trials. Several individuals are known to have disappeared, died in custody, or died shortly after release – and unconfirmed allegations of additional deaths have been impossible to corroborate due to the government’s refusal to provide any information on their cases. Journalists at serious risk Freedom of expression is severely limited: journalists are arbitrarily arrested if suspected of leaking critical information or writing stories unfavourable to the authorities. Newspapers have been closed down or had their websites hacked into. Journalists and members of the opposition are harassed, threatened, and unlawfully killed. Two cases involving Gambian journalists have been brought to the attention of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice since 2006. One case concerns Daily Observer journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh – a victim of enforced disappearance for four years despite the Court’s ruling that he be released and damages be paid to his family. In another case, former editor of The Independent newspaper Musa Saidykhan alleges he was tortured by the NIA in 2006. Moreover, the 2004 murder of Deydra Hydara, former editor of The Point newspaper, who was allegedly killed by government operatives, has never been solved. Since 1994, at least 27 journalists have left The Gambia in fear for their lives. President Yahya Jammeh has also expelled the Unicef envoy, threatened to kill human rights defenders, warned that he will cut off the heads of all gays in Gambia, and announced that he will start executing those sentenced to death in order to counter rising crime. Witch hunts In March 2009, a state-sponsored witch-hunt led to approximately 1,000 people being snatched from their villages and taken to secret detention centres by “witch hunters.” Amnesty International reported that after being kidnapped, they were forced to drink hallucinogenic concoctions in secret detention centres, and tortured to confess to witchcraft. The liquid they were forced to drink appeared to lead to kidney problems and to at least six deaths from kidney failure. A well-known opposition leader, Halifa Sallah, criticised the government’s ‘witchcraft’ accusations in the main opposition newspaper in Gambia. He was detained, charged with treason and held in Mile 2 Central Prison. After significant outside pressure, all charges were dropped and he was released. Migrants at risk Migrants and visitors are also subject to unlawful arrests, torture and ill-treatment by security forces. In July 2005 a group of 50 foreigners, including 44 Ghanaians, was reportedly killed by members of the Gambia security forces. A report carried out jointly by ECOWAS and the UN determined that rogue security forces were responsible. So far, the Gambian government has not taken any steps to bring the perpetrators to justice. The death penalty The death penalty is the ultimate violation of human rights. It violates the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Gambia has explicitly accepted obligations in regard to these rights in the international and regional human rights treaties which it has ratified, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Action The undersigned civil society groups join together and call on The Gambia to: Stop human rights violations and comply with obligations under the African Charter with regard to the right to liberty, freedom from torture, right to fair trial, freedom of expression and of association; Take immediate measures to improve the human rights situation in the Gambia; End incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances, and ensure that security personnel who engage in these practices are brought to justice in fair trials; Investigate all allegations of torture and extrajudicial executions; Grant access to all prisoners; End the harassment and intimidation of independent media institutions; Stop politically motivated trials of people peacefully exercising their freedom of expression, association and assembly; Establish an independent and international commission of inquiry to investigate the whereabouts and fate of victims of enforced disappearance and ensure that those responsible for these human rights violations are brought to justice in fair trials; Establish an independent and international commission of inquiry to investigate  the poisoning and killing of people suspected of being witches, and ensure that those responsible for these human rights violations are brought to justice in fair trials; Establish an adequately resourced  independent human rights commission; Publicly acknowledge the importance and valuable work undertaken by human rights defenders; Ensure the rule of law and comply with court decisions, including determinations made by the ECOWAS court. To immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty as provided by UN General Assembly resolution 62/149, adopted on 18 December 2007 and resolution 63/168 adopted on 18 December 2008; To commute without delay all death sentences to terms of imprisonment; To ensure rigorous compliance in all death penalty cases with international standards for fair trial Gambia Day of Action Co-Signing Organisations       No.   Organisation   Country   1   Amnesty International Benin   Benin   2   Amnesty International Burkina Faso   Burkina Faso   3   Amnesty International Cote d'Ivoire   Cote d'Ivoire   4   Amnesty International Ghana   Ghana   5   Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative   Ghana   6   Human Rights Advocacy Centre   Ghana   7   Media Foundation for Human Rights   Ghana   8   Regional Watch for Human Rights   Liberia   9   Liberia Council of Churches   Liberia   10   Mano River Union Peace Forum   Liberia   11   Liberia Prisoners Assistance Program   Liberia   12   Mussunama, Inc.   Liberia   13   West Africa Network for Peacebuilding   Liberia   14   Liberia Vernacular Inc.   Liberia   15   Liberia Muslim Women Association   Liberia   16   Zorzor Women for Development   Liberia   17   Movement for Policy and Reconciliation   Liberia   18   Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC)   Nigeria   19    Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC)

:: Exposing the blood diamond trade in Zimbabwe _____________________________________
IN THE Marange diamond fields of eastern Zimbabwe, the country's military commits grave abuses while profiting from the smuggling and illegal mining it was deployed to prevent. "You need not run away from us. We need to do business with you." According to P.T., a local miner, that is what two soldiers said on the night he was arrested for trying to sneak into the fields. It wasn't long before the soldiers had a syndicate of 23 miners working for them, with whom they promised to share the profits from whatever diamonds the miners found. Within two weeks, the miners had found 709 grams of industrial diamonds and 17 gemstones, but the soldiers refused to give them anything for their labor. "When we complained, the soldiers beat us all and ordered us to continue working," P.T. explained. "When we attempted to run away, the soldiers shot at us and killed my friend who was running in front. I continued to run, not realizing immediately that I had been shot as well." P.T. was wounded in the groin. P.T. is an adult; an estimated 300 of the miners in Marange district are children. They are lured into police-controlled cartels with empty promises of profit-sharing or are forced to work for nothing, often without breaks or food. P.T. and more than 100 other interviewees related to Human Rights Watch researcher Dewa Mavhinga that miners and other members of the local community are arbitrarily beaten and tortured. Some, like P.T.'s friend, are killed. P.T. escaped the shooting and walked to a nearby clinic where staff refused to treat the wound. "The nurse in charge said, 'We are under strict instructions from the soldiers not to treat anyone shot or injured in the diamond fields,'" P.T. told us. The conditions we uncovered in Marange, together with the knowledge that so-called blood diamonds are a key source of revenue for Zimbabwe's abusive government, prompted Human Rights Watch to take on the global diamond trade. We worked with three main partners: the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which is the international body responsible for preventing blood diamonds from reaching the market; major diamond vendors, such as Tiffany & Co. and Cartier; and consumers in the general public who had considered purchasing diamonds. First, we published an account of what we found in the Marange diamond fields. Before the report, Diamonds in the Rough, was published in June 2009, few had ever heard of Marange, which is remote and heavily guarded, and the abuses being perpetrated there were virtually unknown. Then we took on the Kimberley Process. We released our report at a press conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, to coincide with the annual intercessional meeting of the Kimberley Process in neighboring Namibia. Three days after the report's debut-and after our findings made headlines in the media throughout southern Africa-the Kimberley Process sent a review mission to Marange. When the mission found what we had, the Kimberley Process declared Zimbabwe to be in violation of its standards. It made recommendations for Zimbabwe's compliance, many of which echoed the recommendations we had made in our report. We briefed the high-level monitor appointed by the Kimberley Process to evaluate Zimbabwe's progress in implementing a plan to bring humane conditions to the mines in Marange. In late November 2009, Zimbabwean officials announced that military forces would be withdrawn from Marange. Our subsequent on-the-ground investigations revealed, however, that those claims were not matched with action. Then we launched the second part of our campaign aimed at consumers, retailers, and the jewelry industry. We are calling on these actors to stop the global trade in Zimbabwean diamonds, and specifically to boycott gems that have been mined in Marange. To date, we have held a series of successful outreach and education meetings with mining companies, distributors, and retailers. Tiffany & Co. and Cartier are just the two most recent jewelers to publicly boycott blood diamonds from Zimbabwe. Ultra Jewelers supports the boycott as well, and Rapaport and Leber Jewelers have explicitly guaranteed to their customers that they do not sell blood diamonds from Zimbabwe. Now, we need you. If you are considering purchasing jewelry-an engagement ring, a pair of earrings, a watch-we hope you will demand a guarantee from your vendor that the diamonds you buy were not mined under abusive circumstances such as those at Zimbabwe's Marange diamond fields. Don't be part of the exploitation of people like P.T. P.T. was one of eastern Zimbabwe's luckier inhabitants. Though unable to access treatment for his wounds in Marange district, three days later he secured transport to a nearby town where doctors managed to save his life. By being a responsible consumer, you can help stop the flow of funds to a government that perpetuates the abuses suffered by P.T. and others just like him. Please join our campaign and make your voice heard. (Source: http://www.hrw.org)