Africa
North Africa: Algeria – Open letter to Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Human rights activist Rabah Arkam has written a letter to United Nations Secretary General António Guterres regarding unacceptable human rights violations in Algeria. The activist’s objective is to call for an end to the wave of arrests resulting from the repressive policy and human rights violations by the Algerian regime. »
FAO makes gains in the fight against Desert Locusts in East Africa and Yemen but threat of a food security crisis remains
Heavy rains favour reproduction, second wave of locusts expected during upcoming harvest The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, said today that significant gains had been made in the fight against the desert locust upsurge in East Africa and Yemen. He stressed, however,… »
Idir: The Humility of the Shepherd Poet at the Service of Berber Humanist Values
On May 2, 2970 of the year Yennayer (Berber calendar, May 2, 2020 for the Christian calendar) a hero of our time flew to the stars. Idir, Hamid Cheriet, who so often contemplated the starry vault when he was a shepherd in the Durdjura mountains of such profound beauty, must… »
A Gender-equal Ethiopian Parliament can Improve the Lives of all Women
By James Jeffrey In 1991, the share of seats held by women in the Ethiopian parliament was under 3 percent. Today it stands at 38 percent, almost twice the ratio of women in the United States Congress. Experts say when women are better represented… »
Graphics: How is COVID-19 spreading in Africa?
The COVID-19 pandemic is ravaging the world and Africa is not spared. Since the continent reported its first case in Egypt in mid-February, some 15,000 cases and 800 deaths have been confirmed, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University on Monday. The novel coronavirus has spread to almost all African… »
Stop Coronavirus: The Pandemic Where There is a Lack of Water
Energia per i Diritti Umani Onlus started the “Stop Coronavirus” campaign in Senegal and Gambia in order to raise awareness among the population on the real risks of the global pandemic and give free equipment to prevent the transmission of pathogens. »
Algeria’s crackdown on dissent persists with detention of journalists
Arresting journalists is a ‘pretext’ to punish and silence More than a year since the start of Algeria’s countrywide protest movement demanding political and economic reforms, the government continues to resort to repressive tactics to silence critics and journalists covering the protests. On March 15, a court in Algiers, the capital,… »
COP25. Makoma Lekalakala: We must stand up and demand climate justice
In this interview during COP25, Makoma Lekalakala (Goldman Environmental Prize 2018) and member of Earthlife Africa, Johannesburg, talks to Pressenza about the role of women in the climate change debate, the nonsense of using nuclear energy in Africa and what civil society expects of northern hemisphere multinational… »
What an audit of the British empire’s deadly toll in southern Africa would reveal
Wayne Dooling, SOAS, University of London for The Conversation In its 2019 election manifesto, the Labour Party pledged to conduct an “audit of the impact of Britain’s colonial legacy”, with the goal of understanding “our contribution to the dynamics of violence and insecurity across regions previously under… »
Difficult Pass for Tayfun Gönül and Vedat Zencir Conscientious Objectors In Turkey
By Ercan Jan Aktaş In 1989, for the first time in Turkey, Tayfun Gönül and Vedat Zencir announced their conscientious objection through a campaign conducted by Sokak Magazine. Both were charged with the offense of “alienating people from military service” governed by the Article 318/1 of the Turkish Penal Code… »