* Sierra Leone. Remarkable progress in peace process — Sierra Leone has made remarkable progress in its peace process and advocates have been able to work on addressing past abuses and violations, advocacy, capacity building, education and institution building, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has reported. The main remaining challenges in Sierra Leone included redressing present-day violations and developing national capacity to promote and protect human rights. UNHCHR would like to collaborate with the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) in responding to the country’s human rights needs. «One way of doing this is by deepening working relationships with local State and non-state actors, especially stakeholders within civil society to persuade representatives at the senior level that the consolidation and institutionalization of the human rights agenda is needed». (IRIN, Kenya, 24 October 2002)

* Somalia. Peace talks — 24 October: Somali’s President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan has said the ongoing peace conference in Kenya will not end the fighting in Somalia. The talks on the future of Somalia, which are being held in the Kenyan town of Eldoret, are reported to be deadlocked. Most of Somalia’s key faction leaders, often called warlords, have gone to the talks, but Mr Salat, head of the Transitional National Government (TNG), has refused to go unless he is accorded the status of a head of state, rather than a faction leader. The TNG was set up in 2000 but only controls parts of the capital, Mogadishu, with the rest of the country divided up between rival warlords. «I am not optimistic the conference would help the Somali peace process,» Mr Salat said. No serious discussions have yet taken place, with some warlords insisting that Mr Salat attend in person. He is represented by TNG Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah. Tension is said to be rising at the Conference between civil society organisations and leaders of the political groups. 27 October: Warring factions and the transitional government (TNG) in Somalia have signed a ceasefire deal aimed at bringing more than a decade of fighting and anarchy to an end, foreign mediators have said. Twenty-one rival groups and the TNG agreed to end hostilities for the duration of current peace talks and to pave the way for a new federal system of government. But correspondents say the agreement is unlikely to win support from the breakaway northern region of Somaliland, and neither has it been signed by the faction which controls regions in central Somalia. The peace talks have the backing of the international community, which has threatened to impose sanctions on groups opposing an agreement. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 27 October 2002)

* Somalie. Accord de cessez-le-feu — Le 27 octobre, 22 factions armées qui se disputent le contrôle du pays ont signé un accord de cessez-le-feu immédiat, lors de la conférence de réconciliation nationale qui se tient depuis la mi-octobre à Eldoret (Kenya). Par ailleurs, les détails concernant la formation d’un gouvernement central, dont le principe a pourtant été entériné au cours des pourparlers, seront élaborés dans une phase suivante. Déjà, les responsables des factions ont entrepris de créer des structures de gouvernance fédérale, tout en approuvant le principe de la décentralisation. Ils ont aussi promis d’inviter la communauté internationale à entreprendre un contrôle de l’embargo sur les armes et de combattre toutes les formes de terrorisme. — Mais le 28 octobre, au lendemain de l’accord, d’intenses combats impliquant plusieurs centaines de miliciens ont éclaté à Luq, ville proche de la frontière kényane, et ont fait au moins 15 morts et 30 blessés. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 31 octobre 2002)

* South Africa. Japanese investors scared — South African could be in line for a massive hike in investment from japan — but only if the country can tackle its reputation for crime. A delegation of Japanese executives from the powerful employers’ federation, Keidanren, is spending a week in South African examining investment opportunities. But the leader of the delegation has warned that his fellow Japanese are scared of South Africa’s image as a haven for carjackers and other street criminals. Potential investors are also worried about reports of corruption in high placed. (BBC News, UK, 25 October 2002)

* South Africa. Wider access to AIDS drugs — South Africa has threatened to intensify its fight with international pharmaceutical companies over wider access to cheaper medicines against HIV/AIDS. At a meeting of United Nations agencies operating in southern Africa, Aziz Pahad, deputy minister of foreign affairs, said his government would put renewed pressure on drugs companies to assist with the distribution of anti-retroviral drugs. «Our battles with the drugs companies are still not over,» said Mr Pahad. «They must not just begin to talk about the supply of drugs but also what the follow-up programmes are in the administering of the drugs.» South Africa has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates with about 4.7m HIV-positive people among its 40m population. (Financial Times, UK, 29 October 2002)

* Afrique du Sud. Bombes à Soweto — Le mercredi matin 30 octobre, plusieurs bombes ont explosé dans le township de Soweto, endommageant une mosquée et plusieurs lignes de chemin de fer arrivant dans la ville voisine de Johannesburg, a annoncé la radio. Une personne a été tuée et une autre grièvement blessée. Entre 7 et 9 bombes ont explosé et la police en a désamorcé deux autres. Les détonations ont commencé aux environs de minuit, à la gare. Les forces de sécurité recherchent les responsables. Le président Mbeki a évoqué l’hypothèse d’une action d’un groupe d’extrême droite. (AP, 30 octobre 2002)

* South Africa. Bomb explosions rock Soweto — 30 October: A series of bomb explosions has rocked Soweto township, in South Africa, killing at least one person. Another was badly injured. Police say at least seven bombs exploded and two more have been defused. The blasts began at about midnight, rocking parts of the sprawling township one after the other. Several of the explosions targeted railway lines linking Soweto to Johannesburg. Some train services have been suspended, leaving busy commuter routes in chaos. Another explosion ripped through a mosque, tearing apart one of its walls. Police have been out in full force searching for other explosive devices. The bomb disposal squad has defused at least one other device at a garage. No group has said it carried out the attacks. President Mbeki links the explosions to white right-wingers. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 30 October 2002)

* South Africa. Companies count the cost of AIDS — Vodacom, South Africa’s largest mobile telephone network, has estimated that the HIV/AIDS epidemic will cut the country’s potential market by about a third. Alan Knott-Craig, Vodacom’s chief executive, said the disease would restrict the rapid growth of the South African mobile telephone market to about 19m users as opposed to a potential HIV/AIDS-free market of nearer 30m users. However, he insisted that South Africa offered strong business potential for consumer goods —such as mobile phones — in spite of the daunting health crisis that its population faces. «HIV/AIDS will result in us not having as good as market as we could have had. But there is no huge dark cloud on the horizon,» he said. Many South African companies are assessing the impact HIV/AIDS is likely to have on their businesses. The country has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world with about 4.7m HIV-positive people among a population of 40m people. Infection rates among the economically active adult population are estimated to be as high as 25 per cent. Business leaders have identified HIV/AIDS as post-apartheid South Africa’s single greatest challenge. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is encouraging companies to discover the HIV/AIDS infection rates among their employees through voluntary testing and to develop responses for those infected. (Financial Times, UK, 31 October 2002)

* Sudan. Doubt cast over peace talks — 25 October: The Sudanese government has claimed southern rebels have violated an agreed truce, putting in doubt the future of the peace talks to bring an end to the country’s civil war. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 25 October 2002)

* Sudan. Landmark aid deal — 26 October: The Sudanese government and the SPLA, have signed a landmark agreement giving aid agencies unfettered access to hundreds of thousands of victims of countries civil war. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said the deal would allow it to feed an additional 500,000 people. The agency already supplies food to three million civilians in Sudan. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 October 2002)

* Soudan. Aide humanitaire — Le 26 octobre, un accord définissant les procédures d’accès sans entrave de l’aide humanitaire à des centaines de milliers de personnes affectées par la guerre au Soudan a été signé à Nairobi par les représentants du gouvernement, de l’Armée populaire de libération du Soudan (SPLA) et des Nations unies. L’accord démarre le 1er novembre jusqu’à la fin de l’année. Les dates correspondent au calendrier du protocole d’accord dans le cadre duquel des négociations de paix sont organisées à Makachos (Kenya). L’accord aura des répercussions immédiates pour les agences humanitaires de l’Onu et les 41 organisations travaillant dans le cadre de l’OLS. (PANA, Sénégal, 27 octobre 2002)

* Swaziland. Royals under fire over «kidnap» — 29 October: Swaziland’s chief justice criticised the royal family for continuing to frustrate a woman’s lawsuit seeking to prevent the king from marrying her daughter. Lindiwe Dlamini had asked the court to force the royal family to release her daughter, Zena Zoraya Mahlangu, 18, from a royal guest house. Mahlangu and two other women were picked up by King Mswati III’s aides last month after the king decided they would be his 10th, 11th and 12th wives. «The continued protraction of the case is not helping anyone,» Chief Justice Stanley Sapire said at a hearing on 29 October. The court had ordered two women to meet with Mahlangu to determine whether she was being held against her will, but they were refused entrance and told the royals were in mourning over the death of a member of the royal family. In an interview with reporters on 28 October, Mahlangu said she was ready to marry the king and nothing would make her change her mind. «I am happy with everything and I am preparing to take my place in the royal household and be a good wife to my husband,» she said. Sapire said the two women appointed by the court must speak with Mahlangu by the next court hearing on 31 October to determine her true intentions. Without her side of the story, Sapire said, she should be released to her mother’s care because women under the age of 21 are minors in Swaziland. (CNN, USA, 30 October 2002)

* Tanzania. $84 million needed for 8,500km road maintenance — Tanzania needs an estimated $84 million per year to finance maintenance of the country road network, assuming all those targeted are in maintainable condition. Tanzania’s road network is approximately 8,500km long with 4,430km categorised as paved and 80,570km unpaved. According to the Annual Report of the Roads Fund Board, an increase of 10 per cent to cater for development activities will push the total requirement to $94 million per annum. The report further states that, «on the other hand, the estimated total collection of fuel levy for financial year 2000/2001 was only $45.8 million which corresponds to only 42 per cent of estimated actual requirement of roads in maintainable condition.» Inadequacy of maintenance funds means losses to the economy as a whole. The World Bank estimates that a reduction of $1 in the road maintenance budget causes an increase of $2 or $3 in vehicle operating costs. According to the study, 30 per cent of the 10,300km trunk roads are in good condition, with 39.2 per cent being in fair condition and 30.8 per cent in poor condition. (The East African, Kenya, 28 October 2002)

* Togo. Elections législatives — Le dimanche 27 octobre, près de trois millions de Togolais étaient appelés aux urnes pour élire leurs députés. Le scrutin, boycotté par les principaux partis d’opposition, a été reporté à deux reprises en trois ans. Toutefois, 14 petits partis, également d’opposition, on maintenant présenté des candidats. Le parti au pouvoir, le Rassemblement du peuple togolais (RPT) est cependant assuré de remporter largement ces élections, ses candidats étant pratiquement seuls dans 39 circonscriptions électorales. Le scrutin s’est déroulé dans le calme. Selon le ministère de l’Intérieur, le taux d’affluence aurait été de 60 à 65%, ce qui indique que l’appel au boycott n’a pas été écouté. Le scrutin a été correctement organisé, selon les observateurs, qui estiment cependant qu’il ne résout rien sur le fond de la vie politique intérieure. Le dialogue politique intertogolais, lancé en juillet 1999, ne sera pas débloqué par cette consultation. Rappelons toutefois que le président Eyadéma, au pouvoir depuis 35 ans, a promis de se retirer en 2003. Mais les opposants se préparent à faire face à une éventuelle modification de la Constitution destinée à permettre au président de rester au pouvoir. -29 octobre. D’après les résultats définitifs des élections, le RPT a obtenu 72 sièges de députés sur les 81 à pourvoir. Le taux de participation a été de 67,43%. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 29 octobre 2002)

* Togo. Elections — 27 October: Parliamentary elections. The elections are reported as being carried out in an atmosphere of apparent calm, with a turnout of over 70%. An appeal had been launched by the Opposition to boycott the elections. 31 October: The Rally of the People of Togo (RPT) have won 72 seats out of the 81. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 31 October 2002)

* Tunisie. Grèves de la faim — Deux membres du Parti communiste ouvrier tunisien (PCOT), Abdeljabbar Madouri et Ammar Amroussia, actuellement en détention, ont entamé “une grève de la faim illimitée” pour revendiquer leur “libération immédiate et sans condition”, annonce un communiqué du PCOT du 24 octobre. Les deux hommes motivent leur recours à la grève de la faim (le premier depuis le 17 octobre, le second depuis le 18) par “la détérioration de leur état de santé, en raison des mauvaises conditions de détention et l’absence de soins”. Deux autres membres du parti condamnés avaient été libérés sous condition en septembre dernier pour des raisons de santé. Le PCOT réitère par la même occasion son appel à la libération de tous les détenus politiques en Tunisie, “quelle que soit leur appartenance idéologique”. Estimés à un millier par les ONG, dont Amnesty International, ceux-ci appartiennent pour la plupart au mouvement islamiste tunisien interdit Ennahdha. Deux personnes de ce groupe sont également en grève de la faim. (D’après AP, 24 octobre 2002)

* Tunisie. Parti d’opposition reconnu — Le 25 octobre, l’agence tunisienne de presse TAP a annoncé l’autorisation accordée à un nouveau parti politique, le “Forum démocratique pour le travail et les libertés” (FDTL). En fait, celui-ci, présidé par le Dr Mustapha Ben Jaâfar, tente d’exister depuis une dizaine d’années, en vain jusqu’à ce vendredi. Fondé en 1994, le FDTL opérait depuis dans la semi-clandestinité. Ce nouveau “geste” du pouvoir s’adresse à un mouvement sans base sociale, mais qui tient un vrai discours d’opposition. Désormais, le paysage politique tunisien compte sept partis d’opposition reconnus, outre le parti au pouvoir. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 26 octobre 2002)

* Uganda. AIDS death toll — AIDS has killed nearly one million Ugandans since the disease was first identified in the country in 1983, a government report has said. The country’s health ministry said the figure included 94,755 people aged under 16. A million of Uganda’s 24 million people have HIV. (The Guardian, UK, 25 October 2002)

* Ouganda. Sida: un million de morts — Selon un rapport annuel du ministère ougandais de la Santé, publié le 24 octobre à Kampala, près d’un million d’Ougandais sont morts du sida depuis qu’il a été diagnostiqué pour la première fois dans le pays. Sur les 947.552 décès recensés, 427.153 sont des femmes, 425.644 des hommes, et 94.755 des enfants de moins de quinze ans. La prévalence du virus VIH/sida est de 5%. La population du pays est de 24 millions d’habitants. — Notons par ailleurs que Mgr Cordes, président du conseil pontifical Cor Unum (dit “de la charité du pape) séjournera du 25 au 30 octobre en Ouganda, où il viendra soutenir plusieurs projets, en particulier en faveur des enfants malades du sida. (ANB-BIA, de sources diverses, 25 octobre 2002)

* Uganda. Help for Uganda’s terminally ill — The lives of thousands of terminally-ill people in Uganda are being transformed by a ground-breaking palliative care programme. The programme, established just four years ago, provides pain relief and care to people with cancer and other terminal diseases. The scheme has been so successful that the Ugandan Ministry of Health has decided to introduce a comprehensive palliative care service across the country. Dr Anne Merriman, medical director of Hospice Africa which runs the programme, said they had helped many people living with terminal illness. Average life expectancy in Uganda is just 41 years. Cancer is a major killer but few people are able to get medical treatment for the disease. Only a small proportion receive pain relief to help them cope with cancer and other illnesses. Most die at home after months of suffering excruciating pain. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 26 October 2002)

* Uganda. Millions missing from Missions abroad — An audit of Uganda’s missions abroad has found that millions of shillings in visa and passport fees, have not been remitted to the national treasury — suggesting that the money may have been misappropriated. A number of missions were also found to have overshot their expenditures by millions of shillings above the authorised spending — an act described by the Auditor General’s report as «either unrealistic budgeting or weaknesses in expenditure control.» Several of Uganda’s property abroad such as houses and vehicles are not insured, not only contravening the law of the host countries, but also putting at risk property worth millions of dollars. According to the Auditor General’s report to parliament, the main culprits are Uganda’s missions in Europe. For example, none of the country’s properties in Copenhagen, including vehicles, the chancery and official residence, were insured.Auditor General John F.S. Muwanga said Uganda’s High Commission in London had failed to account for Ush21 million in passport and visa fees for the past financial year. The High Commission also failed to remit Ush20 million. The money was the balance from the 2001/2002 expenditure. According to the government accounting regulations, all money not spent must be returned to the Treasury at the end of every financial year. (The East African, Kenya, 28 October 2002)

* Zambia. GM food aid rejected — 29 October: The Zambian Government has finally decided not to accept a donation of GM food for nearly three million of its people facing famine. The decision was taken after the Zambian Government despatched a team of scientists around the world to study the potential effects of GM crops. The food aid was initially offered by the international community to Zambia and five other South African countries, but President Levy Mwanawasa referred to the food as «poison». The Government’s controversial decision has sparked a huge political row in Zambia, with the Opposition claiming people will die as a result. Indeed, the government’s decision will complicate relief efforts, say relief agencies. The US government says it disagrees with Zambia’s decision. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 29 October 2002)

* Zambie. Refus des OGM — Frappée de plein fouet par la crise alimentaire affectant l’Afrique australe, la Zambie a confirmé, le 29 octobre, qu’elle n’acceptait pas de denrées contenant des organismes génétiquement modifiés (OGM). Les Etats-Unis fournissent 75% de l’aide proposée par le Programme alimentaire mondial à la Zambie. (La Croix, France, 30 octobre 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Tobacco crop to halve — 24 October: Zimbabwe’s tobacco harvest is expected to halve next year due to the difficulties facing farmers. Farm disruptions caused by the land seizures have already reduced this year’s tobacco crop to about 162 million kg, from 202 million kg last year. Now that figure is expected to halve again, with many farmers unable to transplant their seedlings during the critical pre-rain season between 15 October and 15 November. «We’re falling behind,» Chris Molam, chief executive of the Zimbabwe Tobacco Association said. «Farmers haven’t been able to get onto the land. November is looming and we really need to get the crop out.» Economists say the reduction of tobacco output could be devastating to the country’s ailing economy. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 24 October 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Daily News: nouvelle inculpation — Le directeur du seul quotidien privé du Zimbabwe, The Daily News, a été inculpé pour un article affirmant qu’un jeune opposant avait été torturé par des policiers. Il est accusé de “saper l’image de la police”. Geoff Nyarota a expliqué qu’"il est de notoriété publique que Tom Spicer a été torturé", les accusations de torture ayant été formulées devant un tribunal. (La Croix, France, 25 octobre 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Mugabe wins key by-election — 28 October: Zimbabwe’s ruling party has won a key by-election in the south-west of the country. President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF took the seat of Insiza from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). Meanwhile the MDC says its offices in Bulawayo were extensively damaged in an attack. A spokesman for the party said a crowd of about 100 youths stoned the building on the morning of 28 October, shattering windows. The spokesman described the attack as unprovoked and said the assailants wore ZANU-PF youth militia uniforms. (ANB-BIA, Belgium, 28 October 2002)

* Zimbabwe. Division chez les fermiers blancs — Le président et le directeur du Syndicat des fermiers commerciaux du Zimbabwe (CFU) ont démissionné de leur poste. Tous deux étaient considérés comme des modérés. En août, des membres du CFU l’avaient quitté pour créer Justice pour l’agriculture (JAG), favorable à une politique plus ferme à l’égard du gouvernement. (La Croix, France, 31 octobre 2002)