Daily Archives: January 22, 2009
Protecting the rights of minorities in Africa: a guide for human rights activists and civil society organisations
Regional opportunities for minority rights protection in Africa
Protecting the rights of minorities in Africa: a guide for human rights activists and civil society organisations by Kane,I. Minority Rights Group International (2008)
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the subsequent African human rights treaties do not consider minorities as a legal category recognised in African human rights law. This guide outlines regional opportunities for minority rights protection in Africa, highlighting the legal as well as the institutional framework that is in place.
It is intended for use by representatives of minority communities and civil society organizations (CSOs) including organisations created by and for minorities, human rights activists and lawyers.
The legal tools provided are intended to act as an effective instrument helping in the promotion and defence of the rights of minorities and also in the training of African activists on the law regarding minorities in Africa.
Chapters include:
- Introduction to the rights of minorities in international human rights law
- The legal framework for the promotion and protection of minorities’ rights In Africa
- Regional economic communities’ treaties
- Advocacy and litigation strategies
- Working with bodies responsible for the promotion and protection of the rights of minorities in Africa
- Monitoring bodies at regional level
- The political organs
Download a pdf of Protecting the rights of minorities in Africa
Source:Â ELDIS
Wealth distribution, poverty and timber governance in Uganda
Public investment in Ugandan forestry
Wealth distribution, poverty and timber governance in Uganda
Authors: Muhumuza,F.; Kutegeka,S.; Wolimbwa,A.
Produced by: Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment, Uganda (2008)
With the increased economic value of its natural resources, Uganda has recently increased public investment in its forestry sector. For instance, both the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) and the Environment and Natural Resources Sector Investment Plan (ENR SIP) include increased budgetary allocations on forests. But does this approach necessarily improve economic outcomes for poor resource users? Examining the Budongo Forest Reserve, a new report brought out by the Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE) applies the Nature, Wealth and Power (NWP) analytical framework and the Commodity Chain Analysis (CCA) methodology to analyse distributional outcomes in Uganda’s timber industry.
Download a pdf copy of http://www.acode-u.org/documents/Timber.pdf
Related articles
- Analysis: Rocky start for UgandaÂ’s oil sector (IRINnews.org)
Undercutting Africa – EPAs, forests and the EU’s quest for Africa’s raw materials
Undermining Africa’s economic development
Undercutting Africa – Economic Partnership Agreements, forests and the European Union’s quest for Africa’s raw materials, Hall, R. Friends of the Earth (2008)
The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being negotiated by the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are causing concern. EPAs threaten to undermine economic development in some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. As a result, many ACP countries are refusing to sign up. This paper clarifies these threats, and shows in details the expected sequences of EPAs.
The paper claims that EPAs look set to force ACP countries to open up their struggling markets to European industrial exports, and to foreign investment targeted especially at the agricultural sector. Liberalising investment in sectors such as forests and agriculture could have a dramatic impact on deforestation rates, subsistence farming and food security. Likewise, there is already considerable evidence to suggest that such rapid and extensive market opening can trigger deindustrialisation. On the other hand, the European Commission (EC) has been reluctant to consider addressing ACP countries’ productive and trading capacities, which would clearly need substantial development.
How to get a copy