wfn.org | Building Peace In West Africa

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AANA Bulletin is an ecumenical initiative to highlight all endeavours and 
experiences of Christians and the people of Africa.  AANA Bulletin is 
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AANA Bulletin	: Acting Editor - Mitch Odero		
Bulletin APTA: Edition en frangais, ridacteur intirimaire : Sylvie Alemba

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BOOK  REVIEW

Promoting Indigenous Interests In International Affairs

Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Author: Adekeye Adebajo
Volume: 192 pp, Year: 2002

NAIROBI (AANA) September 16 - The International Peace Academy, initiated in 
1970, works closely with governments, the United Nations and other organs 
to enhance peace in conflict areas. The book in review is among their 
series of papers and it creates awareness on the part of the public of 
"peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace building in Africa".

  The aim of the book is to provide a viable mechanism for building a 
"political, economical and secure community". It is the ultimate hope of 
the author that Africa will solve her own problems.

Borrowing from Kwame Nkrumah, the author writes: "For too long in our 
history, Africa has spoken through the voices of others. Now, what I have 
called an African Personality in international affairs will have a chance 
of making its proper impact and will let the world know it through the 
voices of Africa's own sons."

The author acknowledges that the West African region, comprising of 
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, is one of the most volatile 
regions in Africa. He also points out that in terms of promoting peace it 
serves as an example to the rest of Africa.

This is thanks to the efforts of the Economic community of West African 
States Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) that has tried to quell 
violence in this area. As a result West Africa is building on the ECOMOG to 
initiate a security mechanism to stop future regional conflicts.

In May 1975 nine Economic Community of West African States was initiated at 
the signing of the Treaty of Lagos. The main aims were vested in its five 
protocols that heralded a vision of economic development and cooperation.

At this time the need for a security mechanism was not deemed necessary. 
Development without peace cannot be achieved hence the rationale in 
establishing ECOMOG.

Although regarded as a success ECOMOG has its disadvantages. ECOMOG is 
mostly Nigerian led and this has brought it into contention with other 
Franco phone countries. In Liberia the National Patriotic Front of Liberia 
NPFL led by Charles Taylor resisted ECOMOG'S initiatives "to force him make 
peace".

  Some ECOWAS members supported the NPFL hence making any intervention by 
ECOMOG fruitless. Nigeria and Ghana are at loggerheads and this was 
witnessed in the ECOMOG led interventions in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Despite its dominance the presence of the Nigerian force was severely felt 
when ECOMOG attempted to bring peace to Guinea-Bissau. The ECOMOG 
intervention between December 1998 and June 1999 lacked financial support 
from Nigeria. The peacekeeping force comprising of only 712 was 
insufficient to bring about any peace.

A number of key issues have arisen as a result of these failed missions of 
peace. There is need to supply ECOMOG with adequate equipment for their 
missions. What significant achievement is expected of a force of a miserly 
712 peacekeepers against an entire warring nation?

Nigeria's presence is indispensable to the region but a balance should be 
maintained such that other countries do not feel left out and at the mercy 
of the Nigerians. A viable peace should incorporate all the actors and mere 
domination of one group can exacerbate the war especially when one group is 
favored over another. Hence this "arrogant unilateralism" cannot suffice to 
bring peace.

The author also recognizes the efforts of outside actors in bringing peace 
but he raises doubts about their intentions. An example is the position 
taken by France and Portugal in the war in Guinea-Bissau.

On the other hand the US assisted ECOMOG in disarmament and in carrying out 
elections in Liberia. Britain gathered support in the UN security council 
to increase the size of the peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone and in 
Guinea-Bissau. France provided financial aid in the absence of the 
Nigerians. These are some of the successes of third party intervention.

The West African region comprising the three states is considered one of 
the poorest nations in the world. Through the efforts of ECOWAS and ECOMOG 
there seems to be light at the end of this dark tunnel.

Reviewed by George Mboya

FEATURES  SECTION

AIDS, Refugees Remain Big Challenges For Church

Catholic leaders  in the Eastern and Central African countries recently 
acknowledged that HIV/AIDS, lack of justice and peace, refugees and the 
internally displaced people still pose a challenge to the Church in the 
region. They proposed practical ways of living the preferential option for 
the poor, the persons with disabilities, the oppressed and those who are 
neglected because of age, imprisonment or sickness

By Henry Neondo

I
n pastoral resolutions made from the 14th Plenary of the AMCEA in Dar es 
Salaam, Tanzania, bishops from the region said that demands of spirituality 
of justice and peace, human rights, ecological issues are challenges the 
Church has to address adequately.

The AMECEA pastoral letter says that the Justice and Peace Desk of the 
Catholic Church have now to propose practical ways of living the 
preferential option for the poor, the persons with disabilities, the 
oppressed and those who are neglected because of age, imprisonment or 
sickness. "The Justice and Peace Desk should also propose concrete ways to 
eradicate poverty in our region," the letter added.

'We encourage the Episcopal Conferences in the Region to continue 
exercising their pastoral concern through the publication of prophetic and 
inspiring Pastoral Letters offering civic education and creating Christian 
social awareness as well as educating for good governance, active 
non-violence and peaceful
conflict resolution," it added.

The bishops proposed that the Social Teaching of the Church be made 
compulsory subject to be taught in the AMECEA institutions. They also said 
that the extension courses and workshops on the same to be made available 
to Christian Political Leaders, professionals, businessmen /women, members 
of the army and security Forces and juridical institutions.

The bishops called for the establishment of a family life desk in the 
secretariat that would come up with pro-active policies to address the 
complex situation of the family especially when affected by the HIV/AIDS 
pandemic, to educate the family, to encourage
voluntary testing and counselling.

They also called for education to ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue to 
be part and parcel of an integral catechesis, either during the 
catechumenate or in the normal process of religious education in schools.

The bishops called for the Justice and Peace desk to give special attention 
to the tragedy of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, IDPS. They 
called on the desk to educate people on their rights so that politicians or 
powerful individuals may not easily manipulate them. They called the 
Justice and Peace Desk to be in link with the National and Diocesan Justice 
and Peace Commissions in order to support their action, analyze the 
situation of refugees and IDPS and look for a lasting solution of the 
conflicts.

  The AMECEA Pastoral Department should consider the ways of training 
agents of evangelization in the way of pastoral dealing with refugees and 
IDPS. It has also to educate them in the internationally recognized rights 
of Refugees and IDPS. The department should produce a pastoral policy and 
guidelines on the Refugee and IDPS problem for the Region.

They also called for more action on such persistent issues as Female 
Genital Mutilation, domestic violence and the commercial abuse of women in 
prostitution.  They called upon the faithful to keep in mind the issues 
concerning the rights of women and share the successful experiences as well 
as the challenges in the region.

The bishops also called on the AMECEA Pastoral Department to develop 
pastoral guidelines towards a catechesis adapted to the needs and 
expectations of the Youth. They encouraged creation of more 
technical/vocational institutions in the Region in order to respond, at 
least partially, to the huge problem of unemployment among the Youth.

They noted that Catholic-owned radio and also some TV stations have been 
developed in some of the countries of the region. They further proposed the 
formation of policy, sharing of programmes, training and production between 
existing and future Catholic broadcasting stations.

The bishops advised the AMECEA Communications Department to conduct a 
feasibility study and convenience of creating a powerful radio station of 
AMECEA covering the whole region.

The main theme of the 14th Plenary Assembly of AMECEA held in Dar es 
Salaam, Tanzania, during July 14 to 27 was "Deeper Evangelization in the 
New Millennium".

According to the bishops, the choice of this theme was motivated by the 
pastoral call of Pope John Paul II to the universal Church in his Apostolic 
Letter	"At the Beginning of the Third Millennium" (Tertio Millennio 
Ineunte) in which he invites all the local Churches to renew their pastoral 
programmes and to adapt them to the circumstances of each community.

This invitation came also at the time in which AMECEA is celebrating its 40 
years of existence, a time of grace in which we all are invited to renew 
its pastoral methods and vigour and to "listen to what the Spirit is saying 
to the Churches" (Cf. Revelation
2:7).

The theological foundation and background that has inspired and guided all 
discussions and resolutions during the 14th Plenary Assembly were 
summarized in three main points: The notion of a deeper evangelization, the 
ideal of the Church to be built as God's Family and the preferential option 
for the poor.

Deeper evangelization is a new stage and a new method in the on-going 
mission of announcing the Kingdom of God and making it penetrate in a 
deeper way both in the individual person and the human society.

As Pope Paul IV described it in his Apostolic Exhortation "Evangelization 
in the Modern World" : The Church evangelizes  when she seeks to  convert, 
solely through the divine power of the Message she proclaims, the personal 
and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage, 
their lives and concrete milieus which are theirs".

  "What matters is to evangelize people's culture and cultures (not in a 
purely decorative way as it were, by applying a thin veneer but in a vital 
way, in depth and right to their roots)always taking the person as one's 
starting point and always coming back to the relationships of people among 
themselves and with God".

The bishops said that deeper evangelisation involves personal conversion of 
individuals, manifested not only in emotional feelings and in the practice 
of devotional habits but in deeper convictions leading to attitudes that 
govern the integral person, body, soul and mind (1 Thess 5:23) in all 
circumstances of life and work.

They say that deeper evangelization aims at the interior transformation of 
the world and its social, cultural, political and economic structures 
inspiring them with the values of the Kingdom of God even in social 
contexts in which no adherence to the Catholic Church is likely to be 
expected from people.

Women Activists Take Property Grabbers Head On

Discrimination against women over property rights is alarming in Malawi. It 
is the widely assumed that women are not necessarily bread winners and are 
therefore not entitled to inherit property. This has created widespread 
confrontations. Human rights and non-governmental organisations are now 
crusading especially for the protection of widows in property rights
disputes.

By Hobbs Gama

C
ases of relatives of dead husbands victimising helpless widows and orphans 
are increasing in many parts of Malawi. The general conception that women 
are not necessarily bread winners to help consolidate property for the 
family is ontributing to an emerging form of gender-based violence, a 
situation worsened by weak laws that do not protect widows and orphans.

For the past few years some widows have even suffered serious injuries and 
referred to hospitals, while others had their houses burnt down by 
arsonists from the family of their departed husbands all in the name of 
claiming property.

Orphans of the departed heads of families were denied inheritance of their 
fathers property. The disputes worsen in the cases when the departed man 
did not leave behind a Will.

Human rights activists and non governmental organisations NGOs that care 
for the well-being of women and children, are however not sitting idle. 
They have teamed up to put a stop to the practice by lobbying for the the 
protection of the victims of such violence from the greedy in laws.

Analysts blame the Wills and Inheritance Act for not being strong enough to 
protect the victims, while punishment meted out to perpetrators is deemed 
to be to weak to serve as a deterrent. Cultural and traditional beliefs 
have not been spared for placing women as second class citizens.

There have also been concerns about tax deducted on the estates of dead 
citizens. Many people regard as inhuman  the implementation of the tax. How 
could the authorities take away what ought to belong to the widows, they ask.

Of notable urgency is the outcry from beneficiaries who accuse the offices 
of the auditor general and district commissioners for sometimes 
unnecessarily delaying on discharging the estate.

Some beneficiaries have had to wait for up to five years before any 
discharge was made. Staff in charge of such matters have also been reported 
to demand bribes to expedite the processing of the estate, while others 
were alleged to have defrauded illiterate beneficiaries.

According the provisions of the law, it is the employer of the deceased who 
submits details to the office of the auditor general who in turn send 
records to the district commissioners office where the claimants get their 
dues. But the process is often delayed.

This has rendered many claimants helpless. The issue is compounded with the 
HIV/AIDS pandemic which is claiming a lot of bread winners and the 
increasing numbers of orphans and widows.

Malawi's leading human rights lawyer and gender activist, Seodi White, who 
is the chairperson for the Women in Law in Southern Africa (WILSA) Malawi 
Chapter has condemned property grabbing as a gross human rights violation 
urging the government to put in place protective legislation.

"Grabbing of property from widows is a human rights abuse that is also a 
criminal offence in the penal code of Malawi," charges White.

"When a husband and a wife spend many years acquiring property, they are 
meant for their home. Greedy relatives should keep their hands away from 
such property".

Emmie Chanika, director for Civil Liberties Committee (CILIC), condemns the 
general belief that women cannot be breadwinners even when they have 
careers to earn reasonable income. She blames the mostly patrilineal 
societies as the practice is encouraged mainly by relatives of the deceased 
husband.

"Why should in laws always conclude that everything was bought by their 
departed relative. Even career women are made to suffer because of the evil 
practice," says Chanika.

He at one time charged at officers at the district commissioner's office 
for corruption and deliberately delaying assistance to take advantage of 
HIV/AIDS so that when claimants die they could benefit from the estates 
themselves.

Janet Karim, a Malawian writer and journalist, wonders why all this should 
continue to happen pointing out that for the past 20 years years women have 
learned to engage in various income generating activities to support 
spouses in supporting their families. She says unlike in the past women no 
longer expect husbands to comfortably fend for them, especially in these 
times of socio-economic hardships.

The Director of Public Prosecution Fahad Assani, acknowledges the serious 
level of property grabbing. His office has since received 20 files of cases 
involving property grabbing.

He is worried that presently there is an increase in property grabbing, 
warning that it is a crime which is punishable by five years imprisonment 
with hard labour if one is convicted  under the amended Wills and 
Inheritance Act of 1998.

"My office is compelled to arrest individuals who grab property of dead 
people without being entitled to do so by the law. The property grabbers 
will be prosecuted in the courts of law," says Assani, adding that although 
many suspects were arrested there were many others  still ay large 
especially in the rural areas where most of the cases go unreported.

Statistics from the social welfare office indicate that at least four 
female-headed families at the district level had their property grabbed by 
relatives each day. Assistant social welfare officer for Lilongwe district, 
central Malawi, Arnold Limbani says property grabbing was becoming a crisis 
which needed to be urgently addressed since it violates the rights of women 
and children.

Because of lack of information more cases are not reported.  There is 
general lack of information on the issue especially among the rural 
populations. The law provides for a K 20,000 (about Malawi Kwacha 76 to the 
US dollar) fine for convicts.

"The practice is rampant in rural areas but only few cases are reported 
because many people are not aware of their rights," charges Limbani whose 
office has since embarked on civic education in rural areas on gender-based 
violence.

Analysts say the way forward would be for the people to urge their members 
of parliament to get the law changed.

Otherwise, they say, perpetrators would continue to take advantage of the 
loopholes reaping where they did not saw and infringing on the rights of 
their victims in the process.