wfn.org | All Africa News Agency - Bulletin No. 34-02 (a)

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

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AANA Bulletin						Bulletin APTA
Acting Editor - Mitch Odero				Acting Editor - Silvie Alemba

African Women Urged To 'Rise Up And Act'

NAIROBI (AANA) September 2 -  The All Africa Conference of Churches AACC 
has published a resource guide to inspire women in Africa to rise up 
against gender violence.

Aptly titled Rise Up And Act, the publication is expected to serve as a 
resource base for raising awareness on issues related to violence against 
women and for assisting in identifying and developing strategies for action.

Speaking during a humble launch of the publication at the AACC secretariat 
here on August 28, representatives from various women organisations, 
including the United Nations Development Fund for Women UNIFEM, Coalition 
on Violence Against Women COVAW and Young Women Christian Association YWCA 
lauded AACC for its timely production of the manual.

Grace Okonji of UNIFEM pointed out that domestic violence coupled with 
sexual harassment was still prevalent in Africa, but noted that a number of 
countries had started implementing the international domestic laws, which 
she said was beginning to bring about awareness on women's rights.

On the other hand, Stein Villumstad of the Norwegian Church Aid said the 
malpractice of cultures in African societies, such as, forced wife 
inheritance, female genital mutilation, and forced marriages are some of 
the worst enemies the continent needs to fight to reduce violence against 
women.

AACC Director of Finance and Administration Mr Bright Mawudor, said gender 
violence has been described elsewhere as a problem of character, disorder 
and disturbed psych and it is unfortunate that many African societies tend 
to tolerate violence against women than other crimes.

He said the traditional attitudes in the African cultures have continued to 
encourage violence against women and this is such a dangerous and 
destructive attitude and must be changed.

The manual details case studies from various countries in Africa that are 
either in conflict or infiltrated with retrogressive cultural beliefs that 
have caused a lot of pain to the African woman.

The programme executive of AACC Women's Desk, Battu Jambawai, who 
co-ordinated the production of the resource material said the publication 
reflects a long journey of faith, with its origin in 1994, when it was 
conceptualised during a consultation involving World Council of Churches 
WCC, AACC, National Council of Churches of Kenya NCCK among other participants.

The material, which was put together after group research, workshops and 
interviews is broad based and can be used by groups or individuals to raise 
awareness on issues related to violence and to provide the necessary skills 
to combat violence against women.

The resource guide outlines raping of women in areas of conflict as the 
worst form of violence, as it subjected women to open humiliation.

The education of the African woman on a men-dominated society, the material 
states, will prevent them from violently being harmed by men.

Launching the manual, Jacqueline Anam of the COVAW said societies needed to 
change with the times and "Africa should wake up and resist oppression of 
women to ensure that the growing gap of poverty in the continent does not 
leave the woman a harassed lot."

Reported by Herman Kasili in Nairobi

Donors, UN Want Unimpeded Access For Relief Supplies

KHARTOUM/NAIROBI (AANA) September 2 - The  Donor Community together with UN 
agencies have simultaneously delivered a demarche  to  the Government of 
Sudan and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation 
Movement  SPLM  in  Khartoum  and  Nairobi.

The Demarche  conveyed  last month  by  Xavier Marchal, the Khartoum Donor 
Chair, Michael Jones  representing  the  UN  in  Khartoum  and  Sharad 
Sapra, the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator,  Nairobi,  expressed  concern 
over the serious humanitarian  situation  that  exists  in  parts of 
southern Sudan due to "continued military operations and lack of 
humanitarian access".

While  the  demarche  welcomed the recent progress made at the IGAD peace 
talks  in Machakos, just outside the Kenyan capital, the donors and the UN 
called for "a dramatic gesture" on  the  part  of  both  warring  parties 
by allowing "immediate free and unimpeded access" to populations in need.

Operation  Lifeline Sudan OLS a tripartite agreement between the United 
Nations,  the  Government  of  Sudan  and  the  Sudan Peoples' Liberation 
Movement  has  as  one of its basic principles the provision of unimpeded 
humanitarian access to those in need.

  In  December  1999,  parties  to  OLS  signed  the Technical Committee on 
Humanitarian   Assistance  (TCHA)  Agreement  on  the  Implementation  of 
Principles   Governing  the  Protection  and  Provision  of  Humanitarian 
Assistance to War Affected Civilian Populations.

Parties agreed "that all humanitarian  agencies  accredited by the UN for 
humanitarian work in the 
Sudan   shall   have  free  and  unimpeded  access  to  all  war-affected 
populations   in  need  of  assistance"  including  for  the  purpose  of 
assessments.  The  UN  and  donors  called  on  the  parties to "put this 
agreement into immediate effect".

SOURCE: UN Agencies

Curb Illicit Trafficking In Small Arms, Says LWF Official

GENEVA (AANA) September 2 - "There is no compatibility between the 
proliferation of small arms and the proliferation of peace," was the 
central message of Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, the general secretary of the 
Lutheran World Federation LWF. (see also Features Section)

He was speaking at the first meeting of the advisory group of the Eminent 
Persons Group EPG on Curbing Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light 
Weapons.

"All arms may be considered illegal when they are used to violate the basic 
principles of human rights," said Noko in London on August 16. Noko 
co-chairs the EPG advisory group together with Richard Mugisha of People 
With Disabilities of Uganda.

The EPG advisory group is an independent grouping of secretaries-general of 
large movement-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and 
representatives of country-based NGOs from those parts of the world most 
affected by small arms violence.

The advisory group is charged with providing strategic advice to the EPG in 
its efforts to help eradicate the illicit proliferation of small arms and 
light weapons and to implement the program of action adopted by the July 
2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in 
All Its Aspects.

Addressing the members of the advisory group, the LWF general secretary 
emphasized "the need for effective state control of the small arms industry 
and of transfers of small arms".

According to Noko, "humanitarian aid organizations, organized civil 
society, religious communities and all concerned individuals will be key to 
creating the political will to establish a comprehensive and effective 
regime, and to holding manufacturers accountable to it".

However, "even without further unregulated flows of small arms and light 
weaponry, the existing levels of availability of such weapons in many 
societies in Africa and elsewhere will be sufficient to ensure a continuing 
harvest of death and destabilization for generations to come," warned Noko.

He therefore called upon the UN to put more emphasis on the recovery and 
destruction of weapons, especially in post-conflict situations. Noko also 
drew the attention of the advisory group to the inter-relationship between 
poverty and the transfer of small arms.

"While the violence and destabilization resulting from the widespread and 
unregulated availability of small arms obviously results in deeper and more 
widespread poverty, poverty itself promotes the further penetration of 
weapons throughout the society".

In addition to establishing monitoring regimes and weapons recovery and 
destruction programs, it will be "essential for the peace we all seek and 
to work at the same time for the eradication of extreme poverty".

In addition, it will "assure an adequate standard of living for all 
people," the LWF general secretary concluded. *(The full text of the 
statement by Rev Dr Ishmael Noko is available on the LWF website 
http://www.lutheranworld.org)

Reported by Pauline Mumia in Geneva

International Community Okays Action On Scandal

BLANTYRE (AANA) September 2 - The international community has come out in 
strong support of a decision by President Bakili Muluzi to sack a Cabinet 
Minister who was mentioned in a scandal over illegal sales of maize. There 
is growing belief that the scandal has contributed to widespread hunger in 
the country.

The president announced that he had sacked Leonard Mangulama who was 
Minister responsible for poverty alleviation in the Office of the President 
after Mangulama was named by the Anti-corruption Bureau to be among a list 
of government officials who allegedly bought maize illegally from the 
national food reserve agency NFRA and the agricultural and marketing 
corporation, Admarc.

Mangulama denied the accusations. But reacting to the president's move, the 
head of delegation of the European commission in Malawi, Wiepke van der 
Goot said the commission was pleased with the move.

"Anyone who was tainted with the least suspicion in corrupt practices was 
not fit to be in any government anywhere in the world," said van der Goot. 
He said this was a good example of good governance in which governments 
needed to have Ministers who were "clean" in the Cabinet.

Reacting to the development, the British government said it looked forward 
to further actions on the recommendations which had been presented by the 
anti corruption bureau.

A spokesman of the British High Commission in Lilongwe said that his 
government looked forward to witnessing action on other cases in which the 
Anti-corruption Bureau ABU had produced evidence of wrong-doing.

The governments of Britain and other European nations are among major 
Western donors who are contributing emergency supplies of maize to keep 
away the threat of widespread starvation in Malawi.

Magulama was at the centre of investigation by the ACB which announced that 
it has handed over names of top officials involved in the maize scandal 
which contributed to wide spread hunger in the country. Mangulama accepted 
his sacking but claimed he had not been interviewed at all by the ACB on 
the matter.

Also mentioned in the maize scandal is Finance Minister, Friday Jumbe. But 
Jumbe disassociated himself, saying his case was different  and accused the 
Anti-Corruption Bureau of trying to taint his political career.

He has also brushed aside calls from the civil society to resign to pave 
way for independent investigations. The president has so far made no 
comment on Jumbe's position.

The ACB, in a report which it handed over to the director of public 
prosecutions recommended prosecution of other government officials for 
their role in the buying and selling of maize from the Agricultural 
Development and Marketing Corporation, Admarc and from the strategic grain 
reserve of the National Food Reserve Agency, NFRA.

The sales of the maize, which is a national food staple are blamed for 
contributing to the current food shortage described as the worst in living 
memory in Malawi.	
		
In a related development, Muluzi  moved two key Cabinet Ministers, Ken 
Lipenga who was Minister responsible for tourism  now  becomes Minister 
responsible for presidential affairs and the Minister who was responsible 
for that portfolio Dumbo Lemani, was assigned responsibility for water.

Lee Mlanga who was the Minister responsible for Water Development now 
becomes Minister for poverty alleviation and Bernard Chisale, member of 
parliament for Zomba Ntoya, took over from Ken Lipenga as Minister of 
Tourism, Parks and Wildlife.

Reported by Hamilton Vokhiwa in Blantyre