Season of Peace Blooms in the Horn of Africa

(excerpted from Stars and Stripes)

The Red Sea states of Eritrea and Djibouti agreed to normalize relations, a further sign of what Eritrea’s president called a “season of peace” in the strategically important Horn of Africa region that has been riven by rivalries.

The agreement may draw a line under a border dispute between the countries whose troops clashed in 2008 and may help once-isolated Eritrea secure the removal of near-decade-old United Nations sanctions. It’s the latest movement toward harmony in an area that’s on a key shipping route to the Suez Canal, following an historic peace deal between Eritrea and regional giant Ethiopia in July that’s ending 20 years of tensions.

“The Horn of Africa is experiencing a rare extraordinary period in terms of peace and stability building,” Ilyas Dawaleh, chairman of Djibouti’s ruling party, said by email from China where he was attending a Sino-African summit. “Our people, our region, our children deserve a peaceful, prosperous, interconnected and integrated region.”

The shakeup in regional relations follows the coming to power of a new, reformist-minded premier in Ethiopia, which has Africa’s fastest-growing economy and its second-largest population, and could have far-reaching consequences for trade, infrastructure and security.

Ethiopia and Eritrea sign joint peace agreement ending 20-year war

(from Al-Jazeera)

Ethiopia and Eritrea have declared their “state of war” over after landmark talks between the neighbouring countries’ leaders, as part of a historic agreement that will see the opening of embassies, development of ports and resumption of flights. The sudden rapprochement ends a decades-long cold war over border disputes that hurt both countries.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel, quoting from a “Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship,” said on Monday that “a new era of peace and friendship has been ushered (in)”.

The “state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end”, he wrote on Twitter.

“Both countries will work to promote close cooperation in political, economic, social, cultural and security areas,” Yemane added.

The agreement was signed by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday morning at state house in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.

“The people of our region are joined in common purpose,” Abiy said on Monday, after signing the landmark declaration.

Ethiopia’s state broadcaster said the two men had “agreed to participate in the development of ports” – potentially a huge economic boost for both countries, particularly landlocked Ethiopia which has one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. The deal would also include a resumption of phone connections, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said.

Abiy arrived in Asmara on Sunday, where he was welcomed at the airport by Isaias. The two men shared a “brotherly embrace” at the airport runway before being cheered on by thousands of Eritreans who took to the streets to greet them. At a dinner hosted by Isaias late on Sunday, Abiy said diplomatic, trade, transport and communications ties would be re-established and borders re-opened.

“We agreed that the airlines will start operating, the ports will be accessible, people can move between the two countries and the embassies will be opened,” Abiy said.

“We will demolish the wall and, with love, build a bridge between the two countries,” he said.

The visit comes a month after Abiy surprised people by fully accepting a peace deal that ended a two-year border war between the two countries.

Last month’s decision to fully accept the deal was the biggest and most surprising reform yet announced by Ethiopia’s prime minister, who took office in April and quickly set off a wave of reforms, freeing journalists and opposition figures from prison, opening up the state-run economy and unblocking hundreds of websites after years of anti-government protests demanding more freedoms.

The Horn of Africa nations remained at loggerheads since Ethiopia rejected a United Nations ruling and refused to cede to Eritrea land along the countries’ border following a 1998-2000 war that killed 80,000 people.

Macedonia’s New Name to End 27-Year Dispute With Greece

(from NPR)

Ever since the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence in 1991, Greece has been fighting the country over its name. Today the 27-year impasse ended as two nations finally came to a resolution: The former Yugoslav republic is getting a new name, the Republic of North Macedonia.

“There is no way back,” Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in a press conference, Reuters reports, after he spoke with his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras. “Our bid in the compromise is a defined and precise name, the name that is honorable and geographically precise — Republic of Northern Macedonia.”

When Yugoslavia disintegrated, one of its pieces declared itself the Republic of Macedonia. But its southern neighbor, Greece, has regions that use the same name, and both countries argued that they had the rightful claim to it.

“We have a deal. I’m happy because we have a good deal which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side,” Tsipras said.

The issue has been heated, and one with very real repercussions for Macedonia: It hasn’t been able to join the European Union or NATO because Greece opposed its name. It was admitted to the United Nations as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, because of Greece’s objection.

“This historic agreement is testament to many years of patient diplomacy, and to the willingness of these two leaders to solve a dispute which has affected the region for too long,” Stoltenberg said. “I now call on both countries to finalise the agreement reached by the two leaders. This will set Skopje on its path to NATO membership. And it will help to consolidate peace and stability across the wider Western Balkans.“

A landmark change to India’s marital rape laws is a massive win for girls’ rights

(excerpted from Global Citizen)

India’s top court has ruled that sex with a child is always rape, quashing a clause that allowed men to have sex with underage girls if they were married to them. The Supreme Court’s landmark decision on Wednesday closed a legal loophole that has historically allowed perpetrators of rape to escape punishment.

While the age of consent in India is 18, there was a clause in India’s rape laws that lowered the age of consent to 15 if the girl was married. But the court has now ruled that the clause is “discriminatory, capricious, and arbitrary”, and “violates the bodily integrity of the girl child”.

Girls under 18 will now be able to report their husbands for rape, as long as they lodge a complaint within a year of it happening.

“The judgement is a step forward in protecting girls from abuse and exploitation, irrespective of their marital status,” Divya Srinivasan, from women’s rights organisation Equality Now , told Global Citizen.

“This positive decision by the Supreme Court will hopefully encourage the Indian government to protect all women by removing the marital rape exemption in all cases,” she said.

India is ranked 10th in the world for child marriage, with an estimated 47% of girls married by the time they turn 18, according to the campaigning organisation Girls Not Brides . Girls are often seen as an economic burden, particularly in poor, rural areas, and many parents marry off their children in the hope of improving their financial security. There is also a shame associated with pre-marital sex that can lead to girls’ parents forcing them to marry their rapists, according to news agency AFP .

Child marriage is a serious barrier for the girls involved, often leading to them dropping out of school to focus on their domestic responsibilities, or suffering health problems from giving birth at a young age.

With Peace, Colombia Finds Hope for Saving Wild Lands

(excerpt from YaleEnvironment360)

Now, after 52 years of war, Colombia is regaining control of large tracts of land — many of them rich in biodiversity — that previously had been war zones. Last June, FARC disarmed after signing a historic peace agreement with the Colombian government. The National Liberation Army, the last active rebel force, is still negotiating. And as peace returns, scientists such as Cuervo are fanning out to far-flung regions to conduct research and launch conservation initiatives.

Much is riding on the post-conflict efforts to protect Colombia’s forests and wild lands while sustainably developing its natural resources. (Fights over land use were a main driver of the war.) Scientists collaborating with Colombia’s major research institutions, universities, and environment ministry are working quickly to inventory and protect these areas for conservation and sustainable development that could benefit the rural poor, before a rush of illegal loggers and miners inundates these recently opened regions.

Over the past 18 months, nine major biological monitoring expeditions have taken place in key areas across the country — some of them unexplored — as part of the Colombia BIO project. Another 11 expeditions are planned next year. The goal is to study and inventory birds, mammals, insects, plants, and even soil microbes in these poorly studied regions, as well as establish genomic libraries. Scientists say that the conflict’s end has highlighted an environmental paradox in Colombia: Although the guerillas caused environmental damage by destroying forests for drug production and blowing up oil and gas pipelines, their presence also protected large swaths of Colombia from development.

Identifying the biological richness of Colombia’s hugely diverse regions — from its tropical coastlines, to Amazon forests, to high Andean ecosystems — is essential for helping the country’s leaders make informed decisions about conservation and sustainable development. Scientists estimate that about one-third of Colombia’s plants have economic value — mainly in development of pharmaceuticals — which could benefit rural economies as researchers take their discoveries to the lab. Conservationists say Colombia also has huge ecotourism potential…. Colombia is second in the world in biodiversity (after Brazil), with an astonishing 10 percent of all of the species of animals and plants on the planet. Colombia has 311 different ecological zones, and half of its natural habitats remain intact.

Since 2010, the government has doubled the area of national park lands to nearly 110,000 square miles. It plans to protect Serranía de San Lucas by January and expand the Chiribiquete National Park in southern Colombia by the end of the year. Chiribiquete, roughly the size of Belgium, is already the largest national park in Colombia; it is known for its rugged landscape, bird and butterfly species, pre-Colombian art, and indigenous people. The proposed increase will coincide with an expansion of an indigenous reserve that will improve biological connectivity in the Amazon.

(The complete article made be read by following the link below.)
http://e360.yale.edu/features/with-new-peace-colombia-finds-hope-for-saving-its-wild-lands

 

World leaders note the Bicentennial of the birth of Baha’u’llah

Baha’i principle of the oneness of humanity and contributions of believers to building of world unity are praised

British Prime Minister Theresa May is among a group of leaders in Europe and North America who have addressed letters of encouragement to Baha’is in their countries.

Referring to Baha’u’llah, the Prime Minister wrote, “His life, his teachings and his compassion continue to inspire people around the world, and we can all learn from his generosity and wisdom.”

In the United States, former President Jimmy Carter sent his best wishes to the American Baha’i community.

“As many of our people struggle with persistent systemic injustice against African Americans and Indigenous Nations, chronic violence against women, religious conflict, and endless war, the centrality of peace, human equality and religious unity found in the Baha’i writings and activities can serve as an inspiration to those of all faiths and creeds,” President Carter wrote in his 10 October message.

The President of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, addressed a message to the Baha’i community of his country, conveying his best wishes and highlighting certain fundamental principles from Baha’u’llah’s teachings and their implications.

As the worldwide celebrations approach, Baha’i communities around the world are receiving a growing stream of public proclamations and appreciations from national leaders, governors, and city mayors, as well as prominent religious leaders.

(More messages can be found at this site: http://news.bahai.org/story/1203/ )

Colombia’s FARC disarms: “Welcome to Peace”

(from The Guardian)

Colombia’s Farc rebels, who once terrorized the country with kidnaps, killings and attacks on towns, have ended half a century of armed insurgency at low-key ceremony in which the United Nations certified that more than 7,000 guerrillas had turned over their weapons.

“Farewell to arms, farewell to war, welcome to peace,” said the Farc’s top leader, Rodrigo Londoño, to a cheering crowd of former combatants at the ceremony in Mesetas, a mountainous area in south-eastern Colombia.

“Today doesn’t end the existence of the Farc; it ends our armed struggle,” said Londoño, best known by his nom de guerre Timochenko. The Farc plan to launch a legal political party in August.

President Juan Manuel Santos said: “Today is a special day, the day when weapons are exchanged for words.” Santos was awarded the 2016 Nobel peace prize for his efforts to secure a deal with the Farc to end their part in a 53-year armed conflict that has left an estimated 250,000 dead, tens of thousands of people missing and forced millions from their home.

“Our peace is real, and it’s irreversible,” said Santos, who is now trying to achieve a similar deal with the smaller rebel faction the National Liberation Army, or ELN.

Jean Arnaut, chief of the UN peace monitoring mission in Colombia, said monitors had registered and stored 7,132 weapons, as well as munitions, which are being held in shipping containers in each of 26 special transition zones for Farc members as they prepare to enter civilian life. They have also destroyed 77 of hundreds of secret arms caches throughout the country.

Though the original peace accord was rejected by voters in a referendum, a revised deal went into effect 1 December, laying out the terms of the Farc demobilization, justice for victims of the conflict, and new guarantees for participation in politics.

Ex-combatants are due to remain in the camps until the end of July, when the UN will remove the weapons-filled containers. The arms will be made into three monuments to be installed in Bogota, Havana and New York.

Mauricio Jaramillo, a member of the Farc secretariat who began the first talks with the government six years ago in Havana, said that when he handed his weapon to the UN two months ago felt a “huge sense of commitment with Colombia”. He often doubted the day the Farc would end as an armed group would come “but it was always what we worked towards”, he told the Guardian.

Rank-and-file rebel fighters admitted they were nervous about future life as civilians. Jairo, 36, spent 20 years in Farc ranks before handing over his assault rifle last weekend, and he said he feared a violent backlash against former guerrillas – several of whom have already been murdered after disarming.

Still, he has big plans, he said. “I want to be a lawyer to help the new party,” he said at the special transition zone in Mesetas. “First, though, I have to finish high school.”

Canadian judge rules in favor of forcibly adopted First Nations survivors

(from The Guardian)

After a bitter legal battle that has lasted nearly a decade, a Canadian judge has ruled that the government is liable for the harm inflicted on thousands of First Nations children who were forcibly removed from their families and adopted by non-indigenous families.

Between 1965 and 1984, around 16,000 indigenous children were fostered or put up for adoption in an episode which became known as the “Sixties Scoop”.

Ontario superior court justice Edward Belobaba’s ruling Tuesday found in favour of survivors of the operation and their families, who argued that the forced removal robbed the children of their cultural identity and caused emotional damage that has resonated for generations.

“There is … no dispute that great harm was done,” Belobaba wrote. “The ‘scooped’ children lost contact with their families. They lost their aboriginal language, culture and identity. Neither the children nor their foster or adoptive parents were given information about the children’s aboriginal heritage or about the various educational and other benefits that they were entitled to receive. The removed children vanished ‘scarcely without a trace’.”

“The evidence supporting the plaintiff on this is, frankly, insurmountable. In any event, Canada offered no evidence to suggest otherwise,” he said in the decision.

“The uncontroverted evidence of the plaintiff’s experts is that the loss of their aboriginal identity left the children fundamentally disoriented, with a reduced ability to lead healthy and fulfilling lives,” Balobaba wrote. “The loss of aboriginal identity resulted in psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, unemployment, violence and numerous suicides.”

Canada has never officially apologised for removing the children – a failure which still needs to be set right, according to Michael Cheena, of Toronto’s Council Fire Native Cultural Centre.

“Reconciliation means acknowledging historical injustices and taking action to end colonialism,” he said. “These policies eradicated spiritual practices, cultural identity and language.”

Indigenous affairs minister Carolyn Bennett said the government would not appeal the decision and that the government wanted to meet survivors by the end of the month to discuss a settlement.

 

Jeffery Wilson, a legal adviser for the plaintiffs, said the ruling gave a clear message to the Canadian government.

“The court has found what took place is lawfully wrong,” he said. But he added that the lawsuit was not just about compensation. “It’s about providing restorative help for the plaintiffs who have been traumatised and kept waiting because of the litigation process.”

Marcia Brown Martel, one of the lead complainants in the lawsuit said the ruling was “a step closer to reconciliation”.

“After so many years, I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my heart. Our voices were finally heard and listened to. Our pain was acknowledged. I hope no one sees this as a loss for our government. It is a gain for all of us,” she said. “There is still work to be done, but my hope is that we can now undertake that work with open hearts and open minds.”

The country where women hold the top jobs

(from BBC News)

December saw the election of the first female premier of the tiny British territory of Turks & Caicos (TCI). She is Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson.

Women also claim the titles of deputy governor, attorney general, chief justice, chief magistrate, director of public prosecutions and five of the seven permanent secretaries, among others.

In fact, with more females markedly outperforming their male counterparts, efforts are now being made to motivate young men in a bid for equality.

Turks & Caicos’ Gender Affairs Department, traditionally aimed at empowering women, is shifting attention towards helping high school boys “become more focussed and take up pivotal roles in society”, says Deputy Governor Anya Williams.

That includes everything from official commemoration of International Men’s Day, to “build a boss” summer camps which teach young men vocational skills and include seminars on peer pressure, anger management and communication.

Success stories

So how did the women of Turks & Caicos achieve what many others still dream of?

Ms Cartwright-Robinson, whose PDM party snared a landslide victory in the 15 December general elections, says she was simply “the best man for the job”.

Campaigning on a manifesto of social justice and open, transparent governance, she beat 52 other candidates to the top post.

Her triumph put an end to a 13-year reign for the PNP party, led from 2003-9 by former premier Michael Misick who remains on trial for corruption after his lavish spending prompted a commission of inquiry, followed by a three-year return to direct British rule.

Ms Cartwright-Robinson says that her eight years of parliamentary experience, including an advisory position to the UK interim administration, stood her in good stead for her new job.

“There may still be one or two pastors who think women can’t lead but because of the work I have done over the last few years, I wasn’t looked at as a woman but as a person who could get the job done,” she told the BBC.

‘Personal touch’

But she thinks that women do bring something special to the job.

“Women pay more attention to details and bring that level of personal touch. We are indeed occupying positions never before held and are doing remarkably well,” the first female premier in any of Britain’s overseas territories said.

In February 2014, Ms Braithwaite-Knowles became TCI’s first female attorney general following an open selection process which attracted applicants from across the globe.

“There are a lot of very strong women in TCI who play significant roles, who are very active in civic society and very vocal – in both the corporate world and government,” she explained.

Of the 17 students from TCI currently training overseas to be lawyers, 14 are female.

“It’s an interesting dynamic,” she said. “I have found in my professional life that women have more emotional intelligence which is very useful when solving disputes.”

Ms Braithwaite-Knowles says while she has never been a victim of discrimination, “condescension” from older male professionals is more prevalent.

Deputy Governor Ms Williams, whose job includes oversight of the civil service and its 1,700 employees, was sworn in as a member of the cabinet for the second time on 21 December.

She tells the BBC women have long held prominent roles in the country of 35,000 people, particularly in the fields of education, medicine, politics and government.

“In TCI I see no barriers for entry or upward mobility,” she said.

But she warned: ‘Whilst it’s great having females in so many top positions, as a mother of a young son we must ensure that our young males are motivated, encouraged and given opportunities to excel and take up future positions as well so that we have a gender-balanced society.”

In a new Gambia, the prison doors begin to swing open

BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — Gambian soldiers picked up Tijan Barrow, beat him with their guns and threw him into a cell at the notorious National Intelligence Agency prison. His alleged crime: Creating and selling T-shirts for the opposition.

In the final days of his crumbling rule, defeated leader Yahya Jammeh turned again to the tactics that human rights groups had long accused his government of using against opponents during his more than 22 years in power.

Now, after Jammeh’s weekend flight into exile, the country’s prison doors are starting to swing open.

On Saturday, as Jammeh departed and a new democratic era began in this tiny West African country, Tijan and a number of others were released. Officials with the incoming government vow that more will follow.

“All political detainees without trial to be released immediately,” the spokesman for the coalition backing new President Adama Barrow, Halifa Sallah, announced Tuesday. He did not say how many people might be freed, but he encouraged victims’ families to come forward.

It is believed that some were killed in prison under Jammeh. Tijan feared he might join them.

“To be quite honest, my life was at risk,” he said, recalling the soldiers’ threats. Because he shared the same last name as Barrow, who defeated Jammeh in the December elections, he would spend the rest of his life in jail, they told him.

He spent just a few days.

A dozen or so people like Tijan were rounded up in the final weeks of Jammeh’s rule, as he tried to cling to power while challenging his election loss. He finally gave in after intense diplomatic efforts by regional leaders, while a West African military force was poised to oust him if negotiations failed.

His departure has been cheered by many Africans who continue to live under leaders who refuse to give up power and treat opponents harshly.

Barrow this week is expected to return to Gambia after being inaugurated last week in neighboring Senegal for his safety.

That prisoners are already being released is a sign that the country’s security forces recognize their new leader. “It shows the potential for a new Gambia in which these disappearances don’t happen,” said Jim Wormington, West Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch.

As for Tijan, he continues to print his #Gambiahasdecided T-shirts for an opposition that has now taken power. He said he no longer lives in fear.

“Where there was no freedom of speech, there was no justice,” he said. “So now, thank God, you are free to say whatever you want.”