U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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Fax: +254 2 622129
e-mail: irin@ocha.unon.org


CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-Up 390
7 - 13 July 2007


CONTENTS:

CONGO: Women lag behind in top positions
DRC: Expelled Congolese waiting for aid
DRC: Alarming malnutrition rates in North Kivu
UGANDA: LRA to remain in the bush until ICC indictments are lifted
AFRICA: Education tops pastoralists' concerns
TANZANIA: High population growth threatens MDGs in Zanzibar
GLOBAL: Make migration work for development, Ban urges


Also see:
KENYA: "We lack recognition of our pastoralist way of life" at:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73182


CONGO: Women lag behind in top positions

Congolese women have been thwarted in their ambition to improve their 
showing in the National Assembly after the first round in the Congolese 
legislative elections. The results of the 24 June vote show that only 
one woman was elected and it was unlikely the numbers will improve in 
the upcoming second round.

"It is a shame because we were hoping to do better after all our work," 
said Suzanne Somboko, permanent secretary of the Centre for the 
Promotion of Women in Politics. "I think we will have to work harder and 
maybe adopt new strategies," she added.

Full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73185


DRC: Expelled Congolese waiting for aid

Tens of thousands of Congolese expelled from Angola since the beginning 
of July have lost all their goods and have not received any help, 
according to NGOs.

They have been arriving in several villages along the border between the 
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Angola.

Full report:
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73181


DRC: Alarming malnutrition rates in North Kivu

Very high malnutrition rates have been recorded in the highlands of 
Masisi, in North Kivu province, because of insecurity, said the UN.

"These high rates are the direct result of the insecurity which has 
prevailed in the area for months because of the militia activities," 
said UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo spokesman, Kemal 
Saiki, who based his observations on nutritional surveys carried out by 
a local non-governmental organisation.

"People do not dare go either into their fields or to the nearby health 
centres," he added.

Full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73212


UGANDA: LRA to remain in the bush until ICC indictments are lifted

Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has said its fighters will 
remain in hiding even if a peace deal with the government is reached, 
unless indictments against several of its leaders are lifted.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted five LRA commanders, 
including the group's leader, Joseph Kony, and his deputy, Vincent Otti, 
on charges of war crimes.

"The ICC remains a big stumbling block to peace in Uganda," LRA 
spokesman Godfrey Ayoo told IRIN by telephone on 8 July.

Full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73135


AFRICA: Education tops pastoralists' concerns

Pastoralists across Africa want their children to have access to 
education that suits their nomadic lifestyles, representatives of 
pastoral communities said on 9 July in Isiolo.

"The issue of the education curriculum is important to understanding 
pastoralism; imagine taking a lot of time to teach a child in Mandera 
[northern Kenya] how to plant beans when that child could be taught how 
to tan leather, given that it is the available resource," Ali Wario, 
Kenya's assistant minister for special programmes in the office of the 
president, said.

Wario, who opened the three-day workshop attended by at least 70 
participants, said children in Kenya's pastoralist areas not only lacked 
access to education but, when available, the curriculum often did not 
suit pastoral lifestyles. "We must have mobile schools in pastoralist 
areas if children are to gain from the education system."

Full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73156


TANZANIA: High population growth threatens MDGs in Zanzibar

Tanzania's semi-autonomous islands of Zanzibar could fail to achieve the 
millennium development goals because of high population increase, 
according to the islands' finance minister Mwinyihaji Makame Mwadini.

He said the Zanzibar government was planning to step up its family 
planning campaign and impose stricter migration rules to regulate the 
flow of outsiders wishing to settle in the islands.

Opposition politicians have expressed concern over what they claimed 
were large numbers of people from mainland Tanzania settling in 
Zanzibar. The leader of the opposition in parliament, Abubakar Khamis 
Bakari, has advised the Zanzibar government to reintroduce entry permits 
for mainlanders coming to the islands.

Full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73175


GLOBAL: Make migration work for development, Ban urges

With an estimated 200 million migrants around the world, governments 
must strengthen the positive impact of migration on the development of 
home countries by ensuring people move in a way that is safe and legal, 
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said. "We cannot stop this force of 
human nature, but we can do a great deal to build a better migration 
experience," Ban said on 10 July in Brussels during the opening of the 
first Global Forum for Migration and Development.

"We can work to strengthen the positive impact of migration on the 
development of migrants' home countries. We can encourage destination 
countries to promote the success of migrants, both in their original and 
their adopted homes," Ban said.

Full report: 
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73209


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