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 20,000 in awards from
the L’Oreal-UNESCO Regional Fellowship For Women in Science (FWIS).
’s 104 applications. "The L’Oreal corporate Foundation is committed to creating a place for women in the traditionally male-dominated sciences," the release states.
Professor Joseph Massaquoi, Director for the Regional Bureau for Science in Africa and the President of the Jury for the L’Oreal-UNESCO Regional Fellowship For Women in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Regional programme for sub-Saharan Africa was officially launched in 2009 and is organised in conjunction with the African Network
of Scientific and Technological Institutions (ANSTI). A similar program exists in the Arab States.
The fellowship programme also aims to increase the representation of women in global scientific circles, creating role models
for future female generation.
Land is the single most important asset in most of rural Africa.
Yet, 90 percent of the land in rural Africa is undocumented.
Insecure land rights leave many African communities and households vulnerable to exploitation and displacement, particularly women who are least likely to have
formally documented or recognized rights to the land they rely on. Insecurity of land
rights for women, men, and communities in sub-Saharan African countries creates conflict,
undermines conservation efforts, and reduces food security.
As demand for land rises across the continent, land
tenure security becomes a more pressing challenge. Landesa is supporting the Land Policy
Initiative, a joint program of the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, to implement
its commitment to strengthened women’s land rights across the continent.
In Ghana, Landesa worked with the government’s Ghana Commercial
Agricultural Project to develop a model lease agreement for commercial farmers and local communities, as well as investor/community guidelines for land-based investments.
Landesa also partnered with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa to develop a
Land Tenure and Property Rights Risk Assessment Tool that can be used in areas with high urban growth and/or agricultural investment.
In Kenya, Landesa helped the government ensure that new land
legislation embodies constitutional mandates for gender-equal land rights and community-based
land governance. And Landesa designed and implemented a
pilot program to improve women’s access to justice within the customary system
in Kenya. In Rwanda, Landesa helped the government develop
framework land laws and a pilot program to educate farmers, especially women farmers,
about the importance of land rights and to document farmers’ land
rights. Landesa is currently implementing another pilot project
to resolve land-related conflicts and strengthen women’s land
rights in Rwanda’s Eastern Province. In Uganda, Landesa
has developed a toolkit that can be used in many rural settings to help improve women’s land rights.
Landesa has partnered with other governments and development organizations, including ministries and land commissions, the World Bank and
CARE, to help them integrate land rights into their
own work and improve their own outcomes.
The magnificent Sahara Desert is located in the northern part of Africa that stretched over an area of about 3,
500,000 square miles. The area of the desert is almost equal
to the area of entire United States. In spite of such a vast area,
only 80,000 square miles of area is partially fertile. Due to interference of the nature,
the size of the desert keeps on changing. The southern boundaries of the desert are shrinking since the year 2002; this could be due to
the increased amount of rainfall in the region. If you
have visited this magnificent site of nature or
even if you have heard or watched on television, you certainly must have
struck with the question that how did the sand get over there.
The area what is now we called as the Sahara Desert used to
be a land with lush greenery and grain fields.
The massive climatic change is responsible for the complete
transformation of the entire environment of the area. There is speculation that this
happened due to the green house effect which is also responsible for
dinosaurs to extinct. The Sahara Desert can be divided into distinct regions such as the Western Sahara, the Central Plateau
and the Eastern Sahara region. The Western Sahara region consists
of sand and rocky plains. This area of the region receives almost
zero amount of rainfall but there are a range of underground rivers and
act as the major source of water.
There are a range of oases found around the area. This may be due to the underground rivers that break the surface and form oases.
The central plateau region of the desert is known for receiving
some amount of rain. This is a mountainous region with the peaks that ranges from 6,000 to 11,200
feet tall. The eastern part of the desert includes Libyan region that is considered as the driest part of the desert.
The area generally exhibits sand dunes and sandy
wastes with almost no water at all but one
can find few oases. Most part of the Sahara Desert region receives rainfall less than five inches annually, there are
parts where no rainfall is recorded for entire year.
In order to survive in the hottest region in the world with almost no water, the flora and fauna has
made some changes in their lifestyle. According to the climatic conditions, the plants grow with very small leaves and very long roots in order to reach up to the humid soil to gain some water.
Dates palm tree is one of the most significant trees of Sahara Desert as it is
a great food that brings energy and freshness in the body.
When it comes about Fauna of the region, they have also created some strategies
to combat the harsh climatic conditions.
The humanitarian situation for the Saharawi grows ever more acute.
The Saharawi people living in the refugee camps
in Algeria suffer from donor fatigue and malnutrition.
A study from 2008 establishes that 1 in every 5 Saharawi children is
malnourished. It is unsettling to note that the
annual multilateral aid to the refugee camps is only a small percentage of the massive profits Morocco makes by illegally
exploiting the Saharawi resources. Once again and on the World Refugee Day we, the Saharawi Women urge the international community to stop turning a
blind eye to this persistent injustice. Choosing to look away
is also a political choice, as it only strengthens
the ongoing and untenable moroccanization of the territory.
Furthermore, it is an offense to the Saharawi refugees,
who in the face of inhumane hardship have kept their end of the seize-fire bargain, doing exactly
what the international community has asked them to do: wait.
If the United Nations are truly committed to solving the last unresolved colonial
conflict in Africa , breaking the cash-flow from the
occupied territories to the occupying regime might be
a good place to start.
At the 28th Summit meeting of the African Union (AU) held in Ethiopia in January, Morocco’s
readmission to the continental body generated heated discussion. At the end of the day, the Kingdom of Morocco managed to win over
sufficient member states to its side and it was allowed to join the
fold unconditionally. The OAU granted membership to the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), proclaimed in 1976 by the Sahrawi people's Polisario Front in a declaration of independence
rejected by Morocco. The decision was in keeping with the OAU principle
not to recognise the occupation of any part of the
continent. While the SADR claimed sovereignty over Western Sahara, Morocco saw it as an integral part of
its own territory. Rather than accept the SADR’s independence, Morocco left the OAU.
Since then Morocco has refused to join the AU unless the group withdraws the SADR’s membership.
Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco since 1976 when Spain pulled out
and relinquished its claim as a colonial power over the
territory. The former Spanish colony was then annexed by Morocco.
Sahrawi people, who fought Spanish colonial oppression, were now
forced to fight Moroccan occupation. Under the leadership
of the Polisario Front, they conducted armed resistance until 1991, when the United Nations brokered a truce.
A UN-supervised referendum on independence of Western Sahara was promised in 1992,
but aborted by Morocco. A UN peacekeeping mission that was to organise the referendum has remained in the territory ever since,
while Morocco built a 2700 kilometre sand wall, with landmines.
The SADR, headed by the Polisario Front, has been recognised by the AU as the legitimate government in exile.
For decades Morocco made futile attempts to delegitimise
the SADR and Polisario. Eventually, it applied to rejoin AU without preconditions.
Morocco was also asked to accept unconditionally the OAU/AU African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,
which states: "Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another. All peoples shall have the unquestionable and inalienable right to self-determination. Thus, before readmission, Morocco should have accepted all 33 articles of the Constitutive Act of the AU with Western Sahara as a founding member.
Morocco should also accept the AU Act, which recognises African colonial boundaries, thus making its continued occupation of Western Sahara illegal. All this was thrust aside and Morocco was readmitted to the AU when 39 out of the 54 African member states voted for Morocco. They tacitly endorsed the longstanding occupation of Western Sahara, while Morocco refuses to comply with successive UN resolutions on the holding of a referendum on self-determination. Western Sahara thus remains the continent’s last colonial outpost, occupied by another African state. It is an albatross around the AU’s conscience, since it was a departure from its founding principles.
Morocco’s readmission was reportedly influenced by Moroccan King Mohammad’s wealth. This became evident when he demonstrated his largesse while touring the continent, lobbying for support from African heads. It is said he will now bankroll the AU in line with the way Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi used to. That is why prior to the AU vote, the King embarked on a charm offensive by touring African countries, seeking support for his AU bid. In February 2014 he set off on a tour of Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Gabon. This was his second regional trip in less than five months. He took with him a contingent of advisors and business executives who negotiated a pile of agreements covering practically everything — from religious training to agriculture and mining projects.
In December, the King concluded the second leg of a nearly two-month, six-country Africa tour, resulting in about 50 bilateral agreements. The visits came on the heels of trips to Rwanda, Tanzania and Senegal in October, when more than 40 bilateral agreements were signed. The tour of east Africa "is also a way to get closer to countries which historically had positions which were hostile to Morocco's interests," said the Moroccan source. In some circles, it is argued that Morocco’s readmission was a "positive" step in that, as full member of the AU, it will now have to recognise the independence and sovereignty of SADR. If that is so then the readmission should have been conditional.
In any case, Morocco has no intention to give up its occupation. Its return to the union is intended to eventually push Western Sahara out of the AU, thus silencing the voice of the Sahrawi people in connivance with "friendly" member states. Yet while the AU fails to stand by such principles, the Kingdom of Morocco is under pressure in the international diplomatic arena where Polisario is gaining global support. In fact, on December 21, a few days before the AU Summit, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismissed Morocco's claim to Western Sahara. The ruling means the European Union’s trade deals with Morocco do not apply to the occupied territory of Western Sahara which is endowed with fish stocks, mineral deposits, agricultural produce and oil reserves. The ruling confirms the long-established legal status of Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory, and upholds existing international law.
The EU member states and institutions have been asked to comply with the ruling and immediately cease all agreements, funding and projects reinforcing Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara. The court also ruled that a trade deal between the EU and Morocco should be scrapped because it included products from Western Sahara. Morocco had to accept that any free trade deal would have to exclude Western Sahara. This includes the fruits and vegetables grown by companies such as Les Domaines Agricoles, which is partly owned by King Mohammed VI. On top of this, there have been more than 100 UN resolutions calling for self-determination for Western Sahara. In March last year, then-UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon described the situation in Western Sahara as an "occupation".
The UN, however, has to go beyond rhetoric by enforcing
its resolutions.
 French oil company
Total is active in Western Sahara, while others have pulled out.
Big investors such as the Norwegian government's pension fund avoid any deals which involve Western Sahara.
The European Free Trade Association, a group of non-EU countries including Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, excludes Western Sahara goods from its free trade deal with Morocco.
Morocco’s return to the AU is an affront not only to the people of Western Sahara but to African people.
Morocco is a country that once refused to host the African Cup of Nations on flimsy grounds
that Moroccans would be infected by African teams bringing
in Ebola virus. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Sahrawi people are
disenfranchised. Abridged from The Bullet. Subscribe to Green Left now!
You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Imagine yourself on top a camel, trekking through the Sahara Desert.
There is nothing around you and all you can hear are the footsteps of the camel on the soft sand.
Visit kasbahs, see orange sand dunes, lush fertile oases, and
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Rabat - No officials from Morocco or Israel have confirmed the widely circulating news,
but recent developments suggest they may be engaged in rapprochement talks.
Last week, on January 23, Norm Coleman, a former senator and former chairman of the
Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), tweeted a picture of a
recent trip to Rabat. Rabat, Morocco- with the Foreign Minister and @AriFleischer @mbrooksrjc ,
Elliot Abrams pro-Morocco lobbyist Andrew King; and three
other senior Jewish Republicans, Mat Brooks, Ari Fleischer, and Elliot Abrams, known for their pro-Israel activism.
Bourita’s meeting with the RJC adds legitimacy to the claims that Rabat is flexing its diplomatic muscles
to garner more support from the American establishment,
Washington-based outlet Al Monitor reported. The Trump administration has been unpredictable on a number
of foreign policy issues. While Washington has
in many regards remained committed to Morocco as an ally—the continued cooperation on security is one example—some other moves from the Trump administration have bewildered Rabat.
Most recently, National Security Advisor John Bolton’s apparent anti-Morocco statements and
Trump’s "Africa Strategy" were a major source of contention in Rabat-Washington circles.
Where the US saw the necessity of reclaiming its "lost prestige" by containing Chinese inroads in Africa,
Rabat, more concerned with its Western Sahara position, feared
a sudden shift in terms of US priorities in Africa.
Commitment to Israel has been one of the few unambiguous guidelines of the
Trump administration’s foreign policy priorities.
When asked about the aim of the RJC’s visit to Rabat, Abrams wrote off suggestions that the group was working to
facilitate prospective diplomatic overtures between Morocco and Israel.
"My only comment is that I have many friends in Morocco, especially in the Jewish community, and was happy to see them again," Abrams said, according to Al
Monitor. Despite the denial, the group’s Rabat visit came amid reports of a potential visit to Morocco by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Reports on the visit have emphasized Netanyahu’s desire to seek "normalization" with the Muslim world, including countries
in the Middle East and Africa.
On the Moroccan side, meanwhile, rapprochement with Israel is more
likely to do with the North African country’s efforts in recent years to increase its
visibility on the global stage and broaden international support for
its stance on Western Sahara. Since 2017, Rabat’s diplomatic efforts has made
valuable diplomatic inroads in Africa and the Americas in previously
uncharted territories for Moroccan diplomacy. The efforts have paid off.
The UN Security Council’s recent resolution about the Western Sahara
contained a language that is viewed in Morocco as positive.
In addition, many countries in Africa, Europe, and Latin America have vowed
support for Rabat’s position in Western Sahara.
While the US, too, has applauded the Moroccan Autonomy Plan on many
occasions, the Trump administration’s position has not been clear.
Last week, President Trump signed into law the 2019 spending bill,
a document that includes explicitly Morocco-friendly language.
The bill’s section on Morocco includes Western Sahara in US
aids to Morocco and calls for international efforts to monitor
the humanitarian assistance to the Tindouf camps in Algeria, two points that echoed Rabat sentiments on the Western Sahara
question. For all its boost to Morocco’s position, the bill
came after Washington had sent mixed messages
to its North African ally.
The adoption of the bill followed an episode that has
been associated with the "Bolton effect" in the framework of the ongoing UN-led negotiations for
a sustainable settlement in Western Sahara. The usual renewal
period was one year, and many perceived the unprecedented sixth-month timeframe as a Bolton-concocted strategy to put more pressure
on conflicting parties, especially Morocco, where Trump’s
appointment of Bolton raised concerns. While being assertive and
bold with its other partners-note Rabat’s boldness when negotiating the renewal of the fisheries and agriculture agreements with the EU-Morocco has overwhelmingly relied on the reciprocity principle when dealing with Washington. Weeks
later, however, the US House of Representatives passed a Morocco-hostile spending bill.
The move was largely perceived as a relative PR setback for Rabat.
That setback catapulted Moroccan diplomats into initiating backdoor negotiations with Washington, yielding results that have been unfolding in recent weeks.
According to Moroccan and Israeli news reports on Netanyahu’s rumored visit to Rabat,
Moroccan diplomats hope that rapprochement with Israel will put Morocco in a
better position to get game-changing support
from the US government on Western Sahara. While there are clear indications that Rabat is poised to lobby for US support on its Western Sahara position, Netanyahu’s rumored visit should be
taken with a grain of salt. Support for the Palestinian cause
is part of Morocco’s foreign policy directives, and it remains
to be seen whether that can change overnight.
 In the last post I discussed the
problems contributing to the environmental sector of this realm and this included
the issue of poor leadership. This issue also applies to this post because it is
an important part of the political issue in this realm. In fact,
the root cause and solutions to the problems we have discussed
and those to be analyzed can be seen in the
political sector of this realm. In this realm the form of
government is not the problem especially since most of its regions or countries
such as Nigeria have democracy and the federalism.
What then is the problem politically? The problem with the politics in Sub-Saharan Africa is corruption.
Here is my blog post: SAHARAPOLICY.COM |
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