Norah Fuathom had a choice to make.  She could succumb to her impossible circumstances or she could try to rise above them.  Norah is one of thousands of people whose relatives went missing during the course of conflicts that ravaged Uganda over the last 30 years.  In Norah’s case, it was her son.  After he was taken, she nearly lost her will to survive.  Yet, through the dedicated efforts of AYINET, as well as others, she was able to find her strength and use that strength to help others in similar circumstances. 

TrustAfrica’s Fund to advance International Criminal Justice in Africa seeks to engage civil society, as well as scholars, legal advocates, and state authorities, to develop innovative strategies to improve accountability for crimes committed.  To help achieve this objective, most recently, TrustAfrica was the primary donor for the first ever National War Victims’ Conference in Uganda.  The conference was facilitated by TrustAfrica grantee African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET), an independent Ugandan NGO that has been working for the last nine years on projects that seek response to and redress for serious crimes and harms resulting from armed violence.  

The National War Victims’ Conference in Kampala, Uganda, will take place on May 28-30, 2014 at the Imperial Royal Hotel. The objective of the conference is to strengthen victims’ participation in Transitional Justice processes, and build nationwide solidarity around victims’ rights. The conference takes place ahead of the adoption of a National Transitional Justice policy for Uganda.

The conference will convene stakeholders from all sectors of society who are engaged in transitional justice processes, including the government, civil society and development partners. It plans to unite 100 victims from all Ugandan regions and over 30 victims from other African countries. Several ministers and other members of the Ugandan government will also speak at the event. Invited guests (to be confirmed) to address the plenary include:

• H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
• Video message from His Grace Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
• H.E. Mary Robinson (Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Former President of the Republic of Ireland),
• Professor Jeremy Sarkin, Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and human rights scholar,
• Justice James Ogala (Chairman of the Transitional Justice Working Group and Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission,
• And many others.

The National War Victims’ Conference in Kampala, Uganda, will take place on May 28-30, 2014 at the Imperial Royal Hotel. The objective of the conference is to strengthen victims’ participation in Transitional Justice processes, and build nationwide solidarity around victims’ rights. The conference takes place ahead of the adoption of a National Transitional Justice policy for Uganda.

The conference will convene stakeholders from all sectors of society who are engaged in transitional justice processes, including the government, civil society and development partners. It plans to unite 100 victims from all Ugandan regions and over 30 victims from other African countries. Several ministers and other members of the Ugandan government will also speak at the event. Invited guests (to be confirmed) to address the plenary include:

• H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
• Video message from His Grace Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
• H.E. Mary Robinson (Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Former President of the Republic of Ireland),
• Professor Jeremy Sarkin, Attorney of the High Court of South Africa and human rights scholar,
• Justice James Ogala (Chairman of the Transitional Justice Working Group and Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission,
• And many others.

TrustAfrica, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and Third World Network- Africa, with financial support from Ford Foundation, held a two-day Consultative Roundtable on ‘Mending the Leakages: Africa’s Battle against Illicit Financial Flows,’ at Sheraton Hotel Abuja, Nigeria from 25-26 March, 2014. The primary objective of the roundtable was to expand and deepen knowledge on the issue of illicit financial flows and their role in inhibiting Africa’s growth.

“It’s not a matter of numbers, it’s a matter of conception, a matter of understanding substantive equality and the power dynamic in society. In many parts of the African continent we come from a patriarchal structure and that flows out into everyday life. Philanthropy and power can’t be delinked from the issue of identity, and whose identity allows them to have a bigger say is critical.”

By Chris de la Torre

When you ask Halima Mahomed if women indeed represent 70% of the world’s poor, she’ll tell you not to be worried so much with the exact number, but rather to acknowledge that women do make up the majority of those who bear the brunt of poverty, discrimination and marginalisation. Mahomed attributes this to an imbalance of power, admitting the need for a more activist agenda that puts women in decision making positions both personally and in society.

 

Photo courtesy Alliance magazine