REFLECTION

Looking at Both Sides in 2016 with Pope Francis

Since its publication in June 2015, the Laudato Si of Pope Francis has made incredible headlines and provided a wonderful resource for international gatherings. Though the encyclical addresses a wide range of very crucial interconnected social-ecological issues, its gravitation toward the centrality of Human beings and the preservation of the integrity of creation is most evident. Inspired by the encyclical, the AEFJN co-organized a Pan-African conference in Nairobi, Kenya, on land grabbing and good governance in Africa. A representative of the Kenyan government from the Department of Lands who attended the opening ceremonies startled the participants when he called on the participants to LOOK AT BOTH SIDES OF THE ROAD. He was referring to the Kangemi community in Nairobi where a section of the community lives in abject poverty, in shacks without water, electricity and other basic social facilities while the other section of the community, separated by a road, lives in affluence with relatively well established social facilities. Read more

FROM THE AEFJN DESK

MC10, the Stubbornness of Developed Economies 

The 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was held in Nairobi (Kenya) in December 2015. It was the first time the Ministerial Conference had met in an African country. This fact had raised many expectations among Least Developed Countries (LDC). However, the expectation fell into disillusion because of the lack of scope of the final resolution, the so-called “Nairobi Package". Despite few agreements being reached during the MC10, this meeting allowed discussion of major issues such as the search for consensus on the continuation of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) as well as new guidelines for determining ‘Rules of Origin’ and LDC issues, the ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the adoption of the Information Technology Agreement. It could be said that the issues of the “Nairobi Package” had limited relevance for African countries. Read more

AFRICA

DRC Congo: Caritas Report on Butembo-Béni: A year of carnage, a heavy toll

Extract from the report: “The consequences of the carnage for the life of the people are unbearable. In fact, most of the citizens of the town and area of Beni have been traumatised directly or indirectly by the killing of a close friend, relative, neighbour or classmate.  Countless households, around 14,400, are still displaced or in great need of humanitarian aid. Families who have been hosting the people who have been displaced for a year now also deserve help. The health facilities and educational institutions of the country are struggling to operate because the people of the country, with its grinding poverty, are unable to pay for the medical care or school fees. Main cause: the destabilization of local economies, mainly due to the impossibility of access to the fields of a region where the main activity is agriculture." Read more

News from Burkina Faso

After the attack in Burkina Faso by a jihadist group, a member of our AEFJN network writes briefly about the situation in the country.

Dear Friends

We have been feeling alarmed and indignant since the jihadist attack by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb through Friday night at the heart of Ouagadougou. Many of you have shown us your solidarity for which we thank you. The provisional death toll is 26. National mourning will be observed for 72 hours from Sunday for the victims of this terrorist attack that targeted a hotel and a restaurant in the centre of the capital. We ourselves are quite far from the capital, but we share the anguish of a people that aspires to peace and national reconciliation. We pray for all victims of such attacks and implore the Lord to grant to our world this much desired peace.

The community of Pouytenga Sophie, Madeleine and Anne Béatrice 

SPIRITUALITY

Presentation AEFJN Study on Phosphate Mining in Senegal in Madrid

AEFJN & Cicodev were invited to Madrid to the University of Pontificia de Comillas to present the results of the AEFJN Study: “Koudiadiène, a mining operation under scrutiny – evidence”. The Spanish Antenna organised the event together with REDES, who had translated the AEFJN Study into Spanish. The event marked the launch of the Spanish version, which is an important step forward as several Spanish companies were mentioned in the study. The AEFJN Policy Officer presented the link with Europe: European companies extracting phosphorous rock for processing into fertilizers. Then, Amadou Kanoute, Director of Cicodev, shed light on the impact of the extraction on the local population, economy and environment. The event was attended by 60 people. Read more

VIDEOS

Mega Agrobusiness grows Resentment in Mozambique (2 min)

Short video on the expansion of large-scale plantations in Mozambique.

Sénégal : Quand les vautours dansent au-dessus du lac ! (7 Min)

Short video on the expansion of large-scale agricultural projects in North-West Senegal. (Only in French)   

Trade & Health (4 min)

Health is a basic right. International treaties and agreements oblige countries to guarantee that everyone can exercise this right. Is the right to health, however, compatible with economic interests? What are the impacts of free trade agreements on the healthcare of countries in the South with whom the European Union has concluded and/or is negotiating an agreement?