POLITICS-CAMEROON: NGOs Endorse Code of Conduct to Promote Transparency

Cameroonian civil societies have welcomed the first global accountability charter that leading international campaigners have publicly endorsed in Glasgow, Scotland, to govern the way non-governmental organisations (NGOs) do business.

WORLD REFUGEE DAY-SOUTH AFRICA: Hope in a Suitcase

Conflict in Rachael Mukoma's country, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), made it impossible for her to stay there. At the same time, it was very difficult for her to leave.

RIGHTS-CAMEROON: An Unwelcome “Gift of God”

Josiane Matia, making her way along a school route in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé, is far less carefree than other 11-year-olds. Walking slowly, she complains of the pain caused by a breast band that her mother has forced her to wear for three months.

RIGHTS: “War on Terror Is Sending People Into the Hands of Terrorists”

Political repression and the war on terror are expected to be amongst issues discussed at the five-day CIVICUS World Assembly that begins in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Jun. 21.

POLITICS-DRC: “We Cannot Have Elections Like This”

Hundreds of combatants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are said to be joining a nascent militia based in the north-east of the country: the Congolese Revolutionary Movement (Mouvement Revolutionnaire Congolaise, MRC). This comes just weeks before the first multi-party elections to be held in 40 years, and is undermining prospects for a successful poll.

RIGHTS-CAMEROON: Will a New Penal Code Lead to New Attitudes?

An information campaign is underway in Cameroon concerning a new Code of Penal Procedure that authorities say will strengthen the rule of law - making the Central African country a standard for human rights.

ENVIRONMENT-RWANDA: Park Fencing to Protect the Mountain Gorillas

Authorities in Rwanda have announced that the "Parc national des volcans" (National Volcano Park) will soon be fenced off to stem the killing of endangered mountain gorillas, and prevent further destruction of the park forest.

DEATH PENALTY: Congolese Minors Sit on Death Row

In a dank dormitory lit only by shafts of sunlight from holes in the roof, a hundred Congolese prisoners lie silently on straw mats and soiled blankets, some of them waiting to die.

RIGHTS-RWANDA: Genocide Survivors Tire of “Unrealistic Promises”

More than a decade after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the need for compensation to victims of this tragedy continues to present difficulties for government and genocide survivors alike.

POLITICS: Uganda Seeks Arrests of Rebels Hiding In Congo

Uganda has appealed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to disarm and arrest rebels hiding in the vast central African country.

INT’L WOMEN’S DAY: More Female Voices on Screens, Airwaves and Pages

South Africa has made substantial progress in having women's voices heard in the media, says a study released to coincide with International Women's Day on Wednesday.

POLITICS-DRC: To Resume Voter Registration, or Not to Resume

Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and his Union for Democracy and Social Progress (Union pour la démocratie et le progrès social - UDPS) have expressed anger at the Independent Electoral Commission's refusal to re-open voter registration for the benefit of UDPS supporters.

DEVELOPMENT-RWANDA: Community Service Offends Across the Board

During the 12 years since the Rwandan genocide, national and community courts - and an international tribunal - have tried to bring about justice for victims of the killings and rights abuses that took place in 1994.

DEVELOPMENT-RWANDA: Community Service Offends Across the Board

During the 12 years since the Rwandan genocide, national and community courts - and an international tribunal - have tried to bring about justice for victims of the killings and rights abuses that took place in 1994.

CHALLENGES 2005-2006: Congolese Mineral Wealth As Coveted As Ever

A ragged gold miner dives into a chocolate-coloured pool of sludge, resurfacing minutes later with a handful of stones containing slivers of gold ore.

HEALTH-DRC: An Epidemic Waiting to Happen

A vast forested valley stretches out below the office of Jose Mpindi, an ornithologist at the University of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

CULTURE: Hotugandans.com + Red Pepper = Controversy

The spread of the internet has opened Uganda to a vast array of trends and influences that would have had little effect in previous years. However, a good many citizens who have peered into this brave new world are not sure they like what they see - especially the two pornography sites featuring Ugandans that took the country by surprise recently.

CULTURE: The Home of English Football’s Most Ardent Fans? Uganda

It's a cold, wet Sunday evening outside the Little Highbury pub. Inside, patrons are glued to a huge television screen showing an eagerly awaited football match between two English Premier League teams: Arsenal and Chelsea.

RIGHTS: Amnesty International Sounds the Alarm Over DRC

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has expressed concern over mounting political and ethnic tensions in the North-Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - warning that this might spark renewed conflict in the country.

POLITICS-DRC: Making Order Out of Chaos for the 2006 Election

Over recent days, thousands of people have queued at voter registration centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to ensure they can participate in a landmark poll scheduled to take place by Jun. 30 next year.

RIGHTS-RWANDA: A Life Spanning Continents, Genocide – And an Orphanage

Petite, soft-spoken and all of 93 years old, Rosamond Carr might not - at first glance - appear a likely candidate for heading up an orphanage in an especially poor and strife-torn corner of Africa.