Africa and the G8

Africa is at a crossroads. After years of marginalization, economic decline and conflict, African leaders are rising to the challenge. Some of Africa's most important political leaders recently launched a major reappraisal of Africa's current crisis and are proposing a new relationship with the rest of the world. The New African Initiative was endorsed by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at its July 2001 meeting in Lusaka, Zambia. At their meeting in Genoa in July 2001, G8 leaders agreed to work in partnership to support key themes of the New African Initiative. With the invitation of Prime Minister Chrétien to put Africa on the agenda for the next G8 meeting in Canada in June 2002, there is an excellent opportunity to help Canada and the world respond to Africa's new initiative.

Partnership Africa Canada is collaborating with Alternatives and A-Dialogue to launch a consultation and mobilization process in the period leading up to the G8 meeting in June 2002 and the United Nations session on Africa in September 2002. Over the coming year, we will facilitate a participatory process of consultation and mobilization in Canada and Africa to inform ourselves about the African recovery program, build public support and engage the media and key decision-makers in governments on issues of importance to African development and recovery.

More information is available on the Africa and the G8 page.

Human Security and the International Diamond Trade in Africa

Diamonds are central to the economy of conflicts in several countries in Africa, fuelling the conflicts and motivating those who benefit from the continuation of war. Until the diamond-producing areas and the diamond trade are brought under the control of legitimate authorities and managed both responsibly and legally, there can be no sustainable peace or improvement to the human security and living standard of the populations in the affected areas.

PAC is collaborating with several organizations in an action-oriented research program which aims to ensure that the international diamond industry operates legally, openly and for the primary benefit of the countries where the diamonds originate, becoming an asset for, rather than a detriment to, peaceful long-term development.

Further information about this issue is available in Human Security and the International Diamond Trade in Africa section of this web site.

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has been gripped by war since 1991. Although the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) originally claimed that it launched the war to depose a corrupt and repressive one-party government, the RUF quickly became notorious for brutally coercive recruitment of child fighters, looting rural communities, and terror tactics against civilians such as amputation of limbs and systematic rape. Estimates of war-related deaths since 1991 are as many as 75,000. Approximately half the population of 4.5 million has been internally displaced, or living as refugees outside the country. Currently, rebel forces made up largely of the RUF still occupy much of the north and east of Sierra Leone, including the diamond-rich Kono district.

In recent years, control of Sierra Leone's diamond fields and the ability of various factions to trade diamonds for arms, training and supplies has been a critical factor in the war. Liberia has been the principal route for the smuggling of Sierra Leonean diamonds onto world markets. It has also been a refuge for RUF fighters, a diplomatic and military supporter of the RUF, and a transit point for arms shipments. PAC has campaigned with several organizations to bring attention to the conflict in Sierra Leone and to the role of the diamond trade in sustaining this and other conflicts.

Further information about these issues is available in the Resources section, using the keyword "Sierra Leone".

Somalia

It must appear to much of the world that Somalia has ceased to exist as a country. All diplomatic missions there have been closed and although limited UN aid programmes are operating, bilateral donors have largely forgotten Somalia. Respected guide books and travel information web sites dispense dire warnings to potential travellers and major airlines no longer include Somalia as a destination. It's not even possible to write to friends and relatives in Somalia, for postal links have been cut. Somalia, it would appear, is a country that much of the international community has placed in quarantine.

PAC has collaborated with the Somali-Canadian Institute for Research and Development in several initiatives aimed at challenging the assumptions behind these international policies (particularly as they relate to northern Somalia) and calls for the quarantine on Somalia to be lifted. It argues, rather, for increased international links with a view to consolidating the peaceful regions and supporting the nascent national and regional political structures.

Further information about this issue is available in the Resources section, using the keyword "Somalia".

Sudan

Sudan has seen conflict for much of the period since Independence from the British colonial administration in 1956. There have been a succession of military coups interrupting short-lived phases of democracy. Armed factions in southern Sudan have fought for greater autonomy, if not outright independence. A coup d'état in 1989 brought the islamist NIF government to power, which heralded a hardening of positions and increasing human rights violations throughout Sudan, in particular on the part of the Government of Sudan and its local allies. During the 1990s, there have been renewed attempts at the international level to help resolve the conflicts in Sudan. Currently, the regional IGAD peace process remains the best hope for a comprehensive solution. Progress is slow, however, and there is a parallel Libyan-Egyptian initiative. Meanwhile, the conflicts continue, with frequent humanitarian emergencies. PAC is collaborating with different NGOs to draw attention to the situation in Sudan and to strengthen the peace process.

Further information about this issue is available in the Resources section, using the keyword "Sudan".

Colours of Africa Ottawa Film Festival

It is regrettable that very few African films are ever shown at cinemas or on television in Canada. And yet, African cinema is dynamic and for some 20 to 30 years it has produced leading film directors, particularly in the francophone countries of West Africa and North Africa. Major African film festivals are held regularly in Africa and Europe and parts of North America. A very successful festival of African and Creole films - Vues d'Afrique - takes place in Montreal each April. PAC joined several Ottawa-based NGOs in putting on the first Colours of Africa film festival in Ottawa in April 2001, held in collaboration with Vues d'Afrique. Over four days, eight recent films were shown, including four feature films. Three of the African film directors were present to join the large audiences in discussion about their films and the issues they raised.

The aim of the Colours of Africa film festival is essentially educational, to build awareness of African realities among Canadians and members of the Canadian media. It is organized by non- governmental organizations that have strong connections with Africa through collaborative initiatives in development. Reaching people through cinema is an excellent way to achieve this goal, particularly when the films are made in Africa, by Africans, and when some of the African film directors are available to discuss their work with audiences and the media.

Further information about this event is available in the Resources section, using the keyword "Film Festival".