“The blanket pardon applies to whoever been sentenced during the January 25 Revolution while trying to support the revolution,” the presidential decree read, adding that the amnesty excludes those convicted of murder.

Morsi’s legal consultant Mohamed Gadallah to Al-Jazeera Mubasha Misr, Monday evening, that the pardon will include military officers who were arrested for participating in pro-revolution protests.

A few days earlier, during a speech in the Cairo Stadium to commemorate the 1973 ’6 October War’, Morsi gave himself a performance review, looking back at the promises he made when taking office.

“I take responsibility with you and before you for the 100 days and beyond the 100 days,” he said before offering statistics on how many goals he had achieved.

One of his promises concerned the improvement of the quality and availability of bread, which poor Egyptians had to queue for during former President Hosni Mubarak’s era. In some instances, deadly fights over bread broke out between people queuing. “Around 80 per cent of the goals have been achieved,” Morsi claimed, adding that quality still needs to be improved. A watchdog website, called “Morsi Meter”, which was set up to follow up on Morsi’s promises, tells a different story. Of the 13 promises Morsi made regarding bread, only three have been achieved and seven more were in progress, according to the site.

As for the availability of household gas and fuel at the pump, both of which have been in short supply and which was another one of Morsi’s promises, Morsi said to have achieved ’85 per cent of the household needs of gas cylinders’. He added that among the reasons for not doing better was the smuggling of fuel. “In just two months, 23 million litres of fuel have been seized,” he said. However, the Morsi Meter reported that of the five promises related to fuel, only the promise to implement deterrent punishments for smugglers has been achieved, while one of the remaining four is in progress.

Regarding security, Morsi said that 70 per cent of his goals have been achieved. He saluted the men of the Interior ministry for their efforts. The Morsi Meter claims that only one of the promises Morsi made regarding security has been met: to give promotions and benefits to police officers, commensurate with performance.

As far as traffic was concerned, Morsi claimed that he had achieved 60 per cent of his promises. The Morsi Meter estimates that only one of his 21 promises has been completed. And regarding the removal of garbage around 40 per cent of the promises were achieved, Morsi claimed. He said over 600,000 tons of garbage have been removed from the Greater Cairo region, 200,000 tons from Alexandria and 350,000 from other governorates. According to Morsi Meter, this is the only sector in which all of the president’s goals have either been achieved or are in progress.

In the political area there was more criticism.. Ahmed Imam, a member of the National Front for the Portection of the Revolution (NFPR), dismissed the five presidential promises as “only electoral slogans which were unattainable in 100 days.” Rather it was more important, he said, to focus on Morsi’s failure to use the “historic revolutionary moment to change Egypt’s approach to its economy.”

“Instead of forging economic policies in favour of the poor by setting a minimum and maximum wage, forcing progressive taxation and renationalising the country’s robbed companies, Morsi chose to side with the rich and follow the same path as the old ruling party in depending on loans,” Imam opined, referring to the controversial $4.8 billion sum from the International Monetary Fund that Morsi’s administration is currently negotiating.

On the level of freedom of expression there is concern about the position of journalists and the freedom of speech. Particularly worrisome is the rise of cases of “contempt of religion”. Last month, Coptic Christian schoolteacher Bishoy Kamel was sentenced to six years in prison for posting cartoons on Facebook deemed defamatory to Islam, the Prophet Mohamed, President Morsi and Morsi’s family.

Another case which sparked national and international uproar last week was the detention of two Coptic children charged with insulting Islam. The nine and ten year olds, who allegedly tore up verses of the Quran, were shortly released pending investigation.

Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) also complained that the return of the police had conversely increased instances of citizen rights violations. “Morsi and his government still adopt the view that if they reform the police institution [as rights groups have been demanding] they will not be able to regain control of the security situation, a view which we completely reject,” Bahgat said. According to an EIPR investigation due to be released next week, Bahgat asserted, “the level of torture witnessed at the hands of police in the past month and a half is equivalent to that witnessed in the past 18 months.”

Rights activist Aida Seif El-Dawla of the Nadeem Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence agreed, adding that over the course of the last few months the increase in police presence has contributed to the levels of violence during instances of social unrest. Student sit-ins have been violently dispersed, the rights advocate continued, for example when a month-long Nile University protest was forcefully evacuated by Central Security Forces (CSF) three weeks ago. Workers’ strikes were similarly attacked using “old [regime] tactics” such as police cooperating with the business owners’ hired private security, Seif El-Dawla added.

An increase in employees taking industrial action has been one of the most significant developments during the last 100 days. Since early July, transport workers, doctors and teachers have all staged intermittent strikes and protests against low pay and deteriorating living standards.

AUTHOR: Martin Hijmans
URL: http://the-pessoptimist.blogspot.com/
E-MAIL: m.hijmans [at] planet.nl

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee leaders on Tuesday evening sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking why requests for more protection were denied to the U.S. mission in Libya by Washington officials prior to the violent and deadly terrorist attack that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens.

The denials came after repeated attacks and security threats to U.S. personnel, according to Congressmen Darrell Issa (R-CA), the committee chairman, and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) the subcommittee chairman.

“While the written requests were unemotional and respectful, verbal requests were pleas from American foreign service personnel who were terrified of their surroundings and their vulnerability in a turbulent environment,” said the Law Enforcement Examiner source.

“Based on information provided to the Committee by individuals with direct knowledge of events in Libya, the attack that claimed the ambassador’s life was the latest in a long line of attacks on Western diplomats and officials in Libya in the months leading up to September 11, 2012. It was clearly never, As Administration officials once insisted, the result of a popular protest,” wrote Issa and Chaffetz.

“In addition, multiple U.S. federal government officials have confirmed to the [Oversight] Committee that, prior to the attack, the U.S. mission in Libya made repeated requests for increased security in Benghazi. The mission in Libya, however, was denied these resources by officials in Washington,” the congressmen alleged.

The letter to Secretary Clinton outlined 13 security threats during the six months prior to the attack that claimed the lives of Stevens, two Navy SEALs and a consulate staff member.

For example, on June 6, 2012, in Benghazi, under cover of darkness, assailants placed an IED on the north gate of Consulate Benghazi, blowing a hole in the security perimeter that was described by one individual as, “big enough for forty men to go through.”

Also in Benghazi, on June 10, a two-car convoy carrying the British Ambassador to Libya from a conference on reforming Libyan military law was attacked in broad daylight by a militant with an RPG. This attack was an important escalation in the violence against Western targets in Benghazi, as prior attacks had been at night and were often preceded by warnings from the attackers.

“Put together, these events indicated a clear pattern of security threats that could only be reasonably interpreted to justify increased security for U.S. personnel and facilities in Benghazi,” the chairmen wrote.

The Committee indicated it intends to convene a hearing in Washington on Wednesday Oct. 10, 2012, on the security failures that preceded the attack.

AUTHOR: Jim Kouri
URL: http://www.renewamerica.com/
E-MAIL: COPmagazine [at] aol.com

Yacine Zaid

H.E. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President; Minister of National Defence, Algiers

Your Excellency,

I am William Nicholas Gomes,Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com

I came to know about the situation from Front Line Defenders.

On the morning of 1 October 2012, human rights defender Mr Yacine Zaid was arrested and brutally beaten by three policemen in Ouargla.

At the time of his arrest, he was travelling on a bus with Mr. Aibek Abdelmalek, a member of the Comité National pour la Défense des Droits des Chômeurs – CNDDC (National Committee for the Defence of the Rights of the Unemployed). At approximately 09:30 AM, three policemen in civilian attire forced them to disembark the bus and they proceeded to insult, interrogate and beat Mr Yacine Zaid, all whilst he was handcuffed. He was then placed in a white Nissan 4×4 and taken to an unknown location.

Mr Yacine Zaid is President of the Laghouat section of the Ligue Algérienne pour la défense des droits de l’Homme – LADDH (Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights) and a participant in the 2011 Front Line Defenders Dublin Platform.

I believe that the arbitrary arrest and beating of Mr Yacine Zaid were directly related to his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights. Yacine Zaid’s human rights work included a peaceful sit-down protest in front of the Court of Sidi Mohamed in Algiers last April calling for the release of fellow human rights defender Mr Abdelkader Kherba, who has also been the subject of appeals.

I urge the authorities in Algeria to:

1. Immediately and unconditionally release Yacine Zaid, as it is believed that his arrest and detention are solely motivated by his peaceful and legitimate human rights work;

2. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the arrest and beating of human rights defender Yacine Zaid, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;

3. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of Yacine Zaid;

4. Cease targeting all human rights defenders in Algeria and guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.

AUTHOR: William Nicholas Gomes
URL: www.williamgomes.org
E-MAIL: williamgomes.org [at] gmail.com

A group of Islamist protesters and gunmen attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Tuesday. The invaders set fire to the consulate building and killed the American ambassador and others, an Israeli national police official told this writer before the news media broke the story regarding the murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens.

“This attack, along with the one in Egypt, is a reminder of the Iranian invasion of a U.S. embassy in Tehran that led to a lengthy hostage crisis which brought down the [President Jimmy] Carter administration,” said Thomas Sullivan. Sullivan is a former police official who helped with security when the Shah of Iran and his family sought protection and hospitalization for the former Iranian leader.

Sullivan believes a full investigation is needed since the Obama administration was warned by a Government Accountability Office report that was released to the U.S. Congress, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and concerned agencies and organizations. [1]

The GAO analysis addressed the growth of diplomatic security’s missions and resources, and the challenges diplomatic security officials face in conducting their work.

The Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security is responsible for the protection of people, facilities, information, and property at over 400 embassies, consulates, and other facilities throughout the globe, according to the GAO analysis. [2]

In addition, Diplomatic Security provides protection to the Secretary of State, foreign dignitaries visiting the United States, and several other U.S. government officials. Diplomatic Security dedicates 72 special agents to provide a 24-hour protective detail for the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Since the 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in East Africa, the scope and complexity of threats facing Americans abroad and at home has increased and diplomatic security must be prepared to counter threats such as crime, espionage, visa and passport fraud, technological intrusions, political violence (riots and intrusions), and terrorism, according to analysts at the GAO.

To address these objectives GAO analysts interviewed numerous officials at Diplomatic Security headquarters, several domestic facilities, and 18 international postings. They also analyzed diplomatic security and State Department budget and personnel data, as well as assessed challenges facing diplomatic security officials through the analysis of interviews with personnel positioned domestically and internationally, budget and personnel data provided by the State Department and Diplomatic Security, and planning and strategic documentation.

Since 1998, the Office of Diplomatic Security’s mission and activities — and, subsequently, its resources — have grown considerably in reaction to a number of security incidents. As a consequence of this growth, analysts identified several challenges. In particular, the State Department is maintaining a presence in an increasing number of dangerous posts, which requires additional resources, the analysts noted.

In addition, staffing shortages in domestic offices and other operational challenges — such as inadequate facilities, language deficiencies, experience gaps, and the difficulty of balancing security needs with State’s diplomatic mission — further tax Diplomatic Security officials’ ability to implement all of its missions.

Diplomatic Security’s desire to provide the best security possible for State’s diplomatic corps has, at times, been in tension with State’s diplomatic mission. For example, Diplomatic Security has established strict policies concerning access to U.S. facilities that usually include personal and vehicle screening, according to the GAO analysts.

Some public affairs officials — whose job it is to foster relations with host country nationals — have expressed concerns that the security measures discourage visitors from attending U.S. embassy events or exhibits. In addition, the new embassies and consulates, with their high walls, deep setback, and strict screening procedures, have evoked the nickname, “Fortress America.”

The State Department has also received criticism from liberal-left think-tanks for adopting what seems to be a “zero tolerance” for security incidents. Two are encouraging State to change its security culture and practices from risk avoidance to risk management.

The GAO analysis revealed that Diplomatic Security’s ability to fully carry out its mission of providing security worldwide is hindered by staffing shortages in domestic offices–even in light of its workforce growth–and other operational challenges such as inadequate facilities, pervasive language proficiency shortfalls, and host-country constraints, among others. [3]

[1] (www.gao.gov/new.items/d11780t.pdf)

[2] (www.gao.gov/new.items/d10290t.pdf)  

[3] (http://oig.state.gov/documents/organization/194693.pdf)

AUTHOR: Jim Kouri
URL: http://www.renewamerica.com/
E-MAIL: COPmagazine [at] aol.com

Birth registration is the official recording of a child’s birth, and is both a permanent and official record of their existence. It is a simple concept — a child is born and then at the time and place of their birth a record is made of their name and the name of their parents, sex, along with the date, time and place of birth. However, the implementing registration in Africa is complex and efforts towards universal birth registration remain slow. In sub-Saharan Africa, 70 percent of all births went unregistered in 2000 alone.

Birth registrations in Africa remain slow due to a number of factors — some as simple as a lack of awareness by state and local athourities alike in combination with a lack of understanding of the implications by parents or potential patrents alike, whereas others may include social and ethnic taboos and/or births in rural areas or outside of a medical facility.  There is simply no sense of urgency; thus, parents do not see the hinderance and harm placed on the child until years later when a difficulty arises placing a child in school, getting healthcare, etc.

Birth registration is more than than a right but the key to the future.  Without a birth certificate a child is left to wander through life vulnerable to abuse and victimization.  A birth certificate is more than a simple piece of paper; it is a weapon against early marriage, child labor, recruitment into the armed forces, or detention and prosecution as an adult. Additionally, without registration a child may be unable to exercise many of their rights as an adult, such as the ability to obtain a formal job, open a bank account, get a marriage license, vote, or apply for a passport.  Furthermore, many parents are not registered themselves, which is often a requirement for child registration.  Halting this vicious cycle is key to ending exploitation and the denial of human rights worldwide.

The importance of birth registration as a fundamental human right is often overlooked in the general scheme of International Development and is a vital key to implementing sustainable development polices. Without registration, children are not included in data and thus are overlooked in planning, policy development and budget decisions.

International actions to see see birth registrations are universal and free are in place, as according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 7;

1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.
2. States parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.
countries have ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1990).

Additionally the The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child Article 6, states that;

1. Every child shall have the right from his/her birth to a name;
2. Every child shall be registered immediately after birth;
3. Every child has the right to acquire a nationality;
4. States Parties to the present Charter shall undertake to ensure that their constitutional legislations recognize the principles according to which a child shall acquire the nationality of the State in the territory of which he/she has been born if, at the time of the child’s birth, he/she is not granted nationality by any other State in accordance with its laws.

Birth registration must become a top priority for all countries and international development to ensure that the rights of all children are safeguarded. Addressing statelessness and birth registration is key in the battle to protect the human rights of millions and brings us a step closer to ending modern slavery and the exploitation of men, women and children.  Without birth registration or recognition by a state, children are without an official identity; they have no recognized name or nationality — in legal terms, they do not exist. Without documentation to provide proof of their age or who they are, children are likely to be discriminated against and denied access to basic services such as health and education.

AUTHOR: Cassandra Clifford
URL: www.bridgetofreedomfoundation.org and http://children.foreignpolicyblogs.com
E-MAIL: Cassandra [at] btff.org

Sometimes, Mr. Benkirane, despite his political acumen, lets his truculence get the better of him and he trespasses on the patience of the King. He forgets his right and left limits and extends his line of fire to those who act under the aegis of the palace. Last month, when he accused Fouad Ali El himma and Mounir Majidi of filibustering his administration’s efforts to reform, he was forced to publicly apologize. He could have acknowledged his indiscretion privately, but there is a lesson to be learned in this public political coitus. Mr. Benkirane, a standard-bearer known for his political obduracy, needed his dignity wrung out. Schooling him on “makhzenian” sadomasochistic politics became necessary; the Moroccans needed to see with painful clarity who has true agency and realize there is no one on the scene yet with the spine to stand up to the elite. As long as he is pandering to the King and his cabal, Mr. Benkirane can attack anybody else and gin up any self-serving polemic.

I am one to believe that Mr. Benkirane’s probity is a tool to settle scores and abdicate his responsibility to fulfill campaign promises. Last Monday, in a statement before the parliament and to the media, he announced it will take time for his budget minister to devise a workable economic model for recovery and stability. He confessed the country is headed towards economic austerity; the deficit figures reported by Salaheddine Mezouar, the previous Minister of Finance did not add up. The situation is so dire that Morocco had to call on the International Monetary Fund earlier this month to request a precautionary credit line of $6.2 billion. That’s in addition to over $2 billion borrowed from the World Bank and the African Development Bank in the past two years to optimize farming irrigation systems, improve electricity production and public transportation, prop up educational reform and rural roads programs, develop the financial sector, reform public administration, support infrastructure projects, and finance the Ouarzazate solar power project.

Many of these projects have already failed, or are so flagrantly mismanaged by an unaccountable and grossly opaque and graft-ridden bureaucracy that their dismal flop is inevitable. Policies to improve living conditions in rural areas and combat illiteracy, to eradicate poverty and slums, to reduce unemployment, and to reform the health, judicial, and education sectors have all yielded derisory results. Three weeks ago, Mohamed El Ouafa, Minister of Education, officially admitted that the emergency program (2009 – 2012) designed to overhaul public education has failed. The program was introduced with a fanfaronade by Ahmed Akhchichine, El Ouafa’s predecessor, . Its budget exceeded $370 million. Is there a motion to hold Mr. Akhchichine accountable? Absolutely not! You see, Mr. Akhchichine is a protégé of Fouad Ali El Himma.

A study by Morocco’s recently reactivated Competition Council indicated that over 63% of business transactions are facilitated by bribes and 54% of businesses surveyed are driven by patronage. These are dejecting numbers. Mr. Benkirane was quick to point out that eradicating corruption, as he had promised during his campaign, will prove difficult. It is certainly a long-term project and success is not guaranteed.

For every promise made during his electoral campaign, Mr. Benkirane and his ministers have disclosed information to explain why it would be difficult to fulfill. In the coming months, Morocco’s deficit is projected to grow as it is posed to carry out the biggest grain import in thirty years; social woes are worsening; civil rights are declining, according to international human right organizations, as demonstrators are being violently suppressed and detained incommunicado. Mr. Benkirane’s government lacks the strategy that will protect the country from the vicissitudes of the global economy and advance it towards democracy. He is falling back on a familiar script when he said: “When I say that I am only the head of government, that is not to play down my importance. But it is the king who is our guarantor of stability and the key person with responsibility for constitutional implementation.” So, what took you so long to come out of this political closet and join the rest of the harem?

AUTHOR: Ahmed T. B. / Cabalamuse
URL: http://cabalamuse.wordpress.com/
E-MAIL: cabalafuse [at] hotmail.com

Funeral of the killed border guards (screenshot of Nile tv).

Egypt’s military killed 20 militants in a raid using helicopter gunships in Sinai on Wednesday, three days after 16 soldiers were killed in an attack by presumed Islamic extremists on a base of border guards near the border with Israel.

Wednesday’s he attack took place in a village named Tumah. Soldiers of he 2nd Infantry Division stormed the village. Air strikes were also reported near the town of Sheikh Zuwayid, close to Tumah. Gunbattles were reported around the Al Gura airport in North-Sinai close to the Israeli border. Military choppers destroyed 3 4x4s on ground. Meanwhile security forces massed near the Rafah border town for what according to military sources was to be a decisive confrontation with the militants.

Wednesday’s attack seem to have been provoked by attacks by unknown assailants on security checkpoints near the town of El-Arish, the preceding night. It was clear eve before that, however, that Sunday’s attack on a border post whereby 16 border policemen were killed and seven wounded, could not have passed without repercussions. The soldiers were killed when 35 people in Bedouin outfits, presumably Islamist militants, in two 4x4s raided a border guard base under the cover of mortar fire when the guards were having their iftar meal.The attackers commandeered two armoured personnel carriers (APC’s). One exploded near the border with Israel under yet unclear circumstances (maybe as a divisive move), the other one managed to drive some two kilometers into Israel before it was destroyed by Israeli helicopters. Security sources said that mortars were fired from Gaza into Israel as the APC entered Israel near the border crossing Karam Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom).

The attack underscored the lawlessness in the Sinai, where numerous attacks on policeposts have taken place the past month and where the pipeline that provided gas to Jordan ad Israel have been blown up no less than 15 times in about as many months. What made the situation extra painful is that Israeli sources

said that Israel had had advance warning that something was going to happen in the area, which was the reason that it was able to deal as quickly as it did with the intruding APC.

The events must have increased the determination of the Egyptian military to deal once and forever with the anarchy around El Arish and the border with Gaza and its opaque cluster of tunnel smugglers and their providers. Egypt had closed the border with Gaza already on Tuesday ad security forces had raided homes in search of suspects in the attack, while they also prepared to close tunnels to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

Although it is far from clear who were behind Sunday’s attack ad the attempt to enter Israel, it is clear that the events have complicated the position of Egypt’s president Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters who are close to the Hamas government in Gaza. Morsi had supported to open the border with Gaza. But in light of what happened, he has no choice but to go along with demands of the army, which was underscored by the fact that he paid a visit to El Arish on Monday, together with minister of Defense Tantawi. And the army is less much less lenient towards Hamas to say the least, even though Hamas and other parties in Gaza went out of their way to distance themselves from what has happened. Morsi, who was also criticized for not attending the funeral ceremonies of the 16 killed border guards, will have to back away.

In the meantime the whole situation might also increase the tension between Israel and Egypt, as it is clear that the end result – closing off Gaza – is favorable for Israel. Also the situation is ripe for conspiracy theories. The Muslim Brotherhood gave an example in kid by declaring that the Israeli Mossad might have bee instrumental in organizing Sunday’s attacks.

AUTHOR: Martin Hijmans
URL: http://the-pessoptimist.blogspot.com/
E-MAIL: m.hijmans [at] planet.nl

The Christians left Dahshur village after clashes that started last week, when a Coptic launderer burned the shirt of one of his Muslim customers when he was ironing it. The fight escalated and one Muslim, Moaz Mohamed Mohamed, got seriously wounded. All accounts agree that the injured was a passerby, and that the fight started as a regular not sectarian argument. The village used to boast of a happily integrated Muslim and Christian community with growing business prospects that encouraged Copts to move there from neighbouring villages.

The fight turned sectarian when the Muslim man died in hospital on Wednesday 1 August. Then new clashes erupted, leaving nine people, including the Director of Criminal Investigations of Giza Security Directorate Mahmoud Farouq, injured. This is also when all Christian families felt threatened and were pressured to leave their hometown by everyone from the police — who reportedly advised them to go, claiming they would not be able to protect them — to neighbours that promised to protect their properties, and even the local priest, who urged them to take their children and flee. Protester Nader Magdy told the Al-Ahram Arabic website: “I had to leave my village because they threatened us with murder and they said any Christian will be shot dead.”

Several houses belonging to Christian residents in addition to two businesses in the town were burned down by crowds angered by Mohamed’s death. There was also a failed attempt to set the Mary Girgis Church on fire before security forces used tear gas to disperse angry crowds. A special security team was appointed to secure the church and Copts’ homes in the village.

According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), who were monitoring the situation from the beginning and released a report 31 July urging the police to protect citizens and properties, “A mob tried to attack the local Mari Girgis Church, but a group of Muslims prevented them and protected the church until a police force came and dispersed the crowd. The mob later burned a Christian man’s house and police failed to intervene.” The report warned against escalating violence and collective punishment of citizens who are not part of the argument. It also warned that in similar cases the police have remained passive. What EIPR warned against then happened. Police failed to protect Coptic citizens and properties and watched as violence escaled and hundreds fled their homes.

President Morsi’s office has condemned the attacks. His spokesman Yasser Ali said on Saturday that Dahshur’s Copts have not been forced to migrate following recent clashes, but did so out of fear for future clashes. Ali also said that Copts who have suffered material damages will be compensated, and that Morsi contacted Al-Azhar’s grand imam and the acting Coptic pope to intervene to end the crisis.

Also the Islamist group Al-Jamaa Al-Islamiya released a statement on Friday stating that it is unlawful to assault the lives and properties of Christians under any circumstances.

Apparently, however, the problems in Dahshur seem to be far from over. Egypt Independent reported that a reconciliation session will be held soon. Sessions like that were traditionally held in the Mubarak era when sectarian clashes broke out. They usually did not solve the problems, as both sides used to be put under pressure to agree to terms that had been laid out beforehand by the authorities.

AUTHOR: Martin Hijmans
URL: http://the-pessoptimist.blogspot.com/
E-MAIL: m.hijmans [at] planet.nl

Business is booming on the African continent, which means an increased need for talent management. In recognition of this, the popular Best Employers research is being extended to include the best HR performers on the continent.

Africa is thriving: GDP is increasing at an average of 5% each year and, in anticipation of the typical emerging-market benefits (low-cost labour and a vast pool of new customers) businesses are flooding into the continent in the hope of long-term growth. From a business point of view things have never looked better.

As Africa grows in importance on the world stage, the CRF Institute, which identifies choice employers via international HR policy and practice research, is extending its tried and tested Best Employers South Africa index into Africa, identifying top performers in the area of human resources (HR) through independent assessment.

“As businesses increase their foothold on the continent, it becomes more and more important to develop applicable, relevant HR policies and practices alongside,” says Samantha Crous, South African manager at the CRF Institute. “These policies become fundamental for preventing exploitation and managing the massive redistribution of talent that will be necessary to sustain successful business development in the continent’s many emerging markets,” she says. “And it’s for this reason that we are expanding the Best Employers index to create the Top Employers in Africa audit.”

Looking closer to home for answers

According to a study by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, 80% of the world’s employees work in emerging markets; yet much of our human resource management intel comes from developed countries. As Elijah Litheko, CEO of the Institute of People Management South Africa puts it: “The only thing all our HR professionals seem to have in common is that they have all read the latest management books coming out of the US. We think it’s time to start looking at homegrown wisdom, and at solutions that have worked for the problems that arise in our particular context.”

It’s no coincidence that successful expansion is being seen by the companies that prioritise the wellbeing of their staff, and the retention of top talent. But the challenge lies in providing long-term financial, career and development opportunities to Africa’s massive, and currently largely untapped, talent pool. “As all companies operating in Africa are looking for the same kind of workers without thinking about the reasons of the shortage of skilled candidates, they end up in the same place: nowhere,” says Elisee Okanda Loma, an HR consultant specialising in issues of African development. “We already know that Africa has suffered a huge brain drain, and as a result many African countries have lost some of their highly skilled professionals, [who] have left to work in countries with more stable economies and possibilities such as the USA, Canada, France, the UK, Australia and the Gulf States.”

The global village means more available talent

But, says Loma, all is not lost. If companies are willing to prioritise their HR practices and offer attractive benefits to a fresh new crop of talent, they can use the African diaspora to their advantage. Many of the people who left in search of better opportunities abroad want to return; what they need is an attractive package to make it possible. “Instead of poaching skilled workers from competitors, focus on the new generation of Africans that have studied or worked abroad and who want to return to Africa to contribute to the development of the continent,” says Loma. According to UNESCO, there are currently over 300 000 highly qualified Africans overseas, 30 000 of whom have PhDs.

In light of this, building attractive reward packages for staff becomes more important than ever. “The first step is always to focus on the external or internal factors which may attract (or not) qualified workers within your company,” says Loma. “These are always good indicators and are often the beginning of the answer.”

Some important HR challenges include managing diversity and equalising opportunities; and the recognition of the unique personal needs of each staff member, say experts. Use globalisation to your advantage, says Litheko: “When people are mobilised around such positive and collective energy driven by business… possibilities which were before invisible, will become visible and the country will start benefiting from its diversity.” The great advantage of globalisation is that it has made talent much more accessible to companies wishing to expand (and vice versa), regardless of the geographical boundaries.

And now it just remains to use that to mutual advantage. The CRF, in recognition of Africa’s rising significance in the business world, will be announcing the Top Employers in Africa on 29 August at the official Best Employers Certification Awards in Johannesburg.

AUTHOR: Shout Africa
URL: http://www.shout-africa.com
E-MAIL: news [at] shout-africa.com

Equatoguinean Teodoro President Obiang and African Union Chairman Jean Ping at the African Union Summit in Malabo. Photo from Embassy of Equatorial Guinea

2011 was a tumultuous year for the African continent with revolutions, attempted coups and violent political crises. Unfortunately the union of 53 African states that has as its mission to help strengthen regional peace and development has proved its own shortcomings in dealing with these situations.

The African Union, created in 1999 after the dissolution of the Organisation of the African Unity, was unable to solve the Côte d’Ivoire post-electoral crisis, offered late support to popular movements of the Arab Spring, and its position on Libya was primarily determined by the late Colonel Gaddafi’s influence on the organisation.

All this has led many African citizens to distrust whether the Union is really able to fulfill its mission [fr]. This much is clear studying critical blogs from commentators across the region. On the blog Cry Me An Onion, Patrick-Bernard is unequivocal in his post “Let’s Get Rid Of The African Union“:

In light of the events in Tunisia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Kenya, Madagascar, RDC, Libya and many more in Africa an institution that should be boycotted and toppled down to the ground is the African Union. The embarrassing Ali Baba gang of 53 thieves is useless in solving any or all the conflicts in Africa or finding any unifying consensus. (…)

In the unfolding crisis in Mali, the organisation currently appears to be faring no batter. Although worrying reports are coming from the Northern part of the country, now ruled by Islamist group Ansar Dine, the African Union failed to mobilise the United Nations Security Council to back a military intervention with troops from the countries of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS). On a France-based blog of a Touareg association, Temoust.org [fr], it is explained:

(…) sur le dossier du Mali, les arguments avancés par Ramtane Lamamra (photo), le Commissaire de l’Union africaine pour la paix et la sécurité, pour un soutien de l’ONU à une intervention militaire dans ce pays n’ont pas convaincu les 15 membres du Conseil de sécurité. (…) L’UA reste très imprécise ; combien de soldats seront envoyés sur place, à combien se chiffre cette opération, quelle sera la mission de cette force militaire ?

Limited Means

In spite of this assessment, it is important for the 1 billion inhabitants of the 53 African member states to be represented and see their interests protected by a strong, inclusive regional organisation, in a globalised world. Such ambition requires means which the organisation currently lacks.

In 2012, the budget proposal presented by the African Union Commission reached $274 million USD. It is a pittance compared to the 147 billion EUR of the European Union. Moreover, even such a budget is likely not to be secured by the organisation, since only 5 among the 53 member states [fr] actually pay their annual contributions (Libya, Egypt, South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria).

Furthermore, according to African Union Chairman Jean Ping himself in 2010, 77% [fr] of the operational budget, which serves to implement and sustain programs such as military force deployments, come from foreign counterparts, like the European Union. Knowing this one can understands how limited the pan-African organisation’s breathing space is.

As the continent continues to suffer from strife, it appears unlikely in spite of noble goals that the African Union will offer much respite.

First published at Global Voices.

AUTHOR: Julie Owono
URL: http://bantupolitics.blogspot.com/
E-MAIL: info [at] www.NL-Aid.org