Press release

3 May 2013

The M23 insurgents operating in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) wrote an open letter dated 11 April 2013 ‘to the people and the Parliament of Tanzania.’ Though couched in polite language, the letter is not terribly friendly. It makes a grim reading.

After Chinua Achebe published his new book – ‘There was a country: A personal history of Biafra’, Nigerian politicians, and intellectuals assailed his account of events accusing him of propaganda and creating the impression that what he wrote was some sort of fabrication.

In this issue:

Country of origin and legal news

Deportation news

Announcements

Notes from the field: one country of origin expert’s experience

Advocacy groups celebrate landmark step to protect stateless in UK

April 22, 2013

Engaging in a creative protest to shine a light on the actions of the government of Chad, members of the Darfuri diaspora and activists with the BashirWatch project gathered at the Embassy of Chad with a giant video projection that was played on the Embassy walls.

London/Geneva, 12 April 2013 – A Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict was agreed yesterday by the G8 countries, declaring that rape and other serious sexual violence amount to war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.

During meetings with diplomats from the embassies of several Western countries, held in Pretoria last week, representatives from Swaziland's civil society warned that Swaziland's government was actively trying to obstruct their work and shut them down.

‘Nothing ever burns down by itself,
every fire needs a little bit of help’
(Chumbawamba, Anarchy)

The political situation in Mozambique is agitated. At sunrise on April 4, a group of about 200 members of Renamo (National Resistance of Moçambique, the main opposition party) organized a meeting in Muxunguè (Chibabava, Province of Sofala).