Africa

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Sexual and gender minorities remain dangerously vulnerable to human rights abuses across much of Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite immense legal and cultural barriers, civil society activists around the continent are rising up to improve the lives of LGBTI people. Brian Pellot spoke with two leading activists in Uganda and Botswana.

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By honouring Nomarussia Bonase with this award, the jury of the Anne Klein Women’s Award 2017 acclaims the work and commitment of a South African activist who tirelessly advocates for women’s rights, gender democracy, reparation and reconciliation. Nomarussia Bonase is a role model to many.

Nomarussia Bonase was born in 1966 in Apartheid South Africa. Early on, her struggle for equal rights begins. Later she joins the Khulumani Support Group founded by women. A portrait of the winner of the Anne-Klein-Women’s-Award 2017.

Industry says it can feed the world. But total food production is not the issue; access to food is. The key solution is to fight poverty.

Like nobody else Thuli Madonsela stands for the compliance of constitutional maxims in South Africa. In her seven years in the office as “public protector”, she repeatedly uncovered various abuses of powers by the political elite. We talked to the winner of this year’s German Africa Award.

The German politics on Africa was busy on migration and refugee issues in West Africa, especially Nigeria. But the crisis of internally displaced people within Nigeria is far greater. Mausi Segun, Head of Human Rights Watch in Nigeria, warns that the conflict continues to smolder despite.

In many regions of the world the freedom of the Internet is just an illusion. Especially in Arab countries, the neighbouring states of Russia and Subsahara-Africa the year 2015 marked the lowest point for democratic participation and civil liberties.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, explains in this interview with Christine Meissler why he will never give up fighting for democracy and human rights.