Fighting the proliferation of small arms in Africa

Armed men in a pick-up
Armed men in a pick-up

Small arms are one of the main causes of death in Africa. The widespread and often uncontrolled presence of small arms in different parts of the continent and the facility to buy and use them has become a scourge in itself.
Civil and inter-state conflicts drive demand for small arms and create a pool of weapons which can be used to commit violent crime as well as fuelling conflict. Small arms such as assault rifles are especially suited to the irregular warfare because they are cheap (an AK-47 Africa’s favourite killing machine can be easily bought for as low as $12).

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Charter on Quality Medicines

Signing of Charter

CHARTER for the Quality of Medicines, Vaccines, Diagnostic Products and Small Medical Materials

AEFJN and organizations of the Be-cause Health platform, have published a CHARTER ON QUALITY MEDICINES. 

The Charter encourage organizations buying medicines for developing countries to sign the Charter and to commit themselves to adopt essential quality criteria for the purchase of these products, as defined in the Quality Assurance Charter.


Holding Shell accountable

Oil spill © Annie Girard
Oil spill © Annie Girard

According to available statistics, in the last 30 years more than 400,000 tons of oil have spilled into the creeks and soils of southern Nigeria. Oil spills significantly affect the health and food security of rural people living near oil facilities. In the period 1997 - 2006, according to its own annual reports, Shell Nigeria experienced about 250 oil spills each year.

 

As the Nigerian courts were not willing to act for Nigerian farmers and fishers, victims of oil spills brought the case in front of a court in The Hague. It was the first time that a Dutch Transnational Corporation was brought to trial before a Dutch court for damages caused abroad. On December 2009 the court in the Hague held that the Dutch court has jurisdiction over the operations of Shell Nigeria. Given that Shell has now lost this point, an important hurdle has been overcome, and the 'real' lawsuit can now begin. Read more

Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)

EPAs
Stop EPA Campaign

After having largely been stalled over the last few months EPA negotiations have started anew at full throttle in the last few weeks since the new Commission took office in early February.

 

The signs are intensifying that a signature of the interim EPA by the EAC countries, or at least some of them, is getting closer. The EU on its side is stepping up the pressure on the EAC countries. Read more

Food Sovereignty, a concept AEFJN supports

The AEFJN members have always been concerned with ensuring a decent life for poor people, especially the disadvantaged small farmers in Africa. They consider that the concept of "Food Sovereignty" defended by many farmers' organisations around the world offers a basis of discussion.

 

Claims of Food Sovereignty coincide with our priorities and the rights we support, and they are close to the ideas of Catholic Social Teaching. It is not a fixed ideological system, but an open framework that needs much research and discussion to be improved and applied to current discussions.

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Main Focus of AEFJN

Dialogue EC - Civil Society
Dialogue EC - Civil Society

AEFJN is attentive to political decisions concerning economic relations between Africa and Europe.

AEFJN lobbies the European Union and member states to promote sustainable development in Africa; to monitor the impact in Africa of EU policies, agreements and protocols  and to promote socio-economic strategies that take into account the views of African people for a sustainable development.

AEFJN insists on the right and the responsibility of Africans to make their own policy for development.

AEFJN listens to the voice of Africa... brings this voice to the EU, so that African reality influences EU policy to promote sustainable development in that continent.