DAKAR, 2 November 2007 (IRIN) - 2 November 2007 (IRIN) - CONTENTS:

BENIN: Agricultural techniques adapted to the constraints of HIV/AIDS BURKINA FASO: UN needs $6 million for urgent post-flood recovery CHAD-SUDAN: Legal framework a hindrance in 'child-trafficking' case CHAD-SUDAN: NGOs work to clear their name after child 'trafficking' GHANA: Four dead as chieftaincy dispute erupts in violence GUINEA: Country awaits new date for legislative poll LIBERIA: Trial by ordeal makes the guilty burn but "undermines justice" NIGERIA: Plan to demolish waterfront villages suspended SENEGAL: Smooth transition for Taxi Sisters TOGO: Court confirms ruling party victory in legislative poll

BENIN: Agricultural techniques adapted to the constraints of HIV/AIDS

Experiments in new agricultural techniques by a Benin research centre could give a considerable boost to farmers living with HIV/AIDS. Comlan Houessou, head of the network of people living with HIV/AIDS in Benin, was fascinated to learn about projects by the Songhaï Centre in the capital, Porto Novo, to develop inexpensive agricultural production systems based on agrobiology. "We are realising that it's not necessary to have a large area of land to be able to farm," said Houessou, a 42-year-old farmer. He visited the centre as part of a conference on mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS on agriculture and food security in West Africa, held in early October in Cotonou. Songhaï, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) set up in 1985, is a centre for training on sustainable farming production, research and development. Its goal is to allow rural African communities to improve their living conditions by using traditional and modern methods of farming and animal breeding, by making the most of local resources and by creating viable agricultural businesses.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75040

BURKINA FASO: UN needs $6 million for urgent post-flood recovery Two and a half months after nationwide flooding in Burkina Faso, humanitarian needs requiring an "urgent response" remain, according to the UN, which is appealing for nearly US$6 million for those affected. In its funding appeal launched on 26 October the UN says that while food-related needs have been met in Burkina Faso – one of the world's poorest countries – more action is needed to "reduce the growing potential for a large-scale humanitarian crisis resulting from the continued and rapid degradation of living conditions of affected populations". As of 10 October, the government estimated that floods had affected close to 93,000 people, of whom 28,000 are displaced. The strong and persistent rains killed at least 51 people, wounded 76 others, and destroyed nearly 9,000 homes and 2,344 granaries, according to the government. The numbers have risen in recent weeks, as access to areas once cut off has allowed the government to do a more thorough damage assessment.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75043

CHAD-SUDAN: Legal framework a hindrance in 'child-trafficking' case Chadian and UN officials say the absence of a child trafficking law in Chad will hamper efforts to prosecute members of a French association who were arrested in the country while trying to take 103 children to host families in France. The association, L'Arche de Zoé (Zoe's Ark), says it was trying to rescue Sudanese orphans from "certain death" in the Darfur region, on the border with Chad. Six members of the group – arrested on 25 October – have been charged with abducting minors for the purpose of changing their civil status (giving them new parents), a crime that carries a penalty of five to 20 years of forced labour. "There are no other penalties in the abduction chapter [of the criminal code] stronger than the one we chose," said Ahmad Daoud Chari, state prosecutor in Abéché, the eastern Chadian town where the members of the association were arrested. "Our penal code is limited. It doesn't cover [many] infractions. There is a gap," Chari told IRIN.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75096

CHAD-SUDAN: NGOs work to clear their name after child 'trafficking' Aid agencies and authorities in eastern Chad are urging local people not to lose confidence in the international humanitarian community, after members of a French association claiming to rescue Sudanese orphans from the war in Darfur were charged with fraud and abduction of minors. Six members of the Paris-based group L'Arche de Zoé (Zoe's Ark) were arrested on 25 October at the Abéché airport in eastern Chad, as they were preparing to take 103 children to host families in France. The Chadian government has accused them of child trafficking. Under Chad's legal system they could face up to 20 years of forced labour. "Many [non-governmental organisations (NGOs)] working with children were a little bit afraid that the practices that Zoé's Ark had used would appear as the norm, which is absolutely not the case," said Aurélie Lamazière, of Save the Children UK's emergencies department. A committee of 21 NGOs working in eastern Chad, including Save the Children, Oxfam, and Action against Hunger, has signed a joint statement expressing "profound concern" over the incident, calling it a "serious violation" of the children's rights.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75064

GHANA: Four dead as chieftaincy dispute erupts in violence Four people were killed on 1 November in Ghana's Volta Region when violence erupted in a longstanding chieftaincy dispute. The government has sent in security forces and ordered a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the area. One of the dead was a police officer, reportedly kidnapped by one of the rival factions after the clash. His lacerated body was found the following morning after an all-night search, a police official told IRIN. The government has sent soldiers and at least 160 police officers to the area, which is in eastern Ghana. Security officials said one royal family in the district of Anloga was preparing a ceremony to install a new chief, when at least 100 people from a rival family – armed with AK-47s and clubs – raided the site.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75136

GUINEA: Country awaits new date for legislative poll As the latest target date for Guinea's overdue legislative election appears likely to slip, Guineans are waiting for the government to declare a new schedule. Observers say a poll is unlikely before March 2008. The election – most recently set for December 2007 – is just one part of a political transition underway since unprecedented civilian uprisings early this year brought in a new government and gave citizens a sense that they can play a role in how the country goes forward. "There may be more interest [in the upcoming elections] because of the events of this year, as people feel like they do have some influence on their future," a Western diplomat told IRIN. While the government has not officially postponed the election, some members have talked of a delay and Prime Minister Lansana Kouyate recently acknowledged that given the work remaining to organise the poll, holding it in December would be "difficult". International observers in Guinea agree that much remains to be done to prepare, including getting the independent electoral commission up and running. Current members of parliament came to power in a disputed election in 2002 and their mandate was officially up in June. President Lansana Conte's Party of Unity and Progress holds 85 of the 114 seats.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75093

LIBERIA: Trial by ordeal makes the guilty burn but "undermines justice" About 50 people in the village of Klay, northwestern Liberia, recently gathered to watch a man apply red-hot metal to the limbs of four youths accused of robbery. The man dipped a machete in a concoction of water, palm oil and kola nuts, held it in fire for several minutes, and then placed it on the right legs of the four suspects. None of the youths – ages 16 to 26 – appeared to flinch. They were deemed not guilty. This practice known as 'sassywood' is banned under national law, but is still regarded as a legitimate form of justice by many Liberians. A suspect is subjected to intense pain and judged on his or her reaction - if the hot metal burns the person's leg, he or she is found guilty. The UN has repeatedly warned that the practice is undermining efforts to improve human rights in Liberia as the country attempts to recover from 14 years of war.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75111

NIGERIA: Plan to demolish waterfront villages suspended Residents of waterfront villages around Nigeria's oil capital Port Harcourt are relieved as a plan to demolish their homes has been shelved following the removal of the state governor on 26 October. "The former governor did not have the interest of poor people at heart," said Peters Ibinabo, a resident of Bundu, one of 25 waterside villages slated for demolition. "The [new] governor has started well," he told IRIN by telephone. In his first address to the people of Rivers State, the largest oil-producing state in the Niger Delta, the newly installed governor Rotimi Amaechi said, "The planned demolition of all waterfront villages has been suspended with immediate effect." Amaechi was installed on 26 October following a ruling by the Nigerian Supreme Court which disqualified the former governor, Celestine Omehia, who had held office since elections in May.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75042

SENEGAL: Smooth transition for Taxi Sisters "It's not heavy," Sanou Top insists, as she takes a suitcase out of her client's hands and hoists it into the trunk of her cab. "I hope you drive like a man," the customer says. The small-framed, head-scarfed 25-year-old laughs. Top is one of 10 women chosen for a pilot project by the Senegalese government to get female taxi drivers on the road. And after more than a month behind the wheel in one of the world's most chaotic capitals for driving, Top says it's been a smooth ride. "At first, it was difficult," Top says. But now? "Complete satisfaction." Her cell phone rings. She tucks it under her head scarf and begins a conversation, all while shifting gears and keeping an eye out for customers. It's a system she seems to have mastered.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75137

TOGO: Court confirms ruling party victory in legislative poll Togo's Constitutional Court has confirmed that the ruling party won a majority in the 14 October election, after the main opposition party had contested the results, charging fraud. On 30 October the Court said the ruling Rally of the Togolese People party took 50 of 81 seats in the poll, seen as pivotal to the country's regaining favour with the international community after years of isolation. All was calm in the capital Lome when the Court announced its decision, with diplomats, political party representatives and journalists present. The main opposition Union of Forces for Change (UFC) party – which took 27 seats - had challenged the results of the poll, charging in part that ballot boxes had been tampered with and fake election cards distributed. But election observers - including the Economic Community of West African States - had declared the poll fair and transparent, and other opposition parties did not contest the results.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=75065

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