Day: May 24, 2023

Afrobarometer has successfully concluded its Round 10 Planning Meeting in Ghana, setting the stage for the network’s next series of surveys expected to be conducted in 40 African countries.

A release issued by Afrobarometer at the end of the meeting, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency said the weeklong gathering brought together high-profile policy makers and thought leaders as well as the network’s national partners, board members, and International Advisory Council.

It said participants formulated strategic plans, exchanged practical insights, and engaged in spirited discussions to enhance Afrobarometer’s impact in Africa.

It noted that the event brought together a diverse range of voices and expertise, highlighting a shared dedication to empowering African citizens in shaping policies that promote sustainable development.

The former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a member of Afrobarometer’s International Advisory Council, in her keynote address emphasised the importance of continuous capacity building for research, analysis, and communication across Africa.

‘Investing in research and building the capacity of African researchers and policy makers is crucial for evidence-based decision-making and sustainable development in our continent,’ she said.

Mr Joseph Asunka, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Afrobarometer said: ‘If democracy is indeed a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, then the people’s voice and lived experiences must count in policy and development decisions that affect their lives.’

The release said the memorable opening ceremony featured a compelling conversation between the co-founders of Afrobarometer, Professors: Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, Robert Mattes, and Michael Bratton.

It said the trio took the audience on a journey, recounting their decision, more than two decades ago, to merge their respective research projects and the remarkable progress made since then.

It said Days Two and Three of the meeting were dedicated to hands-on work on the survey questionnaire and implementation planning, beginning with a debriefing of round nine and an overview of the latest innovations.

It said participants reviewed and refined new modules for the round 10 questionnaire and provided valuable insights for country specific questions. Other highlights included

Empowering data-driven analysis, Leveraging communication channels and Recognition and networking.

It said the round 10 Planning Meeting provided an occasion to honour long-serving Afrobarometer staff and national partners.

The release said members of the Afrobarometer International Advisory Council also convened under the chairmanship of US Ambassador Johnnie Carson to discuss round nine survey findings, explore strategies for enhanced global exposure, and share recommendations for the launch of Afrobarometer signature products and events.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Mr. Francis Omiunu, National Programme Officer, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has commended independent experts appointed to reflect on the draft Supplementary Act Relating to the Suppression of Illicit Maritime Activities in ECOWAS.

He noted such an act was necessary to ensure that ECOWAS Member States addressed the threats of maritime crime, including drug, human, and arm trafficking, and to secure the waters of coastal States across the sub-region.

Mr. Omiunu made the statement at a four-day meeting of independent experts held to consider the draft Supplementary Act Relating to the Suppression of Illicit Maritime Activities in ECOWAS in Lagos, Nigeria.

This project was carried out in the framework of the implementation of the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Strategy (EMIS) in collaboration with UNODC through the Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security (SWAIMS) project.

The objective of the draft Supplementary Act is to promote the cooperation of ECOWAS Member States through the strengthening of the operational legal framework to combat illicit activities committed at sea.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the ECOWAS Directorate of Peacekeeping and Regional Security, the ECOWAS Directorate of Legal Affairs, the Regional Maritime Security Center for West Africa (CRESMAO), the Maritime Multinational Coordination Centers (MMCC) Zones E and G, UNODC, and by Consultants and Independent Experts.

Mr. Omiunu noted that the meeting was another step in the continuing partnership between ECOWAS and UNODC in finding innovative solutions through cooperative mechanisms to address illicit maritime activities within the region.

He mentioned that UNODC, as an implementing partner in the SWAIMS project, remains committed to supporting the entire criminal justice system, from sea to land.

Colonel Abdourahmane Dieng, Head of the Regional Security Division of the ECOWAS Commission, recalled the adoption of the Supplementary Act on the Conditions for The Transfer of Persons Suspected of Having Committed Acts of Piracy and The Property.

He said the evidence associated with the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government at its 61st Ordinary Session in July 2022 and the significant drop in piracy.

Col. Dieng said that in light of the current situation, it is now deemed necessary to put in place additional measures that would provide a range of options and innovative solutions to address all forms of maritime security problems in the maritime domain through enhanced cooperation.

He said the thinking in this regard found expression in the recent UN Security Council Resolution 2634 (2022), which explicitly encourages the Gulf of Guinea states to structure operations to combat illicit maritime activities and to develop their capacity to protect their maritime domain.

Col. Dieng called for the dedicated support of the experts in the consideration of the draft Supplementary Act.

The meeting ended with the adoption of the report by the participants and the following recommendations including those to present the draft Supplementary Act as revised to the ECOWAS Commission.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A Ghanaian-born barrister, Barbara Mills, KC (King’s Counsel), is to become the first black Vice Chair of the 129-year-old General Council of the Bar Council, commonly known as the Bar Council, in the UK.

She will take up her position on January 1, 2024 and will also become the first specialist family practitioner in 35 years in that role, the Bar Council has announced.

Ms Mills was called to the Bar by Inner Temple in 1990 and became a Queen’s (now King’s) Counsel in 2020.

She is an arbitrator and a mediator, a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and co-editor of the International Family Law Journal.

She specialises in difficult and complex cases involving children often with an international element.

When Ms Mills joined Circle Square, a community of inspiring people who have achieved great or good things, a couple of years ago, she spoke about her journey from Ghana to the UK.

‘The first part of my childhood which was spent in Ghana, embedded in me a keen sense of family and belonging.

‘Our move to England was sudden and rushed and came in the aftermath of a coup, which left my mother with little choice but to move with her children to a place of safety.

‘We arrived in England feeling welcomed but very much as guests and started a new life with only what we could carry – five people with five suitcases.’

Ms Mills continued: ‘My mother was an incredibly strong character – she had to be.

‘Her strict discipline and rule-driven parenting was at times rigid and no doubt rooted in fear – raising her children on her own in a foreign country took courage and resilience.

‘She prized education above all else and ensured we had access to the best education with the help of assisted places in private schools.’

Ms Mills said she had always wanted to be a barrister.

She is joint head of chambers at 4PB – one of the leading family law sets in England and Wales, sits as a Deputy High Court Judge and has been a Recorder on the South Eastern Circuit for over 10 years.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella considered Angola “a promoter of peace and stability on the African continent”.

The Italian Head of State was speaking to the press on Wednesday in Rome, at the end of the meeting with the Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço.

The statesman underlined that there is a common will to cooperate against wars, within the UN framework.

“We are aware of your role in some peace initiatives”, said the Italian leader, Sergio Mattarella, who asked his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço to evaluate the situation in the Great Lakes region and in Sudan.

“It was very interesting, he went on, to listen to his indications. He also spoke of the need for increasing growing collaboration between Angola and the European Union.

On the occasion, the Italian statesman said that the private meeting was also under analysis of Italy’s commitment to exert pressure within the Union so that collaboration with Angola grows.

Flanked by his Angolan counterpart, President Sergio Mattarella stressed that the two States are against wars in the world and, in particular, the one of “Russia and Ukraine”.

He called for international collaboration, respect for all States, their independence, sovereignty and increasing collaboration under the banner of multilateralism.

The Angolan President, João Lourenço, arrived Tuesday in Rome, capital of Italy, for a two-day state visit.

Angolan Head of State is visiting Italy at the invitation of President Sergio Mattarella, who paid his official visit to Angola in February 2019.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Angolan head of State João Lourenço acknowledged Wednesday in Rome, Italy, the existence of great potential for development of bilateral cooperation relations with Italy.

He expressed this to the press at the Presidential Palace in Rome, where he held a meeting with his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, as part of a two-day visit to the European country.

João Lourenço said there was still great potential to be explored, “there is still much to do”.

Angolan Statesman referred to the fact that the Italian presence in Angola today is restricted, above all, to the sectors of energy, agriculture as well as defence and security.

“We want that Italian investors join other sectors of the Angolan economy, such as ornamental stones, wood industries (furniture manufacturing), pharmaceuticals, among others”, he said.

The Statesman noted that the country’s doors are open to receive Italian investors.

On the conversation, the Angolan President added that the time was used to address not only bilateral issues of an economic nature, but also cultural cooperation between the two countries.

He added that Italy has one of the best universities in the world, where there is a certain number of Angolan students. But it is in the interest of the Angolan authorities that this number can increase.

During the statement, he reaffirmed the country’s support for the Italian capital (Rome) to host Expo Universal 2030.

He said that the meeting also reviewed the world issues, like those of various armed conflicts that, “unfortunately, still exist in Africa”.

He mentioned, as example, the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as the tense situation in the countries of the so-called Sahel region, which include Mali, Borkina Faso, Guinea, Nigeria and Sudan.

As of the armed conflict in Sudan, the Angolan statesman said it has so far

claimed many lives and internally displaced and refugees, as well as the

destruction of property.

The meeting also addressed the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which makes the world to be in the grips of the worst humanitarian, food and energy crisis, never experienced since the World War II, ended in 1945.

President João Lourenço also reiterated the common positions of Angola and Italy in condemning the invasion, occupation and annexation of part of the Ukrainian territory by Russia.

Therefore, they called for an immediate end to the conflict, as well as for a cease-fire to be reached quickly.

However, the parties defended the resumption of negotiations to guarantee peace and security, not only for Ukraine, for Europe, but the world.

He warned that should the peace fails the world risk to face a nuclear conflict, which is regrettable for the whole world.

Angolan president visit to Rome comes to reciprocate the visit of the Italian Statesman, Sergio Mattarella, to Angola, in 2019, in this case, the first Italian Head of State to visit the country.

The two countries formalised diplomatic and cooperation relations on June 4, 1976 and on August 3, 1977 they signed the Technical Cooperation Agreement, as well as the Memorandum of Intents, through which the Angola/Italy Joint Commission was created.

Both States signed the first legal instrument called the Air Transport Agreement on April 10, 1976.

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)