UN expert urges Kenya to protect rights of indigenous people facing eviction

UN expert urges Kenya to protect rights of indigenous people facing eviction

13 January 2014 – An independent United Nations human rights expert today urged the Kenyan Government to protect the rights of the Sengwer indigenous people who have lived in the Embobut Forest for centuries and are now facing eviction.

“Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly relocated from their lands or territories,” said the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya.

“No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement of fair and just compensation and, where possible, the option of return,” he added in a news release.

The Sengwer people, also known as the Cherangany indigenous people, have lived, hunted and gathered in the Embobut Forest area in Kenya’s Rift Valley for hundreds of years. Today, many of them still live in or near the Forest and continue to engage in cultural and subsistence practices in the area.

According to reports, police forces have been amassing in the area in preparation for evictions ordered by the Government in pursuit of its forest and water conservation objectives. Since the 1970s, Kenyan authorities have made repeated efforts to forcibly evict the Sengwer from the forest for resettlement in other areas.

“Any removal of Sengwer people from their traditional lands should not take place without adequate consultations and agreement with them, under just terms that are fully protective of their rights,” Mr. Anaya stressed.

He urged the Government to ensure that the human rights of the Sengwer indigenous people are fully respected, in strict compliance with international standards, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46914#.UturHRDFLs0

The Brunel International Scholarships

The Brunel International Scholarship Programme is an annual award run by the Brunel International office that is open to all international students. Its goal is to provide financial support to exceptional students. Scholarship holders will go on to represent Brunel as ambassadors throughout their time at the University. The deadline for applying for the 2014/15 programme is 25 May 2014 and all applicants will be notified of the panel's decision by the middle of July.
For 2014/15, thanks to the generosity of Brunel’s alumni and supporters, we are pleased to be able to offer 37 awards, which will comprise a 15% discount on the cost of tuition fees. These awards are open to Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Research students who are classed as overseas for fee purposes.
To see more about the Brunel Scholarships Fund, please visit the Development and Alumni Office pages “.
This brings the total number of scholarships available for 2013/14 to 37.

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Other Scholarships and Discounts for International Students

Academic Excellence Scholarships (Postgraduate) – Automatic 15% tuition fee discount, unlimited to those who meet the conditions
Academic Excellence Scholarships (Undergraduate) – Up to 150 awards of £3000, apply through evision
Self funding students who pay their fees in full by enrolment are also entitled to a prompt payment discount of 2%.
Brunel Alumni are entitled to an Alumni discount of 15%, which can be combined with an Academic Excellence Scholarship.

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Myths versus reality

Over the past decade, stakeholders have made a variety of generalized claims concerning women’s landownership, both globally and in Africa. Typically, these claims include statements with single statistics, such as “women own less than 2 percent of the world’s land” or “women own approximately 15 percent of land in Africa south of the Sahara.”

http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp01308.pdf

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In 2012, existing practices in collecting and trading high value minor crops (such as medicinal and aromatic plants) from District Swat, Pakistan, were analyzed. The focus of the study was on the collection pattern of medicinal plants as an economic activity within District Swat and the likely destinations of these products in national or international markets. Local collectors/farmers and dealers were surveyed about their collection efforts, quantities collected, prices received, and resulting incomes. Herbal markets in major cities of Pakistan were surveyed for current market trends, domestic sources of supply, imports and exports of herbal material, price patterns, and market product-quality requirements.

More at:

http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/psspwp11.pdf

The National Health Insurance Scheme in Ghana

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