África

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in June 2023. (Evgeny Biyatov/AP)

MundoÁfrica

On a recent trip to South Africa, I traveled to Sharpeville, site of the infamous 1960 massacre of 69 Black protesters that became an early catalyst for the anti-apartheid movement. President Cyril Ramaphosa was reminding an audience that the country’s fight for full equality remains incomplete.

I was surprised when Ramaphosa intoned, “If we are to build a society of equals, a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it, we must end the discrimination and intolerance directed at people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“We must resist the efforts of those who want to take us backwards”, he said, “who express reactionary and hateful views directed at members of the LGBTQI+ community”.…  Seguir leyendo »

Una familia de refugiados de la región sudanesa de Darfur en la frontera entre Sudán y Chad, en julio de 2023.Zohra Bensemra (REUTERS)

MundoÁfrica,

Según la Oficina de Coordinación de Asuntos Humanitarios de las Naciones Unidas, se está sufriendo en Sudán “la peor crisis del mundo, además de la más compleja y cruel”, sin que dé lugar a ningún titular de prensa. Con casi nueve millones de desplazados dentro del país (la mitad de ellos niños) y casi dos millones de refugiados en el extranjero, Sudán es, de hecho, el escenario de la mayor crisis de desplazados por la fuerza del mundo. Además, lo peor está por llegar: los combates han perturbado las siembras en las regiones más fértiles de Sudán. Casi 20 millones de personas, casi uno de cada dos sudaneses, se enfrentan a una grave inseguridad alimentari a en un país que solía ser un importante productor de alimentos.…  Seguir leyendo »

Des fumées s’échappent de Khartoum après des bombardements aériens, le 1er mai 2023. MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH / REUTERS

MundoÁfrica,

Les enjeux de la conférence humanitaire sur le Soudan qui se tiendra lundi 15 avril à Paris, un an exactement après le début du conflit, sont immenses : l’avenir du troisième plus grand pays d’Afrique est compromis ; la survie de millions d’enfants, de femmes et d’hommes est en jeu alors qu’une éventuelle famine et la période de soudure se profilent ; la stabilité de toute une région, qui accueille déjà des centaines de milliers de réfugiés, est menacée. Et que dire de l’intégrité morale du monde entier, ici remise en question, avec en toile de fond les atrocités que nous n’avons pas réussi à arrêter il y a deux décennies de cela au Darfour ?…  Seguir leyendo »

Cómo poner fin a la interminable guerra del Congo

MundoÁfrica,

La violencia ha vuelto a crecer vertiginosamente en la volátil región de los Grandes Lagos de África, a 30 años —este mes— del genocidio de Ruanda, donde murieron 800 000 personas y 2 millones más se vieron obligadas a desplazarse —los refugiados huyeron hacia la zona occidental de la República Democrática del Congo (RDC), que se convirtió en el epicentro de un conflicto cuya solución resulta cada vez más difícil, lo que algunos ahora llaman la «guerra africana de los 30 años»—.

Desde el derrocamiento del dictador cleptocrático Mobutu Sese Seko en 1997, los sucesivos gobiernos de la RDC han sido incapaces de garantizar la seguridad fronteriza y gobernar grandes áreas al este del país, donde aproximadamente 6 millones de personas fueron asesinadas y otros 7 millones se vieron obligadas a desplazarse a otros sitios de la República.…  Seguir leyendo »

Hawkers navigate the traffic along Aerodrome Road in Nairobi in September 2023. (Sarah Waiswa for The Washington Post)

MundoÁfrica

Is Kenya poised for an economic takeoff? Or is the prospect more hype than reality?

It’s a question I wrestled with during a recent, too-brief trip to the country where I lived in the 1990s.

President William Ruto, Kenya’s self-styled “hustler in chief”, tells anyone who will listen that his East African country of about 55 million people is “open for business”. He has plenty of backers, including many Western economists, bankers and the top U.S. diplomat in Nairobi, who agree that Kenya — East Africa’s largest economy and by far its most stable democracy — might finally be ready for its breakout moment after decades of stagnation, autocratic repression and ethnic strife.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Tigrayan family uprooted by the recent civil war, eastern Tigray, Ethiopia, June 2023. Tiksa Negeri / Reuters

MundoÁfrica

Arguably the worst armed conflict of the twenty-first century so far is not the one unfolding in Gaza or in Ukraine, but rather the catastrophic civil war in Ethiopia that ended 18 months ago. Also known as the Tigray war, the Ethiopian conflict took the lives of more than 500,000 soldiers and as many as 360,000 civilians, making it one of the deadliest conflicts since the end of the Cold War. Its combatants also perpetrated widespread atrocities and sexual violence, destroyed large swaths of the Tigray region in the north, and did enormous damage to an economy that, for the previous three decades, had helped make Ethiopia one of Africa’s more stable and rapidly developing countries.…  Seguir leyendo »

My Story Was Told in ‘Hotel Rwanda.’ Here’s What I Want the World to Know Now.

MundoÁfrica,

This week, the world will again turn its eyes toward Rwanda. April 6 marks 30 years since the start of one of the most horrific events in modern history, the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nearer in time but not unrelated, it has been just over one year since I left Rwanda and returned to the United States, released from prison after 939 days in captivity.

I have not yet spoken at length about what those years in a Rwandan prison were like, or about the daily reality for Rwandan political prisoners who, like me, found themselves behind bars for exercising their freedom of expression.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoÁfricaEuropa

a influencia rusa en África ha crecido exponencialmente en las últimas dos décadas mientras que la influencia occidental ha decaído sustancialmente. El modelo occidental de influencia se ha sustentado en instrumentos diplomáticos, económicos y culturales propios de la cooperación internacional, buscando la estabilidad y desarrollo de gobiernos y sociedades a cambio de cumplir con requisitos y valores propios de los estándares democráticos. Por el contrario, Rusia ha sabido rentabilizar los sentimientos y prejuicios locales contra el paternalismo poscolonial y se ha consolidado como una potencia en la región durante las dos últimas décadas, sin necesidad de invertir los cuantiosos recursos económicos, diplomáticos y humanitarios que destinan los países occidentales a sus políticas africanas.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Congolese army tank heads towards the front line near Kibumba in the area surrounding the North Kivu city of Goma on May 25, 2022 during clashes between the Congolese army and M23 rebels. Arlette Bashizi/AFP via Getty Images

MundoÁfrica, ,

In the summer of 2022, I crossed from Rwanda into the besieged Congolese city of Goma. The slick Rwandan border police and their Chinese-made black polymer carbines stood in stark contrast to the weary Congolese soldiers’ ancient Kalashnikovs. “We can’t invade Rwanda or Uganda”, a hardened Congolese provincial politician admitted to me. He slid his fingers across his neck, adding, “But we can’t negotiate with a knife to our throat”.

Since that conversation, Rwandan troops and their local March 23 Movement (M23) proxy forces have completely encircled Goma. While the Rwandan government simultaneously denies supporting M23 while justifying its intervention as necessary for Rwandan security, the direct involvement of Rwanda has been extensively documented by the United Nations and acknowledged with alarm by the U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

La prosperidad de África depende de la igualdad de género

MundoÁfrica

A pesar de los avances hacia la igualdad de género del último siglo, las mujeres aún van a la zaga de los hombres en términos de paga y calidad del empleo. La participación de las mujeres en la fuerza laboral mundial es solo del 53 %, mientras que en el caso de los hombres es del 80 %; no es por falta de voluntad, ni de esfuerzo: el cuidado de los niños, la falta de acceso a la educación y las malas medidas de seguridad pública y para los lugares de trabajo suelen limitar la capacidad de las mujeres para acceder a trabajos «decentes».…  Seguir leyendo »

La triste suerte de Rached Ghannouchi merece más atención

MundoÁfrica

Soy un expolítico y un expresidente que siempre se ha manifestado contra la persecución política, y me siento obligado a llamar la atención sobre la triste situación de un político tunecino que está en la cárcel, Rached Ghannouchi. El fin de su detención estaba previsto para mediados de este año, pero ahora parece que se extenderá. Esa posibilidad me apena, como debería apenar a todo aquel que crea en la democracia. Ghannouchi ha sido un digno servidor de su país y de su pueblo, y no merece ser olvidado tras las rejas.

En marzo de 2012, después de la Revolución de los Jazmines en Túnez, pronuncié un discurso ante la Asamblea Constituyente tunecina, el primero de un presidente extranjero.…  Seguir leyendo »

Chinese People's Liberation Army personnel attending the opening ceremony of China's new military base in Djibouti on 1 August 2017. (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images).

MundoÁfricaMundoAsia,

For over three decades, every Chinese foreign minister’s first overseas trip of the year has been to Africa. This year continued the tradition with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, visiting Egypt, Tunisia, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. Notably, every one of these countries is coastal. And yet, at a time of continued speculation over China’s next military installation in Africa, none of these countries has featured prominently as potential locations in previous analyses.

We might, therefore, reasonably ask what China’s current considerations are around basing in Africa. Faced with an increasingly multipolar and assertive Africa at a time of domestic economic challenge, however, China’s long-term strategy remains unclear.…  Seguir leyendo »

My Country Is Witnessing a Messy, Buffoonish End of Rule

MundoÁfrica

On Dec. 31, 1980, Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first president of Senegal, announced that he was leaving power. At 74, he felt that his time was up. When courtiers tried to convince him to reverse his decision, he reportedly replied, with a smile: “Don’t you know how the Senegalese are? If I go back on my word, they’ll laugh at me”. His act was especially remarkable at a time when dictators for life were common across the African continent. Even if his political record remains controversial to this day, Mr. Senghor, a fervent Catholic poet, was open-minded enough to lead a majority Muslim country and even managed to make it a model of stability in the region.…  Seguir leyendo »

When African Women Are Raped, Where Is the Outrage?

MundoÁfrica

In the summer of 2023, while I was negotiating the price of a pair of cloud-shaped wire sunglasses, a man walked behind me and sexually assaulted me. I was at a stall in one of the many open-air markets in Mekelle, Ethiopia’s second largest city. The man touched my body, attempting to feel as much of me as possible. I stood for a few seconds, unsure of what was happening, until his hands went further and his body got closer.

Jolted out of my shock, I turned to face him and started yelling. My mother, who was standing next to me, did her best to diffuse the confrontation and quietly shooed the man away.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Unforgivable Silence on Sudan

MundoÁfrica,

Silence. Last September, when I visited a makeshift hospital in Adré, Chad, where young Sudanese refugees were being treated for acute malnutrition, that was all I heard: an eerie silence.

I had tried to prepare myself for the wails of children who were sick and emaciated, but these patients were too weak to even cry. That day, I saw a 6-month-old baby who was the size of a newborn and a child whose ankles were swollen, and whose body was blistered, from severe malnourishment.

It was equal parts newly horrific and tragically familiar.

Twenty years earlier I had visited the same town and met with Sudanese refugees who fled violence in Darfur, where the janjaweed militia, with backing from Omar al-Bashir’s brutal authoritarian regime, carried out a genocidal campaign of mass killing, rape and pillage.…  Seguir leyendo »

Liderazgo climático desde el sur global

MundoÁfricaMundoAméricaReflexionesNaturaleza, ,

El mes pasado, se celebró en París la reunión ministerial de la Agencia Internacional de la Energía, y en Adís Abeba tuvo lugar la cumbre anual de la Unión Africana (que hace poco se unió al G20). En ambos foros se reconoció la necesidad urgente de cumplir los compromisos formulados el pasado diciembre durante la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático (COP28) en Dubái, en particular el de triplicar la capacidad de generación de energía a partir de fuentes renovables de aquí a 2030. Pero hay importantes desafíos por delante.

En la COP28 se identificaron muchas acciones que son cruciales para el logro de la neutralidad de carbono en 2050.…  Seguir leyendo »

People rally in Wad Madani, Sudan, in December 2023. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

MundoÁfrica,

On 8 March, the UN Security Council adopted a UK-drafted resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan during the month of Ramadan, a sustainable resolution to the conflict through dialogue, compliance with international humanitarian law and unhindered humanitarian access.

Eleven months into the war, this is the first time that the Council has been able to agree on a resolution. The mandate of the UN Panel of Experts that monitors the sanctions regime in Darfur was also renewed by the Council. Does this signify hope that efforts to end the war might gather momentum? Or is Sudan likely to face a protracted conflict?…  Seguir leyendo »

El gran impulso que necesitan las mujeres africanas para escapar de la pobreza

MundoÁfrica,

¿Qué tienen en común la pobreza, el cambio climático y el conflicto? Que son unos de los mayores desafíos que enfrenta África, y afectan desproporcionadamente a las mujeres que viven en la pobreza o marginadas. Tanto las investigaciones como la experiencia han demostrado el enorme potencial que ellas tienen para mejorar el bienestar de sus familias y comunidades.

Los países africanos que procuran impulsar el desarrollo sostenible —y abordar el triple desafío de la pobreza, el cambio climático y el conflicto— deben ayudar a las mujeres en situación de pobreza a realizar su potencial. Los responsables políticos pueden —invirtiendo en intervenciones basadas en evidencia que aumentan el control de las mujeres sobre sus ingresos, la posesión de activos productivos y la toma de decisiones en el hogar, y aumentando su escala— aumentar el capital humano, mejorar la igualdad de género y ampliar las oportunidades económicas inclusivas.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoÁfrica

The conversation on reforming the global financial architecture has often felt more like Africa against the rest of the world, but the tide is turning. Governments north and south agree that there is something fundamentally wrong with the system and it must be fixed. As the leaders of Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, we have first-hand experience of the precarious financial situation facing many African countries, especially when it comes to debt and development finance. And we are all too familiar with the flaws in the system that is in place to confront these challenges.

The current system needs more than just adjustment—it needs an overhaul.…  Seguir leyendo »

Children look at burnt out trucks that were destroyed during the war on Feb. 18 in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Ed Ram/Getty Images

MundoÁfrica, ,

Ethiopia is putting the finishing touches on a much-trumpeted initiative for transitional justice in the wake of a devastating civil war in the northern Tigray region.

There is much popular demand for such an initiative. Ethiopians of all stripes now say they want accountability: In late December, a Justice Ministry body tasked with developing the policy in accordance with the November 2022 peace agreement, signed in South Africa between the government and the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), revealed a consensus on the need for prosecution of those responsible for the most heinous war crimes. It came hot on the heels of the state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) releasing its own recommendations, which also listed criminal accountability among an array of transitional justice components.…  Seguir leyendo »