Les réparations en Afrique australe

Cette étude vient compléter une littérature toujours plus importante sur les réparations aux victimes de violations des droits de l’homme dans le contexte d’une transition politique. Nous examinerons comment l’Afrique du Sud, le Malawi, le Zimbabwe, la Namibie et le Mozambique ont élaboré des programmes officiels et non judiciaires de réparations aux victimes/survivants de violations des droits de l’homme. Les recherches empiriques, regroupées avec la collaboration des organisations de droits de l’homme en Afrique australe, complètent une littérature et un cadre théorique sous-développés sur la question des réparations en général et en Afrique en particulier. Les réponses apportées dans cette analyse offrent une base de réflexion pour les futures études sur ce sujet dans le domaine de la justice transitionnelle. Tous les cas abordés ici montrent que la réparation n’a pas grand sens sans « redevabilité » et sans reconnaissance – deux objectifs de la justice transitionnelle. Tout en étant un élément du processus plus large de justice transitionnelle, un programme de réparations global doit aborder des thèmes tels que la vérité, de la justice et de la « redevabilité ». Ces processus sont à l’origine d’une prise de conscience sociale des violations qui place la demande de réparations dans l’arène publique. Les mesures de réadaptation, de mise en mémoire symbolique et de cicatrisation collective occupent une place importante dans le discours sur les réparations dans ces cinq pays. Sans faire abstraction des forces politiques en jeu, il est évident que les décisions des gouvernements en matière de justice transitionnelle influencent (de manière positive et négative) l’élaboration (ou la non-élaboration) des programmes de réparations. Bien que la réparation soit considérée comme un mécanisme parmi d’autres dans le cadre plus large de la justice transitionnelle, elle doit être aussi perçue comme un processus dynamique qui, comme le processus de décision en justice transitionnelle en général, dépend de forces culturelles, économiques, politiques et sociales qui varient selon les contextes. Cette étude propose que la réparation soit désagrégée et démêlée pour être analysée comme un élément permanent de la justice transitionnelle. Il est aussi important d’abandonner les idées traditionnelles selon lesquelles la « réparation » n’est qu’un synonyme de restitution ou d’indemnisation.Reparation in Southern Africa. – The present study seeks to add to the growing literature on reparations to victims of human rights abuses in the context of a political transition, by examining the experiences of Malawi, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Mozambique, as well as South Africa, in developing official, non-judicial reparation programs for victims/survivors of human rights abuses. The use of empirical research, gathered in collaboration among human rights organizations in southern Africa, augments the under-developed literature and theory around reparations, in general, and in Africa, more specifically. The answers found in this analysis provide a foundation for future study of this topical and seminal issue in transitional justice. A constant theme running through the cases is that reparation holds little meaning without accountability and acknowledgment–twin aims of transitional justice.  While a component of a broader transitional justice process, a more holistic reparations program is facilitated by programs that address truth, justice and accountability. These processes create a momentum and social awareness of abuses that push the demand for reparations into the public arena.  Measures aimed at rehabilitation, symbolic memorialisation and collective healing figure prominently in the discourse on reparations in these five countries. Not discounting the political forces at play in each country, it is evident in these cases that the country’s decisions vis-à-vis transitional justice impact (both positively and negatively) on the eventual development (or non-development) of reparation programs. Though reparation is considered one mechanism in the menu of choices within the broader transitional justice framework it nonetheless needs to be seen as a dynamic process that, much like the transitional justice decision-making process in general, is informed by cultural, economic, political and social forces unique to different contexts.  This study, then, suggests an opportunity to disaggregate and unravel “reparation”, so that its value to transitional justice may be more carefully studied as a permanent application thereof.  There is also clearly a need to depart from traditional ways of thinking about reparation, where “reparation” is synonymous with restitution and compensation or, more bluntly, where it denotes a “pay-off”

Poverty alleviation and violence prevention : exploring the impact of the community work programme

PowerPoint presentationThis presentation discusses some emerging theoretical issues regarding a study of a poverty alleviation initiative – the community work programme (CWP) – and its impact on violence. The study forms part of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)’s Safe and Inclusive Cities (SAIC) programme. The presentation outlines the CWP in terms of poverty alleviation, community participation, typical projects, violence against women, job creation and the prevention of violence. Lastly, it describes the limits of the CWP programme as an instrument of violence prevention

Facilitating or hindering social cohesion? The impact of the Community Work Programme in selected South African townships

While social cohesion may be considered necessary to prevent violence, some studies show that the concept may also be a source of division, intolerance and violence. This article analyses tensions and contradictions within the Community Work Programme (CWP), and how the programme can facilitate, as well as hinder social cohesion in communities. The primary purpose of the CWP is to provide an employment safety net to unemployed people so they can obtain a basic stable income. However, if not implemented in a consultative participatory manner, the CWP may be a source of conflict rather than of social cohesion

Secondary polycythaemia with elevated carbon monoxide levels due to hookah pipe smoking: A public health concern.

Hookah pipe (HP) smoking is perceived as a harmless activity, enjoyed by young adults and high school-going children. Awareness of the health impact of recreational habits, and their intersection with new social norms in the COVID-era, requires critical review. We describe a case series of young HP smokers presenting with secondary polycythaemia with significant clinical sequelae necessitating extensive work-up. HP smoking may lead to acute and chronic carbon monoxide intoxication, with resultant secondary polycythaemia and complications including provoked thrombosis

Vachellia erioloba dynamics over 38 years in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, South Africa

Vachellia erioloba is a keystone tree species in the southern Kalahari. This long-term study over nearly four decades tracks two populations in different landscapes (the interior sandy duneveld versus the clayey Nossob riverbed) of a large conservation area and offers valuable data on this species under natural soil moisture conditions and with limited anthropogenic influences. In 1978, 18 trees were permanently marked in a 1 ha plot in the interior duneveld of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (Dankbaar site). In the Nossob riverbed all trees in a 1 ha plot were surveyed in 1979 (Grootkolk site). At both sites, tree height and stem circumference were subsequently measured at irregular intervals until 2016 in order to investigate growth rates and population structure. Of the 18 marked trees at Dankbaar, six died and three showed coppice regrowth following substantial dieback after a fire. A mean height increase of 60 mm/year was recorded and the mean height of the remaining uncoppiced trees was 6.8 m in 2016. Stem diameter growth rate per year varied widely between trees and between years with a mean value of 2.5 mm/year over the 38-year period. Growth rate calculated for three 10-year intervals varied. Using the mean growth rate derived in the current study and stem size of the dead trees, the mean age of the trees when they died was estimated. At the Grootkolk site, the position of the centroid in relation to the midpoint of the diameter class range suggests that this population is gradually becoming a mature to old population with limited recruitment. This was supported by the size class distribution curves. However, no differences between slopes or intercepts of the stem diameter size class distributions were found. Conservation implications: This study was conducted in a large conservation area, that is, a natural ecosystem excluding most of the anthropogenic threats that are present outside of the park. The study illustrated that in the duneveld the population studied was self-sustaining, with recruitment occurring and large individuals presumably dying of old age. Although fire caused a few individuals to coppice, no fire-related deaths were reported. In the Nossob riverbed, surveys started in a stand of predominantly young trees and the size class distribution at that stage already showed a lack of recruitment. This stand is ageing and will likely disappear at this site; however, new young stands are appearing at other sites in the Nossob riverbed. Under the current conditions with negligible anthropogenic influences, it therefore appears that some V. erioloba populations in the park are increasing in size while others are decreasing, but that overall the species will persist. The impact of global climate change on this species is, however, unknown

Influence of dietary lipid sources on sensory characteristics of broiler meat

________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract A study was conducted to determine the influence of different dietary lipid sources and inclusion levels on sensory characteristics of chicken breast meat. Eight isoenergetic (15.1 MJ AME/kg DM) and isonitrogenous (223 g CP/kg DM) diets were formulated, using high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO), sunflower oil (SO), fish oil (FO) and tallow (T) at 30 g/kg and 60 g/kg inclusion levels. Eight hundred, day-old Ross 788 broiler males were randomly allocated to the eight treatments (n = 100) and further subdivided into four replicates/treatment (n = 25). All birds receive a commercial starter diet for the first 14 days, where-after the experimental diets were fed for 28 days. At 42 days of age, three birds/replicate (n = 12/treatment) were randomly selected, weighed and slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Breast muscles were removed from the chilled carcasses (4 °C) and de-skinned. Meat samples were wrapped in aluminium foil and steamed (200 °C) before cutting into smaller pieces (2.5 cm 3 ) and served to the respondents (n = 75) of a consumer panel. Each respondent tasted eight meat samples while completing a nine-point hedonic scale questionnaire. Meat samples of the HOSO treatment were preferred, while FO samples were the least acceptable to the respondents. These results suggested that dietary lipid sources could be used to manipulate sensory characteristics of broiler breast meat according to consumer preferences. _______________________________________________________________________________

Revival of the magnetar PSR J1622-4950: observations with MeerKAT, Parkes, XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR

New radio (MeerKAT and Parkes) and X-ray (XMM-Newton, Swift, Chandra, and NuSTAR) observations of PSR J1622-4950 indicate that the magnetar, in a quiescent state since at least early 2015, reactivated between 2017 March 19 and April 5. The radio flux density, while variable, is approximately 100x larger than during its dormant state. The X-ray flux one month after reactivation was at least 800x larger than during quiescence, and has been decaying exponentially on a 111+/-19 day timescale. This high-flux state, together with a radio-derived rotational ephemeris, enabled for the first time the detection of X-ray pulsations for this magnetar. At 5%, the 0.3-6 keV pulsed fraction is comparable to the smallest observed for magnetars. The overall pulsar geometry inferred from polarized radio emission appears to be broadly consistent with that determined 6-8 years earlier. However, rotating vector model fits suggest that we are now seeing radio emission from a different location in the magnetosphere than previously. This indicates a novel way in which radio emission from magnetars can differ from that of ordinary pulsars. The torque on the neutron star is varying rapidly and unsteadily, as is common for magnetars following outburst, having changed by a factor of 7 within six months of reactivation.Comment: Published in ApJ (2018 April 5); 13 pages, 4 figure