Newsletter

The conscription of additional 300,000 troops in Russia, by Vladimir Putin, is a sign that he is digging in his heels and hunkering down for the long-haul in the Ukraine conflict, which was launched by a Russian invasion on 24th February 2022. Despite the escalation of violence and the endless supply of weapons from the West, mainly the US and Western European countries, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has failed dramatically to act on de-escalating the crisis, which indicates that it is no longer a useful institution when it comes to making peace in the twenty-first century. There is a clear case for dismantling the UN Security Council and establishing a new global collective security system.

Nearly three decades since South Africa’s democratic transition in 1994, the country remains deeply fragmented. Its political transition has not been matched by a similar transition in the creation of an inclusive post-apartheid economy and, as a result, the continued reproduction of racialised wealth distribution patterns renders the country vulnerable in terms of the sustainability of its political system.

Greetings from Calitzdorp in the Western Cape, the heart of the Karoo. I’m Eslin Arendse an ambassador for the IJR, did my ambassador training and a facilitation course in May earlier this year I’m very honoured to have been elected as an ambassador the reason I said yes to do the training is because I’m very passionate about community work and the development and prosperity of my community and also like to work with people as I’m also a football coach and chairperson of youth organization. It was important for me to gain more knowledge and influence change and to learn new things up and till now it’s been an amazing journey working with IJR, it has been very educational. I learned a lot about social justice peace building, conflict resolution, reconciliation, anti-racism and gender, fundraising, advocacy and activism we also were sponsored with food gardens by IJR (Social change model) and (Youth Identity) project in August. We firstly did socio economic workshop and dialogue about food security and food sovereignty and how to grow and sustained gardens and the importance of planting organic food and contributing towards a greener environment the project was a pilot project so the whole idea is to encourage more people to plant food to bring self- sustainment and to combat hunger also boost food security and food sovereignty.

Every other month or so, we wake to news of yet another racist incident in one of South Africa’s schools. What happens next follows a similar script: the school in question responds once faced with pressure from a) those who experience racism within the community, b) external outrage from social media and mainstream media, and that’s only if they respond at all. Schools shouldn’t wait for a racist incident to happen to be engaging with the realities racism in a post-apartheid society. In fact, all schools in South Africa ought to actively engage in anti-racism education and deliberate efforts to create a school culture that is safe, just and equitable.

Recently, the Youth Identity project travelled to Calitzdorp to complete the last of its four-part dialogue series with young people in the area. The conversations, that took off last year, focused on Coloured* youth perceptions of belonging, exclusion, and dignity in the community. As facilitators, we asked young people questions, such as, “Do you feel you belong here? What are the stereotypes that are held against young people who look like you? Do you feel that young people in Calitzdorp have a future?” The answers we received were overwhelmingly bleak. Young people reported back on experiences of exclusion, non-belonging, and other social injustices. They were candid about the effects of these injustices on them as individuals and the community that they were a part of, but felt they did not belong to.

The Data for Governance Alliance Project (DGAP) team, in pursuit of strengthening the implementation of Agenda 2063 and promoting democracy, governance, and human and people’s rights in Africa attended a number of the African Union’s in person events to popularise the project and build relations with these organs and other civil society organisations. The team firstly attended and participated in the Day of the African Child that was hosted by (ACERWC) in Maseru, Lesotho in June under the theme “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013”. The Data for Governance Alliance took part in the ACERWC’s high level the symposium, which discussed on harmful practices affecting children, shared the latest findings and data on the protection and promotion of the wellbeing of vulnerable children in Africa.

On 12 and 13 May 2022, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) and the Southern Africa Youth Forum (SAYoF) co-hosted a two-day conference, funded by the Norwegian Embassy in SA, on The Role of Youth in Promoting Transitional Justice in Southern Africa. The hybrid conference physically gathered 40 youth leaders representing Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states in Johannesburg, South Africa, while other attended via Zoom transmission.

The situation of women and gender minorities in South Africa is dire. We have some of the best legislation and policies in the world and yet the violence continues unabated.

The Data for Governance Alliance is a project supported by the European Union. It is administered by a consortium of five organisations: (i) Afrobarometer; (ii) Center for Democratic Development – Ghana (CDD-Ghana); (iii) Institute for Development Studies (IDS) – University of Nairobi; (iv) Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR); and (v) Laws. Africa – University of Cape Town