Journalist at RFI (ex-DW, BBC...), writer, (first book on Bristol's music/art; e-book on African art), I also work on films, as a journalism lecturer, and a contributor to the New Arab, Art UK, etc.
Born in Paris, I was based in Prague, Miami, London, Nairobi (covering East Africa), Bangui, and Bristol, UK. I also travelled to Italy, Haiti, Tunisia, Liberia, Senegal, India, Mexico, Iraq... My passions: Africa, music, arts...
This blog is to share my work and cultural discoveries.
UN rights chief ‘horrified’ by reports of mass graves at two Gaza hospitals
Spokesperson says some bodies allegedly had their hands tied while others were bound and stripped
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, has said he was “horrified” by reports of mass graves containing hundreds of bodies at two of Gaza’s largest hospitals.
Palestinian civil defence teams began exhuming bodies from a mass grave outside the Nasser hospital complex in Khan Younis last week after Israeli troops withdrew.
“We feel the need to raise the alarm because clearly there have been multiple bodies discovered,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights.
She described bodies “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste”, adding that “among the deceased were allegedly older people, women and wounded”, including some bound and stripped of their clothes.
Senegal's new leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye has called for a rethink of the country's relationship with the EU during a visit by European Council President Charles Michel.
Faye, who was inaugurated as president on 2 April, was elected on pledges of radical reform and promises to restore national "sovereignty" over key industries.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Michel on Monday night, Faye said cooperation between Senegal and Europe was "dense and multifaceted, but together we want a rethought, renovated partnership", one "capable of supporting the innovative dynamic we want to imprint on our relations".
As part of his promised reforms, Faye recently announced the renegotiation of oil and gas contracts, and hopes to do the same with fishing agreements signed with the European Union.
Fishing is a significant part of Senegal's economy, but the industry is grappling with the effects of overexploitation of marine stocks.
Improvements for both sides
Michel said the two parties "should not dread" broaching difficult subjects if it meant "bringing about improvements for both sides", pointing to the fisheries issue in particular.
Faye said his government would pursue a model of boosting development from within, focusing on agriculture, livestock and fishing, while also strengthening infrastructure such as railways, electrical grids, telecommunications and roads.
"European investors whose companies have recognised skills in these different sectors are welcome," he added.
Michel said Europe had an "objective interest in Senegal being able to meet the challenges of development, economic emergence and improvement of the living conditions of the people".
"The world order is the result of political choices that were made in the last century in a totally different world", which is why the European Union "supports more justice and more inclusion", Michel said.
We can see that most Western media are avoiding this piece of information...
Yet AFP reported on it and had many photos. I published an article on RFI's website, as I was the editor when AFP announced that over 50 bodies were found.
Al Jazeera reports on the story further, mentioning hundreds of bodies:
Search teams in Gaza say they've uncovered hundreds of bodies in the grounds of Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Younis.
The hospital was raided by Israeli forces before their recent withdrawal from the area.
What will Westerners say in a few weeks if evidence mounts?
GENEVA, April 18 (Reuters) - France should repay billions of dollars in reparations to Haiti to cover a debt formerly enslaved people were forced to pay in return for recognising the island's independence, a coalition of civil society groups said on Thursday.
The Caribbean island became the first in the region to win its independence in 1804 after a revolt by enslaved people. But in a move that many Haitians blame for two centuries of turmoil, France later imposed harsh reparations for lost income and that debt was only fully repaid in 1947.
The group of around 20 non-governmental organisations currently in Geneva for a U.N. Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) are seeking a new independent commission to oversee the restitution of the debt, which they refer to as a ransom.
They say the money should go to public works in Haiti where a transition council was installed this month in an effort to restore security after a period of devastating violence by armed groups.
"What's important is that it's time that France recognises this and we move forward," Monique Clesca, a Haitian civil society activist who is coordinating the efforts, told Reuters.
The French Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. France, whose development agency has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Haiti, has previously referred to a "moral debt" owed to Haiti.
The amount paid to France is disputed by historians although the New York Times, opens new tab estimated Haiti's loss at $21 billion. The proposal's backers say the amount is much higher.
"It's $21 billion plus 200 years of interest that France has enjoyed so we're talking more like $150 billion, $200 billion or more," said Jemima Pierre, professor of Global Race at the University of British Columbia.
Clesca said she hoped the recommendation and others would be part of the U.N. forum's conclusions due Friday. Last year, the PFPAD suggested that a tribunal should be formed to address reparations for slavery.
The campaign for paying reparations or making other amends for slavery has a long history and has been gaining momentum worldwide.
Gaza's civil defence said Sunday health workers had uncovered at least 50 bodies of people killed and buried by Israeli forces at a hospital in the southern city of Khan Yunis.
Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, while an ambulance driver was killed as he went to pick up wounded from a separate attack by violent Jewish settlers, Palestinian authorities said.
Iran's foreign minister said Tehran was investigating an overnight attack on Iran, adding that so far a link to Israel had not been proven as he downplayed the strike.
Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces, an official security force, said its command post at Kalso military base about 50 km south of Baghdad was hit by a huge explosion late on Friday, and two security sources said it resulted from an air strike.
My latest on Sudan for RFI English, a year after the start of the war, and the growing needs of Sudanese people & refugees, with UNDP's representative
in Sudan, Abdallah Dardari and Isabelle Coleman of USAID:
After a year of war, millions of people in Sudan are facing displacement, violence and hunger. While the world has pledged billions in aid, the United Nations says the crisis can only be solved if Sudanese people are given the means to rebuild and produce their own food again.
Internally displaced people and refugees are impacting the already fragile economies of Sudan and its neighbours.
A conference in Paris on Monday raised more than €2 billion in international pledges that come one year after the start of fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
It's a conflict that has forced millions to flee and brought the population to the brink of famine.
Donor countries at the Paris event recognise the seriousness of Sudan's crisis and are genuine in their desire to take meaningful action, the UN Development Programme (UNDP)'s Abdallah Al Dardari, told RFI.
They know the situation in Sudan will spillover and affect the entire region.
"Investing in Sudan is actually a global public good. There is finally a sense of urgency on the issue," Al Dardari said.
But emergency handouts will not offer a lasting solution. The UN needs to revive agriculture in Sudan and to bring back food production, jobs and incomes.
"Forty percent of farmers in Sudan this year could not plant their seeds," Al Dardari said, adding that food security was a major obstacle.
"There will not be a harvest next year, which means this is very serious."
UNDP figures, meanwhile, show that 50 percent of salaried employees in Sudan have lost their incomes.
Even if there was food available, half of the population would lack the money to buy it.
"What we are suggesting is a comprehensive approach that takes into consideration the immediate humanitarian needs but also [the need] to bring back livelihoods," Al Dardari said.
The logic is that investing in livelihoods will in turn reduce reliance on aid, and much of Sudan stands to benefit from the right sorts of investment.
"If we produce food in Sudan today, and if we invest in local infrastructure, bring back the microfinance markets and allow farmers to buy their inputs and so on – in areas where safety and security allow for that – it will reduce the humanitarian burden," Al Dardari said.
It would also signal to Sudanese that they aren't merely seen as victims of a human catastrophe, but as people with agency and with active voices.
When fighting broke out on 15 April, 2023, most diplomats and aid workers left Sudan – effectively ceasing to serve those most vulnerable.
With the country on the brink of famine, the UN says it has been able to reach only 10 percent of Sudan's 48 million people.
Those still working on the ground already see "children dying of malnutrition every day", said Isobel Coleman of USAID, the United States' international development agency.
The international community has a role to play in stopping the fighting, she told RFI after attending the conference this week.
Conflicting parties must be brought back to the negotiating table, Coleman said, adding that a ceasefire would allow for full humanitarian aid access and avert an even more serious crisis.
"The sooner the better, because the suffering is immense. Most parts of the country are on the verge of famine," she said.
The US is considering further sanctions against Sudanese commanders and hopes that other countries will do the same, according to Coleman.
She said she was optimistic about the reopening of peace talks, which are expected to resume in Saudi Arabia.
"We don't yet have a precise date, but I hope that we will know soon so we can bring all the parties involved in this crisis around the table.
After Senegal's success, can Mali and Niger also hope for elections?
Issued on:
The delayed March presidential vote in Senegal confirmed the country remains a beacon of democracy in a region facing increasing instability. RFI looks at how the peaceful victory of Bassirou Diomaye Faye and mentor Ousmane Sonko stands to influence the politics of neighbouring Sahel nations.
This edition of Spotlight on Africa looks at the vast and diverse West Africa region, from Senegal to Benin to Niger and Mali.
It's a big election year for Africa in general, with no fewer than 16 countries heading to the polls.
These include a complicated parliamentary vote in Togo on 19 April, general elections on South Africa on 29 May, presidential elections in Algeria in September, and presidential elections in Ghana in December.
But for Sahel nations Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, elections appear a distant dream as the military juntas in power delay processes for a return to civilian rule.
Many hope the inspiring outcome of the Senegalese election can galvanise the region.
Speaking to RFI about the polls are former Senegalese diplomat Babacar Ndiaye and Nigerien researcher Seidik Abba.
Meanwhile Yvonne Ndege, of the International Organisation for Migration, looks at the issue of migration on the continent.
And finally Azu Nwagbogu, curator of the Benin pavilion for the Venice Biennale, speaks to RFI's Ollia Horton ahead of the event's opening on Saturday.
