Why no international
outcry over Boko Haram killings in Nigeria?
France,
Syria, Somalia, Nigeria: all countries where people have been killed by
extremists. But do we view all victims equally or see every attack as equally
significant?
Just
a few weeks before the latest attacks by Islamist terror group Boko Haram,
German politician Frank Heinrich, a member of Chancellor Merkel's Christian
Democratic Party, travelled through Nigeria. He spoke with Christians and
Muslims and met with politicians as well as with relatives of the kidnapped
Chibok girls. His visit left a lasting impression, Heinrich said in an
interview with DW, adding that he was shocked to see how people in Germany are
generally aware of terror in Iraq but are poorly informed about the situation
in Nigeria.
Heinrich
is a member of the German parliament's Committee on Human Rights and
Humanitarian Aid. On his trip to Nigeria he saw villages deserted after Boko
Haram attacks. And although last week's massacre in the town of Baga is said to
have been the worst in months, such atrocities are barely mentioned by German
news outlets. One reason why Baga attracted so little interest is that it came
so soon after the murders in Paris, Heinrich said. He finds it regrettable that
Germany shows so little interest in Africa.
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5 challenges for
Africa and Europe in 2015
Both
the European Union and African Union face a threshold year where key
international deals need to be struck at four major summits on financing for
development, sustainable development goals, climate change and trade for
development. Are global leaders ready to reach wide-ranging agreements for the
post-2015 world?
The European
Year for Development coincides with the culmination of the post-2015
debate, but not by coincidence. The new EU Commission, led by Jean-Claude
Juncker, must get off to a running start. Now, more than ever, Europe’s
problems need global solutions and global problems need European action.
Can
the African Union speak with one voice and work to make the SDGs a
useful stepping stone for its own ambitious Agenda 2063? What are the top
five challenges for Europe and Africa in 2015?
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Introducing
afrileaks: Africa’s new whistleblowing platform
afriLeaks,
a new site designed to connect whistle-blowers with investigative journalists
in Africa, went live yesterday. Made in partnership with Italy’s Hermes Centre
for Transparency and Digital Human Rights, and the Africa Centre of Network
Journalism, the site hopes to address corruptions and abuses on the continent
and train a new generation of African investigative journalists. Leaked
documents are submitted anonymously to the site and are then appointed to a
journalist from one of the 19 associated African news organisations, who will
pursue and verify the claims. It is, like WikiLeaks, a secure online space to
leak sensitive information, however leaked documents will not be published but
rather act as impetus to further journalistic investigation.
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