The citizenship media survey is compiled by the International Refugee Rights Initiative in New York. It covers newspapers from the African continent that are accessible online and also includes articles accessed through a subscriber-only database.
To subscribe to the monthly citizenship media survey, please email info@refugee-rights.org with 'SUBSCRIBE TO CITIZENSHIP MEDIA SURVEY' in the subject line.
Any published newspaper articles in the African media may be submitted via email info@refugee-rights.org. Please write 'ARTICLE FOR CITIZENSHIP MEDIA SURVEY' in the subject line.
Survey of African media coverage
October 2009
All the articles may be found here.
Featured articles:
Kenya: The East African
Integrate Refugees Into the Host State, Leaders Told
Published: 26 October 2009
The refugee situation in East Africa has reached alarming levels and the United Nations is urging members countries to adopt the Tanzanian formula of integration.
Even though there is no armed conflict in East Africa at the moment, there are about 880,000 refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
This is because of civil war in Burundi prior to the peace talks, strife in Somalia and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, war between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the post election violence in Kenya.
The latest report by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says people fleeing their home countries cite poor human rights record, discrimination on account of ethnicity, persecution for political beliefs, lack of sound democratic ideals, poor governance and intolerance to dissent.
Read the article here.
Uganda: The Daily Monitor
UN Warns Rogue African States
Published: 22 October 2009
The United Nations will not sit and watch as Africa turns into a hub for conflicts and criminals, the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary General on the prevention of genocide, Mr Francis Deng, has said.
Speaking at a luncheon hosted in honour of African ministers currently in Kampala attending the African Union special summit on refugees, returnees and internally displaced people, Mr Deng said African states were hiding under the guise of sovereignty to act "irresponsibly" consequently escalating conflicts and forced displacements on the continent.
"We need to distinguish between the responsibility of the state and the responsibility of the International Community," Mr Denga said. "My advice to states is that the best way to protect your sovereignty is to discharge your duties responsibly. If people are dying, the international community will always intervene.
The ministers from at least 20 African nations were meeting to discuss the political and humanitarian challenges facing the Continent ahead of today's opening of the Summits Heads of State Meeting.
Read the article here.
Nigeria: This Day
The Right to a Passport
Published: 19 October 2009
Refusal by any government to issue passports and denial of access to consular assistance to citizens constitute acts of civicide
There are two ways to kill in human community: you can kill a human being or you can kill the citizen. The first is biological; the second is sociological but no less real. The former is called homicide; the latter is civicide. Both are wrong, unlawful, and criminal. In addition, civicide is an egregious act of abuse of power.
Most people are quite familiar with homicide, which can occur as either murder or manslaughter. Most have not heard of civicide, although they may recognise it when described. Civicide destroys the existence of a political community or accomplishes the same goal with respect to the existence of a person as a citizen. In other words, civicide changes the citizen into a stateless person. In one stroke, civicide reduces an individual to a non-person.
In her book, The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt describes citizenship as "right to have rights and a right to belong to some kind of organised community."
Read the article here.