Association of Concerned Africa Scholars
Analysis and Action on Policies Impacting Africa

Searching for the will to conscientiously prosecute sexual crimes in Zanzibar

By Salma Maoulidi | September 2009

The passage of the Sexual Offences (Special Provisions Act) (SOSPA) in 1998 intended to promote the prosecution of crimes of gender based violence (GBV) more broadly. Specifically, it sought to strengthen the protection of victims and survivors of sexual violence. In 2004, the Zanzibar legislature, the Zanzibar House of Representatives, amended SOSPA further including it in Part XV of the 2004 Zanzibar Penal Act with the objective of making the law more readily accessible to functionaries in law enforcement and the judiciary, and therefore facilitate its implementation.

Zanzibar GBV advocacy: important lessons for future legal reform strategies

By Salma Maoulidi | September 2009

The passage of the Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1979 revolutionized advocacy for women’s rights in global, national and local spaces. Subsequent global conferences on women, especially those convened by the United Nations, squarely put women’s rights issues on national agendas. Specifically, the naming of violence against women a human rights violation to be considered as a moral and legal crime by CEDAW, the Vienna Declaration and the Beijing Platform for Action (BoA) reinvigorated local activism against gender based violence (GBV).

Bush administration Security Assistance Programs for Africa

By Daniel Volman | July 2008

For Fiscal Year 2009 (which begins on 1 October 2008), the Bush administration is asking Congress to approve the delivery of some $500 million worth of military equipment and training to Africa (including both sub-Saharan Africa and north Africa) in the budget request for the State Department for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. The administration is also asking for up to $400 million for deliveries of equipment and training for Africa funded through the Defense Department budget and another $400 million to establish the headquarters for the Pentagon’s new Africa Command (Africom).

AFRICOM: The New U.S. Military Command for Africa

By Daniel Volman | July 2008

On 6 February 2007, President Bush announced that the United States would create a new military command for Africa, to be known as Africa Command or Africom. Throughout the Cold War and for more than a decade afterwards, the U.S. did not have a military command for Africa; instead, U.S. military activities on the African continent were conducted by three separate military commands: the European Command, which had responsibility for most of the continent; the Central Command, which oversaw Egypt and the Horn of Africa region along with the Middle East and Central Asia; and the Pacific Command, which administered military ties with Madagascar and other islands in the Indian Ocean.

Tanzania: A haven of peace

By ACAS | February 2008

By Goran Hyden February 14, 2008 Originally published in the Gainesville Sun President Bush is on his way to Africa this week. One of his destinations is Tanzania. He will be the first American president to ever visit the country. Unlike its northern neighbor Kenya, Tanzania is relatively little known in the U.S. although it […]

Open Letter to President Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania

By ACAS | February 2001

Association of Concerned Africa Scholars February 5, 2001 President Benjamin William Mkapa, United Republic of Tanzania The State House PO Box 9120 Dar Es Salaam Tanzania FAX 22-211-3425 Dear President Mkapa, The Association of Concerned Africa Scholars writes today to condemn the killings of activists on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba in late January […]