Topic: Global Witness

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Taylor's 50-year sentence draws mixed reactions in Liberia (+video)

Human rights groups welcomed the sentence for Liberia's former president Charles Taylor for his role in Sierra Leone civil war. Some Liberians argued he didn't get fair treatment.
Keep Calm
Charles Taylor, former Liberian president, found guilty of war crimes (+video)

Charles Taylor: A guilty verdict against the former Liberian president – including charges of murder, rape, use of child soldiers – sets precedent for holding sitting heads of state to account.
Africa Monitor
Congo NGO worker says Dodd-Frank hurts conflict mineral struggle

An NGO worker in Congo says of the Dodd-Frank legislation: 'The motivation behind the law is very good – to impose transparency. But the implementation has been the problem.'
World's newest country: South Sudan's oil remains a sticking point

As its independence draws near, South Sudan has yet to agree how to divide oil revenues with its northern neighbor, which has the infrastructure to export the oil the south needs to sell to survive.
Africa Monitor
Small but positive signs of progress with Congo's 'conflict minerals'

Recent actions taken against Congo's 'conflict mineral' trade by companies and the international community signal that although progress is slow, it is happening.
Africa Monitor
Is Congo's mineral trade really the key to the country's conflict?

While conflict minerals are certainly an important factor in Congo's conflict, guest blogger Laura Seay is not convinced they're the most important factor.
Qaddafi's assets include luxury homes around world

Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi and his family own expensive real estate in London, New Jersey, and around the globe
Africa Monitor
Did the son of Equatorial Guinea's leader really try to buy a $380 million yacht called 'Zen?'

Teodorin Obiang, son of the President of Equatorial Guinea, tried to buy the world's second most expensive yacht, according to Global Witness, an anticorruption advocacy group in London.
As Ivory Coast's Gbagbo holds firm, 'blood diamonds' flow for export

As Ivory Coast's renegade President Laurent Gbagbo shrugs off international attempts to isolate his regime, smugglers continue to export 'blood diamonds' in contravention of a United Nations ban.
With independence vote, South Sudan finally sees end to decades of struggle

A vote for secession is all but certain in the independence referendum that begins Sunday. South Sudan is anticipating independence and a chance to build its own country.
Terrorism & Security
Zimbabwe restarts diamond sales amid 'blood diamond' accusations

'Blood diamond' watchdog, the Kimberly Process, supervised the $72 million diamond sale Tuesday, but a human rights group claims miners work at gunpoint.
Africa Monitor
Africa's blood diamonds, bloody still

The trade of so-called 'blood diamonds" in Africa continues despite the much-hyped Kimberley Process, which has never worked as well as advertised. The problem is that it's a voluntary process, says blogger G. Pascal Zachary.
Sudan election: Is Khartoum stealing South Sudan's oil?

As people vote in the Sudan election, a recent report says that $700 million – perhaps much more – may have been underpaid to South Sudan since a 2005 peace agreement mandated the sharing of oil revenues with Khartoum in the North.
Global News Blog
Is Sudan sharing its oil wealth properly?

A new report by the London-based rights group Global Witness indicates discrepancies in the reporting of oil revenue – a key sticking point in a fragile North-South peace accord.
An interview with a jailed Somali pirate leader

Behind the bare brick walls of a desolate former British colonial prison in Somali land, five jailed Somali pirates didn't seem very fearsome at all.
Congo's risky push to crush rebels

Rwanda's Army moved deeper into neighboring Congo Sunday as part of a surprise deal last week to root out Hutu rebels. But when will Rwanda's troops leave?