During his visit to the Swiss capital, Shingiro met with senior officials from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Photo Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

Switzerland’s foreign affairs minister Ignazio Cassis called on Burundi to implement concrete human rights reforms during a meeting with his counterpart from the small African nation, Albert Shingiro, in Bern on Monday.

Cassis noted the good cooperation between the two countries while also reaffirming Switzerland’s willingness to support Burundi in the area of human rights.

During his visit to the Swiss capital, Shingiro also met with senior officials from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) responsible for the Africa and Human Rights divisions as well as the director-general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, elections in Burundi in 2020 were marred by “serious human rights violations […] including summary executions, torture and sexual violence.” The Commission of Inquiry on Burundi reports that, amid systemic economic mismanagement including widespread corruption, some 74% of the population lives in poverty.

Switzerland has a long-standing commitment to peace and sustainable development in Burundi, the FDFA said, with ongoing support for projects that promote vocational training, improvements in health and governance, conflict prevention and fighting violence against women.

The Alpine country has chaired the Burundi Configuration of the UN Peacebuilding Commission since 2009 and advocates for support for the country from the international community. Sub-Saharan Africa is a priority region for the government’s current International Cooperation Strategy. - swissinfo.ch

Police brutality and the death of schoolboy Damilola Taylor are among the unflinching themes tackled by contenders for 2021’s Brunel International African Poetry Prize.

The world’s biggest cash prize for African poetry is sponsored by Brunel University London to develop, highlight and inspire emerging African writers.

More than 1,000 people from the continent and its diaspora each submitted a collection of 10 poems to enter the £3000 competition, now in its 8^th year.

Shortlisted this year are Kweku Abimbola from Gambia, Uganda’s Arao Ameny, Isabelle Baafi from South Africa, Somalia’s Asmaa Jama, Tumello Motabola from Lesotho and Oluwadare Popoola, Yomi Sode and Othuke Umukoro in Nigeria.

“This year’s shortlist share diverse concerns,” said Karen McCarthy Woolf leading the judging panel. “From Yomi Sode’s memorial to Damilola Taylor to Kweku Abimbola’s meditation on Ashanti naming traditions that also commemorates victims of police brutality.

“Their poems express a sense of urgency and a spirit of witness leavened by a capacity to address complex scenarios amongst the political wreckage that has characterised this specific moment in the early 21^st century,” said the award-winning British Jamaican poet.

“We find them now, on the brink of what promises to be notable and enduring literary careers.”

South African poets Rustum Kozain and Makhosazana Xaba form the rest of the panel.

“The future looks very bright and African poetry is staking its claim as a major force in world literature,” said competition founder, Professor Bernardine Evaristo, the 2019 Booker Prize winner who teaches creative writing at Brunel University London. 

The winner is announced on May 11th.

Photo The New Times

Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, the UK Minister of State for the Commonwealth, has said that Rwanda has demonstrated enthusiasm and ability to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Ahmad made the remarks while on a three-day visit to Rwanda which ended on Friday, April 30.

The visit aimed at among others inspecting the preparations in place as the UK gets ready to hand over the role of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office to Rwanda in June.

“The warmth of the reception I have received from the people of Rwanda, the engagements I have had demonstrate the real motivation, the enthusiasm to host the heads of government meeting,” he said during an interview he had with the national broadcaster.

Asked about whether the summit will explore virtual conferencing options in some of the meetings that comprise it, Ahmad said such decisions are to be made by Rwanda.

“How the CHOGM is organized in terms of the format it takes - the physical against the virtual, that ultimately is very much of a decision for Rwanda. What I can assure you of is that whatever decision on how the CHOGM is moved forward by Rwanda, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them and are very supportive,” he said.

On his visit, Ahmad met with President Kagame, among other dignitaries from the Rwandan government including Vincent Biruta, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya, the Environment Minister, with whom he discussed preparations to hold a safe and successful CHOGM.

“This was a thoroughly productive visit, as Rwanda prepares to host Commonwealth leaders in June. I thanked President Kagame and the Government of Rwanda for their work to prepare for this important summit,” read a statement by Ahmad.

“CHOGM 2021 is a key opportunity to boost momentum towards COP26 (the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference). We hope that Commonwealth leaders will agree a strong statement on climate and use CHOGM to demonstrate greater ambition in climate change commitments,” he added.

The UK minister also delivered a lecture at the African Leadership University. - Hudson Kuteesa, The New Times