Anyone who has visited a mining area in Africa must have been struck by the negative impact that the activities of extractive companies have on the land, as well as the lack of security around the mines, the health consequences and the displacement of populations. At a glance, one recognises how mining activity changes the…

President Biden has taken a lot of stick over Afghanistan, some of it justified. From Tony Blair to the Tory back-benches, in Parliament and on the BBC, we have been treated to days of passionate denunciation of American withdrawal – announced, of course, long before the current rush to blame. A miasma of unreality and…

Access to clean drinking water is a human right, but as the global population grows and the planet heats up, can we rely on this resource we take for granted Given that more than 70% of our planet is covered in water — all told that’s more than one billion trillion litres of the stuff…

Now is a critical time for South Africa, a major test of its institutions and leaders.  Former President Jacob Zuma (79) is finally behind bars.  The Constitutional Court, the country’s Supreme Court, will hear his appeal against a sentence of 15 months imprisonment for contempt of court.  By refusing to testify Zuma, the very stereotype…

One of the most successful campaigns in the year 2000 led to debt relief for 37 of the world’s poorest countries. 20 years later, Africa is once again in a debt crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic. This new debt crisis has become a burning political issue. How did the crisis come about? How to deal…

Mozambique has returned to the news of the international media due to the humanitarian catastrophe ravaging the north of the country. Since the conflict broke out in 2017, violence in the region has caused a humanitarian crisis with almost 700,000 displaced people and more than 2,000 dead, according to UN agencies. The escalation of violence…

The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is an international treaty that came into force in the last decade of the last century. The ECT is a multilateral investment agreement signed by more than 50 countries and its main objective is to ensure the protection of investors in the energy sector, especially transnational companies operating in coal,…