IRIN – The European Union’s decision to extend sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and senior members of the ruling ZANU-PF party was endorsed by a leading human rights organization.

“In view of the situation in Zimbabwe, in particular the lack of progress in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed in September 2008, the restrictive measures … should be extended for a further period of 12 months,” the Official Journal of the European Union reportedly said on 16 February 2010.

The EU first imposed sanctions on 18 February 2002, including travel bans and freezing bank accounts; the list has since grown to more than 200 targeted individuals and 40-odd companies linked to Mugabe and his party.

“These targeted sanctions are aimed solely at those whom the EU judges to be responsible for the violence, for the violations of human rights, and for preventing the holding of free and fair elections in Zimbabwe,” the EU said in a previous statement.

Read more – http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88127

AfDB – Bank Group experts with their counterparts from OECD Development Centre, the EU and UNECA, on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 in Tunis, pursued their peer review meeting on the African Economic Outlook. Tuesday’s meeting was devoted to brainstorming by the various working groups. The meeting also served as a platform for the Economic Development and Research Department Director, Léonce Ndikumana, to express his satisfaction with participants’ commitments to the country reviews underway.

On the sidelines of the event, he shed light on key issues relating to the continent’s economy. Explaining the relevance of the collaboration to the implementation of the African Economic Outlook, Mr. Ndikumana said the AEO project was built on the respective strengths of its core partners, which enjoyed financial support from the European Commission.  “It also benefits from the expertise and contributions of research institutes in 10 Bank Group RMCs, as well as the involvement of AfDB staff as country note authors, peer reviewers, and discussants”. He added that “This year the AEO has a record participation of country economists in operations, including several colleagues based in field offices”.

Read more – http://www.afdb.org/en/news-events/article/2010-african-economic-outlook-peer-review-meeting-in-tunis-partnership-to-ensure-consistent-and-high-quality-analysis-5612/

IPS – A basket fund aimed at increasing the economic participation of women in Zimbabwe, has been relaunched after a start which faltered due to the delayed appointment of the new government earlier this year.

The fund, properly known as the Gender Support Programme, seeks to improve gender equality and equity in Zimbabwe. 

Speaking at the launch of the fund on June 17, Udo Etukudo, an MDG specialist and economist with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the cost of not investing in gender equality in Zimbabwe was enormous.

Read more – http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49542

The European Union is intercepting big shipments of medicines on their way to poorer countries, according to a new report published Tuesday.

The generic medicines, coming mostly from India and headed for Latin American countries, have been intercepted and blocked on the grounds of alleged infringement of intellectual property rights.

A report produced jointly by Oxfam and the independent Health Action International says the generic shipments are legitimate under WTO rules.

India and Brazil are due to file a complaint against the Netherlands before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after it seized a shipment of anti-HIV drugs headed from India via Europe to Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria.

“Although in transit, the patent law of the EU member state was called on by the right holder, and this was also the basis of the detainment by Dutch customs,” Sophie Bloemen from Health Action International told IPS by phone from Brussels.

Since late last year Germany and the Netherlands have made customs seizures of 19 shipments of generic medicines bound for developing countries, the report says. Of the last 17 shipments, 16 were from India and one from China.

Of these 17 shipments, five were headed for Peru, four for Colombia, two each for Ecuador and Mexico, and one each for Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Nigeria.

Many of these medicines are urgently needed to treat life-threatening conditions such as AIDS.

The medicines included 30,000 pills that are AIDS inhibitors,100,000 pills of cardiologic medicines, 500,000 pills to treat schizophrenia, and 94,000 pills to help treat dementia, according to customs information made available to IPS by Health Action International.

Read more – http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48935

GENEVA, (IPS) – Non-governmental organisations have expressed their satisfaction at the European Commission’s declaration that it would not put “undue pressure” on African and other countries to conclude the controversial trade deals called economic partnership agreements (EPAs).

“The Commission continues to seek tailor-made solutions for all countries within a regional EPA in order to secure their duty-free, quota-free access to the EU and provide an improved framework for their economic development. It considers that it is up to the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) partners themselves to decide which type of trade-related rules they want to negotiate at this stage and to what extent.”

This statement by the European Commission (EC), released on Oct 1, sounds like a victory for the Stop EPA Campaign which has been running for years now.

On Sep 27, the seventh anniversary of the EPA talks, more than 80 organisations from 30 countries called for a fundamental change in the course of the ongoing EPA negotiations between the European Union and the ACP countries.

“We are very satisfied that the campaign has been able to convince many people that the EPAs don’t lead to development and that the ACP countries have to be given time,” Marc Maes from 11.11.11, a coalition of Belgian non-governmental organisations (NGOs), told IPS in an interview.

“In 2002, everybody believed the development rhetoric of the EC but more and more people have become sceptical and today the EC seems to be finally agreeing not to put pressure on the ACP states and to respect their political choices. But we have to be careful because rhetoric and practice are often very different.”

Read more – http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=48792