By Eratus Ndueh
The Kimberley Process Civic Society Coalition (KP CSC) urged its coalition members to prevent mineral fueled conflicts and promote better mineral resources governance for the benefit of local communities in the Kimberley Process for it to remain fit for purpose.
The call was made during the closing event of the annual planning meeting of the KP CSC which held on February 2, 2024 in Yaoundé. The one week annual meeting brought together coalition members from Belgium, Botswana, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe to brainstorm on issues plaguing the diamond supply chain and look for reasonable ways to deal with crises relating to difficulties of implemention in specific member countries.
The diamond industry is reported to be facing significant challenges which is associated with conflict, and desperation that are back at the forefront. Communities living among diamond riches fail to see and fee
l any benefits.
‘Coming from African countries, diamond is supposed to benefit the communities from where it is exploited, but this is not always the case. So for us, we think that the KP has become not taking care of these communities’ expounded Jaff Bamendjou the new coordinator of KP CSC.
The KP Civil Society Coalition has been advocating for KP reform for a long time and is concerned that the much-needed reforms will once again not get a fair chance. In this way, the KP risks undermining the foundations of the industry it claims to protect.
‘Things have changed because couple of years ago, we were talking of conflict diamond due to the fact that non-states armed groups were using this resources to finance their wars. That is why we harness our efforts to say enough is enough by introducing the Model Diamond Framework which entails ensuring that the diamond which is exploited is free of violence, and respecting the social and economic rights of the local communities and going beyond looking how the extr
action of diamond can bring local social and economic development.’ The coordinator added.
According to Esther Finda Kandeh, the founder and director for women on mining and extractives, women have not been left out of the KP CSC’s fight because they ensure that these women who are part of the mining process and who go through the same ordeal with the men, should have their voices heard in the coalition for better solutions to be made.
‘The first thing that we are doing is ensuring that all governance documents that concerns KP should be engender and capture the issues of women pointing the challenges they are going through in the extractive sector’ said Esther Finda.
She added ‘In the extractive sector, women find it difficult to have a say in decision making process due to the cultural beliefs that binds them down. They are mining areas that women are not supposed to go, just because you are simply a woman and many others. So we are out to amplify their voices.’
The Kimberley Process Civil Society Coali
tion is an umbrella organization that acts as an observer of the Kimberley Process on behalf of civil society. Representing communities affected by diamond mining and trade, and improve diamond sector governance in their home countries.
The Kimberley Process was established in 2003 and has 85 participants, including industry representatives and civil society organisations.
Source: Cameroon News Agency
Ghana is set to mark the annual celebration of the Africa Safer Internet Day (ASID) on Tuesday February 6.
The celebration would be on the theme ‘Empowering Minds, Protecting Rights: Creating a Safer Digital Africa.’
A statement from the Cyber security Authority and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Sunday called on parents, teachers, civil society organisations, the media, and the private sector to promote the safe and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.
ASID is dedicated to advancing online safety initiatives and best practices by raising awareness on Child Online Safety in Africa.
The celebration also seeks to reflect the continent’s unwavering commitment to ensuring a secure digital future by empowering young people, especially children and positioning them for a safer digital Africa.
A 2022 report from UNICEF Ghana indicated that more than 13,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse were reportedly accessed or uploaded from Ghana in 2020.
According to Int
erpol’s Global Crime Trends Report 2022, Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA) was ranked among the top ten crime trends perceived by member countries to pose high or very high threats, and 62% of member countries strongly expected this crime to increase significantly in the future.
The statement said Ghana was thus in grave danger of losing her future generation to the predatory and hidden evils of the online world.
The celebration in Ghana is thus expected to create awareness of child online provisions in the Cybersecurity Act 2020, (Act 1038), raise awareness of current cybersecurity trends which affect children, share safety tips and acceptable online behaviours for children and young persons as well as discuss channels for seeking redress.
The Government of Ghana through the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) has put in place measures to demonstrate its commitment towards a safer internet for all users especially children, some of which include the passage of the Cybersecurity Act 2020 (Act 1
038), which has provisions that criminalise child online abuses, the National Child Online Protection Framework which is aimed at tackling the incidents of Child Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse including child sexual abuse materials, online harassment, and cyberbullying against children, and the Cybersecurity/ Cybercrime Incidents Reporting Points of Contacts that allow for the coalition of reports and is a platform for enquiries.
The CSA is also committed to organising regular sensitisation programmes across the country to educate children and parents on how to ensure safety online.
In 2022, the Authority launched the National Cybersecurity Challenge for Senior High Schools across the country to educate the students on the subject, to further conscientise them on cyber hygiene practices and prepare them to become cybersecurity professionals.
Despite the efforts of the Government to completely make the internet a safe place for children, some gaps need to be filled by the private sector; technology co
mpanies, Civil Society Organisations, parents, teachers, the media, among others, to improve awareness on child online safety issues across the country.
The CSA will once again lead the annual Africa Safer Internet Day celebration in partnership with UNICEF Ghana, the Ghana Education Service (GES), and other stakeholders through sensitisation events in schools, outreach programmes on child digital safety for churches and mosques, media engagements and social media campaigns.
Source: Ghana News Agency
