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Dans le nord du Ghana, des centaines de femmes accusées de sorcellerie, chassées par leur famille et leur communauté, vivent dans des prisons à ciel ouvert, des "camps de sorcières". Les conditions de vie y sont extrêmement difficiles. Associations et acteurs politiques œuvrent désormais à fermer ces camps inhumains et à criminaliser les accusations de sorcellerie. Reportage de Julia Guggenheim et Damien Koffi pour Pool Africa. 

A nongovernmental organization is trying to reforest areas once deforested due to displacement in the DRC. Credit: Prosper Heri Ngorora/IPS

By Prosper Heri Ngorora
GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo, Aug 29 2025 (IPS)

The Youth Circle for Nature Conservation and Community Development is working toward the reforestation of sites where displaced people lived near the town of Goma.

The platform wants to reforest all the sites deforested by war-displaced people around the town of Goma.

Most of these areas were wooded before the M23 war began in late 2021.

When the wave of displaced people began to sweep through the capital of North Kivu, these areas were cleared for a variety of purposes, including the construction of makeshift shelters and the use of firewood.

“We see reforestation as a practical way of combating global warming and soil degradation and restoring biodiversity,” says Gloire Mbusa, programme manager at Youth Circle for Nature Conservation and Community Development.

He says that his organization has already planted trees on more than 13 hectares at the Kanyaruchinya site, north of the city of Goma.

Many environmentalists have criticized the current political and security crisis in eastern DRC for its “disastrous consequences” for the environment and called for action to fix it.

Virunga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Credit
Yvette Kaboza/Wikipedia

“We deplore the fact that since the outbreak of the current crisis in the east of the country, protected areas, including parks, have been destroyed. The parties involved in the conflict should know that these areas have non-belligerent status,” says Olivier Ndoole Bahemuke, an environmental activist.

He refers in particular to the Virunga National Park, one of the oldest parks in Africa, which is facing what he describes as an ‘existential threat.’

The Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, the Congolese state body responsible for managing and conserving biodiversity in the DRC, has revealed that weapon activism, despoiling and carbonization are among the threats to the Virunga Park.

Congo-Youth Circle for Nature Conservation and Community Development says it wants to help revive an already ‘fragile’ biodiversity by planting trees.

“We are considering reforesting other sites, such as the concessions of the primary and secondary schools that used to house displaced people,” says Gloire Mbusa.

John Tsongo, an environmental activist in Goma, encourages such initiatives, which he believes will green up the outskirts of the capital of North Kivu.

“There were more than 10 camps for displaced people around Goma, and these camps were no longer covered in vegetation. To say that we are starting to replant trees again is a truly commendable initiative. It will play a very important role in regulating the province’s climate. This initiative needs to be carried out right in the heart of the city of Goma,” he says.

He suggests that the authorities and other stakeholders raise awareness among the population so that everyone plants at least one tree in Goma, which could go some way to solving the problem of restoring green spaces in and around Goma.

“We can, for example, tell the population to plant trees along the main roads in the city of Goma and in each plot. Thereafter, we can tell the residents to monitor the trees to ensure that they last. There have been many projects along these lines, but to no avail,” he warns.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the world’s forest-rich countries. Deforestation on both a small and large scale is putting its forests at risk, jeopardizing the merits of the country as a ‘solution country’ to climate change, as its authorities have always claimed.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Après l'Eswatini et le Soudan du Sud, le Rwanda a accueilli sept premiers migrants en situation irrégulière expulsés des États-Unis, dans le cadre d'un accord récemment conclu avec Washington, a annoncé jeudi Kigali. Depuis le retour du président américain Donald Trump à la Maison Blanche en janvier, son administration avait déjà envoyé des étrangers vers ces pays, dont ils n'étaient souvent pas originaires.

The hearing will likely be an attack on the bloc's digital laws

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By Minoru Harada
TOKYO, Aug 28 2025 (IPS)

Minoru Harada, president of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist organization, has today issued a statement marking 80 years since the end of World War II, titled “Creating a Wave of Change Toward a Century Without War,” clarifying its ongoing commitment to peace.

Harada’s statement is grounded in the determination that no one on this planet should have to endure the horrors of war. Sharing his own wartime experiences of the terror of the firebombing of Tokyo, Harada expresses condolences for those killed in war and regret for the suffering caused by the Japanese military during World War II.

He writes: “As a Japanese citizen, I once again firmly pledge to continue working to build peace not only in the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan’s past actions caused immense devastation and suffering, but also throughout the world, guided by deep reflection on this history.”

Harada stresses that concern for the suffering of innocent civilians underpins the Soka Gakkai’s commitment to peace. The same concern motivated the manifold efforts to build peace and renounce war initiated by his mentor SGI President Daisaku Ikeda (1928–2023)—from his visits to countries in Asia devastated by Japanese brutality to his efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons, and his contribution of annual peace proposals over a 40-year period.

Harada expresses grave concern about the ongoing conflicts and calamitous situations in Ukraine and Gaza and calls for persistent diplomatic efforts to achieve genuine ceasefires. He laments that the 80-year-old goal of the Charter of the United Nations—freeing the world from the scourge of war—has not yet been achieved and urges adherence to international humanitarian law. He also proposes galvanizing public opinion toward the prohibition and abolition of nuclear weapons.

Harada concludes by outlining three key commitments by the Soka Gakkai:

Firstly, ongoing youth exchanges, in line with the organization’s long track record of promoting grassroots exchanges with neighboring countries in Asia, including China and South Korea. He writes: “We firmly believe that friendships forged by the youth of the next generation will serve as the most powerful foundation for a bulwark against war.”

Secondly, Harada confirms the commitment to continued engagement in interfaith dialogue of the Soka Gakkai and the SGI (Soka Gakkai International).

And thirdly, he urges the expansion of global solidarity and commits to ongoing support for UN-centered efforts to address issues such as human rights and climate change.

He states: “Now, more than ever, the international community must transition from an era characterized by increasing mutual mistrust leading to military buildup to one in which nations work together to tackle common threats and challenges facing humanity. By steadily advancing such efforts, the path toward a century defined by the renunciation of war will inevitably come into clear view.”

The Soka Gakkai is a global community-based Buddhist organization that promotes peace, culture and education centered on respect for the dignity of life. Its members study and put into practice the humanistic philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism. Minoru Harada has been Soka Gakkai president since 2006.

 

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Excerpt:

Minoru Harada, Soka Gakkai President

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at a press briefing on Israel’s plans to take over Gaza City. Credit: Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine/IPS

By Jennifer Xin-Tsu Lin Levine
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 28 2025 (IPS)

Ahead of the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres spoke to the press on the “unfolding tragedy that is Gaza,” calling Israel’s new plans to take over Gaza City with the military a “deadly escalation” and an “existential threat to the two-state solution.”

He warned that such a move could precipitate an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe that imperiled any remaining prospects for negotiated peace.

The Secretary-General also reiterated his plea for an immediate ceasefire, emphasizing that capturing Gaza City would result in massive civilian casualties and widespread destruction—including severe impacts on the health sector already teetering on collapse.

At the daily press briefing, spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric reported on the displacement in Gaza since Israel’s most recent invasion, confirming the Secretary-General’s statements about refugees. UN experts report that the total number of people who have fled from north Gaza to south Gaza since August 14, when the Israeli invasion was announced, is 20,000.

The Secretary-General went on to address the most recent Israeli air strike on the Nasser Hospital in the southern Strip of Gaza, where at least 20 people were killed and 50 others were injured. Israel’s military defended the strike by asserting that it targeted a camera used by Hamas to surveil troop movements.

Dorothy Shea, United States ambassador to the United Nations, defended Israeli actions and urged condemnation of Hamas’ use of civilian facilities for military purposes. She also noted the Hamas members killed by the airstrike.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement calling the strike a “tragic mishap” with no mention of a specific Hamas target. The Secretary-General called for an impartial investigation into these contrasting claims.

Although Netanyahu reaffirmed his respect for journalists on X, formerly known as Twitter, UNESCO reported at least 62 journalists and media workers killed in Palestine while working since October 2023. At least five journalists were killed in the Nasser air strike, according to World Health Organization Director Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus.

At the Security Council meeting debating whether or not to renew the mandate for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), many representatives acknowledged Israel’s current military action and called UNIFIL’s work “vital” in maintaining borders, minimizing conflict and stabilizing tensions.

The representative for Algeria Amar Bendjama was critical of UNIFIL’s failures, but spoke in favor of the renewal. He said, “We must ask, has UNIFIL fulfilled its mandate? Clearly, the answer is no. Lebanese lines remain under Israeli occupation, and we regret that our proposal to include a clear reference to the 1949 general armistice agreement was not retained. Without ending Israel’s occupation of Arab lands, peace and stability in the region will remain elusive.”

UNIFIL was initially created in 1978 to oversee Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. The mandate was adjusted and has played a significant role in maintaining Lebanese army control on the border between Lebanon and Israel rather than Hezbollah, a paramilitary organization, taking over. Critics, led by the United States, see the mandate as a waste of money that has helped Hezbollah consolidate power.

Dujarrac emphasized the necessity of all participating parties to respect UNIFIL’s mandate for it to successfully fulfill its promises.

The Council ultimately voted to renew UNIFIL’s mandate, with many members stressing that the mission continues to play an important role in preventing further escalation along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Guterres’s warnings on Gaza and the debate over UNIFIL underscored the overlapping crises in the region that face the Security Council.

As displacement in Gaza mounts and humanitarian needs continue to fester, UNIFIL’s renewal has bought time rather than answers for a region caught between humanitarian crisis and unresolved conflict.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Excerpt:

As Israel escalates its attack on Gaza City, the UN moves to stop further violence and humanitarian violations by renewing UNIFIL’s mandate for the last time.

Comes just weeks after Meta shut Facebook group Mia Moglie with 32,000 members

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2025 - EP

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi called on the three countries to "appropriately correct this wrong decision in the coming days"

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ENTWURF EINES BERICHTS über die europäische Verteidigung – Bereitschaft 2030: Bedarfsermittlung
Ausschuss für Sicherheit und Verteidigung
Christophe Gomart

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2025 - EP

Russian strikes on Kyiv killed 17 people on Thursday

On 1 September, SEDE Members will discuss two draft own initiative reports which will be presented in the Committee for Security and Defence. One on European Defence Readiness 2030: assessment of needs, which addresses the most pressing investment needs to contribute to a stronger, more coordinated European defence, while mitigating the consequences of past underinvestment. The other report, drafted jointly with the TRAN Committee, focuses on military mobility,
which is crucial to enhance the ability of Member States and Allied forces to swiftly move military personnel and assets across the EU to protect EU citizens.
Meeting agenda and documents
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

On 1 September, SEDE Members will discuss two draft own initiative reports which will be presented in the Committee for Security and Defence. One on European Defence Readiness 2030: assessment of needs, which addresses the most pressing investment needs to contribute to a stronger, more coordinated European defence, while mitigating the consequences of past underinvestment. The other report, drafted jointly with the TRAN Committee, focuses on military mobility,
which is crucial to enhance the ability of Member States and Allied forces to swiftly move military personnel and assets across the EU to protect EU citizens.
Meeting agenda and documents
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP