Africa

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Le commissaire de police Landry Bignon Delcoz Kindjanhoundé a été conduit, ce mardi 16 décembre 2025 à la Cour de répression des infractions économiques et du terrorisme (CRIET).

Auteur d'une vidéo hostile contre le pouvoir, le commissaire de police Landry Bignon Delcoz Kindjanhoundé est à la Criet. Il sera écouté par le procureur spécial. L'officier de police apparaissait dans une courte séquence de vidéo diffusée sur les réseaux sociaux dans laquelle, il s'en prenait vivement au chef de l'État et exigeait sa démission. Il a été interpellé mardi 9 décembre 2025.

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Une seconde vague de mutins et civils interpellés dans le cadre l'affaire de tentative de coup d'Etat déjouée au Bénin est attendue à la Cour de répression des infractions économiques et du terrorisme (CRIET).

Les auditions s'enchaînent pour situer les responsabilités dans l'affaire de mutinerie déjouée au Bénin. D'autres groupes de militaires sont attendus à la Criet. Ils seront présentés au procureur spécial de la Criet, et écoutés par la Commission d'instruction, et la Chambre des libertés et de la détention. Parmi les personnes interpellées, il y a également des civils.

À l'issue des auditions à la CRIET ce mardi, 30 militaires et 1 civil ont été déposés en prison. Le lieutenant-colonel Pascal Tigri à la tête de cette mutinerie est toujours en cavale.

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La Commission Électorale Nationale Autonome (Cena) a réceptionné, lundi 15 décembre 2025, au commissariat central de Parakou, 6 700 isoloirs destinés aux départements du Borgou et de l'Alibori.

Le processus électoral pour les élections législatives et communales prévues le 11 janvier 2026 au Bénin progresse normalement. 6 700 isoloirs ont été réceptionnés pour les communes de l'Alibori et du Borgou. « Il y aura un tableau de dispatching qui sera fait par la direction du matériel et des opérations. Les instructions seront données. Dès que le dispatching sera fait, chaque point focal sera chargé de réceptionner le nombre qu'il faut pour couvrir les élections dans sa commune », a expliqué Hervé Arcadius Zinzindohoué, chef de service chargé de la planification des opérations électorales à la CENA. Les membres de poste de vote se chargeront de récupérer le matériel au niveau de chaque arrondissement.

Les isoloirs en fer ne seront pas récupérés après les élections. Ils seront stockés dans les arrondissements, communes et départements pour un usage futur.

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The US accuses Rwanda of backing the rebel advance in breach of a deal brokered by President Trump.

Neil Murray hat am 10. Dezember seine Dissertation mit dem Titel „The Dynamics of Risk Preferences: Empirical Perspectives on Adaption and Behavior“ erfolgreich an der Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin) verteidigt. Die Kommission bestand aus Prof. Dr. Carsten Schröder (Betreuer und Erstgutachter, ...

Despite strategic rivalry, bureaucratic behavior in China and the United States follows strikingly similar logics. Drawing on comparative research across foreign aid, environmental governance, and pandemic response, we show that Chinese and U.S. bureaucrats are often driven by strikingly similar incentives. Career pressures, blame avoidance, political signaling, and risk aversion shape day-to-day decision-making on both sides — frequently producing comparable outcomes, despite very different political systems. Understanding these shared bureaucratic dynamics helps explain why the two superpowers can appear deeply polarized politically, yet are surprisingly predictable in practice. Beneath geopolitical rivalry, common administrative logics continue to anchor state action.

Despite strategic rivalry, bureaucratic behavior in China and the United States follows strikingly similar logics. Drawing on comparative research across foreign aid, environmental governance, and pandemic response, we show that Chinese and U.S. bureaucrats are often driven by strikingly similar incentives. Career pressures, blame avoidance, political signaling, and risk aversion shape day-to-day decision-making on both sides — frequently producing comparable outcomes, despite very different political systems. Understanding these shared bureaucratic dynamics helps explain why the two superpowers can appear deeply polarized politically, yet are surprisingly predictable in practice. Beneath geopolitical rivalry, common administrative logics continue to anchor state action.

Sounon Boké Soumaïla, n'est plus libre de ses mouvements. Il est pris en flagrant délit de crime contre la sûreté de l'Etat. Il a été interpellé par la Police dans le cadre du dossier relatif à la mutinerie déjouée dimanche 7 décembre 2025 au Bénin.
Selon les informations, le député de l'opposition radicale aurait écrit, aux premières heures de la diffusion sur la télévision nationale du message des mutins, "C'EST LA FÊTE" dans un groupe sur les réseaux sociaux.
Plus de détails à venir

Former South Africa women's captain Lusanda Dumke dies after being diagnosed with a rare gastric cancer.

Sahrawi refugees walk near the Awserd Refugee Camp in the Tindouf Province of Algeria. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

By Umar Manzoor Shah
SRINAGAR, India, Dec 16 2025 (IPS)

The global refugee system is entering a period of deep strain. The delivery of protection and assistance is undergoing a transformation due to funding cuts, institutional reforms, and shifting donor priorities.

Against this backdrop, a new Global Synthesis Report titled From the Ground Up highlights the many issues faced by refugees in the Middle East and Africa.

Regional Perspectives on Advancing the Global Compact on Refugees has highlighted a rare, refugee-centered assessment of what is working, what is failing, and what must change. The report draws on regional roundtables held in East Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, followed by a global consultation in Geneva, to feed into the 2025 Global Refugee Forum progress review

According to the report, refugee-led and community-based organizations are increasingly taking on responsibilities, but they are not receiving power, funding, or legal recognition. As international agencies scale back under what is being called the Humanitarian Reset and UN80 reforms, refugees are expected to fill widening gaps without the authority or resources required to do so safely and sustainably.

The East Africa roundtables, held in Kampala with participation from refugee organizations in Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, highlight a region often praised for progressive refugee policies. Countries here host millions displaced by conflict, hunger, and climate stress from South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Laws and regional frameworks promise freedom of movement, inclusion in national systems, and meaningful participation. The lived reality, however, remains uneven.

Education emerged as a central concern. Refugee children are enrolling in schools at higher rates, especially where they have been integrated into government-aided systems. Yet access remains unequal. Refugee students struggle to have prior qualifications recognized.

Many are treated as international students at universities and charged higher fees. Refugee teachers, often qualified and experienced, receive lower pay than nationals or are excluded from formal recognition. Language barriers and lack of psychosocial support further undermine learning outcomes. Refugee-led groups are already stepping in with mentorship, counseling, and bursary support, but they do so with fragile funding and limited reach.

Documentation and freedom of movement form another critical fault line. Uganda is widely cited for its rapid issuance of refugee IDs and settlement-based approach. Kenya and Ethiopia have made progress through new refugee laws and policy reforms. Still, gaps between policy and practice persist. Refugees in urban areas remain undocumented in large numbers. Identity documents often have short validity, forcing repeated renewals.

Travel documents are difficult to obtain, especially in Ethiopia, limiting cross-border movement, livelihoods, and participation in regional or global policy forums. Without documentation, refugees face arrest, harassment, and exclusion from services. For refugee organizations, lack of legal registration means operating in constant uncertainty.

Access to justice, described in the report as one of the least discussed yet most pivotal issues, cuts across all others. Refugees cannot claim rights or seek redress without functioning justice pathways. Language barriers in courts, xenophobic profiling, and lack of legal aid remain common.

Refugee-led organizations already provide mediation, paralegal support, and court accompaniment, often acting as the first point of contact between communities and authorities. Yet their work is rarely formalized or funded at scale.

These findings came alive during a webinar held at the launch of the report, where refugee leaders from different regions spoke directly about their experiences. One participant from East Africa reflected on repeated engagement in international forums. This event was his third such process, following meetings in Uganda and Gambia. He noted that participation was no longer symbolic. Governments and institutions were beginning to listen more closely.

He pointed to concrete differences across countries. In Kenya, refugees do not require exit visas. In Ethiopia, they do. Sharing such comparisons, he argued, helps governments rethink restrictive practices and adapt lessons from neighbors.

From the Middle East and North Africa, the discussion shifted to documentation and access to justice. A Jordan-based lawyer explained that civil documentation is not mere paperwork. It is the foundation of rights and accountability. Without birth registration, children cannot access education.

Without legally recognized marriages, women and children remain unprotected. Many Syrian refugees arrived in Jordan without documents, having lost them during flight or lacking legal awareness. Over time, Jordan introduced measures such as fee waivers, legal aid, and even Sharia courts inside camps like Zaatari to facilitate birth and marriage registration. Civil society groups have provided thousands of consultations and legal representations, bridging gaps between refugees and state systems.

The webinar also highlighted language as a structural barrier. In Jordan, Arabic serves as a common language for Syrians, easing communication. In East Africa, linguistic diversity complicates access to justice and services. Uganda hosts South Sudanese, Sudanese, and Congolese refugees, each with distinct languages, while official processes operate in English and Kiswahili. Governments have made efforts to provide interpretation, but gaps remain, particularly in courts and police interactions.

In Ethiopia, where Amharic dominates official institutions, refugee organizations often rely on founders or leaders who speak the language fluently, limiting broader participation.

As the conversation turned to the future of the humanitarian system, the tone grew more urgent. Participants acknowledged that funding cuts have already halted programs and exposed vulnerabilities. One speaker stressed that legal aid and documentation cannot be seen as optional sectors.

Without sustained support, entire protection systems risk collapse. Empowerment, he argued, goes beyond providing lawyers. It means building refugees’ confidence and capacity to navigate legal systems themselves.

Another participant addressed donors and UN agencies directly. Localization, he said, will fail if refugee organizations are treated only as implementers of predesigned projects. Power must shift alongside responsibility.

Refugee organizations should help design programs, raise resources, and make decisions based on community priorities. Otherwise, localization becomes another layer of outsourcing rather than a genuine transfer of agency.

The speaker’s final intervention starkly highlighted the stakes involved. With funding shrinking and uncertainty growing, refugees may soon have no option but to rely on themselves. Investing in refugee-led organizations, the speaker said, is not a luxury. This represents the final line of hope for refugees on the ground.

The MENA roundtables echo many of these concerns but in a more restrictive political context. Civic space is tighter. Legal recognition for refugee organizations is often impossible or risky. In Jordan, refugees cannot legally register organizations. In Egypt, civil society laws limit advocacy.

In Türkiye, registration is technically possible but bureaucratically daunting. Despite this, refugee-led initiatives have multiplied, filling gaps in education, protection, and livelihoods as international actors retreat.

The report warns of a dangerous paradox. Localization is advancing by necessity, not design. International agencies withdraw. Local actors step in. Yet funding, decision-making, and protection remain centralized. Refugee organizations absorb risk without safeguards. Participation is often tokenistic. Refugees are present in meetings but absent from real influence.

IPS UN Bureau Report

 

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Excerpt:

A new global synthesis report and refugee voices from East Africa and the Middle East warn that reductions in humanitarian footprints risks breaking the refugee protection system.

Victor Osimhen is described as a striker "on another level" by team-mate Frank Onyeka ahead of Nigeria's bid to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Victor Osimhen is described as a striker "on another level" by team-mate Frank Onyeka ahead of Nigeria's bid to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Satellite images show the paramilitary force is burying and burning bodies, Yale University researchers say.

In this thought leadership interview, Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Vice President and Global Head of Government and Public Affairs at Philips, shares his vision for the future of European healthcare

President Metsola awarded the 2025 Sakharov Prize to the representatives of the two journalists, who are imprisoned in Belarus and Georgia, at a ceremony on Tuesday in Strasbourg.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In a landmark trial, Roger Lumbala faced accusations about atrocities committed during the Second Congo war.

Der Kanton Aargau senkt 2026 die Steuern deutlich. Der Ansatz beträgt 100 Prozent statt 108 Prozent. Das hat der Grosse Rat mit den Stimmen von SVP und FDP gegen Mitte/Linke und Regierung beschlossen. Der Entscheid fiel mit 74 zu 62 Stimmen.

Fängt der Trinkgeld-Wahn nun auch in der Schweiz an? Aus den USA bekannte Tipping-Optionen bei der Kartenzahlung tauchen vermehrt auch hierzulande auf. Sehr zum Ärger der Kundschaft. Das sagen unsere Leserinnen und Leser zu dem Trend.

Trinkgeld gehört für viele zum guten Service dazu, für andere ist es eher eine freiwillige Geste oder sogar überflüssig. Wie siehst du das? Schreib es uns!