Commonwealth should 'acknowledge' past wrongs, says Prince Harry

Yahoo – AFP, July 6, 2020

Harry, Duke of Sussex, seen here in conversation with Formula 1 champion Lewis
 Hamilton, had already spoken out last week against institutional racism (AFP
 Photo/PETER NICHOLLS)

London (AFP) - Prince Harry has urged the Commonwealth, which his grandmother heads, to acknowledge its uncomfortable colonial past, in video extracts published on Monday.

The 35-year-old royal and his wife, Meghan, joined a video conference call with leaders organised by the Queen's Commonwealth Trust (QCT) from their base in the United States.

The sessions were set up in response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during a US police arrest.

Harry last week outlined his personal commitment to tackling institutional racism, saying it had "no place" in society but was still too widespread.

On the July 1 call, posted on the QCT website, he said: "When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past.

"So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.

"It's not going to be easy and in some cases it's not going to be comfortable, but it needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits."

Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth, a non-political organisation of 54 countries, most of which have links to the British Empire.

It comprises 2.4 billion people -- a quarter of the world's population -- of which 60 percent are aged under 30.

The QCT was set up to give younger people from member nations a platform to share ideas and insights.

The chief executive of the QCT, Nicola Brentnall, has said the body is studying how the Commonwealth's colonial past and its legacy should shape its future.

Harry and Meghan stepped down from frontline royal duties this year and have set up a non-profit organisation focusing on the promoting of mental health, education and well-being.

Meghan, a mixed-race US former actress, has previously talked about her own personal experience of racism and unconscious bias.

Former army officer Harry has also complained about the "racial undertones" of media coverage of his wife.

The couple are president and vice-president respectively of the QCT.

UN extends investigation of leader's mysterious 1961 death

Yahoo – AFP, December 28, 2019

Only the second secretary-general in UN history, Dag Hammarskjold was killed
along with 15 others on September 18, 1961 when their plane crashed in what was
then known as Northern Rhodesia (AFP Photo)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United Nations General Assembly on Friday approved a resolution extending the investigation into the mysterious 1961 death of secretary-general Dag Hammarskjold.

The Swedish diplomat had been traveling in southern Africa for a mission when his plane crashed.

The text, initiated by Sweden and co-sponsored by more than 100 countries, was adopted by consensus without a vote.

Sweden recommended the reappointment of Tanzanian lawyer Mohamed Chande Othman, who has led the investigation for several years.

In his last report, published in early October, Othman accused the United States and Britain of withholding information regarding Hammarskjold's death.

Only the second secretary-general in the history of the UN, Hammarskjold was killed along with 15 other people on September 18, 1961 when their plane crashed near the city of Ndola in what was then known as Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia.

At the time, he was seeking to unite Congo and stop the mineral-rich Katanga province from seceding.

Two investigations concluded the crash was caused by pilot error. But since 2014, new probes have focused on a possible plot, a theory enforced by Othman's most recent report.

"South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States must be almost certain to hold important undisclosed information," he wrote.

The resolution urged member states, "in particular those referred to in the report, to release any relevant records in their possession."

In his report, Othman mentioned the likelihood that UN member states intercepted communications related to the crash, as well as the existence of Katangan air assets that could have attacked the secretary-general's plane.

He also cited the presence of foreign forces, including pilots and intelligence agents, on the ground at the time of the crash.

Chagos islands: The fight over Africa’s last British colony

DW, 22 November 2019

A piece of Britain lies between Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. To date the Chagos Islands are still under British control and their inhabitants live in exile. But the UK has missed a deadline to return them.

   

The anger in his voice is clearly audible. There is a lack of goodwill on the side of the British government, Olivier Bancoult says. The fight over the Chagos archipelago has been dragging on for too long. "We are continuing to put pressure [on the British government]," Bancoult told DW. As a young boy, Bancoult was one of the Chagos residents who were forced to resettle. Today he lives in Mauritius and as a lawyer has been fighting for the people of Chagos and their descendants to return to the islands. On Friday, November 22, the United Nations deadline for the return of the islands to its people. Bancoult is amongst the organizers of a demonstration outside the British High Commission in Mauritius.

Mauritius, which had once been part of the same colonial territory as the Chagos islands, gained its independence in 1968. Between 1968 and 1973, up to 2,000 residents of the Chagos archipelago were forced to move to Mauritius, the Seychelles and UK in order to establish a military base on the main island, Diego Garcia. In the meantime, the UK has leased it to the US until 2036. Chagos served as a military base for both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The largest island, Diego Garcis, serves as a US military base

Geostrategic importance

"We were poor people who are living in peace and harmony until they made the decision to giv one of the largest islands to America to make a military base. Since that time our nightmare started. Many of us were forcibly removed from our native land to live in Mauritius and the Seychelles," Bancoult told DW. In February the International Court of Justice in The Hague, ruled that the archipelago is legally a part of Mauritius. The court said that Britain had illegally separated the islands from Mauritius and should give them back.

The British government rejected the ruling. "The UK has no doubt as to our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814," read a statement by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The statement, however, alleged that Britain had pledged  to hand over the islands to Mauritius when they are no longer needed for defense purposes.

In May, the UN General Assembly also called on the UK to handover the islands. The deadline for the handover expired on November 22, but the resolution is not binding and the UK seems to have no intention to make such a move in the near future.

The strategic location and the military role of the island, make the very calls for its independence very difficult.  Philippe Sands, a British lawyer who advises the Mauritian government on the Chagos matter, believes that talks between the UK, the US and Mauritius will continue to take place. "Mauritius has indicated that the military base could even remain on the island," Sands told DW.

Read more: The Commonwealth: Still relevant for Africa today?

The archipelago belings to the same island group as Mauritius which
gained independence from Britain in 1968

Clinging onto the last African colony

Sands believes that Britain's reluctance to bow to international pressure lies in the fact that it is still coming to terms with its new place in world politics. "[The UK] is a diminished power. It has lost its judge at the International Court of Justice, it has lost a series of resolutions at the UN General Assembly. I think its just taking time to come to the realization, that ist legal situation and is very different, but ultimately I think the UK will comply with the court," Sands said.

The UK, Sands explained, is paying a high price for its political losses. "They're in the process of leaving the European Union, and they have to negotiate new trade agreements and political agreements with several countries. The government is in real trouble and I think that is why it is clinging on to its last colony in Africa," Sands said.  For him, keeping the islands under British control amounts to a crime against the people of Chagos.

Chagossians celebrate the news of the UN resolution calling on the
UK give up control of the islands (February 2019)

Hopes set on upcoming UK elections

According to Sands, the UN is already preparing new maps which show the Chagos islands as part of Mauritius. Additionally Mauritius is the only country that can have legal rights to fishing and overflying rights of the area.

Sands and Bancoult have the hope that the upcoming UK elections set for December 12 could make a difference. "The Labour party has promised to respect the ruling of the International Court of Justice," Sands said. "If the next government is under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn that would be very good,” Bancoult said. "He already supports us."

According to Bancoult, 596 Chagossians who were forced to leave the islands are still alive today. All in all, he said, they have 9.800 descendants who identify as Chagossians. Bancoult himself finds the thought of growing old away from his homeland difficult. "Most old people want to die where they were born," he said.

Mugabe, Zimbabwe hero-turned-despot, dies aged 95

Yahoo – AFP, Susan NJANJI, 6 September 2019

Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe for decades until he was ousted in 2017 by military
generals who turned against him

Robert Mugabe, the former guerrilla hero turned despot who ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years until the military forced him out, has died aged 95.

First heralded as a liberator who rid the former British colony Rhodesia of white minority rule, Mugabe used repression and fear to govern until he was finally ousted by his previously loyal generals in November 2017.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his predecessor had been declared a "national hero" and that Zimbabwe would mourn him until the burial.

"The late departed icon will be eternally remembered and honoured for the bold and historic land reform programme which he undertook," said Mnangagwa during a national address broadcast on television.

Mugabe passed away at 0240 GMT in Singapore, where he had been hospitalised in April, a Zimbabwean diplomat in South Africa told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He had been battling ill health, and after a humiliating fall from office, his stamina seeped away rapidly.

Adam Molai, Mugabe's nephew, said the former president died of old age "surrounded by family".

"We are pained by his loss. But we also celebrate the life of a legend. He was a living legend. He was a pan-Africanist. He brought the country of Zimbabwe from colonialism to the freedom that we had," Molai told reporters outside the funeral parlour in Singapore.

He said the president was likely to announce when the body would move "sometime next week", adding that he could give no further details on the "state funeral".

Mugabe's popularity faded as he cracked down on opponents

In Zvimba, Mugabe's rural homestead, another nephew Leo Mugabe told reporters the family had "not yet deliberated on where he is going to be buried".

'Revolutionary'

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa remembered Mugabe as a "liberation fighter" and a "champion of Africa's cause against colonialism".

Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta hailed Mugabe as an "elder statesman, a freedom fighter and a Pan-Africanist who played a major role in shaping the interests of the African continent".

China lauded him as an "outstanding national liberation movement leader" while Russian President Vladimir Putin noted Mugabe's "great personal contribution" to Zimbabwe's independence.

But Britain said there were "mixed emotions" after his death.

"Zimbabweans suffered for too long as a result of Mugabe's autocratic role," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Mugabe years are widely remembered for his crushing of political dissent and policies that ruined the economy.

The former political prisoner turned guerrilla leader swept to power in 1980 elections after a growing insurgency and economic sanctions forced the Rhodesian government to the negotiating table.

In office, he initially won international plaudits for his declared policy of racial reconciliation and for extending improved education and health services to the black majority.

Timeline of events in Zimbabwe 1980-2017

Human rights violations

But that faded rapidly as Mugabe cracked down on his opponents. During the 1980s, he led an infamous campaign known as Gukurahundi during which an estimated 20,000 dissidents were killed.

The violent seizure of white-owned farms turned him into an international pariah -- though his status as a liberation hero still resonates strongly across Africa.

Aimed largely at angry war veterans who threatened to destabilise his rule, the land reform policy wrecked the crucial agricultural sector, caused foreign investors to flee and plunged the country into economic misery.

All along, the Mugabe regime was widely accused of human rights violations and of rigging elections.

The topic of his succession was virtually taboo until he reached his 90s and became visibly frail.

As his health weakened, the military finally intervened to quash his second wife Grace's presidential ambitions in favour of their preferred candidate, Mnangagwa, Mugabe's vice president at the time.

Mnangagwa took over in November 2017 and was elected in July last year.

Mugabe died in Singapore where he was hospitalised in April

Mixed legacy

In Zimbabwe's capital Harare, residents woke to the news and went about their daily business, with acting president Kembo Mohadi leading a planned street clean-up campaign.

Mnangagwa, who was attending the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, arrived in Harare on Friday afternoon after cutting short his South Africa visit.

Many in Zimbabwe remembered Mugabe as a tyrant who oversaw the decline of one of Africa's most prosperous nations.

"Mugabe was educated but he used his education for evil. He manipulated everyone around him and fooled the world. Only Zimbabweans can testify to this as we lived in hell under his leadership," said Baster Magwizi, an independence war veteran in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second city.

"As a leader the only thing he did wrong was to stay in power for a long time," Harare resident Joshua Tsenzete told AFP.

But Harare schoolteacher Tatenda Musoni was forgiving.

"To be honest I thought I would celebrate when he died but... I'm actually sad because he was an embodiment of what a true African should be.

"He had his flaws but he did a lot of positive things for us which I doubt we will ever see again in this country."

Ibbo Mandaza, head of a southern African think-tank, said Mugabe would be remembered as one of Africa's "founding fathers".

Mandaza pointed to the example of Tanzania's founding leader Julius Nyrere and South African liberation icon Nelson Mandela.

"Unlike Nyerere and Mandela he (Mugabe) stayed on. He would have had a much more favourable obituary if he had left earlier."

Britain should give up Chagos Islands: UN court

Yahoo – AFP, Danny KEMP, Jan HENNOP, February 25, 2019

Britain allowed a few of the evicted Chagossian islanders back for a brief visit in 

2006 (AFP Photo/STRINGER)

The Hague (AFP) - Britain should give up control of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean "as rapidly as possible", the UN's top court said Monday in a decades-old row with Mauritius over an archipelago that is home to a huge US airbase.

The International Court of Justice said in a legal opinion that Britain had illegally split the islands from Mauritius before independence in 1968, after which the entire population of islanders was evicted.

Mauritius and the exiled Chagossians reacted with delight to the "historic" opinion delivered by judges in The Hague, which is non-binding but will carry heavy symbolic and political weight.

Britain however defended its hold on the islands, saying the Diego Garcia military base, which has been used to bomb Iraq and Afghanistan, protected people around the world.

"The United Kingdom's continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago constitutes a wrongful act," chief judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said.

"The United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring an end to its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible, thereby allowing Mauritius to complete the decolonisation of its territory."

The UN General Assembly in 2017 adopted a resolution presented by Mauritius and backed by African countries asking the ICJ to offer legal advice on the island chain's fate and the legality of the deportations.

'So happy'

Colonial power Britain split off the islands from Mauritius -- which lies around 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away -- three years before Port Louis gained independence in 1968. It also paid Mauritius three million pounds.

Between 1968 and 1973 around 2,000 Chagos islanders were evicted, to Britain, Mauritius and the Seychelles, to make way for a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands. The evictions were described in a British diplomatic cable at the time as the removal of "some few Tarzans and Man Fridays".

The Chagos Islanders have already taken their battle through the courts in Britain, 
where their supporters include the current leader of the opposition, Jeremy Corbyn 
(second from the right in this 2007 photo) (AFP Photo/ADRIAN DENNIS)

Diego Garcia is now under lease to the United States and played a key strategic role in the Cold War before being used as a staging ground for US bombing campaigns against Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2000s.

Olivier Bancoult, chairman of the Mauritius-based Chagos Refugees Group, told reporters outside court that he was "so happy".

"It is a big victory against an injustice done by the British government for many years. We people have been suffering for many years -- I am so lucky today," he said.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth hailed it as a " historic moment for Mauritius and all its people".

"Our territorial integrity will now be made complete, and when that occurs, the Chagossians and their descendants will finally be able to return home," he said in a statement.

The ICJ opinion comes as a stunning blow to London in a case that goes to the heart of historic issues of decolonisation and current questions about Britain's place in the world as it prepares to leave the European Union.

Mauritius' lawyer Philippe Sands said there was "no wiggle room" in the judges' view and that Britain would resist pressure to comply.

"I suspect the United Kingdom will say to itself, what resistance can we put up to moving forward -- and particularly in the context of Brexit, as the United Kingdom finds itself a little bit isolated in the world," he told reporters outside court.

Britain's foreign ministry rejected the court's opinion.

"The defence facilities on the British Indian Ocean Territory help to protect people here in Britain and around the world from terrorist threats, organised crime and piracy," the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said in a statement.

'Shameful' evictions

When judges heard the case in September, Mauritius argued that it was illegal for Britain to have broken up its territory while it was still the colonial power.

Britain, while apologising for the "shameful" way it evicted thousands of islanders, insisted Mauritius was wrong to have brought the case to the ICJ.

The United States meanwhile said the court had a "duty" not to take a position on the row.

The Chagos Islanders have already taken their battle through the courts in Britain, where their supporters included the current Labour opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn.

The legal opinion is only the 28th since the ICJ was set up in 1946 in the wake of World War II to provide a tribunal to resolve disputes between UN member states.

Previously such opinions include one on Israel's West Bank barrier in 2004, which judges said was illegal, and declaring legal Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2010.c

Impoverished eSwatini, Africa's last absolute monarchy

Yahoo – AFP, September 19, 2018

Mswati has been in power for 32 years, making him one of the longest-serving
rulers in Africa (AFP Photo/TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

Mbabane (eSwatini) (AFP) - The tiny country of eSwatini, until recently known as Swaziland, is ruled by a playboy king with many wives and supreme control over a nation struggling with poverty and HIV.

Ahead of parliamentary elections on Friday, here is some essential background about the landlocked kingdom wedged between South Africa and Mozambique.

King in control

King Mswati III was crowned in 1986 when he was only 18, four years after the death of his elderly father, Sobhuza II.

Now aged 50, he has been in power for 32 years, making him one of the longest-serving rulers in Africa.

With unrestricted political power over his 1.3 million people and ruling by decree, he is the only absolute monarch on the continent and one of the few remaining in the world.

His surprise declaration in April that the kingdom would return to its pre-colonial name, eSwatini, was criticised as an example of his authoritarianism.

Mswati has 14 wives -- his father is said to have had at least 70 -- and the right to choose a new one at the annual Reed Dance, when thousands of bare-breasted virgins dance for him.

Political parties banned

After independence from Britain in 1968, Sobhuza II abandoned a British-style system and in 1973 restored a traditional form of government that gives the royal family supreme power.

It effectively bans political parties, which are barred from parliamentary elections held every five years.

Candidates for the 69-member parliament stand as individuals; the king directly appoints 10, as well as the prime minister, senior cabinet members and the judiciary.

Mswati has been in power for 32 years, making him one of the longest-serving 

rulers in Africa (AFP Photo/TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

The government stifles dissent and demonstrations, including by pro-democracy trade unions.

A much-criticised 2008 Suppression of Terrorism Act has been used to arrest and charge democracy and opposition activists.

Widespread poverty

Around 63 percent of Swazis live in poverty and a quarter of children under five show signs of malnutrition, according to UN agencies.

About 26 percent of the labour force is unemployed and 77 percent of Swazis rely on subsistence farming, with severe drought leaving many in need of aid.

The country has little developed industry, with sugar production being among the most important, and is heavily dependent on South Africa, which provides 85 percent of its imports and receives 60 percent of exports, the World Bank says.

Its key textile sector lost thousands of jobs after the United States removed the kingdom from a lucrative trade pact in 2014 due to concerns over workers' rights.

It was admitted back into the African Growth and Opportunity Act in December 2017.

World's highest HIV rate

Around 27 percent of adults aged 15 to 49 were living with HIV last year, according to UN figures, the highest prevalence of the AIDS-causing virus in the world.

However the number of new HIV infections has halved since 2010 and AIDS-related deaths are down 28 percent, according to UNAIDS.

This is after campaigns to boost access to virus-suppressing drugs and male circumcision.

Around 3,500 people died from the disease last year, from a peak of in 7,900 in 2005, while 44,000 children were AIDS orphans.

Freedoms flouted

The government has almost total control of the media and the only independent newspaper, the Times of Swaziland, is routinely intimidated into retracting articles that are critical of the authorities.

Homosexuality is outlawed, miniskirts were banned in 2012 and in 2017 the government ordered that only Christianity could be taught at primary and secondary schools.

The Economist Intelligence Unit 2017's democracy index ranks Swaziland 144 out of 167 countries, placing it firmly in the "authoritarian" category.

Zimbabwe applies to rejoin Commonwealth

Yahoo – AFP, May 21, 2018

The Commonwealth meets in a summit every two years -- the last time was in April,
where leaders gathered at Buckingham Palace for a 'family portrait' alongside
Queen Elizabeth II (AFP Photo/Yui Mok)

Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe has applied to rejoin the Commonwealth, the group said Monday, marking a major step in the country's international re-engagement after Robert Mugabe was ousted last year.

Mugabe angrily pulled Zimbabwe out of the bloc of former British colonies in 2003 after its membership was suspended over violent and graft-ridden elections the previous year.

The Commonwealth said it had received a letter dated May 15 from Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa applying to re-join.

Member countries "very much look forward to Zimbabwe’s return when the conditions are right," said Secretary-General Patricia Scotland in a statement from London.

"Zimbabwe's eventual return to the Commonwealth, following a successful membership application, would be a momentous occasion."

Scotland confirmed that the Commonwealth would send observers to elections due in July or August, the first polls since Mugabe was ousted in November after a brief military takeover.

Mugabe was replaced by his former deputy Mnangagwa, a veteran ruling ZANU-PF party loyalist who was backed by senior military officers.

Mnangagwa has vowed to hold fair and free elections, and has pledged to revive the moribund economy by repairing international ties and attracting foreign investment.

Scotland called for "a credible, peaceful and inclusive (election) that restores citizens' confidence, trust and hope in the development and democratic trajectory of their country."

Britain said last month that it would strongly support Zimbabwe returning to the Commonwealth.

Zimbabwe had fractured relations with the West under Mugabe, who had held power since independence from Britain in 1980.

The government in Harare was not immediately available to comment.

The Commonwealth brings together 53 countries representing 2.4 billion people, under a charter pledging commitment to democracy, human rights and rule of law.

The last country to join was Rwanda, in 2009.

The organisation also holds an Olympics-style multi-sport event every four years, most recently in Australia's Gold Coast in April.

African nations vow to recover stolen assets

Yahoo – AFP, Ola AWONIYI, Joel Olatunde AGOI, May 20, 2018

African nations have vowed to recover billions of dollars held in off-shore
accounts (AFP Photo/Daniel ROLAND)

Abuja (AFP) - Former British prime minister David Cameron two years ago was caught talking about an anti-corruption summit and calling Nigeria "fantastically corrupt".

But meanwhile his country ranks among the top destinations for stolen assets from African countries.

Nigeria and ex-British colonies in Africa hope to change that by working together to repatriate billions of dollars in offshore accounts from London and beyond.

At a regional conference held this week in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the heads of anti-corruption agencies from around Africa met to discuss strategies to overcome bottlenecks in the recovery of stolen assets.

"Concerned about the heavy losses that Africa suffers as a result of illegal transfers of proceeds of corruption and crime out of Africa," the anti-corruption representatives vowed on Friday to "strengthen cooperation and partnership in the tracing, recovery and return of assets".

They further pledged in a joint statement to encourage African countries to commit to greater corporate transparency and called for investment in anti-corruption agencies to "trace, recover and return assets."

'Fight this tsunami'

Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland said Africa is losing tens of billions of dollars annually to corruption, urging the anti-graft tsars to lead the "fight against this tsunami".

"We all know that the difference between the money we need to deliver the hopes and aspirations (of our people).... and the money we have, is the sum equivalent to that which is egregiously siphoned off by corrupt practices," Scotland said.

Nigeria, the continent's largest oil producer, is ranked among the most corrupt countries in the world by anti-graft group Transparency International.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to continue his war against corruption as part of his 2019 re-election campaign.

Buhari's anti-graft chief Ibrahim Magu claimed earlier this year that his agency has recovered over 500 billion naira ($1.3 billion) in illicit funds.

But the government's fight against corruption has been accused of being politically motivated.

'Mafia of leaders'

Commonwealth adviser Roger Koranteng told AFP that leaders at the summit want a regional approach to recovery of stolen assets.

"There is strength in unity. If you go as a single country, you will have a problem because the countries outside the African countries are together," he said.

Sustaining the momentum however may be difficult. Ghana's independent prosecutor Martin Amidu said the will to tackle graft comes in ebbs and flows on the continent.

"For me, for the past decades, Africa has had a mafia of leaders who speak of corruption as if they are against it but internally didn't attempt to fight it," Amidu said.

Still, countries stand to gain huge amounts of money should they streamline asset recovery.

Nigeria announced in April it recieved over 300 million dollars from Switzerland as part of money seized from the family of ex-dictator Sani Abacha, who ruled the country from 1993 until 1998.

Buhari said the money will be spent on a welfare scheme targeting the "poorest of Nigerians", in a country where poverty is widespread and unemployment is rampant.

Yet it is difficult to trace how the repatriated money is being spent, with some critics voicing concerns that stolen money gets repatriated to Nigeria only to be looted again.

"There is a need for robust oversight mechanisms as well as continuous monitoring of the use of recovered assets to ensure that they are used properly and efficiently for development outcomes and poverty alleviation," said Marie Chene of Transparency International in a 2017 report.

'Global effort'

Greater global attention on the issue is helping reforms, say anti-corruption activists.

"It took the publication of the Panama Papers to expose many government officials with offshore accounts," said Debo Adeniran of the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders lobby group.

"The decision to sign mutual legal assistance with several countries is helping the (Nigerian) government in its loot recovery efforts," Adeniran said.

In January, Nigeria signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on asset recovery.

Buhari's anti-corruption sweep and banking reforms are acting as a deterrent, Adeniran added.

"When you steal and cannot keep the money in the banks, you will stop stealing," he said.

'Illegal to be who I am' - Daley urges change in same-sex laws

Yahoo – AFP, Robert SMITH, April 13, 2018

Britain's Tom Daley has voiced his concerns about the treatment of homosexuals
 in large parts of the Commonwealth, whose athletes are gathered on Australia's
Gold Coast for the ongoing Games (AFP Photo/Anthony WALLACE)

Gold Coast (Australia) (AFP) - English world champion diver Tom Daley on Friday urged Commonwealth nations who outlaw homosexuality to relax their anti-gay stance.

Openly gay Daley, who is expecting a child with his partner through a surrogate, grasped the opportunity of his gold medal triumph in the 10m synchro event to push for change.

Daley, who won gold with team-mate Daniel Goodfellow, said sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex are criminalised in 37 Commonwealth countries.

Daley voiced his concerns about the treatment of homosexuals in large parts of the Commonwealth, whose athletes are gathered on Australia's Gold Coast for the ongoing Games.

"Hopefully, I know this might sound a bit political, but by the next Commonwealth Games (in Birmingham 2022), there are 37 countries in the Commonwealth where it's currently illegal to be who I am, so hopefully we can reduce that number between now and then," Daley told reporters.

"Coming to the Gold Coast and being able to live as an openly gay man is really important and to be able to feel comfortable in who you are when you are standing on that diving board.

"For 37 countries that are here participating that's very much not the case."

Daley said it was time for those Commonwealth countries to change their anti-gay laws.

"You just have to face those things and try and make change," he said.

"There are lots of things that are going to take a long time to change, but I feel with the Commonwealth I think we can really help push some of the other nations to relax their laws on anti-gay sex."

Commonwealth Games Federation CEO David Grevemberg said his organisation was proud of its record on inclusivity.

"At the time of Glasgow 2014, 43 Commonwealth countries criminalised same sex activity, but today, that number has been reduced to 37," Grevemberg said Friday.

"We hope that the Commonwealth sports movement is playing a meaningful role in the wider global conversation around tolerance, empowerment and legal recognition for all."

Daley's comments were backed by New Zealand boxer Alexis Pritchard, who wore rainbow socks in support of gay rights in her 57kg semi-final on Friday.

"I think it's particularly sad that people cannot love who they want to love," she told AFP.

"It's important that each and every individual has rights to receive love and give love to the people that they choose.

"I find it absolutely sad that we are not open to that in so many nations."

The penalties for private, consensual sexual conduct between same-sex adults remain harsh in a number of Commonwealth countries, including imprisonment, hard labour and in some cases flogging.

The Commonwealth countries that outlaw homosexuality include Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Tonga.