On Friday, December 4th UFPJ National Organizer George Friday moderated a webinar sponsored by World BEYOND War, Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom-US Section & Black Alliance for Peace on the United States African Command (AFRICOM) and Human Rights in Africa.
The U.S. military established AFRICOM in October 2008 ostensibly to counter violent extremist organizations which they claimed find safe havens throughout African countries. However, the truth is that the U.S. uses military force to impose control of African land, resources and labor to service the needs of U.S. multi-national corporations and the wealthy in the United States.
AFRICOM was established in the months before Barack Obama assumed office as the first Black President of the United States. At that time a majority of African nations—led by the Pan-Africanist government of Libya—rejected AFRICOM, forcing the new command to instead work out of Europe. But with the U.S. and NATO attack on Libya that led to the destruction of that country and the murder of its leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, corrupt African leaders began to allow AFRICOM forces to operate in their countries and establish military-to-military relations with the United States. Today, those efforts have resulted in AFRICOM relations with 53 out of 54 African countries (Egypt is part of CENTCOM whose area of responsibility includes the Middle East).
The webinar featured [presentations from women about the effects AFRICOM is having on their respective nations, and how they are working with women in their countries to affect change.:
Sylvie Ndongmo, the Africa Region representative of WILPF spoke about Cameroon, Marie-Claire Faray, described current conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Christine Odera, Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassador Network – Kenya Country Coordinator (CYPAN), spoke about Kenya, and Joy Onyesoh, the President of WILPF International addressed conditions in Nigeria. The US was represented by Margaret Kimberley with the Black Alliance for Peace; writer and author, who spoke about BAP’s Out of Africa.
You can view the webinar here.
