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Dear reader, Africa is a continent rich in natural resources, including minerals and raw materials that have been a significant source of revenue for many African countries. However, there is a growing need to shift towards developing a knowledge economy in Africa, one that is built on the foundation of knowledge, innovation, and technology. This…

In recent weeks, I have been teaching a course in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences called Introduction to International Relations. And in the context of this course I have taught a topic called “Just War Theory”. All this has happened while the Russia-Ukraine war is still raging on. In our class discussions, we…

By Charlie Chilufya, S.J Tomorrow, YouTube Originals will release the grand documentary film, The Letter, telling the story of the Laudato Si’ encyclical letter and the unfolding ecological emergency of our time and how it represents the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. The Letter is the fruit of a few years of work of the Laudato Si’ Movement in partnership with Off the Fence (Oscar-winning producers of My Octopus…

By Mwansa Chalo, My name is Mwansa Chalo, a young African economist and entrepreneur participating in the Economy of Francesco 2022 event in Assisi, Italy.  Looking back to this morning’s encounter with Pope Francis, I am hearing the words of the disappointed disciples who met the risen Lord reverberate in me: “Were not our hearts burning…

By Charlie Chilufya, S.J More than a dozen young changemakers under the aegis of JENA are participating in the Economy of Francesco (EoF) 2022 event. The 22nd to 24th September 2022 event is the first in-person meeting for young people called by Pope Francis to give a soul to the economy and help create an economy that gives life rather than the…

The Economy of Francesco 2022 event is here! It happens after three years of life, work, waiting, projects, proposals, desire; after two years of a pandemic that could have stopped our young changemakers but didn’t succeed. After the great pain that the world has had to face. Young people are eager to change the flow: next…

The close link between food security and peace and stability cannot be overlooked. Over the years, countries and regions with failed peace and stability are often characterized by weak food systems; vice versa is often true. This is because conflict has a direct negative impact on food systems, affecting people’s ability to produce, trade, and…

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Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah   |   June 24, 2022   |  Barron’s The 2022 G7 leaders’ summit began on Sunday in Schloss Elmau in the Bavarian Alps and was set to conclude today, Tuesday 28 July. The summit is taking place at a time of great global upheaval and uncertainty but more so for Africa. Two African countries, Senegal and…

By Bryan P Galligan, S.J In early June 1972, world leaders met in Stockholm, Sweden for the first-ever global conference on the environment and sustainable development. This past week, the UN system returned to Stockholm after 50 years for a global stock-take on the progress made since then, and to give leaders an opportunity to…

By Charlie Chilufya, S.J. During this Week of the Environment, from the 30th of May leading up to the 5th June, the World Environment Day, nations of the world gather at the Stockholmsmässan Centre in Stockholm, the largest exhibition facility in the Nordic region, to once again talk about and plan action to heal the now very well-known broken relationship between human beings and the natural…

By Kevin Okoth Ouko and  Fr.  Charles B Chilufya, SJ Global food commodity prices, especially those global grain and vegetable oil prices, have reached record highs in a decade hitting poorer countries harder. The surge in food prices is driven mainly by the war in Ukraine, which is wreaking havoc on a global food system…

The FAO Food Price Index indicates that  the global food prices hit an all-time high in March, 2022.  The index, which is the average of five commodity group price indices weighted by the average export shares of each of the groups, reached 159.3 points in March, up by 12.6% from February when it had already …

By Njeri Okono and Charles B Chilufya 20th April 2022 Ubuntu is a foundational term in African cosmology and spirituality meaning ‘humanity’. It expresses the African belief that ‘I am because we are’ or ‘I am because you are’ and also expresses our ‘humanity towards others. Ubuntu further expresses the African belief in a universal…

Because the real drivers of Africa’s vulnerability to climate change extend far beyond physical factors alone… By Bryan P Galligan 7th April 2022 “We used to know what to grow here, and we could predict the rains. Now, the rains are unpredictable, and we need to find new ways to survive.” – A farmer receiving…

JENA, along with its United Kingdom partners, is lobbying the UK Government to rechannel more of its IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) allocation and lead other rich nations to do the same to combat climate change and biodiversity loss in Sub-Saharan Africa, an area of concern that the UK has consistently identified as a priority…

16th March 2022 – In a landmark development yesterday, the European Union (EU), South Africa, India and USA are reported to have reached a compromise in long-running negotiations for a waiver on intellectual property (IP) rights for coronavirus products. However, it still needs agreement from EU member countries as well as other World Trade Organization…

By Charlie B Chilufya, S.J. On 8th March 2022, JENA, through its affiliate member organisation, the Zimbabwe-based Jesuit NGO, Silveira House, met with the Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee of the Zimbabwean Parliament in Harare to discuss some of the best ways African countries like Zimbabwe could employ to fully benefit from the recent Special…

Fernando C. Saldivar, S.J. The Sixth African Union – European Union (AU-EU) Summit concluded in Brussels on 18 February 2022 after two days of deliberations between leaders from the two continents. Given that this marked the first occasion for AU and EU heads of state to come together since 2017 there were high hopes on…

“Prepare the Future”: Unblocking Global Finance for Post-COVID-19 Recovery in Sub-Saharan Africa In order to sufficiently recover from the harsh impacts of the COVID-19 shock, reduce poverty, and build a healthier and more prosperous future for the continent, Sub-Saharan Africa needs massive financial resources. The continent needs resources to invest in vaccination and human capital…

Press Release The Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network – Africa (JENA) has welcomed the international community’s generous gesture to support poorer countries’ recovery efforts in the wake of the prolonged COVID-19 crisis. On Wednesday last week, the World Bank announced a $93 billion replenishment package of the International Development Association (IDA) to help low-income countries respond to the  COVID-19 crisis and build a greener, more resilient, and inclusive future. “The donor contribution to the IDA,…

   Webinar: Faith Communities After Glasgow: An Interfaith Examen of COP26 https://youtu.be/_-OU3Q0fmVk Date: 14th December 2021 Time:  0700 – 0900hrs EST |1300 – 1500hrs GMT | 1400 – 1600hrs CET | 1500hrs – 1700hrs EAT | 2000 – 2200hrs Manila Time | 2100 – 2300hrs Tokyo Time The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also…

By Charles B. Chilufya, S.J A couple of days ago, the champion of justice ,equity and humanity, Dr. Ayoade Alakija of the African Union’s Vaccine Delivery Alliance expressed the anger that so many of us are feeling in the face of this predictable moral failure by nations to do what can easily be done to eliminate the coronavirus. She was…

By Andebo Pax Pascal and Judith Nguli, Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA). At the beginning of October 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the Pandora Papers document, implicating 14 offshore professional service providers, politicians, public officials and celebrities who utilise the offshore system to hide the true value of their wealth, and…

By Charles B. Chilufya, S.J The COP26 climate talks are about to close today, in less than a couple hours, after two weeks of deliberating, negotiating, and a bit of protesting. Negotiators are still scrambling for a final deal. A draft deal was published this morning but negotiators are still at it to settle on an agreement….

Charles B. Chilufya, S.J The fabled Albert Einstein is reckoned to have once said that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Nations are meeting at the COP 26 climate summit to resolve the perennial giant and urgent problem of climate change having failed to resolve another urgent…

By Fernando C. Saldivar, S.J. World leaders are currently gathered in Glasgow, Scotland for COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. It is no exaggeration to say that COP26 is the most important multilateral conference on the environment in a generation and may represent our last chance to collectively address climate change through mitigation and…

Charles B. Chilufya, S.J. “Please open your hearts…” so went the strong and passionate call from the 26-year-old Kenyan climate activist Elizabeth Muthuti as she spoke to the world leaders yesterday on the first day of the world leaders’ summit of the COP 26 hosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.  She moved our hearts to…

By Charles B. Chilufya, SJ As nations start an important conversation on climate in Glasgow starting today, Monday 1st November, we are worried that conversations around climate action and development often take place in silos and are often driven by myopic economic and national interest. Climate action and development and even poverty eradication are inextricably…

Charles B. Chilufya, S.J. There is every hope that 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will go beyond the usual rhetoric we have seen from previous meetings as countries prepare to launch an adaptation goal and adopt strategies for achieving such a goal. Can this also be an opportunity for African countries…

Fernando C. Saldivar, S.J. Global Policy and Advocacy Officer – Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA) The Gambia is the smallest country within mainland Africa, entirely surrounded by Senegal with the exception of its western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. From east to west it extends approximately 330 km and less than 50 km…

By Charlie B. Chilufya, S.J A recent study done this year showed that there is greater vaccine hesitancy in high-income countries than in low- and middle-income countries driven mostly by conspiracy theorising.  According to the study reported on 16 July in Nature Medicine, 80% of individuals surveyed in ten low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia, Africa and…

Bryan P. Galligan, S.J. Global food systems are in the spotlight this week with the highly controversial UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) planned for Thursday, 23rd September, and a number of governments, civil society groups, and corporate players trying to influence its outcomes. Even the degree to which these outcomes can be influenced has been…

Bryan P. Galligan, SJ In the wake of a devastating annual report on hunger and malnutrition, and in the lead-up to the controversial UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), the international community is at a point of reckoning. Despite ambitious goals, a business-as-usual approach to food systems has not made progress. Indeed, COVID-19 and climate change…

By Andebo Pax Pascal, Research and Advocacy Officer – Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA) of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM). The Context The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted into a health, economic and social emergency since it blew into a global proportion in March 2020. While acknowledging that the overall impact…

By Pascal Pax Andebo, Research and Advocacy Officer, Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa. Imagine hearing your Parish Priest, as part of his preaching, telling you to pay taxes to the government as a Christian obligation. Then he proceeds to read a long pastoral letter from the Bishops, which lays emphasis on the need to…

JENA’s Focus on Youth: Africa Regeneration Indaba for Young People   Charlie Chilufya, S.J.   In Africa, August is the Month of the Youth. It is a time to acknowledge the gift of young people especially in this continent that is predominantly young. The fourth Apostolic Preference of the Jesuits, call us Jesuits and our…

From the beginning of his pontificate in 2013, Pope Francis has consistently issued a call to radically rethink the global financial order, to envision “a different kind of economy: one that brings life not death, one that is inclusive and not exclusive, humane and not dehumanizing, one that cares for the environment and does not…

The Jesuits Justice and Ecology Network of Africa (JENA) in conjunction with Caritas Africa held an international blended conference on the 22nd – 24th June 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was themed “Food Sovereignty in times of recovery: Building back better through mainstreaming social justice and leveraging on ecological agriculture”. Caritas Africa and the…

By Matambura Ismael, SJ By 2020, according to SOS, over 400 million children are currently living on the African continent. A child refers to every human being below the age of 18 years (The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 1990 Article 2). At the center of Africa’s political upheavals, economic…

By Charlie Chilufya, S.J A third wave of COVID-19 infections more brutal than the first two that came before is seriously ravaging some sub-Saharan Africa countries, most of them in southern Africa as the continent falls way behind the rest of the world in vaccinations. The current rate of infections being experienced in sub-Saharan Africa…

From the 22nd – 24th June 2021 the Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network of Africa (JENA) in collaboration with Caritas Africa and the Academic Stand Against Poverty East and Southern Africa (ASAP-ESA) will host a blended Food Sovereignty Conference in Nairobi, Kenya through the JENA Food Sovereignty Platform (JFSP). The Conference will gather national and international specialists, both policy experts and academics, in order to extend the concerns on…

· Natural Resource Tax Revenues BACKGROUND Mining is one of the sectors that one can describe as the mainstay of the Zimbabwean economy. With optimal and robust taxation, the sector’s contribution to the country’s revenue could be much larger than it is now. For example, in 2019, total mining export receipts peaked at US$2.9 billion and…

· Report on the Capacity Building Workshop on Illicit Financial Flows for the Portfolio Committee on Budget, Finance and Economic Development Introduction Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) are illegal movements of money from one country to the other. Global Financial Integrity classifies this movement as an illicit flow when funds are illegally earned, transferred, and/or utilized across an…

By Alain NZADI-a-NZADI, sj This year’s social days brought participants to reflect, for three days, around the theme of consolidating democracy and promoting the rule of law in DR Congo. The two panelists of the first day analyzed in turn the fundamental reasons for the chronic political instability in DR Congo, the means to end…

Report Compiled by: Godess Bvukutwa Introduction Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) are illegal movements of money from one country to the other. Global Financial Integrity classifies this movement as an illicit flow when funds are illegally earned, transferred, and/or utilized across an international border. The concept of IFFs can be rather complex and daunting to many thus the…

BACKGROUND Mining is one of the sectors that one can describe as the mainstay of the Zimbabwean economy. With optimal and robust taxation, the sector’s contribution to the country’s revenue could be much larger than it is now. For example, in 2019, total mining export receipts peaked at US$2.9 billion and this amount translated to about…

By Charlie Chilufya, S.J The JENA Director, Fr Charles Chilufya. S.J. and the JENA Global Policy and Advocacy Officer, Fernando Saldivar, S.J joined Silveira House on 6th May 2021 at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Harare to deliver a workshop on Tackling Illicit Financial Flows in Zimbabwe. Generally, illicit financial flows is an umbrella term for…

UPDATES FROM CHAD Chad is far from returning to normal live in spite of the relative calm observed the country in the last few days. Families are burying their loved ones who were killed by police/military bullets during the violent public protests of April 24, 2021 aimed at rejecting the military junta which staged a…

Jesuit Justice Ecology Network of Africa (JENA) Food sovereignty in Africa post–COVID-19: Insights into policy and systematic gaps By Dennis Kyalo and Charlie B. Chilufya, S.J COVID-19 pandemic and its associated containment measures such as curfews and restrictions on movement continue to be not only a health concern but also a major food sovereignty concern…

FORMER HEADS OF STATE AND NOBEL LAUREATES CALL ON PRESIDENT BIDEN TO WAIVE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RULES FOR COVID VACCINES More than 170 former heads of state and government and Nobel laureates, including former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown, former President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,…

· JENA Joins World Religious Leaders Call for a People’s Vaccine If you have contact with religious leaders anywhere in the world, please ask them to sign this letter on access to vaccines. While all U.S. adults are now eligible for a vaccine, most people in low- and middle-income countries are unlikely to have access…

· Tenth Sovereign Debt News Update: IMF Fund Disbursement and Monitoring The G20’s Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) has provided debt relief worth USD$5 Billion to 40 countries. The DSSI was originally set to expire in December 2020, but after the recent meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting, there are indications that the term of…

· Ninth Sovereign Debt News Update: IMF’s Agreement with Sudan, Somalia and Madagascar in Context In response to the economic shock following the covid-19 pandemic, South Sudan turned to the International Monetary Fund which itself recently approved the disbursement of US$174,2 Million to South Sudan under its Rapid Credit Facility. Being the second of such disbursement…

· Eighth Sovereign Debt News Update: The Re-Incurring and Extinguishing of Sovereign Debt Putting into consideration key factors such as economic size, debt-to-GDP ratio, value of foreign exchange currency, sovereign debt profile, domestic debt market, vibrance of its financial system, inflation, growth and development rate, government efficiency, and hydrocarbon dependency, Fitch confirmed on Friday, March…

· Pope laments ‘shameful’ Mediterranean migrant tragedy Pope Francis prayed for more than 100 Europe-bound migrants who died in their attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea and said humanity ought to be ashamed of such repeating tragedies. “For two whole days [they] begged in vain for help. Help that never came … we ought to be ashamed,” Pope Francis said…

Opening Statement Charlie Chilufya SJ ChilufyaStatement It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here Quick contact JENA…

Tax Justice for Promoting Equality and Social Justice I recently attended and spoke at a conference with the above title in Nairobi from 12-14 March 2019. The conference was organised by the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar and the Jesuitenmission in Germany and sponsored by Global Financial Integrity and Misereor. An interesting aspect of…

Brussels 2019 “Tax Justice and Poverty” Workshop On 10 December, the policy and advocacy workshop “Tax Justice and Poverty” was held. This event was co-organised by JESC, COMECE – The Catholic Church in the EU and the Jesuits in Europe and Africa with the participation of representatives of the EU institutions as well as tax…

· Read full article here Follow us Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Pinterest Research Analysis Social Analysis Advocate And Communicate. HOW WE WORK Latest posts Our Publications Quick contact JENA Karen Nairobi Kenya +254 20 3884528 info@jena.africa The Organization Who we Are Our Team Our Network Mmenbers Our Partners How We Work Follow us Facebook Twitter…

NEWS FROM NDJAMENA, CHAD: THE PRESIDENT IS DEAD! Ludovic Lado SJ Last Tuesday, April 20 2021, I was on a zoom call in my office when three of my colleagues insistently knocked at the door before opening and wanting to interrupt. But I waved to them to let them know that I was busy and…

Pope Francis addresses Leaders’ Summit on Climate Pope Francis addressed the Leaders Summit on Climate, saying that the world faced a challenge to care for nature in the post-pandemic era. “We know that one doesn’t come out of a crisis the same way we entered. We come out either better or worse. The Pope spoke during…

Biden’s remarkable success on climate (CNN) By every standard, President Joe Biden’s climate change summit was a remarkable success. With great diplomatic dexterity, Biden and climate envoy John Kerry assembled world leaders representing 82% of world carbon emissions, 73% of the world population and 86% of world economic output to commit to bold climate action. Biden deftly used…

Working Conditions in the Mining Sector in the Northwestern Province of Zambia Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection Date Written: 2016 Abstract Using the Zambian legal framework and laid down international labour standards, this study has evaluated the working conditions of mineworkers in the Northwestern Province with a specific focus on Kansanshi Mining Plc. and Lumwana…

Reforming the CSR of Extractive Industries in Zambia Abstract In the wake of the failure of mining-led development to procure the development promise it carried, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been proposed as one major way to leverage CSR can make to poverty alleviation and other development goals. However, several scholars and practitioners of development…

An Oasis in the Human Rights Litigation Desert? As a result of the Supreme Court’s increasingly restrictive reading of the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”), victims of human rights abuses committed abroad have found the federal courthouse door sealed shut. Especially in the wake of Jesner v. Arab Bank, where the Court held that foreign corporations…

The world after the pandemic A century ago, as Europe was emerging from World War I, there was a consensus that arms proliferation had been one of the chief causes of the conflict. This is why Article Eight of the Covenant of the League of Nations affirmed that “the manufacture by private enterprise of munitions…

The world after the pandemic In March 2020, Pope Francis called on the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development to establish a COVID-19 Commission to bring together the Church’s resources and begin reflecting on the needs of the post-pandemic world. The Jesuit Justice and Ecology Network Africa (JENA), based in Nairobi, Kenya, has actively…

IMF is Zambia’s Best Option for Now! The stigma attached to seeking help from the International Monetary Fund means countries try to avoid it wherever possible. But currently there are still no better options for struggling emerging markets including Zambia. First and foremost., what is Zambia’s problem? Zambia is facing a lot of pressure on…

Perspectives on global justice and fixing the ecological mess Human beings are dramatically changing the surface conditions on planet Earth at an accelerating rate. One key aspect of this is pollution. Our emissions of particles (PM2.5or fine particulate matter 2.5 that is an air pollutant) and ozone (O3) air pollution at ground level cause massive…

Integral Ecology and Taxation: Catholic Social Teaching Pushing the Frontiers of Social Contract Theory in the Post-Pandemic Era The Global Pandemic and the Challenge to the International Financial Order By the beginning of April 2020, an event unprecedented since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution took place – the entire world stayed home behind closed…

Covid-19 What about Africa? By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp 2020 will long be remembered in the annals of history because of the Covid-19 pandemic. As that year drew to a close, the Covid-19 vaccine made its debut in several countries. The question we need to ask, however, is whether the disease will wane as…

The African Economy is “Infected”: The Economic Impact of COVID-19 is Worsening Poverty in Africa In the last three weeks or so, a common trend has emerged in many African capitals just like elsewhere. Travelers, for both work and leisure, are canceling flights; businesses are asking workers to stay home and, in some cases, curtailing…

Joint Tax Audits between Developed and Developing Countries Jörg Alt CharlesB. Chilufya This chapter presents the case for joint tax audits, especially between developed and developing countries, and presents the experiences of Germany and Bavaria. The authors propose including joint tax audits in double tax agreements as this would greatly benefit attempts of developing countries…

AFRICA – “NOBODY IS SAFE UNTIL EVERYONE IS SAFE,” SAYS CHARLES B. CHILUFYA S.J. The growing Covid-19 crisis facing Africa will require more extensive levels of international cooperation, coordination, compromise and care than there is now. There is a call here on more powerful nations like the G20 to take leadership, to be a ‘Good…

A Wicked Impunity. On December 1, 2020, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the consolidated cases of Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe I and Cargill, Inc. v. Doe I. Depending on how the court rules, these cases could mark the end of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) as a means of holding corporations accountable…

The Paradox Of Prosecuting War Criminals While Ignoring Corporate Human Rights Abuses Swiss court is currently prosecuting Liberian national Alieu Kosiah for war crimes committed during that country’s civil war. Fernando C. Saldivar SJ questions, however, why it is so easy for international courts to try war criminals but so difficult to prosecute large corporations…

We Have A Chance To Help The World To Make A Brighter, Better Future is an opportunity to “usher in a new model of development” that better serves communities globally, said the Rev. Charles Chilufya, coordinator of the Vatican COVID-19 Commission’s Task Force Africa and director of the Justice and Ecology Office at the Jesuit…

· Climate Change Climate change is an issue of justice and protection of life. Climate change impacts disproportionally the marginalised communities and people in Africa. Climate change is an issue of justice and protection of life. It impacts disproportionally the marginalised communities and people in Africa. Informed by Laudato Si, JENA realises that climate change…

A subpoena is a writ issued by a court or other governmental agency having the appropriate authority. A subpoena, which means under penalty…