Central Africa Archive

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. As United Nations peacekeeping missions struggle to adapt to sharp budget cuts, one of the factors that could affect future funding levels is the organization’s response to persistent allegations of sexual abuse by U.N. troops. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council earlier this year, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., warned that the U.S. could withdraw money for missions that fail to combat abuse and hold perpetrators accountable. New evidence of the U.N.’s shortcomings in cracking down […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Despite two years of protests, Tunisian lawmakers this week approved a so-called economic reconciliation law that allows for amnesty for officials accused of corruption under former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first head of state to fall during the 2011 Arab uprisings. Predictably, the move was condemned by opposition lawmakers and civil society activists. One MP said the law signified “the return of the dictatorial state,” while another described it as “an advanced stage of counter-revolution.” The […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. On his first overseas trip since becoming administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Mark Green’s most confrontational interaction occurred when he sat down with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Giving voice to Washington’s frustration with the country’s four-year-old civil war, particularly the dangers facing humanitarian aid workers and reports of atrocities, Green told Kiir the Trump administration would be conducting “a complete review” of its policy toward the world’s youngest nation. Kiir, however, countered that Green’s view […]

During a rally in Senegal’s capital last month, a fiery and prominent political activist, Kemi Seba, launched into his customary, extended harangue against France’s influence over its former African colonies. As he criticized African leaders he said were pursuing French interests at the expense of their own citizens, Seba became especially impassioned discussing the continued reliance on the CFA franc, a currency backed by reserves held in France that is used by more than a dozen African countries. At one point, with cameras rolling, Seba said, “Here’s what I think about this money,” before setting a pale green 5,000 CFA […]

Angola has long been a kingmaker in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, wielding tremendous power and influence in its domestic politics. Yet despite decades of close relations, tensions are rising between the two countries. As Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s grip on power looks increasingly tenuous, Angola, which just elected a new president for the first time in nearly 38 years, fears instability on its border. In an email interview, Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at Chatham House in London and a senior lecturer at Coventry University, discusses the importance of stability in relations between Angola and Congo, […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Among the observers endorsing Kenya’s election last month were representatives of the European Union, the African Union and the Carter Center, whose delegation was led by former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kenya’s Supreme Court, however, has disagreed with their assessment. On Friday, it nullified the results giving incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta a second term and ordered that a new vote take place within 60 days—a ruling that was being described as a first for Africa. As Helen […]