Some speculate that the violence in Kasai is threatening to overshadow the fighting in 2012 when the M23 rebel movement took over the city of Goma.

Aid agencies claim it is the worst-affected area of conflict displacement in the world. Yet in a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey, it was named the most neglected conflict in the world in 2017. Civilians bear the brunt of the violence in the fighting and displacement.

Is 2018 a year without hope for the country? Have the media and aid agencies neglected the brewing conflict turning instead to the Syrian Civil War and the Rohingya exodus from Myanmar? Our panel discuss and report on the ongoing catastrophe.

Chair

Ben Shepherd  is a leading specialist on African politics and conflict, policy formulation and applied analysis. He has a broad range of experience across West and Central Africa, with a particular focus on the DRC and wider Great Lakes region.

Speakers

Mélanie Gouby  is an award-winning investigative journalist, writer and documentary filmmaker based in London. Her work focuses on conflicts, politics and the impact of corruption on social cohesion, development and the environment. She was the East Africa correspondent for the French newspaper Le Figaro in 2014-2016, and has contributed to The Guardian, The New York Times, The Associated Press, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, National Geographic, France 24 and Vice, among others. From 2011 to 2014, Mélanie lived in Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she covered the rise and fall of the M23, the latest rebellion in Congo’s protracted war. She led the investigation into a British oil company’s illegal activities in the Virunga National Park for the Oscar-nominated documentary Virunga, winner of a Peabody and duPont-Columbia Award for outstanding journalism. Her interest for the Great Lakes region began while she covered the trials of Congolese warlords at the International Criminal Court in The Hague from 2009 to 2011. Mélanie studied Politics and International Relations at the University College London.

Jean-Roger Kaseki is a human rights campaigner in the UK and the DR Congo. He is a Labour councillor for Tollington Ward, Islington and a human rights and social justice research institute associate at the London Metropolitan University.

Tom Wilson is a journalist with Bloomberg News. He’s worked on Congo for the last 10 years. From 2015 to 2017 he was based in Kinshasa and traveled the country reporting on business, politics and conflict. His investigations have plotted the vast business empire controlled by the president’s family and the relationships between members of Congo’s political elite and some of its biggest investors. In doing so he’s sought to consider how and why Congo’s president and his entourage might seek to hold on to power. Now based in London he continues to write about Congo. 

Alex Ntung was born and grew up in a semi-nomadic, pastoralist and cattle herding tribe in South Kivu (DRC), he has experienced conflicts and violence, and lost many close relatives. He is a political and security analyst (DRC), a Member of the UK Expert Witness Institute and author of Not My Worst Day: A personal journey through violence in the Great Lakes Region of Africa (EARS Press, 2013). He is an international speaker, human rights advocate and fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.  Alex is a PhD research candidate at the Centre of Conflicts Research Analysis, Kent.

 Photo: Junior Kannah—AFP/Getty Images

“They are like my family.”

“They’re just fucking monkeys.”

On Thursday 15 May 2014, the Frontline Club screened Virunga, a masterful documentary that portrays both the highest of human empathy, and lowest of murderous greed in eastern DR Congo.

Present for the Q&A were director Orlando von Einsiedel, producer Joanna Natasegara and investigative journalist Melanie Gouby, who is featured in the film.

From left: Melanie Gouby, Joanna Natasegara, Orlando von Einsiedel. Photo credit: George Symonds

The audience voiced rave reviews:

“It is a beautiful film, and the stars are the gorillas”
“Brilliant film, really engaging”
“Amazing and powerful”
“Incredible film”

Director von Einsiedel began with how the two year project started:

“I’ve been interested in trying to tell a positive, different story from eastern Congo. One that wasn’t all about the many negative things that we mostly hear about the place.

 

“Between 2008 and 2012, there’d been a period of relative stability, and I learned about the really inspiring work of the rangers of Virunga National Park. In their story I saw a metaphor for the wider rebirth of the region.

 

“That the park was implementing various different development projects, tourism was starting to grow again . . . I’d only been on the ground maybe three weeks and this new civil war started.

 

“Around the same sort of time I learned about the park’s concerns about the illegal oil exploration by SOCO International. I ended up staying because I was enthralled about the rangers and their work.”

Orlando von Einsiedel, Director

Two representatives of SOCO International were allegedly present at the screening. The company had issued a PR statement in response to what it “believes to be groundless allegations” recorded in the film.

An audience member from BBC Panorama asked how the filmmakers responded to SOCO’s comments.

“It’s quite simple,” replied von Einsiedel:

“We wouldn’t be sitting up here if we didn’t stand by the journalism and the work that we’ve done.

 

“In terms of SOCO International, what they’re doing in Virunga National Park is illegal. . . . It’s illegal under Congolese national law, it’s illegal under international law, and on top of that, over the years we were there, we have serious concerns about a lack of oversight that this company has. To do with corruption and links to armed groups.”

Excellent night at the @frontlineclub– a sneak preview of the brave @virungamovie and Q&A w/ @jojonata & team pic.twitter.com/foIhGyRATh

— Kate Hardie-Buckley (@katehbuckley) May 15, 2014

Natasegara elaborated on SOCO’s legal position:

“There’s no suggestion that there’s any oil under Virunga National Park. That’s the first misnomer that SOCO International put out. There is no proof that there’s any oil under this world heritage site. . . . What they are doing is illegal, as Orlando said.

 

“What they failed to recognise is that it’s illegal at the highest level of law. It’s enshrined in the constitution that a world heritage site cannot be exploited in this way for oil exploration, ever. So all the permits they would like to suggest they have are all null and void. . . .

 

“So in terms of whether we have oil or not, what we have is a bird in the hand, and a bird that we don’t know exists. The bird in the hand is Virunga National Park, a world heritage site which is there for all of us; and is in fact building a £150 million development programme which is genuinely helping the local communities . . . .”

Jonna Natasegara, Producer

“What power do we have to act against these groups, these immoral positions?” asked a member of the audience.

“There’s a moral position and there’s a legal position,” posited Natasegara:

“SOCO International is a British company, so talk to your decision makers. . . . Talk to your own authorities, let them know how they feel about this issue. In terms of stages we have spent quite a long time building a campaign that goes alongside the film. You can follow that campaign on our official media and on our website.”

Gouby responded to a suggestion that if not SOCO, someone else would do the same thing:

“Total, the French oil company, has a similar concession north of the park, and they’ve promised they would not go into the park. So there is no evidence that any other company would do the same thing.”

Melanie Gouby, Journalist

“I thought the real heroes were the rangers,” said a member of the audience:

“I thought the contrast between the virulent racism of SOCO’s representatives against the brave and eloquent way the rangers spoke was extraordinary. I noticed that in SOCO’s rebuttal, they said nothing about the racism that was shown, that they should re-colonise the Congo.”

Another audience member offered SOCO the floor:

“If someone from SOCO is here who thinks we’ve been given the wrong impression, is there someone who’d like to correct that impression for us now?”

There was no one to respond.

Feel lucky to have seen such a powerful film & piece of journalism @virungamovie about @gorillacd at @frontlineclub #DRC #film #conservation

— Charlotte Minvielle (@Cha_Minvielle) May 15, 2014

The audience was full of praise for those involved in the protection of Virunga National Park and the local communities:

“How extraordinary the courage of everybody involved with film, particularly the Congolese, comes across in the film. And the amount of personal danger people put themselves into to bring across this message, and to congratulate and thank you for doing that.”

Asked about organisations that support the rangers, Natasegara said:

“You can donate directly to the park. The website is www.virunga.org/donate.

 

 

“They have a specific fund for the widows of those rangers. You can contribute directly to their livelihood. That would be a great thing to do.”

Went to the @frontlineclub this evening to see a preview of @virungamovie about @gorillacd such an incredible and inspiring documentary

— Elisabeth Phillips (@elisabeth_CiC) May 15, 2014

Von Einsiedel concluded with the optimism he had witnessed:

“There’s amazing optimism on the ground . . . that this place can be better, and the potential it has – that’s the reason the rangers of the park are out there every day, risking their lives. Because of that hope. Of what they believe the Virunga can do to the region.”

“It’s not going to Margate,” warned von Einsiedel as he encouraged everyone to visit the gorillas:

“The security situation has improved dramatically. So much so that gorilla tourism is open again. So you can all go and visit the gorillas, and you’d all be doing a massively good thing because that’s putting money into the local economy. I’d say go. It’s not going to Margate [laughs] but it’s safe enough to do it.”

For more information on future screenings, and how you can get involved:

Visit. virungamovie.com
Follow. @virungamovie
Like. facebook.com/virungamovie
Donate. virunga.org/donate

The coming year could be a window of opportunity for the international community to tackle the violence and lawlessness that has claimed more than 5 million lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the past 15 years.

The panel: Kassim Kayira, Noëlla Coursaris Musunka, Jean-Roger Kaseki, Patrick Smith, Ben Shepherd.
Photograph: Richard Nield

This is the hope of Ben Shepherd, one of the speakers at Congo Dreams: Hopes and prospects for the future, a Frontline Club event held at Conway Hall in London in association with the Royal African Society on 13 February.

May be a window of opportunity to tackle issues in DRC – Ben Shepherd. @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub — Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

An estimated 5.4 million people have died as a result of the conflict in the Congo since 1998, according to a study by the International Rescue Committee. But there is a glimmer of hope that the situation may improve if the right action is taken.

“There may by a chance in 2013 and beyond for things to evolve differently,” said Shepherd, associate fellow of the Africa programme at Chatham House.

Fighting continues to plague much of eastern DRC as rebel factions, sometimes supported by neighbouring countries, fight for control of land that is rich in mineral deposits. The weakness of the Congolese government and its security apparatus has led to the proliferation of an ‘alphabet soup’ of armed groups in the region, said Shepherd.

There’s an alphabet soup of armed organisations in eastern #Congo – Ben Shepherd @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub @congoconnect — Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

But support for M23, one of the main rebel movements, has dwindled, and the exposure in 2012 of Rwanda’s involvement in supporting the movement will make it more difficult for it to find support from neighbouring countries.

“It’s hard to see where the M23 will go,” said Shepherd. “It’s hard to see the potential for it to relaunch itself. Now that there has been an acknowledgement of the cross-border involvement of Rwanda it will be hard to put the genie back in the bottle, and make it difficult for other countries to do the same.”

“We have to stop this cycle. People are tired of the suffering, they are tired of the rape, they are tired of the lack of development.”

With more than 6 million people dead in DRC we have had enough – Noella Coursaris Musunka, @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub — Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

In 2010, a senior UN official described the DRC as the “rape capital of the world”, and it is a problem that has not gone away. One of a series of photographs exhibited at Conway Hall featured the broken glasses of a woman who had been attacked for the work she does with rape victims in the country.

The photograph is part of an exhibition organised by Congo Connect, an NGO campaigning against human rights abuses in eastern Congo, entitled I Dream of Congo, which runs from 16-23 February.

Maj Honorine Mungole.
Detail of picture by Dominic Nahr/Magnum – Bukavu, South Kivu, 2009

Lack of leadership
The help of the international community is essential to improving the situation in the DRC and to stopping the culture of impunity in the country, said Jean-Roger Kaseki, a human rights campaigner in the UK and in the Congo:

“The pattern of letting people who are responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and even genocide go free is a recipe for more militias to be created in the eastern DRC. Without the international community it will be difficult to stabilise the Congo.”

Jean-Roger Kaseki, human rights campaigner.
Photograph: Richard Nield

“There is a full graveyard of initiatives to watch the border between the DRC and Rwanda,” said Shepherd. “But they have different ideas as to the level of robustness – whether they are expected to fight or not.”

According to Shepherd, there has also been a lack of international leadership:

“The Congo has suffered from not having a country that has been prepared to co-ordinate, to take responsibility to do the work. Most countries are too frightened of how difficult it is and that they might get burned.”

Resource curse
The DRC is also suffering from a resource curse. It is rich in minerals, including coltan, a metallic ore that produces metals used in electronic products such as mobile phones. But these resources are being exploited by international investors with little benefit to the local population.

“The money is there, it’s just going to the wrong hands,” said Kassim Kayira, journalist and commentator at BBC Africa.

Kassim Kayira, BBC Africa.
Photograph: Richard Nield

“It is not clear that there’s any transparency in the deals being done to give access to Congo’s resources,” said Patrick Smith, editor of Africa Confidential, who chaired the debate.

“There’s an irony that we’re talking about the Congo’s lack of resources while they’re being used to push up the share price of one of the biggest companies in the world.”

Patrick Smith, Africa Confidential.
Photograph: Richard Nield 

Irony that DRC lacks resources while they’re being used to boost Glencore share price – Patrick Smith. @idreamofcongo #frontlineclub— Richard Nield (@Rnield01) February 13, 2013

The panel called for international intervention to help to strengthen the army and security forces, to clamp down on militias, and to put help put in place a stronger investment framework in the country.

But in the end, the solution to Congo’s problems must come from within, said Musunka:

“We have had all these outside forces for 15 years and they have failed. The solution has to come from Congo. You cannot impose solutions from outside. We need to empower our people.”

Watch the event here:

By Nicole Hunt

EU and Ukrainian officials meet in Kiev on Monday for the annual EU-Ukraine Summit, with rumours abound that President Viktor Yanukovych is planning to skip the meeting in favour of the EurAsEC summit taking place in Moscow on the same day. Yanukovych’s planned visit to Brussels in Octoberwas delayed after opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison on what the EU says are politically motivated charges.

The Gulf Cooperation Council holds its annual summit in Riyadh, the first formal meeting of leaders since the beginning of the Arab Spring last year. The meeting begins on the same day that the UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss sanctions against Iran and receive a briefing from Jamal Benomar, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Yemen.

Leaders from the Commonwealth of Independent States meet in Moscow on Tuesday to celebrate the organisation’s 20th anniversary. The CIS was formed out of the dissolution of the Soviet Union; the initial agreement was signed by Belarus, Russia and Ukraine on 8 December, 1991, while eight more former Soviet republics joined on 21 December.

In Tripoli, Tuesday marks the deadline issued by the government and the Tripoli Council for rogue, non-Tripoli based militias to disarm and leave the city. Despite the announcement of the deadline on 6 December, clashes between militias and security forces have continued unabated.

Pending the confirmation of election results by the Supreme Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo on 17 December, President Joseph Kabila is scheduled to be sworn in for a second term in Kinshasa. International observers have raised concerns about the validity of the country’s 28 November election.

The long-awaited verdict in the ‘Government I’ genocide trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is handed down on Wednesday in Arusha. Former Interior Minister Edouard Karemera and former President of the MRND political party Mathieu Ngirumpatse are accused of recruiting and arming the Interahamwe militia and disseminating Hutu Power propaganda.

The European Central Bank holds the first of two 36-month longer-term refinancing operations announced by ECB President Mario Draghi on 8 December as part of a series of measures to support bank lending and market activities. The LTRO comes on the same day that Italy releases Q3 GDP figures; the preliminary figures had been due in November, but were not released amid political turmoil.

Palestinian leaders meet in Cairo on Thursday, with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expected to chair the first meeting of what would be a unified Palestinian decision-making body in place until elections are held in May 2012. Members of the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation’s executive boards and the directors-general of various Palestinian factions are scheduled to attend.

Amid weeks of protests against the recent parliamentary elections, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gives his annual state of the nation address in Moscow.

On Friday, the South Korean military is set to turn on the lights on three giant steel Christmas trees placed at points along the country’s border with North Korea. Pyongyang has reportedly called the trees a form of ‘psychological warfare’ and has threatened ‘unexpected consequences’ if the lighting goes ahead.

Activists in Russia have planned another mass protest against the 4 December elections on Saturday, after an estimated 50,000 people turned out for the 10 December demonstration, which was organised on Facebook. The tens of thousands already signed up to attend have clearly not been swayed by President Dmitry Medvedev’s pledge to investigate allegations of electoral fraud.

Sunday is, of course, Christmas Day. While millions worldwide will be focusing on egg nog, Christmas pudding and what Santa’s left under the tree, Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan will be addressing a rally in Karachi, where he is said to be launching a ‘revolutionary manifesto’ ahead of elections in 2013.

Sunday also marks the 20th anniversary of the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev, who had been President of the Soviet Union from October 1988. Gorbachev’s resignation came a day before the USSR was formally dissolved on 26 December, 1991.

By Thomas Lowe

Many of the challenges facing Congo stem from its size, mineral wealth and its social complexity. The result of the Congo elections says Mary Harper, Africa Editor at BBC World Service will not be known for months, yet an incredible 18,000 candidates have put themselves forward.

One key question is how Congo can be so rich in minerals, yet be so poor. Jean Roger Kaseki, Labour councillor from Islington and Human Rights campaigner got support from the rest of the panel when he said that establishing and strengthening institutions is important to changing this.

“If the government doesn’t [rebuild institutions], if the government clings on to power, the Congo will slide back to what it was before.”

The military in the country is closely linked to the black-market minerals trade. Trade of this type does nothing to help the economy and does much to encourage violence – Eastern Congo is known as the rape capital of the world.

One way to counter this, says Mike Davis of Global Witness is to introduce ‘due diligence’ – legal speak for checking where your materials come from. And there’s good reason for this.

“When you look at the headline grabbers amongst the most violent and notorious armed groups now. They all have… a pretty tight connection with the minerals trade.”

The US ‘Dodd-Frank Act’ which demands that all US based companies run checks on the origin of their materials became law in 2010. But as Davis says “this is a law the size of a telephone book – it’s vast” and so is slow to implement. Getting China to agree to any policing of raw material sourcing is another thorny subject.

It’s not just companies, but countries too that have a large influence over what happens in Congo. According to Natzet Tesfay, head of forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd, neighbouring states loom large over national politics, and will be important – particularly if more claims of electoral fraud are made during the current elections.

“This undermines the results that are likely to come. And so its key to look at which side the neighbours are falling on.”

Congo Brazzaville and Angola would likely support an opposition figure, Uganda is on the fence and Rwanda and Burundi would lend their support to Kabila ‘by default’.

After decades of violence, the Congolese government mantra is that peace must come before justice is sought. Filmmaker Fiona Lloyd-Davies says this is all wrong.

“The government has said everyone can put down your weapons it doesn’t matter what you’ve done… but unfortunately that just cannot work, they have to have justice in order to get peace.”

Mobile courts she says have won some victories. A colonel was recently tried and convicted on a rape charge and this sends a signal that even high-up members of the military cannot act with impunity.

All who spoke sought out signs of hope for a better future Congo, and there are some says Davies.

“Despite all the things we’ve been talking about tonight, [the Congolese] find a way to survive and continue their lives and for me one of the most inspiring things was talking to a student in Goma… and she said ‘I want to be the first President of Congo because I want to help the people of my country. And as long as there are people who aspire to this kind of thing maybe there is some hope for Congo”

View event here.

Watch the event here. 

By Natricia Duncan

As we see landmark election in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the discussion at the Frontline Club turned to the way forward for this troubled nation.

Chaired by Mary Harper, Africa Editor at the BBC World Service, who opened by asking:

“Why a country that is so rich in so many ways is often labelled a failed state?”

The response was a picture of corruption and violence, where women had to be escorted on the roads for fear of rape. Award-winning filmmaker Fiona Lloyd- Davies highlighted impunity as one of the challenges to progress.

“You can’t have generals and senior military people being rewarded by the government for committing human rights abuses and committing crimes. They have to be brought to Justice!”

Jean-Roger Kaseki, human rights campaigner and Labour Councillor for Tollington Ward, Islington, focused on the need to “build institutions”.

He described Congo as an “abandoned country” and called on the international community to offer more support.

“Congo needs allies like the UK. We need security; we need a proper and workable strategy for disarming the militias.”

Kaseki also warned that the current government, headed by Joseph Kabila, should not “cling to power” as this will cause a regression into war.

Natznet Tesfay, head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd, pointed to the “seeds of unrest.”

 “Most people may have assumed a number of peace-keeping and peace-making efforts have restored stability to the region, but it’s more the quiet before the storm […..] reported irregularities by election observers gives the opposition fuel to stoke unrest.”

Mike Davis, a conflict mineral campaign leader from Global Witness, spoke of positives – which he described as being more “on the level of policy and rhetoric than actual change on the ground.

“The Congolese Government has gone from a situation in which it’s been in complete denial about the problem to admitting it in a surprisingly public way […..] you have a president who has actually gone on record saying we have mafia groups in our army.”

He also spoke of the positive impact of new legislations and established trading standards, on the behaviour of international companies with interests in Congo. To which Kaseki added:

“Congo is a very rich country with mineral resources. I think there could be plenty of opportunities if those resources are used properly and then if we manage to stop the illegal exploitation of those minerals.”

View in iTunes

Presidential elections are due to take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the end of November and current President, Joseph Kabila, is standing again for what could end up being a 15- year presidency.

We will be examining the prospects of the DRC which has suffered so much violence and where rape is used as a weapon by rebel forces fighting for control of valuable mineral resources such as Tin, Tantalum and Tungsten that are used in everyday electronics such as mobile phones.

Recent election reforms mean that candidates can now win with only 15 – 20 per cent of the vote. Political speeches and broadcasts in the run-up to the election are using tactics that run along ethnic lines and violence has already broken out in some areas.

Can Vital Kamerhe the leader the Union pour la Nation Congolaise party (UNC) present a viable challenge to Kabila and if so, could he fulfill his pledges of freedom, justice and tolerance? What can be done to  address issues of corruption, abuse and extortion in the country?

Join us at the Frontline Club to debate the outcomes of the Presidential elections and to address the challenges that the people of a country with such vast resources face.

Chaired by Mary Harper, the Africa Editor at the BBC World Service. She has reported on Africa for the past twenty years, reporting from many conflict zones, including Sudan, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Algeria, and has done special investigations into Islamist extremism in Africa. She has written for several publications including The Economist, The Times and The Washington Post.

With:

Natznet Tesfay, head of Africa Forecasting at Exclusive Analysis Ltd. Prior to joining Exclusive Analysis she worked in the field of urban development, consulting for municipal governments in the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

Mike Davis, campaign leader of Global Witness’ Conflict Minerals campaign, that is calling on the DRC to demilitarise their mining sector and for electronic companies to clean up their supply chains.

Jean-Roger Kaseki, Human Rights campaigner in the UK and DRC and Labour councillor for Tollington Ward, Islington. He is originally from the Congo.

Fiona Lloyd-Davies, award winning flm maker, she has been making flms about human rights issues in areas of confict since 1992; working in Bosnia, Iraq, Pakistan and extensively in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Image Credit: Julien Harnels / Flickr

We will be discussing Kashmir’s future, the changing role of the foreign correspondent with The Guardian‘s Jonathan Steele, torture and the Arab Spring, and the coming presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A series of Film Africa documentaries look at the people of the Western Sahara and a community of women living in exile after being accused of witchcraft.

There’s a film about the street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi who, by setting himself on fire, sparked an uprising in Tunisia, and another tells the story of the brother of Private McKinley Nolan and his quest to find out the truth about what happened to the missing G.I.s in Vietnam.

Following on from this month’s #fcbbca discussion on Israel, we will be discussing women and the Arab Spring at Westminster College’s Paddington Green Campus.

The focus of our November First Wednesday discussion will be announced on Wednesday 26 October.
  

By Nicole Hunt

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meets in Vienna on Monday, with Iran likely to be high on the agenda following last week’s report expressing increased concerns over ‘undisclosed nuclear related activities’ in the country.

Bouthaina Shaaban, political adviser to Syrian President Bashar al Assad, is in Moscow, where she is scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and hold a press conference for international media. Shaaban was one of three Syrian officials slapped with sanctions by the US Treasury Department at the end of August.

The African National Congress is expected to wrap up disciplinary proceedings against controversial ANC youth leader Julius Malema on Tuesday, having recently moved the hearing from the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House to an undisclosed location in Johannesburg following violent protests last week. Malema is accused of bringing the ANC into disrepute and sowing divisions within ANC ranks after he encouraged the overthrow of Botswana’s government.

In Brussels, the OECD publishes its annual Education at a Glance report, analysing the education systems and performances in member states. For the first time, this year’s report also looks at education in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg hears a complaint on Wednesday brought by four people who say they were illegally deprived of their liberty without justification while they were held in a police ‘kettle’ during the 2001 May Day protests in London.

In New York, the UN Security Council holds a debate on drought-stricken Somalia, where security issues have compounded problems as aid struggles to get into the country and people struggle to get out.

Parliamentary elections take place in Denmark on Thursday. Recent polls say Helle Thorning-Schmidt could be the country’s next Prime Minister, as her opposition Social Democrat party looks poised to win the most seats.

A court in The Hague is due to rule on Apple’s application to ban sales of Samsung’s Galaxy phones. A temporary injunction banning sales and distribution throughout much of Europe was issued on 11 August, but is not due to come into effect until 13 October.

Following debates this week in several European parliaments on new powers for the European Financial Stability Fund, European finance ministers begin a two-day meeting on Friday.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague holds a confirmation of charges hearing for Callixte Mbarushimana, a former UN employee charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2009. Mbarushimana is alleged to have been the executive secretary of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and directly responsible for at least 32 deaths in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide while still employed by the UN, but has never been charged.

Libyan schools are scheduled to re-open on Saturday, with a brand new curriculum devoid of Gaddafi-era subjects such as the Green Book.

At the Dead Sea in Israel, photographer Spencer Turnick stages another mass nude photoshoot, hoping to bring awareness to the fact that the famously salty lake is drying up.

The week wraps up with state elections in Berlin, the sixth in Germany this year. The regional elections have generally proven disastrous for Angela Merkel’s CDU party, which has suffered losses country-wide to the Social Democrats, a trend that many expect to continue into the 2013 federal election.