African adoptions raise alarm about safeguards

As Guatemala, China and other adoption hubs have pulled back on foreign adoptions or stopped them altogether, Africa has become the new frontier for adoptions, bolstered by the sight of stars such as Madonna and Angelina Jolie bringing African children into their families.

But the rapidly advancing trend has raised concern that many African countries lack protections to prevent local families from being misled or pressured into giving up children -- the same kind of problem that led other countries, such as Guatemala and Romania, to clamp down on adoptions by foreigners.

Foreign adoptions of African children increased more than fivefold in seven years, even as international adoptions declined worldwide, a new report from the African Child Policy Forum says. Ethiopia is now second only to China in foreign adoptions, according to the most recent available data.

Child-protection groups are alarmed that most of the increase was in African countries that have not signed the Hague Convention, a 1993 agreement meant to prevent children from being abducted or trafficked by setting rules and procedures for cross-border adoptions.

Most African countries lack even basic rules to protect families, a vacuum in which “adoption can become a vast, profit-driven industry with children as the commodity” instead of turning to out-of-country adoption as a last resort for children in need, the report warns.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor gets 50 years for war crimes

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Former Liberian President Charles Taylor will likely spend the rest of his life in jail after a U.N.-backed court sentenced him to 50 years in prison for aiding and abetting war crimes.

Taylor , 64, is the first former head of state to be convicted by an international court for war crimes since World War II.

He was convicted of helping plan war crimes with Revolutionary United Front rebels in Sierra Leone, trading arms with them in return for so-called blood diamonds. During their 1991-2002 reign of terror, the rebels were known for amputating limbs, raping women and girls, recruiting and using child soldiers and forcing girls and women to become sex slaves.

Taylor was convicted last month on 11 counts, including terrorism, murder, rape, sexual slavery, outrages on personal dignity, conscripting child soldiers, enslavement and pillage. He will serve his  sentence in Britain.

Charles Taylor's defense lawyers call 80-year sentence 'excessive'

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG - Defense lawyers for former Liberian President Charles Taylor, convicted last month of war crimes, said Friday the 80-year jail sentence sought by the prosecution was too harsh.

Taylor, 64, could face the rest of his life in jail.

In a pre-sentencing hearing at the U.N.-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone at the Hague, Taylor's lawyers filed papers arguing that the sentence was unjustified and disproportionate to his crimes.

Taylor was convicted on 11 counts of aiding and abetting brutal rebels in war crimes committed from 1996 to 2002 during Sierra Leone's civil war, in return for blood diamonds. He faces sentencing at the end of the month.

The prosecution has called for 80 years in jail to reflect "the extraordinary suffering caused by Mr. Taylor's knowing, willing and long enduring participation in the crimes committed in Sierra Leone and recognize the critical role he played in a criminal campaign of atrocities which lasted years."

But the prosecution contends the court should look at not just the nature of the crimes, but the extent to which Taylor was involved.

"It would be manifestly unfair to impose a sentence, which effectively puts all moral blame for all the atrocities committed in Sierra Leone solely on Mr. Taylor's shoulders, as the prosecution suggests," the defense submission argued.

Taylor is to serve any jail sentence in Britain, but his lawyers Friday argued this would amount to exile and would leave him culturally isolated. If he served time in Britain, he should be given a lesser sentence, the defense said, claiming it was effectively a "punishment within a punishment."

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Must Reads: Landfill living, Egypt's gas and Africa's richest man

From the richest man in Africa to the rag pickers living off an Indian landfill, here are five stories you shouldn't miss from the  last week in global news:

Nigerian billionaire leaves his imprint in cement

For many in India, landfill is a livelihood and a home

Gas-deal dispute reflects change in Israel-Egypt relations

Conviction of Liberia's Charles Taylor seen as double-edged

At 80, Colombian artist Fernando Botero has no plans to retire

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: Rag pickers, as they are called, scavenge for recyclable materials at New Delhi's 70-acre Ghazipur landfill. Credit: Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times

Former prosecutor hails Charles Taylor guilty verdict

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- David M. Crane, founding prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, said Thursday’s conviction of former Liberian President Charles Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity was “hugely significant.”

Taylor is the first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes in an international court or hybrid international-national court since the Nuremburg trials that followed World War II.

“A very clear bell has rung across the world saying that dictators and thugs who kill their own people will be held responsible for that atrocity,” Crane said in a phone interview from The Hague.

Crane, a law professor at Syracuse University who drafted the 2003 indictment of Taylor, flew to The Hague for the verdict.

Taylor, 64, was found guilty aiding and abetting Sierra Leone rebels in 11 crimes, including murder, terrorizing civilians, rape, sexual slavery, and recruiting and using child soldiers during Sierra Leone’s bloody 1991-2002 civil war.

Crane said it sent a strong message that leaders who committed atrocities would face justice.

He predicted that Taylor would remain behind bars for the rest of his life. He said the fact that Taylor was found guilty of "aiding and abetting" the war crimes did not imply a lesser conviction than being found guilty of being in the chain of command.

“He’s been found guilty, as charged, of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He’s going to get a very stiff sentence, which will amount to life imprisonment," said Crane.

Taylor's lawyers, who tried to have the case thrown out during the trial, argue that the case is political, designed to keep Taylor out of power in Liberia.

The former Liberian president played a role in conflict and instability across several West African countries, arming and supporting militias across the region, but Thursday’s verdict at the U.N.-backed special court relates to his role in Sierra Leone’s war, where around 50,000 people died.

Critics have questioned the Liberian government’s failure to ensure prosecution of Taylor and others for alleged war crimes in the 1989-1995 Liberian civil war which killed some 200,000. But Crane said while the international justice system was new, and wasn't perfect, justice had been done.

Taylor became president in 1997. He stepped down in 2003, several months after being indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, taking advantage of an offer of safe haven by Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Obansanjo made the deal to protect Taylor from prosecution on condition he stay out of Liberian politics. But the deal was ditched after Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf came to power in 2005 elections and requested that Nigeria hand over Taylor to stand trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone in 2006.

Critics in Africa have argued that repudiating Taylor’s amnesty deal has made it more difficult to remove tyrants, making them more likely to cling to power, often violently.

“It’s an important point,” said Crane. “It’s peace versus justice. Sometimes justice has to wait until there is peace. But certainly justice has to be done. At the end of the day you have to have justice because the people who suffered and saw members of their families suffer, demand it.”

The verdict was hailed by human rights organizations.

"Powerful leaders like Charles Taylor have for too long lived comfortably above the law,” said Elise Keppler of Human Rights Watch’s international justice program. “Taylor’s conviction sends a powerful message that even those in the highest-level positions can be held to account for grave crimes."

Amnesty International deputy director for Sierra Leone, Brima Abdulai Sheriff, welcomed Taylor’s conviction but said thousands of others who were criminally responsible for abuses had never been investigated or prosecuted. He said a limited number of victims had received reparations.

“This verdict can also be seen as a reminder for Taylor’s home country Liberia that those responsible for the crimes committed during Liberia’s conflict must be brought to justice,” Sheriff said in an emailed statement.

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Photo: People in Freetown, Sierra Leone, watch a live broadcast Thursday of the verdict in the Netherlands-based trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Credit: Felicity Thompson / Associated Press

Liberia's Johnson-Sirleaf has unassailable lead in runoff

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had an unassailable lead Thursday as votes were counted in a presidential runoff boycotted by her opponent, Winston Tubman.

With results counted from 86% of polling stations, Johnson-Sirleaf had more than 90% of the vote. Tubman, whose photo was still on ballot papers, received about 9%.

Tubman has vowed to reject the results of the runoff. Although Western observers said the initial poll was relatively free and fair, Tubman announced he would boycott the runoff because of alleged fraud. Opinion polls showed him lagging behind his rival.

Tubman called a rally on the eve of the runoff, which led to rioting. Police shot into the crowd and about four people were killed. Turnout for the vote was low, but it was unclear what was the main cause: fear of violence, support for Tubman's boycott or apathy.

Nobel Peace Prize winner set to win Liberian presidential runoff

REPORTING FROM NAIROBI, KENYA -- Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was set to retain power in a runoff election Tuesday after her opponent Winston Tubman boycotted the race.

Tubman urged his supporters to boycott the vote, and a riot erupted at the rally of his supporters on the eve of balloting. One supporter was shot to death by police, and at least four others were injured. A police officer was detained by U.N. peacekeepers on suspicion of using live ammunition.

Tubman and his supporters immediately claimed that Johnson-Sirleaf had ordered the shootings.

"It shows to you why the Liberian people are determined to get rid of this leader," he said. "She is somebody who will use violence against peaceful people."

Police closed down pro-Tubman radio stations overnight, news agencies reported, but there was no government comment as to why.

Former warlord backs Nobel Peace Prize winner for president

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- They make an odd team: the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and the former warlord who once sipped a beer while watching his men cut the ears off a president and then kill him.

But politics makes strange partners — especially in Liberia, where many public figures have a history.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who won the peace prize early this month, is pragmatic about her bid for a second six-year term. She told the BBC she was willing to work with “all Liberians” (after it became obvious she had failed to win a majority in the first round of the presidential election last week, forcing her into a runoff).

All Liberians apparently include one of her election rivals: former warlord Prince Johnson, notorious for enjoying a Budweiser as his men tortured and killed President Samuel Doe in 1990. The self-proclaimed born-again Christian, who came in third place in last week’s balloting, this week threw his support behind Johnson-Sirleaf.

New Zealand tries to stem environmental maritime disaster

REPORTING FROM SEOUL -- In what is being termed New Zealand’s worst environmental sea disaster, authorities Wednesday scrambled to contain an oil leak from a stricken cargo ship that officials say has worsened fivefold in the last 48 hours.

Since the Liberia-flagged Rena ran aground Oct. 5 on a reef 14 miles offshore, tons of heavy oil has washed up on pristine beaches near the town of Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island.

Late Monday, rough weather jostled the ship, increasing the flow of oil leaking from its bowels. So far, officials say hundreds of sea birds have been found dead, and dozens more were being treated to remove oil from their feathers.

New Zealand’s environment minister, Nick Smith, called the spill the nation’s “most significant environmental maritime disaster,” adding that cleanup would take weeks.

Nobel laureate Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf seeks reelection in Liberia

REPORTING FROM JOHANNESBURG — Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who last week won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize, faces a tough reelection challenge Tuesday, with many predicting she could be forced into a runoff against her strongest opponent, former U.N. official Winston Tubman.

Her election slogan, "Monkey still working let baboon wait small," urged voters to let her complete the job she started when she became president in 2005 in Liberia's first election after a ruinous, 14-year civil war ended in 2003.

Tubman, educated as was Johnson-Sirleaf at Harvard, is a member of one of Liberia's prominent political families and nephew of the late William Tubman, the country's longest serving president, who held office from 1944 to 1971.

Tubman's choice of running mate was designed to garner support among young voters: former soccer star George Weah, who played with several top European clubs, including Italy's AC Milan, and is one of the country's most famous figures. Weah won the first round of the presidential election in 2005 but Johnson-Sirleaf defeated him in a runoff.

Tuesday's vote was seen as a key test for the country's emerging democracy, peace and stability. Johnson-Sirleaf faces 15 challengers, including a former warlord named Prince Johnson.