Success will depend on ownership by governments and civil society. Our destination is clear: A future where Africa's wealth enriches all of Africa's people. Where misrule is only found in history books. Where Africa's goods get a fair price on the global market. Where global partnerships mean shared prosperity. African countries averaged a remarkable 5 per cent growth over the past decade—and are projected to grow by even more than 5 per cent by 2014. But economic expansion is not an end in itself. Wealth cannot remain in the hands of the few. Inequality is a recipe for instability.

Ban on Sunday also spoke [text] at an event for the Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) [official website]. He noted that one out of every two women in Africa die in childbirth. To obtain results, Ban said Africa needed resources for high-impact interventions; innovative technologies and integrated services; increased investments in women and girls; advance all the MDGs; improve education; address hunger; and overcome poverty. Ban pledged that the United Nations would do "everything possible to support and expand the CARMMA campaign" to help reach the MDGs and make motherhood safer.

Laws aimed at discriminating against and denying rights to the LGBT community have caused controversies throughout the international community. On Friday, Poland rejected a law [JURIST report] that would have given unmarried couples, including gay couples who are not allowed to marry, the ability to register to receive certain legal rights available to married couples. In October, the Northern Ireland High Court [official website] struck down [JURIST report] a law that banned gay couples from adopting children. That same month, the UN warned Ukraine [JURIST report] that a proposed law similar to, but more harsh than, Russia's proposed "homosexual propaganda" law would violate human rights. The proposed Ukraine law would impose fines on anyone who "promotes homosexuality," regardless of whether their audience is minors or not.

[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 21 people who were found guilty of involvement in last year's Port Said soccer stadium disaster to the death penalty. The ruling comes almost a year after the February 1, 2012 tragedy that killed 74 people and injured more than 1,000 when fans of Al-Masry violently stormed the stands and attacked Al-Ahly fans after Al-Masry won a soccer match. After the sentence was announced, protestors who were angry that people from their city were sentenced and blamed for the disaster rioted and killed at least 30 people [NBC report]. There have been 73 people charged overall for involvement in the disaster, and there will be more verdicts announced [Reuters report] on March 9. The verdicts still must be reviewed and approved by the country's top religious authority, as are all death penalty verdicts in Egypt.

Egypt has been plagued by protests and violence since the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution [JURIST backgrounder] two years ago. Nine people were killed yesterday [Reuters report] and 456 were injured after protestors clashed violently with police officers in protests against President Mohammed Mursi. The protestors were sparked by the protestors' belief that, two years after the revolution against former President Hosni Mubarak began on January 25, 2011, nothing has changed and Mursi is not upholding the principles of the revolution. Earlier this week, an Egyptian rights group reported [JURIST report] that police abuse and torture are ongoing issues and that police conduct has not improved since the abuses faced under the old regime.