Africa

March 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour and his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski Friday signed a joint cooperation agreement between the two nations.

Sudanese FM Ibrahim Ghandour (L) received by his Polish counterpart Witold Waszczykowski in Warsaw on 17 March 2016 (Photo Polish FM)

Ghandour, who is visiting Poland upon an official invitation from Waszczykowski, is the first Sudanese foreign minister to visit Warsaw since more than forty years.

In his meeting with Waszczykowski on Friday, Ghandour thanked the top Polish diplomat for extending the invitation, expressing Sudan's awareness of the importance of Poland.

He added that his visit would pave the way for the resumption of cooperation between the two countries, pointing to the historic economic ties between Warsaw and Khartoum.

Ghandour briefed Waszczykowski on the recent developments in Sudan including the national dialogue, pointing to Sudan's role in achieving peace and security in the region.

Sudan's top diplomat also pointed to the efforts exerted by his country to combat illegal migration since launching the Khartoum Process in 2014, saying its outcome became the foundation for the recent Valleta summit on migration.

For his part, the Polish minister thanked Ghandour for accepting the invitation, stressing the joint cooperation agreement would reinforce the bilateral relation between the two countries.

The Polish foreign ministry said the two ministers discussed migration and the Khartoum Process.

Minister Ghandour drew attention to the fact that Sudan was prepared to cooperate in countering illegal migration, human smuggling and trafficking, and to consolidate Sudanese capabilities to receive refugees.

“Poland and Europe are prepared to support measures aimed at resolving international problems, including the phenomenon of illegal migration,” stressed Minister Waszczykowski.

The joint agreement covered areas of agricultural, higher education, political coordination and mutual support in international forums.

The two sides also agreed to exchange the diplomatic representation between the countries very soon.

Meanwhile, Ghandour discussed with the Polish minister of agriculture and rural development Rafa? Romanowski ways to promote cooperation between the two nations in areas of food security, agriculture, livestock and agricultural machinery and equipments.

The meeting also discussed the possibility for allowing the Polish products access to the Sudanese markets and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (JUBA) – The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has outlined steps to be taken by South Sudanese parties to the peace agreement signed 5 months ago and called on the government of President Salva Kiir to stop operationalization of the unilaterally created 28 new states in the country.

Special representative for the UN secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura (shown on screen), briefs the Security Council at its meeting on South Sudan on 22 October 2014 (Photo: UN)

On the controversial 28 states, the United Nations Security Council in a statement on Friday said the government should abide by the communiqué of the IGAD foreign ministers which called on Juba to suspend the operationalization of new states.

“The parties to the agreement abide by and take no action inconsistent with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) 30-31 January 2016 communiqué, which was subsequently endorsed by the parties and JMEC, on the issue of the Presidential Decree on the creation of 28 new states,” partly reads the statement.

The UNSC's presidential statement urged the government of President Kiir and the SPLM in opposition of First Vice President designate, Riek Machar, to “fully and immediately adhere to the permanent ceasefire.”

The world body also asked the parties to cooperate with the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) and implement the security arrangement for Juba to facilitate the formation of transitional government of national unity.

It also urged the parties to soon form a transitional government, adding that it will review progress by the end of March.

“The President, the First Vice-President, and Vice-President, as set out in the Agreement, take up their positions in the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) in Juba,” reads the statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday.

It called on the government of South Sudan and the SPLM-IO to protect civilians and civilian facilities, including schools and hospitals and allow people to move freely in accordance with relevant provisions of international law and UN guiding principles of humanitarian assistance, including the full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access to help ensure timely delivery of humanitarian assistance to all those in need.

The statement accused the South Sudanese army of taking part in the Malakal attack on civilians inside the UN compound, warning this could amount to war crimes.

“The Security Council expresses particular alarm at credible reports of armed men in Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) uniforms entering the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) protection of civilians site and firing on civilians,” it said.

“The Security Council stresses that attacks against civilians, UNMISS personnel, as well as United Nations premises are unacceptable and may constitute war crimes.”

The Council warned the parties that attacking on UN bases, like that on Protection of Civilians sites in Malakal last month, may constitute war crime.

It called upon the government of South Sudan to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the attack and commended the United Nations for quickly announcing establishment of a High-Level Board of Inquiry to be convened by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Department of Field Support which will conduct an in-depth investigation into UNMISS' response to this incident.

The Security Council also underscored its grave concern at the deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation in South Sudan, with an estimated 2.8 million people who are severely food insecure and that humanitarian access continues to be restricted.

President Kiir and opposition leader Machar signed the Agreement to Resolve the Conflict in South Sudan in August 2015, but formation of transitional government has been delayed due to failure to demilitarize the capital, Juba, and transportation of SPLM-IO forces to Juba.

Machar, who was appointed by President Kiir last month as his deputy again said he would only return to Juba after his forces landed in the capital.

The Troika (U.S, Norway and Britain) as well as European Union has pledged to transport the opposition forces to Juba. It is not yet clear when that will happen.

The UN Security Council in its statement however commended the peace parties for taking some steps including selection of ministerial portfolios, among others, but added it will review progress on 31 March.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – The continued determination by the South Sudanese government under the leadership of President Salva Kiir to operationalize the controversial new 28 states in the country is a waste of resources and a misplaced priority as the economic crisis deteriorates, an official of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) has said.

SPLM (IO) Chairman, Riek Machar, addressing the 2nd National Liberation Council (NLC) meeting in Pagak, November 5, 2015 (ST Photo)

“For sure, the ongoing defiant implementation of the new controversial 28 states is not only a violation of the August 2015 peace agreement but also a misplaced priority. It is a waste of the country's scarce resources in the face of the deteriorating economic crisis,” James Gatdet Dak, official spokesman of the SPLM-IO leader, Riek Machar, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

“The leadership of the SPLM/SPLA (IO) expects suspension of these 28 states in the event of forming a Transitional Government of National Unity,” he added.

He wondered what the government will have achieved by continuing with the implementation of the new states when it knows that they will be suspended in a matter of weeks and the parties may afterwards revert to 10 states as provided for in the peace agreement.

Dak was responding to media queries on the position and current view of the opposition faction on the new states as the government has continued to operationalize them despite the recent call from the East African regional bloc, IGAD, to suspend them, which the rival parties also agreed to.

An inclusive boundary commission with membership of all the parties to the peace deal will be established by the transitional government to try to reach a consensus on a number of new states to be created, including identifying and agreeing upon their boundaries.

The February 2016 IGAD communiqué, released in Addis Ababa by the bloc's foreign ministers, also called on the parties to revert to the existing constitutionally recognized 10 states - which became the basis for the peace agreement - should there be no consensus on the number of new states and their boundaries.

But the government has continued to operationalize the 28 states it unilaterally created on 2 October 2015, arguing that it was a demand of the people of South Sudan.

The opposition official said his they expected the government to rather suspend the new states until when the parties sit and try to reach a consensus within one month from formation of the government and the boundary commission as stipulated in the IGAD communiqué.

Dak also said it did not make sense for the government to operationalize the “28 new problematic states” so as to accommodate more politicians at the expense of the people when it is not paying salaries to its army and civil servants as well as cutting down the number of its foreign mission officials abroad due to lack of funding.

Tens of thousands of people from such states, he alleged, have been fleeing from South Sudan to neighboring countries because of hunger while millions others are starving internally.

He further argued that some of the new states are problematic and will likely bring to the people of South Sudan more inter-communal violent conflicts.

The opposition's official pointed out that some of the communities, such as the Shilluk ethnic group in Upper Nile region, whose lands have been grabbed and annexed to a Dinka neighbouring community in the process of creating the 28 states, have threatened to wage war in defence of their ancestral lands.

A better decision, he added, is to suspend the new states as called for by the IGAD communiqué and for the parties to collectively agree on the way forward.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) has urged the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) to abide by the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) resolutions (456) and (539) which call for holding an inclusive and comprehensive national dialogue.

NUP leader Sadiq al-Mahdi (L) and SCoP chairperson Omer al-Digair in Cairo on 14 March 2016 (ST Photo)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Friday, the SCoP said all major national parties have accepted the AUPSC resolutions however the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) seeks to divide the issues and the negotiations forums via the old colonial approach of “divide and rule”.

SCoP renewed its common position along with its allies in the “Sudan Call” and the National Consensus Forces (NCF) which state that the comprehensive political solution couldn't be achieved without meeting several conditions including reaching a total cessation of hostilities in war areas, releasing political detainees and cancelling restrictive laws.

The statement stressed the need that a transitional authority comprised of all political and civil society forces should be established to implement any political agreement among the various parties, pointing that the AUPSC has adopted this position in its resolutions (456) in September 2014 and (539) in August 2015.

The AUHIP has invited the government and the National Umma Party of Sadiq al-Mahdi besides three armed movements: Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement - Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) to take part in a consultative meeting in Addis Ababa on 18 March.

The meeting is supposed to discuss the way forward on the national dialogue and how to stop the armed conflicts in South Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur.

SCoP further said the government has always sought to manipulate the peace talks and the national dialogue to avoid reaching a genuine solution that could end the war and lead to a genuine democratic transformation.

“The NCP regime continued to take advantage of the seasonal negotiations events for purposes that has nothing to do with the peaceful solution for the issues of the Sudanese people. It used those events only to confuse the Sudanese people and to market itself to the international community and to divide the opposition front”, the statement read.

SCoP renewed its position that there is no partial solution for the Sudanese crises, saying that the sustainable solution must be inclusive of all issues and parties.

The strategic consultative meeting is conceived by the AUHIP to replace a national dialogue preparatory meeting the government had rejected.

The purpose of the pre-dialogue meeting was to gather the armed and political holdout groups and the government to discuss confidence building measures paving the way for their participation in the internal political process.

The pre-dialogue meeting was supposed to intervene after the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement within the framework of declaration of principles for a peaceful settlement.

(ST)

March 18, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, has issued an administrative order appointing former rebel spokesperson, Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, as the new spokesperson of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the official army of South Sudan.

Lul Ruai Koang speak to the press in Addis Abab on May 9, 2014 (AFP Photo)

President Kiir, according to the appointment letter he signed on 4 March 2016, but which Koang received on 17 March, two weeks later, assigned him as the spokesperson of the SPLA. He replaced former army spokesperson, Colonel Philip Aguer, who, since 24 December 2015, became an active politician after his appointment as the governor of the newly created Jonglei state.

Aguer's appointment has since created a vacuum in public communications with the army on matters relevant to defence and security of the people and the country.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Friday, Koang commended the president and the leadership of the army under the overall command of the chief of general staff, Paul Malong Awan, describing it as a privilege and honour to serve the country at the most critical time in the history of South Sudan.

“I feel honoured and privileged to serve our people and the country as the spokesperson of the SPLA at this time,” said General Koang, when asked how he felt after receiving the news he had been into a highly selling and combative office which represents the views of the army on national affairs.

The military officer said he would work to ensure he speaks and stands for the values the army has been constitutionally mandated to uphold and enhance.

“My message to our people is that the SPLA remains fully committed to defending and protecting territorial integrity of the republic of South Sudan, defend the constitution, protect the lives and properties of our [people] against aggression,” he said.

Commenting on the same development, Gordon Buay, a South Sudanese diplomat at its mission to the United States, congratulated President Kiir on the appointment of General Koang to the position and described him as the “right man in the right job.”

“I want to congratulate President Kiir Mayardit for the appointment of Brig. Gen. Lul because he is the right person for the job,” said Ambassador Buay in a statement which he personally extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday and which he also distributed to a select group of people in his contact list and on social media.

Buay added that he was particularly happy with the appointment because General Koang will “properly deal with anti-peace elements that are spreading lies in the media against the Constitution of South Sudan.”

“There are bandits and political terrorists that are against the implementation of the Compromised Peace Agreement,” he said.

General Koang defected from the armed opposition faction of SPLA-IO under the leadership of Riek Machar, former vice president. He then joined the government since April last year.

(ST)

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March 18, 2016 (PIBOR) - The medical charity, Medicins San Frontiers (MSF) said it has re-established a limited medical program in its heavily-looted centre in Pibor, South Sudan.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has expressed dismay at the continued targeting of medical facilities and patients during ongoing conflict in South Sudan (Photo: Kim Clausen/MSF)

MSF said was forced to evacuate to the United Nations base amid heavy fighting on 23 February and upon return four days later, its team found the medical centre was completely looted, depriving the area's170,000 people of access to secondary healthcare and undermining medical response in Lekonguole and Gumuruk.

“We have managed to open a limited medical program to address the most urgent needs of the population, but we have not returned to business as usual in terms of medical capacity,” Corinne Benazech, MSF head of mission in South Sudan said in a statement.

“Our ability to provide medical assistance has been greatly diminished by the looting of our medical facility two weeks ago. It is women and children who suffer most from reduced access to medical care, not only in Pibor, but also in Lekonguole and Gumuruk,” she added.

MSF called on armed actors to respect the provision of medical care.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in South Sudan's worst outbreak of violence since the young nation succeeded from neighbouring Sudan in July 2011.

A peace deal signed in August last year to end the conflict is yet to make meaningful gains, amid continuous violations of a ceasefire agreed upon by both sides involved in the South Sudanese conflict.

According to MSF, the medical charity has also been supporting the provision of primary heathcare services in Lekonguole and Gumuruk from its medical centre in Pibor, but can now only provide the most critical medicines to support the population of those communities.

“We call on anyone in possession of looted medical equipment to return it to MSF. Some of the items that were taken from us have no use or no value outside of a medical facility. If they are returned to MSF, it will help improve the population's access to medical care by allowing for the resumption of more life-saving medical activities,” said Benazech.

However, as MSF continues providing assistance to those mostly in need, it says any further targeting of its medical services could make it very difficult for MSF to sustain life-saving services in the Pibor area.

(ST)

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Blissed out in Cairo and solidarity in the sand

A 63-year-old Kenyan man is hospitalised after he was attacked by a lion wandering along a busy road in the capital, Nairobi.

Devastation from the Mar. 1, 2011 tsunami that swept through Yotukura fishing village. Credit: Suvendrini Kakuchi/IPS

By Armen Chilingaryan
YEREVAN, ARMENIA, Mar 18 2016 (IPS)

Armenia is prone to natural disasters. Eight out of every 10 citizens are likely to experience a natural disaster at some point during their lifetimes – an earthquake, landslide, hailstorm or flooding. Each year, the country incurs $33 million in damage from such disasters.

As a Member State of the United Nations, Armenia joined the Hyogo Framework for Action in 2005, which brought a common understanding, at the global level, of what is needed to minimize the destruction caused by natural disasters.

Immediately after joining this global call, Armenia began to shift its approach from providing humanitarian relief to reducing risk. More than ten years down the line, the country has made every effort to become a safer place to live.

Here’s how. After independence in the early 1990s, many communities in Armenia didn’t have working drainage systems, mudflow channels and soil dams. They now do, thanks to the leadership of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, which pushed for stronger and more conscious urban planning.

In addition, unlike many countries at the time, there was no system in place – neither at national nor at community level – to monitor incoming disasters or coordinate the response once they occurred.

This changed when, in 2010, Armenia set up a national platform and in 2012 a strategy for disaster risk reduction. The region’s first, it extended the responsibility for mitigating risk to many institutions and people concerned, not just the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Next, disaster risk management has been mainstreamed into the Government’s development plans and is much more proactive, relying on data, research studies, satellite pictures, meteorological sensors and other sources.

These measures would not be effective without proper decentralisation of decision-making. In a country where over 30 percent of the population works in rural agriculture, even one severe hailstorm can have devastating consequences on crop production and national poverty rates.

By decentralising the management of disaster risk to nine regional crisis management centers, preventative actions were vastly augmented, targeting those most at risk.

As a result, hundreds of hectares of land and households have been protected thanks to mudflow channels, dams and cleaning drainage systems. When UNDP installed hail nets in three communities, 95 percent of the yield survived after a subsequent wave of hail storms.

The demand for the nets increased sharply in other areas of Armenia, and a range of NGOs, including CARD, World Vision Armenia and Oxfam started replicating that practice across the country.

One of the big takeaways from the Summit in Sendai, Japan was that reducing the risk of disaster must be a collaborative effort. While governments will lead the fight, a range of other stakeholders must be involved.

Armenia’s policy of decentralisation has also seen the active participation of an uncharacteristically large array of stakeholders including local actors, research centers, NGOs, educational institutions, persons with disabilities, women’s networks and organizations, and vulnerable groups.

Finally, the country has taken advantage of overlapping global initiatives. In 2010, 21 cities in Armenia officially joined the “Making Cities Resilient: My City is Getting Ready” campaign under which cities make a commitment to undertake 10 steps to become safer.

One of them, Stepanavan, situated in the north of the country, was selected as a role model during the Sendai conference. The city administration was the first to place resilience at the core of its urban planning and land-use management efforts.

A year ago today, the Armenian delegation, led by the Ministry of Emergency Situations, showcased these successes to the world. Other countries are beginning to take note; providing all levels of society with the means to identify potential disasters, reduce their risk, and coordinate responses.

Guaranteeing people’s safety at a time of grave environmental risk depends on making that change.

(End)

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