Africa

A group of independent UN human rights experts said on Friday that there was “credible evidence” that inadequate prison conditions in which former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was held may have led “directly” to his death in June, and thousands of other detainees may be at “severe risk”.

Authorities in Burkina Faso must “do everything in their power” to bring to justice the perpetrators of an attack on a mining company convoy in the West African nation on Wednesday, which killed dozens and left scores more injured, the UN chief said on Thursday. 

Organized crime, breakdowns in law and order, and attacks by extremists, are examples of the challenges faced by UN peacekeepers, the Security Council was told on Wednesday, during a briefing by senior UN Police Commissioners, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday handed down a maximum 30-year prison sentence for mass murder and numerous other atrocities, to Bosco Ntaganda, the heaviest sanction yet imposed by judges at The Hague, in the Netherlands.

A campaign has got underway to prevent the spread of a deadly cholera outbreak to Sudan’s populous Khartoum state, home to more than eight million people, UN medics said on Wednesday.

A recap of Tuesday’s top stories: Humanitarian needs in Cameroon up 15-fold from 2017; UN risk reduction chief calls for more resilient cities; Somalia’s floods put 200,000 children at risk; Internet use study reveals growing gender gap; UN partners spotlight youth mental health. 

Ongoing violence in Cameroon’s northwest and southwest has created a fast-growing humanitarian emergency now affecting some 1.9 million people, a “15-fold increase since 2017”, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

The road ahead “will not be easy” for the Horn of Africa, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Monday, briefing the Security Council on her Joint Solidarity Mission with the African Union (AU) at the end of October. 

The UN migration agency appealed on Friday for the immediate liberation of a volunteer and child who’ve been missing since a gun battle in South Sudan at the weekend that claimed the lives of three agency workers.

The Security Council highlighted the growing partnership on matters of peace and security between the United Nations and African Union (AU) on Wednesday amidst calls to bolster overall effectiveness.

Protecting marine areas from over-exploitation and providing the people who have traditionally lived off the sea with a sustainable alternative livelihood does not come cheap, but in the Seychelles, a focus on financial instruments is making that task easier. 

Updating the Security Council on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) on Friday, the head of the UN Mission in the country, MINUSCA, called on the country’s friends and partners, including the Council, to “transform the dreams of peace, prosperity and development of millions of Central Africans into a lasting reality”.

Sudan and neighbouring South Sudan “have never been closer” to reaching a sustainable peace with each other, and their own internal armed opposition groups, the head of UN peacekeeping told the Security Council on Thursday.

Somalia has made “enormous strides on its path to peace and stability”, and Somali women’s participation in peace and security efforts has “helped advance society towards an inclusive and peaceful future”, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Wednesday.

In a visit to South Sudan this past weekend, members of the UN Security Council urged leaders to expedite implementation of a 2018 peace agreement aimed at ending six years of ongoing conflict.

Authorities in Egypt are being urged by the UN human rights office, OHCHR,  to immediately release scores of citizens who have been arrested in connection with recent anti-government demonstrations in several cities.

Despite major political developments at a national level, which have led to the establishment of a civilian-led government, the security situation in the Darfur region of Sudan remains unstable, UN peace chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix briefed the Security Council on Thursday.

UN chief António Guterres has strongly condemned Friday’s attack on a mosque in northern Burkina Faso, in a statement released on Saturday.

September 19, 2019 (JUBA) - The peace process in South Sudan remains “precarious”, but progress is being made, David Shearer, the head of the United Nations Mission in the country (UNMISS), said.

David Shearer (UN photo)

Briefing the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Shearer said maintaining momentum will depend on the continuing goodwill of all parties as well as the collective and unrelenting focus of its international friends to support formation of a transitional government.

“The formation of the Transitional Government provides an opportunity to lift our gaze from immediate challenges and look over the horizon towards elections, expected at the end of three years of Transition. Elections give the opportunity to resolve differences through democratic rather than violent means,” said the UN envoy.

“And to make a fundamental shift from deals done between elites to a duty to deliver policies by a government elected by the people”, he added.

Shearer, also Special Representative of the Secretary General in South Sudan, said the recent visit of Riek Machar to Juba on President Salva Kiir was a critical step for the 2018 peace agreement.

He said there were positive aspects of the peace deal implementation, citing the ceasefire which largely continues to hold. “Political violence and subsequent displacement have decreased markedly,” stressed Shearer.

According to the senior UN official, opposition members have continued to work in Juba alongside their government counterparts on implementing key elements of the revitalized peace agreement.

He said the more than 130 rapprochements held across the country demonstrate confidence and commitment at the grassroots level.

Meanwhile, Shearer said the UN is also providing technical assistance to reform and rebuild the justice system, not just to tackle criminal acts, but more pervasive impunity in the world's youngest nation.

As part of the process, he stressed, mobile courts staffed by South Sudanese judiciary, have expanded beyond Bentiu and Malakal.

“In the next few weeks they will try hundreds of serious cases, including sexual and gender-based violence,” he noted.

South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

In September 2018, the rival factions involved in the conflict signed a peace deal to end the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over 2 million people in the country.

(ST)

August 20, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Call forces will hold a meeting in Cairo in the next few days on the democratic transition in the country after a separate meeting of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) to complete its vision on peace.

The meeting of the alliance, which is composed of armed and political groups, comes after the resignation of Sadiq al-Mahdi, from his position as the chair of Sudan Call, as he called for a review of its structure and its alliances with other national forces.

The political components of Sudan Call are part of the transitional government, while the armed groups remain outside the framework of the transitional arrangements.

In a statement to Sudan Tribune from Cairo, Yasir Arman, a Sudan Call leading official, said that the meeting of the Revolutionary Front from one side and the meeting of the forces of Sudan Call on the other side will take place from September 21 and end on September 30 stressing they will discuss the peace process and ways to accomplish the tasks of the democratic change.

"Sudan needs a genuine partnership that must include the forces of revolution and forces of change, on the other hand, it should include the regular forces, and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC)," he said.

Arman underscored that the importance of the Cairo meetings stems from the fact that they are crucial for peace and democratization alike.

Severe disagreements between the SRF and the FFC political components erupted after the overthrow of the al-Bashir's regime last April.

The armed groups complained they had not been consulted in the decision-making process during negotiations with the junta. Further, the disagreement exacerbated after the rejection of the SRF request for seats in the transitional authority.

Regarding the meeting of the Revolutionary Front, Arman said the umbrella will discuss the peace process and negotiation with the Sudanese government as agreed in Juba.

Also, they will consider cooperation with the region's countries to reach a comprehensive peace in Sudan.

Egypt has expressed willingness to host the peace process but finally, the signatories of the Juba Declaration agreed on Juba as the venue of negotiations. In addition, Chad, Ethiopia Qatar and UAE should be associated as facilitators together with the African Union, IGAD and the United Nations.

(ST)