Africa

March 30, 2017 (JUBA) - On Thursday, a long existing South Sudanese political party said it would not participate in the President Salva Kiir's national dialogue unless certain changes were made to reflect the general views of the population.

South Sudanese people take to the streets as part of a peace march organised by civil society groups in the capital, Juba, on 8 January 2014 (Photo AP/Ali Ngethi)

Joseph Modesto, the Secretary General of South Sudan Communist Party, told the Sudan Tribune that his party would not participate in the dialogue unless certain measures were taken by President Kiir.

“When you talk of dialogue, certain measures must indicate that there is a will for dialogue. But look at the current situation in the country, is there anything showing that there is a political will to start this dialogue?" said Modesto

"Our position is that the dialogue process has to be organised by a neutral party. It is not up to the government to determine which parties can go into the dialogue with the government itself. We want the dialogue to be truthful,” he added.

Last year, President Kiir proposed to hold a national dialogue process in the country. The opposition groups generally welcomed the process but pointed to the need for a neutral leadership. Also, they called for the reactivation of the peace agreement signed in August 2015 and its full implementation, pointing to the security arrangements.

The secretary general went on to say that the war has to be stopped. Adding that President Salva Kiir needs to declare a unilateral ceasefire, lift the state of emergency, release political prisoners and suspend the operationalization of more states.

The demands of the leftist party are shared by regional and international organisations which declared their support for the dialogue process as an additional means to ensure the implementation of the IGAD brokered the peace deal.

During this month of March, the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the African Union special envoy for South Sudan Alpha Oumar Konare called to create the needed conditions for an inclusive process.

During a visit to South Sudan, Konare called from Yei for a national dialogue led by a “neutral leader” and stressed on the need to include all armed and opposition groups, including those loyal to former FVP Riek Machar. Also, he backed calls to collect and preserve evidence for establishing criminal accountability.

"The Security Council notes that an immediate ceasefire by all parties is vital for any National Dialogue to be credible and recalls statements by Presidents Mogae and Konaré, that an inclusive political process must also be authentic, autonomous, and impartially led by a credible facilitator accepted by the people of South Sudan, and which supports the Agreement," said the UNSC in a presidential statement issued on 23 March.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

March 30, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Ethiopian parliament on Thursday unanimously endorsed proposed motion to extend the nationwide State of Emergency for additional four months.

The House of peoples representatives today unanimously voted in favour of the extension of the just ending six-month-old state decree to ensure an absolute calm and stability is fully restored across the country.

Senior government officials and the State of Emergency Inquiry Board which is in charge of overseeing its implementation have proposed to the house an extension of the decree arguing the existence of a potential threat of unrest in parts of the country.

Siraj Fegessa, Secretariat of the State of Emergency Command Post and Ethiopia Minister of Defense, explained the reason for the extension to the existence of some anti-peace elements who are reorganising themselves
to incite violence.

"There still exist some anti-peace elements at large who wish to capitalise on disputes that might spark among regional states," Siraj told the house while responding to queries that arose from lawmakers.

He added that some leaders of the violent acts are disseminating false
and misleading information to incite fresh violence.

Citing to a survey conducted across the country, the minister said the public has suggested an extension of the state emergency until the prevailing peace reaches to a level of no return.

The House urged the Inquiry Board to ensure that no human rights violations are committed at the second state emergency period.

Ethiopia declared the six-month State of Emergency last October in response
to the wide-spread deadly protests and unrest in Amhara and Oromiya regions.

The state emergency, the country first in a quarter a century was imposed to arrest violent anti-government protests and to restore what Addis Ababa says is a growing security situation in the two troubled regions.

Since the decree was imposed, the Ethiopian government has recently lifted many of the restrictions.

Recently, Addis Ababa has lifted more restrictions for the second time.

Accordingly, the command post led under Ethiopia defence minister has lifted
the command post's power to arbitrary arrest people or search individuals
house.

Furthermore, curfews and other restrictions on media and social media activism are now lifted.

According to the inquiry board, a total of 26,130 suspects were arrested under the state decree mainly from Oromiya and Amhara regions where the anti-government protests sparked.

All except some 5,000 have so far been freed after receiving renewal training including on constitution, rule of law and a colour revolution among others.

(ST)

March 30, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The U.N World Food Programme (WFP) has begun providing food assistance to war-torn South Sudan using a new corridor announced by the Sudanese government this week.

The move comes barely a month after three U.N agencies and government declared an outbreak of famine in parts of South Sudan, while another 1 million people were at the brink of starvation.

WFP said the new route enables transport of food items overland from El Obeid in central Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan's Unity state.

“Today [Thursday], the first convoy of 27 trucks carrying an initial 1,200 metric tons of sorghum started moving at 15:00 hours from El Obeid in central Sudan towards Bentiu in South Sudan,” said WFP, adding that convoys will take 5 days to complete the 500km journey.

In the next few weeks, WFP reportedly plans to deliver 11,000 metric tons of sorghum, including 1,000 metric tons donated by the government of Sudan in seven convoys of 30 to 40 trucks.

This, it said, is enough food to feed 300,000 people for three months.

“WFP would like to thank the Government of Sudan for acting decisively by opening this new corridor,” said WFP Sudan Representative and Country Director, Matthew Hollingworth.

“This new route will allow WFP to regularly reach famine-affected people in South Sudan with food assistance and help to avert the consequences of starvation,” he added.

Meanwhile, following the eruption of violence in South Sudan in December 2013, WFP said it has been moving food assistance through a corridor linking White Nile State in Sudan with Upper Nile State in South Sudan. To date, WFP has moved over 57,420 metric tons of assorted commodities through this corridor into South Sudan.

WFP Sudan reportedly also providing food assistance to South Sudanese refugees who now reside in Sudan after fleeing violence and food insecurity in the young nation. Currently WFP is assisting over 250,000 South Sudanese refugees across Sudan, mainly in White Nile State.

Throughout 2017, WFP said it plans to assist more than four million vulnerable people in Sudan, including internally displaced people, refugees, people affected by climate change, and host communities, in areas like emergency food assistance, cash-based transfers (or vouchers), nutritional support, and resilience-building activities to help communities become increasingly independent.

(ST)

March 30, 2017 (AWEIL) - The ongoing conflict in South Sudan is affecting food security in some of the country's more “stable states,” the head of the U.N peacekeeping in South Sudan (UNMISS), said.

Map detail showing South Sudan's border state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal

"Dwindling provisions arriving in the town and skyrocketing food prices have meant that places like Aweil, which are generally peaceful, have suffered the effects of the conflict taking part in other parts of the country,” said David Shearer.

“It is imperative that fighting stops, so the citizens of the world's newest nation can live in peace and enjoy the benefits of independence,” he added.

Shearer was speaking during a visit to Aweil, north of South Sudan, where he heard from U.N humanitarian agencies working in the region on how many families had migrated to neighbouring Sudan.

Last month, three U.N agencies and the government declared an outbreak of famine in parts of war-torn South Sudan, with additional one million people reportedly at the verge of facing starvation.

The Governor of Aweil State, Ronald Ruay Deng, said his administration was doing all it could to move people from dependency on emergency food aid to a more resilient rural agricultural” model of production, including the piloting of a new community farming approach to feed the most vulnerable people.

During the visit, Shearer was also briefed about the efforts under way to build peaceful understanding between communities, particularly pastoral communities who arrive on a seasonal basis from Sudan to share water and grazing land with the residents of greater Aweil.

As such, the U.N mission in the country is reportedly facilitating improved inter-communal understanding through dialogue, an initiative supported by Aweil East Governor, Deng Deng Akeui.

“I fear for the immediate future of the people here particularly their ability to cope during the imminent rainy season while their crops are growing,” Shearer said in relation to the food insecurity in the area.

He added, “However, I am optimistic that building a good relationship between the local authorities, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, will enable us to tackle the food security challenge.”

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in South Sudan's worst violence outbreak since July 2011.

(ST)

March 30, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour Thursday has condemned statements by the Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq who urged foreign countries to hand over President Omer al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ibrahim Ghandour (Photo Suna)

In response to a question during the daily press briefing on Wednesday about the silence of UN Secretary General in his speech before the Arab leaders in Jordan about the arrest warrant by the ICC against al-Bashir, Haq underscored that the UN position on the Sudanese president "remains unchanged".

"And of course, we continue to call on all countries, including those who are parties to the Rome Statute, to abide by their obligations under the Rome Statute and under the resolutions of the Security Council," said the deputy spokesperson.

Reacting to Haq, the Sudanese foreign minister said statements of UN spokesperson in which he requested the extradition of President al-Bashir to the ICC, is a "descent" requiring investigation "to rectify this deplorable situation."

Ghandour further expressed hope that these statements "do not represent the secretary-general of the United Nations in any way".

In statements to the press in Khartoum upon his return from the Arab summit on Thursday, Ghandour said Sudan would investigate through diplomatic channels and Sudan's permanent mission in New York "to verify who was behind this statement and whether it was a unilateral statement by the person who made it."

"The United Nations is an organisation composed of sovereign states including the Sudan, and the respect of its president who is elected by the Sudanese people is important and necessary," said the Sudanese foreign minister.

He further said that the Hague-based court is not part of the UN system and a large number of countries are not a member of the court.

The criminal court is an independent judicial body with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

It has accused President Omer Hassan al-Bashir of genocide and crimes against humanity in his campaign to crush a rebellion in the western Sudan region of Darfur.

The court, which issued two arrest warrants against him, regretted the lack of cooperation from the UN Security Council and member states particularly the African and Arab states where al-Bashir managed to travel several times.

Ghandour said the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is particularly appreciative of President Al-Bashir and met him during the African Union summit last January, adding he sent recently him two letters on African issues including South Sudan.

He disclosed that the two men had to meet in Oman but the meeting didn't take place due to the previous commitments of President al-Bashir during the one-day Arab summit.

(ST)

March 30, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - U.S. Congressmen this week have sent a message to the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to express their concern about the easing of sanctions on Sudan.

New U.S. President Donald Trump is focusing his efforts during the first 100 days of his mandate on electoral pledges. Also, this period has been marred by conflict with the courts over his travel ban order, healthcare reform and investigation on Russian interference.

Despite the deep engagement of the U.S. Administration under the former President Barak Obama in the two countries, the continuation of war and declared famine in South Sudan, no new special envoy to Sudan and South Sudan has been yet appointed.

Frustrated by the situation, the three co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Sudan and South Sudan, Reps. Thomas Rooney, Michael Capuano and Barbara Lee on Tuesday sent a joint letter to Secretary Tillerson urging him to take immediate action to improve the U.S. diplomatic and humanitarian policies toward the two countries.

Strict Monitoring on Sudan Sanction-Easing Process

On Sudan, the Congressmen voiced concerns about the decision of Obama administration to ease sanctions on Sudan next July after a review conducted by different U.S. agencies of Khartoum cooperation in the counterterrorism, humanitarian access to civilians in the conflict-affected areas, and regional stability including peace in South Sudan and anti-LRA regional efforts.

" We are concerned about the recent easing of sanctions and increasing trade with Sudan. It is critical that the actions of the government be closely monitored to determine if these steps towards normalcy actually result in an improved situation on the ground for the people of Sudan."

The lawmakers asked the State Department to inform them about the achieved benchmarks that justified the easing of sanctions, the ongoing review and to ensure that partial left of sanctions is improving the lives of the Sudanese people.

They further urged to consider targeted sanctions on Sudanese official responsible for the continuation of the conflict.

"If the easing of sanctions has emboldened worse actions, we urge you to inform us and consider tightening enforcement mechanisms and more sharply targeting the military and financial assets of those responsible for continuing the conflict, atrocities, and mass corruption," they stressed.

Sudan has been under American economic and trade sanctions since 1997 for its alleged connection to terror networks and remains on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror. The first batch of sanctions restrict U.S. trade and investment with Sudan and block government's assets of the Sudanese government.

Additional sanctions in relations with the conflict in Darfur region were introduced by two Executive Orders in 2006.

Hearing on Human rights in Sudan

In a related development, U.S. Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission next Tuesday 4 April will hold a hearing on the easing of sanctions on Sudan and its effect on human rights.

Human rights activists are invited to give their position on " what is the measure of Sudan's progress towards improvements on its human rights record since the easing of sanctions?"

"Omer Ismail, Senior Adviser, The Enough Project, Ken Isaacs, Vice President of Programs and Government Relations, Samaritan's Purse, Miles Windsor, Advocacy and Development Director, Middle East Concern, and Jehanne Henry, Senior Researcher, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch" are the expected to speak in this event.

Sudanese officials say the human rights record is not part of the five-track deal sealed with Obama's administration.

(ST)

March 30, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudanese authorities must release all people detained without charge by security agencies, including the 28 men currently held at the headquarters of the national intelligence agency in the capital Juba, Amnesty International said in an open letter to President Salva Kiir.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir arrives in Khartoum on September 3, 2013 (AFP Ashraf Shazly)

The call comes barely a month after the South Sudanese leader publicly pledged to release all political detainees in the country.

“Hundreds of people, mostly men, have been arrested without charge by security agents and held in torturous conditions for long periods of time, since the conflict began more than three years ago. Others have disappeared without a trace at the hands of National Security Service and Military Intelligence agents,” Amnesty International's Secretary General, Salil Shetty said in a statement.

“While President Kiir's pledge was welcome, we call on him to go a step further and order a full investigation into arbitrary detention practices of government security agencies, enforced disappearances, deaths in custody, torture and other ill-treatment,” he added.

20 men, the campaign group said, died at three separate detention centres in Juba between February 2014 and December 2016.

Meanwhile, the Director General for South Sudan Prisons Service, General Henry Kuany said that prisoners in the states have no food.

Kuany attributes the problem to the economic crisis in the country.

“The prisoners are not getting enough food, but they are getting half of what is supposed to be their feeding,” he told Eye Radio Monday.

The situation, Kuany said, is not any better in Juba, where there are more than 1,000 inmates, who struggle to get even a meal in a day.

According to the official, Juba Central Prison now uses 17 bags of flour per day to feed more than 1,000 inmates, which is insufficient.

He said over 30 contractors providing food to prisons in Juba and other states are demanding big money sums from the government.

Some of the contractors, Kuany further disclosed, have stopped working while some are still providing food only to prisoners in Juba.

“The market prices are very high, beyond what they [contractors] can afford to provide the required food items for prisoners,” he said.

(ST)

A selection of the best photos from across Africa this week.

China begins closing down its legal ivory trade, but will consumer attitudes to prized artwork change?

The ongoing conflict in South Sudan is affecting food security in some of the country&#39s more &#8220stable&#8221 states, the head of United Nations peacekeeping operation there has said.

As the spectre of famine hangs once again over Somalia, early numbers show an increasing number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and cholera or acute watery diarrhoea – a combination that killed many children in the famine of 2011, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today.

With a new outbreak of violence erupting in the Central African Republic (CAR), a senior United Nations humanitarian official today urged warring parties to protect vulnerable civilian populations as a matter of priority and ensure free movements of relief aid workers.

The first bobsleigh team from Africa are on the verge of qualifying for the 2018 Olympics.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has confirmed the deaths of Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan, two members of the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo who had been missing since 12 March, and vowed that the Organization would do &#8220everything possible&#8221 to ensure that justice is done.

In African and Middle Eastern countries facing famine, unsafe water is as dangerous for severely malnourished children as lack of food, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) today warned, noting that nearly 27 million people are at risk in northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

Flights were temporarily halted on Tuesday evening after protestors locked themselves in an aircraft.

The bodies of a US man and a Swedish woman are found two weeks after they were abducted.

Video footage shows Endurance Amalawa being attacked by a mob in India.

Crimes against humanity charges relate to the deadly violence after the 2010 presidential elections.

Visiting a traditional fishing community in Senegal, the President of the United Nations General Assembly has called on the countries in the region to prioritize conserving and sustainably managing their marine resources.