Africa

A court in Zimbabwe throws out a "criminal insult" charge brought against a ruling party MP accused of calling first lady Grace Mugabe a "fool".

Ghana's president strongly defends the government's decision to allow two Yemenis freed from Guantanamo Bay to live in the West African state.

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) expressed concern over continued tension in El Geneina town and around Mouli village, 15 kilometres south of El Geneina, West Darfur, after an armed attack on Mouli village.

A young Syrian girl sits on a broken chair by her tent in Faida 3 camp, an informal tented settlement for Syria refugees in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. Credit: UNICEF/Alessio Romenzi

By Baher Kamal
MADRID, Jan 12 2016 (IPS)

Few months ago, an unprecedented “humanitarian auction” was opened in Brussels at the European Commission, shortly after watching the image of the three-year old Syrian child that the sea threw up on the Turkish shores. The “auction” was about deciding upon the number of Syrian refugees to be hosted by each EU country. Germany won the largest batch.

Before taking a final decision, some less rich European countries, like Spain, rushed to argue: “We are trying to get out of the crisis; we have a much too high percentage of unemployed people; also a huge public deficit…,” Spanish authorities, for instance, would try to explain their reluctance, with a more diplomatic wording.

The EU decision was also subject to a wave of political controversies. Some conservative political leaders, like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, would strongly alert against this “tsunami” of Muslims threatening to attack “our Christian civilisation”. And some figures, like US multimillionaire Republican pre-electoral runner Donald Trump, would even call for prohibiting the entry to the US of all Muslims.

Labour Factor

Meanwhile, labour market experts would argue that the so-called “natural selection” process would solve the problem –i.e, that the market forces would hire those skilled refugees as non-expensive manpower, while the non-skilled ones would necessarily end up as undocumented, illegal migrants, therefore easy to repatriate.

But such an argument has never been enough to calm the panic that several politicians and many media outlets induced among European ordinary people.

Another factor these experts take into account is the fact that the European population is steadily ageing, without the needed demographic replacement, a problem that is translated in more pension takers and less tax payers to replenish the retirement budget.

All this, of course, comes aside of Europe’s humanitarian convictions, those that moved the EU to act in view of the massive arrival of refugees.

It was when the EU, led by Germany, decided to offer economic assistance to less rich “reception” countries (6,000 euro per refugee) that the most reluctant ones accepted the deal. This way, Spain, which agreed to host 14,000-16,000 refugees, hailed some weeks ago the arrival of the first 14!

Big Hell

Meanwhile, the mainstream media disseminated tens of dramatic footage and tragic stories about those kilometres-long barbed-wire barriers built by some East European states; the “Calais jungle” in France; the hundreds of refugees stranded at frontiers; the arrival of cold winter, or the daily death of tens of human beings on Greek shores.

Then came the brutal, inhuman, execrable killing of French civilians on 13 November 2015 by Jihadist Islamist terrorists; the immediately previous attacks against unarmed population in Lebanon, and the even previous ones in Tunisia, and, later on, the horrible New Year’s eve assaults in Cologne, Germany, not to mention the daily murdering of innocent people in Egypt, Iraq and Syria, among others.

This created serious problems at home for several European rulers, like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, apart from feeding more fears among European citizens.

A Turkish Warehouse

All of a sudden, a “solution” was found: the EU asked Turkey to keep the Syrian refugees in its territory or at its borders, preventing them from passing to Europe, against the payment of 3,000 million euro and the promise to unfreeze the deadlocked process of negotiations with Ankara for its potential integration in the European club.

In other words: to transform Turkey in a “storage room” or “warehouse” of Syrian refugees, until…

Facts

Meanwhile, it would be necessary to recall some facts:

The current number of Syrian refugees exceeds 4,5 million – according to the United Nations refugee agency, (UNHCR); This figure does not include the around 7,5 million internally displaced persons, i.e. refugees at home. The total would make over 50 per cent of the Syrian population (23 million.)

The number of Syrian refugees “auctioned” in Europe would represent barely one fifth of their total.

The number of Syrian refugees to be effectively allowed to stay in Europe is expected to come down to less than 15 per cent of those 4.5 million plus.

The remaining ones. i.e, 85 per cent of the 4.7 million Syrian refugees are currently spread out in the Middle East, Arab, poor and/or troubled countries, like Lebanon (with more than one million refugees, representing one fifth of its total population); unstable Iraq, and Jordan, where the Za’atri camp now represents the fourth most populated “city”;

The largest portion of humanitarian aid and assistance comes either from a short-funded UN agencies or civil society organisations.

That the Europeans themselves were also refugees during and after World War II, with numbers that exceeded those of Syrian refugees;

UNICEF’s humanitarian work began in the aftermath of World War II — and by the mid 1950’s millions of European children were receiving aid. Seventy years later, refugees and migrants are entering Europe at levels not seen since World War II. Nearly 1 in 4 are children.

And Now What?

What to do now with the total of 4,5 million Syrian refugees?
The five biggest military powers on Earth (US, UK, France, Russia and China), on 18 December 2015 adopted United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 2254 (2015) endorsing a “road map” for peace process in Syria, and even setting a timetable for UN-facilitated talks between the Bashar al Assad regime and “opposition” groups.
The whole thing moved so rapidly that the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has already set the 25 January 2016 as the target date to begin talks between the parties.

The “road map” talks about many things, including the organisation of “free and fair” elections in 18-months time.

No explicit mention, however, to the fate of the 13 millions of refugees and displaced at home Syrians who do not know what to do or where to go.

(End)

Kenya's evangelical churches condemn government plans to make it tougher for religious bodies and clerics from all faiths to operate.

The ex-wife of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony says she is yet to be fully reintegrated into the society years after fleeing from the notorious Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 12 2016 (IPS)

The United Nations is hoping 2016 will be a landmark year for gender empowerment – not only for the world body but also for the United States.

“The empowerment of women is real,“ says UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson of Sweden. “It is a remarkable moment where key candidates for the next President of the United States (POTUS) and for the next Secretary-General of the United Nations (SGUN) are women.”

But will this be a political reality or a floating fantasy?

Asked about history-in-the-making, UN Assistant Secretary-General Lakshmi Puri, told IPS: “Yes, it will be historic and game changing –if and when that happens, because it would be the first time ever since the founding of the UN and the USA.”

First and foremost, she said, imagine the symbolism of the POTUS and the Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful country, largest democracy and economy of the world and a consistent advocate and global leader on gender equality and women’s rights and women’s empowerment, being a woman?

“Similarly imagine the symbolism of the United Nations — the World Government, peacemaker and peace builder, standard-setter and upholder of human rights, including that of women and girls, and of sustainable development and climate action, leader in humanitarian action — being a woman,” said Puri, who is also deputy executive director of UN Women.

She said it would be a signal not only to the US government and the people but also to the patriarchal political systems in the world that have to deal with a Woman POTUS.

Also imagine, she noted, what electricity will be generated by a woman SGUN in the UN system – in the Secretariat, and among member states and civil society. And their agendas and representation.
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She also said that two world women leaders could go beyond symbolism for the gender equality agenda– which is huge in itself— and change the realities for women and girls around the world.

With the current race for nominations for the upcoming US presidential elections in November, there are two women candidates among half a dozen men: former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a Democrat; and Carly Fiorina, a Republican and former chief executive officer of Hewlett Packard.

As the campaign continues at a feverish pace, there is widespread speculation that Clinton will emerge as the Democratic candidate for the presidency at the Democratic convention on July 25.

At the United Nations, there is an intense campaign for a woman to be elected Secretary-General – which will be a historic first in the 70-year-old Organisation which has been routinely headed by men since its founding.

The list of declared and undeclared candidates include: Michelle Bachelet, current president of Chile and former executive director of UN Women; Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, director-general of the Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and current Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP); and Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria, a vice president of the European Commission.

The two Bulgarians are likely to be in the forefront, because under a system of geographical rotation, the post of secretary-general should now go to an Eastern European.

The others singled out as potential candidates include President Ellen Johnson of Liberia; Christine Legard of France and head of the International Monetary Fund; and Alicia Barcena Ibarra of Mexico, executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

But the final winner may well be out of the current list of candidates.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who finishes his term end December, has repeatedly said it’s high time for the secretary-general to be a woman. The new SG will take office January 2017.

Yasmeen Hassan, Global Executive Director of the New York-based Equality Now, told IPS 2016 could well be a landmark year for the political participation of women.

“We could realistically see a woman leader of the UN because of the many qualified women around the world who could fill the position of Secretary-General, and a more transparent selection process that we and our partners have been advocating for.”

She said a woman at the helm of the UN could contribute greatly to achieving global peace and security, and transform attitudes, behaviors and social norms for how women and girls are valued and treated around the world.

“This would further help to break down glass ceilings for women, while girls will also be able to see that there are no limits to what position they can aspire. A female US president is also a strong possibility and one that would send a very important message too,” Hassan declared.

Shannon Kowalski, Director of Advocacy and Policy at International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC), told IPS 2016 could be historic for women and girls—but only if countries follow through on the commitments made in the 2030 Agenda and in the Beijing Platform for Action—the agreement forged two decades ago to fulfill women’s rights.

“We still have a long way to go,” she cautioned.

Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, International Coordinator at the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, a programme partner of the International Civil society Action Network, was more skeptical.

“It’s time to separate the facts from false claims,” she told IPS.

UN SG Ban Ki-moon says he has appointed an unprecedented number of women leaders in the United Nations (source: SG’s foreword to the Global Study on UNSCR 1325).

However, in an article circulated in December 2015, Karin Landgren, a visiting fellow at the Center on International Cooperation, reports that last year’s selections for the senior most level of UN staff have skewed nearly 92 per cent male, she pointed out.

Between 1 January and 10 December 2015, 22 men and only two women were appointed as UN undersecretaries-general.

Moreover, Landgren’s article pointed out that in 2015, six women undersecretaries-general were replaced by men, further undercutting the goal of building female leadership within the UN.

“With such claims from current leadership, which is predominantly male leadership, I will stick to the old adage ‘to see is to believe’.”

It’s also sad to think that having a woman president is still a novelty in the US. The absolute necessity of women’s leadership and participation in decision-making is already an establish fact and not a novelty act—-in many countries, she argued.

UN Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 2122 emphasizes women’s leadership and participation in decision-making as well as the protection of women’s human rights as critical elements of international peace and security.

“I would stress that these are at the core of any civilized society and functioning democracies. They are requisites for sustainable development; and they are a requirement in successful humanitarian operations,” said Cabrera-Balleza.

Women’s leadership and participation in decision-making will not only contribute to good governance. It will redefine governance and power.

She said the campaign for a woman UN Secretary-General is a commendable effort.

“To have a woman SG in the UN should have happened decades ago not after 70 years! However, I would underscore that it should be the RIGHT woman!,” she declared.

She said the right woman is someone who would challenge the conventional definition of power and authority.

“And it is someone who is not beholden to big campaign contributors, political parties or permanent members of the Security Council. It is someone who is deeply connected to civil society and is beholden only to the people, the 99 % whom she is supposed to serve.”

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@aol.com

January 11, 2016 (EL-GENEINA) - The death toll of El Geneina violence increased to twelve people, as the Sudanese authorities ordered to investigate the incident.

IDPs camp with their belongings outside the premsies of W Darfur state government on January 10, 2016 (ST Photo)

A security force on Sunday opened fire on hundreds of internally displaced persons who stormed the premises of the West Darfur state government to protest attacks by pro-government militiamen in Moli village located 20 km south of El-Geneina.

Following condemnations and conflicting reports on the number of the people who are killed at the incident, a local official Monday admitted that at least 12 denied in the riot.

In statements to the private channel Ashorooq TV, the commissioner of Nyala County al-Taher Abdel Rahman Badre Eddin said 12 people have been killed and others were wounded on Sunday and Monday.

The statements come as the Minister of Justice Awad al-Hassan al-Nur decided to set up a committee to probe the incident. The investigation body which is head by a judge, will include officials from the interior, defence ministries, and security services.

The text of the ministerial decision provides that the committee should submit its report within a week. The committee members will take oath before the minister on Tuesday.

The incident was also discussed at a meeting of the High Security Committee headed by Vice-President Hasabo Abdel Rahman.

Reports from El-Geneina say the funerals were organized Monday, where the victims were buried.

UNAMID CALLS FOR RESTRAINT

In a statement issued Monday they hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) called to avoid escalation after Sunday's incident in order to reach end the unrest.

The hybrid mission voiced concern about the "continued tension" in El Geneina town and around Moli village, pointing it has been receiving reports about the

"UNAMID calls on the government authorities to exert their utmost efforts to contain the situation and investigate the incidents".

"UNAMID emphasises the importance of restraint by all parties and stands ready to assist the state authorities as well as the Darfuri people in their efforts to arrive at a peaceful resolution of the situation" said the statement.

The villagers fled Moli after attacks on their by armed pastoralists on 9 January. The gunmen accuse the former of killing one of their relatives and demanded them to pay blood money (diyya) or to surrender his killer.

The affected IDPs moved into El Geneina and demonstrated outside the premises of the state government before to storm the building, leading to the closure of schools and commercial businesses in the town.

WIDE CONDEMNATION

The killing of displaced people by the security forces in El-Geneina has drawn wide condemnation from the opposition groups which denounce the targeting of innocent civilians by the government troops and militiamen.

In the meantime, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement(JEM) issued a second statement on Monday signed by the chairman's adviser Mahgoub Hussein who called for an urgent international investigation.

"The Movement considers the "massacre" of El Geneina, as a war crime. The President and the pillars of his regime should be held accountable for it. And, we call on the international community to provide international protection for Darfur people," Hussein said in a statement to Sudan Tribune.

For his part , deputy chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Abdul Aziz al Hilu has expressed his wonder about what he called the silence of the international and regional communities , the UNAMID in particular, with regard to the incidents . He said al-Genaina had twice come under a state of lawlessness in 15 days.

Hilu urged, in a statement received by Sudan Tribune, each of the AU and the UN to shoulder their responsibility of protecting civilians as stipulated in the International Humanitarian Law and the UNAMID mandate.

He called upon the youths in Darfur and Sudan at large to head towards the SPLA /N training camps to prepare themselves for the protection of their citizens.

Also, the New Justice and Equality Movement (NJEM), led by Mansour Arbab, has also deplored the incident that targeted people from his tribe Massalit, considering what had happened as "a crime".

The NJEM, which recently joined the national dialogue conference, has called upon the dialogue's 7+7 mechanism to give this issue due concern.

The Sudanese Congress Party condemned the killing of civilians and called to respect freedom of expression.

"Demonstration and peaceful expression of opinion is a natural right of any group that feels injustice or calls for a right," said the opposition party in a statement on Monday.

(ST)

January 11, 2016 (JUBA) – President Salva Kiir has vowed to leave the fate of 28 states he unilaterally created on 2 October to those who will continue to oppose them, insisting that he had not violated the peace agreement he signed with opposition parties on the basis of the constitutionally recognized 10 states in South Sudan.

President Salva Kiir speaks during the inauguration of the new SPLM premises in Juba on 15 November 2013 (Photo Moses Lomayat)

The comment he uttered during the closing session of the extraordinary convention of his ruling faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), did not however clarify what he meant to “leave.”

“Many people have been blaming the government and myself that we have violated the agreement. But I always tell them that we have not violated the agreement. This is a demand of the people and they have been asking for it for a very long time,” president Kiir told the gathering at the convention on Saturday.

“And in any case, if we have now agreed to implement this agreement, if Taban [Deng] comes and tells me then now you revoke this 28 [states], I will stand in front of the people here and I will tell them that this is what Comrade Taban is saying that I have to revoke [that] the order of your 28 states. And then I will get down and go. I will leave the work to Taban,” he said.

The head of state was making the comments in direct reference to the opposition faction of the SPLM-IO led by former vice president, Riek Machar, who shall become the first vice president of transitional government in accordance with the peace agreement.

Taban Deng Gai, chief negotiator, who represented the SPLM-IO at the request of South African Deputy President, Cyrill Ramaphosa, only for opening and closing sessions of the convention by the faction of the SPLM in government, earlier warned that the issue of the 28 states was an obstacle to peace implementation.

“Comrades, let us be very careful with the 28 states,” Gai told the SPLM convention during his remarks at the Freedom Hall in Juba.

He said the peace agreement was signed on the basis of the 10 states and should not be tempered with for now until the right time when the matter can be collectively tackled during the transitional period.

Gai also cited conflicts which may arise between communities over boundaries and lands taken from them and given to others, particularly to neighbouring Dinka communities from which the president hails.

Representative of the former detainees, Deng Alor Kuol, also called on the government to abide by the peace agreement based on the 10 states, but further called on the parties to “reconcile” the 28 with 10 states.

It was not however clear what president Kiir meant when he vowed he would leave the work or responsibility of the states to the opposition and leave.

Observers close to the decision making of the government's inner circles ruled out his resignation if defeated in the matter, saying it could be an indication of lack of cooperation to come between the peace factions and of serious hurdles ahead in the implementation of the peace deal as rival leaders may be backed by proponents and opponents of the 28 states.

Kiir argued that the 28 states have been a long-time demand of the people of South Sudan, despite his government's rejection of the similar demand from the SPLM-IO during the peace negotiations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in which the opposition proposed creation of 21 federal states based on the old colonial districts in the country.

The SPLM-IO at the time argued that federalism and creation of more administrative units closer to the people was a long time demand of the people.

The government at the time argued that it was not time to create more states or establish a federal system of governance, citing lack of resources to run the new more state governments. The opposition was forced by the IGAD mediation to sign the agreement on the basis of the current 10 states with the provision that the system of federalism and creation of more states would be dealt with during constitutional making process by a transitional government of national unity.

However, about 40 days after the signing of the agreement in August 2015, the government decided to unilaterally create 28 states, contrary to the provisions in the peace deal.

Opposition factions in the country including civil society organizations and regional and international bodies reacted in condemnation of the action as a violation of both the transitional constitution and the peace agreement.

President Kiir has so far gone ahead with further implementation when the national legislature endorsed the amendments to create the 28 states and the president appointed governors for the new states.

Former president of Botswana, Festus Mogae, chairman of the highest overseer body in the peace deal, the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), on Friday said the matter over 28 states had become a “complicating factor” and his office would therefore concentrate on formation of a transitional government of national unity at the center in Juba and leave the conflict over the states unresolved for now.

There are however fears that serious conflicts may emerge between factions in the national government over the fate of states in the country.

(ST)

January 11, 2016 (JUBA) - The two high ranking South Sudanese police officers sacked from their positions through a presidential directive over the weekend have welcomed the president Salva Kiir's decision, describing it as a "normal administrative practice".

Former Police Inspector General Pieng Deng Kuol (Photo File EPA)

The former inspector general of Police, Pieng Deng Kuol and his deputy, Andrew Kuol Nyuon said their dismissal falls within the constitutional mandate and prerogatives of the president who makes changes when necessary.

"My family and myself have welcomed the changes. It is a normal administrative practice everywhere in the world. The president has the right to make changes if they are deemed necessary for the interest of the nation", Kuol told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

He said he is ready to accept any assignment in any capacity in the nation.

"We are part of the system and when it is decided that changes should be made, we should be the first to welcome and provide support. General Andrew Kuol and I are waiting to welcome our new colleagues. We will work with them where our support is required", said the ex-police chief.

Meanwhile, Nyuon expressed delight for having been granted an opportunity to serve as deputy inspector general of police in the country.

"First I congratulate the president of the republic of South Sudan, General Salva Kiir Mayardit for the trust he had in me and my colleague General Pieng Deng Kuol when he appointed us. I also would like to thank him for appointing our new colleagues so they can now take over from where we stopped. I also congratulate our new colleagues on their appointments. I assure them of my support whenever they need it,” said Nyuon.

He further added, “This is our country and we must all work together for delivery of better services to our people. The work of the police is to maintain law and order and to protect citizens and their properties. This work cannot be successfully achieved without the support of all of us".

The South Sudanese president sacked several top police generals, two days after his government lost the ministry of interior to the armed opposition faction of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) under the leadership of the country's former vice-president, Riek Machar.

Kuol and his deputy were replaced with Makur Arol and Biel Ruot respectively, according to a presidential decree read on the state-owned South Sudan Television SSTV.

The order did not, however, explain why the changes were made especially at the time the South Sudanese government and the armed opposition faction are expected to form a transitional government of national unity.

The docket of the ministry of interior, according to the selection of ministerial positions conducted last Thursday, will be occupied by a nominee of the opposition faction of SPLM-IO, which will recommend a new inspector general to command the police force in the world's youngest nation.

Kuol previously served as deputy chief of general staff for finance and administration in South Sudan's army (SPLA) before being removed from active military service in 2013 and put on reserve list of senior military officers who have been awaiting reassignment. His former deputy was one of the longest serving high ranking police officers in different capacities until his appointment to serve as the deputy inspector general of police.

(ST)

January 11, 2016 (WAU) – Five people, including a woman, were killed in South Sudan's newly-created Wau state over the weekend, police officials told Sudan Tribune Monday.

In one incident, a South Sudanese army (SPLA) officer reportedly shot dead a Sudanese businessman operating in Wau town Friday night.

The deceased, only identified as Kamish, was killed at Hai Kalbario area in Wau town.

A police prison officer was also killed, in another incident, by unknown gunmen in Natabo village, located in the western part of Wau town.

In Jur River county, a Ugandan was killed in Udici payam following an incident, which involved a missing girl believed to have committed suicide by jumping into a well.

“This made the family [of the girl] to look for somebody to go and search into the well. A Ugandan volunteered himself to go into the water but in the process of pulling him into the well by the roof, it cut off and he fell and drowned immediately,” said an eye witness.

Wau police said they have launched investigations into what actually caused the death of the Ugandan national who volunteered to the family of the girl who allegedly drowned.

Meanwhile, two Ugandan lumbering at Bahr-Akol forest in Udici payam were murdered by unknown gunmen and their bodies were brought to Wau's main teaching hospital.

“They were captured in the morning and were hand-tied before execution,” said a police officer, adding that Criminal Investigation Department personnel are probing the matter.

(ST)

A small boy plays with his toys. Poor nutrition in Zimbabwe is exposing vulnerable children nutrition to mental health challenges according to humanitarian agencies. Credit: Ignatius Banda/IPS

By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, Jan 12 2016 (IPS)

Mildren Ndlovu* knows the mental toll of Zimbabwe’s long-drawn economic hardships in a country where a long rehashed statistic by labour unions puts unemployment at 90 per cent.

Ndlovu, a 27-year-old single mother is raising two children, both under 5-years old, and survives on menial jobs such as doing laundry and dishes in neighbouring homes, says she has watched their health deteriorate and not just physically.

“I know they are not growing up the way other children are,” Ndlovu said, as she changed the underwear of her four-year who had just soiled himself.

“At his age, he should be able to visit the toilet by himself, yet I still have to change him,” she said from her one roomed shack in one of Bulawayo’s poor townships that litter the city’s north.

Ndlovu’s concerns about the slow development of her children point to the broader effects of Zimbabwe’s economic decline on vulnerable groups, with the UNICEF early this month releasing the Zimbabwe Poverty Atlas 2015 (http://unicef.org/zimbabwe/resources_17478.html) showing high poverty levels across the country that are affecting children’s mental health.

At the launch of the report, UNICEF, the World Bank and government officials said the poverty atlas is an attempt recognise that “Children are rarely recognised in poverty alleviation efforts and their needs are not properly addressed.”

According to the report, no child from the poorest health quintile reaches higher education, with eight of the country’s ten provinces registering poverty levels between 65 and 75 per cent.

“Child poverty has reduced (their) mental health and is reponsible for poverty when they are adults,” said Dr. Jane Muita, UNICEF’s deputy resident representative in Zimbabwe.

“It (child poverty) results in lower skills and productivity, lower levels of health and educational achievement,” Dr. Muita said.

According Zimbabwe’s health and child welfare, the country has witnessed an increase in mental health diagnoses, and has put in place a Mental Health Strategy 2014-18 to deal with the crisis.

The ministry blames the tough economic conditions that have thrown millions into the streets of unemployment.

There are no available figures of how mental health has affected children, but concerns by parents such as Ndlovu are giving a human face to a crisis that has been highlighted by the UNICEF report on child poverty and their mental health.

In some parts of Zimbabwe in the south-west districts such as Nkayi were found to have up to 95.6 per cent of poverty, while Lupane poverty levels stood at 93 per cent according to the UNICEF’s Zimbabwe Poverty Atlas.

There are concerns that this will slow the country’s march towards realising its Sustainable Development Goals to reduce child poverty by 2030.

Last year, the Zimbabwe Vulnerable Assessment Committee found that up to 36 per cent of children in Zimbabwe have stunted growth which experts say has not only affected them physically, but has also slowed their mental growth because of poor diets.

“The problem with children’s health and their mental development is that the attitude of both parents and some health workers is that these children will soon grow out of these challenges,” said Obias Nsamala, a Bulawayo pediatrician.

“But what I have seen with many children under 5 years is that these mental deficits can be detected when they come for treatment but only become an issue by the time they have began school. I think that is why for a long time this country had something like special classes for children not intellectually gifted,” Nsamala told IPS.

“I believe its been a wrong approach because some of these children may be slow learners or intellectually challenged not because of some genetic deficit but because all the signs were ignored earlier on based on their backgrounds and access to adequate meals,” he said.

As the country seeks to improve the lives of vulnerable groups such as children with government officials saying the country needs to grow the economy in order to reduce poverty, there is no consensus on how exactly this will be achieved to attract investment, with the country continuing to rely on international development partners to create safety nets for the poor.

From 2014 to June last year, UNICEF says it spent 363 million dollars on social services, this at time the country’s critical social services ministries are facing budget cuts which officials have admitted made it impossible to provide adequate assistance such as health care.

Under the 2016 national budget, the health and child welfare ministry received 330 million dollars which will largely be funded by donor countries, leaving a huge deficit which Minister David Parirenyatwa said is not enough to meet such such sectors as the poorly funded psychiatric clinics.

Perhaps to highlight these funding challenges, officials at the country’s largest psychiatric institution which caters for adults, Ingutsheni Hospital in Bulawayo early this year told Minister Parirenyatwa that the mental health hospital requires 23 doctors but only had six.

The social welfare ministry, also previously offering financial support for vulnerable group’s such Ndlovu’s children, has complained of poor funding from government.

Aid agencies say millions will require food assistance in 2016, further pushing Ndlovu and many others on the edge of what UNICEF’s Poverty Atlas says are their mental needs.

*name changed to protect her identity

(End)

January 11, 2016 (JUBA) –President Kiir also praised the unity of his ruling SPLM party after signing its basic documents in Juba over the weekend, saying there is a “new tune and spirit of unity.”

File picture from the 6th SPLM Polituro on 14 January 2010 where SPLM chairman Salva Kiir (R) greets SG Pagan Amum (L) as his deputy Riek Machar stands besides him (photo SPLM)

The SPLM delegates at the extraordinary convention adopted the constitution and manifesto that incorporated the Arusha Reunification Agreement. The accord signed in Tanzania in January 2015 denied President Kiir powers to nominate 5% of the delegates to national convention and ensured that votes in the SPLM shall be by secret ballot as opposed to the traditional show of hands.

“Today [Saturday] when you leave this hall, I want you to speak a new language and a new tune so that we come together,” he said.

The extraordinary convention was boycotted by both the armed opposition faction, SPLM-IO, and former political detainees, SPLM-FDs, but their representatives, Taban Deng Gai and Deng Alor Kuol, respectively, attended the opening and closing ceremony on Thursday and Saturday.

Also, the SPLM extraordinary convention adopted a new flag for the party with red as the official colour for the party.

President Kiir insisted that the outcome of the convention was binding over all members of the SPLM in government, SPLM IO and former detainees, despite the boycott by the two opposition factions.

“These outcomes have given me new energy, inspiration and dedication to serve our people with the knowledge that I have a solid support from you,” Kiir said.
Bol Makueng, the SPLM information secretary and deputy minister of education in the national government, said the “SPLM factions are now united again.”

“There is no more FDs (former detainees) and IOs (SPLM in Opposition). We are one party for one nation once again,” said Makueng.

However, other SPLM factions said reunification was not yet achieved, saying there is need to revisit the Arusha agreement and to collectively work on the basic documents.

(ST)

January 11, 2016(Khartoum)-The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday announced the end of the ordeal of 289 Sudanese traditional miners who were detained in Algeria for several months .

Workers break rocks at the Wad Bushara gold mine near Abu Delelq in Gadarif State, Wad Bushara on 27 April 2013 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

It said the miners will be flown into Khartoum by charter plane next Sunday.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had raised the issue of the detention of the Sudanese miners with his Algerian counterpart during their summit meeting in October.

President Boutafliqa had promised to free the miners who illegally entered his country in search of gold.

The Foreign Ministry's official spokesman Ali al-Sadiq told reporters his ministry had exerted tremendous effort to free and transport the miners to Sudan.

He said the Sudanese diplomatic mission in Algiers had received a list of the detainees from the Algerian Foreign Ministry , dispatched some of its staff to listen to the detainees in jail in order to verify that they were Sudanese.

He said his ministry has coordinated with its Algerian counterpart to assemble the detainees in one place in a bid to bring them back to Sudan.

He extolled the response of the Algerian President to President Bashir's request to free the miners.
ST

January 11, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The United Nations independent expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Aristide Nononsi is expected to return to Sudan within a few months to assess the situation of human rights in the country particularly in Darfur and South Kordofan.

UN independent expert on the human rights situation in Sudan Aristide Nononsi (UNAMID)

Last October, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) extended the mandate of the Independent Expert for another year under its agenda item 10 on technical assistance and capacity building, and refused to take into account calls to monitor violations in the east African nation.

Sudan's minister of justice and head of the Advisory Council on Human Rights (ACHR) Awad al-Hassan al-Nour expressed readiness to receive Nononsi, pointing to the importance of coordinating the visit effectively in order to ensure its success.

He stressed that Sudan would carry out its commitments towards human rights, calling upon the international community to meet its obligations by offering the technical support to the Sudanese government according to the agenda item 10.

“Sudan has met much of its national obligations towards promoting human rights [situation],” he said.

Al-Nour's statements came a day after several protesters have been allegedly killed by the security services in the capital of West Darfur, Al-Ginaina.

Meanwhile, the special rapporteur for the ACHR Yasir Sid Ahmed Monday said the Independent Expert would visit Darfur and South Kordofan, noting he would also attend several workshops and forums pertaining to peace, rights of women and children and people with disabilities.

He added that Nononsi would be briefed on the outcome of the national dialogue conference.

It is worth to mention that Sudan would present its report to the UNHRC in February so as to be discussed in May.

(ST)

January 11, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's ministry of minerals has complained about the negative impact of the US economic sanctions on the mining activities of the Ariab Mining Company (AMC).

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir looks on during the inauguration of a gold refinery in Khartoum on September 19, 2012 (GETTY)

The ministry of minerals estimates the reserves of the AMC in one production site to amount to 1300 tonnes of copper, 170 tonnes of gold, 3000 tonnes of silver and 700,000 tonnes of zink.

Following his meeting with Sudan's minister of minerals Ahmed al-Karouri Monday, the Canadian chargé d'affaires in Khartoum has vowed to make contacts to bring in Canadian mining companies to Sudan.

He hoped that some Canadian companies with its huge expertise and leading social responsibility role operate in Sudan just like in other African nations.

Al-Karouri for his part praised the partnership which was struck up between the AMC and several Canadian companies despite the obstacles posed by the US sanctions.

He urged the Canadian companies to invest in the gold ore transformational industries in Sudan, vowing to reserve several blocks for the Canadian investments.

Washington imposed economic and trade sanctions on Sudan in 1997 in response to its alleged connection to terror networks and human rights abuses. In 2007 it strengthened the embargo, citing abuses in Darfur which it labelled as genocide.

Meanwhile, Karouri, who met the state minister of health Sumaia Akad Monday, said they managed to import 12 advanced laboratories including 86 units from the United Kingdom to conduct health tests on traditional miners, saying they no longer need to conduct those tests abroad.

Akad, for her part, called for developing a joint plan between the ministries of health and minerals to reduce the risk of chemicals use in the traditional mining sector.

Gold has become one of Sudan's largest exports which partially compensated for the loss in oil revenues, which accounted for more than 50% of income until 2011 when South Sudan seceded, thus taking with it most of the country's oil reserves.

Sudan approved a law to regulate traditional mining by granting licenses and specifying areas to work in to protect them from hazardous conditions and smuggling.

It is believed that traditional mining employs more than a million Sudanese but it is still difficult to obtain credible data.

(ST)

January 11, 2016 (JUBA) – A hand grenade explosion in South Sudan's oil-producing Upper Nile state killed six people and wounded 12, the United Nations said on Monday.

A picture showing a grenade explosion (garrysmod.org)

A UN spokesperson said a hand grenade accidentally detonated in a pickup truck carrying South Sudan army (SPLA) soldiers and civilians in the vicinity of the protection of civilians' site for its mission in South Sudan.

“Twelve wounded were taken to the UN Mission's Level II clinic and MSF hospital for treatment. A UN Mine Action staff member who was detained by authorities at the scene for allegedly taking photographs has been released,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN secretary general.

Meanwhile, an unexpected fire outbreak in the protection of civilians' site in the Upper Nile state capital, Malakal reportedly destroyed the shelters of about 1,000 camp residents.

“A baby also reportedly died in the incident, and eight people suffered minor injuries, mostly associated with smoke inhalation,” said Dujarric.

"The cause of the fire is currently being investigated”, he added.

Presently, the UN mission (UNMISS) is reportedly protecting some 48,000 internally displaced persons in the Upper Nile capital alone, and 194,000 across South Sudan.

(ST)

Social changes to watch out for in Africa in 2016

Leaks in city water pipes, like this one in the Pequeño Haití (Little Haiti) market in Santo Domingo, aggravated the water shortages during the lengthy drought in the Dominican Republic. Credit: Dionny Matos/IPS

By Ivet González
SANTO DOMINGO, Jan 11 2016 (IPS)

The recent lengthy drought in the Dominican Republic, which began to ease in late 2015, caused serious losses in agriculture and prompted national water rationing measures and educational campaigns.

But the most severe December-April dry season in the last 20 years helped convince the authorities to listen to the local scientific community in this Caribbean nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

“The National Meteorology Office (ONAMET) actually benefited because the authorities and key sectors like agriculture and water paid more attention to us,” said Juana Sille, an expert on drought, which was a major problem in the Caribbean and Central America in 2015.

The cause was the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a cyclical climate phenomenon that affects weather patterns around the world. Forecasts indicate that its effects will be felt until early spring 2016, and devastating impacts have already been seen in South American countries like Bolivia, Colombia and Peru.

As a result of this record El Niño and its extreme climatic events, the international humanitarian organisation Oxfam predicted in October that at least 10 million of the world’s poorest people would go hungry in 2015 and 2016 due to failing crops.

“The most severe droughts reported in the Dominican Republic are associated with the ENSO phenomenon,” Sille told IPS, based on ONAMET’s studies.

But the meteorologist said that unlike in past years, “there is now awareness among decision-makers about climate change and the tendency towards reduced rainfall.”

The gardens and fruit trees kept by many women in their yards to help feed their families, like this one in the rural settlement of Mata Mamón, were hit hard by drought in the Dominican Republic in 2015. Credit: Dionny Matos/IPS

“The authorities are learning to follow the early warning system and to implement prevention and adaptation plans,” she stated.

Sille pointed out that, in an unusual move, a government minister asked ONAMET in 2015 to carry out a study to assess the causes and likely duration of the drought that has been plaguing the country since 2014.

One quarter of the world’s population faces economic water shortage (when a population cannot afford to make use of an adequate water source).Effects of drought in the Caribbean

• In Cuba, 45 percent of the national territory suffered rainfall shortages, in the most severe dry season in 115 years.
• In Jamaica, people found to be wasting water can be fined or even put into jail for up to 30 days.
• Barbados, Dominica and the Virgin Islands adopted water rationing measures in the residential sector.
• St. Lucia declared a national emergency after several months of water shortages.
• Puerto Rico suffered serious shortages due to poor maintenance of reservoirs.
• Antigua and Barbuda depended on wells and desalination plants to alleviate water shortages.
• In Central America, more than 3.5 million people have been affected by drought.

This is true mainly in the developing South, where the local scientific communities have a hard time raising awareness regarding the management of drought, whose impacts are less obvious than the damage caused by hurricanes and earthquakes.

Experts in the Dominican Republic and other developing countries call for the creation of risk management plans to ward off the consequences of water scarcity crises.

“We have a National Plan Against Desertification and Drought, but some institutions apply it while others don’t,” lamented the meteorologist. “This drought demonstrated the urgent need for everyone to implement the programme, which we have been working on for a long time.”

She said 2015 highlighted the importance of educational campaigns on water rationing measures, drought-resistant crops, more frequent technical advice and orientation for farmers, more wells, and the maintenance of available water sources.

The Dominican Republic’s 10 reservoirs, located in six of the country’s 31 provinces, are insufficient, according to experts. Another one will be created when the Monte Grande dam is completed in the southern province of Barahona.

Along with rivers and other sources, the reservoirs must meet the demands of the country’s 9.3 million people and the local economy, where tourism plays a key role.

Water from the reservoirs is used first for household consumption, then irrigation of crops in the reservoir’s area of influence and the generation of electric power. But every sector was affected by water scarcity in 2015.

“The dry season was really bad. The worst of all, because it killed the crops,” Luisa Echeverry, a 48-year-old homemaker, told IPS. Her backyard garden in the rural settlement of Mata Mamón, in the municipality of Santo Domingo Norte, to the north of the capital, helps feed her family.

But her garden, where she grows beans and corn, as well as peppers and other vegetables, to complement the diet of her three children, was hit hard by the scant rainfall.

“When things were toughest, we would try to manage using our water tank, which we sometimes even used to provide our neighbours with water,” said Echeverry.

“Our concern was for the crops, in our houses we always had water,” said Ocrida de la Rosa, another woman from this rural town of small farmers in the province of Santo Domingo, where many women keep gardens and fruit trees to help feed their families.

All but two of the country’s reservoirs were operating at minimum capacity, which meant the authorities had to give priority to residential users over agriculture and power generation.

Yields went down, and many crops were lost, especially in rice paddies, which require huge quantities of water. Production in the rice-growing region in the northwest of the country fell 80 percent due to the scarce rainfall and the reduced flow in the Yaque del Norte River.

And the Dominican Agribusiness Council reported a 25 to 30 percent drop in dairy production due to the drought, while hundreds of heads of beef cattle died in the south of the country.

Production in the hydropower dams fell 60 percent, in a country where hydroelectricity accounts for 13 percent of the renewable energy supply.

The daily water supply in Greater Santo Domingo went down by 25 percent, and thousands of people in hundreds of neighbourhoods, and in the interior of the country, suffered water rationing measures. Some neighbourhoods depended on tanker trucks for water.

And in the face of rationing measures, residents of Greater Santo Domingo protested the wasteful use of water in less essential activities, as well as the many unrepaired leaks in the residential sector.

The authorities closed down local car wash businesses, which abound in the city, and people could be fined or even arrested for wasting water to wash cars, clean sidewalks and water gardens.

“Integrated water management has advanced in this country,” another ONAMET meteorologist, Bolívar Ledesma, told IPS.

To illustrate, he pointed to the National Water Observatory, which adopts water management decisions together with institutions like the Santo Domingo water and sewage company (CAASD), the National Institute of Potable Water and Sewage (INAP) and the National Water Resources Institute (INDRHI).

Edited by Estrella Gutiérrez/Translated by Stephanie Wildes

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