Africa

June 19, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Ahead of major decisions to further downsize the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on the UN Security Council to ensure that human rights monitoring is ensured in the whole region.

On 11 June, the Security Council was briefed on a report on the UNAMID strategic review providing to close the remaining 14 protection sites in Darfur and to concentrate its activities in the Greater Jebel Marra which will host also the operation headquarters, until its definitive closure in 2020.

This decision is based on the end of violence in the region, except in some parts of the mountainous area of Jebel Marra, and the deployment of the government troops in the region. However, reports from the region point to persisting disputes over land ownership as the returnees find their villages inhabited by other groups.

“The UN's proposed cuts would effectively end the peacekeeping mission's core human rights and protection role in most of Darfur, which would be a mistake,” said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“The Security Council needs to ensure that UNAMID will continue monitoring and reporting publicly on abuses throughout Darfur or it will share responsibility for pushing Darfur off the world's agenda,” he further stressed.

In a regular report to the 15-member body on 1 June, the UN Secretary-General admitted that the reconfiguration “would no longer allow UNAMID to continue the monitoring, verification and reporting of protection of civilians' issues outside the greater Jebel Marra area”.

The African Union Commission's special report proposes that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights opens an office in Sudan.

However, HRW said “The Sudanese government's long practice of intransigence and obstruction leaves little hope that the office would be able to fill the vacuum left by UNAMID”.

Also, the human rights group recalled that the UN special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict last February raised concerns about continued reports of sexual violence against displaced women and girls in Darfur.
For his part, the UN independent expert on human rights in Sudan last April said that government security forces committed sexual violence against women and girls in the western Sudan region.

“Everything we know about Darfur indicates a pressing need for human rights monitors to continue their work (…),” said Segun before to emphasize that “The Security Council shouldn't adopt this shortsighted proposal, but instead should keep a spotlight on Darfur.”

The Security Council will finalize its discussions on the UNAMID downsize and the adoption of a new resolution extending its mandate for another year on 28 June.

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A family portrait celebrating mixed heritage has been widely shared online and has prompted others to tell their similar stories.

June 18, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - An advocacy group for the promotion of press freedom worldwide Monday called on the Sudanese security service to halt censorship of news outlets, questioning journalists, and revoking reporters' accreditation.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)'s call comes the recent seizure for several times of the entire run-prints of two dailies Al-Tayyar and Al-Youm Altali, and the interrogation of two journalists Shamael al-Nur of Al-Tayyar and Ahmed Younes, the correspondent for the London-based paper Al-Sharq al-Awsat.

In a statement released on Monday, the CPJ said they sent the request by email to the Sudanese authorities

The made its call in an email sent to the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) adding they did not yet get a response from them.

"Sudanese authorities cannot hide behind the censor every time a journalist expresses a critical opinion or exposes harsh realities," said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour.

"Sudanese authorities must stop harassing the independent press, and let the media work and publish freely," he further added.

Ahmed Younes who was interrogated early this month told Sudan Tribune that the (NISS) withdrew his licence and stopped him from reporting to his London based newspaper. While al-Nur said she had been ordered to stop writing negatively or positively about President Omer al-Bashir.

The two journalists wrote recently about the al-Bashir's candidature for the elections of 2020 which is not yet official but raise heated debate in the country as many call for his departure after 30 years of rule.

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June 18, 2018 (JUBA) - After days of competition between the IGAD countries fuelled by Juba hesitation, the face-to-face meeting between Riek Machar and Salva Kiir will be held in Addis Ababa next Wednesday.

Mrs Hirut Zemene, Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs was the first to confirm that Addis Ababa will be the venue of the crucial meeting. Also, several rebel officials including SPLM-IO deputy director of information and public relations Puok Both Baluang, confirmed that Machar will fly to Addis Ababa.

Officials in Juba, also, confirmed that finally, Juba has opted for Addis Ababa, pointing to the role recently the Ethiopian government played at the level of the UN Security Council to foil a the vote on a draft resolution imposing sanctions on South Sudanese officials.

Juba, last Friday called to hold the meeting in South Africa saying Addis Ababa, Khartoum or Nairobi have competing interests. But rebel officials said it was simply because Juba wants him to remain far from the region.

Sudan, which sought to mobilize regional support for its initiative to host the meeting, didn't issue any statement on the rejection of the South Sudanese officials for Khartoum.

The meeting will discuss three outstanding issues on the power-sharing chapter in the 2015 peace agreement: 1-the percentage of each party in the composition of the cabinet, 2-ratios of every party in the National Legislative Assembly and the state governments.

Machar will arrive on Tuesday to Addis and will meet Ethiopian officials before to meet President Kiir on Wednesday.

The Ethiopian officials will seek to convince the two leaders to make the needed concessions for a successful meeting and to avoid its failure.

The face to face meeting will be followed by two meetings on 21 June, the first by the IGAd Council of Ministers and the second for the head of States and Governments.

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Children fetch clean water from ICRC water points in Muglad, Southern Kordofan State (ICRCJ. Guitter/file Photo)

June 18, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Heavy rain and strong winds on Sunday have caused varying injuries among residents and destroyed 120 houses at Nabota area in the locality of Al-Tadamon, South Kordofan State.

The official news agency SUNA on Monday said 50 houses have been destroyed completely while 70 others were damaged partially; adding dozens of cattle have perished.

According to the agency, the commissioner of Al-Tadamon Abdallah Abdel-Samad visited the area and instructed to form a committee to assess the damage.

Abdel-Samad stressed his government's commitment to address the situation and provide the necessary support to the affected in coordination with the national aid groups.

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June 18, 2018 (ADDIS ABABA) - South Sudanese parties concluded the IGAD brokered round of Intensive Interlinked Consultations (IICs) on Monday without an agreement on the governance chapter, and it was decided to refer the outstanding issues to the face-to-face meeting of the rival leaders.

The IGAD Council of Ministers, last May, decided to hold the IICs to assist South Sudanese parties to reach a common ground on the outstanding issues of security arrangements and governance.

The 16-18 June discussions, which are part of the High-Level Revitalisation Forum (HLRF), are based on the IGAD revised Bridging Proposal prepared by the mediation after the failure of the parties to ink the initial version last May.

Speaking to reporters after the three-day meeting, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said the parties have reached an agreement on security arrangements but he denounced the opposition, saying it stuck to its positions on the governance because of the face-to-face meeting.

"On the security arrangements, the (negotiating) teams managed to make progress and the provisions which have been agreed upon are now being prepared in their final form and will be initialled by the generals tonight," said Lueth.

The minister who is also the government spokesperson added that despite the additional concessions they made the opposition continued to make "impossible demands".

Accordingly, he said, it was decided that the outstanding issues on the governance chapter will be addressed by President Salva Kiir and SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar in their meeting on 20 June in Addis Ababa.

"I believe this face-to-face meeting that made the opposition to be rather adamant and not ready to listen to the voice of peace," he said.

The outcome of the IICs will be submitted to the IGAD Council of Ministers which will meet in the morning of 21 May. It will be followed by a Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will be held on the same day in the afternoon in Addis Ababa.

The initial Bridging Proposal on the power-sharing had been refused by the opposition but also the government strongly resisted several matters particularly the dissolution of the National Legislative Assembly and percentage of the opposition at the State governments.

Speaking about main three issues that led to the failure of the consultations, the minister who is also a member of the government negotiating team disclosed that the differences are related to the composition of the executive, the parliament and the state governments.

The government rejected the dissolution of the parliament and the appointment of 400 legislators as it proposed in the IGAD Bridging Proposal saying "this is a red line".

Makuei said his government only accepts to increase the membership of the existing parliament during the transitional period by adding 100 lawmakers. The SPLM-IO will be given 70 seats and the 30 remaining seats will be allocated to the other opposition groups.

For the cabinet, he said they have made a "very serious concession" accordingly the all the opposition groups including the SPLM-IO will be allocated 30% of the government 32 portfolios.

The IGAD proposed to increase the portfolios to 42 ministers and 15 deputy ministers.

Regarding the state governments, the government delegation brushed aside the IGAD proposition to which provides that 55% of the governorship will go to the government, 25% to the SPLM-IO and 20% to the other opposition groups.

"In the states, we said the power-sharing will be 80% for the government and 20% for the opposition groups even in the states where the opposition has no presence," said the government spokesperson.

He added this these ratios will apply only for the executive but do not include the state legislative assemblies or the local governments.

In the IGAD Bridging Proposal, the power-sharing applies to apply to governorships, the executive councils of the States, and, the legislative assemblies of the States.

The minister expressed hope that after "the face-to-face meeting, we will be in a position to probably to better straights towards achieving peace in South Sudan".

South Sudanese government officials told Sudan Tribune that they expect that Kiir-Machar meeting would not make a tangible difference in the positions of the two sides.

They hope the IGAD mediation would continue to improve the text in a way that a compromise can be possible between the two main rivals in the near future.

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