Africa

The United Nations and the African Union (AU) should do more to ensure all Africans see their futures in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)and the goals of Africa’s Agenda 2063, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said on Tuesday in Zimbabwe.

February 26, 2020 (JUBA) - South Sudanese collegial presidency on Wednesday called for forgiveness and national reconciliation in the country and predicted a breakthrough in the talks without holdout groups.

The revitalized presidency held its first meeting chaired by President Salva Kiir and with the participation of his First Vice-President Riek Machar and the four other vice-presidents: James Wani Igga. Taban Deng Gai, Hussein Abdelbagi Akol and Mama Rebecca de Mabior.

"The President and all the Vice Presidents have forgiven each other and urged all the South Sudanese also to forgive them and pray for them so we embark on reconciliation, forgiveness and healing of our broken social fabric," said the presidency at the end of the meeting.

The statement further called on the displaced people living in the UN-hosted Protection of Civilian sites and refugees to return to their areas of origin.

"The Government will do its utmost best to ensure they are supported to resettle in their home areas," stressed the statement.

The statement confirmed that the peace partners are discussing the formation of the cabinet adding that the national unity government will be announced as soon as the committees finish the task.

The presidency further said it will hold its meetings on a regular basis and that the calendar will be announced ulteriorly.

Calls for peace

The Presidency, also, called on the holdout South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA) to join the peace revitalized process.

"The government expects the upcoming meeting with SSOMA in Rome to produce a breakthrough in this process," said the statement.

Following the appointment of the Machar and the other vice-presidents, SSOMA on Monday called on the national unity government to use this opportunity to negotiate with them to achieve a comprehensive peace in South Sudan.

The government and the alliance of the non-signatory opposition groups signed the Sant Egidio brokered Roma Declaration for peace in South Sudan on 12 January and recommitted itself to the cessation of hostilities on 14 February.

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Meeting in Zimbabwe with young leaders from across the African continent,UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Monday encouraged the lively gathering to “use your youth power, for it’s your future to define”, telling them to use technology effectively to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Ninteeen-year-old Canada international Alphonso Davies tells Football Focus about his journey from refugee to Bayern Munich.

Along with climate shocks, conflict and acute food insecurity, the East Africa region now faces a hunger threat from desert locusts, top UN relief officials warned on Tuesday, saying action now, will avert a major food crisis later.  

Alongside the human population, Africa’s animals are suffering greatly from the effects of climate change, which United Nations Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed saw first-hand on Sunday in Zimbabwe.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed on Saturday the establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) in South Sudan. 

Four senior UN officials issued a joint statement on Friday deploring the continued human rights abuses committed against civilians, including women and children, in the south-west and north-west regions of Cameroon.

One year after the signing of a peace deal in the Central African Republic (CAR), State authority is being extended throughout the country, violence against civilians has decreased, and an inclusive Government remains in place, the UN Security Council heard on Thursday. 

The people of South Sudan have been “deliberately starved” in different parts of the country for ethnic and political reasons, and sexual violence against women and men as a weapon of war is ongoing, UN investigators said on Thursday. 

Malnutrition, disease, floods, droughts and displacement in Niger have put nearly three million people, more than half of them children, in need of humanitarian assistance, UNICEF said on Wednesday, calling for increased attention to their plight.

Talks to end fighting in Libya have resumed in Geneva, where UN negotiator Ghassan Salamé said that ongoing clashes must end for there to be a chance for progress. 

The United Nations Secretary-General has extended his deepest condolences to the families of those killed in an attack on a village in north-west Cameroon.

Four countries in Africa have licensed an Ebola vaccine to “cement hard-fought progress” in keeping their people safe from the deadly disease, the UN health agency said on Friday.

Political discord in Guinea-Bissau could hamper the first-ever peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected leader, the top UN official in the West African country told the Security Council on Friday. 

Following a visit to the Central African Republic, a UN independent expert said that everyone must take all measures necessary to effectively implement the peace agreement that was signed in Bangui a year ago.

The Ebola virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains an international public health concern, experts meeting in Geneva concluded on Wednesday. 

Since 2012, the plight of children in Madagascar has not improved and is in many cases getting worse, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

With the rainy season fast approaching, countries in the Horn of Africa are in a race against time to tackle a Desert Locust invasion amidst ongoing humanitarian challenges, the United Nations warned on Monday. 

The challenges facing African nations are “complex, multi-faceted and far-reaching" but a “collective, comprehensive and coordinated” response by the global community will build on the momentum that already exists to help the continent thrive, the UN chief told the African Union Summit on Sunday.