Africa

December 7, 2019 (JUBA) – Unprecedented rains have caused flooding that has affected an estimated one million people in South Sudan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) revealed.

A heavily flooded area in a remote part of South Sudan (Getty)

The agency, in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, said heavy floods have displaced thousands from homes and destroyed livelihoods.

“The level of destruction caused by the floods is unfathomable. People have nowhere to sleep, children are sick, there is no food to eat,” said IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission, Jean-Philippe Chauzy.

“We have rolled up our sleeves and we will continue to do everything we can to help alleviate the misery caused by these floods,” he added.

According to the agency, in Unity region's Mankien and Bentiu towns, it provided shelter and non-food such as blankets, mosquito nets and plastic sheeting for temporary shelters to 3,000 households.

The water, sanitation and hygiene team distributed aqua tabs and filter cloths used to treat the water consumed by 3,000 households, IOM noted, adding that 6,000 households received similar relief items in Upper Nile region's Ulang and Gumruk towns.

“We cannot forget that in crises, vulnerable populations, especially women and children, are more likely to face gender-based-violence and other kinds of abuse,” stressed Chauzy.

“Protection and safeguarding are at the cornerstone of all of our activities and it is important that as we provide immediate emergency relief we also tackle protection issues,” he added.

IOM said it is, in collaboration with partners, ramping up its humanitarian response to affected communities in counties declared to be in a state of emergency.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), more than 908,000 people have been affected by heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding, of whom 620,000 needed humanitarian assistance.

In October, the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency in the flood-affected areas of the country.

(ST)

December 7, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien told Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdock that his country is keen to remove Sudan from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST) list as soon as possible.

Robert O'Brien (State Dept photo)

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Sudanese foreign ministry said Hamdok was received at the White House by O'Brien on Friday, in the last day of his visit to Washington.

The meeting between Hamdok and O'Brien was attended by Jamal Omer, Sudan's Minister of Defence and Ambassador Omer Siddiq, Permanent Representative of the Sudan Mission to the United Nations.

"The two sides discussed at length Sudan's rescission from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, Mr O'Brien stressed that the United States is keen to address this issue as soon as possible," reads the statement.

The National Security adviser further affirmed the support of President Trump for the transitional government in order to achieve sustainable democratic transformation in Sudan, added the foreign ministry.

Sudanese Prime Minister told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that he discussed the requirements of the SST's removal with the US officials.

"Only two major obstacles remain: settling the cases relating to the terrorist attacks and cooperating with the U.S. on combating terrorism," reported the WSJ.

Hamdok went further to say that Sudan and the US could set up joint counterterrorism operation similar to the support provided to the forces of the Sahel countries that fight Boko Haram and other jihadist groups in the region.

“When it comes to combating terrorism, we would like to benefit from U.S. experience, not only of training but intelligence sharing, gathering, equipment, training,” he told the WSJ.

(ST)

December 7, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - The Qatari Ministry of Defence announced on Thursday the conclusion of military exercises with the Sudanese army in Arkweit area of the Red Sea State.

According to a statement by the Qatari Defence, the military exercise was attended by Major General Rashid bin Nasser, Head of Qatar's Authority of Military Institutes and Colleges, and Major General Hafez al-Taj Makki the Red Sea Governor.

Al-Nasser praised the military training of the Qatari officers saying it would enable them to carry out their duties.

However, he did not speak about the duration of the training of the exercises.

The Sudanese army did not issue a statement about this exercise.

On 29 November, the Eritrean government issued a statement accusing Qatar of continuing to provide military support to the opposition groups.

Asmara did not accuse the Sudanese transitional government of taking part in this plot but stressed that Qatar uses Sudan as a springboard for its subversive activities.

The statement said that the Qatari Armed Forces would construct a dialysis centre in the Sinkat area of the Red Sea state.

Qatar which is a member of the Friends of Sudan group has invited the head of the Sovereign Council and the prime minister to visit Doha since last October.

(ST)

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Emmanuel Monychol Akop, Managing Editor of the Dawn Newspaper has been in detention without charge since November 4, 2019. 

© Private 2019

(Nairobi) – South Sudanese authorities should immediately release a journalist who has been arbitrarily detained, Human Rights Watch said today.

The National Security Service (NSS) arrested and detained Emmanuel Monychol Akop, the managing editor of The Dawn newspaper after he answered a summons on October 21, 2019 to appear at the security service headquarters in Jebel neighborhood of Juba. Credible sources told Human Rights Watch that Monychol’s arrest appears to be linked to an October 15 Facebook post in which he poked fun at the dress worn by the foreign affairs and international cooperation minister, Awut Deng Achuil.

“Emmanuel Monychol’s detention is just the latest act of harassment by South Sudanese authorities in response to criticism or perceived dissent,” said Mausi Segun, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should immediately release him unless he has been charged with a recognizable offense.”

Four days after Monychol’s arrest, he was released on bail to attend the burial of a relative and other family functions. He responded to a second security service summons on November 4 and has been in custody ever since. On October 29, while out on bail, Monychol apologized to the minister for his comments on Facebook, which were also published by The Dawn newspaper the next day. Since 2017, the minister has had a defamation case in the high court in Juba against Monychol and The Dawn newspaper.

Monychol’s detention appears to be part of a broader crackdown by South Sudanese authorities to silence criticism by the media, nongovernmental groups, opposition parties, and National Assembly members. Since conflict broke out in South Sudan in December 2013, the NSS has spread a climate of fear and terror, targeting critics and perceived dissidents with arbitrary arrest and detention and torture and other ill-treatment. This has led to self-censorship in which human rights activists, journalists, critics of the government, and ordinary people no longer feel safe to speak freely and openly about topics deemed controversial.

The National Security Service Act (2015) grants the security agency sweeping powers to arrest, detain, conduct searches, and seize property. The law, however, requires the NSS to bring detainees before a magistrate or judge within 24 hours of their detention. Detainees under NSS detention are often kept in poor conditions including in congested cells with inadequate access to food, water, and medical care.

Human Rights Watch has repeatedly called on South Sudanese authorities to ensure that the NSS powers are limited to intelligence gathering, as envisioned by the Transitional Constitution of 2012, which mandates the agency to “focus on information gathering, analysis and to advice the relevant authorities.” Human Rights Watch has recommended that the powers to arrest, detain, conduct searches, seize property, and use force be excluded from the agency’s authority, and should instead be exercised by an appropriate law enforcement agency.

South Sudan’s “revitalized” peace deal signed in September 2018 provides for the review of security sector laws including the NSS Act by the National Constitutional Amendment Committee. In January, this committee submitted proposed amendments to the NSS Act to the Justice Ministry for deliberations and for presentation before the National Assembly. The ministry has yet to transmit the amendments to the assembly.

“South Sudan’s authorities should expedite action on the necessary reforms to curb the security agency’s broad powers and ensure full compliance with existing legal safeguards,” Segun said. “They should also ensure broad-based, public, and transparent consultations during the review process.”

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