Africa

May 12, 2017 (JUBA) – On Friday, two South Sudanese protesters against the Peace Committee headed by First Vice President Taban Deng were detained in Bor by national security agents.

South Sudan first vice president Taban Deng Gai arrives in Bor May 9, 2017 (ST)

According to Jonglei Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (JIPDD), Deng Anyang Ngong and Geu Akau have been detained by the police.

JIPDD is a civil society group in Bor.

Deng was detained on Thursday and held without charges. A relative who visited him on Friday said the police promised to release him after an investigation was conducted.

"The police said they are still doing investigations to know who organised the demonstrations," said a cousin who visited Deng in Bor on Friday.

Jonglei State police declined to comment on the arrests.

Governor of Jonglei, Philip Aguer confirmed that his government wants to question the protesters.

"We want them to explain why they were chanting Viva. That is a slogan of people who are not here," he said by phone from Bor, referring to SPLM in Opposition slogan.

However, Aguer said he did not get information on their arrest, referring any further questions to Jonglei State's legal office.

One of the leaders of the protest who has remained in hiding in Bor denied changing any political slogan during the protest on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We have uploaded the video and the audio as well as photos on social media and there is no single political slogan. We are condemning the peace initiative of First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, as Bor Youth, when our children and cattle have not been returned from Murle," he said.

The youth protested during the meeting between Gai and local chiefs aiming to end the ongoing clashes between Bor and Murle youths in Boma State, east of former Jonglei State.

(ST)

May 12, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese and Egyptian foreign ministries Thursday said they agreed on measures to regulate the issuance of entry visa and establish principles of strategic cooperation between Khartoum and Cairo.

Sudan's FM Ibrahim Ghandour (L) meets with his Egyptian counterpart Samih Shoukri in Cairo on January 9, 2016 (Photo released by the Sudanese FM)

In a joint statement following an emergency meeting of the Sudanese-Egyptian consular committee in Cairo, the two sides said they agreed to issue a free six-month visa renewable for a similar period for holders of regular passports.

They also agreed to exempt girls below 16 years old and women above 50 years from entry visa. The decision also included nationals of both nations residing in the Arab Gulf states, United States, Canada, Australia and Europe provided they have valid residency and exit and entry visas from these countries.

According to the statement, Sudanese living in Egypt prior to 1995 will be treated as an Egyptian citizen.

Also, the Egyptian foreign ministry said it was decided to exempt the Sudanese from registration procedures, visa and residency fees. The Sudanese side decided to apply the same measures on the Egyptians.

Furthermore, the two sides agreed to continue to exempt holders of diplomatic passports from entry visa.

The statement pointed out the two sides discussed ways to ease movement of Egyptian trucks heading to Sudan via the joint border crossing points, saying the Sudanese side underscored readiness to provide the necessary means to facilitate entry of these trucks.

Tensions between Khartoum and Cairo have escalated following the former's decision to restrict imports of Egyptian farming products which was reciprocated by Cairo's decision to raise residency fees for Sudanese living in Egypt.

Last month, Sudan issued a decision requiring Egyptian nationals seeking to enter its territory to obtain entry visas, saying the measure comes within the framework of the periodic review and evaluation to regulate and control entry to Sudan.

On 25 April, the Egyptian authorities denied entry and deported journalist Iman Kamal al-Din from Al-Sudani newspaper just 24 hours after a similar move against journalist Al-Tahir Satti of Al-Intibaha daily.

Also, Sudan indicated that it would take some measures to end the Egyptian presence in the disputed area of Halayeb triangle after some Egyptian media outlets launched a campaign ridiculing Sudan's cultural monuments.

(ST)

May 12, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese police on Thursday have released a social media activist who was arrested on charges of apostasy after he attempted to have his religion changed on official documents.

police stands outside the courthouse in Khartoum 2007

On Monday, police in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman detained Mohamed Salih (aka Baron), 23 years old, for requesting a court judge to change the religion section of his national identification card from Muslim to “non-religious”.

However, the judge on Thursday abruptly issued a decision dismissing the case and ordering the release of Salih, saying the defendant has been examined by a psychiatric and it was determined that he is mentally incompetent to stand trial.

In Sudan, the crime of apostasy carries the death penalty under article (126) of the 1991 Criminal Code.

Meanwhile, in a statement seen by Sudan Tribune Friday, the defence team rejected the court decision, saying “the right to claim mental illness is reserved only to the defendant or his legal representative and neither the defence team nor the defendant have asked the court to present him to a psychiatric”.

“Moreover, any mental illness can't be verified until after the defendant is presented to a medical committee at a psychiatric hospital,” further said the statement.

It is noteworthy that the prosecution office on Thursday morning requested to have the investigation minutes and the defendant transferred to meet the prosecutor at noon. The defendant was then seen by a psychiatric inside the justice ministry and the charges have been dropped according to the doctors' report.

The prosecution said:“the defendant suffers from psychological disorders and is incompetent for criminal accountability according to article 8 of the Criminal Code”.

“Therefore, the prosecution decided to cancel the criminal charges against the defendant and immediately release him and hands him over to his family for follow-up treatment with the psychiatrist,” added the statement.

The defence team further stressed “the inclusion of article (126) in the Criminal Code violates the right to freedom of religion and belief set forth in article (28) of the constitution and the international and regional human rights conventions and charters ratified by the government of the Sudan, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples”.

In 2014, a court in Khartoum sentenced a pregnant 27-year-old, Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, to death for apostasy and 100 lashes for adultery. However, following intense international pressure, she was released after months in prison.

(ST)

May 12, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Friday accused the former chief of armed forces of failing to hand over office peacefully and being antagonistic in a telephone conversation after his hurried departure from Juba three days ago.

Speaking at a news conference held at the presidency in Juba to dissipate fears of a new armed conflict in the troubled country between him and Malong, President Kiir said citizens should cease from "inciting fear through the spread of unfounded rumours through social media."

"I am aware that this change of command [in the army] and the subsequent departure of the former Chief of General Staff [Gen. Paul Malong] have caused some apprehension across the country. I am here today to assure you that the security situation remains normal and all citizens are urged to continue with their daily routine," said Kiir.

In response to prepared questions from reporters working for the state-owned TV and Radio, Kiir further said Gen. Paul Malong is defying a request to return to Juba from the Lakes State where he has been stopped by local authorities from continuing to his home region of Northern Bahr El Ghazal.

"Personally, I am in communication with the former Chief of Staff, General Paul Malong Awan and I have assured him of his safety," Kiir said adding that the phone conversations were not cordial.

"He (General Malong) was not in a good mood. He was in a fighting mood. I tried to calm down but he was rather wild," he said, referring to a telephone call with former army chief who is in Yirol on Thursday.

He further accused unnamed foreign hands of supporting Paul Malong to turn into unplanned problems.

“It is the concern of everybody and nobody wants Gen. Paul Malong to run into such unplanned problems. There are so many foreign hands that are now seen behind Gen. Paul pushing him,” he said

Kiir said Malong did not hand over the office to his successor Gen. James Ajongo Mawut and failed to congratulate the new army chief and "he did not call me (President Kiir) to thank me for the period he spent as SPLA Chief of Staff."

Kiir added that it was a wrong decision for General Malong to "run away" without handing over the office.

It remains unclear on Friday if Gen. Malong will arrive in Juba after failing to board a plane sent to pick him on Thursday from Yirol to Juba.

However, the President issued a written statement pledging to protect him and to facilitate his return to Juba.

Also, Kiir praised the former SPLA chief of general staff as a liberator and commended his service to the people of South Sudan.

(ST)

The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) held a memorial ceremony today in honour of five peacekeepers who lost their lives after their convoy was attacked in the south-eastern part of the country earlier this week.

May 10, 2017

60th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human & Peoples’ Rights

Niamey, Niger

Agenda Item 3: Human Rights Situation in Africa

 

Madame Chairperson, Commissioners and Heads of Government Delegations:                                                                                                  

Human Rights Watch welcomes this opportunity to address the African Commission under this Agenda Item. First, we commend the African Commission for adopting Guidelines for the Policing of Assemblies by Law Enforcement Officers and the General Comment on the Right to Redress for Victims of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment during the 21st Extra-Ordinary session. Human Rights Watch is of the view that such norm development provides essential guidance to states parties.

Madame Chairperson, the general human rights situation in much of Africa remains worrying, but for the purposes of this statement, Human Rights Watch will focus on urgent human rights concerns in Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Uganda

We remain deeply concerned by unaddressed killings by the Ugandan military and police during joint operations in Kasese, western Uganda on November 26-27, 2016.  On the bloodiest day, scores of people, including at least 15 children, were killed during a military assault on the palace compound of the region’s cultural institution. Human Rights Watch found the death toll to be at least 55 people, including at least 14 police, killed on November 26, and more than 100 people during the attack on the palace compound on November 27. The killings warrant an independent, impartial fact-finding mission with international expertise. The government has arrested and charged more than 180 people, including the cultural institution’s king, known as the Omusinga, with murder, treason, and terrorism, among other charges for the killing of the members of the security forces. But none of the 180 are members of the police or military and no one has been charged for the killing of civilians, including children.

• The African Commission and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child are urged to undertake a joint investigative mission to Uganda and support a broader independent and impartial investigation.
• We further respectfully urge the Commission to maintain a strong demand for accountability, including calling for an independent and impartial investigation with support from international experts. If given unfettered access to witnesses and forensic evidence, independent experts with a fact-finding mission could determine if the massacre on November 27 should be characterized as a crime against humanity.

Zimbabwe

Madame Chairperson, Human Rights Watch published a report in January 2017 documenting violations of property and inheritance rights of widows in Zimbabwe. The report focuses on abuses related to property-grabbing from widows, predominantly older women. Based on interviews with widows from all 10 provinces of Zimbabwe we know that many older women have few other economic options when their property is stolen by in-laws when their husbands die.

In 2013, Zimbabwe adopted a new constitution that provides for equal rights for women, including for inheritance and property. In practice, however, existing laws only apply to widows in officially registered marriages. Estimates are that most marriages in Zimbabwe are conducted under customary law and are not registered, so, in effect, these laws afford no protection from property-grabbing relatives. Many widows told Human Rights Watch that they face insurmountable obstacles defending their property or taking legal steps to reclaim it. Once in court, widows said they were at a disadvantage without an official record of their marriage if it was a customary union. According to the 2012 census, Zimbabwe is home to about 587,000 widows, and most women 60 and over are widowed. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that at least 70 percent of women in rural areas are in unregistered customary unions and are living under customary law.

Madame Chairperson, with the rapid growth of older populations worldwide, there is an increasing need to understand how discrimination, ageism, neglect, and abuse affect older people and what steps governments should take to protect their rights. By 2050, an estimated two billion people – almost a quarter of the world’s population – will be over age 60. The majority will be women. We respectfully request the African Commission to urge the government of Zimbabwe to:

• Introduce a system that ensures all existing and new marriages, including customary unions, are officially registered.
• Allow the posthumous recognition of marriages and customary unions.  
• Engage in public awareness campaigns to end unlawful property-grabbing and inform widows of their inheritance rights.
• Ensure widows have meaningful access to legal remedies to protect their rights to property and other related rights in cases of unlawful property or inheritance grabbing.

Thank you 

More than 600,000 children with disabilities are out of school in South Africa. In a country that has claimed to have achieved universal basic education, children with disabilities experience systemic barriers and discrimination on a daily basis. These children are not guaranteed a quality education on an equal basis with children without disabilities.

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Drawing of a female student holding a placard that says “I want to learn” found in Boitumelo Special School in Kimberley, South Africa.

© 2015 Boitumelo Special School

Unequal access is one of the most evident forms of discrimination. Children with disabilities continue to pay school fees and costs that children without disabilities do not pay, or are asked to pay for services so they can go to school. Many parents cannot afford to send children to school, so many stay at home. Others are turned down by schools that do not want to enroll children with disabilities.

Although the government has recently devoted more attention to inclusive education, it has a long way to go to implement its inclusive education policy. A strong, global reminder that South Africa must to do its utmost to ensure children with disabilities have a right to education would have ripple effects at home.

There’s an opportunity to do just that on May 10, when the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva reviews South Africa’s human rights record.

One of the most positive contributions UN member states could make for South Africa’s children would be to press the government on why children with disabilities have not been guaranteed free and compulsory education on an equal basis with children without disabilities. They could also ask the government for a specific timeline to adopt a national plan to make education free, in line with its international obligations, and also ask how it will enforce it so that all children can go to school on an equal basis.

An Ebola outbreak in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has killed at least one person, the United Nations World health Organization (WHO) announced earlier today.

Expressing deep concern over the protracted political and institutional crisis in Guinea Bissau, the United Nations Security Council has said it is ready to take necessary measures if the situation further deteriorates.

The man believed to be the boyfriend of Karabo Mokoena, 22, is charged with her murder.

With violence and insecurity continuing to force people to flee Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasai region and seek refuge in neighbouring Angola, the United Nations refugee agency has called for a suitable place to shelter them as well as additional resources to support those in urgent need.

The World Health Organization says at least one person is confirmed to have died from the virus.

The United Nations refugee agency has increased its funding appeal by $91 million to meet the humanitarian needs of Somali refugees in the region and the people displaced inside the Horn of Africa country.

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May 11, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's First vice President and Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh announced Thursday the long time awaited National Consensus Government including 31 ministers and 44 secretaries of state.

However, the large coalition government led by the National Congress Party of President Omer al-Bashir witnessed few changes as two presidential aides left the government: Galal al-Dugair Youssef and Tijani al-Sisi.

Among the new faces in the national dialogue government include are given the ministries of interior, petroleum, finance and investment.

In parallel, President Omer al-Bashir issued a presidential decree reinstating in their positions Vice-President Hasabo Abdel Rahman, and four presidential assistants including Mohamed al-Hassan al-Mirghani, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, Musa Mohamed Ahmed and Abdel Rahman Sadiq al-Mahdi.

The president also appointed 65 members of parliament representing the political groups that participate in the national dialogue. They will participate in the elaboration of a new constitution in line with the resolutions of the National Document endorsed during the political process.

In a press conference held at the Sudanese presidency, the Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh read the names of the government cabinet members, stressing they have been appointed in consultation between the President and the Prime Minister.

The presidential decree appointed Lt Gen. Hamid Manan Mohamed al-Mirghani, minister of interior, Lt Gen.Mohamed Osman al-Rikabi, minister of finance and economic planning, Abdel Rahman Osman Abdel Rahman minister of oil and Gas, Abu Bakr Hamed Abdel-Rahim minister of justice.

Mubarak al-Fadil, the leader of a National Umma Party (NUP) splinter faction, has been appointed the minister of investment, while the former presidential candidate of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Hatim Alsir Ali minister of trade.

The Popular Congress Party (PCP) has two ministers in the new government: Idris Suleiman Youssef minister of international cooperation and Musa Mohamed Ahmed Karama minister of industry.

The prime minister said that the number of new cabinet ministers remains the same as the previous government at 31 ministers. He pointed they increased the number of state ministers to 44 posts to accommodate all the participants in the dialogue process.

He stressed that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in the previous governments had 67% of ministers and 64% of state ministers, but now in the new cabinet, it gave up 12 portfolios "six ministers and 6 state ministers," while the DUP has given up a minister of state.

He said the formation of the new government was delayed due to the extensive consultations with the national dialogue forces, adding they received some 1500 nominees for the ministerial positions.

The government was expected to be announced last February.

Saleh explained that the military who is appointed minister of finance, Lt Gen.Mohamed Osman al-Rikabi, worked in this ministry before to join the army.

The majority of other ministers kept their portfolios, such as Ibrahim Ghandour of foreign affairs, Awad Ibn Ouf of defence, information minister Ahmed Balal, and Bahr Abu Garda of health.

The new cabinet is tasked with the implementation of the dialogue's recommendations and the adoption of a new constitution.

The holdout political opposition and armed groups refuse to join the process before to stop the war and create a conducive environment for an inclusive dialogue.

(ST)

May 11, 2017 (JUBA) – More than 20,000 South Sudanese citizens have absconded from Aburoc's Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp due to the constant fighting and dreadful living conditions around the IDP camps, the medical charity, MSF, said.

IDPs based in Aburoc take shelter under a tree. When people arrived from Kodok few had shelter (Anthony Jouannic/MSF)

The displaced citizens made their way to Sudan's already overcrowded refugee camps.

According to MSF, while others decided to stay in Aburoc in hopes they will receive clean water, food and shelter, an estimated 18,000 people headed to the north.

“The reasons why we are leaving are mainly security and the lack of food and water. We feel a bit better in Sudan because we are receiving support, and now I am with my family,” a refugee who journeyed to Sudan to the medical charity.

MSF said it decided on 11 May to keep providing care for those in Aburoc even when fighting in the nearby town of Kodok two weeks ago displaced more than 20,000.

The organisation's head of mission for South Sudan, Marcus Bachmann said that many people had taken their personal possessions with the aims of heading north.

“Most of the people we see around Aburoc have packed their few belongings and are waiting for space on a truck departing for the north. Nearly all of those leaving have been forced to abandon their homes and have moved places several times in the past,” said Bachmann, adding "While food has arrived in Aburoc's market from Sudan, the purity of water and inflation prices still pose a problem".

“Until very recently the population gathering around Aburoc were surviving on a maximum of 21,000 litres of water a day from three hand pumps. This is only 1.1 litres per person which is below the daily minimum amount needed for survival, 2.5 litres. The purity of the water is also a concern, as both humans and animals openly defecate in the areas around the water pumps," MSF said in a statement.

The statement further stated that the availability of water was low, along with the scarcity in sanitation supplies and shelter.

Humanitarian organisations have reportedly started deploying to the affected areas but poor weather conditions make it difficult to assist those who have been displaced.

MSF says it manages a hospital in Sudan's White Nile State, and when the emergency started, the medical organisation dispatched a team of 30 medical staff to Khor Waral to work in close collaboration with Sudanese authorities.

(ST)

May 11, 2017 (JUBA) - Leaders of the peaceful protests against the peace initiative headed by South Sudan First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai said they have been threatened with arrests by state authorities.

South Sudan first vice president Taban Deng Gai arrives in Bor May 9, 2017 (ST)

The Gai-led peace committee was established by President Salva Kiir last week to quell on-going clashes between Jieng Bor and the Murle tribes in the east of South Sudan's Jonglei State.

The clash was caused by the child abductions and cattle raiding that the Dinka have blamed their neighbours for over many years.

The meeting between the peace delegation, traditional chiefs and the state governor was interrupted on Tuesday and Wednesday by protestors chanting “we need our children back.''

The country's First Vice President, who is largely unpopular in Jonglei for being a top commander of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) rebels that overran Bor between December 2013 and January 2014, received cold reception on arrival.

“Who is Taban to people of Jonglei? Taban killed our old mothers in Jonglei church in 2013,” partly reads the protesters' letter.

The protesters also demanded they be compensated for the cattle that were stolen by the Murle tribesman, as well as justice for those killed during the numerous raids.

“Now the three of us, as ring leaders of the demonstration are being hunted. We are told some security agents wanted to arrest us for leading a peaceful, legal protest,” a protestor said.

The meeting between Gai and Bor leaders was attended by the information and broadcasting minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, but they failed to reach consensus after the chiefs insisted that the government provides a detailed timeline to address child abduction and cattle raiding.

“This is not the first peace initiative and we can't just ask our youths to return to Bor because Taban Deng Gai and his Minister came to promise peace. It is a nonstarter,” Alier Makuei, a local chief who attended the meeting held at South Sudan hotel said on Tuesday.

Many of the local chiefs, however, declined to attend the meeting held in Bor on Wednesday.

“I hear some members of the youth were protesting as we were discussing here, but we must end the conflict first so that people are given opportunities for development,” stressed Gai.

The South Sudanese First Vice-President further assured the citizens that the government would convince the rival Murle to cease hostilities against their neighbouring communities.

Authorities in Boma state, one of the country's newly created states, have denied claims that the abduction of children by Murle tribesmen was a policy, blaming the practice on criminals.

Heavy armed Bor youths entered Boma in early April for an offensive that led to the capturing of several villages in Murle-land and the displacement of many civilians. Boma officials said dozens of children and women were been killed during the clashes.

(ST)

May 11, 2017 (JUBA) - Deteriorating security in parts of South Sudan coupled with increased displacement could worsen the humanitarian suffering in the country through outbreaks of diseases, the United Nations special envoy for the young nation has warned.

The Special Representative of the U.N Secretary General in South Sudan David Shearer, February 1, 2017 (ST)

David Shearer said in the situation in South Sudan's Bor-Pibor area was particularly concerning with fears that violent clashes could occur between youths from the Dinka Bor and Murle communities.

“We are worried that might spark more widespread fighting between those two communities [and] hence the reason we are providing support to the peace efforts on the ground,” said Shearer.

“The important thing is that we de-escalate tensions and provide an opportunity to talk rather than to fight because fighting only will result in a greater cycle of revenge [that] will be of no benefit to [anyone],” he added.

The U.N mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) head expressed concerns on the violence in various parts of the country, including attacks on peacekeepers and relief personnel, which, he said, have severely affected operations of humanitarian workers in the war-torn nation.

“The attacks have a direct consequence on humanitarian activities and the assistance that can be provided to people who desperately need it,” he stressed.

Shearer, also the Special Representative of the Secretary-General praised the work of journalists and humanitarian actors on the ground who, despite considerable challenges, is reaching thousands across the country with much-needed assistance.

“I think we owe them a real debt of gratitude,” he emphasised.

South Sudan has witnessed renewed clashes between forces loyal to South Sudan President Salva Kiir and the armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) backing the country's former First Vice-President Riek Machar, in spite of the August 2015 peace agreement.

Up to 50, 000 civilians in South Sudan's Upper Nile region are at imminent risk of human rights violations as government troops close in, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein recently warned.

(ST)