Africa

November 22, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese President Salva Kiir left Juba for the first time in five months for an African-Arab summit in Equatorial Guinea.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir waits for the arrival of his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, in Juba on May 23, 2013. (Photo Reuters)

President Kiir was seen off by First Vice President Taban Deng Gai and several ministers. A short statement from Kiir's office said the he is being accompanied by several ministers and businessmen.

“He is joining other World leaders for the 4th Africa-Arab Summit. The meeting is attended by other head of states,” the statement reads partly.

President Kiir never left the capital Juba since the eruption of fighting between his forces and troops loyal to the former First Vice President and leader of the SPLM in Opposition Riek Machar.

Rumours of ill-health forced President Kiir to march on the streets of capital Juba and address the public for the first time in September.

The trip to Equatorial Guinea, according to the office of the president, will be used to solicit support for peace. Also, Kiir is expected to hold meetings with the Arab leaders from the Gulf countries to get some loans for his country.

He is quoted to have said “I'm for peace, stability and development and with the power of God things will change one day (sic).”

The Africa-Arab Summit is the annual event in which leaders from the African continent and in the Arabs world meet to interact and share ideas about how they would work together to promote their economic activities for the benefits of their people.

The summit scheduled to take place in Equatorial Guinea is the fourth of its kind since the idea was adopted. Regional leaders, including Sudanese president Omer Ahmed Hassan al-Bashir, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, Zambia's Edgar Lungu as well as leaders from Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are expected to attend the summit.

This year's Summit is being held under the theme “Together for a sustainable economic development”. The last summit was hosted by Kuwait in 2013.

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Tanzania's motorcycle taxis are often associated with deadly road accidents but one trainee doctor is adding a life-saving chapter to the bikers' story, writes Ross Velton.

For the past year and a half, the Burundian government has brutally crushed any form of dissent. Since the crisis  triggered by President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a controversial third term  began, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands arbitrarily imprisoned. Pierre Claver Mbonimpa is one of Burundi’s most prominent human rights activists and founder of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH). In 2015, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, believed to have been by Burundi’s intelligence services. Pierre Claver, who now lives in Belgium, is the 2016 recipient of the Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. Human Rights Watch’s Benedicte Jeannerod spoke to him about the fear that has gripped his country, his life in exile, and his continued fight for the rights of all Burundians.

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Pierre Claver Mbonimpa.

© 2016 Patricia Williams

How do you view the human rights situation in your country, Burundi? 

The human rights situation in Burundi is continuing to deteriorate in an alarming way. People are being killed every day, every month. There are hardly any civil society organizations or media left in the country. Activists and independent journalists are living in exile. Those who remain must work underground with the threat of repression.

Since Burundi recently broke off all relations with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and declared its experts persona non grata, there are no observers left. Acts of violence can take place without any outside witnesses. People are living in fear, there is no justice, and the crimes we have documented are not punished. Burundi’s recent withdrawal from the International Criminal Court took the country one step further down this spiral of violations and impunity.

What’s more, there is no longer any rule of law or any institution: the intelligence services, which are responsible for most of the crimes against the population and report directly to the president’s office, control the justice system and the police – which are supposed to provide security to the population. 

My country has become a country of fear and violence, without any voices, without any respect for the law.

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© 2014 Teddy Mazina

What is the nature of the violence  taking place?

It is political violence, primarily targeted at members of opposition parties, people who don’t believe in Nkurunziza’s third term and people who took part in demonstrations.

The modus operandi has gradually changed. At the start of the crisis, dead bodies were found on the streets almost every day. Today, the killings are taking place more secretly: people are abducted in one province, killed in another, and buried without a trace. Families don’t know what has happened to their loved ones. This makes it very difficult to document these acts of violence.

The other type of violence is targeted at the families of people in exile. That is what happened to me. The government said  even those who go into exile can’t escape us because their families are still here. In my case, this threat was realized. After the intelligence services tried to assassinate me in August 2015 and I was forced to go into exile in Belgium, my son-in-law, then my 24-year-old son were both killed. 

Finally, the prisons in Burundi have never been as full as they are today. There are an estimated 10,000 prisoners. Even in 1998, when we were in the middle of a civil war, we didn’t reach that level. According to the information we have, more than half of these prisoners are detained for political reasons. They are accused of fictitious offenses of endangering state security or participation in the rebellion.  

How can you keep working under these circumstances? 

I live in exile in Belgium. The Burundian government closed my organization, the Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detained Persons (APRODH). We are now working through a fragile network of focal points and volunteers who document violations as best they can, in a clandestine way. Our work has become extremely dangerous, not only for the people who work with us but also for those who give us information. The climate of fear is such that it has become very difficult to obtain information. That doesn’t stop us from having focal points, including in institutions like the police or in the prisons, among people who don’t agree with what the government is doing. We continue to publish reports, which we send to the international community as well as to the Burundian government. It’s essential to maintain attention and pressure on Burundi so that these crimes can’t be committed completely behind closed doors. 

After everything that you and your family have been through, how do you find the strength to continue fighting? 

What happened to me and to my family is what many Burundians are going through. In these particularly difficult moments, we must continue to fight and observe. Nkurunziza’s government is killing and terrorizing the population and could propel our country into civil war. This is not the moment to give up. If we abandon the human rights cause, then we will be abandoning the entire population to violence and to the absence of the rule of law. I will fight for peace and justice until my last breath. 

What does the Alison Des Forges prize, which you received from Human Rights Watch, mean to you? 

I have received other prizes for my work, but this is the one that means the most to me. Alison Des Forges was a friend. She used to visit me every time she came to Burundi and we would have long conversations on the human rights situation and on how to conduct investigations efficiently. Just one month before she died in a plane crash in the USA in 2009, we were together in Bujumbura. When I feel discouraged, I think of her and her strong commitment. 

We write in advance of your upcoming plenary review of the Democratic Republic of Congo government’s compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (the “Convention”). It is an update to our earlier submission, based on recent events. This submission relates to Articles 6, 24, 28, 29, 35, 37, 38, 39, and 40 of the Convention, and proposes issues and questions that Committee members may wish to raise with the government.

Related Content

• Updated Human Rights Watch submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning the Democratic Republic of Congo

Education (Articles 28, 29, and 38)

Human Rights Watch would like to congratulate the Democratic Republic of Congo on endorsing the Safe Schools Declaration on July 28, 2016. The Safe Schools Declaration suggests various common-sense actions that countries can take to reduce the negative consequences of armed conflict on education.[1] By committing to work towards safe schools for all children and educational staff, Congo has made a step forward in defending the right to education.

A key element of the Safe Schools Declaration, as well as of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2143 (2014) and 2225 (2015), is that governments take concrete measures to deter the military use of schools. In this respect, we note that in early 2013, Congo’s minister of defense at the time, Alexandre Luba Ntambo, issued a ministerial directive to the Congolese army stating: “I urge you to educate all members of the [Congolese army] that all those found guilty of one of the following shortcomings will face severe criminal and disciplinary sanctions: ... Recruitment and use of children…, Attacks against schools ..., requisition of schools ... for military purposes, destruction of school facilities.”[2]

This is a positive move by the defense ministry, and has the possibility of serving as an example of good practice to other countries. However, Human Rights Watch is unaware of any existing Congolese legislation or military doctrine that explicitly prohibits or regulates the practice of military use of schools, let alone that makes it a criminal offense, in order to implement the sanctions proposed by this directive.

Congolese troops who partake in UN peacekeeping operations are also obliged to not use schools in their operations.[3]

Human Rights Watch recommends the Committee ask the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:

• How many schools, universities, or education facilities have been damaged or destroyed as a result of attacks by a) state security forces and b) non-state armed groups in each year of the reporting period, and since?
• What action has the government taken to prevent attacks by non-state armed groups on schools and universities and to mitigate their impact when they do occur?
• How many schools, universities, or education facilities have been fully or partially occupied or used by a) government security forces and b) non-state armed groups in each year of the reporting period, and since?
• What action has the government taken to ensure that attacks on schools in contravention of international humanitarian law are investigated and those responsible duly prosecuted?
• What measures is the government putting in place to ensure children displaced by conflict are able to safely access a quality education?
• Is the obligation to not use schools during military operations included in pre-deployment trainings of Congolese forces contributing to United Nations peacekeeping missions?
• Does the 2013 ministerial directive require any implementing legislation or military doctrine in order to carry out the stated sanctions for military use of schools?

 

Human Rights Watch asks the Committee to call upon the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to:

• Take concrete measures to deter the military use of schools, following UN Security Council Resolutions 2143 (2014) and 2225 (2015), including by bringing the Guidelines for Protecting Schools and Universities from Military Use during Armed Conflict into domestic military policy and operational frameworks, as per the commitment made in the Safe Schools Declaration. 
• Investigate and appropriately prosecute individuals responsible for involvement in the range of violations of international law that constitute attacks on education, including as a matter of command responsibility.
• Respond to attacks on schools by promptly repairing damage and ensuring that students can safely return to class.
• Ensure the provision of education in crises and displacement, and adopt special measures to ensure children can continue their education in highly insecure areas, including by reducing the distance to school, offering distance learning programs, and setting up protective learning spaces for girls and teachers.

Abductions/Enforced Disappearances (Articles 6, 35)

On June 7, 2016, the government published its report on Operation Likofi, an anti-crime campaign in which Congolese police shot dead at least 51 young men and boys, and forcibly disappeared another 33, between November 2013 and February 2014. Human Rights Watch documented how uniformed police, often wearing masks, dragged kuluna, or suspected gang members, from their homes at night and executed them. Some were street children, while others were youth falsely accused by their neighbors in unrelated disputes. The government report did not recognize the full extent of the abuses, provide a total of those killed during the operation, or call for those most responsible to be brought to justice. Furthermore, the identities of 421 bodies buried in a mass grave in Maluku remain unknown.[4] The operation’s commander, Gen. Célestin Kanyama, is now National Police Provincial police commissioner for Kinshasa. In June 2016, the US authorities imposed sanctions on Kanyama “for being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, the targeting of women, children, or any civilians through the commission of acts of violence, abduction, or forced displacement in the DRC, and for being a leader of an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in such conduct.”[5]

Human Rights Watch recommends the Committee ask the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:

• What actions have been taken to investigate and prosecute those most responsible for the summary executions and enforced disappearances during Operation Likofi, and if no action has been taken, why not?
• What measures have been taken to protect street children and other vulnerable young children and young adults?

 

Human Rights Watch asks the Committee to call upon the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to:

• Ensure that those most responsible for the abuses committed during Operation Likofi are criminally investigated and appropriately prosecuted, including Gen. Célestin Kanyama.
• Ensure that all children in detention who are suspected kuluna and credibly charged with a criminal offense receive a trial before a competent, independent and impartial child court.
• Release those in custody who have not promptly and credibly been charged with a criminal offense and those under Congo’s age of criminal responsibility, which is 14. Children found responsible for a crime should only be incarcerated as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time, and be separated from adults.

• Support programs that provide education, shelter, skills training, sports, and cultural activities for street children and other vulnerable children and young adults in Kinshasa as part of a broader effort to decrease criminal activities by kuluna.
• Take appropriate legal action against politicians and their supporters who provide weapons or bribe youth in Kinshasa to disrupt their opponents’ activities.

• Assign the Ministry of Gender, Family, and Children as a focal point to promote the protection of street children and other vulnerable children and young adults and to monitor law enforcement practices related to street children.
• Investigate and appropriately prosecute cases of police violence against street children.
• Encourage the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture, and Arts to organize recreational activities and other pastimes for street children and other vulnerable children and young adults.

 

Detention of children (Articles 24, 37, 38 (4), 39, 40)

Security forces have arrested and detained hundreds of children suspected of association with armed groups.[6] In December 2015, Human Rights Watch documented the unlawful detention of at least 29 children, all boys ages 15 to 17, during a visit to Angenga prison in northwest Congo. Human Rights Watch interviewed 53 detainees, including 29 children, and several prison officials as well as more than 40 Congolese military and government officials, UN officials, humanitarian workers, and others, between December 2015 and March 2016.[7]

Congolese authorities alleged the children in detention were members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel armed group. Seventeen children told us they were civilians and had no affiliation with the FDLR, while others said they were former members but had demobilized months or years previously and reintegrated into civilian life. Only two children said they were active FDLR members when they were apprehended.[8]

Detention conditions at Angenga have been dire, with limited access to food, clear water, and medical care. Children were detained alongside adults during the day, and were detained in the same cells as the adults until they were transferred by prison officials to a separate block for sleeping at night in late February 2016. Some of the children had been held for more than a year. None of the children had been charged with crimes, or had access to lawyers or their families.[9]

Several weeks after Human Rights Watch’s research into the detention conditions at Angenga prison was published, the government and the UN in a joint mission removed many of the children.[10]

Human Rights Watch recommends the Committee ask the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo:

• How many children remain detained in the military prison in Angenga?
• What plans does the government have for the rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers into society?

 

Human Rights Watch asks the Committee to call upon the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to:

• Immediately release all children detained at Angenga who have not been charged with a crime.
• Strictly comply with international legal obligations to detain children only as a last resort and for the shortest possible period of time.
• When prosecuting children alleged to have committed illegal acts, treat children in accordance with international juvenile justice standards and law. In particular, ensure that children enjoy full due process guarantees, including access to counsel, the right to challenge their confinement, contact with their families, and separation from adult detainees. Ensure that any punishment for criminal offenses be appropriate to their age, and be aimed at their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
• In line with international law, recognize the special situation of children who have been recruited or used in armed conflict and rehabilitate and reintegrate former child soldiers into society.

 

 

[1] Safe Schools Declaration, http://www.protectingeducation.org/sites/default/files/documents/safe_sc... (accessed October 20, 2016).

[2] Minister of Defense Alexandre Luba Ntambo, Ministerial Directive on the Implementation of the Action Plan, Ministry of Defense, No. VPM/MDNAC/CAP/0909/2013, May 2, 2013.

[3] United Nations Infantry Battalion Manual, 2012, section 2.13, “Schools shall not be used by the military in their operations.”

[4] Ida Sawyer, “Dispatches: Still No Justice for Congo’s Likofi Victims,” June 7, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/07/dispatches-still-no-justice-congos-l....

[5] Ibid; U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Sanctions High-Ranking Government Security Official for Role in Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” June 23, 2016, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0496.aspx (accessed November 3, 2016).

[6] Human Rights Watch, Extreme Measures: Abuses against Children Detained as National Security Threats, July 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/04/dr-congo-children-held-remote-milita....

[7] “DR Congo: Children Held in Remote Military Prison: Former Child Soldiers Should Be Rehabilitated, Released,” Human Rights Watch news release, April 4, 2016, https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/04/04/dr-congo-children-held-remote-milita....

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Human Rights Watch, “Extreme Measures.”

Following a decision of the United Nations Human Rights Council, in which it setup a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights violations and abuses in Burundi, including whether they may constitute international crimes, the President of the body has appointed the Commission’s Chair and members.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic has called for an immediate end to violence after the clashes that broke out on Monday in Bria town between armed elements of the Front populaire pour la renaissance de la Centrafrique (FPRC) and the Union pour la paix en Centrafrique (UPC).

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has sounded the alarm over the fact that two journalists in Gambia have been held for more than two weeks without access to lawyers or their family members.

November 21, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - A joint South Darfur government and UNMAID delegation visited Graida area to inspect the security situation following recent clashes between farmers and pastoralists.

In a statement released Monday, the Darfur hybrid mission said that a joint delegation was led by UNMAID's Head of South Darfur Office, Berhanemeskel Nega and South Darfur Local Government Minister, Hassan Khamis, visited Graida, at 80km south of South Darfur capital, Nyala on 16 November .

The meetings discussed cooperation between the peacekeeping operation and local authorities to promote peaceful coexistence, organisation of capacity building programmes as well as delivery of humanitarian assistance and security, particularly during the harvest season

"In Graida, the delegation met with the Locality Commissioner, Mr. Hamid Abdalla Hamad, Community leaders and representatives of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the area," said the statement.

In separates meetings held with Massalit and Falata leaders, the tribal chiefs reiterated their commitment to resolving their disputes over grazing land, peacefully.

"The Tribal leaders further urged UNAMID to provide capacity building support to native administrations to enable these institutions to continue to perform their traditional role in conflict resolution," UNAMID said.

In his remarks, Nega highlighted the importance of cooperation between the hybrid peacekeeping mission and the local authorities to enhance social peace in the area, saying that ' UNAMID is here to support you and the government to achieve these goals”.

On his part, the Graida Locality Commissioner, Hamid Abdalla Hamad, said that local authorities have put in place measures to control the situation.

He added that efforts are underway to hold a reconciliation conference between Rezeigat and Massalit tribesmen in Goghana area, south Darfur, in the near future.

On 9 November, five people were killed and several others wounded in violent attacks between cattle herders and farmers in Goghana area in South Darfur prompting retaliatory attack.

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November 21, 2016 (WAU) – Authorities in South Sudan's newly established state of Wau have formed a committee to investigate circumstances under which Lol state political advisor was killed.

The state information minister, Bona Guadensio said the investigation team is headed by current security adviser, Dominic Emilio Bafuka.

“The security committee in the state formed a committee headed by state security adviser. The committee will start investigations as soon as possible because this is a criminal case to be handled in a special way, according to the law,” said Guadensio.

“There is one suspect under medication right now at the military hospital. The committee has authority because it has been formed by the acting governor who is the deputy governor,” he added.

Once investigations as completed, the committee will come out with its report and the matter would be transferred for legal procedures.

“My Message to the family of the deceased is just to assure them that as the government, we have formed a committee. These are the right procedures,” stressed the state information minister.

“We need them to be patient because am sure the committee headed by the security adviser will come out with the good result and then through the result, the case will be transferred to the justice ministry. Am sure through the court, things will be clear,” he added.

Unknown people gunned down the late Francis Pasquale Pama from his house at Awiel Jedid residential area in Wau last week.

Pama represented Yabulo boma in Western Bahr el Ghazal state legislative assembly prior to becoming a political advisor in Lol state. In 2015, he moved from Wau to Lol state in 2015 after the division of 10 states into 21 states by President Salva Kiir. This annexed Yabulo boma in Western Bahr el Ghazal state to Lol state.

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November 21, 2016 (WAU) – A delegation from the regional bloc (IGAD) led by Abdelazim Elmusalami arrived in Wau, one of South Sudan's new states Monday.

Wau state governor Andrea Mayar Acho (ST Photo)

The team leader said their mission was to introduce the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring Mechanism's (CTSAMM's) monitoring and verification team, explain their mission and tasks as indicated in the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCISS), signed in August 2015.

“Important issues for the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangement Monitoring Mechanism in the Agreement of the Resolution on the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan are chapter 2 Permanent Ceasefire Transitional Security Arrangement (PCTSA),” said Elmusalami.

“Now we have introduced our team in Wau to be allowable and permissible for practice to ensure sustainable peace and facilitate the operationalization of the transition security arrangement,” said added.

The official appealed to the state governor to give the monitoring team green light, especially in regard to allowing the freedom of movement.

Meanwhile Wau state governor, Andrea Mayar Acho assured the IGAD team that they would be allowed free within the state.

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The United Nations is extremely concerned by the continued worsening humanitarian situation in Ganfouda area in the Libyan city of Benghazi due to increased hostilities over the past week, a senior UN aid official in the North African country said today.

November 21, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese pound fell to a record low on Monday, said currency traders on Monday.

U.S. dollar notes (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha Photo)

A trader in Khartoum told Sudan Tribune that the purchase price of the U.S. dollar reached 18,00 Sudanese pounds (SDG) while the selling price settled at 18,2 in the black market.

Earlier in November, Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) introduced an incentive policy, increasing the exchange rate in commercial banks by 131%. As a result, the U.S. dollar exchange rate went up in banks to 15.8 SDG from the official rate of 6.5 SDG.

However this measure didn't curb the rise of the dollar against the pound in the black market.

Black market traders last week expected that the pound would continue to drop against the dollar. They pointed to the increasing demand while the supply remains very limited.

Sudanese authorities regularly carry out arrest campaign against currency dealers in the black market following the significant increase of the dollar price five years ago after the secession of South Sudan.

Governor of the CBoS had earlier said the currency dealers must be charged with high treason, pointing the rise of the dollar in the black market “unjustified” and a result of “speculation”.

Sudan's economy was hit hard since the southern part of the country declared independence in July 2011, taking with it about 75% of the country's oil output.

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November 21, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese women protests against drug price hikes have continued for a second straight day on Monday in several cities across the country as trial of protesters begins in the capital Khartoum.

On Sunday, dozens of women staged a demonstration in Khartoum against the government decision to raise fuel, electricity and drug prices before they were dispersed by police and security services.

Women demonstrations on Monday showed signs of widening as protesters took to the streets of several cities across the country including Wad Medani, Kassala, Port Sudan and Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman.

In Omdurman, a group of women staged a demonstration in Al-Arda street holding banners demanding the government to reverse its decision to lift drug subsidy.

Also dozens of women protested in the cities of Kassala and Port Sudan in eastern Sudan holding banners denouncing the significant increase in the prices of medicines.

Similar women protests also occurred in Wad Medani, 188 km south of Khartoum.

On 3 November, Sudanese government lifted fuel subsidies and increased electricity price in a bid to stop the surge in inflation and control the fall of Sudanese pound in the black market.

Also, earlier this month, Central Bank of Sudan announced it will no longer provide US dollar for drug importation at rate of 7,5 Sudanese pounds (SDG) forcing pharmaceutical companies to buy the dollar from the black market at 17,5 pounds. As a result, drug prices rose by 100 to 300 percent.

The government decision stirred up small-scale protests in several towns across Sudan. Also, some two hundred private pharmacies in Khartoum went on partial strike and closed their doors from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday in protest against the government's move.

PROTESTERS TRIAL BEGINS IN KHARTOUM

Meanwhile, trial of 11 women and 6 men who were arrested by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) during the protests on Sunday has begun at Khartoum criminal court.

The NISS filed criminal charges against the protesters under articles 69 (disturbance of public peace) and 77 (public nuisance) of the Criminal Code.

On Monday, the court heard the complainants and the judge delayed the trial session to Wednesday.

It is noteworthy that the NISS has also filed similar charges in a separate case against 10 other protesters before the same judge.

The hearing session of the second case has been delayed to Tuesday morning.

Following the government decision to raise fuel and electricity price, the NISS launched a large-scale arrest campaign and detained 20 leading figures from the Sudan Congress Party besides several members of the NUP, Sudanese Communist Party , Arab Ba'ath Party, National Alliance Forces, Reform Now Movement as well as civil society activists and journalists.

Also, the NISS detained twelve and summoned dozens of the Sudanese doctors participating in the strike that has been ongoing since last month.

However, none of the detained doctors and political activists was taken to court.

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November 21, 2016 (JUBA)- South Sudan President Salva Kiir on Monday appealed on the international community to support his administration to implement the peace agreement, pointing imposition of targeted sanctions and arms embargo “undesirable”.

South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, delivers a speech in the capital, Juba, on 10 June 2013 (Reuters)

“They were saying they cannot provide any assistance because the transitional government of national unity was not formed. But when we formed it after signing the peace, which they themselves designed and we accepted despite our reservations because we want to stop this senseless war and to end the sufferings of our people, they came up again with other conditions,” said Kiir Monday.

"They are now talking of arms embargo and targeted sanctions. So you really don't understand what they want," he further said, alluding to the recent U.S. proposal for arm embargo and to impose individual targeted sanctions.

He explained that only way to end the conflict and the suffering of the people was to help him and his controversially appointed First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai, to implement the peace agreement.

“There are people saying the peace has collapsed. How has it collapsed and it is being implemented? There is a First Vice President as it is in the agreement. There is a cabinet in which all the parties are represented according to the agreement. There is a transitional national legislative assembly. We have approved the establishment of cantonment sites and I have directed the Chief of General staff and his team to work together with the First Vice President and his team to ensure that his forces go to these sites. We have done all these because peace is what our people want and we stand with them," President Kiir said.

"To implement this peace, the international community should provide support. This is what is needed now, not sanctions,” he added.

The South Sudanese leader was talking during a meeting with some of his top presidential aides who converged to consult with him about a U.S. draft resolution for additional targeted sanctions the Security Council will discuss this week.

Last Friday The Associated Press reported that an annex to the U.S. resolution calling for an arms embargo and new sanctions proposes to impose travel bans and freeze the assets of rebel leader Riek Machar, SPLA Chief of General staff Gen. Paul Malong and Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth.

A presidential aide told Sudan Tribune on Monday the meeting was called by the president himself to solicit ideas of his advisors in the light of a report by a panel of experts urging the UN Security Council to notify East African governments to comply with recent asset freezes imposed on some South Sudanese individuals.

The experts recommended that the Council should urge institutions in the region, to encourage public and commercial banks in Kenya and Uganda to start implementing assets freeze.

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by Ambassador Donald Booth

Abdul Wahid al Nour, leader of one of Sudan's armed opposition groups, has not set foot in his country in over a decade. He spends most of his time directing his armed group in Darfur from a satellite phone in his Paris apartment. His refusal to negotiate has been a perennial problem for international efforts to end the conflict in Sudan, but it has become especially damaging as other parties to the conflict begin moving toward peace.

On October 31, three of the four most prominent armed groups in Sudan committed to a unilateral, six-month cessation of hostilities following a similar commitment from the Sudanese government. While such declarations are not new to Sudan, it is unusual for parties to make that commitment at the outset of the fighting seasons (the dry season in Darfur). In recent months, we have also seen, with the notable exception of the area of Darfur under Abdul Wahid's control, a reduction in violence and bellicose rhetoric from the negotiating parties.

Yet Abdul Wahid refuses to commit to even a temporary halt in fighting for humanitarian aid to reach the people of Jebel Marra, and he has refused overtures to negotiate with the Government of Sudan or participate in consultations to end the violence. He refused to take part in the Arusha Consultations of August 2007, the Sirte Conference of November 2007, the unification initiative in N'Djamena and Addis Ababa in July-August 2009, and the AU-UN/Qatar Initiative in Doha from 2009-2011.

Abdul Wahid has also boycotted all of the more recent initiatives to end Sudan's conflicts, including an African Union-led process and recent meetings in Kampala overseen by President Museveni. In August, the leaders of some of the largest armed and unarmed opposition groups signed the African Union-drafted roadmap for future political negotiations, which was previously signed by the government. But Abdul Wahid did not attend.

To be fair, Abdul Wahid has valid reasons to be skeptical of the political process and to distrust a government that has bombed and displaced his people for over a decade. Recent arrests of opposition political party officials in Khartoum are a disturbing setback for those trying to engage in peaceful political competition. But Abdul Wahid's exclusively military strategy has not advanced his cause and has enabled continued violence to devastate his homeland. Abdul Wahid's refusal to grant UN peacekeepers permission to address claims of government attacks against civilians in areas that he controls is incomprehensible.

Peace in Sudan must not be held hostage to Abdul Wahid's refusal to engage. What is needed is an inclusive and comprehensive peace process that involves all actors and addresses the political, security, and humanitarian issues at the root of Sudan's conflicts. The people of Sudan, and above all the people of Jebel Mara, need Abdul Wahid at the table.

In my own recent visits to Darfur, I spoke with several groups of displaced Darfuris who all said the same thing. They just want the fighting to stop.

It is time for Abdul Wahid to join other opposition groups by declaring a unilateral ?cessation of hostilities, committing to political negotiations, and engaging in genuine efforts to end years of unspeakable violence.

Donald Booth is the United States Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan

November 21, 2016 (JUBA) – A contingent of Japanese peacekeepers have arrived in the South Sudan's capital, Juba.

UN peacekeepers in South Sudan with one of their helicopters (UNMISS)

Japan's ambassador Masahiko Kiya received the 350 Self-Defense Forces that will replace the previous contingent of its peacekeepers who served in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, but lacked mandate to use force.

The new troops, officials said, will be tasked with engineering and construction work in the South Sudan capital.

These peacekeepers will have the ability to use force to protect civilians, United Nations staff and themselves.

Japan's constitution, drafted under U.S. direction after the war, forbids the use of force in settling international disputes, but the government has reinterpreted the constitution to allow Japanese troops to use force in some situations.

Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe was quoted saying the broader military powers give Japan ability to respond to growing threats that include China's growing military assertiveness and North Korea's nuclear ambitions.

Japan has dispatched troops to South Sudan since 2011, but their operation has been limited to construction projects in non-combative areas.

Currently, there are more than 12,000 UN peacekeepers in South Sudan, who have often been criticized for failing to protect civilians.

(ST)

November 21, 2016 (JUBA) –The leader of South Sudan's armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO), Riek Machar has been prevented from entering Ethiopia and was forced to return to South Africa, SPLM-IO officials told Sudan Tribune on Monday.

South Sudan's FVP, Riek Machar, departing from Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa to Pretoria, South Africa, 14 February 2016 (SPLM-IO courtesy photo)

A senior rebel officials said Machar was stopped by the Ethiopian authorities upon his arrival from South Africa at Bole International Airport in Ethiopia and forced later to board another flight back to Johannesburg.

The rebel official, who preferred anonymity, said the rebel leader was heading to the SPLM-IO headquarters in Pagak near the Ethiopian border.

Machar was detained at the airport in Addis Ababa for four and half hours and was later advised either to board back to South Africa or risk being deportation to Juba,''.

Last October, the deposed first vice president left Khartoum to South Africa to for medical treatment. He had arrived to Khartoum from the Democratic republic of Congo after clashes in Juba between his troops Juba

The Security Council members are considering a draft resolution to impose an arms embargo and additional targeted sanctions that could be brought to a vote as early as this week. The Associate Press disclosed that the U.S. proposed to impose travel bans on Machar and freeze his assets.

Washington blamed him for issuing a statement on 25 September 2016 declaring war on President Salva Kiir's government following a meeting held in the Sudanese capital.

Several sources from the armed opposition reached by the Sudan Tribune said their leader was safe, but declined to disclose his whereabouts.

Some officials claim Machar crossed into South Sudan, while others said the rebel leader returned safely back to South Africa.

Thomas Magok Chuol, SPLM-IO representative to Uganda confirmed to Sudan Tribune that Machar had indeed returned back to South Africa.

“Yes, it is true Dr. Riek Machar has been told upon his arrival in Ethiopia to return to South Africa. It is not yet known the reason behind the decision,” he said.

(ST)

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