Africa

June 15, 2015 (JOHANNESBURG/JUBA)– The United Nations will actively contribute to efforts aimed at finding peaceful solutions to the conflict in South Sudan, Jan Eliasson, the deputy secretary general of the world body told the African Union summit on Sunday.

People gather at a makeshift camp for displaced people at a UN compound in South Sudan's capital, Juba, on 22 December 2013 amid fears for further violence (Photo: AFP/Tony Karumba)

"This war, this nightmare, must come to an end," said Eliasson.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced by the conflict, which broke out in the world's youngest nation in mid-December 2013.

The deputy secretary general requested the continental body to take a position necessary for resolving the conflict, which undermines regional and international efforts.

Elisson also stressed the need for peace and national reconciliation ahead of the proposed power-sharing between the South Sudanese government and opposition groups.

African heads of state must find effective interventions to eradicate the scourge of war on the continent, Zimbabwean President and African Union Chairman Robert Mugabe said.

“Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the prevailing political instability and insecurity in some parts of our continent clearly demonstrates the urgent need to fully operationalise the African Standby Force (ASF),” Mugabe told a gathering of African heads of state at the 25th African Union summit in Johannesburg on Sunday.

“We need to live up to our commitment to operationalise the African Standby Force by December 2015. This will be an important step towards the goal of silencing the guns by 2020, which is our pledge," he added.

Mugabe said peace and security were prerequisites for the achievement of the continental body's developmental targets, including Agenda 2063.

“I am encouraged by the fact that we are making steady progress in this regard. We have to redouble our efforts in dealing with the issue of the unnecessary loss of lives of our young people in the Mediterranean Sea in their desperate need to reach Europe and other places,” said the African Union chairperson.

“This matter requires our collective and urgent retention. Concrete steps have to be taken to deal with this unfolding tragedy, particularly in terms of addressing its root causes such as poverty, war and insecurity, lack of opportunities, perceptions of good and life abroad as well as stamping out human traffickers and smugglers," he stressed.

NO XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS

The AU chairman said African countries must work together to eradicate xenophobic attacks similar to the spate of violence experienced in South Africa in recent months.

“While condemning the recent spate of barbaric violence targeted at foreign nationals…let us be cognisant of the fact that this is a problem that falls upon all of us and we should work together to find a solution. United we will not fail.”

“President [Jacob] Zuma has given us details of the programmes they have embarked upon. The government of South Africa will leave no stone unturned in trying to stem the violence.”

The high-level AU summit is being hosted by South Africa under the theme “2015: Year of Women's Empowerment and Development Towards Africa's Agenda 2063”.

Meanwhile, the African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the summit that the recent Ebola outbreak had exposed the weakness of the continent's health systems. She said the people dying on the Mediterranean sea and the victims of xenophobic violence in South Africa were driven by factors beyond their control.

“The lessons from the Ebola virus disease are that with African solidarity and resolve, we can find solutions to our challenges. The disease exposed the weakness of our health systems, especially public health. We must look at training more health workers and build our health systems and infrastructure,” she said.

“Excellencies, again we have been faced with the tragedy of many people dying in the Mediterranean sea and also the incidents of xenophobia. These are the people who leave their countries not out of choice, but out of desperation – to try and make a living elsewhere.”

The AU summit was attended by most African heads of state including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

(ST).

June 15, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir has been received by senior government officials and hundreds of supporters upon his return from South Africa on Monday evening where he participated in the 25th African Union summit.

Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir salutes his supporters as he disembarks from the plane, after attending an African Union conference in Johannesburg South Africa, at the airport in the capital Khartoum, Sudan June 15, 2015 (REUTERS)

Bashir left South Africa few hours before judges at the High Court handed down a decision ordering his arrest.

He arrived in Pertoria Saturday, defying two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him for war crimes and genocide in Darfur region in March 2009 and July 2010.

Technical problems prevented the Sudanese president from addressing the large crowd who held a casket in which they wrote “taking the International Criminal Court to its final resting place”.

Sudan's foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, said in a press conference at the airport upon Bashir's arrival that Sudan's participation the summit could have taken place normally and without noise were it not for those whom he called “enemies of Africa and Sudan” who sought to turn it into a “drama” to prevent the president from attending the summit.

He said their insistence on Bashir's participation in the summit was due to benefits expected from it, noting they were aware of the uproar which accompanied the president's trip to South Africa.

“We knew it was nothing but media hype, an attempt to block the sunlight”, he said
“Bashir followed this [media hype] with astonishment while he followed the other things [court proceedings] with coolness”, Ghandour added

Ghandour pointed that Bashir's participation in the summit confirmed the fact that he is the “star of Africa's leaders”, saying the way he was received by the African presidents and ministers proves that Africa pays special recognition to him and to Sudan.

He emphasized that Bashir would continue to participate in African Union's summits.

The Sudanese top diplomat said that Sudan would take a firm stand against any country which issues a statement supporting the arrest of Bashir, noting that Sudan is a sovereign nation and Bashir is an elected president.

Ghandour stressed the summit decided to send a delegation comprised of six people to the UN Security Council (UNSC) in order to implement the African Union resolution to cancel the referral of the Sudan and Kenya cases to the ICC.

“The ICC's [powers] has been eliminated following refusal of all African countries to implement its rulings”, he stressed

He described the take off of Bashir's plane from Waterkloof military base in Peritoria as “normal”, saying all planes carrying the African leaders have been transferred to private airports after they landed in Johannesburg airport.

Ghandour praised the stance of the South African government and its president Jackob Zuma who refused to carry out the ICC arrest warrant against Bashir and said he is a dear guest and they are proud of his participation.

He said that South Africa's foreign minister told them they made sure of their legal position 12 days before the commence of the summit, saying they published in their official gazette that all African leaders participating in the summit are under the protection of the state of South Africa.

Meanwhile, the governor of Khartoum, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, said the African leaders have proven that the ICC doesn't mean anything to them, describing as a “fatal blow” to the court which he said was set up to “humiliate the Africans”.

“The Africans have proven that they don't accept any humiliation inflicted on any African president”, he said.

He said that Bashir's participation in the summit was meant to show that the ICC doesn't mean anything to Africa.

It should be recalled that Hussein is also wanted by the ICC on 13 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Sudan's western region Darfur.

The former vice president, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, said what happened to the president in South Africa shows the authenticity of the Sudanese leadership and the status of Sudan in African.

He added the incident has strengthened cohesion and feelings besides the humanitarian, intellectual and political links among Africans, saying the stance of Sudan and its president represents a symbol for defying attempts to curb Africa's movement towards the future.

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The South African government issued a statement on Monday vowing to probe the manner by which Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir left the country despite a local court ruling ordering him to remain in the country until a decision is made on a case pertaining to him.

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“Government notes the judgment of the North Gauteng High Court on the matter regarding Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir,” reads a brief statement attributed to South Africa's acting cabinet Spokesperson Phumla Williams.

“As indicated in court, government will enquire the circumstances under which President Al Bashir left the country. We will also comply with the court order relating to submission of an affidavit outlining these circumstances”.

As far as the judgment ruling related to Bashir's immunity, Williams said that they will await “written reasons of the judgment” which is expected to come out in a week.

This is the first official comment by Johannesburg since the Bashir row erupted over the weekend.

Earlier today, the High Court judges handed down a decision ordering Bashir's arrest despite government assertions on his immunity.

"The respondents are forthwith compelled to take all reasonable steps to arrest President Bashir ... and detain him pending a formal request for his surrender from the International Criminal Court," presiding Judge Dunstan Mlambo was quoted as saying by local South African media.

But when the decision was being read, Bashir had already left the country. This was communicated to Judge Mlambo by the government attorney right after he read the ruling adopted unanimously by the court.

The government attorney had been telling the court in the first part of the proceedings that he believes that Bashir is still in the country.

Judge Mlambo expressed concern that Bashir was allowed to leave despite the court order and ordered the government to file an affidavit explaining how that happened in what appears a step before determining who will be held in contempt of court.

"It is of concern to us, as a court that an order issued was ignored" he said.

Despite the government suggestion that Bashir 'sneaked out' of the country without their knowledge, it is understood that his outbound flight was facilitated by South African officials who saw him off at the airport and cleared his plane for takeoff at Waterkloof military airport.

Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), which brought the case against Bashir, expressed satisfaction with the court ruling today despite Bashir being allowed to leave.

“I think we are delighted with the court decision,” Caroline James from SALC told Sudan Tribune by phone from Johannesburg.

James said that while they have yet to see the reasoning behind the court's decision, they believe the judges affirmed that the government had no right to grant immunity to Bashir and overrule constitutional and international obligations.

“This is really really good,” she said before adding that the decision will likely result in a political fallback specially when the government files the affidavit explaining how Bashir managed to leave.

Asked about the next steps, James said that once the affidavit is served, SALC will have its lawyers review it before deciding on whether to pursue contempt charges against government officials.

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan's former vice president, Riek Machar, turned leader of the armed opposition faction of the ruling Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), has met the president of the United Republic of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, over the ongoing reunification process of three factions of the ruling party in the young country.

SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar meets Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, June 15, 2015, Johannesburg, South Africa (ST photo)

The two leaders met on Monday on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) summit of heads of state and government in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Rebel leader's spokesman said the meeting centered on how best the Arusha intraparty dialogue on reunification could be complementing the Addis Ababa comprehensive peace process to end the civil war in South Sudan.

“The two leaders discussed how best to approach the Arusha SPLM intraparty dialogue as a complementary to the IGAD comprehensive peace process,” Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune when contacted on Monday.

He said the SPLM-IO leadership was committed to the intraparty dialogue which was addressing the root causes of the current crisis in the country in the context of the ruling party.

“You know the current national crisis started as a political crisis within the SPLM party before it developed national. If the rival party leaders can address those causes and accept SPLM transformation, reforms and leadership succession, I think they can also accept similar reforms on governance at the IGAD process,” he said.

Dak stressed that the Arusha reunification process would address democracy within the disintegrated ruling party including structural, organizational and leadership issues which caused the crisis.

He however said the process was not a substitute to the IGAD peace process and should not be misinterpreted to mean “mere reinstatement” of SPLM leaders previously dismissed “unconstitutionally” by president Salva Kiir following the crisis.

The rebel leader's spokesman commended the Arusha roadmap agreement signed in January this year, describing it as a positive guiding document in resolving outstanding issues within the party.

“Our leadership believes that addressing the root causes of the conflict through the intraparty dialogue would positively reflect on the IGAD peace process,” he said.

But, he added, an intraparty agreement would not be an end in itself, ruling out what he said were misinterpretations by people who thought the rebel leadership would return to Juba if an agreement was struck by the SPLM factions.

Full implementation of a reunification agreement, he further stressed, was dependent on a final peace agreement in Addis Ababa that will resolve on all outstanding issues such as on governance and security arrangements and reforms outside the party's jurisdiction.

President Kikwete's ruling party of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has since last year been mediating between the SPLM in government (SPLM-IG) led by president Salva Kiir, SPLM-IO led by former vice president, Riek Machar and former detainees (FDs) led by former party's secretary general, Pagan Amum in trying to reunify their ranks and file.

Observers say the process is expected to be complementing to the IGAD peace process to end the 18-month long civil war in the country.

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (WASHINGTON/KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir left South Africa few hours before judges at the High Court handed down a decision ordering his arrest and rapping the government for what it described as a violation of the constitution.

"The respondents are forthwith compelled to take all reasonable steps to arrest President Bashir ... and detain him pending a formal request for his surrender from the International Criminal Court," presiding Judge Dunstan Mlambo was quoted as saying by local South African media.

Bashir has left around noon local time as the High Court was listening to arguments from the government attorney and the one representing Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC).

The government attorney asserted to court in the first part of the proceedings that he believes that Bashir is still in the country.

He went on to say that the list of passengers on the Sudanese presidential plane submitted to the control tower at the Waterkloof airbase did not include the name of Bashir.

The arguments were then focused on the issue of immunity for the Sudanese leader who was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2009 & 2010 over alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity during the Darfur conflict.

But the government underscored that despite South Africa being a state party to the ICC founding statute and having incorporated it into its constitution, Bashir is covered by the Diplomatic Immunity and Privileges Act .

He also said that Bashir as one of the delegations attending the African Union (AU) summit hosted by South Africa has been granted blanket immunity per this act and for the purposes of this regional summit. .

The judge then asked the government attorney whether Bashir would be liable for arrest should he be South Africa for a vacation.

"Yes" was the direct response by the government attorney.

Before the adjournment of the first session the government attorney affirmed his position that Bashir has not left the country.

After the court session resumed, the government attorney said that he received notification from the South African presidency and Department of International Relations and Cooperation that the Sudanese president flew out.

He explained that the government will initiate an inquiry into how Bashir was able to leave the country despite a previous order barring his departure from the country pending a decision into the case.

Mlambo expressed concern that Bashir was allowed to leave despite the court order and ordered the government to file an affidavit explaining how that happened in what appears a step before determining who will be held in contempt of court.

"It is of concern to us, as a court that an order issued was ignored" he said.

BASHIR TO RECEIVE HERO WELCOME IN KHARTOUM

Bashir is expected to arrive at 6:30 PM in the evening and will be met by a crowd of supporters mobilized by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

The Sudanese Minister of State at the Ministry of Information Yasser Youssef confirmed on Monday that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir left Johannesburg.

Sudan News Agency (SUNA) said that the Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour will hold a press conference on Monday at Khartoum airport immediately upon the return of President Bashir and his delegation.

Meanwhile, youth organizations and NCP-affiliated entities called for people to come to Khartoum airport on Monday afternoon to receive the president.

CRITICISM OF SOUTH AFRICA

Bashir's arrival and departure from South Africa unhindered has angered NGO's and human rights groups.

“This is a sad day for South Africa and a blow to the rule of law,” said Anton du Plessis, managing director of the Institute for Security Studies, an African think-tank.

“Until now, the country has been a champion of international justice and has done more than most in Africa to make sure victims get justice" he told the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Earlier on Monday, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said South Africa must arrest Bashir to fulfill its obligations to the international court.

"The International Criminal Court's warrant for the arrest of President al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes is a matter I take extremely seriously," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Geneva.

"The authority of the ICC must be respected and its decision implemented," Ban added.

Elise Keppler, acting director of international justice at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that "by allowing this shameful flight, the South African government has disregarded not only its international obligations, but its own courts".

“When Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir took off from South Africa today, he took with him the hopes of thousands of victims of grave crimes in Darfur who wish at last to see justice done,” she said.

“An opportunity was missed, but a clear message has been sent to Bashir that he is not safe from arrest.”

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (WAU) – A panel of experts from United Nations are in South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state to probe crimes committed during the conflict.

A woman carries water through a UN camp for internally displaced people in South Sudan's Upper Nile state (Photo: IOM)

The UN team of experts are headed by Vladimir Zhagora from Belarus.

Zhagora told reporters that his delegation has been touring the country to get information on the conflict, which started in 2013.

“We are trying to establish an open professional relationship with everybody in south Sudan whom we meet in states,” he said.

“We had been meeting government officials throughout the states and in Juba on issues of diplomacy,” added Zhagora.

The UN secretary general appointed the five-member panel in April in response to a request from the Security Council's resolution 2206 (2015), adopted on 3 March, 2015.

“The panel is inquiring information on who is obstructing the ongoing peace process on South Sudan in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa,” said Zhagora.

“We are also inquiring information on who launches attacks on the civilian's population in South Sudan's areas of conflict during this conflict,” he added.

The UN team will also seek information on those said to be blocking movement of humanitarian workers in areas most-affected by the war.

“The security council did not impose any sanction by this resolution,” said Zhagora, adding that council would decide what kind of sanction could be applied to some individuals in South Sudan.

The UNSC is considering a way to impose sanctions against both sides of the South Sudan conflict, which has continued despite several commitments by it warring parties to honour ceasefire deals.

The conflict broke out following disagreements within the ruling party (SPLM), killing tens of thousands of people and displacing nearly two million others since December 2013.

South Sudan strongly opposes calls for sanctions, saying such a decision would generate adversarial relationship and further aggravate the country's ongoing conflict.

(ST)

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The United Nations refugee agency reported today that some 14,000 South Sudanese – mainly women and children – have fled into Sudan over the weekend, describing the situation as “an emergency within an emergency.”

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