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Tajikistan's Emomali Rahmon received the CIS Defense Ministers, AzVision.az reports citing the Tajikistan media.

October 11, 2017 (CAPE TOWN) – South Africa's deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa as decried the “wasteful” war and violence, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in South Sudan.

South Africa's Vice President Cyril Ramaphosa receives members of South Sudan's national dialogue committee in South Africa, July 2, 2017 (ST photo)

“The war has destroyed the country and the economy. For that reason our commitment to solving the crisis in SS [South Sudan] must also be irrevocable. War breeds hatred; it breaks down nations and makes people hate one another and it makes it difficult to engender reconciliation,” Ramaphosa told South Sudan's national dialogue steering committee members at a retreat held in South Africa on Tuesday.

“So it is important that the commitment to reconciliation be irrevocable,” he added.

Members of South Sudan's national dialogue steering committee, led by the committee's co-chair, Angelo Beda were in South Africa for a three-day retreat.

The South African government, its deputy president stated, has decided to consciously to deploy as many resources as possible for the people of South Sudan, including sharing their own experiences.

“Our bonds with SS [South Sudan] are deep and we remain hopeful that SS [South Sudan] will recover,” he said.

Ramaphosa, who intends to write a book, said it was important to know who the protagonists to the conflict are for it to be resolved.

“These are the entities that must sit down and negotiate this peace. These must not be lovey good-feeling interlocutors; rather they must be those who have been at each other's throats and who must sit down and negotiate their peace,” said the South African official.

But he said that the process must be underlined by trust and respect.

“Without trust there will be no way of resolving the problems and the challenges. Trust has to be built. Leaders must respect one another in their leadership positions and what they represent,” he stressed.

Ramaphosa, also the deputy chairman of the South Africa's ruling party (ANC), said he is optimistic the South Sudan crisis will be solved.

“I come from a process that looked unsolvable. When we started our process, I always knew we would be successful,” he stressed, but called for commitment from South Sudanese leaders involved in the country's peace process.

Officially launched in May, the national dialogue is both a forum and process through which the people South Sudan shall gather to redefine the basis of their unity as it relates to nationhood, redefine citizenship and belonging, as well as restructure the state for national inclusion.

Since December 2013, tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced in South Sudan's worst ever violence since its cessation from Sudan in July 2011.

(ST)

Russia will provide Armenia with a state export credit of $ 100 mln to purchase and finance supplies of modern weapons and military equipment.

Viele sehen in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit einen Schlüssel zur Reduzierung der irregulären Zuwanderung aus Subsahara-Afrika. Doch Kritiker wenden ein, mehr sozio-ökonomische Entwicklung führe erfahrungsgemäß nicht zu weniger, sondern zu mehr Migration. Tatsächlich haben historische und ländervergleichende Untersuchungen gezeigt, dass in der Regel Auswanderung erst einmal zunimmt, wenn Länder durch Wirtschaftswachstum und entsprechend steigende Einkommen den Status eines „Low Income Country“ hinter sich lassen. Erst wenn sie den Status eines „Upper Middle Income Country“ erreichen, ist mit einer Abnahme der internationalen Migration zu rechnen. Dieser als „migration hump“ bezeichnete Zusammenhang zwischen Entwicklung und Migration gilt auch für Subsahara-Afrika. Allerdings lässt er sich nicht nur durch steigende Einkommen und höhere Bildung erklären. Vielmehr wird er auch durch andere Faktoren begünstigt. Dazu zählen: demographischer Wandel, wirtschaftlicher Strukturwandel, Nachahmungseffekte bei Migrationsprozessen, steigende Ungleichheit, Kreditrestriktionen und sinkende Migrationsbarrieren.
Die Folgerung, dass eine positive sozio-ökonomische Entwicklung in den Ländern Subsahara-Afrikas vor allem zu einer Zunahme der irregulären Zuwanderung nach Europa führen würde, ist also eine unzulässige Vereinfachung. Gerade irreguläre Migration wird nicht durch wirtschaftliche Motive alleine befeuert. Vielmehr handelt es sich hier um sogenannte „gemischte Wanderungen“, bei denen sich Motive freiwilliger und Zwangsmigration vermischen. Faktoren wie Korruption, unzureichende Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Menschenrechtsverletzungen und fragile Staatlichkeit sind hier maßgebliche Treiber.
Entwicklungszusammenarbeit kann Migration nicht verhindern, zumal Afrikas Entwicklung nicht alleine von EZ abhängt. Vielmehr muss es bei der entwicklungspolitischen Zusammenarbeit mit Subsahara Afrika darum gehen, geordnete, sichere und legale Migration zu fördern, die wiederum ein positives Entwicklungspotenzial hat – und erzwungene, ungeordnete und irreguläre Migration zu unterbinden. Konkrete entwicklungspolitische Maßnahmen sollten daher beinhalten:

• Entwicklungspolitisch gestaltete Migrationsprozesse: Die Möglichkeiten der regulären Zuwanderung nach Deutschland und Europa müssen erweitert und flankiert werden (z.B. durch Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen).
• Unterstützung intraregionaler Migration: Die Bemühungen der afrikanischen Regionalorganisationen, intraregionale Migration – die einen Großteil der Migrationsbewegungen ausmacht – zu gestalten, sollten unterstützt werden.
• Verhinderung von Braindrain: Der Abwanderung von in den Herkunftsländern benötigten Fachkräften sollte durch gezielte Investitionen und neue Ansätze wie z. B. Ausbildungspartnerschaften entgegengewirkt werden.
• Förderung von guter Regierungsführung, Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit: Entwicklungspolitische Maß-nahmen in diesem Bereich können einen wichtigen Beitrag dazu leisten, dass Menschenrechtsverletzungen oder mangelnde Rechtsstaatlichkeit und somit Gründe für ungeordnete oder erzwungene Migration abnehmen.

Viele sehen in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit einen Schlüssel zur Reduzierung der irregulären Zuwanderung aus Subsahara-Afrika. Doch Kritiker wenden ein, mehr sozio-ökonomische Entwicklung führe erfahrungsgemäß nicht zu weniger, sondern zu mehr Migration. Tatsächlich haben historische und ländervergleichende Untersuchungen gezeigt, dass in der Regel Auswanderung erst einmal zunimmt, wenn Länder durch Wirtschaftswachstum und entsprechend steigende Einkommen den Status eines „Low Income Country“ hinter sich lassen. Erst wenn sie den Status eines „Upper Middle Income Country“ erreichen, ist mit einer Abnahme der internationalen Migration zu rechnen. Dieser als „migration hump“ bezeichnete Zusammenhang zwischen Entwicklung und Migration gilt auch für Subsahara-Afrika. Allerdings lässt er sich nicht nur durch steigende Einkommen und höhere Bildung erklären. Vielmehr wird er auch durch andere Faktoren begünstigt. Dazu zählen: demographischer Wandel, wirtschaftlicher Strukturwandel, Nachahmungseffekte bei Migrationsprozessen, steigende Ungleichheit, Kreditrestriktionen und sinkende Migrationsbarrieren.
Die Folgerung, dass eine positive sozio-ökonomische Entwicklung in den Ländern Subsahara-Afrikas vor allem zu einer Zunahme der irregulären Zuwanderung nach Europa führen würde, ist also eine unzulässige Vereinfachung. Gerade irreguläre Migration wird nicht durch wirtschaftliche Motive alleine befeuert. Vielmehr handelt es sich hier um sogenannte „gemischte Wanderungen“, bei denen sich Motive freiwilliger und Zwangsmigration vermischen. Faktoren wie Korruption, unzureichende Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Menschenrechtsverletzungen und fragile Staatlichkeit sind hier maßgebliche Treiber.
Entwicklungszusammenarbeit kann Migration nicht verhindern, zumal Afrikas Entwicklung nicht alleine von EZ abhängt. Vielmehr muss es bei der entwicklungspolitischen Zusammenarbeit mit Subsahara Afrika darum gehen, geordnete, sichere und legale Migration zu fördern, die wiederum ein positives Entwicklungspotenzial hat – und erzwungene, ungeordnete und irreguläre Migration zu unterbinden. Konkrete entwicklungspolitische Maßnahmen sollten daher beinhalten:

• Entwicklungspolitisch gestaltete Migrationsprozesse: Die Möglichkeiten der regulären Zuwanderung nach Deutschland und Europa müssen erweitert und flankiert werden (z.B. durch Qualifizierungsmaßnahmen).
• Unterstützung intraregionaler Migration: Die Bemühungen der afrikanischen Regionalorganisationen, intraregionale Migration – die einen Großteil der Migrationsbewegungen ausmacht – zu gestalten, sollten unterstützt werden.
• Verhinderung von Braindrain: Der Abwanderung von in den Herkunftsländern benötigten Fachkräften sollte durch gezielte Investitionen und neue Ansätze wie z. B. Ausbildungspartnerschaften entgegengewirkt werden.
• Förderung von guter Regierungsführung, Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit: Entwicklungspolitische Maß-nahmen in diesem Bereich können einen wichtigen Beitrag dazu leisten, dass Menschenrechtsverletzungen oder mangelnde Rechtsstaatlichkeit und somit Gründe für ungeordnete oder erzwungene Migration abnehmen.

Les médias canadiens et les Québécois suivent avec un grand intérêt la situation actuelle en Catalogne. Plusieurs députés de partis indépendantistes ont d'ailleurs assisté au référendum le 1er octobre pour témoigner de cette consultation et en tirer des leçons lors d'un éventuel référendum sur l'indépendance du Québec au sein du Canada. Depuis, plusieurs élus et éditorialistes s'inquiètent du bras de fer qui oppose Madrid et Barcelone.

Sophia, a humanoid robot, had brief interaction with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed.

Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Artur Rasizade has approved new rules related to mortgage lending.

I’ve talked before about how negotiation theory might throw some light on the Article 50 process, but it seems useful to return to the subject, given the continuing difficulties that the sides are encountering: might the literature offer some insights?

Today, it’s Zartman who springs to mind. He writes on the conflict management side of negotiation, which might appear to be a bit heavy-handed for this situation, but his analysis of the basic mechanics is one that I (and my students) offer find helpful in more mundane situations.

Zartman argues that negotiation is about the resolution of structural differences between negotiating parties and his big thing is about reducing differences: the more you can close the gap between parties, the more likely you are to find space for a mutually-acceptable agreement.

He suggests there are four ways that differences get reduced; two softer options, and two harder ones, with each pair being the opposite of each other.

The soft pair is about making options look more or less attractive. You might suggest that taking a particular option will produce benefits, or that taking another will come with costs.

The hard pair finds parties arguing that they either have to take an option, or it is impossible to take it, because their hands are tied in some way.

The soft pair is ubiquitous in politics and in Brexit: everyone’s telling us how option X will lead to sunlight uplands or the end of civilisation as we know it, so I don’t care to revisit all of these.

But what we’re seeing in recent weeks is more of the hard option, on both sides.

For the EU, there has always been some element of this, from the insistence that Article 50 is the only legal framework for departure negotiations, to the Commission explaining that its mandate doesn’t let it talk about transition before sufficient progress has been made on Phase I issues.

For the UK, the original hard position – Brexit has to mean leaving the EU – has faded over time, but now it creeps back into discussion.

This was most vividly seen in this week’s mixed messages on a no-deal scenario. First, Philip Hammond told the Select Committee that there was no money yet for such a situation, before his boss popped up in PMQs to say that there was money already committed.

What seems to have passed most media comment on the spat of the day by is that both of them were essentially working towards a position of making no-deal ever less of an option, through incapacity.

Money is obviously important here, but more important is how that money is used. In a no-deal scenario, there will be an immediate requirement for substantial increases in border controls for customs, much regulatory uncertainty and a wealth of other impacts (see this for an overview).

None of those gaps can be closed immediately: to take the most obvious example, if customs controls are needed, then land has to be secured, built upon, and staffed by people you’ve trained.

As of the moment, none of the necessary procurement activity for this to happen has begun, and even on the most ambitious timetable that would take 18 months to do, which is about now.

Thus while May might seem to be taking a more conciliatory line with her party’s hardliners, she actually looks to be providing cover to a push on working towards a deal, since if the UK is simply incapable of policing a non-deal, then that might encourage domestic opinion to accept the need for a deal.

But this incident also raises another perspective that ties back to Zartman’s model, namely May’s seeming unwillingness to reduce alternatives at all.

May remains a very elusive figure, refusing to tie herself down to any one option; or, more accurately, tying herself to many, simultaneously-inconsistent options.

As has been widely discussed, her apparent lack of a desired end-state makes it almost impossible to reach any kind of agreement in Article 50: you can’t negotiate with someone who doesn’t know what they want.

Perhaps the best way to understand this is to see May’s position as one where she’s running two sets of negotiation at the same time: one with the EU and one with her party.

While Article 50 points to a need for a strategic objective from the UK, party management points to a need to keep options open (or at least fudged) so that she isn’t removed from office or defeated in the Commons.

Seen in this light, May’s actions make more sense, as she tries to engineer faits accomplis in Article 50 while arguing for much more back home.

Whether this is a viable long-term strategy is doubtful, especially as we move towards the European Council’s decision next week on ‘sufficient progress’, where rhetoric is going to become a big factor once more. Adding that to an already-deeply-suspicious Tory party and it’s not too hard to imagine someone pushing the leadership challenge button more firmly.

And at that point you can expect a whole lot more examples of why contender X is good/bad or must/mustn’t lead the country at this critical juncture.

The post More negotiation theory in Article 50 appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

October 11, 2017 (EL-FASHER) - North Darfur Governor Abdel Wahid Youssef Nahar has welcomed the arrival of 10,000 militiamen in his state saying the will contribute to establishing security in the troubled state.

North Darfur state recently witnessed a recrudescence of violence and kidnapping of foreign aid workers. Also, the state prepares to launch the second phase of the weapon collection operation which will be mandatory soon.

Speaking to the 10,000 elements of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that arrived from Kordofan region, Governor Nahar said the force would work to support the weapon collection campaign, protect the border and to deal with the outlaws.

He further stressed his government's keenness to provide security as a top priority.

"The country will see a new dawn in the days ahead, and we want you to be a real addition to the security and stability process in the state," he said.

The governor added that another force is deployed in Kabkabiya district, to establish security and stability, and hailed the RSF contributions during the past period.

For his part, Maj. General Yahya Ali Mohamed, the RSF Commander in El-Fasher, said that the force will be part of the 6th Infantry Division of the Sudanese army in the North Darfur and will work side by side with it to achieve security and stability.

He emphasized that the RSF is a national force defending the homeland and protecting citizens.

Last Sunday 8 October, Unknown gunmen kidnapped at gunpoint a Swiss humanitarian worker, Margaret Schenkel, from her home in downtown El-Fasher, and fled to an unknown destination”.

(ST)

A visa suspension between Turkey and Washington is "overblown" and will likely be soon resolved, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said Wednesday.

Baku will host Azerbaijan-US business forum on Oct.16, said the message on the website of Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO).

Military units of the armed forces of Armenia violated ceasefire 118 times throughout the day, using sniper rifles.

Economic growth must exceed the pace of social programs, otherwise laws will be adopted but not implemented in social sphere.

Azerbaijan’s oil supply for 2017 will decline by 0.06 million barrels per day (b/d) year-on-year, OPEC said in its October Monthly Oil Market Report.

A briefing on the settlement of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh will be held in Helsinki.

October 11, 2017 (JUBA) - The Centre for Peace and Justice (CPJ) has urged on South Sudan's warring parties not to focus on power sharing and division of wealth during the forthcoming peace revitalization forum being organized by the regional bloc (IGAD).

President Salva Kiir (L) and rebel leader Riek Machar (R) attend the signing a ceasefire agreement during an IGAD summit on the South Sudan crisis in Addis Ababa on 1 February 2015 (Photo: Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Consultations, IGAD said, will take place from 13-17 October.

However, the CPJ coordinator, Tito Anthony said focusing on power sharing will drive the discussion from solving the country's conflict to fulfilling interests of parties who may be interested in ministerial posts.

“If the discussion of upcoming revitalization forum will focus on power sharing, the agreement will not be reached soon to end the suffering on civil population as hundreds are dying on a daily basis by diseases, hunger and others being targeted killed by the two [warring] parties,” Tito said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The official appealed to parties to be consulted by IGAD to reflect on the suffering of the civilian population in who live in the internally displaced camps and those sheltered at the United Nations bases.

“The citizens, who voted for independence of South Sudan, are now suffering as if the independent has been a curse,” stressed Tito.

He further added, “[South Sudanese] leaders should think about people not their interest, let them end the conflict and citizens will now chose because they now knew the true color of all politician. They will choose leaders out of experiences they had in the conflict”.

The CPJ official said it time for leaders to sacrifice themselves for the people of South Sudan during the upcoming revitalization forum to pave way for peace in a nation where tens of thousands have died.

“I urge the IGAD to stand firm in the process and guide the parties in the discussion because IGAD is entity that setting the agenda, approach the discussion from the soft to harder,” he further stated.

In June, a summit of IGAD heads of state and government decided to convene a meeting of the signatories of the South Sudan peace agreement to discuss ways to revitalize the peace implementation.

During the June summit, it was agreed that all groups be included in the discussion aimed at restoring a permanent ceasefire.

IGAD is an eight-member economic bloc that brings together Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda.

Over a million people have fled South Sudan since conflict erupted in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir sacked Machar from the vice-presidency. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in South Sudan's worst ever violence since it seceded from Sudan in 2011.

(ST)

Le Secrétaire général de l'ONU, António Guterres, s'est félicité de la tenue pacifique des scrutins présidentiel et de la Chambre des représentants au Libéria le 10 octobre.

De retour d'une brève mission en Libye, le Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, a souligné jeudi l'urgence de traiter les graves violations en cours dans le pays et plus particulièrement la détention arbitraire et la torture.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed Tuesday&#39s peaceful holding of the presidential and House of Representatives elections in Liberia and reiterated the continued support of the UN to the consolidation of peace and democracy in the West African country.