Day: October 6, 2021

The U.N. Secretary-General told Ethiopia’s government Wednesday that it should show him any documents or evidence the country has to substantiate accusations related to the expulsion of seven senior humanitarian officials from the country.

In a rare and unusual public exchange, Antonio Guterres took the floor of the U.N. Security Council after the Ethiopian ambassador leveled accusations against the staffers, including that they inflated the numbers of people in need of aid by 1 million and reported deaths that never happened.

“I would like to ask you one thing, Mr. Ambassador,” Guterres said, directing his remarks to Ethiopian envoy Taye Atske Selassie, who was seated at the council table. “If there is any written document provided by the Ethiopian government to any U.N. institution about any of the (seven) members of the U.N. that were expelled, I’d like to receive a copy of that document, because I haven’t any knowledge of any of them, and it would be very useful to me.”

Guterres went on to say that he twice told Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that if he had concerns about the lack of impartiality of U.N. staff, he should raise them directly with him so he could investigate.

“Until now, I have no response to this request,” the secretary-general said.

He added that Addis Ababa’s move to expel the officials is a violation of international law. U.N. staff are protected by immunity conventions.

Guterres emphasized that he seeks cooperation with the government so humanitarians can do the necessary work to ease the suffering of millions of Ethiopians.

“We have no other interest but to help stop that suffering,” he said.

Reporters outside the council asked him about the exchange.

“It is my duty to defend the honor of the United Nations,” Guterres replied.

On Sept. 30, Ethiopia announced the seven had 72 hours to leave the country, accusing them of meddling in its internal affairs and diverting aid and telecommunications equipment to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The government has been fighting the TPLF in the north of the country for nearly a year.

On Monday, the United Nations confirmed the seven were no longer in the country.

New accusations

At Wednesday’s council meeting, Ethiopian envoy Selassie appeared to level new accusations.

He said there were a “multitude of transgressions,” including efforts by the staffers to create a “Darfur-like” situation — referring to the massive humanitarian crisis in Sudan in the early 2000s.

“They suddenly and overnight created 1 million victims,” he alleged.

“We have evidence that the entire endeavor was created by a higher and more sophisticated motivation that seeks to undermine the Ethiopian state and rescue the TPLF,” he said without elaboration.

The humanitarian situation in Tigray and the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar is deteriorating. Guterres said Wednesday that up to 7 million people in the three conflict-affected areas are in need of food assistance and other support. He warned that obstacles have “crippled” humanitarian operations.

Council members also expressed their concern about the expulsion of the U.N. staffers.

“There is no justification for the government of Ethiopia’s action,” U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. “None at all.”

She said the expulsions followed a “pattern of escalating obstruction” by the government that must be reversed.

“And if these calls for humanitarian access continue to go unheard, then the Security Council must act,” she said. “We can ensure the U.N. is allowed to deliver impartial aid. We should immediately consider all tools at our disposal to facilitate this, including a Security Council resolution, to save lives and promote international peace and security.”

The African members of the council — Kenya, Niger and Tunisia — along with China, urged “quiet diplomacy” to resolve the rift between Addis Ababa and the United Nations.

Russia’s representative was more explicit, saying that while the expulsions were regrettable, they should not be “dramatized.”

“We are certain that pressure involving the U.N. Security Council, threats and resolutions, and the imposition of unlawful unilateral sanctions and the creation of a toxic atmosphere in the media is counterproductive,” Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva said.

Source: Voice Of America

Pibor youth have given 72 hours ultimatum to 30 members of the humanitarian workers in the area, causing United Nations to decry the decision of the youth, saying it would have negative impact on the delivery of humanitarian services to vulnerable groups in the area.

Matthew Hollingworth, Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan said in a statement sent to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday that the latest threat against humanitarian organizations in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) would affect delivery of essential services. He called on the authorities and communities to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian personnel.

“I am deeply concerned with the latest threat by youth groups against humanitarians serving the South Sudanese community. We are here to deliver critical assistance to the most vulnerable people, including women, children and the elderly,” said Mr. Hollingworth.

On 04 October, a letter reportedly from a youth group in Pibor was issued, demanding at least 30 humanitarian personnel leave the area within 72 hours. The youth group accused humanitarian personnel from other parts of the country of occupying positions that they say belong to the local community.

“The consequences of these threats will impact the provision of critical services to people, such as urgent food assistance, health and nutrition services and protection support, among others. Without these frontline workers, all of whom are South Sudanese citizens, we cannot reach people with life-saving aid and people’s humanitarian needs will deepen,” continued Hollingworth.

This latest incident of youth interference will impact response operations to more than 100,000 of the most vulnerable people in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area. Since the start of the year, humanitarians have been threatened and attacked by youth in Renk in Upper Nile and Torit in Eastern Equatoria, to name but a few. These attacks led to the suspension of humanitarian activities and the relocation of workers.

“The worrying trend of threats and attacks by youth groups against humanitarians is unacceptable and must stop. I call on all parties, at all levels, to respect, protect and enable humanitarian action. This trend of targeting fellow citizens only works to delay and discourage the public and private development initiatives that we all wish to see working alongside relief efforts in the most vulnerable areas of the country.” Hollingworth concluded

Source: Sudan Tribune

There is no agreed approach between the civilian and military components on how to deal with the crisis of eastern Sudan, said on Monday Yasir Arman Political Adviser of the Prime Minister.

The Council of Minister Monday formed a committee headed by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok to discuss a joint solution for the protests staged by a Beja tribal leader that led to close the terminals on the Red Sea and block the roads linking the region with the rest of the country.

In an interview with Al-Jazeera TV, Arman called for dialogue between the government and the eastern Sudan groups to settle the ongoing crisis, stressing it should not be used to achieve political agendas.

He further said the two components of the transitional authority have no common strategy on the eastern Sudan crisis.

“The civilian and military components of the (transitional) government do not share a strategy on how to deal with eastern Sudan,” said the political adviser.

“They do not have a common vision and they did not adopt a joint position,” he stressed.

Besides the eastern Sudan crisis, military and civilian partners are at odds over several issues including the al-Bashir handover to the ICC, reform of the security sector and the handover of the military companies.

Arman pointed that the eastern Sudan agreement was negotiated by the military, adding that the civilian government was represented in the negotiating delegation but the military-led it.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejected to deploy the security forces to protect the vital economic institutions saying there is a political crisis, not a security problem, pointing to the need to discuss with the tribal protesters.

In its statement of Monday, the cabinet warned against the negative effects of the roads’ closure by the partisans of the Hadandwa leader Mohamed Turk in terms of food, fuel supplies and medicines.

On Sunday, the government spokesperson said that the closure of ports on the Red Sea by the tribal group amounts to a crime against millions of Sudanese.

The main demand of the Beja group is to cancel the eastern Sudan peace agreement and to negotiate with them a new deal. Recently, they added the resignation of the civilian government and power handover to the military component

Source: Sudan Tribune

Peace talks between the Sudanese government and the non-signatory armed groups will resume in South Sudan’s capital Juba in the coming days, said the chief mediator.

“Consultations between and within the parties are going well,” said Tut Gatluak Presidential Adviser on Security Affairs on Tuesday.

During an interview with the Sudan Tribune on Tuesday, Gatluak expressed optimism that the upcoming period will witness a breakthrough in the talks between the parties to the conflict in Sudan.

“The parties have been allowed to consult with their constituencies, to talk to the communities and to all the stakeholders and friends of Sudan before official negotiations could resume,” he said.

On 15 June, talks on the framework agreement between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N al-Hilu were adjourned for more consultations.

Divergences over the extent of the separation between the state and religion in Sudan prevented the two parties from signing a framework agreement more than three weeks after the start of direct meetings.

The South Sudan mediator said President Salva Kiir has held several rounds of discussions with Adam Aziz Alhilu and Abdel Wahid al-Nur to elicit their perspectives and to devise the way forward.

The day on which talks are scheduled to resume is yet to be announced.

During Gatluak’s visit to Khartoum, Sudanese officials reiterated their commitment to the peace process and pledged to send the government negotiating team to Juba soon.

Source: Sudan Tribune