Day: May 19, 2022

Following is the text of UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed’s video message to the fifth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour in Durban, South Africa, today:

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

My sincere thanks to the Government of South Africa for hosting this landmark event. As a daughter of the African continent, it gives me special pride to address the fifth Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour — the first to take place in Africa.

This Conference is a source of tremendous hope for the 160 million children around the world who are trapped in child labour. Children who work in mines and in fields. On construction sites or hidden behind the walls of private homes in domestic servitude. And those denied the right to fully develop, physically and mentally.

Too often they are denied their right to education. If they attend school at all, their performance suffers due to their extra workload, and they are likely to drop out early. Their right to health is also put at risk and accidents and diseases can mark them for a lifetime. Child labour is — quite simply — wrong. And the only solution to this crisis is a rights-based approach. One that recognizes and upholds the rights that every child has to health, education and protection. A right to a future.

The ILO [International Labour Organization], as a values-driven organization and leader of the worldwide movement against child labour, has a critical role in this work. The universal ratification of Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour marked a historic first for the United Nations. Children everywhere now have essential legal protection, regardless of the level of economic development in their countries and communities.

So the tool exists. Our challenge now is to fully implement it. This means seizing the opportunity to renew our commitment made in Oslo 25 years ago. It means actively convening and listening to our civil society partners on the ground, who remain steadfast champions in the fight against child labour in every corner of the world, as the efforts of Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi in India powerfully demonstrate. And it means gathering more investment and support for all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that affect our progress on child labour — from poverty and hunger to social protection, decent work and gender equality.

Education is a clear example of this. A lack of educational access and opportunities fuels child labour. And around the world, education is in turmoil. COVID-19, climate change, and political and economic crises are compounding a pre-existing learning crisis that has left the education-related Sustainable Development Goals badly off-track.

We simply cannot allow children — today and tomorrow — to experience catastrophic losses in learning and well-being. That’s why the Secretary-General decided to convene the Transforming Education Summit this September as part of Our Common Agenda. The Summit will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to come together to chart a new path for education — including closing the digital divide, so every child, everywhere, can have a chance at accessing a quality education. And the Summit also represents a new path to eliminate child labour. It will urge dramatically expanded financing flows for education and all efforts under Sustainable Development Goal target 8.7, the elimination of all forms of child labour by 2025.

Ladies and gentlemen, our commitment to ending child labour remains strong. It must never waver. One hundred sixty million children are counting on us. We must not let them down. With your steadfast support, we can ensure that future generations of children can enjoy what every child deserves. The simple blessing of a normal, healthy and safe childhood. Let’s make child labour a thing of the past.

Thank you.

Source: United Nations

The National Umma Party (NUP) said opposed to a political partnership between the civilian and armed forces in Sudan, reads a statement released after a meeting with the tripartite mechanism facilitating an intra-Sudanese dialogue.

The large political party, which is a member of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), is a cardinal pillar of this political coalition. The military leaders sought to bring them to their side together with some Darfur armed groups and other political factions allied with the former regime.

“The Party stressed that the relationship between the civil and military forces should be within the framework of participation and not a partnership in government,” reads a statement issued by the NUP Secretary-General al-Wathiq al-Berair on May 17.

Al-Berair added that such a relationship would allow the armed forces to devote themselves to their constitutional functions and serve national issues within their competencies.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan head of the Sovereign Council overthrew the civilian government on October 25, 2021, after a public and heated debate with the FFC forces over the reform of the security sector and the need to end their growing economic activities.

Also, al-Burhan accused the coalition of seeking to grip on power and refused to hand over the chairmanship of the Sovereign Council to a civilian as it had been previously agreed in the constitutional declaration of August 2019.

The NUP secretary-general said they asserted the party’s “firm position” on the need to end the coup d’état and fully return power to civilians within the framework of constitutional legitimacy agreed upon by the Sudanese.

The military sought during the past months to convince the Party acting leader Nasser Burma, a former army general, to rally them but their attempts faced strong opposition from the party’s leadership body.

It is worth mentioning that the Sudanese Revolutionary Front led by Hadi Idris, which is an FFC member, has adopted a different position from its allies as they said committed to the partnership with the military component.

The FFC propose that the military role be limited to the security sector through the national security council, which will gather the army command, the prime minister and some other senior members of the civilian cabinet.

For his part, al-Burhan says that the experience of the transitional government in 1985 remains the best example to follow.

At that time, the army leaders governed the country while a civilian caretaker government prepared the elections.

Source: Sudan Tribune

At least 303 Kala-azar cases, including 91 cases among children under the age of five, and eight associated deaths have been reported in Sudan’s Gedaref State since January, putting the case fatality rate at 2.7 per cent, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Also known as Visceral Leishmaniasis, Kala-azar, is a life-threatening disease caused by Leishmania parasites transmitted by female sandflies. The disease causes fever, weight loss, spleen and liver enlargement and death, if not properly treated.

A situational analysis shows Kala-azar is endemic in Gedaref and over the past couple of years the number of cases in the state has been on the rise.

According to a recent report from the International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) and Red Crescent Societies, about 2,100 cases of Kala-azar were reported in 2019, 2,136 cases in 2020 and 2,973 cases in 2021 in Gedaref.

A total of 8 deaths were reported for January alone compared to the previous year’s cumulative data of 2,973 Kala-azar cases with 69 deaths.

Also, 2,137 cases with 38 deaths from Kala-azar were recorded in 2020 while 2019 witnessed 29 deaths and a total of 2,098 cases, according to WHO.

Meanwhile, on February 12, 2022, the Director of the Department of Vector Control at the Ministry of Health in Gedaref State issued an appeal statement of emergency to control an alarming increase in Kala-azar cases.

The state ministry of Health’s report and available information attributed the rise in cases of the disease to the natural conditions that reportedly provides an appropriate conducive environment for the vector’s survival, including cracked ground soil, Acacia and Heglig trees, which are abundant in the area.

Lack of medical staff, inadequate training, continuous stock out in medicines, lack of vector control activities, lack of funding for health promotion and community awareness activities, lack of health partners and government’s willingness to support Kala-azar projects were cited as key challenges in the eradication of the disease.

Source: Sudan Tribune

A joint delegation from the African Union (AU), the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC), the African Diplomatic Corps (ADC), the European Union (EU) and its members states, the Troika and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) conducted a high-level solidarity and diplomatic mission to Bentiu, Leer and Mirmir of South Sudan’s Unity State on 12 May 2022.

The visit follows the recent clashes in Adok Port and surrounding areas.

The joint delegation, according to a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, had constructive and frank discussions with the Governor of Unity State, the County Commissioners of Koch, Leer and Mayendit, along with traditional leaders, women, youth and others directly impacted by the recent conflict.

“The joint delegation heard accusations and counteraccusations on the atrocities committed leading to deaths, injuries, abductions, sexual violence against women, displacements as well as the destruction of civilian property and the burning of schools,” partly reads the statement.

The joint delegation reportedly expressed its solidarity with the people and South Sudan government and welcomed the announcement by President Salva Kiir of a high-level investigation committee and the deployment of the South Sudanese army (SSPDF) to help restore security in the area.

“The joint delegation supports government efforts towards restoring the rule of law and holding perpetrators to account. The joint delegation stands ready to support the committee in its work and urges the investigation committee to deploy swiftly to the area,” further noted the statement.

Meanwhile, the joint delegation called on national and state authorities to urgently take additional measures to protect civilians and to address the root causes of the conflict, while also stressing that the expeditious graduation of the unified forces would help fill security gaps at local levels.

They appealed to local and national leaders to use their influence to deescalate the violence, deterring any actions that may further inflame tensions, and encourage healing and reconciliation among communities.

However, the joint delegation commended UNMISS for deploying additional peacekeepers to patrol the affected areas to prevent additional loss of life by providing protection to the displaced and vulnerable people, lauding the UN for facilitating access to humanitarian agencies that are responding to the needs of affected communities.

The team called for a peaceful resolution to current tensions in Unity State, saying any further mobilization could threaten a resumption of the clashes and risks additional delays in the implementation of the security arrangements of Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

The joint delegation of the AU, EU, ADC UNMISS and R-JMEC reaffirmed its commitment to remain seized with efforts towards overall peace in the young nation.

Source: Sudan Tribune

President Salva Kiir ordered the release of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) leaders as the Sudanese embassy in Juba complained about their arrival to meet non-signatory groups.

The SCP Political Secretary returned to Khartoum on Thursday from Juba after meeting SLM leader Abdel Wahid al-Nur in Juba and travelling to SPLM-N held area in South Kordofan to meet Abdel Aziz al-Hilu.

After their return to Juba again from South Kordofan, they had been interrogated by the South Sudanese security services and confined in their Hotel.

A South Sudanese diplomat told the Sudan Tribune that the Sudanese embassy in Juba protested to the foreign minister about the meeting of the Communist delegation with Abdel Wahid Mohammed al-Nur in Juba and their travel to Kauda.

“The Sudanese representative brought up the visit to the attention of our minister and this is how I came to know of the presence of the Sudanese opposition,” said the official who preferred not to be identified.

The Sudanese ambassador “complained about the activities of the communist politicians who have refused to join the dialogue process in Sudan and preferred to talk to rebel armed groups who refused to join the Juba peace agreement,” he added.

He further revealed that the high-level intervention from president Salva Kiir led to the release of the Sudanese opposition.

Also, the intervention of President Kiir was confirmed by a senior official at the South Sudanese presidency.

“His Excellency the President of the Republic directed the leadership of the security and military intelligence who were following the Sudanese opposition politicians and held them for interrogation to let them go,” he official told Sudan Tribune.

The Sudanese army bans travelling from the government-controlled areas in South Kordofan to the rebel-held area, despite the unilateral cessation of hostilities by the two sides.

The Communist leaders travelled to Juba with the hope to bring the two armed groups to join them in a new political alliance to topple the military leaders who rule the country for nearly seven months.

The SCP withdrew from the coalition of the Forces for Freedom and Changes (FFC) after rejecting the constitutional declaration which established a partnership with the military component.

South Sudan mediates a process between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N al-Hilu. But the process has been frozen after the coup.

Also, Darfur holdout leader, al-Nur, has been allowed to reside in Juba with the hope to persuade him to join the peace process.

Source: Sudan Tribune