Month: September 2022

The Sudanese military-led government Sunday reinstated pro-former regime voluntary groups dissolved by the suspended Empowerment Removal Committee (ERC) which was tasked with the dismantlement of the former regime entities.

The Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Najm Musa, issued a decision, seen by Sudan Tribune providing to revive “22 non-profit organizations and associations based on the recommendation of the Appeals Committee headed by former Sovereign Council member Raja Nicola.”

Many reinstated groups were found by the Removal Committee as tools for the dignitaries of the former regime and partisans to benefit from customs and tax exemptions and divert money for the banned formerly ruling National Congress Party’s activities.

After the dissolution of the civilian-led government on October 25, the coup leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan suspended the ERC, which is tasked with the dismantlement of the former regime.

On November 10, al-Burhan formed a committee headed by the then-Member of the Sovereign Council, Raja Nicola, to review the decisions of the suspended committee.

This Appeal Committee literally cancelled all the decisions of the ERC, including the reinstatement of all the civil servants who had been sacked for appointment by nepotism.

Orwa al-Sadiq, a member of the suspended dismantlement committee, told Sudan Tribune that the revived groups and entities are hidden façades of the banned NCP and the Islamic Movement.

Some of which violated the humanitarian assistance law due to their NCP-linked activities, according to the findings of investigations carried out by the ERC subcommittees, al-Sadiq said.

“The most dangerous is that these organizations were used as façades for mobilizing and recruiting the poor and needy people in the party’s forums,” he further stressed.

The former official regretted that the current minister of social affairs and commissioner for humanitarian aid, who are from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) cooperate fully with the military regime and implement the agenda of the former regime.

“They know that these entities are hidden façades for the dissolved party and movement,” he said.

JEM and its leader Gibril Ibrahim are among Darfur armed groups that supported the overthrow of the civilian government and allied with the military coup.

Ibrahim had severely criticized the ERC’s activities, which were controlled by the FFC groups.

Source: Sudan Tribune

South Sudan’s First Vice President, Riek Machar has commended the chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Gen Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan for breaking the deadlock on sharing the unified command structure.

He was speaking at Tuesday’s graduation of 21,000 members of the necessary unified forces to form a unified national army, police and other security forces.

“I also would like to thank H.E Abdel Fattah Al Burhan the President of Sudan Transitional Sovereign Council, and Chair of IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] for his support and also for breaking deadlocks when we got stuck in the implementation process of this agreement,” explained Machar.

“We also give thanks to President Al Burhan and his teams, special thanks for allowing food supplies from his country by land and river to reach the training centers despite the restrictions due to the war in Ukraine”, he added.

Of the 21,973 unified forces graduated, 3,308 personnel will be dedicated to providing protection senior government officials; 4,366 into the unified South Sudan National Police Service; 6,315 will be integrated into the unified National Security Service; 1,120 into a unified National Prison Service; 3,575 into the unified National Wildlife Service and 3,289 into unified National Civil Defense Service.

The opposition leader also thanked Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni for attending the passing out of the unified force, saying he was one of the guarantors who played a key role in the extension of the pre-transitional period in 2020 after the parties were unable to meet the deadline to training the necessary united force.

“Allow me also to thank President Museveni for coming and for his support, transitional security arrangements were the most important agenda for President Museveni. He initiated the creation of an extra security mechanism and called it the security supervision mechanism. Mr. President, you are welcome”, he said.

Machar also lauded IGAD, the bloc that mediated and brokered the peace deal.

“I would also like to thank all IGAD member states that supported and continued their support for the implementation of this agreement. I would like to thank the implementation mechanisms that have worked for years to ensure this agreement is implemented, and this includes the CTSAAM, R-JMEC the IGAD special envoy office for the work they did for this day to happen. I also would like to thank the international community TROIKA, IGAD, IGAD partners’ forums, EU, and China for their support and contributions at this juncture,” he stressed.

The First Vice President described the graduation of phase one of the unified forces within the transitional security arrangement, as the backbone of the peace deal.

Sudan and Uganda were the guarantors of the 2015 peace deal revitalized in 2018.

The two countries ensured the parties to the agreement cooperate to implement the deal, encouraging President Kiir and Machar, in particular to work together.

The 2018 revitalised peace deal requires the parties to train and graduate a unified force of 83,000 personnel to take charge of security during the transitional period.

Source: Sudan Tribune

JUBA– South Sudan’s peace monitors, yesterday, unanimously voted to extend the Transitional Government by two years.

Charles Tai Gituai, the interim chairperson of the Revitalised Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC), said, two-thirds of the voting members in the commission, approved the extension, according to the procedures set out in the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan.

“Forty-three members have the voting right, 37 out of 42 members present today, voted in favour, five did not vote, while one was absent,” Tai said in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, during an extraordinary meeting of the R-JMEC.

Among members who did not vote included the U.S., UK and Norway, who requested a three-month consultation among the parties and guarantors to the agreement before any extension.

Tai revealed that the extension of the government by 24 months will now require ratification by the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly, according to the constitutional amendment procedures set out in the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan.

He urged parties to the agreement to pursue dialogue and join hands, to enhance the rebuilding of trust and confidence in the peace process, by taking concrete steps to address all the key impediments to progress in the implementation of the peace agreement.

Parties to the conflict in South Sudan, last month, extended the government by two years from Feb, 2023 to Feb, 2025, to allow the implementation of outstanding issues to be resolved, before conducting the election, at the end of the transitional period.

South Sudan descended into violence in Dec, 2013, following a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his then Deputy, Riek Machar, leading to the death and displacement of millions of civilians in the world’s youngest republic.

Statistics from the UN indicate that, more than two million people have been displaced by the conflict, that subsided amid peace mediation by the international community that culminated in the establishment of a transitional government of national unity in Feb, 2020.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.

IAEA team visits Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi led a team of inspectors to Ukraine this week on a support and assistance mission. He met in Kyiv with President Volodoymr Zelenskyy on Tuesday and then traveled through Ukrainian-held territory to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is in a Russian-controlled area. Grossi has been appealing to the parties for months to let his team inspect the plant to avert a potential nuclear accident. He spoke to reporters late Friday upon his return to Vienna about his mission.

UN appeals for $160m for victims of Pakistan’s ‘monsoon on steroids’

The United Nations appealed Tuesday for $160 million to assist 5.2 million people impacted by monsoon rains in Pakistan. By Friday, U.N. agencies had provided food aid to 300,000 people and clean water to 55,000 people. Pakistani officials say the climate-driven storms have badly impacted more than 33 million people and killed more than a thousand others since the seasonal rainfall began in June. More than 700,000 livestock have also been lost. The World Meteorological Organization forecasts the heavy rains are set to continue. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to flood impacted areas next week.

UN rights chief releases long-awaited report on Xinjiang

Moments before her term expired at midnight on Wednesday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet released a long-awaited report that found the treatment of minorities in China’s Xinjiang province may constitute crimes against humanity. China dismissed the findings as “smears and slanders.”

Hunger stalks millions of Afghans

U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said Monday that 6 million Afghans are on the brink of famine, with winter around the corner and humanitarian appeals dramatically underfunded. In all, 24 million people need some kind of humanitarian assistance, and almost 19 million of them face acute hunger. An estimated 3 million children are acutely malnourished. Funds are needed quickly so aid agencies can purchase and pre-position supplies before winter sets in.

In brief

— UNESCO said Thursday that 244 million children and youth ages 6 to 18 are still out of school across the world as the new school year begins in many places. Sub-Saharan Africa has the most young people out of school – 98 million, while South and Central Asia has 85 million. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said this should be a reminder of that “deep inequalities persist in access to education.”

— The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, said Wednesday that it will transport 1.5 tons of essential medicines each week to Gao in the northeast. Regional authorities requested MINUSMA’s help to ease a pharmaceutical shortage due to a blockade of the main supply route by terrorist groups since May. Peacekeepers from Togo and Jordan are also helping to provide medical care for local communities in Douentza town and Tin Hama.

— The Food and Agriculture Organization said Friday that global food commodity prices dipped for a fifth month in a row. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 138.0 points in August, down 1.9% from July, although remaining 7.9% above its value a year before. The cereal price index decreased by 1.4% from the previous month, driven by a 5.1% decline in international wheat prices attributed to improved production prospects in North America and Russia, as well as the resumption of exports from the Black Sea ports in Ukraine.

Good news

The first ship carrying Ukrainian wheat for the World Food Program under the Black Sea Grain Initiative arrived in Djibouti on Tuesday with 23,000 metric tons of grain. Its final destination will be Ethiopia, where millions face severe hunger. A second WFP-chartered vessel departed Ukraine on Tuesday with 37,000 metric tons of wheat grain that will be milled into flour in Turkey and then delivered to Yemen where 17 million people are facing acute hunger. WFP says the grain will provide a 50-kilogram bag of wheat flour to nearly 4 million Yemenis for one month. Before Russia’s February 24 invasion, Ukraine was WFP’s top provider of food items. WFP’s Deputy Emergency Coordinator in Ukraine Marianne Ward says the agency purchased 880,000 metric tons of commodities there last year.

What we are watching next week

The Security Council will hold two meetings on Ukraine. On Tuesday, at Russia’s request, IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi will brief remotely on his mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The secretary-general will also address the meeting. On Wednesday, council members will meet again at the request of Albania and the United States to discuss the issue of forced displacement of Ukrainians.

Learn more about the forcible displacement of Ukrainians in this VOA Exclusive:

Source: Voice of America

The first U.S. ambassador to Sudan in 25 years has vowed to support the country’s transition to civilian rule. John Godfrey spoke while presenting his credentials Thursday to Sudan’s military-led government.

Godfrey presented his credential documents as the new U.S. ambassador to Sudan in a ceremony at Sudan’s presidential palace.

The document was presented to Sudan’s military leader, Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, who led the coup against the civilian government in October last year.

Al-Burhan, the chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, welcomed the return of a U.S. ambassador to Sudan after a 25-year absence.

He stressed the importance of developing relations between Khartoum and Washington and said he hoped Godfrey’s appointment represents a new impetus for the two countries’ relationship.

Speaking to reporters in Arabic after the diplomatic ceremony, Godfrey expressed the commitment of the U.S. to build new relations with Sudan.

In Arabic, Godfrey said, “I am so happy to be the new ambassador of the United States in Sudan after more than 25 years. I am happy to have this opportunity to work in Sudan and get to understand its people and their cultures more closely.”

Godfrey was named by the White House as the new ambassador to Sudan in early January. The U.S. Congress approved his appointment in July, and he arrived in Khartoum last week to assume his post.

Ties between the United States and Sudan were severely strained under the three-decade rule of ousted President Omar al-Bashir, with Washington slapping crippling economic sanctions on Khartoum.

The U.S. government blacklisted Sudan in 1993 as a state sponsor of terrorism because the Bashir administration hosted al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, who resided in the country between 1992 and 1996.

The ambassador’s arrival comes as Sudan reels from deepening unrest and a sinking economy.

Godfrey said the U.S government hopes to see an inclusive civilian-led government restored in Sudan to complete the remaining transitional period.

“We expect to see the establishment of a new government led by civilians in Sudan within a comprehensive dialogue that supports all Sudanese political parties,” he said, “including the democratic supporting forces.”

Godfrey previously worked as the acting special envoy to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.

He also formerly worked as the acting deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Source: Voice of America