Sudan & South Sudan: Adama Dieng appointed as first African Union (AU) special envoy for the prevention of the crime of genocide and other mass atrocities

Report from Human Rights Watch
Dated Tuesday, 23 April 2024 7:15AM EDT - here is a copy in full:

Can New African Union Genocide Envoy Curb Atrocities in Africa?

Adama Dieng has Mandate to ‘Combat the Ideology of Hate’

Click to expand Image

Adama Dieng, then-UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, New York, June 2019. © 2019 Luiz Rampelotto/EuropaNewswire/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Adama Dieng has been appointed as the first African Union (AU) special envoy for the prevention of the crime of genocide and other mass atrocities.

Dieng will drive the organization’s agenda to “combat the ideology of hate and genocide on the continent,” said AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. The April 6 appointment could not be more symbolic, marking 30 years since the Rwandan genocide and harkening to the failure of the international community to stop the slaughter.

Dieng has occupied several positions within the United Nations human rights and justice system, including as a registrar of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), then as UN designated expert on the situation of human rights in Sudan. From 2012 to 2020, he was UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, with a mandate to raise the alarm over situations likely to spiral into genocide and mobilize UN security council action to prevent such atrocities.

Dieng’s new appointment comes at a time when Africa is witnessing spates of terrible mass atrocities and serious crimes, with dire humanitarian consequences, and little to no international attention.

April 15 marked the first anniversary of the fast-deteriorating conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). While both parties have committed egregious laws of war violations, the targeted attacks on ethnic non-Arab communities in West Darfur by the RSF and allied militias have evoked the spectre of the horrific Darfur war. That conflict killed 300,000 people in the early 2000s and led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict then-Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.

Government forces in Burkina Faso have carried out mass killings of civilians as part of a brutal campaign to tackle Islamist armed groups, who have also committed serious abuses. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, government forces and armed groups, including the Rwanda-backed M23, have committed atrocities against civilians in violence throughout North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

Atrocities and serious crimes are nevertheless not limited to war time, as illustrated by the October 30, 2022 crackdown on protestors in Chad, when scores of protesters were shot by security forces.

Dieng’s newly created regional mandate could be a timely boost to existing international mechanisms on atrocities prevention if it proves to be an indication of more genuine AU political willingness to end mass abuse and uphold accountability standards.

View original:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/04/23/can-new-african-union-genocide-envoy-curb-atrocities-africa

END 

Sisi heads for Kenya to attend AU mid-year meeting

The 5th Mid-Year Coordination Summit of African Union Bureau of the Assembly will be held in Nairobi, Kenya tomorrow (Sun 16 Jul) in the presence of Egyptian President El-Sisi. Read more.

Report from SIS (Egypt State Information Service) https://www.sis.gov.eg/

Published Saturday 15 July 2023, 12:46 PM - here is a full copy (Update: added 4 photos and text)

Ambassador: Kenya appreciates Egypt's great efforts to solve pending issues in Africa, Sudanese crisis

Egyptian Ambassador in Nairobi Wael Nasreddin Attia said Kenya is appreciating greater efforts exerted by Egypt to solve pending issues in the African continent, with special focus on attempts to find a solution to the crisis in Sudan.

Attia told MENA on Saturday 15/07/2023 on the sidelines of the convocation of the 5th Mid-Year Coordination Summit of African Union Bureau of the Assembly that Kenya is appreciating as well Cairo's calls to Sudan's neighboring countries to discuss ways of stopping bloodshed in Sudan and restore security and stability to the important Arab, African state.

The Summit will be held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Sunday, in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

Attia further asserted the utmost keenness of the two states to tap new vistas of cooperation to attain a quantum leap in the level of bilateral ties.

The Egyptian diplomat pointed out to the friendly relations binding Cairo and Nairobi amid rapprochement of viewpoints and joint interests between the two countries and turmoil in regional and international arenas, which, he added require the coordination of all efforts and unity of the African ranks.

He also referred to contacts between President Sisi and the Kenyan president regarding a number of issues of mutual concern, topped by the situation in Sudan and Somalia.

The ambassador said Egypt is always coordinating with all countries concerned with the Sudanese crisis.

Egypt and Kenya enjoy distinguished relations and share interests, he said, adding both countries agree on the way to address climate issues, given Egypt played host to COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh in November. 

View original: https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/183684/Ambassador-Kenya-appreciates-Egypt's-great-efforts-to-solve-pending-issues-in-Africa%2c-Sudanese-crisis

Related reports

Sisi heads to Nairobi to attend AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting on Sunday

Ahram Online - Saturday 15 July 2023

El-Sisi will deliver a speech presenting Egypt's ambitious two-year roadmap as the current chair of the Steering Committee of the African Development Agency (NEPAD) …African leaders and heads of government will convene in the 5th MYCM under the AU's 2023 theme: “Acceleration of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/504793.aspx

AU mid-year meeting in Nairobi to focus on continental integration and financing
Ahram Online - Wednesday 12 July 2023
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/504660.aspx

Sisi heads for Kenya to partake at AU’s 5th MYCM
Egypt SIS - Saturday 15 July 2023; 12:53 PM
https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/183685/Sisi-heads-for-Kenya-to-partake-at-AU%E2%80%99s-5th-MYCM

Egyptian and Eritrean presidents discuss ways to resolve Sudan crisis and end bloodshed
Egypt SIS - Thursday 13 July 2023; 10:22 PM
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi held a meeting with President of Eritrea Isaias Afwerki in Cairo on the sidelines of their participation at Sudan’s neighbouring countries summit on Thursday, discussing possible resolutions for the crisis and bloodshed in Sudan.
https://sis.gov.eg/Story/183666/Egyptian-and-Eritrean-presidents-discuss-ways-to-resolve-Sudan-crisis-and-end-bloodshed/

UPDATE Sat 15 Jul 2023 23:46 BST

President Sisi arrives in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday 15 July 2023

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi addressed a speech to President Ruto, President of Kenya, and the brotherly Kenyan people in the visitor’s record at the outset of his visit to Kenya to participate in the coordination meeting of the African Union and African regional economic groupings:

“I am pleased to extend my sincere appreciation and thanks to His Excellency President William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, for his kind hospitality and warm reception”.

I express my happiness to be in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, wishing my brother, His Excellency President Ruto and the brotherly people of Kenya, further prosperity and progress.”

Objectives of the African Coordination Summit

The African Coordination Meeting was launched in 2019 under the Egyptian chairmanship of the African Union. It was established as part of efforts toward the institutional reform of the Union, the division of labour and tasks between the African Union Commission and regional economic groupings, and the enhancement of the course of regional integration among the continent's countries, particularly with regard to economic integration, the most significant steps of which was launching the African Continental Free Trade Area under the AU’s Egyptian chairmanship in 2019.

President's visit program

President El-Sisi is set to deliver a speech, outlining Egypt's plan in its capacity as current chair of the Steering Committee of Heads of State and Government of the African Development Agency (NEPAD). In his capacity as current chairperson of the United Nations Climate Conference, the President will also address the Environment and Climate Change Session, showcasing Egypt's efforts to address the impacts of climate change on African countries.

President El-Sisi is expected to hold talks with his brother, President of Kenya, William Ruto, to explore mechanisms to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries, ways to address the concerns of the African continent, as well as developments in regional issues and dossiers of mutual interest. They will also discuss cooperation to strengthen the frameworks of joint African action in order to push forward the development process and promote integration in the continent.

PHOTOS Courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency

View original:

https://www.sis.gov.eg/Story/183696/President-El-Sisi-visit-to-Kenya-to-participate-in-the-coordination-meeting-of-the-African-Union

[Ends]