Showing posts with label Rwanda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rwanda. Show all posts

Friday, April 26, 2024

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’

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


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Sunday, January 07, 2024

Sudan's genocidaire visits Kigali Genocide Memorial

MAYBE Hemeti's tours are a set up to give him a false sense of security while the ICC works on its Darfur file. African leaders view any war in its continent as an internal affair not to be interfered with by foreigners. It's difficult to understand why the US sees itself as the world's police force.

Here below is a copy of a Jan 6 post at @Hamdan Daglo (Hemeti) X/Twitter page with a translation from Arabic by Google. Note, Hemeti is gazing at pictures not words. He is a semi-illiterate psychopath and a pathological liar whose words can't be trusted. His blood runs as cold as ice through his veins. He has no conscience, his barbaric mentality is from a bygone era. He's a serial killer, a big time thief and a war criminal. He doesn't fit in with Sudan's elite, he feels at home in Darfur living like a desert rat. He has little education and no skills to govern Sudan or any part of it. God help Sudan.

"Today I visited the Genocide Memorial Museum in the Rwandan capital, Kigali. It is one of the most important landmarks in human history, as it bears witness to an era of wounds and tragedies that Rwanda experienced during which it lost hundreds of thousands of victims due to racism, hatred, and attempts to monopolize power by force and commandments over the people.


The Rwandans alone faced their problems with courage and developed radical solutions to them through the experience of (kajaja), which is similar to (judiya) in Sudan. This practice established the principles of justice and transitional justice in society, achieved the concept of non-impunity, and changed the course of its history from division to unity, from hatred to love, and from war. To peace and sustainable development.


We, as Sudanese, must learn from Rwanda. The war that our country is witnessing today must be the last war, and we must work to create a just and sustainable peace for ourselves and for the future of our coming generations.


We must learn from the experiences of others and draw with our own hands the path that leads us to safety."


ENDS

Sudan's genocidaire bids for legitimacy in Africa tour

NOTE, this article doesn't mention or explain what Sudanese people want.


From AFP (Agence France-Presse)

By Bahira Amin

Dated Saturday, 6 January 2024; 10:54 am GMT - here is a copy in full:


Sudan paramilitary chief bids for legitimacy in Africa tour: analysts

Sudan's paramilitary chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (L), with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (R) in Pretoria, has been greeted as if he were a head of state, analysts say (-)


Sudan's paramilitary chief spent the first months of the country's war in the shadows. Now he has emerged to embrace civilian politicians and tour African capitals in a bid for international legitimacy, analysts say.


Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- commonly known as Hemeti -- commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which the United States accused of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region during its war with the army.


The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, since April last year in the northeast African country where the US has also accused the army of war crimes.


Daglo had remained largely out of sight while Burhan emerged from a siege of military headquarters to make overseas trips and address the UN General Assembly as Sudan's de facto leader.


But since late December Daglo has been on his first wartime trip abroad, meeting government leaders in Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Rwanda.


It is part of a strategy analysts see as likely linked to the United Arab Emirates.


Daglo is "in the ascendancy," said veteran Sudan expert Alex de Waal.


So is the war's death toll, estimated conservatively at more than 12,190.


Clement Deshayes, a Sudan specialist at Sorbonne University in Paris, said Daglo had been "welcomed with the attributes of a head of state" on his visits.


The most important, said Deshayes, came in Addis Ababa where Daglo met with and embraced Sudan's former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was placed under house arrest after an October 2021 coup orchestrated by Burhan and Daglo, then allies.


Their putsch derailed Sudan's fragile transition to democracy.


After a brief reinstatement, Hamdok resigned in January 2022 and fled for Abu Dhabi. He remains Sudan's foremost civilian politician and has reemerged as part of a new coalition known as Taqadum.


- 'Kiss the ring' -


In embracing Taqadum, Daglo was making "the single most important move that he could to gain legitimacy," said Andreas Krieg, a security studies expert at King's College London.


Although Burhan's administration continues to put out statements as the Sudanese government, the RSF controls the streets of the capital Khartoum, nearly all of the western Darfur region, and in December pressed deeper into Al-Jazira state, shattering one of the country's few remaining sanctuaries.


The United Nations says the violence is "imperiling regional stability", having unleashed the world's largest displacement crisis that has uprooted more than seven million people, including around 1.4 million who have crossed into neighbouring countries.


Daglo, a former camel and sheep trader, rose to prominence under Sudan's former strongman Omar al-Bashir who unleashed Janjaweed militias after an ethnic minority rebellion began in Darfur in 2003. The militia campaign led to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.


When security personnel attacked pro-democracy demonstrators in Khartoum in June 2019 after Bashir's overthrow, it was the RSF, descendants of the Janjaweed, that witnesses said were at the forefront of the bloodshed, killing at least 128 people.


However, Daglo's embrace of a civilian partner offers the chance to gain international legitimacy, particular from the West, analysts told AFP.


That, said Deshayes, was "despite the ethnic cleansing in Darfur (and) the systematic rape and looting in central Sudan and Darfur".


Kholood Khair, a Sudanese analyst, said rumours of a linkup between Hamdok and Daglo had been "rife even before the war" and were "kicked into overdrive" by the Addis meeting.


In videos of the Addis event, Hamdok and his fellow politicians line up to shake hands with Daglo, who wears a sharp suit instead of military fatigues.


"The optics of the meeting were that Hemeti is in charge," Khair told AFP, with Hemeti "holding court and them coming to him, taking turns to say hello and kiss the ring."


On social media, pro-democracy activists accused Hamdok of betraying civilians for political gain.


- The army isolated -


Hamdok has said he hopes for "an urgent meeting" with Burhan.


However, Cameron Hudson, an Africa expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the general was now "highly unlikely" to agree.


Burhan reacted with fury to Daglo's tour, accusing the host nations of "partnering in the murder of the Sudanese people".


That "is precisely the intent," Hudson told AFP.


"It will make the army look opposed to peace and paint Hemeti as the more reasonable and responsible party," he said.


Multiple analysts, including Krieg and Hudson, told AFP the strategy was probably not Daglo's alone and likely originated with the United Arab Emirates.


The UAE, analysts say, already supplies the RSF with munitions via neighbouring African countries -- a charge the UAE has denied.


Krieg said the UAE was "engineering a narrative whereby Hemeti comes out as a potential political leader", with "Taqadum as a legitimate civilian umbrella for the RSF as the security sector".


The army has grown "more and more isolated," said Deshayes, with its military defeats pushing even close ally Egypt away and Daglo now able to "start (peace) negotiations from a place of strength".


But at the same time, Burhan's alienation "will only confuse and complicate the situation and create more time and space for fighting to continue," said Hudson.

bur/bha/dcp/it


View original: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sudan-paramilitary-chief-bids-legitimacy-105449551.html


ENDS

Monday, November 20, 2023

SpaceX is advertising a position for growth manager of its Starlink Internet service in Sub-Saharan Africa

ACCORDING to the following article, SpaceX is advertising a job vacancy for a manager to boost Starlink growth in Africa. The role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, from where the growth manager will report to a team at Starlink’s Hawthorne, California headquarters. It would prioritise applicants with a current right to work in Kenya. Also:


"Starlink’s estimated rollout date in South Africa has remained “unknown”, whereas the service has already been available in Kenya for four months. Six other Sub-Saharan African countries — Benin, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia — have also launched Starlink. In addition, the company has given estimated rollout dates for the vast majority of the other countries in the region before the end of 2024. Aside from South Africa, the only four countries that don’t yet have a planned launch date are Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, and South Sudan". 


Read more in report from MyBroadband - mybroadband.co.za/news/
By Hanno Labuschagne
Dated Monday, 20 November 2023 - here is a copy in full:

SpaceX hiring manager to boost Starlink growth in Africa

SpaceX is advertising a position for growth manager of its Starlink Internet service in Sub-Saharan Africa.


The role — first reported by Space in Africa — is open for applications on the Greenhouse recruitment website.


SpaceX explained that it was looking for someone to join the Starlink Growth team, which is responsible for launching, growing, and improving the service.


The successful candidate will be accountable for Starlink’s growth and success in the region, identifying and removing barriers to growth, championing user experience, and driving initiatives to accelerate adoption.


The role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, from where the growth manager will report to a team at Starlink’s Hawthorne, California headquarters.


The growth manager’s responsibilities will entail the following:

  • Own growth of active consumer subscriber base in the region, identifying blockers and prioritising levers for growth
  • Set vision, develop strategy, and manage a budget around consumer growth initiative strategies, and tactics to meet company goals in the region
  • Deeply understand the customer experience in a country, elevating insights to drive localised improvements
  • Develop dashboards to track progress, drive improvements to growth and operational metrics, work with the operations team to create forecasts, and communicate to the broader Starlink team and senior leadership
  • Engage with local partners to drive efforts catered to the market, understand what’s working and what’s not, and drive continuous improvement
  • Champion key strategic consumer-focused projects end-to-end by collaborating and working cross-functionally with Operations, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, and Support teams

The basic qualifications required to be considered for the position include a Bachelor’s degree, five or more years of experience in consulting or project management, and three or more years of experience in Excel and SQL.


In addition, SpaceX demands two or more years of leading in interdisciplinary projects. The candidate must also have residency and work authorisation in Africa.

Skyline of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya

Other preferred skills and experience that will benefit applicants include:

  • Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, management information systems, computer science, engineering, or economics disciplines
  • 8+ years of relevant work experience in go-to-market, growth, international operations, consulting, software, Internet, and/or media industries, or early-stage companies
  • Proven ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment
  • Experience leading complex operational and strategic initiatives
  • Demonstrated track record of cross-functional stakeholder management and leadership through influence
  • Distinctive project management, problem-solving, and analysis skills, combined with business judgment and top communication skills
  • Experience working in broadband Internet or other consumer product industries
  • Master’s degree in management, engineering, or supply chain

SpaceX added it would prioritise applicants with a current right to work in Kenya.


They must also be willing to travel approximately 50% of the time and work extended hours and over weekends as needed.


It also stressed it does not have regional offices everywhere in the world and the candidate might not work from a SpaceX office.


No clarity on South African rollout


Many tech companies operate their Sub-Saharan Africa offices out of South Africa because the country is among the most well-developed on the continent.


However, Starlink’s estimated rollout date in South Africa has remained “unknown”, whereas the service has already been available in Kenya for four months.


Six other Sub-Saharan African countries — Benin, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia — have also launched Starlink.


In addition, the company has given estimated rollout dates for the vast majority of the other countries in the region before the end of 2024.


Aside from South Africa, the only four countries that don’t yet have a planned launch date are Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, and South Sudan.


SpaceX’s enterprise director Phillip van Essen previously told Mining Weekly that the company prioritised countries that made it easy to get approval for Starlink.


It is possible that the role of the growth manager could include expanding the service into countries where Starlink has not passed the necessary legal hurdles.


In South Africa, Starlink requires an electronic communications services (ECS) licence to sell its service directly to customers.


It would also need an electronic communications network services (ECNS) licence to roll out ground stations to improve the service’s performance.

Starlink Gateway on Unalaska

To acquire these licences, the Electronic Communications Act determines that SpaceX — or its local subsidiary or partner — must be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups — including black people, women, youth, or disabled people.


Complicating matters further is that the licence will have to be acquired “second hand” from a willing seller, as South Africa’s telecoms regulator — Icasa — is not currently accepting applications for new licences.


It recently emerged that even government-owned fibre network operator Broadband Infraco cannot apply for an ECS  licence.


Icasa has not explained why it has not published a new invitation to apply for these licences in more than a decade.


Alternatively, SpaceX could work with a local partner that already meets the requirements.


However, this could make its subscription more expensive as the partner would have to take a cut to make such an arrangement financially sensible.


Although several companies have already confirmed distribution agreements with SpaceX, they have shied away from mentioning availability in South Africa in the near future.


Despite no official local rollout, over 4,000 South Africans are using imported Starlink kits with a regional or global roaming subscription to access the Internet.


Two Internet service providers (ISPs) that specialise in importing and managing Starlink on behalf of end-users — Starsat Africa and IcasaSePush — recently reduced their subscription prices substantially.


View original: https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband/515921-spacex-hiring-manager-to-boost-starlink-growth-in-africa.html


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