Clean water is not a privilege.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 10, 2023
It is a human right.
Yet, 2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water around the world.
Ensuring access to clean & safe water supplies is essential for people to lead safe, productive & healthy lives. #GlobalGoals pic.twitter.com/ekwN4edf0D
[Ends]
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: A UN research report 26 April 2023 copied below for future reference caught my eye because of this paragraph:
"Following a debate on peace and security in Africa during the Chinese presidency in August 2022, the Council adopted a presidential statement. Among other things, the presidential statement requested the Secretary-General to provide the Security Council, by 30 April 2023, a report on progress made by the UN and the AU to fulfill the commitments set out in resolution 2320 of 18 November 2016 on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations, and resolution 2378 of 20 September 2017 on peacekeeping reform."
So I searched for UNSG report 30 April 2023 and found a page here listing latest statements. What a coincidence and a disappointing one too: instead of it providing news of progress made regarding the African Union (AU) and the financing of AU Peace Support Operations, it says:
United Nations Secretary-General
30 April 2023 New York
Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General - on Sudan
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General
In light of the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan, the Secretary-General is sending the Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, to the region immediately.
The scale and speed of what is unfolding is unprecedented in Sudan. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan, and the broader region.
We once again urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, allow safe passage for civilians fleeing areas of hostilities, respect humanitarian workers and assets, facilitate relief operations, and respect medical personnel, transport and facilities.
_______________________________
Research Report from Security Council Report.org
Dated 26 April 2023 - full copy:
The Financing of AU Peace Support Operations: Prospects for Progress in the Security Council?
To read the full report, please download the PDF here.
The financing of AU-led peace support operations (AUPSOs) has been an issue in the relationship between the UN and the AU in general, and between the Security Council and the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) in particular, since 2007. In this time, the Security Council’s discussion of this issue has evolved, with Council members increasingly recognising the AU’s proactive role on matters of peace and security in Africa, including its enhanced capacity to respond expeditiously to conflict and crises on the continent, particularly through the deployment of AU Peace Support Operations (AUPSOs). Nonetheless, despite advances in recent years, the AU’s Achilles heel remains the lack of adequate resources to support and sustain these operations.
To address this challenge, the AU has since 2007 been seeking UN-assessed contributions for adequate, sustainable, and predictable funding for AUPSOs. The African members of the UN Security Council (A3) have tried, individually and collectively, to advance the discussion of the financing of AUPSOs through UN-assessed contributions, and the Security Council has adopted several resolutions and presidential statements recognising the need to provide adequate, predictable, and sustainable financing for AUPSOs.
In 2018, the A3 proposed a draft resolution which sought a clear commitment from the Council to finance AUPSOs from UN-assessed contributions on a case-by-case basis. The draft text placed in blue in December 2018 garnered the support of most Council members, but was never put to a vote because of one permanent member’s strong opposition. In August 2019, as South Africa tried to advance the issue, the AUPSC called on the A3 to suspend their efforts pending the AU’s development of a common position on some of the contentious issues raised during the 2018 negotiations. The AU endorsed a common position in February 2023.
There has been renewed momentum in the Security Council regarding the discussion of financing AUPSOs since mid-2022. Following a debate on peace and security in Africa during the Chinese presidency in August 2022, the Council adopted a presidential statement. Among other things, the presidential statement requested the Secretary-General to provide the Security Council, by 30 April 2023, a report on progress made by the UN and the AU to fulfill the commitments set out in resolution 2320 of 18 November 2016 on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organisations, and resolution 2378 of 20 September 2017 on peacekeeping reform.
The Council asked that the Secretary-General’s April 2023 report include “recommendations on moving forward that reflect good practices and lessons learned with the view to secure predictable, sustainable and flexible resources”. It is likely to stimulate further discussion and can be expected to encourage the A3 to resume negotiating a substantive Council outcome on the financing issue later in 2023.
In this research report, Security Council Report offers insights into how the Council has dealt with the financing issue by examining past Council meetings and outcomes. It will also reflect on recent efforts to revive the discussion in the Council—in a changed geopolitical context to that of 2018—examine the prospects for progress in this regard and analyse potential Council dynamics on the financing issue in 2023 before offering some concluding observations.
{Ends]
Two weeks since clashes erupted in Khartoum and around Sudan, the humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) April 30, 2023
At the request of @antonioguterres, I'm on my way to the region to see how we can bring immediate relief to the people impacted. https://t.co/dCE9ekPb0R
The latest three-day ceasefire is due to expire at midnight Sunday (2200 GMT). It was agreed Thursday after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted
In West Darfur state, at least 96 people were reported to have been killed in the city of El Geneina this week, the UN said
“What’s happening in Darfur is terrible, the society is falling apart, we see tribes that now try to arm themselves," said UN chief Guterres
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said there were reports of widespread looting, destruction, and burning of property, including at camps for displaced people
MSF said the fighting has forced the agency to stop almost all its activities in West Darfur
The UN said Friday its last international staff had been evacuated from Darfur
UN chief says Sudan is collapsing
He threw his support behind African-led mediation efforts
“My appeal is for everything to be done to support an African-led initiative for peace in Sudan," he told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya
Full story from News18.com
By Agence France Press (AFP)
Dated Saturday 29 April 2023, 16:59 IST
Sudan Fighting Enters Third Week as UN Says Country Collapsing
Warplanes on bombing raids drew heavy anti-aircraft fire over Khartoum on Saturday as fierce fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitaries entered a third week, violating a renewed truce.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on April 15 between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his number two Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“There is no right to go on fighting for power when the country is falling apart," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Al Arabiya television.
Burhan and Daglo have agreed to multiple truces since the war began, but none has effectively taken hold as the number of dead civilians continues to rise, thousands flee the country and those without the means to escape face an increasing struggle to survive.
The latest three-day ceasefire is due to expire at midnight Sunday (2200 GMT). It was agreed Thursday after mediation led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations.
Dozens more have died over the past week since the United States announced that the warring sides had agreed to an initial truce, on April 24.
“We woke up once again to the sound of fighter jets and anti-aircraft weapons blasting all over our neighbourhood," a witness in southern Khartoum told AFP.
Another witness said fighting had continued since the early morning, especially around the state broadcaster’s headquarters in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman.
Residents across Khartoum — home to five million people — have largely sheltered at home despite supplies of food and water dwindling to dangerously low levels, and a lack of electricity.
Some managed to sneak out only during brief lulls in fighting to buy desperately needed supplies.
- Trading blame -
As battles raged on the ground, the two rival generals — who seized power in a 2021 coup — took aim at each other in the media, with Burhan branding the RSF a militia that aims “to destroy Sudan", in an interview with US-based TV channel Alhurra.
Daglo denounced the army chief in an interview with the BBC, saying he was “not trustworthy" and a “traitor".
Guterres threw his support behind African-led mediation efforts.
“My appeal is for everything to be done to support an African-led initiative for peace in Sudan," he told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya.
The violence has so far killed at least 512 people and wounded 4,193, according to the health ministry, but the death toll is feared to be much higher.
About 75,000 have been displaced by the fighting in Khartoum and the states of Blue Nile, North Kordofan, as well as the western region of Darfur, the UN said.
Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled into neighbouring countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan, while foreign countries have carried out mass evacuations of their nationals.
On Saturday a ferry with around 1,900 evacuees arrived at King Faisal Naval base in Jeddah after crossing the Red Sea from Port Sudan, in the latest sea evacuation to the kingdom.
Britain said it would end its evacuation flights on Saturday, after airlifting more than 1,500 people this week.
The UN said Friday its last international staff had been evacuated from Darfur.
The World Food Programme has said the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people — one-third of the population — already need aid to stave off famine.
About 70 percent of hospitals in areas near the fighting have been rendered out of service and many have been shelled, said the doctors’ union.
- ‘Alarming’ conditions in Darfur -
In West Darfur state, at least 96 people were reported to have been killed in the city of El Geneina this week, the UN said.
“What’s happening in Darfur is terrible, the society is falling apart, we see tribes that now try to arm themselves," said Guterres.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said there were reports of widespread looting, destruction, and burning of property, including at camps for displaced people.
Sylvain Perron, MSF’s deputy operations manager for Sudan, said the fighting has forced the agency to stop almost all its activities in West Darfur.
“We are incredibly worried about the impact this violence is having on people who have already lived through waves of violence in the previous years."
Darfur is still reeling from a war that began in 2003 when then hardline president Omar al-Bashir unleashed the Janjaweed militia, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, to crush ethnic minority rebels.
The scorched-earth campaign left at least 300,000 people dead and close to 2.5 million displaced, according to UN figures, and saw Bashir charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by the International Criminal Court.
The Janjaweed later evolved into the RSF, which was formally created in 2013.
Burhan and Daglo’s coup in 2021 derailed Sudan’s transition to democracy established after Bashir was ousted following mass protests in 2019.
But the two generals later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
View original: https://www.news18.com/world/sudan-fighting-enters-third-week-as-un-says-country-collapsing-7676221.html
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Thanks to South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) for the below copied report by Reuters plus two short videos by SABC. They provide a general overview of news on Sudan since a military coup took place in Sudan on 25 Oct 2021.
SABC has produced accurate news reports on Sudan in the past. SABC is funded wholly or in part by the South African Government.
South Africa sent 800+ South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers for peacekeeping duties in Darfur for AMIS (African Union Mission in Sudan) and then UNAMID 2004 to 2016. South Africa was one of the first to send peacekeepers to Darfur at the height of the war in 2004. A dangerous mission, peacekeepers are not permitted to fight back.
The following report says anti-military protesters are to march on Sudan’s presidential palace, and that Sudanese politicians detained in the coup started a hunger strike. Also, the killing of 39 people by Sudanese security forces has been condemned by the UN, and the UN mission in Sudan calls for respect of the Constitution. I say, let’s hope that today’s technology captures evidence of the junta’s new crimes.
Here is the report written by Reuters
Published at SABC News (www.sabcnews.com - @sabcnews)
Dated Tuesday, 30 November 2021, 12:35 PM
Anti-military protesters to march on Sudan’s presidential palace
Protesters plan to march across Sudan and on the presidential palace on Tuesday in the latest protest against military rule following last month’s coup.
Neighbourhood resistance committees called the protests despite an agreement last week that reinstated civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and brought the release of most top politicians detained since the coup.
The October 25 takeover ended a partnership with civilian political groups since the topping of Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and drew condemnation from Western powers who have suspended aid.
The committees and political parties have rejected the deal, but Hamdok said it would bring the release of dozens of detainees, end a crackdown on protesters that has seen 42 people die, and preserve billions in foreign aid.
Wagdi Salih, popular leader of a controversial anti-corruption taskforce, was released late on Monday night, according to his Twitter account and sources close to him.
However, Salih and others including still-detained politicians Ibrahim al-Sheikh and Ismail al-Tag, face charges of inciting the armed forces, lawyer Moiz Hadra said.
The killing of 39 people by Sudanese security forces condemned by the UN:
VIDEO Sudan protests | The killing of 39 people by Sudanese security forces condemned by the U.N.
“There are still detainees in Soba prison in Khartoum, men, women and children who were arrested during the protests under the state of emergency and we demand their release along with others across Sudan’s states,” he added.
“We will continue the popular escalation along with all the true revolutionary forces, until the complete demise of the junta,” said the civilian coalition, known as the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC), in a statement early on Tuesday [Nov 30].
Referencing top military generals, the Khartoum committees said on Monday [Nov 29] they “do not differentiate between Hamdok or Burhan or Hemedti and the rest of the generals, they are all participants in the coup and belong in the gallows.”
Military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has said the takeover was needed to set Sudan’s transition back on track and that peaceful rallies are allowed. Deaths during protests are being investigated, he has said, blaming police and armed political factions.
The United Nations mission in Sudan calls for the respect of the Constitution:
VIDEO Sudan politics | The United Nations mission in Sudan calls for the respect of the Constitution
Image: Reuters - People hold Sudanese flags during a protest, in Khartoum, Sudan.
View original: https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/anti-military-protesters-to-march-on-sudans-presidential-palace/
NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Although I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the following report, I am posting it here because it provides some details about Sudan's Prime Minister Hamdok and his wife. Sadly, I have not found any reliable news about Mr Hamdok's cabinet colleagues, their current whereabouts and how they are being treated. I am reluctant to post this report here today but am confident that Mr Hamdok and his wife have been released safely. Reportedly, they were abducted and detained at the home of Sudan's coup leader Gen. Burhan. More on this at a later date.
Photo, Sudan's head of the military Gen Abdel-Fattah Burhan speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, Tuesday, Oct 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)
Sudan’s prime minister, detained after coup, returns home
Report at Fox17 dot com
Written by SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press (AP)
Published Wednesday 27 October 2021
Sudan's deposed prime minister and his wife were allowed to return home Tuesday, a day after they were detained when the military seized power in a coup, according to a statement issued by his office.
The release of Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and his wife followed international condemnation of the coup and calls for the military to release all the government officials who were detained when Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan seized power on Monday.
The statement by Hamdok's office said other government officials remained in detention, their locations unknown. The deposed prime minister and his wife were under "heavy security" at home in the upscale Kafouri neighborhood of the capital Khartoum, said a military official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The official did not say whether they were free to leave or make calls.
Earlier in the day, Burhan said Hamdok had been held for his own safety and would be released. But he warned that other members of the dissolved government could face trial as protests against the putsch continued in the streets.
View full report plus 14 photos here: https://fox17.com/news/nation-world/sudans-prime-minister-detained-after-coup-returns-home
