UNICEF: The Netherlands donates $23.5 million for safe water in Sudan

Great news from UNICEF (KHARTOUM/JUBA) 06 November 2009:

The Dutch Government has given $23.5 million to UNICEF in Sudan which will be used to provide safe water and improved sanitation for hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

“This very generous contribution by the Dutch Government will have a real impact on saving lives,” said Hilde Johnson UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director. Every year in Sudan about 60,000 children under the age of five die from diarrhoea, a preventable disease caused in large part by unsafe water and poor sanitation. “This donation will help to provide safe drinking water, sanitary latrines and fund public campaigns targeting hygiene behaviour.”

“Not only will this funding help to reduce the number of children who die each year, it will also help improve the lives of women and girls who often travel many kilometres to collect water for their families, Johnson said.”

Half of this contribution will be used for projects in the transitional areas of Blue Nile State, South Kordofan and Abyei over the next four years.

Southern Sudan will benefit equally from the Dutch funding which will be for projects in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei.

The Dutch Ambassador to Khartoum, Norbert Braakhuis, said he hoped that providing equal access to resources like water, which had often been the source of conflict in Sudan, would help to promote a sustainable peace between different communities.

“Many communities are still very fragile after Sudan’s long civil war. We hope that providing basic services will help people resettle peacefully and build strong ties between different groups,” he added.

The official agreement was signed today by the Dutch Ambassador in Khartoum, Norbert Braakhuis, and UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director Hilde Johnson, who is currently visiting Sudan. The signing was also attended by UNICEF’s Representative in Sudan, Nils Kastberg.

UNICEF video and high-resolution photography for media organizations is available at: http://www.thenewsmarket.com/unicef

About UNICEF
UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For additional information, please contact:
Amber Henshaw, Chief, Media & External Relations, UNICEF Sudan
Mobile: + 249 (0)912 177 291
Email: ahenshaw@unicef.org

Douglas Armour, Communication Manager
Mobile: + (249) (0) 928 278 975 + (249) (0) 913 143 481
Email: darmour@unicef.org

Abdel-Rahman Ghandour, Chief Communication, UNICEF Middle East and North Africa
Mobile: + 962 (6) 550 2407
Email: arghandour@unicef.org

Kathryn Donovan, UNICEF New York,
Tel + 1 212 326 7452,
Email kdonovan@unicef.org

South Sudan: 47 LRA rebels surrender in Yei, Central Equatoria

From Sudan Radio Service, 03 November 2009:
LRA rebels surrender in Yei

(Yei) - More than forty Ugandan rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army surrendered to authorities in Yei county, Central Equatoria state last week.

The Commissioner of Yei county, David Lokonga confirmed that pockets of LRA rebels have been handing themselves in since September this year.

[David lokonga 1 -Eng/Arabic]: “Starting from September 22nd, some of the L-R-A have surrendered themselves to the authority of Yei county. On October 7th, some of the rebels including two officers surrender themselves to us, on October 22nd some more LRA surrender themselves again. The last group surrender themselves on October 30th including the wife of their commander called Arob. This means the number of the LRA soldiers that have handed themselves to Yei county is forty seven. We would like to urge the rest of the remaining rebels in the LRA who are still in the forest to emulate their colleagues and end theses atrocities.”

Lokong’a added that most of the LRA soldiers who surrendered expressed frustration and exhaustion over their movement’s unclear vision and activities.

He said the arrested LRA who have surrendered will be handed over to their respective communities.

[David lokong’a 2 -Eng/Arabic]: “We and the Uganda government have agreed to hand over these people to their communities. After they surrendered themselves to the SPLA and the UPDF, I will then hand the Ugandans over to Ugandan government and the Sudanese will remain with me. We have some from Wonduruba and we have handed them to their community.”

That was the commissioner of Yei County, David Lokonga talking to Sudan radio service from Yei on Tuesday.

Leading LRA rebel commander Charles Arop surrenders to Ugandan army?

Report from Sudan Tribune by Richard Ruati Friday 6 November 2009:
Leading LRA rebel commander surrenders to Ugandan army

November 5, 2009 (KAMPALA) — Lt Col Charles Arop, a leading Ugandan LRA rebels (the Army of the Lord’s Resistance), has decided to surrender himself to the Ugandan army. Arop is responsible for a bloodbath perpetrated on Christmas Day last year in Faradje in the DRC during which at least 143 people have died.

He was left with only one rebel fighter, so he had little choice," a spokesman of the UPDF, LT Col Felix Kulayigye has said on Thursday. The Army spokesperson spoke to Sudan Tribune via telephone hookup from Kampala. Not a long time ago, Arop commanded an army of 100 rebel fighters, most of them having been decimated after actions from the UPDF.

Kulayigye revealed that “the surrender of Arop took place near Faradje, adding that his surrender is very significant given the fact he was Commander within Kony units, however this has degenerated and declined the commanding chain of LRA.”

He added that, “the surrender of Arop is fortunately making the arrest of Kony the next target of UPDF.”

Asked whether how many Kony fighters are still in the jungles, he said at moment the Ugandan Army doesn’t know, however Kony is believed to be in isolation in Central Africa Republic.”

Lt Col Felix dismissed future peace negotiations with LRA, saying that, “the only options left for Kony are to capture or kill him, except if Kony signs the negotiated agreement.

He dismissed the media reports that, “the Operation Light Thunder is a failure,” he tabled the rescue of 450 abductees and the capture of 20 LRA officers as a success, he also said there are no LRA rebels in DR Congo anymore.

Speaking to local journalist of Yambio FM in Western Equatoria, Lt Col Charles Arop said that, he was arrested in 1994 from Northern Uganda; he has been the immediate operation commander of Joseph Kony.

Arop appealed to his former LRA colleagues those still close to Joseph Kony to put down their guns and come out of the jungles, he directed his appeal mainly to his former closed commanders like Dominic Okello and Smart, that by the mercy of God they should come back home “the children of Acholi have finished in the bush.”

He advised the remaining LRA soldiers in the bush not to fear to hand themselves in to the UPDF.

He further appealed to Joseph Kony himself to come out open, as the war has claimed the lives of innocent civilians and displaced many others.

The Ugandan Army spokesperson said that, Arop may decide to remain as civilian or politician, however if at all he committed any crime against humanity, legal actions shall be taken against him by a competent law institution.

He also revealed that, since the Light Thunder Operations started last December only 12 Ugandans armies have lost their lives. The Ugandan army hunts down LRA fighters in the DRC, Central African Republic and Southern Sudan. Since the attacks of the army on the LRA at the end of last year, this movement has dispersed in small units.

Cross-posted to Congo Watch and Uganda Watch

Turkey to host Sudan, Iran leaders at OIC meeting in Istanbul next week

* Bashir, Ahmadinejad to attend OIC meeting

* ICC arrest warrant, nuclear row could overshadow gathering

* Host Turkey's foreign policy fuels Western worries

From Reuters Friday 6 November 2009:
PREVIEW-Turkey to host Sudan, Iran leaders at summit
By Thomas Grove

(ISTANBUL) - A summit of Islamic countries in Istanbul next week will boost Turkey's quest to deepen ties with the Muslim world, but some of its new friends are not to the taste of its traditional ally, Washington.

Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has an international arrest warrant against him for war crimes, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, engaged in a standoff with the West over Tehran's nuclear programme, are among leaders who will attend an Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting.

The one-day summit on Monday will add to growing concerns in some Western circles that Turkey, an OIC member which is seeking European Union membership, is shifting away from its pro-Western foreign policy and embracing countries such as Iran and Syria, while distancing itself from regional friend Israel.

"I think this summit will put Turkey again on the frontline, both in regards with Iran and Bashir," said Hugh Pope, a senior analyst for the International Crisis Group.

"Engagement and cooperation can be a way to bring autocratic states into the international system, but the challenge for Turkey is that it needs to show results and that the behaviour of these states is changing," Pope said.

Although the 57-nation body's meeting has been billed as an economic summit to discuss trade and anti-poverty measures among members, the presence of Bashir and Ahmadinejad will likely overshadow its economic goals.

Western powers are seeking to exert pressure on Tehran for concessions on its nuclear programme, and Ahmadinejad could use the summit to undermine efforts to isolate the Islamic republic and to give one of his trademark anti-Western speeches.

The West fears Tehran's nuclear programme is a covert plan to develop nuclear weapons, but Iran has denied this and says it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

The visit by Sudan's Bashir, who has travelled to African countries since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the arrest warrant against him in March for war crimes in Darfur, puts NATO member Turkey in an awkward position, but a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said there were no plans to arrest him.

"We have invited Bashir as one of the heads of state to the meeting and he will be treated as one," the official said.

Turkey, which has deepened commercial ties with Sudan, has not ratified the 2002 Rome Statute that established the ICC, but is under pressure to do so to meet European Union standards.

WESTERN WORRIES

The attendance of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad might also add weight to the summit of the OIC, which has little political power.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he did not wish to run for re-election in January, voicing disappointment at Washington's "favouring" of Israel in arguments over re-launching peace talks.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in what would be his first trip abroad since his re-election was announced this week following a fraud-marred ballot, is also expected to attend.

Ahmadinejad's visit to Istanbul will follow a state visit last month by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to Tehran, in which the two countries signed trade and energy deals.

Ankara's growing attachment to Iran has fuelled worries that Turkey, a moderate Muslim democracy and a U.S. ally, is turning its back on Washington and the EU, something it denies.

"Policymakers in the West are getting worried that Turkey's growing ties with Iran -- by lessening that country's sense of isolation -- may frustrate diplomatic efforts to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear bomb," Katinka Barysch, of the Centre for European Reform thinktank, wrote this week.

Erdogan's AK Party government, which has roots in political Islam, has sought to expand Turkey's influence in the Middle East -- a process analysts say has run in parallel with Ankara's frustration at perceived EU misgivings over its membership bid.

During his warmly received trip to Tehran, Erdogan blasted Western powers for treating Iran "unfairly" and said the Islamic republic's nuclear programme was for humanitarian purposes.

Ian Lesser, from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, said that by inviting Ahmadinejad and Bashir, Turkey might deepen perceptions its foreign policy is ambiguous.

"It is an example of the risks that Turkey is running by trying to be too many things in too many places at the same time and without too much discrimination," Lesser said. (Additional reporting by Zerin Elci and Ibon Villelabeitia in Ankara, Opheera McDoom in Khartoum and Peter Graff in Kabul) (Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

Cross-posted to Tehran Watch and Syria Watch

FOCA: China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCA) starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Source: AFP report via Saudi Gazette Online Friday 06 November 2009. Copy:
China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

CAIRO - Leaders from China and Africa start a three day summit on Sunday that will again throw the spotlight on Beijing’s strategic sweep for energy, minerals and political influence in the continent.

China has over the past decade paid for dams, power stations, football stadiums across Africa and scooped up copper, oil and other fuel for its breakneck economic expansion from Algeria to Zimbabwe.

It has invested billions of dollars while raising eyebrows in the United States and its allies by pursuing the hunt for oil and other resources in Sudan, Somalia and other nations that the West has shunned.

Many African leaders praise China however for not preaching about rights and corruption. So despite neo-colonialist qualms, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

Some in the West have accuse China of worsening repression and human rights abuses in Africa by supporting countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe.

US intelligence director Dennis Blair told a Congress committee in March that US agencies are keeping close tabs on China’s expanding influence in Africa, especially in oil-producing countries like Nigeria.

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Ethiopia Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

AGI: Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative

From The Office of Tony Blair
November 05, 2009
Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative to create development through good governance becomes charity

The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative has become a registered UK charity after creating a unique 'hands-on' approach to development and poverty eradication over the past eighteen months.

The Charity Commission approved the application from this relatively new organisation, which is underpinned by the belief that good governance and sustainable development are key to poverty eradication in the long term.

Tony Blair, founder of the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), said:

"I'm extremely proud of our excellent project teams who are working in partnership with the governments of Rwanda and Sierra Leone to reduce poverty and develop new opportunities for growth.

"It is a privilege to work with leaders as talented and as committed to their people as President Koroma and President Kagame who represent a new generation of leaders in Africa with a commitment to building a new future for their people.

"The developed world needs to keep up its commitment to Africa expressed at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles. But lasting change in Africa will only come in the end from African solutions. By building the capacity to create sustainable long-term development through good governance and providing high level advice, we have already started to help deliver that change.

"And it won't stop here. Whilst developing our work in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, we want to launch new projects with other countries, sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise. We want more countries to develop sustainably, paving the way to a prosperous future.

"This work has reinforced my optimism about Africa's future, as well as my conviction that governance and growth are the key ingredients to effectively reduce poverty across the continent."

Commenting on Tony Blair and the work of the Africa Governance Initiative, Ernest Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, said:

"Mr. Blair has demonstrated an enduring commitment to Sierra Leone and its people. The work comes at a critical stage in Sierra Leone's development. I believe together we have an opportunity to ensure that Sierra Leone puts in place the policies, people and institutions to achieve real and lasting change."

Commenting on the work of AGI, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said:

"What I would like people to know is that the type of partnership we have with Tony Blair is totally different from the type of consultancy people are used to. We work in very strong partnerships whereby not only gaps are filled where they exist, but there's also the notion of transfer of skills, mentoring, actually doing things that are measurable such that over a period of time, we will be able to know what kind of impact was made."

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Ethiopia Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

UN SRSG Qazi: DDR critical to creating conducive environment for the upcoming elections in Sudan

The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme recently achieved the milestone of reaching 15,000 demobilized. Meanwhile, Reintegration counselling and referral has been rolled out to seven states and will be countrywide by the early 2010.

The Sudan DDR Programme under the CPA targets up to 180,000 participants from both SAF and SPLA. They will be demobilised and provided with opportunities for alternative livelihoods such as agriculture, micro-business, vocational training or formal education.

Norway announced an additional pledge of NEK29million (approximately US$5million) to support adult and child DDR.

Source: United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
DDR partnership hails progress
Date: 04 Nov 2009 (via ReliefWeb)

Meeting in Kadugli on 3 November 2009, the DDR Roundtable Partnership acknowledged significant progress since the launch of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) in February this year, under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, but admitted that much was still left to be done.

"We have made considerable progress in the implementation of the DDR programme," the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi affirmed at the roundtable, citing among other achievements, the establishment of several assembly areas and demobilisation sites in The Three Areas and in Southern Sudan.

"The momentum built up thus far is impressive and continues to grow as new sites will become operational in the Three Areas and Southern Sudan," Ambassador Qazi declared, adding that the UN has started to work with its Sudanese partners to extend DDR operations to Al-Fula and Abyei.

Speaking on behalf of the UN family in Sudan, SRSG Qazi observed that the DDR process "has given hope to ex-combatants and their communities as they see something concrete being done to promote peace." The SRSG further noted that the DDR was "critical to creating a conducive environment for the upcoming elections."

On the demobilisation of child soldiers, he lamented the current funding shortfall being faced by UNICEF. "It is important we regain momentum on the release and reintegration of children associated with armed forces to prevent children from returning to life in the barracks," the SRSG urged.

The DDR recently achieved the milestone of reaching 15,000 demobilized. Meanwhile, Reintegration counselling and referral has been rolled out to seven states and will be countrywide by the early 2010. Especially in the Three Areas, DDR is making a significant contribution to CPA implementation by fostering trust on both sides, ameliorating security threats and giving ex-combatants, potential spoilers in the future, a solid stake in peace.

Opening the roundtable conference, H.E. Governor Ahmed Haroun hailed the achievements to date and the importance of DDR to restoring stability in Southern Kordofan in particular. The Governor nonetheless insisted that the programme "needs to be expanded."

The DDR Roundtable partnership is a forum major stakeholders of the DDR programme meet at the highest level to review policy and implementation and to ensure the DDR process is on track to meet its goals.

H.E. Ambassador Yuichi Ishii from Japan, a major donor to DDR, spoke on behalf of the donor community. "Today, we witness the collaborative work of the Sudan DDR partners through this Roundtable meeting, and also North and South cooperation here in Southern Kordofan for the future," the Japanese envoy remarked. "We strongly hope that this occasion will provide leverage for the progress of the DDR programme and show concrete steps."

H.E. General Bakri Hassan Saleh, Chairman of the National DDR Coordination Council, urged increased financial support to the programme observing, "Although the war is behind us, we still have a lot of challenges ahead, which is why we request support to give a better life to our combatants."

At the meeting, the representative from Norway announced an additional pledge of NEK29million (approximately US$5million) to support adult and child DDR.

After the meeting, a weapons destruction ceremony was held. A pile of weapons collected from the PDF were lit on fire to symbolize the role of DDR in the transition from war to peace and in reducing violence in communities.

The Sudan DDR Programme under the CPA targets up to 180,000 participants from both SAF and SPLA. They will be demobilised and provided with opportunities for alternative livelihoods such as agriculture, micro-business, vocational training or formal education. The North and South Sudan DDR Commissions implement the programme with support from the Integrated UN DDR Unit, comprised of UNMIS, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP and UNFPA.

The roundtable in Kadugli was attended, among other dignitaries, by H.E. Governor Ahmed Haroun of South Kordofan, the Chairperson of the National DDR Coordination Council, H.E. General Bakri Hassan Saleh, H.E. Minister Elias Nyamlel, General Osman Nouri, the Ambassadors of Japan, South Africa and South Korea, UNMIS SRSG Ashraf Qazi and UNICEF Representative Nils Kastberg as well as representatives of the donor community, North and Southern Sudan DDR Commissions and the UN.

For further information, contact:
Napoleon Viban, phone: +249 (0) 914 549 072, e-mail: viban@un.org
Monique Tummers, +249 (0) 914 108 772, e-mail: tummers@un.org

U.S. Sudan Gration: White House & State Dept partnering with Save Darfur Coalition and STAND to launch "Ask U.S."

Email just in from U.S. Department of State
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:59:22 -0600:

"Ask U.S." - Engaging on Sudan Strategy
Scott Gration
Special Envoy to Sudan
Washington, DC
November 4, 2009

On October 19, Secretary Clinton, accompanied by Ambassador Rice and myself, released the Obama Administration’s new comprehensive strategy to confront the serious and urgent situation in Sudan. As mentioned in my past blog post, the strategy focuses on three major areas: ending the conflict in Darfur, implementing the North-South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), and ensuring that Sudan does not become a safe haven for terrorists.

This approach involves engaging with all stakeholders, in and out of Sudan, and calls for addressing the myriad set of issues facing Sudan in a coordinated and comprehensive way, based on verifiable progress on the ground.

Today, we continue this engagement and conversation in a new and unique way.

The Sudan advocacy community is extremely active and deeply committed to raising critical awareness about the situation in Sudan. The Obama Administration is eager to continue an active dialogue with the advocacy community, and as such the White House and the State Department are partnering with The Save Darfur Coalition and STAND to launch “Ask U.S.”

“Ask U.S.” is an effort to reach out to the advocacy communities and to solicit questions on the U.S. Sudan policy from activists deeply and passionately engaged on this critical issue. As part of the “Ask U.S.” campaign, The Save Darfur Coalition and STAND will collect questions from their members over the course of this week and weekend. Next Tuesday, November 10th, leaders from these organizations will come to the White House and, in a live streamed video event, will pose selected questions to myself and Samantha Power, NSC Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs.

I would like to invite you to join the conversation and to watch the live stream at 3pm EST, Tuesday, November 10th. Through the State Department page on Facebook, you can watch as members of the advocacy community have their questions posed to us, and I also encourage you to participate by inviting your friends and family on Facebook to join in the chat as this conversation unfolds.

We look forward to opening up this dialogue, listening and learning and ultimately building ways that we can work together to support the Sudanese people in their quest for peace, security and prosperity.

The advocacy community has had a major impact by raising awareness about the situation in Sudan. By maintaining an open conversation and working together, we can make a real difference with real progress for the Sudanese people.

We hope you will join us.

[end of email]

Further reading

Voice of America

Now We Need Presidential Leadership

Huffington Post (blog) - ‎Oct 29, 2009‎

Jerry Fowler is the president of the Save Darfur Coalition, an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations committed to ...

Editorial: Plotting a new course Philadelphia Inquirer

US Sudan Policy Goes from Rhetoric to Reality ISN

all 547 news articles »

New Zealand Herald

New US Policy Towards Sudan

NPR - ‎Oct 20, 2009‎

The President of the Save Darfur Coalition, Jerry Fowler discusses how the new US policy will try to stop the ongoing conflict in Darfur. ...

Video: Secretary Clinton, Special Envoy Gration on Sudan Policy Sec Santa Barbara Arts TV

Why all the 'howling' about Sudan's debt? Probe International

White House Unveils Sudan Strategy New York Times

msnbc.com - Reuters

all 1,240 news articles »

Save Darfur Coalition wants US to fight debt relief to Sudan

Probe International - ‎Oct 13, 2009‎

The US-based Save Darfur Coalition is making a new push to deny debt relief to Sudan. The activists are aiming to counter lobbying by Sudan at the annual ...

Sudanese register for first free vote in 24 years

Sudanese began registering on Sunday, 01 November 2009, for the country's first multi-party elections in 24 years, but opposition parties threatened to boycott the April poll unless democratic reforms are passed.

See full story by Opheera McDoom in Khartoum, Reuters, 01 November 2009 (via Canada.com):   Sudanese register for first free vote in 24 years



Photo: A woman displays her identity card after registering for Sudan's first presidential and legislative elections in Khartoum, November 1, 2009. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah Tue Nov 03, 2009)
- - -

From Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 02 November 2009:
Sudan's opposition urges supportes to regiter as voters

(Khartoum) - Sudanese Opposition parties are urging their supporters to take advantage of the on-going voter registration to exercise their voting rights in the up-coming general elections scheduled for April next year.

In a press conference in Khartoum on Saturday the Spokesperson of the National Democratic Alliance and Member of Parliament in the National Assembly, Farouk Abu-Issa, said that the Alliance of opposition parties has formed a legal committee to monitor the voter registration process in Khartoum.

[Farouk Abu-Issa -Arabic]: “The meeting has decided that all our parties’ supporters in the national capital, in the regions and outside the Sudan should work together as representatives of the opposition parties. Our group will soon circulate a memo regarding this issue calling for cooperation in all stages of voter registration. At the moment, it is accepted that parties should monitor voter registration, our people must organize themselves and we have formed a national body for monitoring voter registration here in the centre.”

Abu-Issa claimed that parties have received news from the regions that more than sixty-five percent of the members of the National Election Committee in the different states are members of the N-C-P, raising concerns that the forth-coming elections may not be “free and fair”.

- - -

From Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 02 November 2009:
NEC officials barred in Halaib

(Eastern Sudan) - The Beja Congress party claims that the voter registration exercise did not start at Halaib triangle, an area along the Red Sea coast being contested between Sudan and Egypt.

Last month the National Election Committee announced that the residents of Halaib will be allowed to register as voters.

However a senior official in the Beja Congress party and a member of parliament, Abdullah Musa told Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum, that the electoral team was barred from entering Halaib by Egyptian authorities.

[Abdullah Musa 1 -Arabic]: “The voter registration did not start in Halaib because the Team from the election committed was refused entry by Egyptian authorities. And this is not the first time. During the census, the enumerators were not allowed to count people. The border is closed and Egyptian authorities there have erected a barbed wire fence."

The deputy chairman of NEC, Doctor Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah said that NEC has not received any information to that effect.

[Abdullah Ahmed -Arabic]: “I have no detailed information regarding this news, and we wouldn’t to discuss about Halaib. All we know is that the Halaib triangle is a Sudanese constituency.”

The Halaib triangle has been a source of tension between Sudan and Egypt since 1958.

- - -

From Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 02 November 2009:
Mayom community against split of county

(Unity State) - People of Mayom County living in Khartoum are against attempts by some politicians to split the County.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service during a meeting organized by the Association of Mayom County Students in Universities and Higher Institutions of learning in Khartoum on Sunday, Mayom County Member of Parliament in the National Assembly, Stephen Kuina Garjik denounced the attempts.

[Stephen Kuina -English]: “This is not the right time for Mayom to be divided into two. If there are individuals in Mayom who are eager to have two counties, it has not been requested by the community to have two counties at the same time. So I think there is a misunderstanding somewhere. Our answer or our position is no because we are not ready to have two counties at the same. Again when you look at the figures that came out as a result of the census, Mayom got 120 thousand 715. In order to divide that number, you will not have a county because you cannot have a county which has lees than 60 thousand populations that is more or less, I don’t know how some of our people think that they should divide them. But if they want to divide it, it is the youth and the community to ask for more counties not politicians.”

Mister Kuina added that the ten chiefs of Mayom are all united against the division of Mayom County.

- - -

Observers are delayed as deadline nears in Sudan’s voter registration

From Sudan Tribune, Wednesday, 04 November 2009 - excerpt:

The Carter Center has deployed already 12 observers to five regions of Sudan and it hopes to bring in 20 additional observers for the ongoing voter registration period.

But in a statement today the international NGO said it was “concerned that its mission will be compromised if the Center’s observers are not accredited immediately and if regulations are not applied equally to all national and international observer groups.”

See full story: Observers are delayed as deadline nears in Sudan’s voter registration

- - -

Further reading 

South Sudan government calls for mobilization of citizens to register for ...

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎27 minutes ago‎

South Sudan Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Martin Elias Lomuro, appealed to all institutions to mobilize and encourage citizens to register for the 2010 ...

Sudan election monitor hindered

Philadelphia Inquirer - ‎10 hours ago‎

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Permit delays, lack of funds, and security intimidation are obstructing international and local observers from monitoring registration for ...

Is an independent south Sudan now inevitable? Reuters Blogs (blog)

Sudan: ARTICLE 19 launches its state-by-state media assessment Afrik.com

Salva Kiir: North Sudan 'failed' to make unity attractive ReliefWeb (press release)

AFP - Sudan Tribune

all 170 news articles »

Survivors of the Darfur conflict will no longer be deported from Britain

Survivors of the Darfur crisis who sought refuge in the UK are to be granted asylum under new rules.

See full story at BBC News, Tuesday, 04 November 2009:
Darfur survivors to get UK asylum



Photo: Protesters demonstrate outside the Sudanese embassy in central London in March 2009. Survivors of the Darfur conflict will no longer be deported from Britain, the government said Tuesday, after concerns about a deterioration in conditions in the Sudanese capital. (AFP/File/Shaun Curry) Tue Nov 03, 2009.

Reflections on the AU PSC Summit - ‘African solutions to African problems’ (Alex de Waal)

From Alex de Waal's blog Making Sense of Darfur
Reflections on the AU PSC Summit
By Alex de Waal, Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

The slogan ‘African solutions to African problems’ has become hackneyed and discredited. One reason why it is not taken seriously is that there has been little African analysis of African problems, because African institutions have borrowed their definitions and methodologies from elsewhere. The agenda has usually been set by non-African governments, multilateral institutions and NGOs, which have appropriated for themselves the right to speak for Africans—reducing the African voice to the pronouncements of governments, which are usually disregarded for good reason.

The special meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council, at heads of state level, in Abuja, Nigeria, on 28 October, to consider the AUPD report was a departure in several ways. It showed Africa, and the African Union, at its strongest, and gives reason for optimism about the implementation of the recommendations of the report.

In presenting the report, the Panel Chairman Thabo Mbeki, and the Chairperson of the AU Commission Jean Ping, stressed how much Africa cares for Sudan—for Sudan’s sake and for Africa’s sake. They were less interested in pointing the finger and asserting principles for their own sake, and more concerned about helping Sudan look forward rather than getting entangled in its past.

The report is tough on the Sudan government, not only for its misconduct of the war and the need to be called to account for violations, but also for the structural political inequalities it has sustained. Despite this harshness, the Sudan government was ready to listen and accept, more than one would have anticipated. Disarmed by the frank, caring and constructive approach, the Sudan government could not question the Panel’s motives. President Mbeki framed his structural critique as a challenge to the Sudan Government to take a lead in transforming Sudan. The armed movements were not present in Abuja, but they should be assessing the Panel’s work politically, and seeing how it can best be leveraged to their political advantage.

The members of the AU Panel were present in Abuja, but not the advisers such as myself. According to what I learned, two main issues were raised in the closed session of the meeting.

One concerned the Panel’s methodology. The heads of state were interested in the process utilized and wanted it explained. The Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi took a lead in asking questions about how the Panel had arrived at its conclusions. Arising from his questions, and President Mbeki’s answers, was a broader implication that the Panel had pioneered a bold new approach to analyzing African problems, allowing Africa to take the lead in addressing Sudan’s political crisis. Much of the PSC AUPD’s method started with a simple, disarming and commonsense approach—to listen to the people of Darfur from all walks of life and allow them to define the problem.

The method of participatory listening and formulating recommendations on that basis was validated by the PSC. The heads of state present in Abuja were told that listening to people at the grassroots, led the panel in the direction of comprehensive, moderate, and workable measures, that ordinary people were reasonable in articulating what constitutes a just solution to Darfur’s problem, and that listening to them gave an opportunity to capture the society’s disposition towards a solution. They heard that forty days of consultations and hearings with more than 3,000 people was a worthwhile investment. Prime Minister Meles noted, ‘there is now an African position based on a real investigation.’ He went on to say, ‘This sets a new standard that the AU will have to uphold.’

The second topic for discussion was a broader issue of how the Panel managed to define the central issues in Darfur, what they meant for Africa, and how Africa should respond. Discussing the report was invigorating for African leaders who have become accustomed to being on the receiving end of analysis and recommendations, chasing problems that have been defined by others. They had been reduced to tacticians, dealing solely with damage management. In Abuja they had the opportunity to think strategically, and they responded. Implicit in the points made was that the failure to provide an African analysis of African problems was the root cause of the failure of Africa to pursue its own solutions to those problems.

The discussion around the AUPD report shows the strengths of Africa’s leaders. It demonstrates how Africa’s comparative advantage is to think politically concerning political crises such as Darfur. Africa contributes human resources to peacekeeping operations but has great difficulties in providing any further peacekeeping infrastructure. But recent experience suggests that the burden of sustaining large peacekeeping operations may be sustained at the expense of an erosion of political thinking. Africa, unencumbered by these obligations, and not deeply engaged in humanitarian operations, is able to think in more creative political terms. If the analysis is right, African leaders may be prepared to act boldly and strategically.

Some other points from the PSC meeting deserve mention.

Chadian President Idriss Déby was present at the meeting and reportedly said that the report was positive. He found its analysis educative, and noted that it coincided with his own observations, though he criticized the assertion that arms were coming to Darfur from Chad, rather than vice versa. Other heads of state who were present and commented positively included President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, and President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya. Compaoré noted that the Panel’s analysis was relevant to west African countries (including his own) that face conflicts between farmers and pastoralists. Kibaki’s concern was with the CPA.

There was almost no discussion of the ICC in the summit and nothing significant was said on the hybrid court. One member state raised ICC in the context of making the point that, if the Sudan government implements the recommendations, then the proposal to defer the ICC arrest warrant against President Bashir will be compelling. This issue was not pursued, although the PSC resolution reiterates the July 2008 request that the UN Security Council defer the ICC prosecution of President Bashir. The reason for this being included is that the PSC has not revisited its earlier decision. The underlying reason is that the PSC remains frustrated by the way its request was spurned by the UNSC—it is a reminder to the UN that it should not take the AU for granted.

The PSC established a High-Level Implementation Panel with a one year mandate, comprising the three former presidents. This will oversee the implementation of the Panel’s recommendations. The African leaders all spoke about the imperative of implementation. As has been repeated many times, the problem of Sudan is a problem of too many agreements not implemented. The PSC made a commitment to seriousness in implementation, which is encouraging.

The renewed Panel will also attend to the implementation of the CPA. This is a significant step. The AU has not yet taken any position on the questions that arise from the prospect of self-determination in southern Sudan, other than pro forma support for the CPA. Based on the model of the AUPD, we can expect the new Panel to undertake systematic political analysis of the future of Sudan, whether as one country or two, and consult the people on the questions that arise.

Perhaps the most significant implication of the PSC meeting is the potential for African leadership in defining and pursuing political solutions for crises in Africa. This could be a new page. If the internationals are serious about viable solutions to Sudanese crises, they should find appropriate ways to support this approach.

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South Sudan: SPLA rescue 46 Darfuris from LRA in Raja County, Western Bahr el-Ghazal

The recent attack on Raja raises fears about the extension of LRA activities to other parts of southern Sudan.

From Sudan Radio Service, 26 October 2009:
SPLA Rescue 46 IDPs From LRA in Raja County

(Juba) - Forty-six internally displaced persons from Darfur were rescued from the LRA by the SPLA in Raja county in Western Bahr el-Ghazal state on Sunday.

The IDPs were abducted in Kor-El Madia following attacks in the county by the LRA last Wednesday.

The SPLA spokesman, major-general Kuol Diem told Sudan Radio Service that the SPLA forces were at the village of Kor-El Madia when the LRA attacked the area

(Kuol Diem) Our force, Battalion 332, when they heard the clashes, they organized themselves to rescue the camp, but when they arrived at the displaced camp, they found that the LRA had left and were heading towards the Central African Republic. The force followed them until they found them, they clashed with the LRA and they entered the CAR, and the SPLA was able to bring back the civilians who were abducted by the LRA. They were forty-six in number.

The recent attack on Raja raises fears about the extension of LRA activities to other parts of southern Sudan.

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South Sudan: At least 8 people killed in clashes between rival ethnic groups near Malakal, Upper Nile State

The BBC's Peter Martell, in Juba, says although the clashes are not believed to be connected to the election process, they do indicate the enormous logistical and security challenges the authorities face.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Juba on Thursday,  chairman of the southern Sudan high electoral committee, Caesar Arkangelo said increased cases of insecurity prompted the Chairman of the National Election Commission, Abel Alier to tour southern Sudan. 

From BBC News Monday, 02 November 2009 UK 19:19 GMT - excerpt:
Fresh violence hits south Sudan

Deadly clashes have broken out in southern Sudan, as officials begin a month-long registration of voters for the first full election in 24 years.

The semi-autonomous south's information minister Paul Mayom said at least eight people were killed in the violence.

He offered no further detail, but a BBC correspondent says the violence is not believed to be linked to the vote.

The latest violence reportedly broke out between rival ethnic groups in the early hours of Sunday in a village near Malakal town, about 300 miles (480km) north of regional capital Juba.

The BBC's Peter Martell, in Juba, says although the clashes are not believed to be connected to the election process, they do indicate the enormous logistical and security challenges the authorities face.

- - -

From Sudan Radio Service, 29 October 2009:
Electoral body concerned about insecurity

(Juba) - The chairman of the southern Sudan high electoral committee, Caesar Arkangelo says insecurity in most parts of southern Sudan remains a major challenge for voter registration exercise.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Juba on Thursday, Caesar said increased cases of insecurity prompted the Chairman of the National Election Commission, Abel Alier to tour southern Sudan.

[Cesar Arkangelo]: “His Excellency Abel Alier came with a delegation of two, one commissioner and one secretary general for national election commission. They were concerned about an incident that took place on 22nd of this month when the registration equipments for training were being transported to our states by trucks and at Gudele there was scalpel between the security people where one woman was killed and two soldiers were wounded over an internal thing. So as the chairperson for the election commission in the Sudan he was highly concerned because the most important part of election is registration and the equipment for registration will be taken to all the states that is Jonglei, Eastern, Western Equatoria and of late Warrap and Western Bahr el–Ghazal states were being interrupted. So it becomes a concern to him and he came to check with all of us including Goss for security arrangement. ”

The voter registration exercise will begin officially on 1 November and ends on 30th.

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Al-Shabab: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya

A militant Islamic group associated with al Qaeda has threatened to attack Israel, far from its normal base of operations in Somalia. CNN writes that Al-Shabab, which is fighting to control the east African country, accused Israel of “starting to destroy” the Al Aqsa mosque, where standoffs have recently been taking place between Israeli police and Palestinians.

The mosque is part of the complex that Jews called the Temple Mount and Muslims call Haram al-Sharif. The group also threatened other African nations on Friday, including Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.

Source: Afrik.com Monday 2 November 2009 - Somalia: Somali group with Al-Qaeda ties threatens Israel, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya
- - -



(AFP photo) This still image provided by SITE, an organization which monitors Islamist websites, from a video entitled 'At Your Service Osama' released 20 Sep 2009, shows Abu Mansur al-Amriki (R) teaching mujahedeen small unit tactics.

Source: Voice of America report by Alisha Ryu (Nairobi) 27 October 2009 - Uganda Tightens Security Following Al-Shabab Threat

U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration welcomes AUPD report and applauds African Union

Copy of email just in from US Department of State dated Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:28:17 -0600 entitled "Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation"

U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan
Abuja, Nigeria
October 29, 2009

Today marks the release of the much-anticipated report by the African Union’s (AU) High Level Panel on Darfur. The Panel, led by former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, was convened earlier this year to examine the situation in Darfur and to come up with recommendations to address issues of accountability, combating impunity, and bringing about healing and reconciliation for the people of Darfur. I am attending a special session of AU Peace and Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria, where a number of African heads of state are reviewing the Panel’s findings.

We welcome the release of this report and applaud the efforts of the AU, President Mbeki, and his panel of experts. We will study the Panel’s results and recommendations closely. It is critical that we begin laying the groundwork for peace, justice, and reconciliation in Sudan. As articulated in the United States policy on Sudan, accountability for the genocide and atrocities in Darfur is fundamental and necessary for reconciliation and lasting peace. As such, we will continue to work with the AU, Darfuri armed movements, Darfuri civil society, the Government of Sudan, and the international community to address these critical issues and to bring peace, justice, and reconciliation to Sudan. We will also continue to be supportive of finding a way forward that is deemed credible and unbiased by the standards of international justice and that enjoys the confidence of the people of Darfur.

Thank you for your continued interest, Scott. [end of email]

News Agency of Southern Sudan (NASS) will carry stories from the rural and remote areas

Good news from Sudan Tribune by James Gatdet Dak, 31 October 2009:
South Sudan establishes news agency

October 29, 2009 (JUBA) – A government’s electronic and print news agency will soon be established in Southern Sudan, says the official spokesperson.

Paul Mayom Akech has told the press that a News Agency of Southern Sudan (NASS) is a substitute for the Khartoum-based Sudan News Agency (SUNA) and will carry stories from the rural and remote areas not normally covered by the mainstream press.

In the Friday’s cabinet meeting chaired by the semi-autonomous region’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit, it passed the proposed structures of the would-be NASS

The Agency will support news and information programming at public and private domestic media outlets throughout Southern Sudan and convey news about Southern Sudan to the international press.

NASS will initially be developed within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, utilizing the skills of staff trained through the ministry’s capacity building initiatives.

Mayom also added that a Public Information Center (PIC) will be established as a venue to disseminate information about the government activities and policies to the general public as well as a resource and documentation center for researchers and academics.

The cabinet also resolved to establish a Printing Press in Juba that will print newspapers, school textbooks and government documents, etc.

The official spokesperson, minister of Information and Broadcasting further added that the multi-purpose printing press facility will consolidate Southern Sudan’s commitment to freedom of the press.

Reuters: South Sudan's President Salva Kiir in first call for independence

From The New York Times
By REUTERS October 31, 2009 1:46 p.m. ET
South Sudan President In First Call For Independence

JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan's president on Saturday urged southerners to choose independence in a referendum if they wanted to be free, the closest he has come to calling publicly for the separation of the oil-producing region.

The south secured a vote on whether to break away from Sudan as part of a peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war with the north. But until now, southern president Salva Kiir has stuck to the official line of building support for unity.

"When you reach your ballot boxes the choice is yours: you want to vote for unity so that you become a second class in your own country, that is your choice," he told a cathedral congregation in the south's capital Juba during a service to launch a prayer campaign for elections due in 2010 and the referendum in 2011.

"If you want to vote for independence so that you are a free person in your independent state, that will be your own choice and we will respect the choice of the people."

The comments will add pressure to the already troubled relationship between Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the north's dominant National Congress Party (NCP).

Both sides promised to build up a campaign to make the unity of Sudan attractive to voters when they signed the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that settled the civil war.

Most southerners, embittered by the long war and the lack of development in the south since it ended, are widely thought to support independence. But their leaders had so far not gone as far as openly saying they want to split.

Southern independence is a highly sensitive subject, particularly in the north. The bulk of Sudan's proven oil reserves are in the south, while refineries and Sudan's only port are in the north.

No one from the NCP was immediately available to comment.

Two million people were killed and 4 million fled their homes between 1983 and 2005 as Sudan's north and south battled over differences of ideology, ethnicity and religion. North Sudan is mostly Muslim while southerners are largely Christian and followers of traditional beliefs.

(Reporting by Jose Vieira, writing by Andrew Heavens; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

UPDATE on Monday, 02 November 2009 UK GMT 9:16 AM:

Aljazeera.net

South Sudan leader urges split

BBC News - ‎20 hours ago‎

Southern Sudan leader Salva Kiir has made his strongest call for full independence when the region's status is decided at a referendum due in 2011. ...

South Sudan leader calls for southern secession The Associated Press

Sudanese register for first vote in 24 years AFP

Halayeb triangle excluded from Sudan voter registration: report Sudan Tribune

Reuters - Voice of America

all 280 news articles »

Mbeki: 'The Sudanese crisis in Darfur' - Reading the AU Panel Report (Alex de Waal)

From Alex de Waal's blog Making Sense of Darfur
Reading the AU Panel Report
By Alex de Waal, Friday, October 30, 2009:

The report of African Union High Level Panel on Darfur (AUPD) has injected a new dynamic into Sudanese political life. President Thabo Mbeki has confounded those who had forgotten that he was the architect of the negotiated dismantling of Apartheid, and short-sightedly misperceived him as a member of the club of African status quo statists. In his opening presentation to the AUPD seven months ago, Mbeki mentioned just one Sudanese by name: John Garang. Recalling that, the substance of the Panel’s report should come as less of a surprise.

The AUPD report moves Sudanese politics ahead in two major respects. First, it shifts the centre of political attention away from responding to immediate human rights violations and humanitarian concerns, to addressing the underlying political malaise in Sudan, that gives rise to such violations. Second, it puts the Sudanese people back at the centre of the process. The report does not contain any blueprint for peace, and correctly so, though it does make a number of proposals for discussion by the Sudanese parties. It is essentially a call for a political process—and in fact the Panel has already set such a process in motion. The challenge is to sustain and accelerate that process.

In his introduction to the Report, President Mbeki writes of ‘the Sudanese crisis in Darfur.’ This is a careful phrasing that represents a deliberate shift in focus from considering the Darfur crisis in isolation, to seeing it as a manifestation of Sudan’s historic problem of inequity. At independence in 1956, the Sudanese nation inherited a gross disparity from its two colonial episodes. The riverain elite has dominated Sudanese political and economic life since independence, and its dominance has sparked recurrent rebellions in the peripheries—notably south Sudan and Darfur.

In specifying the Darfur crisis as a symptom of national minority rule, Mbeki has taken a step beyond all previous international inquiries. Some of these have either focused on the human rights and humanitarian dimensions of the Darfur crisis—the outcome of the political crisis, not its cause. Other international approaches have zeroed in on the need for a Darfur peace, plus solutions to the problems in the three areas and a legitimate referendum in the south. On this blog, this has been criticized as a strategy of liberating the country one Bantustan at a time.

The AU Panel attempts to go straight to the centre of gravity of Sudan’s crisis, as it is manifest in Darfur. It identifies this as a historically-rooted crisis of inequality in governance and development which needs an inclusive Global Political Agreement, in which all stakeholders come to a common commitment on peace, justice, reconciliation, and Darfur’s place in the Sudanese nation, as an integrated whole.

The three pillars of peace, justice and reconciliation make no sense when considered separately. They are meaningful only when part of an overall package, agreed to by all stakeholders, to resolve the root causes of the conflict. Also, they are only meaningful in the light of Darfur’s integration into Sudan’s national political process of democratization and the debate on unity or the separation of the south.

When Mbeki took on the Chairmanship of the AUPD in March, his critics were quick to allege that was seeking an escape route for President Omar al Bashir from the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant. The ICC was indeed the spark for the AU to set up the Panel—to be precise, it was the AU Peace and Security Council’s spurned request to the UN Security Council to consider a deferral of the prosecution that angered the AU. Some wrote off the Panel in advance on these grounds, and even refused to engage with it, arguing that they knew the outcome in advance. Most press attention focuses on how the Panel deals with the ICC, and especially its proposal for a special chamber within the Sudanese judiciary staffed by international jurists to try those alleged to have committed war crimes in Darfur.

The most important point about the ICC in the Report is not whether the Panel endorses it or not, but the position that the Court has within the overall structure of the Recommendations. The ICC issue does not take pride of place in the AUPD Report. The ICC is given its place, along with consideration of a Hybrid Court and a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, as part of a broad agenda of items to be negotiated in a round table process of hammering out a Global Political Agreement. The Panel neither supports the ICC nor seeks to block it. Rather it puts the ICC in its place as one possible part of comprehensive package—perhaps useful, possibly not, depending on the views of the Sudanese themselves.

Critics have also accused Mbeki of being conservative and statist, defending the status quo in Sudan, as he allegedly did in Zimbabwe. In fact, the approach that Mbeki has taken has far more in common with his strategic role in bringing about the negotiated end of minority rule in his own country. Those seeking to understand Mbeki’s strategy should look back twenty years, not five. The implicit, tough message for the Khartoum Government is: negotiate power sharing now, or face the likelihood that Sudan will soon be fragmented and ungovernable. The message for Africa is that the continent cannot afford an irreparably fractured country at its heart.

Across the Sudanese political scene, the report has challenged the opposition to take seriously its responsibility for seeking constructive political solutions. The days of grandstanding and appealing for outside salvation are numbered. Those who respond positively will make the political running in the years ahead, those who do not risk being sidelined.

The Panel’s report therefore shifts the international debate on Sudan from the politics of condemning atrocities (where the UN Security Council has found itself stuck) to the politics of constructing political solutions. Equally importantly, it brings the Sudanese people back as the principal actors. The task of solving Sudan’s crisis in Darfur is first and foremost a challenge for the Sudanese, next for Africa, and finally for the international community.

Any number of think tanks could have articulated such an argument—indeed there is nothing fundamentally new in making the case that there needs to be an inclusive political solution leading to democratization within an ‘all Sudan’ framework. Where the AU Panel differs is its innovative method. All previous international engagements of this kind on Sudan have operated through expert consultations in high-class hotels, with chiefly symbolic trips to the Darfur’s displaced camps to shake hands and have photographs taken. The commissioners then retire to write their report which descends from on high, full of exhortations about what the Sudanese must do to meet international obligations. The UN Security Council may make solemn pronouncements, but as Khartoum has shown, these have little meaning in their own right.

Not so Mbeki and his Panel. During the last six months, the Panel’s three former Presidents, the Nigerian Abdusalami Abubaker and the Burundian Pierre Buyoya, as well as Mbeki, spent at least three months’ worth of full-time work on the task. Overall, the Panel spent more than forty days in town-hall style meetings in Sudan, mostly in Darfur. This was a grueling exercise, unmatched by any special envoy, mediator, or investigator. These were not ad hoc lectures or informal discussions, but well-prepared consultations in which the Darfurians systematically spoke about their fears and hopes. It provided an important role for the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation. As a result, every recommendation is grounded in what the people themselves have said.

For example, in long meetings with refugees and displaced persons, tribal leaders, women, civil society activists, and nomads, all these groups insisted that they should be directly represented at future peace talks. They were not content for the armed movements to represent them—all felt that the rebel leaders had been a disappointment. The Panel reflects this unanimous demand with its round table formula for political negotiations. The rebel leaders will be unhappy, and so too some of the diplomats who have run the last rounds of failed peace talks. They have already said that it is an unwieldy and complicated process. Mbeki will have a simple response: this is the people’s demand, and it is less complicated to have an inclusive process than another failed accord.

As the initial four month mandate of the Panel came to a close, Mbeki asked for an extension. He told the AU staff, advisors, and fellow panelists that he intended to make a third mission to Sudan, to discuss the draft recommendations. This was also a new departure. Meeting once again—often for the third time—with the same representatives, the Panel had shown its seriousness, and was rewarded when the Darfurian people recognized their own demands in those recommendations. Having generating this sense of ownership, a political process is now in motion.

Implementing the recommendations for peace, justice and reconciliation is a bigger task. The AU Peace and Security Council has endorsed the Report at a special summit level meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. The recommendations already have the broad support of the Darfurian population. The Sudan Government will protest, but ultimately will be under immense pressure to go along. The armed movements are criticizing some details, but will recognize that Mbeki has articulated their own critique of the imbalance of power and wealth in Sudan. Corralling the international community and re-energizing a moribund peace process are next. President Mbeki has shown strategic vision and stamina thus far. Facilitating the negotiated transformation of Sudan will demand even greater political skill.

Comment posted at “Reading the AU Panel Report”
By Ahmed Hassan: October 30, 2009

Dear Alex,

Since I did not read the report, I have just few questions to help me understand the contents of the proposal correctly:

1) How can we read this initiative together with the CPA as far as the pending issues between the North and the South, which are central to the overall crisis of Sudan, are concerned? Can the two processes go together side by side, or does it mean that we have to postpone the CPA as a partial process until we go through and exhaust the processes that the report seems to advocates.

2) You mentioned that one of the pillars of the report is that it shifts the emphasis and puts Darfur in the Centre. My question is that: are Darfur injustices represent a cause or a result of the problem of the North and why for that reason the Beja area or the Blue Nile could not be the centre of focus?; also by putting Darfur first how is that different from “Liberating the Country, one Bantustan at a time” Isn’t Darfur first, as part of the entire Sudan problem, imply that the Nuba Mountains is second, the Blue Nile is third…etc?

3) The second pillar of the proposal which calls for putting justice, peace and reconciliation as one package to be accepted by all, isn’t that quite challenging or next to impossible? I do not see any major challenges with peace and reconciliation, I do have a major concern about the type of justice and whether it will also cover atrocities by all Sudanese political parties in the past as we discussed in the Kampala Conference of 2000? What are the mechanisms to bring consensus on that? And what incentives could the guilty parts find in this proposal?

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Messiriya and Rezeigat tribes sign reconciliation agreement

Messairiya [aka Misseriya or Messiriya] and Rezeigat tribes Tuesday signed a reconciliation agreement in the presence of the Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, the Walis (governors) of South Kordofan and South Darfur States and leaders of the two tribes.

Meanwhile, Taha said that the government wants the reconciliation agreement to contribute to boosting the national rank, unity of Sudan and the social peace. He called on the two tribes to help the state realize peace in the area.

Taha appreciated the step of South Sudan State's government of establishing a council of tribal sheikhs to contribute effectively to boosting the development process. He said that the reconciliation between Messairiya and Rezeigat reflected the peaceful co-existence among the people of Sudan and their elevation to the tolerance values.

Source: SUNA/Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan, Washington DC - Messairiya and Rezeigat Sign Reconciliation Agreement - Oct. 29, 2009.