Wednesday, August 07, 2019

UN Security Council's 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee is to meet on 9 Aug

Press Release from the UN
THE WEEK AHEAD at the UN SECURITY COUNCIL
5-9 August 2019

The 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee is also expected to meet on Friday for an update from its Panel of Experts on its work plan.

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Tuesday, August 06, 2019

UNSC Aug 2019 Monthly Forecast Sudan (Darfur) - UNAMID mandate expires 31 Oct 2019

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Here is a copy of the UN Security Council's monthly report for August on Darfur, Sudan posted 31 July 2019. Note that the mandate of the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) expires on 31 October 2019. Getting peacekeepers into Sudan was an extremely difficult and lengthy process in the first place. It started with African Union (AU) peacekeepers. The Sudanese government was against any peacekeepers in Sudan.

This report is important as it explains recent developments in Sudan and serves as a reminder of the importance of UNAMID's peace work in Darfur. Many brave peacekeepers lost their lives or health in Darfur. 
Yellow highlighting is mine for future reference.

Sudan (Darfur)
Expected Council Action
In August, the Council is expected to receive a briefing on the AU/UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in accordance with resolution 2479, which requested the Secretary-General to provide the Security Council with an oral update about the situation on the ground 60 days after the adoption of the resolution. 
The mandate of UNAMID expires on 31 October 2019.

Key Recent Developments
On 5 July, following mediation efforts by the AU and Ethiopia, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the civilian-led opposition coalition, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), reached a preliminary agreement towards the formation of a Transitional Sovereign Council to lead the country for a period of three years and three months ahead of elections. It was agreed that the body would comprise 11 members, with five representatives from each side and the final member to be agreed by the parties, and that the TMC would chair the body for 21 months followed by the FFC for 18 months. The parties also agreed to set up an independent committee to investigate the crackdown on protestors in Khartoum on 3 June, which reportedly resulted in over 100 civilian deaths. On 17 July, the parties initialled a constitutional document dealing with the various transitional subsidiary organs that would be established. At press time, planned talks between the parties to discuss remaining aspects of a final agreement were cancelled by the FFC following the reported killing of four children during protests in the city of El-Obeid on 29 July.

On 27 June, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2479, extending UNAMID’s mandate until 31 October. The resolution was a technical rollover of the mandate set out in 2429 adopted on 13 July 2018 and did not authorise any changes to the role of the mission or any further reductions in its troop and police ceiling. Resolution 2479 also requested the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the AU Commission to provide the Council with a special report by 30 September containing an assessment of the situation on the ground and recommendations for the appropriate course of action regarding the drawdown of UNAMID, as well as a joint AU-UN political strategy detailing options for a follow-on mechanism to UNAMID. (For more details, see our What’s In Blue story of 26 June.)

The idea of rolling over the mission’s mandate for less than a year without any changes was put forward by the UK and Germany in their statements at the last UNAMID briefing on 14 June. The UK said this approach “would provide time for progress on the broader political situation…time for the issue regarding the handover of UNAMID’s team sites to be resolved, and it would enable the United Nations and the African Union to develop a political strategy to address the outstanding challenges that will remain following UNAMID’s departure.” Germany expressed a similar view at the briefing, as did several other Council members.

Sanctions-Related Developments
On 26 June, Ambassador Joanna Wronecka (Poland), chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, provided the quarterly briefing to Council members on the committee’s work, including the joint informal consultations on 21 June with the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee and the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee to discuss the presence of Darfuri armed groups in Libya and South Sudan. Wronecka also updated the Council on her intention to visit Sudan, saying that “[g]iven the current political and security situation in the Sudan, the dates for the visit have yet to be determined”.

Human Rights-Related Developments
On 8 July, a joint statement was released by the independent expert on human rights in Sudan, Aristide Nononsi; the special rapporteur on the right to peaceful assembly and association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule; and the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, denouncing shutdowns of Internet services in Sudan, starting on 3 June. They said it “is in clear violation of international human rights law and cannot be justified under any circumstances”. The statement added that “[a]ccess to information and communication services is crucial at times of protests. Restricting or blocking access to Internet services not only adversely affects the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of expression, assembly and participation, but it also has severe effects on protesters demands’ regarding economic and social rights”. 

Key Issues and Options
The key issue for the Council is to continue to follow developments in Sudan, including the situation in Darfur, and to assess the possible effects of potential further troop reductions on the security and human rights situations. These assessments are likely to be informed by the oral update from the Secretary-General in August on the situation on the ground and the findings and recommendations of the special report, which members expect to receive by 30 September.

A further issue is to assess progress on the benchmarks and indicators of achievement for the exit of the mission set out in the Secretary-General’s report of 12 October 2018. The Council took note of these in its 11 December 2018 presidential statement and asked the Secretary-General to prioritise reporting on progress toward the benchmarks and indicators “to help guide the Security Council’s considerations on the future of UNAMID’s mandate”. The 30 May strategic assessment report on UNAMID recommended that the benchmarks and indicators “be streamlined to serve as long-term progress indicators, beyond the departure of UNAMID”, in three priority areas: developing an updated strategy on the Darfur peace process; strengthening Sudanese rule of law institutions; and long-term support to stabilisation, including durable solutions for internally displaced persons. Council members may be interested in receiving further updates related to progress in this regard.

Council Dynamics
There continue to be differences amongst Council members on the situation in Sudan, including the impact of the current political situation on Darfur, as was again apparent during negotiations on resolution 2479 and the statements made following its adoption on 27 June. The UK said the decision in resolution 2479 “to pause the withdrawal” of UNAMID “recognizes that Darfur is affected by wider instability in the Sudan and that there is a need for the continued protection of civilians in Darfur”. 

The UK called for the Rapid Support Forces (paramilitary forces) to withdraw from all former UNAMID team sites, as committed to by the TMC, and for a transition to a legitimate civilian-led government. If these conditions are not met and the situation in Darfur has not improved by the end of October when UNAMID’s mandate is set to expire, a transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding will be unable to continue, the UK said. In its statement the US said that “security in Khartoum is intrinsically tied to security in Darfur,” adding that “if negotiations stall or security conditions continue to deteriorate, we will look more closely at the planned UNAMID drawdown.” South Africa in its statement thanked Council members “for agreeing that now is not the time to continue the drawdown” of UNAMID. Russia reiterated its call for “refraining from insistent attempts to link the state of affairs in Darfur to the situation evolving in the greater Sudan” and emphasised that it was “opposed to attempts of any kind to change the plan for the mission’s drawdown”.
The UK and Germany are co-penholders on the issue; Poland chairs the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee. 

UN DOCUMENTS ON DARFUR
View the original report and read more UN documents on Darfur here:
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FULL TEXT: Sudan’s constitution - Download PDF file in Arabic and English translation

To see above tweet posted by Justin Lynch @just1nlynch Tue 6 Aug 2019 click here: 
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Download pdf file - Arabic English translation 
To see above tweet posted by @AfricaNewsFeeds Tue 6 Aug 2019 click here: 
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Sudan Constitutional Declaration August 2019
in August 2019, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) initialed a Constitutional Declaration that will replace Sudan's 2005 Interim Constitution and govern the three year transition period. The Declaration is expected to be signed later in August. 
The first PDF is the English version and the second Arabic version of the Declaration. 

Language
Arabic
English
Document type
Author type
Region/Country

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Sudan constitutional declaration: Controlling RSF, dismantling the deep state and stabilising the economy are still huge challenges

Article from The Financial Times.com
By Tom Wilson in London
Dated Sunday, 04 August 2019. Excerpt:
Sudan power-sharing deal agreed 

Pro-democracy and military leaders seal power-sharing arrangement in Khartoum 

Sudan’s military leaders and the country’s pro-democracy movement have agreed the terms of a power-sharing deal that mediators hope will lead to a return to civilian rule. 

Leaders from both camps initialled the document on Sunday and mediators hope an official signing will take place later this month. 

Mohamed Hassan Lebatt, an African Union peace broker, announced that the terms of the so-called constitutional declaration had been finalised by the two sides on Saturday. 

The agreement fleshes out a political deal signed last month under which a new sovereign council will be established to run the country for three years until elections are held. The body will be headed by a member of the military for the first 21 months before the leadership rotates to a civilian.  A new legislature and a technocratic, civilian cabinet will also be set up. 

“Glory to the great Sudanese people” said Mohamed Nagy Alassam, one of the leaders of the Sudanese Professionals Association, a workers group that spearheaded four months of protests against former president Omar al Bashir before he was ousted by the military in April. 

The transitional period will not be a picnic, but successive challenges, hard work, diligence and success are our responsibility, he said in the statement posted on Twitter. […]

The incoming transitional administration will face an uphill battle to revive a failing economy and gradually reduce the army’s hold on power. 

Rosalind Marsden, a former UK ambassador to Sudan, said the constitutional declaration appeared to expand on last month’s political agreement but warned of the challenges facing opposition leaders. 

“It’s a significant step forward but there is no room for complacency,” said Dame Rosalind. 

“Controlling the Rapid Support Forces, dismantling the deep state and stabilising the economy are still huge challenges.”

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Sudan constitutional declaration: What does it say?

COPY OF TWO TWEETS

Sudan agreement met & initialled today. 
17/8 Final Agrmnt & sign. 
18/8 Sovereign Council Anncmnt, 
20/8 PM Appointment
28/8 Cabinet Form, 
1/9, first meet of PM’s Office. 
Still unclear on some powers...
Agrmnt draft: 
7:11 am - 4 Aug 2019 
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Arabic version of Sudan constitutional declaration can be viewed here:
نص الاتفاق الدستوري بين المجلس الدستوري وقوى إعلان الحرية والتغيير
4:50 am - 4 Aug 2019
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Article from Al Jazeera English
Dated Sunday 4 August 2019
What does Sudan's constitutional declaration say?

Hundreds of people have taken to the streets of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, chanting revolutionary songs and waving national flags after the country's military rulers and opposition coalition signed a hard-won constitutional declaration.

The document, initialled on Sunday, paves the way for a transition to civilian rule following the toppling of long-time President Omar al-Bashir in April. 

It sets the shape of an interim government that will govern Sudan for a transitional period of three years until elections are held. 

Envoys from the African Union and Ethiopia brokered the talks that resulted in the constitutional declaration. Negotiations between the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the Forces for Freedom and Change coalition stalled repeatedly amid deadly violence against protesters who kept up demonstrations demanding civilian rule. 

A formal signing of the document will take place in front of foreign dignitaries on August 17.

The following day, the generals and protest leaders are expected to announce the composition of the Sovereign Council which will replace the TMC.   
Here is what the new agreement entails:
  • The transitional period will last for 36 months from the day of the signing of the constitutional declaration. 
  • There will be a Sovereign Council, which will oversee the creation of a Council of Ministers, and a Legislative Council.
  • The Sovereign Council is an 11-member governing body, which will rule the country for just over three years. The body will be composed of five military personnel chosen by the TMC and five civilians selected by the FFC. The 11th member will be a civilian chosen by consensus between the two parties.
  • The Sovereign Council will be headed by a military general during the first 21 months, followed by a civilian for the remaining 18 months.
  • The FFC will appoint the prime minister.
  • The prime minister will name a cabinet of 20 ministers from a list of nominees presented by the FFC, excluding the interior and defence ministers. The latter pair will be appointed by the military members on the Sovereign Council. 
  • Legal action cannot be taken against members of the three councils without permission from the Legislative Council. The decision to lift immunity would require the approval of a majority of legislators. 
  • The Legislative Council will be independent. Its members cannot exceed 300 people, and at least 40 percent of the seats will be reserved for women
  • The FFC will appoint 67 percent of the Legislative Council's members, while other political groups that are not associated with al-Bashir will select the rest. 
  • Sudan's armed forces and its rapid paramilitary Rapid Support Forces will be led by the commander of the armed forces, who is also the head of the Sovereign Council.
  • The Council of Ministers may ask the Sovereign Council to announce a state of national emergency if the unity and safety of the country is at risk. Such a request must be presented to the Legislative Council within 15 days, and will become invalid if the assembly fails to approve it. 
  • New policies will be developed over the next six months in consultation with armed groups in various regions of the country to achieve comprehensive and lasting peace. 
The constitutional declaration also contains a chapter on rights and freedoms for Sudanese citizens. It says:
  • Everyone is equal before the law
  • No one shall be arbitrarily arrested unless for reasons stipulated by law
  • No one shall be subject to torture, humiliation, or ill treatment
  • The state will protect the social, civil, political, cultural, and economic rights of women, which shall be equal to those of men
  • Everyone has the right to a fair trial; the accused is innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law
  • Every citizen has the right to express themselves freely without limitations, and has the right to receive or publish information and access the media in accordance with the law
  • Every citizen has the right to access the Internet in accordance with the law
  • Everyone has the right to peaceful assembly and the right to create and/or join political parties, NGOs, syndicates, and professional unions 
  • https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/what-does-sudans-constitutional-declaration-say/ar-AAFkFF7
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S. Sudan: No confirmed Ebola case

Article from Middle East Monitor.com
Date: 26 July 2019 at 8:00 pm
South Sudan: No confirmed Ebola case
Photo: Personnel from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and the Kamenge Military Hospital practice doffing hazardous material suits at the Kamenge Military Hospital, Bujumbura, Burundi, June 20, 2019. [U.S. Navy photo/Nick Scott]

South Sudan is free from Ebola after reports of a suspected case early this week which has caused panic among citizens of the African country, the deputy information minister said Friday, Anadolu reported.

“Health Minister Dr Riek Gai Kok has announced in today’s cabinet meeting that there is no Ebola case in South Sudan so citizens should not panic,” Lily Albino Akol said.

“There is no confirmed Ebola case in the country. Early this week there was a scare whereby a patient has shown symptoms related to Ebola, including bleeding, and people thought that it might be Ebola,” she said.

”However, the preliminary results from the laboratory tests on the Ebola case in Juba have proven that the patient does not have the virus,” Akol told journalists after the cabinet meeting.

Akol said that the health minister had announced South Sudan is Ebola free and they will continue monitoring the bordering areas.

After a 40-year-old woman was reported to have shown Ebola-like symptoms, she was quarantined after the police informed the Ministry of Health of her condition on Wednesday.

The woman, who was moved to a special care unit in Juba, was immediately taken for laboratory tests, where the results were declared negative.

According to Dr. Riek Gai, more samples have been sent to Uganda for further verification.

“In case of any abnormal illness, they should inform a nearby health authority or even the police, or call the hotline that we have established,” Dr Gai said.

South Sudan has established four observatory centres across the country, and deployed health personnel along the borders and in various states.

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TMC, FFC initial amended constitutional declaration in Khartoum Sudan on Sunday 04 August 2019

Article from Gulf News
Written by Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Dated Sunday, 04 August 2019 15:28
Sudan generals, protest camp sign accord on road to civilian rule

A formal signing in front of foreign dignitaries is due to take place on August 17
General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (R), Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, and Protest leader Ahmed Rabie shake hands after signing the constitutional declaration at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019 AFP

Khartoum: Sudan’s army rulers and protest leaders Sunday signed a hard-won constitutional declaration that paves the way for a promised transition to civilian rule following more than seven months of often deadly street rallies.

The agreement, signed at a ceremony in Khartoum, builds on a landmark July 17 power-sharing deal and provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for a three-year transition period.

Protest movement leader Ahmed Rabie and the deputy head of the ruling military council, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, signed the declaration at the ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators.

“We turned a tough page of Sudan’s history by signing this agreement,” Daglo, who flashed a victory sign after making a short speech, told reporters.
Both sides flashed victory signs.
Image Credit: AFP

The signing was met by a wave of applause in the hall as representatives from both sides shook hands.

Overnight, thousands of jubilant Sudanese already took to the streets of the capital to celebrate when the deal was announced before dawn.

A formal signing in front of foreign dignitaries is due to take place on August 17 - the date on which ousted president Omar al-Bashir is due to go on trial on corruption charges - another protest leader, Monzer Abu al-Maali, told AFP.

The next day, the generals and protest leaders are expected to announce the composition of the new transitional civilian-majority ruling council, he said.

“Members of the ruling sovereign council will be announced on August 18, the prime minister will be named on August 20 and cabinet members on August 28,” Abu al-Maali told AFP.

Sunday’s accord was the result of difficult negotiations between the leaders of mass protests which erupted last December against Bashir’s three-decade rule and the generals who eventually ousted him in April.

 Demonstrators hail ‘victory’

The talks had been repeatedly interrupted by deadly violence against demonstrators who have kept up rallies to press for civilian rule.

They were suspended for weeks after men in military uniform broke up a long-running protest camp outside army headquarters in Khartoum on June 3, killing at least 127 people according to doctors close to the protest movement.

They were briefly suspended again earlier this week when paramilitaries shot dead six demonstrators in the city of Al-Obeid, four of them schoolchildren.

On Saturday, the Arab League welcomed the agreement saying the signing of the constitutional declaration “would launch a new and important phase in line with the Sudanese people’s aspirations”.
General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (R), Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, and Protest leader Ahmed Rabie sign the constitutional declaration at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019. Sudan's army rulers and protest leaders today inked a hard-won constitutional declaration, paving the way for a promised transition to civilian rule. The agreement, signed during a ceremony witnessed by AFP, builds on a landmark power-sharing deal signed on July 17 and provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body to oversee the formation of a transitional civilian government and parliament to govern for a three-year transition period. / AFP / ASHRAF SHAZLY Image Credit: AFP

Sudan’s army ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan lauded the “long-awaited deal” in an interview on Saudi broadcaster Al-Hadath.

Demonstrators among the crowds that took to the streets in the early hours hailed victory in their struggle for a new Sudan.

“For us, the revolution succeeded now and our country set foot on the road towards civilian rule,” said 25-year-old Ahmed Ibrahim as he joined the cavalcade of vehicles that criss-crossed the streets of Khartoum, horns blazing.

Fellow protester Somaiya Sadeq said she hoped there would now be justice for those who had given their lives.

“We have been waiting for a civilian state to seek fair retribution from the murderers of our sons,” she told AFP.

Doctors linked to the protest umbrella group, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, say a total of more than 250 people have been killed in protest-related violence since December.

Protest leaders have blamed much of the violence on the feared paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces, who sprang out of the Janjaweed militia notorious for alleged war crimes during the conflict in Darfur.

The military announced on Friday that nine of them had been dismissed and arrested on suspicion of involvement in this week’s fatal shootings in Al-Obeid.

Protest leaders said they had won the military’s agreement that the RSF irregulars would be integrated in the army chain of command.

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(L to R) Ethiopian mediator Mahmoud Drir attends the signing of the constitutional declaration between protest leader Ahmad Rabie and General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019 AFP



General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, Sudan's deputy head of the Transitional Military Council, celebrates after signing the constitutional declaration with a protest leader, at a ceremony attended by African Union and Ethiopian mediators in the capital Khartoum on August 4, 2019.
CREDIT: The above two photos and captions from http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/342171.aspx
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Monday, August 05, 2019

Sudan constitutional declaration amended: TMC, FFC add Addis Ababa text

Article from and by Sudan Tribune
Dated Saturday 03 August 2019
TMC, FFC add text on peace in Sudan to constitutional declaration
August 3, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - The Addis Ababa document on peace agreed between the rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) and its political allies in the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) was officially added to the agreed Constitutional Declaration.

On Friday [02 Aug] the FFC and the TMC finished discussions on the fundamental law facilitating orderly change to a democratic regime during the 39 months transitional period.

Also, they agreed to include the Addis Ababa agreement after redrafting some paragraphs to make it valid for all the armed groups and not only for the SRF factions in a meeting to be held on Saturday [03 Aug].

"The Addis Ababa document was added as an additional chapter to the constitutional document," several sources involved in the finalization meeting, told Sudan Tribune on Saturday evening [03 Aug].

The military council had already welcomed the Addis Ababa text on ways to achieve peace during the interim period and to enable the armed groups to take part in the transitional process that will forge the future of the country.

Now as the text is added, the two parties will initialize the constitutional declaration on Sunday [04 Aug], and the African mediation will determine the date for the signing ceremony.

The inclusion of Addis Ababa text sparked a debate in the corridors of negotiations between the TMC and the opposition FFC Friendship Hall on Friday.

The meeting decided to discuss the document on Saturday, but El-Tom Hajo, head of SRF delegation to Khartoum insisted that the issue be debated on Friday, but his request had been ignored.

Following what, the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Malik Akar, announced on Saturday morning that their participation in the celebrations of the agreement between the military junta and the FFC over the transitional period depends on the inclusion of the Addis Ababa document.

For his part, Gibril Ibrahim the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement and SRF deputy chairman recalled in a tweet on Saturday that the document was signed by all the FFC groups and addresses the root causes of the Sudanese crisis.

The document is the "shortest way" to achieve peace and stability in Sudan, he stressed.

According to the political agreement reached last month, the peace process should top the agenda of the transitional government during the first six months.

The SPLM-N led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu said ready to discuss peace with the civilian-led government. However, the SLM led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur did not indicate its position until now. (ST)

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