South Africa’s Ex-President Thabo Mbeki told the African Union Peace and Security Council summit that all Sudanese people accepted that crimes were committed in their country during their conflict and the way forward is to try all those that committed crimes in Sudan.
The AU unanimously agreed earlier that they will not recognize the indictment of Sudanese President Oumar Al Bashir’s by the ICC. That International court has come under the microscope in recent times for what many accused the court of ‘witch hunting’ African leaders. The ICC argued that Bashir has a case to answer for crimes committed against black Arabs in Darfur.
A communiqué issued after the 207 summit according to the Nigerian Daily Trust newspaper among other things stated that the AU endorsed the introduction of legislation to remove all immunities of state actors suspected to committing crimes in Darfur, establishment of a Trust, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to promote truth telling and appropriate acts of reconciliation and to grant pardons as considered suitable.
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The Communiqué also stressed the need to create inclusive conditions for the successful holding in Darfur, as well as in the rest of the country (Sudan) of the April 2010 national elections provided for the comprehensive peace Agreement (CPA) and to ensure that Darfur fully participates in the national debate arising from the 2011 self-determination referendum in the Southern Sudan.
The communiqué stressed the importance of the general elections scheduled for April 2010 in the overall efforts towards the dramatic transformation of the Sudan, and for addressing in a lasting manner the many challenges facing the country.
The council also endorsed the recommendations as contained in the report (para 280-377) as they provide a clear and sound Road Map for achieving peace, justice, reconciliation and healing in Darfur, and thereby contribute to the overall objective of promoting sustainable peace and stability in the Sudan, and stresses that these recommendations shall be basis of AU engagement in Darfur and its interaction with its international partners.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Congo-Kinshasa: Peace Campaigners
The Enough Project, a leading Washington, DC-based advocacy group focusing on genocide and crimes against humanity, is stepping up efforts to end conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo fueled by minerals used in electronic devices. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to the troubled eastern region last month has put a spotlight on the humanitarian crisis in the area and inevitably raises questions about what the U.S. government can and will do. In an interview, Enough co-founder John Prendergast talks about changing the economic equation for conflict minerals and the role that Uganda and Rwanda can play in ending the crisis. Excerpts:
Why the increased focus on Congo by your organization?
As urgent as Sudan is, there is a deadlier conflict that has raged in the jungles of eastern Congo for the last dozen years. It is my paramount priority in the coming months to try to raise the profile of the conflict and clarify to policymakers and the broader public that there are clear and specific policy options that can be pursued by the Obama Administration and the UN security council and others that would have a meaningful impact on the ground.
The problem we have seen in the past is that people look at this issue and see that it is so bewilderingly complex. We have humanitarian aid, we have peacekeeping forces. [So they say] let's just send more aid and more troops, which is completely and utterly apples and oranges to dealing with the root causes of the conflict. We're spending a billion and a half [U.S dollars] a year globally to treat the symptoms of the Congo's extraordinarily deadly conflict without dealing with the causes.
I was very encouraged by Secretary Clinton's visit. I had the opportunity to have dinner with her before she left. She was already focused in on this like a laser beam. Her ambassador-at-large for Global Women's Affairs, Melanne Verveer, is a significant influence on the secretary on the issue of Congo.
The secretary demonstrated that she wasn't going to be just another official who went to eastern Congo, gave out a few million dollars to treat the symptoms of these horrific injustices, and then walked away without addressing the issues that these women have to deal with. She said, 'We're going to zero in on the root causes'. She talked about conflict minerals, she talked a lot about the FDLR [Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda, the largely Hutu militia that crossed the border into Congo after the genocide] and we're going to deal with this Congolese army, which is one of the biggest perpetrators of human rights abuses. So she nailed down some of the big directions of U.S. policy.
Now our old friend Howard Wolpe has become the U.S. envoy. We hope that he'll be able to target specific actions to begin to take on this most deadly war in the world. We are also working with another friend [Assistant Secretary of State for Africa] Johnnie Carson, who we saw before the trip, and we hope they would be able to address the root causes.
Speaking of the Congolese army, is it salvageable? Can they ever really become the protectors of the Congolese people?
The effort has to be comprehensive. The security forces require a broader approach than just a military one. We have to get underneath why the Congolese army is such a predatory, parasitic institution, and you can write dissertations about the collapse of government in Congo. But at the end of the day, there is a great deal of money being made by military officers, the militias, and the neighboring governments - Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi - in the illicit mineral trade in eastern Congo.
Everyone's vested interest is in the status quo. The rule of law, rules of engagement and where companies can protect their investments and there's a legal trade to export and pay the taxes - none of that stuff happens in eastern Congo. It's a mafia state run by a collusion of these predatory institutions - the government army and the militia groups and neighboring governments and their armies. And they make about U.S.$180 million a year from the tin, tantalum, and tungsten. It is in the interests of the Congolese government for the state to remain in this semi-collapsed condition, because it is a perfect system for personal enrichment rather than state reconstruction. There is an economic logic to state collapse, to smuggling and illicit exploitation in eastern Congo. Therefore, if we are going to address that, we don't go in and deal with the institutions that are victimized by the status quo. You have to go in and deal with the economic situation.
Our view is focused on conflict minerals. They are the cause and fuel of the war. Just like Sierra Leone with diamonds, just like Liberia with diamonds and timber, just like Angola with the diamonds - when you take away or somehow begin to alter the ease with which those guys were able to export, illegally, high-value commodities, and you change the logic of profit from instability to stability, from war to peace, then you can stop conflict. Look at those countries now: They're economic miracles.
That's why we're going straight at the electronic companies. We've got to force Apple, Intel, all those companies to change the way they're procuring downstream their raw materials that allow for the electronics to work, because our electronics are funding the conflict in the Congo and producing this kind of human misery. Unacceptable! We've got to change that. It's going to be hard.
How do you do that? Can legislation play a role?
You can go right to the mine. You can follow the trail from the mine to the buyers in Bukavu or Goma. Those buyers know where it comes from: the ore content is very different from anywhere else. Even on the basis of who's giving it to them. We can find out where the stuff is from, and believe me, if they have to, they'll figure out a system real fast. But we're not there yet.
So for now, folks can still work in the darkness. What the legislation is doing simply is a starting point is to create some light. Where is that stuff coming from? If it's coming from eastern Africa, we have to say, what mine is that coming from? Because if that mine is creating conflict, and we're going to have to fine you.
Ultimately, what we want to see is a certification system for those four minerals [tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold]. It's going to be really hard. And I don't know where its going to end up. But already we have three people in the field in eastern Congo talking to the people who are doing the trading, and they're all very nervous. We're not pushing for a ban or a boycott, but that's what's going to happen de-facto. And soon you'll see a change. And the FDLR, and the government army, CNDP factions - all those people who run mines - are going to say: 'We've got to clean up our act or the party is over'.
That is where you create the pressure. Do it any other way and it's not going to work. IF you cut off the money supply, disrupt the gravy train, suddenly everyone would want to play a different way. We're going to work really hard with the electronics companies to get rid of this most grievous situation.
To play devil's advocate - if you begin to regulate the minerals, the price of everything electronic would increase. With increased transparency would come profit for the Congolese people, which would lead to increase in the cost of production for technologically intensive goods here.
The price of electronic goods would not go up. None of the market shares Congo has for any of these companies is higher than 10 percent. IF tomorrow - and we don't want to see this happen, we just want to see legal, peaceful exploitation of Congo - the trading houses decide they can no longer buy from Congo, they would buy from somewhere else. It would be a temporary problem; the price of tin would go up a little bit; the price of tantalum would go up a little bit. Then Australia would say, 'Now that the unfair dealers are out of the picture we're going to open the flood-gates', and the prices would go right back down. It's international supply and demand.
If the natural resource base in the Congo were producing 40 to 50% of these resources, we'd be in trouble. We'd have a different strategy. We don't want a situation where Apple would double the price of an i-pod. If they do it right, we should see no impact. The impact it would have is on the mafia. That's what happened in Liberia, and Sierra Leone and Angola.
Some of the key actors, such as those from neighboring states, don't have any right to those minerals. The only people with legal rights are the people of Congo. So you still have an incentive for a bunch of the actors to keep the war going for as long as it can. How do you assess the current roles being played by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Uganda President Yoweri Museveni.
Eastern Congolese would be passionately supporting what I just said. But what I'm about to say now probably diverts from eastern Congolese points of view. I actually believe that Kagame wants to normalize. He has exploited the eastern Congolese mineral base. Museveni has funded militias in Ituri and, directly or indirectly, caused thousands of deaths. These two - and to much less extent Burundi - benefited enormously. I would say Rwanda's growth rates are partially predicated on the minerals that they are smuggling or buying from smugglers across the border. It has fueled the economic miracle in Rwanda. But he wants to go legal.
Relevant Links
If Secretary Clinton starts putting together stakeholder meetings and Kagame is sitting across the table, and Global Witness and Congo human rights workers say: 'We need to see some transparency out of these people', I think we'll get it. Kagame has a lot riding on his 'Singapore of Africa' approach. Museveni has come a long way from fighting in Kisangani. That is done. His troops aren't massing across the border. It has completely changed from the dark days of the 1990s, when I was working in government.
This is the time where leadership in the Obama Administration could significantly change the way business is being done in eastern Congo and therefore create an incentive for peace. And guess who can have as much credit as they want? Paul Kagame, Museveni, and some of these militias who, if they take the stars off their uniforms and civilianize, can be the ones that say: 'We made peace in eastern Congo. When's the next election? Vote for us.'
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Opposition Moves to Revive Charges against Zuma
South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is facing a fresh hurdle as the country’s opposition yesterday commenced steps aimed at reviving corruption charges against him.
The opposition had rejected arguments that President Zuma could not be prosecuted while in office.
As a result, Democratic Alliance leader, Helen Zille has gone to court in a bid to overturn a decision to withdraw corruption charges against Zuma.
But his lawyers say he cannot be prosecuted unless he is either impeached or resigns.
The charges were dropped in April, shortly before elections, which saw Zuma becoming president.
State prosecutors said there had been evidence of political interference in the case under the previous government, led by Zuma's rival Thabo Mbeki. Zuma has always denied the charges.
Zille said she would oppose the submissions made by Zuma's lawyers to the Pretoria High Court this week.
According to reports in the United Kingdom’s Mail and Guardian, a paragraph in the president's legal submission to the court stated: "Charges can only be brought if he is successfully impeached in terms of the constitution or after his term of office ends.”
But Zille is adamant that this statement is not true, saying South Africa's constitution does not exempt a sitting president from criminal prosecution.
She added that the constitution was based on the principle that all are equal before the law.
Zuma later refused to comment on his lawyers' submissions but said he would appear in court if ordered to do so.
Zille said the DA was going to court to reinforce the doctrine of "separation of powers" and wants Zuma charged in his personal capacity.
Zuma was first charged with corruption, racketeering and money laundering in 2005, but has not faced trial.
The National Prosecution Authority had obtained recordings of phone conversations, which suggested the timing of the decision to charge Zuma in 2007 had been manipulated, leading to the charges being dropped.
Charges were resumed just days after Zuma won a bitter contest against Mbeki to lead the ruling African National Congress.
By Yemi Adebowale with agency report, 09.19.2009
The opposition had rejected arguments that President Zuma could not be prosecuted while in office.
As a result, Democratic Alliance leader, Helen Zille has gone to court in a bid to overturn a decision to withdraw corruption charges against Zuma.
But his lawyers say he cannot be prosecuted unless he is either impeached or resigns.
The charges were dropped in April, shortly before elections, which saw Zuma becoming president.
State prosecutors said there had been evidence of political interference in the case under the previous government, led by Zuma's rival Thabo Mbeki. Zuma has always denied the charges.
Zille said she would oppose the submissions made by Zuma's lawyers to the Pretoria High Court this week.
According to reports in the United Kingdom’s Mail and Guardian, a paragraph in the president's legal submission to the court stated: "Charges can only be brought if he is successfully impeached in terms of the constitution or after his term of office ends.”
But Zille is adamant that this statement is not true, saying South Africa's constitution does not exempt a sitting president from criminal prosecution.
She added that the constitution was based on the principle that all are equal before the law.
Zuma later refused to comment on his lawyers' submissions but said he would appear in court if ordered to do so.
Zille said the DA was going to court to reinforce the doctrine of "separation of powers" and wants Zuma charged in his personal capacity.
Zuma was first charged with corruption, racketeering and money laundering in 2005, but has not faced trial.
The National Prosecution Authority had obtained recordings of phone conversations, which suggested the timing of the decision to charge Zuma in 2007 had been manipulated, leading to the charges being dropped.
Charges were resumed just days after Zuma won a bitter contest against Mbeki to lead the ruling African National Congress.
By Yemi Adebowale with agency report, 09.19.2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
OIL IN SIERRA LEONE!!!
The once war-torn West African country of Sierra Leone has discovered oil, offshore Freetown. However, it is still not clear if it is in commercial quantity.
The first find of oil was announced by a consortium led by United States firm Anadarko, with Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Spain's Repsol YPF and Britain's Tullow Oil PLC as partners.
However, citizens welcomed the announcement with cautious optimism saying the oil should benefit the entire country.
Sierra Leone's Informa-tion, Minister Ibrahim Ben Kargbo told journalists yesterday: "President Ernest Koroma is extremely happy about the discovery but has advised that we must all be cautious and watch further developments.
"It is good news indeed. Let's all pray the oil will become a blessing to the country. If the oil becomes a flourishing industry, all Sierra Leoneans will benefit, particularly the younger generation."
The minister was further quoted by cocorioko.net as saying: "I can assure you that what happened when foreigners benefited from the diamond industry and Sierra Leoneans didn't will not happen with the oil sector."
Ordinary Sierra Leoneans were sceptical, in a country which ranks at the bottom of the UN's human development list and among the three most corrupt in the world, according to corruption watchdog, Transparency International.
"It may be the end of our woes as far as any fuel shortage is concerned," taxi driver Sallieu Jalloh said, but office assistant Salian Koroma hoped that "the discovery will not fuel corruption in the industry."
Repsol said the discovery showed the potential in a region, which has been relatively unexplored.
Anadarko is also prospecting off the coast of Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
West African states on the Gulf of Guinea, including Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome, as well as Angola and Congo, are or promise to be major oil producers, but very little of the wealth has filtered down to the populace.
By Paul Ohia with agency report, 09.19.2009
The first find of oil was announced by a consortium led by United States firm Anadarko, with Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd, Spain's Repsol YPF and Britain's Tullow Oil PLC as partners.
However, citizens welcomed the announcement with cautious optimism saying the oil should benefit the entire country.
Sierra Leone's Informa-tion, Minister Ibrahim Ben Kargbo told journalists yesterday: "President Ernest Koroma is extremely happy about the discovery but has advised that we must all be cautious and watch further developments.
"It is good news indeed. Let's all pray the oil will become a blessing to the country. If the oil becomes a flourishing industry, all Sierra Leoneans will benefit, particularly the younger generation."
The minister was further quoted by cocorioko.net as saying: "I can assure you that what happened when foreigners benefited from the diamond industry and Sierra Leoneans didn't will not happen with the oil sector."
Ordinary Sierra Leoneans were sceptical, in a country which ranks at the bottom of the UN's human development list and among the three most corrupt in the world, according to corruption watchdog, Transparency International.
"It may be the end of our woes as far as any fuel shortage is concerned," taxi driver Sallieu Jalloh said, but office assistant Salian Koroma hoped that "the discovery will not fuel corruption in the industry."
Repsol said the discovery showed the potential in a region, which has been relatively unexplored.
Anadarko is also prospecting off the coast of Liberia, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
West African states on the Gulf of Guinea, including Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Sao Tome, as well as Angola and Congo, are or promise to be major oil producers, but very little of the wealth has filtered down to the populace.
By Paul Ohia with agency report, 09.19.2009
discontent man like a snake trying to swallow an elephant
Was about turning my laptop off to sleep and i can came accross this old Thailand proverb about a discontent man. i closed my eyes for a split second (5 mins more likely) thinking about its usefulness and its practical implication. i thought about an article i read earlier today which talked about the "niger-delta" militants comparing themselves to David and the Government as Goliath.
David symbolizes meekness, confidence, strength and patience. Patience in which my niger-delta brethrens have run out off.
As a conflict analyst i can tell you in order for a crisis to be resolved, it needs to be tackled from the foundation. one cannot solve a problem by not knowing where it came from.
I could go far by saying what most of us has said in our minds but never spoken about the country being a cause of its existence or just go straight by blaiming our political leaders.
Economics would tell us that resources are scarce and the continuous struggle to gain these resources may lead to conflict, with this instance, one could say life is a continual process of conflict for these resources. but what if these resources are by no means scarce (as the case of Nigeria in the oil boom years of the 1970s)... tough call!!!!
i would love to dwell on that thought, but i would tackle that in another blog asa my main focus now is a collection of thoughts on the Niger-Delta crisis.
Who is to blame for all the havoc? the government, companies, or chiefs?
my answer to that question always stands, does one know the particular broom stick that is most efficient? they all hold a part blame for the recent happenings which most people may call a war. the government has failed to provide the basic necessities or arrange a committee(which they are expert in doing to monitor the affairs at the rural areas), the companies has failed in their social responsibilitywhich hurts me so much and strongly believe is a root cause to the uneding disaster in our niger-delta and the chiefs have forgotten why they are appointed, they fail to be the voice of the common man.
if all these people have failed to fulfill their responsibility, and the common man has no clean water to drink because of a oil contamination in his river, and he is thinking of what the life of his children would be like in five years, the only thought that crawls through his head aside GOD WILL PROVIDE is REVOLT..as Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels noted in the Communist Manifesto.
"prolitarians have nothing to lose but their chains" they have a world to win.
................................
David symbolizes meekness, confidence, strength and patience. Patience in which my niger-delta brethrens have run out off.
As a conflict analyst i can tell you in order for a crisis to be resolved, it needs to be tackled from the foundation. one cannot solve a problem by not knowing where it came from.
I could go far by saying what most of us has said in our minds but never spoken about the country being a cause of its existence or just go straight by blaiming our political leaders.
Economics would tell us that resources are scarce and the continuous struggle to gain these resources may lead to conflict, with this instance, one could say life is a continual process of conflict for these resources. but what if these resources are by no means scarce (as the case of Nigeria in the oil boom years of the 1970s)... tough call!!!!
i would love to dwell on that thought, but i would tackle that in another blog asa my main focus now is a collection of thoughts on the Niger-Delta crisis.
Who is to blame for all the havoc? the government, companies, or chiefs?
my answer to that question always stands, does one know the particular broom stick that is most efficient? they all hold a part blame for the recent happenings which most people may call a war. the government has failed to provide the basic necessities or arrange a committee(which they are expert in doing to monitor the affairs at the rural areas), the companies has failed in their social responsibilitywhich hurts me so much and strongly believe is a root cause to the uneding disaster in our niger-delta and the chiefs have forgotten why they are appointed, they fail to be the voice of the common man.
if all these people have failed to fulfill their responsibility, and the common man has no clean water to drink because of a oil contamination in his river, and he is thinking of what the life of his children would be like in five years, the only thought that crawls through his head aside GOD WILL PROVIDE is REVOLT..as Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels noted in the Communist Manifesto.
"prolitarians have nothing to lose but their chains" they have a world to win.
................................
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