“The Kenyan authority decision is an intimidation to the laws and conventions of the human rights as I believe and is also a threat to many civilians who similarly escaped terrorist acts by Shabab due to reprisal including women, children, human rights activists and journalists”said Daud Abdi Daud the Secretary General of AFEJ from Mogadishu, Somalia.

“ As Kenya’s President H.E. Mwai Kibaki said that his country is malleted with terrorist attacks and attributed the incursions of being planned from neighborhood Somalia. I’ agree with the president of Kenya that shabab is threat to Kenya security but women, children and journalists cannot be similar to Shabab and they need to be protected as 18 journalists killed in Somalia only this year of 2012 by Shabab, however, this quandary among Kenya and Somalia authorities still waits global involvement by United Nations and the African Union” Mr. Daud added
This statement from the secretary General of AFEJ comes after when the President of Somalia H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud traveled to Kenya today and met Kenya authorities since he was elected as a president.

The political scene of the two countries recently was not good and its widely believed that this bilateral presidential meeting could boost the hope of many Somalis or pave the way a new humanitarian upheavals against dozens of Somalia refugees.

(Nairobi, December 11, 2012) – Sudanese authorities should immediately investigate the deaths of four student protesters and the disappearance of two others at the beginning of December 2012, in Madani, Jazeera state, and hold those responsible to account, Human Rights Watch said today.

“The murky circumstances of these deaths are fueling more protests and violence,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Sudanese authorities should immediately investigate, bring those responsible for these deaths and disappearances to justice, and stop its security forces from using violence and excessive force against protesters.”

The student deaths have caused violent protests in Khartoum and other towns, with protesters calling for justice and for the government to be replaced. Sudanese security forces used teargas, beat protesters with sticks and batons, and arrested dozens, including lawyers and high profile opposition party members, on December 9 and 10.

News emerged on December 7 that the bodies of three students, Mohamed Younis al-Nil, Adel Mohamed Ahmed, and Alsadiq Abdullah Yagoub, had been found in a sewage canal near Al Jazeera University. The body of a fourth student, Nu’man Ahmed Koreishi, was also found later in the canal. The students were reported missing earlier in the week during protests over the university’s refusal to register Darfuri students unless they paid full tuition. Under the Darfur peace agreements of 2006 and 2010, Darfuri students qualify for a tuition exemption. Sudanese universities have interpreted the provision inconsistently, however, prompting protests by Darfuri students at several campuses in recent years.

On December 2, national security officials entered the university and arrested 11 Darfuri students who had appealed to the administration for a fee waiver. In the following days, students protested at the university. Police, national security officers, and pro-government students clashed with the protesters.

Approximately 60 were arrested on December 5, according to Sudanese groups following the case. Witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch said the government security forces pushed the protesters toward the canal, causing several students to fall in. Six protesters were reported missing, including the four whose bodies were later recovered from the canal. Two other students are still missing.

The circumstances of the deaths are unclear. One witness told Human Rights Watch the bodies of three of the deceased bore signs of beatings, suggesting at a minimum that they had been beaten, most likely by security forces, before they died. The university administration said the students drowned. Authorities have refused to provide the medical examiner’s report. National security officials arrested Mohammed Zain Osman, a lawyer for one of the deceased students’ families, when he requested the report on December 7.

Sudan’s Justice Ministry announced on December 10 the formation of a commission of inquiry into the deaths. The investigation should be independent, transparent, and capable of identifying those responsible for the deaths, Human Rights Watch said.

“Withholding the autopsy report only gives the impression the authorities have something to hide,” Bekele said. “Sudan needs to find out what happened to these students and make the findings public. The government should impartially investigate the deaths and prosecute those responsible for these deaths and disappearances.”

Sudan has consistently failed to follow through on promises to investigate abuses in which officials and government forces are implicated. Its failure to investigate crimes in Darfur led the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, which hears cases when a government is unable or unwilling to investigate on its own. In 2010, the government said it would investigate the death of Mohammed Musa following a demonstration in Khartoum, but investigation results were never made public and no one was identified as responsible or prosecuted for the crime.

Crackdown on student protests
From June through August of 2012, Sudanese security forces cracked down on a wave of student protests, sparked initially by austerity measures, in towns across Sudan. National security officials detained protesters for weeks or months, subjecting many to beatings, insults, and other mistreatment and torture while in detention.

Darfuri students were treated particularly harshly during the protests, former detainees told Human Rights Watch, describing beatings, sleep deprivation, and racist insults. Security forces also responded particularly harshly to protests in Darfur, shooting live ammunition to disperse protests and killing 13 in South Darfur in August.

For more information, please contact:
In New York, Jehanne Henry (English, French): +1-212-216-1291; or +1-917-443-2724 (mobile); or henryj@hrw.org
In Amsterdam, Leslie Lefkow (English): +31-6-21-59-7356 (mobile); or lefkowl@hrw.org
In Johannesburg, Tiseke Kasambala (English): +27-11-484-2640 (mobile); or kasambt@hrw.org
In London, David Mepham, (English): +44-20-7713-2766; or +44-7572-603995 (mobile); or mephamd@hrw.org

It’s an open secret that Somalia’s failure is the result of miscalculated Somali foreign policies since the independence in 1960.

Somali leaders in 1960ties pursued a policy of creating “Greater Somalia” by claiming regions in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Mogadishu openly supported the Shifta war against Kenya, where in another front it helped movements of Somali ethnic people in Ethiopia’s Zone five region. This prompted Addis Ababa and Nairobi to form some sort of cooperation against Somalia, which included political and military cooperation.  This agreement has been renewed several times, despite changes of governments in both sides.

But when assessing the role of these two countries in Somalia and influence, we have to highlight some key issues that might have its ups and downs.

 

Ethiopian policy on Somalia

The first Somali government soon after the independence in 1960 pursued pan-Somali policy, but it was obvious that the internal politics became bogged down in petty personal and clan rivalries. Despite all these facts the new born country went to war against Ethiopia in 1964 over land dispute. During this ear ties with Britain were severed following British support for Kenya on its stance on the NFD, relations with France soured as the French continued to occupy Somali inhabited territories, which were later to form Djibouti.

In an interview with Voice of Ethiopia in 1948, the Ethiopian King Haile Selassie predicted how an independent Somalia will behave against his country.

“Our attitude to the Somalis who belong to the same race as the Ethiopian people and share with them a common history, has always been crystal clear, namely, that of supporting everything conducive to their well-being and progress. It was in keeping with this policy that we recently invited the leaders of United Nations Trust Somalia and had talks with them here. Our strong appeal to our Somali brothers is to be aware of those who, in the furtherance of their self-interest, seek to plunge this area into chaos, thereby disturbing the peace that has reigned in this part of the world for a long time. Much harm can be avoided by understanding in time the real intentions of these self-seekers”.

After Somalia independence Haile Selassie’s prediction became true, and Mogadishu put more efforts of destabilizing Ethiopia. The 1977 war of Somalia against Ethiopia was enough reason for Ethiopia to pursue an alternative policy to protect its territory. This new policy mainly focused on using clan differences among the Somalis.

The leaders of Addis Ababa during the late Zenawi’s regime did not hide their role in the collapse of Somalia by “taking the war to Somalia and, along the way, aggravating the contradiction between the Somali clans.”

This shows how Ethiopian leaders are well experienced when it comes dealing with Somalia affairs.

Haile Selassie, Mengistu and Zenawi were gifted with talents of knowing deeply Somalia affairs, better than their Kenyan neighbours.

Although Zenawi was regarded as dictator to some, and to others as a reformist, it’s obvious that he was a good decision maker. There are fears inside and outside Ethiopia that thing might fall apart with his absence in the Ethiopian political stage.

Effects of Zenawi’s death

After the death of Meles Zenawi in August, 2012, the country is facing a political challenge. Since the fall of Mengistu in 1991, all the powers were in the hands of Zenawi, and people respected his decisions, though opposition groups continued to protest against his rule.

His departure means many people will emerge to fill the vacuum. As happened in many countries where dictators die, power struggle erupts, and Ethiopia is not immune from that.

This will have a huge impact on Somalia affairs, and already the signs are cannot be hidden.  For example, while Zenawi was the only one in decision making over Somalia, now even the junior diplomats, deputy ministers, and non- influential officials try to reach national decisions.

Recent talks between Addis Ababa and the rebel group ONLF from the country’s Somali region are not bearing fruits because of the contradicting decisions by the rival Ethiopian leaders.

The issue of Somalia’s Jubbaland is another example, where General Gabra, who works with IGAD and Addis Ababa officials are contradicting each other on the official view of their government.

This puts the international community in awkward situation, in which they do not know who to talk to when it comes to deal with Ethiopia on national and international issues, especially Somalia crisis.

 

Kenya’s role in Somalia

 

The relations between the two states became much tensioned with the start of a war, known as the Shifta War. North-eastern Kenya has been a source of conflict because Somalia has traditional claims on the territory; a large ethnic Somali population has also led to instability. Somalia’s irredentist claims on this region were a serious threat to Kenya in the 1960?s. For four years, Somali guerrillas known as shiftas waged a campaign against the Kenyan police and army through incursions and by means of the Somali National Radio (Radio Mogadishu) based in Mogadishu. This tense predicament was eased when the Somali government changed in 1967, but it revived in 1977 when Somali-Ethiopian warfare once again placed the area in contention after Kenya supported Ethiopia in the Ogaden war.

President Kenyatta and Moi were very firm in dealing with Somalia, though they were not brilliant or well experienced in Somalia affairs like the Ethiopians.  In 1982 when Moi survide a coup attempt by a section of the army, the country got its first high ranking Somali to become the army chief (General Mohamud Mohamed) from Ogaden clan in North Eastern Province.  General Mohammud took the advantage of being trusted by Moi to interfere Somalia’s clan fighting in 1991, when he deployed Kenyan Ogadeni soldiers to Somalia to support warlord Mohamed Said Morgan, who butchered thousands of Somalis in Somaliland, central Somalia, Mogadishu and Jubba regions. (read this link : http://www.keydmedia.net/en/article/article/kenyas_second_intervention_in_southern_somalia/

Its Kenya’s ignorance about Somali affairs that facilitated the Kenyan state minister for defence Mohamed Yusuf Haji and his son Nuradin Haji ( a member of Kenyan intelligence unit) to betray Kenya’s President Kibaki on creating a buffer zone in southern Somalia. But everyone knows that the plan is to occupy Jubbaland for Ogaden clan, in which Haji belongs to.

The Kenyan political system also makes things more difficult. Daniel Moi, though many called him a dictator, but he controlled the country and everything was in the hands of the state. But in 2002, when the coalition government of NARC came into power, you can easily think that the country has got hundreds of presidents and thousands of ministers. For the first time in history government officials who were supposed to work as a team, engaged in power struggle and even making contradicting national decisions.

After a failed referendum in 2005, where President KIbaki’s team lost the people’s votes to approve the draft the constitution, Raila Odinga and other cabinet members were removed to clean the government performance.

But things have not changed, because the post-election violence in the country brought another coalition government that made things worse. The division is deep, and even the junior government officials are making national decisions without the knowledge of the two principals, Kibaki and Raila.

For example very junior staff at Mombasa airport in 2010 arrested and deported members of the UAE royal families without clear reasons. This poor diplomatic tactics has thrown hundreds of thousands of Kenyans working and transiting through Dubai into a nightmare. UAE decided to require degrees from Kenyans who needed visas. The matter was later on resolved.

 

Kenya’s involvement in Jubbaland

Despite being pushed by Ogaden clan in Somalia Jubbaland crisis, Kenyan leaders are yet to understand the tunes of Somali politics. After the fall of Kismayo port city in southern Somalia in October, Kenyan officials gave contradicting statements about the situation and their future plans of Kismayo. Kenya’s state defence minister Yusuf Haji and his son insisted that Kenya should have the mandate of forming a regional administration in Kismayo. The reason behind their stance is to ensure that Ogadeni clan members are handed over the whole Jubbaland regions, and then launch their long term plan of exterminating other clans in Jubbaland with the help of Kenya.

The Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud refused Kenya’s view and the international community backed Mogadishu’s plan to hold all inclusive meeting for Jubbaland administration, though Kenya keeps hesitating to admit the truth on the ground.

Ahmed Madobe an Ogadeni who was born in Ethiopia’s Qorahey region is the man Kenya wants to install as the leader of Jubbaland. Young boys recruited from Ogaden clan in Kenya’s Garisa town and hundreds of ONLF militia are the ones forming his forces. Kenya supplies him with weapons and financial support.

If Nairobi believes it’s doing the right thing, then Somalia should be given the authority to appoint the governor of Mombasa or Nakuru.

Currently the people in Jubbaland are facing longer nights of sleepless with fears of fresh clan fighting; all other Somali clans are being forced to come under Ogaden clan rule with the help of Kenya.

Its also worth to note that the majority of the Ogadeni people who want to conquer Jubbaland with the help of Kenya are refugees from Ethiopia and Kenya’s North Eastern Province.

Background of Ogadeni armed refugees

The problem of Ogadeni armed refugees began after the independence of Somalia in 1960. Somali government supplied weapons to Ogadeni clan members to use against Ethiopia. But When Mohamed Siad Barre came into power in 1966 he came up with dual objective policy to help the Ogadenis. While he used all the national resources to fight against Ethiopia and Kenya, he launched a program to settle massive Ogadeni refugees in Somaliland, Hiiraan and Jubbaland.

Then the government supplied arms to the refugees to displace the owners of these areas.

According to a report by a western historian (Nnoli 1989) the settlement project has displaced the local people, with a consequence of animosity between the Somali local clans and Ogaden refugees.

The Ogadenis were also given high ranking positions in the government regardless of their citizenship (some of them Kenyans and others Ethiopians).

Some of them are as follows:

Adan Abdulahi Nur (Gabyow) , who defected from Kenyan forces and joined Somali Armed Forces. He became Somalia’s defence minister in 1980ties and later formed clan rebellion against Mohamed Siad Barre.

Mohamed Omar Jes, from Ethiopia who served as minister in 1970ties till he died in 1987.

Col Ahmad Omar Jes, from Ethiopia, military commander who later on joined rebel groups that ousted Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Jes was among the most notorious warlords in southern Somalia, and served in Somalia’s interim parliament.

Mohamed Omar Osman, from Ethiopia who served as Somalia’s Navy Forces Commander. After the collapse of Somali state he went to Ethiopia to form Ogaden National Liberation Front that is currently fighting against Addis Ababa administration and causing instability in the whole region.

Others include, General Adan Abdi Duale (former police chief) several ministers and parliamentarians in current Somali Government, and Mohamed Abdi Gandi, who claims to be the head of self-proclaimed regional administration of Jubba regions in southern Somalia. He has never set a foot in Jubba regions, but intends to go there for the first time with the title of a president.

Currently the ONLF militia are in Kismayo helping Ahmed Madobe’s takeover plan of Jubbaland.

Siyad Barre also ensured that In order to preserve the settlement of the Ogadens in Somalia, in all settlement regions the governors were from Ogaden clan.

In 1988 the people of Somaliland had to take up arms to get rid of the armed Ogaden refugees. The Ogadeni refugees took part in the massacre of Somaliland civilians in 1988, but the Somali National Movement finally achieved their goal in 1991.

The same happened in Hiiraan Region, where the people had to take arms to get rid of the armed Ogadeni refugees.

The only place that is remaining in the hands of the armed refugees is Jubbaland, where all clans are armed.

The international community should take very careful measures to prevent clan fighting that is looming in Jubbaland. There are certain countries with interests in Jubbaland, and their approach should reflect the facts on the ground.

The Ogadenis are also needed to learn from the history and go by the modern world. Those in Somalia (who are found in Afmadow and Badhadhe) are Somalis and no-one has a problem with them. Those from Ethiopia’s Zone Five are Ethiopians and those from Kenya are Kenyans. Even in Jubbaland the local Ogadens in Afmadow and Badhaadhe (in Jubbaland) use the term Galti for the Ogadeni refugees, which means a foreigner or someone who does not belong to the area.

Our brothers have to admit that the greater Somalia dream has died, and the country has adopted a federal system.

They also need to remember that with all the help of Somali government under Siyad Barre, they could not take lands owned by other clans by force, and now with the backing of Kenyan military forces they will not be able to subdue people in their lands.

———–

Can 2012 offer a happy ending for Somalia?

Think of Somalia as a child ruled by irresponsible parents, with the UN as its social services. Jamal Osman asks if the strife-torn country can convince investors it is now ready to look after itself.

(New York, May 17, 2012) – Sudan has stepped up harassment of journalists, censorship, and arrests of political opponents in the wake of recent fighting with South Sudan, Human Rights Watch said today.

“Sudan is cracking down on civil and political rights in the face of conflict and opposition,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “But locking up critics and silencing dissent will not solve Sudan’s problems.”

Fighting in mid-April 2012 between Sudan and South Sudan, which became independent on July 9, 2011, along their disputed border provoked an atmosphere of heightened hostility accompanied by increased repression in Sudan. Security officials have harassed and threatened journalists and political opposition members and more than 15 journalists have been banned from working in recent months, according to journalist groups in Sudan.

In one high-profile example, National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) officials summoned a prominent Sudanese journalist and human rights defender, Faisal Mohamed Salih, to their office in Khartoum for several hours of questioning on the night of April 25 about comments he made on Al Jazeera’s Arabic television. Salih teaches journalism and is known as an independent, non-partisan commentator.

NISS released Salih at midnight but ordered him to report back daily to its office. He sat in the reception area all day each day for nearly two weeks, a strategy “to humiliate me and obstruct my work,” Salih wrote in a statement about his ordeal on May 7. After he refused to appear voluntarily, security officials went to his home and compelled his appearance twice, on May 8 and May 9. Officials lodged criminal charges against him on May 15 for refusing to cooperate with their orders. If convicted, he faces up to a month in jail.

“It is clear he is being targeted only because he criticized the government policies,” Faisal al-Baqir, a Sudanese advocate for media freedoms, told Human Rights Watch. “They want to deny him his right to talk.”

Salih had commented on a speech by President Omar al-Bashir on April 19 in which al-Bashir vowed to take over South Sudan and referred to the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement as “insects.”

Al-Bashir delivered the widely-publicized speech the day South Sudan announced its withdrawal from Heglig, the oil-producing area near the disputed territory of Abyei that the South claims. The two armies fought in the Heglig area for more than a week in mid-April, while Sudanese air forces bombed strategic locations in South Sudan.

While government officials engaged in war talk and conservative newspapers such as Intibaha published hostile rhetoric toward the south and toward non-Muslims, authorities clamped down on writings critical of the government, Human Rights Watch said.

For example, on May 13, NISS censored an opinion article from the daily al-Sahafa, “The Solution Is Not with the ingaz [ruling party’s] Regime,” and another in the daily al-Tayyar by a well-known moderate Islamist questioning the claim that Sudan was victorious at Heglig. On April 15, security officials summoned Hassan Ishaq, a journalist who writes for another daily, al-Jareeda, and warned him not to write on the Heglig conflict.

On April 25, security officials summoned Haidar al Mokashfi, a journalist for al-Sahafa to protest an article about a church burning incident by followers of a radical local imam. They banned him from working until he receives permission. As of May 15, he was still waiting.

The subject of Mokashfi’s article was one of the most shocking examples of sectarian violence in Sudan in years, and underscored the ethnic and religious hostility that emerged in the wake of the conflict. On April 21, a large group of residents, most of them men, entered an historic church compound in al-Jereif West area of Khartoum and proceeded to burn and loot property while police stood by. According to witnesses, looters chanted, “We will kill the insects, we will kill the slaves.”

“Sudan is blacklisting journalists and censoring articles on topics of great importance at this volatile time,” Bekele said. “Sudan should immediately stop these tactics and show respect for basic freedoms.”

Under Sudanese law national security officials may ban a publication considered a threat to national security. But the tactic of prohibiting individual journalists from continuing to work, with verbal orders, appears to be without an explicit legal basis, Human Rights Watch said.

Security officials also instructed editors not to write about the conflict. On May 5, security officials called Madiha Abdullah, editor of the opposition newspaper al-Midan, and ordered her not to publish articles on specific topics. “They told me over the phone, ‘You should not include any articles critical of the performance of the security services, armed forces, the police, and not to criticize the president, and not to talk about the situation of civil liberties and press freedoms,’” she told Human Rights Watch.

The al-Jareeda newspaper editor, Idris al Domah, said his office receives similar calls on a regular basis. Sudanese journalist groups have compiled a list of 29 subjects media have been told they may not write about.

Security officials have also confiscated newspapers in recent weeks. On May 14, al-Midan was confiscated for the sixth time this month. Since the beginning of April, six issues of al-Jareeda have been confiscated and al-Tayyar was confiscated on May 8. Authorities have also apparently resumed pre-print censorship, going to the publication’s offices and ordering it to remove articles planned for the next edition, used intermittently in recent years. On May 11, al-Jareeda was so heavily censored that it suspended publication.

Intelligence officials have also cracked down on suspected political opponents. While not directly linked to Heglig, the arrests appeared to be part of a pattern of broader repression in recent weeks.

On April 21, security officials arrested Alawiya Osman Ismail Kibaida, a former health minister of Sennar state, and Ezdhar Juma, a lawyer and a former state minister, without stating a reason. Both women hold positions in Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, the opposition party that emerged following South’s independence in July 2011.

Kibaida is detained in a national security facility, without access to a lawyer or family, and is in poor health, while Juma was placed under house arrest to care for her young children.

On April 22, security officials in Port Sudan, Red Sea state, arrested seven other party members, who remain in detention, according to Sudanese civil society groups.

In similar spates of arrests, authorities have targeted members of SPLM-North and civil society activists from Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, detaining them since conflict erupted in Southern Kordofan in June 2011. Sudan banned the SPLM-North in September 2011 following the outbreak of conflict in Blue Nile, and arrested and detained scores of members who remain in detention.

In March 2012, security officials arrested Jalila Khamis Koko, a teacher from Nuba Mountains and member of SPLM-North, at her home in Khartoum. She remains detained in Khartoum without access to a lawyer or family visits. Bushra Gammar Hussein Rahama, founder of a Nuba human rights organization, has been detained since June 2011. He also remains in Kober prison without access to a lawyer or family visits, and suffers from health problems exacerbated by two hunger strikes.

Under Sudanese law the NISS has broad powers to search, seize, arrest, and detain for up to four and a half months without judicial review, in violation of international standards. The security service is known for using ill-treatment and torture against detainees.

“These detentions are shameful,” Bekele said. “Authorities should immediate release or charge these people with a recognizable offense, and allow them access to lawyer, family, and medical visits.”

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Sudan, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/sudan

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on South Sudan, please visit:
http://www.hrw.org/africa/south-sudan

Community members from Léré in Mali, which is one of the violence hot-spots. ACORD has suspended some livelihood activities until the situation becomes stable. Photo/Awa DIOP

ACORD is deeply concerned over the deteriorating humanitarian situation following the Tuareg rebellion led by the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) at the beginning of the 2012 followed by the March 22 military coup that overthrew the Government of President Amadou Toumani Toure. Local populations, including communities supported by ACORD, have found themselves trapped between those warring forces. The situation is particularly precarious in the northern region where separatists and rebel groups have taken over the main towns of Gao, Kidal and Tombouctou.

Furthermore, this situation has evolved into a complex web of social and economic difficulty for the Malian population. Added to the drought affecting the region, another humanitarian crisis is unfolding as more than 250 000 people flee from their homes to the south of the country or are crossing borders into neighbouring countries including Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mauritania and Niger. An immediate response to the humanitarian crisis is required to cushion the displaced populations from malnutrition and diseases.

Donation appeal to prevent new conflict and build resilience

ACORD is working in close collaboration with Oxfam, UN agencies and the European Commission Humanitarian Organisation to provide timely support  to the affected communities. Targeting vulnerable communities in Burkina Faso and Mauritania where the refugees are seeking shelter, ACORD is focusing on enhancing resilience and preventing further conflicts with local populations by creating a favourable environment for coexistence in order to minimise the risk of conflict which may exacerbate the crisis situation.

We are appealing for donations to assist the affected populations through food distribution, agriculture production enhancement, conflict prevention interventions.

Make a donation
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Rabat

As African cities implode, leaders on the continent are intensifying efforts to address the challenges of urbanization. A forum bringing together Africa’s housing ministers was recently held in Nairobi, Kenyaon 20 March 2012 under the auspices of the African Ministers Conference on Housing and Urban Development (AMCHUD). The 4^th annual meeting focused on territorial planning and access to basic services for all. It also looked to integrate climate change issues for a smarter more sustainable urban development. In the last 7 years, the conference has allowed members to share ideas and discuss effective strategies in line with the “cities without slums” initiative that was originally adopted in 2005.

For some slum dwellers on the continent, it’s just talk. “I am only interested in being removed from here, to live in a more decent environment,” says Rachid Lashab, who lives in the Essekouila slum inCasablanca. “I am not interested in the many conferences that our leaders attend.”

Crowding and disease

According to estimates by UN-Habitat, 200 million people in sub-SaharanAfricawere living in slums in 2010, or 61.7 per cent of the region’s urban population, the highest rate in the world.North Africahad another 12 million slum dwellers; that was just 13.3 per cent of its urban residents, the lowest rate in the developing world.

The lack of adequate sanitation, potable water and electricity, in addition to substandard housing and overcrowding, aggravates the spread of diseases and avoidable deaths, according to a recent report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Slums contribute to low life expectancy. InMali, for example, more than 80 per cent of the population lacks good housing and average life expectancy is just 51 years, according to the UN Development Programme.

Mali’s situation reflects that of much of sub-SaharanAfrica. Fofana Gakou Salamah,Mali’s former minister of housing, land affairs and planning, urged urgent measures fromAfrica’s housing ministers. “We must take decisive action,” she said. “Otherwise there is the risk of having an urban population [in Mali] of about 6 million souls still living in informal settlements by 2020,” or nearly twice the current number.

Jugurtha Ait El Hadj, an Algeria-based urban planner, believes that African ministers are on the right course. “Such meetings are especially helpful in that they allow exchange of experiences. But these meetings must be accompanied by concrete steps.”

There are many roadblocks to achieving the dream of cities without slums. Algerian Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nouredine Moussa noted that the expansion of cities inAfricalimits the ability of national and local governments to provide security and supply basic social services in health, education, water and sanitation.

Climate change

In addition, notes Mr. El Hadj, climate change will interact with urbanization in unpredictable ways. In 2007 an assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme, warned that “urbanization and climate change may work synergistically to increase disease burdens.”

Slum dwellers also face harsh environmental challenges due to the low quality of construction materials used in buildings and slums, which are located mostly on marginal land. Many slums are vulnerable to accidental fires. In September 2011, for instance, more than 100 people were killed when a leaking petrol pipeline exploded in Mukuru wa Njenga, a densely populatedNairobislum.

Individual countries’ differences in geography, climate, expertise and financial resources will influence efforts to implement any continent-wide urban development plan. InRabat, the ministers suggested that these challenges can be tackled through effective collaboration and support from international partners, including the UN.

Steady progress

There is some good news. A 2010 UN-Habitat report found that countries such asEgypt,LibyaandMoroccohave “nearly halved their total number of urban slum dwellers, andTunisiahas eradicated them completely.”Ghana,SenegalandUgandahave also made steady progress, reducing their slum populations by up to 20 per cent. InNigeria, the slum population came down from 75 per cent of all urban residents in 1990 to 61.9 per cent in 2010. InSouth Africa, the proportion dropped from 46.2 per cent to 28.7 per cent during the same period.

Morocco’s urban development model continues to draw a spotlight. In 2004 the government launched its own “cities without slums” programme, fashioning an urban development strategy to enable slum dwellers to have decent homes with access to water, power and sanitation. By 2011 about 100,000 new housing units had been created in different parts of the country. Overall, 37 ofMorocco’s 83 cities have been transformed, a change that has benefitted more than 1.5 million people. These cities now boast streetlights, drainage systems, safe water, roads, sanitation and other infrastructure. The development ofBouregregValley(nearRabat) and other “green areas” are also notable.

Fathallah Oualalou, former Moroccan minister of housing and currently mayor ofRabat, linked the successful urbanization efforts to effective implementation of the road map developed in 2010 inBamako,Mali, at the third conference of African housing ministers — making the point that such meetings can in fact be useful. The roadmap emphasizes efficiency in land management, sustainable housing, urban transportation and sanitation, among other issues.

Mr. Moussa, the Algerian housing minister, lists other keys to success. These include the efficient and equitable management of land, the enactment of appropriate land laws so that women and other vulnerable groups can have access, and improvements in social conditions in housing projects. The provision of schools, clinics, electricity and sanitation are important, says Mr. Moussa. “We can’t design a sustainable development plan without sustainable urbanization,” he argues. Urbanization should be controlled, he adds, and efforts should be made “to reduce inequality between the rich and the poor by offering basic services to all people.”

      AfricaRenewal www.un.org/africarenewal

One would think that being a citizen of a country with the second-largest oil reserves inAfricacame with some perks. Not so inNigeriawhere scores of people are up in arms after being stripped of a petrol subsidy in effect since 1973.  The price of gas at the pumps more than doubled, sparking massive protests around the nation in early January.

Prior to the subsidy’s removal, the pump price of fuel was 65 naira ($0.40) per litre, against a landing cost of N139. The government therefore contributed a N73 subsidy, for an annual total of N1,200 billion (US$7.6 billion), or 2.6 per cent of the country’s GDP. Divided among nearly 160 million people, the gross domestic product (GDP) averages just $1,695 per person annually.

Reform needed

With 37.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves,Nigeriais the continent’s largest oil producer. YetNigeriais the only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that needs to import refined fuel, and often suffers scarcities.

Most economists, both inNigeriaand abroad, believe that removal of the subsidy is a necessary step towards long-needed reform, since the country can no longer sustain the cost. Political analyst Garba Sani points to the colossal sums spent on the subsidy, N3,700 billion ($23 billion) in 2006–2011 alone. As an oil-producing country, he adds,Nigeriashould not be importing — and subsidizing — refined oil.

A report by Renaissance Capital, a leading investment bank that focuses on emerging markets, argues that removal of the fuel subsidy, combined with other reforms in the power sector, could increase global investors’ interest in the Nigerian market. Potentially, it suggests,Nigeriacould become one of the world’s top “frontier markets.”

‘Just the spark’

In 2011, Transparency International rankedNigeriaas among the 40 most corrupt nations in the world. The oil industry in particular is notoriously corrupt, notes Renaissance Capital.

Years of anger and discontent with government performance fuel much of the resentment among ordinary Nigerians, according to Denja Yaqub, the assistant general secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress.

“All sectors have problems inNigeria, so the subsidy removal was just the spark that Nigerians needed,” says Mr. Yaqub.

Nigerianow has democratic structures, adds Mr. Yaqub, but corruption and mismanagement within the legislative bodies mean they do not adequately perform their democratic duties. “They are constitutionally set up to check each other, but they are all behaving the same way: corrupt, undemocratic, irresponsible and absolutely reckless.”

This corruption, unaccountability and lack of transparency have now been coupled with the government’s apparent inability to tackle increasing religious intolerance, including the attacks of the Islamist sect Boko Haram. All this contributed to the resistance the authorities met when they announced the removal of the fuel subsidy.

Importance of strategy

While President Jonathan may have had the best of intentions forNigeria’s economic future, observers argue, his government lacked an effective implementation and communication strategy. Subsidy removal may have been the right move, but it was done in the wrong way, and at the wrong time: the country was still recovering from multiple bombings by Boko Haram on Christmas Day.

Mr. Garba Sani argues that it would have been better to remove the subsidy in phases, while at the same time refurbishing the country’s four dilapidated oil refineries. Since 2000 the government has spent $1.78 billion on maintaining the four refineries, with very little to show for it. They operate at less than a quarter of capacity, and are 30 years behind modern standards. Some maintain that the money used on the fuel subsidy could have been better put to building new refineries and thus ending the need to import refined petroleum.

In addition, tackling corruption and mismanagement within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation would have helped make removal of the subsidy a more acceptable proposition to the populace.

“If they can simultaneously fight [corruption] as well as increase refinery capacity and withdraw the subsidy gradually,” says Mr. Sani, “the country would have then set up a solid foundation for a permanent removal of the subsidy, a permanent capability of domestic production and a more stable economy.”

According to Thomas Sterner, an expert in environmental economics, getting rid of corruption within the industry may not be easy because of the powerful interests involved. Urban elites directly benefit from the petrol subsidy, he argues, as do smugglers and oil companies such as Oando, which took in $1.4 billion from the subsidized fuel imports last year.

The next time the government contemplates removing the subsidy, it must be “more careful,” argues Mr. Sterner. “You need to have a strategy, and say, ‘We are moving the money immediately. We will use it on health or education or something else’.” That, he says, would make it harder for the beneficiaries of the status quo to say that removing the subsidy hurts the poor.

President Jonathan, it seems, has heeded the experts’ advice. In a sign that the government is moving towards a longer-term strategy to win public acceptance for the subsidy removal, recently inaugurated the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE) programme in mid-February. The programme is intended to monitor the funds saved from the subsidy removal and manage their investment in public works projects that may generate 370,000 new jobs, especially jobs for women and youth.

AfricaRenewal www.un.org/africarenewal

Despite, Africa suffers and faced many challenges like poverty, climate change, droughts and lack of proper water and health as well as insecurity. Now the time is continuing to be ruthless one with a lot of worry and the most dangerous challenge that Africa will face on the coming season is common insecurity and civil unrest due to the religiously motivated violence, which is new phenomenon habit and gloominess in Africa at moment.

Take a few minutes to remember what had happened in Kampala city on July, 2010. Near by 100 people of world cup fans die in Uganda blasts at that time. These bombs were definitely targeting world cup crowds. Similarly, have take some seconds to remember the continued blasts against Kenyan civilians although later on Kenyan authority decided to join the fight against the violent extremism activities regionally.

In general, Africa has two radical Islamist organizations better known as Shabab and Boka-haram. Shabab is an al Qaeda-linked militant group based in Somalia that has waged war against the country’s weak transitional federal government since 2007.

Government of Nigeria is still continue the struggle for peace in Kano after a wave of attacks claimed by Boko Haram more than 160 dead and raised fresh fears of civil unrest. Boko-haram has a close relationship with Shabab in Somalia and 35 shabab fighters were joined Boko-haram on September, 2011 including prominent figures of shabab trainers according to some reliable sources.

The President of Nigeria honorable Goodluck Jonathan is battling the worst crisis of his nine-month tenure as the violence has raised fears of an all-out civil war in Africa’s most populous nation and top oil producer.

The most radicalism trader group in Africa is operating in Somalia although Somalis finally strive for lasting peace and defeated Shabab by any means in many parts of Somalia but Shabab still continue sporadic fighting’s against the government a long with AMISOM troops in across south and central Somalia.

The power of Shabab died in Somalia when after African Union peace keepers started operating in Mogadishu and Somali media decided to raise campaigns against the religiously motivated violence in the country. This caused the death of 40 journalists since 2007 while others forced to leave the country after been threatened and intimidated.

Although, coverage in Somali media of peace and development based topics, is extremely limited.  There is few number of UN funded radio stations based outside the country. Somalia has many young journalists, but their reporting interests are predominantly political, in particular reporting on inter-ethnic fighting and the civil war.

The chief editor of the BBC-Somali service Mr. Yusuf Garad Omar who is a close relative of Shabab founders especially the American’s killed late Aden Hashi Aiyrow and the current chief member of Shabab Shekh Hassan Dahir Aweys started airing falsehood and defamatory stories against the UN funded Bar-kulan radio based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The attention of the audience by members of the BBC Somali service to harm and damage the reputation and credibility of the radio Bar-kulan has earned amongst its growing audience.

The UN funded radio Bar-kulan became one of the best radio stations listened and got good reputation and fasting and incredibly growing audience with its staff paid in accordance with the international labor standards, while the BBC whose listeners were declining due to its sectarian policies, leading the BBC’s most respected and renowned journalists leave the job and was gradually losing its audience, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) research.

Radio Bar-kulan played a historic and vital role on the fight against violent extremism activities and the reduction of religiously based violence as well as piracy activities over Somalia.

BBC-Somali service sought in presenting such falsehood and defamatory reports against radio Bar-kulan to its audience, an opportunity which could initiate the recovery of its lost audience. NUSOJ said

Probably, Mr. Yusuf’s approach is out of BBC’s projects outline and this comes after when Somalis strive to find a lasting solution to decades of conflict through better media coverage locally and at global stage.  It comes also after when UK government convened a high level and well prepared diplomatic conference on Somalia on February 23, 2012, which made a positive impact in terms of the enhancement of the international community’s support to the political, security, humanitarian and developmental effort in Somalia.

“Intolerable acts of terror will neither advance Africa’s development nor earn Africa respect among the community of nations. It must stop. There is need to establish both local and international mechanisms to look into the root causes of such cruel behavior be it terrorism, cattle raiding or other. IFAPA (The Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa) stands ready to support every initiative led by the IFAPA Commissioners in Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan including those of other organizations addressing the fundamental root causes of these conflicts. We encourage consultations among the religious communities, the law enforcement agencies and the government that will promote peace and reconciliation..”

Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko – in a statement reacting to the acts of terror in Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan

Obviously, without better media coverage no one could report the daily atrocities from the radical groups in general by the way, the African religious leaders and distinguishable faith traditions in Africa needs to increase community awareness about the violent extremism with the help of the African media professionals to avert religiously motivated violence continentally.

Africa is a vast continent of incredible diversity, physical beauty and rich natural resources. Despite a tragic history of colonialism, economic exploitation and post-independence struggles, African peoples have demonstrated a spirit of determination and courage in their quest for a better future. In settings where violence, extreme poverty and life-threatening disease are very real threats, the need for non-violent change is particularly urgent.

Finally, I have to say. “The grim time and terrorism actions are common catastrophes in human goodwill and development, Africa is under the both horrors currently”.

By Margot Wallström

“A dead rat is worth more than the body of a woman.” Those were the words of one distraught young woman whom I met in Walikale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2010. As the world was once again outraged at the reports of mass rapes in early June 2011 in the DRC’s South Kivu, her words came back to me. Those attacks marked the fourth incident in a series of mass rapes which took place in the previous 18 months in the country. Hundreds of children, women and men have been left to recover with little or no assistance.

If mass rape was not a part of life before the conflict in the Congo, why is it endemic now? And more importantly, how can it be rooted out?

A close examination of the DRC’s national army appears to hold the key. The Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC) is made up of roughly 50 different armed factions, stitched together from various peace deals during the country’s long history of war. This composite group, with varying histories of human rights violations, has trampled the Congolese people. Many former rebels with criminal pasts and strong allegiances to their former leaders have been placed in high command positions.

Living off the population

Salaries meant for soldiers are often diverted. There are no means of transport to move troops around, obliging soldiers to walk for up to two weeks to carry out military operations, often with a rifle slung over their shoulder, a baby on their arm, kitchen utensils on their head and their wives walking a few feet behind. When deployed in remote areas, they are often provided with no food, no pay and housing which at best resembles a refugee camp. The army is unable to resupply its troops, leaving them to fend for themselves — and to live off the population. In the worst-case scenarios, the troops go on rampages, destroying property, pillaging and committing acts of violence to protest their living conditions — with rape often following in the footsteps.

The FARDC has been described as an “income generating army,” but that is true only for some of its members. Many commanding officers enrich themselves through lucrative businesses such as mining and lumber or by requiring a “commission” from soldiers under their command. But the majority of the 150,000 to 200,000 FARDC rank-and-file soldiers live in abject poverty.

This system does not allow the national army to protect civilians. It results in villagers creating proxy armies for their own protection, who then entertain the ambition of being integrated into the army for financial and political gains. If the FARDC is to be a credible force for peace and protection, it must be completely recast.

Army reform is a delicate task in post-conflict situations, requiring that various factions are brought together as a single army in a process called integration. Pre-requisites for success include safeguards such as vetting and training — but the Congo needs a tremendous amount of outside support to achieve these aims.

For a long time the international community has supported security sector reform in the DRC, investing in the defence, judicial and police sectors. Since 2003, it is estimated that Angola, Belgium, China, France, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank have spent an estimated figure of at least US$40 million annually to help reform the Congolese national army.

Unfortunately, essential aspects of army reform have been ignored. This is due to the absence of a coordinated strategy or common doctrine for security sector reform. Donors compete to lead the reform agenda and engage in incoherent and piecemeal bilateral projects.

Coordinated approach

Instead, donors and the DRC government should agree on a set of benchmarks upon which future assistance is dependent. A common doctrine must address issues such as cut-off dates for the integration of new armed elements into the army, vetting mechanisms, a common approach to training and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of members of this bloated army who are not fit to serve. Those deemed ineligible should be moved into other sectors of labour-intensive work, notably infrastructure and road building, or agriculture. The doctrine would have to be discussed at the inter-ministerial level and be endorsed by the national parliament, after a thorough and open dialogue with civil society representatives.

Without a coordinated approach, the national army can hardly be transformed into a positive force capable of protecting its citizens, including against sexual violence crimes. The FARDC cannot allow perpetrators to seek refuge from prosecution for atrocities they committed. War criminals and other offenders must face the law and be excluded from the army. A vetting mechanism must ensure that new integrants do not have criminal records, and the government must ramp up its capacity to discipline and prosecute members of its armed forces who have committed human rights violations.

No blind eye

Key decisions about the size of the army and how it functions rest with the government of the DRC. But the government must protect its citizens from acts of violence, including rape. In most incidents of sexual violence, members of the army were either directly involved in committing these crimes or negligent in preventing them. Sexual violence can constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity, no lesser in gravity than other offences. We cannot turn a blind eye to the victims of sexual violence in the DRC who wait for a protection force that has been in the making for eight years — and counting.

When an army turns on its own people, the world must unite to redress the situation. Donors who support security sector reform must hold the Congolese government accountable for ensuring respect for human rights. I challenge the DRC government to genuinely engage in a completely new approach, and I challenge all major donors to accept nothing less.

Margot Wallström is the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict

Africa is still suffering the affects of global warming which causes Africa to be the poorest region in the world and looked as continent the most vulnerable to the impacts of projected changes due to widespread poverty limits and adaptation capabilities.

In fact, so as to draw a close measurable image about where the current food crisis is exactly exist as emergency in order to boost the desperate voice from entire African community most of who are living in fear from the continental food security crisis or in situations of need. Below you can see and read by countries scarcity in across Africa.

Somalia

Although, the United Nations  declared that Famine outcomes no longer existed in Southern Somalia the people’s call for help is still remaining in parts of Somalia and Somalis are still at risk due to lack of proper humanitarian action for security reasons. In addition to that, Somalia government and AMISOM are continuing sporadic fighting to defeat Al-shabab, an Al-Qaeda linked group in the most of south and central Somalia.

Nigeria

Hundreds of people are continuing to die in across Nigeria in a daily basis due to famine most of them are women and children. There is no adequate humanitarian assistance from aid agencies because of fear from Boko Haram in certain parts of Nigeria and people are still continuing to flee to the border areas looking for help.

Mozambique

Although food crisis is exist in parts of the country the current common situation in Mozambique is 50=50 the people of Mozambique started to speak loudly to push their authority to hear the voice from across Africa towards famine in order to set up good steps to avert drastic famine like Somalia or Nigeria in which could happen on the coming season.

Central African Republic (CAR)

 Thousands of people, who have returned to their homes in areas close to Ndélé, in northern Central African Republic’s (CAR) Bamingui-Bangoran region, after years of displacement, are living in difficult conditions as the security situation is still precarious.

The people of CAR are similar to Somalia people as they are without basic health, water, sanitation, shelter and proper food.

Mali and Burkina faso

At least  20,000 Malian refugees who are now in Burkina Faso are in situation of need from the humanitarian agencies globally though There are near by 1, 000 of people arriving yet and aiming to cross the border while the relief efforts is very weak in generally.

As a result of failed rains and widespread drought, Mali lost 11.8% of total cereal output between the years 2010 to 2011. While in Burkina Faso it is estimated that 41.47% of the country will face severe food insecurity.

The Burkina faso, Minister of Communications honorable Alain Traore stated that his government needs more support in order to help the Malian refugees in Burkina faso, the most urgent of these refugees is shelter, food and clean water  the minster said.

South-Sudan Republic

A near by 4.7million people of South-Sudan are at risk due to erratic rains and worsening food crisis currently. If the inter-ethnic violence continues to cause major population displacement and food prices keeping to raising thousands of people will be severely affected by chronic starvation.

In addition to that a statement from both the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said that in South Sudan’s first year of statehood, half the population of about nine million people could face hunger.

However, there are another African people who are still suffering the impacts from the horn of Africa drought such as Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia communities. Its clear that many other African people are at risk, as the government of Niger believe that more than half of the nation’s villages are now running out of basic food.

Despite Africa suffered climatic changes it seems that its leadership is doing nothing trustable efforts with no meaningful solution and even not mobilizing the ordinary society to wake up in order to create joint space for challenge, unless to wait for the drastic impacts from the hunger crisis ahead in across Africa.

Gradually, African government’s needs to support the local level attempts to build resilience, the national planning strategies could deliberately addressing community success with no more impairment average to avert the climate change problems.

Finally, I have to say “African’s time is not waiting for you; you have to think and move carefully to avert chronic despair over you”.