Following the March 22 military coup in Mali, regional pressure on the military government prompted the launch of an ostensibly civilian interim government in April. That government, headed by former head of the National Assembly Dioncounda Traore, was supposed to organize new elections and pave the way for a permanent civilian government. But the transition has been dogged by problems, especially the war against rebels in northern Mali and the persistent political influence of military coup leader Captain Amadou Sanogo.

Now the transition’s 40-day term is set to expire (either on May 20 or May 22, depending on what legal interpretation prevails – see Whitehouse’s linked piece below), andconfusion has grown: Sanogo wants to hold a convention to choose a new interim leader, but Traore wants to remain in power for twelve months. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a major source of external pressure on Mali, prefers the latter option. Mali-based journalist Martin Vogl says this is “not [a] good sign.” Dr. Bruce Whitehouse, meanwhile, sees a pervasive distrust of politicians at work in Mali; in some quarters an anti-democracy feeling seems to boost support for the junta and its “extra-institutional approaches” to politics.

Where does the confusion in Mali leave ECOWAS? The regional bloc says it is ready to take various steps: reimposing sanctions and even ordering a military intervention. ECOWAS’ threats should be taken seriously; the organization has acted more decisively during Mali’s crisis than many, including me, had expected. ECOWAS is already moving to send peacekeepers to Guinea-Bissau, site of another recent coup.

Is an intervention in Mali feasible? I have heard it would not be without external support. ECOWAS countries, including regional giant Nigeria, might not have the financial or military resources to mount such an operation. External support, however, may be forthcoming:

Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, the president of the ECOWAS Commission, says ECOWAS is just waiting for authorization from the United Nations to order the intervention.

“A strategic plan has been drawn up, and if the ECOWAS force has to be deployed, we need a go-ahead from the UN Security Council,” Mr. Ouedraogo said.

The US is ready to support an ECOWAS intervention with logistics and military planners, says US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson.

“The US fully supports Ecowas’s mediation efforts to help Mali return to democratic rule,” Mr. Carson said in a conference call with reporters. “We have been willing to provide logisticians and planners” to an ECOWAS operation, if the Malian military does not cede power, Carson added. “But the mission and role must be defined before we make any kind of commitment.”

I do not expect we will see large numbers of American or French troops on the ground in Mali. But the possibility of a Western-backed (“backing,” in this case, seems to mean financial and logistical support) ECOWAS intervention in Mali is certainly on the table.

The arrest of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) commander Ceasar Acellam has come with celebrations among Ugandans as well as renewed questions on access to justice for victims of the two decade long war that has affected Northern Uganda, parts of Southern Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic.

In Uganda the debate for access to justice by victims of LRA-UPDF war has two dimensions namely; those pro International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of LRA leaders, these include those demanding for trial of LRA commanders (other than those indicted by ICC) in local courts in Uganda and those opposed to ICC and are Pro Transitional justice systems mainly the traditional systems and amnesty.

Critics of trying LRA leaders in courts of law have argued that criminal trials do not promote reconciliation and are retributive yet the community needs to reconcile and move on. On the other hand transitional justice such as traditional systems of justice such as Mato put and kayo cuk, among the Acholi and Langi in northern Uganda generally promote reconciliation within a particular tribe, which may not be viewed as justice across borders.

Questions have been asked as to whether “Maj. Gen” Acellam should be given amnesty or be tried in courts of law. Addressing the press the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) spokes person noted that Acellam will be handed over to the Amnesty Commission to be dealt with. Some Ugandans feel since Acellam was captured in a frontline, he does not qualify for amnesty.

Ceasar Acellam , recently captured LRA commander next to Uganda army spokesperson Col. Felix Kulaigye. New Vision photo.

The Amnesty law provides that amnesty will be granted to an individual who denounces rebellion against government of Uganda. Some people have argued that this should be for only those who surrendered and gave up rebellion. However the Uganda Constitutional Court in Kwoyelo Vs AG. ruled that an application for amnesty while in captivity amounts to denunciation of rebellion and hence entitles a person even one captured in combat to be granted amnesty.

Initially amnesty was meant to cater for those who went into rebellion unwillingly and to encourage those in rebellion to give up arms and find peaceful settlement of their grievances. Today granting amnesty to top LRA commanders such as Kamdul, Kwoyelo or Acellam seems not to be welcome by a section of Ugandans who have called for scraping of the Amnesty law. On the other hand, government has moved to extend the operation of amnesty law beyond 24^th June 2012 when it is intended to come to an end.

We should note here that despite the good intentions of amnesty in Uganda; it has been used to gain political ends as opposed to peace and justice. First was a selective grant of amnesty with some former rebels getting amnesty and denial for others without clear reasons, then the use of former rebels to fight along UPDF. The later seems to have been the main drive to granting amnesty to top LRA commanders Brigadier Banya, Kamdul who later joined the UPDF to fight the LRA. Kamdul was later used in fictitious treason charges against the opposition leader Kiiza Besigye, which were later dismissed by court.

During the Juba peace negotiations that collapsed in 2008, the LRA and Uganda government used amnesty and ICC indictments as precondition for peaceful settlement of the conflict. With the former demanding for removal of the ICC indictment and the later promising amnesty. This partly explains why despite the Amnesty law giving the minister powers to exclude those with the highest responsibility for crimes from getting amnesty and the rather absurd decision that may result in granting all LRA rebels amnesty, Uganda government has not moved to exempt some LRA commanders including those indicted by the ICC from amnesty. It is this use of amnesty and ICC indictment to achieve political capital that is hindering justice for LRA war victims in Uganda.

Magelah Peter Gwayaka is a Project Officer at Human Rights Network – Uganda (HURINET-U) and an advocate of High Court of Uganda. He blogs at LawUganda

Sustained, broad access for aid provision, freedom of movement for civilians, and the opportunity to plant this year’s crops are vital to save lives and will only be fully possible with a cessation of hostilities within and between the two countries.

Jon Cunliffe, South Sudan Country Director for Save the Children: “A toxic combination of conflict, rising food and fuel prices, and severe cash shortages is having a devastating effect on the civilian population in both countries. With the rains on the way the situation could not be more critical. We urgently need the fighting to stop so that we can get access and children can be protected from violence, deprivation, displacement and recruitment.”

In Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, reports suggest continued instability means that some families have not yet planted their seeds, which could potentially lead to severe food shortages later in the year. The insecurity also means children are not going to school. Access to all areas is needed urgently before the rains make getting assistance to communities even harder.

The conflict and hunger in South Kordofan and Blue Nile are driving record numbers of people across the border, with an estimated 151,000 refugees from these states in Ethiopia and South Sudan. In May, in a single day, 700 people arrived at Yida camp in South Sudan’s Unity State. This compares to an average of 287 a day in April, and 83 in February and March. Recent arrivals take the total number in Yida to nearly 30,000, increasing the pressure on agencies already struggling to cope with water stress, sanitation, violence, reproductive health and child protection.

Ibrahim Kallo, emergency field coordinator for the International Rescue Committee in Yida said: “Those arriving in the camp in recent weeks are visibly exhausted and malnourished after walking for four or five days with little food or water, and some children show signs of severe malnutrition. Women are being raped and assaulted, both on the journey and once they arrive. Fear of hunger is likely to trigger a further wave of displacement in the coming weeks, as people try to get out before the rains make the trek across the border more arduous.”

In Jamam Camp in South Sudan’s Upper Nile, agencies are struggling to provide 37,000 refugees with even as little as five litres of water per person per day, far less than emergency standards. Despite hydrological surveys and many attempts to drill new boreholes, no sustainable new water sources have been found and thousands of refugees will need to be moved. The rains will make things harder – potentially causing flooding and spreading disease.

Agencies are also concerned that supply routes to camps could be cut off, restricting their ability to bring in medical and other supplies, as well as making it harder to conduct medical evacuations. Instability in Unity state has already led some agencies to evacuate staff from Bentiu and consider direct flights from Juba to the camps, which would be expensive and cause delays.

Oxfam’s Deputy Country Director for South Sudan, Johnson Byamukama said: “After more than ten months of fighting, with no sign of peace, we’re on the path from crisis to catastrophe. The coming rains could make life for refugees unbearable and bring the threat of waterborne disease. The world needs to wake up to the true cost of conflict for people who have already suffered so many years of war.”

Agencies signing the release: Christian Aid, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Refugees International, Save the Children

The article was first published at Oxfam East Africa Blog

In Sudan’s conservative society where many believe a woman’s reputation and honor doesn’t belong to her alone, young female activists who are increasingly choosing to be on the frontline in the fight for democracy and human rights.  But not without a cost! They have faced more direct physical and sexual assault to deter them from standing up for their rights.

“The rape of Safia Ishaq made our female members scared and reluctant to work, they are strong, but this crossed a red line,” said Sarah Faisal, who is affiliated with the youth movement, Girifna that is an Arabic word for “We are Fed Up”. She was referring to the rape ordeal of one the movement’s members last year.

Girifna aims at using civil resistance to overthrow the current Sudanese government.

In February 2011, 25- year- old Safia Ishaq was kidnapped by three National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officers and gang-raped during her detention.

When Ishaq recorded a video testimony with the help of a friend to speak out about her ordeal, she shocked the Sudanese society, a conservative society where issues such as sexuality and rape are rarely discussed.

Ishaq had to flee Sudan after facing security threats from the NISS who were harassing her family about her whereabouts; she left behind a disapproving society and even worse, disapproving parents.

Faisal who worked with Ishaq in Girifna said that when you are subjected to sexual assault, the society does not protect you, it ostracizes you and discriminates against you instead.

“I think the NISS which is the main tool to suppress activism benefits from the way society views rape victims and uses sexual assault as a torture method and a way to pressure this activist out of the opposition sphere,” added Faisal.

Since 2011, along with other youth movements, Girifna has organized a series of anti-government protests in Sudan. Inspired by the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt, the protests attracted hundreds of youth, but the protests were short-lived as the security crackdown became brutal. Rights-groups reported the arrest of over 130 youth activists last year alone.

Female activists in Sudan have been told off by police and security officers that they will face arrest, abuse and even rape. Every assault, verbal abuse, groping or even rape is justified because a woman does not belong to the streets and when she goes out, she willingly puts herself in this vulnerable position.

When Samah Adam, a young activist was arrested for participating in a protest last year, officers violently dragged her by her blouse. During the incident she tried to cover her chest, she was told she deserved this for going out to protest in the first place. She said that officers dragged women by their skirts and blouses and tore in the process as a way to humiliate them.

Adam was arrested in the afternoon and kept in the premises of the NISS until the early hours of the next day where she was beaten and was threatened with rape.

“I felt protected because I was in a group of 10 girls and it was my fourth arrest so I was less afraid of their threats,” she said. She added that if she was alone, she could have faced rape.

“The rape ordeal of Safia Ishaq was horrible, but the reactions to it by the society were even more disturbing,” said Amel Habbani, a journalist and activist who has served jail-time for writing about the rape case of Ishaq.

Habbani and another journalist, Fatima Ghazzali were jailed for their articles on the rape of Safia Ishaq but the NISS denies the incident but the official police medical report is proof that the rape occurred.

Looking back at the case of Ishaq, Faisal said that many activists and politically active women she knows fear sexual violence tactics and tell her “we don’t know what we will do or where we will go if we are rapped by the security agents. The security have succeeded in spreading fear of sexual assault in women,” she added.

Habbani who writes regularly on gender issues and violence against women believes that female activists are fighting on so many fronts. On one hand, they have to fight an unjust system and a sexist security apparatus and on another hand, they are fighting a sexist society.

“Even male activists who are very open about their opposition to the regime and the many infringes on rights issues it carries out are sometimes unresponsive to issues related to women’s rights,” said Habbani who referred to a well-known activist who stood against female activists on the case of Lubna Hussein and lashed at them in the newspapers.

Hussein, a vocal journalist was arrested in a restaurant with other girls and sentenced to 40 lashes for wearing trousers that were deemed “inappropriate ” by the public order police. Unlike the other girls, she refused to be lashed. In return, she went to court where she received a jail sentence and served time before she was bailed out.

Female activists don’t even have to go to a protest to face these security risks, they  are also terrorized by security officers from engaging in events organized by activists.

The NISS was shaken by the Safia Ishaq case. Until recently, activists reported that Sudanese government officials are asked about the investigation into Ishaq’s case at government-level international meetings. The NISS denies the rape charges and at least 10 journalists were tried and are currently still tried for writing about the rape case.

Still the security always finds a way to push female activists out of the front lines.

“There is a new trend, confiscating our equipment to stop us from working,” said Dalia Haj Omar, an activist. Omar added that her laptop and camera were confiscated last month because of her activism.

In a few weeks, the Sudanese parliament is expected to pass a strict anti-espionage Act. Activists and journalists fear the Bill because it will target their work whether through its social media, writing and activism. This law could sentence for instance a journalist to death for any work that is deemed by government to be a violation of this Act.

Reem Abbas is Sudanese freelance journalist and blogs at http://wholeheartedly-sudaniya.blogspot.fr/

However, some governments do not want an effective Treaty and are trying to water it down. Others don’t want a Treaty at all. Do you know your government’s position on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty? Is it championing the Treaty or opposing it?

The Control Arms coalition, in association with Reaching Critical Will , launched a new website in July 2011- armstreaty.org.  This is an interactive one-stop-shop for policy makers, campaigners, researchers and journalists to access, track and categorise States’ positions on key issues concerning the Treaty.

Armstreaty.org enables you to see what your government has said about key issues which affect the lives and security of millions of people around the world. For example – the map of opinions on whether to include Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Treaty looks like this:

Say you are from Kenya and want to find out what exactly it has said to deserve the colour green, all you have to do is click on your country and a transcribed and referenced series of positions will appear:

Why does it matter?

In July of this year, following two years of preliminary meetings at the United Nations, 193 government delegations will meet in New York to negotiate an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The Control Arms alliance believe this meeting is an historic opportunity for governments around the world to negotiate a robust and comprehensive treaty, one that will curb irresponsible arms deals, cover all conventional arms, including Small Arms and Light Weapons, and ammunition, and which monitors all aspects of the global market, so that arms brokers can no longer wreak havoc on the lives and livelihoods of thousands of innocent people around the world.

If your country is listed as green on most issues it means it sees the benefits that an effective Treaty could bring, including greater human rights protection and increased socio-economic development for those countries struggling to overcome the ravages of years of conflict.

When you see your country listed as yellow or red on specific issues you know more lobby and campaigning work is needed. By showing you what exactly your States’ position is on different issues it gives you some of the tools you need to focus your own lobbying and advocacy.

Armstreaty.org focuses on 13 categories, based on an assessment of the criteria for arms transfers, the scope of the weapons the Treaty will regulate, and implementation issues that will inevitably determine if the ATT will actually save lives. The Scope categories include: ‘Ammunition’, ‘Brokering/Dealers’, ‘Small Arms and Light Weapons’ and ‘Other Conventional Weapons’.

The Criteria categories include: ‘Armed Violence’, ‘Corruption’, ‘Human Rights’, ‘International Humanitarian Law’, and ‘Socio-Economic Development’.

The Implementation categories include: ‘Final Provisions’, ‘Implementation’, ‘Verification’, and ‘Victim Assistance’.

For each category, States’ positions have been rated according to the traffic light system. The colour-coding is tailored specifically to each map based on some general principles: Green = expressed support on an issue and clear position on its inclusion in the Treaty; Amber = ambiguous or lukewarm position on an issue; Red = expressed objection or opposition on an issue; Black = no information is publicly available, or has not yet been found.

Government statements outlining their positions on the Treaty have been collected from a variety of sources and each is linked to a publicly available source. These are continually being updated.

The site is meant to work like a Wiki – meaning that we welcome your participation. There is a lot of information out there and the hope is that our audience can help capture it all. In the Contribute section, you will have the option to leave a comment where we encourage anyone with additional information that can be verifiably sourced, to post links, quotes and statements.

If you want to lobby your government, or simply wish to see what your government has been saying on your behalf, this website is your one-stop-shop. We hope you find it useful and would like to hear from you.

The Control Arms campaign (www.controlarms.org) is a global civil society alliance which, for almost a decade now, has been calling for a bullet-proof Arms Trade Treaty.

To contact us, please email info[at]controlarms.org.

By Desiree Lwambo

GOMA, DRC:  Recent fighting between the government and rebel groups is not the only topic occupying the minds of people living in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in Eastern DRC.  Amidst the same old news about political failure and war, there’s a fresh buzz about a youth movement that is out to shake things up.

On the morning of May 1^st, Goma woke up to find its streets, squares and buildings covered in large banners. The messages in French and Swahili accused a government and a society that offers youth with little opportunity:

“ We are tired of unemployment – we want work now!” or “Workers’ day = day of the unemployed.”

An anonymous campaign of this size is unprecedented in Goma. It got immediate, free publicity on nearly all radio stations and, according to an inside source, even led parts of the provincial government to call in a secret emergency meeting. Within days, the co-founder of the campaign, Micheline Mwendike, was on the television, adding a face and a story to the campaign. I met with her to get that story first hand.

A generation without future?

Article 36 of the constitution guarantees the right to employment, yet the Congolese government has so far not created a suitable environment for economic growth. The World Bank estimates the national unemployment rate at 95 percent. With 48% of the population in DRC under 15 years today, the job market is only about to get tighter.

For the youth, finding a job is a particularly daunting task. Education in DRC is costly and few families have the means to send their children on the lengthy road towards a high school or university diploma. In addition, the education system is in constant demise, making recent graduates less competitive. Jobs are first given to those with work experience, yet even internships are hard to get by in the current situation.

In a similar vein, youth entrepreneurship and self-employment are severely stifled by insecurity, a complicated bureaucracy, arbitrary taxation and corruption.

The way forward: self-empowerment

Have the Congolese become too used to the established cycles of survival and foreign aid? Micheline believes this is the case: “It’s like everything is in balance: Our problems are discussed in conferences and debates, people reflect and re-reflect. Programs are created, along the way some funding disappears, and everything is still the way it was before.”

Like most of her fellow activists, Micheline is among the few lucky ones who have a short-term contract with a humanitarian NGO. Yet she is disenchanted with her work, as she doesn’t feel that it addresses the real issues her country faces.

“We have gotten so used to being pampered with all kinds of trinkets for any involvement in activism or social work. We need to create our own actions, and accept that there will be no pay for it. Then no one can use or manipulate us, it will be our own copyright” the young Congolese woman says.

A movement in the making

Indeed, the self-made concept is working. Before they even staged their first visible campaign, the movement has already raised sufficient private funding to continue their activities well into the year. Future campaigns will deal with education and infrastructure, in the hopes to mobilize more and more youth, their families, and the community as a whole.

For now, it’s all about awareness raising. “The authorities are so used to not listening, to doing nothing – if we can get them to pay attention, to start holding emergency meetings, that’s already a start.”

But isn’t awareness raising what NGOs have been doing for years?  Micheline’s response is No, “because they haven’t succeeded in reminding the Congolese people of their own dignity. Patrice Lumumba was able to do that with one short, spontaneous speech on Independence Day. Likewise, we can use our youth and vitality to create our future.”

When asked what she thinks about the World Economic Forum with focus on unemployment in Africa that is going on in Addis Abeba right now, Micheline pauses for a moment. “Whatever they decide, I just want to see follow up.”

Desiree Lwambo is a German researcher and consultant living in Goma, DRC.  She currently works with the EED/Civil Peace Service, a program supporting local peacebuilding initiatives.

KHARTOUM, (IRIN) – As Sudan and South Sudan sink deeper into full-scale conflict and hostile rhetoric nine months after the country split in two, people from both sides of the border are tweeting a very different message, one of peace, solidarity and frustration with their leaders.

These voices are galvanized around the microblogging site’s keyword-marking hashtag “#NewSudans” – a pluralized echo of the unitary, democratic “New Sudan” espoused by John Garang, the late leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), which fought Khartoum during a 1983-2005 civil war and is now in power in the newly formed Republic of South Sudan.

Secession in July 2011 may have irrevocably put an end to Garang’s vision of a single Sudan free of oppression and marginalization, but, judging by the thousand or so tweets incorporating the new hashtag since its 28 April inception, the underlying ethos lives on.

Some examples:

“NEVER AGAIN to war”, wrote @MimzicalMimz.

“Everyone must put his gun down. Let’s talk it out. Money you spend in war can be better spent in development , health & education,” said @Neo0rabie.

“The ruling elite is drumming on patriotism 2 cover for their failure for da passed 6 yrs n those to come, We r small prawns being played bout in da waves” lamented @afabdelaziz.

“No entrapment by false and/or artificial identities. It doesn’t matter if you’re Arab or African as long as you’re SUDANESE,” said @simsit.

“I’m from Shendi, El Fasher [in Darfur]. I’m a Northerner, a Southerner, a Nuba, a Zaghawi, a Fur and a Hadandawi”, wrote political blogger Moez Ali (@his_moezness).

“I’m not Arab, I’m not African, I’m not Afro-Arab, and I don’t belong to any tribe, I’m just Sudanese. I’m not from Khartoum, nor from Omdurman, I’m from Sudan,” tweeted @moaltaweel.

For @kashiff111, #newSUDANS is “powerful with its individualism, colorful with its diversity, tolerant with its unity, peaceful with its faith.”

@AhmadMohamed10 looks forward to “Sudan and South Sudan – living side by side in peace with close economic, cultural & social cooperation/exchange” through an “EU style federation with all the freedoms & economic cooperation that entails.”

@MimzicalMimz appealed for: “No more new vague laws targeting women, activists, journalists, lawyers or students” and “No more racist newspapers, yes; no more Al Intibaha!” – a reference to the government mouthpiece and the most widely read newspaper in Sudan.

Read more

More than $2.2bn worth of arms and ammunition have been imported since 2000 to countries operating under arms embargoes, according to new figures released by international humanitarian agency Oxfam. The figures are contained in a new report, called The Devil is in the Detail, showing the extent to which states have been flagrantly flouting the 26 UN, regional or multilateral arms embargoes in force during this period.

Oxfam is calling on the international community to put an end to decades of irresponsible arms deals, which devastate people’s lives, by agreeing a set of legally-binding laws when diplomats meet to draw up a new Arms Trade Treaty in July.

The report also demonstrates how the lack of robust and legally binding obligations on the sale and transfers of arms has allowed the ongoing flow of weapons into Syria.

In 2010, for example, Syria imported $167m worth of air defence systems and missiles as well as $1m worth of small arms and light weapons, ammunition and munitions. Some of these arms have played a central role in the Syrian government’s crackdown on protesters in which the United Nations estimates 8,000 people have been killed this year and last.

Oxfam’s Head of the Control Arms Campaign Anna Macdonald said: “We are on the brink of a historic moment but the challenge is to ensure the new Treaty is really strong. It must unambiguously stop arms transfers where they would fuel conflict, poverty or human rights abuses. “Existing arms embargoes are far too easy to break or ignore. The lack of international regulation means that states under embargo have been importing whatever weapons they choose with impunity.”

A child collects bullets from the ground in Rounyn, a village located about 15 km north of Shangil Tobaya, North Darfur.

In the last decade and beyond, several states have broken embargoes and continued to trade weapons on a massive scale including Myanmar ($600m between 2000-2010), Iran ($574m between 2007-2010) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo ($124m between 2000-2002).

The aid agency wants to see the new treaty place strict, unambiguous and legal obligations on states to control the global trade in arms. The report says the global trade in most consumer goods – including bananas, coffee and cocoa – is tightly-regulated but there are currently no legally-binding, robust and universally applicable criteria governing the transfer of weapons across borders.

Instead, there is an intricate patchwork of regional and sub-regional agreements but this lacks structure and coherence allowing states to continue importing and trading weapons despite UN or other types of embargoes. As weapons slip through the net, Oxfam believes thousands of lives are being lost and livelihoods destroyed.

Macdonald adds: “How can the sale of bananas be more tightly-controlled than the sale of machine guns? It just doesn’t make sense. This situation is indefensible and it’s long overdue for countries to hammer out a legally-binding agreement on weapons transfer.”

To be effective, the new Arms Trade Treaty must include legally-binding criteria that prevent arms transfers where there is a substantial risk they will be used to violate international human rights or humanitarian law or undermine development.

By Caroline Gluck

In the village of Bangadi, in DRC’s north-eastern Orientale province, you don’t have to look hard to see the impact that the vicious rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army, has had on the community.

The village, close to the border with South Sudan, where the LRA is also active, is surrounded by forest and hard to protect.

People here are farmers, fishermen and hunters – activities that used to take them deep into the bush until the LRA began terrorising communities here four years ago, killing, destroying, looting, kidnapping, raping and mutilating their victims.

People’s daily activities, which bring them vital sources of income and food, have largely come to a halt. More than 12,000 people who used to live in tiny, remote settlements around Bangadi have fled their homes and moved to the village itself, where security is higher but still not guaranteed.

But that’s led to more pressure on limited resources such as housing, food and water. Oxfam is building 14 wells in the village in response.

There are few properly-functioning state services or authorities present here and the area is under-developed. There is no phone service and only the UN and aid agencies have access to the Internet.

I visited an agricultural institute just two kilometres from town. It used to be the most important agricultural teaching centre in Haut Uélé district, with more than 100 students.  Now, the buildings are completely emptied and deserted. The building was attacked and looted by the LRA four years ago. Students fled. For good.

After a brief lull last year, LRA attacks in the area had sharply increased this year. Nicolas Akoyo, president of a local organisation, told me that in the last week there had been two or three reported attacks each day. “They are not bandits as the FARDC (Congolese army) claim”, he said. “People are always at risk here.”

People live in fear and are deeply traumatised. The mere rumour of the presence of LRA fighters sends families fleeing into the bush.  People simply don’t feel safe.

I met some of those who had been held by the group. A young boy abducted at the age of 12 and made to do farming and domestic chores until he escaped; a woman whose lips and ear were cut off as a warning.  In recent months, though, people told me the group were changing tactics. I met farmers and fishermen who’d been held for a day, their food stolen, but released unharmed after a day.

But while the LRA may have decided no longer to maim and terrorise people as before, the psychological fear they previously instilled remains deep-rooted in the community.

Scholastique and her husband Vincent recently left their home in Bagulupa village after it was attacked by the LRA. Along with others from their village are now rebuilding their lives in Dungu. Photo by Caroline Gluck/Oxfam

Communities are trying to get on with their daily lives as best they can. A new school has opened for children of displaced families.  But classes are often disrupted when there’s news that the LRA is nearby or has attacked.

“I can’t leave here – it will become a ghost village with only the old people left behind”, Alphonsine Mbikanza told me when I asked whether she ever thought of moving.  This tiny-framed lady, better known simply as Mama Lea, is the energetic co-ordinator of a women’s forum, set up with Oxfam’s help as part of its protection programme in DR Congo.  Along with a local protection committee, the volunteer members identify some of the problems and threats they face, and try to address their concerns with the authorities. They also work to spread information about services and help that’s available and inform communities about their rights and responsibilities.

Even so, two of Mama Lea’s children study in Dungu, around 125 kilometres away via narrow forest tracks, because of security concerns and the fact that schools in Bangadi have been disrupted so much. The family’s land, located nine kilometres from the village, has not been farmed since the LRA began its attacks here four years ago.

The group has cast a dark shadow over people’s lives. But Mama Lea believes peace is possible.  Like everyone here, she wants the LRA removed.  She isn’t sure how that can be achieved, but worries about a strong military response.

“People are tired of war. If a military option to deal with this problem is adopted, its always civilians, our brothers and fathers, who will die again. We hate that. I want a peaceful way to end this problem.”

By Reem Abbas

On May 3rd as the world marked the World Press Freedom day, an annual day declared by the UN General Assembly, Sudanese journalists had no reason to celebrate.  In fact, they spent the day just like many days before it, fighting against censorship and calling for press freedom.
Journalists working for Al-Jareeda newspaper, an independent daily based in Khartoum, headed to the Sudanese Journalist’s Union (SJU) not to join their celebration, but to stage a silent sit-in. On May 1st and May 2nd, Al-Jareeda was taken over by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) of Sudan.

Since its inception in 2010, Al-Jareeda has been known to feature all voices and for it’s good coverage of issues affecting people in states beyond Khartoum state, where the capital lies. It has faced many problems for its work, ranging from regular confiscations, pressure on the administration to fire certain columnists for their controversial work and a three-month suspension by the NISS at the end of last year.
The writers and editors sat inside the SJU for hours and made national and international news. One of the newspapers editors said that their sit-in overshadowed the celebration of the SJU as it was covered by Al-Jazeera and other channels.

At the same time, a significant number of journalists, editors , activists and the who’s who in Sudan were gathering at a workshop spearheaded by Al-Midan, the mouth-piece of the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP) to celebrate the memory of its veteran editor, the late Al-Tijani Al-Tayeb.

The editor-in-chief of Al-Midan, the only female who occupies this position in Sudan, Madiha Abdullah,said to the audience that Al-Midan was raided on World Press Freedom and this did not surprise her at all.

So far, Al-Midan has been taken over by security forces 11 times in May. This is a lot for a newspaper that is issued three times a week.

The workshop titled ” The reality of press freedoms in Sudan” discussed the personality and work of Al Tayeb who was the editor-in-chief of Al-Midan when it flourished under democracy and had to work underground in dictatorial periods. For over a decade until the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between Sudan and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in 2005, Al-Midan was published underground and distributed secretly.

The situation is not very different now. Confiscated issues of Al-Midan are uploaded to their website for their readers. Columnists who face censorship and are not allowed to publish their work in print media send it to websites such as Sudanile , Hurriyat and Al-Rakoba.

In Al-Sharjah Hall where the workshop was held, Amel Habbani , a well-known human rights activist and journalist headed one of the sessions.A
“The number of journalists banned for writing in Sudanese newspapers went up to 11 in just the week ending April,” said Amel Habbani who is a banned journalist herself. Banned journalists are either not allowed to write by NISS or newspapers are too worried about publishing their work because they are afraid of confiscations and harassment.

In theory, NISS is not allowed to confiscate issues or suspend newspapers, but yet they do. NISS officers take matters into their own hands and close down newspapers. This year alone, three newspapers were suspended. Two have resumed work, but Rai Al Shab remains suspended.

The law they use to close down newspapers is the same law used to confiscate expired foods, one of the attendees said. One journalist said that he was summoned by NISS recently and he gets regular threatening calls. And some journalists are battling court cases for articles they have published.

A UNESCO  report published on World Press Freedom Day in 2011, Sudan ranked 40 out of 48 in Sub-Saharan Africa for press freedom.

Reema Abbas is a Sudanese freelance journalist and blogger at Wholeheartedly Sudaniya

Photo credits: State of Media Khartoon! by Khalid Albaih

This article was first published From Poverty to Power Blog

The growing food crisis provoked by drought in the Sahel is affecting millions of people. This crisis has been deepened by the conflict in Mali sparked by the proliferation of arms from Libya in the wake of the fall of Colonel Gadhafi. Some 200,000 Malians have fled from the fighting, which engulfed the whole of Northern Mali from January to March this year.

This situation of drought + conflict is providing some harrowing evidence of the need for effective international control of the arms trade. Oxfam has worked for ten years on the Arms

Trade Treaty (ATT), currently under negotiation at the United Nations.
Tuareg tribes in northern Mali have refused to accept the authority of the Bamako government since independence in the 1960s, and their last rebellion ended in 2009 with Malian government forces victorious. But as the war in Libya turned against Colonel Gadhafi, Tuareg fighters from Libya’s armed forces began to return home and formed the Movement
for the National Liberation of Azawad (MNLA).

The MNLA are much better armed than previous Tuareg fighters. Malian government forces have reported fighting against men armed with four-wheel drive vehicles mounted with heavy machine guns, anti-aircraft weapons or multiple rocket launchers, and Milan anti-tank missiles. The UN has said that substantial amounts of those kinds of heavy weapons, as well thousands of rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns, substantial quantities of semtex explosive, thousands of small arms and tonnes of ammunition and grenades have flowed into the Sahel from Libya.

There are also persistent reports that MANPADS – single operator anti-aircraft

missiles – have been smuggled out of Libya. The Libyan government had stockpiled some 40,000 of these weapons, and only 5,000 have been accounted for. Many were undoubtedly destroyed during NATO’s bombing, but several thousand have probably been smuggled out of Libya to the Tuaregs, to terrorist groups, and into the region’s black market for arms.

In addition to being better armed than ever before, the Tuareg fighters from the Libyan army are better trained and disciplined than rebels in the past. As the rebellion began, things went badly for government forces and on 21 March, army officers led by a Captain Sanogo, angered at being outgunned and outmanoeuvred by the MNLA, carried out a coup d’etat to overthrow President Toure. In the wake of the coup, all of northern Mali has fallen to the MNLA without serious fighting, and the Tuaregs declared the end of fighting and a free Azawad in early April.

Malian soldiers in the South, the coup leaders are now working with ECOWAS and
political figures in Mali to restore civilian government as soon as possible. While there is no fighting at present, interim President Traore (former speaker of the Malian parliament) has threatened to wage ‘total war’ on the north if the rebels do not submit to his authority. The army continues to call for more weapons. More fighting is likely in coming months.

Dioncounda Traore was sworn in as Mali's interim president on April 12 at a small military ceremony marking a return to civilian rule following the March military coup.

How would an ATT help?

For a start, in a situation like Mali, a treaty would cut off weapons heading for a conflict zone to encourage political negotiation. National legislation for Arms Trade Treaty implementation would require security sector reform and improve civilian control of the military, both vital areas of good governance that contribute to socio-economic development.

The ATT would provide simple rules, globally enforced, which would detail when an arms exporter could, and could not, send arms to a prospective buyer. If it was thought that the sale of arms might result in breaches of human rights or international humanitarian law; could damage socio-economic development of the recipient state; provoke or prolong a conflict; or lead to diversion to terrorist or into the black market – such a sale would be banned.

This would apply to all conventional arms and equipment. While individual countries have such export control policies, there is no such global regulation. It is likely that, had an ATT been in place in the past twenty years, Libya would have been unable to build up the excessive stocks of arms that are now fuelling conflict in the Sahel. And, given the transparency and reporting mechanism that will be built into the treaty, much more would now be known about just what those stockpiles contained, and where they were stored. This would have allowed effective international action to contain them in the wake of the war.

The Sahel risks being trapped in a vicious self-perpetuating cycle of hunger, conflict and bad governance. That cycle can be interrupted at various points by action at both national and international level – building food security, fast and effective aid, and passing an ATT that will prevent the kinds of disastrous spillover Mali has suffered from the fall of Colonel Gadhafi.

Martin Butcher is Oxfam’s policy adviser on the Arms Trade Treaty

The government of Uganda has failed to investigate adequately the use of lethal force by security forces that resulted in the deaths of at least nine people during protests over corruption and rising commodity prices in April 2011, Human Rights Watch said over the weekend. A year after the nine were killed, no member of the security forces has been held accountable and only one has been arrested.

The failure to investigate all of these deaths and prosecute members of the security forces who used unnecessary lethal force during the April 2011 protests, as well as new threats in recent weeks on the right of free speech and assembly, set the stage for future abuses and contribute to escalating tensions, Human Rights Watch said.

“Members of the Ugandan military and police commit serious crimes with impunity, particularly during politically charged demonstrations,” said Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Ugandan law guarantees the right to free assembly, speech, and association, but security forces disregarded these basic freedoms and responded with live ammunition.”

A wave of protests began in April 2011 after Activists for Change (A4C), a non-partisan group, called on the public to “foster peaceful change in the management of public affairs.” The first action was “Walk to Work” protests twice a week to protest escalating food and fuel costs and government financial mismanagement. The government contended that the protests constituted unlawful assembly and said it intended to stop them.

The Uganda government outlawed A4C as an “unlawful society “dangerous to the peace and order in Uganda” under section 56 of the Penal Code. The group re-branded for For God and my Country (4GC) but hours after the launch, the police brutality was again on display as one of the police was caught on camera repeatedly groping Ingrid Turinawe one of the A4C leaders.

Based on multiple accounts from witnesses, Human Rights Watch says it documented the killings of at least nine unarmed people over several days by government forces – six in Kampala, two in Gulu, and one in Masaka. None of the nine were actively involved in rioting and some were not involved in the protests. Security forces also beat or shot at more than 30 journalists, confiscated audio recorders and cameras, and deleted images of the violence. Several opposition politicians, including two former presidential candidates, were violently arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and inciting violence. All charges were eventually dropped.

Human Rights Watch investigated the fatal and non-fatal shootings by the security forces, as well as allegations of abuses such as beatings, theft, and rape, that occurred on three of the most violent days of the demonstrations, April 14, 21, and 29. Researchers interviewed more than 60 people, including victims and their relatives, witnesses, community members, medical staff, members of civil society, police, members of the military, and journalists in Gulu and Kampala. Human Rights Watch also gathered forensic evidence, such as photographs of bullet holes, post-mortem reports, and police records.

In some instances protesters began throwing stones and burning debris, but Human Rights Watch found that security personnel did not distinguish between people who actively participated in violence and those who did not, and instead fired randomly into crowded areas and launched teargas at people or into houses.

The two Gulu killings were particularly deplorable because both occurred far from the protest and the victims were shot in the back, Human Rights Watch said. The military carried out a preliminary investigation and determined that soldiers were responsible but did not identify which individual members of the military had shot the two people.

Police arrested a military reserve force member for the fatal shooting of a 2-year-old girl in Masaka. He is on trial before the military courts in Kampala.

Families of the victims have pressed for justice and reparations, but, despite multiple police commitments to investigate the other eight deaths of unarmed civilians, no action has been taken.

Following the violence in June 2011, a coalition of 105 human rights, media, and development organizations from around the world called on President Yoweri Museveni to ensure independent and transparent investigations into the killings and hold security forces accountable. The groups also urged the government to invite the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions to investigate. No invitation has been extended, however.

In mid-October 2011 at least 27 members of Activists for Change were arrested and charged with incitement to violence, concealment of treason, or treason as the group planned more protests to highlight corruption and inflation. An opposition leader and former presidential candidate, Kizza Besigye, was arrested several times during 2011 while walking to work and held in “preventative detention” at his home.

Tension between the government and the opposition has further escalated since March 21, 2012, when a policeman died from a head injury after a melee erupted between police and some opposition leaders in Kampala. The government blamed Activists for Change for the death and arrested scores of people, including leaders of the group.

Turinawe who’s also the leader of the Women’s League of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), was arrested on April 20 as she tried to drive to an opposition rally outside Kampala. Turinawe was assaulted as she was hauled from her vehicle. She was eventually arrested on charges of unspecified traffic offenses and released. The televised and widely publicized incident sparked outrage, and on April 23 women’s rights activists held a protest at police headquarters. Six were arrested after stripping down to their bras and refusing to leave the station. Police leaders said the women were arrested because they did not have permission for their protest and were exposing themselves in public. The women were later released.

In September 2009, at least 40 people were killed by security forces during two days of protests. Despite numerous commitments to investigate those events from government ministers and Uganda’s parliament, no one has been held accountable for those killings, and the police and soldiers responsible have never been punished.

“Ugandan officials should ensure that the right to assemble is protected without protesters fearing lethal force,” Burnett said. “Police need to show leadership by professionally managing demonstrations, exercising restraint, and investigating criminal acts by all sides – including the security forces themselves.”

Tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees face life-threatening water shortages and a growing threat of fatal disease in Jamam camp, South Sudan, and must be urgently moved to a new site, Oxfam said today. As conflict spreads along the border between Sudan and South Sudan, there are fears that more refugees could arrive in a camp that is already stretched beyond its limits and unable to cope with a further influx.

Extensive work by Oxfam and other organizations has been unable to find enough safe and reliable sources of water to meet the growing needs. Heavy rains in the coming weeks will make delivering aid and relocating the refugees even more difficult, and will further exacerbate an escalating humanitarian crisis. The rains will increase the threat of diseases such as malaria and cholera, and destroy the flimsy shelters under which new arrivals are sheltering.

“We are fast running out of time and options in the midst of a huge humanitarian crisis. We have drilled for water and carried out a geological survey, but there is simply not enough ground water available to sustain the growing number of people who need it. Women have to queue for hours in the burning sun just to collect a fraction of the water they need, and the situation is getting more desperate by the day. The only solution is for people to be moved urgently,” said Pauline Ballaman, head of Oxfam’s operations in Jamam.

Since December, nearly 37,000 refugees have arrived in Jamam, fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, and more continue to arrive. More than 100,000 people have been forced to flee Sudan because of the fighting in Blue Nile and the parallel conflict in Southern Kordofan, and hundreds of thousands more have been displaced within Sudan.

Oxfam urged all agencies and local authorities to urgently prepare a new safe and secure site for 23,000 people, where long-term water sources can be found.

This region of Upper Nile is one of the most remote and least developed parts of South Sudan and safe drinking water is extremely scarce. The existing boreholes can only provide the recommended amount of water for about 16,500 people, but there is already twice that number in Jamam camp, and families continue to arrive each day. Shortages are also increasing among the several thousand permanent residents of the area. Oxfam is concerned that tensions over competition for water are growing between the refugee community and permanent residents.

• Read more about Jamam camp on CNN and The Guardian

Ultimately, Oxfam said, the only sustainable solution to the crisis is for all parties to negotiate for long-term peace in Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan and the rest of the border region, so that refugees can return home.

Note: Extremely limited ground water combined with the increase in refugee numbers means people now only receive six litres every day, enough for cooking and drinking only. While within emergency standards, this is far below the international humanitarian standard of at least 15 litres per person per day.

Via Oxfam Blogs

KINSHASA, 24 April 2012 (IRIN) – Aid agencies are unable to access thousands of people displaced from the town of Mitwaba, in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) province of Katanga as a result of recent fighting between rebels and government forces.

“Since 11 April, thousands of people have been forced to move from Mitwaba to Kasungeshi 45km away because of an attack by Mayi Mayi rebels led by Gédéon Kyungu on the armed forces of the DRC,” Medard Lobota, information officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the DRC, said at a recent press conference. ”Distribution of food and other humanitarian assistance has been postponed as a result of insecurity in the area,” he told IRIN.

Local sources told IRIN the latest attack is estimated to have displaced 18,000 people. However, the region has been volatile for several months.

According to OCHA, the Mayi-Mayi group attacked soldiers of the Congolese army (FARDC) in Katanga’s Shamwana village on 29 February, displacing an estimated 26,000 people in the Manono, Mitwaba and Pweto territories. In December 2011, more than 16,000 people were displaced in the Mitwaba, Pweto, Manono and Malemba Nkulu territories as a result of fighting between FARDC and the rebels.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) appealed for US$4 million on 27 March to respond to the humanitarian needs of those displaced by the violence in Katanga.

“The priorities are food, non-food items and emergency shelter, the protection of civilians, protection of children against abuse, access to health services, water and sanitation, treatment of acute malnutrition in young children and the return of displaced children to school,” said the appeal.

Aid agencies noted that women and children constituted 86 percent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), with 25 percent of children under the age of five. Many IDPs were living with, and depending on, already impoverished families within host communities.

“A recent study by Médecins Sans Frontières demonstrates that this situation is gradually getting worse among the internally displaced in Mitwaba, mainly due to malnutrition, malaria and anaemia,” the agencies noted, adding that no vaccinations had been performed in Mitwaba since December 2011 as a result of insecurity, while poor sanitation in the IDP sites was raising the risk of epidemics.

In the Name of the Almighty who Created all Humans Equal

Since Nawroz, New Year, at least five women have been killed in Afghanistan. Three women were killed in Herat, one of whom was beheaded by her husband. Another woman was killed by her husband in Khost and another was hanged after the unjust decision of the tribal court in Paktya. Halima, 17, was nearly beaten to death by her husband.

In addition to this in 2012, the most brutal cases of violence against women were reviled in Afghanistan.

-Sahar Gul, 15, was tortured by her husband and his family. Her fingernails were pulled out. Her face and body were burned and her hair was pulled out because she refused to become a prostitute. Her husband is still free.

-Storai was beaten and hanged with a rope by her husband because she gave birth to a third girl. Her husband is still free.

- Mumtaz and her sisters were attacked with acid because she refused a marriage proposal. Only one of the attackers is in jail.

-Qamar Gul was raped by two men but is now in prison for adultery.

-Nazanin, 9, was raped by two of her uncles and is still waiting for justice. The criminals are still free.

-Aziza, 14, was kidnapped and raped by a warlord in her area for 20 days. Aziza has now returned to her home in Jawzjan and because she filed a complaint, she is afraid for herself and her family. The criminals for her kidnapping and rape are still free.

-Sima, a teacher, was killed in Baghlan province with a knife by her brother because she worked outside the house.

-Sadaat, 15, was married by force to a man who is older than 30 and was beaten and tortured daily. Sadaat tried to burn herself, but was saved and is now under treatment. No one has been arrested for violence against her.

Afghan woman marching in the streets of Kabul. Photo: Courtney Body

The cases above are just some examples of violence against women in Afghanistan.

The Human Rights Commission in March 2001 reported 1026 cases of violence against women. That number has grown to 2700 cases in 2012. Most cases of violence are not in the record and are never heard of. While the Elimination of Violence against Women law passed in 2009 has banned beating, killing, torture, rape and other kinds of violence and has set specific punishment for those who commit these crimes, the criminals are rarely punished. In reality, in some cases, women are the ones who goes to jail for the crime they did not commit.

Islam and the constitution of Afghanistan is puts emphasis on social justice and equal rights. Islam is a religion that banned and stopped people from burying their daughters alive, and injustice and brutality against women. But five women were killed in the span of 2 weeks in an Islamic republic and there is no sign of justice. Islam emphasizes on love between couples but in an Islamic country, when a husband kills his wife, her Islamic and human rights are forgotten and nobody is ready to maintain justice. According to the Constitution of Afghanistan, women and men are equal, but in practice a women who has been raped is imprisoned while the rapist enjoys security and freedom. In the same country, a 9 year old girl is raped by her uncles and justice is silent.

We, the women and men of Afghanistan who want equality and justice, demand from the people’s representatives, who represent the men and women of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Justice, that is responsible for creating a just environment for men and women in Afghanistan, and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which must protect the rights of the same women who are brutally tortured, that they should no more forget women and when crimes like these happen in front of their eyes, they should remember justice and humanity and raise their voice.

As the voice of millions of women across the country, the following are Young Women for Change’s demands:

-We demand advocacy from Afghan men. Men, fathers, husbands, and brothers: until when are you going to sit silent when these crimes happen? Until the day a woman from your own family is hanged, cut into pieces, burned, swarmed with bullets, imprisoned or killed? Injustice to one woman is injustice to all women, including your female family members. Raise your voices!

-Maximum punishment for those who have committed murder in the last two weeks.

-The freedom of the women who are in jail because they were raped.

-Follow-up on all cases of violence against women mentioned and not mentioned above.

-Laws on paper do not have any value if they are not implemented! The government of Afghanistan needs to step up and take necessary measures for raising the awareness of law implementer, and judicial system that fight these crimes about the EVAW law. We demand that Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Culture and Information and governmental media start campaigns on violence against women in province and district levels and raise awareness and accountability using the EVAW law!

-Ministry of Justice needs to take serious measures to implement the law of Elimination of Violence against Women in all of Afghanistan.

-Advocacy programs for women who burn in the fire of violence by media and relevant government agencies.

-Breaking the suffocating silence of violence against women by women and government agencies.

-Condemning violence against women by Ulema Council. Dear Ulema! Are you not aware of these crimes and injustice? As religious leaders, isn’t it your obligation and job to raise your voice? Why are you silent?

-The Ministry of Health needs to oversee and report all possible cases of violence to the relevant authorities and these authorities, with the cooperation of human rights and women’s organizations, need to take tangible steps towards security and protection of women.

-The office of the President of Afghanistan, in addition to condemning such acts needs to work closely and directly with authorities, so that all criminals who are guilty for violence against women be arrested and punished strictly and no one is given a freebee, regardless of their social status. Mr. President! Women also belong to the country you are the president of and you are responsible to pay attention to their rights and security. As the leader of this country, protecting women’s rights is your duty and obligation. Every Afghan woman has the right of access to justice and protection by law just like your dear daughter, Malalai Karzai has.

The Afghan women and men of conscience will never forget these crimes. We will never stop fighting for implementation of justice and equality in this country.

With Hopes of Justice and Equality!

Young Women for Change.

Read more about their activities.

South Sudanese Christians in Khartoum are living in fear in the wake of a recent church attack by a mob of Muslim extremists. On Saturday April 21, hundreds of angry Sudanese Muslim extremists raided the Gireif West Evangelic Church in Khartoum and vandalized it, looted its possessions, burned its bibles and its outside crop field and knocked down its walls.

The church complex, where South Sudanese Christians and others from various nationalities attend prayers every weekend, comprises of a church, a school and a home for the elderly.

The attack on the church took place one day after South Sudan’s army pulled out of oil-rich Heglig. Sheikh Mohamed Abdelkarim, a well-known imam and preacher in Sudan, is thought to have instigated the church attack given his reputation as an extremist. Neighbourhood residents reported that during the weekly Friday sermon, Abdelkarim, who led the prayer, called on the people to march to the church the following day and demand it be closed down.

Yahia M., the church’s guard, recalled the incident saying “there were hundreds of them chanting ‘no more churches after today’, ransacking the buildings, tearing the walls apart and burning bibles.” His wife expressed her shock at the vast number of women who took part in the vandalism.

Pastor John had a look of sadness in his eyes as he recounted the story. “They told us the land belongs to the people of Gireif West and that we were no longer residents of this country and the land does not belong to us. They went on and on about their rights – and as difficult as it was, we tried to negotiate with them but to no avail. In the end we stood back and watched them destroy the church complex. The police was watching too, and only took action after it was all over.”

On April 9, 2012, a dark day in Sudanese history, all South Sudanese citizens residing in Sudan were officially announced stateless and considered illegal residents by the Sudanese government. Since the declaration South Sudan’s Independence in July last year, the minority of South Sudanese living in Khartoum have been suffering from harassment and made to feel unwelcome by both the Sudanese locals and the Sudanese government.

The Sudanese authorities have yet to arrest the people responsible for the attack on the church complex. On Sunday April 22, 2012 a group of activists, journalists and regular citizens arrived at the church at noon in response to a Facebook initiative titled “Let’s Clean Up the Gireif West Church”. However, the police denied them entrance to the church despite their constant attempts and pleas to express their solidarity with their fellow South Sudanese brothers and sisters. They were kicked out of the church and in response, they rallied up in the street and help up posters calling against religious strife and extremism and calling for “One Sudan for All” and their constitutionalized freedom of religion.

Maha El-Sanosi is a Sudanese blogger and freelance writer based in Khartoum. She blogs at Mimzology

Khartoum and Juba have only adrenaline to compensate for their loss of oil. In their frenzied attempt to secure the highest returns conceivable from the unsustainable resource, their joint placenta as it were, the governments of Sudan and South Sudan are now effectively plunging into its flames. The allegory of burning moths would have been suitable were it not for the profuse blood been shed at the altar of oil.

To the empiricist the current war between the two countries flakes layers of ideological camouflage from an essential dispute over oil. Through this prism a retrospective investigation of the 1983 insurgency led by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), the ruling power in the independent South Sudan today, could come to the conclusion that Bentiu was responsible.
The capital of ‘Unity state’, a name cynically conferred on the region by President Nimaryi, was expected to host Sudan’s first refinery and enrich the coffers of the regional government of southern Sudan in Juba through corporation and export tax. Nimayri, however, chose to enstrange his southern Sudanese allies, his partners in the 1972 Addis Ababa peace agreement, and accommodate the Khartoum establishment bosses with whom he had reconciled in 1977 after years of confrontation that peaked with the 1976 trans-Saharan coup attempt orchestrated by the Umma Party, Hassan al-Turabi’s Islamic Movement and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) figure, Hussein al-Hindi, under Qaddafi’s patronage.

In 1980 the rayes ordered the construction of the promised refinery in Kosti on the White Nile, but the promise remained just that. He was deposed by a popular uprising in 1985 before he could reap the profits of Chevron’s 1978 discoveries near Bentiu and Heglig. The next rayes, President Bashir, built three refineries, the largest in Khartoum, and two smaller facilities in al-Obeid and Port Sudan, nodes in an export pipeline extending from the oil fields to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

This narrative, by its very empiricism, shortcuts the decisive question of why the successive Khartoum regimes behaved as they did, included in glory is the Anglo-Egyptian colonial order they inherited composite with extractive economy and state ideology. The standard answer to this question is race, religion and culture, as can be read in any news article on the Sudans.
The racial argument, however, turns a construct into an essence, and does little to explain the dynamics which, for instance, led Paulino Matip, today the SPLA’s second in command, and his captains, to side with the northern jallaba against the SPLA/M. It was Matip’s militia that secured the Bentiu and Heglig oilfields for exploration and production.

When the SPLA briefly captured Heglig in August 2001 it did not battle the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) proper but Matip’s army. Peter Gadet led the SPLA’s operations at the time, the same man who under Matip commanded the militia force which cleared the entire area of its human occupants to make way for the industry. Gadet formed the South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army in April 2011 with the objective of overthrowing the SPLM government in Juba. He dropped the plan four months later to re-join the SPLA, and was named last month deputy commander of Juba’s disarmament campaign in Jonglei. Khartoum has no Matip this time and failed to lure Gadet.

Whether the ever elusive 1956 border passes north or south of the Heglig oil field is today of only rhetorical significance, material for the chauvinist propaganda in Khartoum and Juba. The concrete border rips right through it, and its landmarks are the disputed terms of oil division between the two countries.

Harry Verhoeven, speaking to Reuters recently, chose the term “war of attrition” to describe the current military confrontation between Juba and Khartoum. The, attrition, however is not only mutual but self-defeating. The oil industry of the Sudans is like the corpus of the believers in the famed hadeeth, if one organ is harmed the others follow suit. The stakes are high, sure, but not beyond the reach of the marketplace. Until Khartoum and Juba are knocked back into bargaining with words corpses will do the communication.
Magdi El Gizouli blogs at StillSudan where this article was first published.

By Dhieu Williams,

JUBA -South Sudan: The arrival of 14 people that South Sudanese authorities called prisoners of War (POWs) from Panthou (Heglig) to Juba by plane was to many a confirmation that the country is truly back at war.

Panthou or Heglig is a contested oil field which was seized last week by South Sudan troops and since then fighting has escalated and so far dozens have been killed.

The Heglig oil field is important to Sudan’s economy because it accounted for half the 115,000 barrels per day output that remained in its control when South Sudan seceded in July and African Union was quick to call for South Sudan to with draw.

In the face of South Sudan’s defiance, Sudan whose military is already scattered in various conflicts, the parliament approved the mobilization of the armed forces and suspended negotiations.

Omar al-Bashir seems will stop at nothing to regain the oil field which has an impact on the already struggling economy.

Then South Sudanese members of parliament said they would pledge 10 percent of their salary to the military. Juba militarily says it will not allow Heglig to be a future ground to stage additional assaults on the southern territory and also strongly believes that Heglig is south according to the “1 January 1956 boundary.” They insist either the geographic status of Heglig is negotiated, or there will be no peace any time soon.

With the decades of war and its scars still very visible, vengeance seems high. On the arrival of the POW, many citizens in South Sudan were bitter and said their forces shouldn’t bring prisoners of war from the aggressor’s country. Many see Khartoum’s actions as war on innocent civilians in Unity and Warrap states of South Sudan.

“In 2005 CPA, there were thousands of POWS freed by South Sudan and non from of ours came back from Sudan. Keep them alive to show their weak aggression on mighty SPLA,” call out one southerner in Juba but radio programs in Juba were full of calls to the military to kill the POWs in revenge.

South Sudan military, the SPLA, spokesperson Col.Philip Aguer Panyang said the paraded POW for the media upon disembarkation the plane were capture on the 10^th of April, the first day Sudan army launched ground attack to the SPLA positions.

“Some were found in Heglig and outskirt of the town” he said adding that they respected international humanitarian’s principle of war.

On hearing the news in Khartoum, Sudanese authorities quickly said the captured men were a medical team of Heglig Hospital and oil workers who were under treatment there.

1^st Lieutenant Khalih Hassan, a medical officer who was part of the group in an interview said he was in Heglig on mission to treat wounded and said he had been treated well in his five days of captivity with the South Sudan army.

Sergeant Aman Rajah Ahmed, another POW from Gedarif town had a fractured arm tied with bandage he had a bit of a smile and said his only message to family was a greeting and hoped they could know that he is alive.

The men when they were lined up for the media looked exhausted. Sudan and South Sudan have on many times vowed not to go back to war but this past week the lines were drawn, violence continues with each accusing other.

Authorities in Juba say their fight for Heglig is just. Heglig is just a tip of the iceberg because the border demarcation of the Sudan and South Sudan remains in balance.

The new independent state has been adamant to calls by AU and UN Security Council to deescalates the violence and withdraw. The UN Security Council this week threatened to put sanctions on both countries. Juba argues that for months Sudan has been violating its airspace without facing fierce condemnation or action from both regional groups or internationals bodies.

The South Sudan authorities said they would hand over the POW to international organizations but we yet to hear much. SPLA spokesperson and later by South Sudan President Salva Kiir promised they will allow the Sudan prisoners have frequents communications with their families back home to assure them they are a live.

After 21 year civil war with Sudan, SPLA handed over more than 3,000 prisoners of war while Sudan army had non in return of SPLA prisoners.

Juba says it would withdraw only if the United Nations commits to deploying neutral forces to Heglig which will take over the management of the disputed areas until a settlement between the two parties is reached.

The location of “Heglig” (which South Sudanese have long referred to as Panthou) has yet to be negotiated in relation to the 1 January 1956 border,” the determining point of reference in establishing whether a wide range of locations lie in the South or the North.

Heglig is believed to have been inhabited by both Dinka of Panaru and Nuer all from Pariang County of Unity state which was annexed to north at the era of oil field discovery during Jafar Mohamed Nimerri regime back date to 1982.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration CA (in The Hague) defined Abyei in a way that moved both the Heglig (and Bamboo) oil sites to the east of Abyei’s eastern boundary but didn’t indicate if the area lied in the north or South. It simply said that Heglig lies to the east of Abyei:.

The full scale war between the former foes is likely blow up if regional and international bodies like African Union and United Nation continue to send mixed messages and just condemnations.

Dhieu Williams is a South Sudanese journalist.

The Lord Resistance Army (LRA) and its leader Joseph Kony became this month a symbol of mass mobilisation and good will. The campaign Kony2012 has raised awareness on the issue in an unprecedented way. Behind its creative but superficial tone, the video offered a platform of expression for civil society activists and scholars, from the region and elsewhere to react to the video and give a more accurate account of a situation that has been largely ignored for the past 25 years.

The advocacy campaign and more importantly the African Union and the United Nations recent joint declaration to launch a regional (military) strategy poses some challenges to peace prospects and to the protection of civilians in the region.

In this article we argue that any strategy to address the LRA conflict should focus on civilian protection, build on the work done by civil society actors in the region and learn from the past, particularly successful DDR programmes.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

The LRA has been active in Northern Uganda and more recently in central Africa (South Sudan, CAR, DRC) for 25 years. Over this period, the people, religious institutions and local civil society organisations have tried to prevent violence, support victims, and advise governments and international agencies on how to address the issue.

While social media have contributed to spread awareness about the lives of people affected by the conflict, they unfortunately do not contribute to finding sustainable solutions to address the violence and reduce the suffering of affected populations. They may even further the suffering and the continuum of violence.

What will happen if the military intervention does not succeed? What will happen if there is another massacre and mass kidnapping? There is concern among people in countries affected by the LRA that the lives of innocent children, women and men will continue to be jeopardized by LRA retaliations if there is not a proper plan for civilian protection.

While to most military response seems the only real option, it has failed to achieve any success in defeating the LRA over the past 25 years and is likely to fail again if its leaders do not learn from the past. These lessons include:

1.    The LRA is using guerrilla warfare tactics; they avoid confrontation and live in proximity with populations from whom they extract resources (food, equipment, labour force, combatants). LRA factions are mainly composed of forcibly recruited child soldiers, and include twice as many civilians (women, young children) as combatants, living side-by-side. A military offensive attacking LRA groups cannot discriminate between combatants and non-combatants and therefore can only result in loss of lives of innocent victims.

2.    The LRA is known to retaliate against soft targets when under-pressure. The massacres, which followed the Uganda led joint military intervention “Operation Lightening Thunder” in 2008-2009, are a reminder of this. Protecting civilians against attacks, abductions, killings, and looting needs to be the primary goal of any military presence.

3.    The armies in the region have poor human rights records and are feared by the people. The current military intervention relying on the deployment of national armies can only lead to further violence if no mechanisms are in place to include protection measures. To whom are regional forces answerable to for any wrongdoing?

4.    Western intervention is often perceived as the magic bullet but cannot resolve the conflict. The US army was part of the planning of “Operation Lightening Thunder”, which resulted in violent reprisals from the LRA. An efficient army and State presence are needed in order to guarantee people’s protection, border management and long-term stability in the region. Cognisant of the challenges posed by army reform in DRC and in the region, international presence should be focus on accompanying changes from within and involve community representatives in monitoring civilian protection.

5.    The decisions made by western policy-makers affect hundreds of thousands of people in three different countries in areas neglected by their own government. Who are these policy makers accountable to? Facebook users? Western citizens? The governments of the countries affected? Or the very people who are victim of the violence? Unfortunately, the latter live in areas abandoned by their governments; they do not have access to the Internet, social medias or newspapers and are voiceless in decisions, which primarily affect them. Grass roots organisations such as religious institutions, local leaders, civil society organisations should be involved in design, implementation and monitoring of humanitarian, development and political strategies which affect the population.

WHAT CAN BE DONE IF MILITARY INTERVENTION IS NOT A SOLUTION?

There is no quick solution to any conflict, unfortunately. Well-designed videos and slick communication campaigns cannot replace locally owned and sustainable solutions. The coherence of any strategy to address the LRA issue needs to incorporate not only the security dimension but also the political, development and humanitarian, and protection challenges. It is not only about what needs to be done but how to do it.

1.    Put political pressure on the governments affected by the conflict, not only on Western governments. The LRA affected areas are located far away from the capital of DR Congo, CAR and South Sudan. These governments have other priorities and do not take appropriate measures to address the issue. Any intervention driven by outside actors will not make headway if not inclusive of national and local authorities.

2.    The voice of the people affected by conflict, particularly women, matters and should be listened to and included in the design, implementation and monitoring of any strategy. Western countries have democratically elected governments, why not respecting these fundamentals overseas? Local organisations, committees and religious platforms do exist: Engage with them.

3.    Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes are one of the few success stories in reducing the military capacity of the militia and rehabilitation of its victims. The UN and other organisations from civil society have been instrumental in driving these projects. During military operations, the LRA tightens its security therefore making it risky for anyone to escape. Military operations may threaten the efficiency of DDR initiatives by giving middle rang commander no hope apart from fighting to the end. However, military presence and safe reception facilities, not military operations, are likely to encourage defection and reinsertion of abductees.

4.    Talking is not a crime. Between 2006 and 2008, peace talks took place in Juba but failed to stop the violence. Does this mean peace talks are doomed to fail? The military option also failed but is still dominating the agenda. Peace talks are never a one-off discussion; they take place over years, go through different phases but eventually, ending a conflict through talks is more sustainable and prevent the loss of innocent lives.

CONCLUSION

The recent launch of a 5000 strong African Union-authorised mission to hunt down Kony, and the sensational Kony2012 campaign has brought unexpected attention to the LRA conflict. Beyond the urgent need to do something, the question is HOW and WHO IS RESPONSIBLE for the consequences of an intervention?

In this article we argue that there is a need for a more comprehensive, coherent and coordinated intervention to end the LRA. Any intervention must be inclusive of protection measures, built on the work done by local actors and learn lessons from the past.

The military approach used in the past 25 years has provoked suffering and displacement on a massive scale. Over 400,000 people over three countries have been displaced since the launch of operation lightening thunder in December 2008. The primary function of a military presence in the region should be to protect civilians from abductions, looting, human rights abuses and any strategy needs to incorporate tools to monitor progress and engage with the population.

Doors should be left open for possible dialogue with the LRA to assess the level of disengagement of mid-level commanders, increase the impact of DDR programme, encourage the safe return of abductees into their communities and pave the way to addressing the long term impact of the violence.

The article was first published on Congo Siasa.

On April 4^th, the Attorney General (AG) of Uganda issued a statutory instrument banning a political group, Activists for Change (A4C). A4C is a pressure group that came to prominence since April 2011. The A4C organized various protests that brought Uganda to the spotlight for the greater part of 2011. The protests were mainly in response to economic hardships and waste of resources by government. The protests have been equated to the Arab spring uprisings and other uprisings in Africa and the Middle East in 2011 including protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Syria, Malawi, Ivory Coast, Benin, and Zambia among others. Though the protests have similarities in the way they are organized, mainly around unemployed youths and social networks, the demands, targets, triggers and form of the protests and the reaction of governments across the region has been different with different results.

In Uganda the main focus has been on economic and political reforms. Government response has been a mixture of a total ban on one hand and acceptance of some forms of assemblies. The different forms of protests applied by A4C and the different responses from government resulted in two extremes where there is violation of rights, use of force and confrontation and in other cases restraint and respect for others rights. Confrontations have resulted in deaths of 12 people including death of Assistant Inspector of Police (AIP) John Bosco Ariong in Mach 2012. Ariong’s exact cause of death is not clear. Government has maintained that he was hit by a blunt object presumably by a protestor while the opposition maintains it was a gunshot. The opposition has gone ahead to refuse the post-mortem report by a police pathologist who they blamed of being biased. The other 11 people were killed in 2011 protests and most of them died of gunshot wounds.

The death of a police officer during the A4C organised rallies in the capital Kampala in March has led to an increase in highhandedness from government. One senior police officer Martine Okoth Ochola told the country “the battle lines are now drawn; the red flag is now drawn” which was interpreted by many to be a declaration of war and desire for revenge.

There have been legal and non-legal means to ban any form of uprising against government by the police. Firs,  60 people were arrested in connection with Ariong’s death and those who were lucky to be released have told stories of terror and torture at the hands of the police.

Sixteen people including some key figures in A4C – largely from opposition groups were charged with murder and unlawful assembly. A few weeks after police arrested university students who published a book criticising the regime and called for amendment of the Uganda constitution. Those suspected of being part of a protest or a riot as the government calls it are now denied bail, which the constitution puts as a right.

In order to ban political group A4C, Uganda’s Attorney General used a 1950s law used by colonial governments to control uprisings and demand for self rule in Uganda at the time. This particular section was used to control discontent in the 1960s up to mid 1980s by the dictatorial Obote and Amin regimes. It is also part of the laws the 1995 Constitution of Uganda sought to outlaw for their violation of rights and the potential to lead to conflicts in Uganda.

The banning of the A4C comes with grave consequences not only to members of A4C but the general public in Uganda. Parts of the Penal Code Act define a society as a group of two or more persons, whether known by name or not and gives conditions for which such a society can be banned and Section 59(2)(c) gives the AG powers to declare a society unlawful without giving any reason.

This means A4C members shall not associate with anyone anywhere in Uganda. Since A4C is not a registered organization or has formal structures, government may have to target individuals suspected to be belonging to A4C. The danger with this is any person that police deems to be a member of A4C will be prohibited from associating with any person and may be arrested and charged for being a member of an unlawful society.

Under Section 58 of the Penal Code Act, a person who allows a meeting with a member of a group banned by AG commits an offence. This means hotels, owners of public places; landlords etc are under obligation to ensure suspected A4C members do not meet in their premises. This effectively extends the ban to other persons who have nothing to do with A4C and promotes mob hunting and discrimination.

Generally the order by the AG affect different rights guaranteed under international human rights instruments such as the International Convection of Civil and political rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s rights. These include the freedoms of speech, expression, assembly, press, thought, conscience and belief, freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully, freedom of movement, freedom from discrimination and the right to be heard.

Uganda Constitution subjects all laws made before it came into force in 1995 to be applied in a manner that gives respects the provisions of the constitution The constitution under Article 2 also outlaws all laws that are inconsistent with it. The Uganda constitutional court has over the years discussed the two principles and ruled several laws including sections of the Penal Code as unconstitutional. What the AG should have done is to propose amending and repeal the PCA instead of using them against Ugandans. This should save the country unnecessary resources to be spent in constitutional court petitions that will end with a declaration.

While all political actors should avoid confrontations that may lead to violations of human rights and breach of peace, in this the government has a bigger role to protect its citizens from violence, ban torture and punish those applying it in investigations. Punish all those seeking revenge for the violations that have occurred over the years.

The banning of political groups like A4C might be a sign of things to come and with the continuing tightening of the noose on political freedoms, Ugandans are now more apprehensive.

Magelah Peter Gwayaka is a Project Officer at Human Rights Network – Uganda (HURINET-U) and an advocate of High Court of Uganda. He blogs at LawUganda.