27 July 2009
Luanda — The Angolan national basketball team play Tuesday at "Pentagno" Pavilion, in Bormio, Italy, against Turkey in the warm up match, ahead of the African Nations Cup (Afrobasket2009), in Libya.

Angop learnt on Monday from the deputy chairperson of the country's sport governing body (FAB), Dinho Bendrau, who said that the game is scheduled for 8.30 pm (7.30pm in Angola).

On Wednesday, according to the official, the African champions will face Canada at the same time and venue.

Before moving to Italy, the national squad played in the II Games of the Portuguese-speaking Community in Almada city, Portugal, where they won the gold medal.

The travel to Tripoli, Libya, is slated for next August 02. The continental competition will take place on August 05-15.

The African champions caravan comprise 23 elements, being 12 players, technical team and two officials.

The nine-time African champions will defend the last title won in 2007, in Luanda.
allafrica

27/07/2009
Algerian security services killed 4 terrorists in a clash that lasted more than an hour on Saturday (July 25th) in Tadmait, Tizi Ouzou province, local press reported. A fifth terrorist died in the hospital on Sunday. The operation followed information from local citizens about the appearance of an armed terrorist group in the town of Hidoussa.
magharebia.com

27/07/2009
The investiture ceremony for new Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz will be held August 5th in Nouakchott, Journal Tahalil reported on Sunday (July 26th). Last Thursday, the Constitutional Council confirmed the victory of the former junta leader in the July 18th presidential elections. Abdelaziz won 52.47% of the vote.
magharebia.com

27/07/2009
Libya and the United States agreed to strengthen co-operation in the fight against terrorism, especially against possible attacks by al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, AFP quoted a US diplomat as saying Sunday (July 26th) in Tripoli. Speaking at a press conference after meeting with Libyan officials, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman said his country wants greater military co-operation with Libya. Talks also focused on improved trade and regional issues such as the Arab Maghreb Union, the US diplomat said.
magharebia.com

27/07/2009
Officials from Algeria, Mali and ex-Touareg rebels gathered Saturday (July 25th) in Kidal to launch a new 1.5 million-euro support program for some 10,000 unemployed youth in northern Mali, AFP reported. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Algeria Ambassador to Mali Abdelkrim Ghreib said that to "consolidate peace, it is important to develop disadvantaged areas". Greib, who mediated the peace accord between the Malian government and the Toureg fighters, said Algeria is committed developing vocational training, health centres and other socio-economic support structures in the northern Mali regions of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal.

"This funding will allow young people to have a job and contribute to the stabilization of the Sahel-Sahara band," said Malian Minister of Territorial Administration Kafougouna Kone. Hamada Bibi Ag, the spokesman for the former Tuareg rebels, thanked Algeria for help in resolving the crisis in Mali.
magharebia.com

27/07/2009
Mauritanian police on Saturday (July 25th) arrested a fourth suspected member of an al-Qaeda cell that claimed responsibility for killing American NGO worker Christopher Leggett last month in Nouakchott, international press reported. Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Hmeimed, aka Abu Dher, was arrested east of the Mauritanian capital. A 26-year-old suspect was arrested Friday. Two other murder suspects were arrested on July 17th. One was wearing a suicide bombing belt when he was seized following a firefight in El Kasr.
magharebia.com

Assan Sallah

24 July 2009
The Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, has conferred the Grand Commander of the Republic of The Gambia (GCRG) award on his special guest on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the July 22nd revolution, Colonel Muamar Ghaddafi, leader of the Libyan Arab Jamahirrya.

The Libyan leader received this award on Wednesday evening during a State Banquet organised by President Jammeh at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, as part of activities marking the 15th anniversary of the July 22nd revolution. Before receiving the award, Colonel Muamar Ghaddafi's biography, including his military career and the 'Green Book' he published, was read.

The citation of the award reads:
In recognition of his ardent desire towards the unification of Africa, and his strong commitment towards promoting unity and the existing bilateral relations between the great Libyan Arab Jamahiryya and The Republic of The Gambia, this insgnia is been conferred on him. The State Banquet was characterised by entertainment from cultural groups such as Jamorai, Kambeng Band, Fula Acrobats, Kabakel and Jaliba Kuyateh.

The ceremony was attended by the First Lady Madam Zineb Jammeh; Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, vice president and minister of Women's Affairs; Elizabeth Renner, speaker of the National Assembly; Emannuel Agim, chief justice of The Gambia; cabinet ministers; National Assembly members; mayors; other dignitaries, the media, invited guests and a cross section of the Gambian community.

allafrica

24 July 2009

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the leadership and people of Mauritania to consolidate their country's democratization and reconciliation by pursuing dialogue in the wake of the recently concluded presidential elections.

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who led a coup in August 2008 against the democratically elected former government, has been declared the winner of last weekend's presidential poll.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said he took note of the Constitutional Council's announcement of the final results of the elections.

"The Secretary-General would like to invite the Mauritanian people and their leaders to consolidate the democratization process and reconciliation, including through the pursuit of the inclusive national dialogue as provided for in the Dakar agreement," the statement said, referring to a pact signed in early June to try to resolve the political tensions in the West African country.

"He also wishes to give his assurance that the United Nations will continue supporting efforts in this area."
allafrica

23 July 2009

Luanda — The bilateral relations between Angola and Egypt go on in good terms, with the sharing of invitations and visits from both countries' high officials, reads a statement issued this Thursday by the diplomatic representation of that North African country in Angola.

The co-operation with other African countries that share "our dreams of putting an end to the colonial era was positively analysed and gave way to our bilateral relations with the Republic of Angola", it can be read in the note.

According to the statement, published in the ambit of the commemorations of the 57 years of that country's revolution triumph, led by the former president Gamal Abdel Nasser, which is celebrated this Thursday (July 23), Egypt was one of the first countries opening its diplomatic mission in Angola, in 1976, after independence in November 1975.

This cooperation is also based on consultations about Africa and international issues, mentions the same note that came from the Egyptian Embassy in Angola.
allafrica

Frank Mugabi

23 July 2009
Kampala — SOME farmers in West Nile are selling their crops from the gardens before they are ready, the state minister in the Vice-President's office, James Baba, has revealed.

Baba said selling of food from the gardens was not only exacerbating the current food shortages but also against the Government's campaign of value addition.

"Apart from the rains failing, whole fields of cassava, maize, beans and groundnuts have been sold off to outsiders even before harvesting, leaving us desperate," Baba explained, adding that the practice must stop.

Baba, who was speaking at the launch of the regional export information point in Arua town on Tuesday, opposed those calling for a halt of produce exports because of the current famine.

"On the contrary, we must gear ourselves to produce more quantities to meet the ever growing demand," he noted.
Baba said all commodities should have additional value so as to fetch higher incomes.

The Uganda Export Promotions Board's executive director, Florence Kata, said their partnership with the West Nile Private Sector Development Centre was aimed at making business in the region easier by providing vital trade information.

She said West Nile had a comparative advantage over others because it borders Southern Sudan and DR Congo, which depend on Uganda for most supplies. Kata said they would come up with training programmes for businesspeople in the region so as to build local capacity.

The Arua export information centre was the last among the four that were opened across the country.
allafrica

21 July 2009

New York — A statement made by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the eve of a meeting of the General Assembly on the international principle of "the responsibility to protect" people from war crimes and other atrocities:

We meet on the eve of the General Assembly's consideration of my report on Implementing the Responsibility to Protect. I welcome this discussion. Most of all, I welcome the prospect of advancing our efforts in this vital area that means so much to me and to the world's people.

In 2006, as Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, and again last year as Secretary-General of this Organization, I visited Kigali to pay my respects at the memorial to the victims of the Rwandan genocide.

Like so many others, I came away with renewed determination to do whatever is in my power to prevent such massive affronts to human dignity in the future.

This week, we have an opportunity to ready ourselves for the moment – and that moment will surely come -- when our collective capacity and will are again tested by such horrors.

We can save lives. We can uphold the principles on which this house is built. We can demonstrate that sovereignty and responsibility are mutually reinforcing principles. And we can assert the moral authority of this institution.

Four years ago, our heads of state and government unanimously committed themselves to preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, as well as their incitement.

This universal and irrevocable commitment was made at the highest level, without contradiction or challenge. Our common task now is to deliver on this historic pledge to the peoples of the world.

My report offers some initial ideas on how to go about this. These proposals, not the world leaders' solemn commitments, are to be the focus of our deliberations this week. The question before us is not whether, but how.

From day one, I have made the patient work of turning lofty words into practical deeds among the highest priorities of my administration. In that spirit, it is high time to turn the promise of the responsibility to protect into practice.

The strategy outlined in my report, based on the 2005 Outcome Document, rests on three pillars: state responsibility; international assistance and capacity-building; and timely and decisive response. Allow me to mention a few highlights.

First, the report seeks to situate the responsibility to protect squarely under the UN's roof and within our Charter, where it belongs. By developing fully UN strategies, standards, and processes for implementing the responsibility to protect, we can discourage States or groups of States from misusing these principles for inappropriate purposes.

Second, the report asserts that prevention, for practical and moral reasons, should be job number one. It offers a balanced and nuanced approach to prevention and protection that utilizes the full inventory of tools available to the United Nations and its partners. It seeks to spur thinking and policy development on ways the international community can support states in meeting their obligations in this area. And it stresses the need for preventive action initially by sub-regional and regional arrangements, as envisaged in Chapter VIII of the Charter.

Third, as called for by the 2005 Summit, we plan to engage Member States in a discussion about how to sharpen UN capacities for early warning and assessment. When prevention fails, the United Nations needs to pursue an early and flexible response tailored to the circumstances of each case. Military action is a measure of last, not first, resort and should only be undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the Charter. Moreover, armed groups and non-state actors must be held to the same standards for the responsibility to protect as states in territory under their control.

Finally, my report seeks to encourage each of the UN's principal organs to play its distinct and appropriate role under the Charter in developing and implementing the responsibility to protect. I am glad to see the Assembly commencing the arduous task of building a consensus on the implementation plan.

Excellencies,

I have listened carefully to your concerns and expectations. My Special Adviser, Professor Edward Luck, has consulted widely. The report seeks common ground. It suggests a coherent strategy for moving forward. It offers questions as well as answers, because it aims to open, not close, this ongoing dialogue.

Today, I ask you to do three things.

First, resist those who try to change the subject or turn our common effort to curb the worst atrocities in human history into a struggle over ideology, geography or economics. What do they offer to the victims of mass violence? Rancor instead of substance, rhetoric instead of policy, despair instead of hope. We can, and must, do better.

Let us begin by admitting that there are no quick or easy answers. No region or social system has been immune from such mass brutality. No part of the world has a monopoly on wisdom or morality.

But let us also acknowledge that the responsibility to protect has emerged from the soil, spirit, experience and institutions of Africa. ECOWAS and the African Union gave institutional life to the responsibility to protect principles long before the World Summit did.

Now, regional arrangements on every continent are boosting prevention, early warning and protection capacities, each in its own way. Networks of survivors, scholars, advocates and practitioners have surfaced in every part of the world.

Four years ago, world leaders stood on the same side of the table and overcame whatever other political differences they may have had to endorse the responsibility to protect. They faced a common threat to their peoples and societies, to the rule of law, and to the moral tenets for which this Organization so proudly stands – and faced it with resolve. Today, we owe it to the peoples of the world not to falter in this common quest.

Second, I ask you to let the Assembly do what it does best: to provide the venue for a continuing search for common ground on a multilateral strategy that works.

I see signs of convergence on the first two pillars of my strategy: on state responsibility and international assistance.

But, as everyone expected, differences persist on some aspects of the third pillar: on response.

We cannot expect to resolve all outstanding issues this week, or next. But we can agree on ways to keep the dialogue going, building on what has been achieved and setting markers for the future.

In that regard, I draw your attention to paragraph 71 of my report. In 2005, the assembled Heads of State and Government stressed, I quote, “the need for the General Assembly to continue consideration of the responsibility to protect”, end of quote. I could not agree more. My report offers a focused way to begin that conversation.

Third, never forget why we are here.

Never forget the victims of atrocities and crimes in so many places. They number in the millions. Those losses have permanently stained the history of the 20th century. Together, in this century, we can chart a different course.

Never forget, too, the complacency and cynicism that often prevented this Organization from acting as early or as effectively as it should have.

Our publics judged us then, and found us wanting. They will be watching again this week, and they will – rightfully – judge us harshly if we treat these deliberations as politics as usual.
Three months ago, this Assembly commemorated the fifteenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide with prayers, songs, pictures and heartfelt tributes. It was a moving experience, shaped by the voices of the survivors. Their pain has not faded. Their memories are stark.

Just weeks ago, my Special Adviser witnessed columns of somber Rwandans bearing the coffins of victims discovered only recently to the mass burial sites in Kigali.

As their silent witness attests, this week's debate is not about history. It is about the character of this institution and the future of humankind.
allafrica

Tashikalmah Hallah and Nasidi A. Yahaya

24 July 2009
Abuja — The House of Representatives yesterday stopped President Umaru Yar'adua securing foreign loans, saying Nigeria is heading for another era of foreign debt burden after being granted relief by her international creditors.

The MPs in a motion sponsored by Rep Halims Agoda(PDP,Delta State) supported by 50 others also mandated the joint committee on Aids, Loans and Debt management and Justice to investigate the rationale behind the $ 3.6bn foreign loans recently obtained by the federal government.

The motion resolved: "to mandate the Joint committee on Aids, Loans and Debt management and Justice to as a matter of urgency, investigate under what platform and approval these foreign loans are being sought, processed, drawn, utilized, and their relevance to the needs of Nigerians and advice the House on legality or otherwise of the loan and report to the House within two weeks".

It also called on the President to order an immediate halt to further foreign loans until the circumstances leading to Nigeria's current debt burden of $3.6bn is made clear to Nigerians.

Rep Agoda expressed worries that the country which exited from her foreign debt burden through efforts of the federal government, the National Assembly and non-governmental organizations in the country, is now treading the same way, pointing out that the said loans are of no use to the development of the country.

He also expressed concern over assertions by the Minister of Health, Professor Babatunde Osotimehin who described the $100m loan signed a few days ago as small in the face of the challenges of combating malaria and other killer diseases in the country.

According to him, the government action is tantamount to policy reversal

Rep Samson Osagie (PDP Edo State) said the country seemed to have been misplacing its priorities by borrowing, pointing out that "We have a duty to ensure that this country is not plunged into perpetual debt burden.
Rep Aminu Shehu Shagari (PDP Sokoto State) said it would have been better if such loans were obtained to resuscitate the country's steel sector.

He said: "Mr Speaker, it would have been better of these loans were obtained to resuscitate the country's steel sector which has the capacity to turn the nation's economy around in a short while. Nigeria could generate about $400m annually from steel alone.

Rep Friday Itulah (PDP Edo State) said obtaining such foreign loans without recourse to the approval of the National Assembly already constitutes a breach of the Debt Management Act which make provisions for that, pointing out that while borrowing for national development was a universal practice, there was no immediate need for such loans by the country at the moment.
allafrica

24 July 2009

Lagos — Nigeria's oil revenue was slashed by half in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the previous quarter, official statistics released yesterday show, as the industry suffered the impact of militant attacks.

The huge slump in oil income, according to AFP, dragged down total external trade by 29 per cent over the same period last year.

Sales in the first quarter of 2009 fetched Nigeria N735.4 billion ($4.9 billion /3.4 billion euros), sharply down from the previous quarter, when oil returned to N9.86 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics said in its July publication.

"Crude oil export stood at N735.4 billion ($4.9 billion /3.4 billion euros), a sharp decrease of N734.2 billion or 99.8 per cent over that of fourth quarter 2008," the Bureau said.

"Total trade figure for the first quarter of 2009 was N1,974.6 billion, thus indicating a drop of N572.5 billion or 29 per cent over that of the fourth quarter of 2008," it said.

"This sharp drop in the value of exports may be attributed to the activities of militants that reduce the quantity of crude exports."

The country's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), has in recent months intensified an armed campaign against the oil majors and government installations in the Niger Delta.
MEND, which says it is fighting for a greater share of the Delta's oil wealth for local communities, declared a 60-day ceasefire on July 15 in response to a government amnesty deal.

The militant group late last Tuesday released six foreign hostages in what it said was a "dividend" of the truce.

Nigeria, a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel, and the world's eight largest producer, derives more than 90 per cent of its foreign exchange earnings from crude oil exports.

Petroleum Minister Rilwanu Lukman said last Wednesday that the nation's oil production had been cut to about 1.5 million barrels per day, less than half of its capacity, by rebel attacks in the main producing region as well as the global economic crisis.
allafrica

Daniel Kanu

24 July 2009
Lagos — Governors of the six states of the South-South geopolitical zone resolved unanimously last night to distance themselves from the amnesty deal granted militants in the oil-rich region by President Umaru Yar'Adua unless the Federal Government withdraws the new Petroleum Industries Bill which is before the National Assembly.

Rising from a marathon meeting in Asaba, Delta State, the governors took a swipe at the Federal Government for what they called anti-people policies of the administration. In a four-point communique issued at the end of the meeting, they stated that the Minister of Petroleum, Rilwanu Lukman, is anti South-South. Beside the Petroleum Industries Bill which they claim is anti-community and a slap on the long-suffering indigenes of the zone, they also frowned at the proposed relocation of the University of Petroleum from Effurun, Delta State to Kaduna.

Sources at the meeting informed Daily Independent that the Governors are equally irked that President Yar'Adua did not articulate any definite post-amnesty plan for the Niger Delta.
"They resolved to meet the President on Monday with their demands before the Bill comes up for debate on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday. Their demands are straightforward and unambiguous. They are demanding that the University of Petroleum be brought back to Effurun; that the Petroleum Industries Bill which takes away the total royalty of the people of the Niger Delta without recourse to the environmental hazards suffered by the people be withdrawn immediately. They are also demanding a post-amnesty programme for the region," said our source.

The meeting was attended by Governors Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers State), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo State), Liyel Imoke (Cross River State) and Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta State). The Governors of Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states sent delegations to the meeting.

The new Petroleum Bill which erodes all benefits to the communities by canceling the five percent, 25 percent and 70 percent allocated to the community, state and federal government respectively in the old Bill has ruffled many feathers in the region which continues to bear the brunt of the hazards of oil exploration in the country. The Governors contend that the substitution of the old Bill is an act of insensitivity.

allafrica

Amy Musgrave

23 July 2009

Johannesburg — SA IS set to experience more strikes with workers protesting at Massmart Holding's retail stores tomorrow and Telkom employees threatening similar action next week.

Already thousands of employees are striking in the paper and pulp, industrial chemical, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods sectors, severely affecting operations at companies.

Although most companies have said they cannot give in to labour's demands for better wage increases due to the recession, unions are arguing that they continue to make profits and cannot justify increases that are below the inflation rate.

The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) will embark on a day's protest at Makro and Massdiscounters (Game and Dion) tomorrow.

Saccawu spokesman Mike Abrahams said yesterday parties had been unable to agree on wage increases at Makro, and had an unresolved dispute with Massdiscounters over unilateral changes to terms of employment.

The union's demands include a R460 or 8,5% increase -- whichever is higher -- while the company is offering R460 across the board.

At Telkom, the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) is set to endorse a strike after its national working committee meeting tomorrow.

"Shop stewards are currently consolidating what form of action we must take. But members are eager to take up the fight," CWU general secretary Gallant Roberts said yesterday.

The CWU wants Telkom to adjust employees' salary scales and then grant a 7,5% raise on the new scales backdated to April 1. However, Telkom is offering 7,5% on the current salary scales with promises of implementing the new salary bands in October. "This means that the discriminatory salary disparity will remain unchanged and continue to disadvantage our members," Roberts said.

In response Telkom spokesman Meshack Dlamini said informal talks were taking place between the parties and formal discussions would be held within the next week or so.

Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions has come out in support of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union's (Ceppwawu's) mass action, warning that if employers do not better their wage offer, the federation's 2-million members will come out in support of its affiliate.

Factories owned by Tiger Brands , Mondi and Sasol are being affected by the protests, Ceppwawu said. Workers are seeking wage increases of as much as 13,6%. Employers have offered between 7,5% and 8% .

Mining unions were considering an improved offer to gold mineworkers of a 10% increase for lower category employees and 9% for others made last night by Chamber of Mines gold producers after talks under the eye of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

[img align=right width=200]http://tokyocherie.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/on-strike-sign1.jpg?w=300&h=180[/img]Amy Musgrave

23 July 2009

Johannesburg — SA IS set to experience more strikes with workers protesting at Massmart Holding's retail stores tomorrow and Telkom employees threatening similar action next week.

Already thousands of employees are striking in the paper and pulp, industrial chemical, pharmaceutical, and consumer goods sectors, severely affecting operations at companies.

Although most companies have said they cannot give in to labour's demands for better wage increases due to the recession, unions are arguing that they continue to make profits and cannot justify increases that are below the inflation rate.

The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers' Union (Saccawu) will embark on a day's protest at Makro and Massdiscounters (Game and Dion) tomorrow.

Saccawu spokesman Mike Abrahams said yesterday parties had been unable to agree on wage increases at Makro, and had an unresolved dispute with Massdiscounters over unilateral changes to terms of employment.

The union's demands include a R460 or 8,5% increase -- whichever is higher -- while the company is offering R460 across the board.

At Telkom, the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) is set to endorse a strike after its national working committee meeting tomorrow.

"Shop stewards are currently consolidating what form of action we must take. But members are eager to take up the fight," CWU general secretary Gallant Roberts said yesterday.

The CWU wants Telkom to adjust employees' salary scales and then grant a 7,5% raise on the new scales backdated to April 1. However, Telkom is offering 7,5% on the current salary scales with promises of implementing the new salary bands in October. "This means that the discriminatory salary disparity will remain unchanged and continue to disadvantage our members," Roberts said.

In response Telkom spokesman Meshack Dlamini said informal talks were taking place between the parties and formal discussions would be held within the next week or so.

Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions has come out in support of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union's (Ceppwawu's) mass action, warning that if employers do not better their wage offer, the federation's 2-million members will come out in support of its affiliate.

Factories owned by Tiger Brands , Mondi and Sasol are being affected by the protests, Ceppwawu said. Workers are seeking wage increases of as much as 13,6%. Employers have offered between 7,5% and 8% .

Mining unions were considering an improved offer to gold mineworkers of a 10% increase for lower category employees and 9% for others made last night by Chamber of Mines gold producers after talks under the eye of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

Congo-Kinshasa: Concern Over Anonymous Witnesses

Jacques Kahorha

22 July 2009

Bogoro — Ituri villagers fear that ICC trials cannot be fair if witness identities remain secret.

Villagers in Ituri province in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, which has suffered years of ethnic fighting, have voiced concerns about the use of anonymous witnesses in the trial of Thomas Lubanga at the International Criminal Court, ICC.

So far 30 witnesses have appeared in the trial, 25 of whom have received protective measures in order to conceal their identities. Their names are never used, and their voices and faces are distorted.

There is a fear that if the identities of witnesses testifying against certain militia groups are made public, they may be subject to revenge attacks.

"Our experience is that there is often a persistent threat to those associated with investigations into human rights abuses," Anneke van Woudenberg, a senior researcher for the DRC at Human Rights Watch, told IWPR, "Witness protection programmes are essential to fair and impartial trials throughout the world."

But people in Bogoro - a town that suffered appalling atrocities in 2003, when militiamen killed and raped civilians, leaving some imprisoned in a room filled with corpses - say they need to know the identities of people testifying in trials. Proceedings at the court in The Hague are broadcast locally.

Concealing witness identities has contributed to local suspicion that the ICC trials are unfair, with some claiming that witness testimony is manipulated by payment from either the prosecution or defence.

"We want to know who these witnesses are," Jean de Dieu Ngabu Safari, a teacher in Bogoro, told ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, when he visited the region between July 8 and 11. "They are from Kinshasa and other provinces, but speak on behalf of Bogoro and other places in Ituri."

Moreno-Ocampo met leaders of ethnic groups in the region, human rights activists, and other local groups. He also spoke with people in Bunia town, Bogoro and Zumbe villages.

Lubanga, whose trial began in January, is from Djiba in Ituri district. He is charged with recruiting, conscripting, and using child soldiers in the ethnic conflicts that raged throughout the Ituri region between 2002 and 2003.The trials of two other men also from Ituri - Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo - are due to begin in September.

One resident of Bogoro, Mateso, told IWPR, "We want to know who the parents of these witnesses are and if possible their village or town ... If the ICC continues working in this way, we will request that the trial be transferred here."

Mateso warned about the dangers of a return to conflict if the ICC is not perceived to be conducting its trials in a fair and transparent way.

"Our prisoners, whether they are from the Lendu or Hema tribes, do not know those witnesses who are hiding themselves behind the curtain and changing their voices," he said. "This injustice is hurting us a lot."

Moreno-Ocampo was asked to explain how decisions are made witness protection.

"We make an assessment of witnesses' risk," he said, "We have to know if anybody can attack them. We need to know if they are traumatised or not. Women who have been raped, or parents who have seen their children killed, cannot appear before the trial."

But Jean-Bosco Lalo, president of the Civil Society of Bunia, pointed out that witnesses who publicly testified in previous trials held in Bunia, involving people who were allegedly directly responsible for committing crimes on the ground, did not face any problems.

Moreno-Ocampo hit back by saying, "It is my responsibility to protect the witnesses and I will not reveal their names. But the accused and the defence lawyers know them."

Catherine Mabile, Lubanga's defence lawyer, told IWPR that she recognised the problems of witness anonymity, but said that the lawyers were not responsible for the situation.

"Information was given to judges that witnesses were running a risk of pressure and threats," she said. "That is the reason why they decided some protection measures for witnesses."

Mateso claimed that there have been cases of witnesses giving false testimony in return for financial gain.

"We are not paying any person who gives testimony," Moreno-Ocampo said. "We are only paying money for the trip to Holland and other places where the witness is in a system of protection."

Van Woudenberg of Human Rights Watch thinks that more could be done to alleviate the fears of local villages that justice is not being done by making the trials easier to follow.

"I have seen proceedings, with voice and face distortion measures in place, that are almost impossible to follow," she said. "The French voice-over is often too fast and uses language that is too complex. This has no doubt contributed to the overall sense of injustice."

On July 14, the prosecution rested its case in the Lubanga trial. The defence is expected to begin its case in October, after the summer recess, though a precise date has not yet been set.

Jacques Kahorha is an IWPR trainee.

An international tribunal has cut the size of the disputed Abyei region of Sudan, rejecting the formal claims of both north and south Sudan and slicing at least 18,000 square kilometres from the disputed territory.

A tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled Wednesday that a boundaries commission set up under the 2005 north-south peace accord had exceeded its mandate, and moved the region's northern border about 25 kilometres to the south. It also reduced the size of the region to the east and west.

The tribunal's cuts excluded from Abyei more than 45,000 square kilometres of land formally claimed at the tribunal by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which dominates southern Sudan. But the newly-drawn boundaries nevertheless render Abyei more than twice the size formally advocated by the northern government.

The area is rich in oil. The issue of oil rights was not addressed by the tribunal, but The Associated Press reported from The Hague that a spokesman for the Khartoum-based government in the north called its ruling a victory.

"We welcome the fact that the oil fields are now excluded from the Abyei area, particularly the Heglig oil field," AP quoted him as saying.

Abyei is in central Sudan, lying roughly between the north and the south. Its residents will have the right in 2011 to decide in a referendum whether they want to be part of northern or southern Sudan.

The Hague tribunal was at pains to emphasize that its decision did not affect the grazing rights of either the Ngok Dinka people who live in the heart of Abyei, popularly held to support the government of Southern Sudan, or the Misseriya people to the north.

It pointed out that a protocol on Abyei which formed part of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005 guaranteed the traditional rights of the Misseriya and other nomads to graze cattle and move across the Abyei area.

The decision would therefore not have any impact on these people's lives, said the presiding arbitrator, Professor Pierre-Marie Dupuy of France. "Grazing rights will not change... boundaries are not barriers," he added.

The Abyei protocol of the CPA provided that a boundaries commission should demarcate Abyei, which was defined as "the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan (a province of Sudan) in 1905." The commission's decision was referred to international arbitration when the Sudanese government contested it.

The tribunal comprised five arbitrators, two appointed by either side and one, the presiding arbitrator, appointed by the court. Four of the arbitrators endorsed the ruling, including the two appointed by the SPLM/A and one appointed by the Khartoum government.

But the fifth, a Sudanese government appointee, attacked the majority in a scathing dissent in which he accused his fellow panelists of "dabbling into compromise" and of failing "utterly" to take into account the rights of the Misseriya.

The AP quoted Riek Machar Teny, deputy chairman of the SPLM, as saying: "I think the decision is balanced. We are committed to respecting it... I think this is going to consolidate peace in Sudan. It is a victory for the Sudanese people and a victory for peace."

The members of the tribunal were: Judge Awn Al-Khasawneh of Jordan (the dissenting panelist) and Professor Gerhard Hafner of Austria (both appointed by the Sudanese government); Professor W. Michael Reisman and Judge Stephen W. Schwebel of the United States (appointed by the SPLM/A) and Professor Dupuy, appointed by the court.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200907220688.html

Steven Candia

21 July 2009

Kampala — The International Conference on Security in Africa started yesterday with a warning that the sharing of the River Nile water and border demarcations was a potential security threat on the continent.

Opening the two-day conference at the Speke Resort Munyonyo, the foreign affairs state minister, Okello Oryem, noted that if the two issues were not well managed, they were time-bombs that could destabilise the continent.

"The matters were swept under the carpet because we were involved in other intricate conflicts. Now they are beginning to surface," he stated.

Oryem said Africa, nevertheless, had a wealth of untapped resources.

The conference, organised by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), has brought together experts and government officials across the continent and Europe.

It is aimed at identifying future threats to security, with a view of charting out a way of forestalling their occurrence.

Oryem said timely interventions were crucial to abort the threats and called for the strengthening of the African Union initiatives for border demarcations.
Sorting out the border disputes, Oryem said, was a necessary step in avoiding future conflicts.

He urged the delegates to examine the effects of globalisation, population growth, democracy and good governance.

The ISS director based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kenneth Mpyisi, said the conference would consider the Darfur and Somali conflicts, piracy and climate change.

The conference will also discuss the role of the AU, economic and regional integration to establish whether the continent is prepared to deal with its problems.

Mpyisi said the findings would boost the African Union Peace and Security Architecture and the early warning system.
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Anso Thom

22 July 2009
Cape Town — Scientists have renewed the call for more immediate and urgent effort to be directed towards HIV prevention amid the dominance of treatment interventions and the world-wide search for a quick fix vaccine, which many agree, is years away.

Speaking at the plenary session of the 5th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2009) yesterday (Tuesday) Professor Bruce Walker of the Harvard Medical School put a slide up at the end of his technical talk on understanding the immune responses of long-term HIV survivors in the absence of treatment.

It showed that at a KwaZulu-Natal clinic 0% of 15 year-olds tested were HIV positive, by the time they were 16 around 10% were infected and by the time they turned 22 a staggering 66% of these young women were HIV-positive.

"This is absolutely horrifying and unacceptable and more efforts must be turned towards prevention," said Walker, who works in close collaboration with the Doris Duke Medical Centre at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Dr Stefano Bertozzi, Executive Director at the Center for Evaluation Research and Surveys at the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico started his plenary talk by expressing shock at the KwaZulu-Natal slide.

Bertozzi made a plea for scientists and researchers to not only think about "more money for AIDS", but more importantly "less AIDS for the money".

"We are not managing to get less AIDS for the money and we need to ask ourselves whether we need strategies for improved efficiency in the light of figures showing we had 2,7-million new infections in 2007 and that twice as many people die of AIDS compared those who start on treatment," said Bertozzi.

Bertozzi said greater emphasis needed to be placed on getting value from investments amid the threats to AIDS funding brought on by the financial crisis. He said this required a shift in thinking from a short-term emergency response to a more efficient, long-term approach.
"We need to stop spending billions implementing large-scale interventions without measuring effectiveness," he said citing the example of the billions that was spent on abstinence campaigns without any measure whether these campaigns held any value in preventing HIV.

He said there was also a critical need to focus on interventions where the maximum benefit could be derived. For example in Russia where HIV infection is predominantly among injecting drug users, very little is spent on targeting this group.

Dr Robert Gray at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the US revealed that of the 28 completed biomedical prevention trials (which are hugely expensive and take very long), only four, including three trials of male circumcision, have reported significant efficacy. Gray argued for conducting fewer trials, but with a greater investment in rigor and quality.
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