Guinea: UN Peacebuilding Commission Welcomes Deal to Organize Legislative Elections

The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) panel dealing with the situation in Guinea welcomed today the agreement between the country's Government and opposition parties to hold legislative elections at the end of September.

In a statement, the Commission's Guinea Configuration commended the countries political leaders for "having chosen the path of dialogue and compromise in the interest of the country," which in March saw a wave in opposition protests that led to several death and hundreds of injuries.

The agreement was signed on 3 July in the Guinean capital, Conakry, at the end of the UN-mediated inter-Guinean political dialogue that was launched on 28 March.

Last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed this development as a "breakthrough," and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), with the support of international bilateral and multilateral partners, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) and the United Nations, to do its utmost to implement the electoral timeline.

The Configuration stressed the elections must be inclusive, free and transparent, and called on all stakeholders to respect the new electoral schedule and the provisions of the signed agreement, including measures for accompaniment and appeasement, so elections can be held under peaceful and secure conditions.

"The Configuration stands ready to continue its support to international efforts for accompanying the elections [... ] and confirms its willingness to provide all the support possible to the implementation of the agreement in terms of technical, political and financial assistance, in order to ensure its effective execution," the statement said.

Guinea is one of six countries - along with Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Sierra Leone - currently on the agenda of the Commission, which was set up in 2005 to help countries emerging from conflict make an irreversible transition from war to sustainable peace.

South Sudan: Two Years On, South Sudan Still Faces Major Challenges

Nairobi — South Sudan marks two years of independence today, but the millions who continue to face displacement, hunger, disease and extreme poverty will be hard pressed to find any reason to celebrate.

Aid agencies say they require US$485 millionfrom June until the end of 2013 to help some three million people "to survive and to rebuild their lives". IRIN has put together a list of some of the country's most serious humanitarian issues:

Conflict: Over the past two years, inter-communal violence has destabilized Jonglei State, causing displacement. Battles between rebels led by David Yau Yau and the national Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) have also increased insecurity in the same state. In May, more than 100,000 people fled Jonglei's Pibor County following clashes between the rebels and the SPLA.

Tension remains high in the disputed Abyei region, with tens of thousands still displaced by fighting in May 2011.

Access to conflict-affected populations remains a major challenge. Most recently, international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF) reported on 8 July that some 20,000 people have been cut off from aid in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State after they fled violence in the disputed border area between Sudan and South Sudan.

Aid agencies also report being prevented by the government from accessing populations in need in Jonglei.

The integration into the SPLA of parts of some rebel movements - including Yau Yau's and Peter Gadet's South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) - saw a decline in militia activity in 2011 and 2012. Analysts say an amnesty issued to six militia leaders by President Salva Kiir in April could see further declines in militia-related violence, but for the moment, Yau Yau's militia remains active, although elders in the region say peace talks are imminent.

Overall, internal conflict has displaced some 354,670 people, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Refugees: Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces - Sudan's national army - and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile states has forced more than 220,000 people into South Sudan's Upper Nile and Unity states. Overcrowding, outbreaks of disease, poor funding and flooding make caring for these refugees problematic for aid agencies. The ongoing rainy season - which blocks roads for months - will make aid delivery even harder.

Returnees: Close to two million South Sudanese have returned home since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, ahead of independence. According to the International Rescue Committee (IRC), many have returned to find their land occupied; IRC reports that "the legal framework and procedures for land allocation are unclear and poorly understood". Few have valid identification documents, meaning they often miss out on vital services such as health and education programmes.

More on This

Kagame Calls for Continental Integration At Second S. Sudan Independence 

President Paul Kagame has called for unity as the way to develop the African continent in all aspects. see more »

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US values thrown overboard in Obama’s Africa visit

President Obama was welcomed by protestors in South Africa who clearly showed their dismay
United States President Barack Obama has ended his visit to Africa that seems to have gone against all the principles of American foreign policy. When dealing with Africa, American presidents, particularly Barack Obama, have always pushed certain values – democracy, human rights observance, gender equality and the fight against corruption.
They rate African countries according to these values which they also use as criteria for establishing relations or close ties – at least publicly.
On President Obama’s just ended visit, these cherished ideals were noticeably absent from his agenda. Even his choice of countries to visit, especially in East Africa, had nothing to do with adherence to these ideals.
That should not come as a surprise since even the American media reported that Obama’s tour of a few African countries had more to do with natural resources and concern about China’s presence in Africa than the promotion of democracy and related values. That explains why he did exactly what the West has been accusing China of doing – turning a blind eye to human rights abuses, corruption and undemocratic governance.
This visit could not have been different from his first visit after he had started his first term. That time he was met with jubilation even when he delivered the usual lessons from America. This time he was met with protests in South Africa.
Tanzania, for instance, cannot be viewed as the paragon of human rights observance. In the last five years or so, religious intolerance has increased to levels where places of worship have been regularly torched or bombed and worshippers killed and injured. This has happened in the commercial capital of Dar es Salaam, in Arusha – the centre of the tourist circuit and seat of various international organisations, in Zanzibar and numerous villages across the country.
Hate speech against foreigners, and even nationals abounds – not just among ordinary citizens, but the political elite as well, even in parliament.
The latest example came from none other than Tanzania’s Prime Minister Mizengo Peter Pinda who is reported to have told parliament just before Obama’s visit that government policy is to beat, beat and beat those who are seen to be troublesome. That is code for the political opposition.
The Prime Minister’s incitement to violence seems to confirm what has been happening in Tanzania. Police violence against ordinary citizens and extra-judicial killings have been reported but these have gone unpunished. People have been abducted, tortured and mutilated – reportedly at the hands of state officials, with no action taken against them.
Opposition politicians have been constantly harassed and beaten.
None of these seemed to bother Mr Obama on his visit to Tanzania. He chose to ignore them because his primary concern was not about civil treatment of political rivals, tolerance of dissent or respect for the rights of individuals and communities.
President Obama has been noted for his concern about corruption in Africa. In Tanzania, he said not a single word in admonition, friendly advice or gentle pressure. Yet Tanzania is ranked 102 in the 2012 Transparency International’s perception of corruption index – not far from Mali (105), a country that has been torn into two and has only been prevented from becoming a failed state by French intervention and now United Nations peacekeepers.
Mr Obama did not say a word of encouragement to Tanzania’s better ranked neighbours – Malawi and Zambia, both at 88, or better still, Rwanda at 50.
Overnight, concern for corruption that has been the centrepiece of American economic support for Africa disappeared. It will probably reappear when Obama is safely far away from Tanzania.
Equally absent from view was the usual insistence on economic reforms as a condition for doing business with African countries. The 2012 World Bank Doing Business report places Tanzania at 134, way below neighbours Uganda and Kenya at 120 and 121 respectively. Rwanda at number 52 is in a different league.
Yet none of these received as much as a presidential glance from Mr Obama. Instead, he carried a planeload of 500 business people to make deals with Tanzania. Of course, all eyes are on the gas, oil and huge expanses of agricultural land, not on business reforms.
America’s other yardstick for establishing close ties with African countries – gender equality and other civil liberties – also disappeared while Obama was in Tanzania. True, he was not provocative by promoting gay rights. The experience in Senegal had probably taught him to be a little more sensitive. But that learned sensitivity seems to have made him insensitive to another subject – gender equality whose promotion is usually a key element of American foreign policy.
According to the 2011 Gender Inequality Index, Tanzania is number 119 out of 146 countries measured. Three years ago the United Nations placed it at 125 out of 155 countries in the Gender-related Development Index. Clearly, Tanzania is not a leading example for the advancement of gender equality in Africa.
Sources within Tanzania say that the Tanzanian leadership was apprehensive of how Obama would treat them given their dismal record on a wide variety of indicators. That is why when it turned out that Obama looked the other way, his host was visibly pleased, like a school boy who has unexpectedly received praise from his usually stern headmaster.
Mr Kikwete was gushing in his praise of President Obama for American support. His unrestrained praise-singing bordered on the obsequious. It is an undignified attitude that he usually adopts when dealing with the powerful, especially when he is obviously let off the hook.
Mr Obama reciprocated, reeling off current and future areas of US aid to Tanzania. All the while Mr Kikwete wore a wide grin, obviously enjoying the glow from his illustrious guest.
Pleasantries aside, Obama’s just concluded visit revealed how normally cherished ideals were sacrificed for a grab on Africa’s immense natural resources. The very thought of getting hold of the continent’s riches silences all the sermons and lectures on democracy, human rights and other freedoms constantly delivered to Africans. That is how the real world works.
Greed rules.

Sudan Minister Lauds Doha Declaration For Initiating Darfur Peace Process

Khartoum 9th June 2013 : The Doha Declaration is the basis of the peace process in Darfur and it has achieved significant gains on the ground for the region’s people, Sudanese Cabinet Minister Ahmed Saad Omar said.

He said that notable achievements included the restoration of security and stability, progress made in construction and reconstruction processes, return of displaced residents and uniting of Darfur people to face challenges and push forward the peace process.

Saad Omar urged South Sudan to convince militant movements in Darfur to join the Doha Declaration instead of providing them with arms to undermine security, stability and the peace process. QNA

Secretary-General’s remarks at ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity / African Union

Today we mark half a century of African achievement.
As we celebrate 20th-century heroes, giants and visionaries, we also look forward.
A new generation is taking the founders’ dreams into the 21st century.
Today peace prevails in most African countries.
Democracy is deepening.  Civil society is mobilizing.
Economies are growing.  Incomes are rising.
The narrative is changing.  Hope is alive.
Of course, we know the challenges.
Too many African mothers still die in childbirth, and too many youth lack a job or an education.
Too many African families face insecurity and sexual violence.  And too many institutions have not yet earned the full trust of citizens.
Climate change, desertification, water scarcity and environmental degradation are life and death realities.
But I see a rising Africa rising to the challenges.
From the beginning, the United Nations has been your proud partner.  Our shared destination is clear:
Lives of dignity, safety, freedom and opportunity for every single African.
Communities resilient in the face of disaster and discord.
Nations that help people realize their potential – above all women and youth.
Regions that unite on investment and infrastructure.
Economies that meet the needs of Africa’s people, today and tomorrow.
And a continent that builds effective structures for peace, sustainable development and human rights.   A continent that achieves the Millennium Development Goals and whose aspirations are at the core of the post-2015 development agenda.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
In my time as United Nations Secretary-General, I have had the honour of travelling the length and breadth of this magnificent, mesmerizing continent.
I have reached one conclusion above all:
There is no problem in Africa that cannot be solved by the potential of Africa.
Long live Africa!  Vive l’Afrique!  Tah-ya Afreeq-ya!  Longa Vida a Africa!  Viva África!  Lidumu bara la Afrika!
–
Nous sommes ici aujourd’hui pour célébrer un demi-siècle d’avancées en Afrique.
Si nous rendons hommage à toutes les personnalités hors du commun qui ont marqué le XXe siècle par leurs actes, leur stature ou leurs idées visionnaires, notre regard n’en est pas moins tourné vers l’avenir.
Une nouvelle génération fait entrer les rêves des pères fondateurs dans le XXIe siècle.
À l’heure actuelle, la paix règne dans la plupart des pays d’Afrique.
La démocratie s’enracine. La société civile se mobilise.
Les économies se développent. Les revenus augmentent.
Les perceptions changent. L’espoir est là.
Bien sûr, nous n’ignorons pas les problèmes.
Trop de mères africaines meurent encore en donnant la vie et trop de jeunes restent sans éducation ou sans travail.
Trop de familles africaines sont en proie à l’insécurité et à la violence sexuelle. Trop d’institutions n’ont pas encore réussi à gagner l’entière confiance des citoyens.
Les changements climatiques, la désertification, la pénurie d’eau et la dégradation de l’environnement sont des enjeux vitaux.
Mais je vois s’éveiller une Afrique prête à relever ces défis.
L’Organisation des Nations Unies est fière d’être votre partenaire depuis toujours. Notre ambition commune est claire :
Une vie digne dans un environnement sûr, la liberté et des perspectives offertes à tous les Africains, sans exception;
Des communautés résilientes face aux catastrophes et aux dissensions;
Des nations qui aident les gens à réaliser leur potentiel, à commencer par les femmes et les jeunes;
Des régions qui s’unissent pour investir et construire des infrastructures;
Des économies qui répondent aux besoins présents et futurs des habitants de l’Afrique;
Un continent qui s’équipe pour la paix, le développement durable et le respect des droits de l’homme.
Un continent qui atteint les objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement et dont les aspirations sont au cœur des priorités de développement pour l’après-2015.
Mesdames et Messieurs,
En tant que Secrétaire général de l’ONU, j’ai eu l’honneur de parcourir de bout en bout ce continent magnifique et fascinant.
Et je suis arrivé à une conclusion essentielle :
Il n’y a pas en Afrique de problèmes qui ne puissent être résolus grâce au potentiel de l’Afrique.
Long live Africa! Vive l’Afrique! Tah-ya Afreeq-ya! Longa Vida a Africa! Viva África! Lidumu bara la Afrika!

WTO Top Candidate to focus on Africa

Doha,April,16:One of people seeking election as World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General, Mexico’s Dr Herminio Blanco, has promised to end the impasse over the Doha Round talks and ensure Africa benefits more from multilateral trade systems.

He made the pledge at a press conference held in Dar es Salaam on Friday, saying there was urgent need for African countries to get a much better from multilateral trade than now obtains.

Six men and three women have been nominated by their respective governments for the post, with the winner assuming office upon the expiration of French incumbent Pascal Lamy’s tenure on August 31.

The other contestants include Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen of Ghana, Tim Groser (New Zealand), Ahmad Thougan Hindawi (Jordan), Taeho Bark (Republic of Korea) and Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (Brazil).

The women contestants are Anabel González of Costa Rica, Elka Pangestu (Indonesia) and Amina C. Mohamed (Kenya).

Speaking to the members of Press in Dar es Salaam on Friday, Dr Blanco was accompanied at the press conference by Mexico’s consul in Tanzania, Reza Saboor. Also at the event was Luis Campunzano, who doubles as Mexico’s Ambassador to East African countries, Eritrea and Seychelles and the South American country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme and UN-Habitat.

“There is a deficit in deliverables for the world’s weakest countries, in particular the least developed, and hence the need for trade liberalisation for the goods and services they produce,” said Dr Blanco, a former Trade and Industry minister in Mexico.

He said African countries are easily among the main losers in the deadlock over the Doha Round negotiations “in which the continent’s development is not that much of a priority”.

“If elected WTO Director General, I will give the highest priority to restarting in earnest the negotiations and reach a successful conclusion of Doha,” he noted, adding that the only way for WTO to remain a credible and relevant body was to deliver on the Doha Development Agenda.

He stressed that achieving that goal demanded that all countries contribute as much as possible to the realisation of the dream, “but those who have benefited more from the system coming up with some extra contribution”.

“WTO has succeeded in promoting trade as a dynamic engine of economic growth and development in the respective member countries alongside helping in easing protectionist pressure arising from the global financial crisis,” said Dr Blanco.

“Although a substantial component of this growth potential is dependent on trade, much is still needed for trade to become really a powerful tool for development in the region,” he noted, adding that Africa had recorded enhanced economic growth in recent years.

While in Tanzania, Dr Blanco had talks with a number of senior government officials including ministers currently attending the National Assembly’s annual Budget meeting in Dodoma.

He said he used the talks to reaffirm “my solid determination to responsibly promote my work agenda beginning September 1, 2013 – should I be chosen as the new Director General of the WTO – by helping make the agency grow into a stronger and more relevant organisation”.

The countdown to the naming of a new DG for WTO began late last year and will conclude at a meeting of the General Council to be called not later than May 31.

Dr Blanco submitted his candidature at a meeting of the WTO General Council on January 30, 2013 before representatives of all the 157 member countries of the organisation and as well as of observer countries.

The Mexican contestant boasts 27 years of experience in international trade and has advised various national and local governments, corporations and international organisations on trade policy and international economic strategic matters.He is founder and president of the only international trade service in Latin America that provides online day-by-day analyses of governmental trade measures affecting corporations doing business in the region.He is also a member of the board of directors of several companies whose mission is to finance international trade in Latin America.

Ghana launches $85 million Aquaculture Development Plan

The Ghana National Aquaculture Development Plan (GNADP) has been launched, as the country's first blueprint to guide the sustainable development of the aquaculture value chain.

Implementation of the plan will cover a five year period at a cost of US$85 million.

With financial and technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Plan is aimed at enhancing and improving the practice, management and development of aquaculture as a viable business.

Aquaculture is fast gaining pace as an alternative source of animal protein as Ghana’s marine and freshwater fishery production decline.

The country’s fish demand for 2012 was estimated at 968,000 metric tons while the country’s fish production for that year was 486,000 metric tons, representing about 50.2 per cent of requirement.

Dr. Emmanuel Anokye Frimpong, who is involved in the training of Ghanaian fish farmers under the USAID Aquaculture and Fisheries Collaborative Research Support Program, notes that the practicality of aquaculture must be understood if it is benefit people as a business.

“Aquaculture is a hands-on activity; it is also a business that involves doing”, he explained, adding that some people struggle in the business “primarily because it is difficult for them to just get their feet wet and their hands dirty”.

With the new intervention, aquaculture production is expected to increase by 360 percent from the current 27,750 metric tons to 130,000 metric tons while generating an estimated 220, 000 jobs across the value chain.

The capacity of aquaculture associations to improve the knowledge, skills and management capabilities of indigenous fish farmers will be prioritized, according to Nayon Bilijo, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.

To achieve this, Dr. Anokye Frimpong believes access to information on new developments in fish farming via radio, television and mobile phones would empower fish farmers to maximize opportunities in the sector.

In 2012, Ghana’s Water Research Institute (WTI), in partnership with WorldFish, came out with the ‘Akosombo’ strain of Nile Tilapia, which grows three times faster than non-improved tilapia.

The improved variety is to increase aquaculture productivity and food security in West Africa.

For local consumption, an increase in productivity can result in greater availability of fish in the market, reducing the price of the product and making it more accessible to poor consumers.