SUDAN & SOUTH SUDAN

New Ethnic Clashes in South Sudan Claim 57 Lives
On January 11, about 60 Murle fighters massacred 57 Lou Nuer civilians in northern Jonglei state in response to deadly attacks launched by Lou Nuer fighters the previous week. In addition to the fatalities that were comprised of mostly Murle women and children, 53 were left wounded and over 20,000 cattle were stolen from the Lou Nuer villages. With an estimated 60,000 people in danger as a result of this ongoing ethnic conflict, the UN is preparing an emergency aid mission.

Obama Declares South Sudan Eligible for Receiving Weaponry
In light of South Sudan’s vulnerability to air raids that have been reportedly mediated by the Sudan Air Force, U.S. President Barack Obama has declared that providing South Sudan with defensive weaponry would “strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace.” This statement, however, does not confirm any actual plans for an exchange. The Sudan Tribune has also speculated that the United States is likely wary of supplying weaponry to a country that is currently marred by its own ethnic conflict.

Sudan Offers to Help Libya Disarm Rebels
Sudanese President Omar al Bashir recently visited Libya to express his gratitude for the removal of its former leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who had previously accused him of supporting rebels in Darfur. In an effort to renew friendly ties with Libya, he also expressed Sudan’s willingness help disarm residual anti-Gaddafi rebel groups. To the alarm of many human rights groups, this visit marks yet another missed opportunity to incarcerate al Bashir, who is wanted by the International Crime Court for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes relating to the recent conflict in Darfur.

International Aid Block Risks Famine in Southern Kordofan
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, officially claimed that Khartoum’s strict stance against international aid groups has negatively affected civilians of war-torn Southern Kordofan to the extent that without intervention, mass starvation is projected to take place in a matter of months.

DRC

Four Rwandan Military Officers Arrested Over Congo Conflict Minerals
Following an investigation surrounding suspected conflict mineral dealings with civilians inhabiting eastern Congo, Rwandan officials have arrested four top military officers and placed them under house arrest. This move follows unsuccessful legislative efforts by the American government to resist importing products made from resources that were smuggled out of the DRC to ultimately fund local militia groups, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, the alleged perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Election Re-Evaluation Request by Congo’s Bishops
The DRC’s exceedingly influential Catholic Church has officially called on the nation’s electoral committee to re-evaluate the results of the much-disputed federal election that gave victory to incumbent President Joseph Kabila over opposition hopeful, Etienne Tshisekedi. Following several claims of electoral rigging by the international community, thirty-five bishops issued a statement requesting that the commission “correct serious errors that have damaged people’s trust in this institution, and if not, to resign.” This federal election was the first to be internally-facilitated in the DRC’s 51 years of existence.

In 2011, we witnessed many historic events, including the birth of the world’s newest nation, South Sudan. We also witnessed the people of Libya’s freedom from their corrupt regime, in addition to the birth of the Arab Spring movement. This year we urge you to help support us spread the movement of freedom to help us prevent future genocides. 

As mentioned in our holiday message, STAND is spreading our focus beyond the Sudans and the Democratic Republic of Congo to three more regions. Eventually throughout the year we will be spreading beyond these five regions as we build the capacity to do so. By broadening our range of regions we hope to become an accessible source for education and action for all Canadians. If you haven’t already done so, please consider supporting our path to growth by donating towards our holiday campaign.

As we approach the ninth year since the onset of the Darfur genocide and many preventable genocides since, I urge you to join STAND in fulfilling our New Year’s resolution: help us end genocide in 2012. We deem the occurrences of past genocides as a shame to our international community, and as a result the modern prevalence is simply unacceptable. 

Thank you for joining us on our journey of encouraging Canadian decision makers to stand against humanity’s gravest disasters through international policy and political will.

Best wishes for this year ahead. Together we can make genocide history – let this be the year!

–

Monica Chakravarty is Principal Director of STAND Canada.

Click here to download the pdf. ]]> http://standcanada.org/2011/12/28/stand-digest-december-2011/feed/ 0 http://standcanada.org/2011/12/21/bi-weekly-news-update-2/ http://standcanada.org/2011/12/21/bi-weekly-news-update-2/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:47:55 +0000 STAND Canada http://standcanada.org/?p=1786 A summary of the news from the Sudans and the DRC the past two weeks. Click on the title for the full article.

Sudan & South Sudan

UN Says 2.7 Million South Sudanese Will Need food aid in 2012

Around 2.7 million people in Africa’s newest nation will need aid in the New Year due to crop failures and violence. Although South Sudan won independence in July, the new nation has been struggling to end tribal and rebel violence, overcome an economic crisis, and build up state institutions. The country imports food from Sudan but border trade has been hard due to armed clashes. There has been an influx in the population due to people fleeing from northern border states where Khartoum’s army has been fighting with insurgents and South Sudanese returning home due to the independence. Erratic rains have caused food prices to shoot upwards and have made it even harder for the young nation to feed the country of 8.3 million.

Activists warn of “genocide” in the Jonglei State

Round table discussions on the Luo Nuer and Murie conflicts in Juba organized by Minority Rights Group International and Boma Development Initiative warned there could be an outbreak of “genocide” in the Southern Sudan region. It could be sparked by a lack of political action to resolve the conflict between the Luo Nuer and Murle communities. The weakness is blamed on the judiciary system. The groups called for empowerment of local government so they can handle community disputes. According to Jonglei state officials at least 3,000 people have been killed in 2011 in the ongoing inter-ethnic conflict. The UN Office for the Coordination in contrast reported that around 2,500 were killed in 2009 due to violent conflicts throughout the whole of South Sudan.

Sudan risks unrest due to inflation

Sudan is in the midst of an economic crisis that could provoke protests against President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. According to Sadeq al-Mahdi, head of the Umma Party, the country’s largest opposition party, inflation could lead to unrest like it had in Syria. The African country has avoided a large revolution but there has been small anti-government demonstrations in Khartoum and the underdeveloped east that are inspired by the mass protests in the Middle East. They have been focused on inflation. Bashir has been battling an economic crisis since South Sudan took away much of the nation’s oil thus making imports more expensive.

DRC

 Congo Opposition Leader Declares Himself the Election Winner and Urges Calm

Despite placing second in the official election results, Congo’s opposition leader, Etienne Tshiseked says he is the winner of the presidential election. However, the country’s supreme court upheld President Joseph Kabila’s victory, despite concerns about irregularities from the international community. Observes fear unrest and possible civil war if Tshisekedi orders his supporters to take to the streets. Tshisekedi, according to the results, received 32 per cent of the nearly 19 million votes cast and is very popular with the country’s impoverished masses. Kabila received 49 per cent.

 ICC orders release of Congo war crimes suspect

A Rwandan rebel leader, Callixte Mbarushimana, who was sent to the International Criminal Court to face charges including torture, rape, and murder in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is to be freed because of lack of evidence. Mbarushimana is described as a senior leader of the Democratic Forces of the Liberation of Rwanda or FDLR. The leaders fled to Congo after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the group played a major role in the DRC’s 1998-2003 conflict that left 5 million people dead. Mbarushimana was detained in Paris last year and was charged with eight counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity. This was after investigations, lead by Germany, Congo, Rwanda, France and the ICC , over allegations that the FDLR were involved in rapes in Congo’s North Kivu province.

In the past few months, we have asked our membership for feedback.  After hearing from our alumni, our chapters and members, we have decided to make some changes to ensure that STAND effectively facilitates anti-genocide advocacy and continues to empower youth and the Canadian public at-large.

Please click here to donate.

Share the link on Facebook, Twitter, and via email. Keep us updated on your progress! As thanks, we will feature the top fundraisers in our newsletters and blog.

Although official results state that President Joseph Kabila was re-elected, reports surfaced indicating that the electoral commission was more prone  to discard ballots in areas where opposition vote was high.

The Carter Center, whose observers monitored the vote, noted that some constituencies reported “impossibly high” rates of 99 to 100 per cent voter turnout with all, or nearly all, votes going to President Kabila. The results also lack transparency, given that the electoral commission hasn’t yet announced the poll-by-poll results.

As a result, violence has broken-out between opposition supporters and Congolese security forces, leaving at least four people dead and many shops looted. Opposition parties are planning for country-wide protest which they claim will remain peaceful.

With protests also taking place in Canada about this election result, it is important to have our own government call for increased transparency in the DRC. In 2009 and 2010, Canada spent $50 million in aid on the DRC, and this should not be in vain.

Please take two minutes and use our email writing tool HERE to have Canada demand the DRC have a transparent process and fully publish its poll-by-poll election results to ensure fairness of the electoral process.

 —

Monica Chakravarty is Principal Director of STAND Canada.

This semester, we have been focused on education and discussion about what is going on in the DRC, both for ourselves and our campus community.  We held two seminars, the first on sexual violence and the second on child soldiers.  We partnered with our friends, the Africa Canada Accountability Coalition and Invisible Children, who had so much to share with us. We engaged in meaningful discussion in order to better understand the complexity of the issues.

As the holidays have been drawing closer, we printed out holiday cards and sold them in order to raise money for the Darfur Stoves Project, which supplies fuel-efficient stoves to Darfurian refugees so that they do not have to spend hours collecting firewood.

In the new year we will start off with our panel discussion: “Trade vs. Aid in South Sudan”.  Trade vs. Aid is a hot topic at UBC that is sure to draw attention. We will have a political science professor, a refugee, and a politician giving us their own opinions on the subject!  We are also planning to meet with an MP, which will be inspiring for us all.

–

Courtney Loftus is Media Coordinator at the STAND UBC chapter. Stay up-to-date on events happening around UBC campus by contacting her to receive the bi-weekly STAND UBC newsletter straight to your inbox – email ubc@standcanada.org.

Interested in sharing the news from your chapter to the STAND Canada blog? Contact Alexa Huffman (ahuffman@standcanada.org) for more information.

Position: Stand for the Dead Campaign Director

Program/Occupation: 4th Year Undergraduate Student, University of Toronto

How and why did you get involved with STAND?

I met Monica, currently the Principal Director, in my class. She told me about the organization and the work STAND does. I was amazed that the Darfur genocide was something I had never heard of. More importantly, I found it disheartening that governments are still not doing enough to prevent genocides and mass atrocities.

What sort of work do you do for the organization?

I work with the Stand for the Dead Campaign which connects Canadians to the story of a victim of genocide and inspires them to speak on behalf of those who are still vulnerable to such violence.

 Why is genocide prevention important to you?

I believe that everyone has the right to live free from the threat of genocide. I also believe we have a responsibility to demand that right by upheld for everyone, regardless of where in the world they may be.

What are some of the challenges of your work with STAND?

Genocide is a difficult issue to talk about, especially to youth. By sharing the story of one individual, we can begin to understand what it means. From there, we can act to prevent it.

What are some of the highlights of your time with STAND so far?

I really enjoy attending STAND conferences. Being a virtual organization, conferences are an opportunity to meet not only fellow STANDers but individuals outside the organization who are working to address the mass atrocities currently taking place through their fields of work. The conferences are always very informative and motivating.

What are some of your goals for your work with STAND?

One of my goals is to create awareness of the continuing violence in the Sudans through the Stand for the Dead Campaign. The campaign really highlights the impact genocides and other mass atrocities have on individual lives. The campaign aims to create awareness of this impact among youth in order to motivate them to take action to address genocides and other mass atrocities.

What would you like to see STAND do in the future?

I’d like STAND to continue to draw attention to areas of mass violence. One of the key strengths of the organization is that it has kept the Sudans on the agenda. I’d like to see STAND continue to spread awareness of the violence in the Sudans and nearby regions as well as motivate youth to take action to address these conflicts which are easily forgotten.

SUDAN & SOUTH SUDAN

Kenya-Sudan Ties Amended Following Retraction of Nairobi Court Order to Arrest al Bashir

In an effort to preserve Kenya-Sudan trade and prevent the expulsion of all Kenyans from Sudan, Nairobi has lifted a court order made earlier this week to apprehend Sudanese President Omar al Bashir on behalf of the International Crime Court if he were to enter Kenya.

 Sudan and South Sudan’s Request to Join EAC Rejected and Deferred, Respectively

The East Africa Community has declined Sudan’s bid to join the organization currently including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, citing lack its lack of democracy, respect for women, and shared borders. The EAC is requiring more time to evaluate South Sudan’s compliance with “good governance, democracy, the rule of law, observance of human rights and social justice.”

 Sudan Stealing Oil, Says South Sudan

South Sudan, which must export oil to Sudan because of its own lack of ports or refineries, has accused Sudan of stealing oil while the two countries dispute over profit allocations.

ICC Seeks Arrest of Sudanese Defense Minister

STAND Canada’s November 20 Biweekly Update presented speculation that the International Crime Court would be issuing a warrant of arrest against Abdel Rahim Muhammad Hussein. This story was confirmed by the ICC on Friday, accusing Hussein of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

DRC

Preliminary Vote Count Shows Incumbent President Ahead

After extending the elections to three days to allow for proper ballot distribution throughout the Congo, the election commission has tallied approximately 15% of the votes thus far and disclosed that Joseph Kabila is leading with 52% of the vote, followed by leading opposition candidate, Etienne Tshisekedi, with 34%. Human Rights Watch has cited pro-Kabila military groups as being mostly responsible for the escalated election-associated violence that has left 18 dead and seriously wounded at least 100.

African Observers Declare Elections “Successful,” Despite Calls for Annulment by Opposition

Though four of the ten opposition presidential candidates have called for a cancellation of this week’s election on account of pre-marked ballots and other forms rigging, five observer groups have declared the voting process legitimate. These groups did, however, acknowledge setbacks pertaining to timely ballot distribution that were reportedly remedied by extending the election period. Leading opposition candidate, Etienne Tshisekedi, has not contributed to the recommendation for election annulment.