Lebanon: Reform, Recovery, and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) – Co-chair Statement by the Prime Minister of Lebanon, the UN Resident Coordinator, and Representatives of Donors and Lebanese Civil Society (12.04.2023)

Republique Centrafricaine: Ministere Charge du Secretariat General du Gouvernement et des Relations avec les Institutions de la Republique – Communique Gouvernemental (13.04.2023)

RDC: Province du Sud-Kivu – Assemblee Provinciale – Bureau Definite – Communique de Presse (14.04.2023)

RDC: Declaration Commune – Lubumbashi, le 14 avril 2023 (14.04.2023)

Tchad: World Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (14.04.2023) (UNHCR) call for urgent funds to avert more ration cuts to refugees in Chad

WFP urgently needs US$142.7 million over the next six months to maintain its refugee assistance programme and provide life-saving food assistance to crisis-affected communities

N’DJAMENA, Chad, April 14, 2023 -The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned today that WFP will be forced to make additional cuts to already dwindling food assistance to refugees in April and may face a complete suspension of assistance in May 2023 – without immediate and sustained funding.

Refugees, displaced people, and host communities in Chad, particularly those newly arrived, have been pushed to the limits by the combined effects of growing insecurity, climate shocks, and the rising cost of food which is driving up hunger and malnutrition.

WFP urgently needs US$142.7 million over the next six months to maintain its refugee assistance programme and provide life-saving food assistance to crisis-affected communities. Significant funding shortfalls have already forced WFP to cut food assistance in recent months. In April, WFP can only assist 270,300 of the 600,000 refugees in the country, before a complete break in assistance to refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) is expected in May. 

If there is no more food assistance in May, this will be catastrophic for refugees and host populations alike, as the lean season is fast approaching when we will see a spike in hunger levels. We need to act now to ensure we can continue providing life-saving food assistance," said Pierre Honnorat, WFP Representative in Chad.

Chad is home to over one million forcibly displaced persons, including about 600,000 refugees, mainly from Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon and Nigeria, and 381,000 internally displaced persons. Of the 600,000 refugees, some 145,000 (about 24 percent) have arrived in Chad since 2018, and new groups continue to arrive every year; mainly from Sudan – but also from CAR and Nigeria.

The latest assessment missions conducted by WFP and UNHCR in refugee camps and hosting areas have reported a worrying deterioration of refugees; nutrition and food security situation and a high dependence on humanitarian assistance among refugee communities, particularly new arrivals and the most vulnerable groups. Most recently, there has been a 65 percent rise in the number of malnourished children admitted to treatment programmes in camps in the East of the country.

Despite increasing needs, refugee support programmes in Chad are chronically underfunded. Particularly the most vulnerable refugees and those who arrived in recent years struggle to get by and crucially need continued food assistance. At the same time, UNHCR and development partners seek long-term resilience programs.  WFP’s imminent assistance cuts, compounded by UNHCR;s challenging financial situation, is having a terrible impact on the protection and wellbeing of forcibly displaced people, warned UNHCR Chad Representative, Laura Lo Castro.

A vicious cycle of malnutrition is created within communities, sometimes leading to increased protection risks, maternal mortality with irreversible adverse effects, especially for children, such as stunted growth and delayed intellectual development.

Government donors, the private sector and individuals need to urgently step up their support so that we can meet critical needs throughout the year and develop durable solutions that will address food aid dependency, Honnorat added.

UNHCR also needs US$172.5 million to continue to provide protection and relief assistance to over a million forcibly displaced persons and their hosts in Chad. So far, just 15% of the funds required by UNHCR have been secured.

Haïti: United Nations and partners to issue call for US$720 million to address surging humanitarian needs in Haiti (13.04.2023)

Zambia: Chapter One Foundation – Press Statement dated 13th April 2023 on the current mealie meal shortage in Zambia (13.04.2023)

Ethiopia: Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council (ECSOC) – Statement by the Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations Council on current situations in Ethiopia (13.04.2023)

Sudan: Is Hemeti planning his third coup d’etat?

Since 11th April 2019, the Transitional Military Council have held the cards and keys to power in Sudan. In Khartoum certain military commanders has held power and the two most important people is General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan who has been the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council and the Commander-in-Chief. While his deputy, the Vice Chairman General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo aka Hemeti who is also the Rapid Support Force (former Janjaweed).

The leaders of the TMC and the Military Commanders took more control of the transition with the second coup of the 25th October 2021. Since then they have clinged on to power and never let go. We have seen how they have played it out and secured themselves since April 2019. It is only the naive or the blind who see it otherwise…

Gen. al-Burhan and Gen. Hemeti has schemed their way to the top and now we are seeing a brewing conflict between them. As the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) is distancing themselves and also having direct tensions with the Rapid Support Force (RSF) aka Janjaweed. This has happened in several areas and is a worrying sign.

Both of these men have already used two coups to consolidate power. No one should be shocked if they are trying another one to topple each other. They both know how they got to power and reluctantly want to leave it. The Generals knows the power of the guns and how to use it. Therefore, it isn’t a sign of hope, but for supremacy.

The two generals has also tried to sway different opinions and ideas on the transition. This could change their ways of engagement, but not necessary shift into open warfare or a civil war. No, this could also be a ploy to create enough tension to get foreign intervention and “buy time” without any need for movement towards a civil administration in Khartoum. We shouldn’t be shocked if that was the case.

However, I wouldn’t put it past him or his kind, if Gen. Hemeti would order another coup d’etat and try to overthrow the current Transitional Sovereign Council. In such a manner that he takes power and crown himself king. He has seen how al-Burhan has made it possible and it would be his “turn”.

Just by reading about Janjaweeds actions over the years in Darfur and knowing how Hemeti operated. I don’t trust him at all and know he has a blind ambition. He has tried to make himself feasible and “clean his image”. However, his past will forever be part of his legacy and that blood will forever haunt him. Just like the massacres and the extra judicial killings post-Al-Bashir reign.

I wouldn’t put it past him to do a third coup d’etat. It would fit the description of a warlord and a tyrant in the making. A militant militia leader who has politically manoeuvred himself into power. That would be the grandest promotion and prestige, which is so close to achieve. He won’t even need to rig an election or act as a statesman. No, he can just use guerrilla tactics for a small window of time and hopefully incite enough fear to conquer the obstacles in the Republic.

That’s what I think is possible… it might just be a ploy or a game, but it can endanger the nation. The current stalemate and lack of progress is only benefiting the army commanders and the current elites anyway. They don’t need change or a paradigm shift. Therefore, don’t expect any… but if so… the RSF would be the ones I would bet on to drive in a third successful coup d’etat since Al-Bashir fall. Peace.

Sudan: The Civil Forces that Signed the Framework Agreement – Press Statement (13.04.2023)

Today, an emergency meeting was held for the civil forces that signed the framework agreement to discuss the latest political developments in the country. The meeting focused on the escalating activity of the elements of the dissolved National Congress and their relentless endeavor to stir up strife by driving a wedge between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and beating the drums of war in the hope that they will return to rule over people once again after the people rejected them and turned the page on their defunct regime. After extensive discussion, the meeting concluded the following:

1- The conferees issued a call to all spectra of the Sudanese people aspiring for change by confronting the plans of the defunct regime and calls for war and military escalation, and to reject the transformation of the conflict in the country into an armed conflict that ignores the civil-political nature of the national cause. The crisis in our country resulted from tyrannical projects that our people confronted peacefully and chose a civil democratic transition as an alternative, and to deal with the remnants of the rule of the former regime through political solutions and a civil democratic transition, not through guns and warfare.

2- The meeting focused on the related efforts of the civil forces that signed the framework agreement to contain the current crisis, which was manifested in related meetings throughout the past week that the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support forces gathered together and individually with the aim of reducing tension and taking practical measures to accelerate the pace of the political process, and these efforts will continue until it works to end all forms of confrontation and restore the path of civil democratic transition.

3- The civil forces that signed the framework agreement decided to meet urgently with the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces. They put forward practical ideas to overcome the current tension and restore the political track, in a way that will expedite overcoming the current harbinger of confrontation, and reach a final agreement whereby a civilian government will be formed that expresses the revolution and its directions, and addresses the urgent issues facing our people economically, politically and security.

4- The meeting stressed that the challenges facing the security and military sectors are old issues that were exacerbated by the previous regime, and were faced by the overthrown transitional government, and the political framework agreement that was made by civilians and the military leadership came as a courageous step to lay the correct foundations for addressing them with peace, not war. The ongoing political process provides a historic opportunity for our country to reach a single professional and national army, and the elements of the defunct regime that want to destroy the political process put forward war as an alternative to it because their goal is not reform but power at any cost, even if that means destroying the country.

5- The meeting thanked the international and regional community for its efforts related to assisting the Sudanese people in achieving their goals by restoring the democratic civil path, and saluted the great work carried out by the tripartite and quadruple mechanisms and the European Union, the meeting also stressed the need for the international and regional role to be limited to facilitating and supporting the political process, and to reject all forms of direct interference from any regional or international party seeking to fuel the conflict or to be a party to it.

Finally, we assure all the sons and daughters of our people that this crisis will inevitably end with the will of this people and its determination to achieve its goals, and we trust in the wisdom of the patriotic military and civil parties. And its ability to overcome this dangerous juncture and put the country on the path of civil democratic transformation and complete the tasks of the glorious December revolution.

Civilian forces signatories to the framework agreement

April 13, 2023 AD