Sudan: Joint Declaration of the Armed Forces of the Sudan Revolationary Front (31.10.2016)

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RDC: “Detournementes des fondes des menages destines aux policiers de le Leni/Beni (31.10.2016)

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Bill Clinton’s remarks honoring genocide survivors in Kigali, Rwanda March 25, 1998

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Thank you, Mr. President. First, let me thank you, Mr. President, and Vice President Kagame, and your wives for making Hillary and me and our delegation feel so welcome. I’d also like to thank the young students who met us and the musicians, the dancers who were outside. I thank especially the survivors of the genocide and those who are working to rebuild your country for spending a little time with us before we came in here.

I have a great delegation of Americans with me, leaders of our Government, leaders of our Congress, distinguished American citizens. We’re all very grateful to be here. We thank the diplomatic corps for being here, and the members of the Rwandan Government, and especially the citizens.

I have come today to pay the respects of my Nation to all who suffered and all who perished in the Rwandan genocide. It is my hope that through this trip, in every corner of the world today and tomorrow, their story will be told; that 4 years ago in this beautiful, green, lovely land, a clear and conscious decision was made by those then in power that the peoples of this country would not live side by side in peace. During the 90 days that began on April 6, in 1994, Rwanda experienced the most extensive slaughter in this blood-filled century we are about to leave – families murdered in their homes, people hunted down as they fled by soldiers and militia, through farmland and woods as if they were animals.

From Kibuye in the west to Kibungo in the east, people gathered seeking refuge in churches by the thousands, in hospitals, in schools. And when they were found, the old and the sick, the women and children alike, they were killed – killed because their identity card said they were

Tutsi or because they had a Tutsi parent or because someone thought they looked like a Tutsi or slain, like thousands of Hutus, because they protected Tutsis or would not countenance a policy that sought to wipe out people who just the day before, and for years before, had been their friends and neighbors.

The Government-led effort to exterminate Rwanda’s Tutsi and moderate Hutus, as you know better than me, took at last a million lives. Scholars of these sorts of events say that the killers, armed mostly with machetes and clubs, nonetheless did their work 5 times as fast as the mechanized gas chambers used by the Nazis.

It is important that the world know that these killings were not spontaneous or accidental. It is important that the world hear what your. President just said: They were most certainly not the result of ancient tribal struggles. Indeed, these people had lived together for centuries before the events the President described began to unfold. These events grew from a policy aimed at the systematic destruction of a people. The ground for violence was carefully prepared, the airwaves poisoned with hate, casting the Tutsis as scapegoats for the problems of Rwanda, denying their humanity. All of this was done, clearly, to make it easy for otherwise reluctant people to participate in wholesale slaughter.

Lists of victims, name by name, were actually drawn up in advance. Today, the images of all that, haunt us all: the dead choking the Kigara River, floating to Lake Victoria. In their fate, we are reminded of the capacity for people everywhere, not just in Rwanda, and certainly not just in Africa but the capacity for people everywhere, to slip into pure evil. We cannot abolish that capacity, but we must never accept it. And we know it can be overcome.

The international community, together with nations in Africa, must bear its share of responsibility for this tragedy, as well. We did not act quickly enough after the killing began. We should not have allowed the refugee camps to become safe havens for the killers. We did not immediately call these crimes by their rightful name: genocide. We cannot change the past, but we can and must do everything in our power to help you build a future without fear and full of hope.

We owe to those who died and to those who survived who loved them, our every effort to increase our vigilance and strengthen our stand against those who would commit such atrocities in the future, here or elsewhere. Indeed, we owe to all the peoples of the world who are at risk because each bloodletting hastens the next as the value of human life is degraded and violence becomes tolerated, the unimaginable becomes more conceivable – we owe to all the people in the world our best efforts to organize ourselves so that we can maximize the chances of preventing these events. And where they cannot be prevented, we can move more quickly to minimize the horror.

So let us challenge ourselves to build a world in which no branch of humanity, because of national, racial, ethnic, or religious origin, is again threatened with destruction because of those characteristics of which people should rightly be proud. Let us work together as a community of civilized nations to strengthen our ability to prevent and, if necessary, to stop genocide.

To that end, I am directing my administration to improve, with the international community, our system for identifying and spotlighting nations in danger of genocidal violence, so that we can assure worldwide awareness of impending threats. It may seem strange to you here, especially the many of you who lost members of your family, but all over the word there were people like me sitting in offices, day after day after day, who did not fully appreciate the depth and the speed with which you were being engulfed by this unimaginable terror.

We have seen, too – and I want to say again – that genocide can occur anywhere. It is not an African phenomenon and must never be viewed as such. We have seen it in industrialized Europe; we have seen it in Asia. We must have global vigilance. And never again must we be shy in the face of the evidence.

Secondly, we must, as an international community, have the ability to act when genocide threatens. We are working to create that capacity here in the Great Lakes region, where the memory is still fresh. This afternoon in Entebbe leaders from central and eastern Africa will meet with me to launch an effort to build a coalition to prevent genocide in this region. I thank the leaders who have stepped forward to make this commitment. We hope the effort can be a model for all the world, because our sacred task is to work to banish this greatest crime against humanity.

Events here show how urgent the work is. In the northwest part of your country, attacks by those responsible for the slaughter in 1994 continue today. We must work as partners with Rwanda to end this violence and allow your people to go on rebuilding your lives and your nation.

Third, we must work now to remedy the consequences of genocide. The United States has provided assistance to Rwanda to settle the uprooted and restart its economy, but we must do more. I am pleased that America will become the first nation to contribute to the new Genocide Survivors Fund. We will contribute this year $2 million, continue our support in the years to come, and urge other nations to do the same, so that survivors and their communities can find the care they need and the help they must have.

Mr. President, to you, and to you, Mr. Vice President, you have shown great vision in your efforts to create a single nation in which all citizens can live freely and securely. As you pointed out, Rwanda was a single nation before the European powers met in Berlin to carve up Africa. America stands with you, and will continue helping the people of Rwanda to rebuild their lives and society.

You spoke passionately this morning in our private meeting about the need for grassroots efforts, for the development projects which are bridging divisions and clearing a path to a better future. We will join with you to strengthen democratic institutions, to broaden participation, to give all Rwandans a greater voice in their own governance. The challenges you face are great, but your commitment to lasting reconciliation and inclusion is firm.

Fourth, to help ensure that those who survived, in the generations to come, never again suffer genocidal violence, nothing is more vital than establishing the rule of law. There can be no place in Rwanda that lasts without a justice system that is recognized as such.

We applaud the efforts of the Rwandan Government to strengthen civilian and military justice systems. I am pleased that our Great Lakes Justice Initiative will invest $30 million to help create throughout the region judicial systems that are impartial, credible, and effective. In Rwanda these funds will help to support courts, prosecutors, and police, military justice, and cooperation at the local level.

We will also continue to pursue justice through our strong backing for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The United States is the largest contributor to this tribunal. We are frustrated, as you are, by the delays in the tribunal’s work. As we know, we must do better. Now that administrative improvements have begun, however, the tribunal should expedite cases through group trials and fulfill its historic mission.

We are prepared to help, among other things, with witness relocation, so that those who still fear can speak the truth in safety. And we will support the war crimes tribunal for as long as it is needed to do its work, until the truth is clear and justice is rendered.

Fifth, we must make it clear to all those who would commit such acts in the future that they too must answer for their acts, and they will. In Rwanda, we must hold accountable all those who may abuse human rights, whether insurgents or soldiers. Internationally, as we meet here, talks are underway at the United Nations to establish a permanent international criminal court. Rwanda and the difficulties we have had with this special tribunal underscores the need for such a court. And the United States will work to see that it is created.

I know that in the face of all you have endured, optimism cannot come easily to any of you. Yet I have just spoken, as I said, with several Rwandans who survived the atrocities, and just listening to them gave me reason for hope. You see countless stories of courage around you every day as you go about your business here, men and women who survived and go on, children who recover the light in their eyes remind us that at the dawn of a new millennium there is only one crucial division among the peoples of the Earth. And believe me, after over 5 years of dealing with these problems, I know it is not the divisions between Hutu and Tutsi or Serb or Croatian; and Muslim and Bosnian or Arab and Jew; or Catholic and Protestant in Ireland, or black and white. It is really the line between those who embrace the common humanity we all share and those who reject it.

It is the line between those who find meaning in life through respect and cooperation and who, therefore, embrace someone to look down on, someone to trample, someone to punish and, therefore, embrace war. It is the line between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past. It is the line between those who give up their resentment and those who believe they will absolutely die if they have to release one bit grievance. It is the line between those who confront every day with a clenched fist and those who confront every day with an open hand. That is the only line that really counts when all is said and done.

To those who believe that God made each of us in His own image, how could we choose the darker road? When you look at those children who greeted us as we got off that plane today, how could anyone say they did not want those children to have a chance to have their own children, to experience the joy of another morning sunrise, to learn the normal lessons of life, to give something back to their people? When you strip it all away, whether we’re talking about Rwanda or some other distant troubled spot, the world is divided according to how people believe they draw meaning from life.

And so I say to you, though the road is hard and uncertain and there are many difficulties ahead, and like every other person who wishes to help, I doubltless will not be able to do everything I would like to do, there are things we can do. And if we set about the business of doing them together, you can overcome the awful burden that you have endured. You can put a smile on the face of every child in this country, and you can make people once again believe that they should live as people were living who were singing to us and dancing for us today. That’s what we have to believe. That is what I came here to say. And that is what I wish for you.

Thank you, and God bless you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 12:25 p.m. at Kigali Airport. In his remarks, he referred to President Pasteur Bizimungu of Rwanda and his wife, Sarafina, and Vice President Paul Kagame and his wife, Janet. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.

COPYRIGHT 1998 U.S. Government Printing Office

COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

A Refugee From Sudan Tells His Harrowing Story For The First Time (Youtube-Clip)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuhAaTdhjFk

Burundi: A look into the UN Report of September 2016; Gross Human Rights Violations from Imbonekura and other state agents; So that President Nkurunziza can stay in power!

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Burundi has been in turmoil ever since the current President Pierre Nkurunziza decided that himself we’re more important than the nation he was running. His power and position we’re more the key needed in his equation. Nkurunziza used the Supreme Court and Parliament to get a third term and a second election in his favour as Opposition didn’t even turn out. After that the oppressive behaviour and harassment has been genuine, as the Police and Imbonerakure has been used to assassinate, kill, detain and torture the ones who doesn’t follow the party line of Nkurunziza.

After this the UN has dropped a resolution, had a peace-talks designated from the East African Community (EAC) and H.E. Benjamin Mpaka, but that hasn’t gone anywhere as the little Police Force from the UN is powerless, while the Peace-Talks haven’t even had all parties that needed to compromise as the Nkurunziza party has banned and dislodged them. So the Central Government does what it can to control them by force and intimidation.

Because of these violations and the fear of spreading information and Intel about it the press, the government has a month after the release of the UN Report done this: “A letter signed by Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Aime Nyamitwe said Pablo de Greiff of Colombia, Christof Heyns of South Africa, and Maya Sahli-Fadel of Algeria were no longer welcome in Burundi” (BBC News, 2016). So the Burundian Authorities didn’t like the effect of them there and therefore acted with silencing them like they are doing with civil society and citizens already. Now, not letting people in from the UN and as the UN mandate to make sure the Burundian Government acts righteous towards own citizens, is a crime in the eyes of Burundian Authorities, therefore, I had to look through this report. A government cannot cry that much and cry foul over nothing. Here is what I see as key aspects of it.

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Therefor days after the UN Experts released a report on Human Rights violations these we’re the words:

“The UN experts collected unverified information and did not mention sources for their report’s credibility”, deplores Martin Nivyabandi, the Minister of National Solidarity, Gender and Human Rights. He said that the UN experts toured Burundi and saw plenty of positive work but they didn’t mention anywhere the progress observed on the ground. “During their stay in Burundi, the UN experts met different officials of Public institutions involved in the Human Rights, but unfortunately, the report did not take into consideration improvements on the ground. This UN investigation is a political report rather than being technical”, the Minister said” (…) “In a statement issued on 22 September, the ruling party rejects the allegations of the UN report. «CNDD-FDD rejects unverified accusations and dangerously biased contained in that report, apparently the result of a vicious campaign against the regime, the manipulation of public opinion, which is in line with the destructive business”, said Evariste Ndayishimiye, Secretary General of the ruling party. (Uwimana, 2016).

If you would expect that the Burundian Government would have praised a UN Report on Human Rights Violations than you’re a fool. No Government would ever like to slap on the wrist and then answered with sweet words of joy. No, the Burundian Authorities answered the way you should expect that they want the reports and injustices put under rug. They don’t want the systematic repression of citizens by any means.

To start with a Key Ingredient to the Burundian state:  

The citizens of Burundi are not helped by friends and neighbours of Burundi who shield the Government from its national and international human rights obligations.  All countries, but particularly those who have close relations with Burundi, and especially those that have played an historically important role, including in the process leading to the Arusha Agreement, should exercise their good offices, unambiguously, in defence of the human rights of the citizens of Burundi” (UN HRC, P: 23, 2016)

How Burundian Government answered the UN HRC mission:

Several government officials said they were not in a position to provide information, but would do so in writing afterwards. By letter dated 19 July 2016, the experts requested specific questions to the Government, with a follow-up dated 1 September 2016. The last letter also offered technical capacity to document the alleged mass graves. Regrettably, no response was received until the day when the report was completed. The response consisted in a blanket denial of all violations” (UN HRC, P: 4, 2016).

General in Burundi Assassainated 25.04.2016

Estimated Killings and Sexual Violence:

According to some estimates more than one thousand people have been killed as part of the crisis.  Thousands have reportedly been tortured, unknown numbers of women victims of various forms of sexual crimes, hundreds of people disappeared, and thousands illegally detained” (…) “No official figures of the number of people killed during the crisis are available, and the system of accountability is virtually non-existent. OHCHR has informed UNIIB that, as of 30 August 2016, it has verified 564 cases of executions since 26 April 2015. Given the constraints under which OHCHR operate this is clearly a conservative estimate” (…) “UNIIB received first-hand information confirming the involvement of the Imbonerakure in murders of perceived opposition sympathizers. Thus, a former member of the Imbonerakure testified to UNIIB that he had participated in the killing of 20 individuals in Bujumbura, including two Imbonerakure who had warned persons that there were plans to execute them. The witness added that the Imbonerakure were expected to arrest all those who opposed the third mandate, were against the President, or who did not collaborate with the CNDD-FDD. The bodies of those executed in the cases mentioned were reportedly placed in bags, transported across the Ruzizi River using makeshift boats, and buried in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (…) “Allegations of mass burials of those executed during these incidents have been widely reported.  Initial satellite imagery suggests that bodies may have been buried in mass graves during this period, including in Bujumbura (in Kanyosha and Mpanda) and Bubanza. UNIIB received testimony corroborating the existence of mass graves.  Reported intimidation by members of the Imbonerakure and SNR of persons in possession of information on this topic give further credibility to the testimony” (…) “Apparent examples of tit-for-tat targeted assassinations within the Army – particularly threatening to the integration of the armed forces – include the killings of several senior Army officers belonging either to the pre-Arusha Agreement Burundian Armed Forces (ex-FAB) or to the former rebel group “Armed Political Parties and Movements” (ex-PMPA) and the apparent retaliatory killings of alleged supporters of the regime within the forces. Among the most emblematic examples are the killings of General Adolphe Nshimirimana on 2 August 2015; General Karakuza on 25 April 2016; and Colonel Darius Ikurakure on 22 March 2016. The latter was shot dead in the compound of the headquarters of the Army Joint Staff” (…) “In a number of cases documented by UNIIB, the victims were sexually mutilated. For instance, a woman in Cibitoke, in August 2015, was sexually mutilated by Imbonerakure who were searching for her husband. She stated that when they did not find him, they tied her hands behind her back and hit her. “They put their hands inside my vagina until the uterus came out. I was left alone bleeding, screaming. The neighbours came out and they tried to put my uterus back in place.” (UN HRC, P: 7-8 + 10, 2016).

Disappeared people:

Marie-Claudette Kwizera, Treasurer of the CSO Ligue ITEKA was allegedly arrested on 10 December 2015 by the SNR and has not been seen since. More recently, on 22 July 2016, Jean Birgimana, journalist at Iwaku newspaper, was also allegedly arrested by the SNR and is missing since then” (UN HRC, P: 9, 2016).

Arbitrary arrests:

“Arbitrary arrests and detention have been a cornerstone of the repression in Burundi and have opened the way for a wide range of other human rights violations. Arbitrary arrests and detention surged after 26 April 2015, targeting individuals demonstrating against the third term. After the coup attempt of May 2015, the authorities intensified the repression. SNR, PNB, the Imbonerakure and FDN reportedly tracked down opponents, notably through cordon and search operations and raids in so-called opposition neighbourhoods of Bujumbura” (…) “Prison overcrowding is alarming with a 300 per cent occupancy rate in some prisons. The Mpimba prison in Bujumbura, which the UNIIB team visited, was built to house 800 prisoners; instead there were 3,800 detainees present” (…) “Although the Prosecutor General of the Republic has formally denied the existence of unacknowledged places of detention, UNIIB concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Security Forces and Imbonerakure have established several such sites” (UN HRC, P: 11-12, 2016).

Torture and Harrasment:  

“UNIIB conducted 65 interviews with witnesses and/or victims of torture or ill-treatment. Elements of the SNR, the PNB, the Imbonerakure and, to a lesser extent, the FDN, are consistently identified as the perpetrators, and some individuals, including senior figures of the security apparatus, have been repeatedly cited” (UN HRC, P: 9, 2016). “Independent journalists have been subjected to harassment, death threats, arrests, torture, and the closure of their offices and/or destruction of their equipment” (…) ”As with the other violations in this report the victims are not only those outside Government. There is also no room for dissenting positions within government circles or the ruling party” (UN HRC, P: 14, 2016).

Burundi Report Police

If you don’t see the systemic oppression, harassment and killings of citizens inside here and understand the behaviour of Burundian Government by now, then you’re blind by the arrogance of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

The Burundian Government that has after the banning of UN Experts, has decided to leave the ICC; while the UN Report on Human Rights Violations clearly shows through the process of collecting evidence that the Central Government through their Security Organizations and Youth Party Imbonerakure has violated and oppressed fellow citizens to keep power for their current President. This is why it’s red-hot and been attacked as a political document from the CNDD-FDD as they doesn’t want to hear about their killings and torture to be in charge.

We can just know that this is estimated killings, torture and harassments of citizens, the Central Government of Burundi will never in their mind release the systematic violence against their own citizens to the world. That will only happen when the shadow of this regime is gone. Because they do not want the world know about their misgivings and their acts against their own. Peace.

Reference:

BBC News – ‘Burundi bars UN investigators over report on human rights abuses’ (11.10.2016) link: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37614790

UN Human Rights Council – ‘Report of the United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB) established pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S-24/1’ (20.09.2016) – A/HRC/33/37

Uwimana, Diane – ‘Bujumbura dismisses UN report on Burundi as “political”’ (23.09.2016) link: http://www.iwacu-burundi.org/englishnews/bujumbura-dismisses-un-report-on-burundi-as-political/

RDC: Evariste Boshabe ne considère plus Charles Mwando Nsimba comme président de l’UNADEF (27.10.2016)

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Somalia: Humanitarian impact of withdrawal of armed forces (28.10.2016)

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The withdrawals have raised serious concerns among humanitarian organizations operating in the affected areas.

ABUJA, Nigeria, October 28, 2016 –

Situation overview

Since July 2016, non-state armed actors have taken control of eight locations in Bakool, Galgaduug and Hiraan regions of Somalia following the departure of international troops.
The takeover by non-state armed groups has exposed civilians to significant protection risks and further reduced humanitarian access in areas that are already hard to reach.
The locations include Rab Dhuure, Bur Dhuxelne, Garas Weyne and Tayeeglow in Bakool region; Budbud and Galcad in Galgaduud region; Moqokori, Ceel Cali and Halgan in Hiraan region.

The takeover by non-state armed actors has triggered displacements of thousands of people, including some who were already displaced. Civilians remaining in these locations have reportedly been subjected to retribution attacks, including apprehension, torture, killings and forced recruitments.

Humanitarian impact and needs

The withdrawals have raised serious concerns among humanitarian organizations operating in the affected areas. In Tayeeglow in Bakool region which previously hosted 7,200 internally displaced people, humanitarian partners have temporarily suspended operations due to concerns over staff safety and assets. Similar troop withdrawals in early 2013 resulted in some 5,000 to 10,000 civilians fleeing to Ceel Barde, some 90 kilometers north of Tayeeglow along the Somali-Ethiopian border.

The withdrawals from locations in Galgaduud and Hiraan regions have resulted in the displacement of over 4,000 people, including to the three locations in Bakool region, as civilians flee to avoid retribution by non-state armed actors. Further potential withdrawals from Bakool region could result in significantly more displacements. Humanitarian partners continue to monitor the situation in Xudur and Wajid which combined host more than 10,000 internally displaced people.

Humanitarian partners continue to advocate for protection of and sustained access to people in need, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. When troop realignment and reconfiguration entail troop withdrawals with minimal or no advance warning, it leaves the local population and humanitarian organizations vulnerable as militias move in and occupy the vacated locations. Disruption of humanitarian projects often leaves people in the affected locations with no alternative means to meet their needs.

Suspension, disruption and relocation of humanitarian programmes and withdrawal of humanitarian personnel linked to troop withdrawals and subsequent assumption of control of the respective areas by armed groups in Somalia has been ongoing in recent years. Most recently, incidents were recorded in Bakool, Gedo, Hiraan, Juba Hoose and Shabelle Hoose regions in 2015, the first quarter of 2016 and June and July 2016.

Eritrea: UN Commission has urged referral to the International Criminal Court (28.10.2016)

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The Commission has concluded that the Government of Eritrea has neither the political will nor the institutional capacity to prosecute the crimes we have documented.

GENEVA, Switzerland, October 28, 2016 – States must heed the pleas of countless victims of crimes against humanity for justice and accountability, Sheila Keetharuth of the former UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Eritrea urged the UN General Assembly today. The Commission has recommended that the situation in Eritrea be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Speaking for the Commission of Inquiry, Keetharuth, who is also UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, highlighted the Commission’s clear findings that crimes against humanity have been committed since 1991 by Eritrean officials, adding that such a dire assessment left no room for “business as usual” in the international community’s engagement with the Government of Eritrea.

“The crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, other inhumane acts, persecution, rape and murder have been committed as part of a widespread and systematic campaign against the civilian population. The aim of the campaign has been to maintain control over the population and perpetuate the leadership’s rule in Eritrea,” Keetharuth told the UN General Assembly.

“The Commission has concluded that the Government of Eritrea has neither the political will nor the institutional capacity to prosecute the crimes we have documented. The Commission therefore recommends that the UN Security Council refer the situation in Eritrea to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and that the African Union establish an accountability mechanism.”

“My plea to you, Excellencies, on behalf of the three members of the former Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, Mike Smith, Victor Dankwa and myself, is for you to pay heed to voices of victims of crimes against humanity in Eritrea.”

Keetharuth said the Commission had found that there was no material change in the country that could potentially have a positive effect on the situation of human rights.

“There is still no constitution, no parliament where laws are discussed, enacted, and where questions of national importance are debated; indefinite national service persists, with its adverse impacts on individual rights; there is no free press and no NGOs, except for Government-sponsored ones. The population lives in fear and the Government still controls their daily life, making the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all Eritreans a remote possibility,” she said.

She noted that while several foreign delegations, journalists and others had been invited to visit Eritrea over the past year, the rampant human rights violations taking place in isolated locations and detention facilities were not apparent to the casual visitor.

Keetharuth noted that Eritreans were among the largest numbers of African nationals seeking asylum in Europe and that the overall recognition rate for Eritrean asylum seekers in European countries remained high.

“The findings of the Commission underscore that it is not safe to forcibly return those who have left Eritrea. The Commission, in its first report, documented that individuals forcibly repatriated, with a few exceptions, have been arrested, detained and subjected to ill-treatment and torture,” she said.

“I appeal to Member States to grant Eritreans access to their territory and asylum procedures. I strongly reiterate my call to protect all Eritrean asylum-seekers from refoulement and to refrain from any forced repatriation to Eritrea or to third countries where they may still be at risk or unwelcomed.”

Communique de la Septieme Reunion de haut niveau du Mecanisme Regional de suivi de l’Accord-cadre pour la paix, la Securite et la Cooperation pour la Republique Democratique du Congo et la Region (26.10.2016)

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Khartoum signals it is ready to send troops to border with South Sudan (Youtube-Clip)

Sudan says it’s willing to send troops to its southern border with South Sudan – in a joint effort to halt cross-border attack by rebels. At the weekend President Omar al-Bashir called on South Sudan to ensure rebels operating in that country are forced out. The new proposal would mean South Sudanese and Sudanese troops will both patrol the border. Juba has welcomed the suggestion. Border tensions between Sudan and South Sudan have been the main obstacle to ensuring peace between the two countries. Both are calling for a stronger show of willingness to end that tension” (CCTV Africa, 2016)