
Burundi: FDNB – Communique de Presse (10.07.2018)






Statement by the Brexit Steering Group on the Chequers Statement of 6 July 2018 and on the White Paper released by the UK Government.
The European Parliament’s Brexit Steering Group (BSG), chaired by Guy Verhofstadt, met today and had an extensive exchange of views on the Chequers Statement of 6 July 2018, as well as on the White Paper just released by the UK Government.
In a first reaction, it welcomed both the Statement and the White Paper by the UK Government as a step towards establishing a new relationship between the UK and the EU once the UK is no longer a Member State.
In particular, the BSG welcomed that the UK is proposing that the future EU-UK relationship take the form of an Association Agreement. Given this has been the Parliament’s position from the very beginning the BSG agrees with this approach which would place the future EU-UK relationship in all its dimensions – economic, sectoral, security, foreign policy – on a firm footing within a coherent governance structure.
The BSG reiterated that negotiating a new relationship with the UK post-Brexit is conditional on an orderly withdrawal of the UK from the EU on the basis of a Withdrawal Agreement (WA). It reconfirmed the Parliament’s position expressed in its resolutions that it will not consent to a WA, including a transition period, without a credible “back stop” provision for the Northern Ireland/Ireland border to prevent a hard border and safeguard the integrity of the single market, faithfully reflecting the commitments entered into in the Joint Report of 8 December 2017. It urged the UK Government to clarify its positions on the “back stop” so that the WA can be finalised as quickly as possible.
Other important elements of the WA, including its governance provisions, in particular a credible dispute settlement mechanism, also still need to be agreed. Moreover, regarding the implementation of the WA, the Parliament expects a positive response to its letter to Home Secretary Sajid Javid on 3 July 2018 and especially concerning the independent authority and the smooth registration of all EU citizens.
The BSG noted that negotiations on the WA and the framework for the future relationship will continue next week. It recalled its position for the closest trade and economic partnership possible while respecting among others the principles of the non-divisibility of the four freedoms, the integrity of the single market, avoiding a sector-by-sector approach and safeguarding financial stability, the preservation of the autonomy of EU decision-making, the safeguarding of the EU legal order and the balance of rights and obligations which any future EU-UK relationship will need to respect. In this framework there will be, for example, no space for outsourcing EU‘s customs competences.
The BSG stated its readiness to provide its input to the negotiation process at any time over the coming weeks and it will carry out a further assessment of the White Paper in the coming days and weeks.

The Government of South Sudan bears the primary responsibility for protecting its People.
JUBA, South Sudan, July 12, 2018 – In South Sudan, since the start of the conflict, sexual violence has been committed on a widespread and systematic scale as a tactic of war and terror. As part of a joint United Nations – African Union solidarity visit, led by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, I visited the country from 3 to 7 July 2018. The primary purpose of my visit was to better understand the needs of survivors and vulnerable communities, as well as the nature, patterns and trends of conflict-related sexual violence. The visit also provided a critical opportunity to reinvigorate commitments made by the Government since 2014 to prevent and prosecute crimes of sexual violence, as well as to ensure the delivery of essential services to survivors.
In the course of my visit, I met with senior government officials, including the Minister in the Presidency and the Ministers of Justice, Defense and Gender; the Deputy Chief of Defense Forces; and the Inspector General of Police. I also met with religious leaders from the South Sudan Council of Churches and the Islamic Council, members of the donor and diplomatic community, as well as UN agencies and UNMISS leadership. In my meetings with civil society organizations, I was alarmed to hear about the increasing climate of intimidation in which they work, including attacks against those providing services to sexual violence survivors. I visited sites for the protection of displaced civilians in Malakal and Juba, where I spoke with women and girls who had survived sexual violence, yet continue to live in situations of acute vulnerability both inside and outside the camps.
Civilians fleeing the fighting in Unity State, which peaked between 16 April and 24 May, recounted shocking patterns of conflict-related sexual violence, occurring alongside other atrocity crimes. The testimonies I heard were horrific: men being systematically killed, the elderly and sick being burned alive, the genitals of young boys being mutilated or cut off, and women and girls being gang-raped – often to death. Rape and gang-rape are being used to pursue military and political objectives, such as clearing areas of perceived enemies, defined along ethnic and political lines. In this context, sexual violence serves as a lethal tactic of war and a “push factor” for forced displacement.
According to a report released yesterday by UNMISS and OHCHR on the indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Southern Unity State, at least 120 women and girls, including pregnant and lactating mothers, and girls as young as four-years-old, were raped and gang-raped by the SPLA and associated forces (including pro-Taban Deng forces and clan youth militia) in Koch and Leer county. Witness accounts indicate that some women and girls who resisted rape were shot. The report further documents 15 incidents of abduction involving at least 132 women and girls, for the purposes of sexual slavery and forced labor.
Women in the camps told me of the lack of food, health services, and livelihood opportunities. In order to collect firewood, women and girls need to continuously venture further beyond camp perimeters, at great personal risk. Although they walk in groups to reduce their vulnerability to attack, they are still frequently assaulted by soldiers lurking in the high grass. Yet they have few alternatives, as they cannot ask male community members for help. In the words of one woman: “Our men would get killed, whereas we only get raped”. In addition to security and basic livelihood assistance, all of the women I spoke with said that they wanted to see the perpetrators punished. Yet sexual violence is fueled and exacerbated by impunity on a massive scale.
The Government of South Sudan bears the primary responsibility for protecting its people. Indeed, Government officials I met affirmed their willingness to implement the Joint Communiqué to end sexual violence signed with the United Nations in 2014. Moreover, it is important to recall that the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, signed on 21 December 2017, lists sexual violence among the prohibited “hostile military actions”. To support the transition from prohibitions on paper to measurable progress, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has developed an action plan to prevent sexual violence and hold perpetrators in their ranks to account. In addition, the South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) is recruiting more women, which will encourage survivors to report these crimes and seek redress, and is working to ensure the effective functioning of special protection units.
The United Nations stands ready to support the Government in these endeavors. To that end, I will deploy a team of experts to South Sudan before the end of the month, to provide technical assistance to the justice and security sector. I will also brief the United Nations Security Council on the findings of my mission, as well as the South Sudan Sanctions Committee, which includes sexual violence among the designation criteria for sanctions.
The main hope and desire of the women I met during my visit, was the desire for peace. In this respect, I am encouraged by the Khartoum Declaration of Agreement between the Parties to the Conflict of South Sudan, signed on 21 June, which declares a “permanent ceasefire”. This must be respected by all sides, and should entail not only the complete silencing of the guns in South Sudan, but also the cessation of all forms of sexual violence. There is now an urgent need for sustained and sincere political will, coupled with robust mechanisms to ensure compliance with the range of commitments made by the parties to date. It is also critical that the authorities undertake an effective, prompt and impartial investigation into all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed in the context of the recent Southern Unity operations, as well as other alleged atrocity crimes.
I commend the efforts of the United Nations and the African Union to bring sustainable peace and stability to South Sudan, and note that in an extremely challenging operating environment, UNMISS has played a critical role in the protection of civilians, and the UN country team and its partners have continued to deliver lifesaving services to women and girls affected by gender-based violence. Donors and international partners must increase their support, to enable the provision of medical and psychosocial assistance to survivors, including in remote areas, as well as technical expertise and resources for security sector reform, justice and reparations.


“ICC is a bunch of useless people” – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on the 12th May 2016.
It is like certain leaders doesn’t learn from their behavior and attitude. At the same moment, they are forgetting the sentiment and what that been said in the past. A man or a President like Museveni has said anything between the moon and Lake Albert. However, the European Union doesn’t need to condemn this activity, they need to show force and show character. The statement made by them yesterday concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the non-arrest of Sudanese President Al-Bashir. Instead of being released could have been scrapped. They should have known that he doesn’t care about the ICC.
First show the statement made by EU, before more statement of how Museveni feels about the legal international entity. Look!
“Based on the information we received, on 5-7 July President Omar Al-Bashir visited Djibouti and Uganda” (…) “The European Union and its Member States regret that Djibouti and Uganda, both States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), did not comply with their obligations under international law and as State Parties to the ICC and did not surrender President Al-Bashir to the Court.” (The European Council – ‘Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on President Al-Bashir’s visits to Djibouti and Uganda’ 09.07.2018).
Just as you seen the EU is regretting that the National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the President Museveni didn’t deliver President Al-Bashir after his visit in Entebbe for the Peace Summit for South Sudan there. The EU are clearly forgetful, because Museveni isn’t friendly to the ICC anymore.
At the Inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta, the extract of the speech on the 9th April 2013:
“Furthermore, I want to salute the Kenyan voters on one other issue – the rejection of the blackmail by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and those who seek to abuse this institution for their own agenda. I was one of those that supported the ICC because I abhor impunity. However, the usual opinionated and arrogant actors using their careless analysis have distorted the purpose of that institution. They are now using it to install leaders of their choice in Africa and eliminate the ones they do not like” (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, 09.03.2013).
On the 52nd Independence Day celebration speech at Kololo on the 10th October 2014:
“For International Criminal Court to handle them as just legal matters, demonstrates their level of shallowness. My view is that, at the next summit, African countries should review their membership to the ICC treaty” (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, 10.10.2014).
At Televised Presidential Candidate Debate on the 14th February 2016, the President said this:
“A founding signatory of the Rome Statute, on ICC: Yes we should be out of the ICC. ICC is not serious. It is partisan. There are so many people who should have been tried if they were serious. The way to go is to have our own African Criminal Court. Trying to work with ICC was a mistake” (Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, 14.02.2016).
President Museveni have not liked the ICC in recent years. The President really despise the ICC now. He has not shown any concern or care for it. He call it a mistake and also that they are blackmailing the African Nations. That is why, the EU should have figured it out. If anyone is on the ICC list or wanted for arrest. It is not like Museveni will respect it, he hates the ICC and what it does. He has shown that.
The administrators and secretaries in Brussels should know this, they should have records, even remember that the Ambassadors of EU walked out on the inauguration ceremony in 2016. The statements from 2013 unto 2016 are alone telling the story. Certainly, he has the same sentiment in 2018. He is an old man, not a miracle worker.
President Museveni doesn’t give a fig about the ICC and what they say. Neither does he fear the EU, as they need him to keep the refugees from spawning to shores of Europe. So he can say what he like and not fear for retribution. The EU knows this and therefore, will not push Museveni to comply to the provisions of the ICC. He doesn’t have to fear it or respect it even. Al-Bashir is a friend of Museveni at this point. Peace.


