(Youtube – Speech) DA Mmusi Maimane fires back at President Zuma (this is happens a few days after the EFF got throwed out of Parliament)

Here is clips from what DA Mmusi Maimane is adressing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Vf3_AjtBo

And Malema adress in the aftermath:

IGAD and OCHA – Joint Communique on South Sudan (9.2.2015)

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Press Statement on the timetable for 2015 General elections by the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru M. Jega at a Press Conference on February 07th, 2015, Nigeria

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

We invited you here today to make known the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the timetable for the 2015 general elections. Let me state from the outset that the Commission’s position was reached after carefully weighing the suggestions from briefings held with different stakeholders in the electoral process.

The conduct of elections in a country like Nigeria is invariably a collective venture that involves not just the Election Management Body (EMB), but also a diverse range of stakeholders, notably security agencies, political parties and their candidates, voters, as well as interest groups, such as the civil society organizations and the media. To guarantee successful conduct of elections, there are things that are wholly the responsibility of the EMB. But there are other things critical for the success of elections, which fall outside the control of the EMB.

In other words, while INEC must work hard to perfect its systems and processes for conducting elections, and take responsibility for any imperfections thereof, whatever the Commission does may not by itself be sufficient to guarantee the success of elections. There are a number of issues in the preparation and conduct of an election, the most critical of which is security, which is not under the control of INEC.

Current State of INEC’s Preparedness

On Thursday, February 5, 2015, I was invited to brief the National Council of State, which is the highest advisory to the President comprising past and present leaders in Nigeria, on the level of preparedness of INEC to conduct the 2015 general elections. I made a presentation to the Council titled ‘Preparations for the 2015 General Elections: Progress Report,’ in which I gave a detailed account of what the Commission has been doing in readiness for the national elections (National Assembly and Presidential) scheduled for February 14th, and the state elections (Governorship and State Assembly) scheduled forFebruary 28th, 2015.

The summary of my presentation to the National Council of State meeting is that, for matters under its control,  INEC is substantially ready for the general elections as scheduled, despite discernible challenges being encountered with some of its processes like the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by registered members of the public.

In addition, INEC has been doing everything it can to facilitate the collection of the PVCs by registered members of the public. As at 5th February 2015, the total number of PVCs collected was 45, 829, 808, representing 66.58% of the total number of registered voters.

In the delivery and deployment of electoral materials, INEC is also at a comfort level in its readiness for the general elections as scheduled (see the presentation to the Council of State). The Commission’s preparations are not yet perfect or fully accomplished. But our level of preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14th and February 28th. Compared with 2011 when, within a short time, we conducted general elections that were universally adjudged free, fair and credible and the best in Nigeria’s recent electoral history, our processes aretoday better refined, more robust and therefore capable of delivering even better elections.

Other Variables

But as I mentioned earlier, there are some other variables equally crucial for successful conduct of the 2015 general elections that are outside the control of INEC. One important variable is security for the elections.

While the Commission has a very good working relationship with all security agencies, especially on the platform of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) since its inception in 2010, it has become pertinent for it to seriously consider the security advisory presented to it by the Security and Intelligence Services. I would like to reiterate here that INEC is an EMB and not a security agency. It relies on the security services to provide a safe environment for personnel, voters, election observers and election materials to conduct elections wherever it deploys. Where the security services strongly advise otherwise, it would be unconscionable of the Commission to deploy personnel and call voters out in such a situation.

Last Wednesday, which was a day before the Council of State meeting, the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) wrote a letter to the Commission, drawing attention to recent developments in four Northeast states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe currently experiencing the challenge of insurgency. The letter stated that security could not be guaranteed during the proposed period in February for the general elections.

This advisory was reinforced at the Council of State meeting on Thursday where the NSA and all the Armed Services and Intelligence Chiefs unanimously reiterated that the safety and security of our operations cannot be guaranteed, and that the Security Services needed at least six weeks within which to conclude a major military operation against the insurgency in the Northeast; and that during this operation, the military will be concentrating its attention in the theatre of operations such that they may not be able to provide the traditional support they render to the Police and other agencies during elections.

INEC’s Decision

We have done wide ranging consultation to enable us have as much input as is necessary before taking an informed decision. In the series of consultations that we held with stakeholders, the questions consistently posed to them for consideration are:

In view of the latest development, should INEC proceed with the conduct of the general elections as scheduled in spite of this strong advice; and if so, what alternative security arrangements are available to be put in place?

Or, should INEC take the advice and adjust the schedules of the general elections within the framework of Constitutional provisions?

The Commission held a meeting after the consultations, and decided to take the advice of the Security Chiefs and adjust the dates of the elections. We have done this relying on Section 26(1) of the Electoral 2010 (As Amended), which states thus: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the Commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another date for the holding of the postponed election, provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable”.

INEC not being a security agency that could by itself guarantee protection for personnel and materials, as well as voters during elections, the Commission cannot lightly wave off the advice by the nation’s Security Chiefs. The Commission is specifically concerned about the security of our ad hoc staff who constitute at least 600,000 young men and women, together with our regular staff, voters, election observers as well as election materials painstakingly acquired over the last one and half years. This concern is limited not just to the areas in the North-eastern part of Nigeria experiencing insurgency; the risk of deploying young men and women and calling people to exercise their democratic rights in a situation where their security cannot be guaranteed is a most onerous responsibility. Under such circumstances, few EMBs across the world, if any, would contemplate proceeding with the elections as scheduled. No matter the extent of INEC’s preparedness, therefore, if the security of personnel, voters, election observers and election materials cannot be guaranteed, the life of innocent young men and women as well the prospects of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections would be greatly jeopardised.

Consequently, the Commission has decided to reschedule the 2015 general elections thus: the national elections (i.e. Presidential and National Assembly) are now to hold on March 28th, 2015; while the state elections (Governorship and State Assembly) are to hold onApril 11th, 2015. It should be noted that this rescheduling falls within the constitutional framework for the conduct of the elections, notably, Sections 76(2), 116(2), 132(2) and 178(2). See also Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended).

For the avoidance of doubt, we will under no circumstances approve an arrangement that is not in line with the provisions of our laws. Our hope is that with this rescheduling, the security services will do their best to ensure that the security environment needed for safe and peaceful conduct of the 2015 elections is rapidly put in place.

We in INEC reassure all Nigerians and indeed the international community of our commitment to do everything within the law and to conduct free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. We call on the security agencies to honour their commitment to restore sufficient normalcy for elections to take place within the period of extension. We also call on Nigerians, political parties, candidates and all other stakeholders to accept this decision in good faith and ensure the maintenance of peace.

As for us in INEC we’ll endeavour to use the period of the extension to keep on perfecting our systems and processes for conducting the best elections in Nigeria’s history. In particular, we believe that we would resolve all outstanding issues related to non-collection of PVCs, which agitate the minds of many Nigerians.

Finally, we wish to call on all Nigerians to accept our decision, which is taken in good faith and the best interest of deepening democracy ion our country.

Thank you.

Professor Attahiru M. Jega, OFR

Chairman

209-06-02-2105: Press release on consultations of Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov in Indonesia (06.02.2015)

Bilateral political consultations were held between Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov and Director-General for American and European Affairs Dian Triansyah Djani at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. Mr Morgulov also held a meeting with ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh.

While at the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, the sides discussed, in a friendly atmosphere, the condition and prospects of bilateral relations and opportunities to enhance their cooperation on urgent global and regional issues. They emphasized the need to further consolidate political dialogue, promote economic, trade and investment cooperation, and expand coordination in international affairs while emphasizing multilateral cooperation in the United Nationsand chiefly in resolving the situation in the Middle East and North Africa and countering ISIS.

Mr Minh and Mr Morgulov discussed specific steps for enhancing the practical dialogue and partnership between Russia and ASEAN and joint efforts on creating a new architecture of security and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Press Release: The Economic Freedom Fighters statement on the recent interviews and media attacks by fighter Andile Mingxitama (05.02.2015)

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SG/A/1545-BIO/4692-PKO/470: Secretary-General Appoints David Gressly of United States as Deputy Special Representative for Democratic Republic of Congo (6.2.2015)

6 FEBRUARY 2015

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of David Gressly of the United States as his Deputy Special Representative for Operations and the Rule of Law in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Mr. Gressly succeeds Abdallah Wafy of Niger, who had served as Deputy Special Representative for Operations and the Rule of Law since 2013 and as Police Commissioner and Head of the Mission’s police component from 2010 to 2013.  The Secretary-General is grateful for Mr. Wafy’s dedicated service during the past five years.

Mr. Gressly has broad experience working in peacekeeping missions, having served most recently as Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, and as the United Nations Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

He also served as Regional Coordinator in the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).  Prior to that, Mr. Gressly served for more than 20 years with the United Nations system, including as Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel in Senegal.

Mr. Gressly holds a Master of Business Administration in international finance from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona (United States).

Born in 1956, he is married and has six children.

Press Release: From the Atlantic to the Pacific, CSO across Africa welcomes AU Focus on Illcit Financial Flows

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EU-US TTIP Negotiations: Draft Proposal (23.12.2014)

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SG/SM/16497-AFR/3063: Deeply Concerned about Deteriorating Security in Darfur, Secretary-General Urges Government, Armed Movements to Resume Dialogue towards Political Settlement (29.1.2015)

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Darfur following reports of an escalation of hostilities between the Government of Sudan and the Darfur armed movements in Central Darfur and the resulting displacement of civilians.  The United Nations has confirmed that at least 36,000 civilians have been displaced in Darfur due to these hostilities.

He condemns the reported aerial bombardment and destruction of villages in the Golo locality of Central Darfur State on 27 January.

The Secretary-General urges the Government and the armed movements to exercise maximum restraint, without delay, and fully assume their responsibility to prevent further displacements and suffering of civilian populations, and resume dialogue to reach a political settlement to the Darfur conflict.

The Secretary-General also calls on the parties to the conflict to fully cooperate with the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and the humanitarian partners in their efforts to protect and provide assistance to the civilian population of Darfur.

Tanzanian Presidential Communications – The Arusha Process re-entery to Peace-Talks between Dr. Rick Machar and President Salva M. Kiir – South Sudan (20th January 2015)

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