Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on South Africa and Burundi and the International Criminal Court (24.10.2016)

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The EU and its Member States remain staunch supporters of the ICC and are committed to full co-operation on the prevention of serious crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the Court.

BRUSSELS, Belgium, October 24, 2016 – The European Union deeply regrets the Republic of South Africa’s decision to initiate its withdrawal from the Rome Statute. We equally note with deep concern that Burundi has formalised steps to withdraw from the Rome Statute. Until now, no State has ever withdrawn from the Rome Statute. 

South Africa played a significant role in the establishment of the ICC and was one of the first signatories of the Rome Statue. We will continue to engage with both countries on how they can remain partners to the Rome Statute.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a key institution to assist citizens achieve justice when confronted with the most serious crimes, where this is not possible at the national level. A majority of African situations were submitted by the national authorities concerned. The Court is also involved in situations all over the world.

We all have a shared interest in strengthening the rule of law and working together with the ICC, including along the lines suggested by the President of the Rome Statute’s Assembly of States Parties.

The EU and its Member States remain staunch supporters of the ICC and are committed to full co-operation on the prevention of serious crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the Court. Where concerns are raised within the framework of the Rome Statute, we remain open for constructive discussion.

Burundi: Communique 14 du 18 Octobre 2016 Portant Retrait de la Republique du Burundi du Statut de Rome de la Cour Penale Internationale adopte a Rome le 17 Juillet 1998

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UNSC: Draft Press Statement on the Implementation of Resolution 2303 – Burundi (13.10.2016)

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Chama Cha Mapinduzi on Zimbabwe (Youtube-Clip)

Zimbabwe: ‘Re: Cancellation of Elective Surgiccal Operations’ at United Bulawayo Hospitals (14.10.2016)

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FAO Emergencies Director assesses the Scale of the Drought and Response in Afar Region, Ethiopia (13.10.2016)

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, October 13, 2016 – In less than a year, Holo Molo has lost more than a third of his livestock. The father of 14 living in the chronically drought-prone woreda of Elidar, Afar Region is just one of millions of Ethiopian livestock owners who have had their livelihoods uprooted as a result of drought aggravated by El Niño. Despite the significant damage caused by the crisis, Holo contends that he is lucky. “I know a woman who has lost everything, all her animals are dead.”

Since 2015, thousands of households have helplessly watched their animals starve in Afar, an arid region in northwest Ethiopia neighboring Eritrea and Djibouti. The drought caused severe pasture and water shortages in communities almost totally dependent on livestock rearing – ninety percent of the population tend animals for their food and income.

Believed to be the worst drought in nearly half a century, it will take years for families hardest hit by the El Niño-induced crisis to recover. The impact on food and nutrition security has been significant; the vast majority of the region’s districts have been classified as priority one or facing the greatest levels of food insecurity according to the Government of Ethiopia.

In Elidar, the critical karan rains – usually occurring between July and September – were considered late and erratic. The contribution of the previous spring season was minor, only slightly improving pasture and water access between the months of March and May. Already, Elidar’s limited pasture has largely been depleted. Many herding households now depend on infrequent flash floods that send water tumbling from the mountains to be used domestically and for livestock.

The thickets of the mountains are also where many of Elidar’s citizens send their animals to search for feed. FAO spoke with Mutha Ahmed as she tended small ruminants on the banks of a water point constructed by the UN agency in the drought prone community. The mother of five lost 50 sheep and goats during the crisis. “Almost everything has dried up, there is nothing here for animals to eat,” Mutha reflected. “We have not had good rains in years, many people are now scared because the karan season has been poor and it has not fully rained,” said Mutha. With the worst of the lean season approaching in mid-October and November, Afar’s animals should be thriving ahead of the most difficult time of the year. Complicating matters is the fact that milk – critical for the food and nutrition security of most in the Region – has been slow to return to normal production levels, a consequence of prolonged drought.

Dwindling resources in an underfunded sector

FAO is committed to partnering with local authorities and communities like in Elidar and elsewhere in Ethiopia

Despite losing a significant portion of her livestock, Mutha indicated that she did not qualify for emergency animal feed support, a claim supported by regional officials on the ground. “I lost animals, but so many more were worse off than me. I can understand why I was not given anything for my herd,” she said. As a result of limited resources in this particular area, priority was given to households with lactating animals or breastfeeding infants in order to safeguard the food and nutrition security of the most vulnerable.

The emergency livestock response is severely underfunded in Ethiopia. Almost 2.4 million households critically require livelihoods assistance to the tune of USD 36.2 million until the end of the year. Preliminary reports suggest that the sector has only received USD 12 million in humanitarian sector funding for 2015 and 2016 emergency drought interventions. With the crop sector demanding very significant  resources, particularly to procure seeds for the meher (summer) season (from which 85 percent of Ethiopia’s food supply is derived), the bulk of agriculture-related humanitarian investments were funneled into saving the country’s local crop production.

In August 2016, FAO clarified the priorities of Ethiopia’s livestock sector, highlighting the most urgent funding needed to support emergency interventions. These include animal health and emergency vaccinations for livestock, determined as critical in livestock-dependent regions such as Afar and Somali as well as Borena Zone of Oromia Region and South Omo Zone of Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region. The findings were published in the Mid-Year Review of the 2016 Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD).

FAO’s Director of the Emergencies, Dominique Burgeon, met with numerous drought-affected households in Elidar and other communities in Afar Region during a recent field mission to Ethiopia. Mr Burgeon was also accompanied by FAO Representative to Ethiopia, Amadou Allahoury, and members of his team. The group spoke with beneficiaries of FAO’s fodder seed distribution and assessed the livestock situation in some of the worst-affected priority-one hotspot districts in the Region. The team also viewed local interventions to cope with drought, such as traditional water steam harvesting.

“The situation on the ground remains very critical in Afar and other livestock-dependent areas of the country. While significant resources have been deployed for crop sector support over the last several months, we cannot neglect to fully address the pressing needs of the livestock sector,” said Mr Burgeon.

“The people of Afar have developed numerous innovations in order to cope with the effects of recurrent drought, a reflection of their inherent resilience as a people,” he remarked. “FAO is committed to partnering with local authorities and communities like in Elidar and elsewhere in Ethiopia, in order to jointly amplify our efforts in the difficult months ahead with a strategic focus on recovery and resilience building.”

FAO Ethiopia provided fast-growing fodder seed to at-risk agropastoral communities in order to enable households to produce animal feed independently. During the drought, the Organization also distributed multinutrient-dense ‘energy blocks’ to protect core breeding animals, and delivered animal feed along migratory routes. FAO’s regional water rehabilitation projects improved access to water for livestock, benefiting more than 125 000 livestock owned by about 13 000 households. The Organization also supported strategic destocking through the purchase of thousands of livestock with low body weight which after a health inspection, was distributed to some of the worst-affected internally displaced people.

FAO has mobilized nearly USD 14 million to respond to the crisis. The Organization is now urgently requesting an additional USD 14 million to implement livelihood-saving interventions in the livestock and crop sectors until the end of 2016.

Zimbabwe: Bulawayo – ‘We will be implementing a water shedding programme in November 2016 if we do not have any substantial inflows in the dams’ (12.10.2016)

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Statement attributable to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General on Guinea-Bissau [EN/FR] (11.10.2016)

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The Secretary-General welcomes the start of an inclusive dialogue among political leaders, civil society and religious communities of Guinea-Bissau today in Guinea. The dialogue is the crucial first step in implementing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) roadmap to end the political crisis, which political leaders agreed to in Bissau on 10 September 2016.

The Secretary-General thanks the ECOWAS Mediator for Guinea-Bissau, H.E. Mr. Alpha Condé, President of the Republic of Guinea, for hosting the parties and leading the regional effort to swiftly implement the roadmap. He further encourages all parties to engage in constructive discussions and seize this opportunity for a favourable outcome in the interest of the people of Guinea-Bissau. He calls on all parties to jointly achieve decisive progress within the coming days, in order to break the political impasse that has prevailed in the country since August 2015.

The Secretary-General has requested his Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), Mr. Modibo I. Touré, to continue to work closely with all stakeholders in Guinea-Bissau. This he will do in close collaboration with ECOWAS, the African Union and other key partners, including the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries and the European Union as they work towards political stability in Guinea-Bissau.

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Le Secrétaire général salue le début d’un dialogue inclusif entre les chefs politiques, la société civile et les communautés religieuses bissau-guinéens aujourd’hui en Guinée. Ce dialogue est une première étape décisive dans la mise en œuvre de la feuille de route de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO) pour mettre fin à la crise politique, qui a été adoptée par les dirigeants politiques à Bissau le 10 septembre 2016.

Le Secrétaire général remercie le médiateur de la CEDEAO pour la Guinée-Bissau, S.E. M. Alpha Condé, Président de la République de Guinée, d’accueillir les parties et de mener l’effort régional pour mettre en œuvre la feuille de route rapidement. Il encourage toutes les parties à s’engager dans des discussions constructives pour accomplir ensemble des progrès décisifs dans les prochains jours, afin de mettre fin à l’impasse politique qui prévaut dans le pays depuis août 2015.

Le Secrétaire général a demandé à son Représentant spécial et Chef du Bureau intégré des Nations Unies pour la consolidation de la paix en Guinée-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), M. Modibo I. Touré, de continuer à coopérer étroitement avec toutes les parties prenantes en Guinée-Bissau. Il le fera en collaboration étroite avec la CEDEAO, l’Union africaine, et les partenaires clés, y compris la Communauté des pays de langue portugaise et l’Union européenne, dans leurs efforts en faveur de la stabilité politique en Guinée-Bissau.

The 631st Meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council on the Situation in Burundi (12.10.2016)

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, October 12, 2016 -The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 631st meeting, held on 6 October 2016, adopted the following decision on the situation in Burundi:

Council,

1.    Takes note of the briefing made by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the Commission for the Great Lakes region, Professor Ibrahima Fall, as well as the statements by the representatives of the Republic of Angola, as  member of the African Member in the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations (UN), the European Union and the permanent members of the Security Council namely France, United Kingdom and the United States of America;

2.    Recalls its previous communiqués and press statements on the situation in Burundi, in particular, Communiqué PSC/PR/COMM.(DLXXXI) adopted at its 581stmeeting held on 9 March 2016;

3.    Acknowledges that   the security situation in the country has improved, especially in the capital city Bujumbura and its surrounding areas. In this respect, Council urges the Government of Burundi to continue enhance security and safety, ensuring fundamental freedoms and civil liberties for all Burundians, including through reopening the space for the media;

4.    Strongly condemns all incidents of violations of human rights, arbitrary arrests and targeted killings by whomsoever in the country and urges the Government to take further stern and urgent measures to put these actions to a definite end;

5.    Reiterates the imperative of urgent resumption of the Inter-Burundian Dialogue under the aegis of the East African Community (EAC) as the only practical way forward to resolve the crisis in the country. In this regard, Council reaffirms the need fora consensual approach among all the Burundian stakeholders to address and resolve contentious issues relating to the situation in the country, and in so doing, to uphold the Constitution and the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement of August 2000;

6.    Underscores the need for the deployment of additional the AU human rights observers and military experts in line with the relevant decisions of Council, to monitor and report on the human rights and security situation in Burundi. In this respect, Council calls for full cooperation of the Burundian authorities and other concerned stakeholders in the country;

7.    Urges the Government of Burundi to speed up the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the AU Commission for the smooth deployment of the AU human rights observers and military experts in Burundi, as well as to start discussion with the UN on the modalities to deploy 228 UN police officers as adopted by the UN Security Council resolution 2303 (2016) of 29 July 2016;

8.    Further urges the Government of Burundi, in consultation with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the countries hosting Burundian refugees, to promote and ensure safe conditions for the return of refugees into the country and their resumption of normal life;

9.    Requests the AU Commission to continue to closely monitoring the situation in Burundi and to brief Council on a regular basis, in order for it to take appropriate decisions;

10.    Requests the Commission to take the necessary measures to invite the EAC Facilitator of the Inter-Burundian Dialogue, former President Benjamin Mkapa to brief Council on the status of the Dialogue;

11.    Further requests the Chairperson of the Commission to transmit this communique to the United Nations Secretary-General, for it to be circulated as an official working document to members of the UN Security Council in time for their meeting on Burundi scheduled for 13 October 2016;

12.    Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Zimbabwe Youth Council Statement on the Support Rendered by the Minister of High & Tertiary Education through ZIMDEF (11.10.2016)

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