Overview of the Human Rights Situation in the East and Horn of Africa November 2012 – March 2013

Report submitted to the 53^rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)

Banjul, The Gambia, April 2013

The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network welcomes the opportunity offered by the 53rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) to highlight some of the current human rights issues in the East and Horn of Africa region for the period of November 2012 to March 2013. This report was prepared with the assistance of reports and information received by the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (the secretariat of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network) from our members and partners from the sub-region.

The past six months has been a period of transition in the East and Horn of Africa sub-region. The general elections in Kenya on 4^th March were observed by accredited national, regional and international observers to be largely peaceful. The new president, Uhuru Kenyatta, was sworn in on 9^th April, following two separate petitions at the Supreme Court of Kenya by the runner-up, Raila Odinga, and also by a coalition of Civil Society Organizations who called for the nullification of the election on the basis that the electoral process was marred by irregularities. The unanimous decision of the Supreme Court however concluded that the presidential elections were conducted in a free, fair, transparent and credible manner.

Both Kenyatta and the deputy president William Ruto are undergoing trial at the International Criminal Court, and have stated that they will continue to cooperate with the court while continuing to run the country. However, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, has expressed concerned about ICC witnesses being bribed and intimidated, leading to the withdrawal of charges in the case against Kenyatta’s co-accused, Francis Muthaura.

With far less coverage, Djibouti also held elections on 22nd February for its legislative assembly. Election observers from the African Union, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference and IGAD declared that the elections were transparent and acceptable, although opposition parties claimed numerous irregularities and intimidation. At least six protestors were killed in demonstrations against the election results that turned violent and a number of opposition figures were arrested.

Somalia continues to face serious human rights challenges as the State goes through a transition process following elections last year. Such challenges include sexual and gender based violence, the vulnerability and lack of adequate provisions for IDPs, and weaknesses in the justice system. Exercising freedom of expression is still a dangerous endeavour with 18 journalists killed in Somalia in 2012, with at least three more already killed in the first three months of this year. Despite ratifying the Charter in 1985, Somalia has never submitted a periodic report. EHAHRDP would like to encourage more engagement between Somalia and the Commission going forward.

EHAHRDP is also concerned by the entrenched situation of mass human rights violations in the context of the current conflict in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states in Sudan that has been ongoing since mid-2011. The Sudanese army and government-affiliated militia are responsible for serious and massive abuses against civilians in both states, such as indiscriminate bombings, forced displacement, destruction of grain and water sources that are critical to the survival of the population, arbitrary detention, and sexual violence against women and girls. Such abuses may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity and are creating a humanitarian crisis. It is urgent that the Commission take all actions within its power to hold those responsible to account.

EHAHRDP remains deeply concerned about continuing serious human rights violations in Eritrea, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, and forced national service for indefinite periods, coupled with the State’s lack of cooperation with regional and international human rights mechanisms. Ten years ago the Commission issued decisions on two communications regarding detained journalists and government officials, yet Eritrea continues to hold them incommunicado. Many are thought to have died in detention. We call on the Commission to take firm action to protect Eritrean citizens from further human rights abuse.

It is positive to note that South Sudan signed the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on 24^th January 2013. The State should proceed promptly to its ratification and implementation. Rwanda should also be commended on its decision to allow individuals and NGOs to directly access the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, by depositing its declaration under the protocol in January.

In every country in the sub-region EHAHRDP has reported on harassment, intimidation, arrests, detention, attacks or killings of journalists during this period. They are on the front lines of human rights protection and as such both more at risk and more in need of protection themselves. The release of journalist Hassan Ruvakuki in Burundi after intense campaigning by civil society and fellow journalists was welcomed, but others remain in detention, including in Rwanda and Ethiopia. Human rights defenders more generally continued to face threats and attacks in recent months, with key organisations closed down in Sudan, for example.

Acts of reprisal or intimidation against individuals or groups on account of their engagement with this Commission have continued to be reported. Such attacks should be recognized as an attack on the Commission itself and we encourage the Commission to respond accordingly.

Recommendations:

In light of the updates and observations contained in this report, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project offers the following recommendations for actions by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights:

Continue to monitor the situation of human rights defenders and to establish a reporting mechanism to gather information and follow up on cases of reprisals against human rights defenders who cooperate with the Commission and its special mechanisms;

• Call on member States to ensure the protection of HRDs, notably by observing the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other human rights treaties to which most of these countries are signatory;

• Call for an end to all practices, notably legal restrictions, which threaten the fundamental rights contained in the Charter, in particular the freedom of expression, and work of human rights defenders;

• Carry out a Commission of Inquiry into violations of the Charter and international humanitarian law in the regions of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile in Sudan;

• Take all necessary measures to follow up on decisions taken by the Commission on communications that remain unimplemented, so that victims’ may receive a remedy for the violations of their rights as contained in the Charter, especially requests for provisional measures;

• Recognise that the rights contained in the African Charter apply to all people without discrimination on any grounds, including sexual orientation and gender identity;

• Promote international criminal investigations into serious human rights violations committed in the region, where domestic remedies have failed;

• Encourage all members of the African Union to ratify and implement the provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance;

• Encourage full engagement with the ACHPR by States in the sub-region, especially those in transition periods, such as Somalia and South Sudan, including by urging states to invite visits from the Commission and to submit periodic reports;

• Call on member States to deposit the declaration under article 34 (6) of the protocol of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to allow individuals and NGOs to directly submit their cases to the court;

• Encourage the African Union to endorse the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists or a similar plan.

To read the full report, click here: EHAHRDP report to ACHPR 53rd session November 2012 – March 2013

 

Yemen: Addressing the plight of migrants from the Horn of Africa

Aid workers from a Yemeni NGO distribute food to newly arriving Somali and Ethiopian migrants. Credit: UNHCR/J.Björgvinsson

Increasing numbers of migrants who travel through Yemen en route from the Horn of Africa to the Gulf are suffering severe abuse and exploitation. Tens of thousands are stranded at the Saudi border. Humanitarian agencies are supporting them but funding shortages threaten to cut off this lifeline.

Aid organizations estimate that at least 50 people arrive daily in the northern town of Haradh, which is located close to the Saudi Arabian border. About 90 per cent of them are men in search of job opportunities in the Gulf States.   

 

The influx of migrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa, especially Ethiopia and Somalia, doubled from around 53,000 in 2010 to over 107,000 last year. Many risked their lives crossing the Gulf of Aden by boat to reach Yemen’s shores. The UN Refugee Agency estimated that more than 100 migrants either drowned or went missing in 2011 while making the crossing. But thousands of people continue to leave the Horn of Africa with hopes of a better life on the Arabian Peninsula. 

 

“In a desperate attempt to seek better opportunities, many migrants have suffered gross physical abuse and severe economic and sexual exploitation,” said Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. “Many of them, including children, are stranded under extremely difficult circumstances.” 

 

In border towns like Haradh, the migrants live rough, often sleeping in the open without enough food. Some 25,000 migrants are stranded in the town after failing to make their way across the border, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which provides food, shelter and medical assistance to them at its Migrant Response Centre in Haradh.

 

“The border is manned by heavily armed guards,” said Tadese (not real name), who was originally from Oromia in Ethiopia but is now stranded in Haradh. “It took us days to reach the border, but we could not cross into Saudi Arabia. All I want now is to go back home.”

 

As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Yemen provides a formal protection framework to refugees. However, migrants have become progressively more vulnerable to abuse and extortion by smugglers and traffickers along the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border. 

 

At the Yemen Red Crescent clinic, migrants tell stories of torture, rape and harassment. Many say they want to return home, but are not able to. Others seeking treatment here and at the Migrant Response Centre were rescued form unscrupulous kidnappers, traffickers and smugglers. Many of them have sustained injuries, including broken limbs. According to IOM, there have also been reports of organ trafficking.

 

“Humanitarian agencies that are providing assistance need to be supported but these agencies are currently facing very serious funding shortages,” warned Mr. Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

 

In January, funding shortages forced IOM to significantly reduce its free meal programme at the Migrant Response Centre from 3,000 meals a day to 300. The limited meals were only given out to the most vulnerable migrants and refugees - women, the elderly and unaccompanied minors. Shelter and medical referrals were also reduced, resulting in increased hardship and illnesses. Many bodies of migrants are unclaimed at Haradh hospital morgue.

 

The IOM has suspended its voluntary repatriation programme for those who want to return home, due to lack of funds. The last flight to carry migrants from Yemen was in September 2012, when 210 migrants went back home to Ethiopia. OCHA is currently working with IOM to raise awareness about the plight of the migrants and mobilise resources to assist them. A recent donation from the OCHA-managed UN Central Emergency Response Fund of US$1.4 million and food assistance from the World Food Programme is expected to keep the Migrant Response Centre running for the next six months, but operations after that are uncertain.

 

Reporting by OCHA/Yemen

New legislation introduces first scheme for private maritime security licensing

Introduction

While the problem of piracy is not new, it has increased dramatically in recent years. With the collapse of stable governance in Somalia, pirate attacks on merchant vessels and yachts travelling through the Gulf of Aden, round the Horn of Africa and along the east coast of Somalia are on the rise.

What started as attempts by fishermen to prevent fishing trawlers from entering their territory to fish illegally is now a highly organised industry with sophisticated equipment capable of identifying vessels, their flags, their ownership and their cargoes and crews. Modern-day pirates will approach merchant vessels and yachts, board them, hijack the crew and vessel and hold them to ransom.

There was initially much disagreement internationally as to whether vessels should carry arms or armed guards to ward off pirates. The International Maritime Organisation (IMO), with the support of the

International Transport Federation, argued against this approach, as it felt that crew members lacked sufficient training for carrying weaponry and violence could escalate in case of an attack, leading to further injury and deaths. In contrast, the US lobby allowed crew members on board US-registered vessels to carry weapons from an early stage.

In recent years, there have been more and more successful attacks on vessels and crews. In some cases, crew have been kept in captivity for several months. The effects of this increase are immense, in terms of both the psychological impact on crews and their families and economic losses. For example, $550 million was spent on insurance cover in 2012, as well as an estimated $290.5 million on rerouting, $1.53 billion on navigating at an increased speed and $31.75 million on reported ransoms.

Unfortunately, although numerous states have dispatched their naval forces to patrol the area, the area affected now stretches from the east coast of Somalia to the west coast of India and is therefore too large to patrol. The IMO has therefore changed its standpoint and issued circulars guiding shipowners on the use of armed guards on board vessels.

Transport Malta policy

Vessels registered under the Maltese flag have not escaped the impact of these developments and the administration has constantly been asked whether vessels flying the Maltese flag are permitted to carry weapons on board. Transport Malta's policy was always to follow the IMO's direction - which, until March 2011, meant a 'no arms on board' policy.

However, with the publication of the circulars, Transport Malta has begun to allow the carriage of arms on board Maltese-registered vessels on a case-by-case basis, provided that the proper protocol is applied. This situation has been further reinforced through the issuance of the General Authorisation (Protective Security Measures on Board Ships) Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 480.04).

These regulations establish the general authorisation for the carriage and use of firearms and ammunitions on board Maltese vessels by armed guards who are authorised to carry firearms and ammunition and are licensed to private maritime security companies. This general authorisation applies only for "purposes considered necessary in the public interest or for the protection of life and security of persons". The regulations aim to ensure that Maltese-flagged vessels have satisfactory procedures in place for the placement of armed guards on board.

The advantages of having professional armed guards on board a vessel to assist in anti-piracy measures are clear (to date, no vessel carrying armed guards has been hijacked), and the demand for private maritime security companies that can provide such guards has grown. International organisations such as BIMCO have therefore introduced a standard contract that regulates the relationship between shipowners and private maritime security companies, known as GUARDCON.

Private maritime security companies are becoming established in a number of jurisdictions, with Malta a jurisdiction of choice. They are attracted to the country due to its geographic position in the centre of the Mediterranean, as well as its EU membership, stable regulatory regime and attractive corporate structures.

Malta is located on the route from the Straits of Gibraltar to Suez and is therefore considered a convenient port of call for a vessel before it starts what could be a harrowing onward journey.

Malta has therefore taken steps to regulate the licensing of private maritime security companies. Despite such companies having been established for many years in the United Kingdom and other European countries, no proper regulatory licensing framework exists. Such a framework would ensure that these organisations meet appropriate standards and employ quality personnel of high integrity.

New legislation

The Licensing of Private Maritime Security Companies Regulations (Subsidiary Legislation 480.05) was published on March 8 2013. This legislation clearly stipulates that no company may offer a private maritime security business without a licence. The regulations further outline the parameters under which a private maritime security company incorporated in Malta may obtain a licence, listing more than 20 obligations, and aim to ensure that those companies that obtain a licence are suitable for such sensitive and demanding activity. Among other things, companies must provide:

• certified copies of the applicant's insurance policies;
• proof of the applicant's standard operating procedures;
• details of each of the personnel employed, with proof of the necessary qualifications training and past work experience; and
• proof of the implementation of a quality management system or risk management system, as established by an international accreditation body that has been recognised by the international shipping community as being competent to carry out such accreditation.

The regulations also provide for the establishment of a board through which to administer the system, comprising the registrar general of Maltese ships (who will act as chairman) and representatives from the police, the Department of Customs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade Services Directorate and the Security Services.

The board's composition has been carefully designed such that all organs of government likely to have an involvement in the operation of such companies are represented, to ensure the smooth operation of the system and to avoid the unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks that can be caused when an activity is dependent on a number of government departments.

Through this licensing regime, Malta has recognised (ahead of other countries) the need to regulate this highly sensitive industry. The policy has been well received by private maritime security companies, which are determined to ensure that only the most serious service providers are allowed to operate.
For further information on this topic please contact Ann Fenech at Fenech & Fenech Advocates by telephone (+356 2124 1232), fax (+356 2599 0645) or email (ann.fenech@fenlex.com).

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‘Growing hatred of US’: Yemeni testifies to Senate on drone program fallout

Protesters loyal to the Shi'ite al-Houthi rebel group burn an effigy of a U.S. aircraft during a demonstration to protest against what they say is U.S. interference in Yemen, including drone strikes, after their weekly Friday prayers in the Old Sanaa city April 12, 2013 (Reuters / Khaled Abdullah)

Washington’s drone war has turned Yemenis against the US and sparked “intense anger and hatred,” which Al-Qaeda has exploited for recruitment, according to witness testimony at the Senate’s first public hearing about the legality of drone strikes.

Yemeni writer Farea Al-Muslimi has revealed the shock and hatred felt towards the US after a drone bombed his home, the village of Wessab: “The attack terrified thousands of simple, poor farmers,” Muslimi told the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights in its hearing titled ‘Drone Wars: The Constitutional and Counterterrorism Implications of Targeted Killing.’

"The drone strike and its impact tore my heart, much as the tragic bombings in Boston last week tore your hearts and also mine," he added. “What radicals had previously failed to achieve in my village… one drone strike accomplished in an instant: There is now an intense anger and growing hatred of America.”

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is using US drone strikes to “promote its agenda and try to recruit more terrorists,” Muslimi explained.

The drone attack on Muslimi’s village killed an Al-Qaeda leader and four militants, according to Reuters. But Muslimi argued that the target was already known to many in Wessab, and Yemeni officials could have easily arrested him if the US had made the request.

US assistance to Yemen often goes unnoticed by most of the local population, as they are completely preoccupied by the drones flying overhead. “The drone strikes are the face of America to many Yemenis,” Muslimi said.

Peter Bergen, director of the National Security Studies Program at the New America Foundation, testified that in 2012, Obama authorized at least 46 drone strikes in Yemen, while former President George W. Bush had launched only one.

Lawmakers have demanded that the Obama administration provide more transparency in the increasingly secret US drone war. The public hearing was previously postponed, as the panel was hoping that the administration would send an official to testify, but it did not.

US drone strikes have proven controversial: A UN team investigating casualties in Pakistan said that US drone strikes violated the country’s sovereignty. The Pakistani government claimed that at least 400 civilians have been killed by US drones.

Also, leaked classified reports have confirmed that US drone attacks in Pakistan are not always precision strikes against top-level Al-Qaeda terrorists, as claimed by the Obama administration. Rather, many of these attacks are aimed at suspected low-level tribal militants, who may not pose a direct danger to the US.

Audience members listen to testimony during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Rights hearing on Capitol Hill on April 23, 2013 in Washington, DC (Mark Wilson / Getty Images / AFP)

The Obama administration’s drone war undermines the rule of law, Rosa Brooks, professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center argued in her testimony: “When a government claims for itself the unreviewable power to kill anyone, anywhere on earth, at any time, based on secret criteria and secret information discussed in a secret process by largely unnamed individuals, it undermines the rule of law.”

Brooks also recalled the Justice Department’s leaked memo on targeted killings, and how the Obama administration’s novel conception of an ‘imminent’ threat of attack – a requirement for the use of force abroad – “seems, in itself, like a substantial departure from accepted international law definitions of imminence.”

“That concept of imminence has been called Orwellian, and although that is an overused epithet, in this context it seems fairly appropriate,” Brooks added.

After the 9/11 terror attack, the US began to launch drones from bases in Pakistan and Uzbekistan for combat missions inside Afghanistan. More than a decade later, after killing almost 5,000 people – many of whom are believed to civilians, including women and children – Washington has expanded the use of the remotely controlled aircraft into Yemen, Somalia and especially Pakistan.

Northern and western Africa have rapidly become new frontiers in the drone war. The US has set up a drone base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, and flies unarmed Reaper drones out of Ethiopia. Washington has also carried out surveillance flights over East Africa from the island nation of the Seychelles.

In the US, protest has raged over the use of the robotic killing machines to assassinate thousands around the world. Recently, hundreds gathered in front of the White House to demonstrate against drone strikes on foreign soil.

President Van Rompuy meeting with PM of Ethiopia

WTO, and both the EU and Ethiopia have a common interest in stability and economic development of the Horn of Africa – these were among the key remarks by President of the Council of the EU, Herman Van Rompuy, after his meeting on 17 April with Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn, in Brussels.

The EU fully supports Ethiopia's efforts to join the

He said that the EU attaches great importance to the role Ethiopia plays to ensure peace and security in the Horn of Africa region.

Van Rompuy positively appreciated the country's progress in poverty reduction and Millennium Development Goals achievements, as well as the country's economic growth that is situated well above the Sub-Saharan Africa average.

At the same time, van Rompuy emphasized the importance the EU attaches to the respect of human rights in the region.

In addition, since Ethiopia holds the 2013 chairmanship of the African Union, the meeting also covered EU-African Union relations and, in particular, the preparation of the next EU-AU Summit in 2014.

Ethiopia and the EU have substantial economic and trade relations. The EU is the most important trade partner for Ethiopia with over 40% of Ethiopia's exports going to Europe. On the other hand, about 300 European companies are active in Ethiopia.

Source: Council of the EU

Time to Renounce the “War on Terror” By Global Research News

As a perpetual emotion machine — producing and guzzling its own political fuel — the “war on terror” continues to normalize itself as a thoroughly American way of life and death. Ongoing warfare has become a matter of default routine, pushed along by mainline media and the leadership of both parties in Washington. Without a clear and effective upsurge of opposition from the grassroots, Americans can expect to remain citizens of a war-driven country for the rest of their lives.

Across the United States, many thousands of peeling bumper stickers on the road say: 

“End this Endless War.” They got mass distribution from MoveOn.org back in 2007, when a Republican was in the White House. Now, a thorough search of the MoveOn website might leave the impression that endless war ended with the end of the George W. Bush presidency.

MoveOn is very big as online groups go, but it is symptomatic of a widespread problem among an array of left-leaning organizations that have made their peace with the warfare state. Such silence assists the Obama administration as it makes the “war on terror” even more resolutely bipartisan and further embedded in the nation’s political structures — while doing immense damage to our economy, siphoning off resources that should go to meet human needs, further militarizing society and undermining civil liberties.

Now, on Capitol Hill, the most overt attempt to call a halt to the “war on terror” is coming from Rep. Barbara Lee, whose bill H.R. 198 would revoke the Authorization for Use of Military Force that Congress approved three days after 9/11. Several months since it was introduced, H.R. 198 only has a dozen co-sponsors. (To send your representative and senators a message of support for Lee’s bill, click here.)

Evidently, in Congress, there is sparse support for repealing the September 2001 blanket authorization for war. Instead, there are growing calls for a larger blanket. Bipartisan Washington is warming to the idea that a new congressional resolution may be needed to give War on Terror 2.0 an expansive framework. Even for the law benders and breakers who manage the executive branch’s war machinery, the language of the September 2001 resolution doesn’t seem stretchable enough to cover the U.S. warfare of impunity that’s underway across the globe . . . with more on the drawing boards.

On Tuesday afternoon, when a Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on “targeted killing,” the proceedings underscored the great extent of bipartisan overlap for common killing ground. Republican super-hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham lauded President Obama for “targeting people in a very commander-in-chief-like way.” And what passed for senatorial criticism took as a given the need for continuing drone strikes. In the words of the subcommittee’s chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin, “More transparency is needed to maintain the support of the American people and the international community” for those attacks.

This is classic tinkering with war machinery. During the first several years of the Vietnam War, very few senators went beyond mild kibitzing about how the war could be better waged. In recent years, during President Obama’s escalation of the war in Afghanistan that tripled the U.S. troop levels in that country, senators like John Kerry (now secretary of state) kept offering their helpful hints for how to fine tune the war effort.

The “war on terror” is now engaged in various forms of military intervention in an estimated two-dozen countries, killing and maiming uncounted civilians while creating new enemies. It infuses foreign policy with unhinged messages hidden in plain sight, like a purloined letter proclaiming “What goes around won’t come around” and telling the world “Do as we say, not as we do.”

Political ripple effects from the Boston Marathon bombings have only begun. While public opinion hasn’t gotten carried away with fear, much of the news media — television in particular — is stoking the fires of fear but scarcely raising a single question that might challenge the basic assumptions of a forever “war on terror.”

After a city has been traumatized and a country has empathized, a constructive takeaway would be that it’s terribly wrong to set off bombs that kill and maim. But that outlook is a nonstarter the moment it might be applied to victims of U.S. drones and cruise missiles in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. The message seems to be that Americans should never be bombed but must keep bombing.

The death of Richie Havens days ago is a loss and reminder. Each of us has only so many days ahead. We may as well live them with deeper meaning, for peace and social justice. To hear Havens performing the song “Lives in the Balance” written by another great musician, Jackson Browne, is to be awakened anew:

I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die

And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

Norman Solomon is co-founder of RootsAction.org and founding director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His books include “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.” He writes the Political Culture 2013 column.

Somaliland’s Achievement in a Fragile Region + Somaliland President's Remarks at Atlantic Council + Photos

The Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center hosted a speech today by His Excellency Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo, president of the Republic of Somaliland, on “Somaliland’s Achievement in a Fragile Region.”

President Silanyo is at the start of a working visit to confer with senior US officials and other stakeholders on the prospects for peace and security in the volatile Horn of Africa region. Although its 1991 declaration of renewed independence has yet to be formally recognized by the international community, Somaliland has nonetheless managed to establish a stable polity with multiparty presidential, parliamentary, and municipal elections which have been deemed free and fair by international observers. As a result, an increasing number of countries have found opportunities to engage with the Somaliland government on security issues and development projects.

The president was accompanied by a delegation that included First Lady Amina Haji Mahammad Jirde; Hersi Ali H. Hassan, minister of presidential affairs; Mohamed Abdullahi Omar, minister of foreign affairs; Sa’ad Ali Shire, minister of planning; Hussein Abdi Dualeh, minister of mining, energy, and water resources; and Osman Sahardiid, minister of state for finance.

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham introduced President Silanyo and moderated an open discussion with the president and foreign minister following the address.

Click here to read the President's remarks

For more information on Somaliland, see:

• J. Peter Pham, “The Somaliland Exception: Lessons on Postconflict State Building from the Part of the Former Somalia That Works,” Marine Corps University Journal, Spring 2012.
• Christopher Clapham, Holger Hansen, Jeffrey Herbst, J. Peter Pham, Patrick Mazimhaka, Susan Schulman, and Greg Mills, African Game Changer? The Consequences of Somaliland’s International (Non) Recognition, Brenthurst Foundation Discussion Paper, June 2011.

Source: http://www.acus.org/trackback/75768

Opportunity for Somaliland Investigative Journalists: The Global Shining Light Award !!! Please apply before 15 June

In October 2013, the Global Investigative Journalism Conference will again present the Global Shining Light Award, a unique award which honors investigative journalism in a developing or transitioning country, done under threat, duress, or in the direst of conditions. This is the fifth international conference at which the Global Shining Light Award is being granted. Past winners can be seen here in Geneva in 2010 and in Kiev in 2011.

The award will be announced and presented at a public forum at the global conference, held October 12 to 15, 2013, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Deadline for submissions is June 15, 2013.

Background

Each year dozens of journalists and media workers are killed – and hundreds more are attacked, imprisoned or threatened – just for doing their job. Many of these violations of free expression occur in developing or emerging countries, and quite often during military conflicts. There are a number of international awards recognizing such attacks on freedom of expression.

But there is another clear trend that emerges in analyses of global attacks on reporters and the media. More and more journalists are being killed, and media outlets attacked, because they are carrying out important efforts in investigative journalism – exposing uncomfortable truths, shining light on systemic corruption, and providing accountability in societies yearning for democracy and development. There are as many journalists killed each year covering crime and corruption as are killed covering wars, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

On behalf of the global investigative journalism community, the Rio conference will again recognize and celebrate these courageous investigative journalists and their work. The winner will receive an honorary plaque and US$1,000.

The Award

The winning entrant will be notified by approximately mid-July. Airfare, hotel, per diems and conference registration for the journalist or one member of the team are included in the award.
The presentation of the plaque and $1,000 award will be made at the Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Rio in October 2013.

Criteria

The journalist, journalism team, or media outlet provided independent, investigative reporting, which: Originated in and affected a developing or emerging country

• Was broadcast or published between April 2, 2011 and December 31, 2012;
• Was of an investigative nature;

• Uncovered an issue, wrong-doing, or system of corruption which gravely affected the common good;
• And did so in the face of arrest, imprisonment, violence against them and their families, or threats and intimidation

To Apply

SUBMISSIONS SHOULD INCLUDE:

• A nomination letter in English, listing the journalist’s name (or team member names), and name of his/her media organization with address, telephone number, fax and email.
• The letter should provide a brief summary of the entry topic, explaining the importance of the story, the challenges faced in reporting it, and the political or social impact it made upon its broadcast or publication.
• One copy of the published entry or one copy of the broadcast material with a copy of the script

NOTE: If the original entry is not in English, a full translation or lengthy summary of its key findings must be provided in English. If this is not available, the story will not be eligible for judging.
Entries must be received no later than June 15, 2013.
Entries should be sent by email or regular post to:

Attn: Shining Light Award, c/o Kate Willson

2240 NW 29th St., Corvallis, Or 97330 USA

Email address: shininglight (at) gijn (dot) org

Ethiopia: Kenya Will Be Harmed By Ethiopia's Gibe III Dam

opinion

By Dr Alex Awiti,

Three months ago in this column, I warned that the completion of Ethiopia's Gibe III dam on the Omo River could transform Lake Turkana, the world's only desert lake, into Africa's Aral Sea. Impassioned by China-style great leap forward philosophy, the Ethiopian government has pursued the development of the Gibe III dam in total disregard to the consequence associated with it.

The Ethiopian government and multilateral donor institutions present the Gibe III dam project as critical to national and regional energy security and contributing to poverty alleviation. A new report from the African Resource Working Group (ARWG) reveals that the completion of the Gibe III dam on the Omo River will touch off socio-economic, political and ecological collapse in the tri-state border region of the Great Horn of Africa.

According to the ARWG report, a major review by the African Development Bank of the hydrological impacts of the Gibe III dam on Lake Turkana omitted any assessment of the dependence of the livelihoods of local communities on the lake's resources. Moreover, the assessment by the Ethiopian government shows no regard for Kenya's sovereignty over Lake Turkana's northern shoreline zone and a significant portion of the Omo Delta.

The author of the report, Claudia J. Carr, associate professor at University of California at Berkeley, argues that no credible assessments of the environmental and social cross-border impacts of the dam have been conducted. The report charges that the assessments of the dam's impact were fragmentary and riddled with major omissions, inaccuracies and even fabrications.

For instance, the Ethiopian government and the dam proponents suggest that a 60-70% drop in inflows would only cause a 2m-drop in lake levels. The report suggests that the Ethiopian government, international development banks and global commercial investors have operated with the precondition despite glaringly inadequate appraisal of the impacts of Gibe III mega-dam project.

The Gibe III reservoir would be 150 km long, in a narrow gorge with covering an area of 211 square kilometers, with a storage volume of 11,750 million cubic meters; an amount equal to about two years of the Omo River's flow causing a 60-70% reduction in the volume of the Omo River, which contributes 90% of inflow into Lake Turkana. This will reduce Lake Turkana's volume by 58%, lower the lake level by10-22m while doubling its salinity and putting nearly 500,000 pastoralists and fisher folk at the risk of famine and conflict.

Gibe III dam will disrupt regular flood cycles of the Omo River destroying the network of swamps vital for 50 species of fish. Moreover, the networks of swamps also provide forage and browse for wildlife and livestock, support flood-retreat agriculture, and are valuable habitat for water birds that use the lake for their annual migrations between Eurasia and Eastern Africa. Lake Turkana is home Nile crocodile, bird species numbering in the hundreds, including charismatic birds like flamingos, cormorants, ibises, skimmers, and sandpipers, and amphibians like hippos and turtles.

The Gibe III dam will have irreversible consequences on vital ecosystem services and biodiversity. In turn this will impact hundreds of thousands of people in the Lower Omo Basin and Lake Turkana Basin whose livelihoods depend on a complex socio-ecological web of exchange of services and products. Completion of the dam will destroy the core of the region's resilient indigenous economies, which are complex and delicately balanced livelihoods woven together by networks of reciprocity across Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan.

The report further warns that owing to its proximity to the Main Ethiopian Rift, there is a 50% likelihood of 7 or 8 intensity earthquakes occurring within 50 years, causing collapse of the dam, triggering unprecedented destruction of livelihoods and the ecological balance in the Lower Omo Basin and throughout Kenya's Lake Turkana.

In July 2102, the World Bank voted to approve $684 million to build a 1000-kilometer long transmission major line to link Kenya to the controversial Gibe III dam. Clearly this demonstrates that both the World Bank and the Kenyan government failed to grasp the enormous and potentially catastrophic downstream socio-economic, ecological and political consequences of the Gibe III dam.

On the basis of the evidence advanced by the Africa Resource Working Group as well as other studies, Kenya's complicity and tacit endorsement of the Gibe III dam is reckless, wrongheaded and unconstitutional. It is the duty of the government of Kenya to protect the rights and livelihoods of communities for whom the Turkana basin is home.

Dr. Awiti is an ecosystem ecologist based at Aga Khan University, Nairobi

Maxaad Ka Taqaanaa Wasiirka Arimo Dibadeedka Cusub ee Kenya Mucjisooyinka ku Lamaan Magacaabisteed + CV-geeda

Madaxweyne Uhuru Kenyatta oo Shir Jaraaid shalay galab ku qabtay xarunta madaxtooyada Kenya ee magaalada Nairobi, ayaa ku dhawaaqay Golahaan Wasiirrada, waxaanu sheegay in Kenya ay u baahan tahay gole Xukuumadeed oo ka kooban 18 Wasiir oo si fiican uga shaqeeya baahiyaha ay dadka reer Kenya qabaan.

Aamina Maxamed Jibriil Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibedda ee Kenya

Golaha Wasiirradda ee shalay uu magacaabay Madaxweynaha Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta, waxaa ka mid ah Aamina Maxamed Jibriil oo loo magacaabay Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibedda ee Kenya, Aamina Maxamed Jibriil ayaa ah halka qof ee Dumarka ah ee kuj ira golahaan hor-dhaca ah ee uu magacaabay Madaxweyne Kenyatta.

Aamina Maxamed Jibriil, waxay hore u soo noqotay Danjiraha Qaramada Midoobay u jooga Kenya, sidaas oo kale waxay dhowrkii sano ee lasoo dhaafay ahayd Danjiraha Dowladda Kenya u jooga magaalada Jeneva. Waxa kale oo  muddo dheer kasoo shaqeeysay Wasaaradda arrimaha dibedda ee Kenya, Sannadihii sideetaamaadkiina waxay ka qalin-jabisay Jaamacadda Oxford ee waddanka Ingiriiska. Waa Hooyo laba Carruur ah dhashay. Waxay la soo shaqaysay Wasaaradaha arrimaha dibedda, gudaha, Caddaaladda iyo Xafiisyo kale oo dhawr ah.

Aamina Maxamed oo Madaxweynaha dalka Kenya Uhuru Kenyatta shalay u magacaabay Wasiirra arrimaha dibedda ee dalkaas, ayaa waxay hor Xoghaye joogta ah uga noqotay Wasaaradda Caddalaadda Kenya, xilligii Madaxweyne Kibaki, laakiin waxa ay dhawaan ahayd Ku-xigeenka Agaasimaha guud ee Hayadda Qaramada Midoobay u qaabbilsan dhinaca deegaanka UNEP. Aamina waxa ay dhawaan u tartantay inay noqoto Agaasimaha guud ee Hey'adda Ganacsiga Adduunka ee WTO.

Waxayaalaha la Yaabka leh ee ku Lamaan Magacaabisteeda Wasiirnimo

Ambassador Amina waxay ku dhalatay Kenya laakiin waalidkeed ayaa ka soo jeeda dalkii hore loo odhan jiray British Somaliland Protectorate ee ingirriska Maxmiyad u ahayd.

Waxayaalaha la yaabka leh waxaa weeye labo gabdhood oo asal ahaan Somaliland ka soo jeeda oo noqday Wasiiradaha arrimaha Dibadda ee dalalka Kenya iyo Soomaaliya.

Amina Mohamed waa Xaas leh labo caruur jagooyin bandanna soo qabatay sida safiirnimo, xoghaya joogto iyo UN-ka oo jago sare ka gaadhay

AMBASSADOR AMINA C. MOHAMED,

BIO-DATA

NAME: Amb. Amina Chawahir Mohammed

NATIONALITY: Kenyan

DATE OF BIRTH: 5th October 1961

PLACE OF BIRTH: Kenya GENDER: Female MARITAL STATUS: Married

CONTACT ADDRESS: United Nation Office-Nairobi (UNON) TELEPHONE: +254 702 116 192

Email: jjibrilla@yahoo.com

SUMMARY OF CAREER HISTORY: AMB. AMINA MOHAMMED

2011 to date: United Nation’s Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director, UNEP.

2008-2011: Kenya’s Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs

2010-2011: President of the United Nations Conference on Transnational Crime, Vienna

2006-2007: Director for Europe and Commonwealth Affairs as well as Director for Diaspora Affairs

Chairman of the Task Force Sub-Committee on Strengthening andÜ restructuring of the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Affairs.

2000-2006: Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Kenya to the United Nations and other International Organizations based in Geneva.

Chairman, Coordinator and Spokesperson for the African Group in the WTO, Human Right Commission.

President of the Conference on Disarmament in 2002Ü

Chairperson for the International Organization for Migration in 2002Ü

Chairperson for the Trade Policy Review body in 2003Ü

Chairperson for the Dispute Settlement Body in 2004Ü

Chairperson for the General Council of the WTO in 2005.Ü

2001–2005: Member of the Executive Boards and Committees of the WHO, UNHCR, WIPO, ILO, UNCTAD and UNAIDS

1990-2000: Kenya’s Legal Advisor in various Missions abroad, including the 6th Committee of the United Nations.

1986-1990: Legal Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs- Nairobi

Honours & Awards

National Award of Chief of Burning Spear (CBS).Ü
Cavaliere dell’Ordine Della Stella Della Solidarieta ItalianaÜ
Life Member, the Kenya Red Cross SocietyÜ
Member – The Life and Peace Institute International Advisory Council, SwedenÜ
Member – The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the ArcticÜ
Member- The Strathmore Law School Advisory Board, Kenya Education

LLM University of Kiev and Kenya School of LawÜ

Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations, Oxford UniversityÜ

UNITAR Fellow

For more information and detailed profile of Ambasador Amina Mohamed please click here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amina_Mohamed

 

Dowladda Yeman iyo Guddiga QM ee Cunaqbataynta Hubka ee Somalia oo Kulan Khaas yeeshay.

Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibedda ee dalka Yeman, Abu Bakar Al-qirbi iyo Wafdi ka socda Guddiga QM ee La-socodka Xayiraadda Hubka ee saaran dalalka Somalia iyo Eritrea ayaa kulan khaas ah ku yeeshay caasimadda dalkaasi ee Sanca.

Labada dhinac ayaa waxay kulankooda iskula eegeen sidii loola socon lahaa Hawlaha Kormeerka iyo dalalka ku xadgudba Xayiraadaasi.

Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibedda ee Yeman, waxa uu tilmaamay inaysan Dowladiisa marnaba doonaynin in lagu xadgudbo Xayiraadaasi, si Dowladda Somalia uga badbaado dhibaato kaga timaad hubka ku qulqulayo.

“Dowladda Yeman waxay iskaashi ka samaynaysaa sidii looga hortegi lahaa hubka loo tahriibiyo Somalia” ayuu yir Wasiirka, oo hoosta ka xariiqay in Danta Yeman ku jirto Deganaanshaha Geeska Afrika.

Khubarradda ka socotay QM waxay soo dhaweeyeen hadalka Dowladda Yeman ioyo inay labada dhinac iska kaashadaan Ka-hortegidda shixnadaha hubka ee loo tahriibiyo gudaha dalka Somalia.