GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday warned that a new law regulating demonstrations in Egypt could lead to serious breaches of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and must be amended. The law gives wide-ranging powers to local security authorities to ban such gatherings. Article 7 of the law prohibits protesters from conduct that would, among other things, constitute a threat to “security” and “public order,” “disrupt citizens’ interests,” or obstruct justice, without providing clear definitions of those terms. “International law requires precision in detailing what…
Author: apofeed
ABUJA, Nigeria, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The ECOWAS Election Observation Mission (EOM) said Mali’s legislative elections of Sunday 24th November 2013, took place “in acceptable conditions of freedom and transparency.” In its Preliminary Declaration in Bamako on Monday, the 100-member Mission led by Prof. Amos Sawyer, former President of Liberia’s Government of National Unity, noted that the “shortcomings observed, did not in any significant way, affect the conduct of the election in line with globally acceptable standards.” “Though not intended, the disenfranchisement of some young voters and some electorate in the insecure north, as well as the…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM has received a donation of EUR 1.1 million from the European Union for a project which will help to fight child trafficking and gender- based violence (GBV) in Puntland, Somalia.Entitled “Prevention of Child Trafficking and Gender-based Violence, as well as Protection and Care for Victims in Somalia,” IOM, in coordination with key stakeholders in Puntland, will spearhead the project by raising awareness on both issues, support capacity building of the authorities, and provide direct assistance to child trafficking and GBV survivors.The prevalence of gender-based violence and child trafficking in Somalia…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Ethiopia has assisted over 21,000 Ethiopian returnees arriving home on Ethiopian government charter flights from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the past 12 days, following a KSA crackdown on undocumented migrants.Ethiopia began bringing migrant workers home from the KSA on November 13th. It is now flying up to 12 charters a day from the KSA to Addis Ababa.Four processing points have been set up by the government, with support from IOM, to assist the returnees. IOM provides them with overnight accommodation, food, water, shoes and money for transport…
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — “We consider the African Virtual University (AVU) Project very critical to the effort to improve access to higher education in Africa and are pleased to learn that the deliberations on the integration of e-learning and open education into mainstream education programs was fruitful,” concluded Stefan Muller, Lead Economist of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) (http://www.afdb.org) East Africa Regional Resource Center (EARC) during the first international conference African Virtual University organized from November 20-22, 2013 in Nairobi. Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/african-development-bank-2.pngUnder the topic “Integrating eLearning and Open Education to Increase Access to Quality Education…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IPU has welcomed the release of former Congolese opposition MP Pierre Jacques Chalupa but urges the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to resolve the issue of his nationality once and for all.Chalupa, who had spent all his life in the DRC and had been elected as an MP, had already served more than half of a three-year jail sentence for allegedly falsifying documents to gain nationality and met the conditions for “anticipated release” under Congolese law.In urgent need of medical assistance for some time, he was one of nearly 400 people…
NEW YORK, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Following is UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson’s briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Central African Republic today:I thank the Council for this opportunity to brief you on the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic.We face a profoundly important test of international solidarity and of our responsibility to prevent atrocities. A country in the heart of Africa is descending into complete chaos before our eyes. The situation requires prompt and decisive action to place protection of the people of the Central African Republic in the centre.That…
NEW YORK, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On 21 November 2013, the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1572 (2004) concerning Côte d’Ivoire considered the midterm report of the Group of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire dated 14 October 2013 (S/2013/605), which is available on the Committee’s website: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1572/CI_poe_ENG.shtml.In this connection, the Committee wishes to draw attention to the following recommendations included in the above-mentioned report which are addressed, inter alia, to all public and private banks and financial institutions:Recommendation 184 (individual sanctions): The Group recommends that all financial-related institutions in Côte d’Ivoire, including the tax and cadastral…
NDJAMENA, Chad, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The AU- UN Joint Special Representative/Joint Chief Mediator (JSR/JCM), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, met with Chadian President Idriss Déby in N’Djamena on 25 Novemberز Dr. Chambas briefed the President on the deteriorating security situation in Darfur and the attack on UNAMID the day before (24 November) where one Rwandese peacekeeper was killed by unknown elements. He reiterated the need for durable peace to end this seemingly intractable conflict and shared his plans to engage the non-signatory movements in a technical workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in December. He sought the support of…
WASHINGTON, November 26, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press StatementJohn KerrySecretary of StateWashington, DCNovember 25, 2013Mali has taken an important step forward by holding the first round of legislative elections. These elections speak volumes about the resilience of Mali’s democratic tradition and the progress it has made over the past two years.The United States applauds the Government of Mali for the technical improvements to the voting process it has implemented since the presidential elections in July and August.We call on Mali’s new government to build on these efforts in preparing for an anticipated second round of legislative elections on December…