Trade stakeholders from both regional and national levels have gathered in Abuja, Nigeria, for a three-day meeting from July 9th to 11th, 2024, to review and amend the Draft ECOWAS Common Trade Policy (CTP). This initiative follows recommendations from Trade Expert’s meetings and the Joint Meetings of the ECOWAS Ministers of Trade and Industry held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, last year. The technical working group will also draft the Strategic Action Plan for the Draft ECOWAS Common Trade Policy, ensuring both documents are ready for presentation to the ECOWAS Ministers of Trade for validation.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Kolawole Sofola, the ECOWAS Director of Trade, speaking on behalf of Madame Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, emphasized the importance of ownership among participants. He called for the enhancement of the quality of the final document, ensuring that the amendments reflect national interests that promote regional integration to improve the social and economic standards of living for citizens.

Director Sofola highlighted the significant milestones achieved with the drafting of the policy, which aims to make trade a vital component of the economic lives of the people and the regional integration agenda. He noted that despite various interventions, policies, strategies, and initiatives aimed at increasing intra-regional trade, diversification, and market access, such as the ETLS, CET, and WACIP, intra-regional trade remains around 7 percent, with regional currencies depreciating against major currencies and high inflation rates.

“We are hopeful, however, that the adoption of a number of trade policy instruments such as the E-Commerce and the AfCFTA Implementation Strategies and action plans by our statutory bodies in 2023, will, together with the CTP, help spur more economic growth and integration for our region,” Mr. Sofola said. “Furthermore, when adopted, the CTP will provide a common framework for our trade relations even with third parties, and attract, sustain, and leverage investment both foreign and domestic.”

He praised West Africa as an emerging player in continental and global trade with all 15 Member States have signed the AfCFTA, and 14, except Benin, have ratified it. We are renegotiating our tariff at the multilateral level, which is expected to avail us yet another opportunity to harness our region’s industrialization and value addition potentials,” he stated.

Hajiya Zulaikha Abdullahi, Deputy Director Intra-Africa Branch/Trade Information and Complaints (TIC) Division represented Mr. S.O.Gana Tuayeringha, Head, Trade department from the Nigerian Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in her opening remarks, reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to the ECOWAS integration agenda, with its Trade Policy of 2023-2027, which aligns closely with the objectives of the ECOWAS CTP. “Nigeria is dedicated to promoting regional economic integration, enhancing market access, and facilitating sustainable development through trade,” she added.

She emphasized the importance of the trade policy, calling it the cornerstone in enhancing intra-regional trade, removing barriers, and fostering a conducive environment for economic growth and development across member states.

The director urged experts to leverage this unique opportunity to consolidate their efforts and ensure that the policy reflects shared aspirations for a prosperous West African region, addresses outstanding issues, streamlines approaches, and lays the groundwork for a policy that reflects the aspirations of diverse populations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

South Sudan is on alert for a looming human and climate disaster in coming months with the world’s youngest country expected to suffer its worst floods in 60 years that will drive parts of the country to the brink of famine, said Save the Children.

The child rights agency is warning of a devastating large-scale hunger crisis among children in South Sudan, in response to new data released yesterday by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network [FEWS NET] which shows massive floods will contribute to a risk of famine in South Sudan from June 2024 until January 2025. 

Families in the areas expected to be worst impacted have already been battling years of conflict, hunger, rising food prices, previous floods, and, more recently, an recent influx of refugees and returnees from the 15-month conflict  raging in Sudan.

Despite a peace deal in South Sudan in 2018, the country is still facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with about 9 million people – about 75% of the population ­– including nearly 5 million children – in need of humanitarian assistance.

Unity State, a low-lying and flood prone region in the central northern part of the country, has been listed as particularly vulnerable to famine. The last formal declaration of famine anywhere in the world was in parts of Unity State in February 2017, where nearly 80,000 people faced famine conditions and mass deaths were only averted by an effective and rapid aid response.

The predicted famine is being driven in part by a major flooding event, which is expected to exceed the floods of 2020 and 2022. Current water levels in Lake Victoria, a source of the Nile, have reached a 128-year high, with the government of South Sudan issuing a warning that water released from the lake will flood vast parts of the country in the latter part of 2024. FEWS-NET estimates that the area impacted by flooding could exceed 65,000 km2 – or the equivalent of the entire land area of Sri Lanka.

Pornpun Jib Rabiltossaporn, Save the Children South Sudan Country Director, said:

“A horror scenario is unfolding in South Sudan. While floods are part of life for families in much of the country, we are seeing a situation where the floods will be so extreme, over such vast patches of land, that entire communities will be marooned from assistance. In some villages, families won’t be able to travel the distance required by boat to search for food, or an income, for months.

“With already extreme levels of hunger and malnutrition in children across South Sudan, and a massive conflict over the border forcing hundreds of thousands of people into crowded refugee camps, in all likelihood we will see children start to die from hunger-related illnesses as the flooding takes hold.  

“Save the Children is urgently finalising its flood anticipatory and response plan, prepping communities and prioritising the most vulnerable high-risk locations. However the alarm isn’t being heard widely enough. There is imminent disaster threatening communities in South Sudan. Unless there is an urgent scaling up of funding for preparation work, the upcoming floods are guaranteed to wreak havoc. We are going to see a large number of homes destroyed, roads and low-lying settlements flooded, and monumental levels of hunger.”

Across the border in Sudan, the fighting which broke out in April last year shows no signs of abating, with reports of massive casualties and extensive damage to critical infrastructure.  More than 700,000 people have crossed into South Sudan from Sudan in a bid to escape the horrific violence that continues in one of the world’s most neglected conflicts, according to the UN. Almost all have crossed through the Joda border crossing into Renk county in South Sudan which is already struggling with its own food crisis.

Besides Unity state, the flooding is projected to affect areas where many people are already vulnerable, including Jonglei, Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile and Warrap states. People in most of these locations are already vulnerable due to multiple impacts, including previous flooding, conflict, displacement, food insecurity, and an influx of refugees and returnees conflict in Sudan.

Save the Children has worked in South Sudan since 1991. The child rights organisation provides children with access to education, healthcare and nutritional support, and families with food security and livelihoods assistance. In 2023, the organisation’s programmes reached over 1.9 million people including 1.1 million children and this year Save the Children hopes to reach 1.4 million people in South Sudan. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.

After over a year of violent incidents both inside and outside the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)-supported Turkish Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan – including threats made against the lives of MSF staff – MSF has taken the decision to evacuate our team from the hospital. This decision has not been taken lightly.

Amidst the ongoing war in Sudan, MSF had managed to provide continuous, hands-on, lifesaving treatment in the facility for almost 14 months, despite many, often deliberate, obstructions from the warring parties. However, as a result of recent events, this hands-on support is now no longer possible.

“The situation in the Turkish hospital, located in a Rapid Support Forces-controlled area, has become untenable,” says Claire Nicolet, head of MSF’s emergency response in Sudan. “Multiple violent incidents have taken place inside and outside the premises over the past 12 months, and the lives of our staff have been repeatedly threatened.”

“Most-recently, on the nights of 17 and 18 June, dozens of wounded combatants were brought to the Turkish hospital, and our team was aggressively woken up as Kalashnikovs were fired into their bedrooms,” says Nicolet. “This type of violence against our staff is unacceptable.”

“Hospitals and health facilities should be protected and respected by the warring parties as sanctuaries for the sick and wounded where health workers can safely deliver medical care,” continues Nicolet. “They cannot have their lives put at-risk as they try to save the lives of other people.”

Over the past year, MSF staff working at the Turkish hospital have been frequently harassed both inside the facility and on the street going to and from work. Many have been threatened with arrest. At the start of June, one MSF employee was arrested inside the hospital by two armed men, taken to an unknown location, and severely beaten.

“The team are physically and mentally exhausted. Due to the blockade that has been imposed by the Sudanese authorities since September – forbidding the transportation of medical supplies and humanitarian personnel into Rapid Support Forces-controlled areas – the team in the Turkish hospital have been working without a break for the past 10 months,” Nicolet explains. “The blockade means it has not been possible for us to bring in a new team to replace them, and they have been working tirelessly to keep the hospital open under intense pressure.”

The Turkish hospital remains open thanks to the presence of the Ministry of Health staff.  However, surgery will no longer be possible without the presence of the MSF staff who have been evacuated, and the future of the hospital is uncertain.

Since the start of the war, the Turkish hospital has been a crucial part of the health system, serving patients not only from Khartoum, but also from as far away as Wad Madani in Al-Jazirah state. MSF was also forced to suspend operations there in May 2024, due to repeated security incidents and obstructions to bring in staff and supplies, similar to those impacting Khartoum.

Before MSF established an emergency room and expanded the capacity of the operating theatre in the Turkish hospital in mid-May 2023, it was a specialist women’s and children’s hospital. Almost 80 per cent of all surgical procedures in the hospital over the past year were lifesaving caesarean sections for women experiencing complications during pregnancy and childbirth. As a result of these repeated security incidents, all surgery in the hospital has now stopped.

MSF also provided ante-natal care, post-natal care, family planning, ran the paediatric intensive care unit, the inpatient therapeutic feeding centre for children with severe acute malnutrition, and the neonatal unit – the only neonatal unit in the whole of Khartoum. MSF’s hands-on support to these activities has also now been suspended.

Bashair Teaching hospital in Khartoum, also supported by MSF, has faced multiple armed incursions over the past few months as well, and between October 2023 and January 2024, MSF was forced to suspend surgery in the hospital. MSF continues to work in this hospital in spite of these incidents. The security situation across the board has deteriorated significantly, and in Khartoum especially.    
 
MSF urges the warring parties to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure – including hospitals and other health structures. For facilities that are able to remain operational, it is vital that medical supplies and humanitarian workers are provided with the necessary permits to be able to move across frontlines. Due to the ongoing blockade imposed on humanitarian organisations by the Sudanese authorities, many facilities are struggling to remain open and the lives and health of millions of people in Khartoum and other parts of the country are at risk. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

Zimbabwe’s army commander has openly stated that the country’s security forces intend to play a partisan political role, threatening future elections and those participating in them, Human Rights Watch said today.

On June 29, 2024, the Zimbabwe National Army commander, Lt. General Anselem Sanyatwe, was quoted as saying that people would be marched to polling stations “whether you like it or not,” and that the ruling party, ZANU-PF, would “rule forever.” Since the August 2023 general election, in which ZANU-PF failed to win an outright majority in parliament, the country has witnessed several by-elections in constituencies where opposition members of parliament were dismissed in a bizarre ploy. The dismissals were seen as an attempt to tilt the balance of power in ZANU-PF’s favor.

“The Zimbabwe military commander’s open endorsement of the ruling party not only threatens the fairness of elections but opens the door for security force abuses against voters, the opposition, and civil society organizations,” said Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “Zimbabwe’s security forces need to comply with the country’s laws and regulations that uphold its international human rights obligations to ensure that elections are free and fair.”

For decades, Zimbabwe’s military and other state security forces have interfered in the nation’s political and electoral affairs in violation of citizens’ civil and political rights. Zimbabwe’s constitution states that no member of the security services in exercising their functions may act in a partisan manner, further the interests of any political party, or cause or violate anyone’s fundamental rights or freedoms. However, senior members of the security forces have routinely ignored these provisions with impunity.

The government should take urgent steps to end the military’s participation in partisan politics, including by disciplining or prosecuting military officers who violate laws and regulations that prohibit the security forces from directly supporting any political party.

Zimbabwe has a history of elections that fall far short of international and regional standards, characterized by the involvement of the military in deeply flawed electoral processes. The government has not remedied some of the flaws of the August 2023 election that Southern African Development Community (SADC) observers documented.

Election periods in Zimbabwe, especially in 1985, 1990, 2000, 2002, 2005, and 2008, were characterized by widespread political violence, committed mainly by ZANU-PF, its allies, and government security agencies, including sections of the army.

These problems were particularly evident during the 2008 elections, when the army was credibly implicated in numerous systematic abuses that led to the killing of up to 200 people, the beating and torture of 5,000 more, and the displacement of 36,000.

The 2017 coup against President Robert Mugabe further entrenched the military in its partisanship with the ruling party and interference in civilian affairs. The military leadership and some sections of the army have, since the coup, taken highly visible steps that adversely affect the political environment.

Lt. General Sanyatwe’s recent statements that militate against the holding of free, fair, and credible elections raise the urgency to carry out reforms to ensure that state security forces do not threaten future democratic elections and the electoral affairs of the country, Human Rights Watch said.

Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Zimbabwe is party, states that every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without discrimination because of political opinion or other unreasonable restrictions, “to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors.”

SADC heads of state, who will meet on August 17 in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, for their 44th summit, should press the Zimbabwe government to ensure the political neutrality of its security forces and noninterference in the country’s civilian and electoral affairs.

Zimbabwe is party to the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, established to promote regular free and fair, transparent, credible and peaceful democratic elections. Under these principles, countries commit to take all necessary measures and precautions to prevent political violence, intolerance and intimidation, including ensuring the neutrality of security forces in providing election security.

“Security force commanders need to speak and act in a manner that reflects a strictly neutral political position in accordance with Zimbabwe’s constitution and international law,” Ngari said. “Authorities should take appropriate disciplinary action against officers in the security forces, regardless of rank, who violate laws and regulations prohibiting partisan conduct.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).