“The lack of care, stigma, and administrative barriers, including in accessing medical and trauma services, rape kits, emergency contraception, and safe abortion performed by medical professionals, have resulted in dire consequences for survivors and repeated cycles of violence,” they emphasised.

The experts added that for those who have carried pregnancies to term, pre and post-partum services are “scarce, insecure, or entirely inaccessible”.

The many documented cases of sexual abuse, rape, enforced prostitution, sexual slavery, and unlawful killings by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other armed groups are occurring against the backdrop of catastrophic levels of humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

Since the conflict between militia and the national army began in April 2023, it has resulted in the displacement of 10.2 million people and 26 million are facing acute hunger.

Targeting of rights defenders

The UN experts also condemned the targeting of women human rights defenders and first responders who work to document violations and provide services to survivors.

From January to June 2024, at least nine of them were targeted by parties involved in the conflict.

“The layers of violence, including the arbitrary detention, arrests, violations of due process and fair trial, and killings of women first responders and rights defenders, are appalling and perpetuate a chilling effect on the delivery of services and processes to ensure documentation of human rights violations, accountability and justice,” the experts said.

They are calling for an end to the violence, improved humanitarian access to the affected population, and a swift and effective investigation of human rights violations.

‘Leadership of women must be ensured’

The meaningful leadership and participation of women in the conflict resolution process must be ensured by all parties in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1325, the rights experts said.

“Women are continuing to raise their voice to call for a ceasefire, unhindered access to humanitarian aid, and effective monitoring of both. Women’s meaningful participation must be advanced as a matter of their rights and in order to achieve lasting and sustainable peace,” they affirmed.

They have communicated these concerns to both the Government of Sudan and RSF generals.

Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on specific country situations. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure extends heartfelt congratulations to all the winners of the 2024 Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction (ERWIC) Awards. The Chairperson is encouraged by the evolution of this initiative, which began as a celebration of women thriving in a male-dominated construction sector. Over the years, it has grown into a vital platform for knowledge exchange, empowerment, and advocacy for a women’s voices in the construction industry.

Since their inception in 2020, ERWIC awards have been hosted by the Construction Industry Development Board and over the years the awards have gained momentum and significant growth. The awards encompass various categories recognising women mentors, women-led projects, and youth ownerships amongst women with the goal of supporting and uplifting extraordinary women dedicated to building the nation.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure, Ms Carol Phiri, said, “We salute the women who are at the forefront of driving excellence and transformation in the broader public works and infrastructure sector and playing their part in job creation and nation building.”

Ms Phiri added that the committee expects to receive a detailed report from the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure on the implementation of transformational plans within the construction sector before the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

Democratic Republic of Congo authorities should expand their investigation into security force personnel responsible for killing scores of people in eastern Congo one year ago, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should also provide prompt and adequate compensation to victims or their families.

On August 30, 2023, Congolese security forces killed at least 57 people in Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province. Most were members of a mystic religious group, the Natural Judaic and Messianic Faith Towards the Nations (Foi Naturelle Judaique et Messianique vers les Nations), who were preparing a protest against the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). A United Nations panel of experts and Human Rights Watch found that the actual death toll was most likely significantly higher. A military court in October found four soldiers, including a commanding officer, guilty of murder, but no further investigations appear to be ongoing and no victims have received compensation.

“One year on, Congolese authorities have successfully prosecuted several people for the 2023 Goma massacre, but the investigations have been severely limited, and no compensation has been paid to victims,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Establishing command responsibility and appropriately punishing all those responsible is crucial to preventing similar abuses in the future.”

On July 30, 2023, Ephraim Bisimwa, the leader of the mystic religious movement, announced a protest against MONUSCO to be held on August 30 to demand the UN mission’s departure by the end of the year due to its inability to stem protracted fighting in the east.

On August 23, the mayor of Goma issued a communiqué banning the protest. Bisimwa called off the demonstration and asked his members to meet at his church on the morning of August 30. The UN panel reported that the military and police chain of command sent down reports that the group’s protests were connected to rumored plans by the M23 rebel group and its Rwandan backers to destabilize the city. Since late 2022, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have committed unlawful killings, rape, and numerous other grave abuses in eastern Congo.

On August 30, between 3 and 4 a.m., Congolese soldiers raided a radio station affiliated with the movement in Goma’s Ndosho neighborhood. Bisimwa was at the station and used a WhatsApp message to inform his members of the raid. When soldiers took Bisimwa and eight others out of the station, his members arrived. Soldiers opened fire on them, killing six members outside the radio station, and then departed with Bisimwa and a colleague. Bisimwa later told Human Rights Watch: “They took us to the [Republican Guard]’s base where they tied us up, made us lie on the floor, then they threw water on us and beat us with sticks.”

Following the deadly raid, members of the group captured a police officer, bound his hands, and took him back to the group’s headquarters, commonly referred to as its temple.

In the confusion that followed, the police shot some members of the group, killing Bisimwa’s son. Some members then returned to the temple and killed the abducted police officer. Footage verified by Human Rights Watch shows the officer lying on the floor, hands tied, and curled up into a ball, while people beat him with sticks and threw rocks at him, killing him.

Soldiers arrived at the temple around 7 a.m. and Republican Guards followed. Col. Mike Mikombe, the Republican Guard commander in Goma, took over negotiations with a growing crowd. An officer who was there later told Human Rights Watch that once Mikombe arrived, tensions quickly arose.

Human Rights Watch verified a video filmed at the scene around 7 a.m. which shows Mikombe and Maj. Peter, commander of a Republican Guard special forces unit, addressing the members in an alley adjacent to the temple, flanked by special forces personnel. In the footage the soldiers are wearing full combat gear and carrying weapons. Witnesses said at least four drones were flying overhead.

Minutes after the arrival of the Republican Guard commanders, shooting began. “I don’t know what the colonel from the Republican Guard saw to give the order to shoot at us,” a group member said. Several witnesses reported that Mikombe lifted his handgun in the air and ordered Republican Guard soldiers to open fire. One man said Mikombe shouted, “Bofungola nzela!” (“Open the path!” in Lingala). Human Rights Watch research, including interviews with national army officials, indicated that the movement members were unarmed.

The soldiers fired with military assault rifles on the demonstrators and bystanders, killing and wounding dozens while others ran for cover. Many took refuge in neighboring houses or inside the temple around the corner. The gunfire was continuous for several minutes. Human Rights Watch verified a video filmed at the scene showing clouds of dust filling the alley as automatic gunfire is heard. Walls of surrounding houses and the temple were struck, killing and wounding people who were taking cover inside both. Human Rights Watch examined bullet holes in the walls of many houses at the scene.

A woman who took cover in her house with her younger brother said a woman and a boy were killed inside her compound, where they had sought safety. “I didn’t know them, and they didn’t seem to know each other either,” she said. “They had come to hide when the shooting began.”

Some people taking cover in houses filmed the immediate aftermath of the shooting on their cell phones. Several videos show numerous bodies on the streets. A man who witnessed the killings from a house near the temple said the soldiers walked among the bodies to check if anyone was still alive. “They would shoot at the wounded to kill them once and for all,” he said.

Immediately after the shooting stopped, soldiers loaded bodies onto at least one military truck. Video footage verified by Human Rights Watch shows soldiers dragging bodies along the street, pulling them by the legs or arms in a degrading manner. Additional footage shows them throwing bodies onto the trucks, piled onto one another. Several wounded people were also forced onto the same truck.

The soldiers rounded up dozens of people, including children, in the temple courtyard. Many were later arrested. Footage verified by Human Rights Watch shows members of the Republican Guards walking away with looted goods, furniture, and livestock on a street near the temple. Between 9:30 and 10 a.m., Republican Guards and other soldiers set the temple on fire. Human Rights Watch verified a video that shows the temple on fire.

In September and October, a military court tried Mikombe and five other soldiers. Three were sentenced to ten years in prison, while two others, including Mikombe’s deputy, were acquitted. On October 2, Mikombe was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.

The case against Mikombe did not address the role played by higher-ranking officers who might have ordered or otherwise be criminally liable for the crimes committed. The authorities did not establish an exhaustive count of the dead. They did not investigate allegations that soldiers executed wounded people or burned the temple. In its final report, the UN panel of experts raised doubts about the investigation.

Further investigations should be conducted to establish whether officers senior to Mikombe were liable for these crimes, Human Rights Watch said.

Because the North Kivu province is under military rule, a military court tried Bisimwa and 63 other movement members for killing the police officer. All were sentenced to 10 or more years in prison or to death. The UN panel of experts said no evidence was presented at the trial to link the defendants with direct participation in killing the officer. Bisimwa had been in military custody for several hours prior to the killing.

The government commuted all death sentences to life in prison.

Victims or their families should receive prompt and adequate compensation for their loss, Human Rights Watch said. A movement member whose wife was killed said: “I would like us to be compensated for the damage that has been done to us. Looking after seven children without their mother is something that is very difficult for me. We need assistance.”

In addition to expanding their investigation of those responsible for the government killings and providing compensation to victims, the Congolese authorities should address its crowd control measures. The military generally should not be used for law enforcement, a function for which the police are better trained. Any security forces used for crowd control should receive proper training, equipment, and oversight. The Congolese government should seek international support to ensure that its security forces abide by regional and international standards on the use of force.

“The victims of the Goma massacre still await accountability,” Mudge said. “All those responsible, regardless of rank or standing, should be prosecuted, and those harmed promptly and fairly compensated.”

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

President Cyril Ramaphosa will at the invitation of His Excellency President Xi Jinping undertake a State Visit to the People’s Republic of China and participate at the Forum on China – Africa Cooperation Summit (FOCAC).

The State Visit and FOCAC Summit will take place in Beijing from 2 – 5 September 2024.

President Cyril Ramaphosa hosted President Xi Jinping on his fourth State Visit to South Africa in August 2023 in the City of Tshwane, cementing twenty five years of strong bonds of friendship and cooperation the two countries enjoy since establishing formal diplomatic relations.

China is South Africa’s largest trading partner globally, while South Africa is China’s number one trading partner in Africa. Total bilateral trade grew from R614 billion in 2022 to R692 billion in 2023.

On Monday, 2 September 2024, President Ramaphosa’s State Visit to China officially commences with a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People. Ahead of the bilateral engagement, President Ramaphosa will lay a wreath at the Monument to the Peoples Heroes in Tiananmen Square in honour of Chinese revolutionaries.

South Africa and China’s  bilateral relations are maintained at the level of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) level, underpinned by a Ten-Year Strategic Programme of Cooperation (2020 – 2029).

South Africa and China will sign agreements that are aimed at enhancing economic cooperation and the implementation of technical cooperation, particularly in the fields of  human settlements, agriculture and science and technology.  

On Tuesday, 3 September 2024, President Ramaphosa will champion South Africa’s economic diplomacy with China by visiting Shenzhen, an economic technology hub in the Guangdong Province to interact with industry leaders and tour the headquarters of two tech companies as part of the bilateral business programme of the State Visit. 

The President will address the South Africa – China Business Forum on Wednesday, 4 September 2024, on the margins of the FOCAC in Beijing.

On Thursday, 5, September 2024, President Ramaphosa, will participate  in the FOCAC Summit held under the theme “Joining Hands to Advance Modernisation and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future”. 

The President will co- chair, with the Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Mr Wang Huning , the High Level Panel Seminar on “Accompanying Africa in Industrialization, Agricultural Modernization and Green Development to Embark on the path to Modernization”.

South Africa ‘s participation in FOCAC is driven by a constant advancement of Africa’s position on development as outlined by the African Union’s Agenda 2063: The Africa we Want and its related Flagship Programmes. 

A Declaration and Action Plan (2025-2027) will be issued as the outcome documents of the 2024 FOCAC Summit. 

The Ministers of International Relations and Cooperation, Science, Technology and Innovation; Human Settlements; Small Business Development; Presidency; Trade Industry and Competition; Electricity and Energy ; Public Works and Infrastructure; Higher Education ; Agriculture are accompanying the President to the China State Visit and FOCAC along Premiers of the Eastern Cape and Limpopo province as well as senior government officials.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa.