(WASHINGTON) � Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir will be arrested if he sets foot in South Africa, a foreign ministry official in Pretoria said today.

Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir (AFP)

Al-Bashir is charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Sudan�s Western region of Darfur.

The arrest warrant places an obligation on all countries including 30 African states that ratified the Rome Statute, which is the founding text of the court.

However, this month the African Union (AU) issued a resolution instructing its members not to cooperate with the ICC in executing the warrant.

The AU said that the resolution was adopted by consensus though later some countries including Botswana, Chad and Uganda said they are committed to the Rome Statute.

South African officials said they backed the resolution but that it had to be ratified by the parliament before it is effective. However, last week officials there said that they are waiting for the opinion of its legal experts before making a final position on the issue after NGO�s in the country questioned the legality of the AU resolution.

The South African Foreign ministry director-general Ayande Ntsaluba said that his government does not agree with the issuing of the warrant, but �we have certain international obligations�

�Not only that, our Parliament passed a law� enforcing those obligations, Ntsaluba said. �I cannot foresee the government acting outside the framework of the law. We would not renege on our international legal obligations.�

Following the AU resolution, Sudan said that South African position on the ICC warrant has changed since last May when Bashir was warned that he would be arrested if he tried to attend President Jacob Zuma�s inauguration.

�Maybe at one point, the new South African government expressed some negative views … As South Africa was part of the decision at Sirte, it implies that this means he would be able to travel there� the Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson Ali Al-Sadiq said.

However, the South African official stressed that Bashir cannot be safe travelling there.

�It [the law] is extremely explicit about what would happen� Ntsaluba said.

�If today President Al-Bashir landed in terms of the provision [of the Rome Statute] he would have to be arrested�.

He added that he had chosen his words carefully because he did not want to sensationalize an issue that was abstract.

�I don�t want to create sensationalism out of an imaginary situation,� said Ntsaluba

The South African official said that the AU will continue to press the UN Security Council (UNSC) for deferring Bashir�s indictment within the confines of international commitments and South Africa�s own constitutional mandate.

The AU has said that their decision on halting cooperation with the ICC is spurred by the UNSC ignoring their request for the suspension.

The new position by South Africa comes as more than 130 civil society and human rights groups across Africa issued a statement today calling on African governments that are signatories to reaffirm their commitment and obligation to the ICC.

�The AU�s decision that states should not cooperate with the ICC threatens to block justice for victims of the worst crimes committed on the continent,� said James Gondi of the Eastern Africa International Criminal Justice Initiative in Nairobi.

�We urge our governments to reaffirm their commitment to fighting impunity by supporting and cooperating with the ICC,� said Oby Nwankwo of Nigeria�s Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre.

The AU decision is contrary to its own constitutive act, which rejects impunity, the group statement said. It also noted that the AU decision was inconsistent with the obligations under the ICC statute that all states parties cooperate with the ICC, including in the arrest and surrender of criminal suspects.

�The ICC remains a crucial court of last resort for Africa when national courts are unable or unwilling to bring justice for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,� said Anton du Plessis of South Africa�s Institute for Security Studies.

Some African figures have accused the ICC of targeting the continent while ignoring right abuses elsewhere.

Three of the four cases handled by the ICC came at the request of the respective states including Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR).

The Darfur case was referred to the ICC by the UNSC under a Chapter VII resolution since Sudan is not a state party to the Rome Statue.

(ST)

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Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang’ addresses journalists at his office. He was on Thursday barred from accessing an exit point by Sudanese soldiers. PHOTO/MICHAEL MUTE

A new twist in dealing with race issues has come to be. If you have no way to be invited to the White House, you simply start a race row and you may be lucky to be invited to a “Beer Summit” by President Obama. When there, you choose your brand of beer, make peace, get an opportunity to chat with Obama and may be a photo-opportunity with him. What a way to run politics! It is easy if it can be done this way. (API)

Cambridge Police Sergeants James Crowley (L) and Leon Lashley walk off stage after a news conference with representatives of various police unions in Cambridge, Massachusetts July 24, 2009. Sergeant Lashley was on the scene last week when Sergeant Crowley arrested prominent black scholar and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. after responding to a call about a break-in at Gates’ home in Cambridge. REUTERS

A �beer summit� to discuss racial differences is what US President Barrack Obama was hosting at the White House Thursday evening.

Photo: ReliefWeb

Africa’s meningitis belt: At least 18 people have died and 63 others infected following an outbreak in Ethiopia’s Amhara region

ADDIS ABABA,� – An outbreak of meningitis has killed 18 people and infected 63 in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region, officials said.

“The disease broke out in two villages under Kelela woreda [district] of South Wollo zone,� said Milliyon Wendabeku, a medical expert with the Public Health Emergency Management Sector of the Ministry of Health.

The ministry first received reports of the outbreak on 17 July, detailing the symptoms of the disease as fever, headache, neck stiffness and vomiting.

�The symptoms are related to meningitis diseases,� Milliyon told a news conference in Addis Ababa on 29 July.

He said that upon receipt of the report, the ministry sent a medical team – drawn from its staff and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) – to the area. The team examined 147 suspected cases of meningitis.

“During the medical examination, the team confirmed that 81 people were infected with the disease,� Milliyon said. “Out of the 81 patients, 18 of them have since died.”

Ethiopia is one of the countries considered by WHO to be in the �meningitis belt” – stretching from Senegal in West Africa to the Horn of Africa.

According to WHO, “meningitis belt” epidemics typically start during the dry season, from January to March, and end at the onset of the rainy season, from May to June.

Milliyon said the major problem with the latest outbreak – said to have lasted from late June to mid-July – was lack of transportation and communication logistics, which, he said, had delayed treatment efforts.

He said the arrival of the medical team in Amhara region resulted in the opening of a temporary medical station and improved the treatment of the disease. The team also vaccinated an estimated 9,000 people in the area.

“Thirty patients were admitted and recovered in the temporary medical station,” Milliyon said. “We have not seen any new patient in the last three days and no death has been reported.�

Ahmed Imano, head of public relations in the Ministry of Health, said Amhara region had the capacity to treat up to 300,000 people.

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Photo: Contributor/IRIN

Villagers gather on a highway in the southern Philippine town of Pigcawayan as floodwaters which swamped the road bring debris. About 160,000 families have been affected in the southern island of Mindanao because of flash floods

MANILA,� – Heavy rains across the southern Philippines have resulted in massive flooding in many low-lying areas of Mindanao Island, with villagers either marooned inside their houses by waist-deep waters or forced to evacuate, according to disaster relief officials on 30 July.

Large swathes of farmland covering more than 2,486ha in the central Mindanao towns of Pigcawayan, Alamada, Libungan, Midsayap, Aleosan, Pikit and Tamontaka have also been damaged by floods, according to the Office of Civil Defence in Manila.

Some 40 houses were destroyed in the town of Sultan Mastura in Maguindanao province, where tens of thousands have already been displaced by almost a year of fighting between government forces and separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels.

Some 159,775 people in central Mindanao or about 31,955 families have been affected so far, and while flooding in some areas has subsided, large parts remain inundated, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, said.

The department said relief and medical supplies were being rushed to the area while makeshift soup kitchens have also been set up in schools converted into evacuation centres.

Bai Soraida Ampatuan, regional social welfare secretary, said disaster relief officials were struggling to assist families hardest hit by the flash floods. She said some families had opted to stay inside their inundated homes, but many had moved to evacuation centres.

Photo: Google Maps

A map of the Philippines and surrounding countries highlighting Mindanao island

“If the rains continue, the number of evacuees might increase,” Ampatuan said. She said among the hardest hit was Maguindanao Province, where more than 100 villages were still knee- or waist-deep in water.

In the nearby province of North Cotabato, meanwhile, 15 of 17 towns have been placed under a �state of calamity� by Governor Jesus Sacdalan, who promptly released more than US$400,000 in funds for emergency relief assistance.

Dhona Salvacion, a resident of Sultan Kudarat town, said her house had been submerged for about a week. She said more than 100 families in her village had been marooned and were awaiting assistance.

“We hope the rains stop soon,” she told IRIN, but pointed that out even if the weather clears, their low-lying village has historically been a catchbasin for waters cascading down from upland townships. It also sits along the Simuay River, which often breaks its banks.

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Photo: Khaled Nahiz/IRIN

Hundreds of schools have been used as voting stations in Afghan elections (file photo)

KABUL,� – The use of schools as polling and vote-counting stations during Afghanistan�s upcoming elections could provoke anti-education activities, an Afghan rights watchdog warns.

Polling for simultaneous presidential and provincial councils has been scheduled for 20 August and hundreds of schools across the country will be used as voting and vote-counting centres, according to Afghanistan�s Independent Elections Commission (IEC).

�Because Afghan and international security forces will be involved in the protection of voting centres and also because the election is a strong political process, which is backed by the government and its international backers, insurgent attackers may not distinguish schools from other voting centres,� states a briefing paper issued by the Kabul-based Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) on 29 July.

While the insurgents have vowed to attack the election process and those involved, attacks on education facilities have already risen significantly this year.

From January to 30 June 2009, 123 schools were targeted by insurgents and 51 had received threats, ARM said, citing the UN Children�s Fund (UNICEF). �At least 60 students and teachers were killed and 204 were wounded in security incidents in the same period.�

More than 400 schools, mostly in the volatile south, have remained closed due to insecurity, the Ministry of Education (MoE) said.

To mitigate possible security implications of the elections, ARM suggests the use of mosques and other locations as voting stations and calls on Afghan and international forces to reduce their presence at schools.

Abdul Saboor Ghufrani, an MoE official, said assessments were under way to gauge the security implications for schools.

�If students and teachers face serious risks we would ask for schools not to be used in the election process,� he told IRIN.

Previously the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) had voiced similar concerns about the use of health facilities in the process. MoPH had said voters� registration, polling and vote counting in the health centres could expose health workers to high risk.

Child victims overlooked

Civilians have increasingly been affected by worsening insecurity in the country, according to the UN and NGOs.

According to ARM, more than 1,100 non-combatants, including 242 children, lost their lives in the conflict from January to end-June 2009.

�Child victims of the conflict are often overlooked by the warring parties and little has been done to alleviate their suffering,� Ajmal Samadi, ARM�s director, told IRIN.

�International military actors and the Afghan government have failed to protect and support child victims of their military activities while the insurgents have systematically used children as suicide attackers, foot soldiers, human shields and for other military purposes,� he said.

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Photo: Anna Jefferys/IRIN

Staff at the Rainbo centre, a sexual abuse clinic, say women’s low status in society is one of the reasons for rampant abuse (file photo)

FREETOWN,� – Sierra Leone in 2007 passed innovative laws aimed at reinforcing women�s rights and clamping down on sexual violence, but as the government and social services struggle to implement the laws crimes against women remain rampant, officials say.

Up to 67 percent of urban Sierra Leonean women were victims of domestic violence in 2008, Fatu Kargbo, a director in the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children�s Affairs (MSWBCA) told IRIN.

Isha Bangura, director of the police Family Support Unit (FSU) � which receives most domestic abuse reports � said the most common domestic complaint they receive is physical violence.

�Most of the time women and girls are abused by people they know�[The perpetrators] are rarely strangers,� said Eunice Whenzle, who heads the Rainbo Centre, a counseling and treatment clinic for raped and battered women in the capital Freetown. �We also see cases of incest,� she said.

Rainbo Centre staff in the capital Freetown and in Koidu, Kailahun and Kenema are also seeing an increase in the number of teenage girls pregnant from rape on the rise, Whenzle said.

The 2007 Gender Act included a bill making violence or sexual abuse against women, including within marriage, a criminal act. Government officials and NGOs IRIN spoke with agree the act marks progress, but they could cite no cases where it has been used to successfully prosecute violators.

This is partly because there are so few lawyers or judges. In eastern Sierra Leone�s Kailahun district, one magistrate services 360,000 people. He processes eight cases a day and often has to gather his own evidence when police evidence is insufficient, according to Rainbo�s annual report.

Too often cases are dismissed before they enter a court at all, says the FSU�s Bangura. Rape cases require a medical certificate but this is difficult to obtain in a country with one doctor for every 18,000 people according to the World Health Organization. Referral systems between the police, health services and the courts are often unclear or not standardized, leaving many women confused, according Bangura.

The FSU cannot cope. �My unit is seriously under-resourced to cope with all the gender-based violence,� Bangura said. �The basic structures, including equipment to collect accurate data, are insufficient.�

Freetown�s Rainbo Centre clinic treats and follows up on 70 sexual abuse cases each day, according to Whenzle.

Families usually dissuade women and girls from reporting sexual violence, urging them to settle out of court or turn to �traditional justice�, said the MSWBCA�s Kargbo; this usually involves a discussion, payment and a ban on future contact.

This fosters impunity, she said. �If punitive action is not taken against violators of the gender act, incidences will continue unchecked.�

Coordination

Though lack of capacity remains a barrier, political will is mounting to reduce sexual violence, said FSU director Bangura.

The MSWBCA in 2008 set up a national committee, with NGO and UN agencies participating, to coordinate the fight against sexual violence.

�It [the committee] has been instrumental because it has brought all the other agencies working on gender-based violence together to make sure we�re all focusing in the same direction,� said the Rainbo Centre�s Whenzle.

The traditional perception in domestic [abuse] cases is that women should accept what is happening to them

To date committee members such as the UN Children�s Fund (UNICEF), Rainbo Centre and other NGOs have helped facilitate referrals among police, doctors, lawyers and counselors and trained health workers in examinations for sexual violence and police in how to prosecute cases, said UNICEF�s child protection officer in Sierra Leone Rosina Conteh.

But real improvement requires a change in attitudes toward women, who have low status in Sierra Leone society, Whenzle said. With just one in four women able to read or write, many are unaware of their rights, she said. �The traditional perception in domestic [abuse] cases is that women should accept what is happening to them. We are trying to change that.�

Many blame violence on the civil war, which was notorious for its rape and attacks on civilians. But the government�s Kargbo said it goes back further. �Long before the war, violence [against women] has been the order of the day in both urban and rural areas.�

The media, traditional leaders, women�s activists, human rights groups and NGOs must work together to change attitudes, she said. �Making the gender law effective cannot happen overnight�it requires a long-term investment to change culturally-engrained practices.� She added: �The act took four years to pass through parliament, now we need more time to popularize it.�

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