Day: April 1, 2022

ISLAMABAD, Experts from different countries at an online seminar, yesterday said, the strengthened relations between China and members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), will promote peace, harmony and development in the region and beyond.

The seminar, convened by Pakistani think tank Asian Institute of Eco-civilisation Research and Development, was attended by participants from countries including Pakistan, China, Iraq, Algeria and Germany.

Addressing the conference, Farrukh Iqbal Khan, a career diplomat of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that, China and Islamic countries need to build cooperation to combat multiple challenges in the changing global dynamics.

“China is an important global and regional player, both politically and economically…and in that role, China obviously engages with nearly every regional and multilateral organisation, for a mutually beneficial and respectable partnership,” Khan said.

The participation of Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in the 48th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC, recently held here, reflects China’s willingness to take friendship and cooperation with the Islamic world to new heights, South-west Asia Coordinator of the Schiller Institute, Hussein Askary, from Iraq, said.

China has been playing an important role in facilitating the development of Islamic countries, by launching a number of initiatives of economic value, both at bilateral and multilateral levels, hence prompting peace, stability and development, Askary said.

Smaine Djella, a researcher and an expert of political science and international relations from Algeria, said, the unity, justice, development, partnership and bridge building, the OIC promotes is in line with China’s vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

The enthusiasm of the OIC members to build a closer partnership with China heralds their trust on the Chinese leadership, he said.

He added that, China continues to extend a helping hand to Islamic countries, to bring peace, resolve conflicts and foster sustainable development, to lift the living standards of the common people.

Source: Nam News Network

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains one of the most complex and long-standing humanitarian crises in Africa, with some 5.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 526,370 refugees and asylum-seekers (mainly from Burundi, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan), as of December 2021. It is estimated that since 2016 there has been an average of one million new IDPs per year, in a cycle of returns and new displacements. At the same time, there are more than one million Congolese refugees and asylum-seekers hosted across the African continent, with the majority living in the seven neighbouring countries that are part of the DRC Regional Refugee Response Plan (RRRP): Angola, Burundi, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia. Most Congolese refugees have fled from the eastern areas of North and South Kivu and Ituri Provinces, and other areas in Kasai, Haut Katanga and Tanganyika Provinces.

Several parts of the country remain engulfed in violence and armed conflict, which are often accompanied by human rights violations and abuses, and breaches of international humanitarian law. Inter-communal conflicts amongst minority groups and armed groups typically affiliated with these communities, and military offensives by the Congolese national army, continue to trigger vast and repeated displacement of millions of people, especially in the east of the country.

Protection needs and root causes remain unresolved, limiting the overall potential for solutions in the most affected areas. Large influxes of population movements continue to overwhelm host communities, often already living in dire conditions, who share the little that they have. While host families have welcomed IDP families in their community, they also remain exposed to vulnerabilities and have limited access to services and livelihoods. A notable increase in human rights abuses was recorded for 2021 through UNHCR protection monitoring in the four eastern Provinces of the DRC: 8,233 incidents in Tanganyika Province, 15,055 in North Kivu Province, 17,129 in South Kivu Province and 27,443 in Ituri Province. These include physical attacks against civilians, killings, kidnappings for ransom, forced and child recruitment, sexual exploitation and abuse, looting, and gender-based violence (GBV), including rape. GBV remains a major concern in eastern DRC, with 2,661 cases reported through UNHCR’s protection monitoring in North and South Kivu, 1,115 in Ituri and 831 in Tanganyika in 2021. Across the country, GBV risks are compounded by a weak judicial system and widespread impunity, as well as gender inequality and social norms that are often discriminatory towards women; low participation of women in decision-making; a lack of livelihoods and education opportunities; and exposure of women to significant risks while collecting firewood and water, or when cultivating land. With significant socio-economic hardships, further exacerbated by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there has also been an increase in the sale and exchange of sex as a survival mechanism.

On top of this already precarious situation, in May 2021, the President of the Republic declared an état de siège (“state of siege”) for the Provinces of Ituri and North Kivu to address the deteriorating insecurity. This has been extended several times and is likely to generate significant population movements in 2022 due to military interventions.

Yet, there have also been encouraging signs as some areas in the Provinces of Haut-Katanga and Tanganyika have seen a progressive stabilisation and increased security, allowing for the gradual return of Congolese refugees from Zambia. More than 200 refugees voluntarily repatriated from Zambia’s Luapula Province to Pweto in Haut-Katanga in December 2021. Voluntary repatriation is expected to continue in 2022. However, the progressive withdrawal of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) from Tanganyika, expected to start in June 2022, risks increasing the overall insecurity of the area.

This situation in the DRC is further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola and measles outbreaks, severe food insecurity, and natural disasters, including the volcanic eruption of the Mount Nyiragongo volcano in the east of the country in May 2021. Looking forward, within a fragile socio-economic context, development challenges, and continuous instability characterized by serious threats of armed groups, the underlying drivers of displacement and humanitarian needs are expected to persist within the DRC, and in countries hosting Congolese refugees and asylum-seekers.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

RABAT, Morocco has inaugurated the International Centre for Research on the Prevention of Child Soldiers with the aim of contributing to the fight against the recruitment of child soldiers, through the dissemination of research to be carried out by the Center.

Speaking at the inaugural conference of the Centre, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita stated that the creation of the Center, was to contribute to the debate by formulating concrete proposals for the security-development and coordination of efforts of the international community.

Bourita added that the objective of the Centre is to provide accurate, qualitative and quantitative data to formulate an informed action through academic research.

The Minister further noted that the Polisario-forced recruitment of children in the camps of Tindouf fuels instability in North Africa and the Sahel.

He said the indoctrination and enlistment of children by the “Polisario” armed militia is an inhuman crime, and a denial of the basic rights of the children recruited, as well as a flagrant violation of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council on this matter, he said.

Bourita further called for an end to impunity for those responsible for the recruitment and criminal use of children and other grave violations, by supporting systematic UN monitoring and reporting of child rights violations in conflicts.

He stated that the proportion of children living in conflict zones who are at risk of recruitment and use by armed groups has tripled from less than 5% in 1990 (99 million children) to more than 14% in 2020 (337 million children).

“The problem of child soldiers is neither marginal nor circumstantial and contrary to popular belief, this phenomenon is not exclusive to Africa,” he added, noting that children take part in 75% of conflicts in the world, more than 460 million children live in a conflict zone in 2022 and more than 15% of child soldiers are girls.

“In the last 25 years, 170,000 children have been released from armed groups. However, only a limited number of former child soldiers have been identified in a limited number of countries surveyed,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Center, Abdelkader Filali on his part stressed that the Center will focus its missions on studies, research and consultations on the prevention and exploitation of children in conflict zones.

Filali, also a professor at the University of Ottawa, noted that this structure will be equipped with mechanisms for international advocacy within United Nations organizations in the various fora, in collaboration with civil society around the world and civil authorities working in this area.

According to him, the Research Center has executives, academicians and university graduates who will be equipped with mechanisms for monitoring the various violations in conflict zones around the world.

The International Center for Research on the Prevention of Child Soldiers will join efforts with United Nations agencies, international and regional organizations, international networks and civil society to develop a common research program in order to address the vulnerability of children who are exploited and used in armed conflicts.

Through academic research, partnerships and collaborations, the Center will deploy strategies to deal with all forms of enlistment of children and conduct an assessment and census of unregistered child soldiers, while offering innovative solutions to combat their exploitation in armed conflicts.

The Center will also focus on research on the African continent, with the aim of disseminating data on a large scale.

Source: Nam News Network

London, Bruno Fernandes signed a contract extension to stay at Manchester United through at least the 2025-26 season, the Premier League club said Friday.

The new deal adds only one season to the long-term contract Fernandes signed when he arrived from Sporting Lisbon in January 2020 but includes an option for an additional year. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The 27-year-old Portugal midfielder, who has tallied 49 goals and 39 assists in 117 games with United, is seen as a key part of the club’s future as it looks to hire a permanent manager this summer, said AP.

Sixth-place United is four points back of Arsenal in fourth for the final Champions League spot and hosts Leicester on Saturday. United was knocked out of Europe’s top club competition by Atlético Madrid last month.

United director of football John Murtough noted Fernandes’ “importance to Manchester United.”

“Bruno’s work rate, dedication and fantastic attitude are exactly what we want from a Manchester United player,” Murtough said. “Bruno, like everyone across the football club, remains hugely ambitious and determined to deliver sustained success on the pitch to get us back to challenging for titles.”

Source: Bahrain News Agency