Africa

AGREEMENT ON OUTSTANDING ISSUES OF GOVERNANCE

Agreement on Outstanding Issues of Governance

Mindful of their commitment under the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011 to lay the foundation for a united, peaceful and prosperous society based on justice, equality, respect for human rights and the rule of law,

Deeply regretting the scale of untold human suffering that had befallen their country and people as a result of disregarding this commitment,

Determined to compensate their people by recommitting themselves to peace and constitutionalism and not to repeat mistakes of the past,

Cognizant of the prime significance of preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country,

Confirming the commitments that they have solemnly undertaken in the Khartoum Declaration and the ARCSS,

The Transitional Government of National Unity of the Republic of South Sudan (TGoNU) the Sudan People's Liberation Movement Army-In Opposition (SPLM/ A-IO), the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), Former Detainees (FDs), Other Political Parties (OPP), referred to hereinafter collectively as the Parties, confirm their commitment to the agreed part of the Revised Bridging Proposal and hereby resolve as follows the outstanding issues on governance:

1. The Presidency:
1.1. At the beginning of the Transitional Period:
a. H.E. Salva Kiir Mayardit shall continue as President of the Republic of South Sudan.
b. The Chairman of SPLM/A-1O Dr Riek Machar Teny shall assume the
position of the First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan.
1.2. During the Transitional Period there shall be four Vice Presidents of the Republic of South Sudan who shall be nominated as follows:

a. Vice President to be nominated by incumbent TGoNU.
b. Vice President to be nominated by SS0A.
c. Vice President to be nominated by Incumbent TGoNU.
d. Vice President to be nominated by FDs, who shall be a woman.
1.3. Apart from the First Vice President, there shall be no hierarchy among Vice Presidents. The ranking in 1.2 above is for protocol purposes only.
1.4. Decision making in the Presidency shall be in a spirit of collegial collaboration. However, the powers and functions of the President, First Vice President, and Vice Presidents shall be delineated along the provisions of the ARCSS 2015.
1.5. The First Vice President and Vice Presidents shall oversee respectively the Cabinet Clusters as follows:
(a) First Vice President: Governance Cluster.
(b) Vice President: Economic Cluster.
(c) Vice President: Services Delivery Cluster.
(d) Vice President Infrastructure Cluster.
(e) Vice President: Gender and Youth Cluster.

2. The Revitalized TGoNU:
2.1. The Council of Ministers shall be comprised thirty-five (35) Ministers organized in the abovementioned five (5) clusters.
2.2. The Infrastructure Cluster shall include Ministries of Energy and Dams; Transport; Roads and Bridges; and Information, Communication Technology and Postal Services.
2.3. The Gender and Youth Cluster shall include the Ministries of Gender, Child and Social Welfare; and Culture, Youth, and Sports.
2.4. The additional five Ministries and their clustering shall be agreed by the Parties before or during the Pre-Transitional Period further to a proposal to be drawn by the IGAD and shall be included in the Revitalized ARCSS.
2.5. The Ministerial positions shall be selected as follows:
a. Incumbent TGoNU: 20 Ministers.
b. SPLM/A-IO : 09Ministers.
c. SSOA: 03 Ministers.
d. FDs: 02 Ministers.
e. OPP: 0l Minister.
2.6. There shall be ten (10) Deputy Ministers in the following Ministries:
a. Cabinet Affairs.
b. Foreign Affairs.
c. Defense.
d. Interior.
e. Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
f. Finance.
g. Agricultural and Food Security.
h. General Educational and Instruction.
i. Public Services and Human Resource Development
j. Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
2.7. Deputy Ministers shall be nominated by the Parties by rotation from the above list according to the following ratio:
a. TGoNU: five (5) Deputy Ministers.
b. SPLM/ A-1O: three(3) Deputy Ministers.
c. S.SOA: one (1) Deputy Minister.
d. OPP: one (l)Deputy Minister.
2.8. No fewer than three (3) of the Deputy Ministers shall be women.
2.9. No Assistant Presidents, other Ministers or Deputy Ministers shall be appointed during the Transitional Period.
2.10. If more than two Advisers to the President are appointed, the responsibility sharing ratio shall apply to their selection.

3. The Transitional National Legislature:
3.1. The Transitional National Legislature shall consist of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA) and the Council of States.

3..2 The TNLA shall be dissolved and composed of 550 members who shall
be allocated as follows:
a. Incumbent TGoNU: 332 members.
b. SPLM/ A-1O:128 members.
c. SSOA:50members.
d. OPP:35 members.
e. FDs:5 members.
3.3. The Speaker of the TNLA shall be nominated by Incumbent TGoNU. One Deputy Speaker shall be nominated by OPP and the other, who shall be a woman, shall be nominated by Incumbent TGoNU.
3.4. The Council of States shall be dissolved and composed of 50 members or the closest figure that can be shared evenly by the States as per the number that shall be recommended by the IBC. However, the minimum number for the representatives of every and each State shall be two.
3.5. The membership of the Council of States shall be reconstituted as per the responsibility sharing ratio.
3.6. The Speaker of the Council of States shall be nominated by SPLM/A-IO and the Deputy Speaker shall be nominated by Incumbent TGoNU.

4. Number and Boundaries of States:
4.1. Within thirty (30) days of the signing of this Agreement, the IGAD Executive Secretariat, taking into account the decision of 55th Extra­ Ordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, January 30-31, 2016, shall appoint Independent Boundaries Commission (IBC) for the Republic of South Sudan.
4.2. The IBC shall consist of fifteen (15) members with the necessary skills and expertise.
4.3. Members of the IBC shall be appointed as follows:
a. Five (5) South Sudanese who shall be appointed by the Parties, one
(1) each.
b. Two (2) representatives of the IGAD states that shall come from states with no boundaries with South Sudan.
c. Three (3) representatives of the Troika states.
d. Five (5) representatives of the African Union that shall be from the C5states.

4.4. The IBC shall be chaired by one of its non-South Sudanese members who shall be of recognized standing and integrity and who had occupied a
senior judicial executive or administrative position in his home country.
4.5. The IBC may retain the services of a team of experts.
4.6. The IBC shall establish three teams, each consisting of five representatives and relevant experts, to be deployed at locations it will designate.
4.7. The function of the IBC shall be to consider the number of States of the
Republic of South Sudan and their boundaries; and to ma.ke
recommendations on the same.
4.8. The IBC shall focus on studying the alternatives currently proposed by
the Parties and any other viable alternatives in the light of guidelines that shall be drawn beforehand. The IBC shall also draw its own internal
regulations.
4.9. The IBC shall strive to arrive at its recommendations by consensus. If consensus is not achieved, the IBC shall adopt its recommendations by simple majority.
4.10. The recommendations of the IBC shall be presented to the IGAD Executive Secretariat and shall be immediately communicated to the Parties.
4.11. The IBC shall complete its work within ninety (90) days, extendable to a maximum of ninety (90) days more. ln all cases it shall ma.ke its recommendations on the number and boundaries of States during the
Pre-Transitional Period. Thereafter it shall be dissolved.
4.12. The Parties agree to abide by the recommendations of the IBC, and hereby authorize the IGAD Executive Secretariat to enshrine those recommendations in the Revitalized ARCISS. The Parties accept to implement the recommendations in full at the beginning of the Transitional Period.
4.13. In the unlikely event of the IBC failing to ma.ke its recommendations before the end of the Pre-Transitional Period, the Republic of South Sudan shall have as regions the old three provinces, as per their boundaries of January 1, 1956. This solution shall be adopted on temporary basis until the number and boundaries of the States are agreed.
4.14.

5. States and Local Government
5.1. The Responsibility sharing ratio at State level and local government level shall be as follows:
a. Incumbent TGoNU: 55%
b. SPLM/A-IO: 25%
c. SSOA: 10%
d. OPP: 10%
5.2. State and local governments shall be dissolved and reconstituted as per the responsibility sharing formula stated above.
5.3. The positions that shall be subject to responsibility sharing include:
Governors, Speakers of State Legislatures, State Councils of Ministers, State Legislatures, County Commissioners, County Councils, Mayors and City Councils.
5.4. In sharing State and local positions Parties shall take into account the
relative prominence each Party has in the respective State or Payam and effective administration of that unit.
5.5. The FDs shall have three state Ministers in States of their choice.

6. General:
6.1. This Agreement shall prevail on contradictory or incompatible provisions of ARCSS and the Revised Bridging Proposal.
6.2. The high number of members of the Executive and TNLA is agreed to be
exceptional and for the purposes of the Transitional Period only. The principle of lean government and an assembly that follows the internationally recognized proportions of population to members of parliament shall be observed beyond the Transitional Period.
6.3. Provisions of the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan and ARCSS on participation of women (35 %) in the Executive shall be observed. In particular, Incumbent TGoNU shall nominate no fewer than six (6) women to the Council of Ministers, and SPLM-10 shall nominate no fewer than three (3) women to the Council of Ministers.
6.4. Having in mind that more than 70 percent of the population in the
Republic of South Sudan is under the age of thirty and that the youth are also the most affected by the war and represent high percentage of refugees and IDPs, the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports shall be less than forty (40) years old. The Parties shall strive to include people of young age in their quotas at different levels.
6.5. In selecting their nominees Parties shall give due consideration to national diversity, including regional representation.
6.6. Within thirty days of signing this Agreement, the Parties shall form a
National Pre-Transitional Committee (NPTC) of ten members (5,2,1,1,1) to be tasked with oversight and coordination of the implementation of the activities of the Pre-Transitional Period. The NPTC shall be chaired by TGoNU with two Deputy Chairs from SPLM/ A-10 and S.SOA and shall adopt its decisions by consensus. The NPTC shall draw the road map for implementing the political tasks of the Pre-Transitional Period, prepare a budget for the Pre-Transitional Period, and address issues of VIP security and preparations for new Ministers, among others. The NPTC shall start in Addis Ababa and shall move to Juba sometime during the Pre-Transitional Period. The NPTC shall be dissolved when the Pre-Transitional Period ends.
6.7. The Reconstituted National Constitutional Amendments Committee NCAC shall continue to revise relevant laws and draft new legislation under this agreement within 12 (twelve) months of the beginning of the Transition Period.
6.8. There shall be established a fund for the implementation of the political
and security activities of the Pre-Transitional Period. The fund, which shall be drawn from the proceeds of oil, shall be deposited in an escrow account in a bank agreed by the NPTC. The NPTC shall manage the fund transparently and report on it monthly to the Parties.
6.9. The activities that shall be undertaken during the Pre-Transitional
Period which can take as long as 8 months shall include:

a. Dissemination of the Agreement to South Sudanese People inside the country, in different cities and towns of Sudan, in refugee camps in other neighboring countries, in diaspora, so that the people can own it.
b. To be carrying out the tasks entrusted in the IBC.
c. A process of national healing and reconciliation that shall be led by all Parties inside and outside of the Republic of South Sudan.
d. Security arrangement activities as per the Agreement on Security
Arrangement.
e. Incorporation of the Agreement of the Revitalized ARCS.S in the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan, 2011.
f. Reviewing and drafting necessary Bills as per the revitalized ARC:s.5.
g. Any other activities agreed by the Parties.
6.10. The Parties shall agree on Inter-Ministerial Mechanism for Implementation of the Revitalized ARCS.S including reporting to JMEC. The IGAD Jed mediation and the guarantors shall revitalize and restructure ail monitoring and evaluation mechanism to ensure inclusivity of ail parties and enhance their effectiveness. Such review and restructuring shall be included in the revitalized ARC:s.5.
6.11. At the beginning of the Pre-Transitional Period, the Parties shall issue a solemn commitment to their people and the international community confirming unequivocally that they will not return to war and shall work hand in hand diligently and collectively for the sake of peace and stability of the country. In particular, the Parties shall pledge to use the resources of the country wisely and transparently, for the best interest of the people of the Republic of South Sudan, and to put in place the efficient mechanisms required for achieving this paramount goal. In their solemn commitment the Parties shall also appeal to the international community for support and cooperation at this difficult time of the Republic of South Sudan.

Done in the Republican Palace

Khartoum

Sudan, this day ']hl

of July 2018.

For Incumbent TGoNU

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For SPLM/A-IO

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For SSOA

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For FDs
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For OPP

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For the Republic of Sudan (Guarantor):

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Witnesses: For GAD
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For IPF (IGAD PARTNERS FORUM)
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For the AU

For the UN

For TROIKA
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For CHINA
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Speaking at the first day of the Somalia Partnership Forum in Brussels on Monday, senior United Nations officials commended the country’s government for its efforts in political reform, security, economic development, and recovery and humanitarian assistance – while flagging the need for further progress and international support for these efforts.

By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

The attendance of the genocidal criminal, the fugitive from the International Justice Marshall Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir to watch the Football Finale in Russia is Slap on the face of the Darfur survivors and a betrayal of the victims of genocide.

President Omer al-Bashir and his corrupt regime over the past 30 lean years failed to develop football team that the people of Sudan to be proud of, honour and play before the people of the world the Sudanese National Anthem and jubilantly sing by saying: "We are the soldiers of God and the soldiers of the homeland", which the Sudanese people almost have forgotten it today. Has the modesty of the president of the ruling regime in Sudan been lost, so that he is no longer ashamed? Is it conceivable that genocide criminal Omer al-Bashir receives an official invitation from a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to attend the end of the World Cup in Russia? It seems that the (ICC) has been betrayed and evaded by the Russian President Vladimir Putin if the alleged invitation of al-Bashir to attend the Finale of the International Football Tournament is true.

If the alleged news turns out true, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been betrayed by Russia the Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Omer al-Bashir Remains a Heavy Burden on the People of Sudan for three Decades and hence they must do what is possible to get rid of him and his regime.

The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir will travel to Russia to attend the final of the World Cup between France and Croatia scheduled for Sunday 15th July 2018, according to the official Sudanese news agency SUNA.

Western leaders avoid meeting the Sudanese president, or taking part in any action, as a fugitive and a wanted criminal suspect.

It is noteworthy to report that on Tuesday the 10th July 2018, the European Union (EU) expressed regret that Djibouti and Uganda had not fulfilled their legal obligations and that they had not extradited President Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which issued two arrest warrants in 2009 and 2010. However, the arrogant Omer al-Bashir tries to prove that he is free to travel around the globe in defiance of the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment and arrest warrants for his implications in the crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocidal atrocities against the Sudanese civilian citizens in the Darfur region and he remains fugitive from the international justice, evading the (ICC), travelling widely to prove himself that no power would dare to arrest him. Below is the list of his recent travels according to the (ICC) records: https://www.icc-cpi.int/darfur/albashir

• al-Bashir leaves for Mauritania on June 30, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Djibouti July 4, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Uganda July 7, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Turkey July 9, 2018
• Bashir leaves for Russia July 13, 2018

The atrocities perpetrated by the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Janjaweed militia during the third post-2003 Darfuri conflict constituted the first internationally condemned and acknowledged the genocide of the twenty-first century. Thus, President of Sudan Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir remains at large since 16 October 1993 at time of arrest warrants: 4 March 2009 on 5 counts of crimes against humanity, 2 charges were for war crimes and On 12 July 2010 3 charges of genocide
The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315459641_The_Prosecutor_v_Omar_Hassan_Ahmad_Al_Bashir [accessed Jul 14 2018].

Bashir has become the present-day Ibn Battuta, entering the Guinness Book of Records which is the most important travel book around the world with the support of the money looted from the public purse of Sudanese people!

Ibn Battuta (1304 – 1368 or 1369) was a Moroccan explorer. He is known for the account of his journeys called the Rihla ("Voyage"). He travelled for nearly 30 years and covered most of the Islamic world. He also explored West Africa, Southern and Eastern Europe, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China. This distance was more than Marco Polo travelled; about 75,000 kilometres (47,000 mi). Ibn Battuta was considered the greatest traveller of the medieval period. Battuta also made maps that were used by cartographers.
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Battuta

Social networking devices were filled with comic and other comments full of irony, disgust and anger at Omar al-Bashir's visit to Russia to attend the end of the World Cup. Some Sudanese wondered whether French President Macaron was shaking hands with Omar al-Bashir, stained with the blood of victims and lives Darfur, and therefore has been chased by the International Criminal Court and has been running away from international justice since 2009? Others also asked about the purpose for which Omar al-Bashir, his wife and his entourage of twenty-six individuals is visiting at the expense of the deprived people of Sudan while Sudan does not have a football team participating in the international tournament. Other Sudanese citizens said that at this moment, the rescue of the 12 children and their coach from the cave filled with water, which made all the peoples of the world follow the tragedy of the children of the cave and solidarity with them where the aid came from everywhere and can be said that the Government of Thailand and its people are the winners of the World Football Championship that coincided with the rescue of the Children of the cave with global football competitions! The twelve boys and their soccer coach rescued from a flooded Thai Cave will watch a recording of the World Cup final which takes place on Sunday (July 15 2018), not the live broadcast, an official at the hospital they are staying in said. Others in Sudan hoped that the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (Fatu Bensouda to be in Moscow, which would frighten Omer al-Bashir because he fears the International Criminal Court (ICC) more than anything else in his lifetime and has been doing everything to avoid arrest and surrender to The Hague prisons in the Netherlands. The (ICC) Chase of him has become the real nightmare that keeps Omer al - Bashir sleepless at night and day whether he like it or not and will remain his boogeyman under his bed whether he likes it or not.

The Horror of Bashir for the (ICC) will remain haunting and pursuing him as long as the arrest warrants have not achieved the desired goal.

Despite the attempt of the media owned by the Bashir regime to promote that the government of al-Bashir has received a pre-invitation from Russia demanding the presence of al-Bashir to Russia for important meetings with President Putin, but a document obtained by the "Rakuba" confirmed that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has applied to the Russian government, for attending the closing of the World football Cup matches currently held in Russian territory.

It is noteworthy that Omer al-Bashir and his entourage of 26 individuals have not received any invitation from the Russian government to attend the end of international football competitions.

Sudanese social media interactors are asking an interesting question:
As to whether President Omer al-Bashir's visit to Russia to attend the World Cup finals is based to an invitation from President Putin and if it is so what will happen if France or Croatia wins the Cup? Will President Emmanuel Macron accept congratulatory hand-shake from Al-Bashir, or how will the Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi? react in case her turn to do so? Would the two Presidents disregard their International obligations and ignore the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of the Sudanese President Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. A Sudanese activist indicated that the expectations are that the Great Football Teams who will be playing the World Cup would refuse to play unless al-Bashir leaves the Stadium!

Earlier," the Sudanese official news agency said SUNA indicated that: "Bashir will go to Moscow on Friday for an official visit to Russia, during which he will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to develop them. The agency went on saying: "The President of the Republic will see the end of the World Cup on the sidelines of the World Cup and 25 heads of state at the invitation of President Putin." Furthermore, the agency pointed out that the talks between Presidents Bashir and Putin will focus on "economic relations, building a strategic partnership for development, along with the promotion of joint cooperation in the political and economic fields, increasing investment opportunities, especially in the fields of agriculture and energy, Armed Sudanese, which is supported by Russia.” It is noteworthy to recall that In November 2017, al-Bashir made a historic visit to Russia, during which he met with his Russian counterpart and the two countries signed a package of economic and military agreements, the results of which have given no fruits so far!. However, the current alleged visit of al-Bashir to Russia is nothing but an expensive touristic journey at the expense of the Sudanese public coffers to the seat of the former Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) where al-Bashir meant to entertain his wife and the children of his wife from her previous marriage and the individuals in his closed circle of confidants coinciding that with the international Football Tournament. On the other hand, if the spectators of the final World Football Cup have become aware of the presence of Omer al-Bashir among the audience they will shout heckling him and ask him to leave the football arena; he is a persona non grata! While the President of Thailand will be a warmly welcome from the audience watching the final Football Tournament for his caring national attitudes towards his people trapped in a cave flooded by the waters. France plays Croatia in the World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday, at 10pm in Thailand. The world soccer governing body FIFA had invited the 12 Thai boys and their coach to attend the final football tournament in Moscow but they cannot go for medical reasons. The Thai news reported that the 12-member "Wild Boars" soccer team and their coach spent more than two weeks trapped inside a flooded cave in the northern province of Chiang Rai.

They have been recovering in hospital since they were rescued over three days last week and will be discharged on Thursday. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/thailands-rescued-cave-boys-will-not-be-watching-world-cup-final-live

Bashir's marathon travels are nothing but a form of a psychological complex of inferiority feeling and accordingly, he has to resort those hapless move outs seeking some temporary relief from his ceaseless tension.

The Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow will host the finale to the 2018 World Football Cup. Russia's sporting Mecca as it is referred to, has previously hosted the 1980 Olympics, 1999 UEFA Cup Final and 2008 Champions League Final. The question that poses itself is as to whether Omer al-Bashir will be the Guest of Honour rubbing shoulders with the French President Emmanuel Macron and the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovi?.

Vincent Thomas Lombardi the American football player, coach, and executive in the National Football League has been quoted as saying: “Football is like life - it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/football
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=vince+lombardi&oq=Vince+Lombardi&aqs=chrome.0.0l6.1487j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/

Despite encouraging signs on the political and humanitarian front, efforts must be sustained and intensified in Libya to avoid further “economic collapse, the breakdown of public services, and more frequent and intense outbreaks of violence”, said the United Nations Special Envoy for the country on Monday.

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The visit is expected to cement the two nations' historic truce after two decades of tension.

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Kevin Anderson wins the longest semi-final in Wimbledon history by beating John Isner in an epic lasting more than six-and-a-half hours.

The Security Council on Friday extended the mandate of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in Sudan’s Darfur until the end of June next year, but reduced the number of troops deployed in the field with an eye towards the mission’s eventual exit.

Isaias Afwerki has embraced Ethiopia's PM in a move that was unthinkable just weeks ago, but who is he?

The Security Council on Friday narrowly passed a measure aimed at stopping the flow of weapons to armed groups in South Sudan, with those Members in favour saying it would protect civilians, while abstainers voiced concerns that it would undermine the ongoing peace process in the world’s youngest country.     

The country has been accused of abandoning people in the desert at its southern borders.

Eight of the critically endangered animals died while being relocated to a wildlife reserve in Kenya.