The EU welcomes the ceasefire agreed yesterday in Luanda as a result of the trilateral meeting between Angola, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It commends the tireless work of Angola’s presidency as the African Union’s mediator for the peace process in the DRC and the commitment of both Rwanda and the DRC to secure this important result.

We call for the swift and comprehensive implementation of all the decisions taken at the trilateral meeting and urge all parties to the conflict to rigorously respect this ceasefire.

The EU underscores the importance that both the Luanda and Nairobi processes have in securing peace and security on a long-term basis in the region. We reaffirm our steadfast support for these processes and their objectives and our willingness to help if requested, in line with the Great Lakes strategy.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of European Union External Action.

The report on Children and Armed Conflict in Sudan, released on Tuesday, documented a staggering 2,168 grave violations against 1,913 children in 2022 and 2023 – a significant increase compared to the previous reporting period.

The most prevalent violations included killing and maiming (1,525 cases), recruitment and use of children in combat (277 cases), and sexual violence (153 cases). In addition, 33 children were abducted, 118 schools and hospitals attacked, and there were 62 incidents of denial of humanitarian access to children in need.

The situation worsened dramatically following the outbreak of hostilities between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April year.

Sheer horror

Virginia Gamba, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, expressed her horror at the violence.

“I am appalled at the level of violence affecting children, the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure, including schools and medical facilities and the lack of effective efforts of parties to the conflict to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to suffering populations, including children,” she said.

“I urge all parties to immediately commit to a durable cessation of hostilities. The future of children in the Sudan depends on it.”

Catastrophic crisis

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan has reached catastrophic levels, with 14 million children in dire need of aid and protection.

Starvation and an imminent risk of famine loom large as humanitarian efforts face significant obstructions.

In addition, about 19 million children are out of school, and many lack access to basic necessities such as food, water, shelter, electricity, education and healthcare, the report said.

Progress undone

The report also noted that the termination of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the departure of its dedicated child protection staff have exacerbated the crisis, reducing the capacity to monitor and report on grave violations against children.

The loss also hampers engagement with the parties to the conflict and efforts to address child protection needs effectively.

Before the April 2023 escalation, there had been some progress, particularly through a 2021 roadmap that had led to the development of a national framework for the release and reintegration of children.

Despite the challenges and the ongoing hostilities, the United Nations has maintained its engagement with all warring parties.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

We are extremely concerned about extrajudicial executions in South Sudan, where people face army and security forces’ firing squads for a range of alleged offences, such as murder, rape, cattle-raiding, domestic disputes and inter-communal violence.

Between January 2023 and June 2024, a total of 76 people, including two children, were executed by firing squad, and with no trial. It is all the more distressing that 39 people, including a child, were executed this way in the first six months of 2024, nearly double the number of victims in the same period last year.

Extrajudicial executions constitute a grave violation of the right to life and to due process, including a fair trial. They must stop immediately, and the Government should conduct prompt and impartial investigations, and hold perpetrators accountable.

In addition to extrajudicial executions, we remain concerned about continued application of the death penalty. It is vital that the South Sudanese authorities impose a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

A UN human rights expert today welcomed Côte d’Ivoire’s ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as a definitive and irrevocable step to abolish the death penalty in the country.

The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, said the unanimous vote of the Ivorian National Assembly in June 2023 and deposit of instruments of ratification on 3 May 2024 demonstrate real political will and determination to put an end to the severe and cruel punishment and better protect the right to life and physical integrity.

“Côte d’Ivoire offers the entire world an example to follow in the fight to eradicate the death penalty,” Tidball-Binz said.

The optional protocol will enter into force on 3 August 2024, making Côte d’Ivoire the 91st State party to this instrument, and the 17th in Africa.

Tidball-Binz said the country has historically distinguished itself as an abolitionist champion in the African continent, having maintained a de facto moratorium on the application of capital punishment since its independence in 1960. This commitment was strengthened by the constitutional abolition in 2000, and the amendments to the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure in 2015, replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment. The 2016 Constitution further reinforced this abolition by stipulating in article 3 that “the right to life is inviolable. No one has the right to take the life of another. The death penalty is abolished”.

“Côte d’Ivoire is bringing us a little closer to the universal abolition of this irreversible punishment, the application of which undermines human dignity,” said the expert.

 “I am enthusiastic about the African progress in this direction,” he said. Today, only nine of 54 African countries continue to apply the death penalty.

The Special Rapporteur stands ready to support the efforts of Côte d’Ivoire and other African States to strengthen the right to life, particularly when it comes to effectively implementing international standards in the investigation of any potentially unlawful death in places of deprivation of liberty or elsewhere, and in the establishment of justice for any arbitrary deprivation of life.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).