The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Mr Alvin Botes, has concluded his successful visit to Bali, Indonesia, where he participated in the High-Level Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships (HLF-MSP) and the Second Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) from 1-3 September 2024. The two events were convened under the theme, Bandung Spirit for Africa’s Agenda 2063.

The objectives of the Second IAF were to:

facilitate the exchange of views and perspectives on the current state and future trends of global economy and development
share successes, lessons learned and best practices with broader communities to inspire and encourage others to engage in similar inclusive partnerships
provide an avenue to discuss ways to enhance international cooperation amid complex global challenges
identify strategic, feasible, and doable policies and strategies; and
encourage collaborative problem-solving and work together to address challenges and leverage each other’s strengths and resources.

During the Second Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF), Deputy Minister Botes presented South Africa’s intervention at the Joint Leaders Session, where he said: “As we have completed the first decade of Implementation of the AU Agenda 2063, primarily focussed on convergence, we now enter its second decade which puts emphasise on acceleration of implementation. We wish to reassure the Government of Indonesia of South Africa’s commitment to the full and effective implementation of the AfCFTA, as one of the key components towards economic integration on the Continent.”

Deputy Minister Botes also reflected on the current state of multilateral cooperation, saying: “The global governance architecture is at a crossroads, as it struggles to manage [a myriad of] challenges afflicting humankind while governing relations between states and those between states and non-state actors. In the midst of these challenges, we commit to our Pan-African mantra, as espoused by the AU Agenda 2063 and to deepen solidarity with the Global South, including with Indonesia”.

The Deputy Minister also met with his counterpart, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr Pahala Nugraha Mansury, and discussed South Africa’s enthusiasm to work closely with Indonesia to further expand and deepen political and economic relations.

The Deputy Minister concluded his visit by participating in a panel discussion themed, Connecting the South: Enhancing Logistics Connectivity to Support Trade in Developing Countries. Participants discussed measures to sustainably improve trade connectivity in the Global South and reflect on the effectiveness of international cooperation in addressing infrastructure development gaps.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi heads to Ankara for an official visit to the Republic of Türkiye at an invitation by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Ahmed Fahmy, said President El-Sisi’s historic visit to the Republic of Türkiye represents a new milestone on the path of strengthening relations between the two countries. He added that the visit builds upon the historic visit by President Erdoğan to Egypt last February and ushers-in a new phase in the friendship and joint cooperation between the two countries, both bilaterally and at the level of the region, which is encountering substantial challenges that necessitate consultations and coordination between the two countries.

During the visit, President El-Sisi is expected to hold in-depth talks with President Erdoğan. The two Presidents will also co-chair the first meeting of the High-level Strategic Cooperation Council between Egypt and Türkiye. The council meeting is scheduled to explore ways to promote bilateral relations across an array of fields, in addition to exchanging views on regional and international issues of joint interest. Those include primarily efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, end the dire humanitarian catastrophe in the sector, and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East. President El-Sisi and Turkish President Erdoğan will also witness the signing of a multitude of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the two countries’ governments in a broad range of cooperation domains.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

A joint delegation from the United Nations Support Mission in Libya and the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights visited Tarhuna on 30 August to present to the local community the findings and recommendations of a new report documenting serious human rights violations that occurred in the area between 2013 and 2022, including extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, sexual assault, arbitrary arrests and forced displacement.

The delegation was led by Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Georgette Gagnon alongside Suki Nagra, the Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Libya. The visit also marked the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.   

“The purpose of this report is to make sure that what happened continues to be in the spotlight, to help advocate for truth, reparations, and accountability both at the national and international levels,” Gagnon said, addressing a crowd of several dozen people, comprised of municipal authorities, tribal elders, civil society actors, victims and their families, gathered at Tarhuna University.

The report, based on three years of investigations and more than 50 interviews, sheds light on patterns of human rights violations perpetrated by the al-Kaniyat armed formation that controlled the city, which an Independent Fact-Finding Mission mandated by the Human Rights Council determined to constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report analyzes in depth the alliances and support to Al-Kaniyat over the years, when it was, at various points, aligned with both the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA).

Since they were first discovered in 2020, national forensic authorities have been working to excavate mass graves and identify human remains, giving families the opportunity to know the fate of their loved ones and give them a dignified burial. While hundreds of bodies have been identified, countless families are still waiting to learn the truth about the missing, and several mass graves around the city are yet to be excavated.

Excavation efforts led by the General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons have stopped in the past month due to lack of resources and security concerns, according to the President of the Tarhuna Families of Victims Association. The fact that many of the alleged perpetrators have either been killed or escaped accountability by fleeing to other countries is a major obstacle to justice and truth-seeking efforts.

“We want the perpetrators to face justice here in Tarhuna,” said the city’s mayor. “They are the ones who know where the bodies are, and who can tell us where to start digging.”

Prior to the meeting, the UN delegation visited one of these mass grave sites as well as the “Box Prison”, where dozens of detainees were kept in cells of less than one-metre square.

“Sometimes, they piled hot ashes on top to generate heat and torture individuals detained inside the ‘box’,” said one former detainee who accompanied the delegation. He was held for 46 days before the GNA liberated the city and he was able to escape.

These conditions of detention are identified as a form of torture and ill-treatment in the report. Clothing worn by former detainees, some blood-stained, as well as women’s and children’s shoes, can still be seen outside the illegal prison.

“Four years after the discovery of the mass graves, justice for the victims remains elusive,” Nagra said at the University. “We have to ensure that Libya’s leaders, especially the decision and policy makers, are aware that these issues are not going away. Accountability for alleged perpetrators has to be at the centre of their efforts.”

The report recommends a comprehensive transitional justice and reconciliation process with meaningful truth-seeking measures and effective reparations for victims, including legal aid and mental health services, Nagra said. These measures should apply to all victims, no matter when the crime was perpetrated, and regardless of the alleged perpetrator.

Nagra also called on Libyan authorities to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

“We are still looking for our sons,” said one woman who had lost her seven sons and four brothers. “We ask God to bring us back our rights,” she added, stressing the financial burdens she endures due to the loss of the family’s breadwinners.

Community members took the podium one by one, sharing their testimony of crimes and demanding justice. The grief and anger in the room was palpable.

Nagra stressed that the ultimate responsibility – and the prerogative for justice lies with the Libyan state.

“We can document, we can advocate, we can echo your voice. However, it’s the Libyan authorities’ role to arrest perpetrators and to make sure they have a trial that is in line with international fair trial standards,” she said. “The UN stands ready to continue providing support to ensure that justice is done.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

“Before today, my child never received any form of vaccination,” says 27 years old Fatima Abubakar, while presenting her eight-months-old son, Adamu, to the team of vaccinators who had visited the remote Gadare settlements in Batsari Local Government Area (LGA), Katsina State, where she resides. 

Having given birth at home, Fatima explained that her non-compliance with the routine immunisation schedule was due to her residence being far from a primary healthcare facility and her being unaware of any previous visit by a mobile vaccination team to her village. 

“It is my first time witnessing a vaccination team go from house to house to vaccinate all eligible children in this village. Many children in this settlement have never received any vaccine since birth”, Fatima added. 

Besides residing in a hard-to-reach area, many children in the locality were not privileged to get vaccinated due to the security situation in the region, which negatively impacted their protection against vaccine-preventable diseases, including the circulating Variant Poliovirus type 2 (cVPV2). 

Leaving no children unreach

This year, Katsina state has reported  16 cases of cVPV2 in five LGAs, with Batsari LGA reporting 98% of the cases. 

To interrupt the spread of the virus, the Katsina State Government, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, revised its immunisation strategies to ensure all vulnerable children receive life-saving vaccines. 

The state adopted the engagement with community gatekeepers”, which included high-level advocacy for society gatekeepers and local volunteers’ identification, training, and deployment through traditional leaders to serve as vaccinators and champions in high-risk communities. 

With testimonies from mothers like Fatima, the devised strategy yields the desired result.

“I  was comfortable presenting my son for vaccination because the vaccinator is someone from my settlement. He educated me of the benefits of immunisation and assured me that it is safe and at no cost,” she added. 

As of June 2024, the local response team in Katsina had reached 253,006 children out of the 326,069 targeted children across 11 local government areas in the state with live-saving vaccines.

Taking urgent action

In Nigeria, interrupting the cVPVD2 virus, particularly in the Axis of Intractable transmission (AIT) states (Katsina, Kano, Zamfara, Sokoto and Kebbi), is of utmost importance for the country to achieve its polio eradication goals. 

Appreciating the WHO and its partners’ continual support, Katsina State Governor Dr Dikko Umaru Radda said, “The State Government will continue to work closely with WHO and partners to sustain the improvements.”

Dr Radda said, “WHO is playing a critical role in supporting the state in its quest to interrupt the spread of the virus. The continual support received from WHO is very timely and commendable. Despite the challenges, we’ve recorded immense progress in ensuring vulnerable and exposed children are reached with vaccines, thus contributing to interrupting the virus.”

Reiterating WHO’s commitment to supporting Nigeria in reaching all eligible children with life-saving vaccines and succeeding in its polio eradication goal,  the WHO State Coordinator, Dr Abdulnasir Adamu, said every child deserves a better future and access to quality healthcare services. 

“WHO’s relentless support to the Government of Katsina is part of the triple billion target and the implementation of its fourth Country Cooperation Strategy (CCSIV), of ensuring health for all regardless of their difference. 

Expressing his gratitude to the Government for its leadership and firmness in interrupting this virus at the community level, he added that  “WHO is providing technical support to ensure effective coordination of partners and strengthening of thematic areas such as data management, community engagement, and surveillance.

With over 5000 technical and community structures, such as technical officers, field volunteers, local government facilitators, and community informants in the state, WHO is assured that vulnerable children will be reached with life-saving vaccines, thus disrupting community transmission.”

Meanwhile, Fatima is glad that her child benefitted from the vaccination exercise. She has decided to convince other mothers in her community whose children have not received any vaccination to do so. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Nigeria.