South Sudan gives go-ahead for UN force

The South Sudanese government has given the go-ahead for the deployment of a 4,000 strong regional protection force recently mandated by the UN Security Council. The announcement came on 4 September while Council members were in the country to meet with President Salva Kiir and other politicians, and see for themselves the conditions facing internally-displaced civilians in UN protection camps. Daniel Dickinson has more details.

We fail but we don’t give up” on peace for South Sudan

And staying in South Sudan, the international community may have failed to broker a lasting peace so far, but it is “not prepared to give up.” That’s the passionate view of former Botswanan President, Festus Mogae, who is Chairperson of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission for South Sudan (JMEC). JMEC is made up of key stakeholders, African member states and the African Union to monitor the implementation of last year’s peace agreement. Following July’s fighting around the capital between government forces and opposition fighters from the so-called SPLA-IO, it moved operations, but returned to Juba on 3 September. Gabriel Shadar asked Mr Mogae why inter-communal violence was continuing with such devastating consequences for civilians in areas of South Sudan, including the Upper Nile and Equatoria States.

“Too early” to declare an end to inter-communal conflict in Darfur

It’s “too early” to declare an end to inter-communal conflicts in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region. That’s the view of Mike Dzakuma, the Officer in Charge of Civil Affairs for the Joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur, (UNAMID). Along with continuing tensions and clashes between government forces and armed groups, inter-communal violence and criminality has been a major problem for civilians and peacekeepers. UNAMID has recently come up with a new strategy to address the violence, which prioritizes working closely with state authorities on its root causes. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declared on Wednesday that peace had returned to the region saying that the government had met its commitments, according to news reports. Setyo Budi asked Mr Dzukuma whether a recent decrease in attacks marked the beginning of peaceful co-existence.

African countries losing out on taxes from multinationals 

African countries are losing out on significant tax revenues from multinational companies despite the “huge profits” those companies are making. That’s according to the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s International Cooperation and Development directorate. Klaus Rudisch-hauser was recently at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC. Many of the countries whose raw materials are being exploited by multinationals are powerless to do anything about it, as Mr Rudisch-hauser explained to Mark Bettencourt.

Presenter: Matthew Wells

Production Assistant: Sandra Guy

Duration: 10'00″