United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

9 September 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

US Africa Command chief due in Guinea (African Press Agency)

(Guinea) The chief of the United States Command for Africa (Africom), General
William Ward is due Thursday in Guinea, the US embassy in Conakry told APA
Wednesday.

Clinton: Southern Sudan Independence Vote 'Inevitable' (Voice of America)

(Sudan) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that a secession vote by
the people of southern Sudan in January is "inevitable."

Obama to attend U.N. meeting on Sudan September 24 (Reuters)

(Sudan) President Barack Obama will attend a U.N. summit on Sudan this month, U.S.
officials said on Wednesday as they stepped up a bid to head off conflict there before a
referendum that could split the African nation.

US tries to avert Sudan war after 'inevitable' split (AFP)

(Sudan) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called Sudanese leaders in a
bid to defuse what she called the "ticking time bomb" of an inevitable secession of the
country’s restive and oil-rich south.

The Kagame Dilemma (New York Times)

(Rwanda) No one is quite sure what to make of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame.
Since his re-election this month with 93 percent of the vote, the United States has
reacted warily.

No Easy Solution for Peace in Somalia (Voice of America)

(Somalia) In Somalia, questions are being raised as to whether the transitional
government and its international backers have a plan and are moving toward a solution
that could help end the conflict.

Ivorian Political Leaders Committed to Free, Fair October Election (Voice of America)
(Ivory Coast) A special adviser to Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo said the country’s
political leaders have unanimously agreed in principle to resolve all outstanding issues
to ensure the 31st October general election is not derailed.
Prison Attack Frees Nigeria Extremists (Associated Press)
(Nigeria) About 800 inmates escaped from a prison holding Muslim extremists in
Nigeria during a sunset attack by gunmen who are believed to be members of a radical
sect, a police official said Wednesday.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 UN environment agency backs action to regulate e-waste in Kenya
 UN mission in DR Congo prolongs special patrols to deter attacks against
civilians
 Secretary-General concludes visit to Rwanda to discuss human rights report
 Liberia: UN envoy says further progress needed to consolidate fragile peace
 Distribution of key school supplies starts in Zimbabwe with UN and donor
support
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, September 23, 9:00 a.m.

WHAT: Breakfast Briefing with The Honorable Robert P. Jackson, New Ambassador of
the United States to Cameroon
WHO: Business Council for International Understanding with Chevron Corporation
Info: http://www.bciu.org/wip01/online_event_invitation.asp?
continent=0&country=0&currentorpast=current&eventsorprograms=events&IDNumbe
r=1431&ProgramIDNumber=0&Keycode=8031275
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

US Africa Command chief due in Guinea (African Press Agency)

The chief of the United States Command for Africa (Africom), General William Ward is
due Thursday in Guinea, the US embassy in Conakry told APA Wednesday.

While in the Guinean capital, General Ward will hold talks with the interim President,
General Sekouba Konate and Guinean army officials to congratulate and encourage
their leadership and neutrality in the current electoral process in the country.

According to the same source, the Africom Commander will also reiterate his support
to the transition in Guinea.

The presidential runoff in Guinea is billed for 19 September.

--------------------
Clinton: Southern Sudan Independence Vote 'Inevitable' (Voice of America)
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday that a secession vote by the
people of southern Sudan in January is "inevitable." Clinton telephoned senior leaders
of the coalition government in Khartoum as part of a U.S. diplomatic effort to make the
expected north-south split as peaceful as possible.

Clinton says that neither the Sudanese government in Khartoum nor the southern
administration in Juba is ready for an independence vote, and that a successful
referendum process will require an all-out diplomatic effort by the two sides, the
African Union, the United States and other concerned parties.

The Secretary's comments, in a Washington speech to the Council on Foreign Relations,

were her most extensive on the Sudanese political process in some time.

Voters in southern Sudan and the disputed central Sudanese region of Abiyei are to
vote in January on whether the now-autonomous southern region will become an
independent state and whether oil rich Abiyei will be part of the new state.

But efforts to organize the election have lagged, along with the delineation of a border
between the prospective separate states.

Clinton called the north-south situation "a ticking time-bomb of enormous

consequence" and said that pulling together a successful referendum will be difficult.

The Secretary said the real problems will emerge after, in her words, "the inevitable
happens" and the south votes for independence.

Noting that a split would, among other things, leave most of Sudan's oil resources in the
south, Clinton said the task will be to strike deals that will "limit the potential of
violence."

"The reality is that this as going to be a very hard decision for the north to accept," said
Secretary Clinton. "And so we've got to figure out some ways to make it worth their
while to peacefully accept an independent south, and for the south that to recognize
that unless they want more years of warfare, and no chance to build their own new
state, they've got to make some accommodations with the north as well."

State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said Clinton followed up her remarks with
telephone calls to Sudanese First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit - the southern
leader - and Vice President Ali Othman Taha to urge full implementation of the 2005
north-south peace accord.

He said Clinton is sending U.S. Sudan envoy Scott Gration back to the region on
Thursday to continue the senior-level dialogue.
Crowley said that despite Clinton's expressed concerns about a violent separation of
Sudan, the United States does not expect a return to conflict.

"We're not preparing for war," said P.J. Crowley. "In fact, the 2005 Comprehensive
Peace Agreement ended a conflict, and created an opportunity for stability in Darfur
and a just peace between north and south. We are very mindful that if for some reason,
full implementation of the CPA is not forthcoming, if the referendum is not seen as
credible, there certainly is the risk of further conflict."

Special envoy Gration's trip to Sudan will be his third in less than two months. Retired
U.S. ambassador Princeton Lyman, who was appointed to the U.S. diplomatic team on
Sudan last month, has also visited the region in recent days.
--------------------
Obama to attend U.N. meeting on Sudan September 24 (Reuters)

UNITED NATIONS – President Barack Obama will attend a U.N. summit on Sudan this
month, U.S. officials said on Wednesday as they stepped up a bid to head off conflict
there before a referendum that could split the African nation.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Obama had accepted an
invitation from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to a September 24 meeting on
Sudan on the margins of the annual General Assembly gathering of world leaders.

The meeting in New York will bring together leaders from U.N. Security Council and
other interested countries as well as United Nations, African Union and World Bank
representatives.

It is expected to focus on a January 9 referendum among the people of semi-

autonomous southern Sudan on whether to become an independent country, as well as
on the seven-year-old conflict in Darfur, western Sudan.

"The president sees this meeting on the 24th as a very important vehicle for focusing
international attention on ... (the referendum) as Sudan approaches really the last
critical 100 days before that vote takes place," Rice said.

"The meeting in New York will also send important signals to the Sudanese people," she
told reporters on a conference call. "It will underscore that the international
community ... expects that political leaders will rise to the challenge of addressing the
difficult issues that still have to be negotiated if there's going to be lasting peace."

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sudan was a "ticking time-bomb"
ahead of the vote and that the international community must redouble efforts to head
off violence there.
The State Department said Clinton had telephoned Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman
Taha and southern leader Salva Kiir on Wednesday. It also said that Scott Gration, U.S.
special envoy for Sudan, would make a new trip to the region on Thursday to pursue
talks on preparing a peaceful referendum.

In Khartoum, state news agency SUNA said Taha told Clinton that Sudan's government
was committed to holding the plebiscite.

Clinton expressed her "satisfaction" with the progress toward holding the referendum,
and also thanked the Sudanese government for helping to release a U.S. aid worker in
Darfur last week after she had been held by kidnappers for more than 100 days, SUNA
said.

KEY PROBLEMS

The referendum stems from a 2005 peace deal between Sudan's mainly Arab north and
mainly non-Arab south that ended a 20-year war after 2 million lives had been lost,
mostly through hunger and disease.

Key problems need to be resolved before the vote, especially on defining the north-
south border, along which most of Sudan's oil wealth is believed to lie.

"The situation north/south is a ticking time-bomb of enormous consequence," Clinton

said in response to a question after a speech on U.S. foreign policy at the Council on
Foreign Relations think tank in Washington.

"The time frame is very short. Pulling together this referendum is going to be difficult,
we're going to need a lot of help," Clinton said. "But the real problem is what happens
when the inevitable happens and the referendum is passed and the south declares
independence."

She said the United States had put "all hands on deck" to help with referendum
preparations, noting that former senior U.S. diplomat Princeton Lyman had been sent to
help the two sides thrash out key issues on sharing wealth and power.

U.S. officials have openly said they see the referendum as the key issue at present in
Sudan. But some activists have criticized Gration for what they say is an overly
conciliatory approach to the northern government in Khartoum, and for appearing to
minimize the violence in Darfur.

A 2003 uprising in Darfur sparked a harsh government response, leading to a

humanitarian catastrophe that the United Nations says has killed as many as 300,000
people.
Other countries have not said who they are sending to the September 24 meeting in
New York, but Obama's attendance is likely to raise its profile.

The U.S. president is also due to make an annual address to the General Assembly on
September 23 and speak at a U.N. summit on the Millennium Development Goals on
September 22. He will also host a meeting with leaders of the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) in New York on September 24.
--------------------
US tries to avert Sudan war after 'inevitable' split (AFP)

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called Sudanese

leaders in a bid to defuse what she called the "ticking time bomb" of an inevitable
secession of the country’s restive and oil-rich south.

US President Barack Obama meanwhile prepared to attend a meeting on Sudan at UN

headquarters on September 24 to show the importance Washington places on a January
9 referendum on whether the south should stay united with the north.

Aides said Clinton made the calls to Sudan's vice president Ali Osman Taha and Salva
Kiir, who heads the autonomous south under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace
Agreement (CPA) that ended a 22-year civil war between north and south.

She urged the representatives of the Arab-dominated central government and the south
to fully implement the peace deal and prepare for the referendum provided for under
the CPA, her spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

As a follow-up, the US special envoy for Sudan, Scott Gration, will on Thursday travel
back to Sudan to continue the high-level talks, Crowley said.

Speaking to foreign policy experts, Clinton said the United States is also involving the
African Union and South Africa as well as European countries Britain and Norway in
the diplomatic push to ensure a smooth referendum.

"It's really all hands on deck," the chief US diplomat said during a question-and-answer
session following a speech she gave at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"The situation north/south is a ticking time-bomb of enormous consequence," Clinton

said.

"The time frame is very short. Pulling together this referendum is going to be difficult,"
she said.
"But the real problem is, what happens when the inevitable happens and the
referendum is passed and the south declares independence?" added Clinton, the
highest-ranking US official so far to say secession is a foregone conclusion.

"So simultaneously, we're trying to begin negotiations to work out some of those
intractable problems. What happens to the oil revenues?," she asked.

"I mean, if you're in the north, and all of a sudden you think a line's going to be drawn
and you're going to lose 80 percent of the oil revenues, you're not a very enthusiastic
participant," she warned.

Clinton said the United States is working with both regional and international partners
to "figure out some ways to make it worth their while (in the north) to peacefully accept
an independent South."

The south will also have to make "some accommodations" with the north "unless they
want more years of warfare," she warned.

Semi-autonomous south Sudan is struggling to recover from the war, Africa's longest
civil conflict which left an estimated two million people dead and was fueled by
ethnicity, ideology, religion and resources such as oil.

The border was meant to be defined six months after the CPA was signed, but
negotiations by the committee established to demarcate it are in "deadlock," the
International Crisis Group think tank said.

The Brussels-based ICG said last week that some border areas "remain dangerously
militarized" as the oil issue raises the stakes for drawing boundaries.

In New York, Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations, said the September 24
meeting Obama, other heads of state and foreign ministers will attend will send "an
important signal to the people of Sudan, in the north and south, and Darfur and
beyond" about the international commitment to the CPA.

The United Nations says 300,000 people have died in the western Darfur region since
minority rebels revolted against the central government in 2003, and 2.7 million people
have fled their homes from the fighting.

The government in Khartoum says 10,000 people have been killed.

--------------------
The Kagame Dilemma (New York Times)

No one is quite sure what to make of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. Since his re-
election this month with 93 percent of the vote, the United States has reacted warily.
The White House cited “a series of disturbing events” in a statement that pointedly
congratulated “the people of Rwanda,” not Kagame himself. “Democracy is about more
than holding elections,” the statement said.

This is a step in the right direction. The United States and others must continue
supporting Rwandans without directly boosting Kagame.

Why is this uncertain embrace necessary? After all, Kagame has made his country one
of Africa’s development stars. The economy is growing, the streets are clean and secure,
corruption is under control, and women enjoy a prominent role. Between 2000, when
Kagame took office, and 2008, Rwanda’s total economic output and per capita income
more than doubled. The primary school completion rate rose from just over one-fifth to
just over half. Life expectancy increased from 43 years to 50.

Kagame is also positioning Rwanda strongly for future growth. The country was named
the top reformer in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2010 ranking, vaulting up 76
places from its 2009 ranking. Rwanda also gained ground in Transparency
International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, moving from 102nd place in 2008 to 89th
in 2009. Clearly work remains to be done, but the trends are positive.

Kagame has become a much-feted figure. In 2009 alone, according to his campaign Web
site, he was honored by the Clinton Global Initiative, the United States Fund for Unicef
and Florida State University, among others.

But a whiff of repression now lingers over Kagame’s record, giving many supporters
second thoughts. In the months before the presidential election, the deputy leader of an
opposition party and the deputy editor of an opposition newspaper were killed; a
prominent politician who intended to challenge Kagame was arrested; other opposition
parties were excluded from the election; and a former head of the army and Kagame
critic was shot in South Africa, where he had fled. (The government has denied
involvement in the violent incidents.)

Given Rwanda’s social and economic success, why should Kagame fear real democratic
competition? His answer is that robust political debate could imperil Rwanda’s
stability, still fragile after the 1994 genocide. As he wrote recently in the Financial
Times, “Those who look in from outside ignore the fact that competitive democracy
requires sustained social cohesion.” Ethnic tensions are indeed not fully healed in
Rwanda, where the minority Tutsi (some 15 percent of the population) govern the
majority Hutu. Avoiding the prospect of further atrocities is clearly a legitimate
concern.

Many, though, believe that Kagame is scared less of renewed conflict than of plots
against him by military officers in his own circle. This is a decidedly less honorable
rationale for repression.
Kagame’s real intentions may not be clear until his term ends in 2017; according to the
Rwanda constitution, he cannot run again. But the United States and others concerned
about Rwanda’s trajectory need not stand idly by until then. Instead, they should de-
personalize their policy by finding ways to help the country without strengthening or
flattering its leader.

Foreign assistance is an obvious lever since it makes up some one-fifth of Rwanda’s

economy. Donors should prioritize aid to civil society groups independent of the
government, such as nongovernmental organizations, political parties, media outlets
and others in a position to foster genuine political dialogue. The U.S. Millennium
Challenge Corporation’s threshold program for Rwanda is already assisting some such
groups. If they give any support to the government itself, donors should seek ways to
ensure that it builds institutional capacity for the country’s continued progress, not
political capacity for Kagame’s continued power.

Another part of this de-personalization policy involves recognition for Kagame on the
world stage. Universities, non-profits, and others should not add to his list of honors
until he has firmly established his commitment to full democracy. Foreign leaders also
should keep their relations with Kagame correct but not effusive. This means no visits
by Kagame to the White House or analogous residences, and no visits by presidents or
prime ministers to Kigali. It also means publicly pointing out Kagame’s flaws.

Kagame himself can help clear the air. He should ensure robust investigations of the
pre-election violence, protect freedoms of assembly and speech, and declare
unambiguously that he will not seek a constitutional change to extend his stay in
power.

Even given recent events, Kagame is not an unmitigated despot. But his limits on
freedom are still dangerous. A constrained political climate punctuated by violence is
hardly the way to preserve stability in a country still recovering from genocide and in a
region full of conflict and the potential for more. Such a climate risks undoing Rwanda’s
progress and tarnishing the legacy that this president has so carefully built.
--------------------
No Easy Solution for Peace in Somalia (Voice of America)

In Somalia, militant Islamist threats last month to launch a final war against the United
Nations-backed government in Mogadishu have been followed by renewed fighting
that has killed hundreds more in the besieged city. Questions are being raised as to
whether the transitional government and its international backers have a plan and are
moving toward a solution that could help end the conflict.

Last week, following a brief visit to Mogadishu, the U.N. Undersecretary-General for
Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe expressed confidence that Somalia's Transitional Federal
Government, through the support of the international community, will find a way to
establish security and begin the task of uniting Somalis against al-Shabab, a militant al-
Qaida-linked group that has vowed to seize the whole of the country.

"We just had a very good talk with the AU [African Union] and IGAD [Inter-
Governmental Authority on Development] representatives on the coordination of
strategy, on making sure that the funds and things that we have been talking about
going to the TFG [Transitional Federal Government] to support their programs are
getting there. The government is still reaching out," said Pascoe. "In the face of all of the
negative reports - how everything is failing, how things are terrible, how the
government is too weak - in fact, I think the people need to look more carefully at the
underlying trends and see where they are going."

Many observers in and outside Somalia say the trend they see is far more bleak - a
continuing bloody stalemate in the capital with neither the government nor al-Shabab,
being able to prevail over the other.

International Crisis Group analyst E. J. Hogendoorn says that is because the

international community is largely responding to the al-Shabab threat militarily rather
than politically. The United Nations and the United States, which supports the African
Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia known as AMISOM, have been encouraging
African states to join Uganda and Burundi in sending troops to Somalia to protect the
government from insurgent attacks.

"I think, to some degree, military force to weaken al-Shabab is not a bad thing. But
military force needs to be used to further a political strategy," said Hogendoorn. "Just
increasing the size of AMISOM without a consensual strategy among the international
community as to how to stabilize Somalia is not going to achieve anything."

Hogendoorn and other analysts have expressed dismay at the dismal progress being
made to reform the transitional government, which, since its birth in 2004 in
neighboring Kenya, has been unable to shake off its image as a body of greedy officials
far more interested in amassing personal power and wealth than providing basic
services to the Somali people.

When Ethiopia, with U.S. support, ousted the Islamic Courts Union and installed the
government in Mogadishu in late 2006, allegations of rampant government corruption
and its ties to Ethiopia helped al-Shabab gain vital support from Somali business
communities and win thousands of new recruits.

As the insurgency escalated, the United Nations sponsored a power-sharing deal signed
in Djibouti in mid-2008 that brought in hundreds of Islamist opposition members into
the government. It was hoped that the new TFG would be able to reconcile with anti-
government forces and begin the task of governing.
But two years later, the TFG under former Islamist leader Sharif Sheik Ahmed has not
reconciled with any of its opponents and still lacks popular base and support. Recent
attempts to bring the staunchly anti-al-Shabab Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama'a Sufi militia into
the government have largely failed with Ahlu-Sunna splitting into pro and anti-
government factions.

Hogendoorn says increasing in-fighting and power struggles have been crippling the
government's ability to reach a consensus and make decisions. He says calls for reform
have also been ignored.

"One of the dynamics that you certainly saw was that the TFG recognize for quite some
time that it was essentially the only game in town for the international community. I
can tell you from talking to diplomats about this issue, there is no stomach for re-
visiting the Djibouti process," said Hogendoorn. "So, the TFG were able to use that as
leverage to resist pressure from the international community to do things it wanted it
[the government] to do."

U.S.-based Somalia observer Michael Weinstein says the inability of the international
community to establish the transitional government as a viable alternative to al-Shabab
is a critical point.

"The reason why we have this slow-bleed, this stalemate is that the West, particularly,
Washington, is left with no cards in its hand," said Weinstein. "The situation has gone
too far. It has become too fragmented. There is no viable force to replace the TFG."

Weinstein says what happens next in Somalia is anyone's guess.

--------------------
Ivorian Political Leaders Committed to Free, Fair October Election (Voice of America)

A special adviser to Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo said the country’s political
leaders have unanimously agreed in principle to resolve all outstanding issues to ensure
the 31st October general election is not derailed.

Lambert Bahi Sery told VOA the leaders also encouraged the electoral commission to
publish the voter register this week ahead of the vote.

“The President (Laurent Gbagbo) and the Prime Minister (Guillaume Soro) met with
two of the major opponents, former President Henri Konan Bedie and Alassane Draman
Ouatarra. They discussed the last steps toward the elections. The meeting also
discussed the voter list. Everybody wants a free and fair election and that depends on
the quality of the electoral list that you have,” he said.
Sery said the political leaders urged the chairman of the independent electoral
commission to provide a credible voter register for the upcoming October general
election.

Backed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Burkinabe

President Blaise Compaore has been mediating talks between Ivory Coast’s political
leaders as part of the regional bloc’s effort to help return the country to constitutional
rule after years of conflict.

The Ivorian leaders also planned talks in the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, to be
mediated by President Compaore.

“They agreed to have a meeting in Burkina Faso around 17th September to discuss with
the mediator about some details regarding the peace process and the organization of the
elections.”

The country is divided into two following the 2002 civil war with the rebel held north
and the government controlled south.

The 2007 peace accord signed in Ouagadougou stipulates that the country must be re-
united before any election that will restore constitutional order. Sery said Ivory Coast
has made tremendous progress in efforts to unify the country ahead of the election.

“The re-unification of the country is already ongoing. There is no problem. They started
regrouping the military of the (rebels) into the different sites that have been proposed
for their regrouping and disarmament. And then, some of the administrative bodies are
being redeployed in this zone. So, the process on that side is moving smoothly.”
--------------------
Prison Attack Frees Nigeria Extremists (Associated Press)

BAUCHI, Nigeria — About 800 inmates escaped from a prison holding Muslim
extremists in Nigeria during a sunset attack by gunmen who are believed to be
members of a radical sect, a police official said Wednesday.

The attackers went cell-by-cell through the prison in Bauchi, in the country's north,
breaking open locks and setting fire to part of the prison before escaping during the
confusion, said Bauchi state police commissioner Danlami Yar'Adua. Four people died
and six others were critically injured.

Mr. Yar'Adua said police believe Boko Haram sect followers who escaped in the attack
were hiding in the mountains surrounding farmlands in the rural region.
Members of Boko Haram—which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the Hausa
language—rioted and attacked police stations and private homes in July 2009,
triggering a violent police crackdown in which more than 700 people died. Many of
those arrested in the wake of those attacks were being held at the Bauchi prison
pending trial.

Mr. Yar'Adua said 36 prisoners had returned to the jail by Wednesday morning, hoping
to serve out the remainder of their short sentences.

The city itself remained calm, as paramilitary police officers guarded the front of the
damaged prison. Police and military units set up checkpoints along roads heading out
of the city in the hope of catching escapees.

Boko Haram has campaigned for the implementation of strict Shariah law. Nigeria, a
nation of 150 million people, is divided between the Christian-dominated south and the
Muslim-held north. A dozen states across Nigeria's north already have Shariah law in
place, though the area remains under the control of secular state governments.

In recent months, rumors about Boko Haram rearming have spread throughout
northern Nigeria. A video released in late June showed a Boko Haram leader calling for
new violence as the one-year anniversary of their attack neared. Police believe
motorcycle-riding members of the sect have been killing policemen in the region.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

UN environment agency backs action to regulate e-waste in Kenya

8 September – Kenya is set to become the first East African nation to regulate the
management of electronic waste, also known as “e-waste”, following a conference run
by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

UN mission in DR Congo prolongs special patrols to deter attacks against civilians

8 September – The United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) today said it was extending by another week an operation designed to
enhance the protection of civilians in the eastern areas of the country where members of
illegal armed groups raped some 240 people recently.

Secretary-General concludes visit to Rwanda to discuss human rights report

8 September – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today concluded a visit to Rwanda
during which he spoke with President Paul Kagame and other Government officials
about their concerns regarding the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) human
rights report compiled by the United Nations.

Liberia: UN envoy says further progress needed to consolidate fragile peace

8 September – While the overall security situation in Liberia is stable, it also continues
to be fragile, and further progress is needed in a number of areas to truly consolidate
the peace, the top United Nations envoy to the West African nation said today.

Distribution of key school supplies starts in Zimbabwe with UN and donor support
8 September – A major distribution of school supplies got under way today across
Zimbabwe in an effort by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the
Government and international donors to ensure that every primary school student
receives a textbook for all core subjects.