Programme Number: 030
Week of: 9th January 2005
Recording Date: Thursday, 13 January 2005

Topical Issue(s):
SUDAN – THE NORTH-SOUTH TALKS SUCCEED BUT DARFUR, IN THE WEST, REMAINS A
HUGE CRISIS: Hopes for lasting peace area raised following the signing of a comprehensive
peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Southern rebel movement. UN Envoy
Jan Pronk – who attended the signing event – briefs the Security Council and tells us why this is
good news indeed, plus how what impact will this make on the on-going crisis in Darfur, in western Sudan .

KENYA – TAKING CARE OF REFUGEES FROM NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES: Kenya’s Vice-President, Moody Awori, tells us how his country has been helping deal with the problems of neighbouring countries afflicted by conflict.

COTE D’IVOIRE – SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI PRESSES ON TO GET THE PEACE PROCESS BACK ON TRACK: We speak to the UN’s Deputy Envoy in Cote D’Ivoire, Alan Doss, about Mr Mbeki’s latest efforts.

Editor / Presenter: Ben Dotsei Malor
Producer: Derrick Mbatha
Production Assistant: Eloisa Ugalde
Studio Engineer: Willie Correia

NARRATOR: Hello and welcome to United Nations Radio from New York.

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NARRATOR:
This is, UN and Africa. And I’m Ben Dotsei Malor.

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NARRATOR:
After more than two decades of fighting, the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement finally sign a comprehensive peace agreement between the north and the south. But what about the west, where the crisis in Darfur is claiming more than 70,000 lives?

CLIP 1 : JAN PRONK.
“FROM THE INTERVIEW”

NARRATOR:
That’s UN envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk.
And Kenyan Vice-President Moody Awori speaks about how his country is helping conflict-affected neighbours.

CLIP 2: Awori
“We are trying to resolve conflicts between countries that produce refugees. We need assistance of the whole United Nations so that we can succeed in this”.

NARRATOR:
Plus, an assessment of the latest efforts by South African President, Thabo Mbeki, to get Cote D’Ivoire’s political process back on track.
Stay tuned to, UN and Africa.

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NARRATOR:

This year, 2005, has started on a very good and promising note for many people in the Sudan. After more than two decades of war with more than two million people killed, the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement of Southern Sudan have just finally signed a comprehensive peace agreement in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to bring the conflict to an end. The agreement signed by First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and the SPLM leader, John Garang, provides, among other things, for a permanent ceasefire, and for the sharing of power and wealth between the north and the south.

The signing of this agreement has raised hopes for a solution to current crisis raging in Darfur in the west of Sudan, where more than 70,000 people have been killed in a conflict between the Sudanese government and new rebel groups who want to end the alleged marginalization of their people.
The UN’s envoy for Sudan, Jan Pronk, was present at the signing ceremony in Nairobi. He has just been briefing the UN Security Council, here in New York, on the situation in Sudan. I caught up with him and asked him first why there should be so much optimism over the peace agreement signed in Nairobi?

INTERVIEW WITH SRSG JAN PRONK

NARRATOR:
The UN envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk.
Well, after Mr Pronk briefed the Security Council, the American Ambassador to the UN, John Danforth, called for the SPLM leader, John Garang, to be involved in practical steps for resolving the Darfur crisis.

CUT: DANFORTH 1
My view of that is that on the political front the engagement of John Garang in the Darfur process is very important. With respect to some of the rebels, not all of them, he has connections with them and I think his engagement is very important. Secondly, it’s essential that more outside feet get on the ground in Darfur. That means primarily the African Union because that is the force that everybody is relying on. But it’s still at approximately a third the strength we that it would be. And so anything that can be done should be done to get the African Union in place in Darfur quickly.

NARRATOR:
Mr. Danforth added that sanctions remained an option.

CUT: DANFORTH 4
It’s remarkable how many members of the Council are referencing that fact. It’s important for all parties in Darfur, the government and the rebels to understand that there is a limit to tolerance and that the fact of sanctions are still something to be considered.

NARRATOR:
For his part the representative of Sudan to the UN, Ambassador Elfatih Erwa, once again, pledged his government’s commitment.

I think the government has demonstrated that in Naivasha, Nairobi and is demonstrating it by negotiating in good faith in Abuja with the rebels. And I think the international community has to put some pressure to the rebels to act responsibly.

NARRATOR:
Sudan’s envoy to the United Nations Elfatih Erwa.

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STING/JINGLE: UN AND AFRICA THEME

PRES: The government of Kenya has indeed played a key role in the talks and negotiations on the Sudan but Sudan is not the only problem Kenya is having to deal with. As one of Africa’s politically stable countries, Kenya’s has also been working to resolve the problems of neighbouring Somalia. Overall, Kenya continues to play host to thousands of refugees from both Sudan and Somalia. During a recent visit to Geneva, Kenya’s Vice-President Moody Awori, spoke to our UN colleague Jean-Pierre Ramazani, first about his country’s need for international assistance in helping refugees.
AWORI: In Kenya we are trying to resolve conflicts between countries that produce refugees. We need assistance of the whole United Nations so that we can succeed in this. Refugees mainly come from Somalia. We have been working very hard to bring about a working government in Somalia. We do need assistance. The other groups of refugees come from Sudan. Again, only recently we have helped to get the warring parties including the Sudanese government and the people from southern Sudan to agree on equal redistribution of resources. We do believe that when a person leaves his or her country and seeks asylum, that person has to be received and looked after properly.

RAMAZANI: How many refugees are in Kenya today, and what is the policy of your country towards them?

AWORI: We have a total of 230,000 refugees in Kenya, between 230 and 240. Of these, 80,000 are in a camp called Kakuma. This is in Turkana very close to Lokichogio and they come from Sudan mainly. There are a few from Rwanda and some from northern Uganda. We have then 140,000 refugees in Daadab in Garissa. These are mainly from Somalia. The policy is very simple. Give them refuge, to give them security and doing that we have accepted the assistance of various organizations such as World Food Programme and UNHCR itself. There is the Lutheran Church. These are organizations that do help in bringing food to the refugees.

RAMAZANI: Now what are the problems that your government is facing in dealing with the refugee issue?

AWORI: Well I think obviously the first problem that we face is that in spite of all the assistance we get internationally, there is usual never enough food for the refugees. These, of course, bother us. The second is that we are not financially endowed to help them in health matters and educational matters. And thirdly, these camps are situated in areas where there are other communities, Kenyan communities. Now these are pastoralists. To them their livestock mean everything. Over a period of time, because of the requirements for energy for cooking and all that, the environment has actually been degraded. As a result, communities in which these camps are, find that they have less grazing than they should. So these are some of the problems that Kenya faces in hosting refugees.

RAMAZANI: The High Commissioner of the UNHCR, Ruud Lubbers, said that in the past few years the politicization of immigration, confusion between refugees and economic migrants and the fears of criminals and terrorist networks have combined to erode asylum legislation in many states. Could you comment on this?

AWORI: While in the past Kenya has simply hosted refugees wherever they come from, we do believe that we must now formalize this hosting of refugees, that Kenya must take much more responsibility over this. When we do regulate and register them, it is easy to see who the criminals may be or who would be international terrorists so that we can keep Kenya not only itself safe but the country safe and the world safe so that the hosting of refugees does not encourage international terrorism.

NARRATOR:
The Vice-President of Kenya, Moody Awori, speaking recently in Geneva to Jean-Pierre Ramazani.

COTE D’IVOIRE

NARRATOR:
South African President Thabo Mbeki – acting on behalf of the African Union – continues his intense diplomatic moves to get the Cote D’Ivoire political process back on track. Mr Mbeki has just visited Cote D’Ivoire again after briefing a summit of the African Union in the Gabonese capital, Libreville. During this latest visit it seems the rebels of the Forces Nouvelles or New Forces who currently control the northern half of the country refused to meet Mr. Mbeki. He has been pushing for the rebels to start disarming but they seem reluctant to do so and they seem angry about the latest moves by President Laurent Gbagbo to organize a referendum on the contentious Article 35, which should define who qualifies to become president of the country. Some people say BOTH parents of a candidate must be of Ivorian nationality. The UN’s deputy envoy to Cote D’Ivoire, Alan Doss, has been with Mr Mbeki during his latest trip there. On the line to Abidjan I asked him what progress the South African president has made during his latest visit?

INTERVIEW WITH DSRSG ALAN DOSS
NARRATOR:
The UN’S deputy envoy for Cote D’Ivoire Alan Doss, speaking from Abidjan.
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NARRATOR:
And that’s all in UN and Africa for this week. Our producer has been Derrick Mbatha, Production Assistant Eloisa Ugalde and studio engineer, Willie Correia. I’m Ben Dotsei Malor. Thank you for listening. Goodbye.

We wish you a good year. Goodbye

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