By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – According to the head of medical NGO Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) Rian Van De Braak, cholera will return to Zimbabwe.  The question is when.

“The threat is definitely not over,” he said.  “Everyone expects cholera to be back, at the latest with the nest rainy season [in September or October], because the root causes of the outbreak [in 2008] have not been addressed adequately yet.”

The cholera epidemic first hit Zimbabwe in August 2008 and lasted almost a full year before it was officially declared over in July 2009.

“Although Zimbabwe is not facing armed conflict, humanitarian threats such as food shortages and outbreak of diseases such as cholera pose a significant challenge,” said Agostinho Zacarias, Zimbabwe’s representative from the UN Development Programme.  “The recent [cholera] epidemic resulted in 98,592 cumulative cases, including 4,288 deaths.”

Cholera is a waterborne disease.  The latest epidemic was caused by broken sanitation and water systems.  As a result, more than half of Zimbabweans rely on unsanitary water systems because they have limited or no access to safe water and sanitation systems.  These problems are not likely to be repaired before the next rainy season begins, leaving Zimbabwe vulnerable to another outbreak.

“Several aid agencies are drilling new boreholes in cholera hotspots, which is an important contribution to safe drinking water.  Dealing with those causes before the next rainy season is a race against the clock,” Van De Braak said.  “The dilapidated water and sewage systems are still a major problem.”

In 2008, President Robert Mugabe had banned many NGOs from operation.  This time, however, the aid agencies are prepared for the worst and will “respond immediately” to the next outbreak.

“There is need for Zimbabwe to move from the humanitarian support stage to the recovery stage.  Zimbabwe is no longer a country in crisis but a country in recovery,” he said.                          

Still, UNICEF’s Peter Salama says another outbreak is “almost inevitable.”

He said, “There is a deterioration of infrastructure in the country and Zimbabwe has not made progress in improving this infrastructure.  This will expose people to another cholera outbreak again.”

Zimbabwe also suffers from food shortages and an AIDS epidemic, which takes more than 400 lives every day.

For more information, please see:

IRIN – Zimbabwe: Return of Cholera Expected Soon – 20 August 2009

AFP – UN Receives Less Than Half of Promised Aid – 19 August 2009

BBC – Cholera ‘May Return to Zimbabwe’ – 19 August 2009

CNN – U.N. Official: Zimbabwe’s Woes ‘Pose Significant Challenge’ – 19 August 2009

MSF (Doctors Without Borders) – Zimbabwe: Beyond Borders – Beyond the Crisis? – 19 August 2009

Reuters – Zimbabwe: Return of Cholera Expected Soon – 19 August 2009

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

JUBA, Sudan – North and South Sudan signed a deal on Wednesday to implement many of the disputed and neglected items in the 2005 peace accord, therefore making the continuation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement more feasible.

The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) ended Sudan’s 22-year civil war, the longest war on the African continent.  This new signed deal will help bolster the 2005 CPA and will result in better cooperation and stronger relations that will hopefully result in a brighter future for Sudan.

The document they signed is the result of months of negotiations between the two sides.  Their hard work has come up with fresh impetus to implement the remaining key issues of the peace deal.  This new agreement covers key areas that both sides will work together on, including upcoming elections (next April), peace efforts in the war-torn region of Darfur, demarcating the north and south border, and power sharing.

This “action plan” witnessed by the United States special envoy Scott Gration, sets out a framework for resolving any of the outstanding issues in the north-south conflict.

Regardless of the recent deal, two major issues still exist where the two sides are divided, although both “remain to be fully worked out,” says Gration.  The bottom line is, this deal does not completely erase the ongoing religious, ethnic, and ideological difference over which the war was fought, it only helps to reduce the violence.

The two major issues are the independence referendum for the south, which is due in 2011, and the disputed census seen as key to the 2010 elections.

Next, Gration will ravel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to resume talks with the leadership of the Darfuri armed movements on unification efforts in support of the to Doha peace process.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Sudan Ex-Foes Sign Deal to Bolseter Peace Accord – 19 August 2009

BBC – Sudanese Foes Sign New Peace Deal – 19 August 2009

Reuters – North, South Sudan Agree on Peace Deal Elements – 19 August 2009

America.gov – Envoy Gration Takes Peace Mission to Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt – 18 August 2009

By Kylie M Tsudama
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Last week Charles Taylor testified that he negotiated the release of UN peacekeepers in Sierra Leone.  He also denied having control over Liberians who traveled to Sierra Leone during its 11-year civil war.

These Liberians migrated to Sierra Leone after Taylor came into power.  They joined either the Special Task Force, which was a group of Liberians aiding the Sierra Leonean army, or the RUF, the Liberian rebel group called the Revolutionary United Front.  Taylor denied having any power over them saying he would not have been able to punish them for any crimes committed in Sierra Leone.

“How do you punish someone when he is not under your control?  You can only be responsible for people under your direct command.  Nobody can say that Taylor ordered me to do X, Y, or Z.  I did not have contact with them and there was no control over them.  I did not help them in any way,” Taylor said.

Taylor maintains that the United States and Britain were misinformed when they alleged that he supported RUF rebels and supplied them with arms and ammunition and provided a safe haven in Liberia for rebels.  He said the two countries were “after him.”

During testimony Taylor provided a detailed timeline which would show Sierra Leone and the international community that he wanted peace in Sierra Leone and was not supporting the RUF rebels.

Taylor admitted to actively participating in efforts to get President Tejan Kabbah and RUF leader Foday Sankoh into peace negotiations but denied doing it for Sankoh’s benefit.

“My plan to bring peace to Sierra Leone was not for Foday Sankoh but for the people of Sierra Leone.  This has never been for Sankoh but for Sierra Leone.  I was in a hurry to do something for my people in Liberia and this cannot move ahead without peace in Sierra Leone.  If there is no peace in Sierra Leone, there will be no peace in Liberia,” he said.

Taylor claims he encouraged Sankoh to change the RUF into a political machine, saying, “Stop the war, go into politics, drop the gun and go into politics.  You can’t go into politics with a gun in your hand.”

RUF ‘Salute Report’ from Sam Bockarie to Foday Sankoh makes no mention of help from Taylor.

For more information, please see:

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – RUF Salute Report Made no Mention of Help Received From Charles Taylor – 13 August 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – “My Interest in Sierra Leone was for Peace for the People, Not Foday Sankoh,” Taylor Says – 12 August 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – Charles Taylor Expelled RUF Collaborators From Liberia; Gives a Chronology of Steps He Took to Bring Peace to Sierra Leone – 11 August 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – Taylor Did Not Have Control Over Liberians Who Travelled to Sierra Leone, Blames West for Mis-Information – 10 August 2009

Impunity Watch – Update: Charles Taylor Trial – 10 August 2009

By Jennifer M. Haralambides
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania – The Peace Corps has withdrawn its workers from Mauritania due to fears over security after recent attacks.

The Peace Corps, which has operated in Mauritania for over 40 years, announced that it has moved its volunteers out of Mauritania and into the nearby training center in Senegal.  The exact amount of people who will be moved is unknown, but the statement issued by the Peace Corps said there were roughly 141 volunteers in Mauritania, mainly in rural areas.

“Although it is the agency’s position that the volunteers are relatively safe in their communities and villages, it is potentially dangerous for them to travel safely in the country,” said the statement issued August 12th.

The U.S. government-backed group said on its website that the volunteer program in Mauritania would remain suspended until the security conditions improve, if at all.

On June 23, an American was shot dead in the Mauritanian’s capital city during an attack claimed by an al-Qaeda affiliate group.  Subsequently, on August 8th, a suicide bomber killed himself by setting off a bomb aimed at two French gendarmes from the French embassy.  Three people were killed during the bombing that took place just days after President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who vowed to make the fight against al-Qaeda a priority, was sworn in.

The Peace Corps volunteers were in the country attempting to help Mauritania boost their agricultural production, combat widespread erosion, and bolster health and education programs.

For more information, please see:

AFP – U.S. Peace Corps Pulls Out of Mauritania – 17 August 2009

AP – U.S. Peace Corps Pulls Out Mauritania Volunteers – 17 August 2009

BBC – U.S. Aid Workers Leave Mauritania – 17 August 2009

Reuters – U.S. Peace Corps Pulls Volunteers From Mauritania – 17 August 2009