By Laura Hirahara
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

KHARTOUM, Sudan- The referendum previously scheduled for January 9, 2011 in Sudan regarding the southern region’s succession is now in question, leading many to fear a return to the pre-2005 bloodshed that lasted over two decades and killed 2 million Sudnese, many from starvation.  Preparations for the vote are behind schedule and the voting rules that would determine who is to vote are still not in place.  President Omar al-Bashir has stated that the elections will be free and fair but many are accusing him of deliberately stalling.  Because the Southern Sudan region holds a majority of the oil fields, earlier this month U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the “inevitable” vote for succession is a “ticking time bomb”.  Clinton’s statements reflect the concern that the North will not give up control of their oil interests without conflict.

Creating even more tension is the apparent intimidation of southern Sudanese living in the northern region.  Kamal Mohamed Obeid, Sudan’s Information Minister has stated that if the South votes for succession, any southern Sudanese living in the north will no longer enjoy the rights and privileges of citizenship in the north.  Sudan People’s Liberation Movement’s (SPLM) spokesperson, Yien Matthew Chol, said,

The NCP is making such a statement because they think that is going to coerce southerners to vote for unity. […] They have started treating southerners badly. Starting from five months ago, and now in Khartoum, you can never speak about separation. You will find yourself either disappearing, or in detention, or jailed. So, speaking about separation and the right of determination, as enshrined in the agreement, is something that the NCP sees now as a taboo.

Many are warning that if Sudan fails to hold the referendum on time and with transparency the consequences could reach farther than the country itself, creating instability in the entire region.  Organizations like Oxfam are pushing for aid groups to assist Sudan in preparing for the vote.  U.S. President Barack Obama has offered his support, stating that the Sudanese leaders who work to avoid conflict will be rewarded with improved relations with the United States, “even working to lift sanctions if leaders fulfill their obligations.  […But to those] who flout their responsibilities … there must be consequences.”

For more information, please see;

BBC- Barrack Obama Presses for Peaceful Sudan Referendum– 25 September, 2010

VOA- Southern Sudanese Intimidated in North, Says SPLM Spokesmas– 26 September, 2010

CNN- Obama, World Leaders Address Sudan Referendum at UN Summit– 24 September, 2010

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – An outbreak of lead poisoning has resulted in the deaths of at least two hundred children in Nigeria, prompting the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to send a five-person team of environmental emergency specialists to Abuja, the capital city.

The source of the lead poisoning is from lead-contaminated waste dumped from illegal gold mining and extracting by locals. In addition to the deaths of two hundred children, up to eighteen thousand people have been affected, according to UN sources.

In order to assess the full scale of the poisoning, the UN emergency team will spend close to two weeks in Nigeria, analyzing the soil and drinking water in an area encompassing seven villages in the Zamfara state. In the villages where contamination has been confirmed, the villagers were grinding ore by hand to find gold and unknowingly freed lead particles, which are also contained in the rocks.

“Proper sampling from the mobile laboratory is urgently needed to determine the scope and magnitude of the crisis and to assist in developing a rigorous response,” OCHA said in a statement.

Children are more vulnerable to the effects of the contamination, and most of the deaths were among children under the age of five. In one village, thirty percent of the children under five have died from the poisoning, according to Médicin Sans Frontières (MSF).

“This is an incredibly serious and worrying situation,” said Lauren Cooney of MSF, adding, “while we still don’t know the full extent of the problem, we expect that there are going to be medium- and long-term health effects for people in these villages.” The poisoning also causes deafness, blindness, brain damage and muscular problems.

OCHA has allocated two million dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are working with local health authorities and non-governmental organizations to treat victims of the outbreak.

Local officials insist that the situation is under control, even though the response has been hindered by heavy rains, which have made it difficult to reach the isolated villages.

For more information, please see:

Guardian – Nigeria gold rush sees 200 children killed in outbreak of lead poisoning – 22 September 2010

Radio Netherlands – UN investigates lead poisining in Nigeria – 22 September 2010

BBC – UN investigates Nigeria lead poisoning deaths – 21 September 2010

United Nations – UN probes outbreak of lead poisoning in northern Nigeria – 21 September 2010

By Polly Johnson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

On Monday, the Special Court for Sierra Leone judges created a schedule for the closure of the defense case in the trial of Charles Taylor, who has been charged with eleven counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.

At the conference, Taylor’s defense attorney, Terry Munyard, indicated that the defense was still working on several motions and proposed to the judges that the court take a two-week recess to decide the defense motions. The defense also said that they had likely called their last witness, DCT-008, who concluded his testimony at the end of last week.

Defense witness DCT-008 was the twentieth defense witness, a Liberian national who served as a radio operator in the Special Security Services (SSS) unit of Taylor’s government in Liberia. His testimony focused primarily on radio communications that occurred between Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in Sierra Leone and members of Taylor’s security apparatus in Liberia. Prosecutors contended that the radio communications that took place facilitated arms transfers for use in Sierra Leone’s bloody conflict. Prosecutors also alleged that the radio communications occurred with Taylor’s approval, allegations that Taylor denied, positing that his security forces could have had independent relationships with Sierra Leonean rebels. DCT-008 said that the communications and the diamond and arms trades that took place between Liberia and Sierra Leone were based solely on the friendship between RUF commander Sam Bockarie and SSS Director Benjamin Yeaten.

The court made the following rulings after defense counsel’s request. First, it gave the defense until September 24, 2010 to file any submissions. Second, it said it would hold a status conference on September 27, 2010 to look at the volume of the pending motions and determine a date for another status conference. Third, it set a two-week recess to commence on September 28. Finally, it stated that court would resume on October 12, 2010.

For more information, please see:

Charles Taylor Trial – At Status Conference, Judges Draw Up Schedule For The Conclusion Of Defense Case – 13 September 2010

Charles Taylor Trial – DCT-008 Concludes His Testimony And Could Be The Final Witness In the Charles Taylor Trial – 11 September 2010