Efforts to stop child labour in South Sudan in top gear

JUBA, 29 September 2011 (NASS) – The Government of the Republic of South Sudan through the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare in partnership with the International Labour Organization, International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour, and Tackling Child Labour Through Education are working on strategies to monitor and eliminate child labour in South Sudan by fully applying the Child Act, 2008.

The partners held a workshop in Juba this week whose objective was to develop a framework to tackle child labour in South Sudan by building protective environment for the children; advocacy by the civil society on the participation of the children; creation of appropriate attitudes, customs and practices coupled with the relevant reintegration programmes safeguarding the interests of children; asserting that all children have rights regardless of their gender, race, religion; and bringing to an end the employment of children in bars, lodges and other entertainment premises.

USAID pledges support to teacher training institutes in South Sudan

JUBA, 29 September 2011 - Maridi, Malakal and Mbili Girls’ teacher training institutes will soon experience a facelift in an attempt to provide better learning environment and a modern training institute for teachers in South Sudan.

This was revealed yesterday by Mr Kelvin J. Mullally the Mission Director of USAID in South Sudan after his meeting with the minister for General Education and Instruction Hon Joseph Ukel. The two discussed the urgent need to renovate or even reconstruct the three teacher training institutes that were been devastated by the war.

Sudan bars SPLM-North and other 'southern parties'

Sudan has ordered 17 political parties to stop their activities, saying most of their leaders and members come from newly independent South Sudan and so are now foreigners.




Those targeted includes the SPLM-North, which was outlawed last week.

The party has strong ties to former SPLM rebels - now the ruling party in the south which seceded in July.





SPLM-North says its offices have been shut
and supporters arrested since the trouble in Blue Nile



This crackdown follows fighting in some border states between soldiers loyal to SPLM-North and government troops.

South Sudan voted to split from Sudan in a referendum last January, following the 2005 peace deal ending decades of north-south civil war in which an estimated 1.5 million died.

South Sudan border wars

by Steve Paterno
September 18, 2011 — The newly established republic of South Sudan happens to border six countries, Sudan in the North, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Central African Republic. Among the challenges the new country is facing is an attempt to properly demarcate its international territorial boundaries. This task is not going to be an easy feat for the new nation, which has to virtually build itself from the ashes of wars and conflicts.
The North-South Sudanese border with Khartoum has already been the point of contentions. In accordance with Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the border supposed to be demarcated during the interim period. However, with the regime in Khartoum dragging its feet, the border is never demarcated. Instead, Khartoum began to wage border wars, starting in Abyei, a vocal point that is in the South, but yet claimed by Khartoum. For the regime in Khartoum, what are at stake in these borders are gateway into natural resources and appetite for hegemony as well as nostalgic dictum that it can never let go in its imaginations. Thus far, the North-South borders remain ever volatile, with potential for explosions.
It is worthy to be noted that with the exception of Ethiopia, South Sudan is the first to have its international boundaries drawn, much earlier than all of the neighboring countries, in 1956; whereas, Democratic Republic of Congo 1960, Chad 1960, Uganda 1962, and Kenya 1964, respectively.

South Sudan: WES’s Mvolo and Lake’s state Yirol West reconciliation

September 19, 2011 (JUBA) - The communities of Yirol West county, Lakes state and Mvolo county, Western Equatoria state signed a memorandum of understanding in Mopourdit payam [district] on the 17 September 2011 after a two-day reconciliation conference facilitated by the Mundri Relief Development Association (MRDA).
Over 400 participants from both states converged in Mapourdit, Yirol West to resolve the conflict between the two communities which has been escalating over the past five years, leading to a significant loss of life and thousands of displaced people.
The two communities agreed that there shall be “free movement of people between the two states and the tribal conflict be stopped with effect from 17 September 2011”.


Who are the "13 most corrupt" South Sudanese officials?

By Justin Ambago Ramba
September 18, 2011 — It is no secret that one of the outstanding political changes in Africa which more than not is attributable to the post 9/11 US foreign policy shift is the coming of South Sudan into the central stage of the world politics. Nobody knew that the fate of this people who led one of Africa’s longest liberation struggles in the modern history would change so dramatically as it did soon as the US changed its’ polices and alliances in the Arab and Islamic region.

As a fact of history, the way to South Sudan’s independence wasn’t any easy. To put it mildly, it was in defiance of many old regional political traditions and negatively held views about secessionism in the African continent that the new Republic of South Sudan (RSS) deservedly made it to become the world’s newest state. But as we follow some of the stories as they unfold, one is left with the impression that there is more to this new nation’s politics than that meets the eye.

Wikileaks: Sudan seeks U.S. help to normalize ties with Israel

September 6, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese government conveyed to the United States in 2008 its desire to normalize ties with Israel, according to one of the diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks website.

 The breathtaking revelation by the anti-secrecy website will likely cause a huge embarrassment to the Islamic government in Khartoum which prides itself as being a staunch supporter of the Palestinian people.

Top Sudanese officials including president Omer Hassan al-Bashir meet publicly with leaders of Islamic militant group Hamas who visit Khartoum.

South Sudan new capital Ramciel doesn’t need a claimer

By Isaiah Abraham
September 14, 2011 — The Republic of South Sudan leadership (represented partly by the Executive) has chosen a piece of land in Lakes State as the national seat for the government of the people of South Sudan. The decision was taken by the Council of Ministers couple of days ago, subject to Parliament endorsement. The President has formed a Task Force or Committee to look into the geographical area of the new land, and to map out strategies for possible planning leading to relocation. This is a second team (Task Force) within six month. Everyone knows every detail therein, yeah?
But the urgency of the matter at hand especially this year was felt by everyone, as the current city Juba isn’t anymore suitable to host the national capital due largely to land problem but also politics. The dice therefore has gone in Ramciel favor in the aforesaid state, and the issues at hand are: will the Task Force completes the mission more successfully on time, or will it end inconclusively like others before it? How about resources? I know some people have started to worry about financial support for that great idea, but the government is the government, we can start small, and if we want to leap, the government can borrow, why not! We have enough resources to clear our debts within no time when we settle.