U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA
IRIN-CEA Weekly Round-up 168
29 March - 04 April 2003


CONTENTS:

CAR: Bozize forms transitional government
CAR: UN Peace-building office to work with new administration
DRC: Parties sign peace deal
DRC: UNICEF gives $40.5 million for children's programme
DRC: MONUC denounces attacks against its forces
ROC: UNDP delivers equipment to fight Ebola
BURUNDI: 440 civilians reported killed in recent fighting in the east
BURUNDI: UN rights rapporteur says violence against civilians increasing
BURUNDI: Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa to send 3,500 peacekeepers
RWANDA: Youth still suffer consequences of genocide
UGANDA: Oil potential confirmed
UGANDA: MPs oppose third term for Museveni
UGANDA: Cholera outbreak contained, says health official
UGANDA: Court upholds right to execute soldiers without appeal

ALSO SEE:

CAR: Interview with Col Daoud Soumain Khalil, commander of Chadian forces
in Bangui
Full story

BURUNDI-TANZANIA: Refugees, agencies braced for political transition
Full story

UGANDA: Civilians targeted by their own people
Full story

EAST AFRICA: Traditional culture spreading HIV/AIDS
Full story


CAR: Bozize forms transitional government

Prime Minister Abel Goumba of the Central African Republic (CAR) on Monday
named his 28-member transitional government, composed of representatives
of civil society and all political parties. He also promised to
restructure financial services and pay civil servants 32 months of salary
arrears.

The new government comprises five ministers from the Concertation des
partis politiques d'opposition; four from the Convention des patriotes
centrafricains, the political arm of the rebel force of the self-declared
president, Francois Bozize; two from the Rassemblement democratique
centrafricain of former President Andre Kolingba; two from the Mouvement
de liberation du peuple centrafricain of the recently ousted president,
Ange-Felix Patasse; two from civil society; two women and four servicemen.
Another seven portfolios are shared among other parties.

Full story

Goumba, said on Tuesday that a transition period would last between one
and three years, after which elections would be held to decide on a new
government. "One or three years are the extreme limits [of a transition
period]. It may be halfway. I do not know," he told Radio France
Internationale (RFI).

"First there must be a return to calm and then we must keep the house
running. I do not think we can set in concrete the duration of the
transition. All we know is that the transition will lead to elections," he
said.

Full story


CAR: UN Peace-building office to work with new administration

The representative of the UN secretary-general in the CAR, Lamine Cisse,
has said the activities of the UN Peace-building Office (BONUCA) in CAR
will be revised and adapted to the new situation in the country. "The
mandate remains the same, but the activities will be readjusted," Cisse,
who heads BONUCA, told IRIN on Tuesday. "Before, we worked with a
democratically elected regime. Now we are going to work with a different
one."

Cisse, who met Bozize on 27 March, said he had to wait for a national
transitional council to be formed before he knew exactly what BONUCA could
do.

Full story

DRC: Parties sign peace deal

All parties to the nearly five-year war in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) signed a peace deal on Wednesday, amid warnings that the
biggest challenges in ending the conflict are yet to come. At the final
session of talks in South Africa, the DRC government, rebel movements,
political opposition parties and representatives of civil society agreed
to set up a transitional government to oversee democratic elections after
two years. But DRC President Joseph Kabila, who is to retain his post in
the new administtration supported by four vice-presidents from rebel
groups and the civilian opposition, was not present to sign the accord in
person.

The agreement was hailed by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as the
Congolese people's "best chance of restoring peace" in their country. But
in an address delivered on his behalf by his special envoy, Moustapha
Niasse, Annan warned: "No one should imagine that the all-inclusive
agreement will implement itself. The most complex and difficult tasks
still lie ahead."

While the parties have agreed that rebel fighters should be merged within
a new national army, key questions remain over the command structure of an
integrated force.

Full story


DRC: UNICEF gives $40.5 million for children's programme

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has granted the DRC US $40.5 million for
the implementation of a three-year children's programme, according to
UNICEF. The UNICEF Board approved $48.6 million in additional financial
resources "to ensure that the objectives are met during the three-year
programme", the agency reported.

"The programme is expected to improve the respect of the rights of all
Congolese children, particularly the most vulnerable ones," UNICEF
reported. The 2003-2005 programme follows a transitional one that focused
on achieving the goals set by the World Summit in favour of children.
UNICEF said it, the DRC government and representatives of civil society
developed the programme jointly.

Full story


DRC: MONUC denounces attacks against its forces

The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, on Wednesday
denounced a spate of attacks against its forces in three locations in
North Kivu Province. In a statement from its Kinshasa headquarters, MONUC
said demonstrators dressed as school students attacked its base at
Kanyabayonga on Wednesday, looting equipment from buildings housing MONUC
observers. In a similar attack in Lubero, property belonging to the
mission was destroyed. On Tuesday, demonstrators took part in an
anti-MONUC march in Beni.

The statement described "such acts of vandalism" against the peacekeepers
as "unacceptable" and in violation of international agreements.

MONUC said it had contacted the rebel group controlling the zone, the
Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Kisangani, and the rival
Rwandan-backed rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma, to
ascertain the reasons behind the attacks and to ensure an end to the
violence.


ROC: UNDP delivers equipment to fight Ebola

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has delivered communications and other
equipment to support the Republic of Congo's contingency plan to stamp out
the Ebola virus, according to the agency.

The UNDP interim resident representative, Jacques Bandelier, handed over
the equipment to Health Minister Alain Moka on 25 March in the capital,
Brazzaville. UNDP said it would also help coordinate joint efforts
humanitarian agencies to overcome the outbreak. Some of the agencies
involved in the effort are  the EC's humanitarian branch, ECHO, UNICEF,
the World Food Programme, Medecins Sans Frontieres-Netherlands and the
World Health Organisation.

Full story


BURUNDI: 440 civilians reported killed in recent fighting in the east

An independent radio station in Burundi, African Public Radio, reported on
Thursday that around 440 civilians have been killed in fighting in the
eastern province of Ruyigi since January. The radio, which has an office
in Ruyigi, said the civilians died in fighting between the rebel Conseil
national pour la defense de la democratie-Force pour la defense de la
democratie and government troops in Gisuru commune in Ruyigi. The report,
based on survivors' testimonies and interviews with local officials, said
hundreds of houses had been looted and burnt.

Ruyigi Province, bordering Tanzania, has been the centre of continued
fighting between rebels and the army for a number of months. The UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has expressed concern at the
deteriorating humanitarian situation in the whole province.

Hundreds of people displaced by the fighting in the hills have been
sleeping rough in the bush, local officials have reported. Humanitarian
agencies say the Burundian army has prevented them from delivering food
and medicine to the displaced, claiming the area is insecure.


BURUNDI: UN rights rapporteur says violence against civilians increasing

The UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Burundi has reported an
increase in violence against civilians caught up in the 10-year of civil
war. Presenting her sixth report on Burundi to the UN Commission on Human
Rights in Geneva on Monday, Marie-Therese Keita Bocoum, said state and
non-state actors had violated the right to life in the continuing war.

She said that between July and September 2002, state agents had allegedly
killed a number of civilians (including women, children and the elderly).
Bocoum said the Burundian government continued to run illegal detention
centres within military camps and in insecure places. Also, torture and
other forms of punishment continued to be inflicted in different police
stations and underground detention centres. Law enforcement agents, she
said, had been accused of torturing civilians.

Full story


BURUNDI: Ethiopia, Mozambique, South Africa to send 3,500 peacekeepers

The defence ministers of Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa announced
on Tuesday that their countries would send 3,500 peacekeeping troops to
Burundi, under the aegis of the African Union (AU), according to Ethiopian
TV. The ministers announced their commitment at a news conference in Addis
Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, following a joint meeting to discuss
recommendations on the force's level and mandate.

During the meeting, the ministers approved a report presented to them by a
technical committee and finalised preparations for sending the troops.
However, the date for the deployment of the troops is yet to be fixed.

The ministers said they would send the report they had approved to the AU
on Wednesday "to define and decide the mission of the peacekeeping force".
Ethiopian TV reported that as soon as the AU had adopted the document, the
three countries would send their forces to Burundi.

Full story


RWANDA: Youth still suffer consequences of genocide

The government of Rwanda must do more to help children and young people
who are still suffering the "devastating consequences" of the 1994
genocide, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday.

In an 80-page report, "Lasting Wounds: Consequences of Genocide and War
for Rwanda's Children", HRW documents widespread abuse and exploitation of
children since the genocide.

The report said that some families which opened their homes to needy
children after the genocide had not always respected foster children's
rights because of their own impoverished situation. It said some children
were exploited as domestic servants in exchange for food and a place to
sleep. Thousands fled to city streets, only to find themselves harassed
and arrested by law enforcement officials.

"The Rwandan government has repeatedly promised to remedy the human rights
problems that many children still suffer, but words are not enough," said
Sara Rakita, the author of the report. "These children have already
suffered terribly, and they need protection from further abuse."

For the full report go to: http://hrw.org/reports/2003/rwanda0403


UGANDA: Oil potential confirmed

Uganda has a potential oil reserve of "several billions of barrels", said
a Canadian oil and gas exploration company, the Heritage Oil Corporation,
in a statement released on Monday. "Heritage is confident of our continued
success in Uganda and our commitment is demonstrated by the mobilisation
of a more powerful drilling unit, well test equipment and a new seismic
campaign," said Michael Wood, its chief executive officer. "It is
important that we move forward with our team and the right equipment to
further establish the prospectivity and confirm the potential of the
basin."

The company's chairman, Michael Gulbenkian, said he was very pleased to be
able to announce such "encouraging results from our Ugandan exploration
play", which, he said, had the potential of becoming "a new world class
basin".

Heritage has a 50 percent interest in the Block 3 concession which covers
1.1 million acres of land in western Uganda along the border with the DRC.


UGANDA: MPs oppose third term for Museveni

Ugandan opposition leaders have vowed to block the decision by the members
of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to allow President Yoweri
Museveni to run for a third term in office.
The decision to remove the presidential term limit provided for in the
constitution was reached this week by some 200 members of the NRM's top
decision-making organ, the National Executive Committee, at a conference
in the capital, Kampala. Museveni, whose current term ends in 2006, is
Uganda's longest-serving president.

Betty Kamya, the spokeswoman for the Reform Agenda, a political pressure
group led by Kiiza Besigye, Museveni's main challenger in the 2001
presidential elections, told IRIN that the NRM's action undermined the
authority of the country's latest constitution, adopted in 1995.

Norbert Mao, an opposition MP, told IRIN that he had started to mobilise
his colleagues to oppose the bid when it came up for discussion in
parliament. Aggrey Awori, another MP, said the bid to give Museveni a
third term ran counter to the president's earlier promises. "He [Museveni]
himself told us in parliament that he would not contest again. Now we want
to see how he will present this to us," Awori told IRIN.

Full story


UGANDA: Cholera outbreak contained, says health official

The Ugandan health authorities on Tuesday said several medical teams had
been dispatched to districts affected by a cholera epidemic sweeping
through most of the country's western regions, bordering on the DRC. John
Kyabaggu, the director of health services told journalists on Tuesday that
nine deaths and over 230 cases of cholera had been reported in the west
over the past two weeks alone. The districts most affected were
Bundibugyo, Hoima, Kasese, and Masindi, he said. Cases had also been
reported in Kabarole, Arua and Nebbi.

Kyabaggu went on to say that the epidemic had now been brought "under
control". "We already have a surveillance team from headquarters that is
monitoring the situation and visiting the affected areas," he said.

Full story


UGANDA: Court upholds right to execute soldiers without appeal

The Ugandan Constitutional Court on Monday upheld a law that allows the
execution of Ugandan soldiers without appeal to the Supreme Court. "It is
clear that the constitution regards a field court martial as a special
court, which is only established to maintain law, order and military
discipline in a field of operation where employing the normal court
structures would create problems for the field commanders," ruled the
panel of five judges.

The president of the Ugandan Law Society, Andrew Kasirye, said in a
statement that he was dissatisfied with the ruling. "We are dealing with
the most fundamental of all human rights, the right to life, and the court
seems to have missed this," he said. "It may be security matters to the
state but to the individual, it is his life."

"A notice of appeal has already been filed," he added.

Full story


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