Amnesty calls for full Sudan arms embargo

Amnesty calls for full Sudan arms embargo
The conflict in Sudan of 48 million has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. (AFP)
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Updated 25 July 2024
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Amnesty calls for full Sudan arms embargo

Amnesty calls for full Sudan arms embargo
  • “There are hundreds of thousands of weapons, millions of rounds of ammunition going into Sudan,” fueling mass human rights violations, said Brian Castner on Amnesty
  • The UN Security Council must “urgently expand the arms embargo to the rest of Sudan, and also strengthen its monitoring and verification mechanisms,” said Deprose Muchena

PORT SUDAN: Amnesty International called on the United Nations Thursday to extend the arms embargo on Darfur to cover all of Sudan, in a report on weapons flooding the war-torn country.
The 15-month war between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces “is being fueled by an almost unimpeded supply of weapons into Sudan by states and corporate actors around the world,” the rights watchdog said.
The new report, titled “New Weapons Fuelling the Sudan Conflict,” found recently manufactured or transferred weapons from countries including Russia, Turkiye, Serbia, China and others were being imported and used on the battlefield.
Since it erupted in April last year, the war has killed tens of thousands of people, with some estimating the toll to be as high as 150,000, according to US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello.
It has also uprooted over 10 million people, creating what the UN calls the world’s worst displacement crisis.
“There are hundreds of thousands of weapons, millions of rounds of ammunition going into Sudan,” fueling mass human rights violations, Brian Castner, Amnesty’s head of crisis research, told AFP.
The existing arms embargo, which since 2004 has applied only to Sudan’s western Darfur region, “is both too narrowly focused” and “too poorly implemented to have any meaningful impact on curbing these weapons flows,” the report found.
The UN Security Council must “urgently expand the arms embargo to the rest of Sudan, and also strengthen its monitoring and verification mechanisms,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty’s senior director for Regional Human Rights Impact.
Even if the Security Council — whose response to the Sudan war Amnesty has dubbed “woefully inadequate” — does not extend the embargo, “all states and corporate actors must immediately cease supplies of all arms and ammunition to Sudan,” or risk violating arms treaty obligations and international humanitarian law.
Both sides of the conflict have been repeatedly accused of war crimes including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid, while millions of Sudanese suffer on the brink of starvation.
According to Castner, the sheer volume of small arms entering Sudan is cause for significant alarm.
“Most people are killed by small arms. Most violations, including sexual violence and displacement, are facilitated by small arms,” the veteran weapons investigator said.
“It’s individual soldiers with rifles that are removing people from their homes and burning them,” he continued.
On Monday, French medical charity Doctors Without Borders said that of thousands of war-wounded treated at one of its main hospitals in the Sudanese capital, 53 percent suffered gunshot wounds.


Family speak of ‘desperation’ as UK couple still missing in Red Sea

Family speak of ‘desperation’ as UK couple still missing in Red Sea
Updated 12 sec ago
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Family speak of ‘desperation’ as UK couple still missing in Red Sea

Family speak of ‘desperation’ as UK couple still missing in Red Sea
  • Jenny Cawson, Tariq Sinada disappeared after tourism boat sank on Monday
  • Her parents say they have had to rely on Egyptians for info rather than UK Foreign Office

LONDON: A British family have spoken of their “desperation” after a young couple went missing almost a week ago when the tourist boat they were on sank off the Egyptian coast.

Seven people are still unaccounted for after the sinking of the Sea Story vessel on Monday in the Red Sea, including Jenny Cawson, 36, and her husband Tariq Sinada, 49.

Cawson’s family said they are not being given sufficient information on the ongoing search for the pair by the UK Foreign Office.

Her father Michael Williams told the BBC that they were informed by Sinada’s mother of what had happened. “We were just in disbelief, it’s one of those moments when the world stops,” he said.

Cawson’s mother Pamela said: “Your heart sinks. You ask yourself, have I misread the news? Let’s look again.”

The four-deck vessel was carrying 31 passengers and 13 crew when it sank in stormy weather. It reportedly capsized after being hit by a large wave.

Nationalities aboard included Belgian, Chinese, Finnish, German, Irish, Polish, Slovakian, Spanish, Swiss and American. So far 33 people have been recovered alive, along with four bodies.

The Sea Story set out on a five-day scuba tour. Cawson and Sinada were experienced divers and had traveled to Egypt several times before.

Pamela said: “Everything Jenny and her husband do is highly considered; they do proper research before traveling anywhere. They are not the type of people who take anything at face value.”

The family say they have been forced to reach out to local authorities and sources due to a lack of information from the Foreign Office.

A rescue diver told the BBC earlier this week that five of the 33 survivors had been found alive trapped inside the submerged vessel.

Pamela said: “One of the local sources was kind enough to try and look for (Cawson and Sinada) in local hospitals.”


Gulf leaders arrive in Kuwait for 45th GCC Summit

Gulf leaders arrive in Kuwait for 45th GCC Summit
Updated 3 min 49 sec ago
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Gulf leaders arrive in Kuwait for 45th GCC Summit

Gulf leaders arrive in Kuwait for 45th GCC Summit
  • Summit aims to underscore the importance of collective action among nations in the region

RIYADH: Gulf leaders have started arriving in Kuwait ahead of the 45th GCC summit, which aims to underscore the importance of collective action among nations in the region.

GCC Secretary General Jassem Al-Budaiwi, said the summit was yet another milestone in the chain of accomplishments for attaining the aspired pan-GCC merger, in a statement published by Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA.

 

 

It is rather a platform for the leaders to coordinate their visions and stands toward regional and international issues, said Al-Budaiwi, revealing that leaders would look into strategic files designed to strengthen regional security and stability, in addition to backing up sustainable economic development in the six countries, members of the bloc.

“We recall with pride the developments and innovations that all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have reached, becoming an example to be followed in security, development, flourishing as well as a destination for regional excellence in overall progress,” according to Saudi Ambassador to Kuwait Prince Sultan bin Saad Al-Saud, in a separate KUNA report.

The Saudi envoy affirmed that the GCC had carried out its international duties within the frame of the international community, championing wisdom and balance in the regional and international arenas.

The GCC is a beacon of hope in the region and it has worked as a unifier of efforts by all GCC citizens, he added.

Among those who have arrived in Kuwait, which hosts the event, are Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Qatar’s Ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, UAE Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Oman’s Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers Sayyed Fahad bin Mahmoud Al-Said.

The Saudi official delegation includes Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers Prince Turki bin Mohammad, Minister of Sports Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of State, Member of the Council of Ministers and National Security Advisor Dr. Musaid Al-Aiban, Minister of Finance Mohammad Al-Jadaan, Minister of Transport Saleh Al-Jasser and other senior officials, KUNA reported.


Iraq MPs to debate revised bill after outcry over underage marriage

Iraq MPs to debate revised bill after outcry over underage marriage
Updated 01 December 2024
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Iraq MPs to debate revised bill after outcry over underage marriage

Iraq MPs to debate revised bill after outcry over underage marriage
  • Proposed amendments would let people choose between religious or state regulations for family matters
  • A revised version of the bill sets the minimum age at 15 with court approval and retains ‘current conditions’
BAGHDAD: Iraq’s parliament will review contentious legal amendments Sunday, including a reworked family law bill that has sparked civil society outrage over fears of a resurgence in underage marriages.
The proposed amendments would let people choose between religious or state regulations for family matters, such as marriage, inheritance, divorce and child custody.
Critics fear the move could erode protections for Muslim women by lowering the legal age for marriage – currently set at 18, or 15 with the consent of legal guardians and a judge – and pave the way for the adoption of Islamic jurisprudence that could allow marriages as young as nine years old.
A revised version of the bill sets the minimum age at 15 with court approval and retains “current conditions,” according to MP Raed Al-Maliki, who backs the new proposals.
Couples could opt for Shiite Muslim or Sunni Muslim rules under the amendment.
If passed, clerics and lawyers would have four months to establish community-specific regulations. Parliament would then vote again to finalize the changes.
The draft law has already undergone two readings, with votes previously delayed.
An earlier version faced backlash from feminists and civil society groups.
In October, Amnesty International warned the amendments could legalize unregistered marriages – often used to bypass child marriage bans – and strip protections for divorced women.
The London-based rights group also voiced concerns that the amendments would strip women and girls of protections regarding divorce and inheritance.
Sunday’s parliament session will also include a vote on a general amnesty law.
Excluded from amnesty are convictions for terrorism and crimes like rape, incest, human trafficking and kidnapping.
The amnesty, covering 2016-2024, could apply to drug users but not traffickers, according to Maliki.
Cases based on evidence from “secret informants” may qualify for retrial.
The previous 2016 amnesty reportedly covered 150,000 people.

UNRWA chief says pausing aid delivery through key Gaza-Israel crossing

UNRWA chief says pausing aid delivery through key Gaza-Israel crossing
Updated 01 December 2024
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UNRWA chief says pausing aid delivery through key Gaza-Israel crossing

UNRWA chief says pausing aid delivery through key Gaza-Israel crossing
  • Delivery through Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing has been paused due to unsafe route and looting by armed gangs inside Gaza

The UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees is pausing the delivery of aid through the key Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza because of security concerns, its chief said Sunday.
“We are pausing the delivery of aid through Kerem Shalom... The road out of this crossing has not been safe for months. On 16 November, a large convoy of aid trucks was stolen by armed gangs. Yesterday, we tried to bring in a few food trucks on the same route. They were all taken,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X.


Turkish-backed Syrian militants blocked Kurdish plan, Turkish security sources say

Turkish-backed Syrian militants blocked Kurdish plan, Turkish security sources say
Updated 01 December 2024
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Turkish-backed Syrian militants blocked Kurdish plan, Turkish security sources say

Turkish-backed Syrian militants blocked Kurdish plan, Turkish security sources say
  • Militants blocked an attempt by Kurdish groups to establish a corridor connecting Tel Rifaat to northeastern Syria

ANKARA: Turkiye-backed Syrian militants who are fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad have blocked an attempt by Kurdish groups to establish a corridor connecting Tel Rifaat to northeastern Syria, Turkish security sources said on Sunday.
Turkiye refers to this group of rebels as Syrian National Army.
The sources said that Kurdish groups, including the PKK and YPG, had sought to take advantage of Syrian government forces withdrawing from parts of the country under the control of Assad’s forces.
The corridor would have linked the Kurdish-held northeastern regions to Tel Rifaat, a strategic area northwest of Aleppo.