The Zimbabwe government has no plans to rejoin the Commonwealth and anyone lobbying for Harare to be allowed back to the bloc will be working against Zimbabwe’s position, a Cabinet minister has said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said Zimbabwe was unjustifiably suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002 after the bloc of former British colonies premised its decision on what they regarded as ‘preponderance of opinion’.

Mumbengegwi said this while giving oral evidence on Monday before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Makonde MP Kindness Paradza (Zanu-PF) regarding Zimbabwe’s foreign policy.

“Since then, there has never been a review of Commonwealth membership by the Government of Zimbabwe. In fact, it is difficult to see any such review taking place in the foreseeable future. Therefore, any parliamentarians who lobby foreign parliamentarians for Zimbabwe to be allowed to join the Commonwealth must know that their efforts are at variance with the Government of Zimbabwe. The Commonwealth is, after all, first and foremost an association of governments,” he said.

Giving some background, Minister Mumbengegwi said Zimbabwe was initially suspended for one year following a report by the Commonwealth Election Observer Mission after they asserted that while Presidential elections had been held professionally they had received complaints from the opposition of violence which allegedly occurred before they arrived in the country.

As a result, he said, a troika of the Commonwealth comprising former South African president Thabo Mbeki, his then Nigerian counterpart President Olusegun Obasanjo and the then Australian prime minister John Howard announced the suspension after a whole day of deliberations.

Minister Mumbengegwi said Zimbabwe was subsequently suspended by President Obasanjo on what he called ‘preponderance of opinion’ in spite of fierce opposition by Sadc and Uganda that the decision undermined the Commonwealth tradition of decision- making by consensus.

“For Zimbabwe to come back, these were the conditions, (that) secretary-general (Donald) McKinnon and chairman Obasanjo must unanimously recommend to a committee of seven foreign ministers, which had been set up, who in turn must unanimously recommend to all members of the Commonwealth who must unanimously agree to lift the suspension of Zimbabwe,” said Minister Mumbengegwi.

He said this coincided with Zanu-PF national people’s conference in Masvingo that subsequently voted to pull out from the Commonwealth.

On re-engagement with the European Union, Minister Mumbengegwi said the Western bloc had failed to substantiate its allegations of absence of democracy and rule of law.

Of late, he said, the United States and the EU had sought to justify their sanctions on the alleged disappearance of journalist and opposition political activist Itai Dzamara.

“I have said to them, look, before the Dzamara issue, why did you impose sanctions in the first place? I asked them to bring evidence of alleged abuse, specific evidence but they have failed,” he said.

Legislators also expressed concern on the state of infrastructure of Zimbabwean embassies which they said was embarrassing.

Minister Mumbengegwi said it was a reflection of the harsh economic environment in the country.

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The top United Nations humanitarian official in Sudan said today she is deeply concerned about the plight of more than 85,000 newly displaced civilians in North Darfur state who have fled their villages in recent days as a result of an escalation of conflict in the region’s Jebel Marra area.

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Marta Ruedas, said in a press release that this past Monday, she visited Tawilla, west of El Fasher on the fringes of the Jebel Marra, where more than 22,000 people, mostly women and children, have gathered in recent weeks next to an existing camp for displaced people.

“Seeing hundreds of women and children in Tawilla and speaking to the local authorities there very much brings it home: that civilians continue to bear the brunt of conflict every day and their protection is our paramount concern,” Ms Ruedas stressed.

The UN, along with international and national organizations, and the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, are delivering assistance to those in need, and more is on the way, but the massive influx of new arrivals in recent days has “put a strain on what was an already logistically complex operation,” the UN official said.

Ms. Ruedas also said an 11-truck convoy left El Fasher with more aid, including food, for Sortony, where there are more than 63,000 newly-displaced people taking refuge next to a UN peacekeeping site.

To date, the United Nations and its partners have not been granted access to key locations reportedly affected by civilian displacement in Central Darfur, despite reports of wide-scale movement of people and potential emergency need.

Calling for immediate access to all people in need so that those affected can receive the humanitarian assistance they require, Ms. Ruedas in particular urged all parties to the conflict to allow the UN and its partners to reach displaced people in Central Darfur.

As of February 20, there are 22,261 newly displaced people in Tawilla, of whom 18,974 are verified, and 63,223 newly displaced people in Sortony, of whom 41,530 have been registered, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

According to the Kebkabiya Smallholder Charitable Society, a non-profit organization, and Oxfam International, there are also 2,018 displaced people in Kebkabiya. This brings the total of displaced in North Darfur State as a result of the recent Jebel Marra hostilities to 87,502, the UN official said.

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Burkina Faso’s ousted leader Blaise Compaore has been granted Ivorian citizenship, effectively ending the prospect of his extradition to face murder charges back home.

The order was signed by Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in November 2014, but has only just come to light.

Mr Compaore is wanted over his alleged role in the murder of iconic ex-leader Thomas Sankara in 1987.

His 27-year rule ended in October 2014 after a wave of popular protests.

Mr Compaore, whose wife is Ivorian, has been in exile in Ivory Coast since his overthrow in October 2014.

An arrest warrant was issued for him in December.

Mr Sankara, a left-wing radical seen as ‘Africa’s Che Guevara’, is considered a hero for many Africans and was succeeded by Mr Compaore, who had served as his deputy.

The exact circumstances of his death have remained a mystery.

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United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his call for support from Member States to resolve global humanitarian issues like the refugee and migrant crisis and ensuring human dignity for all.

Mr Ki-moon said this during a visit to a site hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

“We have to give hope to young people…  “Particularly, we have to do much more to bring all these children back to school; we have to do much more to protect human dignity and human rights of women and girls to save them, to protect them from sexual violence,” said Mr Ban on the first stop of his two-day visit that includes attending the opening session of the Great Lakes Private Sector Investment Conference in the capital Kinshasa.

Mr Ban is expected to meet with President Joseph Kabila and other senior Congolese Government officials to discuss all these matters today.

He said his visit to IDP camps, meeting so many people, particularly young people, reminded him of when he was six years old in Republic of Korea in 1950.

“When the Korean War broke out, it was a deadly horrible war. There were millions of people killed and tens of millions had been separated, displaced. I was one of them. I had to flee,” he said, adding that the United Nations had been a ‘beacon of hope’ then and had rescued his country ‘from the brink of collapse’.

Now the United Nations are doing the same, despite a lack of resources, to protect the rights of 60 million IDPs and refugees around the world, the highest number since the end of the war.

To that end, he will convene the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, in May, as well as a summit on global migration and refugee issues in September. “We need support from the Member States as the UN cannot do it alone,” he said. “No country can resolve all these issues alone.”

Responding to a question about authorities wanting to close some IDP camps in North Kivu, he said he told the Governor not to close them. The authorities seem to be lacking resources, but the UN will work together with the local and central Governments. “It is important to provide life-saving assistance to those people who need daily humanitarian assistance,” he said.

On a question on efforts to improve security in the areas of origin of IDPs, he said people should be protected from violence, particularly women and girls. But there are clearly limits for peacekeepers to do it all. That is why the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, known by the French acronym FARDC, and the national police are working very closely.

“The protection of civilians is the number one priority for UN peacekeepers,” he said.

Tomorrow the Secretary-General will leave Kinshasa for Juba, South Sudan, where he is expected to meet with President Salva Kiir and visit a Protection of Civilians’ site that is run by the UN mission.

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The general command of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), which is the official army of South Sudan, has warned of security vacuum should its forces withdraw from the national capital, Juba, in implementation of the security arrangements signed with the opposition faction of SPLA-IO.

About 80% of the several thousand troops stationed at the strategic entry points and junction leading out of Juba town withdrew on Thursday morning, according to South Sudanese defense minister.

Addressing a withdrawal ceremony of the forces on Thursday, defense minister Kuol Manyang Juuk commended the soldiers for exhibiting nationalism in defending the country and the constitution.

“The mandate of the army is to defend the country, protect citizens and their properties. You have executed this mandate very well but you need to do more to protect the lives of the people and their properties. The security of this country and the citizens is in your hands,” said Juuk.

Speaking at the same function broadcast by the state owned South Sudan Television (SSTV) on Thursday, SPLA’s chief of general staff, Paul Malong Awan, urged the soldiers to exercise patience wherever they will be deployed and to provide adequate security and protection to the citizens and their properties.

“Be patient wherever you will be deployed. In wherever you will be deployed, there will be a road and this road will be used by public vehicles, it will be used by the civilians, you need to protect them. In wherever you will be deployed, there will be civilians close to you, you need to protect them. Your presence close to them should be source of security. It should not be source of insecurity,” explained Awan, who was known for resisting implementation of the security arrangements in the past.

The announcement of the withdrawal is interpreted as a humiliating setback for senior military officers and senior government officials who have been obstinate and showed unwillingness to accept mounting regional and international pressure to implement the security arrangements as per the October 2015 security deal which the two sides signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“Our troops have completed withdrawal in Juba. As you have seen yesterday, they left Juba already. This was supposed to be done when there is a force to take complete control so that there is no security gap. Now this withdrawal of essential units without immediate replacement will create security vacuum,” said deputy chief of general staff for operations, Lt General James Ajonga Mawut, on Tuesday.

General Mawut confirmed that the government troops have withdrawn heavy artillery from the town as required by the security deal, following claims and accusations that the government was procrastinating withdrawal in a clear violation of the security arrangement which is a prerequisite to forming transitional government of national unity.

The government is expected to deploy a total military and police force of over 5,000 in Juba, as part of its joint force with 2,910 from the opposition SPLA-IO.

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