Ban names envoy to curb rape in wars
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) — UN chief Ban Ki-Moon yesterday told African leaders he intended to name Sweden’s Margot Wallstrom, the European Commission’s outgoing vice-president, as special representative for combating sexual violence in conflict.
The Swedish diplomat said she would fight for the rape of women and children in conflict zones, such as Somalia, Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo to be recognised as a war crime.
Meanwhile, Ban criticised power-grabs in Africa in a speech to the continent’s leaders as Libya’s Moamer Kadhafi reluctantly handed over the presidency of the African Union to Malawi.
Build-up to the three-day summit in Addis Ababa was dominated by expectation that Kadhafi would try to extend his 12-month tenure as head of the AU.
But soon after Ban’s opening address, which urged leaders of the 53-member body to stick to good governance rules, Kadhafi announced an accord for Malawi’s President Bingu wa Mutharika to take the helm for the coming year.
“I accept this responsibility with a lot of humility, said Mutharika who was the candidate of the bloc of southern African nations.
Kadhafi’s presidency of the body was marked by his efforts to promote his vision of a “United States of Africa” — a project that made little progress during his 12 months in charge.
It also prompted awkward questions about the continent’s commitment to democracy, given the absence of free elections in Libya ever since Kadhafi took power in a bloodless coup in 1969.
In his opening address, Ban voiced concern about what he called a recent resurgence of “unconstitutional” power changes in Africa and rapped attempts by incumbents to change the law in order to help them stay in office.
“The resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in Africa is a matter of serious concern,” said the UN secretary general.
“We must also guard against the manipulation of established processes to retain power.”
African efforts to uphold democratic government suffered a string of setbacks this year, including in Madagascar where President Marc Ravalomanana was toppled in an army-backed coup in March, and in Guinea where a junta, which seized power in December 2008, was accused of massacring opposition followers.
Other recent trouble-spots include Niger where the president has brushed aside international criticism to allow himself another term in office and Mauritania where the country’s first democraticallyelected leader was toppled by the army in August 2008.
In his acceptance speech, Mutharika said it was time for Africa to fulfill its promise, saying “the time has come for Africa to develop Africa”.
“Africa is not a poor continent but the African populations are poor when we have actually a lot of natural resources,” he told his peers. “We have many scientists, engineers, artists, sports champions who are now in western countries contributing to the development of these countries.”
Kadhafi meanwhile said he would continue to push his dream of a fully integrated continent.
“There is no need for any title, I’ll remain in the front struggling. If we have one African voice, one African foreign policy in the international arena, then we’ll be heard. If we don’t unite we’ll be colonised again,” he said.
The summit’s official theme is information technology, but leaders barely touched on the subject on Sunday.
