News Highlights – Friday September 25, 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Region Infections Deaths Recoveries Globe 32.4 million 988,523 23.9 million Africa 1.444 million 34,760 1,190 million Ethiopia 71,687 1,148 29,461 Follow live updates on worldometers.info/coronavirus/

• China aims to make 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses a year - AP A Chinese health official said Friday that the country’s annual production capacity for coronavirus vaccines will top 1 billion doses next year, following an aggressive government support program for construction of new factories. Capacity is expected to reach 610 million doses by the end of this year, Zheng Zhongwei from the National Health Commission said. “Next year, our annual capacity will reach more than 1 billion doses,” he said at a news conference. American pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Moderna aim to produce a billion doses each in 2021 as well. Zheng said distribution of the vaccines would prioritize groups such as medical workers, border personnel and the elderly before they are made available to the general public. China has promoted the construction of vaccine testing facilities and manufacturing plants, and assigned independent monitors for their assembly. China has 11 vaccine candidates in human trials, with four of them currently in the third and final trials. One of those is CoronaVac, made by the private company SinoVac, which is already rolling off the factory floor at a bio-secure facility outside Beijing. SinoVac’s chairman, Yin Weidong, said Thursday that the factory was built in months, and more could be constructed if demand is sufficient. Some nations are pooling vaccine efforts to ensure success against the disease. More than 150 countries are setting up the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility, or COVAX, under the World Health Organization. Their target is to make 2 billion doses to inoculate 20% of the world’s population. The director-general of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said earlier this month that “the goal must be to vaccinate some people in all countries, rather than all the people in some countries.”

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GERD News • Al-Sisi calls for end to Ethiopia dam dispute, showcases ’s efforts - Daily News Egypt

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Talks should not be extended indefinitely in an attempt to impose fait accompli, says Egyptian President. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has called upon the international community to urge the parties involved in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to reach an agreement. Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, the parties in the issue, have failed to resolve the dispute, despite almost a decade of negotiations. During his speech before the 75th UN General Assembly, President Al-Sisi said that negotiations should not continue forever as realities on the ground are changing. He conveyed Egypt’s “heightened concern” over the project that Ethiopia is constructing on the River “that has given life to millions of people over thousands of years.” The current round of negotiations started on 27 July, in the presence of observers from the African Union (AU) Assembly Bureau, alongside representatives from AU member states, the US, and the EU. The current round aims to reach a legally binding agreement between the three countries on the dam’s filling and operation, in accordance with the principle of no-harm. “We have spent nearly a decade in painstaking negotiations with our brothers in Sudan and Ethiopia, seeking to reach an agreement that regulates the filling and operation of the dam, and which achieves the required balance between the development requirements of the Ethiopian people and saving Egypt’s water interests and ensuring its right to life,” Al-Sisi said. The president said that the three parties have engaged in successive rounds of intensive negotiations over the current year, in which the US administration has exerted appreciated efforts. He also said that the US efforts have been aimed at bringing the three countries’ stances closer, through the talks it has sponsored in collaboration with the World Bank. “Over several months, we also sincerely engaged in the discussions that took place at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Sudan, Abdullah Hamdouk, and after that in the negotiation rounds that were initiated by South Africa, the current chair of the African Union (AU), but unfortunately these efforts did not lead to the desired results,” he added. The outcomes of the latest Ethiopian dam negotiations on 28 August reflected deep divisions between the three countries involved. The most recent round of talks ended without consensus on the disputed points regarding the filling and operation of the GERD. Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy said, following the 28 August meeting, that the parties are expected to reconvene on 14 September. No meetings were held. Al-Sisi said that the River Nile is not the monopoly of a single party, and for Egypt, the river’s waters are a necessity for survival, without detracting the rights of other countries. He added that this issue is directly related to the maintenance of international peace and security. The Egyptian President stressed that the negotiation period should not be extended indefinitely in an attempt to impose a fait accompli, saying that “our peoples yearn for stability, development and a promising new era of cooperation”.

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• I pray with confidence that GERD talks will reach fair solution: Pope Tawadros II - Egypt Today Pope Tawadros II, the pope of and patriarch of the See of St. Mark said he is confident that the Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will reach a solution fair regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations. “I pray to God with Confidence that the three countries will reach a fair solution during their talks” Pope Tawadros said during meeting Ethiopian Ambassador to Markos Tekle Rike, Thursday. He added that “Nile River is God’s gift for all of us, same as sun and air”. Pope Tawadros affirmed the strong relations between the Egyptian and Ethiopian Churches and the people of the two countries. Pope Tawadros also welcomes on Thursday the American Ambassador in Egypt Jonathan R. Cohen and His new appointed deputy. And in another sperate meeting he welcomed Brazil ambassador in Cairo Antonio Patriota, for the first time since appointed last October. Ethiopia started building the controversial Grand Ethiopian dam on the Blue Nile in May 2011, without going back to the downstream countries [Egypt and Sudan]. Since then, Cairo has voiced its concern over how the dam can reduce the country’s annual shares of 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water. Egypt’s average water per-capita is expected to drop from 663 cubic meters per year to 582 cubic meters by 2025, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in 2014. Constructions in the Grand Renaissance Dam started on April 2, 2011, at a cost of $4.8 billion. It was built by the Italian construction and engineering company Salini Impergilo. The Italian company is headquartered in Milan. The dam is located on the Nile with a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters and is expected to generate up to 6,000 megawatts of power. In 2015, the three countries signed the Declaration of Principles, per which the downstream countries should not be negatively affected by the construction of the dam. Since then, the talks have been resumed, but In October 2019 blamed Addis Ababa for hindering a final agreement concerning a technical problem, calling for activating the Article No. 10 of the Declaration of Principles, which stipulates that if the three countries could not find a solution to these differences, they have to ask for mediation. The current points of disagreement boil down to the operation of the dam the filling process of the reservoir, and the absence of a legal binding agreement between the three countries on such points, especially after Ethiopia carried out the first phase of the reservoir filling process mid-July 2020 unilaterally.

• Article Summary: Why Egypt called on America to mediate Gerd dam standoff – The Star Effects of the dam were under-studied and could be catastrophic to Egypt, says Ambassador Khaled El Elabyad. He stated that Egypt and Sudan, the downstream states that will be invariably affected by the project, were neither notified nor consulted; and Egypt opted to the Washington agreement because it is equitable and mutually beneficial to all the three riparian states. Egypt has come out to defend its move to invite the US to mediate the Gerd dam standoff with Ethiopia.

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Through their Ambassador Khaled El Abyad, Egypt maintains it has engaged in intensive negotiations on the Grand Renaissance Dam (Gerd) for almost a decade since Ethiopia unilaterally commenced the construction of the Gerd in 2011. Elabyad was responding to an article published by the Star last week, where Ethiopian Ambassador Meles Alam defended the country's right to dam the Nile to sustain its people. The primary purpose of the dam, according to Ethiopia, is to generate electricity, both to relieve Ethiopia’s domestic acute energy shortage and for export. With a planned installed capacity of 6.45 gigawatts, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa and the seventh-largest in the world. The filling of the reservoir began in July, and once completed, it will take between five and 15 years to fill, depending on hydrologic conditions during the filling period and agreements among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has hinted at his country using military force to halt the dam’s construction. The potential impacts of the dam have been the source of regional controversy between the three riparian states. Egypt, located over 2,500km downstream of the site, opposes the dam as it believes it will reduce the amount of water available from the Nile. Egypt, which relies heavily on the Nile, has demanded that Ethiopia ceases the construction on the dam as a precondition to negotiations. It has even sought regional support for its position, and some political leaders have discussed methods to sabotage it. Ethiopia accused US President Donald Trump’s administration of meddling in the mediation, terming it a biased mediator. The East African nation said it is Egypt that unilaterally requested the US to get involved in the ongoing tripartite talks, and the US went beyond its mandate by stipulating how the filling and operation of the dam should be done before halting aid to Ethiopia when the country disagreed. But Egypt said Article 10 of the declaration of principles (DOP) includes mediation as one of the dispute resolution mechanisms that the three states (Egypt – Sudan – Ethiopia) could invoke to overcome difficulties in the implementation of the DOP. “Therefore, in light of the continued failure of the trilateral forums to reach an agreement, Egypt called upon the United States and the World Bank to join the discussions between the three countries. Accordingly, the US administration extended an invitation to the three governments to attend a ministerial meeting in Washington DC on November 2019,” El Abyad said. Furthermore, he termed it “troublesome” that a mega-dam such as GERD is being constructed without any studies on its socio-economic impacts and without the environmental impact assessment. Egypt has a dependency ratio of 98 per cent on the Nile, which is one of the highest in the world. He said 85 per cent of the Nile waters that reach Egypt flow from the Ethiopian Highlands through three main rivers. “If we examine the Ethiopian actions regarding other transboundary rivers, we can notice that this same exact ploy has happened before with its neighbouring countries Somalia, Eritrea and Kenya, where it built dams on shared rivers without prior notifications, studies, negotiations or agreements, and without taking into consideration the reasonable and equitable utilization of water”, he said. As water shortages increase and continue over an extended period, the ripple-effects on every sector of Egypt’s economy and its sociopolitical stability are CDRC Research Department, September 2020

inestimable. He expressed that the ambassador said Ethiopia, while playing the role of the adversary and the judge at the same time, has continued to claim Ethiopia took all steps that ensure that the Renaissance Dam would not harm but rather bring Egypt tremendous benefits, but at no point in history has Egypt sought to obstruct the implementation of water projects by its co- riparian. “However, in pursuing these developmental objectives and in utilizing the resources of the Nile, Egypt believes that, in keeping with the established rules of international law, riparian states are required to consult their co-riparian on planned projects and to ensure these projects are undertaken in a manner that is both reasonable and equitable and that minimizes the harm that may be inflicted on other states,” he said.

• Ethiopian, DRC Presidents Discuss GERD Issues-Fana President Sahle-Work Zewde held a phone conversation with President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Both Presidents discussed many bilateral issues as well as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), according to office of the President. President Sahle-Work thanked Tshisekedi for his initiative and for providing additional clarification on issues relating to GERD. She reiterated Ethiopia’s commitment to the African Union-led negotiation process with regards to the dam. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is being built on Abay River in Benishangul Gumuz regional state. Ethiopia sees the dam as a means to drive forward its economy by improving access to electricity. More than 65% of Ethiopians have no access to electricity.

______Ethiopia • Army Tightly Controlling Borders to Stop Demonetized Currency-ENA Ethiopian army is tightening its grip on money laundering activities around borders following the country’s introduction of new Birr notes to stop illegal circulation of money outside financial institutions. In an exclusive interview with ENA, General Berhanu Jula, Deputy Chief of Staff & Head of the Military Operations Division of the Ethiopian National Defense Force, said the army has been strengthening its control on the flow of illicit funds into the country. However, there are false claims by some quarters that the army has been given permission to seize money at will, he added. The general strongly dismissed the allegations saying values of the army would never allow it to do illegal activities. General Berhanu explained that illegal money that violates the law is seized and saved in one account and used to strengthen the security structure. He also said that there are persons who deliberately tarnish the good reputation of the defense force the country is very proud of. The general cited the example of individuals who had previously published defamatory articles on the grounds that they had obtained them from inside

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sources. He stated that such acts are serious crime but tolerated. General Berhanu warned individuals involved in such activities to refrain from doing further incitement. “Politicians should not raise the armed forces as their agenda in their political campaign.”

• Ethiopia Briefs Resident Ambassadors on Upcoming Elections-Fana Prime Minister Office Press Secretariat Foreign Language and Digital Media Head Bilene Seyoum together with the Attorney General, Dr. Gedion Timotheos have briefed resident Ambassadors in Addis Ababa on the upcoming 6th national general elections. The Attorney General told the resident ambassadors that the county has finalized preparations in a view to make the upcoming 6th general elections free and fair. The government has created conducive environment for competing political parties to widen the political space. He also briefed the diplomatic community that the government has been undertaking a wide range of activities to increased women’s political participation in the country. The House of Peoples Representative ordered the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia to hold the 6th general elections which was postponed due to coronavirus pandemic.

• Ethiopia Repatriates 672 Citizens from Saudi Arabia in 3 Weeks-Fana Ethiopia repatriated a total of 672 undocumented citizens from Saudi Arabia in the past three weeks, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). In a press conference issued today, Ambassador Dina Mufti, Spokesperson of MoFA, stated that 121 Ethiopians, who had been in Beirut prison, were also repatriated from Lebanon. Ambassador Dina further briefed the press about the diplomatic activities carried out by his ministry in the past couple of weeks. He said Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew took part in the annual ministerial meetings of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly and group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The Minister also made a briefing to resident diplomats in Addis Ababa on the “Dine for the Nation” project, Ambassador Dina noted. ______Horn of Africa and IGAD Region Somalia • Somalia committed to promoting democracy despite pandemic challenge - Horn Diplomat Somalia is working with its international partners to build a democratic, inclusive and prosperous country for its citizens, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as ‘Farmajo’, told the UN General Assembly on Thursday. “Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we are still working hard to undertake inclusive national elections where the Somali people can determine their future,” CDRC Research Department, September 2020

he said. “We are firmly committed to promoting and instilling a strong tradition of democracy and accountable governance which serves the Somali people first and foremost.” Like nations worldwide, Somalia has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. President Mohamed reported on the “painful” contraction of the economy and job losses, as well as the need to continue investing in basic public services to protect citizens against the virus. “You can all appreciate this is a huge task for a recovering post-conflict State like Somalia,” he said, “but our Government has and will remain steadfast in rising and responding to the diverse challenges that lie ahead.” In response to the crisis, the Somali authorities implemented tax exemptions on staple food items, thus putting people first. They are now cautiously beginning to open the economy so that normal life can resume. Somalia also attained debt relief from its major international creditors and the President acknowledged this support. “As we progress towards achieving debt cancellation through our enabling economic reforms, we remain cognizant that Somalia’s economic future and the prosperity of its people are closely interlinked with that of the rest of the world,” he stated, underlining the importance of greater international trade and investment in the country. Turning to the wider world, President Mohamed also focused on the need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the 2030 deadline. The 17 SDGs aim to slash extreme poverty, reduce hunger and create a better future for all people and the planet. “We cannot afford to leave anyone behind,” said Mr. Mohamed, echoing the SDG promise. “This means that the United Nations will have to improve further, innovate faster and deliver better for the most fragile nations and vulnerable communities.”

• Nearly 60,000 Somalis displaced by conflict, floods: OCHA - XINHUA The UN humanitarian agency said Thursday nearly 60,000 people were displaced in Somalia due to floods, conflict and drought ravaging parts of the country in August. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said more than 43,000 people were displaced by floods mostly in the Middle and Lower Shabelle, over 7,000 by conflict and insecurity, and some 8,000 by drought and or lack of livelihoods. “Humanitarian partners have ramped up efforts to meet their needs but need more resources,” said OCHA in a statement. The UN humanitarian agency said confronting challenges such as congested communal spaces, the risk of forced evictions, increased need for health, water, sanitation and hygiene, health, water and food assistance, are the daily struggle of 893,000 people displaced from January to August, who live in the 2,300 IDP (internally displaced persons) sites in peri-urban areas in Somalia. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than 650,000 Somalis had been forced to flee their homes since January due to flash and riverine flooding across Somalia. ______South Sudan • UN seeks $80 million for flood response in South Sudan - XINHUA CDRC Research Department, September 2020

The UN humanitarian agency said Thursday that more than 80 million U.S. dollars is needed for the overall flood response in South Sudan until December. Alain Noudehou, humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, said the figure includes 46 million dollars for immediate assistance to 360,000 people. “I am releasing 10 million dollars from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund for the flood response,” Noudehou said in a statement issued at the conclusion of a visit to Duk County in Jonglei and Panyijiar County in Unity where he met with people affected by flooding. “I thank the donor community for its generous contribution to the overall humanitarian situation in South Sudan and call for more funding to respond to the immediate and urgent needs created by the floods,” he added. The relief official said vast areas of the country along the River Nile are now under water, noting that more than 600,000 people have been affected since July in Jonglei, Lakes, Unity, Upper Nile, and Central and Western Equatoria. “Entire communities have fled to higher ground to escape the rising waters. The number of people affected will continue to grow in the coming weeks, and many women and children who had earlier been displaced by sub-national violence are now displaced again,” said Noudehou. He said in addition to the immediate relief, further investment is needed in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to avoid a repeat of the same crisis year after year. “We need to work together with affected people and local governments to rehabilitate relevant local infrastructure to help prepare communities to better cope with recurring shocks,” he added. Noudehou said humanitarian actors are working to scale up the response by providing food, temporary shelter, fishing kits, water purification tablets, medicine and other supplies, with a focus on people and areas that are most affected. In some communities, he said, support is also being planned to rehabilitate disaster mitigation infrastructure such as dykes to complement the emergency response and to prevent more people from being displaced by the floods. ______Sudan • Doctors Without Borders launches emergency appeal for Sudan- Middle East Monitor Geneva-based Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has launched an emergency appeal to help people affected by the floods in Sudan, Sudan News Agency (SUNA) reported yesterday. “MSF is launching an emergency appeal to fund nutrition and health programmes in Bahr El Ghazal, southern Sudan,” the organization said in a statement, adding that the appeal was set-up “to pay for medical and nutritional supplies, including medicines, milk, sugar, oil, high-protein biscuits and feeding equipment.” “About 350,000 people are currently at risk in the region, including 120,000 people displaced by the recent fighting and now unable to harvest their crops,” MSF pointed out, adding that some 7,000 children were being “treated at the MSF health centers.” On his part, MSF’s head of mission for Bahr El Ghazal, Marc Hermant, warned that the Sudanese

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people were “at risk of dying from easily preventable diseases such as diarrhea and malaria.” Many countries, including Turkey, Qatar, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, have sent aid to Sudan, in an effort to support the flood-hit country to revive. Since last June, the floods have led to the death of 121 people and injured 54 others. On 5 September, the Sudanese Security and Defense Council declared a state of emergency throughout the country for a period of three months to prevent the effects of floods. It declared the country a “natural disaster area”.

• Sudan, U.S. did not yet reach claims agreement over removal from terror list- Sudan Tribune Sudan and U.S. governments have not yet signed a bilateral agreement on the removal of the former from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (SST), said David Hale U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. The claims agreement which is still under negotiations between the two country is crucial for resorting Sudan’s sovereign immunities by the Congress preventing future claims against the East African country. On Thursday, Hale was speaking at the Senate Foreign Relations hearing on "U.S. Policy in a Changing Middle East" with a special focus on Iran. However, Ranking Senator Robert Menendez managed to bring the debate to the exclusion of the claim’s of 9/11 victims from the ongoing process to rescind Sudan’s State Sponsor of Terrorism designation. After reiterating his rejection of any agreement that did not protect the victim’s of 11/9 attacks and their compensation by the Sudanese government, he asked Hale to provide the Congress with a copy of the bilateral deal struck with Sudan on this respect. In his response, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs said they already sent a letter that describes the nature of the agreement on Sudan’s delisting but the agreement itself has not yet been signed. "I will go back to our legal advice office. I know we didn’t finalize the agreement itself. So, we didn’t have it to share. But we did describe in some details the essential elements," he said before to be interrupted by Menendez. "You can’t ask the Congress to pass implementing legislation for an international agreement, basically you asked to sign on the dotted line, yet you wouldn’t see this agreement," said the ranking senator. "That is absurd," he stressed. On 16 September, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo urged the Senate to pass the legislation before the end of October, adding that they would likely sign the claims agreement with the Sudanese agreement and remove Sudan from the blacklist by the end of the upcoming month. In his discussion with Menendez, Hale said that the claims agreement offers "compromises that would have a high level of protection to any future claims of 9/11 victims against the Sudanese government in the U.S. courts". His statement confirms reports published last week about the possibility for the 9/11 victims to take legal action against the Sudanese government under the same legislation they are using to sue Saudi Arabia for backing the attacks. On Wednesday, Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok told his cabinet that the funds necessary to compensate the terror victims are now ready after facing some difficulties to collect it. • France launches investigation into BNP Paribas over possible role in Sudan - CGTN

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Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into French bank BNP Paribas over allegations of complicity in crimes against humanity in Sudan. The probe comes after nine Sudanese plaintiffs, who said they have been victims of rights abuses by ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s former government of Sudan, filed a legal complaint last year against BNP Paribas. The plaintiffs say the French bank was complicit in crimes against humanity because it provided financial services for the Sudanese government. They argue that in a U.S. sanctions violations case the U.S. Department of Justice described BNP Paribas as Sudan’s de facto central bank from 1997 to 2007 because it gave the Sudanese government access to international money markets, and the means to pay staff, the military and security forces. Conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region ignited in 2003 where Sudanese forces waged a campaign of violence that killed more than 300,000 people. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has since characterized the campaign as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2009 and 2010 for crimes against humanity. “This is what we were waiting for. We filed this complaint a year ago against the bank for complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity,” Clemence Bectarte, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said. FIDH said on Twitter it helped the plaintiffs to file the complaint. BNP Paribas said the bank had no information regarding the proceedings and was therefore not in a position to comment. The Paris prosecutors’ office didn’t respond to requests for comment. Earlier in 2017, French judicial investigators opened a full-scale inquiry into allegations of complicity in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. In that case BNP Paribas is accused by non-governmental organizations of complicity over a transfer of $1.3 million to an arms dealer. ______Kenya • Coronavirus corruption in Kenya: Officials and businesspeople targeted-BBC Kenyan investigators are to recommend the prosecution of at least 15 top government officials and businesspeople over the alleged misuse of millions of dollars meant for buying Covid-19 medical supplies, the BBC has learned. The probe uncovered evidence of tenders being allegedly given to politically connected individuals and businesses. The government ordered an investigation following a public outcry. It received about $2bn (£1.6bn) in aid and grants to fight Covid-19. But health workers have complained about a shortage of public protective equipment (PPE), saying their lives are at risk. The state body responsible for purchases, the Kenya Medical Supply Authority (Kemsa), has denied that any money was stolen. The first phase of investigations has centred around the alleged misuse of $7.8m meant to purchase emergency PPE for healthcare workers and hospitals across the country. Investigators from Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) say preliminary findings have shown that several laws on public procurement were flouted during the awarding of the tenders. In a report to a joint Senate

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Committee on Health and Covid-19 on Wednesday, the EACC said: "Investigations had established criminal culpability on the part of public officials in the purchase and supply of Covid- 19 emergency commodities at Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa) that led to irregular expenditure of public funds." The EACC has recommended the prosecution of all officials at Kemsa and the Ministry of Health who it believes were behind the scandal. The second phase of investigations will target companies that are alleged to have benefitted from the tenders, although there is no suggestion any of the companies misappropriated Covid-19 funds. Documents submitted to the Senate committee, and which the BBC has seen, show the nature of contracts handed out by Kemsa. In some cases, tenders were given to companies that had been formed just weeks earlier. A good example is Shop and Buy limited, which, the documents allege, got tenders worth $10m despite being formed in February, just weeks before the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the country. The company has denied any wrongdoing.

• Human rights groups sue Kenya over COVID-19 curfew killings - CGTN Amnesty International Kenya, International Justice Mission Kenya, Haki Africa, and the Kituo cha Sheria have filed a petition asking for monetary compensation for five victims of brutality as police enforced a COVID-19 curfew. The plaintiffs accuse the Kenyan government of failing to uphold its mandate while enforcing curfew leading to loss of lives, injuries, and looting of businesses. The petition included demands for long-term legislative reform aimed at addressing cases of alleged police brutality in the country. Annette Mbogoh, executive director of Kituo cha Sheria, also known as the Legal Advice Center, explained the decision to sue the government. “Within the pandemic is when government responsibility towards its people should be even higher than when things are just as normal,” she said. “During this time, there was a much higher responsibility of the police to ensure that they protect as opposed to meting [out] violence against the citizenry, so we feel the issues brought in this petition are unique in that respect.” The inspector general of police, the minister in charge of security, and the Attorney General are all named as defendants. The human rights groups seek about 500,000 Kenyan shillings ($4,600; £3,600) in compensation for the five victims. Among those represented by the rights groups is 13-year-old Yassin Moyo who was shot dead at his parent’s balcony as police enforced the night-time curfew. One police officer was charged with the murder of Yassin and is out on bail.

• Kenya High Court suspends move to dissolve parliament over lack of women - Reuters

Kenya’s High Court on Thursday suspended any move to dissolve the parliament after the country’s top judge said it was necessary as neither of the legislative houses had enough women lawmakers. Chief Justice David Maraga on Monday advised President Uhuru Kenyatta to dissolve parliament, saying lawmakers had failed to meet a 2010 constitutional provision which allows for one-third of seats to be occupied by women. The chief justice’s move upset many male CDRC Research Department, September 2020

parliamentarians, including the speaker of the house, who said it was unlawful, ill-advised, and premature and would plunge the East African nation into a constitutional crisis. Under Kenyan law, once parliament is dissolved, elections must take place within 90 days. In response to a petition challenging Maraga’s advisory, the High Court suspended any move to dissolve parliament pending a full hearing on the case. “I have carefully considered the petition and find that it raises substantial questions of law,” wrote High Court Justice Weldon Korir in his judgment, ordering a hearing. Women hold 22% of seats in the country’s lower house of parliament, and 31% in the upper house. Kenya’s 2010 constitution states no more than two-thirds of any elected or appointed body can be of the same gender. Court rulings in Kenya have directed parliament to pass legislation to enforce the rule or risk being dissolved, but previous attempts have failed with female MPs accusing male lawmakers of deliberately blocking efforts. In the advisory to Kenyatta, Maraga said the failure to enact the legislation was clear testimony of lawmakers’ “lackadaisical attitude and conduct” in relation to the two-thirds gender rule. A panel of appointed judges will hear the petition on Oct. 7. ______Africa Mail • Bah Ndaw: Mali to swear in civilian interim leader after coup-BBC Former Defence Minister Bah Ndaw, 70, was picked by the coup leader, Colonel Assimi Goita, to head a transitional government until elections, which are expected in 18 months. Col Goita will be his vice-president. The appointment of a civilian president was a condition for the West African regional group, Ecowas, to lift the sanctions it imposed after the coup. Stocks of goods are running low in the capital, Bamako, where businesses are hoping for an announcement from Ecowas after the inauguration. One thing that is unclear is how far Bah Ndaw will be able to call the shots after he's sworn in. He was chosen because he was well respected, both in the military and by the general public. He's also said to get on well with Col Assimi Goita. Portraying a unified front will be central to the success of the tenure of Mr Ndaw and his vice-president. Any perception that the interim president is not really in charge could lead to renewed international pressure on the junta. West African heads of state are afraid the coup in Mali may lead to other uprisings in a region that is facing several elections in the coming months. Members of the opposition M5-RFP coalition which organized mass protests against the ousted leader will also be watching closely, having already felt sidelined in the process of appointing a replacement. The next 18 months will be crucial in determining how close or far Mali steers from democracy. President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was overthrown on 18 August following mass protests against his rule over corruption, the mismanagement of the economy and a dispute over legislative elections. Mali is also struggling with intense Islamist violence, with thousands of French, African and UN troops based in the CDRC Research Department, September 2020

country to tackle the militants. The coup sparked international condemnation, but it was welcomed by many Malians. ______

• G7 to back debt freeze extension for poor nations: Report-Aljazeera G7 finance ministers are expected on Friday to signal their support for extending a debt relief programme aimed at helping the poorest countries weather the coronavirus pandemic, three sources briefed on the issue said. The ministers of the Group of Seven advanced economies are set to meet by video conference on Friday to discuss global economic developments and the continued effect of coronavirus, which has infected nearly 32 million people worldwide. Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has argued in favor of extending the debt relief programme’s year-end deadline by a year through to 2021, the G7 ministers are likely to back an initial extension of six months, the sources said. “There is backing for a six-month extension, and there will be discussion of the broader issue of debt restructuring,” one of the sources said. The G7 finance ministers’ backing for an extension of the debt moratorium through June 2021 would help smooth the way for a decision by the larger G20 grouping. The Group of 20 finance ministers are set to meet on October 14, though the decision would likely be formally adopted by G20 leaders at their summit in November. The G7 will debate the longer-term debt sustainability of the poorest countries that have been crippled by high debt levels even before the pandemic hit, the sources said. The discussions reflect a growing realization among the global community that some of them may need to have their debt restructured, they said. The sources, all of whom have knowledge of G7 deliberations, spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly. No comment was immediately available from the United States Treasury Department, which will host the meeting. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters on Friday he could not comment on what would be discussed at the G7 meeting. Under a programme dubbed the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), the G20 economies agreed in April to offer a freeze on debt service payments to the 73 poorest countries through year-end. According to the World Bank, Pakistan stands to benefit the most in dollar terms from the DSSI, with a potential saving of $2.7bn or 1 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). In relation to economic size, Bhutan would see the largest positive effect from the debt moratorium, with savings of $206.5m or 8.4 percent of its GDP. But the implementation of the debt freeze has been challenging, as COVID-19 has hit the poorest countries particularly hard, triggering calls for an extension of the programme. World Bank President David Malpass said in a blog post last week that although the G20 debt relief initiative was a good start, deeper and more lasting solutions were needed. “The current debt payment moratorium is too shallow to provide light at the end of the debt tunnel,” he said, adding that the

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IMF and the World Bank would look at “additional steps on debt to free up resources” at their annual meetings next month. ______Gulf Region and the Middle East Egypt • Egypt braces for fresh anti-Sisi protests-Aljazeera Egypt is bracing for another day of protests as anger over corruption and deteriorating living conditions mounts. Calls for demonstrations have multiplied in recent days, with activists urging participation in what they have dubbed the “Friday of Anger” rallies. “This is our chance to liberate our country,” Mohamed Ali, a former military contractor, said in a video message posted on Facebook on Thursday. “Every day, our numbers are rising. There is no difference between Christian and Muslim … secular or liberal, we are the people of Egypt,” he added, urging people to participate in the rallies. The latest wave of protests came after Ali, who lives in self-imposed exile, last week called on people to take to the streets to commemorate a similar movement for change a year ago. Since then, several protests have been held, mainly in the governorates of and . Images posted on social media showed demonstrators holding placards and chanting slogans against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Several videos purporting to show security forces firing live bullets to disperse the crowd were also posted online. Al Jazeera could not independently verify them. Security services tried to pre-empt the latest wave of protests by launching a campaign of arrests that included political figures such as left-wing political thinker Amin al-Mahdi. Social media users also reported cafes being forced to close over the past week. According to the independent media Masr news website, at least 150 people have appeared before the state security prosecutor, including 14 minors, this week. They face accusations such as belonging to a “terrorist” organization, spreading false news and misusing social media, the outlet quoted the defendants’ lawyers as saying. In a rare show of dissent, thousands of people rallied in cities across the country in September 2019, demanding the resignation of el-Sisi following a call to protest by Ali, who, having worked with the military, alleged public funds were wasted on vanity projects for the president and his close entourage. In response, authorities launched the “biggest crackdown” under el-Sisi’s rule, rights watchdog Amnesty International said, rounding up more than 2,300 people. In a video message last week, Ali called on protesters to stay out until their demands are met. “Egyptians unite. Out of love for the Egyptian people, take back your country again. Don’t leave it in el-Sisi’s hands,” he said. “Do not go home. If we go home, they will detain us. We’re in the streets and now we need to stay there.” In an interview with Al Jazeera earlier this month, Ali said last year’s protests were different because demonstrators returned home, “which made it easier for the regime to arrest them”. “If five million people took to the CDRC Research Department, September 2020

streets, no one would be arrested at all”. Egypt outlawed all unauthorized demonstrations in 2013 after el-Sisi, as defense minister, led the military’s overthrow of democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi following mass demonstrations. Since then, Egyptian authorities have imprisoned and prosecuted thousands of people, according to human rights groups, with a nationwide crackdown intensifying after el-Sisi was first elected in 2014 with 97 percent of the vote. Some Egyptian activists have warned of the danger protesting poses to the lives of demonstrators, given what they called a tight grip on security by authorities.

• Egypt forces shoot at protesters in Kafr Qandil village- Middle East Monitor A video is circulating online of Egyptian security forces shooting at demonstrators in Kafr Qandil village. The video has been dated 23 September and shows several men throwing rocks into an alleyway and running back when they hear the sound of gunshots. Armed security forces then emerge from the alley and start shooting. Egypt’s protests have continued for a fifth day in several areas of and in Beni Suef, against living conditions in the country where prices have soared in recent months. Demonstrations were also held in the southern Governorate. The demonstrations are in response to a call made by former army contractor Mohamed Ali to unite against the ruling regime on 20 September, the anniversary of last year’s protests against corruption. Most of the videos of demonstrations are in Egypt’s villages and smaller towns, away from the heavy security presence in central squares in Cairo that have made it hard to protest there. Social media users are calling on the protesters to stay on the streets until military General turned President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi is toppled and to move towards the Media Production City where most of the state-run TV channels are headquartered. There are calls for protests to continue today under the hashtag, “Friday of Wrath September 25”. Police imposed a curfew on southern Cairo at the beginning of the week as residents took to the streets to decry house demolitions which have been taking place across the country. More than 200 people have been detained from across Egypt on charges of joining a terror group, broadcasting and disseminating false rumors and misusing social media; 150 of them have appeared at the State Security Prosecution. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed has reported that the National Security Agency summoned several former prisoners and asked them to go to their local police station last night and spend Friday in custody as part of preventative measures against the protests. Sources have said that the security agency has deployed beltagayya in areas where demonstrations have been taking place to try and disperse protesters, particularly around police stations. Mohamed Ali has said that the number of demonstrators is increasing every day which is emboldening others to take to the streets and demonstrate against the regime. ______

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Libya • Down but not out, Haftar still looms over Libya peace process-Reuters His assault on Libya’s capital has collapsed. Foreign powers have tried to sideline him. But military commander Khalifa Haftar still sits astride oil terminals, with enough fire power and political sway to thwart any plans for peace. Having failed in his bid for national rule, Haftar, 76, is now severely diminished. His troops have been driven out of western Libya, while in his eastern stronghold foreign powers that backed him are making overtures to rivals. But his role in partially lifting an oil blockade over the past week shows that he remains a linchpin in eastern Libya, where he has built up a security apparatus over the past six years. Foreign countries are now promoting talks to push warring factions towards a unity government. But diplomats say Haftar’s role bedevils negotiations, as it has done for years. “That’s the big missing piece of the puzzle – what to do with Haftar and how to engage him,” said one Western diplomat. Libya has been without strong central rule since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011, and rival camps have set up parallel administrations based in the east and west since 2014. Haftar, a Gaddafi-era military commander who spent two decades in the United States, gradually took control of the east. After gaining support from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia and France, he launched an assault to capture Tripoli last year. But the advance collapsed in June this year after his enemy Turkey reinforced the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) withdrew to a front line running south from the city of Sirte, in the Centre of Libya’s Mediterranean coastline. Both of Libya’s rival administrations are funded by oil exports, and both have been crippled since Haftar’s LNA and its allies imposed a blockade that shut the main eastern oil terminals eight months ago. Since Sept. 19, oil has gradually resumed flowing, demonstrating Haftar’s lasting relevance. But both the oil restart and the halt to fighting are on shaky ground. Haftar said the blockade would initially be lifted for just one month. His deal with a deputy prime minister of the Tripoli government provoked a backlash in western Libya, where many fear it will give the LNA more control over revenues. The military truce, meanwhile, has yet to be converted into a formal ceasefire, and is holding partly because of the risks of a regional conflagration, with Turkey looking to consolidate gains and Haftar’s foreign backers determined to contain it. Publicly, the LNA says it is committed to a unilateral ceasefire it announced in June, but won’t withdraw from Sirte. “In the presence of Syrian and Turkish mercenaries and threats of an attack on Sirte, of course the Libyan army won’t leave,” said Khaled Al-Mahjoub, an LNA spokesman. Western countries have proposed a demilitarized zone around Sirte. The LNA’s willingness to accept that could depend on decisions by foreign backers and Russian military contractors deployed alongside it, analysts say. Since fighting eased in June, internal divisions have emerged on both sides, with protesters in both the east and west demonstrating against corruption and failing public services. In Tripoli, a dispute burst into the open within the GNA between the prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, and the interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, both key contacts for the government’s Turkish backers. Sarraj says he plans to step down next month, but manoeuvring by

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factions that have gained power under his watch makes it tricky to find a successor. In the east, international powers looking beyond Haftar have resurrected Aguila Saleh, the head of a rump parliament who was previously sanctioned by the EU and United States. In Sirte, the LNA’s control has stirred resistance along tribal lines, prompting Haftar’s forces to make arrests. But Haftar retains military and financial power, and may use it to try to reassert himself politically, said Mohamed Eljarh, an expert on politics in the east. “I think Haftar is not happy, this is why I think there is the possibility of him trying to do what he does best – sabotage these attempts at political talk through military action,” he said. U.N.-led talks, running in awkward parallel to talks between Turkey and Russia as well as talks in Morocco this month between members of rival Libyan parliaments, aim to replace the GNA and plan a roadmap for elections. Some Western states want Haftar confined to military talks. But France is still pushing for him to have a political role. One French diplomat said Paris was trying to appear less pro-Haftar and work with European partners to counter Turkey. Another said Haftar was crucial to a political solution. There are no signs the UAE, Haftar’s most committed backer, is withdrawing support, two Western diplomats said. “Sure, they’re being slightly tougher with him,” said one. “But the fact is that nobody is reducing support for the LNA and nobody is genuinely turning the screw on Haftar.” • Libyan leader asks for UN support in elections - AP Libyan Prime Minister Fayez Sarraj is calling for U.N. support in holding presidential and parliamentary elections as the war-torn country remains split between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Sarraj said elections next year could lead to democracy and end Libya’s “legitimacy crisis.” While he called for political dialogue with all factions and regions of Libya, he said the exception would be those who have “spilled Libyan blood.” Sarraj delivered his prerecorded remarks to the world body’s first-ever virtual general assembly from Tripoli, where his U.N.-backed government is based. He is aided by Turkey and Qatar. His rival, Khalifa Hifter, controls the east and is backed by neighboring Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France and Russian mercenaries. Sarraj slammed Hifter’s attempted offensive on the capital, Tripoli last year, calling it a “tyrannical attack” that attempted to return the country to dictatorship. Still, as he spoke, he represented only part of the country. Libya descended into chaos when a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi, who was later killed. The instability has made Libya a major transit point for African and Arab migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe. Libya’s handling of migrants has been criticized by rights groups. They say refugees there have been raped or forcibly deported, or die in custody as from violence, torture or starvation. Sarraj defended his government’s treatment of migrants. “Libya is a victim of a migration and not its reason,” he said.

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Iran • U.S. imposes new Iran sanctions over human rights violations-Reuters The United States on Thursday blacklisted several Iranian officials and entities over alleged gross violations of human rights, including slapping sanctions on a judge it said was involved in the case of an Iranian wrestler sentenced to death. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement said the United States imposed sanctions on Judge Seyyed Mahmoud Sadati, Judge Mohammad Soltani, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz, and Adel Abad, Orumiyeh, and Vakilabad Prisons. U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela Elliott Abrams said the sanctions targeted a judge who sentenced Iranian wrestler Navid Afkari to death. Pompeo said Sadati, a judge of Branch 1 of the Shiraz Revolutionary Court, reportedly oversaw one of Afkari’s trials. “The U.S. is committed to holding accountable those who deny freedom and justice to people of Iran and later today the United States will announce sanctions on several Iranian officials and entities including the judge who sentenced Navid Afkari to death,” Abrams said during a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The wrestler was executed earlier this month after being convicted for the fatal stabbing of a security guard during anti-government protests in 2018, Iranian state media reported. Also blacklisted was Adel Abad prison, where Pompeo said the wrestler reported being tortured by Iranian officials, and Vakilabad prison, where U.S. citizen Michael White was detained. Pompeo also called out Iran for what he said was the wrongful detainment of three Americans, Baquer and Siamak Namazi and Morad Tahbaz, adding the United States will make every effort to bring them home. Earlier this week, Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran’s defense ministry and others involved in its nuclear and weapons program to support the U.S. assertion that all U.N. sanctions against Tehran are now restored. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have spiked since U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor and began reimposing sanctions that had been eased under the accord.

Lebanon

• Lebanon MP says FPM, Shia factions at odds over government formation Middle East Monitor Lebanese lawmaker, Mario Aoun of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), said his movement has clear differences with Shia factions over the formation of the next government, in reference to Hezbollah and the Amal Movement led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. However, Aoun said in a statement that despite the differences, the alliance between the two sides “exists and has not been affected”, El-Nashra news site reported. “The government file was preceded by disagreements about approaches to reform and corruption files, but the collapse that occurred at

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all levels did not leave us the luxury of expressing our dissatisfaction with the way Hezbollah approached these files, although we are convinced that a healthy country free of corruption is much better for the resistance,” he added. During his visit to Lebanon after the Beirut explosion in August, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the need to modify the country’s system, while conditioning aid to the country on changes in the ruling political class. The Lebanese political system is based on the division of powers and sovereign positions according to religious and sectarian affiliations. The larger Shia blocs, Hezbollah and Amal, have insisted they hold the Finance Ministry in any new government. ______Emerging Powers North Korea-South Korea • North Korean leader offers rare apology for killing of South Korean-Reuters North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apologized on Friday for the shooting death of a South Korean man to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the South’s national security adviser said, as public and political outrage over the killing grew. The apology came in a letter from the North’s United Front Department, which handles cross-border ties, to South Korean President Moon Jae- in a day after South Korean officials said the North’s soldiers killed the man, doused his body in fuel and set it on fire. The rare conciliatory message from the North Korean leader came as Moon faced intense political fallout over the incident, which coincided with a renewed push by him for engagement with North Korea. “Chairman Kim Jong Un asked to convey his feeling that he is greatly sorry that an unexpected unsavory incident occurred in our waters which hugely disappointed President Moon Jae-in and compatriots in the South,” the adviser, Suh Hoon, told reporters. Suh said the letter was a response to requests for an explanation for the incident and included a promise to prevent any recurrence. North Korea expressed hope the incident would not undermine recent efforts to foster trust, Suh said, adding Moon and Kim had exchanged letters this month. Moon praised Kim’s “strong resolve to save lives” and steer anti-virus and flood recovery work in his Sept. 8 letter, his office said. In a Sept. 12 reply, Kim said Moon would win the battle against the coronavirus and “good things” would happen later. The leaders have held three summits and signed pacts to ease tension since 2018, but relations have soured since the collapse last year of a second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump, at which Moon had offered to mediate. The shooting of the man, a fisheries official who had gone missing this week, shocked South Koreans and sparked a barrage of criticism from the opposition and the public, prompting an unusually tough response from Moon, who called it “unpardonable”. Critics accused Moon of failing to save a citizen’s life while being soft on North Korea, saying the military did not attempt to save him despite spotting him six hours before he was shot dead. South Korean officials said the man has run up debt and likely sought to defect to the North. But his brother refuted that, saying he had just got a new boat and must have had some sort of accident. “Not everyone who has debts CDRC Research Department, September 2020

wants to go to the North,” the brother, Lee Rae-jin, said on social media. “What the military was doing when he was floating around our waters for almost a day?” The North’s soldiers fired more than 10 shots at the man after he tried to flee without revealing his identity, Suh said, citing the letter. But the North Korean side denied burning his body, saying the soldiers had burned a floatation device he was using in line with their anti-virus procedures, Suh said. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the apology showed Kim did not want the incident to escalate but it remained highly contentious in the South. “The letter showed Kim’s willingness to quickly resolve the situation but publicly it’s a very sensitive matter,” Yang said. The shooting came a day after Moon proposed a new initiative including North Korea to the U.N. General Assembly and called for a formal termination of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice, a long-standing North Korean demand. But opposition politicians derided Moon’s olive branch. “Now is not the time to speak of ending the war,” said Thae Young- ho, a former North Korean diplomat who is now an opposition lawmaker. He called for a formal investigation. ______

Multilateral Orgs • European Union attempts to sell new migration, asylum plan - CGTN The European Union’s top migration officials struggled Thursday to sell their new plan to overhaul the bloc’s failed asylum system amid concern they have sold out to anti-migrant governments. Critics say the proposal focuses on rapidly deporting people who don’t qualify as refugees and persuading African countries to stop them from coming. The program, dubbed the “New Pact on Migration and Asylum,” is aimed at ending years of chaos at Europe’s borders and a political crisis that has seen some EU countries turn their backs on Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain, where most people seeking better lives enter. It has already received a cautious welcome from Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary, whose anti-migrant governments, along with those of Poland and Slovakia, refuse to bow to pressure to take in refugees and ease the load on their Mediterranean coastal partners. The leaders of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland affirmed their hardline stance at EU headquarters on Thursday. Germany, France, Greece and Italy also see the pact as a good basis to negotiate on. The measures, which must be endorsed by all 27 EU countries and the European Parliament, will prove a hard sell, particularly as the top migration officials want to see it approved by the end of the year. “We have a system that makes sense. I am not asking you to like it. I am asking you to understand it,” European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said as he was grilled by EU lawmakers. Under the proposals, migrants arriving at Europe’s outside borders without permission would be screened within five days. They would then enter an asylum procedure or be deported, both within 12 weeks. Migrants could be held in detention throughout, and these people would enter a legal limbo on arrival because they wouldn’t be deemed to have entered EU territory. EU member countries would then face two choices: take in some of the CDRC Research Department, September 2020

refugees or provide other material and logistical support; or for those not willing, take charge of deporting people whose applications are refused. Mandatory refugee quotas have been abandoned. Countries that accept to host refugees would receive 10,000 euros ($11,650) per person in assistance from the EU’s coffers. Those dubbed the “bouncers of Europe” by one migration expert would have eight months to deport people not allowed in or be forced to accept them. “The refuseniks have won. Blocking has been rewarded,” Dutch liberal lawmaker Sophie in ’t Veld said. She complained that EU member countries had “effectively allowed anti-migration forces to write our migration policies.” She said that parts of the plan “cross the pain thresholds of many of us,” but that the only other choice is an ugly status quo where people languish at sea in dangerous boats or in squalid camps in the Greek islands. “There is no better alternative on the table,” she added.

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