United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Media & Spokesperson Unit Communications & Public Information Office MEDIA MONITORING REPORT WEDNESDAY, 04 DECEMBER 2013 SOUTH SUDAN Kiir accuses SPLM members of behaving like opposition (Sudantribune.com) Minister allows until weekend for registration of media houses (The Citizen) Assessment in South Sudan to determine Migrant Health Needs (Africa Press Organization) US Special Envoy to attend South Sudan investment forum (Sudantribune.com) South Sudan First Lady honoured in Nigeria (Sudantribune.com) Central Equatoria State Speaker urges ministers to table policies (Gurtong) Organisation to extend aid services in Jonglei (Gurtong) Organisation hands over more than 60 shelters to Bor County returnees (Gurtong) Western Equatoria State governor briefs cabinet on Governors’ Forum (Anisa Radio) OTHER HIGHLIGHTS UN starts drone surveillance in DR Congo (Sudantribune.com) Sudan’s Bashir thanks ministers before announcing new cabinet (Sudantribune.com) Thousands of Sudan’s NISS members stage show of force in Khartoum (Sudantribune.com) Sudan’s NCP splinters apply for registration of new party (Sudantribune.com) FEATURES – Worlds newest honeymoon destination (by John Tanza on VoA) South Sudan ratifies UN Convention against Torture (Eye Radio) National Assembly ratifies UN Convention against Torture (Catholic Radio Network) South Sudan hosts two-day Investment Conference in Juba (Gurtong) Over 80 percent of women with disabilities lack access to education (Catholic Radio Network) AU Commissioner calls on South Sudan to mount more resources in fighting HIV/AIDS (Gurtong) South Sudan: the 5th most corrupt country worldwide (Eye Radio) Victim’s family asks President Kiir to revoke reinstatement of suspect (Sudantribune.com) Central Equatoria State assembly opens fourth session (Bakhita Radio) Wau bans “indecent dressing” (Eye Radio) Jonglei’s Pigi County accuses neighbours of cattle theft (Sudantribune.com) Early marriages hit Eastern Equatoria State (Gurtong) African troops kill senior LRA commander, Uganda says (Reuters) No improvement in Sudan’s 2013 corruption perceptions index (Sudantribune.com) NOTE: Reproduction here does not mean that the UNMISS Communications & Public Information Office can vouch for the accuracy or veracity of the contents, nor does this report reflect the views of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Furthermore, international copyright exists on some materials and this summary should not be disseminated beyond the intended list of recipients. Highlights Kiir accuses SPLM members of behaving like opposition Sudantribune.com Juba, 03/12/13 - South Sudan president Salva Kiir has openly accused some members of his ruling Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) party of acting more like those opposed to the leadership of the country. “As you return, you must work very hard to unite the people in your states, structure your cabinet to align with the national cabinet so that resources are reserved to deliver services which our people are in need. You need to work very hard to structure the SPLM at all levels. This is very important since SPLM is behaving like the opposition”, Kiir told state governors during a Monday meeting. There is no opposition party, but the SPLM itself, added the president. Remarks by the SPLM chairperson, political analysts say, highlight the magnitude of tension from the internal wrangles within the party. The South Sudan leader, specifically cited states where governors often took unilateral actions without consulting the ruling party structures and unusual practices whereby some SPLM caucus members disagree with decisions from the executive. “These are things which must be corrected. There is nowhere members of the same party behave as if they are different parties. There is no secrecy. Things which are discussed and supposed to be treated as internal matters come out before they are even known by some members”, emphasised Kiir. This practice must be discouraged and all of us should work out ways to handle internal matters, he further stressed. The ruling party, according to Vice-president James Wani Igga, will hold its long-awaited National Liberation Council (NLC) meeting on 9 December, ending weeks of speculation that often left the public in disarray. Martin Majut Yak, the secretary for popular and syndicated organisation at the SPLM headquarters said the party leadership had confirmed that the NLC meeting will be held in the second week of this month. “So as the secretariat, we are preparing accordingly”, Yak told reporters in Juba. The meeting, he further said, would discuss a range of issues relating to the passing of the basic party documents, which was to be revised at the request of senior members to reflect international norms and standards. “The basic documents, which the leadership would hold discussion about, include the SPLM Constitution 2008, basic rule and regulations, code of conduct and its manifesto”, the official said. Louis Lobong Lojore, the governor of South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria state confirmed that the president indeed demanded that the party be restructured and the cabinet aligned at state levels to meet the policy of a lean government. “We are from the meeting which was organised by the president. He [Kiir] wanted to brief us about the policy of his government and about the structuring of the SPLM in the states,” he said in a statement aired on the state-owned SSTV. The country’s ruling party currently faces a tough test after is senior members, including former vice-president Riek Machar openly challenged Kiir’s recent pronouncement that the SPLM structures had been dissolved. (Back to Top) Minister allows until weekend for registration of media houses 2 The Citizen Juba, 04/12/13 - The Minister of Information and Broadcasting Michael Makuei yesterday stated that he has given till the end of this week for media houses and individual journalists to register with the Ministry of Information or face automatic stoppage from operation. The order to register was fdirst given by the minister on 6th November 2013 during a press conference at the ministry specifically directed to media houses, private printing presses, media centres and all individual journalists serving in different media houses as fulltime practitioners or freelancers. Yesterday, a delegation sent by editors in chief of various media houses and led by Alfred Taban (veteran journalist and editor in chief of the Juba Monitor) met the minister to communicate their views on the directive for registration with requests that the minister suspend implementation of the directive until the media bills are enacted into law and the media authority formed. They also called on the ministry to speed up approval of the media bills and to engage in dialogue all stakeholders so that the bill is passed for implementation. In response, the minister renewed his call to journalists and media houses to comply or close down business as they wait for the media bills to be enacted and has given them until Sunda 8th December to make up their minds and register or close down to wait until the media bills are passed and then resume after that. (Back to Top) Assessment in South Sudan to Ddtermine migrant health needs Africa Press Organization Geneva, 03/12/13 - IOM South Sudan released the findings of its recent Migrant Health Assessment last week, providing health partners in the country with an up-to-date overview of the health challenges encountered by migrants. Funded by the IOM Partnership on Health and Mobility in East and Southern Africa (PHAMESA), the assessment is the first of its kind in South Sudan. The assessment identifies the key health vulnerabilities and needs faced by migrants, and provides reliable evidence for future collaboration between the government, partner organizations and IOM to address these needs. “Addressing the health and wellbeing of migrants is key to ensuring that migration contributes to sustainable development,” said IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission David Derthick. “It is our hope that this assessment will provide a basis for an informed discussion on the health of migrants in the country.” The assessment identified three key spaces of vulnerability – transport corridors, transit sites, and urban settings. One hundred and eighteen in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant discussions were carried out with migrant workers and migrant female sex workers as well as truck drivers and their mechanics, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and returnees. Information was gathered on these populations' self-reported health concerns and the barriers and enabling factors they face in accessing health care services. Sharing land borders with six countries and having absorbed over two million returnees since 2005, South Sudan is a country largely characterized by migration. Despite the important economical and developmental contributions made by migrants, they face risks and challenges in terms of access to health services and exposure to unsafe traveling, working or living conditions. While migrants often start their journey healthy, the conditions of the migration process may make a migrant more vulnerable to ill health. These conditions include individual, environmental and societal drivers of health vulnerabilities, such as poverty, discrimination, language and cultural differences, separation from family and legal status. Describing the difficulties migrants can face in accessing health