APRIL 2020 COUNTRY UPDATES

ROHINGYA - BANGLADESH/BURMA

To date there is only one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Cox’s Bazar, the area bordering the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. The risks for coronavirus to spread in the area are still high and various articles reveal the devastation that could take place. The government of Bangladesh has a mandatory lockdown throughout the country but this doesn’t necessarily ensure the safety of Bangladeshi citizens or of Rohingya refugees. In the camps all but essential services have been cancelled. All foreign workers have left. The camps are densely populated and continue to be under an internet blackout that the government imposed in August. The internet restrictions are especially worrying because they limit the ability to communicate with refugees and disseminate information about best practices to stay healthy. Currently, the only way for someone to be told to self isolate would be for someone to inform them in person. It is also virtually impossible to self isolate with family, sometimes numbering 10 or more, living in small shelters. Quarantine will also not allow families to access food rations. If someone does need to seek medical advice, they must go to a clinic, further exposing others to potential cases of COVID-19. Much of this could be avoided if the internet restrictions were lifted.

In a new brief, Amnesty highlighted the risks of coronavirus for older Rohingya refugees who have less access to information and are consulted less frequently than others.

On the Burma side of the border, violence has escalated in the past several months in Rakhine State, the homeland of the Rohingya. 18 ambassadors to Burma expressed concern at the escalation of hostilities in Rakhine and Chin States and echoed the recent call by the UN Secretary General for a global ceasefire to focus efforts on preventing the spread of coronavirus. The State Department issued a separate statement calling for a cessation of hostilities and the removal of restrictions on humanitarian and internet access. Many migrant workers are returning to Rakhine from abroad but with much of Rakhine State still under an internet blackout and severe restrictions on humanitarian assistance, including limited access to clean water, the risks of coronavirus spreading quickly in Rakhine are high.

Malaysia intercepted a boat with more than 200 Rohingya aboard off its coast. It is unclear at this point if they started their journeys in Burma or Bangladesh.

SUDAN

April 11 will mark one year since the ousting of Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir. In a lead up to the anniversary, the Sudanese military has had an increased military presence in Khartoum. There has been speculation of an attempted coup, something the military denies.

Sudan’s Cabinet is taking steps to confront the legacy of former President Al-Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP.) The Sudanese Anti-Corruption Committee dismissed 100 government employees affiliated with the NCP and the transitional government will auction assets of the old regime. Sudan’s Information Minister announced that the government will try to “add people to the governing body of states.” Formal appointment of regional government can only been done after a peace deal is reached between rebel groups and the transitional government. Peace talks continue in Juba, although at a very slow pace.

Sudan has confirmed that they have issued a pay-out of $70 million to families of victims of the USS Cole bombing in 2000, potentially paving the way for Sudan to be delisted from the U.S. State Sponsor of Terrorism.

Although Sudan has only reported 10 cases of COVID-19, preparations for responding to an outbreak in Sudan are already underway. The government has implemented a 6pm to 6am curfew and closed schools for one month from mid-March. In IDP camps, only essential services are being offered and food is being distributed with 2-3 months of rations, with the aim of limiting social interaction. Doctors in Sudan are on strike following repeated attacks on medical staff by the police and military as doctors try to respond to possible coronavirus cases.

SOUTH SUDAN

South Sudan has been mired in instability and conflict for nearly all the 8 years since it gained independence from Sudan. On February 22, 2020, Mr. Machar was finally sworn in as first Vice-President. This came after negotiations that saw President Kiir accept reversing the decision to divide the nation into 32 states. The country will return to its original 10 states with three administrative areas. The division of states was the major hangup in a peace agreement originally negotiated in 2017. A new cabinet has been announced, and prominent roles have been given to women. While there is a sense of relief that the new government has formed, there is still much to be done, and many challenges ahead that will test its unity. The filling of the governor positions is particularly urgent. The absence of authority at the state level has caused a vacuum of power and decision-making – as has been seen in Jonglei State–the scene of recent violent inter-communal clashes. Several peace-building programs are underway urging forgiveness and reconciliation. Billboards in Juba say, "It's Time to Forgive."

On March 12, the U.N. Security Council voted to extend the mandate of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan citing “encouraging developments” toward peace and a reduction in political violence but also expressing “urgent concern” over the nearly 3.9 million people displaced within South Sudan and the country's humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 5.29 million people facing “severe food insecurity"  and 7.2 million in need of life-saving assistance. In addition, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners are jointly appealing for US $1.3 billion this year to address the vast humanitarian needs.

On April 5, South Sudan announced their first case of COVID-19. The patient is a 29 year old UN worker who arrived from the Netherlands on Feb. 28. She first showed signs of the virus on April 2, and is recovering.  With a population of 11 million, South Sudan currently has 4 ventilators, a number they hope to increase.  With the Coronavirus pandemic now appearing in countries that border South Sudan, on March 30, the heads of state of Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Djibouti held a teleconference to discuss the management of the Corona virus pandemic.  The leaders agreed to cooperate in sharing information about infected persons, and in the management of safety and commerce along common borders.  In addition, they pleaded for international help in protecting vulnerable refugees. 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Although President Felix Tshisekedi has been in office for over a year now, the country continues to be beset by violence including rebel attacks.  The Congolese army (FARDC) and U.N. peacekeepers (MONUSCO) have led an offensive against the Allied Democratic Front (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group, for several months, hoping for a defeat.  Recently, however, there has been an upsurge in the number of massacres of civilians, with more than 393 people killed since November 2019. The FARDC claimed to have killed several of the head officers of the ADF, but only one was confirmed.

At the beginning of 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the number of people killed by a measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has passed 6,000. It added that the epidemic, which affected more than 310,000 people since the start of 2019, is the world's largest and fastest moving. According to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), three-quarters of those who have died are children. 

The ongoing corona virus pandemic  is the latest challenge to the DRC's health care system.  As of March 31, the DRC had about 100 cases of COVID-19 and 8 deaths.  Borders are closed and travel to and from the capital Kinshasa is banned.  The US has provided $6 million in humanitarian funding to the country.  Virunga National Park has been closed to protect endangered chimpanzees and gorillas from contracting the corona virus.  Scientific experts advise that primates are probably susceptible to the virus. 

What was supposed to be a bright spot in the DRC's health picture - the possible end of the most recent Ebola outbreak has sadly not happened yet. Just three days before the World Health Organization (WHO) was set to declare the outbreak over, a new case emerged in Beni which has been at the epicenter of the most recent outbreak. In a new article from Time Magazine, Michael Ryan, emergency chief for the WHO said, “We’ll just have to go for another 42 days. [The required period of time without a case for the Ebola outbreak to be declared over.] Maybe that’s our lesson for COVID-19: There is no exit strategy until you’re in control of the situation. You must always be ready to start again… never be surprised.”

The DRC is rich in natural resources, including copper and cobalt.  Development of a land deal near the huge Katanga copper and cobalt mine, which would be the site of a tailings facility, has been delayed.  Congolese prosecutors want to investigate the deal, which includes a $219 million dollar line of credit issued by a company owned by Dan Gertler.  He is an Israeli billionaire, and is subject to US sanctions. The Katanga mine has the potential to become the world's largest producer of copper and cobalt.