| Sudan Civil War: First Anniversary in Paris
By Isabela
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The good guys met in Paris. On April 15th, one year after the outbreak of the civil war in Khartoum, France, Germany and the EU organised a humanitarian conference for Sudan that brought together ministers and representatives of 58 States, international organisations and agencies. More than 2 billion euros were raised by international donors, including 354 million and 541 million from the European Commission and European MSs respectively. The conference took place at a time of renewed efforts and diplomatic momentum fostered by the new US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello. Btw, take a listen to the last episode of MENA Stories to know more about him and his role in paving a way towards peace talks despite mounting internal and external hurdles. Strong-willed but few facts. Once again, the European Commission confirmed itself as one of the biggest donors in the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Only below the World Bank to be precise, but there’s no need here to elaborate on their financial capacity discrepancy. A different story is however how many of these will actually cross Sudan’s borders and reach the population. The Financial Tracking Service of UN OCHA shows that only 49% of funds required were met in 2023. In addition, EU funds have partially gone to neighbouring countries and communities hosting those who have fled war by crossing national borders. Not to say: this has sparked rumours about the EU’s framing of the Sudanese crisis in migration terms, and the Oped signed by Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU and VP of the Commission, and Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, in early April seems to point in this direction. |
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Libya’s Political Conundrum
By Pablo |
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During the UN Security Council meeting last week, the UN’s special envoy for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, resigned from his position. The Senegalese diplomat, who had been appointed in September 2022 as the Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) cited that all the efforts to achieve a conflict resolution had been met “with stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations, and indifference to the interests of the Libyan people”. In other words, according to Bathily, Libyan political leaders would not let go of their throne. Take a set and let’s explain… One more piece: This news is just an addition to the long list of failed attempts to achieve any solution to the civil war that has been affecting Libya since the fall and assassination of Muhammar al Qadaffi in 2011. For newcomers, Libya is virtually a failed state since then, and has remained split between two alleged parallel administrations for most of the time: the current Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli led by Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh, and the House of Representatives (HoR), that support the Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar from Tobruk. In addition to this, many other nuances made the task of Bathily probably one of the most difficult jobs on the planet. Like an onion, Libya’s political dialogue has many layers… To the two-party game mentioned above we must add the several militias and Islamic State paramilitaries present in the country, which pledge easier allegiance to informal clans than to official institutions. Moreover, Libya is the field of a battle for resources such as oil, gas or the scarce access to water, which are controlled by these militias and leaders. Finally, neither of these governments has any support of the law: they have all remained in power longer than the mandates allowed which they have used to throw accusations at each other. But getting out of the onion is not easy. In a policy brief published by EUROMeSCo, I explained how the role of UNSMIL had already declined, and that international solutions could only come from reintegrating the population leaving out elite bargaining. |
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Tunisia Today: Legal Struggles and Migration Dynamics
By Laura |
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Opposition targets Tunisia's President. Last week, the Defence Committee of Political Detainees pledged to sue Tunisia’s President, Kaïs Saied, and his officials, over the arbitrary detention of around 50 political figures in custody for more than a year. In February 2023, after the Minister of Justice received a letter warning about certain individuals’ potential national plot, 52 powerful Tunisian men were arrested under charges of treason and threatening security. The investigation, which concluded on 16 April, upheld the charges for 40 of those investigated, while dropping the rest. Now, the Defence Committee is concerned about ongoing efforts to extend the detention of the arrested individuals beyond the legal limits. As a committee member stated, the organisation will pursue legal action through international courts to demand the release of any individuals unlawfully detained past midnight on Friday. Global support and solidarity. Not only is support for those imprisoned found internally, but internationally, Kaïs Saied confronts numerous critics. One year after Rached Ghannouchi's arrest, an International Committee for Solidarity with Rached Ghannouchi was formed. The committee, comprising intellectuals from all parts of the world, aims to raise awareness of the 82-year-old politician’s situation. Accused of receiving foreign funding to finance his political party, Ghannouchi has been a vocal critic of Tunisia’s increasingly powerful President. Migration, the constant hot topic. On a different note, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni advocated on Wednesday for a "fresh approach" towards African migration,during a visit to Tunisia, one of the key departure points for undocumented migrants heading towards Europe. The Italian Prime Minister has already emphasised on other occasions the need to improve conditions in the countries of origin to give residents in Africa a chance not to emigrate. Moreover, Meloni, acknowledging the value of the Tunisia-Italy cooperation in the fight against human trafficking, has concurred with Saied’s stance that Tunisia should not serve as a destination for migrants originating from other African countries. |
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In this section, we uncover some of the most listened and watched musicians, writers or YouTubers of the MENA or new publications, articles or books either from or on the region. If you have any suggestions, you’re always welcome to tell us via our email! A journey like no other. What does living in Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya and Hafez al-Assad’s Syria look like for a child born in France? How has the Middle East evolved between 1978 and 2011? In The Arab of the Future, French-Syrian cartoonist Riad Sattouf depicts a volatile Middle East, almost as volatile as the household he grew up in. The novel is divided into six volumes, each depicting a different historical period. The author does not hesitate to use subtle humour to convey important ideas about dictatorship and the history of the Middle Eat. The Arab of the Future is a must-read for anyone interested in Middle Eastern history. Multimedia storytelling. Mounira Al Solh, an extraordinary Lebanese artist based in the Netherlands, got a chance to exhibit her art at the Lebanese pavilion of the Venice Biennale 2024. “Her multimedia installation A Dance with her Myth – combining painting, drawing, sculpture, embroidery, and video – plunges visitors in ancient Phoenicia through modern plastic and visual techniques” reads the Biennale website. Don’t forget to welcome new friends from the Gulf! This week, the European Commission has adopted a relaxation of visa rules alongside the EU-GCC High Level Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation in Luxembourg. The new rules provide for a 5-years Schengen visa that will allow citizens of Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia to travel across Europe! LAST BUT NOT LEAST! Don’t miss out our new episode of MENA Stories, the EST Observatory EU-MENA's podcast series that uncovers and narrates facts and events from the region. This month, Hafssa has covered the first anniversary of the war in Sudan and shed light on the new diplomatic push promoted by the new US Special Envoy for Sudan. Is Tom Perriello the closest hope for ending the dramatic civil war that is devastating Khartoum and the whole country? |
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