invo.nyarango.me

Category: International News

  • ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER WINS THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR HIS BORDER PEACE DEAL WITH ERITREA

    By: Valyne Laibuta

    vklaibuta@gmail.com

    Thumbnail image courtesy of: The Telegraph

    Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed. Photo courtesy of: KTVQ.com

    Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for mending relations with Eritrea, Ethiopia’s long-standing rival.

    Abiy was deserving of this award “in particular, for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict neighboring Eritrea” said Brett Reiss-Anderson, Chair of the Nobel committee, who decides which individual is deserving of the phenomenal award. 

    According to the Washington Post, the peace deal between Abiy and his Eritrean counterpart, Isaias Afwerki, formally ended a 20-year-old military standoff that led to Eritrea’s secession in 1993. 100,000 people lost their lives in the standoff that occurred between 1998-2003. The border dispute erupted into a full-blown war between the two neighboring nations.

    Not only has he been able to mend ties with Eritrea, but the 43-year-old former intelligence officer has ushered a new era of peace and hope in Ethiopia that was riddled with authoritarian regimes. In this new era he has:

    • Released thousands of political prisoners
    • Lifted bans of various political organizations
    • Prosecuted former officials accused of torture
    • Vowed to move Ethiopia into its first free, multi-party elections in 2020

    Abiy Ahmed is the third sitting head of government from Africa that has won the lucrative award. Previous African heads of states that have won the Nobel Peace Prize are Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and F.W. de Klerk who won it jointly with Nelson Mandela in 1993 as South Africa transitioned from apartheid. 

    Last year the award was awarded jointly to 64-year-old Dennis Mukwege, a Congolese doctor who treated thousands of women who had been raped or sexually assaulted as a result of conflict in Congo, and 26-year-old Nadia Murad, who advocated for the support and freeing of Yazidi women who had captured and held as sex slaves by the Islamic State (IS).

  • SUPPORT NEEDED IN UGANDA FOR COMMUNITIES THAT ARE HOSTING REFUGEES

    By Gladys Sheila
    Gladyshila52@gmail.com

    Thumbnail image courtesy of: wikipedia

    Uganda has been recorded as the country hosting the largest number of refugees in Africa with 1.3 million refugees. It is also the third largest country in the world.

    The Ugandan approach towards the refugees has been termed as a good lead especially to the other host countries. According to a new report released by the World Bank Group says that as much these countries are supporting refugees, there is need to improve the social and economic status of the countries hosting the refugees and refugees too.

    According to the report given World Bank Group, Uganda has been progressing on helping the refugees, whereby the refugees’ policies with support from humanitarian partners have managed to give equal social services access as the host where sometimes they enjoy more of the services than the host communities.

    “The people of Uganda have been incredibly generous towards refugees, and this generosity of the host communities should be recognized by supporting them to have a higher quality of life. This study provides an evidence-based understanding of the living conditions of both refugees and hosts, which we expect will inform policy and programming for the national refugee response,” Tony Thompson, World Bank Country Manager for Uganda said.

    The report done by World Bank Group shows that about 95 percent of refugees and 66 percent of the host have access to improved water but the access to electricity for both is 50 percent. However, both can access health facilities as well as improved sanitation, although this is made easier by the Non-Governmental Organization. The report also shows that refugees remarkably contribute to the local economy, by purchasing goods and services in the local markets and operating businesses.

    However, both can access health facilities as well as improved sanitation, although this is made easier by the Non-Governmental Organization. The report also shows that refugees remarkably contribute to the local economy, by purchasing goods and services in the local markets and operating businesses.

    However, 48 percent of refugees live in poverty this is because more than 50 percent depend on humanitarian support, due to their inability to generate income because they do not have sills or are not taken through trainings.

    The report given recommendations on some measures to be taken in order to improve self-support of refugees and also communities that are hosting them improve their living conditions, supporting Ugandan economy as well. This will be achieved by increasing the agricultural productivity by providing inputs as well as creating job opportunities.

    Photo courtesy of: dispatch.ug