Weekly News Round-Up (21/11/2015)

News from HART

• HART intern, Joe Whittaker, analyses the recent elections and asks ‘What Next for Burma?’
• Baroness Cox raised HART’s partners’ personal experiences of working with DfID in a debate in the House of Lords on the country’s international development policy.

Burma

• Representatives of eight non-state armed groups and the Burma Army have agreed to a code of conduct for signatories of the ceasefire agreement.
• The new parliamentary session begins on Monday, but it will still be made up of the same MPs that were in power before the election. The newly elected MPs will not take their seats until after January 31^st
• However, when the new parliament sits, it will see a nearly threefold increase in women, to at least 150 MPs. Although Burma will stay remain shy of the 30% representation for women that is widely cited as the figure to strive for globally.
• Aung Sang Suu Kyi will take the lead in Burma’s peace process following the transfer of power early next year according to NLD spokesperson.
• In an editorial piece for The Irrawaddy, Swe Win claims that the crushing defeat for the USDP also signals an outright dismissal of the extremist nationalist Buddhist movement Ma Ba Tha.
• A group of jailed students and their supporters have ended a hunger strike in protest of incarcerated political prisoners in Rangoon.

India

• India plays down the Dalai Lama’s remarks on ‘intolerance’.
• This week, the IMF pitched for greater gender parity in the Indian workforce, stating that it would boost economic growth.

Nagorno-Karabakh

• The United States of America will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh. The US started to provide Karabakh with aid in 1998 and have given roughly $61 million since then.

Nigeria

This week saw multiple bombings in Nigeria:

• On Tuesday there were twin bombings in Yola and Maiduguri. In Yola, 32 people were killed and over 80 injured: “The explosion happened in the midst of a large crowd because the area houses a livestock market, an open-air eatery and a mosque” (Red Cross official). Earlier, 15 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Maiduguri.
• On Wednesday, two female suicide bombers, aged 11 and 18, blew themselves up at a mobile phone market in the northern Nigerian city of Kano. 19 people were killed and over 100 injured.
• Nearly 1,500 people have been killed in northern and north-east Nigeria since Buhari came to power on 29 May, according to an AFP tally.

Can you imagine, the death of a dog is on Page 5 of the Metro whereas 32 dead in Nigeria gets page 24?! pic.twitter.com/jaHK4c114n

— zach and 73 others (@z4chary_) November 19, 2015

South Sudan

• OCHA has stated that violent clashes in Unity state have intensified over the past month.
• Both the SPLM and rebels have accused each other over violations of the peace agreement due to a number of violent clashes.
• The government have announced a preliminary peace deal with two different armed groups in Western Equatoria.
• Kiir has announced that South Sudan will struggle to resettle refugees due to lack of funds caused by low global oil prices.
• UNICEF have said that 40,000 children are expected to return to school through the ‘Back-to-Learning Initiative’.

Sudan

• Government officials, prepared for a humanitarian deal with SPLM-N rebels, have arrived in Addis-Ababa ahead of the AU-mediated peace talks.
• Sudanese opposition groups have met in France to discuss how to tackle the upcoming negotiations with the government over a cessation of hostilities deal.
• Switzerland have donated $3 million for the growing humanitarian needs in Sudan.

Uganda

• Uganda Red Cross makes ‘humanitarian history’ as it launches forecast-based financing.
• Veteran Ugandan President, Yoweri Musoveni, has insisted he will leave power if he is toppled in the upcoming elections.