What We’re Reading: Donors pledge aid for Darfur water sector

Jun 30th, 2011 11:04 AM UTC
By Geena Wardaki

UN rights chief says China should have helped bring Sudan’s leader to justice – A top UN human rights official criticized China for failing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir while on his visit to China, so that he can stand trial on war crimes charges for his part in the civil war in the Darfur region that killed more than 2 million people. China says it is not a member of the International Criminal Court and it is “reserving opinion,” while the UN says China still has a duty to enforce warrants issued by the court. (Associated Press)

China Vows More Sudan Investment – On a visit from Sudan’s President China pledged more investment in the country’s oil and gas reserves. China, which receives more than half of Sudan’s daily oil output, said an agreement was reached Wednesday, but the specifics are unclear. Critics say Chinese investment in Sudanese oil “has perpetuated decades of violence in the Darfur region.” (Brian Spegele and Jason Dean, Wall Street Journal)

The new African land grab – The World Bank estimates that in 2009 alone foreign investors acquired land equivalent to the size of France by long-term lease or by purchase. Joan Baxter agrees with critics, who call this movement “land grabbing,” and says taking land from smallholder farmers and transforming it into giant plantations is irresponsible and is displacing millions of farming families. (Joan Baxter, Al-Jazeera English)

Donors Pledge Aid for Darfur Water Sector – An international water conference in Darfur ended Wednesday with donors meeting almost half of a $1 billion pledge for six years worth of water system projects in the region. Donors, such as the Sudanese Government and the UN hope the projects will ease “rising water demands” in Darfur, which are “considered a key factor to ongoing conflict in the region.” (Ivy Mungcal, Devex)

Tanzania Secures AfDB Loan for Skills Development Scheme – The African Development Bank has agreed to loan Tanzania $23.4 million for a skills development project intended to “reduce unemployment among the country’s women and youth populations.” The money will help “efforts to improve women and the youth’s access to the business and technical skills required by Tanzania’s labor market.” (Ivy Mungcal, Devex)

TAGS: ONE, What We're Reading