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Morocco, AU Inaugurate African Migration Observatory in Rabat

The inauguration ceremony of the African Migration Observatory in Rabat. - Asharq Al-Awsat
The inauguration ceremony of the African Migration Observatory in Rabat. - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Morocco, AU Inaugurate African Migration Observatory in Rabat

The inauguration ceremony of the African Migration Observatory in Rabat. - Asharq Al-Awsat
The inauguration ceremony of the African Migration Observatory in Rabat. - Asharq Al-Awsat

Morocco and the African Union (AU) inaugurated on Friday the African Migration Observatory in Rabat.

The inauguration ceremony was co-chaired by Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, and the AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Amira El Fadil.

This came upon the proposal of King Mohammed VI, in his capacity as the AU leader on the issue of migration, which was endorsed by African heads of State at the 31st AU Summit held in Nouakchott in July 2018.

Bourita stressed that the Observatory in Rabat enjoys an important strategic dimension.

The Observatory will provide Africa with specific data able to help make decisions, establish migration strategies and give a clear vision on African migration while dispelling the myths surrounding this issue, he indicated.

Bourita also noted that the Observatory will allow Africa to be in a position of strength as an interlocutor with other partners who often put Africa on the defensive in relation to migration issues.

His remarks were made during a press briefing with Fadil after the inauguration ceremony.

For her part, the AU official welcomed the inauguration of the institution, noting that it's the first migration observatory in Africa.

“Today is indeed a historic and momentous occasion in Africa. Historic in that the African Migration Observatory becomes the first-ever such continental institution in Africa, and momentous in that it marks the beginning of our efforts towards generating data that is balanced and relevant to the needs of Africa in the field of migration."

Fadil said the observatory will focus mainly on the intra-continental migration and intercontinental migration.

“The bulk of migration in Africa is intra-continental, and there is evidence to support the notion that well-managed migration can benefit the socio-economic development of nations — both migrant-sending and receiving countries,” she noted.

“It is also imperative that as Africans engage with other regions on issues of migration, they do so from a position of knowledge, fact, and evidence. And the observatory will provide the continent with that.”

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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
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US Determines Sudan's RSF Committed Genocide, Imposes Sanctions on Leader

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)
Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, attends a meeting of representatives of the tripartite mechanism in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on June 8, 2022. (AFP)

The United States determined on Tuesday that members of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias committed genocide in Sudan and it imposed sanctions on the group's leader over a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The moves deal a blow to the RSF's attempts to burnish its image and assert legitimacy - including by installing a civilian government- as the paramilitary group seeks to expand its territory beyond the roughly half of the country it currently controls.

The RSF rejected the measures.

"America previously punished the great African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela, which was wrong. Today, it is rewarding those who started the war by punishing (RSF leader) General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, which is also wrong," said an RSF spokesman when reached for comment.

The war in Sudan has produced waves of ethnically driven violence blamed largely on the RSF. It has also carried out mass looting campaigns across swathes of the country, arbitrarily killing and sexually assaulting civilians in the process.

The RSF denies harming civilians and attributes the activity to rogue actors it says it is trying to control.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement the RSF and aligned militias had continued to direct attacks against civilians, adding they had systematically murdered men and boys on an ethnic basis and had deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of sexual violence.

The militias have also targeted fleeing civilians and murdered innocent people escaping conflict, Blinken said.

"The United States is committed to holding accountable those responsible for these atrocities," Blinken said.

Washington announced sanctions on the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, barring him and his family from travelling to the US and freezing any US assets he might hold. Financial institutions and others that engage in certain activity with him also risk being hit with sanctions themselves.

It had previously sanctioned other leaders, as well as army officials, but had not sanctioned Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as attempts to bring the two sides to talks continued.

Such attempts have stalled in recent months.

"As the overall commander of the RSF, Hemedti bears command responsibility for the abhorrent and illegal actions of his forces," the Treasury said.

Sudan's army and RSF have been fighting for almost two years, creating a humanitarian crisis in which UN agencies struggle to deliver relief. More than half of Sudan's population faces hunger, and famine has been declared in several areas.

The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.

Blinken said in the statement that "both belligerents bear responsibility for the violence and suffering in Sudan and lack the legitimacy to govern a future peaceful Sudan."

The US has sanctioned army leaders as well as individuals and entities linked to financing its weapons procurement. Last year, Blinken accused the RSF and the army, which has carried out numerous indiscriminate air strikes, of war crimes.