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From liability to asset: ivory trade resumes

Conflict
in
Angola

Fighting rages on in Angola amid concerted efforts by SADC to seek a lasting solution to the conflict that is threatening to be more fatal than the one that temporarily ended in 1994.

Three Presidents, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Sam Nujoma of Namibia and Nelson Mandela of South Africa met in Pretoria recently to discuss ways of restoring normalcy in the troubled southern African country.

The heads of state agreed that the government of Angola needs to be helped to fight the rebel movement, Unita, whose leader, Jonas Savimbi, was declared “a war criminal” by the SADC states at last year’s summit in Mauritius.

Meanwhile, several hundreds of people have been killed since the resumption of the civil war in April last year. Reports say that over 650,000 people have been internally displaced as a result of the fresh fighting and more displacements are expected. Francesco Strippoli, UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator was recently quoted as saying that food aid needs for Angolans for 1999 were now estimated at US$60 million, twice the amount projected in 1998.

Strippoli said that an additional US$20 million would also be needed to cover the costs of delivering food by air as roads were considered too insecure for relief convoys.

“The war is going to continue and we are expecting new population displacements,” Strippoli said, adding, “insufficient aid could lead in months to a new humanitarian catastrophe.”


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Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe which are resuming trade in ivory and its accessories on an experimental basis, face the challenge of proving to all and sundry that they are capable of fighting off the poaching that might see the trade ban being re-imposed.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) has granted that the three countries resume experimental and limited trade in ivory. They will trade with a certified buyer, Japan. With the auctioning of ivory under the watchful eye of the

Caprivi dispute: verdict expected this year
The International Court of Justice in The Hague has revealed that it would announce a verdict on the case of the Kasikili/Sedudu islands, contested by Namibia and Botswana, before the end of the year.

In a statement, the court said; “…judgment will be delivered in the autumn. It will be read at a public hearing on a date to be announced.”

The hearing of the case between Namibia and Botswana started on 15 February at the Hague and ended on the fifth of March. The court had been asked by the two countries to settle a territorial dispute over the boundary of the Kasikili/Sedudu islands and the legal status of the islands, which are situated in the Caprivi Strip on the Chobe river.

The disputed islands are home to a lot of bird species and the wetlands are an important tourist attraction in the region.

The two southern African countries have both said they would accept the ruling of the international court as being binding.
CITES secretariat, the three elephant-range states need to be very strict to ensure that there are no last minute slip-ups.

The CITES Standing Committee decided, after “full and careful consideration of a report by the CITES secretariat” that Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe had met the comprehensive set of safeguards demanded by the 10th Conference of the Parties before resumption of trade in ivory.

As a result, the three elephant range states are authorised to sell to Japan an experimental quota for raw ivory not exceeding 25.3 tonnes for Botswana, 13.8 tonnes for Namibia and 20 tonnes for Zimbabwe on or after the 18th of March 1999.

“We believe this is a just decision with potential to support conservation and development in southern African countries. We also believe that this decision comes with a lot of responsibility on Zimbabwe and Namibia,” says a recent SADC Natural Resources Management Programme Bulletin.

DRC: stalled peace talks
Peace remains elusive in the Democratic Republic of Congo as Uganda and Rwanda, backers of rebels who are fighting the government of President Laurent Kabila, continue to back down on peace initiatives broached by SADC and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

The SADC allied forces that include Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe are accusing Uganda and Rwanda of “talking peace while acting war”. A number of peace proposals were agreed on by both parties since the war erupted in August 1998, but none have been implemented to date.

One major bone of contention has been a proposal by some parties involved to directly include rebels in the talks. The allied forces have remained adamant that doing so would be tantamount to accepting the legitimacy of the rebels.

Zambia is mediating in the SADC diplomatic effort to end the war.


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