Sudan’s warring parties have arrived in Geneva at the invitation of the UN to discuss the protection of civilians through localised ceasefires, UN officials said on Thursday. But one side did not show up for the talks on the first day.
Senior representatives from the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces accepted invitations to meet the UN Secretary General’s personal envoy Ramtane Lamamra separately, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
Mr Lamamra said that on Thursday morning “regrettably one of the delegations did not come to the session”.
Mr Dujarric would not say which delegation did appear but he said Mr Lamamra and his team met those representatives, then invited both delegations to continue discussions on Friday.
“We urge the Sudanese delegations to rise to the challenge and engage in constructive discussions with the personal envoy for the sake of the Sudanese people,” he said.
Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Political Affairs, also called on Thursday for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan, cross-border access for humanitarian aid throughout the country and a political process that leads to civilian transition.
“We need to see a scale-up of humanitarian aid,” she said in a recent interview on CNN. "The weaponisation of food aid is unacceptable in Sudan, just as it was unacceptable in Gaza. The application of international humanitarian law is a prerequisite for a secure, stable Sudan."
Sudan was plunged into conflict in mid-April last year when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions including Darfur. The UN says more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured. Human rights activists say the death toll could be much higher.
The war has also created the world’s largest displacement crisis with more than 11 million people forced to flee their homes, as well as allegations of sexual violence and crimes against humanity. International experts recently warned that 755,000 people are facing famine in the coming months.
Talks in Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah between the Sudanese military and the RSF broke down at the end of last year.
After months of failed efforts to resume negotiations, Mr Dujarric said the UN did not publicise the meeting because it did not want to raise expectations.
“We and others have been trying to move this process forward,” he said. “We need to give it a little bit of breathing room and that’s why we’re not trumpeting all of this.”
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only. Readers are encouraged to seek independent legal advice.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
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Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
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“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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