KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A regional partnership of 10 countries says an agreement on the equitable use of water resources from the Nile River basin has come into force despite the notable opposition of Egypt.
The legal status of the “cooperative framework” was formally confirmed by the African Union after South Sudan joined the treaty, the Nile Basin Initiative said in a statement Sunday.
Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania have ratified the accord. Egypt and Sudan declined to sign, while Congo abstained. Kenya has not yet deposited its ratification documents with the African Union.
The accord, which came into force on Sunday, "is a testament to our collective determination to harness the Nile River for the benefit of all, ensuring its equitable and sustainable use for generations to come,” the Nile Basin Initiative said in its statement. “This is a moment to congratulate the governments and people of the Nile riparian countries, and all partners and stakeholders, for their patience, resolve, and dedication to this cause.”
The lack of ratification by Egypt and Sudan — desert nations that have raised concern over any attempts to diminish their shares of Nile water — means the accord will prove controversial.
Tensions in the region have increased, stemming in part from Ethiopia’s construction of a $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile, a key tributary of the Nile River. Egypt fears the dam will have a devastating effect on water and irrigation supplies downstream unless Ethiopia takes its needs into account. Ethiopia plans to use the dam to generate badly needed electricity.
The accord's rights clause states that Nile basin states “shall in their respective territories utilize the water resources of the Nile River system in an equitable and reasonable manner.”
Measuring 6,695 kilometers (4160 miles), the Nile is the longest river in the world, with one tributary, the White Nile, starting in South Sudan and the other, the Blue Nile, in Ethiopia.
Amid the dispute with Ethiopia, Egypt has recently appeared to strengthen its position in the Horn of Africa by pledging security cooperation with Somalia, which opposes Ethiopia's efforts to seek access to the sea via the Somali breakaway territory of Somaliland. Under the terms of an agreement reached last week, Egypt could deploy peacekeeping troops to Somalia when the mandate of African Union peacekeepers expires at the end of 2024.
It was not immediately possible to get a comment from Egypt on the Nile accord now in force. The country, a founding member of the Nile Basin Initiative, has long asserted its rights to Nile water according to the terms of a colonial-era agreement.
The agreement between Egypt and the United Kingdom gave downstream Egypt and Sudan rights to the Nile water, with Egypt taking 55.5 billion cubic meters and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic meters of the total of 84 billion cubic meters, with 10 billion lost to evaporation.
That agreement, first signed in 1929, took no account of the other nations along the river basin that have been agitating for a more equitable accord.
FILE - A fisherman's boat sails along the River Nile in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris announced a plan on Monday to give Black men more economic opportunities and other chances to thrive as she works to energize a key voting bloc that has Democrats concerned about a lack of enthusiasm.
Harris' plan includes providing forgivable business loans for Black entrepreneurs, creating more apprenticeships and studying sickle cell and other diseases that disproportionately affect African American men.
Harris already has said she supports legalizing marijuana and her plan calls for working to ensure that Black men have opportunities to participate as a “national cannabis industry takes shape.” She also is calling for better regulating cryptocurrency to protect Black men and others who invest in digital assets.
The vice president's “opportunity agenda for Black men” is meant to invigorate African American males at a moment when there are fears some may sit out the election rather than vote for Harris or her opponent, Republican former President Donald Trump.
The vice president unveiled the plan as she visited Erie, Pennsylvania, where she stopped by LegendErie Records and Coffee House, a Black-owned small business, for a conversation with Black men from the area.
The business, opened just five weeks ago, is the project of Ishmael and Allana Trainor, a married couple of Erie natives who returned to their hometown after living for years in Arizona.
Later, Harris held a campaign rally in the northwest Pennsylvania city, where she pilloried Trump for suggesting in a weekend Fox News interview that the U.S. military may need to be deployed to quell an “enemy from within” if Election Day is disturbed by agitators.
Her push comes after former President Barack Obama suggested last week that some Black men “aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president.”
The Harris campaign also has been working to increase support among other male voting blocs, including Hispanics, by founding the group “Hombres con Harris,” Spanish for “Men with Harris.” The latest policy rollout is notable because it comes with the stated purpose of motivating Black men to vote mere weeks before Election Day.
As her campaign has done with the “Hombres” group, Harris’ team plans to organize gender-specific gatherings. Those include “Black Men Huddle Up” events in battleground states featuring African American male celebrities for things like watch parties for NFL and NCAA football games. The campaign says it also plans new testimonial ads in battleground states that feature local Black male voices.
Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris campaign and a former Louisiana congressman who is Black, said Harris wants to build an economy "where Black men are equipped with the tools to thrive: to buy a home, provide for our families, start a business and build wealth.”
Black Americans strongly supported Joe Biden when he beat Trump in 2020. Harris advisers say they are less worried about losing large percentages of Black male support to the former president than that some will choose not to turn out at all.
Trump, too, has stepped up efforts to win over Black and Hispanic voters of both genders. He has held roundtables with Black entrepreneurs in swing states and will sit for a townhall sponsored by Spanish-language Univision this week. He also has sought to openly stoke racial divisions, repeatedly suggesting that immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally are taking jobs from Black and Hispanic Americans.
Harris' new round of proposals includes a promise that, if elected, she will help distribute 1 million loans of up to $20,000 that can be fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others who have strong ideas to start businesses. The loans would come via new partnerships between the Small Business Administration and community leaders and banks “with a proven commitment to their communities,” her campaign says.
The vice president also wants to offer federal incentives to encourage more African American men to train to be teachers, citing statistics that Black males made up only a bit more than 1% of the nation's public school teaching ranks in 2020-21, according to data from the National Teacher and Principal Survey.
Harris also is pledging to expand existing federal programs that forgive some educational loans for public service to further encourage more Black male teachers. She also wants to use organizations like the National Urban League, local governments and the private sector to expand apprenticeships and credentialing opportunities in Black communities.
The vice president's advisers have been urging her to talk more about cryptocurrency as a way to appeal to male voters. Her campaign said that as president, Harris will back a regulatory framework meant to better protect investors in cryptocurrency and other digital assets, which are popular with Black men.
Harris also promised to create a national initiative to better fund efforts to detect, research and combat sickle cell disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, mental health challenges and other health issues that disproportionately affect Black men.
A recent poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found about 7 in 10 Black voters had a favorable view of Harris and preferred her leadership to that of Trump on major policy issues including the economy, health care, abortion, immigration and the war between Israel and Hamas. There was little difference in support for Harris between Black men and Black women.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, participates in a roundtable discussion with Black men during a visit to Legenderie Records and Coffee House, a Black-owned small business in Erie, Pa., during a campaign stop, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Ishmael Trainor, owner of Legenderie Records and Coffee House, left, shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris a Marvin Gaye record during a campaign stop at the Black-owned small business, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Erie, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
A young attendee cheers as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pa., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pa., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at Erie Insurance Arena, in Erie, Pa., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Ishmael Trainor, owner of Legenderie Records and Coffee House, left, shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris a Marvin Gaye record during a campaign stop at the Black-owned small business, Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, in Erie, Pa. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Pennsylvania state House Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie, from left, and Erie, Pa. Mayor Joe Schember greet Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris as she arrives at Erie International Airport, in Erie, Pa., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, to attend a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris exits Air Force Two, on arrival to Erie International Airport, in Erie, Pa., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, to attend a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at Erie International Airport, in Erie, Pa., Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, to attend a campaign rally. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at East Carolina University, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Greenville, N.C. (AP Photo/David Yeazell)
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
