DR Congo: The top United Nations refugee official today voiced his alarm at new inflows of refugees into Rwanda and Uganda, fleeing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).  More than 8,200 refugees have crossed from DRC into Rwanda since 27 April, according to staff of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These are in addition to the 55,000 Congolese refugees that Rwanda is already hosting.

Fighting has resumed in eastern DRC in recent weeks between Government forces, dissident groups and militia, causing suffering for civilians who are experiencing displacement, human rights violations, and loss of property.

Libya/ICC: The International Criminal Court (ICC) is currently considering a request by the Libyan authorities to try the son of former leader Muammar al-Qadhafi in their national courts, Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the Security Council today.

Earlier this month, the Libyan authorities submitted an admissibility challenge to the ICC in the case of Saif Al-Islam Qadhafi, who has been indicted by the Court, along with country’s former intelligence chief, Abdullah Al Sanousi, for their roles in attacks against protesters and rebels during the pro-democracy uprising last year. The challenge is currently before the Pre-Trial Chamber at the Court, which is based in The Hague, and the Prosecution will present its observations on 4 June.

Maternal Mortality: The number of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth related complications has almost halved in 20 years, according to new estimates released today by the United Nations, which stressed that greater progress is still needed in significantly reducing maternal deaths.

The report, entitled Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010, shows that from 1990 to 2010, the annual number of maternal deaths dropped from more than 543,000 to 287,000 – a decline of 47 per cent. While substantial progress has been achieved in almost all regions, many countries – especially in sub-Saharan Africa – will fail to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing maternal deaths by 75 per cent from 1990 to 2015.

WHO Report: The number of people with high blood pressure and diabetes is drastically increasing in both developed and developing countries, according to a United Nations report released today.  WHO’s World Health Statistics 2012 report, which includes data from 194 countries, states that one in three adults worldwide has raised blood pressure and one in 10 suffers from diabetes. According to WHO, non-communicable diseases currently cause almost two thirds of all deaths worldwide.

Women and Girls in ICT: A South American leader, the head of a Chinese telecommunications company and a United States Oscar-winning actress today received a United Nations award recognizing their efforts to the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to empower women and girls.

The recipients of this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Award were President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina, the chairperson of the Chinese company Huawei, Sun Yafang, and United States Oscar-winning actress and human rights advocate Geena Davis.

The award was presented at a ceremony in Geneva, and ties in with the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, which is observed on 17 May, and the theme for which this year is ‘Women and Girls in ICT.’

Organized by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the chosen theme is aimed at extending digital opportunities by providing avenues for advancement to professional women at the highest echelons of decision-making, and by encouraging young women to seek new careers within the sector.

Ground zero of the Sahel food crisis is Chad, where malnutrian rates are reaching alarming levels.  Things are about to get worse, too. The rainy season begins in June, and routes used to deliver food will become impassible.  Watch this important video from the World Food Program

The World Health Organization just released its annual World Health Statistics, in which number crunchers and statisticians distill the latest measurable trends in global health. This is no easy task (and if you want some insights into how WHO experts come up with this figures, check out this Reuters profile of the trade craft).

So, what sticks out this out this year as particularly noteworthy? Three trends worth watching:

The Good News: Improvements in Child Health

There have been significant improvements in child health, particularly the sharp decline in measles deaths since 2000.  Twelve years ago, 477,000 children died from measles. In just 10 years, measles deaths have been cut by 74%, to less than 114,000 deaths worldwide. This is still a huge number, but it shows how successful public vaccination campaigns were over the past decade.

Bad News: A Fatter Planet

We, as a planet, are getting heavier. About 2.8 billion people die each year as a consequence of being overweight or obese. (Which increases risk of heart disease, stroke, some cancers and diabetes). Between 1980 and 2008, the data shows that worldwide prevalence of obesity almost doubled.  The Americas are hit the hardest by this trend, but Africa and other regions in the developing world have experienced sharp increases in obesity rates as well. This poses all sorts of health hazards, which in turn could strain already fragile health care systems down the road.

The Mixed News: Maternal Deaths 

Pregnancy is less dangerous than it used to be, but still unacceptably dangerous in some parts of the world. Over the past 20 years, maternal mortality rates have dropped by almost 50% worldwide, from more than 540,000 deaths in 1990 to 290,000 deaths in 2010.  Progress on this front, though, has been extremely uneven. One third of maternal deaths today occur in just two countries (Nigeria and India). In sub-saharan africa as a whole, about 500 women die per 100,000 births.  So, while there has been demonstrable progress on maternal mortality globally, rates are still unacceptably high in much of the developing world.

If you are interested in these kinds of statistics, I recommend you skim through the full report, which was posted to the WHO website this morning.  There is a wealth of global  health information contained therein. 

Top stories from DAWNS Digest.  

Urgent Appeal for South Sudan Food Aid

A perfect storm of conflict, returning refugees from the north, poor harvests and rising food prices are posing an immediate risk to millions of people in South Sudan. “The United Nations is calling for more than $500 million in emergency aid for the people of South Sudan. Late last year the UN appealed for nearly $800 million to fund humanitarian operations in South Sudan but it received about a third of that amount.  The UN said the bulk of the $505 million it needs would go toward providing food to tens of thousands of South Sudanese, many of whom are returning home from Sudan. The UN Humanitarian Aid Program Coordinator in South Sudan, Lisa Grande, said assessments by the government of South Sudan and UN agencies both indicate 4.7 million people, or about half the population of the entire country, are food insecure this year.Grande said the amount of food needed for the region has doubled compared to last year.” (VOA http://bit.ly/KZgCO8)

20 Syrians Killed as UN Monitoring Mission Comes Under Attack

A roadside bomb detonated near a UN convoy in Syria on Tuesday, destroying four vehicles but injuring no monitors. However, in the ensuing melee between rebels and government forces, about 20 people were killed. “Eyewitnesses reached via Skype in Khan Sheikhoun, the town where the confrontation took place in the embattled northwestern province of Idlib, said that a large crowd had turned out for the funeral of a man killed by government forces two days earlier near Hama. The mourners were surprised when a United Nations convoy rolled into town and headed toward the area where government forces are concentrated in the town, which residents refer to as the “Mantiqa,” the Arabic word for area. The observers were apparently going to survey the fortified checkpoints — the truce negotiated by Mr. Annan requires that armed forces and heavy weapons should be withdrawn from population centers. Emboldened by the presence of the monitors, some residents started demonstrating nearer to the checkpoints and the government area than they normally would. When they were at close range, the soldiers opened fire, said the eyewitnesses, and somewhere in the fracas the distinctive white United Nations vehicles were heavily damaged. An amateur video posted online shows the lead vehicle lurching and then listing, its front hood blown open, after a loud bang sends up a cloud of dust.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/KZ5II1)

EU Force Launches Rare Land-Based Attack On Somali Pirates

This is a serious escalation of the international community’s fight against piracy in the Horn of Africa. Here’s analysis from the BBC’s Frank Gardiner. “The overnight raid on Somali pirate bases is small but significant. This is the first time since the EU set up its naval patrol force off Somalia in Dec 2008 that it has taken the fight to the pirates’ home base. The idea, says the EU, is to disrupt the pirates’ business model and upset their logistics. Naval officers say there were no casualties on either side but if raids like this are repeated – as they probably will be – the pirates are likely to adapt their operations making it harder for their equipment to be destroyed without also hitting local Somalis. (BBC http://bbc.in/IVcpeL)

Syria: U.N.-Arab League mediator Kofi Annan is urging Syria’s government to accept U.N. conditions for expanding the distribution of humanitarian aid to roughly 1 million Syrians in need of assistance, the United Nations said today.

Meanwhile, three vehicles belonging to a convoy of UN observers in Syria were damaged in a bomb blast near the city of Hama today, according to a UN spokesperson. “Three UN vehicles were damaged, no UN personnel were injured,” Mr. Fawzi said in response to questions. “The Mission has sent a patrol team to the area to extract the UN military observers.”

Middle East peace process: The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, has welcomed the agreement reached to end the hunger strike by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.  Under the agreement, which was signed on Monday following mediation by Egypt and Jordan, Israel will reportedly end solitary confinement for all prisoners and allow around 400 prisoners from Gaza to receive family visits. It agreed to discuss improvements in prison conditions, such as access to televisions and telephone calls.

Sudan/S. Sudan: An operation to fly back to their country an estimated 12,000 citizens of South Sudan stranded at a riverside town in neighbouring Sudan has begun, a senior United Nations official said today, adding that the returnees are being provided with humanitarian assistance on arrival back home. Once in Juba, returnees are being offered temporary accommodation until they are able to proceed to their final places of settlement.

Meanwhile, the United Nations is calling for more than $500 million in emergency aid for the people of South Sudan. Late last year the UN appealed for nearly $800 million to fund humanitarian operations in South Sudan but it received about a third of that amount.

Somalia: Somalia is entering its “most critical stage” as the end of its transitional governing period approaches in August, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Augustine P. Mahiga, told the Security Council today, calling for the international community to boost their efforts to help the east African country through its peace and national reconciliation process. Mr. Mahiga noted that there are a number of challenges for the roadmap’s implementation to be completed. In particular, he pointed to a lack of time and unavailability of resources as two factors that could have a negative effect in the next months.

In a press statement following the briefing, Security Council members welcomed the progress made so far in the implementation of the roadmap and reaffirmed their commitment to support the process.

Africa Human Development Report: Sub-Saharan Africa cannot sustain its present economic growth unless it eliminates the hunger that is affecting almost a quarter of its people, according to a new UN report launched today, which calls for new approaches to empower local communities to ensure food security in the region.

UNDP’s Africa Human Development Report 2012: Towards a Food Secure Future stresses that action on agriculture alone will not be enough to eliminate hunger, and new approaches will have to include the improvement of health services and agricultural infrastructure, as well as giving a greater voice to the poor through strengthened local governments and civil society groups.

This recently uploaded video from YouTube shows an attack against a convoy of four clearly marked UN cars belonging to the small monitoring mission. No one was killed in the blast.

From CNN

A four-vehicle U.N. convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device Tuesday in Syria, the United Nations said.

No U.N. personnel were injured, but three vehicles were damaged, said Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for Kofi Annan, special envoy to Syria for both the United Nations and the Arab League.

A video posted on YouTube shows what appears to be the U.N. observers’ vehicles in the midst of chaos in Khan Cheikhoun, part of Idlib province.

A loud bang, which could be a gunshot, is heard as the cars edge forward.

This is not the first attack against the observer mission. Last week, a convoy that included UN monitors suffered a bombing attack. Again, no observers were killed in the strike. However, if and when one of these attacks against the observer mission is successful and inflicts casualties or fatalities, the mission may come under serious re-consideration.

Once the observer mission lacks a certain freedom of movement because of ongoing security threat, it simply will not be able to do its job. At that point, we would be back to square one. Attacks like this one today are very, very disturbing. They may portend a failure of the mission and Syria’s rapid descent into full scale civil war.

UPDATE: This NYT report fills in some crucial details of this incident. In all, some 20 people were killed in the melee.

Eyewitnesses reached via Skype in Khan Sheikhoun, the town where the confrontation took place in the embattled northwestern province of Idlib, said that a large crowd had turned out for the funeral of a man killed by government forces two days earlier near Hama.

The mourners were surprised when a United Nations convoy rolled into town and headed toward the area where government forces are concentrated in the town, which residents refer to as the “Mantiqa,” the Arabic word for area.

The observers were apparently going to survey the fortified checkpoints — the truce negotiated by Mr. Annan requires that armed forces and heavy weapons should be withdrawn from population centers.

Emboldened by the presence of the monitors, some residents started demonstrating nearer to the checkpoints and the government area than they normally would. When they were at close range, the soldiers opened fire, said the eyewitnesses, and somewhere in the fracas the distinctive white United Nations vehicles were heavily damaged. An amateur video posted online shows the lead vehicle lurching and then listing, its front hood blown open, after a loud bang sends up a cloud of dust.

In case you missed it, do check out the New Yorker profile of Daniel Nocera, a scientist who has designed a “a cheap, playing-card-size coated-silicon sheet that, when placed in a glass of tap water and exposed to sunlight, split the water into hydrogen and oxygen.” The device is able to produce energy through a modified form of photosynthesis. He calls this system an “artificial leaf” and it could be a huge breakthrough in the field of of sustainable energy.

The key, though, is that Nocera did not design this system with wealthy consumers in mind. Rather,  it’s simplicity, durability and low cost make it and ideal energy solution for the 1.3 billion people who lack basic electricity.  The article is behind a pay wall, but here’s a snippet of the abstract.

Since the early eighties, Nocera has focussed on providing energy for the world’s poorest people. “If there’s one thing that’s unique to the technology development I’ve done, it’s been doing science with the super-poor in mind.” His emphasis is largely humanitarian; it also arises from his belief, as a scientist, that the only way to meet the world’s projected energy needs without causing intolerable environmental harm will be to work, in effect, from the bottom up—an approach that’s very different from the ones that dominate energy research.

I do reject the idea that “humanitarian” motives are required to develop low-cost, sustainable energy solutions tailored for developing world countries. The fact is, countries that are growing demographically and economically (say, India or Nigeria) need lots and lots of energy to develop.  If they use the same sources of energy as wealthy countries used, like coal, our planet is doomed. Earth can’t take India using to coal to power its 1 billion people. There’s nothing particularly “humanitarian” about wanting to avoid a global ecological catastrophe. It’s about self interest!

The UN this year launched a new initiative to this end called “Sustainable Energy for All.” The goal of this initiative is by 2030, providing universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

We have a long way to go to reach these goals, but innovators like Nocera are helping to lead the way to a cleaner energy future.

Top stories from the Development and Aid World News Service — DAWNS Digest. 

UN and Syria at Tussle Over Who Gets to Deliver Humanitarian Aid

Humanitarian aid is not reaching Syrian people in need. In part, because the Syrian government is insisting on full control of the aid flow. “The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Damascus have been negotiating for weeks on a plan for the distribution of aid throughout Syria, but U.N. envoys familiar with the talks said the government and OCHA are deadlocked on the issue of who will be in charge. ‘The Syrians want to maintain control of the distribution networks,’ a diplomat told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “That position is a non-starter for OCHA, as it should be,” he said. “OCHA can’t allow the Syrian government to use it as a way to get people (they want to arrest) or to deliver aid only to government supporters.’ OCHA has sent a letter to the Syrian government emphasizing the importance of the United Nations being at least partly in charge of the aid operation, diplomats said. It has not turned to U.N. member states to intervene on its behalf and put pressure on Damascus, but could do so if necessary, they added.” (Reuters http://reut.rs/JP2Ssu)

Palestinian Hunger Strikers Sign Deal to End Strike

In an episode that has gripped the region, some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have ended a hunger strike to protest their prison conditions, “Most of the prisoners went on a hunger strike in mid-April and have been demanding an end to the practice of administrative detention, where they can be held without charge or trial for an indefinite period. Others wanted better conditions, including the right for prisoners from Gaza to have family visits, which have been banned, and an end to solitary confinement and other restrictions. Six of the prisoners had gone without food for up to 76 days. After negotiations involving an Egyptian mediator, Israel has agreed to consider allowing some visits from Gaza and to return prisoners who were being held in isolation to the main jail.” (ABC-Australia http://bit.ly/JP0TUV)

WHO to Declare a Global Polio Emergency

When health ministers from WHO member states Geneva next week for the annual World Health Assembly they will declare Polio a Global Emergency. The virus is on the upsurge in the three countries in which it remains endemic, and funding for polio control is running dry. “The WHO document on polio prepared for the WHA and sent to India’s health ministry says Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan – the only three polio endemic countries – have seen a significant increase in new cases in 2011 as compared to 2010. Nigeria saw 185% increase in cases. Afghanistan and Pakistan experienced 220% and 37% rise, respectively. Nigeria and Pakistan were the only two countries with confirmed circulation of the P3 virus strain since last September. Compounding the problem is the finance gap that is plaguing the polio fight. WHO says the world is short by $1,090 million against an overall budget of $2,230 million. The document says, “Already in the first quarter of 2012, an insufficiency of financing required some emergency eradication activities to be scaled back in 24 at risk countries. In line with the development of the Global Polio Emergency Action Plan 2012-13, a new more efficient strategy is being examined which would combine the eradication of the residual wild poliovirus transmission with the polio endgame strategy.” (Times of India http://bit.ly/KKejRy)

Shaping a Sustainable Future: Partnerships and development cooperation among countries will play a key role in accelerating sustainable development, the Secretary-General of the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20), Sha Zukang said today, stressing that assistance will need to focus on helping developing countries find longer-term solutions to eradicate poverty and transition into a green economy.

The two-day Australia High-Level Symposium, “Shaping a Sustainable Future – Partners in Development Cooperation,” which began today, seeks to facilitate an informal dialogue on development cooperation among high-level policymakers, multilateral and civil society organizations, philanthropic foundations and the private sector. During the conference, participants will discuss the role of innovative finance and effective partnerships, with a particular focus on leveraging the private sector and the future for South-South cooperation.

ICT for Development: Over 1,000 representatives of government, civil society and the private sector kicked off a United Nations forum in Geneva today designed to help countries more effectively harness the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to accelerate progress towards globally agreed development targets.

Co-organized by four UN agencies, the week-long forum is the world’s largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community. It builds on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), a UN process initiated in two phases, in 2003 and 2005. The WSIS Forum aims to define strategies and tactics to help countries and organizations more effectively use ICTs to advance progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include eradicating hunger, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health, all by 2015.

Syria: Damascus wants to manage the delivery of all humanitarian aid to a million people in need of assistance as a result of the 14-month-old conflict in Syria, but the UN insists on having some control, envoys say. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Damascus have been negotiating for weeks on a plan for the distribution of aid throughout Syria, but U.N. envoys familiar with the talks said the government and OCHA are deadlocked on the issue.

Syria is insisting that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) be in charge of aid distribution, but diplomats say that having the SARC in charge would jeopardize U.N. neutrality. They also said the SARC was not up to the task of coordinating aid distribution to more than a million people.

Iran: The United Nations nuclear watchdog signaled on Monday it would press Iran for access to a military installation where it suspects Iran has built a chamber for high-explosive tests that could serve to develop atomic bombs. Iran, which rejects Western accusations it seeks nuclear arms, has so far resisted requests by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit the extensive Parchin complex southeast of Tehran. The issue was expected to be raised during a high-level May 14-15 meeting in Vienna between Iran and the IAEA.

OHCHR: U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has asked the 193-member world body to extend the term of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay for a further two years, his press office said on Monday. Pillay’s four-year term was due to end later this year. Ban gave no details on why he had asked Pillay – a former South African high court judge – to stay on.

DR Congo: Seven United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sustained bullet wounds today during an incident at their base in the eastern part of the vast nation. A number of other peacekeepers were also injured after being hit with stones when a group of some 1,000 people surrounded their base in the Bunyiakiri area of South Kivu province, according to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO).  The Mission is monitoring the situation and has sent reinforcements to the area, which is now reportedly calm but tense.

LRA: The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict today urged the Ugandan Government bring to justice senior commander, Caesar Acellam Otto of the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), who was captured over the weekend, saying he is responsible for some of the most egregious abuses against children. Uganda’s existing Amnesty Act provides blanket amnesty for LRA members, including for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and gross violations of human rights.

Global financial transaction tax: A group of United Nations independent experts today called on the European Union (EU) to take the lead in promoting the adoption of a global financial transaction tax that would offset the costs of the current economic crisis and protect basic human rights.

“Where the world financial crisis has brought about the loss of millions of jobs, socialized private debt burdens and now risks causing significant human rights regressions through wide-ranging austerity packages, a financial transaction tax (FTT) is a pragmatic tool for providing the means for governments to protect and fulfill the human rights of their people,” said the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda.

According to a news release by the UN office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR), estimates suggest that at its lowest rate the FTT would yield about $48 billion across the Group of Twenty (G-20) major economies, with higher rates offering up to $250 billion dollars per year to offset the costs of the enduring economic, financial, fuel, climate and food crises.

The call from UN experts comes a day ahead of the Group of Eight (G-8) Summit of industrialized countries, which will take place in Camp David in the United States.

Today brings news, once again, that the monitoring mission in Syria is fraying. Over the weekend, several civillians were killed in mortar attacks against the city of Rastan. Rebels in city fought back and killed 23 soldiers. Word today is that the city is once again under siege. Meanwhile, Russia has vowed to supply Syria with weapons to defend its self against bombing attacks like the one in central Damascus last week that killed 55 people. Russia blamed al Qaeda.

After a few weeks of relative lull, violence is starting to pick up again.  This is predictably leading for calls to abandon the Annan-plan in favor of militarizing the conflict. Here in the USA, the militarization of the Syria conflict is much becoming a bi-partisan cause. Senators McCain and Lieberman are outspoken advocates of arming the Syrian opposition. Senator Kerry and former top State Department official Ann-Marie Slaughter are kicking around is the idea of creating “safe-zones” inside Syria to protect besieged populations. That would require some sort of American support for the invasion and occupation of Syrian territory.

If the Obama administration comes to the same conclusion as Anne Marie Slaughter or John McCain, this will inevitably lead to a USA v Russia (and China) confrontation at the Security Council. A resolution will be vetoed and the USA would be forced to bypass the Security Council.

At that point, the most pro-UN president in recent years would have directly contravened the most basic tenant of the United Nations charter.

President Obama, so far, has eschewed this route. Productive engagement with the Security Council has been a centerpiece of his foreign policy. When the Libya crisis erupted, his team famously “lead from behind” to secure the necessary Security Council resolution to intervene militarily. Obama even personally chaired a Security Council meeting, becoming the first American president to do so.

If Obama–even Obama! — bypasses the Security Council, it could dilute confidence in the whole UN system.  The goal, then, is to avoid a confrontation at the Security Council, while also providing some hope for the besieged Syrian population. Right now, that means supporting the Annan mission.