Category: All

Top of the Morning: Angelina Jolie, Diplomat; Sudan and South Sudan Close to War; DPRK Casts Away Food Aid

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Mark Leon Goldberg

‘The Prevailing Logic of War’ Between South Sudan and Sudan

Diplomatic gears are kicking into place as violence is escalating between Sudan and South Sudan. The United States (which holds some sway over South Sudan) is calling for Juba to pull back its troops from a Sudanese oil field. Meanwhile, the Security Council was briefed on the situation by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who is leading mediation efforts. “Mbeki Tuesday brushed aside the lawmaker’s comments, saying a resumption of negotiations is the only option. He conceded, however, that border hostilities have escalated to the highest point since the two countries split nine months ago. “It’s very very unfortunate that they have got themselves in this state of war. It’s very unfortunate. It doesn’t help either country. There’s not a problem between the two countries that cannot be resolved through negotiations,” he said. The African Union expressed grave concern late Tuesday at what it called the “prevailing logic of war.” A press release called for immediate steps to ease tensions, and urged both countries to adopt a non-binding security centerline for the border.” (VOA http://bit.ly/HR1QMI)

Ready for a North Korea Nuclear Test?

If last week’s #launchfail wasn’t enough to convince you, Pyongyang has officially reneged on a deal inked in February with the United States which traded food aid for a suspension of North Korea’s uranium enrichment program. “North Korea said on Tuesday that it was abandoning an agreement in made in February with the United States, in which it promised to suspend uranium enrichment, nuclear tests and long-range missile tests. The North Korean Foreign Ministry said that it “resolutely and totally” rejected the United Nations Security Council’s condemnation of its failed rocket launching last week, and that it would continue to launch rockets to try to place satellites into orbit. The ministry’s statement hinted, but did not make clear, that the North may now conduct a long-range missile or nuclear test. No longer bound by the deal, “we have thus become able to take necessary retaliatory measures,” the ministry said in the statement, which was carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. “The U.S. will be held wholly accountable for all the ensuing consequences.” (NYT http://nyti.ms/INTaqp)

Angelina Jolie: Now an Actual, Formal Diplomat

The actress has gone from being a figurehead “Goodwill Ambassador” to being a representative of the UN Refugee Agency. “The UN refugee agency announced on Tuesday that actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie will take on a new and expanded role for UNHCR as Special Envoy of High Commissioner António Guterres. During a decade of service as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie has conducted more than 40 field visits around the world, becoming an expert on the phenomenon of forced displacement and a tireless advocate on behalf of refugees. ‘In her new role, she is expected to focus on large-scale crises resulting in the mass displacement of people, to undertake advocacy and represent UNHCR and Guterres at the diplomatic level, engaging with relevant interlocutors on global displacement issues,’ spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists in Geneva. He said Jolie would focus on complex emergencies and work to facilitate lasting solutions for people displaced by conflict. “High Commissioner Guterres is grateful to Ms. Jolie for accepting this role at a critical time in global displacement. Her new status as Special Envoy is effective immediately,’ he added. (UNHCR http://bit.ly/INUdXi)

Posted in Security | Topics: Top of the Morning | Leave a comment

How 62 Refugees Escaping Libya Died at Sea While Everyone Looked the Other Way

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Faine Greenwood

African immigrants stuck in a disabled boat signal for aid in a busy Mediterranean shipping channel. Western warships enforcing NATO’s than-arms embargo against Libya pass by the disabled vessel, but none see fit to respond to the distress call—nor do Italy or Malta, both located close enough to help. Passing fishing vessels are similarly indifferent. A helicopter buzzes the boat twice, dropping some biscuits and water, but no vessels followed.

Two weeks adrift soon take their toll on the tightly-packed refugees: only 10 out of the 72 on board will ultimately survive the ordeal – and one of the survivors will die in a Libyan detention center.

This was the fate of these hapless African immigrants in March 2011, and now, over a year later, an inquiry has been launched into why they were allowed to drift without assistance for so long.

The Council of Europe conducted a nine-month long investigation that ultimately concluded the defense alliance willfully ignored the plight of the hapless refugees. French human rights lawyers have announced a formal inquiry into the deaths, and although their target is the French navy – which allegedly operated one of the indifferent vessels – the legal team has stated they will go after any party found culpable.

An independent research team from the University of London has backed up the Council’s claims, finding in a detailed forensic report that it was exceptionally unlikely NATO ships – as well as Italian and Maltese vessels - could have simply “missed” the free-drfiting boat in an exceptionally well-populated shipping area. The UK has also found itself under uncomfortable scrutiny, after Goldsmith’s conclusion that the lone helicopter looked awfully similar to a British Army craft. (The British Ministry of Defence currently denies any such British helicopters were in the region).

NATO, for its part, claims that their vessels never made contact with or saw the refugee ship – although after initially denying it, the alliance now admits that it did recieve a distress call from the beleaguered ship. NATO noted the call was forwarded to a nearby Spanish frigate, best placed to help - a claim the Spanish have disputed, demanding that NATO “prove it” – a challenge the alliance has yet to answer.

This incident has put the plight of Africans fleeing profound government strife back into the news cycle and the public eye, and that’s a good thing: like all boat people, these immigrants from Northern Africa’s recent conflicts are in grave danger. UNHCR found a record 1,500 migrants of 15 different nationalities died in 2011 en route to Europe, while a record 58,000 arrived in the region by sea in the same year. These refugees were also used as pawns by Gadhafi’s now-defunct government: Libyan authorities, protesting NATO and EU airstrikes willfully turned a blind-eye as African refugees streamed onto unsafe vessels.

Furthermore, public condemnation of Europe’s contradictory and often callous treatment of these refugees hasn’t exactly gone unnoticed: in May of 2011, Doctors Without Borders issued an open indictment of European refugee polices against those escaping the Libyan conflict, noting the contradiction of waging a war “to protect civilians” while closing European borders to those same at-risk people. The investigation into NATO’s behavior in this case needs to happen soon, especially since boat people are still coming: despite the draw-down in the Libyan conflict. AFP continues to report tales of refugees stranded, left in diplomatic limbo, or even dying in disabled or free-drifting boats.

As the weather improves, Italian authorities are fearful that the stream of refugees from North Africa will ramp up again, further taxing the already-strained Italian port of Lampedusa. It’s obvious that the West cannot, with good conscience, ignore the plight of civilians we have ostensibly been trying to help – and it can only be hoped that NATO’s exposure will provoke us in the West to re-evaluate the morality of our approach to these endangered innocents.

Posted in Rights | Topics: Libya, Refugees | Leave a comment

Top of the Morning: Renewed Conflict in Sudan, South Sudan; Good News for Child Health; Jim Kim Snags WB Post

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Mark Leon Goldberg

A Day Without Dignity: Positive Advocacy Examples from Afghanistan

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Una Moore

Today is A Day Without Dignity, the aid blogosphere’s answer to TOMS A Day Without Shoes. With so many discussions devoted to bad advocacy or “badvocacy” in aid and human rights activism recently, it’s important to highlight examples of good advocacy and NGO public relations productions. After all, it’s difficult to improve anything without positive examples.

The following videos from NGOs working in Afghanistan hit the right notes.

1. A video from the Aga Khan Development Network on social and economic progress made by women in northern Afghanistan.

The women in this video are agents of progress. They aren’t waiting to be saved; they’re saving themselves, and creating unprecedented opportunities for their daughters. (Note that interviews with foreigners are kept short and sweet, and the video is composed almost entirely of clips of Afghan women in action.)

The video’s message: With a little support, women can lift up whole communities, and poor women need decision-making power, not handouts.

2. The organizational profile video for Women for Afghan Women.

WAW serves survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and forced and underage marriages. Its introductory video could have been filled with horror stories and gruesome images of tortured and murdered women. Undoubtedly, that approach would have shocked consciences, but it wouldn’t have demonstrated respect for the dignity and resilience of Afghan women. So, instead on going for shock value, WAW focused on stories of Afghan women and men fighting against injustice, and used images of lives being rebuilt, protected, and defended.

The video’s message: To end violence against women and girls, invest in survivors and defenders.

3. A very simple video from the International Rescue Committee about the need to improve education in Afghanistan.

This video centers Afghan teachers and their students, not the IRC itself or its expat staff. The only IRC employees shown are Afghans. Images of Afghan teachers doing their best for their students in spite of severe resource shortages and insufficient training and pay are followed by quotes from the teachers about what they believe needs to change.

The video’s message: Afghans value education and we’re helping them create the education future they want for their children.

Posted in Development | Topics: A Day Without Dignity, Afghanistan | Leave a comment

Syria; North Korea; Sudan/South Sudan; World Bank; and more

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Insider

Syria: The first group of six UN unarmed monitors tasked by the Security Council to report on the implementation of a full cessation of armed violence in Syria has arrived in the capital, Damascus, and began their work, according to a spokesperson.

The rest of the 30-member advance team will arrive in the coming days, noted Mr. del Buey, who acknowledged the “critical” support of the Italian Government, which is airlifting UN vehicles from the Organization’s logistics base in Brindisi and other locations so that the monitors are able to be mobile quickly and travel to all locations in Syria.

Meanwhile, this morning, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria welcomed the arrival in Damascus last night of the advance team of observers. The Commission expressed their hope that the ceasefire will contribute to putting an end to the gross human rights violations that it has been reporting on over the past six months and recalled the need to ensure accountability for those violations.

North Korea: The U.N. Security Council on Monday strongly condemned North Korea’s rocket launch, urged tightening of existing U.N. sanctions and warned Pyongyang of further consequences if it carries out another missile launch or nuclear test.

The council declaration also demands that North Korea “abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner … and not conduct any further launches that use ballistic missile technology, nuclear tests or any further provocation.”

Sudan/S. Sudan: The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) reported three separate incidents of air strikes this weekend in Unity state. Two were in Bentiu and another in Mayom, where UNMISS premises withstood material damage after being hit by two bombs. All UN staff members have been reported safe.

Meanwhile, Sudanese MPs have voted unanimously to brand South Sudan “an enemy”. The full ramifications of the vote are not clear, but it is evident that both countries are close to a full war. The speaker of parliament, Ahmed Ibrahim at-Tahir, reportedly called for Sudan to overthrow the South Sudanese government.

World Bank: The World Bank named Korean-born doctor Jim Yong Kim as its new president today amid criticism that the role had once more gone to a US-nominated candidate. The 52-year-old president of Ivy League Dartmouth College beat Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to the post, the first time in the World Bank’s history that the US candidate has faced a serious challenge.

Kim had been widely expected to clinch the job, as he had the backing of the US, Europe, Japan and Canada, which between them command a majority of votes among the World Bank’s executive directors. But sources close to the process claimed there had been ‘frantic arm-twisting’ in a bid to achieve unanimity. Before the announcement today, Okonjo-Iweala said: “You know this thing is not really being decided on merit.”

Energizing for development Initiative: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today, welcomed a new European Union (EU) initiative designed to assist developing countries in providing access to sustainable energy to their populations.

Under its Energizing for Development Initiative, the European Commission – the EU’s executive body – aims to support the provision of sustainable energy services to 500 million people in poorer countries by 2030. The initiative will also focus on refining, expanding and improving energy-related innovative financial instruments and risk guarantee schemes in developing countries to unlock greater private investment.

Afghanistan: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations mission in Afghanistan today strongly condemned the coordinated attacks carried out on Sunday against the country’s institutions and international organizations, including foreign diplomatic missions, in the capital, Kabul, and elsewhere.

Press reports quoted Afghan authorities as saying that some 36 assailants, 11 members of the security forces and four civilians were killed in the attacks in Kabul and the provinces of Nangarhar, Logar and Paktia in the east. One of the assailants was captured, according to the reports.

Sexual violence in conflict: Margot Wallström, who has been spearheading United Nations efforts to tackle sexual violence in conflict, will step down from her post at the end of May due to family considerations, it was announced today. Ms. Wallström, a Swedish national who has been a long-time advocate of the rights and needs of women, has served as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s first Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict since February 2010.

“The Secretary-General has accepted Ms. Wallström’s decision with regret,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

Posted in UN Direct | Leave a comment

Local Champions: Making a Difference in the Lives of Children with Special Needs in Liberia

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Penelope Chester

This is a submission for A Day Without Dignity 2012. The focus this year is on local champions.

Del Johnson is a soft-spoken man. It’s hard to imagine him leading his family – wife and two children – into exile from Liberia to Ghana, in the early years of his country’s civil war. His family fled Liberia in 1996, following a violent attack on their family compound which would dramatically alter the course of their lives. Del’s son Andre was just a toddler when a group of rebels loyal to Charles Taylor attacked the Johnson family compound, allegedly to “settle” a matter with Del’s father. During the attack, Andre was thrown against a wall by the rebels, leaving him with irreparable brain damage. Today, Andre doesn’t speak and suffers from cerebral palsy. Like many children from his generation, Andre was disabled by war.

When they lived as refugees in Ghana, Del Johnson and his wife turned to a French physiotherapist, Elise Nerault, who had started a small program to support children with disabilities in the Buduburam refugee camp. The camp, which, at the height of the war in Liberia, was home to over 50,000 refugees, had few educational opportunities, let alone for children with special needs. Working with the parents of children with disabilities, Elise’s program – The Harmony Center – was offered a few afternoons a week, in borrowed classrooms. There, children who had never really had the opportunity to learn, socialize with their peers or experience any kind of learning environment, were given a chance to acquire or improve on basic skills in a safe, nurturing and supporting setting.

Andre Johnson, and his father, Del.

Del and Andre Johnson were core members of the Harmony Center – Andre was benefiting greatly from this new exposure to education, and, as a parent, Del was playing a key role at the Center. In 2008, the war in Liberia was over, and the Johnsons returned to their home country. There they found no alternatives or programs for Andre, who was already losing some of his newly acquired skills from the Harmony Center. Del, who I already knew from the Harmony Center in Ghana, approached me in 2009 to start his own center for children with disabilities in Liberia. Del started working towards his dream: the Happy Family Center for Children with Disabilities, a place for children with special needs to thrive and an organization that promotes acceptance and inclusion at the community level

After months of spending a few afternoons a week working with children with disabilities from the community in a borrowed classroom from a local school, a building was rented and retrofitted to house the new Center. When it opened up in December 2009, the Happy Family Center for Children with Disabilities - also known as “HapFam” – began welcoming students on a daily basis.

Del Johnson runs and administers HapFam, which has welcomed up to 15 children at a time in the last few years. But Del’s vision for the Happy Family Center goes beyond service provision: the small organization advocates for the rights of children with disabilities, works toward greater acceptance of disability in society, and supports families and caretakers. The Happy Family Center is situated in the heart of the impoverished Red Light community, in Paynesville, near the capital Monrovia, and Del works every day to promote inclusion at the community level. Organizing workshops, visiting families, talking to community leaders – every day, Del is out there, slowly changing attitudes, helping open the hearts and minds of people who are prejudiced against people with disabilities.

Del Johnson and the children of the Happy Family Center, March 2012

After three years of hard work following Del Johnson’s return from exile, the Happy Family Center is beginning to gain recognition as a model for caring for children with disabilities at the grassroots level in Liberia. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare are paying attention to their efforts, and other NGOs and donors are excited and inspired by the work being done.

Most importantly, he is changing lives for the better. The children who attend the Center daily have shown great improvements. These children’s families and communities are being sensitized, resulting in greater inclusion and a more accepting, caring and united community. Del Johnson is a local champion. His passion for “showing the potential within disability”, as he says, is moving and inspirational. Borne out of a personal tragedy, his efforts on behalf of children with disabilities, who are almost always ostracized and marginalized in Liberian society, are paying off.

Full disclosure: my NGO, The Niapele Project, supported the Harmony Center in Ghana and is currently supporting the Happy Family Center for Children with Disabilities.

Posted in Development | Topics: day without dignity, disability, grassroots, Liberia | Leave a comment

A Tiny Sliver of Hope for Syria

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Mark Leon Goldberg

Three thoughts on what is next for Syria.

1) There does not seem to be a ceasefire in the traditional sense of the word, but the level of violence does seem to have decreased since last Thursday. Last week, scores of people were killed each day in heavy assaults. This week, fewer people are being killed and the attacks do not seem to be as audacious. This means there is some window of opportunity for the observer mission to, potentially, have an effect on the ground. After 13 months and 10,000 deaths, Saturday’s Security Council vote was the first baby-step toward a diplomatic solution to this crisis.

2) The man who brought us the one moment of potential progress was Kofi Annan. It is his plan that the Security Council endorsed and that the Council voted to empower by sending an observer mission. So…outsiders need to be careful not undermine Annan’s efforts. Some outsiders are calling for arming of the Syrian rebels and/or more direct military intervention. (For example, two prominent American senators stood at the Turkish-Syrian border calling for more war). This is in direct contravention to Kofi Annan’s repeated appeal against further militarizing this conflict. The more people call for more conflict, the less likely that this tenuous agreement will hold.

3) Russia still holds most of the cards when it comes to pressuring Syria into accepting a political solution to this crisis. If Syria renews audacious attacks against civilians, it will be up to Russia to decide whether or not the Security Council condemns or punishes Syria. If Syria drags its feet toward implementing other parts of the Six Point Plan–like granting greater humanitarian access to besieged cities or taking real steps toward the political transformation of Syria — it will be up to Russia to prod Syria in the right direction. There is really nothing much that the rest of the Security Council can do. Russia, as has always been the case, is key. Assad will only go so far has Russia forces him.

Related: Video posted today showing a Mosque in Homs under attack.

Posted in Security | Topics: Security Council, Syria | Leave a comment

Top of the Morning: Afghan “Fighting Season” Kicks Off, UN Monitors Arrive in Syria, Guinea Bissau Coup Updates

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Mark Leon Goldberg

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

Kabul Quiet after 18 Hour Gun Battle

There were a series of attacks on high profile targets in Kabul and in outer provinces starting on Sunday. A Taliban spokesman proclaimed this the start of their seasonal offensive. It literally kicked off with a bang, and fighting continued until Monday morning. “A militant arrested in the attacks on the Afghan capital and three other cities has confessed that the 18-hour assault was carried out by the Haqqani network, a lethal group of fighters with ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida, a top Afghan security official said Monday. Thirty-six insurgents were killed during the brazen attacks that also claimed the lives of eight policemen and three civilians, said Interior Minister Besmillah Mohammadi. Though the death toll was much lower than other attacks, the dramatic assault on multiple targets showed that militants are far from beaten and can still penetrate Afghan security — even in the heart of the capital — after 10 years of war. The attack also underscored the security challenge facing government forces as U.S. and NATO troops draw down and prepare to leave by the end of 2014. It was the most widespread assault in the Afghan capital since an attack on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters last September — also blamed on the Haqqani network, which commands the loyalties of an estimated 10,000 fighters considered one of the most serious threats to NATO in Afghanistan.” (AP http://bit.ly/HR8PCb)

UN Monitors Monitors Arrive in Syria After Security Council Vote

It took 13 months and several failed attempts, but the Security Council passed the first Syria resolution since the uprising began. The resolution calls for the deployment of a small monitoring mission (under 30) to set the stage for a larger monitoring monitoring mission. The first monitors are now in the ground. “Six United Nations observers arrived in the capital of Syria on Sunday night to begin monitoring a cease-fire even as violence continued in parts of the country, further fraying the peace plan. ‘They’ve arrived and they will start work tomorrow morning,’ Kieran Dwyer, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping department, told Agence France-Presse news agency. The monitors are part of an advance team whose task is to ensure the implementation of a six-point peace plan designed to end fighting and a brutal government crackdown in Syria’s 13-month uprising. ‘Within the next few days, they will be augmented by up to 25 to 30 as soon as possible from missions in the region,’ said Ahmad Fawzi, spokesman for U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan, who negotiated the peace plan.” (LAT http://lat.ms/IO4jGE)

Guinea Bissau Junta Strikes Interim Plan

The military junta met with national political parties on Sunday to reach a solution after Friday’s coup. (AP http://yhoo.it/HOKGfu) The main political party rejected the idea of forming a “national unity” transitional government. (Al Jazeera http://aje.me/JkMk6O) Meanwhile, the junta and opposition parties agreed to establishing a transitional body to run the country. “The decision was reached at a meeting on Sunday between the coup leaders and the leaders of 22 of the 35 parties that had made up the opposition to the government that was toppled last Thursday. The size and composition of the council and the length of its mandate will be determined at a meeting on Monday between the political parties, which will then take their proposals to the junta, Fernando Vaz, a spokesman for the opposition parties, said on Sunday.” (Al Jazeera http://aje.me/J2FINV)

Posted in Security | Leave a comment

UN Security Council Adopts Resolution on Syria

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Hayes Brown

As of 11:20 AM EDT on April 14th, 2012, the first resolution on Syria, Resolution 2042, was adopted by the United Nations Security Council, after a year of protests and conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic. The rare weekend meeting of the Council, chaired by Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States of America, comes as tensions in Syria continue to strain the brief cessation of violence. After numerous warnings from Joint Special Envoy of the UN and League of Arab States Kofi Annan, the Syrian government in a surprise turn of events agreed earlier this week to implement a cease-fire and the former Secretary-General’s proposed Six Point plan.

While the Syrian government missed the original Tuesday deadline, in a report to the Security Council on Thursday, Annan indicated that President Bashar al-Assad’s government was at least partly complying with the terms of the peace plan. This was more than enough of an opening for Russia and China to begin to take credit for Annan’s successful efforts, and call for swift approval of a UN monitoring mission to verify the cease-fire.

The United States gladly went to work, and circulated a draft resolution that, in no uncertain terms, demanded that the Syrian government comply with the peace plan, and granted broad powers of investigation to the observer mission. Vitaly Churkin, the Russian Ambassador, balked at this sweeping authority and the political implications of the text, leading to the Russian Mission circulating its own stripped down version of the resolution. In the Russian draft, Western “demands” that Syria provide freedom of access to the monitors were replaced with language “calling upon” the Syrian government to do the same.

Both drafts called for an advance mission of thirty observers to be deployed immediately. According to the Department of Peacekeeping operations, these advance observers would be pulled from other UN missions in the region, with logistics provided from a base in Italy. These blue berets can be deployed into Syria in as little as twenty-four hours from now.

After much negotiation, a new draft was put into blue text, the version that immediately proceeds voting. After a few technical changes by the Russian Mission, the draft taken up by the Council for a vote this morning has been approved by Ambassador Churkin, giving it the green light for adoption. The new version drops the “demands” language, and only “expresses its intention” to deploy a full observer mission, putting off its development for a later resolution, depending on how the cease-fire holds and a report from the Secretary-General on the 19th of April. The Secretary-General is also to report immediately to the Council on any violation by either side in the conflict.

With the passage of a resolution, a small sigh of relief is emanating from the Council chambers. But the battle over Syria is in no way over. The fight among the Security Council members is likely to continue anew once the Secretary-General gives his report in five days. Likewise, the ceasefire itself is tenuous at best; reports are still coming in of Syrian government attacks on protesters, and heavy weapons still remain within cities across the state. It is certain too that the Russian Mission will jump at the chance to lay blame at the feet of the Free Syrian Army should they launch an attack on the Syrian government. All told, the fire may not be blazing anymore, but a spark could easily turn the embers into an inferno once again.

Posted in Breaking News, Security | Topics: Security Council, Syria | Leave a comment

SG Travels/CEB; Syria; North Korea; Mali; and more

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Insider

SG Travels/CEB: The Secretary-General is in Switzerland on the second day of his European trip, where he spent the day in meetings of the UN Chief Executives Board (CEB). The CEB is the highest level of coordination within the United Nations System, and meets twice a year to bring together the heads of UN agencies under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General. It aims to help coordinate the work of these organizations and to ensure that the UN System can deliver effectively internationally, regionally and nationally.

Syria: With at least one million people in need of urgent humanitarian help in Syria, the immediate priority for humanitarian organizations is to obtain unhindered access, especially to people in areas which have seen heavy fighting, the United Nations humanitarian chief said today.

“It is extremely important that negotiations to enable humanitarian organizations in Syria to deliver aid remain separate from other efforts to resolve the crisis,” said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, in a statement.

North Korea: The UN Security Council on Friday “deplored” North Korea’s attempted rocket launch, but stopped short of using tougher language. The U.S. ambassador to the top UN body, Susan Rice, said the council “deplored this launch” as a violation of UN resolutions. This was more moderate than stronger condemnations issued separately by Western powers. Rice said council members “agreed to continue consultations on an appropriate response” to North Korea. However, she gave no indication of the timing or nature of possible responses.

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the launch “defies the firm and unanimous stance of the international community” and threatens regional stability, according to statement issued by his spokesperson.

Guinea-Bissau: The U.N. Security Council condemned on Friday an apparent coup in Guinea-Bissau and urged a return to civilian leadership in the small, impoverished former Portuguese colony that has a history of bloody coups and barracks revolts.

Council members said in a unanimously agreed statement that they “strongly condemn the forcible seizure of power from the legitimate Government of Guinea-Bissau by some elements of its armed forces. The Members of the Security Council firmly denounce this incursion by the military into politics.” “They (the Security Council) call on these elements to ensure the safety and security of interim President Raimundo Pereira, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior and all senior officials currently detained and demand their immediate release,” the statement said.

Mali: The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy today voiced grave concern over reports of recruitment of child soldiers by Tuareg rebels and Islamist militias in northern Mali, stressing that both groups have a responsibility to comply with their obligations under international law. Reports also suggest that women and girls are being abducted and raped and hospitals looted, Ms. Coomaraswamy said in the statement.

Amid the escalating humanitarian crisis in Mali, more than 200,000 people, including many children, have fled conflict northern Mali, and the volatile security situation and limited access to the region have prevented the UN from fully investigating the reported human rights abuses.

Pakistan: More than 180,000 people have been displaced by an ongoing military campaign in north-western Pakistan, the United Nations refugee agency said today, adding that an inter-agency relief operation is under way in support of the country’s efforts to provide relief to those affected.

In the Jalozai camp, 72 registration desks have been established to keep pace with the flow of new arrivals, a spokesman for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Adrian Edwards, told reporters in Geneva, adding that some 10,000 people are being registered daily.

UNHCR has distributed more than 37,000 humanitarian relief kits, while other UN agencies are providing assistance in the areas of mother and child heath, child protection, water and sanitation, primary education, distribution of food rations and vaccinations.

Suriname: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, today said she was “disturbed” by the recent decision by Suriname to pass an amendment to an existing law that grants immunity for human rights violation committed during the 12-year period in which the country was, for the most part, under military rule.

According to the OHCHR, one case which involves the former and current President Desi Bouterse may be affected, and could potentially be halted altogether. Mr. Bouterse, along with 24 other people, is accused of taking part in the arrest of 15 prominent opposition leaders, including journalists, lawyers, and a trade union leader, in December 1982, and their subsequent summary execution.

Posted in UN Direct | Leave a comment

...«6 7 8 91011 12 13 14 »20...615

Iran; Syria; Internet Governance; Libya; and more

UN atomic watchdog chief Yukiya Amano and top aides will travelto Tehran on Sunday for talks with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, a few days before Iran and world powers meet in Baghdad to discuss the broader nuclear dispute. News of the rare visit came as Western diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran were making headway towards a framework deal on how to tackle concerns about Iran’s atomic activity.

Read more
Sudan/South Sudan; State of the World Economy debate; International Day against Homophobia; and more

The U.N. Security Council has called on Sudan and South Sudan to reach an agreement on the status of the disputed, oil-rich Abyei border region and extended the U.N. security force’s mission there by six months. The council passed a resolution Thursday calling the situation a serious security threat and demanding the creation of a jointly administered Abyei police force.

Read more
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.

Read more
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 … Read more
Sustainable Future Symposium; ICT for Development; IAEA/Iran; Global Financial Transaction Tax; and more

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.

Read more
DR Congo; South Sudan; UNHCR and OIC; and more

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Šimonovic, today voiced concern over the human rights situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has experienced a recent upsurge in violence. Mr. Šimonovic said he was “appalled” by the heightened levels of recent violence triggered by defections in the Congolese armed forces, including former members of certain militia groups, and welcomed joint efforts between the peacekeepers of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), humanitarian actors and the authorities to protect civilians and respond to human rights violations.

Read more
Asia-Pacific Human Development Report; Syria; Horn of Africa; UNRWA

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region must find ways to continue to grow economically and lift millions out of poverty while also responding to climate change and environmental concerns, according to UN report released today, which stresses that new methods of production are needed to meet this goal.UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Human Development Report 2012 argues that policies and actions in the region will have a global impact as it is home to more than half of the world’s population and half of the planet’s megacities.

Read more
SG on Rio/Post-2015 Development; Syria; Middle East; Global Fund; and more

Appealing for flexibility in reaching agreement on a final outcome document, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today, emphasized the need for Member States to agree on launching a process to establish Sustainable Development Goals ahead of the Rio+20 conference while also announcing the appointment of three co-chairs to his High-Level Panel on Post-2015 Development Planning. We should agree on launching a process to establish Sustainable Development Goals that build on the Millennium Development Goals … find better ways to measure progress that goes beyond Gross Domestic Product …and advance action to improve people’s lives through decent work, social protection and the empowerment of women and young people,” the UN chief said in his address to the UN General Assembly.

Read more
Syria; Guinea-Bissau; UNAIDS; Afghanistan; and more

Amid concerns from the international community over the prospects of a “full civil war” in Syria, the Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, said today that the ongoing levels of violence and human rights abuses in the Middle Eastern country are unacceptable and the UN observer mission is possibly the only remaining chance to stabilize it.

Read more
Peacebuilding; South Sudan; Indigenous Issues; Rwanda

The United Nations is determined to do everything possible to assist societies torn by war from sliding back into conflict, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an audience in the United States capital today, adding that while there have been setbacks, peacebuilding remains a crucial element of the world body’s efforts.In a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D. C., Mr. Ban highlighted the work of the UN’s 16 peacekeeping operations and 15 political missions in the area of peacebuilding – a core mandate of the Organization.

Read more