[AfricaRealities.com] DRC: The (psychological) war against FDLR already started

 

http://simoneschlindwein.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-war-against-fdlr-already-started.html?m=1

DRC: The war against FDLR already started

The war has already started

An analysis of the imminent operations against the Rwandan Hutu militia FDLR 

By Simone Schlindwein, Goma, 9 January 2015.  

FDLR commanders with their troops 2012 (Foto:Schlindwein)

Time is up for the Rwandan Hutu militia FDLR. The six-month deadline for voluntary disarmament expired on 2 January. The decision has been taken by UN Security Council to attack them militarily. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon called Congo's president Joseph Kabila to inform him about the international community's political will to use "all necessary means" to destroy the FDLR in the DRC. Now, everybody is waiting for Kabila to give his go-ahead to launch the attacks. 

The military actors in the Kivus are ready to fight. A joint command operation center has been set up in Kiwanja Monusco base to coordinate the operations between FARDC, FIB and Monusco's regular troops. 

Meanwile in Goma, the humanitarian agencies are busy preparing. UNHCR is setting up temporary camps in Masisi and Rutshuru territories to register newly arriving Rwandan Hutu refugees from FDLR areas who will flee and seek refuge. Radio messages are broadcast into the bush to inform FDLR that there is now a last chance to surrender peacefully.

It's the first time in history that literally the whole world has apparently turned against FDLR, even the Tanzanians and South Africans they considered as their loyal partners. Now, everybody is waiting for the first bomb to be dropped. Monusco General Wafy announced last Sunday that the operations can start "at any time".

But instead of bombing FDLR positions in North Kivu, the joint operations between Monusco and FARDC turned against the Burundian rebels FNL in South Kivu. Why? 

There is a simple reason: All these delaying tactics, including the FNL operations, are part of the psychological warfare to weaken the FDLR's morale. Monusco chief Martin Kobler has called the FNL operation a "role model" of joint military action conducted by FARDC, FIB and Monusco troops. It was simply a manoeuvre to prove the FDLR that all forces are ready to fight them and to demonstrate what will happen to them in the worst case. The FDLR had six month to surrender their arms peacefully. They failed.

The Kisangani bluff

In the last months, the FDLR "surrendered" 337 combatants and 234 old rusty weapons – a total joke. This represents approximately 24% of the FDLR's estimated total number of combatants. The FDLR has therefore to date "not complied in full with the conditions imposed by the Heads of State and Government of SADC and the ICGLR", as the press release of South African president Jacob Zuma states clearly. 

In our analysis written in July 2014 ("Endgame or bluff?") we stated that the FDLR's offer of volunteer disarmament was a bluff to gain time. The Monusco was well aware of that and still played along, even as the FDLR leadership complained about the toilets in the Kisangani camp and discussed those issues on the highest level they didn't lose their temper. Why? For a simple reason: Because both sides gained some positive results from the Kisangani bluff.

• ·         The UN wanted to prove that the FDLR is not willing to disarm voluntarily. It showed the whole world that the FDLR played a game and this in the end undermined their credibility. The UN playing along was a tactical step to prove to the world that there are no other options to get rid of the FDLR than to attack them militarily. 

• ·         The FDLR tried in a clever way to address their biggest enemy: the UN's DDRRR program for voluntary repatriation to Rwanda through which they lost around 12.000 combatants in the last 13 years. As the history of the 2009 joint operations showed, while in a few months almost 1000 defected, this time they tried to make sure that DDRRR cannot "steal" many more of their effective force. How did they do that? Although it was agreed on in the technical joint committees that FDLR/FOCA would surrender unit by unit, the FDLR leadership selected the mentally and physically weakest ones of all the different units, including their dependents. These invalids and old fighters were sent to Kisangani. It seems like a military operation, just without guns. It`s crystal-clear that these guys are still under FDLR/FOCA control, even though Monusco is feeding and housing them. There are about 10 officers in their lines who keep an eagle eye on their comrades to ensure that they do not eventually surrender to DDRRR but stay and refuse to answer questions or show willingness to repatriate. It was a tactical game being played first of all to gain time – for a six month period – and secondly as a clear message to their own troops: If you want to surrender, you will end up in Kisangani and won´t get home to your loved ones and your country anyway. The exit door that was once opened by DDRRR doesn't exist anymore! Did this tactic work out well? Statistics show a tremendous drop of repatriation via DDRRR during 2014. Around ten FDLR demobilized in average every month – compared to 100 on average during 2012. Quite a significant decrease. But DDRRR continue to offer voluntary repatriation and are trying to reach out to the FDLR combatants in Kanyabayonga and Kisangani camps. In the end, the war has already started – it is psychological warfare, conducted on a totally different level. 

·         So, what will be the result of the Kisangani camp situation? Will FDLR stay there until the DRC and Rwanda find a way to deal with them? We should not forget that Kisangani camp is in the end controlled by the Congolese Government, specifically by  the intelligence agency ANR. Looking at the region, Kisangani means that the DRC Government has a counterpart to the camps in Uganda and Ruanda where M23 combatants are hosted by the respective governments. It's maybe too early to speculate, but could there be in the end an exchange? I give you Omega if you give me Makenga? 

The FDLR conglomerate today 

To simply talk of FDLR is a very imprecise way of understanding the conglomerate of different factions that will be targeted by military operations. To come up with any successful strategy there must be a deeper understanding of what we mean when we use the term FDLR. 

• ·         RUD-Urunana is a splinter group of FDLR that separated with their political leadership in the US and their own military command structure from the main organisation in 2004. RUD consists maybe of 200-300 combatants mostly based in northern Rutshuru and Lubero territories. They operate in small groups. Their main goal is to survive and to do business, exploiting taxes along the trading axis of Nyamilima road. Most of those Rwandan Hutu fighters have already left their positions in the Binza Groupement and have fled to Uganda or the forests in Lubero. 

• ·         FDLR-SOKI is another small faction that split away under the command of Sangano Musohoke aka Soki. However, Musohoke was killed by M23 commandos in 2013. 

• ·         FDLR/FOCA in North and South Kivu is the most coherent FDLR group with a total estimated number of 200-1300 effective fighters, mostly in North Kivu whereas the South Kivu Sector is a very small group of maybe 200. 

The FDLR/FOCA is an "Organization politico-militaire". That means it consists of a political and a military wing in which both wings elect a common leadership platform on an equal basis that decides about the overall strategy of the whole organization. 

Recent elections took place after many delays in December 2014 confirmed Ignace Murwanashyaka (in jail since 2009 in Germany, trial still ongoing) as president, Callixte Mbarushimana as Executive Secretary, Victor Byiringiro (Rumuli) being elected as 1^st vice-president (previously he was 2^nd vice-president and acted in interim for Ignace Murwanashyaka as president, but former 1^st vice-president Straton Musoni is on trial in Germany too) and Colonel Wilson Irategeka as 2^nd vice-president. 

General Mudacumura still holds the chief of high command position as military leader of FOCA but has lost his interim post as vice-president. His political influence has decreased drastically. 

The FDLR leadership is deeply divided in fractions. The cleavage lines are multidimensional and complex but let's mention at least a few: 

• ·         Division between South Rwandan and North Rwandan origin in terms of clans, family relations and background in the pre-1994 regime. The northerners are considered to be close to Juvenal Habyarimana's clan and the "Akazu" and are defined as more radical and extremist in their Hutu power ideology. The southerners are defined as more moderate and willing to negotiate themselves into the political system of current Rwanda. This faction is creating internal disagreements and rivalry within the leadership since the beginning of the FDLR 2001 when the former ALIR East and West groups in DRC united to form one single organization. Prominent representatives of these groups are General Sylvestre Mudacumura from the North, originated from Gisenyi and Mayor General Victor Byiringiro, current interim president, who originates from the South. They hate each other deeply and since the arrest of Ignace Murwanshyaka, who tried to mediate between them on the ground, the two have been in open opposition to each other. 

• ·         Division between people with a genocide history, or who are accused by Rwanda to have taken part in the killings of 1994, and those who don't have a Genocide-label. The first group is a tiny minority, mostly all of them military commanders as they were officers of the former Rwandan army FAR. The most prominent figure is General Sylvestre Mudacumura and most of his high command members, as well as influential commanders like General Omega/Israel. The overall majority of the FDLR foot soldiers and low ranking commanders,as well as the cadres of the FDLR political and administrative wing, are younger and therefore not suspect of personal involvement in the genocide. For them, repatriation is an option – on whatever conditions they insist on, but at least there is an option they would go home in the end. For the alleged Genocidaires repatriation to Rwanda is and will never be an option. They know very well they will end up in prison for the rest of their lives – they would rather die in the bush in Congo. 

• ·         We have to underline clearly: the majority of individuals in the FDLR want to go home.But there are the few dozens in the high ranking FOCA-leadership who can't, due to their genocide history, and who need the others to stay with them in the jungle for their own survival purposes. The FOCA set up a very tidy control system to make sure that defection is a very risky thing to try. It can end in execution or brutal punishment. In the FOCA internal military penal code defection and treason is the highest possible crime. The combatants are mostly now of a middle age where they have a wife and a few children they want to take care of and provide with a living and schooling. They would repatriate if thd have the chance to defect from their troops and make sure their loved ones will be safe with them. Only the very young generation of fighters who were born in the Congo in the Rwandan Hutu refugee community and are mostly children of FDLR are so brainwashed and don't have active memory of their home country that it's not easy to lure them out with nostalgic messages about their hills in Rwanda. That's dangerous because if we talk about recruitment of fresh FOCA fighters, these are the young men who will serve the high ranking commanders as escorts to stay loyal with them in the bush until the end.

• ·         There are political and administrative cadres who would go home but only under certain conditions. To reach their goals they need the Rwandan Hutu refugee community in Congo to play their political game.  These cadres are the ones pushing for an "inter-Rwandan dialogue" and "opening of political space in Rwanda" to achieve the final goals of 20 years of struggle against the Rwandan regime and as a principal legacy of the FDLR as an organization, drafted in the FDLR manifesto where they call themselves "freedom fighters". To reach these goals, they would leave behind FOCA as a military wing, as long they have a guarantee of fulfilling their political goals. They have set up a shadow government that is "democratically elected" and pretends to be a state within a state that, with an effective armed force, guarantees the security and ethnic survival of their population as well as their whole Hutu ethnicity that is in their eyes threaten by extinction. But a government is not a government and a state not a state without citizens. And that's why the refugee population plays a crucial role in their strategy of political manoeuvre. The FDLR claims to represent all 200.000 Rwandan Hutu refugees still left in DRC but is effectively only administrating their wives, children, elderly, invalids, pensioned soldiers and officers (yes, the FOCA has a pension system!) and other direct dependents. According to FDLR internal figures by mid-2012 they in fact administrated only 12.500 refugees in North Kivu and around 6.000 in South Kivu. These numbers decreased further in the last two years due to high repatriation numbers. None of the higher ranking commanders or cadres still have family in DRC. Their relatives all left a long time ago to go to Rwanda or live in exile. The "citizens" they govern are just simple refugees who would go home if there is a safe way home and a chance to start a new life in their Rwandan villages. These thousands of people had been misled by FDLR propaganda and taken hostage by FOCA and could be used as human shields. 

Who is who in the FDLR?

In the political game being played there are a handful of military and political cadres playing an important role and representing different fractions. All the following "big elephants" are currently located in different positions at least a few hours walking distance to each other. They are all surrounded by their respective loyal forces. 

1. Interim president and 1^st  vice-president Victor Byiringiro originates from southern Rwanda. He is an ex-FAR and major-general but presents himself as a civilian figure. His power base is the "citizens", the Hutu refugees. He needs them to maintain his position and to reach his goal of a political dialogue with the Kigali regime. A lot of middle ranking officers and combatants from the south are loyal to him. He is deeply religious and is preaching faith in God`s good will to lead them home into their "promised land". 

2. 2^nd Vicepresident Wilson Irategeka is a close ally of the influential mastermind in exile, Callixte Mbarushimana. He was until recently his deputy executive secretary, following a common strategy. Irategeka was actively working on a political umbrella for the Rwandan opposition in exile and on staking an explicit political claim in Rwanda itself. Immediately after the „Peace Offer Declaration" of 30 December 2013, on 12 January 2014 the FDLR announced the „official start" of activities of its new alliance FCLR-Ubumwe (Common Front for the Liberation of Rwanda) with the Rwandan opposition party PS-Imberakuri (Socialist Party). Irategeka became the FDLR-„Ambassador" to Tanzania and linked up with former Rwandan prime minister Faustin Twagiramungu in exile in Belgium, who declared that his new party RDI (Rwanda Dream Initiative), not registered in Rwanda, had gone into alliance with the FDLR 2014. Later on, FDLR, PS, RDI und four other groups announced the formation in Brussels of the umbrella group CPC (Coalition of Rwandan Political Parties for Change), with Twagiramungu as president and a FDLR representative – interim president Byiringiro, as it turned out – as 1^st vice-president. Irategeka travelled to Tanzania recently on a regular basis. But eventually Byiringiro declared these coalitions null and vois and warned in a recent FDLR communiqué written only in Kinyarwanda that only he himself should be accepted as a leader. Irategeka was sidelined by Byiringiro.

3. FDLR spokesman Laforge fils Bazaye represents the political cadres in the FDLR administration. They portray themselves as the elite speaking in the name of the refugees. Laforge openly stated several times that he would return home if the refugees can return in dignity and there is a chance for political dialogue with Rwanda. Between Laforge, Byiringiro and Irategeka there is a lot of tension and rivalry on who defines political tactics.

4. Angelo Muhire Habumuremyi is the representative of the Rwandan Hutu refugees within the FDLR. He was once close to Laforge but has tried to distance himself recently as he sees the military operations against FDLR approaching. His interest is to find a safe way out of the hostage situation, not playing any political games, and he is trying to communicate with UNHCR to establish humanitarian corridors. He is maybe the only quasi-FDLR who thinks positively about military operations against them because it will give the refugees a window of opportunity to escape. 

5. FOCA chief Sylvestre Mudacumura has recently become more and more isolated. His power is currently more based on fear than on respect. He is a very strong alcoholic and highly diabetic. He has grown fat and weak, not able to run anymore. Under the influence of alcohol he loses his temper a lot. Recently, he tried to escape from his own troops to surrender to ICC in The Hague, an operation that failed. Lots of high commanders have lost trust in him.

6. General Omega aka Israel, commander of the FOCA 1^st Sector, is perhaps the currently most influential military commander, with his troops still very able and capable of operating. He might be the only one really defending them and being able to survive with his CRAP and commando units or even launch a counterattack. As he proved during the 2012 attacks on Rwanda (during the days when M23 occupied Goma), he is willing to send his troops into Kamikaze missions to die as heroes and martyrs for their cause and never surrender. He is deeply religious, carries the name "Isreal" and has named his units "Sinai" and "Canaan" like the promised land of God.

What can be a strategy to dismantle the FDLR?

The Monusco has declared as the overall target of their military operation the removal od Mudacumura and Omega. Surrender of the political leadership is not enough. But how?

As far as Mudacumura is concerned, it`s likely that sooner or later he will find his way out under conditions and be transferred to ICC where he will retire in a luxury prison awaiting his trial – like General Bosco Ntaganda who fled his M23 comrades 2013.

Omega is more difficult to get hold of, taking into consideration that he actually has a well-equipped commando force under his command that has enough CRAP units to survive in difficult circumstances. The same applies to other commanders like Andre Kalume, the chief of the reserve brigade, or Col. Gakwerere aka Stany who commands the HQ protection battalion.

It is likely that FOCA is now issuing orders to go into a position of total defence. The troops have already organized civilian clothes to dress with and vanish into the population and try to use their refugees and dependents as human shields. Under these conditions, for FIB to attack with South African helicopters is clearly the wrong approach. As the 2009 operations against FDLR showed, there is a positive effect when FOCA is pushed and forced to run and disperse in chaos. In these chaotic moments simple combatants ordered their families to run into different directions to get away from the FDLR control.

The risk remains that FDLR/FOCA command will issue orders to create a "humanitarian catastrophe" like they did during the operations 2009. The FDLR trial in Germany aims to reach a verdict naming the leadership responsible for these orders which intended to create such an enormous humanitarian disaster that political pressure on the international community to stop the operations would rise. FDLR launched attacks on the local Congolese population, burnt villages, and looted health centers as punishment. The attack on the village of Busurungi in Walikale territory on 9 May 2009 stands as an example where almost 100 Congolese civilians were brutally slaughtered and had their houses burnt. But, according to testimonies in the German court and interviews with the officers who conducted these operations: 1) the attack on Busurungi was a revenge attack provoked by ex-CNDP-soldiers within FARDC killing FDLR dependents in Shario forest nearby in previous weeks; the Shario killings were commanded by Tutsi Colonels like Zimurinda and Baudouin who are known to show no mercy towards FDLR civilians. 2) the ex-CNDP soldiers set up their defence positions in Busurungi just outside the doorsteps of the houses where the local population slept, thus there was no way for FOCA to differentiate between military and civilian positions during the night attack. 3) it took FOCA almost two weeks to plan and launch these retaliation attacks conducted by more than 400 troops; to prepare such a major operation the FOCA command needs a safe setting and environment and a clear chain of command.

The upcoming military operations have to ensure that such provocations are not repeated and that the FDLR command chain collapses so that no major operations can be conducted.

At the same time, the most important strategy is to address the refugee population in order to dismantle the political leadership (because a government is not a government if there are no citizens to administrate). If they flee from FDLR and return to Rwanda, the entire foundation of FDLR legitimacy will collapse. The political leadership will lose their power base and trump cards in their political game. Since they are not close to the FOCA command any more their won´t be any other options for the politicians than surrender. In this moment, the radical FOCA wing will be left isolated and can be adressed by proper military means.

But initially there is a clear need to directly address these civilians to give them humanitarian corridors out of the mess and chaos so they can escape. 

It is already starting to happen. Women have been abandoned as their husbands left their positions on the hills to follow orders by their command. The women found their way to UNHCR. The more that get out before the first attack is actually launched, the better. That is why there has not been an immediate attack following 2 January and that is what the delaying strategy is all about right now. It is a tactical step to let the whole world and especially the FDLR leadership wair what will happen. The weapon of fear is already launched.

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"Aho kwanga no guhora dutuka Abakotanyi n'Umutware wabo, dukwiriye kubasabira ngo Imana ibavane mu bikohwa by'Ibinyabubasha (ibyo ku isi n'iby'ikuzimu) byabigaruriye bikabagira abacakara babyo", Mwarimu Rewoporidi MUNYAKAZI.

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Fwd: UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST - 9 January

UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
9 January, 2015
 =========================================================================



UN RAMPS UP RELIEF EFFORTS AS HUGE MID-EAST SNOWSTORM THREATENS SYRIAN REFUGEES

The United Nations refugee agency has been working around the clock this week to help the millions of Syrian refugees and internally displaced people scattered across the Middle East endure a severe winter storm that has swept through much of the region.

Heavy snowfall, rains, high winds and freezing temperatures are forecast to continue over the next several days and are expected to further disrupt the lives of the most vulnerable Syrians. Flooding has already become a problem in some low lying areas and is expected to get worse once the snow melts, said the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The longer the low temperatures continue, the more difficult life becomes for everyone, UNHCR's Adrian Edwards warned today as he briefed journalists in Geneva.

UNHCR teams and partners have been working over the past few days to replace damaged tents, provide repair kits, deliver emergency supplies and offer alternative shelters to those who have been forced to abandon their homes. The response was timely this year as winter operations in the region began ahead of time and included cash vouchers to help the most vulnerable refugees.

However, despite the best efforts of governments, local authorities, and UNHCR, the situation across the region remains precarious for most refugees, particularly given the poor conditions in which many people already live and the scattered nature of the population.

Especially concerning is the situation in Lebanon, where refugees are spread out in some 1,700 different locations. Reports say that more than 100 shelters and tents have been damaged and that flooding and standing water is a serious concern in places hit by heavy rains and high winds. In coastal areas in the south, high waves had flooded some settlements, Mr. Edwards explained.

In hard to reach areas, including inside Syria and some parts of Iraq, temperatures have dipped. In Za'atari – Jordan's largest refugee camp with nearly 85,000 Syrians – dozens of families as of today remain camped in emergency shelters after their tents collapsed under the weight of snow.

More funds are needed to meet these critical challenges and to help some of the most vulnerable people, Mr. Edwards added, emphasizing that needs continue to outpace money coming in.

At Za'atari, UNHCR has established several shelters in advance of the storms for those with nowhere else to go. The shelters are equipped with heaters, mattresses and blankets, and food and water are also provided.

But heavy rain and melting snow have caused flooding, damaging belongings and turning streets into quagmires of water and freezing mud. Electricity in several parts of the camp has been cut.

Once conditions improve, UNHCR teams will be sent out to assess the damage to individual shelters and carry out repairs or provide replacement equipment.

Also at today's Geneva briefing, Tarik Jasarevic, from the World Health Organization (WHO), expressed concern over the spread of infectious diseases in Aleppo, Syria.

He said WHO had managed to bring medication including for chronic diseases and antibiotics for infections – enough for 240,000 people – to Aleppo but is now waiting to distribute to hard-to-reach areas. WHO is also providing vaccines against measles, rubella, mumps and polio to hard-to-reach areas, including Aleppo governorate.


* * *

UN CHIEF OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO FRENCH GOVERNMENT IN WAKE OF 'CHARLIE HEBDO' ATTACK

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today visited the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations to offer, on behalf of the Organization, his condolences to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack on the offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, in which 12 people were killed.

Mr. Ban signed the book of condolences that was opened in the wake of the attack and reiterated comments he made yesterday during a press stakeout at UN Headquarters.

"This is not a war against religion or between religions," he said. "This is a purely unacceptable terrorist attack – criminality."

He stressed that such criminality had to be brought to justice "in the name of humanity" and underlined that the UN promotes tolerance and inclusive dialogue.

"I am urging all the people around the world that it is important to enhance the level of tolerance and respect for the beliefs, religions and traditions of others," he said. "When your religion, your belief is important, then we should know that the other people's belief is also as important."

He said that grievances and differences of views should be addressed in a peaceful manner, and stressed that dialogue can resolve any difference of opinion.

Offering his strong support to the people of France, especially those working in media, he emphasized their right to do their jobs in safety.

"It is important that freedom of speech, freedom of media [and ] opinion should be protected," he said.


* * *

NEW BOKO HARAM ATTACKS IN NIGERIA DRIVE MORE THAN 7,000 INTO CHAD – UN

The number of Nigerian refugees seeking safety in Chad has almost quadrupled over the past 10 days after attacks by Boko Haram insurgents in northeastern Nigeria uprooted thousands, the United Nations refugee agency has reported.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that attacks in Borno state have uprooted about 7,300 Nigerians, forcing them into western Chad, where most are staying with local communities in villages around 450 kilometres north-west of the capital, N'Djamena.

A spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the 3 January attack on the town of Baga alone caused 3,400 people to flee to Chad.

"The Government of Chad has requested international assistance," said the spokesperson. "The Chadian Government has sent a mission and a medical team to the areas and is providing food assistance and other basic supplies. Humanitarian agencies including OCHA, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UNHCR, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are currently in the area assessing needs."

UNHCR is assessing the protection situation and coordinating aid delivery. "We're already providing plastic sheets, jerry cans, mats, blankets and kitchen tools. Other humanitarian organizations are distributing aid too," UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards noted in Geneva.

Mr. Edwards said UNHCR teams are seeking more information on the new arrivals and their needs and noted that the attack on Baga left hundreds dead and forced most of the town's surviving inhabitants to flee.

Meanwhile in Niger, UNHCR has started to relocate refugees from the border area, so far moving 336 people to a camp deeper inside Niger, with more planned for next week. The refugees fled after a November attack on the Nigerian town of Damassak.

UNHCR, working alongside the National Eligibility Commission of Niger, is registering refugees as they arrive at the new camp, giving them identity documents and providing basic relief items, including drinking water and latrines.

In December, the first results of a continuing Government census, organized with UNHCR's technical support, revealed that at least 90,000 people, including Niger nationals previously living in Nigeria, have found refuge in Niger's Diffa region since May 2013. Many have chosen to remain close to the border, hoping to return to their home villages when the situation calms down.

Some 200,000 people have fled Nigeria to neighbouring countries, including Chad, Cameroon and Niger, according to figures from OCHA.


* * *

CUBA: UN RIGHTS OFFICE HOPES RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS PAVES WAY FOR FREEDOMS TO FLOURISH

The United Nations human rights office today welcomed Cuba's release of political prisoners, hoping this new development will help open the way for an environment where freedom of expression and association flourishes.

According to media reports yesterday and overnight, at least nine political prisoners have been released by the Cuban authorities, reportedly as part of the recent US-Cuba agreement.

"We understand that at least some of them may have been released conditionally, which means that they have to report to the authorities regularly," Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said at a Geneva briefing.

"We do not know what other conditions may have been imposed for their release. As far as we are aware, the Cuban authorities have not made any statements with regard to these releases, so the details are not yet clear," he added.

OHCHR has been particularly concerned about Cuba's recent short-term detention of political opponents, human rights activists and members of civil society. Over the past four years, the Office received numerous reports of such detentions, without warrants, especially in advance of certain meetings and events, apparently in order to prevent specific people from participating.

"These detentions can last a few hours, a few days and sometimes longer, and then people are usually released without charges," Mr. Colville said, adding that a number of UN special procedures have engaged with the Cuban authorities on this issue.

"We urge the authorities to stop this practice, which clearly impinges on individuals' human rights and appears to be little more than a form of intimidation or harassment," Mr. Colville said.

The latest such detention occurred on 30 December 2014 when, according to media reports, dozens of people were arrested before they could participate in a performance at the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana by Tania Bruguera, a well-known Cuban artist. The protest had not been authorized by the authorities. Ms. Bruguera and others were subsequently released, but she was detained on two further occasions over the following days and finally released last Friday.

Sources in Cuba have put the number of these detentions to well over 8,000 in 2014 alone, although we have not been able to verify the number independently, he added.


* * *

MALI: UN MISSION CONDEMNS ATTACK THAT WOUNDED SEVEN PEACEKEEPERS

The United Nations Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has condemned the attack on its peacekeepers near the Kidal airstrip this morning, when one of its vehicles struck an explosive device.

"Seven Senegalese peacekeepers were wounded and have been evacuated," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told the daily press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York this afternoon.

According to MINUSMA, the area of the explosion has been secured and a team of experts from the Mission has started an investigation.

The UN is calling on all those involved in the peace process to respect the commitment they made last September in Algiers to prevent attacks against peacekeepers. Those responsible for these acts must be brought to justice, the Mission added.

This attack is the latest in a spate of violence targeting UN peacekeepers. On Sunday, eight "blue helmets" were wounded in the Gao region of northern Mali when their vehicle was struck by an explosive device.

Briefing the Security Council last week, the Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, appealed to all parties to resolve outstanding issues in the fresh round of talks scheduled for February.

While talks held so far had resulted in a draft peace agreement that all parties were currently examining, he pointed to an "extremely volatile" security situation in the North of the country, with "serious fighting" taking place in recent days, including an attack on Malian troops in the Ségou region, where 10 were killed, and disturbances in Gao where three were killed.

"The situation on the ground remains difficult [with] each side trying to escalate," he said, pointing out that MINUSMA forces had been deployed in response to the violence, facing a situation that was "very dire and costly" for MINUSMA's troops.

"No Mission has been as costly in terms of blood," he said, noting that a total of 33 MINUSMA soldiers had been killed and 109 injured and pointing out that the Mission's peacekeepers face assaults on a virtually daily basis, in the form of rocket attacks on bases and targeted attacks with improvised explosive devices.

He called on all parties to respect the ceasefire and to show good faith, both on the ground and at the negotiating table in Algiers. That required some parties to accept the need to move from their opening positions, something not everybody had done.


* * *

SENIOR UN ENVOY MEETS WITH LIBYAN STAKEHOLDERS, WARNS 'TIME RUNNING OUT' TO RESOLVE CRISIS

The top United Nations official in Libya, in discussions with the strife-torn North African nation's leaders and stakeholders, has warned that time may be running out to put an end to the political and security crisis, stressing that it is extremely important to "freeze fire" so that political dialogue can begin.

In Tobruk and in Tripoli, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Bernardino León, met with main stakeholders expected to take part in the proposed dialogue.

In both stops, Mr. León, who also heads the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), stressed the need to convene the second round of political dialogue very soon to stop the country's slide towards deeper conflict and economic collapse.

The Special Representative's call comes as fighting between armed factions continues to rattle the beleaguered nation. Libya's civil war began in 2011 and resulted in the ouster of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

He warned that time was running out, and the more efforts to tackle the country's political and security crisis are delayed, the more difficult it will be to reach a solution that will end the fighting, restore political and State institutional unity and revive the economy.

Mr. León proposed a "freeze" in hostilities for a short period of time to create a conducive environment for holding the dialogue.

"The United Nations will continue to facilitate the efforts for the resumption of the political process to achieve the Libyans' quest for peace and stability," he said.

"Libyans need to unite and work towards resolving their differences if they want to save their country, its people, resources, infrastructure and State institutions from further pain and destruction, and to be effective in combating terrorism," he added.

In Al-Marj, Mr. Leon met with General Khalifa Haftar as part of efforts to de-escalate the military situation. He said General Haftar "reacted positively" to the UN proposal and will discuss it with his team. And in Tripoli, he also met with commanders of armed brigades from the City of Misrata, who said they will consider the UN proposal to freeze hostilities.

"The majority of the Libyan people want peace. They should not be held hostage by a small minority that sees that it can win this conflict militarily."


* * *

BAN CALLS ON GLOBAL COMPACT TO HELP END POVERTY, TRANSFORM LIVES, PROTECT PLANET

Addressing the United Nations Global Compact board meeting this afternoon, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said everyone held a stake in ending poverty, transforming people's lives and protecting the planet.

"We live in paradoxical times," said Mr. Ban. "We see enormous wealth, technological progress and unprecedented opportunity on the one hand, coupled with great inequality and fragmentation, extremist violence, and environmental degradation on the other."

Despite progress in many areas, including reducing poverty and improving healthcare, he said individual and group interests still take precedence over universal priorities too often.

"Ultimately, our interdependent world will prosper or perish as one," he said calling for conviction and courage to change course and take responsibility for the planet and the people.

That change of course would involve a commitment to sustainable development, a restructuring of the global financial system in line with people's needs, and an urgent response to the challenge of human-induced climate change.

He looked forward to a momentous year ahead and said the Global Compact had proven that progress can be made when all key players are engaged on issues of common importance.

"The Global Compact's blueprint for change has been tested, and it works," he said. "Business is proving that the power of collaboration is enormous. We are seeing markets beginning to transform from within, based on actions taken by business to respect and support human rights, provide decent work, account for environmental impacts and end bribery and corruption."

He said the world would need the help of the Global Compact's board to meet several milestones that the international community had ahead.

"The spirit of the Global Compact will be at the heart of the new global agenda for sustainable development, which will be agreed here in New York in September," he said noting that his recently released synthesis report – The Road to Dignity by 2030: Ending Poverty, Transforming All Lives and Protecting the Planet – emphasized the role to be played by the private sector in achieving the proposed sustainable development goals.

Private sector financing would be essential to the new agenda, and business would be essential in efforts to achieve a universal, meaningful agreement on climate change in Paris in December.

"We must be bold. We must act together. We must make 2015 a year of global action," he said.

The UN Global Compact is a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with 10 universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. By doing so, business, as a primary driver of globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere.


* * *

TWO LEADING EBOLA VACCINES SHOW 'ACCEPTABLE SAFETY' – UN HEALTH AGENCY

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that two promising Ebola vaccines appear safe and could soon be tested in West Africa, as the agency wrapped up an expert meeting in Geneva earlier today.

The UN health agency has been meeting with researchers, regulators, vaccine developers and policy makers since Thursday, discussing vaccine access and financing, and reviewing the current status of clinical trials and plans for Phase II and Phase III efficacy trials.

Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO Assistant Director-General of Health Systems and Innovation, said in a press conference this afternoon in Geneva that so far, the two Ebola vaccines that have already undergone the first phase of testing have an "acceptable safety profile."

The third phase of testing – which consists of giving the vaccine to healthy volunteers in affected areas – is about to begin. According to a UN spokesperson, research teams have been set up and preparations have been put in place, including special refrigerators for Ebola vaccine tests, in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the three countries hardest hit by the current unprecedented outbreak.

Recent figures from WHO note some 20,206 confirmed, probable or suspected cases of Ebola and 7,905 reported deaths.

Opening the high-level meeting yesterday, WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan said the participants had given themselves tight deadlines and were moving ahead quickly. "In fact, what you are doing is unprecedented: compressing into a matter of months work that normally takes two to four years, yet with no compromise of international standards of safety and efficacy," she said.

Also today, the head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and the UN Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, are in Sierra Leone, before heading to Guinea on Sunday.


* * *

BAN COMMENDS SUCCESS OF SRI LANKA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, PEACEFUL TRANSFER OF POWER

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the people of Sri Lanka on the successful conclusion of the country's presidential election, and welcomed the constitutional transfer of power.

"The Secretary-General applauds the Sri Lankan Elections Commission for its professionalism in ensuring a peaceful and credible election," according to a statement released by Mr. Ban's spokesman at UN Headquarters in New York today.

The UN chief also commended the efforts of the candidates, including outgoing President Mahinda Rajapaksa, law enforcement agencies and civil society for upholding and respecting democratic governance.

"The Secretary-General looks forward to working with President Maithripala Sirisena and the people of Sri Lanka," the statement said.

The UN will continue to support development, reconciliation, political dialogue and accountability in Sri Lanka.

The South Asia nation has experienced a spate of ethnic and sectarian attacks since its 26-year civil conflict, which pitted the Government against Tamil insurgents, ended in 2009.

Most recently, a tide of violence and recrimination against Sri Lanka's Muslim and Christian communities by Buddhist groups with extremist views has threatened to divide the country once again.


* * *

UN RIGHTS CHIEF URGES MORE GLOBAL ATTENTION TO 'WANTON' VIOLENCE IN YEMEN

The top United Nations human rights official appealed today for more international attention to be focused on Yemen and the plight of Yemenis as deepening insecurity and "utterly intolerable" violence in the country continue to wreak a terrible toll on civilians.

"Perhaps because of the violence engulfing so many other countries – relatively little attention is being paid to the situation in Yemen," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. "The past few weeks have seen dozens of people killed in a succession of bomb attacks in Yemen. Such wanton acts of indiscriminate violence are utterly deplorable."

Despite the formation of a new Government on 7 November aimed at ending a period of political turbulence and bringing about a full transition towards democracy, Yemen continues to be plagued by violence.

Several bomb attacks in the last three weeks have killed a total of 86 people, with the most recent, a car bomb detonated outside a police college in the capital, Sana'a, the most deadly, killing 37 people.

"What does anyone gain by slaughtering civilians – especially children – in this way?" Zeid said. "I urge all parties in Yemen to renounce the use of violence to avoid further loss of innocent lives and take concrete steps towards the immediate and effective implementation of the peace and partnership agreement."

Mr. Zeid also urged Yemeni security forces to ensure they used proportionate force when responding to incidents, amid reports of security personnel causing civilian deaths including one incident in December where live ammunition was fired to break up demonstrations.

"Notwithstanding the difficult situation they face, it is essential that Government security personnel halt the use of excessive force, resulting in civilian deaths," Mr. Zeid said. "Violations of international human rights law by all sides must be promptly, independently and effectively investigated to bring perpetrators to justice and ensure that victims' right to justice and remedy is upheld."


* * *

HAITI: 5 YEARS AFTER EARTHQUAKE, UN WARNS PROGRESS THREATENED BY POVERTY, INEQUALITY

Five years after a massive earthquake killed 200,000 people in Haiti, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is appealing for funds to continue momentum towards building more resilient communities that will withstand future disasters.

Today, some three million Haitians remain unsure where their next meal will come from. To provide them the essential food they require, about $28 million will be needed in 2015.

"Persistent chronic poverty and inequality, environmental degradation and continuing political uncertainty threaten achievements Haitians have made over the past five years," WFP's representative in Haiti, Wendy Bigham, warned.

In the hours after the quake struck on 12 January 2010, WFP began distributing emergency food to those survivors left in the rubble. Within four months, the agency had provided food for more than 4 million vulnerable Haitians, which helped avert a food crisis.

Because of its geography, Haiti is highly prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, landslides and droughts. Poverty means that even moderate shocks can push people into hunger.

Since 2010, WFP has helped create job opportunities for over 200,000 Haitians in cash- or food-for-work projects aimed at stabilizing food security. In Marigot, a community nestled between the Caribbean Sea and the mountains that was hit hard by the earthquake, local farmers have been employed to build hillside stone terraces.

In Haitian Creole, Kore Lavi means "supporting life" and that is what WFP is doing under a project that helps improve the nutrition of Haiti's poorest women and young children, the agency stressed.

For example, WFP, with its partners, has been providing flour mixed with vitamins and minerals as well as bulgur wheat, cooking oil and beans. By strengthening nutrition now, vulnerable Haitians will be stronger and healthier the next time a disaster strikes.

With the new funds, WFP plans to reach up to 1.2 million highly vulnerable Haitians. It will also support the Government to provide hot meals to almost half a million schoolchildren.

Some of the produce for the agency's projects is bought locally as a way of supporting the country's farmers. Together with the Ministry of Agriculture, smallholder farmers' associations are trained and mentored to meet WFP's local procurement standards.


* * *

UN PROBE SAYS SOUTH SUDAN ATTACKS 'NADIR' OF CONFLICT MARKED BY ABUSES, RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

The Human Rights Division of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) issued a report today saying there are reasonable grounds to believe that at least 353 civilians were murdered and another 250 wounded in attacks in the capitals of Unity state and Jonglei state between 15 April and 17 April last year.




Having collected and analysed physical evidence and interviewed 142 sources, the report has found that the attacks in the towns of Bentiu and Bor involved the deliberate targeting of victims on the basis of their ethnicity, nationality or perceived support for one of the parties to the conflict, a press statement from the Mission said.




"In both Bentiu and Bor, attacks took place against protected objects – a hospital, a mosque, and a United Nations base – which may amount to war crimes," said the report. "Although the conflict has been marked throughout by gross abuses and violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law, these two events seemed to represent the nadir of the conflict."




The attack in Bentiu, capital of Unity State, took place after opposition forces retook control of the town from Government troops. The report says that at least 287 civilians – mainly Sudanese traders and their families who were targeted on the basis of their Darfuri origins – were killed at a mosque before a further 19 civilians were killed at the Bentiu Civil Hospital.




Two days later, an UNMISS civilian protection site outside the Jonglei state capital of Bor was attacked by a mob of armed men demanding the expulsion of all youths of Nuer ethnicity. After forcibly entering the protection site, the mob went on a rampage of killing, looting and abductions of internally displaced persons (IDPs), killing at least 47 people whose names appear in report.




"UNMISS strongly condemns the continued killing and displacement of civilians on the basis of their ethnic identity nearly nine months after the events of April 2014," said Ellen Margrethe Løj, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for South Sudan. "This risks an even greater polarization of the country along ethnic lines with potentially serious repercussions for the state of human rights and the prospects for reconciliation."




Nearly nine months after the attacks took place, no perpetrator has been held accountable by either the Government of the Republic of South Sudan or the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army In Opposition and the report says that few accountability measures have been taken in response to the incidents.




The Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights referred to the UNMISS report during a briefing in Geneva today, adding his voice to those concerned by the response to the attacks.




"Accountability is a big issue. There has been no accountability for the mass atrocities, human rights violations and abuses that have caused the death of tens of thousands of people in South Sudan," said Robert Colville. "Nearly nine months after the attacks in Bentiu and Bor took place, no perpetrator has been held accountable by either the Government of South Sudan or the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army In Opposition for the two large-scale killings described in the report."




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