UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
13 August, 2015
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UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
13 August, 2015
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BAN ADDRESSES TOP PEACEKEEPING OFFICIALS AMID ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL ABUSE BY UN 'BLUE HELMETS'
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon conducted today an urgent video conference with the heads of United Nations peacekeeping operations, Force Commanders, and Police Commissioners following a series of revelations alleging abuse by UN 'blue helmets' in the field, Including, most recently in the Central African Republic.
Addressing the regular press briefing at the Organization's Headquarters in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that the Secretary-General had gathered the senior leadership "to speak directly to them" about reports of ongoing sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers while underlining the UN's policy of "zero tolerance."
"He stressed that zero tolerance means zero complacency and zero impunity and that when allegations are substantiated, all personnel – whether military, police or civilians – must be held accountable," reported Mr. Dujarric.
"The Secretary-General expressed his resolve to help the affected individuals [and] preserve the integrity of the UN flag," he added.
In addition, explained the UN Spokesperson, Mr. Ban told the peacekeeping officials that, under the existing guidelines, Heads of Mission were directly accountable for maintaining conduct and discipline within their mission, with the support of the senior mission leadership.
The UN chief's conversation with his senior mission leadership follows a series of recent allegations – revealed earlier this week by the human rights group Amnesty International and concerning actions by UN 'blue helmets' serving with the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) – of sexual abuse committed by MINUSCA peacekeepers.
According to Mr. Dujarric, in today's meeting, the Secretary-General also discussed the importance of prevention, training, risk assessment and risk mitigation, continuous education for and awareness-raising in local communities to stop this problem while calling on the senior leadership of missions to use "every opportunity to reinforce the message that the United Nations will not abide any misconduct, including sexual exploitation and abuse."
Furthermore, he reportedly noted that Mr. Ban stressed that Troop and Police Contributing Countries are responsible for ensuring that their personnel are properly trained and on mandatory standards of conduct and discipline, and that their peacekeepers will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law if found to have committed abuse.
As part of the UN's increased scrutiny into the global scourge of sexual abuse in field missions, the Secretary-General has also requested a special session of the Security Council, to take place later this afternoon.
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AT SECURITY COUNCIL, TOP UN HEALTH OFFICIALS SPOTLIGHT ROLE OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS IN EBOLA FIGHT
The deadly Ebola outbreak which ravaged West Africa for more than a year has demonstrated the increasing importance of emergency preparedness both in Africa and across the world, said two senior United Nations health officials who noted that if the current intense focus on case detection and contact tracing is maintained, the virus could be "soundly defeated" by year's end.
Briefing the UN Security Council earlier this morning on the global response to Ebola, World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Director Dr. Margaret Chan observed that lacking public health capacities and infrastructures had combined to expose a dangerous vulnerability across the West African belt – from Guinea to Liberia – leading to an outbreak unprecedented in scale and duration.
Only an equally unprecedented response by the international community and by individual governments, she added, had helped stem the advancing tide of the disease.
Indeed, if the current intensity of case detection and contact tracing is sustained, the virus can be soundly defeated by the end of this year. "That means getting to zero and staying at zero," she declared.
"Surveillance and response capacities have vastly improved. We have a very good picture of current chains of transmission and know how to break them," Dr. Chan told the 15-member body. "This is a night-and-day difference from the situation less than a year ago."
"I can assure you: the progress is real and it has been hard-earned," she added.
Among the measures to be hard-wired into future preparations, the WHO chief underlined a series of critical reforms she would implement with her own UN agency, including the establishment of a global health emergency workforce, an operational platform that can shift into high gear quickly, performance benchmarks, and avenues aimed at acquiring the needed funding.
Beyond that, she said, individual governments had also greatly improved their healthcare outlook in steps that greatly increased the prospects that Ebola-affected communities will survive.
"The Ebola outbreak in West Africa shocked the world out of its complacency about the infectious disease threat," Dr. Chan continued. "We witnessed the decisive role of vigilance and readiness in countries that experienced an important case."
The first cases of the current Ebola outbreak were reported in March 2014 in Guinea and quickly spread across the region to Sierra Leone and Liberia killing more than 11,000 people in an epidemic that also saw isolated cases pop up in the United States and in Europe. At the time of writing, however, no new cases have been reported prompting some optimism among the international medical community.
Echoing Dr. Chan's message, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Ebola, Dr. David Nabarro, similarly spotlighted three components of the Ebola response – from the nurturing of "powerful and decisive leadership" and the "importance of community ownership" to the response to "the value of working together in long-term solidarity."
"When people themselves define the support they require, when they are able quickly to access the assistance they need, when they need it, challenges and obstacles are quickly overcome," he explained.
Above all, Dr. Nabarro cautioned, unexpected new outbreaks of disease in the future will demand more honed and cohesive emergency preparedness planning on behalf of the international community as a whole.
"Human security depends on being able to anticipate these outbreaks, to react quickly, to curtail spread and to prevent suffering," he concluded. "Societies that collectively recognize threats to health, that proactively address these challenges, and that engage with their health systems in the response are at the heart of secure nations and a safer world."
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SOUTH SUDAN: UN HEALTH AGENCY RAMPS UP EFFORTS TO TACKLE CHOLERA OUTBREAK
As the battle against cholera outbreak continues in South Sudan, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners are boosting assistance to help children and the most vulnerable prevent and reduce the spread of further cases.
"Cholera is a largely preventable and treatable disease," said Allan Mpairwe, Head of Outbreaks and Disasters Management at WHO in South Sudan.
In fact, with early detection, effective case management and oral rehydration salts treatment, up to 80 per cent of the cases can be successfully treated while the fatality rate can be reduced to less than 1 per cent.
"Progress is being made in providing access to safe water and sanitation for all populations and improving access to health care service for those who are sick," said Mr. Mpairwe.
WHO and partners such as the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the state Ministry of Health are strengthening the prevention and treatment of cholera for all at-risk populations, such as children, pregnant women, elderly people and those needing special attention.
For example, the UN agency has launched health education campaigns, while considering local culture and beliefs, to promote simple but effective rules of good hygiene, safe water and food preparation.
Training health workers, intensifying surveillance activities and strengthening referral systems have also been carried out.
Meanwhile, WHO and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) Swiss are assisting the state Ministry of Health for a vaccination campaign with oral cholera vaccine, targeting cholera transmission hotspots and vulnerable groups in Juba County.
Cholera cases have been declining since 20 July 2015. However, the threat to young children and other vulnerable groups remains high in South Sudan, unless all at-risk households have access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
As of 10 August 2015, a total of 1,519 cholera cases have been reported since June with children under five and 5-9 years of age being most affected in Juba and Bor counties.
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HEAD OF UN FOOD RELIEF AGENCY APPEALS FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT TO SYRIAN REFUGEES
The head of United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called today on the international community to continue supporting Syrian refugees displaced in neighboring countries, appealing to the world "not to forget" the crisis and to provide the agency the means to meet their needs.
"I met young Syrians who because of the conflict may never realize their incredible potential. This conflict robs them of their education, their childhoods and their dreams," WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin said, stressing that the conflict is pushing families below the poverty line and "into desperation."
Major funding shortfalls forced the agency to cut food assistance by up to 50 per cent. During her four-day visit to Jordan and Lebanon, which she concluded today, Ms. Cousin met with Syrian refugees and government officials, bringing attention to the plight of millions facing extreme hardship as a result of these cuts.
"For affected populations in Syria and refugees around the region, WFP food assistance provides stability," she said. "To provide this assistance, we rely on the generosity of the international community. We simply cannot let them down."
Since the beginning of the year, explained a press release from Beirut, WFP has faced critical funding shortages that forced it to reduce the level of the assistance it provides to some 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, but also in Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
Families are taking extreme measures to cope with their difficult circumstances, including removing their children from school so that they can work; incurring large debts and cutting back on the nutritional value and quantity of the food they eat.
Ms. Cousin visited Syrian refugees living in makeshift shelters in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and a family living in an overcrowded apartment in Amman, Jordan. Each of those interviewed told heart-wrenching stories about the increasing difficulties experienced in their everyday attempts to manage with ever shrinking resources, asking Cousin to remind the world about their suffering.
Acknowledging the heavy burden host countries carry, she visited shops where half a million Syrian refugees in Jordan and 770,000 in Lebanon benefit from WFP's electronic voucher programme (e-cards). While generating income for host communities by injecting more than $1.1 billion into the local economies of the five neighboring countries, the programme has also created thousands of local jobs in the food retail sector.
WFP's regional refugee operation immediately needs $163 million to continue to support desperate people through October. In 2014, WFP globally received $5.38 billion in contributions – 27 per cent higher than in 2013. This was in response to an unprecedented number of emergencies in places such as Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, and the West African countries affected by Ebola.
However needs are still rising worldwide, outpacing the available funding.
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APPEALING FOR PEACE AND SUFFICIENT FUNDING, TOP UN RELIEF OFFICIAL SAYS WORLD 'MUST NOT FAIL' PEOPLE OF YEMEN
The international community must step up its funding of relief efforts in Yemen and help in delivering critical aid to civilians amid the country's protracted civil conflict, the top United Nations humanitarian official has declared.
Delivering his remarks to the press in the port city of Aden at the conclusion of a special visit to the war-torn Gulf country, as well as to Djibouti, Stephen O'Brien, the UN Under-Secretary General for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters yesterday that providing assistance to the millions in need was becoming increasingly difficult for aid workers due to intensifying violence and funding shortfalls.
"The scaling up of assistance and the full-fledged return of all our staff to Aden is made extremely difficult by the destruction and looting of the UN premises and assets," declared Mr. O'Brien. "We cannot assist the people in Aden if we do not have offices, vehicles and the knowledge that our staff can work in safety and security."
According to OCHA, almost 7 million people have received some form of assistance from April to July throughout all of Yemen. In Aden alone, over 280,000 people have had access to quality health care services; nearly 240,000 people have received emergency food assistance and over 16,000 people emergency shelter. At the same time, an estimated 21 million people, or 80 per cent of the population, currently require some form of live-saving assistance.
The indiscriminate violence, said Mr. O'Brien, had left him "utterly appalled" by the lack of protection of civilians by all parties.To this day, in fact, the fighting in Yemen has taken a heavy toll on civilians, more than 1,895 of whom have been killed since March.
"What we need is peace," he added. "The dialogue of weapons needs to be replaced by the dialogue of words. There is no military solution to this conflict."
However, with only 18 per cent of the $1.6 billion humanitarian appeal for Yemen currently funded, the OCHA chief also warned that relief efforts were at risk of being "hampered" due to a sharp reduction in resources.
"Donors have not responded with the funding that is needed to cover the enormous humanitarian needs in the country," he continued. "Donors need to show their solidarity with the Yemeni people and provide us with timely funding to cover the enormous needs in the whole country and notably cities like Aden, that have suffered so badly during the last four months."
Concluding his mission, Mr. O'Brien said from Djibouti that he had a strong message for the international community. "I call on all parties to the conflict, and those who can influence them, especially in the region, to find a durable, political solution, for the sake of the Yemeni people. We must not fail them."
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UN LAUNCHES #SHAREHUMANITY CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHTING HUMANITARIAN CRISES AROUND THE GLOBE
The United Nations relief arm has launched a call for millions of people around the world to drastically change their social media feeds and share captivating tale of humanitarian heroism ahead of this year's World Humanitarian Day.
"We're calling on the young and digitally-connected to help us push out these compelling stories and give a voice to the voiceless," said Stephen O'Brien, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), in a press release issued earlier today.
"Young people often ask me what they can do to help and I believe we have a shared responsibility to raise awareness and help to inspire humanity on these global issues."
The #ShareHumanity campaign – to be observed across the entire UN system and beyond and culminating on World Humanitarian Day on 19 August – has already captured the endorsements of numerous celebrities and newsmakers from around the world, including Australian singer Cody Simpson, Chinese martial artist Jet Li, British media mogul Richard Branson and Brazilian footballer Kaká, who kicked off the initiative today by sharing people's stories of survival, resilience and hope.
The campaign itself calls on social media users to "donate" their social media feeds and ultimately seeks to leverage the collective power of millennials to inspire "a greater sense of responsibility, solidarity and social activism, using the far-reaching impact of social media," according to OCHA.
"I'm getting behind #ShareHumanity because it's a way of showing that we haven't forgotten that there are millions living in humanitarian crises," 18-year-old singer/songwriter Cody Simpson added. "I hope others will join us in this massive display of public support calling for a more humane world."
The launch of #ShareHumanity comes at a particularly critical time for relief efforts around the world amid proliferating crises and funding shortfalls.
The UN has previously noted that in 2015 alone, some 78 million people in 31 countries across the globe require urgent humanitarian assistance, in the form of shelter, health care, education and food, at a cost $16.4 billion.
Funds, however, are increasingly lacking and the intensity of violence facing humanitarian workers – from Yemen and Syria to South Sudan and Iraq – is progressively hampering critical aid efforts.
* * *
NEW UN AGENCY REPORT SHOWS 'UNPRECEDENTED' RISE IN INFANT MORTALITY IN GAZA
A new study carried out by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has revealed that the infant mortality rate in the Gaza Strip has risen for the first time in 50 years, with the agency's health director citing the ongoing blockade as possibly contributing to the trend.
"Infant mortality is one of the best indicators for the health of the community," said Dr. Akihiro Seita, Director of UNRWA's health programme. "It reflects on the mother and child's health and in the UN Millennium Development Goals it is one of the key indicators."
Every five years UNRWA conducts a survey of infant mortality across the region, and the 2013 results were released this week.
The number of babies dying before the age of one has consistently gone down over the last decades in Gaza, from close to 130 per 1,000 live births in 1960 to some 20 in 2008. At the last count, in 2013, it had risen to more than 22 per 1,000 live births.
The rate of neonatal mortality, which is the number of babies that die before four weeks old, has also gone up significantly in Gaza, from 12 per 1,000 live births in 2008 to over 20 in 2013.
"The rate," said Dr. Seita, "declined quite smoothly over the last decades across the region, including Gaza. So when the 2013 results from Gaza were first uncovered, UNRWA was alarmed by the apparent increase. So we worked with external independent research groups to examine the data, to ensure the increase could be confirmed. That is why it took us so long to release these latest figures."
Such an increase is unprecedented in Dr. Seita's experience working in the Middle East.
"Progress in combatting infant mortality doesn't usually reverse. This seems to be the first time we have seen an increase like this," he said, explain that the only other examples he could think of are in some African countries which experienced HIV epidemics.
While the agency will carry out another region-wide survey of Palestinian refugees in 2018, because of these latest figures, UNRWA will conduct one this year in Gaza alone.
"It is hard to know the exact causes behind the increase in both neonatal and infant mortality rates, but I fear it is part of a wider trend. We are very concerned about the impact of the long-term blockade on health facilities, supplies of medicines and brining equipment in to Gaza," Dr. Seita said.
The UNRWA report also highlights that the most recent survey was conducted before last year's conflict, in which more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed, the majority of whom were civilians, including over 550 children.
* * *
SENIOR UN OFFICIAL IN IRAQ DEPLORES 'COWARDLY' TERRORIST ATTACK THAT KILLS DOZENS AT BAGHDAD MARKET
The acting head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq has strongly condemned today's truck bomb attack on a market in east Baghdad, which initial reports say killed at least 45 people and for which the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility.
In a statement issued by the Mission, known as UNAMI, Deputy Special Representative Gyorgy Busztin deplored the "devastating" truck bomb attack, which took place at Jameela market in Sadr City, east Baghdad and killed at least 45 people and has wounded scores more.
"These figures are tragically expected to rise," says the statement, and Mr. Busztin adds: "I utterly condemn this heinous and cowardly attack, targeting innocent civilians, many children included, in a public market place."
Declaring the attack an "indiscriminate act of terrorism" aimed at weakening the resolve of the Iraqi people, he said: "I have no doubt in my mind that the terrorists will fail."
Mr. Busztin extended his profound sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families and has called for the perpetrators of the crime to be swiftly brought to justice.
* * *
LIBYAN PARTIES SAY 'NO ALTERNATIVE' TO PEACE OUTSIDE UN-SPONSORED DIALOGUE PROCESS
The latest round of the United Nations-facilitated Libyan political dialogue has concluded in Geneva, with the different parties emphasizing the need to set aside partisan agendas and uphold the country's higher national interests.
"The parties reiterated their conviction that there can be no alternative to peace in Libya outside this dialogue process, which sets the framework for a comprehensive political settlement that is achieved through consensus", said a statementissued yesterday by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) at the end of the latest round of talks.
Presiding over the talks, UNSMIL chief and the UN Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino León, explained to the parties how discussions would proceed on the annexes to the Libyan Political Agreement, as well as on formation of the Government of National Accord.
The parties expressed optimism that the dialogue process was approaching its final stages. In this regard, the statement added, the participation of a number of political party leaders heralded a positive step towards the convergence of the various dialogue tracks, particularly those of the political parties and political activists, as well as municipalities.
"Parties described this as key to enabling representatives from all swathes of the Libyan population to work jointly together in order to expedite a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Libya, as well as ensuring wider buy-in from the Libyan population."
According to UNSMIL, the parties underscored their determination to conclude the dialogue process as soon as possible, with a target date within the coming three weeks. Finalization of the process would pave the way towards final adoption by the parties of the Libyan Political Agreement, to be followed by its formal endorsement at the beginning of September.
"The different political leaderships present at the talks signalled that they would move to encourage relevant security actors to commence consultations with UNSMIL and provide their inputs on ways of operationalizing the security arrangements outlined in the Libyan Political Agreement," the statement concluded.
* * *
UN CHIEF 'DEEPLY SADDENED' AFTER DEADLY INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIONS IN NORTHERN CHINA
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and the injuries to scores of people as a result of deadly explosions in Tianjin, China.
"The Secretary-General extends his condolences to the families of the victims, including the fire fighters who made the ultimate sacrifice," said a statement issued by Mr. Ban's spokesperson in New York.
According to news reports, the deadly blast occurred in a warehouse district of the northern Chinese port city Wednesday night local time.
Expressing his sympathies to the people and Government of China, the UN chief pays tribute to all involved in the emergency response.
* * *
UKRAINE: UN AGENCY BEGINS CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME TO MEET FOOD NEEDS IN CRISIS-TORN EASTERN AREAS
Responding to the recurring food shortages created by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun cash distributions to some 60,000 people – mostly internally displaced – in Government-controlled areas of the Lugansk and Donetsk region.
"We are using cash transfers, in areas where banks and markets are functioning, to restore some normalcy to people's otherwise shattered lives," said WFP's Representative in Ukraine Giancarlo Stopponi.
Both cash and food voucher assistance allow people to go to the market and pick the food they prefer, which includes fresh vegetables, meat, poultry and dairy products – items not normally included in traditional food ration.
"It also gives a boost to markets and injects money into the local economy," added Mr. Stopponi.
The first round of cash distributions began in northern Lugansk region through WFP's partner, Mercy Corps. Each person will receive the equivalent of approximately $20.50 per month to purchase food. Around 140,000 people will be provided with either cash transfers or vouchers.
WFP has expanded its emergency operation to provide food assistance for more than 575,000 people until the end of the year. This includes 20,000 children who will receive locally-purchased supplementary food assistance for a period of six months to prevent a further deterioration of their nutritional status and health.
WFP was previously providing food assistance to close to 200,000 people.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine has affected 5 million people so far, including at least 1.7 million children. WFP prioritizes the most vulnerable population groups amongst residents, returnees, internally displaced persons and host communities and children at risk of malnutrition.
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The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
When the white man came we had the land and they had the bibles; now they have the land and we have the bibles.
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The Voice of the Poor, the Weak and Powerless.
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