UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
31 December, 2014
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UKRAINE: UN KICKS-OFF CAMPAIGN TO REACH DISPLACED PERSONS WITH HUMANITARIAN AID
Amid continuing fighting and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today announced it is launching an initiative aimed at ferrying aid to the country's internally displaced persons (IDPs), as well as other vulnerable citizens trapped by the ongoing hostilities.
The latest figures from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, and the UN's World Health Organization (WHO), paint a stark picture of the reality on the ground for millions of people living in the regions directly affected by the conflict, such as Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, where hundreds of thousands of IDPs remain trapped.
From mid-April to 12 December, at least 4,707 people were killed and 10,322 wounded by fighting. Since the tenuous ceasefire began, at least 1,357 fatalities were recorded. Moreover, the UN has recently reported that since March 2014, more than one million people have been displaced from the conflict-affected areas, including nearly 530,000 people within Ukraine, of who at least 130,000 are children.
Through its latest efforts, which will kick-off in January, UNDP will target the elderly, orphans, pregnant women, families with children and people with disabilities with some 30,000 food packages to supplement the more than 25,000 already distributed to IDPs across the country.
In addition to the food packages, the UN agency announced it would also distribute sets of warm clothing for adults and children as well as sets of bed linen and blankets in an effort to help mitigate the harsh Ukrainian winter.
"Supporting internally displaced persons and early recovery of critical social infrastructure in Eastern Ukraine is a priority for the United Nations Development Programme," Inita Paulovica, Deputy Resident Representative of the UNDP in Ukraine, said in a news release. "Our main task is to ensure that no one is left behind."
In late February 2014, the situation in Ukraine transcended what was initially seen as an internal Ukrainian political crisis into violent clashes in parts of the country, later reaching full- scale conflict in the east. A cease-fire and peace plan for eastern Ukraine was signed in the Belarussian capital of Minsk on 5 September, but remains fragile. The situation has since continuously deteriorated, with serious consequences for the country's unity, territorial integrity and stability.
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MOST INTENSE EBOLA TRANSMISSION IN WEST AFRICA REPORTED IN WESTERN SIERRA LEONE – UN
The number of Ebola cases is fluctuating in Guinea, decreasing in Liberia and showing signs the increase has slowed in Sierra Leone, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today as the UN development agency said it is helping the Liberian Government build border posts to cut the cross-border spread of infection in West Africa.
"Infections in Liberia's Eastern border region have spiked recently as tight-knit cross-border communities spread the disease across the often porous border," the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in a press release, adding that 49 new Ebola cases had been recorded in the border county of Grand Cape Mount in December, including 12 in the past four days.
UNDP Director for Liberia, Kamil Kamaluddeen, was quoted as saying that "the official border crossings from Sierra Leone into Grand Cape Mount are all patrolled, however, there are a number of places where it's possible to cross without detection."
Motorbikes, tents, communications equipment and personal protective equipment will be also be provided for eight border crossings in remote areas bordering Sierra Leone, which will allow immigration as well as health workers to operate at the border, according to the development agency.
The outgoing head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Anthony Banbury, has acknowledged the difficulty in getting response workers to some of the remote areas, but noted the importance being present out in the districts. Mr. Banbury's tour of duty ends on January 3, 2015 and he will be succeeded by Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania as the head of UNMEER.
WHO, in its latest update issued today, said the number of Ebola cases was fluctuating in Guinea and decreasing in Liberia, although Liberia reported more cases in the week ending 28 December than in the previous week.
WHO also said there are signs that the increase in incidence has slowed in Sierra Leone. "However," it noted, "the west of the country is still experiencing the most intense transmission of all affected countries."
To date, Ebola has affected more than 20,000 people with over 7,800 deaths, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
"Interventions in the three countries continue to progress in line with the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response aim to conduct 100% of burials safely and with dignity, and to isolate and treat 100 per cent of EVD [Ebola Virus Disease] cases by 1 January, 2015,"according to WHO.
A total of 678 health-care workers are known to have been infected with Ebola up to the end of 28 December 2014, according to WHO, 382 of whom have died. The total case count includes 2 healthcare workers in Mali, 11 in Nigeria, 1 infected in Spain while treating an Ebola-positive patient, 1 in the United Kingdom who became infected in Sierra Leone, and 3 in the United States including 1 infected in Guinea, and 2 others infected during the care of a patient in Texas.
WHO also reported that the so-called Western Area Surge – an operation by the Government of Sierra Leone, WHO and UN partners – is intensifying efforts to curb the disease in the western parts of the country, particularly Freetown and neighbouring areas, to break chains of transmission, identify cases for early isolation and treatment, and conduct safe burials.
UNMEER said that in support of the Western Area Surge, USAID airlifted two urgently needed ambulances from Monrovia to Freetown, and the World Food Programme (WFP) has taken a series of measures to strengthen the capacities of its forward logistics bases.
The UN Mission also reported that the logistics commission of the National Ebola Response Cell of Guinea has said it needed more than 4,300 thermometers, including the thermo-flash, no-contact variety for medical facilities country-wide, as well as some 5.6 million pairs of surgical gloves for all health facilities.
In Guinea, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) handed over 10 ambulances to national authorities for the fight against Ebola, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) more than $1 million worth of materials, including kits for Ebola survivors and pregnant women, as well as hand washing kits for maternity and youth centres. The donation also included 222 bikes and 36 motorcycles to facilitate contact tracing in affected communities.
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EXPULSION OF UN OFFICIALS WILL CONSTITUTE 'SERIOUS LOSS' FOR SUDAN, WARNS BAN
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his strong opposition to Sudan's decision to expel from the country two senior UN officials, calling on the Government to reconsider the ruling and allow for essential work to be carried out.
"Departure of these key senior United Nations officials would constitute a serious loss for the humanitarian and development community in Sudan at a time when humanitarian needs are growing and the country faces significant development challenges," Mr. Ban said in a note issued to reporters.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC), Ali Al-Za'tari, and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director Yvonne Helle were ordered late last week to leave the Sudan by 2 January.
Since then, the Sudanese Government has agreed to extend the deadline for the RC/HC's departure from 2 January until the end of the month. The UN continues to engage the Government at several levels to obtain a reversal of its decision.
"It is essential that the United Nations can continue to carry out its crucial duties in the country," Mr. Ban said, reiterating UN commitment to a productive and fruitful working relationship with the Government of Sudan for the benefit of its people, on the basis of respect of sovereignty.
To that end, the UN counts on the full cooperation of the Sudanese Government in enabling all UN entities and their leadership to carry out their work.
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THE GAMBIA: UN CHIEF URGES RESPECT FOR RULE OF LAW AMID REPORTS OF COUP ATTEMPT
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reiterated his "principled condemnation" of all attempts to seize power through unconstitutional means following reports of an attempted coup in The Gambia.
Gunfire was heard near the presidential palace in the capital of Banjul on 30 December while President Yahya Jammeh was out of the country, according to press reports.
Mr. Jammeh has since returned and media suggest that the coup attempt has been thwarted with the situation in the city now "calm."
In a statement released today, the Secretary-General's spokesperson said Mr. Ban was "following closely" the developments in the West African country and called for all parties to "exercise restraint and to refrain from further violence."
"Noting the seriousness of any attempt to overthrow governments by force, the Secretary-General encourages the establishment of a transparent investigation into the events of 30 December, in compliance with due process and respect for the rule of law," the statement continued, adding that Mr. Ban urged the Government of The Gambia, and its security and defense forces "to act in full respect for human rights."
In addition, explained the spokesperson, the United Nations would continue to "closely monitor" the situation in the country as developments unfolded and more information became available.
Also today, the Security Council was briefed in a closed-door session on the situation in Gambia.
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'SILENT EMERGENCY' IN SOUTH SUDAN AS PROTRACTED CONFLICT DISPLACES MILLIONS OF CATTLE – UN
As South Sudan's livestock owners flee the country's conflict, a "silent emergency" has emerged threatening the very fabric of society and further undermining social stability, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today as it announced a scale-up in its livestock interventions in the embattled nation.
The ongoing fighting has caused the displacement of millions of animals, leading to fresh outbreaks of disease and rising tensions between pastoral groups and farmers, as well as within different pastoralist communities.
"From the earliest days of the crisis, FAO has done its utmost to draw attention to the silent emergency that these unusual livestock migrations represent," Sue Lautze, FAO Representative to South Sudan said in a statement to the press.
Both herders and farmers face a rising threat of armed conflict, the FAO warned. Farmers have cut the amount of land they are planting by as much as 40 per cent in areas such as Renk County, and the prices of basic staple foods are as much as four times higher in the most conflict-affected areas.
The Organization along with its partners is leading efforts to combat disease outbreaks and maintain the animal health care system. In recent months, teams of FAO livestock experts have traversed South Sudan, conducting dozens of assessments, disease investigations and monitoring missions.
The Organization is also boosting its operations in the country by expanding the community-based animal health network and vaccination programme, deploying staff to lead and support disease surveillance efforts, and helping to re-establish local laboratories for livestock disease diagnosis.
For 2015, FAO is seeking $89 million to improve the food security of 2.35 million vulnerable people in South Sudan while further expanding its development efforts.
Working with host communities and pastoralists, FAO's teams have flagged worrying new animal disease patterns, intensifying violence over access to land for grazing and worsening livestock conditions.
As animals have been moved, diseases have spread to previously uninfected areas. Diseases like East Coast Fever, foot-and-mouth disease and trypanosomiasis devastate cattle production and threaten the food security and livelihoods of pastoral communities across the country.
FAO also announced today that it is implementing a new milk voucher scheme for nutritionally at risk families. Declines in milk production and the loss of cattle to disease increase the risk of malnutrition, particularly among children and pregnant and breastfeeding women who rely on milk as an essential part of their diet. For most herders, the loss of cattle means the loss of their entire livelihood.
In 2014, FAO's humanitarian programme in the country reached over 2.8 million people through a combination of crop production, fisheries and animal health interventions, including vaccinating over 1.6 million animals.
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UN REQUESTS APPOINTMENT OF PANEL TO PROBE NEW INFORMATION ON DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD DEATH
The United Nations General Assembly approved by consensus a resolution that requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to appoint an independent panel of experts to examine new information that has emerged on the death of former UN chief Dag Hammarskjöld.
The independent panel is also requested to "assess the probative value" of that information, after the Secretary-General submitted a note that included his assessment that the report of the Commission of Jurists on the Inquiry into Mr. Hammarskjöld's death includes new evidence.
Member States are encouraged to release any relevant records in their possession and to provide relevant information related to the death of Mr. Hammarskjöld and others on accompanying him on an aircraft that crashed in what is today Zambia on the night of 17-18 September 1961.
A UN Commission of Inquiry held between 1961 and 1962 reached an open verdict on the cause of the crash in which all the plane's passengers and crew died and the General Assembly passed resolution 1759 in 1962 requesting the Secretary-General to inform the Assembly of "any new evidence which may come to his attention."
The Secretary-General is requested to report to the General Assembly during its upcoming 70th session on progress made.
In a mid-March note to the 193-member Assembly, Mr. Ban informed Member States that the Inquiry into Mr. Hammarskjöld's death (known informally as the "Hammarskjöld Commission") had uncovered "new evidence…relating to the conditions and circumstances" relating to the former Secretary-General's death.
"The unparalleled service and sacrifice of Dag Hammarskjöld and his legacy within the United Nations and beyond compel us to seek the whole truth of the circumstances leading to his tragic death and that of the members of the party accompanying him," said Mr. Ban in the note.
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UN INVESTIGATES CIVILIAN OBSTRUCTION OF PEACEKEEPERS IN SOUTHERN LEBANON
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has reported that a patrol of peacekeepers was obstructed on Tuesday afternoon by a group of civilians who used motor vehicles to block a road near the village of Ramyah.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told a news conference in New York that a backup UNIFIL unit responding to the roadblock was prevented from reaching the first patrol by another group of civilians who also blocked the road.
"During the standoff, the civilians, some of whom were carrying knives and small firearms, were aggressive towards the peacekeepers and tried to forcibly enter UNIFIL vehicles and snatch equipment," Mr. Dujarric said.
"This prompted the UNIFIL troops to undertake a controlled response by firing a warning shot in the air, after which the crowd dispersed. There were no injuries or damage to property reported."
An investigation into the incident is underway, headed by the UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces, to ascertain the facts and circumstances.
"The situation in the area of operations is calm," said Mr. Dujarric. "UNIFIL condemns this aggressive conduct of some civilians towards peacekeepers, which is contrary to the spirit of UNIFIL's relationship with the people of south Lebanon."
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