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UN Daily News
Issue DH/6759
Thursday, 16 October 2014
In the headlines:
• Funding gap looms amid efforts to tackle ‘twin
• DR Congo: head of UN mission condemns deadly
• Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and
• On World Food Day, UN lauds role of family
• UN chief stresses need for urgent global action as
• Somalia: UN condemns second deadly terrorist
plagues’ Ebola, ISIL, warns UN rights chief
Venezuela elected to serve on UN Security Council
Ebola continues deadly rampage
•
Ban deplores attacks on UN peacekeepers amid
simmering tensions in Darfur region
• Madagascar: Ban urges respect of democratic
institutions as former president returns
rebel attacks in eastern territory
farmers in ending global hunger
attack in less than a week
• UN envoy calls for funding backed by government
action, peace successes in troubled Sahel
• On regional tour, UN envoy for Syria calls for
political stability in Lebanon
Funding gap looms amid efforts to tackle ‘twin plagues’ Ebola,
ISIL, warns UN rights chief
16 October - Combating the “twin plagues” of Ebola and the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL), while addressing the largest number of forcibly displaced people since
World War II amid budget cuts is like “being asked to use a boat and bucket to cope with a
flood”, the United Nations’ new human rights chief told journalists in Geneva today.
High Commissioner for Human Rights
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein briefs journalists
during a press conference in Geneva. UN
Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré
In his first briefing to the press since taking up the four-year post on 1 September, UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he was “shocked” that just six
weeks into his job, he already had to look at making cuts and “battle” to find resources.
“Our operations are stretched to breaking point in a world that seems to be lurching from
crisis to ever more dangerous crisis,” he said, warning that when the UN Human Rights
Office (OHCHR) “cannot afford to put people on the ground – to monitor, to report, to train, to advocate – the cost may be
high.”
“The twin plagues of Ebola and ISIL both fomented quietly, neglected by a world that knew they existed but misread their
terrible potential,” Mr. Zeid said.
“Human rights are not an airy ideal,” he stressed, adding that underestimating the critical importance of human rights is
what plays in creating crises in the first place.
The global response to Ebola must therefore be focused on the right to health, to education, to sanitation, to development
and to good governance. Only a response that is built on respect for human rights will be successful in crushing the
epidemic.
We must also beware of “us” and “them”, a mentality that locks people into rigid identity groups and reduces all Africans –
or all West Africans, or some smaller, national or local group – to a stereotype, Mr. Zeid said. It is wrong to dehumanise and
For information media not an official record
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16 October 2014
stigmatise people.
OHCHR is currently drawing up guidelines on quarantine, because, if imposed and enforced injudiciously, quarantine can
very easily violate a wide range of human rights.
Turning to what he called, “the antithesis of human rights”, Mr. Zeid said ISIL – or, as he referred to it, the Taqfiri group
called “Daech” in Arabic – believes “justice is to commit murder”. It spares no one. Not women, not children, nor the
elderly, the sick or the wounded. No religion is safe, no ethnic group.
“The way [ISIL] has spread its tentacles into other countries, employing social media and the internet to brainwash and
recruit people from across the globe, reveals it is to be the product of a perverse and lethal marriage of a new form of
nihilism with the digital age,” said the High Commissioner.
As ISIL and Ebola gain ground, it is “deplorable” that the UN office responsible for human rights cannot fulfil the dozens of
pending requests for human rights advisors and only receives around 3 per cent of the UN regular budget. The UN human
rights office (OHCHR) is at least $25 million short of its needs this year, Mr. Zeid said.
“We are asking for less than the amount Americans are forecast to spend on costumes for their pets at Halloween in a few
days, time – and that includes my family who live in New York,” the High Commissioner added.
Prior to 2013, it was unusual for there to be even two “mandated tasks” OHCHR was providing support to. But now, there
are “no fewer than six of these under way”, including support missions for the Human Rights Council and an increasing
number of fact-finding missions requested by the Security Council.
“In other words, the Office is stretched to its limit,” Mr. Zeid said, adding that some desk officers are obliged to cover seven
or eight countries and to support multiple independent human rights experts and committees.
“We are already sparing back everything we can, and services are starting to suffer. States come to us asking for technical
assistance programs, but is becoming increasingly likely that we will turn them down,” he said.
These include programmes to help vet security and police personnel and train them to respect human rights and refrain from
torture.
The Office is, however, investigating alleged human rights violations and abuses in Iraq, Mr. Zeid said, reiterating his call to
the Government to consider acceding to the Rome Statute to accept the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
We intend to issue another update count of reported deaths in Syria before the end of the year, he added. As it stands now,
over 200,000 deaths have been reported since March 2011.
The High-Commissioner also expressed concern over continuing conflict in Yemen, Libya, and recently in Gaza, and the
myriad human rights issues in Bahrain and Egypt.
In Africa, conflicts and violations, including sexual violence continue in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Sudan,
Somalia, Nigeria and Mali, worsening the already chronic poverty.
In Asia, he said that the “appalling and protracted” human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(DPRK) is on international radar thanks to the efforts of the International Commission of Inquiry, established by his
predecessor Ms. Navi Pillay.
He also spotlighted the perils faced by migrants in the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and the Americas, many of whom
continue to die in their desperate efforts to find a better, more dignified life.
Meanwhile, there is an alarming increase in the number of major political parties in European and other industrialised
countries proposing, and on occasion implementing, regressive and even abusive migration and xenophobic policies.
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Mr. Zeid concluded his first press conference on a positive note however, saying: “Notwithstanding everything I have just
said…it seems to me that the broad trajectory of humanity is a positive one and that in an increasing number of communities
and countries, all human beings are seen as fully equal in dignity”.
Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela elected to
serve on UN Security Council
16 October - In three rounds of voting the United Nations General Assembly today elected
Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela to serve as non-permanent members
on the Security Council for two-year terms beginning on 1 January 2015.
The new members will serve on the Council until 31 December 2016.
Conference officers collect ballots from
delegations during the elections. UN
Photo/Mark Garten
Angola Malaysia, Venezuela and New Zealand were elected in the first vote. The Assembly
then held two rounds of restricted balloting to elect Spain to fill the remaining seat on the
Council open to the Western European and Other States Group. Turkey was the other
contender for that seat.
The five overall seats available for election in 2014, distributed regionally, were: one seat for the African Group (currently
held by Rwanda); one seat for the Group of Asia- Pacific Group (currently held by the Republic of Korea); one seat for the
Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, (currently held by Argentina); and two seats for the Western European and
Others Group (currently held by Australia and Luxembourg).
Lithuania will maintain for another year, the seat for the Eastern European Group.
The five permanent Council members, which each wield the power of veto, are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom
and the United States. Along with Lithuania, the non-permanent members that will remain on the Council until the end of
2015 are Chad, Chile, Jordan, and Nigeria.
Under the UN Charter, the Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and
security. Each of the Council’s members has one vote. Under the Charter, all UN Member States are obligated to comply
with Council decisions.
The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon
the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some
cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore
international peace and security.
The Security Council also recommends to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and the
admission of new Members to the United Nations. And, together with the General Assembly, it elects the judges of the
International Court of Justice.
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UN chief stresses need for urgent global action as Ebola
continues deadly rampage
16 October - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on the international community
to step up its efforts to respond to the Ebola crisis and turn pledges into action, while the
United Nations health agency warned of continuously deteriorating situation in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“Ebola is a huge and urgent global problem that demands a huge and urgent global
response,” Mr. Ban told reporters in New York. “The people and governments of West
Africa are demonstrating significant resilience, but they have asked for our help.
“Dozens of countries are showing their solidarity. But we need to turn pledges into action.
We need more doctors, nurses, equipment, treatment centres and medevac capacities.”
WFP food convoy delivers assistance
across Sierra Leone to various districts
(September 2014). Photo: WFP/Gon
Myers
The Secretary-General appealed to the international community to provide the $1 billion that will enable the UN and
partners to “get ahead of the curve” and meet the target of reducing the rate of transmission by 1 December.
Mr. Ban’s call to action echoes the stark warning issued to the Security Council last week by Anthony Banbury, head of the
UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), who said the world must move quickly to ensure that at least 70
per cent of all people infected with Ebola are getting treatment by 1 December, and that 70 per cent of all burials occur
without contamination by that date. Failing to reach those targets would mean “we fail entirely. With each passing day…the
number of people infected grows exponentially,” he said.
The latest figures from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) indicate a total of 8,997 cases in seven countries
[Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain and United States] and 4,493 deaths. The disease has taken its toll
on healthcare workers, with 427 infected and 236 dead.
Mr. Ban saluted the courage of the medical and support personnel working on the front-lines to respond to the crisis, and
offered condolences to the family of Sudanese national AbdelFadeel Mohammed Basheer, a lab technician who was the
second person from the UN Mission in Liberia to succumb to the disease.
In addition to the recent establishment of UNMEER to coordinate and scale up action, Mr. Ban said he has formed a Global
Ebola Response Coalition.
“Ebola can be beaten if we work together effectively. We all have a responsibility to act,” he stressed.
WHO is warning of a continuously deteriorating situation in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – the three most affected
countries.
“Our data shows that cases are doubling every four weeks. The disease is still widespread in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra
Leone and there is persistent transmission of the virus,” Dr. Isabelle Nuttall, WHO Director for Global Capacities, Alert and
Response, told a news conference in Geneva.
An increase in new cases in Guinea is being driven by a spike in cases in the capital, Conakry, and the nearby district of
Coyah. In Liberia, there is almost certainly significant under-reporting of cases from the capital, Monrovia, while in Sierra
Leone, intense transmission is still occurring in the capital city of Freetown and its surroundings.
The total number of operational laboratories in the three countries will increase in the coming weeks, as a Russian Mobile
Laboratory becomes operational in Guinea, and a Public Health England laboratory begins to provide diagnostic testing in
the Western Rural area of Sierra Leone.
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16 October 2014
Dr. Nuttall added that the number of cases is expected to top 9,000 this week and the number of deaths will hit 4,500.
Also today, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) warned that Ebola is wiping out gains in safe motherhood made in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone.
“The reality is that pregnant women are facing a double threat – dying from Ebola and from pregnancy or childbirth, due to
the devastating impact of Ebola on health workers and health systems,” said UNFPA Executive Director, Babatunde
Osotimehin. “Ebola is not only killing those infected, but also those affected. Pregnant women and girls are at greater risk.”
An estimated 800,000 women in these three countries should give birth in the next 12 months. All will require antenatal,
delivery and postnatal care and related emergency obstetric support, the agency stated in a news release.
But many pregnant women are afraid to visit or turned away from overstretched health facilities. Of these women, more than
120,000 could die of complications of pregnancy and childbirth, if the required life-saving emergency obstetric care is not
urgently provided.
“The situation for pregnant women in Ebola crisis countries is devastating. Gains in maternal health and family planning are
being wiped out and women are desperate for information and services to protect their health and that of their babies,” said
Dr. Osotimehin.
He called for urgent funding to meet the reproductive health needs of women and mothers in the three countries, adding that
UNFPA needs $64.5 million for this effort in the next three months
Ban deplores attacks on UN peacekeepers amid simmering
tensions in Darfur region
16 October - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned
today's deadly attack against the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur, known by
the acronym UNAMID, which claimed the lives of three peacekeepers.
According to reports, the UNAMID “blue helmets” were attacked as they guarded a water
borehole near Korma in North Darfur. Two Ethiopian peacekeepers were killed instantly
while a third, who was wounded, later succumbed to his injuries.
UNAMID troops on patrol in North
Darfur. Photo: UNAMID/Albert
Gonzalez Farran (File Photo)
“Attacks on UN peacekeepers are unacceptable and constitute a serious violation of
international law,” warned Mr. Ban in a statement, released by his spokesperson.
Established by the Security Council in 2007, UNAMID has the protection of civilians as its core mandate, but is also tasked
with contributing to security for humanitarian assistance, monitoring and verifying implementation of agreements, and
assisting an inclusive political process aimed at ending the conflict that erupted in the Darfur region of Sudan over 10 years
ago.
It is also tasked with contributing to the promotion of human rights and the rule of law, and monitoring and reporting on the
situation along the borders with Chad and the Central African Republic.
The UN estimates that some 385,000 people have been displaced by the conflict between the Government of Sudan and
armed movements in Darfur since the start of 2014. The world body has repeatedly called on all sides to join negotiations
aimed at achieving a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive peace for the people of Darfur, which has witnessed fighting
since 2003.
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16 October 2014
Madagascar: Ban urges respect of democratic institutions as
former president returns
16 October - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today rejected remarks made
by former President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, challenging the legitimacy of his
country's democratic institutions.
In a statement delivered by UN spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, the Secretary-General
noted the former President's 13 October return to Madagascar from South Africa, where he
had been living since 2009, and stressed the “imperative of respecting the legitimacy of the
democratically-elected Government and the rule of law.”
In a press conference upon his return to his native country, Mr. Ravalomanana had, in fact,
called into question the institutions born of Madagascar's recent elections.
A walk organized by women in
Madagascar for peace and democracy.
Photo: UNDP Madagascar
Mr. Ravalomanana's exile was prompted by a long-standing feud with his political rival, former President Andry Rajoelina,
resulting in a 2009 coup which ended with Mr. Ravalomanana's ouster.
In 2011, the Indian Ocean nation's political parties signed a political roadmap in an agreement brokered by mediators from
the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and which allowed for Mr. Ravalomanana's eventual unconditional
return from exile.
A previous power-sharing deal reached by Madagascar's main political groups in late 2009 foundered before it could be
implemented.
In his statement, the Secretary-General called on all political actors and stakeholders “to continue working together towards
an inclusive national reconciliation process, the full implementation of the SADC [Southern African Development
Community] Roadmap, the deepening of democratic governance and economic recovery for the good of all Malagasies.”
DR Congo: head of UN mission condemns deadly rebel attacks
in eastern territory
16 October - The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
today condemned a recent upsurge in deadly attacks in the eastern territories linked to the
Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group.
“I strongly condemn the criminal attacks perpetrated during the night of 15 October in the
Ngadi and Kadou localities near the town of Beni in the North-Kivu Province,” the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General in the DRC, Martin Kobler, said in a statement.
A MONUSCO APC is greeted by FARDC
soldiers on their way back from the front
line in the Beni region of the DRC where
the UN is backing the FARDC in an
operation against ADF militia. Photo:
MONUSCO/Sylvain Liechti
At least 20 people were slain in “this extremely violent attack,” according to the UN
peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, which Mr. Kobler heads.
The attack comes a week after several civilians were killed in Oicha, another town in NordKivu.
The senior UN official today reaffirmed full support of MONUSCO to the local and national authorities in their efforts to
neutralize ADF and other armed groups in the eastern part of the country.
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The ongoing Operation Sokola 1, which MONUSCO is supporting, aims to neutralize the ADF and its leaders, release
remaining hostages and completely restore State authority in the affected areas.
“Despite the shared frustration, I invite all of us to combine our efforts in order to neutralize all armed groups,” Mr. Kobler
said.
He has extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
On World Food Day, UN lauds role of family farmers in ending
global hunger
16 October - With over 800 million people worldwide still lacking access to healthy,
nutritious food, family farmers must play an increasingly vital role in the global war on
hunger, United Nations officials affirmed today, adding that the strong participation of the
world’s family farmers can help “turn the tide” in shaping a new agenda for a sustainable
future.
“Family farmers are key to unlocking global progress,” declared Secretary-General Ban Kimoon today in his message marking the annual observance of World Food Day.
“They run the vast majority of farms in the world. They preserve natural resources and
agro-biodiversity. They are the cornerstone of inclusive and sustainable agriculture and
food systems.”
A farmer at work in a dragon fruit field
in Viet Nam (July 2013). Photo:
FAO/Hoang Dinh Nam | See more photos
The theme of this year’s Day, which is celebrated on 16 October in honour of the date of the founding of the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, is Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the Earth, and has the stated goal
of drawing attention to the world’s 500 million smallholder farmers in an effort to help eradicate poverty and help safeguard
the environment.
This year’s World Day also coincides with the International Year of Family Farming, designated by the UN General
Assembly in 2012, through a resolution that recognized the important contribution that family farming and smallholder
farming can play “in providing food security and eradicating poverty in the attainment of the internationally agreed
development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
For its part, FAO notes that other objectives of the World Day include encouraging attention to agricultural food production
and stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end; encouraging economic and technical
cooperation among developing countries; encouraging participation of rural people, particularly women and the least
privileged categories; promoting the transfer of technologies to the developing world; and strengthening international and
national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
Amid continuing global efforts targeting the goal of “zero hunger,” the Secretary-General observed in his message that there
are 100 million fewer hungry people today than there were 10 years ago while 63 countries have managed to halve the
portion of their population suffering from undernourishment.
Moreover, he pointed to the recent Climate Summit, held in New York ahead of the UN General Debate, during which more
than a hundred organizations and governments pledged to work more closely with farmers, fishers and livestock keepers to
improve food security while also focussing on addressing climate change.
But, Mr. Ban cautioned, much work remained to be done.
“More than 800 million people do not have enough healthy, nutritious food to lead active lives. One in three young children
is malnourished,” he warned, adding that in 2015, the international community finally had an opportunity to “turn the tide by
achieving the Millennium Development Goals” and achieving a new agenda for sustainable development.
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“A world free from poverty and hunger where all people have realized their right to adequate food, is central to the future
we want,” he said.
Adding their voices to the tributes for family farmers, three top UN officials for food security and agriculture-related issues
also underscored the importance of smallholder farms in reducing global hunger while stressing the need for Member States
to do more to empower them.
Writing in the introduction to the FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture 2014 report, released today, FAO Director-General,
José Graziano da Silva, pointed out that 90 per cent of the planet’s 570 million farms are managed by families making them
“vital to the solution of the hunger problem.”
Within its pages, the new report notes that small family farms are particularly pressed to innovate in order to meet the
world’s needs for food security and environmental sustainability, as well as promote their own productivity growth and
livestock diversification to lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. As a result, the report calls for the public sector to
work with farmers, civil society organizations and the private sector to improve innovation systems for agriculture.
“Family farmers need to be protagonists of innovation as only this way can they take ownership of the process and ensure
that the solutions offered respond to their needs,” said Mr. Graziano da Silva, who also shared his message in his opening
remarks for the annual World Food Day ceremony held today at FAO Headquarters in Rome.
Also speaking at the ceremony, UN World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, joined Mr.
Graziano da Silva in lauding family farms as the “fulcrum on which our future food security pivots.” She added, however,
that efforts to ensure food security must also go hand-in-hand with addressing gender inequity.
“Ending gender inequity is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” Ms. Cousin told those gathered, noting
that unequal access to agricultural inputs widely affected women, forcing them to “work harder and longer for less.”
Michel Mordasini, Vice President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), meanwhile, called on the
international community to reinvigorate all efforts towards the MDGs and “avail of 440 days to achieve the MDG target of
halving the percentage of undernourished people.”
“To succeed,” Mr. Mordasini stated, “let us support more actively the world’s small family farmers.”
At the same time, in a statement urging Member States to show “a more meaningful commitment” to the development of
policies benefitting small, family farms, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, emphasized that protecting
the rights of family farmers was “paramount to the eradication of hunger and ensuring food security.”
“With over 70 per cent of the world’s food production reliant on family farmers, this type of farming represents the vast
majority of agriculture worldwide, both in developed and developing countries,” Ms. Elver said.
“Family farming is based on tradition, and forms the social fabric of many societies playing a key role in protecting the
world’s biodiversity and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.”
The UN expert also underlined the crucial role played by women in agricultural development, noting that some 43 per cent
of the agricultural labour force in developing countries is female. Ms. Elver insisted that “every effort” be made by Member
States to ensure that women in agriculture are afforded “the same rights and access to necessary resources as their male
counterparts.”
The majority of rural women depend on natural resources for their livelihoods. They produce, process and prepare many of
society’s meals, frequently taking primary responsibility for household food security, health status and education
opportunities. As a result, a number of UN initiatives are geared towards enhancing their ability to work on farms and
fisheries in a way that guarantees parity.
In China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, for instance, UN Women helped educate scores of women farmers about how
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16 October 2014
to advanced irrigation systems while in Zimbabwe, the agency helped women from the Tonga ethnic group break into the
male-dominated fishing industry. Instead of selling fish purchased from men’s boats, they now market their own catch.
Somalia: UN condemns second deadly terrorist attack in less
than a week
16 October - The top United Nations official in Somalia today condemned the latest
terrorist attack to hit the African country's capital city of Mogadishu leaving a number of
people dead and many more injured.
According to initial reports, a car bomb – the second in less than a week – detonated
outside a popular restaurant in Mogadishu on the evening of 15 October killing at least 5
people.
Special Representative Nicholas Kay.
Photo: AU/UN/IST/Tobin Jones
In a statement, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia, Nicholas Kay,
strongly condemned the attack and urged a quick response to bring the perpetrators to
justice “swiftly.”
“I am appalled by the complete disregard for the lives of ordinary Somalis, including children and passers-by,” Mr. Kay
said.
“Such crimes violate the most basic principles of humanity.”
On 13 October, another attack left an estimated 13 people dead raising concerns about the impact such terrorist acts might
have on the country's tenuous peace.
Although Somalia has long been torn by factional fighting and the spread of militant religious fanaticism in the guise of AlShabaab, recent military gains against the terrorist group have permitted the Federal Government of Somalia, with the
assistance of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), to pursue a peace and state building agenda and to
strengthen the country's security sector, promote respect for human rights and women's empowerment and assist in the
coordination of international assistance.
“The United Nations remains determined in our support for the Somali people as they work to realise their hope for a
peaceful and stable future,” added Mr. Kay.
UN envoy calls for funding backed by government action, peace
successes in troubled Sahel
16 October - The African Sahel region needs more resources, more joint action and faster
ways to deal with the structural challenges, like climate change, and successes on peace
processes in Darfur, northern Mali and Libya, a senior United Nations humanitarian today
said.
Robert Piper, the UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, told journalists in
New York that the world body remains “very, very concerned” about the region, which
stretches from Mauritania to Eritrea, including Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal and Sudan.
UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator
for the Sahel, Robert Piper, briefs
journalists. At left is Stéphane Dujarric,
spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
“Food and security continue to major issues,” Mr. Piper said in a press conference.
About 25 million people in the Sahel are estimated to be food insecure, with a “real deterioration” from January to July of
this year as people’s stocks dwindled ahead of the rainy season. During that time frame, 4 million people crossed the UN’s
emergency threshold.
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Children are particularly vulnerable, the senior UN official noted, with some 6.4 million severely or acutely malnourished.
In addition, the UN and its partners are monitoring the region for epidemic risks that range from yellow fever to cholera, and
also now include the Ebola virus which is “in the neighbourhood.”
“This is what we call the chronic emergency caseload – the food insecure, the acutely malnourished, people at risk for
epidemic,” said Mr. Piper, noting that the group includes up to 30 million people in the region.
In February, the UN and its global humanitarian partners today appealed for $2 billion for the region. As of today, a bit over
half of that amount has been funded.
“Humanitarian aid can buy time… but the trend is very discouraging,” Mr. Piper said. “Ten years ago, we were managing a
$200 million a year hum response, today we are seeking $2 billion.”
While the figures tell a “terrible story of suffering” the needs are “enormous, unsustainable” and driven by structural needs
as a result of demographic growth, climate change, and access to basic services.
“Nothing can substitute for governments putting in place the right policies,” Mr. Piper said.
In addition, the region is fraught with violence and insecurity, which has created protracted internal displacement. Internally
displaced persons, combined with refugees and returnees to the region, have pushed population growth in the region in this
year alone from 1.6 million to 3.3 million.
“The big numbers are coming from Nigeria, but also from the Central African Republic (CAR),” Mr. Piper said, noting also
the situation in the northern Mali where 31 UN peacekeepers and at least two non-governmental workers have been killed
this year.
On regional tour, UN envoy for Syria calls for political stability
in Lebanon
16 October - Lebanon’s political environment should stabilize to face the threat from the
terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and ahead of what will be a “very
crucial period” in the political process in Syria, a senior United Nations official today said
during a visit to the region.
Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de
Mistura. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré
“We are still in the process of understanding what has changed in the region in terms of
some perception of how to address in a political format, through a political process, the
conflict in Syria,” the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said
following his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam.
He is also due to meet with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and other Lebanese stakeholders.
The Special Envoy arrived to Lebanon as part of his second tour of a visit to the region to “acquire more information and
also more ideas.”
He noted the international community’s concern with the “heavy price” that Lebanon is paying in terms of Syrian refugees it
is hosting, expected to number around 1.5 million by the end of the year, as well as the proximity to the conflicts in Syria
and Iraq.
“We also see with concern what has been happening just recently, just on the border,” Mr. de Mistura said in reference to
attacks against the Lebanese Hizbollah movement.
“The Lebanese political environment should be stabilizing the sooner and the better because the stronger Lebanon is the
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16 October 2014
easier it will be to face what I think is going to be a very crucial period but hopefully with some type or form of political
process in Syria,” Mr. de Mistura said.
The UN helped to bring Lebanon’s civil war to a close in the early 1990s, but the focus has since shifted to the conflict
between Israel and Hizbollah, and internal power struggles.
The Special Envoy plans to travel next to Tehran, Iran, and then Turkey and Russia, as well as other countries in the Middle
East.
The conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has led to well over 150,000 deaths, and more than 680,000 people have
been injured. At least 10.8 million people are in need of assistance inside Syria, including at least 6.5 million who are
internally displaced.
The conflict has also spawned a refugee crisis in which some 2.5 million people are being sheltered in Lebanon and other
neighbouring countries. In Lebanon, roughly one out of every four people is a Syrian refugee, the UN estimates.
The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section
of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)