ISIL: Iraq UN envoy sees inclusive political process as critical to resolving crisis

As Iraq struggles to deal with the increasing security threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as well as with dire financial and humanitarian conditions, the United Nations envoy to the country has cited an inclusive political process as vital to finding comprehensive solutions. In an interview with UN Radio, Nickolay Mladenov, head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), said that there is “general agreement,” not just in the UN but in Iraq as well, that the security element of dealing with ISIL is one part of the solution, but is not the comprehensive solution to the problems facing the country. “What also needs to happen is a political process, and a political process that allows for the various communities of Iraq to come back together,” Mr. Mladenov stressed. “The last decade has seen a lot of violence that has been driven by divisive politics, that [in turn] has been driven by the communities looking more inwardly rather than working together, and it is time now to address that,” he added. Indeed, he said, the new Government in Iraq is inclusive of all the political parties, and is embarking on an agenda of addressing some of the long-standing grievances that exist within Iraqi society, including those related to poverty, security, participation in decision-making and revenue-sharing. As such, the UN is working “intensely” with the Government of Iraq, as well as with Kurdish authorities and with various groups on the ground to find where agreement can be reached on security, political and social solutions, and, ultimately, pushing for those agreements to be implemented, Mr. Mladenov said. “Our role really in this process – what I think is fundamentally the role of the United Nations around the world – is to bring people together, to facilitate dialogue, and to come up with proposals for solutions that could work on the ground, and to help implement them,” he said. Asked how he would evaluate the current political process in Iraq, Mr. Mladenov said there is “definite change,” but stressed that such change takes time. “We have to acknowledge that in an environment in which the country is struggling with a life-threatening threat, which is ISIL, with a very difficult financial situation because of the falling oil prices and lack of an approved budget by Parliament, all of these changes will take time,” he said in the interview. An encouraging sign, which occurred in the past few days, has been the agreement reached with the Kurdish authorities in the North of the country to allow the resumption of payments from the federal budget, allowing people to receive their salaries, the envoy said. In addition, the resumption of the Kurdistan Regional Government providing oil to the federal Government for export is another positive occurrence, as this helps the Iraqi budget as well, he noted. In response to a question about the humanitarian situation in the country, Mr. Mladenov emphasized the urgent challenge of providing shelter, food and fuel to up to 2 million people who have been displaced in Iraq. In that regard, he noted the Iraqi Government’s decision to increase assistance to the internally displaced people by coming forward with quotas for heating oil. Lamenting the lack of financial support as the winter approaches, Mr. Mladenov said the $500 million donation from the Government of Saudi Arabia is running out. Mobilizing international support for dealing with the internally displaced is a continuing priority, he said, as is continuing the difficult task of attempting to reach people in ISIL-controlled areas. Asked about the major challenges in Iraq going forward, he said that among them is restoring security to Baghdad and restoring control in the areas that have been taken over by ISIL; dealing with the financial crisis in the country; and advancing the political process and the policies of inclusivity that the Government of Iraq is now putting forward. “That is the long-term guarantee – that’s the insurance policy for any security deterioration in Iraq in the future,” he concluded.

IRAQ: ‘Time is growing short,’ UN warns as it boosts delivery of winter kits to displaced in Iraq

United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is stepping up its efforts in Iraq to deliver winter aid to people displaced by this year’s conflict including Thursday with the landing in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region the first in a series of flights carrying supplies aimed at mitigating the impact of the harsh months ahead. The first of seven planned flights from Pakistan touched down at Erbil International Airport at just before midnight local time on Thursday, carrying 3,600 tent insulation kits, which include polystyrene flooring and fibre insulation for tent walls intended to keep refugees in camps warm. “Time is growing short,” UNHCR Regional Director Amin Awad warned today. “With temperatures now dropping across Iraq, we must get this essential support to the most vulnerable Iraqi displaced immediately.” Latest figures now indicate that around 2 million Iraqis have been displaced since January. More than 60,000 people are now living in eight tented camps, and new camps are being constructed to house more than 300,000 others. Currently, as many as 700,000 people are living in unfinished or abandoned buildings, schools, religious centres, and even in parks. Six more cargo flights are scheduled to arrive before 12 December, bringing a total of 25,000 insulation kits to Iraq from Lahore, where a major producer is located. While UNHCR, Iraq’s Government in Baghdad, the regional government in Kurdistan, and aid partners are working to provide safe and warm shelter to all in need, challenges loom ahead. “The needs vastly outstrip current resources. All of us in the humanitarian community remain deeply concerned that we will not be able to fully support all those in need this winter,” Mr. Awad said. UNHCR needs 15,000 more insulation kits to reach a target of 40,000 families. And the needs go far beyond tent insulation, to plastic sheeting, cooking kits, warm clothing, camp drainage systems, water proofing and stoves for heating. Funding constraints are also a major challenge. UNHCR has received less than half of the more than 110 million dollars it is seeking for winterization.

ISRAEL & PALESTINE: UN-backed reconstruction efforts set to kick-off for war ravaged Gaza

The next phase in reconstruction efforts for war-ravaged Gaza is slated to begin as early as next week following an updated “understanding” between Israeli and Palestinian stakeholders, the United Nations special envoy in the region has announced. In a statement released today, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, hailed what called a “further understanding” to the trilateral agreement between Israel, the Palestinian Government of National Consensus, and the UN, permitting some 25,000 home owners in Gaza to access building materials for the repair of their homes damaged in the recent 51-day conflict there. “They will be able to procure the materials to repair or rebuild their properties in the same locations where they were located prior to the conflict,” Mr. Serry explained in his statement, adding that special precautions are also being implemented to avoid any misuse of the UN-backed reconstruction mechanism or diversion of materials for belligerent purposes. “Materials procured under the mechanism may only be used for their intended purpose,” he continued. “The United Nations will undertake spot checks to monitor compliance.” According to a recent UN assessment, as it stands now, over 100,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, affecting more than 600,000 people. Many people still lack access to the municipal water network. Blackouts of up to 18 hours per day are common. In addition, the violence killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, including more than 500 children, and more than 70 Israelis. Mr. Serry emphasized the UN’s commitment to assisting the Palestinian Government of National Consensus in its reconstruction efforts through direct financial support to homeowners in need. But, he added, existing resources were largely insufficient, particularly as pledges made at last month’s Cairo International Conference and amounting to about $2.1 billion were slow to arrive. “The Special Coordinator calls on all parties concerned to lend their full support to enable the mechanism to operate at the required scale in the interests of the affected population in Gaza,” the statement said.

AFRICA: Ebola cases no longer rising in Guinea, Liberia, UN health agency reports

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the number of Ebola cases is “no longer increasing nationally in Guinea and Liberia, but is still increasing in Sierra Leone”, and that preparedness teams have been sent this week to Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal. Earlier today, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper, had appealed for funding for Ebola preparedness in the swath of Africa consisting of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal making up one of the poorest regions in the world. WHO, in its most recent update, said the evolving Ebola outbreak “highlights the considerable risk of cases being imported into unaffected countries.” “With adequate levels of preparation, however, such introductions of the disease can be contained before they develop into large outbreaks,” it said. WHO attributed the success of Nigeria and Senegal in halting Ebola transmission to “strong political leadership, early detection and response, public awareness campaigns, and strong support from partner organizations.” The United Nations and its partners are accelerating the deployment of preparedness strengthening teams to help countries build upon their existing work and planning, and this week, teams have been deployed to Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal, it said. Meanwhile in Mali today, the head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Anthony Banbury, explored ways to support the Government not only in its efforts to end the current crisis, but to put in place the necessary capacity to react quickly should there be any new cases in the future. There have been 6 reported cases of Ebola with 5 deaths in Mali to date. Mr. Banbury met President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and the Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Ousmane Koné, and praised their leadership in managing the crisis, including through the appointment of a national coordinator, Professor Samba Sow. “A strong national leadership is an absolutely essential component of an effective response to the Ebola crisis,” Mr. Banbury said. “The President is playing that role and the United Nations is committed to supporting him and his government in bringing this crisis to a close.” He also said there are two major differences in the situation in Mali as compared to the other affected countries. “One, there are many, many fewer cases. There's a just a small number now so that there's a chance to end the crisis before it spreads, before it becomes a real crisis the way we've seen it in the other countries. Mr. Banbury said the second difference is that “we have the chance to learn from the lessons of the past, the experiences of the other countries, to take the actions that are necessary now to prevent it from spreading.” And while those might have been “unfortunate experiences” in the other countries, at least UNMEER knows what went wrong. “We know what we need to do to put the crisis to an end, and we have the chance to do that now here in Mali before it spreads so it doesn't kill more people in this country.” The WHO report issued late today in Geneva said 15,145 cases of Ebola virus disease had been reported in six affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain and the United States of America) and two previously affected countries (Nigeria and Senegal) with 5,420 reported deaths. A total of 584 health-care workers are known to have been infected, 329 of whom have died, according to the report. “In the three countries with widespread and intense transmission, reported case incidence is no longer increasing nationally in Guinea and Liberia, but is still increasing in Sierra Leone,” the report said. “The outbreaks in Guinea and Liberia now appear to be driven by intense transmission in several key districts, whereas transmission is intense throughout the north and west of Sierra Leone,” where “the worst affected area remains the capital, Freetown,” it said. The report said the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is the lead agency in social mobilization during this outbreak and that a joint WHO-UNICEF team visited Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to review and assist them with their social mobilization plans. WHO identified the 15 countries that have been prioritized for technical assistance on preparedness from specialist WHO teams and partners: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, and Togo. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49387#.VHDOkDTF9hg NOV 19, 2014

AFRICA: UN rights chief criticizes legal amendment in Gambia targeting homosexuals

The top United Nations human rights official criticized a recent amendment to the criminal code of The Gambia that creates a broad and vague offence of “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by life imprisonment, and expressed alarm at reports of a wave of arbitrary arrests and detention of individuals perceived to be homosexual in the country. The amendment to the criminal code, which was approved by the National Assembly earlier this year and signed into law by the President of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, on 9 October, targets, among others, so-called “serial offenders” – meaning individuals with a previous conviction for homosexuality – as well as persons living with HIV, and consensual same-sex partners of persons with disabilities, all of whom could be imprisoned for life. “This law violates fundamental human rights – among them the right to privacy, to freedom from discrimination and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, in a statement issued by his office in Geneva this morning. “It adds to the stigma and abuses that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people already face in The Gambia,” he stressed. Mr. Zeid said the new law replicates a section of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act denounced by the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Secretary-General and the African Commission Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. “Governments have a duty to protect people from prejudice, not to add to it. Public hostility towards gay and lesbian people can never justify violating their fundamental human rights. Instead, it requires increased measures to protect them against human rights violations,” Mr. Zeid said. “This has been reaffirmed by UN human rights mechanisms and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” he added. Since the new law was approved, representatives of The Gambia’s National Intelligence Agency have been reportedly conducting door-to-door enquiries to identify, arrest and detain individuals believed to be homosexual, and some of those detained have allegedly also been subjected to violent attacks and mistreatment, Mr. Zeid said. In other countries, similar laws have also led to an increase in violence against members of the LGBT community, including mob attacks. “I call on The Gambia to fulfil its international obligations to promote and protect the human rights of all persons without discrimination, to repeal all provisions of the Criminal Code that criminalize relations between consenting adults and to put in place an immediate moratorium on arrests on the basis of such laws,” the High Commissioner said. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49394#.VHDNcjTF9hg 20 Nov 2014

SOUTH SUDAN: UN relief official urges respect for ceasefire, scaling up of aid operations

Concluding a three-day mission to South Sudan, a senior United Nations relief official has called on all parties to the conflict there to respect their ceasefire commitments, while urging the international community to continue providing support to enable humanitarians to scale up and expand critical aid operations. In a press release issued today by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, noted that while the humanitarian community has reached more than 3.5 million people with assistance this year, the situation in South Sudan remains “bleak” and the number of people who are severely food insecure is projected to increase to 2.5 million in early 2015. “The level of violence experienced by civilians in South Sudan has been devastating,” Ms. Kang said. “I was here a year ago and I am heartbroken to see that the promising young country that I saw is suffering so greatly. The scale of the needs is great,” she added. Emphasizing that the year-long conflict has been “brutal,” she recounted that more than 1.9 million people have fled their homes and more than 100,000 have sought refuge in UN bases. In addition, civilians have been killed, raped and beaten; homes have been torched; and fighting has destroyed communities and separated families, Ms. Kang said. “However much we scale up our operations, we will never be able to do enough if the conflict continues to destroy lives and livelihoods. All parties to the conflict must show leadership and bring peace to this country,” Ms. Kang stressed. Meanwhile, aid agencies are planning for next year, and are urgently calling for $600 million by February, the humanitarian official said. “In the dry season, we need to pre-position life-saving and livelihood supplies to reach all people in need, and carry out key repairs to roads and airstrips so that we can scale up and expand the aid operation,” she noted. During her trip to South Sudan, Ms. Kang said she visited communities affected by the crisis in Juba and Jonglei State. She also met with Government representatives and humanitarian partners to discuss ways of improving access and strengthening protection of civilians. In addition, Ms. Kang noted that she had urged parties to respect international humanitarian and human rights laws that call for the protection of civilians and unhindered humanitarian access to people in need. Political in-fighting between South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, started in mid-December 2013 and subsequently turned into a full-fledged conflict that has sent nearly 100,000 civilians fleeing to UNMISS bases around the country. The crisis has uprooted some 1.5 million people and placed more than 7 million at risk of hunger and disease.

BURKINA FASO: UN chief urges continued dialogue as transitional Government takes power

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his call for all Burkinabé stakeholders to ensure Burkina Faso’s seamless transition to democracy amid an ongoing constitutional crisis in the West African country, a United Nations spokesperson has confirmed. “The Secretary-General continues to follow the situation in Burkina Faso very closely. He looks forward to the installation of the Transitional Government and the Transitional National Council,” said UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing the press at UN Headquarters this afternoon. “He reiterates his encouragement to all parties to continue to use dialogue during the transition period and resolve all outstanding issues.” Mr. Ban’s message comes as the country officially marks the transfer of power to Transitional President, Michel Kafando, in a ceremony held today in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso’s capital, and attended by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for West Africa, Mohammed Ibn Chambas. Mr. Chambas’ involvement on the ground is part of continuing joint efforts between the UN, the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and other international stakeholders aimed at supporting the people of Burkina Faso during the transition period. “The Secretary-General reiterates the importance for the transitional leaders and institutions to uphold the aspirations of the people of Burkina Faso and ensure a smooth transitional period leading up to elections in November 2015,” Mr. Ban concluded. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49414#.VHDHrDTF9hg 21 Nov 2014