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Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso : Tableau de bord humanitaire (décembre 2013)

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Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: Burkina Faso, Mali
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APERCU DE LA SITUATION

La situation humanitaire du Burkina Faso est marquée essentiellement par l’insécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle ainsi que la crise malienne qui a engendré l’arrivée de réfugiés maliens depuis 2012. L’insécurité alimentaire touche actuellement près de 1,8 million de personnes et découle du fait que plusieurs ménages souffrent des effets des stratégies négatives d'adaptation qu’elles ont adoptées pendant la crise alimentaire de 2012 (endettement, vente d'actifs, etc.).

Les résulats de l'évaluation de la campagne agricole 2013 montre une production céréalière exédentaire au niveau national avec des disparités régionales. Toutefois, selon le plan de résilience et de soutien des populations vulnérables de 2014 adopté par l'Assemblée Générale du Conseil National de la Sécurité Alimentaire (CNSA), 1,3 million de personnes seront en insécurité alimentaire en 2014.


Mali: French troops stage 'very large' anti-Islamist op in Mali

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Mali

12/13/2013 16:46 GMT

BAMAKO, December 13, 2013 (AFP) - The French army is staging a large operation against Islamist fighters in the Timbuktu region of northern Mali ahead of weekend parliamentary elections, military sources said Friday.

A French military source in the Malian capital, Bamako, said "military operations are ongoing" after French troops killed 19 militants in the area on Tuesday.

"A very large military operation is under way, the largest in the Timbuktu region since allied forces retook the main northern cities," said an African military source in Timbuktu.

Mali is battling to restore stability after Al-Qaeda-linked radicals seized control of its northern half, submitting it to a brutal form of Islamic law for nine months.

A French-led operation launched in January drove them out, but troops are still fighting jihadists hiding out in the vast northern desert.

At least 20 French helicopters were taking part in the operation against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, along with ground vehicles, said a Malian military source.

"About 20 jihadists have already been killed north of Timbuktu," said the Malian source.

He said the French were now targeting the area around Taoudeni, about 750 kilometres (450 miles) north of Timbuktu city -- the capital of the region of the same name.

The area "has become a refuge for terrorists and drug traffickers", he said.

Military officials in Paris declined to comment.

The operation came as the west African country, a former French colony, prepared to vote Sunday in a second round of legislative elections -- the fourth time it has gone to the polls in less than six months.

The vote is the final stage in Mali's return to democracy after a March 2012 coup that threw it into turmoil and opened a power vacuum that enabled Islamists to seize the north.

French forces have been in Mali for almost a year, fighting alongside troops from various African countries that have been incorporated into a United Nations peacekeeping force known as MINUSMA.

After several months of calm, jihadist groups launched fresh attacks in September, killing a dozen people including civilians and Malian and other African troops.

A French military source in Bamako said Tuesday there was still a "pretty determined group" of fighters north of Timbuktu.

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© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

Burkina Faso: Households’ motivations for investing in multiple-use water services in rural Burkina Faso

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Source: Johns Hopkins University
Country: Burkina Faso

In rural Burkina Faso, demand is high for wells that provide sufficient water for domestic and productive purposes. With assistance from Winrock International, well owners are investing in upgrades that will improve the quality, reliability, and quantity of their water supply. Through their investigation of the drivers that motivate households to invest, JHU researchers uncovered the unexpected role that women’s entrepreneurship plays in spurring demand for enhanced wells.

Not long ago, Madame Celine* had to meet all of her family’s needs bucket-by-bucket, drawing water from a shallow unprotected well. The water’s quality was poor, and in the dry season the well would often go dry. At these times she would be forced to go to the public handpump, 1 kilometer away, to wait in long lines with dozens of other villagers whose own wells had gone dry. During these dry months, Celine would only be able to fetch enough water for the most basic of domestic needs, such as drinking and cooking.

Then Celine learned that one of her neighbors had improved his own well by deepening it, reinforcing the walls, capping it with concrete, and lastly, fitting it with a rope pump. His newly improved well provided higher quality water and the yield was sufficient for meeting all of his family’s needs year round, including irrigation of his family’s 1 hectare vegetable garden in the dry season.

Celine’s neighbor had improved his well with assistance from Winrock International, a Washington D.C.-based development organization that is working in Burkina Faso through USAID’s West African Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WA-WASH) program. Winrock aims to improve rural livelihoods by providing “multiple-use water services” (MUS) that support both domestic and productive activities at or near the home. This integrated approach is unique, since the typical rural water planning model tends to design systems to support domestic or productive activities separately.

“The problem with the old approach is that households will often re-purpose water to meet their various needs,” says Mary Renwick, a Senior Program Officer at Winrock International and the architect of the USAID WA-WASH program’s water agenda. In a presentation to water sector professionals in Morogoro, Tanzania, she demonstrates that such sights are common. Photos show a child collecting drinking water from a non-potable irrigation canal and livestock being brought to community handpumps that were originally installed for drinking and cooking purposes. Renwick explains that such unintended uses of water sources may expose households to high levels of contamination or put excessive pressure on the infrastructure.

Generating demand for multiple-use water services

Winrock’s MUS framework emphasizes design solutions for meeting the range of water users’ needs. In Burkina Faso, traditional wells are dug to support productive activities such as vegetable gardening, livestock rearing, and dolo brewing (a traditional fermented beverage made with millet). Winrock offers to improve the reliability and quality of these wells by deepening them with hand augers, supporting the fragile sandy walls with concrete rings, and capping the well with a concrete slap and rope pump. Additionally, a trough for watering livestock may be installed nearby, or the well may be connected to an elevated tank feeding a drip irrigation system. Design options are flexible and based on households’ needs for water.

The opportunity to upgrade traditional wells is advertised through live demonstrations within communities. During a demonstration a new well is unveiled, the construction process is explained, and the benefits of upgrading are discussed among community members. Winrock staff also explain the cost sharing arrangement: households must identify the traditional well they wish to upgrade on their land, contribute about one third of the total cost of drilling and construction (about US$200) and aggregate for concrete, and Winrock will cover the remaining costs and provide technical expertise.

Like Celine, some households miss the demonstration in their community but hear about the project through friends. “After seeing my neighbor’s new well I informed my husband. I pushed him to consider making the investment; I thought the opportunity might not be available for long,” she explains.

Stories like Celine’s led the Winrock team to believe that their demonstrations were indeed effective tools for generating demand for improved water supplies in rural communities. Yet many questions remained about how demonstrations and other marketing approaches should be delivered for maximum impact. For example, who is most likely to invest in an upgraded well? Are motivations for improving one’s water supply different among men and women? In Burkina Faso where households are often situated amongst relatives within a concession, how is the decision to upgrade a shared well ultimately reached? Through a partnership with Johns Hopkins University (JHU) researchers, these questions are being investigated using innovative and evidence-based research techniques.

Women’s entrepreneurship and water

We travelled to Burkina Faso in July to learn more about Winrock’s project and devise strategies for investigating households’ motivations for investing. Working closely with Winrock’s community mobilizers, we launched a survey that measures households’ uses of water, plans for future investments, and modes of decision-making.

The early results from this study yield important clues about the dynamics of decision-making about water among family member in this setting. For example, the survey data shows that households who invest are wealthier on average, but wealth alone does not explain who is likely to invest in an upgraded well. Among a sub-set of homes, including Celine’s, the presence of a shea butter or dolo enterprise is also an important factor. Dolo and shea butter are made almost exclusively by women and sold from the home or at a local market. One dolo brewer explained, “With the new well I can make an additional 40 liters [of dolo] each week to sell at the Thursday market. With the extra money I will purchase more pigs, they will eat the spent grain from the brewing process.” She also says that she was able to convince her husband to agree to the investment by securing a loan, which she plans to pay back herself with sales from her expanding dolo and pig business. Additional motivations for upgrading her well include providing safe drinking water for her family, protecting children from falling into the open well, and making water fetching easier for herself and her mother.

Only about 10% of the households interviewed had a water-based enterprise like dolo or shea butter underway, so its role in catalyzing investments in upgraded wells is not large. However, the findings are significant since supporting women’s entrepreneurship is a stated goal of the MUS program, and marketing strategies for MUS do not currently target women. Based on the survey findings, Winrock is now considering new strategies for spurring demand among female entrepreneurs, including holding separate demonstrations for women and crafting more targeted messages.

Going forward, the JHU research team aims to help Winrock further understand how water supply investments are planned by family members. There is also interest in monitoring the sustainability of Winrock’s MUS projects through the new JHU WaterLeader initiative. WaterLeader provides a comprehensive framework for investigating the long-term efficacy of water and sanitation services. In addition, little is known about the impacts of MUS on human health, household food security, or environmental quality. These and other ideas were the focus of discussions that took place at the recent MUS International Exchange Visit in Morogoro, Tanzania. Through ongoing dialogue, research and development practice are informing each other.

  • Names were changed to protect the identity of survey participants

Mali: The Human Chain [Video]

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Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department, World Food Programme
Country: Mali

13/12/2013 - The Sahel has been hit by severe droughts three times in seven years. Normally it’s every 10 years. The European Commission calls for an urgent response to the continuing food and nutrition crisis in the region. Despite relatively good harvests across the region in late 2012, food prices remain high and have continued to rise.

Malnutrition rates in children have not decreased, and many families are heavily indebted and impoverished after four consecutive food crises. The documentary "The Human Chain", produced by the Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department of the European Commission together with the World Food Programme, shows the triple crises challenges faced in the Sahel and how ECHO and WFP are bringing support to the population.

Mali: La MINUSMA condamne fermement l’attentat à la voiture piégée contre les troupes à Kidal

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Source: UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali
Country: Mali

Bamako, le 14 décembre 2013 – Ce matin à 6 h 45, une voiture piégée a été lancée contre les forces de la MINUSMA et de l’armée malienne qui sécurisaient conjointement le bâtiment de la banque malienne de solidarité au centre-ville de Kidal.

L’explosion a causé la mort de deux Casques bleus sénégalais et a aussi fait un certain nombre de blessés graves dans les rangs de la garde nationale malienne et de la MINUSMA. Tous les blessés ont immédiatement été pris en charge par le personnel médical sur place et les plus graves évacués vers Gao avec le concours de la Force Serval. Le bilan reste provisoire.

La puissance de la déflagration a aussi causé l’effondrement de la banque et a endommagé les devantures des bâtiments environnants. Aucune revendication n’a été faite pour le moment.

Le Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général au Mali et chef de la MINUSMA, M. Albert Koenders condamne dans les termes les plus forts, au nom de la Mission et des Nations Unies cette attaque lâche.

« Nous ne pouvons pas accepter ce genre d’actes barbares. Je présente mes sincères condoléances au Président du Sénégal et aux familles endeuillées. Je souhaite un prompt rétablissement aux blessés de la garde nationale malienne et du contingent de la MINUSMA. Les responsables de cet attentat doivent être identifiés et traduits devant la justice pour répondre de leurs actes. Cette attaque n’entamera en rien notre détermination et notre engagement à poursuivre notre mission de rétablissement de la paix et de la sécurité au Mali. », a déclaré M. Koenders.

Mali: Nord du Mali: deux soldats sénégalais tués dans un attentat jihadiste à Kidal

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Mali

12/14/2013 17:22 GMT

Par Serge DANIEL

BAMAKO, 14 décembre 2013 (AFP) - Un attentat revendiqué par des jihadistes a tué samedi deux soldats sénégalais de l'ONU gardant une banque à Kidal, dans le nord du Mali, au moment où l'armée française mène une vaste opération contre les islamistes armés dans la région.

Cet attentat a été commis à la veille du second tour des élections législatives qui doit sceller le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel, 19 mois après le coup d'Etat de mars 2012 qui avait précipité le Mali dans le chaos.

Un véhicule bourré d'explosifs a foncé sur la Banque malienne de solidarité (BMS) gardée par des soldats maliens et d'autres Africains, de la force de l'ONU au Mali, la Minusma.

Le véhicule "a percuté la porte principale de la banque, tuant, en plus du kamikaze, deux soldats sénégalais de la Minusma et blessant six autres personnes" dont cinq grièvement, a précisé le gouvernement malien dans un communiqué.

Les cinq blessés graves, évacués sur Gao, la plus grande ville du nord du Mali située à 300 km au sud de Kidal, sont trois casques bleus et deux militaires maliens, selon le gouvernement qui "condamne fermement cet attentat terroriste".

Il ajoute que "la déflagration du véhicule a causé des dégâts matériels très importants sur le bâtiment de la banque et endommagé deux véhicules" de la Minusma et de l'armée malienne.

Un jihadiste malien, Sultan Ould Badi, qui a été membre de plusieurs groupes islamistes armés du Sahel, dont Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (Aqmi) a, "au nom de tous les moujahidine", revendiqué l'attentat dans un appel téléphonique à l'AFP.

"Cette opération est une réponse aux pays africains qui ont envoyé des militaires pour soutenir le combat de François Hollande en terre d'islam", a déclaré en français Sultan Ould Badi.

"Nous allons répondre dans tout l'Azawad (nord du Mali), et sur d'autres terres (...) par d'autres opérations aux croisades de la France et de ses fonctionnaires qui n'aiment pas l'islam", a-t-il poursuivi.

Dans une lettre de condoléances adressée à son homologue sénégalais Macky Sall, le président François Hollande a écrit que "cet acte odieux ne peut rester sans suite. La France sera à vos côtés pour identifier et arrêter les commanditaires de cette attaque terroriste".

Le ministre français des Affaires étrangères, Laurent Fabius, a condamné "cet acte lâche qui intervient à la veille du second tour des élections législatives au Mali".

Ce scrutin doit parachever le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel au Mali, interrompu par un coup d'Etat qui, le 22 mars 2012, avait précipité la chute du Nord aux mains de groupes jihadistes. Il doit être sécurisé par les soldats français, maliens et de la Minusma.

Vaste opération anti-jihadiste dans le Nord-Ouest

A Kidal, fief des Touareg et de leur rébellion, le Mouvement national de libération de l'Azawad (MNLA), il n'y aura pas de législatives car les quatre députés de la ville et de sa région situées à 1.500 km au nord-est de Bamako, ont été élus dès le premier tour du 24 novembre.

L'attentat de Kidal s'est produit au moment où l'armée française, qui intervient au Mali depuis presque un an pour traquer les groupes islamistes armés, mène depuis plusieurs jours une grande opération anti-jihadistes au nord de Tombouctou (nord-ouest).

Cette opération, qu'à Paris l'armée ne souhaite pas commenter, est une "très grosse opération militaire, la plus grosse dans la région de Tombouctou depuis la reprise des principales villes du Nord par les forces alliées" au début de l'année, selon une source africaine à Tombouctou.

Au moins une vingtaine d'hélicoptères français et des véhicules au sol y participent, visant Aqmi, a précisé une source militaire malienne.

"Une vingtaine de jihadistes ont déjà été tués au nord de Tombouctou, et les Français visent actuellement la zone de Taoudéni", à environ 750 kilomètres au nord de la ville, "devenue le refuge des terroristes et des trafiquants de drogue", a ajouté la même source.

Une source militaire française à Bamako avait indiqué mardi que dix-neuf membres d'un "groupe très déterminé" avaient été tués.

Kidal est censée être contrôlée par les forces de l'ONU, les soldats français et les Maliens.

Mais la situation y reste chaotique et des éléments de nombreux groupes armés continuent à y circuler, dont ceux d'Aqmi qui a revendiqué l'enlèvement et le meurtre, le 2 novembre, de deux journalistes français.

Les relations entre le MNLA et le pouvoir de Bamako, qui n'arrive pas à asseoir son autorité dans la ville, sont tendues et des incidents réguliers opposent les Touareg aux soldats maliens présents.

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© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

Mali: Suicide attack in Mali kills two Senegalese soldiers

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Mali

12/14/2013 19:55 GMT

by Serge DANIEL

BAMAKO, December 14, 2013 (AFP) - A suicide attack on UN forces in northern Mali on Saturday killed two Senegalese soldiers in what a Malian jihadist leader said was retaliation for African countries' support of a French army operation against Islamist militants.

A car laden with explosives barrelled into the Malian Bank of Solidarity in the city of Kidal that was guarded by troops from a UN peacekeeping force known as MINUSMA.

The car "struck the main door of the bank, killing in addition to the suicide bomber two Senegalese soldiers of MINUSMA and injuring six other people," the government said in a statement.

Five sustained serious injuries -- three peacekeepers and two Malian soldiers -- and they were evacuated to Gao, the largest city of northern Mali, the statement said.

A UN official speaking on condition of anonymity put the toll of the wounded at seven peacekeepers and four Malian troops.

A Malian jihadist, Sultan Ould Badi, claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to AFP, calling it payback for African countries' military support for French operations on the continent.

"I speak in the name of all the mujahedeen (fighters) in Azawad (northern Mali): this operation is a response to African countries that have sent soldiers to support (French President) Francois Hollande's battle in the land of Islam," said Badi, a well-known Islamist extremist who has belonged to several armed groups.

"We are going to respond all across Azawad and in other lands... with other operations against France's crusades," he told AFP.

Hollande sent condolences to his Senegalese counterpart Macky Sall, saying "this odious act cannot remain without a response. France will stand by you to identify and arrest those who ordered this terrorist attack."

The blast came on the eve of a second round of legislative elections aimed at returning constitutional order to Mali after a March 2012 coup threw the country into chaos.

Badi, a member of northern Mali's Arab and Tuareg minority groups, rose to prominence kidnapping European hostages in the region and selling them on to armed Islamist groups.

He later joined Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and was close to one of the group's top commanders, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, who was killed fighting the French army in northern Mali in late February.

Afterwards Badi joined another Al-Qaeda-linked group, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), before launching his own small radical group.

He acts as an intermediary between the various jihadist groups operating in northern Mali, according to a Malian security source.

Also Saturday, Seyba Diarra, the right-hand man of coup leader Amadou Sanogo, was detained on charges of assassination, judicial sources told AFP.

Sources close to the investigation said Diarra promised to "cooperate frankly" with investigators to shed light on a mass grave containing 21 bodies discovered on December 4 near the capital, Bamako.

The dead were thought to be "red berets" loyal to the president overthrown in the coup, Amadou Toumani Toure.

The discovery of the mass grave came one week after Sanogo's arrest and detention, after which about 15 mainly military aides were also arrested.

The government said that "for now" Sanogo was charged with involvement in a kidnapping, but a source close to judge Yaya Karembe has said he faces charges including murder.

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© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

Mali: Ban and Security Council condemn deadly attack on UN, Malian forces

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Source: UN News Service
Country: Mali

14 December 2013 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council have strongly condemned an attack in the north-eastern Malian town of Kidal that killed two blue helmets and left several others, including members of the national armed forces, injured.

According to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the car bomb attack occurred early in the day as the UN and Malian troops were jointly securing a bank in downtown Kidal. The explosion killed two Senegalese blue helmets and wounded several members of MINUSMA and the Malian armed forces.

“All those responsible for this criminal act must be brought to justice,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a statement. “The United Nations remains undeterred in its mission to support the people and Government of Mali in building lasting peace in their country.

“The Secretary-General encourages all Malians to reject violence and support the peace process, including through their participation in Sunday’s second round of legislative elections,” his spokesperson added.

Bert Koenders, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of MINUSMA, also stressed the need for those responsible for the attack to be identified and brought to justice. “This attack will not undermine our determination and our commitment to restore peace and security in Mali,” he stated in a news release.

In a statement issued to the press, the 15-member Security Council condemned the attack “in the strongest terms,” and reiterated its full support to MINUSMA and French forces who support it.

“The members of the Security Council stressed that those responsible for this attack shall be held accountable, and called on the Government of Mali to swiftly investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

MINUSMA was established by the Council in April and tasked with using “all necessary means” to carry out security-related stabilization tasks, protect civilians, UN staff and cultural artefacts, and create the conditions for provision of humanitarian aid.

Its core task is to support the political process in Mali, in close coordination with the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

“The members of the Security Council reiterated their support to the Malian authorities and MINUSMA to stabilize Mali, re-establish State administration throughout the country and launch an effective and inclusive national dialogue,” the statement added.


World: “Impunity breeds violence against journalists,” UN rights expert tells the UN Security Council

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Source: UN Human Rights Council
Country: Mali, Syrian Arab Republic, World

NEW YORK (13 December 2013) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, today warned the UN Security Council that impunity is behind growing acts of violence against journalists in the world.

“Without paying systematic attention to all attacks against the press, without ending impunity, it is very difficult to ensure the safety of journalists,” Mr. La Rue told the Security Council during a special meeting on the protection of journalists.

“Most cases of violence and threats against journalists are not investigated and those responsible are never identified, prosecuted or tried. The sense of impunity is a main cause for the recurrence of episodes of attacks against journalists around the world,” he stressed.

The Special Rapporteur said that journalists continue to be frequent victims of violence both in conflict zones as well as stable countries, as he had documented in a report to the UN Human Rights Council, in which specific recommendations to enhance media professionals’ safety were made.

“At least 84 journalists have been killed in Syria since March 2011. Last month, two journalists were killed in Mali. These are simply very recent extreme cases that give some idea on the risks journalists face to inform us every day,” Mr. La Rue noted. “Only in the last two years, I have prepared letters on attacks against 171 journalists to 40 different countries.”

For the UN expert, more systematic attention of international bodies to all events of violence and harassment against journalists is crucial to change this trend: “Only some extreme cases of violence raise some attention. The far majority remains totally invisible.

“Before a journalist is killed, threats and other forms of attacks take place without any attention from the national authorities or the international community,” the Special Rapporteur said.

“In times of war or peace, when the public right to know the truth of events is threatened, all human rights can be undermined,” Mr. La Rue concluded, calling the UN Security Council to pay greater attention to attacks against journalists and other threats to freedom of expression within its regular agenda.

Frank La Rue (Guatemala) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in August 2008 by the United Nations Human Rights Council. As Special Rapporteur, he is independent from any government or organization and serves in his individual capacity. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/OpinionIndex.aspx

(*) Check the full report: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/Annual.aspx

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx

For inquiries and media requests, please contact Marcelo Daher (+41 22 917 9431 / mdaher@ohchr.org) or write to freedex@ohchr.org

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts: Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)

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World: Press Conference by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations

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Source: UN Department of Public Information
Country: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Rwanda, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda, World, South Sudan (Republic of)

United Nations peacekeeping operations had made significant headway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mali this year, a senior official overseeing those missions told reporters at a Headquarters press conference today.

“It has been an active year,” said Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, as he recalled major developments, including the Congolese army’s victory against the 23 March Movement (M23) armed group.

A political agreement had been materialized in that country as a result of the Kampala talks, he said. Following the military gains, a priority should be to go after other armed groups, such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU).

Means were in place, he said, referring to the Intervention Brigade that was now fully operational within the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the unmanned aerial vehicles, launched recently for surveillance purposes.

Another priority was to deal with emerging situations, he said. In North Kivu, the 2,300 ex-combatants who had laid down weapons must go through the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration progress. It was also crucial not to create a “vacuum”, he stressed, urging the Congolese Government to establish administration and deploy police and army in all places that had been liberated.

The situation in Mali had also made significant progress compared to a year ago, Mr. Ladsous continued, noting that a second round of legislative action was expected the day after tomorrow. With the return of fully legitimate authorities after the presidential election, the Government would need to accelerate efforts to organize an inclusive dialogue with all armed groups and communities in the north to address the root causes of the prolonged conflict. As well, security threats from jihads remained.

In the Sudan, 14 peacekeepers had been killed this year, with attacks by armed groups increasing, he said, adding that Darfur was home to more than 400,000 internally displaced people. The Doha process needed to have more signatories because that was “the only game in town”.

Turning to South Sudan, he said the challenge was to protect civilians in such places as the eastern Province of Jonglei, where a lack of infrastructure constrained mobility. The military component of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) was being redeployed to have better coverage in those provinces. No progress had been made in the situation in Abyei.

In the Syrian Golan Heights, 1,250 United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) personnel were working under difficult circumstances. “There is hardly a day without an attack,” he said. The international community could not afford to have the area become an issue again. That part of the world already had enough worries.

Updating the situation in Central African Republic, he said that Security Council resolution 2127 (2013) would mandate the transfer of the authority from the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)-led peace operation to the African-led International Support Mission in the Central African Republic (MISCA) on 19 December. The text also requested the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council within 90 days with recommendations on the possible transformation of MISCA into a United Nations peacekeeping operation.

His department was focusing on improving the quality of its operations under stringent fiscal conditions, Mr. Ladsous said, noting that cost per head for uniformed personnel had decreased by 16 per cent over the last five years due to more effective management. It was also downsizing operations in Haiti, Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, and to some extent, in Darfur.

Acknowledging the 90 colleagues who had died, 29 of them killed through deliberate attacks, he emphasized the importance of staff safety.

To a series of questions on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said that two unmanned aerial vehicles had initially been deployed, with a plan to add three more by 1 April 2014. The craft not only gave military units an accurate picture of fighting on the ground, but also of real-time movement of civilians. An Italian contractor supplied personnel to operate the unmanned aerial systems.

About 2,300 combatants had left their armed groups, such as M23 and Mai Mai, over the past two and half months, probably due to the deterrent effects of deploying the Intervention Brigade and drones. It was now vital to integrate them into society and train them for employment. The quantity of weapons that had been seized was enormous, but findings were still yet to be released.

Responding to a question on a clash between the French forces and protesters at the airport in Kidal, Mali, he said three civilians had been injured and one of them had died. Investigation was still under way. If the Malian police had shot them, that was unacceptable.

On a question regarding Syria, he said that the first thing that must happen was a political process in Geneva. Pending a Security Council request, his department would participate in a mandate towards stabilizing the situation in Syria, but its scenarios were still only on paper.

Asked about Sudan, he said several armed groups had not become parties to the Doha process.

To a question regarding Member States’ contribution of peacekeepers, he said that 95 per cent of uniformed personnel came from the global south, with the rate at 99 per cent for Africa. His mission was to encourage the global north to increase their shares. With troops withdrawn from Afghanistan, he expected some developed countries to rebalance their deployment. The Dutch Government had decided to deploy 300 troops and four helicopters to Mali.

For information media • not an official record

Mali: Mali elections overshadowed by suicide bombing

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Mali

12/15/2013 02:35 GMT

by Serge Daniel

BAMAKO, December 15, 2013 (AFP) - Malians are due to vote Sunday in the second round of parliamentary elections intended to cap the nation's return to democracy, but overshadowed by the deaths of two UN peacekeepers in an Islamist attack.

The polls mark the troubled west African nation's first steps to recovery after it was upended by a military coup in March last year, finalising a process begun with the election of its first post-conflict president in August.

But voting takes place amid an upsurge in violence by Al Qaeda-linked rebels who stalk the vast northern desert, an ever-present danger to French and African troops tasked with providing security for the election alongside the Malian army.

At least two Senegalese UN troops were killed on Saturday when a suicide bomber ploughed his explosives-laden car into a bank that they were guarding in the northeastern rebel bastion of Kidal.

Sultan Ould Badi, a Malian jihadist linked to several armed groups, said the attack was in retaliation for African countries' support of a French-led military operation launched in January against Islamist rebels in "Azawad", the ethnic Tuareg name for northern Mali.

"We are going to respond all across Azawad and in other lands... with other operations against France's crusades," he told AFP by telephone.

The French army has been carrying out an operation against armed Islamists north of the desert caravan town Timbuktu over the past week.

The offensive targeting Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is a "huge military operation, the largest in the Timbuktu region since the major northern cities were retaken by allied forces" an African military source in Timbuktu told AFP.

Twenty jihadists have been killed so far, according to French and African military sources.

Voting a 'moral duty'

Just 19 of the national assembly's 147 seats were allocated in the first round on November 24, with turnout at 38.6 percent, a drop of almost 13 percentage points on that during the first round of the presidential vote.

After the first round of the parliamentary election, Louis Michel, chief of the European Union observation mission, called on "all political actors to turn out on December 15".

"In the specific context of Mali, voting is not only a right, it is a moral duty," he said.

But the campaign failed to capture the imagination of the electorate and many analysts in Bamako are expecting participation to be even worse on Sunday.

In the restive north, the vote takes place in the Gao and Timbuktu regions, with seats in Kidal decided in the first round. Two of the new intake are former rebels who laid down their arms to join President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's ruling Rally For Mali (RPM).

The party has vowed to deliver "a comfortable majority" to smooth the path for reforms Keita plans to put in place to rebuild Mali's stagnant economy and ease the simmering ethnic tensions in the north.

But analysts have speculated that the RPM may have to form a coalition with the Alliance for Democracy in Mali, one of the country's most established parties, which was split during the presidential polls between Keita and his rival, Soumaila Cisse.

Cisse, who is vying to represent the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD) in his home region of Timbuktu, aims to become the leader of the parliamentary opposition.

He was among the fiercest opponents of former junta chief Amadou Sanogo, who has recently been charged with murder, complicity to murder and carrying out kidnappings after overthrowing the democratically elected government in March last year.

Sunday's election will be supervised by hundreds of Malian and international observers who will mainly stick to Bamako and central Mali, with the north considered too dangerous.

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Mali: Les Maliens ont voté sans enthousiasme après l'attentat de Kidal

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Mali

12/15/2013 18:31 GMT

Par Sébastien RIEUSSEC et Serge DANIEL

BAMAKO, 15 décembre 2013 (AFP) - Les Maliens ont voté sans enthousiasme dimanche au second tour de législatives devant parachever le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel après le coup d'Etat de 2012, au lendemain d'un attentat jihadiste qui a tué deux soldats sénégalais de l'ONU.

De l'ouverture des bureaux à 08H00 (locales et GMT) jusqu'à leur fermeture à 18H00, des journalistes de l'AFP ont pu constater une faible affluence à Bamako, confirmée par les observateurs maliens.

Le Pôle d'observation citoyenne électorale (Poce) qui a déployé 3.300 observateurs indépendants dans le pays a noté dans l'après-midi que "l'affluence est faible dans la plupart des centres de vote, à l'exception de ceux des circonscriptions de Gao et Ansongo (nord) où elle est relativement plus importante qu'au premier tour" du 24 novembre.

"Les gens ne sont pas motivés", selon Badra Traoré, président d'un de ces bureaux, en raison "du comportement des dirigeants, des autorités de ce pays".

Au premier tour, le taux de participation avait été nettement plus faible qu'à la présidentielle de l'été - 38,6% contre 48,9% - et il risquait de l'être plus encore dimanche, selon les observateurs.

En dépit de ce risque, le président Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta a déclaré en allant voter à Bamako que ce second tour allait redonner "un socle de grande légitimité"à son pays. "Ca nous donnera plus de force, de puissance pour dire le Mali et le Mali en a besoin", a-t-il ajouté.

Quelque 6,5 millions de Maliens étaient appelés à participer à cette dernière étape d'un processus électoral qui, après la présidentielle remportée le 11 août par Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, doit sceller le retour à l'ordre constitutionnel interrompu le 22 mars 2012 par un coup d'Etat ayant précipité la chute du nord du pays aux mains de groupes jihadistes.

Ces groupes liés à Al-Qaïda ont été affaiblis par une intervention militaire internationale lancée par la France en janvier et toujours en cours, mais ils restent actifs, comme l'illustre l'attentat à la voiture piégée commis samedi à Kidal (nord-est), revendiqué par les jihadistes.

Un véhicule bourré d'explosifs a foncé sur la Banque malienne de solidarité (BMS) gardée par des soldats maliens et d'autres Africains, appartenant à la force de l'ONU au Mali, la Minusma. Deux soldats sénégalais ont été tués, et au moins sept Casques bleus et plusieurs soldats maliens ont été blessés, certains grièvement.

Forces armées en état d'alerte

Dans le Nord, à Gao et Tombouctou, le vote s'est déroulé dans la crainte d'un nouvel attentat, selon des électeurs interrogés par l'AFP. Ceux de la région de Kidal n'avaient pas à se déplacer, leurs quatre députés ayant été élus au premier tour.

Oumar Diré, un habitant de Tombouctou, a déclaré qu'il ne votait pas par "peur des attentats que les islamistes menacent de commettre".

La même hantise était partagée par Germain Togo, électeur à Gao, la plus grande ville du nord du Mali: "Voter, c'est quelque chose d'important, mais on fait attention, parce qu'on a peur des attentats".

Les forces de l'ONU, de la France et du Mali, qui ont assuré la sécurité du scrutin, ont été en état d'alerte maximum toute la journée pour prévenir de tels attentats, en particulier dans le Nord.

Le président sénégalais Macky Sall a assuré que l'attentat de Kidal "n'entamera en rien l'engagement résolu du Sénégal au Mali".

L'attentat s'est produit alors que l'armée française a mené ces derniers jours une grande opération anti-jihadistes au nord de Tombouctou.

Dix-neuf jihadistes ont été tués lors de cette opération, a confirmé dimanche Laurent Fabius, ministre français des Affaires étrangères. "Il y a au Nord encore un certain nombre de difficultés mais dans l'ensemble, le Mali est sécurisé", a-t-il ajouté.

A l'issue du premier tour du 24 novembre, seuls 19 sièges avaient été pourvus sur les 147 que compte l'Assemblée nationale.

L'objectif pour le président Keïta est que son parti, le Rassemblement pour le Mali (RPM), et ses alliés obtiennent une confortable majorité à l'Assemblée nationale.

Soumaïla Cissé, candidat malheureux au second tour de la présidentielle, avait été élu dès le premier tour dans sa circonscription de Niafunké, près de Tombouctou. Avec son parti, l'Union pour la République et la démocratie (URD), il ambitionne de devenir le chef de l'opposition parlementaire.

Les résultats provisoires de ce second tour doivent être publiés d'ici vendredi par le ministère de l'Administation territoriale avant d'être confirmés par la Cour constitutionnelle.

Plusieurs centaines d'observateurs nationaux et internationaux ont surveillé le scrutin, essentiellement dans le sud et le centre du pays, le Nord étant considéré comme encore trop dangereux pour s'y aventurer.

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© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

Mali: Mali vote turnout weak following Islamist suicide bombing

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Source: Agence France-Presse
Country: Mali

12/15/2013 19:41 GMT

by Serge Daniel

BAMAKO, December 15, 2013 (AFP) - Malians voted on Sunday in the second round of parliamentary elections intended to cap the nation's return to democracy but overshadowed by the deaths of two UN peacekeepers in an Islamist attack.

The polls marked the troubled west African nation's first steps to recovery after it was upended by a military coup in March last year, finalising a process begun with the election of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in August.

"This second round establishes the recovery on a foundation of legitimacy in this country. It will give us more strength, more power to say 'Mali' and that's what Mali needs," Keita said after casting his ballot in the capital Bamako.

"What has been done has put us in a position to say Mali everywhere with honour and dignity, without any hang-ups."

There were no serious incidents during 10 hours of voting but polling stations were reporting turnout as low as 15 percent as voters were scared away by a recent upsurge in rebel attacks against African troops tasked with election security alongside French and Malian soldiers.

Two Senegalese UN peacekeepers were killed and seven wounded on Saturday when a suicide bomber ploughed his explosives-laden car into a bank they were guarding in the northeastern rebel bastion of Kidal.

Sultan Ould Badi, a Malian jihadist linked to several armed groups, said the attack was in retaliation for African countries' support of a French-led military operation launched in January against Islamist rebels in northern Mali, which the local population calls "Azawad".

"We are going to respond all across Azawad and in other lands... with other operations against France's crusades," he told AFP by telephone.

The French army has been carrying out an operation against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) north of the desert caravan town Timbuktu over the past week, killing 19 militants, according to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Voting a 'moral duty'

In the first round of the election on November 24, just 19 of the national assembly's 147 seats were allocated, with turnout at 38.6 percent, a drop of almost 13 percentage points from the first round of the presidential vote.

After the first round of the parliamentary election, Louis Michel, chief of the European Union observation mission, called on "all political actors" to turn out in the second round.

"In the specific context of Mali, voting is not only a right, it is a moral duty," he said.

But the Citizen's Centre for Electoral Observation (POCE), an independent Malian organisation that deployed 3,300 observers across the nation, reported a weak turnout Sunday among the country's electorate of almost seven million.

"The voting took place in good conditions and in a calm climate in the different centres observed. However, the POCE notes that turnout is low in most polling centres," it said in a statement at midday.

An AFP correspondent waited half an hour at a polling station in the Hamdallaye district of Bamako before seeing the first voter arrive and the centre announced an estimated turnout of just 15 percent minutes before it closed.

In Koulikoro, 50 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of Bamako, many residents told AFP they were not intending to participate because they were unimpressed with the candidates and feared Islamist violence.

"When you hear of an attack in Kidal the day before the election, it makes you worry that there might be attacks in other parts of Mali," a nurse told AFP.

Turnout looked poor in six polling stations visited by AFP.

The second round of the parliamentary election is Mali's fourth nationwide ballot since July and other locals put the lack of interest down to voting fatigue.

In the restive north, voting took place without incident in the Gao and Timbuktu regions, with seats in Kidal decided in the first round.

Maiga Seyma, the deputy mayor of Gao, said turnout appeared to be good in its 88 polling stations and the voting had opened in an atmosphere of calm, although residents told AFP in Timbuktu and Gao that locals were frightened by the possibility of Islamist attacks.

The outcome of the election is expected to be announced by the government before the end of Friday.

Keita's Rally for Mali (RPM) party has vowed to deliver "a comfortable majority" to smooth the path for reforms he plans to put in place to rebuild Mali's stagnant economy and ease the simmering ethnic tensions in the north.

But analysts have speculated that the RPM may have to form a coalition with the Alliance for Democracy in Mali, one of the country's most established parties, which was split during the presidential polls between Keita and his rival, Soumaila Cisse.

Cisse, who is vying to represent the Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD) in his home region of Timbuktu, aims to become the leader of the parliamentary opposition.

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© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

World: Conférence de presse de M. Hervé Ladsous, Secrétaire général adjoint aux opérations de maintien de la paix de l’ONU, pour un bilan de 2013

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Source: UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, UN Department of Public Information
Country: Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, World, South Sudan (Republic of)

Au cours d’une conférence de presse bilan de fin d’année, tenue cet après-midi au Siège de l’ONU à New York, M. Hervé Ladsous, Secrétaire général adjoint aux opérations de maintien de la paix, a présenté les activités menées par son Département au cours d’une année qui, selon ses mots, aura été « très active ». M. Ladsous a passé en revue les situations en République démocratique du Congo (RDC), au Mali, au Soudan, au Soudan du Sud, en Syrie et en République centrafricaine. Il a également parlé des améliorations constatées dans la conduite des opérations de maintien de la paix par l’ONU, notamment en termes de qualité et de réduction des coûts.

M. Ladsous a insisté sur la nécessité de poursuivre ces efforts en mettant l’accent sur la qualité des services fournis, la formation des Casques bleus et les partenariats stratégiques. Nous continuons à introduire des nouvelles technologies dans la conduite de nos opérations, a-t-il fait remarquer, donnant l’exemple des drones récemment déployés dans l’est de la RDC.

Le Département des opérations de maintien de la paix a réussi à « faire plus avec moins », s’est félicité M. Ladsous. Ainsi, a-t-il précisé, le coût de chaque membre du personnel en uniforme a baissé de 16% en 5 ans, grâce à une gestion plus efficace des ressources. En outre, a-t-il ajouté, nous sommes en train de réduire la taille de certaines opérations qui sont parvenues à un certain stade de vie, comme celles encore présentes en Haïti, en Côte d’Ivoire, au Libéria et au Darfour.

M. Ladsous a aussi exprimé sa tristesse en évoquant le décès de 90 collègues, dont 29 ont été victimes d’attaques délibérées à leur encontre. « La sécurité de notre personnel reste une priorité », a-t-il cependant tenu à souligner.

En ce qui concerne la RDC, où M. Ladsous a indiqué qu’il s’est rendu la semaine dernière, la victoire militaire du Gouvernement sur le Mouvement du 23 mars (M23), obtenue avec le soutien de la Mission de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo (MONUSCO), constitue une étape majeure, a-t-il dit. Il a salué l’accord politique signé à l’issue des pourparlers de Kampala.

M. Ladsous a indiqué que la première priorité en RDC était maintenant de régler le problème posé par la présence des autres groupes armés. Il s’est félicité, à cet égard, que la brigade d’intervention de l’ONU soit pleinement opérationnelle et que le projet de déployer des drones chargés de missions de surveillance ait été traduit dans les faits à Goma, le 3 décembre dernier.

Avec deux appareils de ce type en opération, et cinq d’ici au 1er avril 2014, le Secrétaire général adjoint aux opérations de maintien de la paix a expliqué que la MONUSCO était désormais en mesure de recueillir des images de ce qui se passe sur le terrain. Ces images sont utiles sur le plan militaire, sur le plan de la sécurité de nos troupes et pour connaître les mouvements de la population civile, a-t-il expliqué. Il a indiqué que ces drones avaient été fournis par une société italienne, sélectionnée après un processus et un appel d’offres concurrentiel. Le contrat y afférent prévoit l’envoi d’une équipe de techniciens pour en soutenir le déploiement, a-t-il précisé. Il a espéré que l’on pourrait bientôt tirer des leçons de cette expérience pour envisager l’usage de ce genre d’équipement sur d’autres théâtres d’opérations.

La deuxième priorité en RDC est de faire face aux nouvelles situations, comme cela prévaut dans le Nord-Kivu, où 2 300 combattants membres de groupes armés ont déposé leurs armes, a indiqué M. Ladsous. Il a dit que l’ONU soutenait le processus de désarmement, démobilisation et réintégration (DDR) engagé par le Gouvernement. M. Ladsous a toutefois reconnu la nécessité de ne pas laisser de vide sur le terrain après ces redditions.

Passant à la situation au Mali, le Secrétaire général adjoint y a constaté des progrès importants. Il a rappelé que le deuxième tour des élections législatives allait avoir lieu et que les élections présidentielles s’étaient déroulées de manière transparente. Avec le retour d’institutions légitimes au Mali, nous devons redoubler d’efforts pour y instaurer un dialogue inclusif et traiter des causes du conflit, a-t-il dit. Il a aussi souligné la nécessité de rester vigilant en matière de sécurité, et a déploré les attaques et les menaces en provenance des djihadistes, les auteurs. Il s’est réjoui du partenariat solide instauré entre le Gouvernement malien, l’Union africaine, la Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (CEDEAO) et l’ONU. Nous nous approchons du déploiement complet des troupes et de forces de police de la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA), a-t-il ajouté.

Concernant le Soudan, M. Ladsous a dit que la situation y a connu « une année difficile », avec une recrudescence d’attaques, des déplacements de populations civiles et le décès de 14 Casques bleus. Nous continuons à travailler dans le cadre du Processus de Doha, car il n’y a pas d’autre base de travail, a-t-il indiqué. Au Soudan du Sud, il a indiqué que la sécurité des civils posait un problème dans l’État de Jonglei. Nous commençons à redéployer les effectifs militaires de la Mission des Nations Unies au Soudan du Sud (MINUSS) et nous poursuivons le travail lancé à Abyei où nous espérons un accord entre les deux pays, a-t-il indiqué.

Parlant du Moyen-Orient, le Secrétaire général adjoint a ensuite rappelé que les 1 250 Casques bleus déployés au sein de la Force des Nations Unies chargée d’observer le désengagement (FNUOD) étaient chaque jour victimes d’attaques. « Nous continuons notre travail, mais cela n’est pas facile », a-t-il reconnu. Nous espérons tous que la Conférence de Genève II aboutira à un processus politique qui mettra un terme au drame qui se déroule en Syrie. Si certaines conditions sont remplies, nous pourrions, si le Conseil de sécurité le demande, contribuer à la stabilisation de la situation en Syrie. Nous avons prévu divers scénarios, mais tout reste encore sur le papier, a-t-il précisé.

Pour ce qui est de la République centrafricaine, M. Ladsous a rappelé la présence de la mission de politique spéciale dans ce pays, le Bureau intégré des Nations Unies pour la consolidation de la paix en République centrafricaine (BINUCA), ainsi que le déploiement de la Mission internationale de soutien à la Centrafrique sous conduite africaine(MISCA), aux termes de la résolution 2127 (2013). Cette résolution a aussi demandé à l’Union africaine et à la Communauté économique des États de l’Afrique centrale (CEEAC) de veiller à ce que la passation des pouvoirs entre la MICOPAX (force de la CEEAC) et la MISCA ait lieu le 19 décembre 2013. Il a indiqué que le Secrétaire général devait faire des recommandations sur les solutions possibles dans les trois mois suivant l’adoption de ladite résolution. Il appartiendra au Conseil de sécurité d’envisager la suite, a-t-il précisé.

Enfin, interrogé sur le nombre de pays contributeurs de troupes aux opérations de maintien de la paix, qui est jugé insuffisant, M. Ladsous a reconnu que « la répartition de ce fardeau » n’était pas équitable. Il a indiqué que 95% des membres du personnel en uniforme venaient d’États Membres du monde en développement, et a estimé que cette situation ne pouvait pas durer. Il a invité le reste de la communauté internationale à suivre l’exemple des Pays-Bas qui ont récemment fourni des personnels et quatre hélicoptères de combat à la mission déployée au Mali.

  • *** * À l’intention des organes d’information • Document non officiel

Mali: L'ONU condamne fermement une attaque à Kidal qui a causé la mort de deux Casques bleus

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Source: UN News Service
Country: Mali

14 décembre 2013 – Le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Ban Ki-moon a fermement condamné samedi une attaque à la bombe perpétré ce matin à la Banque malienne de solidarité à Kidal dans lequel deux Casques bleus sénégalais ont été tués et au moins sept Casques bleus et quatre éléments de la Garde nationale malienne ont été blessés.

La puissance de la déflagration a aussi causé l'effondrement de la banque et a endommagé les devantures des bâtiments environnants. Selon la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée de l'ONU pour la stabilisation de ce pays (MINUSMA), aucune revendication n'a été faite pour le moment.

« Les responsables de cet acte criminel doivent être traduits en justice. Les Nations Unies restent déterminées à accompagner le peuple et le gouvernement maliens dans l'instauration d'une paix durable dans leur pays. Le Secrétaire général encourage tous les Maliens à rejeter la violence et à soutenir le processus de paix, y compris en participant au deuxième tour des élections législatives ce dimanche », a déclaré le porte-parole de M. Ban dans un communiqué de presse.

« Le Secrétaire général présente ses condoléances aux familles des casques bleus qui ont perdu la vie dans cet attentat, et exprime ses vœux de prompt rétablissement à ceux qui ont été blessés. Il présente également ses condoléances au peuple et gouvernement sénégalais suite aux décès de leurs compatriotes qui servaient la communauté internationale et la cause de la paix », a-t-il ajouté.

Le Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général au Mali et chef de la MINUSMA, Bert Koenders a lui aussi condamné dans les termes les plus forts cette attaque qu'il a qualifié de « lâche ».

« Nous ne pouvons pas accepter ce genre d'actes barbares. Je présente mes sincères condoléances au Président du Sénégal et aux familles endeuillées. Je souhaite un prompt rétablissement aux blessés de la garde nationale malienne et du contingent de la MINUSMA », a déclaré M. Koenders.

« Les responsables de cet attentat doivent être identifiés et traduits devant la justice pour répondre de leurs actes. Cette attaque n'entamera en rien notre détermination et notre engagement à poursuivre notre mission de rétablissement de la paix et de la sécurité au Mali », a-t-il ajouté.


Mali: La CEDEAO va deployer 50 observateurs dans le cadre des legislatives au Mali

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Source: ECOWAS
Country: Mali

N°: 350/2013

La CEDEAO va déployer 50 observateurs électoraux pour le second tour des élections législatives du Mali prévues le 15 décembre 2013 dans le sillage du scrutin du 24 novembre qui n’avait vu aucun parti remporter la majorité des sièges à pourvoir.

La mission régionale d'observation sera dirigée par le Pr Amos Sawyer, ancien président du gouvernement de transition du Libéria, qui était déjà à la tête des 100 observateurs du tour précédent.
Il sera secondé par l’ancien ambassadeur Léopold Ouédraogo, membre du Conseil des sages de la CEDEAO.

Selon les résultats provisoires du premier tour de ces législatives, qui ont enregistré plus de 1.140 candidatures des formations politiques du pouvoir, de l’opposition et des indépendants, les trois principaux partis rivaux ont obtenu moins de 20 sièges sur les 147 que compte l’Assemblée nationale.

La loi électorale du Mali prévoit un second tour si aucune liste n’obtient la majorité absolue des suffrages, soit 51% à l’issue du premier tour des législatives.

Dans sa déclaration préliminaire, la mission d'observation électorale de la CEDEAO, qui a suivi le premier tour du scrutin dans les huit régions du Mali et les communes de la capitale, Bamako, avait jugé le scrutin crédible et transparent, tout en déplorant le faible taux de participation (38,4 %).

Elle avait aussi affirmé que les lacunes notées, parmi lesquelles l’insuffisance de la sensibilisation des électeurs et l’affichage tardif des listes électorales dans plusieurs bureaux de vote, «n'ont pas influé sur le bon déroulement des élections qui ont été globalement acceptables et conformes aux normes» internationales.

Après l’élection présidentielle réussie de juillet/août 2013, le déploiement de la mission d'observation de la CEDEAO pour le scrutin législatif s’inscrit dans le cadre des efforts visant à aider le Mali à conclure la feuille de route de la transition pour le rétablissement total de l’ordre constitutionnel et de l'intégrité du territoire après la crise provoquée en 2012 par un coup d'Etat militaire et une insurrection séparatiste dan

Niger: Mothers in the Niger are screening their children for malnutrition and disease

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Source: UN Children's Fund
Country: Niger

Mothers in the Niger are using specially designed bracelets to evaluate the nutritional status of their children at home

By Nathalie Prévost

The power of mothers to screen their children for malnutrition and disease and take necessary action is proving a fierce ally in the fight against persistent malnutrition in the Niger.

ZINDER, Niger, 13 December 2013 – Zila squats down under the tree in front of her home to measure the mid–upper arm circumference of her baby daughter Mariama with a bracelet. She is checking Mariama’s nutritional status.

Zila has lost three children to malnutrition. She is determined to check 9-month-old Mariama twice a day – in the morning and in the evening.

Malnutrition in the Niger

Malnutrition is directly or indirectly responsible for 35 per cent of deaths of children under 5 in the world.

In the Niger, even during a good harvest year, malnutrition is a major issue. An annual survey conducted in 2013 concluded that the prevalence of global acute malnutrition in the country was 13 per cent.

The World Health Organization’s standard of emergency is 10 per cent.

‘Mother screening’

A pilot programme supported by UNICEF and partners has started leveraging the care of mothers like Zila to fight malnutrition. The programme distributes bracelets like the one she has been using to monitor Mariama. It tells the mothers how to read the results, and what action, if any, to take.

This ‘mother screening’ approach was designed to improve the quality and coverage of care. Under the programme, parents don’t require community workers to come and screen their children or to determine whether their child requires medical attention. They can do it themselves. With screening capacity in the home, malnutrition should decline.

Diagnosing malnutrition earlier should also ensure that fewer children require urgent treatment. “If the child is brought to us early, he won’t develop complications and will be able to stay at home instead of being hospitalized in emergency,” explains Hassan Issa. Mr. Issa coordinates the mother screening project for national NGO Befen – one of UNICEF’s partners tackling treatment for acute malnutrition in this region.

To date, UNICEF has provided 20,000 bracelets.

Bracelets saving lives

Dogo, in the Zinder region, is one of the areas in which the programme has been piloted. The health centre in Dogo covers 49 villages and more than 37,000 individuals.

Mr. Issa reports that the results, so far, have been promising. “We started the distribution of [mid-upper arm circumference] bracelets to 9,500 women of childbearing age in Dogo health area,” he says. “We are very happy with the results: It works!”

Head doctor of the health centre Dr. Garba Seyni Mahamadou manages the activities of the therapeutic feeding centre for children suffering from severe and moderate acute malnutrition. The doctor is enthusiastic: “Since the beginning of the project, the number of reported cases increased. Moms are fully able to monitor the upper arm circumference of their child.”

“They are setting the bracelet correctly – and can even give details of its meaning,” he continues. “If the bracelet is in the red section, they know they should bring the child to the [therapeutic feeding centre for severe acute malnutrition offering outpatient treatment]. If it’s yellow – to the [centre for moderate acute malnutrition].”

And the programme is not limited to malnutrition. “Last, but not least,” says Dr. Mahamadou, “during a training, we explained them how to act when their child is presenting signs of disease.” Mariama and Sofiane

Mariama’s bracelet is in the yellow. Tomorrow, Zila will take her to the health centre in Dogo, a two-hour walk from their village, Jan Birgi. Mariama will receive a ration of fortified flour.

Zila’s neighbour Zoué is also screening her children. She learns that Sofiane, 3, is in a critical state. Sofiane has had bouts of acute malnutrition since the day he was born. Befen refers mother and child to Mirriah hospital, along with Zoué’s youngest child, who is still breastfed.

At the hospital, the medical staff will follow Zoué, Sofiane and the baby closely. The family is very poor, and Zoué has had closely spaced pregnancies. The staff will suggest ways that she can feed the children better. They will also suggest ways that Zoué can space out births.

In a few days, when Sofiane has gained weight and is walking again, the family will return to Jan Birgi.

During the first seven months of 2013, more than 500,000 children were treated for severe and moderate acute malnutrition in the Niger. NGOs like Befen have contributed significantly to a better approach to the persistent problem.

In the Niger, mothers are often illiterate, are married young and are not necessarily versed in how best to ensure their children’s health, particularly given scarce resources. Befen hopes that the mother screening programme will continue to be a success – empowering mothers like Zila and Zoué and ultimately contributing profoundly to their children’s well-being in the long term.

Mauritania: West Africa Food Security Outlook October 2013 through March 2014

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Source: Famine Early Warning System Network
Country: Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone
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KEY MESSAGES

  • In general, harvests across the region will be average to good. With these ongoing harvests, most households have an adequate diet and are able to meet their nonfood needs with income from the sale of cash crops and wage labor.
    Most areas of the region are currently experiencing Minimal (IPC Phase 1) food insecurity.

  • However, there are localized pockets of severe production shortfalls in the Sahel due to the individual or combined effects of a late start of the rains, mid-season dry spells, and an earlier than usual end to the rainy season.
    Household food stocks in deficit areas of Niger and Chad will depleted earlier than usual and widespread Stressed (IPC Phase 2) food security outcomes are likely by January 2014.

  • Northern and central regions of the Central African Republic are reeling from the combined effects of the politico-military crisis and disruptions to the growing season. This will limit food availability and make it difficult for very poor and poor households to maintain their food access. Thus, households in these areas will face Stressed (IPC Phase 2) food security outcomes through at least March 2014.

  • In Mali, trade flows to northern markets of cereals from southern Mali and of imported foodstuffs from Algeria should be regular and at above-average levels. These flows will be sufficient to cover expected production shortfalls in the Gao and Timbuktu regions. In addition, improving incomes from livestock sales and continuing humanitarian assistance programs should help maintain food insecurity at Minimal (IPC Phase 1) levels between now and March 2014.

Mali: Aperçu de la rentrée scolaire 2013-2014 au Nord

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Source: UN Children's Fund, Save the Children, Education Cluster
Country: Mali
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Kenya: Effectiveness Review: Drought Management Initiative: Livestock Component, Kenya

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Source: Oxfam
Country: Kenya
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Kenya’s ‘Turkana-Pokot Drought Management Initiative (DMI)’ was a three-year programme implemented by a consortium of NGOs which aimed to mitigate the effects of climatic shocks among pastoralist communities in north-western Kenya. Oxfam GB was responsible for implementing the livestock component of this programme in three of the most remote pastoralist communities in the northern part of Turkana County. These full and summary reports document the findings of a quasi-experimental impact evaluation carried out in July 2012.

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