7 octobre 2014 – Le Secrétaire général adjoint des Nations Unies pour les opérations de maintien de la paix, Hervé Ladsous, a assisté mardi à une cérémonie à la mémoire des neuf Casques bleus nigériens de la Mission de l'ONU au Mali (MINUSMA) qui ont été tués la semaine dernière dans une embuscade, et il a exprimé son soutien au contingent tchadien, qui a également subi des pertes ces dernières semaines.

Dans la matinée du vendredi 3 octobre, sur l'axe Ménaka-Ansongo, en direction d'Indelimane, un convoi de ravitaillement du contingent nigérien de la MINUSMA est tombé dans une embuscade. Le bilan de cet attentat est le plus lourd depuis le démarrage de la Mission. Cela porte à 30 le nombre de Casques bleus tués pour la paix au Mali.

« Que les responsables ne l'ignorent pas, ils seront châtiés, poursuivis, ils paieront l'ignominie des actes qu'ils ont commis », a prévenu M. Ladsous lors de la cérémonie qui a eu lieu au quartier général de la mission onusienne dans la capitale Bamako.

« En même temps, il faut que tous les groupes armés qui se trouvent dans le nord du pays, s'en tiennent à leur parole, se conforment aux engagements pris à Alger, de travailler avec nous pour faire en sorte que le nord du Mali retrouve la paix civile, que les populations que nous avons la mission de protéger n'aient plus à souffrir, n'aient plus à être menacées dans leur quotidien, dans leur chair parfois, c'est vraiment quelque chose que nous ne devons jamais oublier », a-t-il ajouté.

De son côté, le Représentant spécial adjoint du Secrétaire général au Mali et Chef par intérim de la MINUSMA, Arnauld Akodjénou, a exprimé sa consternation face à cet « acte de terrorisme lâche et odieux ».

« Ces crimes ne doivent pas rester impunis. Cette violence doit cesser immédiatement et la MINUSMA interpelle encore une fois tous les acteurs impliqués dans la recherche de solutions pour une paix durable d'assumer leur responsabilité pour un dénouement rapide de cette crise qui n'a que trop duré », a souligné M. Akodjénou.

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The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President María Cristina Perceval ( Argentina):

The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the targeted attack against a United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) camp in Kidal, Mali, on 7 October, in which one Senegalese peacekeeper of MINUSMA was killed.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences to the family of the peacekeeper killed, as well as to the Government and people of Senegal, and to MINUSMA. The members of the Security Council paid tribute to the Senegalese peacekeepers for their sacrifices and continued efforts in MINUSMA.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their full support to MINUSMA and French forces that support it. The members of the Security Council called on the Government of Mali to swiftly investigate this attack and bring the perpetrators to justice and stressed that those responsible for the attack shall be held accountable.

The members of the Security Council underlined that attacks targeting peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. The members of the Security Council reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.

The members of the Security Council reminded States that they must ensure that measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.

The members of the Security Council reminded the armed groups operating in northern Mali of their commitment to cooperate with the United Nations to prevent attacks against peacekeepers in line with the declaration they signed on 16 September in Algiers.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their support for MINUSMA to assist the Malian authorities and the Malian people in their efforts to bring lasting peace and stability to their country, as mandated by the Security Council in resolution 2164 (2014).

07/10/2014 - 20:15 GMT

Un Casque bleu sénégalais été tué mardi soir par des tirs de roquette contre le camp de la Mission de l'ONU au Mali (Minusma) à Kidal, dans le nord-est de ce pays, a indiqué à l'AFP un responsable de la Minusma dans le nord.

"Il y a eu au moins quatre roquettes tirées sur le camp de la Minusma de Kidal. Pour le moment, le bilan provisoire est d'un mort, un Casque bleu", selon la même source,qui a également fait état d'un "blessé léger".

Six à sept explosions, ont été entendues, mais cinq roquettes tirées sur le camp, a-t-on ajouté.

Ces tirs interviennent quatre jours après une attaque meurtrière contre la Minusma, qui a coûté la vie à neuf soldats nigériens dans la région de Gao (au sud de Kidal), auxquels les honneurs ont été rendus lors d'une cérémonie à Bamako mardi.

Les auteurs de cette attaque "seront châtiés, ils seront poursuivis, ils payeront l'ignominie des actes qu'ils ont commis", a affirmé le chef des opérations de maintien de la paix de l'ONU, Hervé Ladsous, qui participait à cet hommage funèbre.

Selon des sources militaires et diplomatiques, ces dernières violences avaient été précédées de menaces d'un chef jihadiste malien, Iyad Ag Ghali.

Iyad Ag Ghali a créé Ansar Dine, un des groupes jihadistes qui ont contrôlé pendant près d'un an, entre 2012 et 2013, le nord du Mali, avant d'en être en grande partie chassés par une intervention militaire internationale en cours depuis janvier 2013.

Iyad Ag Ghali était demeuré silencieux pendant plus d'un an et demi puis est apparu dans une vidéo diffusée en août sur internet, dans laquelle il appelait à combattre la France et ses alliés.

L'opération anti-jihadiste au Mali a été déclenchée à l'initiative de la France, avec sa force Serval, remplacée en juillet dernier par Barkhane, à vocation plus vaste et durable, sur l'ensemble de la zone sahélo-saharienne. Dans le cadre de l'intervention, plusieurs pays ont aussi envoyé des troupes au Mali, aujourd'hui sous mandat de l'ONU.

Ces derniers jours, plusieurs sources avaient évoqué à l'AFP à Bamako des menaces récentes d'Iyad Ag Ghali contre l'ONU.

Selon une source diplomatique malienne, il a menacé "les éléments de la Minusma à Kidal, leur demandant de quitter les lieux".

Interrogée sur le sujet mardi matin, une source sécuritaire de la mission onusienne avait répondu: "Effectivement, à la suite de menaces précises de la part de Iyad Ag Ghali, notre équipe à Kidal a redoublé de vigilance".

"Nous avons plusieurs plans, dont une possible évacuation, mais nous n'en sommes pas là", a-t-elle dit, sans plus de détails.

"L'islamiste malien Iyad Ag Ghali a mis sa menace à exécution en faisant attaquer le camp de la mission de l'ONU à Kidal" mardi soir, a dit une deuxième source sécuritaire au sein de la Minusma.

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© 1994-2014 Agence France-Presse

10/8/2014 - 03:02 GMT

by Serge Daniel

A Senegalese peacekeeper was killed Tuesday as a UN camp in northern Mali came under rocket fire in an attack blamed on a jihadist leader driven from the country by French troops.

The strike came just as the UN vowed to bolster defences for its troops in Mali after suffering its deadliest attack on Friday -- an ambush by Al-Qaeda-linked militants that claimed nine peacekeepers' lives.

"This is no longer in the context of maintaining peace," said the UN's head of peacekeeping operations, as he announced deployments of drones and armoured vehicles.

"We are required to take a series of measures ... to toughen up our bases, and boost our protection," he said at a press conference after a attending the nine peacekeepers' funeral in Mali's capital Bamako.

As he spoke, the UN mission came under a fresh attack, this time blamed on Iyad Ag Ghaly, who led a Tuareg rebellion in the Sahara before setting up the armed group Ansar Dine.

The jihadist had disappeared in January 2013 soon after France intervened to drive Islamist insurgents back from Bamako but resurfaced last month to issue a video message signalling his return to combat.

He said his group was "ready to unite with our brothers on the ground to face up to the crusaders and infidels who have united to fight Islam in our land".

"The Malian Islamist Iyad Ag Ghaly has carried out his threat by attacking the camp of the UN mission in Kidal," a source from the UN's MINUSMA force in Mali told AFP.

The source said at least five rockets were fired and added that the "provisional death toll" was one peacekeeper, giving his nationality as Senegalese.

A resident of Kidal contacted by AFP by telephone confirmed the information.

"The camp was attacked, we heard loud noises. It's rockets. It's dark here now and we don't know what is happening," he said.

In New York, the UN Security Council condemned the attack and called on Bamako to launch an investigation and "bring the perpetrators to justice".

• 'Shameful acts' -

In a 23-minute video in Arabic put online in August, Ghaly accused the French and their Malian army allies of a litany of atrocities against the people of northern Mali that "brings shivers to the spine".

Flanked by a black jihadist flag and a Kalashnikov rifle, his long monologue was interspersed with images of French interests in Africa.

Islamist groups Ansar Dine, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and MUJAO occupied the desert north -- a vast chunk of land which makes up nearly two thirds of Mali -- for ten months before they were ousted by a French-led military intervention in January 2013.

Though order has largely been restored across the territory, the Islamists continue to carry out raids and attacks and French troops are still on patrol.

Friday's ambush, which targeted UN troops from Niger, brought to 30 the number of deaths in the UN mission since its deployment in July last year.

Ladsous vowed to hunt down the killers of the nine Nigerien soldiers.

"So that those responsible are fully aware, they will be punished, they will be prosecuted, they will pay for these shameful acts," Ladsous said at the soldiers' funeral.

Coffins of the soldiers were draped with a UN flag at the service at the headquarters of MINUSMA, and they were posthumously decorated.

"I want to tell you how we experienced, even in New York, the intensity of this tragedy, a tragedy that comes after many others," said Ladsous.

The Malian government is in negotiations with six armed groups to bring peace to northern Mali.

Ladsous urged all parties to honour a ceasefire agreed as part of the talks.

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© 1994-2014 Agence France-Presse

8 octobre 2014 – Le Secrétaire général des Nations Unies, Ban Ki-moon, et le Conseil de sécurité ont vivement condamné une attaque survenue mardi au Mali dans laquelle un Casque bleu sénégalais a été tué et un autre blessé.

« Le Secrétaire général est outré par l'attaque survenue aujourd'hui au Mali », a dit son porte-parole dans une déclaration à la presse publiée mardi soir.

Lors de cette seconde attaque en cinq jours contre la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA), des agresseurs non-identifiés ont lancé environ six explosifs vers le camp de la mission à Kidal. Cette attaque porte à 31 Casques bleus tués et 91 Casques bleus blessés le nombre total de victimes d'actes hostiles depuis le 1er juillet 2013.

« Le Secrétaire général rappelle à toutes les parties leur responsabilité de prévenir les attaques contre les Casques bleus des Nations Unies. Il souligne qu'une solution politique est la seule voie vers une paix et une stabilité durables au Mali », a ajouté son porte-parole.

Dans une déclaration à la presse, le Conseil de sécurité a également condamné « dans les termes les plus forts » cette attaque et a rappelé que les attaques visant des Casques bleus peuvent constituer des crimes de guerre. Il a appelé le gouvernement du Mali à enquêter rapidement sur cette attaque.

« Les membres du Conseil de sécurité ont rappelé aux groupes armés opérant dans le nord du Mali leur engagement à coopérer avec les Nations Unies pour prévenir les attaques contre les Casques bleus conformément à la déclaration qu'ils ont signée le 16 septembre 2014 à Alger », précise la déclaration à la presse.

Le Secrétaire général et le Conseil de sécurité ont exprimé leurs plus sincères condoléances à la famille du Casque bleu tué ainsi qu'au gouvernement et au peuple du Sénégal, et a souhaité un prompt rétablissement au Casque bleu blessé.

8 October 2014 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced outrage today at a fatal attack against United Nations peacekeepers in Mali – the second in less than a week – that left one “blue helmet” dead and wounded another, while the UN peacekeeping chief urged Malian parties to make a “credible effort” to reach a peace accord.

On 7 October, a number of unidentified assailants launched approximately six mortar rounds at the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) camp in Kidal, in the country’s northeast, resulting in the death of the Senegalese peacekeeper.

Coming just four days after an ambush killed nine Nigerien MINUSMA peacekeepers in Mali’s Gao region, the latest attack brings the total number of fatalities suffered by the UN mission to 31 peacekeepers killed and 91 wounded since it first deployed on 1 July 2013.

In statement issued late yesterday by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General noted that the attack came on the eve of the UN Security Council’s consideration of the situation in Mali and reminded all parties of their responsibility to prevent attacks against blue helmets. Mr. Ban underscored that “a political solution is the only way to bring sustainable peace and stability” to the country.

In addition, he expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.

Despite initial security improvements in 2013, the situation in Northern Mali has deteriorated since the beginning of this year. An increase in incidents involving improvised explosive devices, mostly targeting Malian and international security forces, has impeded the return to normalcy and resumption of economic and development activities.

The first phase of the inter-Malian negotiation process, which was held from 16 to 24 July in Algiers, aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace agreement which would end the crisis. It concluded with the adoption of a roadmap by all parties. A second phase of peace negotiations is currently underway in the Algerian capital.

In his briefing of the Council on the situation in Mali earlier today, Hervé Ladsous, the Under-Secretary-General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, warned that the security situation in the country is of concern as the rate of attack against MINUSMA operations has increased “substantially and steeply” amid a reduction in the presence of French troops and the “quasi-disappearance” of Malian armed forces from many places in the north.

“This has created a situation in which MINUSMA is the main foreign presence on the ground and, of course, this make us the target for all these spoilers – extremists, jihadists, traffickers – who would want to have the ground exclusively to themselves so as to carry-on with their nefarious activities,” Mr. Ladsous said via video feed from the Malian capital, Bamako.

“We are in a situation where we are [no longer] in a peacekeeping environment and this behoves on us to take a number of measures to face these asymmetric threats,” he continued.

Mr. Ladsous pointed out that the Mission was working “very actively” on a number of measures designed to strengthen the protection for MINUSMA bases, camps, equipment, and people in the face of what he described as “a whole range of threats,” including unguided rockets fired randomly, mortar shells, suicide attacks, and ambushes.

The Under-Secretary-General also voiced frustration over the “slow” progress in peace negotiations, adding that “both on the side of the Government and on the side of the armed groups, a credible effort needs to be made to find a compromise based on mutual trust and reciprocal good will.”

“Without losing any time, it’s important for an agreement to be reached,” he stated, reiterating the need for the return of Malian sovereignty to the rest of its territory.

At the same time, the Security Council similarly condemned yesterday’s attack in the “strongest terms” while reiterating their “full support” for the MINUSMA deployment.

The 15 members of the Council urged the Government of Mali to “swiftly” investigate the attack and bring the perpetrators to justice, adding that “those responsible for the attack shall be held accountable.” They also warned that such attacks may constitute war crimes under international law and reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

La vicemandataria Roxana Baldetti, dio a conocer durante una gira de trabajo en el departamento de Jalapa que el programa de asistencia alimentaria “Plan Oportunidad”, que beneficia a las familias afectadas por los efectos de la sequía prolongada, dio inicio de manera oportuna, gracias a que se pudieron prever anticipadamente los efectos de este fenómeno climático. El modelo de entrega de alimentos que se desarrollará en seis fases y beneficiará a más de 200mil familias, es coordinado por la vicemandataria Roxana Baldetti y será tomado como referencia por la comunidad internacional, para poder ser implementado en situaciones similares en Latinoamérica.

Este martes, la vicemandataria visitó el municipio de San Pedro Pinula, Jalapa para supervisar la entrega de alimentos a 1,582 familias. En total en ese departamento se distribuirán 6 mil 275 raciones, en el municipio de Monjas se destinaron 1.057, en San Manuel Chaparrón 835, en San Luis Jilotepeque 2.338 y en Jalapa 913.

Baldetti dio a conocer que los pobladores afectados aceptaron realizar trabajos comunitarios que propicien el desarrollo a cambio de recibir por seis meses insumos básicos para subsistir, pues no poseen ningún recurso alimenticio., "De esto que afectó a los guatemaltecos vamos a hacer una oportunidad para mejorar el departamento, aquí nadie dijo que no quería participar en proyectos y todos trabajaron en su terreno porque ustedes son gente que va a salir adelante", dijo.

El Ministro de Agricultura, Elmer López expresó que las entidades a cargo de la seguridad alimentaria han estado trabajando con todos los equipos de Gobierno para que en cada lugar se hagan obras de conservación de suelos y agua, “sabemos que con esto vamos a salir adelante porque es una oportunidad que vamos a aprovechar y el otro año con semilla y fertilizante nos vamos a superar", manifestó.

Los pobladores de San Pedro Pinula realizaron mantenimiento de caminos, huertos familiares para resguardar la seguridad alimentaria, así como ampliación de escuelas y construcción de más de 48 aulas.

El alcalde de San Pedro Pinula, José Manuel Méndez, agradeció el apoyo del Ejecutivo y comentó que es la primera vez que un Gobierno se "preocupa por los daños que cada año deja la falta de lluvia".

Como parte del compromiso del Gobierno de Guatemala con los afectados por la sequía prolongada, este martes la vicemandataria Roxana Baldetti, supervisó la entrega de alimentos a 19.167 familias del departamento de Baja Verapaz.

La primera de seis fases del plan de entrega de asistencia alimentaria, denominado Operación Oportunidad, avanza en todo el territorio nacional beneficiando a más de 200mil familias, "Ustedes perdieron el 85 por ciento de maíz y el 75 por ciento de su frijol por esta canícula prolongada, por lo que con el Presidente decidimos traerles sus alimentos durante 6 meses para familia", indicó la vicegobernante.

La vicepresidenta también recordó que el programa lleva implícito el compromiso de los beneficiados de recibir capacitación de parte del Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación, MAGA, para poder hacer más productivas sus tierras, "Además de recibir los alimentos ustedes son capacitados para cuidar la tierra de sus cultivos y evitar pérdidas el otro año, seguiremos trabajando por todos", agregó Baldetti.

Los municipios afectados por la canícula prolongada en el departamento de Baja Verapaz son, Rabinal con 2.832 familias; El Chol 1.482; Granados 1.503; Salamá 6.436; San Jerónimo con 1.238; Cubulco con 2.240 y Purulhá con 215 familias quienes recibieron hoy la entrega de alimentos.

La ayuda otorgada por la actual administración consiste en un quintal de maíz, 30 libras de frijol y 17 libras de harina fortificada.

08/10/2014 - 12:18 GMT

Par Serge DANIEL

Attaques à l'engin explosif improvisé, tirs de roquettes, attentats meurtriers: les jihadistes signent leur retour en force dans le nord du Mali, d'où ils avaient été chassés en grande partie par une opération militaire internationale lancée par la France en janvier 2013.

"Ça n'est plus un contexte de maintien de la paix", a reconnu mardi le chef des opérations de maintien de la paix de l'ONU, Hervé Ladsous, venu à Bamako à la suite de l'attaque la plus meurtrière depuis le déploiement des forces internationales en juillet 2013, dans laquelle ont péri neuf militaires nigériens.

Grâce à l'opération anti-jihadiste française Serval à laquelle se sont joints des soldats africains, "il n'y a plus ces terroristes à Gao, Kidal et Tombouctou", chefs-lieux des trois régions administratives du nord du Mali, a affirmé à l'AFP Oumar Diarra, du gouvernorat de Tombouctou, joint par téléphone.

"Mais ils sont revenus et ont même renforcé leurs positions" dans d'autres zones du Nord, où les populations vivent désormais dans "la crainte", déplore-t-il.

En septembre, un civil touareg enlevé près de Tombouctou en même temps que quatre membres de sa famille - ensuite relâchés - a été décapité. Selon ses proches, il a été tué par des membres d'Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (Aqmi), qui le soupçonnaient d'être un informateur des forces internationales.

Trois groupes jihadistes, Aqmi, Ansar Dine et Mouvement pour l'unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l'ouest (Mujao), ont contrôlé les régions du Nord pendant près d'un an entre 2012 et 2013, avant d'en être en grande partie repoussés par l'intervention militaire internationale, toujours en cours.

Ils y demeuraient néanmoins actifs, commettant régulièrement des opérations meurtrières.

Mais l'insécurité y a été "aggravée par l'insuffisance des forces de sécurité présentes sur le terrain", selon le dernier rapport de l'ONU sur la situation au Mali, daté du 22 septembre.

"Nœud gordien" du problème, selon un ancien ministre malien: Kidal, fief de rebelles touareg où l'Etat malien n'a jamais réussi complètement à reprendre pied. Il y a même régressé depuis la défaite de l'armée en mai face à des combattants essentiellement touareg et arabes qui en ont profité pour étendre leur contrôle à d'autres localités.

'Lien avec la Libye'

En outre, la France a basculé en juillet sa force Serval sur Barkhane, une opération plus large de lutte contre le jihadisme avec 3.000 soldats mobilisés au Sahel.

La mission de l'ONU au Mali, la Minusma, comptait au 1er septembre près de 9.300 militaires et policiers essentiellement déployés dans le Nord.

L'armée malienne ne fournit pas de chiffre sur ses troupes, qu'une source à la Minusma évalue à "un millier" d'hommes "dans une partie des régions de Mopti (centre), Tombouctou et Gao".

Selon des sources concordantes, plusieurs centaines de jihadistes sont aujourd'hui sur le terrain, alors qu'auparavant ils se cachaient.

Hervé Ladsous a confirmé mardi "une recrudescence qui est le résultat de la diminution progressive du dispositif Serval mais aussi du retrait pour l'essentiel de l'armée malienne du nord du Mali".

Il voit aussi "probablement un lien avec la situation dans le sud de la Libye", devenu sanctuaire de groupes islamistes radicaux auprès desquels les jihadistes opérant au Mali "ont repris du poil de la bête et ont réacquis des équipements".

Les jihadistes ciblent en particulier les forces internationales, qui compte plus de 30 morts, dont 20 depuis début septembre, et des dizaines de blessés, victimes d'explosions d'engins artisanaux ou de mines, de tirs de roquettes ou d'attentats suicides.

L'attaque du 3 octobre contre les Casques bleus nigériens a été revendiquée par un jihadiste malien proche du Mujao.

Mardi soir, un Casque bleu sénégalais a été tué par des tirs sur le camp de la Minusma à Kidal. Aucune revendication n'a été enregistrée mais des sources diplomatiques et militaires ont fait état à l'AFP de menaces d'attaques d'Iyad Ag Ghali, chef d'Ansar Dine.

La situation "doit interpeller la communauté internationale sur la nécessité de faire face au terrorisme", a déclaré à l'AFP le ministre des Affaires étrangères, Abdoulaye Diop, relevant que ces violences coïncidaient avec la reprise des pourparlers à Alger entre le gouvernement et six mouvements armés du Nord.

Facilitateurs et ONU réclament des progrès et invitent les groupes armés à collaborer au retour de l'apaisement.

"Tous les experts reconnaissent qu'il existe des passerelles entre les différents groupes armés", qu'ils soient jihadistes ou non, assure un haut responsable gouvernemental malien.

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© 1994-2014 Agence France-Presse

Foreign Minister Urges Armed Groups to Work with Government, Support Malian People’s Aspirations for Greater Local Management within Renewed Nation

7474th Meeting (AM)

With security in northern Mali worsening and peacekeepers increasingly targeted, it was urgent for ongoing peace talks to make progress without delay, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council this morning.

“It is important for an agreement to be reached that makes it possible for a consensus-based return of national institutions to the north,” Hervé Ladsous said via videoconference from the country’s capital, Bamako, in a briefing that also heard from Abdoulaye Diop, the Malian Minister for Foreign Affairs, African Integration and International Cooperation.

Mr. Ladsous, who said he was in Bamako to convey United Nations solidarity at the funeral ceremony for nine blue helmets from Niger killed last week in what he called “a cowardly ambush”, updated the Council on the Secretary-General’s latest report on the situation of 22 September (document S/2014/692).

The report welcomes the launch of formal peace negotiations in Algeria between armed groups and the Government of Mali, but also notes that the period was marred by ceasefire violations, which included “territorial gains made by the armed groups and clashes between armed groups, including self-defence militias reportedly ethnic-based and close to the Government”.

Commending Algeria’s “effective and active” role in facilitating the negotiations, Mr. Ladsous described the current stage of the process as “very delicate, but very important”. He said that while the Government and the international community firmly supported the process, the parties continued to stick to their positions. A credible effort was needed to find a compromise based on mutual trust and goodwill.

The goal, he said was a united Mali, with impartial and effective governance, rule of law, access to basic services and recognition of social and ethnic identity. The Government had agreed to those aims while firmly rejecting federalism.

As the talks went on, however, the security situation was of increasing concern, he said, with peacekeepers paying a steep toll, particularly in the last few months. Thirty-one had been slain and sixty-six wounded since the deployment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) 13 months ago.

The reduction of the French troops in the north, he said, combined with what he called “a quasi-disappearance” of the Malian Armed Forces from many places, had created a situation in which MINUSMA was the main obstacle to the continued free and “nefarious activity” of armed groups, thus making it a target.

“We are no longer in a peacekeeping environment,” he said. Improvised explosive devices, rockets, mortars and suicide attacks had been used against MINUSMA. To address the threats, the Mission, with the support of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, was working to “harden the protection of our bases, our camps, our people”, despite tremendous logistic challenges.

However, Mr. Ladsous stressed, United Nations personnel could not face the threat alone. The support of all armed groups, all Malians in the north, and neighbouring countries was needed to carry out the declaration in Algiers that condemned terrorism. “Everyone must use every means possible to affirm that MINUSMA cannot be a target,” he said.

Foreign Minister Diop, also emphasizing the magnitude of the terrorist threat in the north, warned that Iyad Ag Aghali, the head of the terrorist group Ansar Eddine, was now in the area and had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/ISIS). “My country, as well as all the countries of the Sahel, runs risk of attracting hordes of terrorists from around the world,” he said.

He called on the Security Council to send a strong signal to terrorists and protect MINUSMA personnel by revising the Mission’s mandate and strengthening its means to face the dangerous situation on the ground. He suggested the deployment of a rapid intervention force that was capable of fighting terrorists.

Reaffirming support for and cooperation with MINUSMA, Mr. Diop also reiterated that his Government was committed to achieving a comprehensive and effective peace through the talks in Algiers.

In that light, he welcomed the Secretary-General’s report, citing its language on the need for armed groups to immediately end hostilities and prepare for the cantonment of their units. He also welcomed the report’s call for all parties to recognize the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Malian State, to discuss all unresolved questions with an open spirit, and to fight against terrorism.

That was precisely the kind of message he needed to get across in Algiers in his role as Chief Negotiator for the Government team, he underscored. It was also the message that Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita conveyed at the recent opening of the General Assembly and the high-level side event on Mali.

Mali, he said, always honoured its commitments and had followed through on the July agreement for talks. He underlined, however, that it had consistently and categorically rejected creation of a federation or another State within the Malian State, which violated the country’s Constitution and contradicted the Algerian process road map.

Therefore, he said, the armed groups must show realism and take the extended hand of the Government, which was responding to the aspiration of the people of the north by agreeing to greater local management within a renewed and shared Government.

The meeting began at 10:10 a.m. and ended at 10:35 a.m.

Autoridades del Gobierno de Guatemala y Estados Unidos firmaron un convenio de cooperación por cuatro años, para fortalecer el sector de la investigación agrícola con un aporte de 90 millones de quetzales.

Este aporte económico fortalecerá los 102 materiales genéticos que son utilizados en los 22 departamentos de Guatemala y las 18 líneas productos priorizados, entre los que se encuentran la miel, yuca, aguacate, tomate, cacao, la papa, el maíz y el frijol, entre otros.

El ministro de agricultura, Elmer López, afirmó que con este convenio se fortalecerá la implementación de tecnología en la asistencia agrícola, “al tener nuevas tecnologías, técnicas y estudios, aumenta la capacidad de producción a nivel nacional y se mejora la calidad, cantidad y variedades de semillas para varios productos agrícolas que sean resistentes a los efectos de cambio climático, como la sequía”, expresó.

Desde el año 2012, el Maga ha fortalecido el desarrollo rural de las comunidades, proporcionando las plataformas necesarias, para tener un proceso investigativo de alta calidad que ayude a generar productos con resistencia a los efectos del cambio climático y la variedad de climas y microclimas, dijo el funcionario.

Con estas acciones se refuerza la ayuda a los agricultores de todo el país para que la tecnología les permita potenciar sus productos y favorecer las condiciones de vida en el área rural de todo el país, concluyó.

Guatemala, 08 de Octubre 2014
Fuente: Prensa Libre

El Programa Mundial de Alimentos (PMA) contribuirá con 180.000 raciones de comida para los afectados por la sequía en Guatemala entre julio y agosto pasado, confirmó hoy una fuente oficial.

Ese organismo de las Naciones Unidas entregará cada mes 30 mil raciones alimenticias que serán adquiridas con financiación de Estados Unidos, dijo a periodistas el ministro guatemalteco de Agricultura, Elmer López.

El Gobierno del presidente Otto Pérez Molina comenzó el pasado miércoles de forma oficial la entrega de los alimentos a las 263 mil familias que fueron afectadas por la falta de lluvia.

Cada familia recibirá cada 30 días y por un periodo de seis meses; 93.69 libras de maíz; 29.76 de fríjol y 16.75 de harina fortificada.

López explicó que cada mes el PMA entregará 30 mil bolsas con productos alimenticios para beneficiar a los damnificados por la prolongada sequía que provocó la pérdida de cultivos agrícolas en 16 de los 22 departamentos que tiene el país centroamericano.

El año pasado ese organismo entregó a Guatemala 120 mil raciones de alimentos para los afectados por la plaga de la roya en el café.

1) Despite a seasonable return of precipitation during August, moisture deficits have persisted in northwestern Senegal. The delayed onset of the season in July has already resulted in deteriorated conditions and affected crops on the ground.

2) Poor seasonal rainfall since the middle of August, including prolonged dry spells, has led to late-season moisture deficits that have negatively impacted crop development throughout parts of the Tillaberi region of southwestern Niger and eastern Mali. Below average rains are forecast in the region for the upcoming outlook period.

3) Poor July rains throughout several local regions in Mali have resulted in degraded crop and pastoral conditions. August and September rains have continued to help improve ground impacts, although the rainy season is quickly coming to a close.

4) Since the beginning of September, poor rains have led to deteriorating crops and compromised planting activities throughout Rwanda.

5) A second week of torrential rain is forecast for usually dry portions of the Greater Horn of Africa, including the Somali region of Ethiopia and the Puntland region of Somalia. Localized flash flooding is likely in areas that receive heavy rains.

The present report is submitted pursuant to Security Council resolution 2164 (2014) of 25 June 2014, by which the Council renewed the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and covers the period from 27 May to 15 September 2014. The Council requested me to report within three months of the adoption of the resolution on the implementation of the Ouagadougou preliminary agreement, the expansion of the Mission’s Force presence in the north of Mali and benchmarks to assess progress in the implementation of the priority tasks of the mandate of MINUSMA.

Ten Years of the Right to Food Guidelines: Gains, Concerns and Struggles

NEW REPORT CALLS FOR MORE DEMOCRATIC FOOD SYSTEMS

Rome, Utrecht, Heidelberg, Geneva, Berlin, 8 October 2014 - Food security and human rights remain deeply threatened by concentration of land ownership, corporate domination of food systems and policy incoherence, reports the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2014, officially launched today with the participation of the new UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food, Dr. Hilal Elver, at the FAO in Rome.

"As we celebrate the progress made over the past decade, it is important to keep in mind that we will have to work even harder to realize the right to food in order that hunger and malnutrition no longer afflict humanity", Dr. Elver cautioned on the occasion of the ten-year anniversary of the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security.

The Watch 2014 - titled Ten Years of the Right to Food Guidelines: Gains, Concerns and Struggles - discusses key policy processes and highlights the increasing influence of companies in international food and nutrition governance as a growing challenge in the global struggle for the right to adequate food.

On one hand, increased power of multinational food and beverage corporations over what ends up on the consumer's plate has led to a higher consumption of unhealthy ultra-processed foods, thereby contributing to obesity and malnutrition in both developed and developing countries.

Between 40 and 50 per cent of the adult population in Belgium and Colombia are overweight, reports the Watch 2014.

On the other hand, agribusiness and financial investors are taking control of natural resources and undermining the rights and food sovereignty of local communities and small-scale food producers. Such practices are promoted and condoned by governments in the name of 'development'.

An estimated one million hectares of land have been appropriated in Mali in recent years, depriving peasant communities of their livelihoods. The expansion of mining in Sweden and its impact on peasant and indigenous populations illustrate that land grabbing is a worldwide phenomenon.

The Watch calls on governments to exercise political will in addressing the inequities in food systems, demanding the right to food be 'mainstreamed' in coherent food, nutrition, energy and trade policies.

Democratic institutions and mechanisms that engage those most affected by hunger in policy-making are among the goals of ongoing social mobilization and resistance worldwide - from Guatemala to India and Norway, as revealed in the Watch 2014.

As stressed by Olivier De Schutter, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, "[t]here are major actors who are able to block change as a result of the dominant position they have acquired in the food and political systems. That is why food democracy is really the key to achieving more sustainable [and accountable] food systems."

Contact M. Alejandra Morena, Coordinator - Right to Food and Nutrition Watch

FURTHER INFORMATION

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