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The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Dina Kawar (Jordan):

The members of the Security Council heard a briefing on Mali by the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, on 9 April.

The members of the Security Council welcomed the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, which was initialed on 1 March by representatives of the Malian Government, one of the coalitions of armed groups, “Platform”, and all members of the international mediation team, as a critical step to achieve lasting peace in Mali. The members of the Security Council considered this agreement as balanced and comprehensive, aiming to address the political, institutional, governance, security, development and reconciliation dimensions of the crisis.

The members of the Security Council commended the role played by Algeria and other members of the international mediation team for their continued efforts to assist the Malian parties to achieve lasting peace in Mali.

The members of the Security Council urged the armed groups of the Coordination to initial the draft agreement and called on all actors who have influence on the Malian parties to use it in this regard. The members of the Security Council expressed their intention to follow developments in this respect closely.

The members of the Security Council encouraged the parties to seize this historic opportunity and to continue to engage constructively with sustained political will and in good faith, supported by the members of the international mediation team, to sign this agreement as soon as possible and commit to its effective, complete and sincere implementation, through the further development of implementation modalities and timelines.

The members of the Security Council underlined that the responsibility for the full and faithful implementation of a peace agreement rests with the Malian parties, supported by the international mediation team and the wider international community.

The members of the Security Council underscored the need for clear, detailed and concrete oversight mechanisms to support the implementation of the future agreement, which has to be Malian-led and Malian-owned, and expressed their intention to facilitate and follow closely its implementation, in close coordination with the international mediation team. The members of the Security Council reiterated the leading role the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Mali and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), in conjunction with the other members of the international mediation team and the wider international community, to support and oversee the implementation of this agreement.

The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern over the volatile security situation in the North of Mali and the continued attacks, including against MINUSMA, and violent clashes in Mali. The members of the Security Council urged all parties to swiftly implement all agreed confidence-building measures to facilitate the implementation of the ceasefire, with the support of and in coordination with MINUSMA. The members of the Security Council reiterated their demand that all parties refrain from any action, whether direct or conducted through proxies, that jeopardizes prospects for peace. In this regard, they reiterated their readiness to consider appropriate measures, including targeted sanctions, against those who resume hostilities and violate the ceasefire.

For information media. Not an official record.

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On trouvera ci-après le texte de la déclaration à la presse faite aujourd’hui par la Présidente du Conseil de sécurité pour le mois d’avril, Mme Dina Kawar (Jordanie):

Les membres du Conseil de sécurité ont entendu un exposé sur le Mali, présenté par le Secrétaire général adjoint aux opérations de maintien de la paix, M. Hervé Ladsous, le 9 avril 2015.

Les membres du Conseil ont accueilli avec satisfaction l’Accord pour la paix et la réconciliation au Mali, qui a été paraphé le 1er mars 2015 par des représentants du Gouvernement malien, un représentant de la coalition de groupes armés « Plateforme » et tous les membres de l’équipe de médiation internationale, et qui constitue une étape cruciale sur la voie de l’instauration d’une paix durable dans ce pays. Ils ont considéré que cet accord, qui vise à régler la crise dans toutes ses dimensions – sur les plans politique et institutionnel mais aussi du point de vue de la gouvernance, de la sécurité, du développement et de la réconciliation – était équilibré et global.

Les membres du Conseil ont félicité l’Algérie pour le rôle qu’elle a joué et les autres membres de l’équipe de médiation internationale pour l’aide qu’ils ont apportée aux parties maliennes en vue d’instaurer une paix durable au Mali.

Les membres du Conseil ont engagé les groupes armés de la Coordination à signer le projet d’accord et demandé à tous les acteurs d’user de leur influence sur les parties maliennes à cette fin. Ils ont dit qu’ils entendaient suivre la situation de près.

Les membres du Conseil ont invité les parties à saisir cette occasion historique et à continuer de dialoguer de manière constructive, avec une volonté politique ferme et en toute bonne foi, aidées en cela par l’équipe de médiation internationale, afin de signer l’accord dans les meilleurs délais et de s’engager sincèrement en faveur de sa mise en œuvre effective et complète, moyennant l’établissement de modalités et d’un calendrier d’application.

Les membres du Conseil ont rappelé que la responsabilité de l’application intégrale et stricte de l’accord de paix incombait aux parties maliennes, aidées en cela par l’équipe de médiation internationale et la communauté internationale dans son ensemble.

Les membres du Conseil ont souligné qu’il fallait établir des mécanismes de contrôle clairs, détaillés et concrets pour aider à la mise en œuvre du futur accord, qui devait être dirigée et prise en main par les Maliens, et dit qu’ils entendaient y concourir et la suivre de près, en étroite coordination avec l’équipe de médiation internationale. Ils ont rappelé que le Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général pour le Mali et la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation au Mali (MINUSMA), aux côtés des autres membres de l’équipe de médiation internationale et de la communauté internationale dans son ensemble, avaient un rôle de premier plan à jouer en appuyant et en contrôlant l’application de l’accord.

Les membres du Conseil se sont vivement inquiétés de la précarité de l’état de la sécurité dans le nord du Mali et des attaques qui continuent d’être commises, y compris contre la MINUSMA, ainsi que des affrontements violents qui se produisent dans le pays. Ils ont engagé toutes les parties à appliquer sans tarder toutes les mesures de confiance arrêtées afin de faciliter la mise en place du cessez-le-feu, avec l’aide de la MINUSMA et en coordination avec elle. Ils ont de nouveau demandé à toutes les parties de s’abstenir de tout acte, commis directement ou via des intermédiaires, qui compromettrait les perspectives de paix. À cet égard, ils se sont redits prêts à envisager de prendre les mesures appropriées, y compris d’imposer des sanctions ciblées, contre ceux qui reprennent les hostilités et violent le cessez-le-feu.

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

Highlights

• Nigeria: In Adamawa state, 150 NFI kits, 100 emergency shelter kits and 100 UNFPA dignity kits were distributed.

• Cameroon: DTM data collection has commenced in four departments of Cameroon’s Far North.

• Niger: 516 households in Niger benefitted from IOMled NFI distributions.

• Chad: IOM Chad has distributed NFIs and provided transportation assistance for 47 returnees and has registered an additional 592 returnees in Baga-Sola.

Bamako, Mali | | Saturday 4/11/2015 - 17:40 GMT |

Holdout rebels in Mali have refused to initial a peace deal agreed by other armed groups and the government, saying they could not accept the accord "in its current form".

The UN Security Council on Friday urged the main Tuareg rebel alliance, known as the Coordination for the Movements of Azawad (CMA), to initial the deal along with the other parties on Wednesday or face sanctions.

But the Coordination said in a statement overnight that it could not accept the accord without "amendments" that it had submitted.

These include demands such as the "official recognition of Azawad (the name used by Tuaregs for the northern part of the country) as a geographic, political and juridical entity".

The UN Security Council said the March 1 peace accord was a "historic opportunity" for Mali following the Islamist takeover in the north in 2012 that brought the country to the brink of collapse.

On Thursday, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop urged the council to put pressure on the Coordination to accept the accord and warned that a collapse of the peace effort would have "enormous risks" for Mali and the region.

The Malian government and a coalition of armed groups from the north known as the Platform have signed on to the accord, brokered by Algeria under UN auspices over the past eight months.

Wednesday's ceremony to initial the agreement was to be followed soon afterwards by a formal signing.

The Coordination "once more reiterates its wish that the amendments that it submitted to the international mission... be taken into account," the statement said.

A delegation of international and African diplomats who came to Kidal, the Coordination's northern stronghold, on March 17 rejected the demands, as did the Bamako government.

The accord negotiated under UN auspices provides for greater regional autonomy for the north in line with long-standing demands by Tuaregs and other groups.

Islamist militants seized control of northern Mali for more than nine months until a French-led military intervention in 2013 partly drove them from the region.

The council expressed concern over the security situation in Mali, where a UN peace force has suffered heavy losses during attacks by Islamist groups in the north.

At least 35 peacekeepers have been killed in action since the United Nations' MINUSMA force was deployed in July 2013, and 137 wounded in attacks.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Lagos, Nigeria | | Saturday 4/11/2015 - 12:30 GMT

by Phil HAZLEWOOD with Joel Olatunde AGOI in Port Harcourt

Nigerians were on Saturday voting to choose new state governors and local assemblies, with the main opposition party tipped to build on its victory in the presidential race.

Some 760 candidates are in the running for 29 governor and deputy governor positions, while 5,290 hopefuls are seeking local assembly seats in all 36 of Nigeria's states.

The main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) is expected to benefit from Muhammadu Buhari's presidential win against incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The PDP currently has 21 governors while the APC has 14.

"The still-ruling PDP will likely lose its majority of the governorships, partly from the bandwagon effect, incumbency fatigue and the APC's momentum in regions like the southwest and Middle Belt," the Eurasia Group said in a briefing note on Friday.

But the group's head for Sub-Saharan Africa, Philippe de Pontet, said the key state of Rivers, in the oil-producing southern delta region, would go to the PDP.

Governors are increasingly influential figures in Nigeria's federal system of government, exercising near-total control over their states, including finances and projects at the local level.

As a group they have become a considerable force to counter or bolster presidential power.

• Rigging claims -

Polling stations opened from 8 am (0700 GMT), with mixed reports of election officials having arrived early and swift accreditation to the non-arrival of volunteers and materials.

In Rivers -- a key prize for both sides because of the huge revenues from the oil and gas sector largely based in the state -- APC supporters alleged rigging on the part of the PDP in one area.

Animosity between outgoing APC governor Rotimi Amaechi and Jonathan plus previous fraud claims at the presidential vote have provided for high tension and fears of violence.

Police spokesman Ahmad Muhammad said part of the local electoral commission office was burnt down in Buguma, the hometown of former Niger Delta militant Mujahid Dokubo-Asari.

There were also sporadic incidents of shots fired, police said, while officers and soldiers were out in force in the state capital, Port Harcourt.

But voter Bright Owabie, a businessman, told AFP: "I expect the election to be fair and free: no violence. Let the people's vote count."

Elsewhere, a close race is predicted between APC candidate Akinwunmi Ambode and the PDP's Jimi Agbaje for control of Lagos, which drives Nigeria's economy.

The megacity of 20 million people and the surrounding state of the same name have been in opposition control since Nigeria returned to civilian rule in 1999.

APC spokesman Lai Mohammed claimed in a statement that "thugs armed by the PDP" were "on (the) rampage, shooting sporadically to scare away voters and carting away voting materials".

There was no immediate confirmation of the claim or a response from the PDP.

The APC could oust the PDP in the central state of Plateau and in the northern state of Kaduna, where nearly 70 percent of people voted for Buhari, experts predict.

Buhari and his wife, Aisha, accredited without a hitch in his home town of Daura, in neighbouring Katsina state. Jonathan was registered at his home in Utuoke, in southern Bayelsa.

Nigeria could also see its first female governor, with the APC's Aisha Jummai Alhassan running in Taraba state.

Voting was again taking place inside camps for people made homeless by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

• Security high -

Nationwide, Nigeria's police and security services have ordered restrictions on the movement of vehicles during polling hours and closed the country's land borders.

Fears of poll-related violence and attacks by Boko Haram Islamists provided the backdrop for the presidential elections but despite several sporadic incidents, widespread violence did not materialise.

But the government has called for a similar level of vigilance.

Handheld devices to authenticate voter identities are again being used in order to cut electoral fraud that has blighted previous elections, despite some malfunctions two weeks ago.

Problems with some of the machines in recognising biometric details stored on voter ID cards, including those of Jonathan, forced the election to go into a second day in some places.

Results of the gubernatorial and state assembly votes are expected to come in from Sunday, with winners announced in individual states.

Jonathan, 57, remains president until May 29 when Buhari, 72, is inaugurated as head of state.

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Ngouboua, Chad | | Saturday 4/11/2015 - 03:23 GMT

by Celia LEBUR

Almost two months after Boko Haram raided and pillaged her village in Chad, mother of seven Zara Isenik still lives in constant terror.

At the slightest strange noise, she says, she "runs to hide in the bush".

The cross-border raid by the ruthless Nigerian Islamists left mental and visible physical scars on a Lake Chad village that had previously been so peaceful that Nigerians fleeing Boko Haram used to come to seek sanctuary.

Many houses torched by the militants in Ngouboua have yet to be repaired. Livelihoods were ruined and fear reigns.

In the early hours of February 12, jihadist militants crossed Lake Chad by boat under cover of darkness and torched the village of 6,000 people in a brutal onslaught.

Isenik and her children were asleep, while her husband -- a Chadian army soldier -- was on the frontlines fighting Boko Haram on Niger's frontier with Nigeria.

"They arrived at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT). We heard gunfire ringing out in the night and we understood," Isenik said in a soft voice, squatting with her back against the wall of her torched home.

As she fled, she says she crossed paths with a group of armed men who were "very young and were dressed in black" and carried Kalashnikovs. But they let her go and after just two hours, the assault was over.

"Everything was burnt. The TV, my clothes, my jewellery, the sacks of corn I was supposed to sell on the market, and three million CFA francs ($5,000 or 4,500 euros) in cash -- all our savings," she said.

The Boko Haram militants kicked off their raid by attacking a military post located at Ngouboua's entrance.

Chadian forces, backed by military aircraft, returned fire, routing the militants and destroying their small boats.

But even though Boko Haram did not occupy the Chadian village, its fighters were merciless in the destruction they sowed while retreating.

Even 67 sheep kept near Isenik's home were burned to death. They were among 400 farm animals killed. Two hundred motorcycles were also destroyed.

The village chief, a soldier and several civilians were killed that night, but there was so much chaos that their bodies were not found immediately.

The attack -- Boko Haram's first on Chadian territory -- marked an important escalation in the militants' bloody six-year campaign to establish a hardline Islamic caliphate in northeast Nigeria, which borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

- Skyrocketing prices -

The Chadian army has since deployed reinforcements around the village.

"Security has returned, but people are still scared," said a member of the security forces armed with an assault rifle and a grenade attached to his belt.

Located just 18 kilometres (11 miles) from the Nigerian border, the Ngouboua peninsula remains vulnerable, and difficult access would make it hard to quickly send new troops in by land in the event of new raids.

Boko Haram has rarely attacked Chad's islands, but a new ambush on April 3 in a village near Ngouboua left seven dead.

Many fearful residents who fled inland in February have not yet returned home. Some do come back to Ngouboua to collect their sorghum crops by day, but then leave the village and spend the night in the bush.

Seated on a mat in his tiny textile shop, Ngouboua's chief tradesman Al Hadji Mboudou Mai is desperate.

"Forty-eight shops full of goods were destroyed. People lost everything, and they don't even have the means to rebuild their homes," he said.

Nearly two months after Boko Haram's attack, the market has only just begun to come back to life.

Onions, spices, tomatoes and okra plants are back on sale in wooden stalls under the blazing sun, as temperatures skyrocket to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Farenheit).

Boko Haram-linked insecurity on the lake has also had another effect on life in Ngouboua: prices have shot up because goods can now only be brought in by road, via Niger.

"Food, clothes, soap: everything is coming from Nigeria, even currency," sighed Mai, who said there was only one way forward for his people.

"Business must resume. Boko Haram must be wiped out," he said.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Highlights

 On 19 March, UNHCR and partner UN agencies organized a high-level consultation meeting in« Nouakchott on the humanitarian situation in Mberra camp and host villages.
During the meeting, the Representatives of UNHCR and partner UN agencies presented the existing interventions in Mberra camp and in the host community and their impact on beneficiaries.

 Between 25 and 26 March, UNHCR participated in a visit of a delegation composed of representatives from ECHO and DFID in Mberra camp and surrounding villages.

 Between 26 and 27 March, the Ambassadors of France and Japan in Mauritania and their Attaché as well as representatives of the United Kingdom, Spain and the European Union participated in a high level visit to Mberra refugee camp and host villages organized by UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNFPA and IOM. The visit was the occasion for the participants to observe the impact of the international funding granted to the programmes implemented in response to the Malian refugee crisis since 2012.

 In Mberra camp, UNHCR continues to offer protection and assistance to more than 52,000 Malian refugees. In March, the organization launched through its partner INTERSOS, a literacy programme for 106 adults in Tamashek and Arabic languages.

KEY FIGURES

15,103 Malian households in Mberra camp

5,635 Malian refugees with specific needs

3,705 People de-activated since December 2014

30L Of potable water available per person per day in Mberra camp

21 Persons per latrine in Mberra camp

FUNDING USD 24.4M Requested for the operation

Bamako, Mali | | samedi 11/04/2015 - 14:58 GMT

La rébellion à dominante touareg du nord du Mali a rejeté une invitation de la médiation algérienne à parapher le 15 avril l'accord de paix, malgré les pressions internationales pour imiter le camp gouvernemental, qui l'a déjà fait le 1er mars.

Dans un communiqué publié dans la nuit de vendredi à samedi, la Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad (CMA, rébellion) dit avoir reçu une lettre officielle du chef de file de la médiation l'informant de "l'organisation du paraphe, le 15 avril 2015 à Alger, de +l'accord pour la paix et la réconciliation au Mali+".

Un courrier similaire consulté par l'AFP, adressé par le ministre algérien des Affaires étrangères Ramtane Lamamra à un des groupes signataires du 1er mars, affirme que la CMA lui a notifié sa décision de parapher ce document.

Il invite en conséquence tous les participants à ces négociations à une nouvelle cérémonie de paraphe le 15 avril à Alger, suivie d'"interactions et de consultations de courte durée" sur la signature finale et l'application de l'accord.

Mais dans son communiqué, publié quelques heures après une déclaration unanime du Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU vendredi "exhortant les groupes armés de la Coordination à parapher le projet d'accord", la rébellion affirme qu'elle ne pourra pas parapher ce document "dans son état actuel et à la date indiquée".

"La CMA, tout en réaffirmant sa disponibilité à donner toutes les chances à l’aboutissement d’un paraphe, réitère, encore une fois, son attachement à la prise en compte des amendements qu'elle a remis à la mission internationale, le 17 mars 2015 à Kidal", dans le nord-est du pays, selon le texte.

Lors de cette rencontre avec une délégation de diplomates internationaux et africains dans son bastion de Kidal, la rébellion leur avait présenté une série de "points essentiels à introduire" dans l'accord, une exigence rejetée par la médiation comme par Bamako.

Parmi les principales revendications, figurent la "reconnaissance officielle de l'Azawad comme une entité géographique, politique et juridique", en référence à l'appellation du nord du Mali par les rebelles, la création d'une assemblée interrégionale couvrant cette zone, et un quota de "80% de ressortissants de l'Azawad" dans les forces de sécurité.

Le nord du Mali est tombé au printemps 2012 sous la coupe de groupes jihadistes liés à Al-Qaïda après la déroute de l'armée face à la rébellion, d'abord alliée à ces groupes qui l'ont ensuite évincée.

Les jihadistes ont été dispersés et partiellement chassés de cette zone par une opération militaire internationale lancée en janvier 2013 à l'initiative de la France, et toujours en cours. Mais des zones entières échappent encore au contrôle de Bamako.

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Lagos, Nigeria | | Sunday 4/12/2015 - 03:54 GMT

by Ben SIMON

A typical day for Deborah includes classes on a manicured university campus and exercise in the evening -- basketball, volleyball or aerobics. On weekends, she studies, swims or just relaxes.

But the teenager's life now is one that was unimaginable 12 months ago.

On April 14 last year, she was in a packed dormitory at the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, northeastern Nigeria, seeking a night's sleep before writing end-of-term exams.

Boko Haram fighters stormed the school after sundown, kidnapping 276 girls.

The mass abduction provoked global outrage and brought unprecedented attention to an insurgency that has devastated northern Nigeria since 2009.

Deborah was one of 57 girls who escaped within hours of the attack. Her life has changed but for the other 219 hostages still being held and for families desperate for news, the nightmare continues.

Despite promises from the government and military that the release or rescue of the hostages was at hand, there has been no credible information concerning their whereabouts in months.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to sell the girls as "slaves" and later said they had been "married off". Experts say both are possible and they are unlikely to still be all together.

• 'Blessing in disguise' -

Deborah and 20 other girls from Chibok who escaped Boko Haram captivity are now studying at the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in the northeastern city of Yola.

The privately-funded AUN does not look like other Nigerian universities and certainly bears little resemblance to Chibok, which even before the Islamist uprising began was a deeply impoverished town with poor roads and limited electricity supply.

Spread across a vast stretch of land on the outskirts of Yola, the campus includes an immaculate hotel, with a restaurant overlooking a pool that serves burgers and pizza, where faculty, including visiting Western professors, share sodas with their students.

"It is a beautiful environment," Deborah told AFP via university staff in an email exchange.

The Chibok girls at AUN are studying a curriculum aimed at preparing them to start a four-year undergraduate programme next year.

Deborah said her dream is to work at the United Nations "to help my community in Chibok, Nigeria and the world".

Others talk of becoming doctors or lawyers. All stress the importance of education. With degrees from the well-regarded AUN those dreams may come true.

But among the 21, the prospects feel bittersweet, as international attention returns to the plight of those still being held one year on.

Thoughts of their missing classmates are never far away and in their prayers daily, they said.

"We feel sad with the advantages we have now because so many from our hometown do not have these advantages," they added.

They also acknowledged they would almost certainly not be studying at the university had they not been kidnapped.

Mary put this conflict in starker terms: "When the insurgency struck, I was devastated but little did I know it was going to be a blessing in disguise."

• Horror with a purpose -

The Chibok girls at AUN felt united in a common goal to ensure that some good must come from last year's tragedy.

"It has been a horrible journey yet we believe that coming to AUN is for a purpose, which is to be an instrument of positive change in our hometown," Sarah said.

"We have not been broken by the attack. We see ourselves as the people who have been chosen to make positive future changes not just in Chibok, but in our country and the world," she added.

President Goodluck Jonathan's handling of the hostage crisis was heavily criticised, especially over his administration's failure to immediately recognise the severity of the attack and to swiftly launch a major rescue effort.

Jonathan's defeat in last month's general election to challenger Muhammadu Buhari may have partly been caused by his inability to contain the Islamist violence.

Boko Haram, whose name loosely translates from the Hausa language widely spoken in northern Nigeria as "Western education is forbidden", had already been suspected of committing crimes against humanity before the Chibok mass abduction focused global outrage.

But the girls studying at AUN suggested the Islamist foot-soldiers who carried out the kidnappings ultimately deserve mercy.

Northeastern Nigeria provides few opportunities and little hope of employment for young men, making them vulnerable to radicalisation, they said.

"I forgive Boko Haram for what they have done and I pray God forgives them too," Blessing said.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Niger - IOM has launched a regional border management project to support security in the Sahel countries of Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania with the specific aim of enhancing cross-country knowledge and capacities at the countries’ national borders.

Funded by the Government of Japan, the 12-month project “Enhancing Border Security in the Sahel” will support and strengthen regional and national approaches to border management through the development of training modules on passport examination, risk analysis and modern investigation techniques, which will be rolled-out through training of trainers and duplication in the border regions. Border officials will also be supported in efficiently identifying fraud, threats or latent risks.

Selected border posts in the region will be refurbished and equipped with IOM’s border management information system MIDAS, which will enhance the countries’ capacities to collect, store and analyze data at the borders and national level.

The Sahel region represents one of the most unpredictable and volatile regions in Africa today. Facing numerous security threats, the states in the Sahel are not sufficiently equipped to effectively control their borders, ensure human security, or prevent and respond to these threats. Recent conflicts in the region and the Ebola outbreak have once more highlighted the importance of cross-border cooperation and all-inclusive, protection-sensitive border management.

“Efficient border management is a key step towards development and security in the Sahel region,” said IOM Niger Chief of Mission, Giuseppe Loprete. “At the same time, border management cannot ignore the human and humanitarian factors. Borders also need to be protection sensitive to people in need, including in cases of massive influxes, and the development of mechanisms to ensure preparedness to situations of humanitarian needs at the borders will be equally high on the agenda of the project.”

The project will seek to involve central, regional and local levels of border and law enforcement authorities, but also cross-border communities, to achieve enhanced cooperation and coordination in ensuring security through border management.

For further information, please contact Giuseppe Loprete at IOM Niger, Tel: +227 980 543 31, Email gloprete@iom.int

Early March, the National Emergency Management Agency attested that nearly 1.2 million people are internally displaced (IDPs) in North-East States because of Boko Haram. The insurgency has also prompted 203,000 Nigerians and stranded migrants to escape in neighbouring countries.
While the Nigerians armed forces are making progress in liberating some areas, living conditions are challenging for those where destruction of homes, social infrastructure and resources on which livelihood are based were noticed.

OVERALL DISPLACEMENT

1.2 million Estimated internally displaced people by conflict and inter-communal violence as of 10 March 2015

203,000 People fled to neighbouring countries including refugees, returnees and stranded migrants as 25 March 2015

DISPLACEMENT PER STATE OF ORIGIN

With the claim of towns liberated and the relatively calm security after the Presidential Elections on 28 March, an increase in spontaneous return movement to several areas is expected. However, conditions in those areas of return are believed to be quite desperate as conflict and inter-communal violence have caused widespread destruction of homes, social infrastructure and resources on which livelihoods are based.

CRITICAL NEEDS

The most urgent needs of people affected by the conflict include protection, shelter, food and access to education and health services for both displaced persons, returnees and host communities.

800,000 children forced to flee violence in Nigeria and region – UNICEF

A year on from the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, UNICEF focuses attention on devastating impact of conflict on children

DAKAR/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 13 April 2015 – Around 800,000 children have been forced to flee their homes as a result of the conflict in northeast Nigeria between Boko Haram, military forces and civilian self-defence groups – according to a new report from UNICEF.

Released one year after the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Missing Childhoods reveals that the number of children running for their lives within Nigeria, or crossing over the border to Chad, Niger and Cameroon, has more than doubled in just less than a year.

“The abduction of more than 200 girls in Chibok is only one of endless tragedies being replicated on an epic scale across Nigeria and the region,” says Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “Scores of girls and boys have gone missing in Nigeria – abducted, recruited by armed groups, attacked, used as weapons, or forced to flee violence. They have the right to get their childhoods back”

The figures come as UNICEF draws attention to the devastating impact of the conflict on children across the region using the hashtag #bringbackourchildhood.

As part of this drive, UNICEF is using Snapchat – a social platform where messages disappear – to highlight the plight of the hundreds of thousands of children who are missing out on their childhoods as a result of the conflict.

To tell the stories of the children who have fled the violence, UNICEF and leading Snapchat artists will share images based on drawings from children in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon. The artwork reflects what children miss from home and the emotional wounds and suffering they have endured, including seeing their parents and siblings killed, tortured or abducted.

The public will also be invited to share what they would miss most if they were forced from home – either on Snapchat, or on other social channels using the hashtag #bringbackourchildhood.

Missing Childhoods outlines how the conflict is exerting a heavy toll on children in Nigeria and across the region in an increasing number of ways:

Children are being used within the ranks of Boko Haram – as combatants, cooks, porters and look-outs.

Young women and girls are being subjected to forced marriage, forced labour and rape. Students and teachers have been deliberately targeted – with more than 300 schools damaged or destroyed and at least 196 teachers and 314 schoolchildren killed by the end of 2014. UNICEF has stepped up its humanitarian response to the crisis. Over the past six months, UNICEF has provided over 60,000 children affected by the conflict in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad with counselling and psychosocial support to help them ease the pain of their memories, reduce stress and cope with emotional distress.

UNICEF is also working with partners to provide safe water and life-saving health services, restore access to education by creating temporary learning spaces, and deliver therapeutic treatment to malnourished children.

Faced with a severe funding shortfall, UNICEF is urging international donors to ramp up their financial support for relief efforts in Nigeria and the neighbouring countries. UNICEF has received only 15 per cent of the US$26.5 million required for its humanitarian response in Nigeria for 2015, and no more than 17 per cent for its overall humanitarian funding appeal for Cameroon, 2 per cent for Niger and 1 per cent for Chad.

Notes to the editor:

On Snapchat? Add @UNICEF and send them a snap showing what you would miss the most if you were forced to leave your home.

Not on Snapchat? Send UNICEF a comment about what you would miss on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #BringBackOurChildhood

For more information visit UNICEF’s campaign Tumblr at bringbackourchildhood.tumblr.com

Children’s stories, accompanying photos and new video are available for download at: http://uni.cf/1CuqidB

About UNICEF UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

For further information, please contact: Laurent Duvillier, UNICEF West and Central Africa in Dakar, + 221 77 740 35 77, lduvillier@unicef.org Rose Foley, UNICEF New York, + 1 917 340 2582, rfoley@unicef.org

Hypothèses pour l’analyse trimestrielle de la sécurité alimentaire

Messages clés

• Les déplacements de population, le mauvais fonctionnement des marchés, des moyens de subsistance perturbés, et une pression accrue sur les ressources des communautés d'accueil ont conduit à un accès limité à la nourriture pour 3,5 à 4 millions de personnes résidantes ou déplacées au nord du Nigeria, dans la région de Diffa au Niger, à l'ouest du Tchad et au nord du Cameroun. Les résultats de sécurité alimentaire de type Crise (IPC Phase 3) et Urgence (IPC Phase 4) sont attendus au cours des six prochains mois pour les ménages les plus touchés. La violence en République Centrafricaine va également conduire à des résultats similaires de sécurité alimentaire.

• En Guinée, au Libéria et en Sierra Leone, les revenus inférieurs à la moyenne en raison du ralentissement économique général limitent l'accès à la nourriture pour certains ménages pauvres. Bien que les récoltes de contre-saison sont en cours et que le démarrage des activités de préparation du sol pour la prochaine campagne agricole principale procure aux ménages pauvres de la nourriture et des revenus supplémentaires, l’insécurité alimentaire de type Stress (IPC Phase 2) ou Crise (IPC Phase 3) est toujours attendue dans zones les plus touchées.

• Dans des zones localisées du Sahel, la production agricole inférieure à la moyenne et les pâturages déficitaires, vont aboutir à un démarrage précoce de la période de soudure cette année. Les ménages affectés vont réduire leur consommation d'aliments, limiter les dépenses, et / ou pratiquer des stratégies d'adaptation atypiques. Dans ces zones, des résultats de sécurité alimentaire de niveau Stress (IPC Phase 2) ou Crise (IPC Phase 3) sont susceptibles d’être observés entre avril et la fin de la période de soudure (juillet dans les zones pastorales, septembre / octobre dans les zones agropastorales).

• Dans le reste de la région, des stocks alimentaires moyens à supérieurs à la moyenne détenus par les ménages, les activités agricoles de contre-saison en cours, les niveaux de revenu typiques et le fonctionnement normal du marché permettent aux ménages de satisfaire leurs besoins alimentaires et non alimentaires de base sans mener des stratégies d'adaptation inhabituelles. Pour ces ménages, l’insécurité alimentaire Minimale (IPC Phase 1) est attendue jusqu’à la fin de l'année de consommation.

By His Eminence Óscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB, President of Caritas Internationalis and Michel Roy, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis

“We have created a ‘throw away’ culture…the excluded are not the ‘exploited’ but the outcast, the ‘leftovers’…no one is to be ‘excluded’ from God’s love and from our care.”

Pope Francis wrote in his first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, about the divisions in our world. Sadly, those divisions have only grown in 2014. Caritas will rise to the challenge, remaining steadfast in combating social injustice through its humanitarian, integral human development and campaigning work.

The ‘throw away’ culture about which Pope Francis wrote is an issue both at local and global levels. The extremism engulfing the Middle East is a local crisis for those living in its vortex. But it is a global crisis: it has had a profound impact on all of us in our own countries and in our hearts. So too has the plight of migrants around the world, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and global hunger afflicting families in countries, rich and poor.

This bleak picture could make us despair. But we can’t afford that luxury. So Caritas organisations pressed on with their work, carried out in the name of the Church.

And out of the darkness, we saw signs of hope. We saw God’s love for all humanity in the welcome given to the millions of refugees from Syria. We found courage in the actions of those who went to help communities affected by Ebola. And we found solidarity in those who supported Caritas in both richer and poorer countries in our One Human Family, Food for All campaign to end hunger by 2025.

Par Son Éminence le cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, SDB, Président et Michel Roy, Secrétaire Général

« Nous avons mis en route la culture du “déchet” […] Les exclus ne sont pas des “exploités”, mais des déchets, “des restes”… personne ne devrait être “privé” de l’amour de Dieu ni de nos soins. »

Dans sa première Exhortation apostolique, Evangelii Gaudium, le pape François se penchait sur les divisions de notre monde. Malheureusement, ces divisions n’ont cessé d’augmenter au cours de l’année 2014. Caritas veut relever le défi, et rester ferme dans son combat contre l’injustice sociale, grâce à son travail humanitaire et de développement humain intégral, et grâce à ses campagnes.

La culture du « déchet » dont a parlé le pape François est un problème aussi bien au niveau local que mondial. L’extrémisme qui se propage au Moyen-Orient est une crise locale pour ceux qui la vivent de l’intérieur. Mais c’est aussi une crise mondiale : nous avons été tous été profondément touchés dans nos propres pays et dans nos cœurs. De même, nous avons été touchés par la détresse des migrants dans le monde, par l’épidémie d’Ébola en Afrique de l’Ouest et par la faim qui frappe les familles aussi bien dans les pays riches que dans les pays pauvres.

Ce sombre tableau pourrait nous décourager. Mais nous ne pouvons nous permettre ce luxe. Les organisations Caritas ont donc redoublé d’efforts au nom de l’Église.

Et dans ces ténèbres, nous avons perçu des lueurs d’espoir. Nous avons vu l’amour de Dieu pour toute l’humanité dans l’accueil qui a été fait aux millions de réfugiés syriens. Nous avons trouvé le courage dans les actions de ceux qui sont allés aider des communautés touchées par Ébola. Et nous avons trouvé la solidarité chez ceux qui ont soutenu Caritas aussi bien dans les pays riches que dans les pays pauvres avec notre campagne « Une seule famille humaine, de la nourriture pour tous », qui vise à mettre un terme à la faim d’ici 2025.

Points Saillants

 Globalement, la production de biomasse au Sahel est excédentaire à la moyenne des dernières 16 années. Mais la production de 2014 montre un déclin considérable comparée à l’année 2013. En plus, des bandes sévèrement déficitaires indiquent une période de soudure (mars-juillet) difficile pour les pasteurs de ces zones.

 La saison des pluies en 2014 n’a pas été favorable pour la zone pastorale. Un début tardif combiné avec des anomalies pluviales négatives a eu un impact négatif sur la production de biomasse dans les zones pastorales.

• Il existe des zones globalement déficitaires dans l’ouest du Sahel (Nord Sénégal et Mauritanie). Les déficits dans ces zones sont particulièrement inquiétants, vu que les déficits se trouvent dans des zones de production habituellement forte et importante pour la transhumance.

• Une production déficitaire dans le nord du Mali est particulièrement problématique, vu l’insécurité dans la région. Les pasteurs de cette zone seront en difficulté, vu que leurs mouvements (ainsi que leurs stratégies d’adaptation) seront limités.

• La production au Niger et Burkina Faso est plutôt excédentaire, mais des poches déficitaires dans les zones pastorales méritent plus d’attention.

• Les zones pastorales et agro-pastorales du Tchad sont fortement excédentaires à l’est du pays, mais des zones déficitaires dans l’ouest (dans la région du Kanem) sont inquiétantes.

• Les mouvements de populations liés aux crises au Nigeria et au Mali peuvent exacerber les problèmes de faible production de la biomasse, particulièrement si les mouvements des pasteurs sont limités.

Prévision des caractéristiques Agro-Climatiques de la grande saison des pluies dans les pays du Golfe de Guinée

■ De mars à juin 2015, des précipitations globalement proches de la moyenne à défi citaires sont attendues sur la majeure partie de la région du Golfe de Guinée. Durant cette période, des perturbations pourraient être observées dans la distribution des événements pluvieux.

■ Des dates de début de saison des pluies tardives à moyennes sont attendues sur le Sud Togo et Bénin et dans les parties Sud-est du Nigéria et du Ghana. Ailleurs, elles seraient précoces à moyennes.

■ Des dates de fi n de saison à prédominance normales sont attendues sur tout le littoral du Golfe de Guinée, excepté le Centre-sud du Nigéria où elles seraient plutôt tardives à normales.

■ Et des séquences sèches intra-saisonnières plus longues que celles habituellement observées sont attendues particulièrement sur les parties littorales du Bénin, du Togo, du Ghana, du Sud-Ouest Nigeria et dans l’extrême Sud-Ouest de la Côte d’Ivoire.

GENEVA (13 April 2015) – A group of United Nations and African human rights experts* deplored the continued captivity of girls abducted one year ago in Chibok, and called on the Boko Haram armed group to immediately release them as well as the numerous other children who have since been captured in Nigeria.

“In the absence of progress in the past year, we urge the Nigerian Government to swiftly take all necessary measures to locate the children, ensure their safe return and recovery, and provide them with adequate assistance and protection,” the experts said speaking ahead of the abduction anniversary. “At the same time, Nigeria must hold the perpetrators accountable, while respecting international human rights norms and standards.”

On 14 April one year ago, 276 girls were abducted at gunpoint from their secondary school during a violent raid by Boko Haram in the village of Chibok, in northeastern Nigeria. In a public statement, the group’s leaders threatened to sell the girls and turn them into sexual slaves. To date, only 57 girls have reportedly managed to escape.

During the last year and a half, Boko Haram has systematically abducted hundreds of civilians, including school girls, women, religious minorities and ethnic groups, targeting in particular Christian communities. Many boys have also been taken and forcibly recruited by the armed group.

The reported kidnappings happened in villages and towns across Borno State such as Konduga in February 2014, where 20 girls were taken, Wala and Warabe in April and May 2014, where 19 girls and women were abducted, Gumsuri in December 2014, where up to a 100 girls and women disappeared, and Damasak in March 2015, where several hundred children are unaccounted for.

“We strongly condemn the reported use of abducted children as suicide bombers by Boko Haram, as well as the cold blooded assassinations of enslaved girls by retreating Boko Haram fighters,” the experts said, while noting with further dismay credible reports of forcibly enrolled child soldiers being used as cannon fodder.

“Abducted children, with many having been forced to convert, suffer horrifying abuse during their captivity ranging from forced labour to forced marriage, rape, slavery, trafficking, torture and killings,” they warned. “Forced marriages and subsequent rapes of girls as well as sexual slavery could amount to crimes against humanity.”

The UN and African human rights experts stressed that “Boko Haram must immediately stop these abhorrent and heinous crimes.”

“The current impunity that members of Boko Haram enjoy has emboldened them and given them a license to continue committing these unspeakable crimes, which result in systematic violations of human rights,” they said. “We urge the Nigerian authorities to strengthen efforts, consistent with human rights standards, to protect its people, including children.”

“We also urge African States and the international community to extend their support to the authorities and to strengthen their cooperation in order to adopt a global strategy for a durable solution for the protection of children and human rights in Nigeria,” they stated.

The experts added that greater protection must be given to schools and dormitories where children are at risk of attacks by Boko Haram, in order to ensure that children, in particular girls, can exercise their right to education.

“We call on the authorities to adopt the appropriate framework to establish assistance and rehabilitation programmes for all child victims who have managed to escape and assist them in seeking redress,” they said.

The group of international and regional human rights experts welcomed the peaceful outcome of the elections of 28 March and pressed the new authorities to act diligently and with determination for the release of all the abducted children, including the girls from Chibok. “All efforts should also be concentrated on preventing the escalation of religious and gender based violence,” they stressed.

(*) The experts: Ms. Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; Ms. Urmila Bhoola, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Ms. Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Ms. Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Ms. Emna Aouij, Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice; and Ms. Soyata Maiga, Special Rapporteur on Rights of Women in Africa of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.

The United Nations human rights experts are part of what it is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights, is the general name of the independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms of the Human Rights Council that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. Learn more, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/Pages/Welcomepage.aspx

The Special Rapporteur on Rights of Women in Africa was established by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in Banjul, The Gambia, in April 1998, in recognition of the need to place particular emphasis on the problems and rights specific to women in Africa. It is therefore one of the oldest mechanisms of the Commission. Learn more, visit: http://www.achpr.org/mechanisms/rights-of-women/

For further information and media requests, please contact Ms. Nekane Lavín (+41 22 917 94 02 / nlavin@ohchr.org) or write to srsaleofchildren@ohchr.org

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

I. Introduction

1. Dans sa résolution 2167 (2014), le Conseil de sécurité m’a prié d’établir au plus tard le 31 mars 2015, en étroite consultation avec la Commission de l’Union africaine et l’Union européenne, un rapport d’évaluation assorti de recommandations sur l’évolution de la coopération entre l’Organisation des Nations Unies et les organisations régionales en matière de maintien de la paix. Les évaluations et recommandations contenues dans le présent rapport, qui s’inscrivent dans le cadre du Chapitre VIII de la Charte des Nations Unies, s’inspirent en les complétant de celles que j’ai formulées dans mes précédents rapports sur la coopération avec les organisations régionales, notamment, pour citer les plus récents, mes rapports sur la coopération entre l’Organisation des Nations Unies et l’Union africaine dans le domaine de la paix et de la sécurité (S/2011/805) et sur la coopération entre l’Organisation des Nations Unies et les organisations régionales ou autres (S/2014/560) et ma lettre au Président du Conseil de sécurité sur le passage des opérations de paix de l’Union africaine aux opérations de maintien de la paix des Nations Unies au Mali et en République centrafricaine (S/2015/3). Elles tiennent compte également des positions exprimées par le Conseil et des questions présentant un intérêt pour celui-ci, telles qu’il les a exposées dans sa résolution 1167 (2014) et dans les déclarations de son président sur la coopération avec l’Union africaine (S/PRST/2014/27) et l’Union européenne (S/PRST/2014/4).

2. Le présent rapport est essentiellement consacré à la coopération avec les organisations régionales et aux accords régionaux de maintien de la paix, et non à toute la gamme des activités menées dans le domaine de la paix et de la sécurité. Il porte dans une large mesure sur la coopération avec l’Union africaine et l’Union européenne, à savoir les deux organisations expressément mentionnées au paragraphe 28 de la résolution 2167 (2014), qui sont actuellement les plus proches partenaires de l’Organisation des Nations Unies dans le domaine du maintien de la paix. D’autres organismes et accords régionaux ou sous régionaux sont mentionnés à propos de certaines régions, où ils coopèrent avec l’ONU dans des domaines touchant au maintien de la paix ou participent aux opérations de maintien de la paix.