HIGHLIGHTS
3.5 million people are currently displaced in the Sahel, a two-fold increase since Fenbruary 2014.
Update on the displacement and others crises in Cameroon.
A community radio in the Central African Republic helps in fostering harmony
Ebola outbreak declared over in Liberia
SG/SM/16845-AFR/3145
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
The Secretary-General strongly condemns the bombings in N'Djamena today, which reportedly killed more than 25 people and injured dozens of others. He extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Chad. He wishes a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack.
The Secretary-General commends Chad for its courageous role in the fight against Boko Haram. He stresses the importance of enhanced collaboration among countries in West and Central Africa to more effectively combat the threat of Boko Haram. In that regard, he welcomes positive developments on the operationalization of the Multinational Joint Task Force.
The Secretary-General reiterates that States must ensure that all measures taken to address the terrorist threat of Boko Haram comply with all their obligations under international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law.
For information media. Not an official record.
Suite aux attaques de Boko Haram dans leur pays, des populations du Nigeria, chrétiens et musulmans, sont venus trouver refuge dans la Région de l’Extrême Nord du Cameroun.
En mai 2014, le camp de Minawau comptait 3,014 refugiés. Le 2 juillet 2013, le camp de Minawao (département de Mayo Tsanaga) a été ouvert officiellement.
Au 17 mai 2015,
les autorités ont recensé 74,000 refugiés parmi lesquels 42,242 ont été enregistrés par le HCR.
le camp de Minawao compte 37,171 réfugiés (dont 14,513 arrivées enregistrés depuis janvier 2015).
Suite au conflit en RCA, les populations centrafricaines, 224,958 personnes au total (HCR, 24 mai 2015) ont trouvé refuge dans les régions de l’Est, Adamaoua et Nord du Cameroun.
Les attaques de Boko Haram sur le territoire camerounais a quant à elle fait 127,640 déplacés internes.
Depuis juillet 2014, en réponse à l’appel du Gouvernement Camerounais et du HCR, IEDA Relief intervient en faveur des refugiés centrafricains et Nigérians et en faveur des populations vulnérables camerounaises.
Highlights
More than 10,000 people have been newly displaced as a result of a Boko Haram attack on Niger from Lake Chad at the end of April and the resulting Niger military operations in the area. The Governor of Diffa called on the population to leave the targeted area. The newly displaced remain a highly mobile population, with thousands in hard to reach islands.
A HCT-mandated security assessment was joined by UNICEF staff for a rapid needs assessment in the Lake region. In addition to acceptable humanitarian access, the mission found thousands of newly displaced populations with urgent needs in access to safe drinking water and sanitation, health care and shelter.
In response to new displacement in the Lake Region, UNICEF and its local partner provided over 10,000 IDPs, returnees and refugees from Nigeria and Niger with WASH kits and water treatment demonstrations in the month of May.
45,157 children with severe acute malnutrition (45% of targeted children in Sahel Belt) have been treated in 496 health centers from January to April 2015. In the regions of Kanem, Bahr El Gazal and Guera admissions have already reached 106%, 79% and 74% of the annual target respectively.
Many needs remain uncovered in the response to the needs of the CAR-crisis affected populations in Chad. Funding is largely insufficient for the needs. Funding for health, education and even shelter is lacking in both the Mandoul and in the Logones, and gaps in WASH funding persist.
UNICEF emergency needs for the year are 8% funded, with just over USD 5.3 million received. The lack of funding is limiting UNICEF’s ability to respond to immediate needs as well as to prepare for imminent ones.
SG/SM/16845-AFR/3156
La déclaration suivante a été communiquée aujourd’hui par le Porte-parole du Secrétaire général de l’ONU, M. Ban Ki-moon:
Le Secrétaire général condamne dans les termes les plus forts les attentats à la bombe qui ont eu lieu aujourd’hui, à N’Djamena, et qui ont tué plus de 25 personnes et blessés des dizaines d’autres. Il présente ses condoléances aux familles des victimes, au Gouvernement et au peuple tchadiens. Il souhaite un prompt rétablissement aux personnes qui ont été blessées dans ces attaques.
Le Secrétaire général félicite le Tchad pour son rôle courageux dans la lutte contre Boko Haram. Il souligne l’importance d’une collaboration accrue entre les pays de l’Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre pour de combattre de manière plus efficace la menace que pose Boko Haram. À cet égard, il salue l’évolution positive dans la mise en œuvre de la Force spéciale mixte multinationale.
Le Secrétaire général réaffirme que les États doivent veiller à ce que toutes les mesures qu’ils ont prises pour combattre la menace terroriste de Boko Haram soient conformes à toutes leurs obligations en vertu du droit international humanitaire, des droits de l’homme et du droit des réfugiés.
À l’intention des organes d’information • Document non officiel.
La justice se rapproche des justiciables avec l’appui de la MINUSMA
La Section des affaires judiciaires et pénitentiaires de la MINUSMA appuie les autorités maliennes, aussi bien dans le domaine de la réforme, le renforcement des capacités des institutions judiciaires et pénitentiaires que dans le domaine de l’accès à la justice.
Ainsi, dans son plan de travail 2015, l’appui à la tenue des audiences foraines est l’activité prioritaire dans les zones reculées où il existe un besoin réel en matière de justice pour les populations, et où la distance et le manque de moyens sont des obstacles majeurs à l’accès à la justice.
C’est dans ce cadre que le jeudi 11 juin dernier, s’est tenue la première audience foraine dans le Cercle de BANKASS, commune de Ouenkoro (à environ 200 Km de Mopti et 12 km de la frontière avec le Burkina Faso). Cette activité est organisée par la justice à compétences étendues de Bankass sur recommandation du parquet du Tribunal de Grande Instance de Mopti, avec l’appui logistique et consultatif de la Section des Affaires Judiciaires et pénitentiaires de la MINUSMA à Mopti.
L’objectif de cette audience dite foraine est de favoriser l’accès de la justice à tous en la rapprochant des justiciables. Selon Nasser ZAKR « L’appui et l’accompagnement de la MINUSMA dans cette activité est d’assurer l’appui logistique et financier du personnel judicaire dans tous les cercles où devront se tenir ces audiences et précisément celui de BANKASS où l’on se trouve actuellement ».
Les audiences publiques se sont déroulées dans la salle de conférence de la sous-préfecture de Ouenkoro. La cour était composée de Monsieur Yaya Traore, Juge de Paix à Compétences Etendues du Cercle de Bankass qui faisait office de Président du Tribunal ; de Monsieur Abdoulaye Yalcouye Substitut du Procureur de Mopti, et de Monsieur Kamatigui Coulibaly Greffier, il y avait aussi plusieurs autorités telles que M. Kassoum SANOU, sous-préfet de Ouenkoro, Cheik Harouna SANKARE le maire de la Commune et plusieurs chefs de villages de la commune et des notabilités.
C’est au total 5 affaires, allant de l’homicide involontaire à l’abandon de domicile conjugal, qui ont été jugées par la Cour devant une quarantaine d’habitants venue assister à ces audiences. « Les audiences foraines c’est comme toutes les audiences parce qu’on juge les gens avec les mêmes rigueurs. Leur signification est de rapprocher la justice des justiciables. La justice étant rendue au nom du peuple, c’est un plus lorsque la juridiction se déplace pour aller davantage auprès du peuple et lui montrer comment le procès se passe et comment la justice est rendue en son nom. Je pense que c’est une très bonne chose » nous a confié Monsieur Yaya Traore, Juge de Paix a Compétences Etendues du Cercle de Bankass.
Une initiative appréciée aussi bien des autorités administratives et judiciaires que des populations
Selon M. Cheik Harouna SANKARE le maire de la Commune de OUENKORO « Cette initiative est très importante car j’ai entendue certains chefs de village dire que c’est leur première fois d’assister à une audience. Pour certains c’est les juges seulement et les accusés qui tranchent. Ils ne savaient pas que certaines séances sont publiques. Par ailleurs, ces audiences foraines permettent de sensibiliser les populations d’être honnête et d’éviter certaines pratiques ou comportements à la vue des sanctions qui peuvent en découler. En outre, c’est un grand honneur pour ma commune d’accueillir la première audience foraine dans la région de Mopti ». Pour M. Kassoum SANOU, sous-préfet de Ouenkoro « la justice n’est pas généralement connue par nos populations. Le fait que le tribunal de BANKASS se transporte ici, ceci permettra à nos habitants de connaitre comment une audience se tient et comment la justice fonctionne ».
L’accompagnement de la Minusma salué à l’unanimité par les autorités locales
« Quand nous avons appris que c’est grâce à la Minusma que cette audience a pu se réaliser, nous remercions la Minusma pour ce geste. C’est un autre visage que nous découvrons de la Minusma. Parce que dès que l’on parle de la Minusma on pense au front et à la situation sécuritaire. Nous voyons aujourd’hui que la Minusma s’approche des populations, elle appui la population. La Minusma est proche de la population. Il faut féliciter la Minusma qui est entrain de prouver qu’en dehors des aspects sécuritaires de pays s’investit dans d’autres domaines au profit des autorités maliennes pour le bien des populations » nous a confié Cheik Harouna SANKARE le maire de la Commune de Ouenkoro.
« C’est le lieu de remercier la MINUSMA qui est aujourd’hui le partenaire incontournable du Mali dans le règlement de la crise. Nous demandons toujours son appui pour ces genres d’initiatives» a déclaré M. Kassoum SANOU, sous-préfet de Ouenkoro.
Au-delà du rapprochement entre justice et usagers, cette série d’audiences tenues dans la région, participe aussi au renforcement de la confiance des populations aux autorités judiciaires. Ce qui est une manière de renforcer également l’Etat de Droit, conformément au mandat de la Section des Affaires Judicaires et Pénitentiaires.
Poor rainfall over central West Africa observed at the start of the season
KEY MESSAGES
Over the past two months the Intertropical Front (ITF) northward migration has been generally slower than typical over the middle of the Sudanian-Guinean zone, resulting in below average rainfall over a large portion of the region.
The Bi-modal zone and the southern part of the Sudanian-Guinean zone have received generally well distributed and average to above average rainfall so far this season. This has contributed to favorable conditions for cropping in these regions.
Favorable rainfall over much of the region led to timely or early planting over the western (northern parts of Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire, southern Mali) and eastern parts (southern Chad) of the Sudanian-Guinean zone. However, delayed planting has been observed over the central part of the region (Central Nigeria, northern Cameroon, northern Benin, Togo and southwestern Burkina Faso).
Given the favorable medium term forecast,sowing/planting is expected to continue northward into the SudanianSahelian zone in June.
N'Djamena, Chad | AFP | Tuesday 6/16/2015 - 14:58 GMT
Scores of police and soldiers patrolled Chad's capital N'Djamena on Tuesday, a day after twin suicide bombings blamed on Boko Haram jihadists killed 24 people and wounded more than 100 in the first such attacks in the city.
The security forces had sealed off the area around the presidential palace, as well as the police headquarters -- which was one of the bombers' targets.
Vehicles with tinted windows had been barred from the streets and cars travelling near mosques, churches and markets were routinely searched, AFP journalists reported.
Chad, which has taken a lead role this year in a regional offensive against the Islamist militants operating out of neighbouring Nigeria, had previously come under attack from Boko Haram in border areas.
But Monday's attacks, which targeted the police headquarters and a police academy, were the first in the capital, where they caused deep shock.
"It's terrible...I never would have thought that such a thing would happen in N'Djamena," Ali Gamane, an engineer working for the agriculture ministry, said.
Doctors at the city's Amitie hospital were struggling to cope with the influx of wounded.
"Many of the injured risk dying if the public doesn't come forward to donate blood," nurse Ache Zenaba warned.
Four "terrorists" were also killed in the blasts, according to the authorities, who gave no further details.
President Idriss Deby's government called for calm.
"These attacks, which aimed to strike fear into the people, will not slacken Chad's determination to combat terrorism," the government said, assuring the situation was "entirely under control."
Although Boko Haram has yet to claim responsibility for the bombings, both Chad and France, which relies heavily on N'Djamena in the fight against jihadist groups in the Sahel region, accused the militants of being behind the attack.
"There is no doubt that Boko Haram is responsible and will be brought to justice for this new humanitarian horror," French President Francois Hollande said during a visit to Algeria.
Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau had threatened several times to attack Chad and other countries that joined forces against the group, whose bloody six-year insurgency is increasingly spilling across Nigeria's borders.
In February, the group carried out its first attack inside Chad, crossing Lake Chad by boat under cover of darkness to attack the village of Ngouboua, torching homes and killing several people.
Monday's attacks were the first however in the capital of the former French colony, which also hosts the headquarters of France's Sahel counter-terrorism force, Operation Barkhane.
"We're used to seeing these things (terrorist attacks) in other places but thought it would never happen here," said Andre Toal, a civil servant, told AFP, admitting to "living in fear".
Opposition politician Brice Mbaimon called on the government to "quickly implement a plan of national vigilance" and encourage people to "monitor the movements of suspicious people".
President Mahamadou Issoufou of neighbouring Niger firmly condemned the "acts of unspeakable cruelty" in a statement read Monday on state television.
Issoufou urged the international community to back member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in a joint struggle against Boko Haram, which killed 74 people, including 28 civilians, in a raid inside Niger on April 25.
Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Benin and Cameroon agreed last week to set up a regional task force of 8,700 soldiers, police officers and civilians, based in N'Djamena, to combat Boko Haram.
Months before that decision, troops from Chad and Niger began a ground and air offensive on Nigerian soil and took back big swaths of territory from the Islamists, whose name loosely translates as "Western education is forbidden".
The movement is believed still to be holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in a raid on a state school at Chibok in northeastern Borno State in April 2014.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement, condemned Monday's attacks in N'Djamena and praised Chad "for its courageous role in the fight against Boko Haram".
bur-mc/jhd-bh/cb/gj
Niger - The discovery Monday of the remains of 30 migrants in Dirkou, northeast of Niger’s Agadez crossroads brings to 48 the total of dead migrants found in the Sahara this week, adding to the growing death toll of Africans and Middle Easterners believed to have perished this year on their way to Europe.
On Sunday, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Niger, Giuseppe Loprete, reported the finding of 18 victims near the oasis of Arlit, south of Niger’s border with Algeria. Monday’s discovery appears to have been unrelated. IOM cited local authorities who determined the corpses near Dirkou had been there for “several months,” while those discovered on Sunday are believed to have died within the past two weeks.
"This tragedy highlights a feared but hitherto little-known danger too many migrants face long before they risk their lives at sea," IOM Director General William Lacy Swing said in Geneva on Sunday. "The Sahara may be as deadly as the Mediterranean for this wave. All too tragically many of these deaths go unreported."
Because of the difficulty of searching for migrants transiting – sometimes, wandering lost – in the Sahara, only a fraction of those losing their lives annually are ever located, IOM researchers say. In 2014, IOM’s Migration Research Unit recorded just over 50 known deaths of migrants travelling on routes headed towards Northern Africa’s Mediterranean coastline. “This is more reflective of an extreme lack of information than it is of the actual numbers who have died,” said researcher Tara Brian this week. “Certainly hundreds more are perishing on these routes each year without the knowledge of authorities or the press.”
Brian added that, according to the blog Fortress Europe, which tracks deaths of migrants trying to reach Europe, at least 1,790 migrants have died in the Sahara between 1996 and 2014. She explained that “it is acknowledged that this is an understatement of the true numbers and reflects only those reaching the media. Testimonies of migrants who journeyed through the Sahara indicate that death is common.”
In Brussels, IOM called for more efforts from the European Union to promote safe, legal migration from the Mediterranean zone. “This is a phenomenon which has occurred with deadly regularity for ages and should convince our EU and African partners of the urgency to set up special response mechanisms at critical junctures along the migratory routes to help people stay safe and make informed migration choices,” said Eugenio Ambrosi, IOM Regional Director for the EU, Switzerland and Norway.
“On-the-spot screening, referral and counselling can help to protect those most vulnerable to the dangers and offer alternatives to reduce their chances of resorting to fatal routes and criminal networks,” Ambrosi added.
IOM's Missing Migrants project has reported that through June 12 this year an estimated 1,865 have died seeking passage across the Mediterranean. Due to stepped up efforts by Europe to patrol water routes nearly 60,000 migrants so far this year have been rescued in the waters between Libya's coast and Italy.
Nigerien authorities’ forecasts for 2015 indicate between 80,000 and 120,000 migrants from West and Central Africa will traverse Niger towards Libya and Algeria seeking either to work in those two countries, or to reach Europe by sea.
“Migrants enter Niger in many different ways, in particular through porous land borders, following the main routes from sub-Saharan Africa,” said Loprete of IOM Niger. “Trapped by smugglers and traffickers, they often found themselves without any resource or assistance.”
Between January and May 2015, IOM Niger provided assistance to more than 5,100 stranded migrants through its transit centers.
As a crucial step in addressing the challenge of irregular migration through Niger, the National Assembly approved last month an anti-smuggling law. However, the recent tragedy shows the need to strengthen the efforts of Niger’s government to effectively control their borders, collect systematized data and protect the most vulnerable migrants in need of humanitarian assistance.
Loprete called for governmental and civil society actors to join forces to better communicate with media – and with migrants themselves – on the challenges of migration as well as the real dangers of irregular migration in countries of origin, transit and destination.
According to IOM, the victims were mostly West African nationals, including citizens of Niger, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Central African Republic, Liberia, and Guinea, with one victim reportedly from Algeria. IOM Niger is working to collect information confirming the identities of all those discovered this week to inform respective embassies and survivors, an official of IOM Niger said Tuesday.
For further Information please contact Giuseppe Loprete, IOM Niger, Tel.: +227 20752507, Mobile +227 98054331, Email: gloprete@iom.int. Or Joel Millman, IOM Geneva, Tel: +41 79 103 8720, Email: jmillman@iom.int
The food security and nutrition situation in Cameroon has deteriorated due to multiple shocks such as the influx of refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria, increasing insecurity and natural disasters. In early 2015, the number of food insecure people stands three times higher than two years ago, affecting one out of seven people in the two worst hit regions of Far North and North. Malnutrition rates are also on the increase, with a 40% rise in SAM cases since 2014. Refugees and IDP children are particularly affected by rising malnutrition.
Snapshot 10–16 June 2015
Ebola in Sierra Leone and Guinea: Weekly Ebola case incidence has risen for two consecutive weeks. Guinea recorded 16 new cases in the week to 7 June, five from unknown chains of transmission. Sierra Leone recorded 15 cases, the highest weekly total since late March. It has extended the state of emergency for 90 days.
Syria: May was the deadliest month of 2015, with 6,657 people killed, including 1,285 civilians. Fighting has intensified in Aleppo in June, and in Ar-Raqqa. 20,000 people who fled fighting in Ar-Raqqa were blocked at the border with Turkey for several days.
Ukraine: Humanitarian needs are increasing, as conflict intensifies again. Nearly 4.5 million people need health support, and 1.4 million people need shelter support, compared to 1.5 million and 600,000 end March.
Updated: 16/06/2015. Next update 23/06/2015.
N'Djamena, Tchad | AFP | mardi 16/06/2015 - 17:26 GMT
Le double attentat-suicide attribué aux islamistes de Boko Haram qui a fait 24 morts et une centaine de blessés lundi à N'Djamena "ne restera pas impuni" et ses auteurs "répondront de leurs actes", a prévenu mardi le président tchadien Idriss Déby.
"Quel que soit l’auteur (des attentats), le Tchad ne mérite pas, les Tchadiens ne méritent pas un tel traitement. Ils (les auteurs) répondront de leurs actes. Et je promets que cette action ne restera pas impunie", a déclaré à la presse M. Déby, de retour de Johannesburg où il participait au 25e sommet de l'Union africaine.
Le président, qui s'exprimait à sa descente d'avion pour la première fois depuis les attaques simultanées qui ont frappé lundi le commissariat central et l'école de police de N’Djamena, semblait visiblement ému.
"La main invisible et ses commanditaires viennent de nous frapper durement. Et c’est avec une très grande tristesse que nous avons appris cette nouvelle bouleversante. Je voudrais ici dire au peuple tchadien et aux familles des victimes que je partage leur tristesse, leur douleur, la douleur de toute la nation tchadienne", a-t-il dit.
"Cette main invisible et ses commanditaires ont frappé un peuple paisible qui n'a cherché que la paix pour lui et pour l’Afrique et dans le monde", a poursuivi le chef de l'Etat.
Mais selon Idriss Déby, "il fallait s’y attendre".
"Personnellement, je ne suis pas trop surpris puisque depuis notre engagement le 17 janvier 2015 aux côtés des pays qui sont menacés par les terroristes (Nigeria, Niger, Cameroun, NDLR), j’ai continuellement dit au gouvernement de ne pas baisser la garde, (de garder) surtout la vigilance à toute épreuve", a affirmé le président.
Ce double attentat n'a pas été revendiqué mais les autorités ont rapidement accusé les islamistes nigérians de Boko Haram d'en être les auteurs.
L'armée tchadienne participe en première ligne à une opération militaire régionale visant à chasser le groupe de pans entiers de territoires qu'il avait capturés dans le nord-est du Nigeria.
Le Tchad est aussi un allié de poids pour Paris dans la lutte contre les groupes jihadistes en Afrique sahélienne et l'armée française a établi à N'Djamena l'état-major de son opération Barkhane de lutte contre ces groupes.
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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse
Executive Summary
Intensifying conflict and slow and sudden-onset disaster are taking their toll. The result is that global financial requirements for the remainder of 2015 have risen by $2.4 billion. In early June 2015 they stand at $18.8 billion, to meet the needs of 78.9 million vulnerable people in 37 countries.
In February, a regional appeal for the Sahel was launched, requesting $1.98 billion to enable partners to meet the needs of some 9.3 million people in nine countries with food assistance. In Djibouti, partners have revised the multi-year strategy first developed in 2014.
They now seek $81 million. Over 40 per cent of Djibouti’s population is food insecure. The humanitarian landscape continues to evolve in Djibouti. By May, 9,700 people from Yemen had crossed the border. So far 1,600 of them have been registered as refugees. The latest global ask of $18.8 billion includes inter-agency response plans for Guatemala and Honduras, where persistent droughts have resulted in crop failures and deepening food insecurity. In Libya humanitarian conditions have worsened considerably in 2015. Ongoing hostilities and increased presence of non-state armed groups have affected 2 million people in the country while approximately 2.5 million others need access to health services. In addition, 400,000 people require food assistance. The escalation of the conflict in Yemen, the devastation wrought by Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu, and the highly destructive earthquakes in Nepal all led to the development of flash appeals.
Across the 37 countries, humanitarian crises show no sign of abating. Violence and insecurity due to the scale of conflict in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Nigeria continue to cause internal and cross-border displacements. In Syria, for example, some 7.6 million people have been internally displaced, while another 4 million have fled the country. Humanitarian partners require $7.4 billion to respond to the needs of 12.2 million people inside Syria, including more than 5.6 million children, and to help people affected by this crisis in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
Although millions of people are receiving desperately needed aid, access problems are still limiting the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Conditions are harsh for the 4.8 million people living in hard-to-reach and besieged locations in Syria where there is little or no access to humanitarian assistance for months at a time. In Iraq, the scale of the conflict has increased significantly. About 2.8 million people are internally displaced, half of whom are children. The number of newly displaced people has increased by 700,000 this year alone. Recently improved tracking methods have helped identify these numbers.
In Nigeria, sustained attacks by the Boko Haram armed group have displaced an estimated 1.5 million people and forced 210,000 to flee across Nigeria’s border, where they have become refugees in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.
Violence, insecurity and restricted access continue to aggravate risk and hamper humanitarian operations in DRC, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. In addition, protection of civilians due to unrelenting hostilities in Iraq, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen remains a grave concern. Gross and flagrant violations of human rights and international humanitarian law are rife. In Iraq, targeted attacks on civilians and sexual and gender-based violence prevail.
Food insecurity remains a recurring theme in most of the countries covered in this document. In Iraq, for example, food insecurity has increased by 60 per cent in six months. In DRC, 6.4 million people are food insecure — half are chronically undernourished children under age five. Malnutrition is even more endemic in Kasais and Bas-Congo Provinces, where it has caused 35 per cent of deaths among children under age five. In Nigeria,
4.6 million people are food insecure and 100,000 children are at risk of severe malnutrition this year. In Sudan, some 4.2 million people are expected to experience acute food insecurity during the upcoming lean season. In South Sudan, failure to intervene effectively could put millions at risk of starvation. Twenty per cent of Chad’s population of over 2.4 million people is food insecure. In Somalia, about 731,000 Somali people face acute food insecurity, while an additional 2.3 million are at risk of sliding into the same situation. In The Gambia, an estimated 500,000 people will be food insecure.
Donors have generously contributed $4.8 billion to humanitarian response plans, but that only represents 26 per cent of requirements, leaving a vast shortfall of $14 billion. Over half of the funding received (55 per cent) has gone to the highest-level emergencies, categorized as Level 3 crises, in Central African Republic,
Iraq, South Sudan and Syria. These crises have dominated 2015 and will continue to do so. The appeal for Vanuatu is the best funded at 54 per cent; the least funded humanitarian response plan is The Gambia, at 2 per cent. Clearly, the level of funding cannot match the level of need. Operations in several countries have been curtailed and risk shutdown if additional donor support is not secured immediately. In Iraq, for example, 60 per cent of frontline operations risk cut backs or complete stoppage. Health services in camps have been interrupted and food distributions scaled back due to underfunding. In Libya, underfunding has caused some agencies to decrease or shut down humanitarian programmes, with food distribution interrupted due to lack of funds.
The financial demands of the combined appeals are not only substantial, they are also essential for protecting, feeding, sheltering and saving the lives of millions of people in critical need.
I. Introduction
I. Introduction
16 June 2015 – Ensuring that Member States and their military commanders on the ground remain accountable for any violent actions targeting children is key to preventing atrocities against minors affected by armed conflict, the United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, has affirmed.
In an interview with UN Radio, scheduled just days before she is due to present the Secretary-General’s latest report on the issue to the Security Council, Ms. Zerrougui described a grim scenario for the world’s conflict-stranded children in 2014 – the period covered by her report – and warned that the situation had not improved.
While mass abductions of children and other civilians have become increasingly prevalent in many of the 23 conflict situations of 2014 that are spotlighted, throughout, the report documents unprecedented challenges regarding the protection of tens of millions of children who are growing up in conflict-affected countries.
Moreover, Children have been killed and maimed, and faced other grave violations, as a result of the targeting of schools by extremist groups that seek to impose their ideology on the wider community.
“If you are a child in an area that is under the control of armed groups, if you’re in Iraq and under the control of [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant] (ISIL), or in Syria under the control of ISIL or Al-Nusra; if you’re in a Boko Haram area, then this is a disaster,” explained Ms. Zerrougui in her interview.
“Children are killed in their schools, in their homes, in their dormitories. They are abducted – a huge number of children abducted in many places,” she continued. “It’s for us very disturbing and we try to highlight all these trends to the Security Council – the body that can make a difference in the lives of children affected by armed conflict.”
An initial glance at the headlines from 2014 does, in fact, tell a gloomy narrative regarding the safety of children around the world’s conflict zones. In December, for example, hundreds of children were gunned down in Peshawar, Pakistan, by Taliban militants as they attended school. The conflict in Syria, meanwhile, continued to rage, trapping children in rubble-filled cities and under a deadly rain of barrel bombs. Elsewhere, in Ukraine, a new conflict emerged, resulting in a current count of more than 240 child casualties.
Against this troubling backdrop, Ms. Zerrougui warned that “there are so many places where children are suffering” and urged UN Member States to “change and improve” their behaviour and policies in order to best ensure the protection of children during times of conflict.
When children are killed in conflict areas, she added, Member States generally deny intentionality. The deaths of children, like adult civilians, however, indicate “something wrong in the military response.”
“Our recommendation is first to ask Member States to address the plight of children in these conflict areas, and to put in place the tools, the mechanisms, the resources, to protect children,” Ms. Zerrougui concluded. “Of course, one major, effective response to end violations against children is accountability, is to fight impunity. When you are a commander on the ground and you know if you go beyond what is allowed, then you will be punished, you will think twice.”
The report includes in its annexes a list of parties, including 51 armed groups, that engage in the recruitment and use of children, sexual violence against children, the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and/or hospitals and attacks or threats of attacks against protected personnel, in contravention of international law.
In his observations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says “the facts as presented in…the present report speak for themselves and should shock our collective conscience,” and cites several situations, “in particular the Central African Republic, Iraq, Israel/State of Palestine, Nigeria, South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic, children were affected to a degree which is an affront to our common humanity.”
As such, Mr. Ban says that he will “put all parties to conflict on notice that those that engage in military action resulting in numerous grave violations against children will, regardless of intent, find themselves under continued scrutiny by the United Nations…”
Member States, the UN chief continues, must re-examine existing policies and practices to stop and prevent grave violations against children. Member States must also be held to account and they, in turn, must hold perpetrators accountable, he adds.
SC/11927-AFR/3157
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Ramlan Bin Ibrahim (Malaysia):
The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack by Boko Haram in N’Djamena, Chad, on 15 June, which killed at least 25 people and injured more than 100.
The members of the Security Council expressed their deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous act and to the Government of Chad. The members of the Security Council wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
The members of the Security Council commended Chad’s courageous and active contribution to peace and stability in the Sahel region and in particular, paid tribute to the engagement of Chadian soldiers in Mali and in the fight against Boko Haram.
The members of the Security Council noted Chad’s determination to continue fighting against Boko Haram until the group is neutralized.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivation, wherever and whenever and by whomsoever committed.
The members of the Security Council underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Chadian authorities in this regard.
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. 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.
Au Mali, la journée de l’Environnement a été célébrée le 5 juin dernier à Sikasso, troisième région administrative du pays. La cérémonie d’ouverture a été présidée par la première dame Keïta Aminata Maiga et le ministre de l’Environnement Mohamed Ag Erlaf en présence de partenaires techniques et financiers dont le Directeur Pays du PNUD, Boubou Dramane Camara.
Au-delà de cette journée, au niveau national deux semaines entières sont consacrées aux activités de protection de l’Environnement, créant ainsi une véritable plateforme de sensibilisation et d’éveil des consciences face aux enjeux et défis environnementaux du moment.
Un des temps forts de cette journée aura été le lancement de la plantation d’un million de plants à Sikasso, autrefois riche de ses forêts, menacées aujourd’hui du faire de l’exploitation abusive des ressources minières.
Au Mali, la question de la gestion des ressources naturelles est cruciale, ceci est lié non seulement à sa position géographique (2/3 du territoire en zone aride ou semi-aride) mais également à la nature de son économie essentiellement basée sur la production agricole.
L’exploitation abusive des ressources naturelles met en péril le mode de vie des populations qui vivent des produits et ressources de la terre et de l’eau. Ces ressources sont soumises à un processus important et continu de dégradation des sols, de la biomasse, des écosystèmes aquatiques et terrestres…
La consommation de combustibles ligneux (bois, charbon…) dans le bilan énergétique National est de 78% avec pour corollaire la déforestation. La consommation annuelle de bois est estimée à 6.000.000 de tonnes/an correspondant à la destruction de 480.000 hectares de forêt et une émission de 8.304.000 tonnes de gaz carbonique (CO2) par an.
Par ailleurs, les impacts négatifs des changements climatiques auxquels le pays est exposé affectent de manière significative ces ressources en hypothéquant les perspectives de développement. Il apparait alors évident que la gestion de l’environnement ne peut être traitée indépendamment des autres questions de développement.
A quelques mois du COP21 qui se tiendra à Paris, les espoirs d’une action internationale solide demeurent intacts comme l’a rappelé le Ministre de l’environnement du Mali Mohamed Ag Erlaf.
Déjà opérationnelle depuis plusieurs semaines à Tombouctou, Gao et Mopti, MIKADO FM est officiellement lancée aujourd’hui à Bamako sur 106.6 FM.
MIKADO FM est une station appelée à diffuser ses programmes sur une vaste partie du territoire malien, dans le but d’accompagner les efforts maliens à établir une paix et une réconciliation nationale durables.
MIKADO FM répond à une demande exprimée à la fois par le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies, du Gouvernement du Mali, la société civile et la population malienne, visant à renforcer les efforts de communications de la MINUSMA.
Le Représentant spécial du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies au Mali, M.Mongi Hamdi a procédé aujourd’hui au lancement de la radio en présence de nombreux invités.
"Nous voici réunis aujourd'hui pour le lancement officiel de MIKADO FM. C'est un projet qui se transforme en réalité grâce aux efforts inlassables de ses initiateurs, leur expérience et leur ténacité. Nous comptons sur l'imagination et le talent de ses animateurs pour donner un cachet professionnel à cet outil précieux qui est mis entre leurs mains", a déclaré M. Mongi Hamdi.
Selon ce dernier, MIKADO FM diffusera des programmes incluant des bulletins d'information, des magazines, des débats interactifs et de la musique. Les informations concerneront entre autres les activités des Nations Unies et des Agences spécialisées des Nations Unies.
La radio informera sur la mission de la MINUSMA, ses priorités et défis ainsi que sur l'avancement de son travail et du processus de paix. Des émissions porteront, entre autres, sur les programmes d'aide humanitaire ou des sujets de société. MIKADO FM sera un vecteur de cohésion, d’éducation et de culture ouvert à toutes les voix du Mali.
La radio donnera des informations précises et fiables sur tous les aspects du processus de paix au Mali, notamment les développements sécuritaires et politiques, le dialogue inter-malien et les nombreux programmes d'assistance humanitaire mis en œuvre dans le pays.
Les programmes seront diffusés principalement en français et en bambara, certains, comme la revue de presse quotidienne ou d’autres émissions spécialisées, dans d’autres langues locales (Peulh, Songhoi, Arabe et Tamasheq).
Les programmes sont diffusés depuis Bamako en FM au travers un réseau de stations sur Tombouctou, Gao et Mopti. Le réseau s’étendra très prochainement sur d’autres villes comme Ménaka et Kidal.
Son nom s’inspire du jeu de MIKADO : un peuple est plus fort uni dans la quête de la paix au Mali.
Une trentaine de journalistes et techniciens, maliens en grande partie, travaillent sur le projet.
La radio pourra prochainement également être écoutée en direct sur internet. Les auditeurs peuvent contacter la radio sur sa page Facebook MIKADO FM, par email radio.mikado@gmail.com (link sends e-mail), sur Twitter @mikadofm ou par téléphone au 44 92 70 70.
MIKADO FM peut être écoutée à Bamako sur 106.6 Mhz, Gao 94.0 Mhz, Mopti 91.8 Mhz, et Tombouctou 92.6 Mhz.
MESSAGES CLÉS (jan. - avr. 2015)
Le renforcement des forces de défense et de sécurité maliennes et de la MINUSMA ainsi que le retour des autorités politico-administratives sont essentiels pour sécuriser les zones de Youwarou, Tenenkou et Douentza.
L’accompagnement des structures d’éducation doit être assuré pour soutenir le bon déroulement des sessions d’examens qui démarreront dès début juin.
Les efforts de sensibilisation et d’information des populations pour une meilleure prévention des inondations et autres catastrophes naturelles doivent être renforcés à l’approche de la saison des pluies.
