DEVELOPPEMENTS MAJEURS

• Le 25 juillet, la ville de Maroua a été victime d’un nouvel attentat terroriste faisant 21 morts et 85 blessés selon le Gouvernement. L’attaque a eu lieu vers 20h dans une zone de forte concentration de débits de boissons. C’est la deuxième fois en l’espace d’une semaine que Maroua subit une attaque terroriste. En effet, cette ville avait déjà été la cible d'une double attaque sanglante le 22 juillet. Une série d’attentats qui n'a toujours pas été revendiquée mais qui, pour tous les observateurs, serait l’œuvre d’insurgés nigérians.

• Suite à ce nouvel attentat terroriste, le Gouverneur de la Région de l’Extrême Nord a pris de mesures additionnelles de sécurité. Il s’agit de l’interdiction du commerce ambulant, la revitalisation des comités de vigilance dans les quartiers, la restriction de la circulation des engins à deux roues et le contrôle systématique des mototaxis, le renforcement des effectifs des soldats dans le Nord, le renforcement du contrôle sur les axes routiers, la fermeture des débits de boissons après 18 heures, la multiplication des contrôles et des fouilles, le déploiement des éléments de la police municipale dans les marchés, l’arrestation d’enfants en errance et la surveillance des mosquées.

• Dans le cadre de la lutte contre Boko Haram, les Etats Unis se sont engagés à travers le General Donald Bolduc, Commandant du commandement spécial des opérations Afrique, à fournir de nouveaux appuis en matière d’équipement et de formation au Cameroun. Au cours d’une audience qu’il a eue le 20 juillet avec le Président Paul Biya, le Général américain a annoncé que ces appuis consisteront en la fourniture d’équipements sophistiqués susceptibles de mieux aider à combattre Boko Haram et la formation des forces de défense à leur utilisation.

NOUAKCHOTT – Le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations Unies (PAM) se réjouit de 400,000 euros (environ 438,800 dollars EU) du service d’aide humanitaire et de la protection civile de la Commission Européenne (ECHO) qui permettra à l’agence onusienne de maintenir son aide alimentaire aux près de 50 000 refugiées maliens du camp de Mbera pour les prochaines mois.

«Cette importante contribution d’ECHO arrive à un moment critique. Elle permet au PAM de mobiliser un stock de 270 tonnes de riz et de 72 tonnes de légumineuses pour maintenir en partie son assistance alimentaire aux refugiées maliens du camp de Mbera. Cette contribution est essentielle pour préserver les réfugiés de la faim, nous sommes toutefois gravement préoccupés que sans un soutien additionnel des bailleurs de fonds, des réductions plus profondes de l’assistance voire sa suspension seront inévitables à partir d’octobre, » a déclaré Janne Suvanto, Représentant du PAM en Mauritanie.

Le financement de l’opération d’assistance aux réfugiés maliens dans le sud-est mauritanien est vital. Le PAM a besoin de 3,5 millions de dollars E-U pour venir en aide aux réfugiés vivant dans le camp de Mbera jusque fin janvier 2016. Pour le moment, le PAM obtenu la moitié du financement nécessaire. Le stock de vivres disponibles permet au PAM de distribuer environ 55 pour cent de la ration standard en août, et 62 pour cent en septembre.

«Près de 50 000 refugiées au camp du Mbera continuent d’avoir besoin de l’assistance humanitaire pour se nourrir et faire face à leurs besoins primaires. Avec une situation sécuritaire qui reste précaire au nord du Mali, nous comptons sur le soutien de nos partenaires pour continuer à apporter l’assistance vitale aux refugiées maliens et éviter qu’ils ne tombent dans l’oubli,» a conclu M. Suvanto.

Grâce au soutien d’ECHO - un des trois principaux bailleurs de fonds du PAM en Mauritanie - et de ses autres bailleurs de fonds, le PAM apporte une assistance nutritionnelle et alimentaire aux réfugiés maliens du camp de Mbera depuis 2012. Cette assistance inclut des distributions mensuelles de vivres à tous les réfugiés; des distributions de suppléments nutritionnels fortifiés aux enfants de moins de cinq ans, aux femmes enceintes et allaitantes pour traiter et prévenir la malnutrition aiguë modérée; et la distribution d’un repas chaud quotidien aux enfants des écoles.

Le PAM est la plus grande agence humanitaire qui lutte contre la faim dans le monde en distribuant une assistance alimentaire dans les situations d'urgence et en travaillant avec les communautés pour améliorer leur état nutritionnel et renforcer leur résilience. Chaque année, le PAM apporte une assistance à plus de 80 millions de personnes dans près de 80 pays.

Suivez-nous sur Twitter : @WFP_WAfrica, @WFP_FR

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez contacter:
Marie-Joëlle Jean- Charles, WFP/Nouakchott, mariejo.jncharles@wfp.org, +222 27093363 Adel Sarkozi, WFP/Dakar, adel.sarkozi@wfp.org, + 221 776375964

By Manuel Moreno

An initiative to revitalize health clinics aims to provide better care for mothers and children in Chad, where maternal and infant mortality rates are among the world’s highest.

N’DJAMENA, Chad, 7 August 2015 – After spending a few minutes chatting with Roseline Tallot, one quickly realizes that she is not an ordinary person. Her eyes emanate inner strength and deep wisdom. Her voice is soft, but her words make an impression in the heart and soul.

Ms. Tallot, 52, is an energetic and experienced midwife. She is responsible for the Atrone Health Centre, located in a neighborhood in the outskirts of N'Djamena, the capital of Chad. With a team of a dozen nurses and midwives, she has directed the centre since its revitalization in 2014.

“Since February, we operate 24 hours, seven days a week. Every day we receive around 50 women who come to the antenatal clinic. We assist between six and 10 deliveries daily,” explains Ms. Tallot.

Chad has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. It is estimated that only two out of 10 women give birth under assistance of qualified personnel, and one child out of 10 dies before his first birthday.

Expanding access

To accelerate the reduction of maternal and child deaths in the country, the Ministry of Public Health launched an initiative to reopen 13 health centres in urban and peri-urban areas in Chad, making services available 24/7 to hundreds of thousands of mothers and children. The initiative is financed by the French Muskoka Fund, in collaboration with UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund, UN Women and the World Health Organization.

“Before, the centre was open seven hours, and now the whole day. Women come here day and night,” says Nadjilembaye Kormbaye, one of the nurses at the Atrone Health Centre. “Many things have changed, because before we used to be on duty, but now we do nightshifts,” she continues.

According to the centre’s records, since the reopening of Atrone, a total of 457 deliveries have been assisted under supervision of midwives and nurses, and they have received about 6,493 consultations for antenatal care.

The Atrone centre serves a population of more than 34,000 inhabitants, and the main consultations are children with diarrhoea, respiratory illness and suspected cases of malaria. But assisting births is one of the principal tasks of Ms. Tallot´s team.

A growing relationship

On one night, the team had to assist five deliveries almost at the same time, and no baby or mother’s life was lost. It was a particularly stressful ocassion – but also a joyful one.

“We only have a delivery room with just three birthing tables. When we received the five pregnant women about to give birth, we experienced enormous difficulties. Some of them had to wait outside. A woman in labour should not wait,” she says.

The services provided by the health centre and the health team have created a growing relationship between the town and the community.

“I came to the health centre for a routine checkup,” says Rahmata Hissein, who is a mother of two and eight months pregnant. “The women in the community have encouraged me to come.”

Ms. Hissein, 25, had her two previous children in the main hospital. It is the first time she will give birth in the health centre, within walking distance from her house, something that makes her very happy.

“The health of mothers and children must be at the heart of the national development policies,” says Dr. Nestor Azandégbé, Chairman of the Technical Committee of the French Fund Muskoka, during a recent visit to Chad. “Governments and their development partners should continue to work tirelessly together, to improve the health of women and children.”

Greater investment needed

Despite the efforts of the health workers, mother and child deaths do still occur. Further strengthening of human resources and access to essential medicines and medical equipment are needed to improve delivery of maternal, newborn and child health.

“One night, while I was working, I received a patient with a complete dilatation. Her blood pressure was high and she started to have convulsions, having an eclamptic crisis,” explains Nurse Kormbaye. “The story of that pregnant woman really marked me.”

She says, “I called the ambulance, and the ambulance arrived and took her to the main hospital. She was operated on. Her child died but she survived.”

Stories like this one are a common reality in Chad, and greater investment is needed – the Government and the international community must redouble their efforts and learn from midwives and nurses, who sometimes experience the loss of life in front of their eyes, but do not lose their courage and strength to continue their hard work on the front lines.

Bamako, Mali | AFP | mardi 11/08/2015 - 06:20 GMT

par Serge DANIEL et Ahamadou CISSE

L'attaque du 7 août contre un hôtel de Sévaré dans le centre du Mali, qui a fait officiellement 13 morts, a été revendiquée mardi auprès de l'AFP par un cadre jihadiste proche du prédicateur islamiste radical malien Amadou Koufa et lié à l'Algérien Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

"La main de Dieu a guidé les moujahidine à Sévaré contre les ennemis de l'islam. Quinze cafres (infidèles) et leurs complices ont été tués", a déclaré Souleyman Mohamed Kennen, dans un bref entretien téléphonique avec un journaliste de l'AFP à Bamako.

"Le cheikh Amadou Koufa a aussi donné sa bénédiction pour l'attaque", a ajouté le responsable, réputé un de ses proches.

Souleyman Mohamed Kennen a aussi fait partie en 2012 de l'aile malienne de combattants pour Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Le nord du Mali était alors sous contrôle de groupes jihadistes liés à Al-Qaïda, comme Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (Aqmi) - dont Belmokhtar est un membre fondateur - et Ansar Dine, fondé par un ex-chef rebelle touareg malien Iyad Ag Ghali.

Selon le gouvernement malien, le bilan définitif de l'attaque et du siège de l'hôtel Byblos de Sévaré, où séjournaient régulièrement des étrangers, est de 13 morts: quatre militaires maliens, cinq employés de sociétés sous-traitantes de la Mission de l'ONU au Mali (Minusma) et quatre assaillants.

Dans un communiqué mardi, la Minusma a toutefois précisé qu'un chauffeur malien tué dans l'attaque - avec un Népalais, un Sud-Africain et deux Ukrainiens - ne faisait pas partie de son personnel sous contrat, portant de cinq à quatre le nombre de ses contractants tués dans l'attaque.

M. Kennen a également affirmé à l'AFP que les "moujahidine" étaient derrière une nouvelle attaque dans laquelle sont morts trois militaires maliens vers Ténenkou, dans la région de Mopti.

D'après le gouvernement malien, trois militaires maliens ont été tués et quatre ont été blessés lundi en fin de matinée par un engin explosif improvisé qui a sauté au passage de leur véhicule près de Diabozo, dans la zone de Ténenkou.

• 'Passerelle entre groupes jihadistes' -

Avant cette revendication, les soupçons des enquêteurs maliens sur l'attaque de Sévaré se portaient vers un groupe récent allié d'Ansar Dine, le Front de libération du Macina (FLM), Macina étant un le nom traditionnel d'une partie du centre du Mali.

Apparu début 2015, le FLM, qui recrute essentiellement dans la communauté peule, est un mouvement allié à Ansar Dine.

"Il y a une passerelle entre tous ces groupes jihadistes. En revendiquant le coup de Sévaré, Souleyman parle aussi pour les autres groupes jihadistes", a affirmé à l'AFP une source de sécurité régionale.

Pour elle, "il n'est pas du tout impossible que des groupes islamistes traditionnels aient aidé à l'organisation de l'opération" jihadiste à Sévaré.

Selon une source proche de l'enquête dans cette ville à environ 12 km de Mopti et plus de 620 km de Bamako, les enquêteurs maliens ont retrouvé "des numéros de téléphone et des adresses" sur les corps de "terroristes" tués lors de l'assaut donné par les forces maliennes contre eux après près de 24 heures de siège.

"Ces données vont aider les enquêteurs à avancer plus vite", avait assuré cette source jointe lundi, indiquant que la piste du FLM se précisait. Une piste avancée également par une source militaire malienne, faisant état de "forts soupçons" sur le FLM.

La région de Mopti se situe à la lisière du vaste Nord malien d'où les jihadistes ont été en grande partie chassés et dispersés par une intervention militaire internationale déclenchée en janvier 2013 à l'initiative de la France.

Cinq jours après l'attaque de l'hôtel Byblos, le nombre total d'assaillants demeurait inconnu. Dimanche, le gouvernement malien faisait état de "sept suspects arrêtés", sans plus de détails.

Un militaire basé à Sévaré avait affirmé lundi à l'AFP que "des traces" des assaillants avaient été découvertes dans un bâtiment près du Byblos.

L'attaque a dévasté cet hôtel, dont il ne reste plus que des murs criblés de balles et percés de trous d'obus. Dans certaines chambres aux portes arrachées, le sol était jonché de débris ou d'habits, draps et oreillers maculés de sang, selon les premières images obtenues par l'AFP.

sd-str-cs/mrb/fal

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Snapshot 5-11 August 2015

Burkina Faso: Heavy floods in Ouagadougou, Kadiogo province, and Bobo-Dioulasso, Houet province, in early August affected around 19,780 people. Significant damage to houses and food stocks were reported. Additional flooding in the north could bring the total number of affected to 122,000. More than 1.5 million people are facing Stressed or Crisis food security outcomes in Burkina Faso, especially in the Sahel region in the north.

India: Floods caused by protracted heavy rains have affected an estimated 10 million people in India. Reported as the worst flooding in 200 years, it has displaced one million people.

Myanmar: Flooding and landslides linked to Cyclone Komen have, as of 10 August, affected around one million people and killed 99. 12 out of 14 states and regions have been affected. On 31 July, Rakhine state, Chin state, Sagaing region and Magway region were declared natural disaster zones. Close to 200,000 people have been displaced.

Global Emergency Overview Web Interface

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Ravina Shamdasani
Location: Geneva
Date: 11 August 2015
Subjects: (1) Thailand / lèse-majesté and (2) Mali

(1) Thailand / lèse-majesté

We are appalled by the shockingly disproportionate prison terms handed down over the past few months in lèse-majesté cases in Thailand. On 7 August 2015, the Bangkok Military Court sentenced travel agent Phongsak Sribunpeng to 30 years in prison for violating Section 112 of the Criminal Code (also known as the lèse-majesté law). Sribunpeng was convicted for six Facebook posts that were critical of members of the Royal Family. The sentence was initially 60 years – 10 years for each Facebook post – but this was reduced due to his guilty plea. On the same day, the Chiang Mai Military Court handed a 28-year prison term to Sasiwimol Patomwongfa-ngarm, a hotel staff, for posting seven comments on Facebook critical of the monarchy. The sentence was reduced from 56 years because of her guilty plea. Another particularly harsh sentence was handed down in March 2015, when the Bangkok Military Court convicted Thiansutham Suttijitseranee to 25 years in prison for posting five comments criticizing the monarchy on Facebook.

These are the heaviest sentences we have recorded since 2006, when we began documenting cases of individuals prosecuted for lèse-majesté offences for exercising the right to freedom of expression.

And there has been a sharp increase in the number of such cases. Since the May 2014 military coup, at least 40 individuals have either been convicted or remain in pre-trial detention for lèse-majesté offences, both under Section 112 and under the 2007 Computer Crimes Act. In early May 2014, prior to the coup, there were five people in prison for lèse-majesté related convictions. .

Also among those convicted in recent months are people with psycho-social disabilities. On 6 August, the Chiang Rai military court sentenced Samak Pantae to five years in prison for destroying a portrait of the King while he was intoxicated. Pantae has been diagnosed with psychosis by Chiang Rai Hospital and has been taking medication to battle visual and auditory hallucinations. On 25 June, the Bangkok Criminal Court sentenced Tanet Nontakoat to three years and four months in prison for sending URLs which contained alleged lèse-majesté content to a website administrator. Nontakoat is reportedly suffering from schizophrenia.

We are also alarmed at the spike in harsh prison terms delivered in such cases by the military courts, which themselves fail to meet international human rights standards, including the right to a fair trial. The public has been barred from entry and in many instances there is no possibility of appeal. International law requires that trials of civilians by military courts should be exceptional, and military trials must afford all due process guarantees provided for under international human rights law.

We call for the immediate release of all those who have been jailed or held in prolonged pre-trial detention for the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression. We also urge the military government to amend the vague and broad lèse-majesté law to bring it in line with international human rights standards. Until the law is amended, such laws should not be used arbitrarily to curb debate on critical issues of public interest, even when it involves criticism of heads of State or Government.

(2) Mali

We are deeply concerned at the reported release of detainees who were suspected of involvement in, or already formally charged with serious crimes, including war crimes, terrorist acts and gross human rights violations. We understand that a number of those released on 16 July 2015 were implicated in such crimes and are concerned that further releases may be imminent. Any measure which would de facto amount to an amnesty would be contrary to international law, and in violation of the commitment by the parties to the Peace and Reconciliation Agreement.

We emphasize the critical importance of the fight against impunity and the need to investigate and prosecute all gross violations of human rights, to ensure accountability. Amnesties that prevent the prosecution of individuals who may be legally responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and gross violations of human rights are inconsistent with States’ obligations under various sources of international law.

We urge the Government to ensure that any releases made in the context of confidence building measures are in full conformity with international law, and to take all measures to ensure the investigation and prosecution of all serious crimes under international law. The judicial authorities in Mali should pursue the investigation and prosecution of all alleged perpetrators of war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and other gross violations of human rights, and ensure that the rights of victims to an effective remedy are promoted and protected.

We also condemn the atrocious attacks on civilians in the Byblos hotel in Sevaré in Central Mali between Friday and Saturday last week. Such attacks, which appear designed to provoke a state of terror and intimidate, are in violation of national and international law. We call on the international community and neighbouring states to give all possible assistance to Mali in its ongoing efforts to restore peace, security and the full respect for human rights.

ENDS

For more information, please contact Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org)

A significant water shortage is registered in Mali’s northern regions. The low rate of access to drinking water, the large number of water points in need of repairs and the drying-up of several ponds have increased the pressure of nomad communities on the few existing water sources. This shortage affects over 7,660 households and their cattle in the Gao and Timbuktu regions. According to the preliminary results of the SMART survey (May 2015), countrywide the global acute malnutrition rate (GAM) is at 12.4% and the severe acute malnutrition (SAM) rate is at 2.8%. In the Timbuktu region, the GAM reaches 17.5% and the SAM is at 3.5%, exceeding the WHO emergency thresholds.

Une pénurie d'eau sévit dans les régions du nord. Le faible taux d’accès à l’eau potable, le nombre élevé de points d’eau en panne et l’assèchement de plusieurs mares ont accru la pression des popula- tions nomades sur les quelques points d’eau existants. Dans les régions de Gao et Tombouctou plus de 7 660 ménages et leurs troupeaux sont touchés par cette pénurie.

Les résultats préliminaires de l’enquête SMART (mai 2015) indiquent au niveau national un taux de malnutrition aiguë globale (MAG) de 12,4 % et un taux de malnutrition aiguë sévère (MAS) de 2,8%. Dans la région de Tombouctou la MAG atteint 17,5% et la MAS 3,5%, ce qui dépasse les seuils d’urgence de l’OMS.

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | 8/12/2015 - 00:35 GMT

At least 47 people were killed and dozens wounded in a bomb blast Tuesday in a part of northeast Nigeria frequently targeted by Boko Haram Islamists, a medical source and witnesses said.

The explosion ripped through the weekly market in the village of Sabon Gari, around 135 kilometres (85 miles) south of Borno state capital Maiduguri, during peak trading around 1:15 pm (1230 GMT), the sources said.

"We have received at least 47 dead bodies and at least 50 with injuries from the Sabon Gari market, where there was a blast this afternoon," a nurse at Biu General Hospital, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) away, told AFP.

He said the injuries from the blast are mostly "severe", meaning the death toll could continue to rise.

"The explosion happened inside the market at the mobile phone section, near the livestock section of the market," said Yuram Bura, a member of a local vigilante group fighting Boko Haram alongside the army.

"It was concealed in a knapsack used for spraying herbicides. It was smuggled into the market and apparently abandoned."

Witnesses said the blast bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram, which has previously targeted crowded bus stations, markets, mosques and churches during its bloody six-year insurgency.

"Following the explosion everybody fled the market because of fear of more explosions. However, vigilantes and volunteers went to the scene and were able to evacuate the victims," Samaila Biu, a local trader, told AFP.

"Soldiers were also deployed... The market has been closed."

• Increased attacks -

The attack came two days after jihadists shot dead four people and abducted five others in an ambush on a highway in the same area on Sunday, according to local vigilantes.

Gunmen suspected to be from Boko Haram also killed eight people at the end of July in a raid on a village near Biu, the biggest town in southern Borno, the state which has borne the brunt of the insurgency.

Boko Haram has killed more than 15,000 people since 2009 and has increasingly spread across the country's borders, with Chad and Cameroon suffering deadly suicide bombings in recent months.

Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger launched a joint military fightback this year, with Benin set to join a new five-country regional force due to go into action shortly.

On Tuesday, Chad's president Idriss Deby told reporters that efforts to combat the militants had already succeeded in "decapitating" the group.

"Boko Haram is decapitated. There are little groups (of Boko Haram members) scattered throughout east Nigeria, on the border with Cameroon," he said in the capital N'Djamena.

"The war will be short, with the setting up of the regional force, it will be over by the end of the year," he added.

Boko Haram has increased the frequency and intensity of its attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari took the helm in Nigeria on May 29. Since then, more than 900 people have been killed in Nigeria alone, according to an AFP count.

Buhari has vowed to crush the insurgency, which has made more than 1.5 million homeless since 2009.

He announced on Friday that Nigeria would step up domestic arms manufacturing for the military to cut its reliance on foreign weaponry in its fight with the Islamists.

He has instructed the defence ministry to create "a modest military industrial complex for the local production of weapons to meet some of the requirements of the country's armed forces", his office said in a statement.

• Exporting terror -

Buhari's election victory triggered a wave of optimism for oil-rich Nigeria, which has Africa's biggest population and economy but many deep and seemingly intractable problems.

The military has long argued that it is hampered by a lack of weaponry, and Buhari warned Washington last month that a US refusal to arm his troops because of "so-called human rights violations" was helping Boko Haram.

The US has vowed to help Nigeria defeat the insurgency but it is prohibited under law from sending weapons to countries that fail to tackle human rights abuses.

As it struggles with the insurgency at home, Nigeria is taking steps to prevent the export of terror abroad, it said earlier on Wednesday, with a crackdown on young adults leaving with no apparent means of supporting themselves.

Immigration officials said almost 24,000 nationals aged 17 to 35 were turned back at the border between January 2014 and March this year.

"There have been reports in recent times of some Nigerians departing to join terrorist groups especially in the Middle East and north Africa," Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) spokesman Chukwuemeka Obua told AFP.

abu-erf/as

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The fourth round of the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), conducted in June 2015, showed 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in six states of north-east Nigeria. More than half of the displaced population comprise children (775,767 or 56 per cent) and half of them (387,883) are children under five years old. In addition, 223,141 IDPs have returned to Adamawa state in the north-east.

In recent weeks, insurgent attacks have increased, and there have been further displacements of people. There has also been an increase in cross-border movements and, to date, roughly 3,500 Nigerians have been forced to return to Nigeria from Cameroon alone. There is currently no registration process for either the new IDPs or the returnees, and exact figures are not currently known.

IDPs are still occupying a number of schools and, with the scheduled resumption of new school year in September, this will affect the smooth operation of these schools. At the same time, the majority of children within the IDP community have not had proper schooling for some time now and there are no clear plans for these children to attend or participate in regular formal education.

11 août 2015 – Trois jours après l'attentat terroriste meurtrier qui a eu lieu à Sévaré, dans le centre du Mali, le Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme (HCDH) s'est déclaré mardi très inquiet face à la libération récente par les autorités du pays de détenus soupçonnés d'implication dans des crimes graves, y compris des crimes de guerre, des actes terroristes et des violations des droits de l'homme.

« Nous comprenons qu'un certain nombre de ceux qui ont été libérés le 16 juillet 2015 étaient impliqués dans de tels crimes et craignons que de nouvelles libérations soient imminentes », a déclaré une porte-parole du HCDH, Ravina Shamdasani, lors d'un point de presse à Genève. « Toute mesure qui équivaudrait de facto à une amnistie serait contraire au droit international et aux engagements pris par les parties dans l'Accord de paix et de réconciliation ».

La porte-parole a souligné l'importance que revêt pour le HCDH la lutte contre l'impunité et la nécessité d'enquêter et de poursuivre toutes les violations flagrantes des droits de l'homme, afin d'assurer la reddition de comptes.

« Nous exhortons le gouvernement à veiller à ce que toutes les libérations effectuées dans le cadre des mesures de renforcement de la confiance soient en pleine conformité avec le droit international et à prendre toutes les dispositions en son pouvoir pour garantir la conduite d'enquête et la poursuite de tous les crimes graves au regard du droit international », a déclaré Mme Shamdasani.

Les autorités judiciaires au Mali devraient poursuivre tous les auteurs présumés de crimes de guerre, de génocides, de crimes contre l'humanité et d'autres violations flagrantes des droits de l'homme, a-t-elle insisté.

Le HCDH a également condamné lors du point de presse l'attaque perpétrée les 7 et 8 août derniers dans l'hôtel Byblos de la ville malienne de Sévaré, qui a notamment causé la mort de quatre employés contractuels des Nations Unies.

« Ces attaques, qui semblent avoir été conçues pour susciter la terreur et l'intimidation, vont à l'encontre du droit national et international », a déploré Mme Shamdasani.

La porte-parole du HCDH a appelé la communauté internationale et les Etats voisins à appuyer le Mali dans ses efforts pour rétablir la paix, la sécurité et le plein respect des droits de l'homme dans le pays.

1. Introduction

The briefing is designed to give incoming members of parliament a rapid overview of some of the world’s most fragile situations and highlight actions which key influencers can take to ensure the UK government most effectively delivers on its moral and political responsibilities. Beginning with summaries of key issues we face as agencies working in humanitarian crisis and conflict settings, the briefing then focuses on short summaries of 10 fragile situations and emergencies. The information is accurate to the middle of April 2015.

There are a number of ways in which you can become active as a parliamentarian in addressing these issues. Many of the countries we cover have related All Party Parliamentary Groups which are currently being reconstituted. For a personal briefing please contact individual groups and agencies listed at the end of each chapter.

Over many decades the UK has been at the forefront of humanitarian relief operations and work on conflict issues. It has used its considerable financial and political influence, as well as intellectual leadership, to help support those trapped in crisis situations. We trust you will continue to build on this legacy, and use your office to engage, provide oversight and influence action, so that lives can be saved and more people can live free from violence and fear.

Officials of the National Emergency Management Agency in the Malkohi ‎IDPs‬ camp Yola, received the Nigerian Returnees from the Republic of‪ Cameroon‬ that were transported by the Agency from the Mubi and Sahuda border post to the various camps in Yola and Fufore, Adamawa State. On arrival, the IDPs were profiled, given meals to eat and provided with Non Food Items (NFIs).

The company contracted by MINUSMA has confirmed that the Malian driver who died during the terrorist attack in Sévaré was not a member of its personnel.

Therefore, a total of four members of the MINUSMA contractor’s personnel were killed.

The 16 MINUSMA contractual agents working in Mopti, including the four who were rescued from Hotel Byblos, were transferred to Bamako on Saturday, 8 August, to receive the necessary psychological support.