KEY FIGURES

462,069 South Sudanese arrivals since 8 July 2016, based on field reports (as of 27 Nov, except for Ethiopia as of 29 Nov)

1,346,617 Total South Sudanese refugees as of 27 Nov (both pre and post Dec 2013 caseload and new arrivals) 260,453 Refugees in South Sudan

1.8 M Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in South Sudan, including 204,370 people in UNMISS Protection of Civilians site

FUNDING (as of 29 November) USD 649.0 M Requested by UNHCR for the situation

HIGHLIGHTS

• Operations responding to the South Sudan situation commenced their 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), organizing various events in refugee camps, settlements and IDP sites as part of ongoing SGBV prevention and response. The 16 Days of Activism campaign runs from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to Human Rights Day on 10 December.

• Large numbers of South Sudanese refugees continue to arrive into neighbouring countries. Uganda continues to receive the highest number of arrivals, with most refugees arriving by informal border points and citing various security concerns as their major reason for flight.

Key messages

• Humanitarian needs in Niger continue to be immense as a result of lasting food insecurity, high global malnutrition of children under age five and the displacement of people fleeing the conflicts in neighbouring Mali* and Nigeria*. Successive food crises, extreme poverty, displacement and rapid population growth continue to erode people’s resilience. Even in good agricultural years, between 4 and 5 million Nigeriens experience food shortages.

• The situation further deteriorated in 2015, with the spill-over of the conflict in Nigeria leading to increasing numbers of displaced and refugee populations in the Diffa region.
  Furthermore, the presence of mines and the disruption of markets have contributed to the deterioration of the situation. The European Commission’s humanitarian funding in 2016 was of €47.5 million.

• Access to the population in need in Diffa, especially those living out of camps in the vicinity of Lake Chad, remains a challenge due to security constraints and the limitations entailed by the declaration of state of emergency.

• The European Commission is among the largest donors providing life-saving and emergency aid. In 2016, it supported the treatment of over 265 000 children under five years old suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition. EU funding covers 66% of the national caseload.

Key messages

• Cameroon is hosting around 359 000 refugees. Approximatively 59 000 of them are Nigerian refugees fleeing Boko Haram violence and living in the Minawao camp, and 274 000 are from Central African Republic (CAR). In addition, some 182 000 persons are internally displaced (IDPs) in the Far North region because of the conflict, an increase of 15% since April 2016.

• 180 000 people are in need of immediate food assistance in the Far North region, and in some areas of this remote part of the country, Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) levels exceed the 2% emergency threshold.

• The number of children forecast to suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition in 2017 is 63 000, 31 000 of whom in the Far North Region.

• Refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) living in the East and North regions are still entirely relying on the humanitarian assistance to cover their basic needs.

• The European Commission has substantially increased its humanitarian support. The €11 million initial allocation for Cameroun at the start of 2016 were increased through the year to adapt to the existing needs, totalling €25.2 million in December 2016.

• With European Commission humanitarian funding emergency assistance is provided to IDPs, refugees and host populations in terms of shelter, food, safe drinking water and sanitation, primary healthcare, support to livelihoods and protection. Furthermore, the acute food and nutrition insecurity of the most vulnerable population is addressed.

• The provision of humanitarian assistance remains crucial and should be associated to the design of more sustainable strategies of response, to improve livelihoods and self-reliance of refugees. In parallel, properly linking humanitarian assistance to development actions is of paramount importance so as to build the resilience of vulnerable populations.

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Alors que le Conseil de sécurité devait se réunir à la mi-journée à New York, les efforts diplomatiques de divers acteurs internationaux y compris la CEDEAO, l’Union africaine et l’ONU, se poursuivent pour convaincre le président Yaya Jammeh de se retirer après avoir perdu les élections de décembre dernier. Plus tôt dans la Journée, le président élu Adama Barrow a prêté serment à Dakar et pris ses nouvelles fonctions.

Sur le plan humanitaire, le Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) confirme qu'au moins 28 000 personnes, principalement des enfants, ont quitté la Gambie et traversé au Sénégal depuis le début de cette année pour échapper à la tension croissante émanant des résultats de l’élection présidentielle du mois dernier.

Alors que certaines personnes ont choisi de rester en Gambie, beaucoup d'autres elles ont commencé à envoyer leurs enfants au Sénégal comme mesure de précaution face à l’impasse politique, craignant de potentiels troubles.

Le HCR, certaines agences humanitaires et les autorités sénégalaises surveillent les frontières depuis la crise politique qui a éclaté le mois dernier ; elles ont déployé des missions conjointes sur le terrain la semaine dernière et cette semaine au sud du Sénégal, en Casamance, qui borde la Gambie, ainsi que dans ses environs. Outre le HCR et le Comité National pour les Réfugiés, les Rapatriés et les Personnes Déplacées (CNRRPD) au Sénégal, l’OCHA, l’UNICEF, le Programme Alimentaire Mondial, l’OIM et quelques autres parties prenantes ont également participé à ces missions.

Une grande partie de cette traversée quotidienne relève du trafic régulier, mais les résultats préliminaires indiquent également que plusieurs milliers de personnes ont traversé au Sénégal pour chercher un abri, principalement dans les zones de Ziguinchor, Sédhiou, Kaolack et Kolda. Très peu d’arrivées ont été notées dans les régions de Fatick, Kaffrine et Tambacounda ; mais cette tendance pourrait rapidement changer. Les autorités, avec le soutien du HCR, travaillent actuellement à renforcer les systèmes d’enregistrement.

La majorité des arrivées au Sénégal sont des Gambiens, ainsi que des Sénégalais qui ont travaillé ou vivent en Gambie. Les équipes signalent également la présence de Ghanéens, de Guinéens, de Libériens, de Mauritaniens et de Libanais parmi les arrivées. « La plupart vivent chez des parents ou des familles d’accueil. Certains ménages ont plus que doublé ou triplé en taille, ce qui risque de mettre une pression sur leurs ressources, en particulier en termes de nourriture » indique Liz Ahua.

Le HCR collabore étroitement avec les autorités sénégalaises et les organismes d’aide pour établir des plans d’urgence en cas de futurs afflux. Il s’agit notamment d’identifier et de préparer des sites de transit et d’hébergement à proximité d’installations déjà existantes qui fournissent des services de base. (Interview : Hélène Caux, Administratrice principale régionale chargée de l'information publique du HCR, Dakar ; propos recueillis par Jérôme Longué)

Friday, January 20, 2017 — London/Geneva, 20 January 2017: The death toll continues to rise following the horrific military attack on civilians in Rann, Nigeria, according to latest estimates by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Around 90 people were killed when a Nigerian airforce plane circled twice and dropped two bombs in the middle of the town of Rann, which hosts thousands of internally displaced people. At the time of the attack, an aid distribution was taking place. The majority of the victims were women and children.

Outside of what MSF teams have witnessed, consistent reports from residents and community leaders say as many as 170 people were killed.

“This figure needs to be confirmed. The victims of this horrifying event deserve a transparent account of what happened and the circumstances in which this attack took place. Many of the survivors will need long-term care and support for the future,” says Bruno Jochum, MSF General Director. “People had sought safety in what they thought was a protected site – instead they were bombed by those who were meant to safeguard them.”

The tragedy in Rann too clearly illustrates the dire situation in Borno State, where extremely vulnerable people remain trapped in a cycle of daily violence between the Nigerian military and Boko Haram. This intense violence has led to the displacement of nearly three million people over the past few years, who are still in urgent need of protection and assistance.

“The population continues to pay the price of a merciless conflict, where the war between Boko Haram and Nigerian military too often disregards the safety of civilians,” says Jochum. “The people of Borno should be entitled to guarantees of protection and assistance. All parties to the conflict must ensure the safety of civilians, and we urge the Government of Nigeria to ensure the protection of its people.”

MSF first started working in Nigeria in 1996, and is one of the few organisations still able to operate in hard-to-reach areas of the country.

ENDS

UNHCR is working with Chad and partners to ensure the children of Chadian émigrés fleeing war in neighbouring countries finally receive ID cards to start over.

GORÉ, Chad – One day three years ago, during a break at the farm where she worked, Samira Hassan took a walk to the top of a nearby hill that overlooked Bossembélé, the town she called home in the west of the Central African Republic (CAR).

As she watched, horrified, a column of troops from a rebel militia that was then at war with the country’s government attacked the town. Within minutes, dark clouds of billowing smoke shrouded Bossembélé.

Samira, 23, knew her three children were safe back at the farm. But she saw her own house overtaken by a raging fire. Later she learnt that her mother had died in the inferno. Her brother, uncle, and two cousins were murdered at a mosque during the same raid.

“Since that day, I have heard no news about my husband,” says Samira. “That was it for me, I immediately took the kids and ran to the country of my parents, Chad.”

Samira left behind the bodies of her loved ones in the ruins of her home. She also left behind vital documents that she had no idea she would need to avoid the years of uncertainty she has faced since. At the time, her only thought was to flee to safety.

Samira’s parents are from Chad, but moved to CAR for work. She was born and raised in CAR, but was never granted citizenship there. At the same time, papers that could prove her parents were Chadian - and that therefore, under their country’s nationality law, she too had acquired Chadian nationality at birth - were left in her burned-out home.

So when she and 75,000 others in her situation fleeing the conflict in CAR reached Chad, they had no way to prove who they were, or that they were entitled to citizenship of the country that now sheltered them in refugee camps around the town of Goré.

“I only realized how important it was to have identity documents when I fled to Chad,” says Samira, who only reached the country after a roundabout trek. “We had to cross to Cameroon first, then we were escorted to Goré. During this exhausting, five-week trip, we were asked many times to present our documents. We had none, it made everything more complicated.”

Chad welcomes refugees and returning Chadians alike. Samira is now one of more than 6,000 returnees who have undergone biometric registration and nationality verification under a new European Union-funded programme to support returnees and prevent statelessness.

Implemented by the local authorities in collaboration with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners, the EU-funded programme is set to expand to another area in southern Chad, where a further 11,000 people like Samira are awaiting official documentation.

Worldwide at least 10 million people are believed to be stateless, and many others are at risk of becoming so. UNHCR is working with governments around the world to identify, prevent, and end statelessness, which frequently bars people from access to studying, healthcare, work, travel and voting in elections. To advance this goal, in 2014 UNHCR launched the #IBelong Campaign to end statelessness.

So far, however, fewer than half of the returnees to Chad have been enrolled in the EU-funded programme. Procedures necessary to determine whether individuals are Chadian nationals, and should be issued with birth certificates or ID cards, take time. Teams from the humanitarian community, local authorities, and the police must visit rural areas where access is difficult and security not always assured.

“The programme is very demanding when it comes to time, human and logistical resources,” says Ginette Ody, a UNHCR Associate Protection Officer in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital. “Aside from ordinary screening, it is often necessary to have supplementary judicial rulings from local authorities before confirming the authenticity of someone’s Chadian background. Carrying out such operations in far-flung Chadian districts close to the CAR border can be very costly.”

Chad’s national civil registrar struggles to keep records of births, and 88 per cent of children aged under five remain unregistered. Extra funding to the programme would allow both Chadians who fled CAR, and those born and raised in Chad, to be registered.

“It is crucial to continue preventing these communities from living in an eternal administrative limbo, so that their access to education, health care and state services is granted,” says Ody.

For Samira, finally getting documentation has brought her much needed security and opportunity after her flight from danger.

“Having a Chadian national ID card is an assurance that I am fully accepted here,” Samira says. “Now, I can confidently tell my children that we belong in Chad, a much safer place where they can pursue their ambitions like everybody else in the country.”

KEY FIGURES

761,550 South Sudanese arrivals in 2016, based on field reports (as of 31 Dec)

1,434,742 Total South Sudanese refugees as of 31 Dec (both pre and post Dec 2013 caseload and new arrivals)

261,541 Refugees in South Sudan

1.8 M Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in South Sudan, including 204,370 people in UNMISS Protection of Civilians site

FUNDING (as of 3 January)

USD 649.0 M Requested by UNHCR in 2016 for the South Sudan situation

HIGHLIGHTS

• Uganda received high numbers of new arrivals from South Sudan in the first half of December, peaking on 13 December when over 7,000 refugees crossed into Uganda, the third highest daily arrival in 2016. However the rate of arrival decreased significantly towards the end of the month, with just 59 arrivals recorded on Christmas Day.

• In South Sudan, UNHCR provided assistance in Maban after inter-community conflict which broke out between 25 and 28 December between refugees from Doro refugee camp and host community in Bunj, Maban County. The conflict was triggered by the detention and death of a male refugee in custody on 23 December 2016.

• In Kenya, the ongoing verification exercise in Kakuma was completed in late December, confirming 84,983 South Sudanese refugees in Kakuma and Kalobeyei. The total South Sudanese refugee population in Kenya stands at 87,378, including individuals registered in Nairobi and Dadaab.

A young Burkina Faso inventor is turning shea caterpillars into big business - and way to beat malnutrition - in his drought-hit country

By Morgane Le Cam

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso, Jan 20 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Small black cylinders simmer in two pots, emitting a pungent and smoky smell.

This is not someone's kitchen, however. It's the offices of FasoPro, which double as a caterpillar laboratory.

Kahitouo Hien, a tall, slim man, walks hastily from one room to another, wearing a white t-shirt with an unusual slogan: "Small caterpillars, big pleasure".

"Caterpillars are made up of over 60 percent protein," Hien explained. "They are among the most nutritious foods available in Burkina Faso."

According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, acute malnutrition in the northern Sahel area of Burkina Faso stands at 9.4 percent for children under five, close to the 10 percent level that is considered a serious emergency.

A lack of food and of diverse nutrients - caused by poor harvests as a result of drought and resulting low incomes - is behind the problem.

Hien, however, aims to change that. In 2015, he set up an improvised laboratory in Burkina Faso's capital to industrialise the production of shea caterpillars - insects that feed on shea tree leaves.

Traditionally eaten by members of the Bobo tribe in the west of the country, caterpillars are now sold at markets throughout the country as a tasty treat.

But no one had thought of industrialising their production until now, Hein said, despite the fact that "there's a market out there."

FROM STUDENT TO ENTREPRENEUR

Hien decided to start his business while studying engineering in 2011.

"I wrote a business plan on caterpillars because I've been eating them since childhood," he said, smiling broadly. "My tutor encouraged me to take part in U.C. Berkeley's Global Social Venture Competition."

He went on to win the prize for best social start-up in 2012. Armed with the prize and his degree, Hien worked on developing his business for two years before finally selling his first caterpillars to market traders in 2014.

"It didn't start off well," he recalled. "Our price - 3,000 CFA francs (about $5) for one 500g pack of fresh caterpillars - was just too high."

He came up with a solution the day his steriliser broke down.

"Bags of fresh caterpillars were piling up and the insects were drying up," Hien said. "We had to find a way to shift them."

In January 2016, he launched a new product: dried caterpillars.

At 650 CFA francs (about $1) for a 70g pack, the crunchy caterpillars were an instant hit, said Hien, who now employs six people in his business.

"We sold 30,000 units last year, and hope to hit 100,000 this year," he said.

Yelo Kam, one of his employees, meticulously cuts labels for the caterpillar bags in one of the company's rooms.

"Kahitouo is an ambitious man, a visionary," she said, without lifting her eyes from her work. "You have to be brave to hang in there."

His venture gained 42,000 euros ($45,000) in 2016 after winning a French competition rewarding social initiatives.

"The money will allow us to attend regional fairs, as well as find markets and partners in West Africa," Hien said.

NEXT STEPS

While developing his company, Hien still pursues his first passion: research. For several months, his team has been working on ways to breed the caterpillars in a controlled environment, rather than in nature.

"Once mature, caterpillars normally hide in the ground to grow - a stage that is only possible in porous soil," Hien explained. "Yet with soils drying up, caterpillars are becoming rarer."

While initial results are encouraging, the company needs more funds to finish its research, he said. Still, the road ahead does not scare him.

"I like taking risks. It's challenges that spur me on," he said. And he's already thinking of his next prototype: a cricket biscuit.

(Reporting by Morgane Le Cam, editing by Zoe Tabary and Laurie Goering. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate)

In December, 8,428 migrants and refugees arrived in Italy by sea via the central Mediterranean route.
Nationals from Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea accounted for the largest number of arrivals in December.

In December, an estimated 383 people died or went missing while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. In 2016, 5,082 people had died or gone missing in while crossing the Mediterranean, surpassing the 3,777 people who lost their lives in 2015.

Monthly regional mixed migration summary for December 2016 covering mixed migration events, incidents, trends and data for the West Africa region.

Highlights

• A Lead Convener for the national strategic review which will inform the Country Strategic Plan (2018-2022) has been officially identified upon endorsement by the Government.

• Registration of people to assist

WFP Assistance

The school meals project focuses on strengthening the overall institutional and policy framework for a national school meals system and consolidating and improving the gains achieved in access to pre-primary and primary education. Key activities include nutrition education and a cash-based transfer pilot which links school meals to local markets and small scale farmers.
South-South Cooperation programme to strengthen broader social protection initiatives in The Gambia has been finalized with the WFP Centre of Excellence in Brazil.

Following request for support from the Government, IR-EMOP 201036 has been activated to assist 10,000 affected by 2016 heavy rains and windstorms. WFP’s assistance is part of a multi sectoral response plan by the Government, other UN Agencies and NGOs. Food assistance through cash transfers will be provided to targeted households for three months. SCOPE, a corporate digital platform for transfer management and the registration of people assisted by WFP will be used for the implementation of cash transfers.

The Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) seeks to provide assistance to food insecure and vulnerable households, particularly children with moderate acute malnutrition, children of 6-23 months and pregnant and nursing women, especially during the lean season. The operation targets 157,100 people.

Reconciliation - understood as the restoration of social cohesion through socio-economic development - offers the opportunity to gather communities around common projects. All parties are thus involved in activities related to the common good, rather than centred on particular or individual interests. Central to this model of reconciliation is the core value of participation.

By participation we mean a step, or even a process, whereby each person makes a commitment, which is added to all other commitments. As JRS sees it: ‘Taking part in a common project is a sign of reconciliation, as people affected by a conflict are reconciled by becoming capable of taking active part in the life of their communities.

Participation is not just an important value in the process of reconciliation, it is also a political theory of sustainable development. Encouraging collective action throughout the decision-making process of the community can lead to permanent and sustainable social transformation.

It was with this objective in mind that a JRS project started bringing together refugee women from Central Africa and Cameroonian women from the village of Boubara, in the Ketté commune, around income-generating activities. This is all the more pertinent, since the Eastern region which is currently welcoming refugees from Central Africa was one of the least developed areas in Cameroon before the refugee crisis. The massive influx of refugees, with the ensuing competition for resources and job opportunities, which were already scarce, has significantly worsened the socio-economic and cultural situation. Indeed, as has become apparent in our different meetings with refugees, it is particularly important to keep the issue of ‘land’ in mind when dealing with social cohesion.

Refugee populations do not usually have access to farmland, because all plots of land belong to the host population. This problem is often the cause of conflict between the two communities, jeopardising their cohabitation and the desired social harmony.

In this particular case, following advocacy efforts by the team of project with a local woman, one hectare of land by the river was made available to refugee women so that they could plant fruits and leafy vegetables. Local woman decided to take part in this initiative, which contributed to greater social cohesion.

In this activity, JRS supplies all the equipment necessary, including farming tools (hoes, watering cans, crop sprayers), seeds and fertilisers. It also takes care of all practical matters with the leaders of the local communities. As for the women, they organise the work at the nursery garden, planting seedlings and watering them constantly. In the words of one refugee woman, the garden of Boubara II has become the face of a greater social cohesion. In a context of great social difficulties for refugee women, we seek to promote an array of opportunities allowing them to become more independent. Young women deserve a special mention, as in this social and cultural context decisions are usually taken for them, but without them. Protection issues are further aggravated by extreme poverty, and many families in this context are run by women whose cultural background usually deprives them of decision-making power. Their ability to take care of themselves, even in the simplest things, can lead to an inversion of this cultural and religious paradigm.

Income-generating activities are therefore an asset, and a powerful instrument of reconciliation, which aims precisely at recreating right relationships between the refugee women themselves, and between them and their community of origin, and with their host communities, wherever they are. This is why they are so committed when it comes to taking part in a social activity aimed at encouraging the development of the community.

Abuja (ICRC) - Three days after air strikes at a settlement for internally displaced people at Rann in Nigeria, two surgical teams from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with the help of one Nigerian surgeon continue to care for those wounded in the blasts.

Around 100 injured people were evacuated from Rann to Maiduguri. Two surgical teams in Maiduguri have been operating on the most seriously wounded, including more than 20 children.

"Patients were taken to operating theatres based on medical priority. By Friday morning, 24 of the most critically injured patients had been operated on. Forty-four more patients will be operated on later today and tomorrow," said ICRC surgeon, Dr Laurent Singa. "One of our challenges was that there were many children, some of whom did not have a family member with them. The Nigerian Red Cross volunteers have been doing a wonderful job taking care of them."

Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) teams also attended to the bodies of people killed in the air strike in Rann and informed families about the fate of their loved ones. The ICRC supplied body bags, as well as bandages, drugs and IV fluids to the medical facilities, including a Maiduguri military hospital.

The global Red Cross community continues to mourn the six workers from the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) who were among the dozens killed in the air strikes. NRCS volunteers are eager to begin a food distribution to the more than 25,000 internally displaced people in Rann as soon as possible. They feel this could serve as a gesture of humanity to honor the memory of the six deceased volunteers.

For further information, please contact:

Nwakpa O. Nwakpa, Nigerian Red Cross Society, tel: +234 803 473 62 00, nwakpaon@redcrossnigeria.org
Aleksandra Matijevic Mosimann, ICRC Abuja, tel: +234 706 418 90 02 or +234 703 595 41 68
Jason Straziuso, ICRC Nairobi, tel: +254 733 622 026
Elodie Schindler, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 21 86 or +41 79 217 32 17

by Emily Crowe | Jan 19, 2017

This story comes directly from a refugee mother we met at one of the refugee settlements we serve in Uganda. Like too many others, she and her children had fled fight in the home, South Sudan. Thank you for bringing health care to families like hers. Please pray that she and her child will find healing and safety.

There was nothing left for me back there; no home, no food, even one of my children was taken from me. The soldiers came and took everything. They didn’t care that my child is sick, and that another one had been killed by one of their bombs. They still come and take everything.

[We] came because of hunger. In Nimule (South Sudan), everyone is fighting. Soldiers come to take everything.

We left home and started traveling towards the border, but we still couldn’t find food anywhere—we were starving. The road to get here was very dangerous... You have to bribe the soldiers if they find you on the road. They charge 800 SP per adult and 400 SP per child. And even if you pay them, another might come and arrest you. Some people die on the roadside because they cannot pay.

I lost everything, I came with nothing, only the clothes on my back... We were luck to have made it.

Thousands of women like Opia and their children have fled South Sudan as unimaginable violence has become terrifying reality. Even more heartbreaking, Opia's family was separated in the camp. Your support is critical to keep refugee families like Opia's safe. Thank you for making sure she and her children have access to safe, reliable healthcare.

SC/12689　　

SECURITY COUNCIL
7868TH MEETING* (AM)　　

Presidential Statement Welcomes Decisions on Gambia, Other Political Developments

Expressing its concerns over the prevalence of violent extremism that could be conducive to terrorism, the Security Council strongly condemned all terrorist attacks in West Africa, notably those carried out by Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin.

In a presidential statement (document S/PRST/2017/2) read out by Olof Skoog (Sweden), its President for January, the Council stressed the need to combat all forms and manifestations of terrorism, including by addressing the conditions conducive to its spread. It expressed particular concern about attacks on civilians, the primary victims of terrorist violence.

Welcoming subregional, regional and international efforts to mitigate the security, humanitarian and development consequences of Boko Haram’s operations, the Council reaffirmed that Member States must ensure that any counter-terrorism measures must be in compliance with all obligations under international law, particularly international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.

The Council urged Members States participating in the Multinational Joint Task Force to further enhance regional military cooperation and coordination, deny safe haven to Boko Haram, and secure the conditions necessary to enable humanitarian access and facilitate the restoration of civilian security and the rule of law in areas liberated from the group. “The Security Council reiterates deep concern over the dire humanitarian situation resulting from Boko Haram activities in the Lake Chad Basin region,” the statement said.

“In this regard,” it continued, “the Security Council calls upon the international community to immediately support the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people most affected by the crisis in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, including by fulfilling the United Nations appeal for the Lake Chad Basin region.” The Council urged Governments in the region to facilitate access for humanitarian organizations, and to work with the United Nations and international partners to develop viable options for delivering aid.

Expressing deep regret over the tragic incident in Rann, north-eastern Nigeria, on 17 January, which had resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians, including internally displaced persons and humanitarian workers, the Council urged the Government of Nigeria to investigate the incident swiftly.

According to the statement, the Council was encouraged by the decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) authority on the political situation in the Gambia, as well as decisions by the African Union Peace and Security Council that the regional bloc would cease to recognize outgoing President Yahya Jammeh as the legitimate President of the Gambia. In that regard, it requested that the Secretary-General’s Special Representative continue to facilitate, through his good offices, interactions and negotiations aimed at ensuring a peaceful transfer of power to President Adama Barrow.

The Council went on to welcome recent positive political developments in several West African countries, in particular the holding of free and peaceful elections in Cabo Verde and Ghana, and the outcome of the political dialogue in Guinea. It also welcomed the steps taken to develop and institute political, institutional and constitutional reforms in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

“The Security Council encourages UNOWAS [United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel] to support peacebuilding and sustain peace efforts in other countries in West Africa where democratic gains remain fragile, following the comprehensive UN inter-agency approach in Burkina Faso.” It encouraged further progress towards implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel, including through support for the Group of 5 for the Sahel, and reaffirmed its continued commitment to addressing security and political challenges to the Sahel’s stability and development.

The meeting began at 11 a.m. and ended at 11:15 a.m.

Presidential Statement

The full text of presidential statement S/PRST/2017/2 reads as follows:

“The Security Council takes note of the report (S/2016/1072) of the Secretary General on the United Nations Office in West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and welcomes the briefing on 13 January 2017 by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed ibn Chambas.

“The Security Council welcomes the letter of the President of the Security Council dated 29 December 2016 and its annex concerning the extension of the mandate of the UNOWAS for a further period of three years, from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019.

“The Security Council expresses full support to the Special Representative and looks forward to efforts to enhance ongoing activities undertaken by UNOWAS in the areas of conflict prevention, mediation and good offices, subregional and regional cooperation to address cross-border and cross-cutting threats to peace and security, the implementation of the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel, as well as the promotion of good governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights, and gender mainstreaming.

“The Security Council welcomes the recent positive political developments in several West African countries, in particular the holding of free and peaceful elections in Cabo Verde and Ghana, and the outcome of the political dialogue in Guinea. The Security Council welcomes the steps taken to develop and institute political, institutional and constitutional reforms in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

“The Security Council takes note of the steps taken by the United Nations system, in partnership with the authorities of Burkina Faso, to pilot a new approach to peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts in the country, including the development of a strategic framework to help consolidate stability in the post-transition period. The Security Council encourages UNOWAS to support peacebuilding and sustain peace efforts in other countries in West Africa where democratic gains remain fragile, following the comprehensive UN inter-agency approach in Burkina Faso.

“The Security Council welcomes the ongoing work of UNOWAS to promote women’s participation in political, peace and security processes and, in this regard, welcomes positive developments in Liberia and Nigeria.

“The Security Council recalls its press statement (SC/12616), its presidential statement (S/PRST/2016/19) and its resolution (S/RES/2337), welcomes and is encouraged by the decision on political situation in The Gambia of the fiftieth Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority held in Abuja on 17 December 2016, and welcomes the decisions of the AU Peace and Security Council, at its 644th meeting held on 12 December 2016, as well as its declaration at its 647th meeting held on 13 January 2017 that as of 19 January 2017, outgoing President, Yahya Jammeh, will cease to be recognized by the AU as legitimate President of the Republic of the Gambia. In this regard, the Security Council requests the Special Representative, through his good offices, to continue facilitating interactions and negotiations aimed at ensuring a peaceful transfer of power from outgoing President, Yahya Jammeh, to the President Adama Barrow.

“The Security Council expresses its concerns over the prevalence of violent extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism, and terrorist threats in the region and their linkages to transnational organized crime. In this regard, the Security Council strongly condemns all terrorist attacks carried out in the region, in particular in the Lake Chad Basin region, notably by Boko Haram. The Security Council stresses the need to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including by addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism. The Security Council expresses particular concern about attacks on civilians, who are the primary victims of these terrorist violence.

“The Security Council welcomes the subregional, regional and international efforts to mitigate the security, humanitarian and development consequences of Boko Haram’s operations. The Security Council takes note of the progress made in the operationalization of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). The Security Council urges the Members States participating in the MNJTF to further enhance regional military cooperation and coordination, deny haven to Boko Haram, secure the conditions to enable humanitarian access and facilitate the restoration of civilian security and the rule of law in liberated areas. The Security Council reaffirms that Member States must ensure that any measures taken to counter terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular, international human rights law, international refugee law and international humanitarian law.

“The Security Council encourages Member States and multilateral partners to lend their support to the MNJTF to ensure its full operationalization, including the provision of modalities to increase the timely and effective exchange of intelligence to further the region’s collective efforts to combat Boko Haram, whenever possible and appropriate. The Security Council underscores the importance of a holistic approach to degrade and defeat Boko Haram that includes coordinated security operations, conducted in accordance with applicable international law, as well as enhanced civilian efforts to improve governance and promote economic growth in the affected areas. In this regard, the Security Council deeply regrets the tragic incident in Rann, north-east Nigeria, on 17 January 2017, resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians including Internally Displaced Persons and humanitarian workers. The Security Council urges the Government of Nigeria to swiftly investigate the incident and recalls the obligation of all parties to armed conflict to comply strictly with the obligations applicable to them under international humanitarian, human right and refugee law.

“The Security Council reiterates deep concern over the dire humanitarian situation caused by the activities of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin region. In this regard, the Security Council calls international community to immediately support the provision of urgent humanitarian assistance for the people most affected by the crisis in Cameroun, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, including by fulfilling the United Nations appeal for the Lake Chad Basin region. It also urges regional Governments to facilitate access for humanitarian organizations and to work with the United Nations and international partners to develop viable options for delivering aid.

“The Security Council expresses continued concern about piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, as well as the trafficking of drugs and other illicit goods, the smuggling of migrants and human trafficking and stresses the need to strengthen the fight against illicit activities in the subregion.

“The Security Council welcomes the leadership demonstrated by countries in West Africa and the Sahel in spearheading initiatives to address security challenges in the region and encourages further collaboration among Member States, regional and subregional organizations, relevant United Nations entities and with other relevant stakeholders to enhance social cohesion and to address challenges to good governance.

“The Security Council commends the engagement of UNOWAS with subregional and regional organizations, in particular, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the G-5 Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Mano River Union, in order to promote peace and stability in West Africa and the Sahel. The Security Council remains committed to working closely with these organizations through UNOWAS to strengthen subregional and regional cooperation to address cross-border security threats and prevent the spread of terrorism. In that respect, they welcome the assistance of UNOWAS to the efforts of ECOWAS Commission to implement its Regional Framework for Security Sector Reform and Governance and to promote a coordinated security-sector-reform approach in the region.

“The Security Council notes the collaboration undertaken between UNOWAS and the Peacebuilding Commission and encourages continued close and effective cooperation in support of sustainable peace in the region.

“The Security Council commends the efforts of the African Union and ECOWAS, as well as of Member States in West Africa and the Sahel to strengthen border security and regional cooperation, including through the G5 Sahel and the Nouakchott process on the enhancement of the security cooperation and the operationalization of the African Peace and Security Architecture in the Sahel and Sahara region.

“The Security Council encourages further progress by the United Nations system and its partners towards the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS), including through support to the Group of 5 for the Sahel (G5), in order to assist in addressing the security and political challenges to the stability and development of the Sahel region and reaffirms its continued commitment to address such challenges, which are interrelated with humanitarian and development issues, as well as the adverse effects of climate and ecological changes, and, in this regards, highlights the need for adequate risk assessments and risk management strategies relating to climate change impacts.

“The Security Council welcomes the conclusion of the independent evaluation of the UNISS. In this regard, the Security Council requests UNOWAS to coordinate with States in the Sahel and all other stakeholders to provide strategic leadership, guidance and direction to the UN system for the effective implementation of the UNISS, including its thematic focus, coordination arrangements, partnerships and distribution of responsibilities among United Nations entities in the field and at Headquarters.

“The Security Council request UNOWAS to contribute to efforts aimed at sustaining international engagement by reenergizing the commitments and initiatives of all relevant stakeholders, including countries of the region, the various regional mechanisms, United Nations, the African Union, the European Union, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, emphasizes, in this regard, the importance of the convening role of the Peacebuilding Commission in peacebuilding efforts, and thus, in collaboration with UNOWAS, in mobilizing deeper commitment and partnership between the UN system, the countries of the Sahel and other international and regional partners with the view to advancing the implementation of the Strategy, in collaboration with UNOWAS and to adapting the Strategy to the evolving needs of the region.

“The Security Council further requests UNOWAS to provide the necessary support to the Ministerial Coordination Platform for the Sahel and its Technical Secretariat, as well as to the G-5 Sahel.

“The Security Council expresses its intention to periodically monitor progress made, and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to provide in the upcoming regular report due in July 2017 information on UNOWAS efforts with respect to the following aspects of its UNISS related mandate: a) coherence in the political and programmatic aspects of UNISS; b) streamlining and coordination of initiatives by international, regional actors in the Sahel region, with a view to ensuring that they meet the emerging challenges in the region; c) guidance and leadership of the overall engagement of the UN system and partners with a view to serving the overall objective of the Strategy; and d) advancing the implementation of the nine flagship projects of UNISS and the assessment of their impact; e) ensuring attention to all UNISS pillars, and funding gaps.”

• The 7867th Meeting was closed.

For information media. Not an official record.