• English

Month: May 2019

Asylum seekers in Sri Lanka fear for their safety, in wake of Easter Sunday terror attacks

More than a month on from the bombings, some 1,000 refugees and asylum seekers, mainly Muslims from Pakistan and Afghanistan, are sheltering in police stations and mosques near the capital Colombo, in the towns of Pasyala and Negombo; the site of one of the church attacks.

The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, is working closely with the Sri Lankan authorities to find more suitable places for the families to live, in dignity and safety but, in the current climate of fear, this has not been easy.

“Our top priority is to make sure these people are safe and well-protected, and to ensure they can access basic services,” said UNHCR’s head of office in Sri Lanka, Menique Amarasinghe. “We’ve been extremely grateful to the Sri Lankan government, who have acknowledged their responsibility to care for these people, and have been doing everything they can, in really very difficult circumstances.”

Conditions are cramped, and several of the pregnant women in the mosque have difficulty sleeping in the confined space. Those in the car park at Negombo’s police station have security and assistance, but facilities are inadequate, with just a handful of toilets shared by the police and new arrivals.

It is so hot, said UNHCR, that most people have broken out in skin rashes, with their arms and legs covered in infected mosquito bites.

Those taking shelter pointed out that many Sri Lankans were keen to help them, with members of the local community stepping in to try to protect them from angry mobs. “People have been generous. Some groups have come and provided us with food and clothes. Sri Lankan people have helped us,” said Anisa, an ethnic Hazara from Afghanistan, nursing her six-month-old daughter.

Anisa has lived in Sri Lanka for four years and says people were friendly, but the attacks changed everything. “The owner of our house told us we could stay, but the neighbours said no. He said he wouldn’t be able to protect us, so we came here, a safe place.”

Listen to our audio interview below, with Nilanthi Lowrensu Hewage, Protection Associate at UNHCR, on the work the agency is doing to protect the refugees and migrants in Pasyala and Negombo:

World Food Programme accesses Yemeni frontline district for first time since conflict began

During the four years of violence, many districts have remained inaccessible for humanitarians, causing conditions facing civilians wracked by hunger, cholera, and bombardment, to “significantly deteriorate”, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).  

WFP Spokesperson Herve Verhoosel, told journalists in Geneva that on Thursday the agency had succeeded in distributing food and aid to more than 5,000 people from “896 households living next to the frontlines of Nihm district in Sana’a governorate.” He highlighted that this was “the first time WFP and a cooperating partner, Islamic Relief, (have) reached people living inside the militarized zone of Nihm.”

According to WFP, a one-off distribution providing rations for two months, was conducted in two food distribution points, marking an important breakthrough as the district has been a frontline conflict area, which is very difficult to access, for a prolonged period. The area close to the Saudi border, north east of the Houthi-held capital Sana’a – has been in the hands of the movement, officially known as Ansar Allah, since 2014.

First aid in a year reaches Dhuraimi City

Mr. Verhoosel also reported that the agency has gained access to “the besieged area of Dhuraimi city in Hudaydah governorate, which has seen intense conflict and insecurity for a prolonged period.” The city of Dhuraimi is also on a frontline between the warring parties, and WFP noted that both sides had helped with access.

Mr Verhoosel told journalists that “WFP provided two-month general food assistance rations, water, hygiene kits and dignity kits from UNICEF and UNFPA, and other food assistance.” He reiterated that “this is the first humanitarian assistance to reach civilians in the city for a year.”

While WFP’s reach has been increasing since December, Mr. Verhoosel acknowledged that there is still more work to do. “WFP was reaching 7 to 8 million people a month. Since January, February, we are reaching 10 million people a month,” he stressed, adding they hoped to extend that to 12 million.

“We are not there yet for the moment because of those distribution issues that we have.” Even in Sana’a, reports by NGOs working in Nihm, indicate that although access to some areas was possible, some communities where fighting is on-going, remain out of reach.

WFP together with Islamic Relief has been working to open up access to these vulnerable populations by establishing two food distribution points and coordinating closely with other agencies.

WFP is committed to “working with both sides” of the conflict, said Mr. Verhoosel,“to try to facilitate as much as possible not only the security situation but also of course the access.”

Future of key Hudaydah grain silo supplies still not clear

In an update from the key port city of Hudaydah, WFP also said that grain supplies held in a silo close to the former front lines of conflict, are still being fumigated, but it was still not possible to say how much of it was fit to eat.

The Red Sea Mills contained enough grain to feed 3.7 million for a month, but “the total quantity of wheat that will be fit for human consumption is still not determined at this stage”, said Mr. Verhoosel.

Each of the 11 silos contain an estimated 3,500-4,000 metric tonnes of grain and 40 local workers from the area have been hired to finalize cleaning, and WFP is looking to bring in additional equipment.

“WFP appreciates the cooperation from all parties on the ground that has made this progress possible”, added the WFP Spokesperson.

Friday’s Daily Brief: Fundraising for Mozambique, Assange’s rights, Asia-Pacific development, Somalia and Sudan updates

Mozambique pledging conference hopes to soften devastating blow of back-to-back cyclones

As some 1.85 million people in Mozambique try to recover from back-to-back cyclones Idai and Kenneth, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Friday kicked off a two-day pledging forum to drum up funds to help get the vulnerable country get back on its feet.

The International Pledging Conference is taking place in the coastal city of Beira, one of the areas worst hit by the cyclones, hoping to raise $3.2 billion to “facilitate the reconstruction and building of resilience in the affected areas”.

Read our full coverage here. 

UN expert criticizes States for ‘ganging up’ on Wikileaks’ Assange; warns against extradition, fearing ‘serious’ rights violations

After visiting Julian Assange in a London prison, an independent UN human rights expert expressed urgent concern on Friday, for the Wikileaks co-founder’s well-being, accusing “a group of democratic States” of “ganging up” on the prisoner to “isolate, demonize and abuse” him and warned against extraditing the controversial publisher to the United States.

“My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr. Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” said Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, in a statement.

Read our full story here.

Asia-Pacific resolutions provide ‘solid foundations’ towards reaching SDGs

Wrapping up a key annual conference representing the more than 4 billion citizens of the Asia-Pacific region, the head of the UN Economic and Social Commission there said that nine agreed resolutions, provided a solid foundation for reaching the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Addressing the closing ceremony, ESCAP Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Alis-jahbana said the decisions were “firmly anchored in the 2030 Agenda and provide solid foundations on which to build upon.”

She said that putting resolutions into practice was “essential to achieving a transformed and resilient society in Asia and the Pacific.” Seeing action at a sub-regional level was also key: “I hope this will be a first step towards more systematically identifying common priorities”, she said.

More Somali refugees opt to return from war-torn Yemen

More Somali refugees are leaving war-torn Yemen, and choosing to return home, amid rising safety fears. That’s according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) which said on Friday that the latest boat carrying 125 refugees departed the port city of Aden this week, bringing men, women and children back to Somalia – where insecurity is also rife – in time for the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

A total of around 4,300 have returned to the Horn of Africa country, since the rollout of a UNHCR-facilitated Assisted Spontaneous Return programme, in 2017.

Among those fleeing Yemen this week were Somalis born there to refugee parents, and others who had initially seen Yemen as a safer place to live and work, hoping to escape conflict at home.

UN Security Council resolution extends African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, reduces troops

Against of a backdrop of sustained violence in Somalia, the UN Security Council adopted unanimously on Friday a resolution to extend the mandate of the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, AMISOM, by one year, ahead of the 2020 elections.

In addition, troops are to be reduced by 1,000, in line with the existing plan to gradually transfer peacekeeping responsibilities to Somali security forces. The cuts will be implemented based on a transition plan and according to needs on the ground.

UN chief calls for ‘utmost restraint’ in Sudan as military rulers declare civilian sit-in, a threat

The UN Secretary-General called for “utmost restraint” on the part of Sudan’s military leadership on Friday, after a week of rising tension with demonstrators, over stalled talks towards a return to civilian rule. Protestors have been staging a sit-in in central Khartoum – one of the factors which led to the military overthrow of former president, Omar al-Bashir in April. But according to news reports, the military now see the sit-in as a threat, and concern is rising that they may move to clear the site by force.

In his statement, António Guterres stressed “the importance of upholding the human rights of all citizens, including the right to freedom of assembly and of expression.” The UN chief noted a communique adopted by the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council last Monday, and welcomed the progress achieved by the generals and opposition leaders in transition talks so far.

“The Secretary-General calls on the parties to resume and conclude the negotiations over the transfer of power to a civilian-led transitional authority as soon as possible, as required by the African Union”, said the statement. The UN is committed to working with the AU to support to process, “and stands ready to support the Sudanese stakeholders in their efforts to build lasting peace”, the statement concluded.

‘To live is to choose’: the UN issues a new stamp paying tribute to Kofi Annan

To honour former UN chief Kofi Annan, who passed away last August, the UN Postal Administration issued a definitive stamp of US$1.30 on Friday.

The stamp features a portrait of the late Secretary-General by Norwegian renowned artist and engraver Martin Mörck.  The quote on the stamp reads “To live is to choose.  But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”

Kofi A. Annan of Ghana, was the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, and served from 1997 to 2006.

 

Listen to or download our audio News In Brief for 31 May on SoundCloud:

 

Mozambique pledging conference hopes to soften devastating blow of back-to-back cyclones

The International Pledging Conference is taking place in the coastal city of Beira, one of the areas worst hit by the cyclones, hoping to raise $3.2 billion to “facilitate the reconstruction and building of resilience in the affected areas”.

UN Mozambique | Participants in the first day of the International Donors Conference in Beira, Mozambique. 

“I personally witnessed the results of the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai during my recent visit to the affected areas”, said Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa. “UNDP fully supports the efforts of the Government of Mozambique to achieve sustainable recovery and resilience,” he added.

Cyclone Idai made landfall in March, killing over 600 people and destroying nearly 240,000 homes. Kenneth, the second massive cyclone to hit southern Africa in six weeks, partially or fully destroyed nearly 35,000 houses, close to 200 classrooms and at least 14 health facilities.

Post-cyclone reconstruction will focus on restoring productivity, social services, and infrastructure in Sofala, Manica, Tete, Zambezia, Inhambane, Nampula and Cabo Delgado provinces, according to the UN agency.

Over the course of the two days, about 700 participants from international organizations, development partners, private sector and civil society organizations are expected to participate in the conference as well as Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi and several senior ministers.

In a written message, the President of the General Assembly, María Espinosa she expressed her full support to Mozambique and called for concrete action to support the recovery efforts.

“We need to do more than express solidarity, by sending a strong and clear message that the international community stands by the people of Mozambique in word and in deed; that we will support the country as it mobilizes its own efforts to rebuild and achieve sustainable development”, Ms. Espinosa said.

The basis for the pledges is the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) – an in-depth technical study conducted by UNDP, the European Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.

In parallel

In an interview with UN News in Maputo, Marcoluigi Corsi, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Mozambique, said he hoped that the event would serve to reflect and unify the country.

“It’s an opportunity to create a climate of trust so that together we can help and support the people who are still suffering”, said Mr. Corsi. 

In everything we do, including humanitarian assistance, emergency aid and reconstruction, “we have to put people at the center of our work”, he added.

He explained that the money pledged will be used “to recover and rebuild the health sector, transportation, education and social protection”, all of which requires working “together with all partners”.

We have to put people at the center of our work – UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Mozambique

Meanwhile, the chief of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) tweeted that Beira’s destruction was “a clear warning that we must do much more to prepare and adapt for climate change in low- and middle-income countries”.

“The people of Beira had no past experience as Cyclone Idai bore down on them, destroying their homes, schools, hospitals, public utilities, roads and bridges in a violent demonstration of what it means in this century to live on the water’s edge” said UNISDR head, Mami Mizutori, in an opinion piece published on Sunday, prior to the conference.

“Beira is not alone”, she added, saying that thousands of cities and towns across the developing world, where the sea is encroaching little by little, are “on a very visible front line”.

 

From philanthropy to profit: how clean energy is kickstarting sustainable development in East Africa

The United Nations human settlements programme, UN-Habitat, and Portuguese energy company EDP, are constructing a solar energy system to supply 12 classrooms – which have been built to withstand 180 km per hour winds – with clean, renewable energy.

This will have a huge impact on the community because, as well as enabling some 1,300 students to study at night, people living in the area will, for a small fee, be able to charge their mobile phones, and access the internet.

They will also stand a better chance of surviving, when the next cyclones and floods hit the country: Mozambique has developed an early-warning system, with SMS alerts sent out by the government, but this only works in communities with access to energy.

“As long as you can provide this service at a school, people will at least have access to communication with the outside world, which is the main handicap when an emergency strikes, recounts Juan Hurtato Martinez, UN-Habitat architect and manager of the project.  “So, it ensures that, in an emergency, they can receive the alarms quickly.”

UN habitat
School in the district of Namacurra, in Zambézia province, Mozambique.

Scaling up across east Africa

Although the impetus for the project comes from EDPs philanthropic arm, the company sees it as a sensible investment in Africa, in line with the UN’s call for companies to play their part in the move to a “green economy,” that is not reliant on fossil fuels such as coal and gas.

“The African continent is surely the continent with more natural resources – such as the sun, wind, water, biomass and others – that allow the use of renewable energies,” says Guilherme Collares Pereira, Director of International Relations at EDP. “Therefore, it makes total sense to intervene in the market that has resources and that has the needs.”

Renewable energies can enable universal energy access to be achieved Guilherme Collares Pereira, Director of International Relations, EDP

Some 600 million people in Africa are without access to electricity, Pereira points out, and it is “more than proven that renewable energies can enable, in a cheaper, faster and more efficient way, universal energy access to be achieved.”

The project in the district of Namacurra is one of six, in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi, that will be receiving support from EDP. At the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, which hosts more than 186,000 people, a mini-grid will supply pay-as-you-go electricity to refugees according to their consumption needs. “It is a very interesting approach that can be replicated throughout the camp,” says Pereira, “but it can also be replicated in other refugee camps, not only in the Horn of Africa but all over the world.”

EDP – ENERGIAS DE PORTUGAL SA
Solar panels similar to those being installed by EDP and UN-Habitat in East Africa

Sustainability as a business opportunity

For EDP, the 2030 Agenda is an opportunity, says Pereira. “Ten years ago, when we began involvement with these projects, we were guided more by our corporate responsibility policy, but nowadays it is more about business.”

In 2018 the company decided to invest €12 million in companies that are already working with renewable energy in East Africa. “At the moment, they are not as profitable as traditional EDP businesses,” he notes, “but this is a journey, and we are discovering how the process develops. So, in the next couple of years, when we are ready, we can invest in more companies and grow them in preparation for entry into other markets.”

“The potential is enormous: renewable energy technology is getting better, more efficient and more resilient. There is also an abundance of mechanisms and even financing from countries and the international community to support these projects.  Everything is in place for its growth and it is imperative that the private sector enters this market.”

What is SDG 12?

One of the objectives of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, Goal 12, focuses on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, which includes phasing out fossil fuel subsidies that lead to waste and pollution, and encouraging the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. According to the UN, by 2018, a total of 108 countries had developed national policies and initiatives related to sustainable consumption and production.

UN expert criticizes States for ‘ganging up’ on Wikileaks’ Assange; warns against extradition, fearing ‘serious’ rights violations

“My most urgent concern is that, in the United States, Mr. Assange would be exposed to a real risk of serious violations of his human rights, including his freedom of expression, his right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” said Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, in a statement.

Mr. Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years – UN expert

He said he was “particularly alarmed” at the recent announcement that the US Department of Justice had lodged 17 new charges against Mr. Assange under the Espionage Act, which could lead to a sentence of 175 years in prison.

“This may well result in a life sentence without parole, or possibly even the death penalty, if further charges were to be added in the future,” said the Special Rapporteur, who was also following up on earlier concerns for Mr. Assange’s health.

On Thursday, according to reports, he was too ill to appear via video-link from a British prison in a hearing over an extradition request from the US.

Although Mr. Assange is not being held in solitary confinement, Mr. Melzer said he was gravely concerned over the limited frequency and duration of lawyers’ visits and lack of access to case files, which make it impossible to prepare and adequate defense.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Source: Screen grab from OHCHR video

“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution I have never seen a group of democratic States ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize and abuse a single individual for such a long time and with so little regard for human dignity and the rule of law,” Mr. Melzer asserted.

“Since 2010, when Wikileaks started publishing evidence of war crimes and torture committed by US forces, we have seen a sustained and concerted effort by several States towards getting Mr. Assange extradited to the United States for prosecution, raising serious concern over the criminalization of investigative journalism in violation of both the US Constitution and international human rights law,” the expert spelled out.

Since then, he said that there has been a “relentless and unrestrained campaign of public mobbing, intimidation and defamation” against the defendant – not only in the US, but also in the UK, Sweden and more recently, Ecuador – that includes humiliating, debasing and threatening statements in the press and online as well as by senior political figures and magistrates involved in proceedings.

“In the course of the past nine years, Mr. Assange has been exposed to persistent, progressively severe abuse ranging from systematic judicial persecution and arbitrary confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy, to his oppressive isolation, harassment and surveillance inside the embassy, and from deliberate collective ridicule, insults and humiliation, to open instigation of violence and even repeated calls for his assassination”, the UN expert asserted.

Cellblock meeting

On 9 May, the Special Rapporteur visited Mr. Assange with two medical experts who specialize in examining victims of ill-treatment. The team spoke to the prisoner and conducted a thorough medical assessment.

“It was obvious that Mr. Assange’s health has been seriously affected by the extremely hostile and arbitrary environment he has been exposed to for many years,” the expert said. “Most importantly, in addition to physical ailments, Mr. Assange showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma.”

Calling the evidence “overwhelming and clear,” Mr. Melzer said that Mr. Assange “has been deliberately exposed, for a period of several years, to progressively severe forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the cumulative effects of which can only be described as psychological torture”.

The Special Rapporteur condemned “in the strongest terms” the “deliberate, concerted and sustained nature of the abuse inflicted” on the prisoner.

“By displaying an attitude of complacency at best, and of complicity at worst, these governments have created an atmosphere of impunity encouraging Mr. Assange’s uninhibited vilification and abuse”, the expert argued.

In official letters, Mr. Melzer urged the four involved governments to cease all activities prejudicial to Mr. Assange’s human rights and to provide him with redress and rehabilitation for past harm.

He appealed to the UK not to extradite the prisoner to the US or any other State that would not provide guarantees against his onward transfer to the US; and reminded Britain of its obligation to ensure Assange’s unimpeded access to legal counsel and adequate preparation for his proceedings.

 “The collective persecution of Julian Assange must end here and now”, concluded the UN expert.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honourary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

Syria: Thousands of children ‘hemmed in’ by ‘brutal and gratuitous’ spike in violence

Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement that over the past few days, intensifying violence, had left children “hemmed in” especially in villages in northern Hama and southern Idleb, driving many families from their homes while “others are unable to move to safer areas”.

This latest escalation follows months of rising violence in the area, which has reportedly left at least 134 children dead and more than 125,000 displaced in 2019 alone. And with nearly 30 hospitals under attack, the spike in violence has forced some of UNICEF’s healthcare partners to suspend their lifesaving operations.

Moreover, approximately 43,000 children are currently missing school. Final exams in parts of Idlib have been postponed, “affecting the education of 400,000 students”, she continued.

Although UNICEF’s partners are on the ground in the northwest, working to reach children and families with mobile health clinics, vaccines, psychosocial support and sanitation supplies, she said that these “quick fixes” can “go only so far” in mitigating the humanitarian fallout from the “brutal and gratuitous violence”.

“Children bear no responsibility for this war, yet they suffer its carnage and consequences more than anyone”, stressed the UNICEF chief.

Ms. Fore urged parties to the conflict in the northwest and across Syria to “make every effort to protect children and the infrastructure they depend on”, including hospitals and schools.

“Parties and those who have influence over them should also forge a comprehensive and lasting peace that finally brings this war to an end, for the sake of Syria’s children and the very future of the country and the region”, concluded the UNICEF Executive Director.

A ‘strong and united Europe’ has never been more needed, declares UN chief Guterres

The Secretary-General was in the ancient continental capital of Aachen, close to the French border, where he received the Charlemagne Prize, awarded each year since 1950, for services towards European unification.

As a former Portuguese Prime Minister, and one of the architects of the European Union’s efforts in the late 1990s and early 2000s to strengthen social safety nets, solidarity, and cooperation with Africa and India, Mr. Guterres described himself as a “committed European” who understood that, in bestowing the award, Aachen was paying tribute “to the commitment, service, and sacrifice of the women and men of the United Nations”.

The European Union, which grew out of the ashes of two world wars, has forged “an exemplary partnership” with the United Nations, said Mr. Guterres, and the breakup of the 28-nation political and economic bloc, “would inevitably be the failure of multilateralism and the failure of a world in which the rule of law can prevail”.

“The hard truth is, we collectively have taken too many things for granted”, he added, noting that democratic principles “are under siege, and the rule of law is being undermined. Inequalities are on the rise. Hate speech, racism and xenophobia are fuelling terrorism through social media”.

Hailing Europe’s continuing role as a champion of universal values, he said that multilateralism was under fire “precisely when we need it most, and when it has never been so fit to address these challenges”.

‘We need to restore trust’

 “I wish Europe could stand up more decisively for the multilateral agenda. The United Nations need a strong and united Europe. For this to happen, Europe will need to come to grips with some serious challenges”, said Mr. Guterres.

Despite an apparent “lack of ownership by the peoples of Europe” of their collective future as a union, he said there were “encouraging signals” of more political engagement in last week’s elections to the European Parliament.

“This is the moment in which we need to restore trust. Trust between people and political establishments. Trust between people and the institutions. Trust between people and international organizations”, he said, noting that the young Europeans of today were “our best hope”.

With three great challenges facing us all, he said the EU “must lead the way”. First, on climate change, he said more ambition was needed all round, in mitigation, adaptation and finance.

“It is much better to tax pollution than jobs…Does it make any sense that our money, as tax payers, is used to boost hurricanes, to spread drought, to bleach corrals, to melt glaciers, to diminish biodiversity and to progressively destroy the world?”

Second, he said Europe was “particularly well placed” to take a lead in the transformation of society through new technology, with its robust regulatory framework on protecting digital privacy, and especially through the huge potential of Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

New social safety nets will be needed, he said, to cope with the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is underway: “The European social model is the best foundation to be able to respond to these challenges and Europe has an absolutely unique role to play in creating the conditions to transform these areas in a positive manner.”

UNFCCC/James Dowson
In Aachen, Germany, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres receives the Charlemagne Prize awarded for work done in the service of European unification. (30 May 2019)

Scapegoating migrants ‘shames’ Europe’s heritage

Third, the culture of the continent has always been enriched through diversity, pointing to Emperor Charlemagne himself, founder of the first experiment in European political integration more than a thousand years ago, the so-called Holy Roman Empire.

Assimilation “was the starting point of European culture”, said the UN chief. “Of course, Europe must hold true its values enshrined in the Charter of fundamental human rights and in the European Convention on Human rights. But Europe cannot be premised on ‘us versus them’”.

“Scapegoating migrants and closing our doors to asylum seekers does not protect, but shame this heritage”, he declared, noting that the 1951 Refugee Convention was adopted to protect ravaged and displaced post-war Europeans.

“It is only by being united that Europe will propose a balanced approach addressing the root causes of migration while preserving the rights and dignity of migrants,” he said.

“All societies tend to be, or are already, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious. This must be considered as a richness not as a threat”

Mozambique: UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom meets the child cyclone survivors who’ve lost everything

During the week, the actor travelled to the coastal city of Beira, one of the areas worst-affected by Cyclone Idai, which killed over 600 people and destroyed nearly 240,000 homes when it made landfall in March.

Sitting on the sandy floor of a tent at the Samora Machel site for internally displaced people, named after the country’s founding president, Mr. Bloom listened to children recount devastating stories of how they lost everything in the cyclone.

Thirteen-year-old Alzina Lopes described the moment Cyclone Idai made landfall, leaving her stranded in waist-deep floodwaters. Now she wants to go back to school, and dreams of becoming a traffic officer.

“It’s remarkable to see children, who have been through so much, gain a sense of normality in the safe spaces set up by UNICEF, where they are free to sing, dance, play and just be children,” said the Goodwill Ambassador.

“These are children and young people with dreams, they want to be in school”, he continued “but almost everyone I’ve met here has lost their classrooms, their books and crucial identification documents due to the cyclones”.

Mr. Bloom said that it was “heartbreaking” that without IDs “they are unregistered, almost invisible and vulnerable to exploitation”.

In the aftermath of tropical cyclones Idai and Kenneth, 1.1 million children remain in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

UNICEF is supporting families affected by the cyclones to either return home or relocate to safer places. It is also providing healthcare, nutrition, education, sanitation and protection services.

In the days following the storm, UNICEF and its partners restored water supplies to thousands of people in Beira and procured and administered one million doses of the cholera vaccine, curbing a large outbreak.

At the Mutua resettlement area in the city, currently home to around 1,500 cyclone-affected people – half of whom are youth – Mr. Bloom danced and sang with young children and spoke to them about their hopes and dreams.

The actor also visited a primary school in Beira, which the students themselves repaired after the cyclone.

Wrapping up his trip, Mr. Bloom spent an afternoon with young volunteers at an interfaith group on the beachfront – a poignant venue, as the deadly storm barrelled in from the sea. They told him that the pain and suffering they saw after the cyclones, had strengthened their resolve to help others.

“Thousands of children and families in Mozambique have seen their lives upended by these devastating cyclones and it’s going to be a long road back,” said UNICEF Mozambique Representative, Marcoluigi Corsi. “We’re working on the ground with our partners to help get children and their families back on their feet by providing support in healthcare, nutrition, education and protection”.

Mr. Corsi pointed out that as part of the recovery effort, “we’re also trying to help affected communities become more resilient to future weather-related events that could happen more often because of climate change”.

UNICEF has launched an appeal for $122 million to support its humanitarian response for children and families devastated by the storm and its aftermath in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Thursday’s Daily Brief: the European Charlemagne prize, sexual abuse, transgender rights, Somalia and Libya updates

A ‘strong and united Europe’ has never been more needed, declares UN chief Guterres

With the post-world war international institutions eroded and under threat, a “strong and united Europe” standing alongside the United Nations, has never been more essential, said UN chief António Guterres in Germany on Thursday.

The Secretary-General was in the ancient continental capital of Aachen, close to the French border, where he received the Charlemagne Prize, awarded each year since 1950, for services towards European unification.

Read our full story here.

UN’s women’s health agency ‘strongly’ condemns gang rape of child in Somalia

The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, has issued a statement “strongly” condemning a gang rape of a nine-year-old girl on Wednesday, in the central Somali town of Bulo-Burde, some 425 km west of the capital, Mogadishu. UNFPA said that it stands with the girl’s family and called for a speedy investigation into the “grave crime”.

Calling the violation a “gruesome act”, the agency reaffirmed its commitment to the Government and people of Somalia “to ensure that sexual and gender-based violence is eliminated”. Moreover, it underscored it stance that girls and women must “experience their fundamental dignity, human rights and equality”. UNFPA urged everyone to work together for “adequate protection measures for girls and women in Somalia”.

The UN’s unyielding effort to tackle sexual abuse and exploitation: our quarterly update

In the first quarter of 2019, according to latest figures released on Thursday, the United Nations recorded a total of 37 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) against UN personnel, including civilian and uniformed personnel from peacekeeping operations, agencies, funds and programmes. So far, most of these allegations remain under investigation.

To date, only one of the 37 allegations has been substantiated through an investigation, and referred to the relevant Member State for follow-up; four were not substantiated by the investigation that ensued; 26 are still under investigation; and six are still in the preliminary assessment phase to determine if there is enough information to investigate.

Read our full report here.

A major win for transgender rights: UN health agency drops ‘gender identity disorder’, as official diagnosis

“To reflect critical advances in science and medicine”, the World Health Organization, WHO, has removed so-called “gender identity disorder” from its official manual of diagnoses, which is being hailed as a major win for transgender rights.

The update to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) has reclassified gender identity disorder, or identifying as transgender, in terms of sexuality, not a “mental disorder”.

Read our full coverage here.

Libya: Close to 150 refugees and asylum-seekers evacuated to safety 

Against of backdrop of violent clashes in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, 149 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers trapped in the hostilities were safely evacuated to Rome on Thursday, according to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR. The evacuees – nearly half of whom are children – are from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia, and many need medical treatment after months of dire living conditions in detentions centres in Tripoli.

More than 1,000 refugees and migrants have been evacuated or resettled out of Libya by UNHCR in 2019, while more than 1,200 others have been returned to Libya by the Libyan Coast Guard in just May alone after being rescued or intercepted while attempting to flee by boat.

“More humanitarian evacuations are needed,” said Jean-Paul Cavalieri, UNHCR Chief of Mission in Libya. “They are a vital lifeline for refugees whose only other escape route is to put their lives in the hands of unscrupulous smugglers and traffickers on the Mediterranean Sea.”

Violence in Libya has uprooted the lives of 83,000 civilians, and hundreds have been killed. This week, six health workers were killed and seven injured when two clearly-marked ambulances were hit by shelling on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A new leader for the UN mission in Somalia, and other appointments

Secretary-General Guterres announced on Thursday the appointment of James Swan of the United States as his Special Representative for Somalia and new Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). He succeeds Nicholas Haysom of South Africa, to whom the Secretary-General expressed deep gratitude.

In addition, Anita Bhatia of India has been appointed as Assistant Secretary-General for Resource Management, Sustainability and Partnerships and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women; Najat Maalla M’jid of Morocco will be the new Special Representative on Violence Against Children; Gilles Michaud has been appointed Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security; Tatiana Valovaya of Russia, as Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva.
 

Listen to or download our audio News In Brief for 30 May on SoundCloud:

 

Get help now

Send a message with a description of your problem and possible ways of assistance and we will contact you as soon as we consider your problem.

    [recaptcha class:captcha]