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UN Daily News Thursday, 4 September 2014

Issue DH/6729

In the headlines: • Evidence on rampant violence against children

• UN agencies ramp up much-needed aid in Iraq

• Ninety-six percent of Syria’s declared chemical

• Ban stresses need for Cyprus settlement in

• UN health agency convenes meeting to weigh Ebola

• SAMOA: Small island conference leaves ‘legacy

‘compels us to act’ – UNICEF report

weapons destroyed – UN-OPCW mission chief therapies, vaccines

•

‘Now is the time to act,’ UN urges on release of first global report on suicide prevention

amid ‘alarming rate’ of displacement meeting with new UN envoy with impact’ – UN

• Libya: UN report details serious human rights abuses in Tripoli, Benghazi

Evidence on rampant violence against children ‘compels us to act’ – UNICEF report 4 September - Violence against children is universal – so prevalent and deeply ingrained in societies it is often unseen and accepted as the norm – according to new, unprecedented data presented by the United Nations today. A new UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, Hidden in plain sight: A statistical analysis of violence against children, draws on data from 190 countries in order to shed light on a largely undocumented issue. A young rape survivor at a safe house in Monrovia, Liberia. UN Photo/Staton Winter

The report found that about two thirds of children worldwide between ages 2 and 14 (almost 1 billion) are subjected to physical punishment by their caregivers on a regular basis. And yet, only about one third of adults worldwide believe that physical punishment of some kind is necessary to properly raise or educate a child. Susan Bissell, the Chief of Child Protection at UNICEF said in interview that the data essentials show that “if there is one common aspect of human society right now, it is the fact that tremendous violence is committed against children.” “It is important that we don’t simply go away with the message that violence is everywhere, we live in a horrific world; but in fact to say, there are tried, true, measured, evaluated solutions,” she said. While the data focuses on physical, emotional and sexual violence in settings children should feel safe; their communities, schools and homes, there is a fundamental limitation to document violence against children. The data includes new figures on violent discipline - the most common form of violence against children as well as violence against girls - widespread rates of physical and sexual abuse. It also takes a look at homicide rates - a leading cause of death among adolescent boys. In fact, one fifth of homicide victims globally are children and adolescents under the age of 20, resulting in about 95,000 deaths in 2012, and slightly more than 1 in 3 students between the ages of 13 and 15 worldwide are regularly bullied in

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school. “Violence begets violence. We know a child experiencing abuse is more likely to see violence as normal, even acceptable and more likely to perpetuate violence against his or her own children in the future,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said. Perceptions on violence including shocking figures on children’s views and reluctance to report abuse was also reported. Hence, changing attitudes with respect to violence against children starts with knowledge. The report is an opportunity to go into the public domain, and say “now you have to do something,” noted Ms. Bissell. “Social change, attitudes towards boys and girls and then gender attitudes take a long time to change, but we can see more rapid change than ever before, not least with the advent of social media and the use of more innovative and creative approaches,” Ms. Bissell said. The effects of violence against children can last a lifetime, as exposure to violence can alter a child’s brain development damaging their physical, mental and emotional health. Violence is also passed down from one generation to the next. But violence is not inevitable; it can be prevented. “Violence against children occurs every day, everywhere [but] it is not inevitable. It is preventable — if we refuse to let violence remain in the shadows,” Mr. Lake said. “The evidence in this report compels us to act — for the sake of those individual children and the future strength of societies around the world.” UNICEF points to six strategies to enable society as a whole, from families to Governments, to prevent and reduce violence against children. They include supporting parents and equipping children with life skills; changing attitudes; strengthening judicial, criminal and social systems and services; and generating evidence and awareness about violence and its human and socio-economic costs, in order to change attitudes and norms.

Ninety-six percent of Syria’s declared chemical weapons destroyed – UN-OPCW mission chief 4 September - The Special Coordinator for the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations (OPCW-UN) told the Security Council today that 96 percent of Syria’s declared stockpile, including the most dangerous chemicals, had been destroyed and preparation were underway to destroy the remaining 12 production facilities. “This is a chemical weapons disarmament process, it’s been unique,” said Sigrid Kaag after her final briefing to the Security Council in her capacity as the head of the joint mission dealing with Syria’s chemical weapons, which is winding up its work at the end of September.

Special Coordinator for the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the UN (OPCWUN) Sigrid Kaag briefs the press. UN Photo/Loey Felipe

“At the same time, we reiterate our strong hope that if this is achieved, that conditions for peace and security and the political process will be centre stage for the benefit of the people of Syria and that of the region, particularly in these days of profound crisis.” Ms. Kaag told a press conference at UN Headquarters following her closed-door briefing to the Council that the mission had overseen that destruction of 100 percent of “priority chemicals” and 96 percent of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile, but the good offices of the UN Secretary-General on this issue, discussions on monitoring verification, and accurate reporting to the Council will be continued. She said starting October 1, the OPCW will be in the lead – in partnership with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNPOS) to begin destroying the 12 remaining chemical weapons facilities – seven so-called hangars and five tunnels.

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“All in all, the joint mission has achieved its objectives, has assisted the authorities in Damascus to achieve their goals as a State party, but the residual activities that remain of course are also of importance and interest to the [Security] Council so they have been asked to be briefed on a regular basis as before for a foreseeable period,” Ms. Kaag said. The Security Council President for September, United States Ambassador Samantha Power, told reporters after the meeting, the Council’s interest in the issue of ridding Syria of chemical weapons will not abate as “Council members noted that the elimination effort is not complete.” Ms. Power also said some Security Council members raised their concerns about the Syrian Government’s use of chlorine gas, as reported by the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry last month. In response to a question, the Security Council President said Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) has not yet been fulfilled, “and it won’t be fulfilled until this Council has confidence that the terms of the chemical weapons convention has been met.” In that resolution, the Council endorsed the expeditious destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons programme, with inspections to begin by 1 October, and agreed that in the event of non-compliance, it would impose “Chapter VII” measures. The removal of the most critical material for destruction began in early January, in line with an agreement brokered by Russia and the United States, by which Syria renounced its chemical weapons material and joined 1992 Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons.

UN health agency convenes meeting to weigh Ebola therapies, vaccines 4 September - The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) began a two-day meeting in Geneva to discuss potential Ebola therapies and vaccines in response to “intense public interest in, and demand for, anything that offers hope of definitive treatment.”

Local construction workers at the Island Clinic, one of the five Ebola treatment centres with 100 beds that will be opened in Monrovia, Liberia. Photo: WHO/M. Seeger

WHO also reported that as of 31 August, the official number of Ebola cases stood at 3,685 and deaths at 1,841 deaths in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. In Nigeria, there have been 21 cases and 7 deaths, and in Senegal, one case has been confirmed and there have been no Ebola deaths or further suspected cases.

Meanwhile, at UN Headquarters, the Security Council President for the month, United States Ambassador Samantha Power, said that that the Council had met with the troop and police contributing countries to the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the country “at the epicentre of the tragic Ebola outbreak in West Africa.” The head of that Mission, Karin Landgren, joined by UNMIL’s force leadership, briefed on the many efforts being undertaken to protect and safeguard all UN personnel, notably the peacekeepers, serving “commendably to help Liberia consolidate its hard-won peace and security gains more than a decade since the end of that country's civil war,” the Security Council President said. The UN Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), meanwhile, said that since April 2014, humanitarian partners have received $6.13 million from the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to respond to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa. An estimated $2.7 million has been allocated to Guinea, $1.9 million to Liberia and $1.5 million to Sierra Leone. The West African Ebola outbreak is unprecedented in size, complexity and the strain it has imposed on health systems. “There is intense public interest in, and demand for, anything that offers hope of definitive treatment. A range of unproven interventions-blood products, immune therapies, drugs and vaccines are under different stages of development but none have yet been licensed for standard use,” according to WHO.

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In Geneva, WHO is bringing together today and tomorrow technical experts from the groups developing Ebola interventions along with people working to overcome Ebola virus disease including policy-makers from Ebola-affected countries, ethicists, clinicians, researchers, regulators and patient representatives. They are expected to review and evaluate the state of development of interventions such as therapies and vaccines; agree the overall objectives for a plan for evaluation and use of potential interventions; identify and identify the most important actions that need to be taken; and establish what support is required. The United Nations’ senior leadership on Ebola has said the Ebola outbreak in West Africa could be stopped in 6 to 9 months, but only if a “massive” global response is implemented. Dr. David Nabarro, UN Coordinator for the Ebola Response, and WHO’s Assistant-Director General for Global Health Security, Keiji Fukuda, who had just returned from a needs assessment in the affected countries told reporters in Washington, D.C. this week that urgent needs include communications and messaging, care for the infected and proper burials, diagnosis and contact tracing, health services for other conditions, transport and supplies, cash to pay health workers, medical services for responders, air and sea access, and strong coordination to avert economic downturns.

‘Now is the time to act,’ UN urges on release of first global report on suicide prevention 4 September - More than 800,000 people commit suicide every year – around one person every 40 seconds – according to the United Nations health agency’s first global report on suicide prevention, which was published today. “This report is a call for action to address a large public health problem which has been shrouded in taboo for far too long,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). The report also notes that the most common methods of suicide globally are pesticide poisoning, hanging and firearms. Evidence from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and a number of European countries reveals that limiting access to these means can help prevent people dying by suicide.

Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Another key to reducing deaths by suicide is a commitment by national Governments to the establishment and implementation of a coordinated plan of action, WHO said in a news release. Currently, only 28 countries are known to have national suicide prevention strategies. Among the other findings if the report, which brings together 10 years of research from around the world, is that suicide can take place at almost any age. Globally, suicide rates are highest in people aged 70 years and over. In some countries, however, the highest rates are found among the young. Notably, suicide is the second leading cause of death globally in people between the ages of 15 and 29. Generally, the report pointed out, more men die by suicide than women. In richer countries, three times as many men die by suicide than women. Men aged 50 years and over are particularly vulnerable. Also, some 75 per cent of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries. Young adults and elderly women in these countries have higher rates of suicide than their counterparts in high-income countries. Women over 70 years of age are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than women aged between 15 and 29 years. In addition to limiting access to means of suicide, the report said that other effective measures to reduce deaths include responsible reporting of suicide in the media, such as avoiding language that sensationalizes suicide and avoiding explicit description of methods used. Early identification and management of mental and substance use disorders in communities and by health workers in UN News Centre • www.un.org/news

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particular are also recommended. WHO added that follow-up care by health workers through regular contact, including by phone or home visits, for people who have attempted suicide, together with provision of community support, are essential, because people who have already attempted suicide are at the greatest risk of trying again. “This report, the first WHO publication of its kind, presents a comprehensive overview of suicide, suicide attempts and successful suicide prevention efforts worldwide. We know what works. Now is the time to act,” said Dr. Shekhar Saxena, Director of WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. The report’s launch comes just a week before World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on 10 September every year. The Day provides an opportunity for joint action to raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention around the world.

UN agencies ramp up much-needed aid in Iraq amid ‘alarming rate’ of displacement 4 September - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that it has resumed delivering food assistance to an area of Iraq encompassing much of the western part of the country for the first time since May, targeting 76,000 people who are part of a “massive displacement” of families fleeing fighting. The latest deliveries bring the total number of people assisted by WFP in Iraq since midJune to over 838,000, the agency said in a press release. In Khanke village, Iraq Kurdistan Region, children from the Yazidi minority eat a meal of rice and tomato stew for lunch. Photo: UNHCR/N. Colt

Aid agencies say the humanitarian situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate because of fighting. Throughout the country, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced in precarious conditions – many without access to food, water or other basic essentials.

“The number of people displaced by violence across Iraq is increasing at an alarming rate and access to certain areas is very difficult. WFP and its partners are working around the clock to provide urgently needed assistance to over 800,000 displaced Iraqis in 10 governorates since June,” said Mohamed Diab, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia and East Europe. This week, WFP distributed the first batches of food consisting of essential items such as rice and cooking oil, wheat flour, sugar, salt, canned fava beans or chickpeas, lentils, bulgur and pasta procured locally, WFP spokesman Peter Smerdon told the UN News Centre. They were delivered to displaced Iraqi families in the cities of Ramadi and Heet in the war-torn Al-Anbar, Iraq’s largest governorate bordering Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. “Based on assessments of the food crisis in the country, we are using new routes to deliver food and expect in the coming days to reach families displaced in volatile areas such as the southern region of al-Anbar,” said Jane Pearce, Country Director for the WFP Office in Iraq. WFP’s operations in Iraq have been rapidly scaled up in recent weeks, thanks to a $148.9 million contribution in July from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that has helped the agency respond quickly to the humanitarian crisis. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), meanwhile, said today it is scaling-up critical assistance to highly vulnerable rural households in Iraq as a result of a $14.7 million grant from Saudi Arabia. The funds will mainly be used to respond to the needs of thousands of rural households whose livelihoods depend on cereal crops and livestock and who are struggling to survive. Both donations are part of a $500 million grant that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided to the United Nations system to support Iraqis affected by the recent crisis. UN News Centre • www.un.org/news

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Fadel El Zubi, FAO Representative in Iraq, said: “Massive displacement of people and inaccessible farmland, as well as disruptions to fuel supplies, harvest subsidies and food supply chains, are affecting the availability of and access to food. The situation is likely to deteriorate as the crisis continues and the emergency situation becomes increasingly complex.” Also today, two other UN agencies said they began distribute solar-powered lamps to internally displaced families in Iraq. The UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) began distribution of solar-powered lamps and mobile phone charging kits in collaboration with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Since the beginning of 2014, more than 850,000 people have sought refuge in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with most going to the Dohuk Governorate.

Ban stresses need for Cyprus settlement in meeting with new UN envoy 4 September - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the importance of reaching a lasting settlement in Cyprus as the new United Nations envoy on this issue prepares to meet with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities tomorrow. During a meeting with his Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, Mr. Ban underscored the UN’s commitment to facilitating the achievement of a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus, according to a note issued to the media. The Secretary-General noted that Mr. Eide was assuming his functions at a “promising moment” in the Cyprus peace process, with fresh momentum having been generated by the Joint Declaration adopted by the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in February this year.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Espen Barth Eide, his Special Adviser on Cyprus. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Mr. Eide, a seasoned Norwegian diplomat, will meet with the two leaders, Nicos Anastasiades and Dervis Eroglu, in Nicosia tomorrow. Mr. Ban conveyed his expectation that, as the leaders prepare to enter the next phase, they will show renewed dedication and courage to build on the principles outlined in the Joint Declaration. He strongly hopes that the important gains achieved to date will be preserved as the sides move decisively towards structured and results-oriented negotiations, as called for in the Declaration, according to the note. The UN chief added that, in these times of great turmoil in the region, it is more important than ever to reach a lasting settlement in Cyprus for the benefit of all Cypriots. The UN has been facilitating talks between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leadership, with a view to the eventual establishment of a federal government with a single international personality, consisting of a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State, each of equal status. The UN also maintains a peacekeeping force in Cyprus, known as UNFICYP, which was deployed in 1964, when intercommunal fighting erupted on the Mediterranean island.

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SAMOA: Small island conference leaves ‘legacy with impact’ – UN 4 September - With $1.9 billion pledged in sustainable development partnerships, the United Nations on Thursday wrapped up its small island developing States conference and kicked off a drum roll of action on climate change. The Secretary-General of the Third International Conference on Small Island and Developing States, Wu Hongbo, characterized the summit, the largest of its kind in the Pacific, as “extraordinary.” Briefing journalists in Apia, Samoa, Mr. Wu said 297 partnerships between governments, businesses, civil society and UN entities had been announced during the four days.

Family Photo of the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States. UN Photo/Evan Schneider

“Without a doubt, these partnerships leave a legacy with impact,” Mr. Wu said. He added that the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), which he heads, will take on the responsibility of reporting on the commitments' progress to hold the participants to account. The partnerships are in the areas of sustainable economic development, climate change and disaster risk management, social development, sustainable energy, ocean health, and water and sanitation, food security and waste management. They are in line with the conference's outcome document, nicknamed the Samoa Pathway, which was unanimously endorsed at the last plenary session today. "The time for speeches is over,” Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi said in his closing statement. “We must now set sail with determination that the course of action we have chartered here… will be delivered to achieve our priorities." The end of the conference begins the countdown to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Climate Summit on 23 September at UN Headquarters in New York. "This conference actually starts what the Secretary-General calls the drum roll of action," said Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres. "Climate change is an anchoring issue at the conference in Samoa, which in 2009, experienced an earthquake and a tsunami." The UNFCCC is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. In this context, Ms. Figueres is overseeing talks between countries for a universally accepted climate treaty to be hammered out next year in Paris. Following today's events, the UN flag was formally lowered over the Tuana'imato sports complex, symbolically returning the site to the Government of Samoa.

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Libya: UN report details serious human rights abuses in Tripoli, Benghazi 4 September - Citing indiscriminate violence by armed fighters in Libya and grave abuses by all sides in the conflict, a new United Nations report out today warns that serious human rights violations are taking place in the country’s two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi, with dire consequences for civilians and civilian infrastructure. The joint report by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the UN human rights office (OHCHR) gives an overview of abuses, including indiscriminate shelling and attacks on civilian objects, the shelling of hospitals, the abduction of civilians, torture and unlawful killings.

A memorial in Misrata for some of the thousands killed during the 2011 Libyan civil war. Photo: IRIN/Heba Aly

Detailing accounts of civilian casualties, including women, children and foreign nationals, the report also states that that fighters appear to disregard the likely impact of their action on civilians and have inadequate training and discipline. Further, the use of badly maintained and faulty weapons and ammunition increases inaccuracy. “These factors suggest that many attacks carried out in Tripoli and Benghazi are indiscriminate,” says the report, which covers the period between mid-May and the end of August. The report said the capital, Tripoli, witnessed six consecutive weeks of violence from 13 July, when an alliance of armed groups primarily from the city of Misrata but also from other towns including al-Zawiya and Gheryan, and Tripoli-based armed groups, launched “Operation Dawn” against the Zintan-affiliated al-Qa’qa’ and al-Sawai’q armed groups allied with fighters from the Warshafana region west of Tripoli. In Benghazi in mid-May, retired General Khalifa Haftar announced an armed campaign, “Operation Dignity,” against the Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries (SCBR), an alliance including Ansar al-Shari’a, Libya Shield units and other armed groups. Since mid-July, Benghazi appears to be mostly under the control of the SCBR, although the fighting continues, including near Benina Airport. In both Tripoli and Benghazi, all sides have been resorting to a variety of weapons in populated areas, including small arms, GRAD rockets, mortars, anti-aircraft guns, tanks and air attacks. Air strikes by “Operation Dignity” on populated areas have been frequently taking place in Benghazi since May 2014, while in Tripoli, the report says that there have been two air sorties against Operation Dawn armed groups. The report goes on to reveal that dozens of civilians were reportedly abducted in Tripoli and Benghazi solely for their actual or suspected tribal, family or religious affiliation, and have remained missing since the time of their abduction. Such abductions may amount to enforced disappearances if the parties to the conflict do not acknowledge their whereabouts, the report states. UNSMIL is raising cases of those detained with the relevant armed groups and welcomes further information from concerned parties. “Protection of civilians must be a priority,” the report states. “All armed groups must comply with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack,” it adds, underscoring that all armed groups must desist from violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, “in particular all acts that may amount to war crimes.” The report urges all armed groups to release or hand over to the justice system individuals who they have detained. It also stresses that the lack of compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law by one party does not absolve other parties from their obligations to comply with these standards. “All armed groups must remove from active duty and hand over to the justice system those among their members suspected of having committed abuses,” the report warns, and adds: “Political or military leaders can be held criminally responsible UN News Centre • www.un.org/news

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not only if they order crimes, but also if they are in a position to stop them and do not do so.” UNSMIL also estimates that at least 100,000 Libyans have been internally displaced by the fighting including Tawerghans who were already in their displacement camps since 2011, and that a further 150,000 people, including many migrant workers, have left the country. The deepening political polarization, the fighting and the risk of retaliation by armed groups have generated a climate of fear in which people are reluctant to talk about certain violations and abuses. It has also led many activists, including in particular women activists, to leave the country. UNSMIL and OHCHR have appealed to all sides of the conflict to cease all armed hostilities and engage in an inclusive political dialogue to build a State based on the respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. UNSMIL continues to engage with all sides to end the fighting and ensure that civilians are protected, the report states.

The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)