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UN Daily News Wednesday, 11 January 2017
Issue DH/7324
In the headlines: • Humanitarian crisis in Mosul could ‘live on’ beyond
• Top UN peacekeeping official pushes for
• Security Council’s ‘encouraging voice’ very
• Migrants battling exposure as freezing
Iraq military operations, senior UN official warns important to Colombian peace process, says UN envoy
• As millions suffer water shortages in Syria, UN looks to keep potable supply safe
•
Cyprus talks ‘on track’ ahead of international conference – UN envoy
• World Bank sees ‘moderate’ pick up for global economy in 2017 despite weak investment
endorsement of DR Congo political accord temperatures grip Europe, warns UN agency
• Afghanistan: UN condemns latest terrorist attacks against civilians and diplomats
• UN agency renews call for protecting children after deadly attacks in Yemeni capital
• Pakistan: UN expert calls for return of four
disappeared human rights and social media activists
Humanitarian crisis in Mosul could ‘live on’ beyond Iraq military operations, senior UN official warns 11 January – The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Lise Grande, reported today on the conditions in Mosul, a city witnessing one of the largest urban military operations since the Second World War, warning that a proper humanitarian response, conditions that created the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) could remain. When the military operation to oust terrorists from the area began on 17 October 2016, 1.5 million civilians were living in Mosul. In the eastern part of the city, some 400,000 are now free of control by the ISIL. However, the western part of the city, an area that is much more densely populated and home to 750,000, remains under ISIL control. Military operations to retake that part of the city are expected to begin in late February or early March.
Families flee their homes in Mosul, Iraq, heading for an army outpost in the Samah neighbourhood where they will be taken away from the heavy fighting engulfing the city. Photo: UNHCR/Ivor Prickett
“One of the exceptional aspects of the Mosul military operation was the decision by the Iraqi security forces to adopt a humanitarian concept of operations when they were developing their battle plans,” said Ms. Grande. The plan, she explained, prohibits artillery strikes, requires civilians to remain in their homes, and provides humanitarian exit corridors wherever necessary. Civilians in Mosul are at an extremely high risk – they represent 47 per cent of all casualties in the military operation so far.
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“You would expect in a conflict like this that the number of civilian casualties would be around 15 per cent, a high of 20 per cent. What we’re seeing in Mosul is that nearly 50 per cent of all casualties are in fact civilians,” Ms. Grande said. “It’s clear that this is because of direct targeting by combatants. They’re being targeted by ISIL. They’re being shot as they try and leave the city and they’re being shot as they try and secure food and other resources,” she explained. Aid community fears possibility of siege in Western Mosul Meanwhile, the humanitarian community is worried that a siege is a very real possibility. The Special Representative emphasized that a siege of 750,000 people would have enormous implications and that 90 per cent of efforts to break a siege fail. Given the statistics, stakeholders are working as hard as possible to deliver supplies. Planning for the “massive” humanitarian response that began last February has enabled workers to reach 500,000 people. There are currently nine open camps, with an additional nine underway. The Special Representative underlined that the Iraqi Government had been instrumental in providing large amounts of assistance to its people. Since ISIL’s rise in Iraq, 4.5 million people have fled their homes. Depending on how the military operations in Mosul progress, another one million could end up displaced. And the return process, Ms. Grande noted, is quite difficult. “When Da’esh is defeated in Iraq, that’s a military success, but the humanitarian crisis is a legacy – it just keeps going,” she said. “As soon as Da’esh is defeated, there are a lot of people who need to get back home, to get back to their lives. If they don’t, the conditions which led to the rise of ISIL will continue to be there. Humanitarians know that when Da’esh is defeated that the world’s attention is going to go elsewhere and that it will be difficult for us to mobilize the resources necessary.” Collapse of Mosul dam another ‘looming’ risk Ms. Grande then turned to the Mosul dam, another looming risk that has the potential to impact some 20 million people. The dam, she explained, has a strong potential for a catastrophic outburst and would be disastrous for both its capacity for damage as well as the unpredictability with which it would happen. “Anyone who says a catastrophic outburst would be ‘Biblical’ – they are correct,” asserted the Humanitarian Coordinator, who is a trained hydrologist with a specialization in the particular dam that is in Mosul. In response to danger, UN agencies have created an early warning system with the Iraqi Government and the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is developing an international response to assist the Government in the event of the dam’s collapse.
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Security Council’s ‘encouraging voice’ very important to Colombian peace process, says UN envoy 11 January – Highlighting that the Colombian peace process faced and continues to face a range of challenges but also offers “solid” opportunities, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the country today called on the United Nations Security Council for its continued attention and strong support to the country.
Special Representative for Colombia Jean Arnault briefs the Security Council. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas
Noting, for example the failure to achieve the first benchmark of the ceasefire process – full concentration of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) combatants and militias in areas where weapons will be laid down by 1 January – as well as the apparent impossibility to destroy “unstable” ammunition spread in caches throughout the country by 30 January, SRSG Jean Arnault added:
“[However] in spite of this setback, last week, President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón and the FARC Secretariat reaffirmed their determination to do everything possible to meet the original goal of the comprehensive laydown of weapons by early June.” In a briefing to the Council today, he informed its members of the progress made over the last couple of weeks on matters such as the FARC members accessing the country’s subsidized health system. Further, emphasizing that with concerted efforts from all sides, the UN envoy said that advancing the ceasefire process was very much possible. He added that the timetable for storing of weapons under UN monitoring could also be adjusted without extending the overall 180-day timeframe. On the legislative developments in the country, Mr. Arnault informed the Council that on 28 December 2016, the Congress passed an amnesty law excluding serious crimes. The law was ratified by President Santos two days later. “The passage was a key request from the guerrilla organization and, besides paving the way for the release or conditional release of some 4,000 prisoners, it should facilitate the first key step towards the laydown of weapons,” he noted, adding that next week, the Congress is expected to take up draft laws on establishing frameworks for truth, justice and reparation, including the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, the Truth Commission and the Missing Persons Search Unit. Mr. Arnault also updated the Council of work of the UN Mission in Colombia, which he heads, as well as that of the tripartite monitoring and verification mechanism which has now deployed to a number of locations at the local level. In early October 2016, Colombian voters narrowly rejected the historic peace accord between the Government and the FARC-EP, meant to end the Western Hemisphere's longest running conflict. That deal was the culmination of four years of talks hosted in Havana, Cuba, between the two sides, and which led to a cessation of hostilities and agreements on key issues such as political participation, land rights, illicit drugs and victims' rights and transitional justice. The two sides signed a new agreement in late November.
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As millions suffer water shortages in Syria, UN looks to keep potable supply safe 11 January – The United Nations expressed concern today about fighting in the Wadi Barada area of west Damascus, which in addition to displacing thousands of people, has also restricted water supplies to some 5.5 million people in and around the Syrian capital. Addressing reporters in New York, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Organization and its partners are working with water authorities “to implement an emergency plan to meet around 30 per cent of the daily needs of people.” Support includes providing water-quality testing equipment and chemicals needed to undertake necessary quality tests, and prepositioning medicines and kits in case of cholera or other waterborne diseases.
On 4 January 2017, UNICEF started trucking water to 50 schools in the capital Damascus and surrounding areas. Fighting in and around Wadi Barada, on the outskirts of Damascus, has resulted in damages to the water network. Photo: UNICEF/Muhannad Al- Asadi
“The UN continues a public campaign to raise awareness on safe water practices and safe water sources to prevent diseases, which remains the main concern,” Mr. Dujarric said. Severe water shortages began in late December, when fighting damaged infrastructure located in the rebel-held territory. Speaking earlier this month, Jan Egeland, the UN Senior Adviser on Syria, noted that “to sabotage and deny water” could constitute a war crime. Meanwhile, in northern Syria, more than 36,000 people have been evacuated to the western countryside of Aleppo and Idleb Governorates, according to the UN. An additional 11,000 people have been moved to different areas of Aleppo city, including areas which had previously been under siege. “The UN and our national and international humanitarian partners continue efforts to scale up our response in Aleppo to do all we can to ensure that the people of Aleppo receive the aid they need,” Mr. Dujarric said.
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Cyprus talks ‘on track’ ahead of international conference – UN envoy 11 January – As the United Nations-facilitated talks on Cyprus went into their third day in Geneva ahead of an international conference tomorrow, the UN adviser on the issue has said the discussions are “on track” and while there is still much hard work to do, an “historic” outcome could be reached as part of ongoing reunification efforts. Espen Barth Eide, the UN Special Advisor Cyprus who has been facilitating talks between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, told reporters: “We are on track, we have dealt with some of the most difficult issues we have touched upon almost all of them, we have solved many of them and we are close to resolving some other issues.” Third day of the Cyprus talks held in Geneva. 11 January 2017. UN Photo/Violaine Martin
Taking a break from the discussions, Mr. Eide said that he expected the delegations to present comprehensive maps to each other before the day was out – “a very important and historic moment. Never before have we had an exchange or presentation of maps created by the Cypriot delegations themselves […] with every sentence and comma written by Cypriots.”
The UN Special Advisor credited Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci for their commitment to finding a solution over the last 18 months. The issue of land is key, Mr. Eide explained, describing it as a “big part of the trauma” that has affected Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots since the division of the island in 1974. If all goes to plan, the draft maps will then be placed in a UN vault and pored over by cartographers from the two delegations. The so-called guarantor powers – Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom – are also set to arrive in Geneva Thursday to take part in the talks and the parties will be “able to really deep dive and get a good start on the discussion on security and guarantees.” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to open and chair the conference. AUDIO: Listen to Espen Barth Eide, the UN Special Advisor on the divided Mediterranean island, speak to UN News “I would like again to say that what is happening tomorrow, whatever outcome, is historic, because it is the first time in this process that the guarantor powers have actually met with the Cypriots to discuss this very contentious, traditionally very difficult issue of security and guarantees, basically the entire security setup that will surround a settlement in Cyprus,” he said. Sounding a note of caution, UN Special Advisor Eide said that although he believed that this was “the best chance” of a deal, he did not expect to leave the talks with everything agreed, or with a referendum date.
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World Bank sees ‘moderate’ pick up for global economy in 2017 despite weak investment 11 January – Global economic growth is forecast to accelerate moderately to 2.7 per cent in 2017 after a post-crisis low last year, the World Bank said in a report released today. “After years of disappointing global growth, we are encouraged to see stronger economic prospects on the horizon,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in a news release. “Now is the time to take advantage of this momentum and increase investments in infrastructure and people. This is vital to accelerating the sustainable and inclusive economic growth required to end extreme poverty,” he added. Women from the Keyo Pottery Women’s Group stack cook stoves in the kiln for firing. Photo: World Bank/Peter Kapuscinski
The World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects January 2017 said that growth in advanced economies is expected to edge up to 1.8 per cent in 2017. Growth in the United States is expected to pick up to 2.2 per cent, as manufacturing and investment growth gain traction after a weak 2016. Fiscal stimulus in major economies – particularly in the United States – could generate faster domestic and global growth than projected, although rising trade protection could have adverse effects. But because of the “outsize role the United States plays in the world economy, changes in policy direction may have global ripple effects,” added World Bank Development Economics Prospects Director Ayhan Kose. Growth in emerging market and developing economies as a whole should pick up to 4.2 per cent this year from 3.4 per cent in the year just ended amid modestly rising commodity prices. Nevertheless, the outlook is clouded by uncertainty about policy direction in major economies. A protracted period of uncertainty could prolong the slow growth in investment that is holding back low, middle, and high income countries. In emerging market and developing economies, which account for one-third of global gross domestic product (GDP) and about three-quarters of the world’s population and the world’s poor, investment growth fell to 3.4 per cent in 2015 from 10 per cent on average in 2010, and likely declined another half percentage point last year. Slowing investment growth is partly a correction from high pre-crisis levels, but also reflects obstacles to growth that emerging and developing economies have faced, including low oil prices for oil exporters, slowing foreign direct investment for commodity importers, and more broadly, private debt burdens and political risk. Commodity-exporting emerging market and developing economies are expected to expand by 2.3 per cent in 2017 after an almost negligible 0.3 per cent in 2016, as commodity prices gradually recover and as Russia and Brazil resume growing after recessions. In contrast, commodity-importing emerging market and developing economies should grow at 5.6 per cent this year, unchanged from 2016. China is projected to continue an orderly growth slowdown to a 6.5 per cent rate. However, overall prospects for emerging market and developing economies are dampened by tepid international trade, subdued investment, and weak productivity growth. Growth is projected to ease to 6.2 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific, pick up to 2.4 per cent in Europe and Central Asia, return to positive growth and expand by 1.2 per cent in Latin America and Caribbean, recover modestly to a 3.1 per cent in Middle East and North Africa, pick up modestly to 7.1 per cent in South Asia, and to 2.9 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Top UN peacekeeping official pushes for endorsement of DR Congo political accord 11 January – Addressing the Security Council, the head of United Nations peacekeeping operations today urged the international community to push for a swift endorsement of the so-called 31 December political accord in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and to put in place a transitional government of national unity. “The signing of the 31 December accord gives hope for a peaceful resolution of the political impasse,” the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, told the 15-member Council. He warned that failure to sign the agreement – facilitated by Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO) mediators, and reached in DRC’s capital, Kinshasa, on 31 December 2016 – could delay elections and increase the risk of renewed political crisis and increased violence in the country.
Conférence épiscopale nationale du Congo (CENCO) leads mediation at the signing on 31 December 2016 of a political agreement on the holding of elections in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Photo: MONUSCO/John Bompengo
“Regional and international actors should maintain strong support for the implementation of the accord and the holding of elections, as soon as feasible,” Mr. Ladsous said. The accord builds on an initial political agreement between part of the opposition and the majorité présidentielle reached in October under the auspices of the African Union facilitation. It aims for a peacefully managed transition consistent with the democratic principles enshrined in the country’s Constitution. In addition to political developments in the country, Mr. Ladsous addressed recent human rights violations and acts of violence that occurred on 19 and 20 December. At least 42 people were killed and 140 others injured in clashed between national security forces and demonstrators. The senior UN official called on the Congolese Government “to initiate a full investigation into the events that led to the excessive use of force and loss of life” during that time period, and to ensure that those responsible are held to account. He went on to cite the ongoing volatility in the security situation in eastern DRC. In addition to the threat posed by foreign armed groups, namely the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and the Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR), the activities of militia groups are on the rise in many parts of the country. “This increase in levels of armed violence is driven in part by the escalation of deep-rooted and long-standing conflicts between ethnic communities,” he noted. Mr. Ladsous said that the UN Secretariat and the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the country (MONUSCO) remain committed to working in support of the accord and the Congolese, and will present to the Security Council recommendations for how to best attain this goal.
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Migrants battling exposure as freezing temperatures grip Europe, warns UN agency 11 January – Sounding the alarm over the situation of thousands of migrants, asylum seekers and others enduring extreme cold conditions across Europe and Eastern Mediterranean, the United Nations migration agency has appealed for immediate action to save them from freezing to death.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least six individuals – three migrants in Bulgaria, one in Greece and two refugees in Lebanon – have succumbed to the harsh winter that has struck the region with some of the heaviest snowfall and the most severe icy temperatures in years. Migrant and asylum-seeker camp on the Greek island of Lesvos covered in snow as icy temperatures and heavy snowstorms affect region. January 2017. Photo: IOM
Deaths due to exposure have also been reported in the Italian capital Rome and of those in transit across the Balkans.
“It is imperative that the world respond to the dangers exposed by these extreme weather conditions with food aid, shelter and other resources in the short term and long term,” William Lacy Swing, the IOM Director General, said yesterday, recalling the carnage in the Mediterranean Sea in 2016. Last year, the deadliest year ever for migrants recorded by IOM in the region, at least 5,000 migrants lost their lives as they tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea with hopes of reaching European shores. This extreme weather at the start of 2017 has brought particular fear for the lives and well-being of 15,500 migrants and asylum seekers, housed in camps on Greek Islands, including many in places that have been hit hard with snowfall. Families with children are most at risk. Additionally, some 6,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey are reported to be without adequate, winterized shelter – out of a total refugee population of about three million. IOM also reported that more than 7,500 people are currently stranded in Serbia, living in accommodation without adequate winter protection. Also, in makeshift refugee settlements in Lebanon, some 100 incidents of tents collapsing were reported.
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Afghanistan: UN condemns latest terrorist attacks against civilians and diplomats 11 January – The United Nations has condemned yesterday's terrorist attacks near the Parliament in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, and the residence of the Provincial Governor of Kandahar, calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. The UN mission in the country said that the attacks killed more than 40 people, mainly civilians and including five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Many others were injured, including the Kandahar Governor and the visiting UAE Ambassador. “Indiscriminate attacks against civilians, including diplomatic envoys, are violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and A wide view of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Photo: UNAMA cannot be justified,” said Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, in a statement issued overnight, in which the United Nations extended its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured while expressing its solidarity with the people and Governments of Afghanistan and of the UAE. According to a press release issued by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), as many as 13 civilians were killed in an explosion at the residence of the Kandahar Provincial Governor while he was hosting a dinner event for visiting diplomats and dignitaries. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. UNAMA also said that a Taliban suicide attacker detonated his vest outside the Parliamentary Administration Compound in the Daruluman area of Kabul. Shortly afterwards, the Taliban detonated a vehicle packed with explosives on the main road near the compound, impacting a civilian bus, parliamentary staff, bystanders, security guards and those responding to the first attack. The attacks in the capital killed at least 35 people and injured more than 50. While authorities confirmed two National Directorate of Security (NDS) officials were killed and four injured, preliminary information indicates the majority of the casualties were civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that they were targeting the NDS. The Taliban also acknowledged that they had deliberately timed the second blast to take place as first responders attended to persons caught in the initial explosion. “Such unprincipled, unlawful and deplorable attacks cause immense human suffering and make the peace that Afghans need and deserve even more difficult to achieve,” said Pernille Kardel, the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan. “Those responsible for these attacks must be held accountable," said Ms. Kardel, who is also acting head of UNAMA.
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UN agency renews call for protecting children after deadly attacks in Yemeni capital 11 January – At least one girl has been killed and four others injured in attacks near a school outside the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, leading the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to renew its call on the people involved in the country's conflict to protect children and stop attacks on civilian structures. “Schools should be zones of peace at all times, a sanctuary where children can learn, grow, play and be safe,” Meritxell Relaño, UNICEF Representative in Yemen, said in a statement. “Children should never risk their lives only to attend school.”
This photo shows Amal who is looking at her destroyed home in Sana’a, Yemen, after it was hit by an airstrike in April 2015. Photo: UNICEF/Ahmed Jahaf
Since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, the UN estimates that nearly 1,400 children have been killed and at least 2,140 injured with actual numbers likely to be “much higher”.
In addition to children casualties, nearly 2,000 schools in Yemen have been damaged or destroyed, or are being used for military purposes. The attacks on 10 January in the Nihm district are the latest examples of “children witnessing death, war and destruction” instead of learning, said Mrs. Relaño.
Pakistan: UN expert calls for return of four disappeared human rights and social media activists 11 January – A United Nations human rights expert today called on the Pakistani authorities to make it a top priority to locate, protect and return home four disappeared human rights and social media campaigners. “I strongly urge the Government of Pakistan to take every step possible to locate the four missing activists, a first step toward reemphasizing its commitment to freedom of expression at the beginning of the year,” said David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of expression, in a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). According to the news release, the four men –Waqas Goraya, Asim Saeed, Salman Haider and Ahmed Raza Naseer – went missing between 4 and 7 January. Mainstream media outlets had accused them of promoting blasphemy, a criminal offense in Pakistan.
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré
“Free expression campaigners and experts have long called for the abolition of criminal blasphemy provisions in Pakistan, which may carry the death penalty,” Mr. Kaye noted. “Not only are such laws incompatible with international human rights law, but they also facilitate threats by state and non-state actors seeking to target expression.” The Special Rapporteur stressed that “all States have an obligation to promote a diverse space and culture for expression, but such culture does not create itself.” 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 honorary and the experts are not UN UN News Centre • www.un.org/news
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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)
