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  • UN outraged by Dapchi schoolgirls abduction – Guterres

    UN outraged by Dapchi schoolgirls abduction – Guterres

    The UN has expressed outrage at the abduction of 110 schoolgirls of Government Girls Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe, by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

    The Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, said in a statement by his Spokesperson, Mr Stephane Dujarric that he “strongly condemns the abduction and attack”.

    Guterres said he was gravely concerned over the situation of the schoolgirls’ abducted during an attack on their educational institution in Dapch, Yobe state, on Feb. 19.

    The Secretary-General called for the immediate and unconditional release of all missing girls and for their safe return to their families.

    The UN chief urged the Nigerian authorities to swiftly bring those responsible for this dastardly act to justice.

    Guterres reiterated the solidarity and support of the UN to Nigerian Government and other affected countries in the region in their fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

    The UN had earlier described the abduction as “another horrific incident where young women and girls are targeted by terror groups”.

    “And we very much hope that the perpetrators will be brought to justice, and just as importantly, that the girls will be found and returned to safety.

    “I think the fact that these young women were abducted in an educational setting, where they should have been safe, where they should feel safe, just adds to the horror of the story.”

     

  • UN chief mourns Malawian Ambassador

    UN chief mourns Malawian Ambassador

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday paid tribute to the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malawi to the UN, Necton Mhura.

    Guterres said he learned with sadness of the passing of the Malawian envoy.

    Deputy Ambassador at the Permanent Mission of Malawi to the UN, Mr Loti Dzonzi, said Mhura was admitted to a New Jersey hospital on Jan. 30, and died on Monday.

    Mhura, representated the Republic of Malawi at the UN since September 2016.

    The UN chief described the late envoy as a skilled diplomat and person of great learning.

    “Ambassador Mhura will be remembered for working tirelessly for the universal goals of peace, human rights and sustainable development.

    “He did so with inspiring dedication, as demonstrated by his active role as Vice Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries.

    “His loss will be keenly felt by peers and colleagues in New York,” the UN chief said.

    Guterres paid tribute to his contributions to the UN and offer his deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and to the Government and people of the Republic of Malawi.

    Mhura reportedly died following a long battle with cancer.

    Prior to his posting to the UN, Mhura was briefly Malawi’s Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington D.C.

     

  • Cyber-warfare impact: UN Chief urges global rules

    Cyber-warfare impact: UN Chief urges global rules

    United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for global rules to minimize the impact of electronic warfare on civilians as massive cyber-attacks look likely to become the first salvoes in future wars.

    Computer hackers, many of them believed to be state-sponsored groups, last year disrupted multinational firms, ports and public services on an unprecedented scale around the world, raising awareness of the issue.

    Last week, US Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians and three Russian companies on charges of conducting a criminal and espionage conspiracy using social media to interfere in the 2016 US election.

    “Episodes of cyber-warfare between states already exist. What is worse is that there is no regulatory scheme for that type of warfare, it is not clear how the Geneva Convention or international humanitarian law applies to it,” Guterres said in a speech to his alma mater, the University of Lisbon.

    “I am absolutely convinced that, differently from the great battles of the past, which opened with a barrage of artillery or aerial bombardment, the next war will begin with a massive cyber-attack to destroy military capacity… and paralyse basic infrastructure such as the electric networks,” he further stated.

    He offered the United Nations as a platform where various players from scientists to governments could meet and work out such rules “to guarantee a more humane character” of any conflict involving information technology and, more broadly, to keep the Internet as “an instrument in the service of good”.

    Addressing professors and engineers after receiving the university’s honorary degree, Guterres urged them to contribute to the process, which had to run much faster than before. Traditional ways of working out such rules could take decades – too slow for the rapidly changing technology scene.

    A group of NATO allies said last year they were drawing up cyber-warfare principles to guide their militaries on what justifies deploying cyber-attack weapons more broadly, aiming for agreement by early 2019.

    Some NATO allies believe shutting down an enemy power plant through a cyber-attack could be more effective than air strikes.

     

  • Over 5,000 child soldiers released in 2017 – UN

    The UN said more than 5,000 child soldiers were released and reintegrated in 2017 due to the international commitment to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflict.

    The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms Virginia Gamba, stated this in her message on the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers.

    The UN envoy, however, regretted that tens of thousands more child soldiers remained.

    “Once released, these children still have to face the complex and long reintegration process into their communities, a decisive step for their wellbeing which also contributes to end the cycles of violence.

    “Children can only be freed from armed groups and forces through a comprehensive reintegration process, including medical and psycho-social support, as well as educational programmes and trainings.

    “Without a strong political and financial commitment to the reintegration process, re-recruitment is unfortunately likely to happen in many conflict situations,” Virginia Gamba, said.

    In spite of progress, boys and girls continued to be recruited, kidnapped, forced to fight or work for military groups or armed forces, she said.

    She said the recruitment and use of children happened in all 20 country situations covered by the Children and Armed Conflict mandate.

    According to her, 61 parties to conflict out of 63 are listed for this grave violation in the 2016 Annual Report of the Secretary-General, making it by far the most widely-spread violation.

    Gamba reminded that “these children experience appalling levels of violence, which is likely to have dramatic physical and psychological consequences for the adults they will become.

    “It is our responsibility to show these children that there is hope outside of conflicts, that they can live in peace and security and be allowed to live their dreams”.

    The 2018 International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers, marked the 18th anniversary of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

    This protocol, adopted by the UN General Assembly in May 2000, sets the minimum age for recruitment into armed forces in conflict at 18 and has been ratified by 167 state parties.

    The Special Representative called for support to continue moving towards universal ratification of this important international standard.

    The international Day against the Use of Child was initiated in 2002 when the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict entered into force on Feb. 12, 2002.

  • Boko Haram: 8.5m people need live-saving support in North-East – UN

    The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) says over 8.5 million persons need life-saving support due to humanitarian crisis caused by the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East.

    The UN said in its October Humanitarian Situation Report that it targeted 6.9 million displaced persons for life-saving assistance in 2017.

    The fact-sheet shows that 5.2 million people are facing food insecurity and 5.1 million persons targeted for food security interventions, while humanitarian organisations in collaboration with the Federal Government provided support to three million persons under the emergency food intervention programme in 2017.

    It showed that about 3.4 million persons, particularly children, expectant and nursing mothers need nutrition support, while 2.7 million were targeted for assistance within the period under review.

    OCHA explained that 2.1 million persons had so far benefited from various nutrition interventions designed to control malnutrition in the war-ravaged region.

    Equally, more than 5.6 million of the estimated 6.9 million persons received health care service support through effective interventions provided by humanitarian organisations, and that 4 million persons benefited from out-patient services and 1.6 million persons under mobile medical activities.

    The UN agency revealed that 2.9 million children need education support, while 986, 100 of the 1.6 million targeted children, received education intervention between January and October, 2017.

    “Some 787, 000 children received formal and non-formal education support, and 138, 400 children provided with learning materials.

    “Psycho-social support and basic life skills training were conducted for 11, 500 teachers,” the agency said, noting that humanitarian organisation received only 18 per cent of the total funding required.

    The document further showed that 3.9 million people need water, sanitation and hygiene services, and that the agency provided support to two million of the 2.4 million persons targeted for interventions.

    Other highlights of the humanitarian activities in 2017 include the provision of safe drinking water to two million displaced persons and distribution of hygiene kits to 1.1 million people, while 773, 000 persons were provided with improved sanitation facilities.

    On protection, the agency said that over 6.9 million people needed protection intervention, explaining that 2.4 persons were reached with intervention in the affected states.

    However, the UN decried the spate of violence against civilians and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), stressing that urgent measures were necessary to enhance protection and security of persons affected by the conflict.

    UN Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs Amina Mohammed, had paid a two-day assessment visit to Borno in January, to enable the organisation scale up stabilisation process in the region.

    Mohammed visited Bama, one of the communities liberated by the military from the insurgents, the Military Command and Control Centre and the Military Cemetery, Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri.

    She said that the visit was to assess gaps in humanitarian needs, identify areas of interventions and reconstruction efforts recorded by the government so that she could report back to the UN secretariat.

    “My visit to Bama is to see what the Government of Nigeria and the Borno Government with the support from the UN system have achieved in the past years. What are the challenges and the gaps to address?

    “And to interact with those that are working in the frontline, to hear from humanitarian workers, our agencies and organisations about the funds that we have put on the Federal and State Governments’ programmes.

    “The visit availed us with the opportunity to speak with IDPs and the military, with a view to understanding best on how we can address the situation to save more lives.

    “How we can deal and maintain the crises; work toward the resettlement and reintegration of displaced persons back to their communities’’.

    Mohammed noted that the Federal and the State Government had achieved significant feat in rehabilitation and reconstruction projects, stressing that there is considerable improvement from what has happened in the past two years.

    “Certainly, more can be done and that is why we are here.

    “I will say that the funds raised at the Oslo conference for North-East Humanitarian intervention were properly utilised and we have seen the benefits of it. We look forward for another opportunity to bring more funds to Borno,” she said.

    Meanwhile, Prof. Babagana Zulum, the Commissioner for Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement, disclosed that over 11,000 residential homes, 170 classrooms, 11 schools, electrification and water projects were completed in Bama.

    Zulum explained that the projects were designed to facilitate voluntary return of displaced persons to their ancestral homes, build resilience and provide means of livelihoods to enable them to continue with their normal lives.

    According to him, the government had rehabilitated and reconstructed residential homes, schools, clinics, palaces, markets, security posts, offices and provided basic amenities in the liberated communities.

    Also, Gov. Kashim Shettima, said the UN had demonstrated greater commitments to address the humanitarian crisis in the North-East region.

    Shettima lauded the gesture and commended the UN deputy-secretary over her support to persons affected by the conflict in the North-East.

    “While as minister in Nigeria, she showed the strongest empathy toward us in Borno.

    “She visited Chibok over the abduction of schoolgirls and also visited Bama when the town was liberated from the insurgents,” the governor said.

    According to the 2016 Recovery and Peace Building Assessment Report, about one million residential homes; 665 public structures; 5, 335 classrooms; 201 healthcare centres; ‎776 electricity installations were destroyed by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State.

    The report was jointly authored by the World Bank (WB), the European Union (EU), the Federal Government and governments of the affected states in the region.

    To address the problem, the UN noted that improved funding was imperative to scale up activities and fast track implementation of humanitarian interventions in the war ravaged region.

    The UN stressed that humanitarian crisis in North-East remains severe due to inadequate funding, ongoing conflict, continued internal displacement and unpredictable return of refugees from neighbouring countries.

    “In planning and programming, the month of October is dedicated by humanitarian partners to carry in-depth assessment.

    “The findings will feed into the humanitarian overview and 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan,” it said.

     

  • Female genital mutilation ‘unacceptable’ in 21st century – UN youth envoy

    Female genital mutilation ‘unacceptable’ in 21st century – UN youth envoy

    UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake has condemned the practice of female genital mutilation, saying it was not acceptable in the 21st century.

     

    Wickramanayake spoke at an international forum in the Gambia on strategies to combat the practice, a day ahead of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation.

     

    The UN youth envoy underscored that the ghastly practice was an aversion to the human rights of millions and kept them from achieving their full potential.

    “This is not acceptable and this is done in the name of tradition, culture, religion or in the name of ensuring that women are to take on subservient roles to the men they will eventually marry.

     

    “This is not acceptable in the 21st century,” Wickramanayake said.

    Globally, over 200 million women and girls are estimated to have undergone some form of genital mutilation and girls aged 14 and younger account for about 44 million of those who have been “cut.”

    According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), although the practice is declining in many countries where it is prevalent, many of these countries also experience a high rate of population growth.

    This means that the number of girls who undergo genital mutilation will continue to grow if efforts are not significantly scaled up, UNFPA said.

    UN Member States had called for eliminating female genital mutilation as well as other harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage, in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – target 5.3.

    Countries have also stepped up their efforts with Gambia banning it in November 2015 and subsequently criminalising female genital mutilation.

    Many other African countries also now have legislation that that forbids the practice.

    In addition to implementing the law, the youth envoy also called on all countries and stakeholders to address any existing gaps in their legal frameworks and reiterated the support from the UN in overcoming the harmful practice.

    “History has taught us that human societies can come up with reprehensible social practices – that are justified under false guises – to strengthen the power structures or maintain the status quo for certain groups in society.

    “Luckily we also know that social practice is not static and that it can change as our understanding evolves,” she said.

    Marked annually on Feb. 6, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation aims to strengthen momentum towards ending the practice.

    The practice is globally recognised as a violation of the human rights of girls and women that perpetuates deep-rooted inequality between the sexes.

     

    Uganda’s Museveni signs law removing age cap for president

  • UN raises concerns at continued suspension of 3 TV stations in Kenya

    UN raises concerns at continued suspension of 3 TV stations in Kenya

    The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it was concerned that three television stations remained suspended for the third day on Friday in Kenya.

     

    The suspension came after the Kenyan Government’s accused them of “complicity” for airing footage of opposition leader Raila Odinga’s “inauguration ceremony”.

     

    The UN human rights wing said it understood that the continued suspension was in spite of an interim order by a Kenyan High Court, instructing the Government to allow the television stations to resume transmission.

     

    “We call on the Government to respect and implement the judicial decision. We are also concerned at the Government’s attempts to interfere with the rights to freedom of expression.

     

    “This is by reportedly warning that participation in the “inauguration ceremony” would lead to revocation of licences. Media organisations that disregarded this advice were shut down.”

     

    The UN agency urged the Government and the opposition in Kenya to work towards resolving the current situation through dialogue.

     

    It added that the resolution should be with full respect for the rule of law and the rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly and political participation.

     

     

    Israel accuses UN rights forum of bias over Palestinians

     

     

  • UN launches $157m appeal fund for Boko Haram victims

    The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and its humanitarian partners on Wednesday launched an inter-agency funding appeal of $157 million for people affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin region.

    Kelly Clements, Deputy UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said at the appeal launch in Niamey that “the Boko Haram crisis lingers on and is far from over”.

    The 47 UN agencies, including the UNHCR, and humanitarian organisations participating in the 2018 Nigeria Regional Refugee Response Plan will provide support to some 208,000 Nigerian refugees.

    The agencies would also provide support for 75,000 of the Nigerian refugees’ hosts in Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

    “The world should not forget the victims of this deadly conflict, especially as there appears to be little hope for a return to peace and stability in the near future,” Ms. Clements underscored.

    She explained that Nigerian refugees continued to arrive in very remote, impoverished communities in neighbouring countries.

    She said since it started in 2013, the Boko Haram conflict has internally displaced another 2.4 million people in north-east Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

    UNHCR called the menacing threat of food insecurity and severe malnutrition “one of the most devastating side effects of the conflict.”

    In September 2017, more than 7.2 million people in the Lake Chad Basin, which spans seven countries, including most of Chad and a large part of Niger, faced food insecurity.

    Across the vast region, food insecurity and malnutrition have reached critical levels, a situation only made worse over the eight years of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    “The future of young generations in the region is at stake, as food insecurity not only affects the dignity of families, but has serious consequences on the physical and cognitive development of children,” Ms. Clements stressed.

    According to her, in a region where education levels were already among the lowest in the world, the conflict has had a devastating impact.

    She regretted that the situation had forced hundreds of schools to close, making education inaccessible and causing school attendance rates to drop.

    “Refugee-hosting communities are also in dire need of assistance, as their capacity, including basic services infrastructure, is stretched to the limit,” she stressed.

    Ms. Clements said humanitarian aid was needed to uplift services, including shelter, health, education, and water and sanitation sectors.

    In 2017, $241 million appeal was only 56 per cent funded, she regretted.

     

  • Africa to witness economic growth in 2018 – UN

    Africa’s economy is expected to grow 3.5 per cent in 2018, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from 2017, a UN official said Thursday.

    Speaking at 30th AU Summit being held in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Vera Songwe, Secretary-General of the UN Economic Commission for Africa ( UNECA ), said the growth uptick will be underpinned by strengthened external demand and moderate increase in commodity prices.

    She said the growth will also be supported by more favorable domestic conditions including restoration of oil production in a number of countries and expected recovery in 2018 and 2019 of major economies like Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.

    However, she said the growth would not be enough for the continent’s rising population of more than one billion, 70 per cent of whom are categorized in the youth group.

    Songwe said: “adjusting for population growth, the projected economic growth remains inadequate for Africa to make significant progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ), the eradication of poverty and hunger.

    “Although poverty level is reducing, it is still intolerably high at an average of 40 percent for the continent. As Such, there’s need to upscale efforts at structural reforms, prudent economic management and promoting regional integration.”

    Nevertheless, UNECA projects the uptick in economic growth to continue for some time with 3.7 percent economic growth expected in 2019.

    SDGs are a universal set of goals, targets and indicators that UN member states will be expected to use to frame their agendas and political policies until 2030.

  • 2019: INEC seeks UN support to conduct credible elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has sought the cooperation of the United Nations, UN, to conduct a peaceful, and credible election in 2019.

    The chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu said this on Monday during a meeting with the United Nations Team led by the representative of the Secretary General, Needs Assessment Mission on the 2019 General Election, Sergi Kubwimana.

    He said INEC needed support in aspects like technology, capacity building for staff, voter education and sensitisation and the electoral process as the 2019 election is fast approaching.

    The commission also said UN support would be needed to also help political parties in electoral conflict mitigation, inclusiveness, especially of women, youth and persons with disabilities.

    Mr. Yakubu noted how over the years, the UN had provided great support to INEC while trying to introduce and sustain reforms of the electoral system in Nigeria.

    He assured the UN of the commission’s commitment to conducting free and fair election.

    While enlightening his guest on the development so far in the electoral process, he said INEC has registered over 74 million voters, and promised that the number will rise.

    He also said the number of registered political parties now is 68 and the commission is processing over 90 fresh applications seeking registration as political parties.

    He also informed the visiting UN officials that there are 119,973 polling units, 8,809 electoral wards and 1,553 constituencies for which elections will be conducted in 2019.

    The INEC chairman told the UN delegation that in past elections, the commission had deliberately and purposefully embarked upon far-reaching reforms of the electoral system in terms of operational procedures.

    He listed the reforms as changes in voting procedures, enhancing the physical security; on the ballot papers, ballot boxes and result sheets, the reorganisation of the commission’s administrative structures, capacity building and professionalisation for the staff; instituting the long term planning processes; introduction of technology such as biometric registration and authentication process (permanent voters’ cards and smart card readers), collation and results management as well as the trafficking and monitoring of electoral activities.

    Meanwhile, Mr. Kubwimana said the UN would look at “the overall context, political context, social economic context and human rights context.”

    He also said in conducting the needs assessments, the UN would work with relevant persons and bodies including the security, political parties, civil society organisation, including women organisations and the People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs).

    “Women organisations are also an important aspect of our collaboration to see how we can increase representation of women in politics and also increase number of voters. Security is also important in any given contest,’’ he said.