ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.asean.org/news

Cambodia, Singapore Deposit Instrument of Ratification of the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons
JAKARTA, 25 January 2016 – Cambodia and Singapore have deposited their respective Instruments of Ratification for the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP) with H.E. Le Luong Minh, Secretary-General of ASEAN. The ACTIP, which was signed by the ASEAN Leaders at the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015…

European Union [to 30 January 2016]
http://europa.eu/rapid/search-result.htm?query=18&locale=en&page=1

Date: 28/01/2016
Trade policy promotes sustainability and human rights
European Commission – Press release Brussels, 28 January 2016 Report highlights progress and shortcomings in 14 countries that benefited from privileged conditions of access to the EU market. The European Commission and the EU High Representativepublished today the first report on the concrete effects of the GSP+, the EU trade..

Commission discusses draft Schengen Evaluation Report on Greece
Date: 27/01/2016
European – Press release Commission Brussels, 27 January 2016 Commission discusses draft Schengen Evaluation Report on Greece The College of Commissioners has today, in view of the findings and their significance, taken note and discussed a draft Schengen Evaluation Report on Greece.

State of Play: Measures to Address the Refugee Crisis
Date: 25/01/2016
European Commission – Press release Brussels, 25 January 2016 State of Play: Measures to Address the Refugee Crisis Updated on 25 January The European Agenda on Migration adopted by the Commission in May 2015 set out the need for a comprehensive approach to migration management.

OECD [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/publicationsdocuments/bydate/

28-January-2016
OECD and UNHCR call for scaling up integration policies in favour of refugees
The heads of the OECD and UNHCR, at a joint high-level Conference on the integration of beneficiaries of international protection in Paris today, have called on governments to scale up their efforts to help refugees integrate and contribute to the societies and economies of Europe.

27-January-2016
A boost to transparency in international tax matters: 31 countries sign tax co-operation agreement to enable automatic sharing of country by country information
As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), 31 countries signed today the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports. The signing ceremony marks an important milestone towards implementation of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project and a significant increase in cross-border cooperation on tax matters.

Organization of American States (OAS) [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_releases.asp

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January 27, 2016
OAS to Send Special Mission to Haiti to Assess Situation following Suspension of Elections
The Organization of American States (OAS) will send a Special Mission to assess the situation in Haiti in response to a request by Haitian President Michel Martelly, according to an agreement reached today by the Permanent Council of the institution.

The Chair of the Council and Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, Ronald Sanders, specified that the Mission will be sent by the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, and that its work will include engaging in “a dialogue with all appropriate parties.” The Secretary General said that the “mandate and the limits” under which the Mission will act “must be set by the legitimate government of Haiti at this moment. Any other action beyond that would be an intervention that Haiti does not want, and that we want even less.”

Secretary General Almagro explained that the successful conclusion of the electoral process in Haiti is critically important, and therefore the dates for the second round of voting in the presidential elections should be set as soon as possible. “It is of fundamental importance that there be an election, and not a plebiscite or a referendum on a single candidate,” he said. Meanwhile, he added, “Haitians should agree on a mechanism for a clearly defined period of time, as short as possible,” within a plan endorsed by the Supreme Court of Justice.

For his part, the Permanent Representative of Haiti to the OAS, Bocchit Edmond, said the request by his government for a high level OAS mission was motivated by “the goal of helping the actors to get together to avoid the country falling into an institutional vacuum and chaos.”

World Trade Organisation [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news_e.htm

28 January 2016
INTERNATIONAL TRADE STATISTICS
WTO releases new statistical profiles on global value chains
The WTO has released new statistical profiles on global value chains (GVCs) for 61 economies. These profiles, available on the WTO website, bring together a set of indicators on trade taking place within GVCs.

IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.ipu.org/english/news.htm

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28 JANUARY 2016
Rwanda MPs urge action on civil registration
MPs in Rwanda have held a meeting with leaders of key government ministries as part of a drive to improve healthcare for women, children and adolescents. The country has made progress in cutting some maternal deaths, but more needs to be done in other areas such as reducing the number of children dying. The meeting discussed the urgent need for new and efficient systems to collect accurate information on births, marriages and deaths…

Mauritanian MPs create action plan for equality
28 JANUARY 2016
Women MPs in Mauritania have created an action plan to push forward work on gender equality. It followed training in Nouakchott on strategic planning on the work of the women’s caucus in parliament involving about 40 female MPs, civil society organizations and government officials…

Integrating gender into Ivorian parliamentary work
28 JANUARY 2016
Promoting gender equality in the work of Côte d’Ivoire’s Parliament has received a major boost, with the staging of a workshop for parliamentary staff. Fifty employees, including 18 women, took part in a three-day event, which equipped staff to integrate gender issues into the work of parliament. It focused on building a common understanding of what a gender perspective means for women and men, and devising ways to implement this approach in the day-to-day work of parliament…

Kenya community events boost gender equality target
28 JANUARY 2016
Hundreds of citizens and local leaders around Kenya have attended community outreach events to promote awareness and support for the constitutional requirement of women MPs accounting for at least one third of all MPs in the country, and proposals to achieve this…

Turkish Parliament launches equality “role model” mission
28 JANUARY 2016
A project to ensure gender equality is placed at the heart of Turkey’s parliamentary work has been launched. Working alongside IPU and UN Women, Turkey’s Grand National Assembly will support women’s leadership and ensure equality becomes a mainstream issue in all parliamentary business. Through the project, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Grand National Assembly is aiming to become a role model on gender equality, with changes benefiting not just female MPs but also their male counterparts, parliamentary staff and commissions…

Major health promotion role for IPU President
28 JANUARY 2016
IPU President Saber Chowdhury has accepted an invitation to join a high-level group on Every Woman Every Child, a global movement led by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Asian summit focuses on cutting tobacco deaths
28 JANUARY 2016
A summit of Speakers of Parliament from South Asia will explore practical ways to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a particular focus on improving health by cutting tobacco use. The Speakers will aim to identify ways to cut deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) from the current annual toll of 38 million people by one third by 2030…
….The event, in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on 30-31 January, is being organized by IPU and the Bangladeshi Parliament in cooperation with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an international non-profit organization.

World Bank [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

Agribusiness rules lag in agriculture dependent countries
WASHINGTON, January 28, 2016 – Countries where agriculture is a major economic activity have greater room for improving key regulations that govern the agribusiness sector, a new World Bank report finds….
Date: January 28, 2016 Type: Press Release

World Bank Lowers 2016 Forecasts for 37 of 46 Commodity Prices, Including Oil
Further economic slowdown in major emerging economies could push commodity markets lower
WASHINGTON, January 26, 2016— The World Bank is lowering its 2016 forecast for crude oil prices to $37 per barrel…
Date: January 26, 2016 Type: Press Release

PPP Knowledge Lab: MDBs’ Collaboration Brings You the First-ever Comprehensive Online Resource for Public-Private Partnerships
Multilateral development agencies from around the world have collaborated to produce the PPP Knowledge Lab, the first comprehensive online resource that pools the knowledge and experience of industry leaders…
Date: January 25, 2016 Type: Feature Story

IMF [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.imf.org/external/news/default.aspx

January 29, 2016
Press Release: Conference on Small Middle-Income Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Joint Statement by Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu and Governor Linah Mohohlo of the Bank of Botswana

… “We had a very productive set of discussions on the economic outlook and policy challenges facing small middle-income countries (SMICs) in sub-Saharan Africa. This group of countries has made significant progress in terms of maintaining macroeconomic stability and sustaining high growth over the past two decades. However, a number of challenges have recently emerged and, beyond the importance of maintaining their hard earned gains in terms of economic stability, there is scope to rethink their growth strategies and move forward with bold complementary reforms that could facilitate their transition to high-income status.

“For countries that depend heavily on commodity exports, the near-term environment has deteriorated as both global demand and prices have declined. And while some countries have previously built savings that can help them cushion the slowdown, other countries have seen their fiscal positions deteriorate rapidly at a time when external financing conditions have tightened. Notably, the slowdown of the South African economy could also adversely affect the countries in the region…

African Development Bank Group [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/

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29/01/2016
Senior Management changes at the African Development Bank
As part of a refocusing of strategy, the African Development Bank has announced the departure of the following executives effective February 1, 2016: the Vice-President for Agriculture, Water, Human Development, Governance and Natural Resources, Aly Abou-Sabaa; the Secretary General and Vice-President, Cecilia Akintomide; the Vice-President for Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration, Solomon Asamoah; the General Counsel and Director of Legal Services, Kalidou Gadio; and the Director of Communications and External Relations, Joel Serunkuma Kibazo.

Burundian refugees to benefit from $1 million AfDB emergency assistance
29/01/2016 – The Government of Rwanda and the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday, January 27, 2016, signed a US $1-million (RWF 753-million) emergency assistance grant to Burundian refugees in Rwanda.

AfDB launches project to strengthen the aviation sector in Central and West Africa
28/01/2016 – On January 26, 2016, the African Development Bank and representatives of the Central and West African economic communities inaugurated a major project to improve the safety, security and efficiency of air transport in the sub-region.

AfDB lends Morocco $112.3 million to improve the Tangier-Casablanca-Marrakech railway route
27/01/2016 – On Wednesday, January 27, 2016, in Abidjan, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a loan of US $112.3 million to Morocco for the improvement of infrastructure on the Tangier-Casablanca-Marrakech railway route.

Asian Development Bank [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.adb.org/news

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25 Jan 2016 | News Release
ADB Private Sector Financing Tops $2.6 Billion in 2015, Up 37% Year-on-Year
ADB approved a record $2.6 billion of new financing and investments for the private sector in 2015, a 37% increase from a year earlier and 62% higher than in 2013.

25 Jan 2016 | News Release
Asia-Pacific PPP Project Preparation Facility Launches Operations
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Asia-Pacific Project Preparation Facility (AP3F), a multi-donor trust fund managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help developing Asia and the Pacific prepare, structure, and place bankable public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the market, launched its operations today.

CARE International [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.care-international.org/news/press-releases.aspx

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28 JANUARY 2016
El Niño: Urgent need for support as drought affects 14 million people in Southern Africa
MOZAMBIQUE
About 14 million people in Southern Africa are already facing hunger, and the situation is expected to deteriorate further as multiple countries in the region bear the impact of the El Niño weather system.

26 JANUARY 2016
CARE: Freezing temperatures and increased trafficking severely threaten safety of refugees along Balkan route
SERBIA
Biting winds and freezing temperatures of up to minus 10 degrees Celsius pose severe health risks for refugees in the Western Balkans. At the same time, increased activities by smugglers put those already exhausted from their journey at risk of being abused and injured.

25 JANUARY 2016
Snowstorms slam the Middle East, striking already vulnerable Syrians
SYRIA
Agencies warn that only a complete end to the six-month old siege and guarantees for sustained aid deliveries alongside humanitarian services will alleviate the crisis in these areas.

Clubhouse International  [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.clubhouse-intl.org/news.html

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Posted on January 13, 2016
Meet Our New Executive Fellows
Fountain House is thrilled to welcome our three new Executive Fellows – Bethany Vukusic, Francesco Baglioni, and Jenny Erdman! The three fellows come from clubhouses in Michigan, Italy, and Iowa, respectively. The Executive Fellowship prepares new clubhouse directors to succeed anywhere in the world, and equips them with the requisite organizational and programmatic knowledge and skill sets.

HelpAge International [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.helpage.org/newsroom/press-room/press-releases/
Posted: 26 January 2016
African leaders urged to adopt protocol on the rights of older people
African heads of state are being urged to adopt a protocol on older people’s rights by organisations representing older people across the continent, at the 26th Summit of the African Union meeting in Ethiopia this week.

IRC International Rescue Committee [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.rescue.org/press-release-index

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Posted by The IRC on January 29, 2016
Syria crisis: Give refugees a chance to rebuild their lives [IRC Policy Briefs]
The IRC has launched a series of policy briefs examining the challenges Syrian refugees in host countries like Jordan and Lebanon face in finding employment and and earning the income they need to rebuild their lives.

ICRC [to 30 January 2016]
https://www.icrc.org/en/whats-new

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30 January 2016
Afghanistan: Thousands received life-saving assistance in 2015
Article
Ongoing conflict and violence continues to devastate the lives of hundreds of thousands of Afghan people.
In 2015, we provided basic aid, such as clean water and medical care, to those most in need across Afghanistan. Our teams also visited detainees to monitor their living conditions and treatment, and worked tirelessly to help to reconnect families separated by the conflict.

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27 January 2016
Data Protection in Humanitarian Action
Article
The Brussels Privacy Hub at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) intend to run a project exploring the relationship between data protection law and humanitarian action.

The provision of services to vulnerable persons by organizations working in humanitarian emergencies such as armed conflicts, other situations of violence, migration, natural disasters, and epidemics requires the collection and processing of a great deal of, often highly sensitive, personal data. To deal with humanitarian emergencies, it is in many cases necessary for personal data to flow between the concerned countries.

There is also increasing interest from both the humanitarian world, and the donors supporting it, in identifying innovative ways of providing better, and more efficient humanitarian assistance. This often involves exploring the possibilities offered by new technologies.

At the same time, as data protection and privacy laws develop at a faster pace, there is a lack of capacity and expertise to analyse how developing data protection and privacy rules actually apply to data collected for humanitarian purposes, particularly when adopting new technologies.

This requires the identification of clear guidance in respect of data processing in humanitarian action. This should be developed based on the key principles set out in international human rights law and international humanitarian law, the 1990 UN Guidelines for the Regulation of Computerized Personal Data Files, and other relevant instruments relating to privacy and data protection, as well as humanitarian action guidelines and principles.

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26 January 2016
ICRC in Yemen: Our work in 2015
Article

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25 January 2016
Enable Makeathon: Inspiring innovative solutions to help people with disabilities
Article
Of the world’s seven billion people, one billion are living with disabilities. Physical disabilities often limit a person’s mobility and dexterity. But beyond these challenges for the individual, physical disabilities impact family members, society and the overall healthcare system. Meeting the complex needs of persons with physical disabilities is a societal responsibility- one that we can all contribute to.

Initiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and its partners, the ‘Enable Makeathon’ is a global project aimed at creating new assistive devices for persons with disabilities living in rural settings- both in India and across the world…

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News release
23 January 2016
Ukraine crisis: Best practices in dead body recovery discussed in Lugansk
Kiev / Lugansk (ICRC) – Today the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held a round-table discussion in the town of Lugansk on ways of identifying the dead and handling their bodies respectfully.

IRCT [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.irct.org/

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News
IRCT launches manual on setting up and running a rehabilitation centre in a Libyan context
29 January 2016
The IRCT and its partners are proud to launch a new manual, ‘Establishing and Operating Rehabilitation Centres for Victims of Torture and Organised Violence’, which provides guidelines on organisational and therapeutic procedures applicable to Libya, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and beyond.
Written in Arabic, the manual is made up of 10 chapters which include guidance on capacity development, developing protocols for treating torture victims, emergency management and functional referral systems and monitoring and evaluation. The manual was written by an international multi-disciplinary team of experienced practitioners and academics and scientifically reviewed by a panel of experts in the field of torture rehabilitation from the region…

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News
IRCT: Turkey must immediately ensure full protection of human rights defenders
28 January 2016
The IRCT expresses its grave concern about the recent arrest of 20 university academics. Among the arrested is Dr Ümit Biçer, who is on the board of IRCT’s Turkish member centre, the Human Rights Foundation Turkey (HRFT), and is a leading international expert in forensic documentation of torture and ill-treatment.
The arrest is alleged to be a direct response to a joint statement issued by 1,128 academics from Turkey and abroad, calling for an end to the curfews imposed on certain districts in Turkey, which have led to severe human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions…

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News
Scientific Symposium: Additional call for abstracts
27 January 2016

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/press/press-releases

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Press Releases
MSF Alert: Five Epidemics to Watch
January 25, 2016
Five diseases with the potential to become epidemics in 2016 are being highlighted by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), as the World Health Organization’s executive board meets in Geneva this week.

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Press Releases
Yemen: Health Facilities Under Attack, Severely Limiting Access to Care
January 25, 2016
The conflict in Yemen is being waged with total disregard for the rules of war, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) declared today, following the latest attack on one of its health facilities.

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Field News
CAR: No Hope of Returning Home
January 27, 2016
A nervous calm prevails as the Central African Republic (CAR) awaits the final round of presidential elections, due to take place in early February. Renewed outbreaks of intercommunal violence have kept the population on edge in recent months, with many fearing that tensions could flare anew at any moment. The worsening security situation has also crushed hopes of returning home for some 450,000 people who were displaced internally by violence, along with a similar number of refugees who fled to neighboring countries.

Partners In Health [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.pih.org/blog

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Jan 29, 2016
Cervical Cancer Program Expands in Haiti
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women in Haiti, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths among the same group, according to the ICO Information Centre on HPV and Cancer, a data clearinghouse.
This is true in a day and age when cervical cancer can largely be prevented and treated through timely vaccinations and regular gynecological exams. There is no reason that can’t be true in Haiti.
In November, Zanmi Lasante, as Partners In Health is known in Haiti, launched a two-year program that will dramatically increase its capacity to vaccinate young girls and screen and treat women for cervical cancer. Over the next 24 months, staff will vaccinate 20,000 girls in St. Marc, Mirebalais, and Belladère against human papillomavirus (HPV), a disease that causes virtually all cervical cancer. They will also screen 20,000 more women for cervical cancer in St. Marc and the surrounding area, while boosting efforts to screen and treat women in Mirebalais and Belladère.
Additional staff will be hired and equipment and materials will be purchased to meet increased demand for these gynecological services, most of which will be provided at St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc. Pap smears, biopsies, and colposcopy—a procedure used to closely examine the cervix—will also be available for women whose initial tests indicate they may have cancer…

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Jan 28, 2016
Need to Know: Zika Virus
The Zika virus has been reported in 23 countries and territories so far, including Haiti and Mexico, where Partners In Health has thousands of staff and serves thousands more patients on a daily basis. Dr. Joia Mukherjee, PIH’s chief medical officer and an infectious disease expert, answers key questions about the virus.

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Jan 27, 2016
Study Finds Poverty Spread Ebola
A study quantifies how poor areas of Monrovia increased transmission of Ebola in 2014.

SOS-Kinderdorf International [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/about-sos/press/press-releases

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29.01.2016
SOS Youth Ambassador takes to global stage
– As the 2016 ECOSOC Youth Forum gets under way at United Nations headquarters in New York next week, SOS Children’s Villages is helping young people to be heard.

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27.01.2016
Health check: Winter conditions take toll on refugee children
– Dr Abdul Salam Sabbouh is a Syrian-born physician who studied medicine in then-Yugoslavia. Today, working with the Macedonian Red Cross in a field clinic provided by SOS Children’s Villages, he is on the front line in helping refugees.

Tostan [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.tostan.org/latest-news

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January 27, 2016
Challenging Gender Roles through Engaged Fatherhood
Many studies have shown that the involvement of men in early childhood development (ECD) is extremely beneficial to a child’s social, emotional and cognitive growth. Fathers who are involved and playful with their infants have children with higher IQs, improved linguistic abilities, greater capacity for empathy, decreased gender stereotypes, and are all-round better prepared to succeed in school.

In Senegal, strict ideas around gender roles and gendered divisions of labor have meant that for a long time, raising children has been exclusively considered women’s work. Men, on the other hand, are thought of primarily as providers for the family and ready disciplinarians. As “head of the household,” it’s not uncommon for a man to make decisions without consulting the rest of the family, maintain distance from his young children and have little involvement in their education.

However, Tostan’s Reinforcement of Parental Practices (RPP) program is calling into question these very practices with remarkable results…