Meeting the Real Needs of Syrian Civilians: A Message to the Humanitarian Task Force
April 14, 2016
It has been 60 days since the U.S. and Russia signed the Munich agreement, calling for increased attention to address the dire humanitarian conditions inside Syria. In this time the Humanitarian Task Force (HTF)—established by the 23-member International Syria Support Group (ISSG)—has helped push for UN convoys to enter 31 communities designated by the UN as besieged and hard-to-reach areas delivering short-term supplies for 400,000 people since the beginning of the year, less than 10 percent of people in need in those areas.

This is positive, but it is nowhere near enough. Parties to the conflict continue to prevent access to many areas and even when convoys are approved, vital items such as medical supplies continue to be removed. The Syrian conflict is among the worst catastrophe in modern times and reflects the absolute failure of the international community to halt the brutal and unnecessary cycle of violence. At this critical time, we must not let Syria also be a humanitarian failure. The international community must redouble efforts to hold parties to the conflict accountable and press for humanitarian breakthroughs that can have a real impact for Syria’s civilians struggling to meet their basic needs. The ISSG and HTF are central to achieving this aim.

NGOs working in Syria have four key messages for the ISSG and the HTF:
.1. Focus beyond delivery of commodities to enable humanitarian activities that support the resilience of Syrians in the longer term.
The recent convoys are welcomed, but they do not represent sustained, humanitarian access. Humanitarian access is not a one-off or periodic delivery of commodities. And we are concerned that an over-emphasis on the convoys has detracted from other types of assistance that are needed just as urgently, including medical, health, water, sanitation, education, psychosocial support, and child protection services. Humanitarian access should mean that doctors and health care workers have regular access and supplies to tend to the sick and evacuate those in urgent need of care, that farmers have access to seeds and fertilizer, that clean water is available and sanitation services provided, and that children no longer have to resort to eating grass out of hunger.

Syrian organizations on the front lines consistently say communities require these ongoing services and the ability to produce and grow their own food. The delivery of food parcels, shelter and household items, while important, is the most basic option. While necessary in some places, humanitarians, if allowed, can also engage in more sustainable and efficient approaches. In addition to emergency assistance, the focus should also be on the planting season, the provision of livestock, the winter harvest and the development of supply chains for services. Humanitarian organizations have the capacity to develop seed banks and markets during war, even in besieged or conflict-affected communities. In Aleppo governorate, for example, NGOs have supported farmers in planting 3,900 hectares of wheat in the past several months and have provided seeds and fertilizer purchased from the local markets. These efforts can help assist with emergency needs and help Syrians to be active participants in providing for their families and communities.

.2. Ensure future convoys are more effective in meeting the priority needs of Syrians and place increased emphasis on full humanitarian access.
Any success in bringing life-saving assistance to those in besieged and hard-to-reach areas should be welcomed, but their effectiveness could be significantly improved. Most importantly, future convoys must be informed and driven by impartial needs assessment, which will only be possible if local Syrian organizations and local stakeholders are permitted access. They should include personnel to deliver services and repair infrastructure, such as water and health infrastructure. They should insist on the ability to evacuate those needing urgent medical attention, as well as delivering medicine, surgical equipment and other medical supplies. They should deliver inputs for food production and other items contributing to greater resilience. They should include the ability to independently assess and monitor aid delivery to ensure it responds to what is most needed. Finally, the convoys should carry with them dedicated protection monitors who can report back with much-needed information about vulnerable groups, particularly women and children, to enable better protection services.

.3. Push for access negotiations that extend to all humanitarian actors, not just UN agencies.
The ISSG should focus on freedom of movement for aid to reach communities by those best placed to reach them. This should extend in particular to Syrian humanitarian actors that are serving their communities with emergency and longer-term support—both those that are registered with Damascus and those that are not able to obtain registration. Many Syrian humanitarian workers are placing themselves at great risk to serve their communities. Unregistered humanitarians are currently cast as criminals. Humanitarian staff and partners should not have to work under the threat of prosecution, aerial bombardments, arrests, abduction, or detention simply for serving civilians. The ISSG should prioritize the protection of aid workers and recognition by all parties of the impartiality of aid agencies, in line with customary international law.

.4. Reject the use of humanitarian aid as a political bargaining chip or a weapon of war.
To date, it is clear that the approval for UN cross line convoys is thoroughly linked to political negotiations. We are concerned that convoy permission is being used as a means of enticing populations into entering or maintaining localized truce agreements, while simultaneously penalizing those that will not.The continued exclusion of places like Darayya, Duma, and Moadamiya from the approved list of convoys suggests that approvals are tied to the political process and control of these high priority areas – not based on humanitarian need. Besiegement cannot continue to be used as a weapon against civilians and humanitarian aid cannot be a tool for political wrangling by a state. Fundamental humanitarian values are being challenged and this is a test of the international community’s commitment to humanitarian principles. The ISSG should resist and prevent any future attempts to link humanitarian access to other political negotiations. Humanitarian values should not be compromised by political agendas.

This framework is achievable if parties to the conflict are finally held accountable for their obligations—we owe it to the Syrian women, men and children suffering from this seemingly intractable conflict to uphold these standards. When humanitarian standards are not met and when humanitarian assistance is not responsive to the real needs on the ground, not sufficiently coordinated, and not effectively monitored it brings a terrible human cost. Failing to live up to these standards means well-intentioned aid is less effective, or at worst, even harmful. There must be a stronger focus on scaling up assistance that is based on locally-driven assessments, rooted in local partnerships, and strengthening local markets where they are functioning. Parties to the conflict must be pressed to allow these interventions to take place.

Syrians have endured five years of brutal conflict, but they have not lost their resilience or their hope. We have seen Syrians adapt and cope with the most intolerable conditions—and we will do our best to support them in every way possible. As humanitarians, it is not within our power to end the war—but we can speak loudly about our commitment to serve those in need and not give up on the values we hold closely. We call on parties to the conflict to urgently come to the negotiating table and commit to end the violence once and for all, as the only way to finally end the massive human suffering. In the meantime, there must be a firm commitment to regaining the momentum on humanitarian access that was seen in the days after the Munich Agreement. The ISSG and HTF must make this a top priority, and do much better to meet the needs of Syrian civilians.

The following organizations, many of whom are operational in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, support this statement:
Bihar Relief
Bonyan Organization
CARE International
Caritas Switzerland
Choubbak Amal
Cham for Development
Elaff Union for Relief and Development
Emissa
International Humanitarian Relief
Live 4 Syria (L4S)
Maram Foundation
Maddad
Mercy Corps
Nabea Al Hayat
Olive Branch
Space of Hope
Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS)
Syrian NGO Alliance
Syria Relief and Development
Syria Relief Network
Qatar Red Crescent
World Vision International
ZOA

Deportations of refugees and migrants from Greece must be halted
15 April 2016
Deportations of refugees and migrants from Greece to Turkey must be halted immediately and people wanting to seek asylum should not be kept in detention, said Oxfam, Norwegian Refugee Council and Solidarity Now.

Refugees could be returned to Turkey without having had a proper asylum hearing or without receiving the necessary information about their legal rights, the aid agencies warn. Forced returns to Turkey were restarted after a pause last week.

Over 6,300 refugees and migrants have arrived on the Greek islands since the EU-Turkey deal came into effect on 20 March, and are being arbitrarily held in detention camps. The majority of these new arrivals have applied for asylum. While the European Commission said on 4 April that Greece had sent 1,500 asylum case officers and police officers to the islands, there is no evidence of this additional capacity on the ground.

The Greek Asylum Service remains severely understaffed with only a handful of officials and caseworkers on the island to process cases, who are struggling to cope with the demand of asylum requests. Unless the promised additional capacity arrives, the quality of the asylum process will be severely compromised.

Compounding the pressure are new ‘emergency measures’ adopted into law by the Greek Government on 3 April, which includes an expedited ‘fast track’ asylum hearing to determine admissibility. Under these new procedures, Greek asylum officials must undertake complex asylum examinations, including decisions on whether or not Turkey is considered a safe country for return. These complex reviews that determine a person’s future take place in just one day.

Farah Karimi, Oxfam Executive Director said: “Thousands are being held in squalid detention centres on the Greek Islands – this is the state of Europe in 2016 – while the returns deal was pushed through to the detriment of these stranded suffering people by the EU which claims to be a bastion for human rights. Shame on the EU for prioritizing detention and deportation over people’s rights to safety and dignity.”

Even with the support of this promised extra staff, it will take weeks to process the asylum claims of the more than 6,300 people currently being held in overcrowded detention centres on the Greek islands.

Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council said, “It is shocking to see how Europe is mistreating men, women and children fleeing to our continent for protection from war and persecution. Asylum seekers are kept with migrants in overcrowded detention camps deprived of dignity and basic human rights. Disgraceful conditions are placing people at risk. European politicians hold the keys to this crisis, and should immediately open the camps.”

The aid agencies claim that living conditions in the detention centres are deteriorating rapidly with many people sleeping outdoors or in cramped shelters.

Epaminondas Farmakis, Managing Director of SolidarityNow said: “Europe can no longer look away from this inhumane situation in which people continue to risk their lives. It must ensure that the people on the move will live in open and secure structures as long as they remain in the country. It is more important, however, to immediately stop deportations to Turkey and to guarantee that these people can exercise their basic right- that of asylum.”

There remains no routine identification of vulnerable people and aid agencies report ongoing detention of children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and those with medical needs. In Lesbos and Chios, Pakistanis who perceive their treatment to be discriminatory have threatened to commit suicide.

There is, additionally, growing insecurity as a result of rising frustration and tensions. There have already been incidents of violence at night and women in particular are extremely vulnerable under such circumstances.

Aid agencies are calling on Europe to:
– Immediately halt all returns from Greece to Turkey.
– Immediately open all camps where people have expressed intention to seek asylum.
– Immediately improve security to ensure a protective environment for all people inside the closed facility.
– Maintain the integrity of the asylum claims process and ensure people have access to legal aid as a matter of urgency.
– Increase the number of staff working with the Greek Asylum Service on the islands to process these claims and ensure people are able to access their right to claim asylum before any deportation order is issued.
– Put an end to arbitrary arrests and detentions. The increasing use of detention as a restriction of the freedom of movement of asylum-seekers on the grounds of their irregular entry is a major concern.

Europe is imprisoning refugee children
Greece
Norwegian Refugee Council
(04.04.2016
“It is outrageous that young and innocent children fleeing war are kept imprisoned behind barbed wire in overcrowded detention facilities on European soil”, said Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland.

Refugees and migrants arriving on the Greek islands after the EU-Turkey deal came into effect on 20 March are being sent to closed camps – while awaiting a chance to seek asylum or face being returned to Turkey. Some of the men, women and children on the Greek islands have now been kept in detention for up to two weeks.

“The camps in Greece need to be opened immediately. There are no justifications for keeping asylum seekers in Greece in closed facilities and the situation inside the camps is deteriorating rapidly, putting people in danger”, said Egeland.

“The way the EU-Turkey deal is being implemented at the moment is a disgrace to Europe”, he added. “We would never have accepted this for our own children – and we cannot accept it for others.”

NRC and other humanitarian organizations have suspended some activities at the registration center at Chios after it was turned into a detention facility.

“We cannot support the running of enforced detention facilities, but we are ready to assist if the authorities agree to open the camps”, said Egeland.

According to the plan, Greece may start returning people to Turkey as early as Monday 4 April, despite concerns that many of those arriving have not had their legal rights explained to them, nor had a chance to receive a fair asylum hearing.

“Europe gave birth to the Refugee Convention when our own forefathers were displaced by war. Now Europe risks becoming the same convention’s burial agent. No people should be returned to Turkey before necessary safeguards are in place – and all people who seek asylum in Greece must be secured a fair, individual process, said Egeland.

The agreement with Turkey, aimed at discouraging people from crossing the Mediterranean from Turkey to Greece, may end up putting refugees and migrants at increased risk, argues NRC.

“As long as we are not solving the real problems, the wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and the desperate situation for refugees in neighbouring countries, people will continue to flee to Europe for protection. We fear people will seek other and more dangerous routes, like going from Libya to Italy or across the Black Sea”, said Egeland.

UNICEF urges full hearings for refugee and migrant children stranded in Greece
GENEVA, 6 April 2016 – With the process of returning refugees and migrants from the Greek islands to Turkey underway as part of the EU-Turkey agreement, UNICEF reminds States of their duty to care and protect all children and give them a full and fair hearing when deciding on their future.

UNICEF welcomes a new Greek law, which came into force on 4 April, exempting certain vulnerable groups, including unaccompanied and separated children, children with disabilities, victims of distress and trauma, pregnant women and women who recently gave birth, from “exceptional border procedures” or returns. However more needs to be done.

Currently more than 22,000 refugee and migrant children are stranded in Greece, facing an uncertain future and even forms of detention since the agreement went into effect last month.
UNICEF calls for a well-managed process to be put in place to determine each child’s best interests and fulfill the basic needs of all children – including adequate accommodation, health care and protection against trafficking and exploitation in line with international and European laws.

Children have specific grounds to claim international protection; such as if faced with the threat of recruitment to armed forces or forced marriage. The European Commission has stipulated that returns will be in accordance with international and European law.

“Any decision about any child, whether a toddler or a teenager, whether with family or not, should be guided by the best interests of that child,” said Marie-Pierre Poirier, Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe.
“Children need to be heard. A rushed decision to return can lead to a rash result and going back to a place of fear and violence. Children, no matter where they come from, must have access to basic services at all times,” she added.

Capacity to care and support for unaccompanied and separated children has been overstretched in Greece. With nowhere to house them, many are taken into temporary “protective custody”, or de facto detention within closed first reception or police facilities, for increasingly extended periods.

“UNICEF is concerned about reports that some children are being detained due to their migration status. Escaping war and seeking survival is never a crime,” said Poirier.

Unaccompanied and separated children, are among the most vulnerable and make up about 10 percent of all refugee and migrant children in Greece, or some 2,000, but not all are registered. Between January and mid-March 2016, 1,156 unaccompanied and separated children had been registered in Greece (an increase of over 300 per cent in the rate of registration compared to the same period in 2015).

The first returns to Turkey from the Greek islands were monitored this week by UNICEF’s partners, in Dikili port, Izmir province. UNICEF will continue to work closely with Turkish Government authorities to provide humanitarian assistance. Turkey currently hosts over 2.7 million Syrian refugees.

UNICEF has been helping Syrian refugee children and families since 2012. Last year UNICEF, working with government and civil society partners, provided support to over 400,000 Syrian children with education, protection and basic services.

Increasing Economic Growth in Fragile States Can Help Prevent Future Refugee Crises—World Bank President
BERLIN, April 5, 2016—World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today said that the world’s powers need to pay far greater attention to boosting developing economies and creating jobs in the most fragile countries in order to give more opportunity to people in those nations and to prevent future refugee crises.

Speaking at the German Institute for Economic Research, Kim noted that boosting inclusive economic growth and reducing extreme poverty was critical to helping avoid an even greater refugee crisis in the coming years. Citing World Bank projections that extreme poverty globally would only fall to 6 percent by 2030 if economic growth mirrors the average growth rate of the last decade, Kim said that would mean that in the most fragile states, the poverty rate would remain extraordinarily high, at 47 percent of the population.

“All of Europe and all of Germany are rightly focused on the refugee crisis on the continent today, but if fragile states still have 47 percent of their people living on less than 2 euros a day by 2030, while the developed world prospers, the flow of migrants and refugees will not stop,” said Kim.

Kim stated that how the World Bank Group engages in the fight against poverty will need to change, and that global issues such as forced displacement carry important implications for how the World Bank will operate going forward.

“For instance, our Board – in a groundbreaking decision just last month – offered Jordan, a middle-income country, rates that we had reserved for the poorest countries, because of their enormous generosity in hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees,” Kim stated. “We have provided an initial $100 million loan at concessional rates normally reserved for only the poorest countries and will provide an additional $200-400 million dollars in concessional financing to build a special economic enterprise zone, which will help create many thousands of jobs for both Syrian refugees and Jordanians over the next five years. This is a truly novel effort that must now be taken to scale and implemented in other countries as well.”…

World Bank Group, UNICEF urge greater investment in early childhood development
WASHINGTON, April 14, 2016 – World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake today jointly urged global and national leaders to step up and accelerate action and investments in nutrition and early childhood development (ECD) programmes as a critical foundation for equitable development and economic growth.

The two organizations announced the establishment of a new alliance that aims to make ECD a global policy, programming and public spending priority, to give all young children access to quality services that improve their health, nutrition, learning ability and emotional well-being.

Advances in neuroscience and recent economic studies show that early childhood experiences have a profound impact on brain development and on subsequent learning, health, and adult earnings. Children who are poorly nourished and nurtured, or those who do not receive early stimulation, are likely to learn less in school and earn less as adults.

Globally, millions of children under the age of five are at risk of never reaching their full developmental potential. One out of four children under five (159 million) are stunted due to poor nutrition, with numbers significantly higher in parts of Africa and South Asia. Nearly half of all 3 to 6 year olds don’t have access to pre-primary education. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 80 percent are not enrolled in pre-primary programmes.

“The time has come to treat childhood stunting as a development and an economic emergency,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “How will countries compete in what will certainly be a more digitalized global economy in the future if a third or more of their children are stunted? Our failure to make the right investments in early childhood development is condemning millions of children to lives of exclusion. We can’t promise to equalize development outcomes, but we can insist on equalizing opportunity.”…

African Partners, World Bank Commit to Provide Identification to Millions
WASHINGTON, April 14, 2016 —African leaders and development partners agreed on a common approach for accelerating the provision of unique identification to millions of people in Africa as a means to foster more inclusive economies and greater regional integration.

At a high-level meeting on Wednesday during the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings, representatives from the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the East African Community, African Ministers of Finance, development partners and the World Bank Group committed to join efforts in providing identification to millions of people across Africa through a more integrated and regional approach.

“Identification provides a foundation for other rights and gives a voice to the voiceless,” said World Bank Vice President for Africa Makhtar Diop. “It is indispensable for ensuring access to education, financial services, and health and social benefits.”

The World Bank will work with countries in collaboration with regional bodies like the African Union to develop a set of harmonized standards to support interoperability between national identification systems and mutual recognition of identification documents.

“People have a right to legal identity and recognition which are essential prerequisites for decent work, livelihoods and well-being,” said African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson, Erastus Mwencha. “Those issues are at the core of Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals, and require access to technology, resources, as well as advocacy and capacity.”…

Investing in treatment for depression and anxiety leads to fourfold return
World Health Organization/World Bank Group press release – Depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy US$1 trillion each year
12 April 2016, Washington DC, USA — Every US$ 1 invested in scaling up treatment for depression and anxiety leads to a return of US$ 4 in better health and ability to work, according to a new WHO-led study which estimates, for the first time, both the health and economic benefits of investing in treatment of the most common forms of mental illness globally. The study, published today in The Lancet Psychiatry, provides a strong argument for greater investment in mental health services in countries of all income levels.

“We know that treatment of depression and anxiety makes good sense for health and wellbeing; this new study confirms that it makes sound economic sense too,” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). “We must now find ways to make sure that access to mental health services becomes a reality for all men, women and children, wherever they live.”

Depression and anxiety are increasing
Common mental disorders are increasing worldwide. Between 1990 and 2013, the number of people suffering from depression and/or anxiety increased by nearly 50%, from 416 million to 615 million. Close to 10% of the world’s population is affected, and mental disorders account for 30% of the global non-fatal disease burden. Humanitarian emergencies and ongoing conflict add further to the need for scale-up of treatment options. WHO estimates that, during emergencies, as many as 1 in 5 people are affected by depression and anxiety.
Returns on investment in treatment far outweigh the costs

The new study calculated treatment costs and health outcomes in 36 low-, middle- and high-income countries for the fifteen years from 2016-2030. The estimated costs of scaling up treatment, primarily psychosocial counselling and anti-depressant medication, amounted to US$ 147 billion. Yet the returns far outweigh the costs. A five percent improvement in labour force participation and productivity is valued at US$ 399 billion, and improved health adds another US$ 310 billion in returns.

However, current investment in mental health services is far lower than what is needed. According to WHO’s Mental Health Atlas 2014 survey, governments spend on average 3% of their health budgets on mental health, ranging from less than 1% in low-income countries to 5% in high-income countries.

“Despite hundreds of millions of people around the world living with mental disorders, mental health has remained in the shadows,” said Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group. “This is not just a public health issue—it’s a development issue. We need to act now because the lost productivity is something the global economy simply cannot afford. ”…

New figures on growing inequality among children in high-income countries – UNICEF
FLORENCE/NEW YORK, 14 April 2016 – A new UNICEF report presents evidence on how inequality affects children in high-income countries.

Innocenti Report Card 13, Fairness for Children: A league table of inequality in child well-being in rich countries, ranks 41 EU and OECD countries according to how far children at the bottom of the distribution fall below their peers in the middle. The report looks at bottom end inequality of income, educational achievement, self-reported health and life satisfaction.

Denmark is at the top of the overall league table with the lowest inequality among children. Israel ranked lowest across all domains. In 19 out of 41 countries covered by the data, more than 10 per cent of children live in households with less than half the median income. While inequality in children’s self-reported health symptoms increased in almost all countries between 2002 and 2014, inequality in physical activity and poor diet decreased in a majority of countries. Bottom-end inequality has also narrowed in reading achievement in the majority of countries. When children rank their life satisfaction on a scale of 1 – 10 the median score is 8; however, children at the lower end of the distribution fall far behind their peers. In every country, girls aged 13 and 15 report lower life satisfaction than boys.

Innocenti Report Card 13 proposes the following key areas for government action to strengthen child well-being:
:: Protect the incomes of households with the poorest children.
:: Improve the educational achievements of disadvantaged learners.
:: Promote and support healthy lifestyles for all children.
:: Take subjective well-being seriously.
:: Place equity at the heart of child well-being agendas.

“The Report Card provides a clear reminder that the well-being of children in any country is not an inevitable outcome of individual circumstances or of the level of economic development but is shaped by policy choices,” said Dr. Sarah Cook, Director of the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti. “As our understanding of the long term impact of inequality grows, it becomes increasingly clear that governments must place priority on enhancing the well-being of all children today, and give them the opportunity to achieve their potential.”

Other significant findings include:
:: Two of the world’s wealthiest countries, Japan and the United States, were positioned in the bottom third of the league table for income inequality. In both countries, the household income of a child in the 10th percentile is roughly 40 per cent of that of a child in the middle of the income distribution.
:: Only Spain and the United States improved in all four health indicators since 2002.
:: Only four countries – Estonia, Ireland, Latvia and Poland – managed to lower education inequality while also allowing fewer children to fall below minimum proficiency standards.
:: Among 10 countries where data on country of birth was collected 7 showed lower life satisfaction among migrant children.

Protecting Cultural Heritage Threads through United Nations Peacekeeping Strategy, Secretary-General Tells Yale University Colloquium
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Global Colloquium of University Presidents on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Strategies, at Yale University, in New Haven, United States, today.
12 April 2016
SG/SM/17664
[Excerpt]
…Cultural diversity, like biodiversity, plays a quantifiable and crucial part in the health of the human species. An attack on cultural heritage in one part of the world is an attack on us all.

But, cultural diversity is under grave threat around the globe. Who could fail to be outraged by the destruction of the magnificent Buddhas of Bamyan, the monuments of Palmyra, the mosques and cultural artefacts of northern Mali? This wanton vandalism is not collateral damage. It is part of a ruthless wave of cultural and ethnic cleansing, inseparable from the persecution of the communities that created these cultural gems. It is also part of a cycle of theft and profit that finances the activities of extremists and terrorists.

As a human family, we cannot let them erase our history and identity. Any loss of cultural heritage is a loss of our common memory. It impairs our ability to learn, to build experience and to apply the lessons of the past to the present and the future. Culture is also one of the strongest driving forces for building societies and imbuing them with values. It knits communities together with a sense of continuity.

Extremists and terrorists have known this throughout the ages. They have always understood that by attacking and destroying cultural artefacts, buildings and monuments, they can divide people, erase their common values, shred the social fabric and create greater fragility and vulnerability to their cynical ideology.

In our response, we must be even more determined to safeguard and preserve culture than the extremists are to destroy it. This must be central to our strategy for tackling violent extremism, building peace and restoring security.

The United Nations system is working to strengthen the links between the protection of cultural heritage, peacebuilding missions and humanitarian emergency response. In Mali, for example, I saw the destruction caused by extremist militants to mausoleums and manuscripts when they took over Timbuktu in 2012. It was not only about stones, buildings and papers. It was about identity and dignity.

I will never forget speaking to the Grand Imam, representatives from the Christian community, the local government, young people and women’s representatives. They all said they had lived together in a diverse community for years. They all wanted education, jobs and, above all, peace.

As soon as Timbuktu was liberated, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and the Malian Government launched a restoration operation, with logistical support from the “blue helmets” of our United Nations peacekeeping mission. Like destruction, restoration is not only about buildings. It is about history, identity, culture and the promise of the future. I am proud to say that 14 mausoleums have now been completely restored. The town’s people talk of the rebirth of Timbuktu.

UNESCO stands ready to travel to Palmyra, which was liberated just weeks ago, to help evaluate the damage and protect the city’s priceless cultural heritage. I hope that one day, Palmyra, Aleppo, Nineveh and the other devastated cities of Syria and Iraq will again serve as symbols of unity and diversity.

The United Nations Security Council has recognized the important links between cultural heritage, peace and security in a landmark resolution passed last year. The Council condemned the destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq and Syria and adopted legally binding measures to combat the illicit trafficking of antiquities and cultural artefacts from these countries. This was a rare show of unity from the Council, which had been in a deadly deadlock over Syria. Now we must build on these major steps, to advance the cause of peace…

Skoll, Ford and BRITDOC Launch Flex Fund to Expand Impact of Storytelling
News — 14 April 2016
Through the Flex Fund, the three foundations will provide second-stage funding for joint projects by social entrepreneurs and filmmakers.
At the Ford Foundation, we believe creative visual storytelling is vital to the pursuit of justice and equity in the 21st century. We have a long history of partnering with courageous visionaries, whose powerful stories inspire imaginations, disrupt stereotypes, and help transform attitudes that perpetuate injustice.

We’re pleased to announce a new collaboration with Skoll and the BRITDOC Foundation that will build upon this legacy.

Through the Flex Fund, the three foundations will provide second-stage funding for joint projects by social entrepreneurs and filmmakers. The fund is open to projects that are well positioned to further, widen, or deepen their impact, and projects that propose to explore new arenas of experimentation informed by rigorous data and evidence. The first funding round will be focused on Skoll and Ford’s common grantees, with the goal of giving promising storytelling projects a boost to the next level of impact.

Why do we need the Flex Fund? Storytelling for impact remains more art than science, with expertise fragmented across a small number of funders, artists, and impact producers. Like many in the not-for-profit world, filmmakers often must assemble a mosaic of funding from different sources, each with their own agenda and expectations. Knitting these together into a coherent whole is difficult enough. Actually leveraging the story and effecting change in the world is hardly a foregone conclusion.

But what if we could experiment with alignment, and do so with some of the smartest visual storytellers? Create a portfolio of promising storytelling projects, partnered with some of the most effective social entrepreneurs in the world, and give them not only funding but also access to the knowledge, experience, and contacts they need. What if we built on existing efforts, like Sundance Stories of Change, rather than competing with them? This is the promise of the Flex Fund.

For now, the Flex Fund is a pilot project that expects to make four to five grants in its first year, each ranging from $25,000 to $75,000. Ford and Skoll are funding the project equally. BRITDOC will bring its remarkable acumen and network to bear, providing direct management of the portfolio in consultation with Skoll and Ford…

World Bank Group Unveils New Climate Action Plan
Plan to Help Countries Meet Paris COP21 Pledges
WASHINGTON, April 7, 2016—The World Bank Group today announced plans to help developing countries add 30 gigawatts of renewable energy – enough to power 150 million homes – to the world’s energy capacity, bring early warning systems to 100 million people and develop climate-smart agriculture investment plans for at least 40 countries – all by 2020.

These are among a number of ambitious targets laid out in the World Bank Group’s new Climate Change Action Plan, approved today, which aims to accelerate efforts to tackle climate change over the next five years and help developing countries deliver on their national climate plans submitted for the historic climate agreement reached at COP21 in Paris in December last year.

The release of the Climate Change Action Plan comes just two weeks before world leaders officially sign the Paris Agreement in New York. As part of the Paris process, 140 countries working with the Bank Group lodged national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs.

“Following the Paris climate agreement, we must now take bold action to protect our planet for future generations,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “We are moving urgently to help countries make major transitions to increase sources of renewable energy, decrease high-carbon energy sources, develop green transport systems, and build sustainable, livable cities for growing urban populations. Developing countries want our help to implement their national climate plans, and we’ll do all we can to help them.”

To maximize impact, the Action Plan is focused on helping countries shape national policies and leverage private sector investment. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, aims to expand its climate investments from the current $2.2 billion a year to a goal of $3.5 billion a year, and lead on leveraging an additional $13 billion a year in private sector financing by 2020. As well its own financing, the World Bank also intends to mobilize $25 billion in commercial financing for clean energy over the next five years. The Bank Group will also continue to deepen its work to help countries to put a price on carbon pollution to create incentives for public and private sector decision makers to make the right climate choices…

Payment aspects of financial inclusion
Bank for International Settlements and World Bank Group//Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the World Bank Group
April 2016 :: 82 pages :: ISBN 978-92-9197-216-6 (online)
Pdf: http://pubdocs.worldbank.org/pubdocs/publicdoc/2016/4/963011459859364335/payment-systems-PAFI-Report2016.pdf

Executive summary
The CPMI-World Bank Group Task Force on the Payment Aspects of Financial Inclusion (PAFI) started its work in April 2014. The Task Force was mandated to examine demand and supply side factors affecting financial inclusion in the context of payment systems and services, and to suggest measures that could be taken to address these issues.

This report is premised on two key points: (i) efficient, accessible and safe retail payment systems and services are critical for greater financial inclusion; and (ii) a transaction account is an essential financial service in its own right and can also serve as a gateway to other financial services. For the purposes of this report, transaction accounts are defined as accounts (including e-money/prepaid accounts) held with banks or other authorised and/or regulated payment service providers (PSPs), which can be used to make and receive payments and to store value.

The report is structured into five chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction and general overview, including a description of the PAFI Task Force and its mandate, a brief discussion of transaction accounts, and the barriers to the access and usage of such accounts. The second chapter gives an overview of the retail payments landscape from a financial inclusion perspective. The third chapter forms the core analytical portion of the report and outlines a framework for enabling access and usage of payment services by the financially excluded. Each component of this framework is discussed in detail in the report.

The fourth chapter of the report describes the key policy objectives when looking at financial
inclusion from a payments perspective, and formulates a number of suggestions in the form of guiding principles and key actions for consideration.

In this context, financial inclusion efforts undertaken from a payments angle should be aimed at
achieving a number of objectives. Ideally, all individuals and businesses – in particular, micro-sized and small businesses – which are more likely to lack some of the basic financial services or be financially excluded than larger businesses – should be able to have access to and use at least one transaction account operated by a regulated payment service provider:
(i) to perform most, if not all, of their payment needs;
(ii) to safely store some value; and
(iii) to serve as a gateway to other financial services.

The guiding principles for achieving these objectives of improved access to and usage of transaction accounts are the following:
:: Commitment from public and private sector organisations to broaden financial inclusion is explicit, strong and sustained over time.
:: The legal and regulatory framework underpins financial inclusion by effectively addressing all relevant risks and by protecting consumers, while at the same time fostering innovation and competition.
:: Robust, safe, efficient and widely reachable financial and ICT infrastructures are effective for the provision of transaction accounts services, and also support the provision of broader financial services.
:: The transaction account and payment product offerings effectively meet a broad range of transaction needs of the target population, at little or no cost.
:: The usefulness of transaction accounts is augmented with a broad network of access points that also achieves wide geographical coverage, and by offering a variety of interoperable access channels.
:: Individuals gain knowledge, through awareness and financial literacy efforts, of the benefits of adopting transaction accounts, how to use those accounts effectively for payment and store-of-value purposes, and how to access other financial services.
:: Large-volume and recurrent payment streams, including remittances, are leveraged to advance financial inclusion objectives, namely by increasing the number of transaction accounts and stimulating the frequent usage of these accounts.
Finally, the fifth chapter of the report addresses a number of issues in connection with measuring the effectiveness of financial inclusion efforts in the context of payments and payment services, with a particular emphasis on transaction account adoption and usage.

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Press Release
Seven essential guiding principles to boost financial inclusion laid out in new report
Date: April 5, 2016
…A transaction account is an essential financial service that can serve as a gateway to other financial services such as savings, credit and insurance. However, nearly 40% of the world’s adult population – about 2 billion people – still have no account with a bank or authorised non-bank servicer provider.

In addition to outlining principles to help countries advance financial inclusion, the report suggests possible key actions, including providing basic accounts at little or no cost, stepping up efforts to increase financial literacy, and leveraging large-volume payment programmes, such as government payments, by adopting electronic payment services. Financial inclusion efforts are beneficial not only for those who will become financially included, but also for the national payments infrastructure and, ultimately, the economy.

The CPMI and the World Bank Group believe that the guidance developed in this report will be essential to helping central banks and other stakeholders achieve effective financial access and broader financial inclusion. Given that safe, efficient and accessible retail payment systems and services are critical for greater financial inclusion, the report will be instrumental in supporting the goal of achieving Universal Financial Access by 2020…

G20 Leaders Launch Global Partnership and Website to Help Advance Inclusive Business
Nanjing, China, April 6, 2016—The G20 officially launched the Global Platform on Inclusive Business (GPIB) today in Nanjing, China. The Platform is a global partnership that will provide support to policymakers and accelerate the adoption of inclusive business policies and programs globally.

The GPIB is being implemented under the Chinese 2016 G20 Presidency. The creation of the Platform was called for in the Leaders Call on Inclusive Business issued at the G20 Leaders Summit in November 2015 in Ankara, Turkey. During the Summit, leaders also endorsed the G20 Inclusive Business Framework. The GPIB will connect policymakers and businesses to better understand the role that governments can play in supporting inclusive companies more effectively.

“The Chinese G20 Presidency is happy to announce the launch of the Global Platform on Inclusive Business”, said Zhang Shaogang, Chair of the DWG meeting. “GPIB seeks to connect policy-makers and businesses. It is both pro-poor and pro-business and strives to better understand the role of governments in supporting inclusive business.”

Inclusive businesses provide low-income men and women with goods, services, and improved livelihoods by including them in their core business model. Inclusive businesses – by working directly with low-income people – have the potential to be a driving force for inclusion and sustainability. These are companies that extend last-mile water, power, and mobile phone service to customers in rural areas. They train and create markets for small farmers. They treat low-income patients and teach low-income students.

However, companies struggle with challenging operating environments and gaps in the institutional, informational, and infrastructural conditions that are required to make inclusive markets work. These issues prevent companies from reaching the 4.5 billion people who are considered to be living at the base of the economic pyramid.

Haiti: Launch of the Humanitarian Response Plan 2016: The Government of Haiti and the humanitarian community seek $193.8 million to meet the critical needs of 1.3 million people
UN OCHA Press Release
Port-au-Prince, April 7, 2016. The Government of Haiti and the Humanitarian Country Team launch today a call for funds of $ 193.8 million people to meet the critical humanitarian needs of 1.3 million people. This humanitarian planning document aims at ensuring protection and access to basic services to the most vulnerable people, and also strengthening the resilience of the population and the Haitian institutions.

Indeed, 2015 was marked by a deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country due to multiple factors, including the persistence of cholera, the deterioration of the food insecurity context and the binational mixed migration issue with the Dominican Republic. The high vulnerability to natural disasters and the ongoing presence of about 62,000 people displaced from the 2010 earthquake in 36 camps, have also contributed to worsen this context.

“We appreciate this effort to put together priorities and coordinate the response between national authorities and members of the humanitarian community. The plight of thousands affected by these multiple factors, especially by food insecurity, requires a rapid and effective response to prevent the deterioration of the humanitarian context in a moment where we are laying the foundations of a sustainable development of the country “said Aviol Fleurant, Minister of Planification and External Cooperation.

The ultimate goal of the plan is to reduce the vulnerability of 1.3 million targeted people. Although the priority concerns the most basic humanitarian needs, the plan also anticipates the implementation of structural measures to reduce the vulnerability of the population in need, as well as to advance towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Structural problems associated with multiple emergencies continue to increase the vulnerability of millions of Haitians. We must act together to allow them to recover, said Mourad Wahba, Humanitarian Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Haiti.

To achieve this objective, the 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan identifies a number of humanitarian needs that must be addressed. Thus, it aims to address the severe food insecurity that affects more than 1 million (U$ 105.5 million in needs expressed) and to ensure the protection and basic services to more than 120,000 deportees / returnees from the Dominican Republic (U$ 21.2 million) and to 62,000 IDPs living in post-earthquake camps (U$ 38.2 million). Moreover, the plan envisages providing a rapid and effective response to cholera epidemics and to counteract the vulnerability to cholera in high-risk areas (U$ 20 million). Lastly, funds will be mobilized to support the preparation for natural disasters (U$ 4.1 million) and strengthen the humanitarian coordination (2.9 millions). As part of this response, 100,000 people amongst the 500,000 that may be affected by natural disasters in 2016 are also targeted.

In a global context with increasingly large humanitarian crises, funding for humanitarian aid in Haiti risks to diminish. Hence, the humanitarian community calls for the strengthening of the commitment of partners. “We urge Haiti’s partners to have a sustained commitment to the country. This deepened commitment will help to enhance the resilience of vulnerable communities and to maintain the progress achieved in the recent years. In addition, it will help to initiate a sustainable exit from the multiple humanitarian challenges while continuing the process of sustainable development for the country”, concluded Mr. Wahba.

Key Nuclear Security Agreement to Enter Into Force on 8 May
Anthony Wetherall, IAEA Office of Legal Affairs ; Vincent Fournier, IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication
8 April 2016 News Story
A nuclear security agreement that will take effect on 8 May will reduce the risk of a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant and make it harder to smuggle nuclear material.

The entry into force of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) was secured today with the deposit of the instrument of ratification by Nicaragua, which brought the number of adherences to 102 States Parties to the CPPNM, the threshold required for the agreement to come into effect in 30 days. The Amendment, adopted more than a decade ago, will make it legally binding on countries to protect nuclear facilities. It will also extend the CPPNM’s application to nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport.

“This is an important day for efforts to strengthen nuclear security around the world,” said IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in a statement. The Amendment “will help reduce the risk of a terrorist attack involving nuclear material, which could have catastrophic consequences.”

The CPPNM, the only legally binding international undertaking in the area of physical protection of nuclear material, entered into force in 1987. It focuses on the physical protection of nuclear material used for peaceful purposes during international transport, but does not cover the protection of nuclear facilities or nuclear material in domestic use, storage and transport. In July 2005, the Parties to the CPPNM adopted the Amendment. The adherence of two-thirds of the States Parties to the CPPNM was required for entry into force of the Amendment. Currently, there are 152 State Parties to the Convention.

“The entry into force of the Amendment demonstrates the determination of the international community to act together to strengthen nuclear security globally,” Mr Amano said. He urged States Parties that have not yet done so to adhere to the Amendment.

What States have to do under the Amendment
The Amendment makes it legally binding for States to establish, implement and maintain an appropriate physical protection regime applicable to nuclear material and nuclear facilities under their jurisdiction. It provides for the criminalization of new and extended specified acts, and requires countries to put in place measures to protect nuclear material and nuclear facilities against sabotage.

The Amendment expands the existing offences identified in the CPPNM, including the theft and robbery of nuclear material, and establishes new ones, such as the smuggling of nuclear material and the actual or threatened sabotage of nuclear facilities. A number of the offences were also expanded to include substantial damage to the environment.

Read the full text of the Amendment here and a consolidated version of the Amendment and the CPPNM here…

United Nations – Secretary General, Security Council, General Assembly  [to 16 April 2016]
http://www.un.org/en/unpress/
Selected Press Releases/Meetings Coverage

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15 April 2016
SC/12325
Special Envoy for Yemen Seeks Security Council’s Support for New Round of Face-to-Face Talks Aimed at Reviving Political Dialogue
The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Yemen asked the Security Council today for its support in the weeks and months ahead as parties to the conflict in that country prepared to embark on a fresh round of face-to-face negotiations, building on the cessation of hostilities that began on 10 April.
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15 April 2016
SC/12324
New Government of Central African Republic Must Capitalize on Positive Momentum Generated by Elections, Peacekeeping Chief Tells Security Council
Following peaceful elections bearing the promise of ushering stability and democracy into the Central African Republic, the Government must capitalize on the positive momentum by instituting key economic, judicial and security reforms, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council this morning.
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12 April 2016
SG/SM/17664
Protecting Cultural Heritage Threads through United Nations Peacekeeping Strategy, Secretary-General Tells Yale University Colloquium
Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, to the Global Colloquium of University Presidents on the Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Strategies, at Yale University, in New Haven, United States, today.
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7 April 2016
GA/PAL/1360
Amid ‘Explosive’ Hostilities, Security Council Must Shoulder Responsibility to Protect in Occupied Territory, Palestinian Rights Committee Hears
The United Nations Security Council must shoulder its responsibility vis-à-vis international protection in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People heard during a brief meeting this afternoon.
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6 April 2016
SC/12317
Peacekeeping Chief, Briefing Security Council, Blames Intensified Fighting for Rapidly Deteriorating Situation, Large-scale Displacement in Darfur
Intensified fighting since January had resulted in a rapidly worsening security situation and large-scale displacement in Darfur, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations told the Security Council today.
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6 April 2016
SG/SM/17655-OBV/1603
Concerned about Rising Incidence of Diabetes, Secretary-General Calls for Joint Action to Halt Preventable, Treatable Disease in World Health Day Message
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4 April 2016
SG/SM/17648-IHA/1390
Secretary-General Calls World Humanitarian Summit Unique Chance to Show Solidarity with 125 Million People in Immediate Crisis

UN OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [to 16 April 2016]
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true
Selected Press Releases

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Zeid calls for an end to executions for drug offences in Iran
GENEVA (14 April 2016) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Thursday appealed to Iran to halt executions for drug offences until Parliament debates a new law that would remove the mandatory death penalty for drug crimes…
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Alarming reports of human rights violations in the Republic of Congo – Zeid
GENEVA (13 April 2016) – Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on the situation in the Republic of Congo:
“Very alarming reports have been coming out of the Republic of Congo regarding an apparent Government security operation in an area of southern Brazzaville known as “the Pool”. Since the March 20 presidential election, there have been reports that security operations have been conducted against opposition leaders and supporters who allegedly attacked a police station and areas in the southern part of the capital on 4 April. The Government has announced that 17 people died in security operations, including three members of security forces, with several others wounded.

There have been reports of mass arrests and torture in detention, as well as the killing and displacement of people from the Pool. The reports have been difficult to verify, given a lack of access to the area by independent actors…
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Spotlight on mega sporting events
UN Asia Regional Forum on Business & Human Rights / 19-20 April 2016 – Qatar
GENEVA (14 April 2016) – The human rights issues associated with mega sporting events will be one of the topics discussed at the United Nations Asia Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights, from 19 to 20 April in Doha.

Professor John Ruggie, the author of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, will talk about his report, commissioned by FIFA, in which he makes recommendations on how FIFA can integrate human rights into its policies and practices.

“The scale of FIFA’s global activities and relationships means that acting on its commitments to respect human rights has the potential to be a landmark for advancing human dignity through sports around the world,” said John Ruggie, who is a Professor at Harvard University…
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8 April 2016
Press briefing notes on Bangladesh
We are concerned about the latest death sentences handed down against two men by the Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal, particularly given continued concerns in relation to international due process and fair trial standards.
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Panama Papers: UN rights expert calls for the end of financial secrecy to halt flow of illicit funds
GENEVA (8 April 2016) – The United Nations Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, today called on the international community to urgently put an end to financial secrecy. He warned that tax evasion and the flow of funds of illicit origin undermine justice and deprive Governments of resources needed for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights.

The expert’s call comes as leaked documents have shown how corporations, wealthy individuals and politically exposed persons have systematically hidden assets in more than 21 offshore jurisdictions.
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Press briefing notes on Mob killings in Malawi
Date: 5 April 2016
We are concerned about the increasing number of people killed in mob attacks in Malawi. Over the past two months, at least nine separate incidents leading to the death of 16 people have been reported across the country.
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Tunisia torture prevention: UN body to make advisory visit
GENEVA (8 April 2016) –Tunisia’s efforts to establish a functioning independent body to monitor places of detention will be the focus of the first visit to the country by the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) from 12 to 14 April.
Tunisia ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture in June 2011 and, as part of its treaty obligations, has to set up such a monitoring body, officially known as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). Tunisia passed legislation in 2013 to establish the body and its 16 members were appointed in March this year.

“Tunisia is the first country in the region to establish, albeit with some delay, a national preventive mechanism. We see this as a hugely positive step and look forward to advising the Government, as well as other stakeholders, on the next steps to ensure the body is swiftly able to function effectively,” said Hans-Jörg Bannwart, who will head the three-member SPT delegation. “We are especially looking forward to meeting the newly elected members of the NPM in order to discuss with them the challenges they will face in setting up and starting work,” he added.
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UN human rights expert to assess freedom of expression situation in Japan
GENEVA (8 April 2016) – United Nations Special Rapporteur expert David Kaye will carry out his first visit to Japan, from 12 to 19 April 2016, to assess the situation of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in the country.

“I look forward to visiting Japan and learning at first-hand about its norms and policies in the area of freedom of expression as well as the main challenges faced in the country today,” said the independent expert designated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

“The independence and the freedom of the Japanese media, the space for protesting and the access of the public to information held by the State are among the issues I will study during my stay in Japan,” he noted.
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What is permissible and what is not when countering terrorism? UN experts welcome new African guidelines
GENEVA (7 April 2016) – A group of eighteen United Nations independent experts* has welcomed the new Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights while Countering Terrorism in Africa launched this year by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).

Speaking ahead of an upcoming ACHPR’s panel discussion in Banjul, The Gambia (11 April), in which Member States will be briefed on the new Principles and Guidelines, the UN experts called on all African governments to fully implement the Commission’s recommendations in order to respect human rights in the context of fighting terrorism.

Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography [to 9 April 2016]
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Children/Pages/ChildrenIndex.aspx

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7 April 2016
Sale and exploitation of children: UN rights expert launches official visit to Georgia
GENEVA / TBILISI – United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, will carry out a monitoring visit to Georgia from 11 to 18 April 2016.

“I look forward to evaluating the scope of sale and exploitation of children in the country, as well as the progress made and the challenges faced by Georgia to fight it,” said the independent expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to promote strategies to prevent and combat the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and to make recommendations for the care, recovery and reintegration of child victims.

“I will reach out to child victims of abuse, violence and exploitation, and to children in vulnerable situations, such as children placed in institutions and children living in settlements for the internally displaced, to take their opinions into account in my recommendations to the Government and other concerned parties,” said Ms. de Boer-Buquicchio, who visits the country at the invitation of the Government…

SRSG/CAAC Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict [to 16 April 2016]
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/virtual-library/press-release-archive/

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13 Apr 2016
Bring Back Our Girls. Bring Back Our Children.
Statement by Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict on the two-year anniversary of the abduction of 276 girls in Chibok, Nigeria
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10 Apr 2016
STATEMENT attributable to Ms. Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and Dr. Peter Salama, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa
NEW YORK/AMMAN- “The children of Yemen are bearing the brunt of a brutal conflict. The cessation of hostilities that has come into effect today is an opportunity for parties to take action to improve their protection.

“In the past year, the United Nations verified a significant increase in grave violations against children by all parties to the conflict in Yemen. According to recent figures, 900 children were killed, a seven fold increase compared with 2014. Child recruitment increased five times, with 848 cases verified. Meanwhile, attacks on schools and hospitals have doubled, bringing the total number to over 115. The disruption in the delivery of basic services has deprived thousands of children of their fundamental rights to education and health.

“The incidents that the United Nations was able to verify represent the tip of the iceberg, but they do reveal some very concerning trends. First, it is estimated that children represent around one-third of all civilians killed and close to a quarter of those injured. Second, attacks on civilian infrastructure, especially schools and health clinics, have become commonplace. Third, children are now playing a more active role in combat and manning checkpoints including on the front-lines.

“Taken together these data represent a disturbing pattern of flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law and the rights of children in Yemen. These patterns have far-reaching implications for the stability of Yemen and the future of its children…
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05 Apr 2016
Sudan Moving Forward to End and Prevent the Recruitment of Children in National Security Forces
New York- The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui, is encouraged by the commitment expressed by Sudanese authorities following the signing of an Action Plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children in the country’s national security forces.

“The Vice-President, the Ministers of Defence, Foreign Affairs and Social Affairs and other senior officials of the Sudanese Government expressed their intention to act quickly to enhance the protection of the country’s children. They have my support and I look forward to the Action Plan’s full implementation,” said Leila Zerrougui.

The Action Plan, signed on Sunday in a ceremony presided by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, marked a new milestone in the campaign Children, Not Soldiers. Sudan already has laws that set the minimum age for recruitment at 18 and criminalize underage recruitment. The Action Plan details steps and measures to end and prevent underage recruitment, including strengthening age verification mechanisms and ensuring accountability for child recruiters…