Stability: International Journal of Security & Development
http://www.stabilityjournal.org/articles
[accessed 19 March 2016]

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Research Article
DDR and the Internal Organization of Non-State Armed Groups
Brian McQuinn
Abstract
This paper argues that demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) trajectories of non-state armed groups are shaped by a group’s internal organization. Extensive research by political scientists has demonstrated a correlation between internal features of armed groups and their behaviour (e.g. extent of violence used against local communities). I extend this analysis to DDR outcomes by illustrating how two features of an armed group’s internal organization – command profile and financing architecture – influence post-conflict DDR trajectories. To substantiate the theory, four case studies from Colombia, Nepal and Libya are reviewed. The article concludes with the limitations and opportunities of this approach, including the potential of predicting DDR challenges.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health ::
Holistic Development :: Sustainable Resilience
__________________________________________________
Week ending 12 March 2016

This weekly digest is intended to aggregate and distill key content from a broad spectrum of practice domains and organization types including key agencies/IGOs, NGOs, governments, academic and research institutions, consortia and collaborations, foundations, and commercial organizations. We also monitor a spectrum of peer-reviewed journals and general media channels. The Sentinel’s geographic scope is global/regional but selected country-level content is included. We recognize that this spectrum/scope yields an indicative and not an exhaustive product. Comments and suggestions should be directed to:

David R. Curry
Editor &
Founding Managing Director
GE2P2 – Center for Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

pdf version: The Sentinel_ week ending 12 March 2016

blog edition: comprised of the 35+ entries  posted below.

South Sudan

Ivan Simonovic (Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights) and David Marshall (OHCHR) on the situation in South Sudan- Press Conference
[Video:: 41:07]
11 Mar 2016 – Briefing from Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Simonovic, and David Marshall from the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights on the situation in South Sudan.

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South Sudan: UN report contains “searing” account of killings, rapes and destruction
GENEVA (11 March 2016) – A new report on South Sudan published Friday by the UN Human Rights Office describes “in searing detail” a multitude of horrendous human rights violations, including a Government-operated “scorched earth policy,” and deliberate targeting of civilians for killing, rape and pillage.

Although all parties to the conflict have committed patterns of serious and systematic violence against civilians since fighting broke out in December 2013, the report says state actors bore the greatest responsibility during 2015, given the weakening of opposition forces.

The scale of sexual violence is particularly shocking: in five months last year, from April to September 2015, the UN recorded more than 1,300 reports of rape in just one of South Sudan’s ten states, oil-rich Unity. Credible sources indicate groups allied to the Government are being allowed to rape women in lieu of wages but opposition groups and criminal gangs have also been preying on women and girls.

“The scale and types of sexual violence – primarily by Government SPLA forces and affiliated militia – are described in searing, devastating detail, as is the almost casual, yet calculated, attitude of those slaughtering civilians and destroying property and livelihoods,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra`ad Al Hussein. “However, the quantity of rapes and gang-rapes described in the report must only be a snapshot of the real total. This is one of the most horrendous human rights situations in the world, with massive use of rape as an instrument of terror and weapon of war — yet it has been more or less off the international radar.”

The new report is the work of an assessment team sent by the High Commissioner to South Sudan from October 2015 to January 2016, in accordance with a resolution by the Human Rights Council in July 2015. It focuses primarily on the worst affected Unity and Upper Nile States, as well as Western and Central Equatoria, where the conflict has spread. While building on earlier reports of the African Union Commission of Inquiry and the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), the new reports places special emphasis on violations that took place during 2015…

Joint United Nations statement on Syria
Press Releases, 12 March 2016
After five years of a brutal and senseless conflict over a quarter of a million Syrians have been killed and over half the population forced from their homes out of fear and want. Some 4.6 million people are barely existing in places that few can leave and aid cannot reach. A further 4.8 million people have fled the country. Syria today is a very different place – almost unrecognizable in parts – that will take generations to rebuild.

In the past few weeks however, we are seeing signs of momentum, fragile glimmers of hope. Fewer bombs are falling; humanitarian access has opened up in some places; negotiators from all sides are preparing to come together and talk. As humanitarians we welcome progress where it means real change.

The United Nations, NGOs and partners have seized new opportunities to reach people who have had nothing for a very long time. Despite danger and uncertainty we are trying new delivery methods, constantly trying to negotiate ways to reach people. Through regular aid and the recent deliveries to besieged towns we have managed to reach over six million people since the beginning of 2016.

However, until all parties to this conflict stop attacking civilians, schools, markets and hospitals, we will continue to press them on their obligations and hold them to account. Medical supplies and equipment are still being removed at checkpoints: this is unacceptable.
Until parties to the conflict fully open up safe, unimpeded access to everyone we will keep trying to reach civilians by all and any means possible, however challenging. We are able to reach more people now in besieged areas: but we are yet to reach one in every five besieged Syrians who urgently need help and protection.

While we are starting to get basic supplies to communities who have been cut off for months or more, it is just not enough. For example, we are extremely concerned about the situation in northern rural Homs and in Aleppo, where around 500,000 people are caught behind active frontlines. Two million people are in areas controlled by ISIL.

We and our partners remain ready to deliver assistance. The United Nations continues to work to negotiate access with all parties and to deliver aid to people across the hard-to-reach areas, including the besieged locations we have not yet been able to reach.

No one wants to see a sixth year of conflict start on 15 March. Young people across Syria need to hope and believe that their future lies in their homeland. That they will have education, healthcare, homes and jobs. That life holds more than fear, violence and hunger.

We use our collective voice to call on all parties, local and international, for this anniversary to be the last one and for the political talks to bring real peace and an end to the suffering in Syria.

New York/Geneva/Rome/Amman, 11 March 2016
Signees:
:: Stephen O’Brien, Emergency Relief Coordinator, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs
:: Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme
:: Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UN Children’s Fund
:: Filippo Grandi, High Commissioner for Refugees
:: Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General, World Health Organization
:: William Lacy Swing, Director General, International Organization for Migration
:: Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner-General, UN Relief & Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
:: Helen Clark, Administrator, UN Development Programme
:: Samuel Worthington, Chief Executive Officer, InterAction
:: Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
:: Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict

FUELLING THE FIRE: HOW THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL’S PERMANENT MEMBERS ARE UNDERMINING THEIR OWN COMMITMENTS ON SYRIA
Joint Report by Aid Agencies listed below
March 2016 :: 36 pages
Overview
March 2016 marks five years of upheaval and conflict in Syria – conflict that has reduced lives to shadows and cities to rubble. The Syrian government and its allies, as well as armed opposition and extremist groups, bear the primary and direct responsibility for the horrific reality that Syria’s civilians face on this grim anniversary. They have targeted civilians, laid siege to cities and towns and denied access to life-saving assistance.

This paper examines what the UNSC demands happen in Syria, the situation since March 2015, and significant actions by the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council. In the first months of 2016 and at time of drafting this paper, some progress has been made in securing greater humanitarian access to those in besieged areas and a cessation of hostilities in parts of the country which has resulted in a significant decrease in civilian casualties. These are important steps that should be recognised and built on, but they remain fragile and limited in the context of the overall deterioration experienced by civilians inside Syria over the last horrendous year of violence.

CONCLUSION
In its resolutions and statements, the UNSC has provided a framework for easing humanitarian suffering and issued repeated demands for their implementation. The parties to the conflict hold the responsibility to implement this framework. However, as new rounds of negotiations are meant to begin, accompanied by calls for improved humanitarian access and the cessation of sieges, it is clear the very governments that agreed to the resolutions have been fuelling the fire of conflict.

The parties to the Syria conflict bear direct responsibility for the horrific consequences it has unleashed. The failure to end five years of violence, however, also rests with the governments that sit on the UNSC and the ISSG.

Given the increasingly international nature of Syria’s war, the members of the Security Council and the ISSG with direct influence over the combatants on the battlefield must stand up for Syria’s people and the stability and prosperity of the wider region. Security Council and ISSG members and their allies exert real political, diplomatic and military influence.

The ability to ensure an end to the violence and suffering, and facilitate a sustainable and just peace is now imperative for the protection of civilians in Syria, the region, and beyond. [Recommendations follow]

Norwegian Refugee Council
No Peace Without Justice
Alkawakibi Organisation for Human Rights
Syria Relief Network
BINAA
Human Appeal
Syria Relief
People in Need
Big Heart Foundation
Syrian NGO Alliance
SEMA
SAWA for Development Aid
Oxfam International
Syrian American Medical Society
Syria Relief and Development
ActionAid
CARE International
Save the Children
Emessa
Baytna Syria
Bihar Relief Organisation
UOSSM
IHSAN Relief and Development
Ghiras Alnahda
Physicians Across Continents
Sham Humanitarian
Mercy Corps
Social Development International
Dawlaty
Khayr/Watan

Global Fund [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/

News
Removing Human Rights Barriers to End the HIV Epidemic
11 March 2016
GENEVA – The Global Fund made a strong appeal to address human rights issues as a key component of efforts to end epidemics such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

“To end HIV, we must overcome discrimination in laws and policies, in practice and in our hearts,” Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund, said at a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. “We must grasp the historic opportunity to become better people and societies built on the firm foundation of an inclusive human family.”

Despite extraordinary progress against HIV in the last decade, human rights barriers are preventing millions of people from being able to access prevention, treatment and care, Dr. Dybul said. In order to maximize health investments and achieve greater impact, the global community needs to do more to overcome these barriers, including by increasing investment in programs to fight stigma and discrimination, reduce violence against women, provide access to justice, and sensitize law-makers and law enforcement officials, Dr. Dybul said.

“We need to do better on removing human rights barriers, because it is the right thing to do, and because it is essential to our efforts to invest more strategically to end HIV,” he added.

Dr. Dybul spoke at a panel discussion on progress and challenges of addressing human rights issues in the context of efforts to end the HIV epidemic, as part of a current session of the Human Rights Council that is underway in Geneva this month.

Dr. Dybul pointed out that in many settings, the impact of investments in health is greatly reduced because of human rights-related barriers to services. In many countries, women and girls often do not access testing and treatment, or are not retained in treatment, because of stigma and discrimination and gender-based violence. Men who have sex with men, people who use drugs, sex workers, transgender people, migrants, and prisoners also often cannot access prevention and treatment because of the discrimination they experience in health-care settings, or the violence perpetrated by police.

The Global Fund partnership was founded with a strong commitment to advancing human rights. Dr. Dybul said the Global Fund had learned from the work done in recent years, and that it was intensifying efforts. The Global Fund’s new investment strategy, for 2017-2022, lists as one of its main objectives to “introduce and scale up programs that remove human rights barriers to accessing services”.

In this sense, Dr. Dybul said the Global Fund will concentrate efforts on 15 to 20 countries with particular needs and opportunities.

The target in these countries will be to implement comprehensive programs to address human rights-related barriers. This will result in increased uptake of and retention in services, thanks to decreased stigma and discrimination, particularly in health-care settings; increased access to justice; reduction of violence and discrimination against women and girls; greater support among law enforcement officials for prevention and treatment services; a more conducive policy environment; and strengthened participation of affected persons in programs linked to these interventions.

New Multi-country Initiative will Protect Millions of Girls from Child Marriage – UNICEF/UNFPA
Joint Press Release
8 March 2016
NEW YORK — A new multi-country initiative to accelerate action to end child marriage will help protect the rights of millions of the world’s most vulnerable girls, UNICEF and UNFPA said on International Women’s Day.

The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage announced today will involve families, communities, governments and young people. This is part of a global effort to prevent girls from marrying too young and to support those already married as girls in 12 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East where child marriage rates are high.

“Choosing when and whom to marry is one of life’s most important decisions. Child marriage denies millions of girls this choice each year,” said Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. “As part of this global programme, we will work with governments of countries with a high prevalence of child marriage to uphold the rights of adolescent girls, so that girls can reach their potential and countries can attain their social and economic development goals.”

The new global programme will focus on proven strategies, including increasing girls’ access to education and health care services, educating parents and communities on the dangers of child marriage, increasing economic support to families, and strengthening and enforcing laws that establish 18 as the minimum age of marriage. The programme will also emphasize the importance of using robust data to inform policies related to adolescent girls.

“The world has awakened to the damage child marriage causes to individual girls, to their future children, and to their societies,” said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “This new global programme will help drive action to reach the girls at greatest risk – and help more girls and young women realize their right to dictate their own destinies. This is critical now because if current trends continue, the number of girls and women married as children will reach nearly 1 billion by 2030 – 1 billion childhoods lost, 1 billion futures blighted.”

Child marriage is a violation of the rights of girls and women. Girls who are married as children are more likely to be out of school, suffer domestic violence, contract HIV/AIDS and die due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Child marriage also hurts economies and leads to intergenerational cycles of poverty.

The global community demonstrated strong commitment to end child marriage by including a target on eliminating it and other harmful practices in the Sustainable Development Goals. UNICEF and UNFPA call on governments and partner organizations to support the new Global Programme to help eliminate child marriage by 2030.

The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage is being supported by Canada, the European Union, Italy, Netherlands, and the UK.

Bangkok Principles for the implementation of the health aspects of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
11 March 2016 “” 3 pages
The International Conference on the Implementation of the Health Aspect of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, held on 10-11 March 2016, in Bangkok, Thailand, adopted the “Bangkok Principles” which articulates measures that could assist countries in implementing the health aspects of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The Bangkok Principles are organized under seven recommendation themes:
1. Promote systematic integration of health into national and sub-national disaster risk reduction policies and plans and the inclusion of emergency and disaster risk management programmes in national and sub-national health strategies.

2. Enhance cooperation between health authorities and other relevant stakeholders to strengthen country capacity for disaster risk management for health, the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) and building of resilient health systems.

3. Stimulate people-centered public and private investment in emergency and disaster risk reduction, including in health facilities and infrastructure.

4. Integrate disaster risk reduction into health education and training and strengthen capacity building of health workers in disaster risk reduction.

5. Incorporate disaster-related mortality, morbidity and disability data into multi-hazards early warning system, health core indicators and national risk assessments

6. Advocate for, and support cross-sectoral, transboundary collaboration including information sharing, and science and technology for all hazards, including biological hazards.

7. Promote coherence and further development of local and national policies and strategies, legal frameworks, regulations, and institutional arrangements.

Full text: http://www.preventionweb.net/files/47606_bangkokprinciples.pdf

Editor’s Note:
We are reflect on the milestone represented below through a UN Women “partnership” facilitating integration a national identity card program with a branded “electronic payments functionality.”

MasterCard and UN Women join to advance empowerment of women
Partnership designed to drive financial inclusion of women, beginning with Nigerian pilot

Purchase, N.Y., 8 March – Around the world, nearly 2.4 billion people live without any form of official personal identification, and the majority of them are women. As part of broader International Women’s Day activities, MasterCard and UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding to address this imbalance and advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

The first initiative in this relationship is the launch of a pilot programme in Nigeria, which aims to provide half a million Nigerian women with ID cards enabled with electronic payments functionality.

“Research has shown that as soon as a person has a formal identity and access to electronic payments, they can prosper in ways they haven’t imagined before,” said Martina Hund-Mejean, Chief Financial Officer of MasterCard. “Our relationship with UN Women will help make a real difference in these women’s lives as they are more fully empowered to achieve their true potential.”…

… “One of UN Women’s main objectives is to increase women’s economic empowerment. The partnership with MasterCard will help pave the way to economic freedom and financial inclusion for women, initially in Nigeria,” says Lakshmi Puri, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women. “We look forward to working together and see the potential of expanding the model to benefit women also in other countries. It is also encouraging that we will collaborate on knowledge generation, advocacy and resource mobilization for greater investment in gender equality and women’s empowerment—reflecting MasterCard and its CEO’s deep commitment to a Planet 50/50 and to supporting UN Women’s efforts,” she added.

Under the programme, MasterCard and UN Women will further explore how and when Nigerians have signed up for the country’s national identity card programme. Based on these insights, a targeted programme will be launched to educate women on the benefits of the programme and enrol them for the identity card.

“This campaign will help at least half a million women in Nigeria gain access to financial services, many for the first time, and the support they need to enter the country’s formal economy,” says Omokehinde Ojomuyide, Vice-President and business lead for West Africa at MasterCard.

Do environmental policies affect global value chains?
A new perspective on the pollution haven hypothesis
OECD 10 Mar 2016
Tomasz Koźluk 1, Christina Timiliotis
1: OECD, France
No. 1282 64 pages:
DOI: 10.1787/5jm2hh7nf3wd-en
Abstract
Increasing international fragmentation of production has reinforced fears that industrial activity may flee to countries with laxer environmental policies – in line with the so-called Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH). If PHH effects are strong, domestic responses to environmental challenges may prove ineffective or meet strong resistance. Using a gravity model of bilateral trade in manufacturing industries for selected OECD and BRIICS countries over 1990s-2000s, this paper studies how exports are related to national environmental policies. Environmental policies are not found to be a major driver of international trade patterns, but have some significant effects on specialisation. More stringent domestic policies have no significant effect on overall trade in manufactured goods, but are linked to a comparative disadvantage in “dirty” industries, and a corresponding advantage in “cleaner” industries. The effects are stronger for the domestic component of exports than for gross exports, yet notably smaller than the effects of e.g. trade liberalisation.

Press Release
Tougher environmental laws do not hurt export competitiveness – OECD study
10/3/16 – Countries that implement stringent environmental policies do not lose export competitiveness when compared against countries with more moderate regulations, according to a new OECD study that examines trade in manufactured goods between advanced and emerging economies.

The findings suggest that emerging economies with strong manufacturing sectors like China could strengthen environmental laws without denting their overall share in export markets. High-pollution or energy-intensive industries like chemicals, plastics and steel making, whether in the BRIICS or in Europe or North America, would suffer a small disadvantage from a further tightening of regulations, but this would be compensated by growth in exports from less-polluting activities.

Do Environmental Policies Affect Global Value Chains? challenges the conventional wisdom that regulations to curb pollution and energy use hurt businesses by creating new costs. The so-called Pollution Haven Hypothesis suggests that tightening environmental laws often prompts manufacturers to simply relocate some production stages to countries with laxer regulations.

“Environmental policies are simply not the major driver of international trade patterns,” said OECD Chief Economist Catherine L. Mann, presenting the study at the London School of Economics. “We find no evidence that a large gap between the environmental policies of two given countries significantly affects their overall trade in manufactured goods. Governments should stop working on the assumption that tighter regulations will hurt their export share and focus on the edge they can get from innovation.”…

United Nations – Secretary General, Security Council, General Assembly  [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.un.org/en/unpress/
Selected Press Releases/Meetings Coverage

11 March 2016
SC/12277
Security Council Asks Secretary-General to Replace Contingents from Countries Failing to Hold Sexual Predators Accountable
7643rd Meeting (PM)
Members Adopt Resolution 2272 (2016) while Rejecting Proposed Amendment
The Security Council, expressing its deep concern over allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations peacekeepers, today asked the Secretary-General to replace all military or police units from any contributing country that had failed to hold perpetrators accountable.

Adopting resolution 2272 (2016) by 14 votes in favour to none against, with 1 abstention (Egypt), the Council requested that the Secretary-General ensure that the replacement of personnel from troop- or police-contributing countries upheld standards of conduct and discipline, and appropriately addressed allegations or confirmed acts of sexual exploitation and abuse by their personnel…
[Full text of resolution available from title link above]

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UN Peacekeeping operations and sexual exploitation and abuse – Security Council, 7642nd meeting
10 Mar 2016 – United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Sexual exploitation and abuse
[Video:: 2:40:49]
Security Council: United Nations peacekeeping operations – Sexual exploitation and abuse (7643rd meeting)
Resolution Adopted [Video not yet posted]

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10 March 2016
SC/12274
Repatriation of Commanders, Units among Steps to Tackle Sexual Exploitation, Abuse by Peacekeepers, Secretary-General Tells Security Council
Briefing the Security Council today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon laid out a number of steps to address “the shameful issue” of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, amid disagreement over a draft resolution aimed at addressing the matter.

UN OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true
Selected Press Releases

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11 March 2016
South Sudan: UN report contains “searing” account of killings, rapes and destruction

SRSG/CAAC Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict [to 12 March 2016]
https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/virtual-library/press-release-archive/

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11 Mar 2016
Joint Statement on Syria

08 Mar 2016
Human Rights Council: Increasingly complex conflicts had a devastating impact on children in 2015

07 Mar 2016
Central African Republic: Report Describes Children Victims of Relentless Violence in a Climate of Total Impunity

UN OCHA [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.unocha.org/media-resources/press-releases

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11 Mar 2016
Syrian Arab Republic: Joint Statement on Syria

10 Mar 2016
Sudan: Jebel Marra Crisis Fact Sheet Issue 4 I 10 March 2016
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Sudan KEY FACTS • Over 105,000 civilians have been reportedly displaced from the Jebel Marra area in Sudan’s Darfur region since mid-January 2016 as a result of increased hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Abdul Wahid faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA/AW). Official government estimates for the newly displaced in North Darfur, at 23 February, are 72,727.

09 Mar 2016
occupied Palestinian territory: Remarks by Robert Piper, Coordinator for Humanitarian and UN Development Activities for the occupied Palestinian territory – Launch on the Humanitarian Response Plan, Gaza

08 Mar 2016
World: Humanitarian Private Sector Partnership Platform (HPPP) launched in East Africa
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Kenya, World Nairobi, 8 March 2016: The world is currently facing an unprecedented number of humanitarian crises, putting more strain on responders. The number of people targeted for assistance has more than doubled over the past decade, with the global funding requirements increasing at a much faster rate. An estimated US$20 billion is needed in 2016 to meet the needs of some 87 million people in need…

UNICEF [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_89711.html
Selected Press Releases

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Race for survival as South Sudan’s children struggle in forgotten crisis
JUBA, South Sudan, 11 March 2016 – Humanitarian funding for the world’s youngest country has collapsed, UNICEF said today, putting the lives of tens of thousands of children at risk.

UNICEF responds to EU and Turkey summit, calls for protection of refugee and migrant children
GENEVA, 8 March, 2016 – With regard to the outcome of the EU Summit with Turkey, UNICEF reiterates that in the implementation of such decisions the fundamental humanitarian principle of ‘do no harm’ must guide authorities across Europe, the Balkans and Turkey at every step when it comes to the care of refugee and migrant children.

New multi-country initiative will protect millions of girls from child marriage – UNICEF/UNFPA
NEW YORK, 8 March 2016 – A new multi-country initiative to accelerate action to end child marriage will help protect the rights of millions of the world’s most vulnerable girls, UNICEF and UNFPA said on International Women’s Day.

Agnes Chan named UNICEF Regional Ambassador for East Asia and Pacific Region
BANGKOK/TOKYO, 7 March 2016 – UNICEF today announced the appointment of Agnes Chan Miling as its newest Regional Ambassador for East Asia and the Pacific Region.

UNHCR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/search?page=&comid=4a0950336&cid=49aea93a7d&scid=49aea93a40

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Press Releases
12 March 2016
Joint United Nations statement on Syria

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11 March 2016
UNHCR and World Taekwondo Federation partner on training in camps
Joint WTF, UNHCR Press Release
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has signed an agreement in Geneva with the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) that will make it easier for thousands of refugees across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe to enjoy the Olympic sport and martial art of taekwondo and keep healthy.

The WTF, through a newly created Taekwondo Humanitarian Foundation, will provide coaches and equipment for pilot taekwondo programmes already launched in two camps for Syrian refugees – Kilis in Turkey, and Jordan’s Za’atari.

New projects will also bring taekwondo to male and female refugees of all ages in Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Greece…

IOM / International Organization for Migration [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.iom.int/press-room/press-releases

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03/12/16
IOM-UN Relief Arrives in Cyclone-stricken Fiji
Fiji – More than 80 metric tons of IOM relief supplies have arrived in Fiji to alleviate the suffering of tens of thousands of Fijians severely affected by Cyclone Winston.

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IOM Condemns Wednesday Attack at Migrant Response Point in Hodeidah, Yemen
03/11/16
On 9 March 2016, at 3:00 PM, an armed group stormed the IOM Migrant Response Point (MRP) in Hodeidah, Yemen and fired automatic weapons inside the premises.

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Mediterranean Migrant Arrivals in 2016 Approach 150,000; Deaths Reach 455
03/11/16
Greece – Through March 10, 2016, IOM reports arrivals of migrants and refugees to Italy and Greece via Mediterranean Sea routes have topped 150,000.

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IOM, UNHCR Joint Statement on Yemen Crisis
03/08/16
Yemen – IOM and UNHCR have expressed growing concern about the nearly one-year-old conflict in Yemen, which has left 2.4 million people forcibly displaced by fighting.

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IOM Receives USD 10 Million from USAID to Fight Human Trafficking in Afghanistan
03/08/16
Afghanistan – USAID has announced it will contribute USD 10 million to IOM to help end human trafficking in Afghanistan.

UN Women [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.unwomen.org/news/stories

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Date: 10 March 2016
Press release: Implementation of 2030 Agenda to be the focus at single largest forum on women and girls
UN Commission on the Status of Women to outline robust set of actions for translating ambitious development roadmap into reality for women and girls

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Date: 08 March 2016
MasterCard and UN Women join to advance empowerment of women
Around the world, nearly 2.4 billion people live without any form of official personal identification, and the majority of them are women. As part of broader International Women’s Day activities, MasterCard and UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding to address this imbalance and advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

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Date: 07 March 2016
Press release: International Women’s Day celebrations champion a Planet 50-50 by 2030
International Women’s Day celebrations on 8 March will mobilize people around the world to call for a Planet 50-50 by 2030. UN Women is organizing a series of diverse, high-profile events in over 40 countries, where ordinary citizens, activists, musicians, athletes, students, security personnel, scholars and stock exchange officials will be among those who commit to “Stepping It Up for Gender Equality.”

WHO & Regionals [to 12 March 2016]

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Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
:: 10 March 2016 – Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia
:: 10 March 2016 – Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Qatar
:: 10 March 2016 – Dengue Fever – Uruguay
:: 7 March 2016 – Guillain-Barré syndrome – France – French Polynesia
:: 7 March 2016 – Zika virus infection – Argentina and France

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More than numbers: how better data is changing health systems
March 2016
The Health Data Collaborative, launched by WHO and partner development agencies, countries, donors and academics, will strengthen countries’ capacity to collect, analyse and use reliable health data, thereby reducing administrative burden. A list of 100 core health indicators has been produced, and 60 low income and lower-middle income countries, and their supporting donors, will be using common investment plans to strengthen their health information systems by 2024.
:: Health Data Collaborative website
Editor’s Note:
The core health indicator referencing immunization is here:
Pdf: Immunization coverage rate by vaccine for each vaccine in the national schedule

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WHO Highlights
Fukushima five years on
March 2016 — On 11 March 2011, a magnitude 9 earthquake occurred off the east coast of Japan, generating a tsunami that severely damaged coastal areas. These 10 questions and answers address WHO’s current response and next steps to mitigate the public health impact of the Fukushima accident.

Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality
March 2016 — This year’s International Women’s Day focuses on accelerating the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, especially goal number 5 – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls and goal 4 – Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.

Consultation for adolescent health
March 2016 — In response to the health needs of adolescents, WHO and partners are developing a Global Framework for Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents (the Global AA-HA! Framework). Initial input is now requested from governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, youth groups and citizens.

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:: WHO Regional Offices
WHO African Region AFRO
:: Angola immunizes 6.7 million people against yellow fever
WHO experts remain at the frontline Luanda, 9 March 2016 – Angolan health authorities and national and international partners continue making tireless efforts to immunize 6.7 million people in Luanda Province and to stop the yellow fever outbreak the country has been facing since December 2015.WHO is supporting the procurement of 7.4 million doses of vaccine that will allow the vaccination of the entire population of Luanda above the age of 6 months.

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: PAHO and OAS partner with University of Miami to offer online courses on good research practices and standards (03/11/2016)
:: Scientists studying intensified vector control measures to combat Zika, dengue and chikungunya in the Americas (03/11/2016)
:: Misión de la OPS en El Salvador destaca oportunidad del país para aportar a la investigación internacional sobre el zika (03/11/2016)
:: International mission convened by PAHO visits El Salvador to exchange experiences and support the response to Zika (03/08/2016)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Media statement on International Women’s Day 8 March 2016

WHO European Region EURO
:: E-health in practice 10-03-2016
:: E-health – when, not if 10-03-2016
:: Outcome of the 2nd meeting of IHR Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations 09-03-2016
:: Towards a European strategy for women’s health 08-03-2016

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
:: Yemen’s national oncology centre struggles to continue functioning
10 March 2016 – In late 2015, the national oncology centre in Yemen appealed to the humanitarian community and international bodies to save cancer care services in Yemen from the brink of complete collapse. They warned of the looming health disaster brought about by lack of life-saving chemotherapy drugs, laboratory reagents, and even simple pain killers. The lack of availability of medicines and diagnostic supplies is a direct result of the defacto blockade on Yemen since March 2015, which shows few signs of lifting. Since its establishment in 2005, the national oncology centre has diagnosed and treated more than 60 000 patients.
:: Women working for polio eradication in Pakistan 9 March 2016

WHO Western Pacific Region
:: International Women’s Day 2016: Stand up against gender-based violence
8 March 2016 —Violence affects women and girls in epidemic proportions across the Western Pacific Region – with severe consequences for their health and well-being. Women and girls are at greatest risk of violence in their homes from someone they know. On International Women’s Day (8 March), the World Health Organization (WHO) enjoins everyone to protect and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

UNAIDS [to 12 March 2016]
http://www.unaids.org/en/resources/presscentre/

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11 March 2016
UNAIDS welcomes South Africa’s groundbreaking National Sex Worker HIV Plan
GENEVA—UNAIDS welcomes the roll-out of South Africa’s National Sex Worker HIV Plan, 2016–2019. Launched by the Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, in his role as the Chairperson of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), this unique plan will ensure equitable access to health and legal services for sex workers in South Africa.

Sex workers experience a disproportionate burden of HIV, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, violence, and stigma and discrimination. This progressive plan outlines a comprehensive and nationally coordinated response that is tailored to their specific needs and includes a core package of services for sex workers, their partners, their clients and their families.

As well as delivering access to health services to prevent and treat HIV, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis, the plan also aims to provide sex workers with access to justice and legal protection services. These services will be made available through a combination of peer educators, community-driven outreach and referrals, and specialized clinics, as well as through primary health-care clinics, with training for all health workers.

The plan includes making HIV testing available and accessible for sex workers. Sex workers who test HIV-positive will be offered antiretroviral therapy. Sex workers who are HIV-negative will be offered antiretroviral medicines to prevent HIV infection—pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)—in combination with other HIV prevention services…

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08 March 2016
UNAIDS to collaborate on new mobile technology platform to improve data collection and advance the response to HIV
GENEVA, 8 March 2016—UNAIDS and telecommunications operator Orange have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a new project to strengthen links between health-care providers and people living with and affected by HIV through the use of mobile technology.

Mobile technology will be used to improve HIV services to ensure patient retention in care and treatment adherence and to help break down stigma and discrimination. Data will be collected and analyzed, gaps in services identified and action taken to improve the quality of health care for people living with and affected by HIV. The information collected will be anonymous and full confidentiality will be maintained.

“To achieve UNAIDS’ ambitious Fast-Track Targets by 2020, countries need to innovate,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “This partnership with Orange will allow countries to benefit from state-of-the-art technology that is cost-effective and simple to use, to ensure they can provide the highest quality of services for people living with and affected by HIV.”

UNAIDS and partners will use Orange Mobile Training EveryWhere (M-Tew), a web-based platform that has been designed to be fully integrated into health systems and implemented on a large scale. The M-Tew platform will enable health workers to communicate with people enrolled in care through text messages or by phone and voice messages. Health professionals will be able to send messages, conduct text or voice surveys to evaluate user perceptions on quality of services and answer questions through a virtual call centre…

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07 March 2016
Respecting women’s human rights is key to creating a safer, fairer and healthier world