Category: APO-OPA

ROME, Italy, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Countries took a major step forward in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing today as they endorsed a set of international guidelines that will hold states more accountable for the activities of fishing vessels flying their flags.

The FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance spell out a range of actions that countries can take to ensure that vessels registered under their flags do not conduct IUU fishing, one of the greatest threats to sustainable fisheries and related livelihoods.

Although the guidelines are voluntary, their endorsement by members of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI), currently meeting in Rome, is a public signal by countries of their intent to adhere to a shared set of standards for flag state performance. Worked out over several years of negotiations, the guidelines now enjoy broad levels of international buy-in and support.

Precise numbers are hard to come by, but it is believed that IUU fishing has escalated over the past 20 years, especially in the high seas, and is now estimated to amount to 11-26 million tonnes of fish harvested illicitly each year, worth between $10 and $23 billion.

“Today’s decision represents a massive breakthrough in combating IUU fishing, which not only puts marine ecosystems at risk but undermines any effort undertaken at the national, regional or international level to manage fisheries in a sustainable manner,” said Árni M. Mathiesen, FAO Assistant Director-General for Fisheries and Aquaculture.

“Taken together with FAO’s 2009 Agreement on Port State Measures, which works to prevent entry into ports by IUU fishing vessels and therefore block the flow of IUU-caught fish into national and international markets, these guidelines will provide a potent tool to combat IUU fishing in the coming decades,” he added.

An end to flag hopping

A flag state refers to any country – whether coastal or landlocked – that registers a fishing vessel and authorizes it to fly its flag.

Flag states are already required to maintain a record of their registered vessels together with information on their authorization to fish, such as the species they may fish for and the type of gear they may use.

However, many fishing vessels engaged in illegal activities circumvent such control measures by “flag hopping” – repeatedly registering with new flag States to dodge detection, which undermines anti-IUU efforts.

The Voluntary Guidelines aim to crack down on this practice, among other things, by promoting greater cooperation and information exchange between countries, so that flag states are in a position to refuse to register vessels that have previously been reported for IUU fishing, or that are already registered with another flag state.

The guidelines also provide recommendations on how countries could encourage compliance and take action against non-compliance by vessels, as well as on how to enhance international cooperation to assist developing countries to fulfill their flag state responsibilities.

The guidelines draw on existing international maritime law as well as international instruments such as the 1993 FAO Compliance Agreement, 1995 FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries,the 2001 FAO International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU fishing.

Committee on Fisheries

COFI is the only global inter-governmental forum except for the UN General Assembly where international fisheries and aquaculture problems and issues are periodically examined and where recommendations for action by governments, regional fishery bodies, NGOs, fish workers, FAO and the international community are made.

Member countries are meeting for the 31st session of COFI at FAO headquarters in Rome until the end of the week.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — INVITATION TO MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

WHEN: 16 June 2014

WHERE: African Union Headquarters – Addis Ababa Ethiopia

WHO: ACERWC and UN, Plan International, Save the Children, ACPF

WHY: The DAC presents an opportunity for all Stake-holders on children’s rights, including government, non-governmental and international entities, to reflect on issues affecting children. The DAC 2014 theme “A Child Friendly, quality, free and compulsory education for all children in Africa” aims to ensure the achievement of Article 11 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). To this end, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), the treaty body vested with the mandate to monitor the implementation of the Charter, in collaboration with partners are seizing this opportune moment to take stock of the progress made and the outstanding challenges towards the full realization of the rights of children in Africa.

BACKGROUND: On 16 June every year, the African Union celebrates the Day of the African Child (DAC), in commemoration of the 1976 protests by school children in Soweto, South Africa. The students protested against an education designed to further the purposes of the apartheid regime. In 1991, the African Union Assembly passed a resolution designating 16 June as a Day for the celebration of the African child. Since 2008, the African Committee of Experts (ACERWC) has been vested with the mandate of identifying themes for commemoration of the DAC. During its 21st Session, the Committee of Experts deliberated upon and adopted the theme “A child friendly, quality, free and compulsory education for all children in Africa” as the DAC theme for 2014. Significantly, the theme of 2014 DAC was drawn from consultations with children in the region which were conducted with the help of partners to the Committee.

EVENTS: – Inter-generational dialogue between children and Experts

– Talent Show

– Mini-marathon

– Press Conference

Media representatives are invited to cover the Opening ceremony at 09:00 on Monday 16 June. A Press Conference will take place immediately after the Opening.

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — President Obama called Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi today to congratulate him on his inauguration and to convey his commitment to working together to advance the shared interests…

LONDON, United-Kingdom, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Joint Statement by the United States, Norway and the United Kingdom on National Dialogue in Sudan.

The Members of the Troika welcome the National Congress Party’s stated intent to undertake a process of national dialogue in Sudan. We have long shared the view of many Sudanese that a sustainable peace and a prosperous Sudan can only be achieved through a fundamental review—and reform—of national governance systems that concentrate power at the center and marginalize the regions.

To this end, we are encouraged by the leadership’s stated intent to confront questions regarding the country’s ongoing conflicts, poverty, governance, political freedoms, and national identity. We note that a common understanding of the dialogue process, and the desired goals, will invite broad participation and offer the best chance for success. In this regard, we encourage Sudan’s leaders to work in close coordination with the AU High-level Implementation Panel, led by President Mbeki, to ensure that those goals are met.

As history has demonstrated, a dialogue that involves voices only from Khartoum or from “traditional” political parties cannot yield the results that the people of Sudan demand. We encourage the political leadership to ensure the time and space necessary to deliver on their promise of a genuine, holistic, and truly inclusive dialogue that will include the armed and unarmed opposition, as well as civil society.

Unfortunately, the Government of Sudan has taken actions of late that have enabled some to raise doubts about the sincerity of this initiative. Most notably, the Government continues to wage a war and target civilians in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile and bears primary responsibility for intensifying the conflict in Darfur, where some 300,000 have been displaced this year. Tangible steps by all parties to bring these conflicts to an end are critical now to build popular confidence in the process. Similarly, the Government’s restriction and increased repression of individual, political and press freedoms limits the space necessary for a successful national dialogue; such a process will demand both goodwill and a conducive environment if it is to enjoy broad legitimacy.

We will continue to follow developments closely and stand ready to work with those who seek to advance meaningful reforms.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Egypt’s new president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has reaffirmed his commitment to democracy today (10/6) during talks with IPU President Abdelwahad Radi in Cairo and called for greater …

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
June 9, 2014

Counselor of the Department Thomas A. Shannon Jr. and Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Donald E. Booth will attend …

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Somalia and the NGO Agency for Peace and Development (APD) have distributed emergency hygiene kits to 1,000 households affected by the floods in Kismayo, Somalia. Each hygiene kit contained aqua tabs, jerry cans and soap.

According to ICRC, approximately 1,539 people from 11 internally displaced settlements have been affected by the heavy flooding, which started on 24th May 2014.

“Access to clean water is the basis for a healthy life and IOM’s mission is to promote, and in this case, directly engage in provision of hygiene kits to flood-affected vulnerable people in Kismayo,” says IOM water and hygiene specialist Omar Khayre.

Apart from distribution of hygiene kits and awareness raising campaigns, IOM is planning to disinfect and clean wells, construct emergency latrines, and empty existing latrines in the affected areas to lower the risk of the spread of water-borne diseases.

IOM is collaborating with UNICEF, ICRC, ACTED and local authorities in responding to the emergency. Its water, sanitation and hygiene projects are funded by the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF), Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Government of Japan.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Chad has launched a major qualitative study on human trafficking in Chad, as part of a two-year US State Department-funded project: “Strengthening Chad’s Capacity to Prevent and Combat Trafficking in Persons”.

The report concludes that trafficking in persons in Chad takes many forms, mostly affecting women and children. The trafficking problem is primarily internal but also international. Internal trafficking frequently involves parents entrusting children to relatives or intermediaries in return for promises of education, apprenticeship, goods, or money.

Selling or bartering children into involuntary domestic servitude or herding is used as a means of survival by families seeking to reduce the number of children to take care of. Child victims of trafficking are primarily subjected to forced labor as cattle herders, domestic servants, street vendors, or beggars.

Women and girls are primarily subjected to domestic work and sexual exploitation. Some girls are forced to marry against their will, only to be forced by their husbands to do exploitative domestic work. They are often also sexually abused. The report has also revealed Chad to be a country of origin, transit and destination when it comes to international trafficking.

The IOM project, which was completed in 2012, helped the government to assess the magnitude of the problem and trained law enforcement officers and service providers in the identification of victims and investigation techniques. It also raised awareness among the public.

Vulnerable populations are growing in Chad, increasing the risks of trafficking. They include people fleeing to Chad to escape the violence in the Central African Republic (CAR). The most vulnerable include female-headed households, single women, unaccompanied and separated children or children entrusted to unrelated third persons, pregnant and lactating women, elderly persons with medical conditions and under-aged married women.

Their vulnerability and lack of opportunity places them at risk of exploitation and mistreatment throughout their long journeys, particularly at transit sites. Women returning from CAR or CAR nationals are often perceived as “loose”. As a consequence, there are reports of Chadian men coming to transit sites looking for women either for prostitution, domestic labor or marriage.

Marriage is often seen as the best form of protection for young women and girls. These coping strategies are spreading across the major transit sites in the country and deserve increased attention and specialized response measures.

Unaccompanied and separated children travelling alone also risk being exploited and recruited by individuals claiming to be their parents or guardians, but actually wishing to take profit from their services through forced begging or other petty jobs.

Other potentially exploitative practices affecting children include working in order to survive at the transit sites. This includes collecting wood, washing clothes or selling eggs, or renting equipment from adults, including glasses and equipment to make and sell tea, and being coerced to pay an arbitrary fee every day. Other children are employed by adults in phone kiosks and other businesses under dubious conditions.

IOM Chad continues to monitor human trafficking issues and is currently seeking USD 244,000 from the international community to conduct counter trafficking activities in Chad and support the government and NGOs in the protection of vulnerable persons in transit sites.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — With 1.4 million people displaced by the ongoing conflict in South Sudan since December (one million inside the country and almost 400,000 refugees in the region), IOM has warned that the humanitarian situation will worsen in the coming months and will affect one in two South Sudanese before the end of the year.

“With four million people in need of humanitarian assistance, the situation reminds me of Haïti with a cholera outbreak, the rainy season and a famine looming,” said IOM Director General Wlliam Lacy Swing, speaking in Geneva. “The question now is ‘when’ the famine will occur, not ‘whether’ it will occur. We need funding to avert this now – not in six months,” he added.

IOM has only received 43 per cent of the roughly USD 100 million that it has asked from international donors to help some 400,000 of the most vulnerable displaced people in South Sudan this year. But it warns that more money will be needed to respond to the still unfolding humanitarian crisis.

“Markets are empty and farmers are not planting, because of the insecurity which has spread across the country like wildfire over the past six months,” says IOM South Sudan Chief of Mission David Derthick.

“The operation is challenging and very expensive. We are scaling up our efforts in a country the size of France with enormous access problem, no roads worth the name, no infrastructure and 60 per cent of the existing roads inaccessible during the rainy season, in which we are now. Some areas are too dangerous to go and others are only reachable by helicopter,” he notes.

With 87 international staff and 500 national staff in 10 locations across South Sudan, IOM coordinates and manages camps; distributes temporary shelter and non-food relief items; coordinates water, sanitation and hygiene efforts (WASH); provides live saving primary health care and education; and is supporting a WHO-led oral cholera vaccination campaign.

It is also expanding protection (PoC) sites at UNMISS compounds where some 95,000 displaced people are sheltering from the violence. And it is operating a common transport service to provide the humanitarian community with road transport.

IOM is also working with UNHCR and other partners to provide assistance – transport, non-food relief items, and water and sanitation – for South Sudanese refugees seeking shelter in neighboring countries. These include 120,000 people in Ethiopia, 100,000 in Uganda, 50,000 in Kenya and 27,000 in Sudan.

“The magnitude of the crisis came as a shock to the humanitarian community last December, when we were all transitioning to development programmes. We now need much more donor support to cope with this emergency. We have been in South Sudan for a long time and plan to stay,” says Derthick.

GENEVA, Switzerland, June 11, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM’s fifth IDP Return Intention Survey carried out in Bangui, Central African Republic and released yesterday quantifies the increasing hardship experienced by the displaced population. Interviews were carried out from 19-23 May at 34 displacement sites in Bangui with 575 displaced persons.

In comparison to the April survey, the percentage of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who report that they do not have the financial means to return home has jumped from 68 per cent to 79 per cent. The percentage of IDPs who report that they do not feel safe in their neighborhood also increased from 64 per cent to 71 per cent.

There are more than 136,000 displaced persons in Bangui at some 42 displacement sites around the city. This is a decrease from late April, when there were 177,891 displaced persons at 45 sites. It is also a dramatic decrease from the end of December when there were more than 500,000 displaced people in Bangui.

These decreasing displacement figures demonstrate that IDPs are acting on their expressed desire to return home. A total of 60 per cent of IDPs responded that they intend to return home within the next four weeks. This is a slight increase from the April survey (57 per cent), but a significant drop from January (74 per cent) still suggesting that fewer displaced people intend to return home.

Those remaining at the sites are the most vulnerable, who do not have the financial means to return home, or whose homes have been destroyed. In order to return home the most frequently cited needs are housing (33 per cent), security (24 per cent) and non-food items (14 per cent).

Most (77 per cent) of IDPs have been displaced since December when fighting intensified; a total of 94 per cent of displaced persons experienced interruption of professional activities due to displacement. During these many months of displacement, they have used up their savings, resulting in a desperate financial situation: 98 per cent reported borrowing money and 88 per cent sold their work tools or consumed their stock of planting seeds.

The percentage of IDPs intending to relocate to another region within CAR has been increasing by a few percentage points each month: from 4.6 per cent in March 2014, 9 per cent in April 2014 to 11 per cent in this latest survey. Almost all displaced persons (97 per cent) reported that they have sent family members to live elsewhere.

The IDP Return Intention Survey has been carried out on a monthly basis in Bangui since January 2014 to track the displaced population’s return intentions, factors that contribute to displacement, and requirements to return home.

The focus section of this month’s survey is on displacement caused by the 28 May attack on Notre Dame de Fatima Church. The attack, in which more than 20 people were killed, provoked the displacement of 22,000 people, 9,000 of whom had been taking refuge at Notre Dame de Fatima. This population moved to nine other displacement sites, quickly straining the limited resources at these sites in terms of shelter, water, sanitation and food.

Marie, one young woman whose family fled Fatima church said: “I reunited with my mom, sister, niece and brother at Grand Séminaire displacement site in the area of Bimbo. It’s good at Grand Séminaire because we are in a building and protected from the rain. In Fatima we slept on the ground. There’s more security in Bimbo, but the houses are very crowded. There is enough water but everyone is looking for food. Even if they distribute food, it’s not enough because there are so many people.”

The IDP Return Intention Survey in Bangui is part of IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), designed to provide population movement dynamics and guide humanitarian response to crisis.

To access the IDP Return Intention Surveys please visit: http://CARresponse.iom.int.