Category: APO-OPA

EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — UNAMID is alarmed by deadly fighting between Beni Hussein and Abbala tribes in Jebel Amer area near Kabkabiya, North Darfur. While providing full assistance and preparing…

GENEVA, Switzerland, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — An IPU expert mission to Egypt will work with authorities there on revising a law governing parliamentary elections ahead of new polls for the lower house of parliament in the coming weeks.

The mission on 13-14 January is part of on-going IPU support to Egypt in efforts to build a democratic society.

The team of experts specializing in electoral processes, women’s political participation and an MP from the UK, will provide advice on a range of issues. This includes putting in place the most reliable measures to elect a greater number of women to the Egyptian parliament. Egypt currently has only 15 women MPs, representing 2.0 percent of the total number of parliamentarians.

The Arab country uses a mixture of both proportional representation and first-past-the-post systems to elect members of parliament. Quotas and reserved seats are often the most effective ways to ensure a more representative parliament.

The Egyptian parliament is amending the law governing parliamentary elections, due to be finalized in the coming weeks, after a new constitution was approved last month.

The revised law will need to be accompanied by other measures to ensure increased women’s political participation. These include efforts to raise electoral awareness among the public on voting for women, training women candidates on campaign methods and ensuring media cover of women candidates on the hustings.

Bahrain, DRC and Maldives on Table as IPU Committee on Human Rights of MPs Meets – The human rights abuses of MPs in Bahrain, Maldives and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will be among cases examined by IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians due to meet between 14-18 January.

The five-day session will include also a hearing with parliamentary authorities in Bahrain on the case of Matar Ebrahim Matar and Jawad Fairuz Ghuloom on allegations of arbitrary arrest, detention and ill-treatment. Fairuz is also among 31 opposition activists whose Bahraini citizenship was revoked last November.

The hearing follows a resolution adopted by IPU at its 127th Assembly in Quebec City last October voicing concerns at attempts to stifle opposition in Bahrain and at the lack of accountability over alleged ill-treatment of the two MPs.

The Committee will also follow-up on the findings of an IPU human rights mission to Maldives carried out last November to gather first hand evidence on allegations of ill-treatment, detention and harassment of 19 opposition MPs. It had already expressed concerns at continued political violence and intimidation of MPs since the onset of the political crisis in February 2012, and at the absence of prosecution of those responsible.

The human rights body will also seek further action on the cases of two opposition MPs from the DRC, Eugène Diomi Ndongala and Pierre Jacques Chalupa, having expressed deep concern over their situation in a resolution adopted at IPU’s Assembly in Quebec in October.

83 cases concerning 233 parliamentarians in 39 countries from across the world have been lodged before the Committee involving disappearances, breach of freedom of expression, harassment, politically motivated criminal charges, unlawful arrests and detention and other human rights abuses.

The IPU Committee, established in 1976, also has before it a number of long-standing, unresolved cases of concern, including disappearances of MPs in Eritrea, Belarus and Rwanda. Other cases involve high profile politicians such as Sam Rainsy in Cambodia, Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia, Fawzia Koofi in Afghanistan and Jatuporn Prompan in Thailand.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, strongly condemns the renewed attacks by armed terrorist and criminal groups in northern Mali, which resulted in the capture of the town of Konna, in the Mopti area. She expresses AU’s solidarity with Mali, and calls on all AU Member States, in line with the relevant decisions of the Peace and Security Council (PSC) and United Nations Security Council resolutions, to extend the necessary logistical, financial and capacity building support to the Malian Defense and Security Forces.

Consultations are underway between the AU and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to determine the best ways and means of expediting the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA), as authorized by Security Council resolution 2085 (2012), and to further the implementation of other aspects of the said resolution, in particular the early holding of a donors’ conference to solicit contributions to the Trust Fund to be established in support of AFISMA and the Malian Defense and Security Forces. In this respect, the Chairperson of the Commission, while welcoming the press statement on Mali adopted by the UN Security Council on 10 January 2013, reiterates the request by both the AU and ECOWAS to the Council for urgent authorization of funding, through UN-assessed contributions, to enable the early deployment of AFISMA and efficient running of its operations.

The Chairperson of the Commission further reiterates AU’s support to the Malian transitional authorities, particularly President Dioncounda Traoré and Prime Minister Diango Cissoko, and urgently calls on all Malian stakeholders to rally behind them at this very difficult juncture and to place the fundamental interests of Mali above narrow political considerations. The AU High Representative for Mali and the Sahel, former President Pierre Buyoya, who is currently in Bamako, will reemphasize this message to all the Malian stakeholders, as well as AU’s determination to pursue the implementation of all aspects of the Strategic Concept for the Resolution of the Crises in Mali, adopted by the PSC on 24 October 2012.

GENEVA, Switzerland, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM’s efforts to provide support to vulnerable Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and their host communities in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu and in the Southern border regions of Lower Juba and Gedo have received new backing from the Government of France.

The year-long EUR 1 million programme aims to make a quick and visible impact on the lives of thousands of vulnerable IDPs, other mobile populations and host communities, through the direct provision of basic services in Mogadishu and in border areas of Kenya and Ethiopia.

It also aims to contribute to on-going stabilization and peace-building initiatives in Somalia by strengthening the capacity of regional and local governance institutions and communities to address the urgent needs amongst displaced populations and their affected communities.

“The current positive trends in Somalia, both the political process and the security situation, must be seized upon now and make us prepare, together with the Government of Somalia, the appropriate and acceptable conditions for the long term stabilization of the country,” said Etienne de Poncins, the French ambassador to Kenya. “I am therefore delighted that the Government of France, which already provides substantial financial support to Somalia, particularly through the European Union, is able to provide further assistance for stabilization in Somalia to IOM working in close partnership with the Government of Somalia”

“We are very grateful to the Government of France for their generous contribution to IOM and applaud France’s commitment to seizing the right moment and having the foresight to assist Somalia’s stabilization at this point in time,” said Ali Abdi, IOM Somalia’s Chief of Mission. “With this donation, IOM in Somalia will also be able to establish border health posts on the Somali-Kenyan and Somali-Ethiopian borders in Dhobley and Doolow to service these very vulnerable migrant populations.”

The number of displaced persons inside Somalia is estimated at 1.5 million. More than a million refugees have also fled the country.

PARIS, France, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The medical humanitarian organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is providing psychological and medical support to scores of women, men and children affected by the conflict in the Tana Delta region.

Since September 2012, MSF has been carrying out both individual and group therapy sessions to affected persons suffering mainly from insomnia, mutism, palpitations, hallucinations and loss of appetite due to loss and grief. In more extreme cases, some patients have become suicidal or homicidal. In the past four months, MSF counsellors have attended to over 1874 people in group sessions and more than 50 in individual sessions in targeted camps. The organisation has been conducting sessions in schools and has trained about 30 teachers in four schools and more than 40 health workers on different aspects of psychological counselling.

“Women are the most affected as they are haunted by memories of their children being burned alive. Others fear being separated from their children, or having to deal with displacement and homelessness”, says MSF nurse and counsellor Elizabeth Olela. “For example, one of my patients told me how she was unable to escape with all her children. When she went back for her two year old son, she watched in utter helplessness as people set him alight.”

MSF teams have witnessed first hand the effect that the violence and displacement is having on children in the area. The organisation has set up group and individual sessions in various schools in order to support distressed pupils. Some group sessions include teachers who apart from getting psycho-social counselling themselves, are consequently trained to be able to provide therapy to pupils in need. “Sometimes, it is difficult to complete a session because the school children are filled with emotions,” remarks Elizabeth Olela. “Some children suffer from Selective Mutism, that is, they stop talking. Others can’t sleep and this affects their performance in school.”

MSF is also concerned that the fear of further attacks is preventing sick and injured people from going to medical centres. The organisation has set up mobile clinics in IDP camps and in remote areas in order to provide essential medical assistance to displaced people. Giving basic medical care also allows medical staff to identify and assist patients in need of psychological support.

Dr. Joke Van Peteghem, the MSF Regional Health Advisor emphasises, “Our teams are focused on equipping people with coping mechanisms, so that they are able to deal with not only the current situation they face but also future violence that may occur in this volatile region.”

Some 200 people have been killed, hundreds injured and more than 2500 families displaced from their homes since August 2012. Health facilities have also been vandalised. Despite affirmations of improved security in the area, the situation remains precarious and the fear of a retaliation and consequent conflict is very much alive in the population, leading to the deterioration of both the physical and mental health of the population.

MSF is currently providing medical assistance to victims of this week’s attacks in Tana Delta. The medical organisation has been working in Kenya since 1987 and presently has projects in Kibera, Mathare, Homa Bay and Daadab refugee camp. MSF also responds to various medical emergencies in the country.

BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The European Commission has just adopted its plan for the allocation of over €661 million in humanitarian aid funding for 2013. This so-called World-Wide Decision on Humanitarian Aid will be the financial backbone of the Commission’s humanitarian aid operational strategy for 2013. The Commission will fund humanitarian interventions run by more than 200 of its partner organisations in nearly 80 countries or regions.

Based on an in-depth assessment of the needs of the most vulnerable populations in the world, the five largest humanitarian operations will be in the Sahel region of West Africa, including further response to the conflict in Mali (€82 million), Sudan and South Sudan (€80 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (€54 million), Pakistan (€42 million) and Somalia (€40 million). All of these are large-scale, protracted crises resulting from conflict, food shortages or both. Geographically, the largest portion of aid will go to sub-Saharan Africa to which €344.5 million, representing 52% of the Commission’s pre-programmed humanitarian funding, is targeted. …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — PREAMBLE.

The Summit Meeting was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on January 4-5, 2013 with the participation of H.E. Haile Mariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Chai…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, welcomes the outcome of the Summit meeting between President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir an…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — As a follow-up to the recommendations of the consultative meeting on the operationalization of the security arrangements agreed to in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR…

MOGADISHU, Somalia, January 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) protests the arrest of a broadcast journalist by the Somali Police on 10 January, 2013 without court orders and call for his imm…