Burundi: Le Gouvernement du Burundi nationalisé la société de fibre optique BBS. Le contrat de PPP qui le liait au privé est résilié (16.01.2017)

burundi-bbs-16-01-2017-p1burundi-bbs-16-01-2017-p2

European Union considers the easing of the sanctions on Sudan as an important step (17.01.2017)

eu-sudan-17-01-2017

Somalia: Humanitarians launch US$864 million appeal to reach 3.9 million People (17.01.2017)

 

Somalia Draught Quotes

The Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia for 2017 plan was launched today in Mogadishu with calls to the international community for timely support to help bolster humanitarian operations and meet urgent humanitarian needs.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, January 17, 2017 -The humanitarian community in Somalia is seeking US$864 million to reach 3.9 million people with urgent life-saving humanitarian assistance. The Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia for 2017 plan was launched today in Mogadishu with calls to the international community for timely support to help bolster humanitarian operations and meet urgent humanitarian needs.

“The humanitarian situation remains grim for millions of Somalis. We are faced with a slight but steady increase in the number of people in need, and most recently with a significant risk of further deterioration to famine,” said Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.

The launch of the HRP comes against a backdrop of a worsening humanitarian situation in Somalia. Expanding drought conditions have left hundreds of thousands of Somalis facing severe food and water shortages. Overall, some 5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. About 320,000 children under the age of 5 years are acutely malnourished and in need of urgent nutrition support. Of these, 50,000 children are severely malnourished and far more vulnerable than any other group.

Protection violations remain at the centre of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia and widespread human rights violations, instability and insecurity drive displacement and weaken the resilience of the most vulnerable. At least 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other vulnerable people are exposed to protection risks. Some 3.3 million people lack access to emergency health services and require improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene. Giving birth is one of the greatest risks to a Somali woman’s life. The maternal mortality ratio for Somalia is among the highest in the world at 732 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Around 3 million school-age children are still out of school with numbers increasing and placing children at greater risk as the impacts of shocks deepen.

“Immediate support is required to prevent a significant deterioration of the humanitarian situation. Given the early warning provided by the humanitarian community and the Federal Government on the drought situation, early action is the only way to demonstrate that we have learnt the lessons from the past to avert another catastrophe,” added de Clercq.

The response plan seeks to strengthen emergency response preparedness measures, in collaboration with federal and local authorities, to mitigate the impact of predictable shocks and continue to build stronger linkages between life-saving and development-based durable solutions. It provides an opportunity for humanitarian and development actors to strengthen collaboration in addressing both life-saving and long term durable solutions to address underlying causes of vulnerability.

The 2017 plan is part of a three-year strategy (2016-2018), which recognizes that the drivers of risk and vulnerability in Somalia are largely cyclical and long-running, and cannot be resolved in a single year. Enhancing communities’ ability to cope with shocks through the long-term sustainable livelihood support and basic services, including durable solutions, in a community-based approach, will be vital in addressing underlying causes of vulnerabilities.

New drought risks in Ethiopia put recovery at risk (17.01.2017)

Hailemariam Desalegn Ethiopia

FAO targets pastoralists in southern regions facing failed rains on heels of a calamitous El Niño.

ROME, Italy, January 17, 2017 -New drought across swathes of southern Ethiopia may jeopardize the East African nation’s restoration of food security after the worst agricultural seasons in decades unless urgent efforts are made to shore up vulnerable households in rural areas, FAO warned today.

While an impressive government-led humanitarian effort has sharply reduced the number of hungry during the worst drought in 50 years, the legacy of last year’s El Niño along with low rainfall during a critical season pose renewed risks now, especially for pastoral communities facing forage shortfalls and water scarcity in southern regions.

Safeguarding recent gains requires responding to the livelihood-sustaining needs of fragile households that lost or sold livestock and other assets, often adding to family debt burdens to cope with the worst El Niño in modern history.

Effective and timely action has reduced the number of people who will need food aid in 2017 to 5.6 million, down from almost twice as much last August, according to the newly released Humanitarian Requirements Document (HRD). However, food security in 120 woredas (districts) has worsened since July, while 86 woredas are entering their third year (since December 2015) of top-priority emergency status.

The just-approved HRD, jointly developed by the Government of Ethiopia along with UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and other development partners, covers a range of subjects including education, access to water and nutrition. It advises that the bulk of the agriculture sector needs are related to assistance to pastoralists and agropastoralists livestock assistance – a total of $42 million is required by the sector to reach 1.9 million households, mainly in drought-affected southern and southeastern pastoral regions, this year.

Drought strikes again
While northern and western Ethiopia bore the brunt of El Niño, a new drought is emerging in southern and southeastern pastoral areas including Oromia, Somali and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNP) after poor, delayed and erratic rains curbed pasture and water availability. Some 80 percent of Ethiopians depend on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods and an even higher share of the country’s arable land relies on seasonal rainfall.

Below-average precipitation has also affected neighboring Somalia and Kenya. The impact is expected to be most dire in early 2017 among livestock, with unusually early migrations, excess mortality rates and extreme emaciation.

FAO calls for an immediate response to support the food security and nutrition of households reliant on animals. Along with the provision of supplementary animal feed, especially along migratory routes, targeted destocking interventions will be implemented to make protein-rich meat available for vulnerable pastoral communities and support livestock prices in local markets.

Poorly-fed animals reproduce less frequently, lengthening the prospective time required to rebuild herds. For Ethiopian households, restocking after the loss of half of one’s cattle typically takes four years without adverse conditions.

Addressing fragility

Even though FAO’s support will focus on communities depending on livestock, some areas along the Rift Valley, however, especially in the northern and eastern highlands, are facing below-average crop production and therefore receive prioritized agricultural support as recovery will take longer than anticipated.

South Sudan refugees and their hosting communities in Gambella Region, are facing significant food availability and access challenges, and enabling households to produce more of their own food is essential.

After having reached 1.3 million farmers and herders affected by the El Niño-induced drought in 2016, FAO is appealing for $20 million to reach one million farming, agropastoral and pastoral households in 2017, with the aim of protecting gains made last year and preventing vulnerable households from slipping further into food insecurity.

FAO’s programme seeks in particular to support crop production, implement emergency response and resilience activities in the livestock sector, support livelihoods in refugee-hosting areas and strengthen coordination, information and analysis.

Burundi: “Imminent retrait et retour Immediat au Burundi des hommes et du materiel militaire de la Somalia”

burundi-amisom-januar-2016-p1burundi-amisom-januar-2016-p2

African Union letter on the Burundian posistion from December 2016:

burundi-amisom-januar-2016-p3

Statement attributable to the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Ms. Marta Ruedas, on the easing of US sanctions against Sudan (14.01.2017)

sudan-14-01-2017

International community expresses concern over developments in Galmudug (12.01.2017)

galdmuudug-state-09-01-2017

The United Nations, African Union, European Union, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, Ethiopia, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States are concerned about the unfolding dispute within the Galmudug regional assembly and between members of the assembly and President Abdikarim Guled.

The dispute, which has led to a vote to remove the President from office, with the President and the Speaker of the assembly rejecting the vote as illegal, is potentially destabilizing.

The international partners call on all the stakeholders in Galmudug, in particular members of the regional assembly, the Speaker of the assembly and the President, to resolve the underlying issues through dialogue and refrain from resorting to any acts of violence.

The international partners call on all Somalis, including the security forces, to now focus on consolidating and building on the gains from the electoral and state-building processes and make every effort to avoid actions that could undermine the progress that is unfolding in the country.

Inter-communal tensions in Darfur threaten return of millions of displaced people, Security Council told (13.01.2017)

Darfur UN

For example, at least 70 people were killed in the past few months in clashes between farmers and herders in seasonal migration underway in the southern part of Darfur.

NEW YORK, United States of America, January 13, 2017 – Armed fighting over land, water and other natural resources in Sudan’s Darfur region continues to put civilians at risk, the top United Nations peacekeeping official told the Security Council today, calling for long-term solutions that would allow 2.6 million displaced people to return or resettle.

“Civilians remain exposed to significant sources of insecurity such as inter-communal conflict and criminality, including the activities of armed militias,” the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Hervé Ladsous, told the Council presenting the latest report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Darfur.

He added that despite a significant decrease in overall armed conflict, particularly as a result of the Government’s military successes against armed movements, the situation in the region is further exacerbated by a “widespread proliferation of weapons and the inadequacy of rule of law and justice institutions.”

Tensions between the various communities recur due to long-standing disputes over access to land and the control of water and other resources, according to information cited from the report.

For example, at least 70 people were killed in the past few months in clashes between farmers and herders in seasonal migration underway in the southern part of Darfur.

Such violence is raising concerns for the millions of displaced people living in bases and camps under the protection of the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

“Long-term comprehensive solutions remain necessary to create the necessary conditions for the return or resettlement of the 2.6 million people who remain in displacement in the region,” Mr. Ladsous said, “and the resolution of the underlying causes of inter-communal conflict related to access to land, water and other natural resources.”

Among other points raised in his briefing, Mr. Ladsous noted that despite efforts by UNAMID and the African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) and international initiatives, “little tangible progress” has been made in the peace efforts in Darfur. At issue are delays over agreement on the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian assistance.

Incumbent Speaker of Somalia’s House of the People re-elected (11.01.2017)

somali-election

Mogadishu, 11 January 2017 – The incumbent Speaker of the federal parliament’s House of the People, Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, was re-elected to another four-year term during voting that was held today in the Somali capital.

Mr. Jawari received 141 votes to defeat three other candidates for the key legislative post.
In his victory speech, Mr. Jawari appealed to his fellow members of parliament (MPs) to put aside their political differences for the sake of their constituents. “Today there is no winner or loser. It is the Somali people who have won,” he said.

The runner-up in the voting for the Speaker’s post was Abdirashid Mohamed Hidig, who garnered 97 votes, followed by Abdifatah Mohamed Ibrahim Geesey and Idriss Abdi Dhaqtar, who received 17 votes and two votes, respectively. Two ballots were spoilt.

“It was an honour for me to contest for the seat of Speaker of Parliament. Speaker Jawari is my friend and I congratulate him for the win,” said Mr. Hidig, who pledged to explore other avenues for serving the Somali people.

Members of parliament expressed confidence in Mr. Jawari’s leadership. “I look forward to his leadership, seeing him set up parliamentary structures. We have high expectations of him because he has the experience,” said Mariam Haji Abdi Gedi, an MP from Galmudug state.

Two hundred and fifty-nine members of the House of the People voted in the landmark election that was witnessed by representatives of the international community, key stakeholders and senior federal government officials.

Mr. Jawari was elected Speaker of the country’s ninth federal Parliament in 2012, after having previously served as a cabinet minister in the Siad Barre regime.

As Speaker of the House of the People, he will preside over the election of two deputy speakers later this week. Mr. Jawari will then join his counterpart as speaker of the Upper House in overseeing the upcoming presidential election in both houses of the federal parliament.

Letter: “Re: Invitation to the Briefing Session by the Inter-Burundi Dialogue Facilitator on 16th January 2017 in Arusha” (11.01.2017)

burundi-invitation-2017