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UN Daily News
Thursday, 19 May 2016
Issue DH/7162
In the headlines:
Syria: credibility of peace talks at risk without
humanitarian empathy
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In the ISSG meeting, a profound unhappiness or impatience was aired regarding the failure of humanitarian aid to reach
many of the besieged areas, he said. In Darayya, delivery of baby food had been blocked by well-fed, grown-up soldiers,
he added.
He said that if there is no substantial progress in humanitarian access to these areas by 1 June, air drops will start. He,
however, stressed that given the heavy cost of airlifting aid, it is the last resort.
Mr. de Mistura also said that Eva Svoboda, a new senior staff member assigned to handle the issue of detainee and
abductees, was introduced to the ISSGs Humanitarian Taskforce.
There is no Plan B, he said, stressing that the only way to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis is through the intraSyrian talks.
Jan Egeland, Mr. de Misturas Senior Advisor, said that food and other humanitarian supplies for 10,000 people reached the
besieged area of East-Harasta yesterday for the first time since March 2013.
We have now reached 13 out of the 18 besieged areas as compared to reaching two of the besieged areas of last year, he
said. But that is the end of the good news really, because May was, and is, one of the most difficult months weve had this
year.
He said that in April, more than 40 percent of the people besieged received humanitarian supplies. But this month so far, the
ratio is less than five per cent.
The plan is to meet the needs of more than 900,000 people in May, and it is even more ambitious for June as it aims to reach
more than 1.1 million people. He said that 14 out of the 18 besieged areas are within an hour of drive from Damascus,
expressing hope that the Russians and the Iranians, and the Americans and the Saudis, and others, who have influence on the
ground in Syria, will enable access.
Nowhere was the disappointment as big as it was in Darayya, he said, noting that baby foods were stopped by the soldiers.
I can only imagine the disappointment of the mothers, he said.
During that ceremony, Mr. Ban noted that the medal helps to ensure
that Captain Diagne and those who follow in his footsteps will always
be remembered by the UN and the people worldwide.
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work. We owe this not just to our departed colleagues, but also to the millions of civilians that we have been entrusted to
protect. We must continue to work together to enable complex operations to succeed with rapid, effective, efficient and
responsible support."
World Humanitarian Summit can build support for disabilityinclusive aid responses UN expert
19 May Speaking ahead of the first-ever World Humanitarian
Summit taking place in Istanbul next week, a United Nations human
rights expert has urged all countries to take into account the rights and
needs of persons with disabilities in their humanitarian responses.
The World Humanitarian Summit represents a unique opportunity to
foster international support for the inclusion of persons with
disabilities in all aspects of humanitarian action, including awarenessraising, innovation, response, adoption of standards, participation of
civil society and international cooperation, said Catalina DevandasAguilar, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, in a
I welcome the fact that the Summit has a dedicated special session on the inclusion of persons with disabilities into
humanitarian action, she added.
The UN human rights expert also called on all Governments and organizations to endorse the
Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action. The Charter, a set of key principles to
make humanitarian action more inclusive of persons with disabilities, will be launched during the Summit.
We cannot afford to miss the momentum generated by the Summit to call the attention of the international community on
the situation of hundreds of thousands of persons with disabilities around the world, whom every year are disproportionately
affected by armed conflict, natural disasters, other situations of risk and complex emergencies, simply because humanitarian
responses do not reach them, the expert said.
In the context of collapsing social protection systems and networks of support, persons with disabilities find themselves in
desperate situations when they cannot flee, left behind by their communities, she added.
Challenges created by humanitarian emergencies are compounded for persons with disabilities by physical, communication
and other barriers. The absence of clearly defined disability-inclusive guidelines and protocols on humanitarian action
further contributes to their exclusion, due to the inaccessibility of warning systems and evacuation plans, and the unequal
access they have to basic emergency services, such as safe drinking water, food, sanitation and shelter.
To address this gap, persons with disabilities must be included in all aspects of humanitarian responses including the
design, planning, coordination, and implementation and monitoring of humanitarian programmes and be consulted and
directly involved through their representative organizations. To be effective, these programmes must adopt a human rightsbased approach to disability, rather than focusing on traditional, charity-oriented, medical-based, segregated and patronizing
approaches and interventions, the expert said.
The expert underscored that the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities recalls the obligation of States,
under international human rights and humanitarian law, to take all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of
persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict and humanitarian emergencies, from a
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A total of 543 educational facilities were damaged or destroyed in the State of Palestine and three attacks were documented
on Israeli schools. According to education authorities in Northeast Nigeria, a total of 338 schools were destroyed and
damaged between 2012 and 2014.
UNICEF also said that over the past year, the UN monitoring system has also documented so-called double-tap, or even
triple-tap strikes on health-care facilities in which civilians, as well as the first responders arriving on the scene, are
attacked.
Beyond attacks on buildings, conflict has other far-reaching consequences on childrens education and health care, UNICEF
underscored. In Syria, for example, as well as attacks on hospitals, the removal of medical kits and surgical supplies from
aid convoys, restrictions on medical evacuations, and killing of medical personnel mean that access to critical and lifesaving health care for civilians in affected areas is diminishing day by day.
Children are being abducted from their schools in horrific circumstances in countries like Nigeria and South Sudan, while
others are being raped, or recruited and used as child soldiers, said Ms. Khan.
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The campaign is a special initiative of Secretary-General Ban Kimoon to empower and inspire people to support their Governments to
implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
the 17 SDGs that aim to alleviate poverty, provide universal education and help the environment.
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Mr. Arora is also a director, along with Chris Milk, of Clouds over Sidra, a short 360 virtual reality film about a 12-year
Syrian girl named Sidra who lives with 130,000 other refugees in Za'atari camp in Jordan.
People come out of it feeling enlightened and often moved, and often ready to take action, Mr. Arora told UN Television's
21st Century Series in Virtual Reality: Creating Humanitarian Empathy.
It's exciting for the UN to be involved in some of those early experiments of how we're trying to tell stories, make these
films and work with some of the most cutting edge people in the industry on it.
The UN wants to leverage the emotive connectivity of virtual reality at next week's World Humanitarian Summit, in
Istanbul, Turkey. Participants at the Summit will have a chance to visit the Virtual Reality Hub, an interactive visualization
lounge created by a partnership between the UN, the SDG Action Campaign and an immersive media company, RYOT.
Audiences at the Summit will be among the first to view HOME. Directed by Charlotte Cans and David O'Hana, a virtual
reality film takes viewers on a humanitarian journey with the Secretary-General.
Those not attending the Summit can experience the films at home through their mobile phones, thanks to VRSE, a virtual
reality production and distribution company.
Co-founder of VRSE, Aaron Koblin, told UNTV that whether viewers use high-end virtual reality goggles or a cardboard
unity, the idea is the same.
Lenses that are using sensors to orient you and convince yourself that you're somewhere where you're not, said Mr.
Koblin.
The Council delegation was led by the bodys current President, the Permanent Representative of Egypt, Amr Abdellatif
Aboulatta, and the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom, Matthew Rycroft.
The officials held a series of high-level meetings with the Federal President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime
Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, regional presidents, civil society members, humanitarian organizations and senior
UN and African Union officials.
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The other Council Member States represented in the 27-member delegation include Angola, China, France, Japan, Malaysia,
New Zealand, Russia, Senegal, Spain, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.
We all are very grateful that you are here as the people of Somalia, that shows the level of commitment you have for
Somalia, said President Mohamud in welcoming remarks to the Council representatives.
During the press briefing, the current President of the Security Council called on Mr. Mohamud to utilize all available
constitutional tools to make elections possible.
We will provide our support to the government and the message is clear that we are here to help, said Mr. Aboulatta. But
also it was a message that we need to move forward.
Mr. Rycroft said his country places a high priority on developments in Somalia, and reaffirmed the Councils commitment
to help ensure peace and stability in Somalia.
We had very good discussions about the political process and the need for elections to take place on the timetable already
agreed by the leaders, which means elections in August of 2016, he said.
We were glad to talk in detail to the President, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the presidents of the
regions about what is needed in order to be ready for that date, he added.
As part of the Councils visit, prominent women leaders told members about the pressing need to promote the empowerment
of Somali women and ensure that at least 30 per cent of the seats in the countrys next federal parliament be reserved for
female candidates.
In a separate meeting with civil society representatives moderated by Mr. Keating, the issue of womens representation in
positions of leadership was addressed.
We want full assurance that the international community and the UN will use their good offices to exert diplomatic
pressure on our leaders, including the traditional leaders, to make gender parity and political representation a reality, said
Deqe Yasin, a Somali woman activist.
We count on you and shall also hold you accountable, she added.
The electoral model was formally endorsed at last months National Leadership Forum conference, and was subsequently
submitted to the federal parliament by Somali Prime Minister Sharmarke on 30 April.
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The main driver for accelerating domestic material consumption is the expanding middle class. The size of the global middle
class is projected to increase from 1.8 billion in 2009 to 4.9 billion in 2030 with most of this growth coming from Asia.
In the Latin American and Caribbean region, most of the cities in the region for which data are available have concentrations
of particulate matter (PM) above World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
The regions urban population increased by more than 35 million people between 2010 and 2015, and is expected to climb
to a total of 567 million persons by 2025. More than 100 million people already live in areas where they are at risk from air
pollution.
In West Asia, continuous conflict and the mass displacement of people throughout the region are also triggering severe
environmental impacts that are endangering the health of people. Heavy metals from explosive munitions and radiation from
missiles have leached into the environment.
The 2.97 million refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Iraq are placing an immense environmental burden on the region,
producing about 1,440 tonnes of waste per day in 2015
The 2.97 million refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen and Iraq are placing an immense environmental burden on the region,
producing about 1,440 tonnes of waste per day in 2015, overwhelming governments and increasing the risk of disease
outbreaks.
In Africa, the second largest continent in the world, land is the most prized asset for food production, nutritional health and
economic development. Worryingly, about 500,000 square meters of land in Africa is being degraded due to soil erosion,
salinization, pollution and deforestation. This land degradation can damage agricultural productivity, nutrition and human
health.
The recommendations made in the reports include: to improve gathering, processing and sharing of data and information to
inform decision-making; enhance sustainable consumption and production to reduce environmental pressures by addressing
drivers associated with manufacturing processes and consumer demand; invest in urban planning, such as through the better
use of environmentally sound infrastructure and clean transport; reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and diversify energy
sources.
Low-carbon, climate-resilient choices in infrastructure, energy and food production coupled with effective and sustainable
natural resource governance are key to protecting the ecological assets that underpin a healthy society.
Progress in malaria control was among the reasons the WHO African
region experienced the greatest increase in life expectancy since 2000
by 9.4 years to 60 years. Photo: UNICEF/Adenike Ademuyiwa
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have been uneven. Supporting countries to move towards universal health coverage based on strong primary care is the best
thing we can do to make sure no-one is left behind.
The increase was greatest in the WHO African region, where life expectancy increased by 9.4 years to 60 years, driven
mainly by improvements in child survival, progress in malaria control and expanded access to antiretrovirals for treatment of
HIV.
Global life expectancy for children born in 2015 was 71.4 years (73.8 years for females and 69.1 years for males), but an
individual childs outlook depends on where he or she is born, WHO said.
The report shows that newborns in 29 countries all of them high-income have an average life expectancy of 80 years or
more, while newborns in 22 others all of them in sub-Saharan Africa have life expectancy of less than 60 years.
With an average lifespan of 86.8 years, women in Japan can expect to live the longest. Switzerland enjoys the longest
average survival for men, at 81.3 years. People in Sierra Leone have the worlds lowest life expectancy for both sexes: 50.8
years for women and 49.3 years for men, WHO said.
Healthy life expectancy, a measure of the number of years of good health that a newborn in 2015 can expect, stands at 63.1
years globally (64.6 years for females and 61.5 years for males).
Targets of the Sustainable Development Goals
WHO highlighted that his years report brings together the most recent data on the health-related targets within the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015. The report highlights
significant data gaps that will need to be filled in order to reliably track progress towards the health-related SDGs.
For example, an estimated 53 per cent of deaths globally arent registered, although several countries including Brazil,
China, Iran, South Africa and Turkey have made considerable progress in that area, WHO said.
While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focused on a narrow set of disease-specific health targets for 2015, the
SDGs look to 2030 and are far broader in scope. For example, the SDGs include a broad health goal, Ensure healthy lives
and promote well-being for all at all ages, and call for achieving universal health coverage.
This years World Health Statistics also shows that many countries are still far from universal health coverage as
measured by an index of access to 16 essential services, especially in the African and eastern Mediterranean regions.
Furthermore, a significant number of people who use services face catastrophic health expenses, defined as out-of-pocket
health costs that exceed 25 per cent of total household spending.
Services face catastrophic health expenses, defined as out-of-pocket health costs that exceed 25 per cent of total household
spending.
The report includes data that illustrate inequalities in access to health services within countries between a given countrys
poorest residents and the national average for a set of reproductive, maternal and child health services, WHO said.
Among a limited number of countries with recent data, Swaziland, Costa Rica, Maldives, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Jordan and
Mongolia lead their respective regions in having the most equal access to services for reproductive, maternal, newborn and
child health.
Published every year since 2005, WHOs World Health Statistics contains data from 194 countries on a range of
mortality, disease and health system indicators, including life expectancy, illness and death from key diseases, health
services and treatments, financial investment in health, and risk factors and behaviours that affect health.
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He noted that among the most significant topics discussed during the
session were peace and conflict resolution, the issue of children and
women in situations of violence, and the persecution of leaders involved in conflicts over land and natural resources.
These are fundamental aspects of any negotiation and any region in the pursuit of resolutions and peace therein, Mr. Pop
stressed.
Also speaking at the press conference was Forum Member Joan Carling, who noted that next year will mark the 10-year
anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
It will be a critical year in terms of reviewing what has been achieved, she said, adding that discussions at next years
Forum will revolve around how further implementation of the Declaration can be achieved. In that vein, she stressed the
importance of UN funds and programmes to support legislative action for the Declarations inclusion in national laws and
policies.
Ms. Carling also said that discussions at this years Forum had made it very clear that many indigenous people are not
aware of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which therefore indicates a need for outreach and awareness-raising
on the issue.
Another crucial element involves incorporating specific targets and indicators relating to indigenous people into the SDGs,
although in this sense she noted the lack of data disaggregation as a factor impeding the measurement of progress towards
meeting any specific targets.
Also speaking today was Jacob Bryan K. Aki, a 21-year-old youth advocate, who emphasized that the session had discussed
important issues and messages on how to better the lives of indigenous people, which he and other youth members would
take back to their respective countries.
We come here, we learn, and the work doesnt stop, said Mr. Aki, who added that the session had served to propel youth
advocates, including him, to return home to work with their families and communities for positive advancements for
indigenous peoples.
In response to a question regarding an expected outcome document for the session, Mr. Pop said that document would
include three recommendations, including a strong call to Member States for the pursuit of peace and resolutions in
moments of conflict; an invitation to Member States to develop an evaluation regarding compliance towards the UN
Declaration on its 10-year anniversary; and a request for an indigenous woman to be part of the Security Council.
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Since the beginning of the year, a dozen attacks against the UN has
been registered in Kidal region, resulting in the death of at least 12 of
its personnel, including the latest victims.
According to the statement, Mr. Ban called for swift action to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice and
recalled that attacks against UN peacekeepers constitute war crimes under international law.
The Secretary-General reiterates that the UN will continue to support the stabilization of Mali and the implementation of
the peace agreement, the statement said.
Mr. Zeid called on all businesses to act in accordance with their human rights responsibilities as set out in the UN Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, to avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through
their own activities, and address such impacts when they occur as well as to seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human
rights impacts that are directly linked to their operations, products or services.
The High Commissioner noted that other companies beyond the pharmaceutical industry may be involved in activities
relating to the administration of the death penalty, and called on such businesses to carry out human rights due diligence
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across their operations to ensure that they are not in any way contributing to the use of capital punishment.
Mr. Zeid also urged States not to resort to questionable sources for the drugs required to administer lethal injections. He
stressed that the UN opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.
With lots of Heads of Government, Heads of State coming, many, many countries represented, that will drive forward our
agenda for the next few years, Mr. OBrien added, highlighting the importance of strong political will in the action that will
be agreed to in the Summit.
One of the areas that will be discussed is how to get humanitarian aid faster and more effectively to the people who need it
most.
Whenever there is suffering and humanitarian need in a crisis, all of us want to be there even faster than we ever can be
because were all driven by this wish to help people in need, Mr. OBrien said, but cautioned that practical, secured, safe
passage and unimpeded access is challenging during protracted crises, particularly of ongoing conflict.
Despite international laws, safe and unimpeded access is often up for negotiations. Mr. OBrien, who is also the UN
Emergency Relief Coordinator, explains below.
There are more than 125 million people in need of immediate humanitarian assistance worldwide, according to UN figures.
That includes refugees, displaced persons, and people who are in need of support due to climate-induced famine.
To put that figure in perspective, together, they would create the 11th largest country in the world.
But they dont have a flag, they dont have a Head of State, said Mr. OBrien.
They do have urgent needs that must be met through goods and services. These are expected to cost the humanitarian
community an additional $15 to $20 billion annually.
While the event is not a fund-raising conference, investing in humanity is one of the five core responsibilities that SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon has urged in his report for the World Humanitarian Summit. The four other responsibilities of the
Agenda for Humanity are preventing and ending conflict, respecting the rules of war, leaving no one behind, and working
differently to end need.
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If put into practice, the idea is that the Agenda for Humanity would allow humanitarians to provide for the immediate
needs when crises hit while also preparing for the long-term so people can see hope in their futures. In most cases, that
means being able to return home and rebuild their lives.
I was particularly struck by a family that I talked to in Jordan who had had to run away from their home, flee because it had
been completely destroyed by bombs outside of Homs, in Syria, Mr. OBrien recalled. The family, including four children,
had been living in Amman, Jordan, for the past three years. The father at the time did not have permission to work.
Growing numbers of people now understand that diets rich in whole-grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables with reduced
consumption of meat and smaller quantities of high-fat and high-sugar foods are good for our bodies, explains lead author
Carlos Gonzales-Fischer of FCRN.
He said that there is ample evidence showing that such diets have much lower environmental impacts than the unhealthy and
unsustainable eating patterns that are increasingly prevalent today. So by eating well for our own personal health, were
also doing right by the planet in essence, its a win-win, he added.
Anna Lartey, Director of FAOs Nutrition and Food Systems Division, stressed that Sustainable Development Goal 2
makes a clear link between the needs for healthy nutrition and sustainable agriculture. Its time that dietary guidelines
reflect that relationship, she said.
More than 80 governments already issue dietary advice, and the number is rising. However, most governments have yet to
issue national dietary advice, and this gap is particularly apparent in low income countries only five in Africa have such
guidelines. And most existing guidelines still fail to consider the environmental impacts of dietary choices.
Sweden is providing more detailed advice on which plant-based foods are to be preferred, recommending for example root
vegetables over salad greens. Brazils guidelines stand out for emphasizing the social and economic aspects of sustainability,
advising people to be wary of advertising, for instance, and to avoid ultra-processed foods that are not only bad for health
but are seen to undermine traditional food cultures.
The study emphases that, to have a real effect on food consumption, dietary guidelines need to have clear links to food
policies that are actually implemented such as school and hospital meal standards and advertising and industry regulations.
The reports overarching suggestion is that countries that already have dietary guidelines should begin to consider a process
of incorporating sustainability into them. The countries that do not already have them are in a unique position to develop
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The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section
of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)