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UN Daily News
Tuesday, 9 February 2016

Issue DH/7091

In the headlines:
Top UN officials say World Humanitarian Summit
must be 'turning point' in cooperation to tackle
crises

Zika: UN agriculture agency provides expertise to

help curb spread of virus

UN agency provides food to Syrians fleeing Aleppo

fighting

Ban welcomes proposal for first binding limits on

airlines' carbon emissions

'Unity and action' needed to counter expanding

threat from ISIL, Security Council told

UN officials call for global partnerships and unity in

combating human trafficking

After 30 years of conflict, Sri Lanka still in 'early

stages of renewal' UN rights chief

Security Council boosts number of corrections

officers for UN mission in Central African Republic

Haiti: UN agency says weather and drought to

blame as food insecurity doubles

'Dismal' human rights situation in Belarus

unchanged after election, UN expert warns

Top UN officials say World Humanitarian Summit must be

'turning point' in cooperation to tackle crises
9 February - World leaders must come together in 2016 to renew their commitments to
humanity and unite to prevent and end crisis and reduce suffering and vulnerability, United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, telling UN Member States that the
World Humanitarian Summit will provide an opportunity for concrete steps towards
ending the suffering experienced by billions of people today.
We need to show the millions of people living in conflict with chronic needs and
constant fear the solidarity that they deserve and expect, the Secretary-General said at
the launch of his report, One Humanity: Shared responsibility, for the first-ever World
Humanitarian Summit, set for 23 and 24 May in Istanbul, Turkey.
The urgency of these challenges and the scale of the suffering mean we must accept our
shared responsibilities and act decisively, with compassion and resolve, he added.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (2nd

from left) briefs the General Assembly on
his World Humanitarian Summit report.
Also pictured (from left): Stephen
O'Brien, Mogens Lykketoft and
Catherine Pollard. UN Photo/Rick
Bajornas

Briefing Member States at UN Headquarters in New York this morning, Mr. Ban underscored that the report outlines five
core responsibilities for action an 'Agenda for Humanity' that all stakeholders should accept and act upon.
Specifically, the report urges leaders to assume their responsibility to prevent and end conflict; calls on States to affirm their
responsibility to uphold the norms that safeguard humanity; appeals to States to leave no one behind and reach those who
are furthest behind; underscores the responsibility to change people's lives by moving from delivering aid to ending need;
and calls for investment in humanity, including enhancing local capacities, reducing risk and building effective and inclusive
institutions, especially in fragile contexts.

For information media not an official record

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9 February 2016

Today's complex challenges cross borders and surpass the capacity of any single country or institution to cope, the
Secretary-General emphasized. We need to restore trust in our global world order and in the capacities of our national and
regional institutions to confront these challenges effectively, he said.
Mr. Ban also stressed that the upcoming Summit is an opportune moment for world leaders to implement commitments
endorsed this past year, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the recent Paris Agreement on climate change.
We must ensure no-one in conflict, no-one in chronic poverty, and no-one living with the risk of natural hazards and rising
sea levels is left behind, said the UN chief, adding that : Our aspirations are ambitious, but the urgency of the crises and
the needs and expectations of hundreds of millions of people mean we must put this Agenda for Humanity into action.
Also speaking at the briefing today, UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft urged Member States to get behind
the Secretary-General's vision to deliver real commitments.
At its core, his report is an urgent plea to political and others leaders to summon the courage to reverse the current slide a
slide that is undermining everything this Organization stands for; everything that we as fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers
should care for, Mr. Lykketoft said.
It is a desperate plea to reassert the basic codes and norms that collectively, we agreed to abide by, to protect the world's
most vulnerable people international humanitarian law; international human rights law and international refugee law, he
added.
Noting that efforts thus far have been far from adequate, Mr. Lykketoft also stressed that the situation facing some 60
million displaced people and some 125 million people in need of humanitarian assistance continues to demand urgent
attention.
Istanbul is our first major opportunity since the 2030 Agenda was agreed to give true meaning to the principle of leaving no
one behind and to devise more credible, equitable and sustainable responses to global humanitarian crises, he said.

Zika: UN agriculture agency provides expertise to help curb

spread of virus
9 February - Under the lead of the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations
system, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is mobilizing a
coordinated response to Zika aimed at minimizing the threat in affected countries and
reducing the risk of further international spread.
"FAO with its resources and expertise, is ready to do its part in addressing this emergency
which continues to evolve," said the agency's Director-General, Jos Graziano da Silva in a
statement issued today.
Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily by Aedes mosquitoes; a critical measure to
combat the spread of the disease is to intensify control of mosquito populations in affected
and at-risk areas.

Mosquitoes in a laboratory. Removing

stagnant water used by these insects to
breed is crucial in combating the spread
of Zika. Photo: FAO/Simon Miana

As the leading UN agency on animal health and pest control, FAO highlighted today that it can assist affected nations with
targeted interventions while ensuring that people and the environment are not exposed to health and other risks stemming
from the inappropriate use of potentially dangerous chemicals.
It also emphasized that it is likely, at least in the short term, that there will be a dramatic increase in the use of insecticides to
spray mosquito populations or treat waters, adding that a more immediate and relatively simple set of actions that can be
taken to combat the spread of the Zika virus is to ensure the removal of stagnant water used by mosquitos to breed.

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Affected communities need to be encouraged and assisted to ensure that animal drinking water containers are emptied,
cleaned and scrubbed weekly. Ponds and other areas where stagnant water collects should also be drained and removed,
advised Mr. Graziano da Silva.
The agency further urged that if the intensive use of insecticides is indeed required, then it is essential that it be done with
great care to promote safety for humans and to protect the food chain from contamination. On this we are in a strong
position to provide support to affected countries and regions combating the spread of Zika, the Director-General stressed.
FAO, in a joint programme with WHO, has developed a set of recommendations on the sound management of insecticides.
For example it is important that high quality pesticides are used and mixed according to the manufacturer's instructions, to
promote both efficacy and safety.
FAO's work on agriculture and health threats of animal origin due to climate change, agro-ecosystems and land use
policies, early warning of possible disease events, such as what is done with partners on Rift Valley fever a disease also
transmitted by mosquitoes in Africa can be useful to forecast and ensure countries have their preparedness plans in place
in the Americas, Mr. Graziano da Silva added.
Through its work in monitoring weather patterns, it is possible for FAO to analyze the movements and changing habitats of
the Aedes mosquito vectors which can be important in mitigating or preventing the disease.
Mr. Graziano da Silva underscored that the agency's proven record in animal disease control as it has done with rinderpest,
avian influenza or tsetse-borne trypanosomosis can be beneficial for countries in Latin America and Caribbean to address
this problem together.
But besides the use of insecticides, there are reportedly other ways to combat the spread of the Zika virus. One possible
longer term solution being highlighted is the Sterile Insect Technique that has been developed at the FAO-IAEA Joint
Programme on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.
This is a form of pest control that uses ionizing radiation to sterilize male insect pests that are mass-produced in special
rearing facilities. It has reportedly been successfully used worldwide for over 50 years for various agricultural insect pests,
such as fruit flies, tsetse flies, screw worms and moths. Its deployment against disease-transmitting mosquitoes, such as the
carrier of the Zika, Chikungunya and Dengue viruses, is ongoing with some pilots already successfully completed and others
showing promising results.
FAO can contribute to these and other measures. For instance our vast network of workers at field level who for decades
have worked with communities and families and have built trusting relationships can bring the right health and safety
messages to the people who need them most, concluded the head of the UN agency.
The human toll from this emergency is potentially devastating and we must work closely together to ensure it is brought
under control," he warned.

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9 February 2016

UN agency provides food to Syrians fleeing Aleppo fighting

9 February - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today it has
started distributing urgently needed food to people displaced by the recent surge in violence
in Syrias northern Aleppo.
The food was transported on cross-border convoys from Turkey into the small town of
Azaz in northwest Syria, 30 kilometres northwest of Aleppo city and close to the SyrianTurkish border. Over the next few days, distributions will reach 21,000 people with more
food to meet the urgent needs of the new wave of displaced people.
The situation is quite volatile and fluid in northern Aleppo with families on the move
seeking safety, said Jakob Kern, WFPs Country Director in Syria, in a press release.

Syrian children stand in the entryway of

their tent shelter in the Bab Al Salame
camp for internally displaced persons in
Aleppo Governate. Photo:
UNICEF/Giovanni Diffidenti

We are extremely concerned as access and supply routes from the north to eastern Aleppo city and surrounding areas are
now cut off but we are making every effort to get enough food in place for all those in need, bringing it in through the
remaining open border crossing point from Turkey, he added.
The food includes rice, lentils, bulgur, pasta, white beans, chickpeas, vegetable oil, sugar and wheat flour in parcels that are
enough to feed a family for one month. WFP is also sending ready-to-eat rations such as canned food for those who have no
access to cooking facilities.
According to the agency, thousands of displaced people have gathered in Azaz in search of refuge close to the Bab Al
Salam border crossing point, and thousands more are expected to arrive if the fighting continues. More than 30,000 people
are reported to be on the move, many of them fleeing towards the Turkish border, and the towns of A'zaz and Afrin.
Prior to the escalation in fighting in northern Aleppo, WFP was regularly delivering food across the Turkish border into
Aleppo and Idleb governorates through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings.
WFP urges all parties to the conflict to facilitate unimpeded access to these communities in order to provide immediate
relief to families who have already suffered for far too long, Mr. Kern added.
At a press briefing in Geneva, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in northern Aleppo have also been providing assistance and humanitarian relief to
internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities have been accepting a number of vulnerable and wounded people into the country.
According to UNHCRs spokesperson, William Spindler, WFP asked Turkey to open its border to all civilians from Syria
who are fleeing danger and seeking international protection. Moreover, he said there has to be a political solution to the
conflict but that in the meantime, UNHCR is dealing with its consequences on the humanitarian side.
Mr. Spindler also noted that there have been humanitarian deliveries from Turkey close to the border, where about 5,000
people are hosted in communal tents in the vicinity of Kilis. He underscored that Turkey has had a very generous policy in
terms of receiving refugees, and that all countries have an obligation to open their borders to people fleeing persecution.

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9 February 2016

Ban welcomes proposal for first binding limits on airlines'

carbon emissions
9 February - Welcoming a proposal by the United Nation's International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) on the first binding limits on carbon dioxide emissions from the
aviation industry, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called today for further
strengthening of emissions standards as quickly as possible.

Aircraft on runway. Photo: World

Bank/Arne Hoel (file)

A statement attributable to the UN chief's spokesperson said the proposed rules, which
would limit carbon emissions and strengthen the efficiency of all new commercial and
business airliners after 2028, build on the strong momentum coming from the Paris
Agreement and represent the latest in a series of successful multilateral efforts to reduce the
risks of dangerous climate change.

Carbon emissions from aviation are growing rapidly, with the number of flights worldwide expected to double in the next
15 years. The ICAO's new rules come after years of negotiations and are the first time that governments have set emissions
standards for the aviation industry, the statement said.
For its part, ICAO said in a press release yesterday that the eagerly awaited aircraft carbon dioxide emissions standard was
unanimously recommended by the 170 international experts on its Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection, paving
the way for its ultimate adoption by the UN agency's 36-State Governing Council.
Under the recommendation, the new standard would be applicable to new aircraft type designs as of 2020, as well as to new
deliveries of current in-production aircraft types from 2023. A cut-off date of 2028 for production of aircraft that do not
comply with the standard was also recommended.
In its current form, the standard acknowledges carbon dioxide reductions arising from a range of possible technology
innovations, whether structural, aerodynamic or propulsion-based.
ICAO said the proposed global standard is particularly stringent for larger aircraft, since operations of aircraft weighing
more than 60 tons account for more than 90 per cent of international aviation emissions. The proposed standard, however,
covers the full range of sizes and types of aircraft used in international aviation today.
The goal of this process is ultimately to ensure that when the next generation of aircraft types enter service, there will be
guaranteed reductions in international CO2 emissions, said Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, President of the ICAO Council.
The Montreal-based agency works with 191 Member States and industry groups to reach consensus on international
standards, practices and policies for the civil aviation sector.

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9 February 2016

'Unity and action' needed to counter expanding threat from

ISIL, Security Council told
9 February - Given the ability of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to adapt
quickly to new circumstances and the steady stream of foreign fighters joining the group's
ranks, United Nations Member States must mount a strategic response that includes
addressing the underlying political and socio-economic causes of conflicts, particularly in
Syria and Libya, the top UN political official told the Security Council today.

Under-Secretary-General for Political

Affairs Jeffrey Feltman presents the
report of the Secretary-General on the
threat posed by ISIL (Daesh). UN
Photo/Manuel Elias

Jeffrey Feltman, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, also urged strengthening
the operational and legal framework needed to choke off ISIL's funding, in the first-ever
briefing to the Council on UN counter-terrorism efforts against ISIL and its affiliates. The
meeting follows a December 2015 Council session of world Finance Ministers that
requested a strategic level report from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the issue.

Despite global efforts to counter through military, financial and law enforcement measures, and the substantial losses
inflicted upon ISIL, the group continues to pose one of the major challenges of our time to international peace and security,
Mr. Feltman told the Council.
Highlighting some of the report's key findings, he explained that ISIL's emergence has been facilitated by the protracted
conflicts and instability in Iraq and Syria, as well as the weakening of State institutions and the inability of the States to
exercise effective control over territory and borders. The group, also known as Da'esh, which has benefited from a flow of
financial resources and its ties with transnational organized criminals, is expanding its operations to other regions.
In the face of this common threat, I would like to echo the Secretary-General's call to unity and action, including in finding
political solutions to the conflicts in Syria and Libya, and assure you that the United Nations is committed to supporting
Member States' efforts, said Mr. Feltman.
Describing ISIL's global expansion strategy, he said its operations across West and North Africa, the Middle East and South
and South-east Asia, as well as the increasing number of terrorist groups pledging allegiance to its cause and the substantial
flow of foreign terrorist fighters from around the world, are a source of major concern.
He went on to note that ISIL continued to perpetuate appalling human rights abuses against populations under its control,
including mass executions, widespread torture, amputations, ethno-sectarian attacks, sexual violence, enslavement and
systematic recruitment and abuse of children.
The situation has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportions, he said, pointing out that in Syria alone, some
12 million people have been forced to flee their homes and more than 13.5 million people need humanitarian assistance.
The report further analyzes ISIL's finances, highlighting the group's capacity to mobilize vast resources rapidly and
effectively, he said. Its main sources of financing include the exploitation of oil and other natural resources, taxing,
confiscation and the looting of archaeological sites, as well as external donations and use of the Internet and social media to
raise funds.
Noting that ISIL's attraction for potential recruits continues unabated, he said an estimated 30,000 foreign terrorist fighters
are actively engaged with it and associated groups. ISIL sympathizers, acting alone or in small cells, had effectively
expanded the geographical scope and complexity of their attacks in the second half of 2015, as had been seen in the attacks
carried out in Paris, Beirut and Jakarta.
While the report stresses that primary responsibility for countering the threat of ISIL lay with Member States, the UN and
other international organizations have a critical role to play in supporting their efforts and had already undertaken a number
of measures in that regard. In the context of countering the financing of terrorism, Member States should ensure the timely
exchange of information and financial intelligence, implement relevant Security Council resolutions, and strengthen their
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collaboration with private sector actors to address the threat.

The United Nations should support these efforts in a more comprehensive way, particularly in its field operations,
including by enhancing its research on the nexus between ISIL and transnational organized crime, and stepping up technical
assistance to build Member States' capacities, he added.
In the third part of the report, he said, the Secretary-General provided a number of strategic responses for Member States
and the United Nations in addressing the ISIL threat. They included examining the underlying political and socio-economic
causes of relevant conflicts, particularly in Syria, and strengthening the operational and legal framework needed to choke off
ISIL's funding.
Among other recommendations listed in the report, he said, were those relating to countering the financing of terrorism and
recruitment while addressing violent extremism and radicalization, including through preventive efforts focused on
education and youth. Member States should criminalize travel by foreign terrorist fighters, in accordance with relevant
resolutions, and take measures to strengthen border-management regimes.

UN officials call for global partnerships and unity in combating

human trafficking
9 February - While the world clearly has the political will and legal tools to take on human
traffickers and their criminal networks, what are needed is more meaningful international
cooperation and adequate funding to take effective action, senior United Nations officials
said today, warning that the scourge now has victims spread across 152 different
citizenships in 124 countries.
No region is immune, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement delivered
alongside the President of the General Assembly and the head of the UN anti-crime agency,
at the high-level event, 'In Stronger Partnership and Coordination to Stop Human
Trafficking: Eradicating Modern-Day Slavery through Sustainable Development,' held at
UN Headquarters in New York.

At the Bandeu checkpoint in Nepal,

inspectors and a police constable
approach a bus to look for potential
victims of child trafficking onboard.
Photo: OCHA/Tilak Pokharel.

Mr. Ban stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships and coordination in efforts to end the suffering of all victims
of trafficking, including those subjected to slavery, servitude, forced labour or bonded labour. With solid partnerships and a
clear approach, we can ensure the criminals are brought to justice, he said.
Today, more than 60 million women, children and men are fleeing conflict, escaping wars, or seeking a better life, he said,
noting that many are being coerced into exploitation during their journey, and thousands are dying on sea and on land at the
hands of callous smugglers. Far too many are women and children, he added.
The promotion of human rights is central to our strategy, he said, urging all Member States to ratify and fully implement
the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols, the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
He also urged full support for the UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children and the UN Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.
Recalling that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development promises more peaceful, just and inclusive societies which
are free from fear and violence, he called on the international community to work together for a world of universal respect
for equality and non-discrimination; a world where the rights of all, regardless of national and social origin, can be
protected, respected and fulfilled; a world of justice and accountability where human trafficking and smuggling, slavery,
servitude, forced labour and bonded labour are no more.
In September, the United Nations will convene a high-level summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and
Migrants to enhance coherence and build alliances to confront these issues head-on.
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For his part, Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft noted that the General Assembly agreed to hold a high-level meeting in
late 2017 to conduct the second appraisal of the Global Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons, adopted by in 2010.
The Global Plan of Action emphasizes the need for countries to comprehensively and vigorously address human trafficking
and encourages them to assess the success of these activities, he said, adding that the meeting in 2017 will allow Member
States to further strengthen cooperation and coordination on prevention, on the prosecution of traffickers and on offering
greater assistance to those who suffer most from this crime.
He went on to stress that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) demand that States join together in partnership and
cooperation to support people and communities everywhere. Through the Goals, member States had made a solemn promise
that must be honoured in comprehensive and effective action. Such work includes the elimination of human trafficking,
migrant smuggling and violence against women and children.
Let us live up to this pledge, and by doing so, let us create the peaceful and inclusive societies that are foundations for lives
of human rights, security and prosperity, he said.
Also adressing the event, Yury Fedotov, the Director General of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the 2030
Agenda recognizes that human trafficking must be targeted in order to realize a number of SDGs, from achieving gender
equality and empowering all women and girls, to promoting peaceful, inclusive societies and economic growth.
He also explained that as the guardian of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocols,
UNODC remains committed and fully engaged in supporting Member States, including through our global programmes and
network of field offices.
We have also launched a joint EU-UNODC four-year Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and
Smuggling of Migrants, which will address the needs of thirteen countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin
America, he explained.
With the Convention and Protocol, we have the necessary foundation. We have well established frameworks and tools, and
the right experience and expertise. What we need is more meaningful international cooperation and adequate funding to take
effective action. Otherwise our efforts to stop this terrible crime, which hinders development and so unscrupulously profits
from the despair and vulnerability of people everywhere, can only fall short, warned Mr. Fedotov.

After 30 years of conflict, Sri Lanka still in 'early stages of

renewal' UN rights chief
9 February - After nearly 30 years of conflict and acrimony that not only cost tens of
thousands of lives but also eroded vital components of the State, Sri Lanka is still in the
early stages of renewal, the United Nations human rights chief said today, ending a mission
to the country.
Virtually everyone agrees there has been progress, although opinions differ markedly
about the extent of that progress, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad
Al Hussein said in a statement to the press, issued from Colombo.

UN High Commissioner for Human

Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein, briefs the
media at the UN Compound in Colombo,
Sri Lanka. Photo: UN Sri
Lanka/Muradh Mohideen

During his four-day visit, Mr. Zeid met with several senior Government officials, including
President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. In Colombo, he
visited the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Task Force that will lead the
forthcoming National Consultations on transitional justice. On Sunday, he was in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of the
country.
This has been a much more friendly, cooperative and encouraging visit than the one my predecessor endured in August
2013, which as you may recall was marred by vituperative attacks on her integrity, simply because she addressed a number
of burning human rights issues that any High Commissioner for Human Rights would have raised at that time, said Mr.
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Zeid, referring to former UN rights chief Navi Pillay.

I am aware that some of the same people have given me a similar welcome I've seen the posters but I am pleased that in
the new environment in Sri Lanka, all voices, including the moderate voices of civil society, can at last be heard, even if
sometimes the voices of hatred and bigotry are still shouting the loudest, and as a result are perhaps being listened to more
than they deserve, he added.

Progress & Challenges

Noting that Sri Lanka has come a long way in the past year with the media now having greater freedom, Mr. Zeid said the
element of fear has considerably diminished, at least in Colombo and the South, but in the North and the East, it has
mutated but, sadly, still exists.
On the positive side, he highlighted several recent highly symbolic steps taken that have had a positive impact on intercommunal relations, including the decision to sing the national anthem in both Sinhala and Tamil on Independence Day, for
the first time since the early 1950s. He also indicated that one of the most important long-term achievements over the past
year has been the restoration of the legitimacy and independence of Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission.
But despite these advances, he said Sri Lanka is still in the early stages of renewal. Repairing the damage done by a
protracted conflict is a task of enormous complexity, and the early years are crucial. If mistakes are made, or significant
problems are downplayed or ignored during the first few years, they become progressively harder to sort out as time goes
on, he warned. While the glass is still molten, if you are quick and skilful, you can shape it into a fine object that will last
for years.
Turning to the proposed Constitutional reform, which should ensure that the rights of all Sri Lankans are fully recognised,
Mr. Zeid said there are fears that at a later stage this may be achieved at the expense of other equally important processes
such as truth-telling, justice and accountability.
While the Task Force appointed to lead the National Consultation process includes high quality representatives of civil
society, there are concerns including among the Task Force members themselves that the process is too rushed and has
not been properly planned or adequately resourced, he noted, highlighting measures that could be taken quickly to reverse
this trend of draining confidence.

Implementing Human Rights Council resolution

Meanwhile, he said issues relating to implementation of a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council last October
were high on his agenda during this trip. Co-sponsored by Sri Lanka and agreed with the consensus of all 47 Council
members, it laid out an eminently sensible pathway for the country to follow, with the Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights (OHCHR) charged with following up on its implementation.
The Human Rights Council resolution was in many ways a reflection of the reform agenda that Sri Lankans had voted for
in last year's Presidential and Parliamentary elections. It sets out some of the tough steps that must be taken to achieve
reconciliation and accountability and, through them, lasting peace, Mr. Zeid stressed.
There are many myths and misconceptions about the resolution, and what it means for Sri Lanka. It is not a gratuitous
attempt to interfere with or undermine the country's sovereignty or independence. It is not some quasi-colonial act by some
nebulous foreign power. The acceptance of the resolution was a moment of strength, not weakness, by Sri Lanka he
insisted, adding that it was the country's commitment to both itself and to the world to confront the past honestly and, by
doing that, take out comprehensive insurance against any future devastating outbreak of inter communal tensions and
conflict.
I urge all Sri Lankans to make an effort to understand what that resolution and the report underpinning it actually say, and I
urge all those in a position to do so, to make a greater effort to explain why the recommendations are so important, and why
the United Nations and all those individual States Sri Lanka included endorsed them, he continued.
The human rights chief told reporters the resolution suggests international participation in the accountability mechanisms set
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up to deal with international crimes and gross human rights violations committed by individuals on both sides.
This is a practical proposal to solve the very real and practical problems I mentioned earlier. But it is only one aspect
albeit a very important one of the broad range of measures outlined in the 2015 UN report and resolution, and the extent to
which it has been allowed to dominate the debate in Sri Lanka in recent days is unfortunate, he said.
Concluding his remarks, Mr. Zeid said the international community wants to welcome Sri Lanka back into its fold without
any lingering reservations and help Sri Lanka become an economic powerhouse.

Security Council boosts number of corrections officers for UN

mission in Central African Republic
9 February - Determining that the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) remains
a threat to international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council decided
today to maintain the current personnel ceiling of more than 12,800 personnel in the
military and police components of the UN peacekeeping operation in the country and to
increase the number of corrections officers.

The police contingent of the UN

Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization
Mission in the Central African Republic
(MINUSCA), along with the countrys
National Police, conducting a joint
operation in the capital Bangui. UN
Photo/Nektarios Markogiannis

In its unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member Council decided that the UN
Integrated Multidimensional Mission in the CAR, known by its French acronym,
MINUSCA, will comprise up to 10,750 military personnel, among them 480 military
observers and military staff officers, and 2,080 police personnel, among them 400
individual police officers. It also decided to raise the number of corrections officers from 40
to 108.

The Council also asked the Secretary-General to keep the level of MINUSCA's military and
police personnel and corrections officers under continuous review.
The current mandate of the mission, which was established in 2014 to replace the UN Peacebuilding Office in CAR
(BINUCA), is set to expire at the end of April.
More than three years of civil war and sectarian violence have displaced thousands of people in the CAR amid continuing
clashes between the mainly Muslim Slka rebel coalition and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian. The UN
recently reported an upsurge in violence, in particular last September and October, committed by armed elements.
MINUSCA itself has recently been hit by a series of allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation by peacekeepers and
associated troops. Just yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon named Jane Holl Lute, an American official with wideranging United Nations experience, to coordinate efforts to curb the scourge.

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Haiti: UN agency says weather and drought to blame as food

insecurity doubles
9 February - Haiti's third consecutive year of drought, exacerbated by the global El Nio
weather phenomenon, has driven people deeper into poverty and hunger, and doubled the
severely food-insecure population, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said
today.

A family digs up pieces of wood on the

outskirts of Gonaives, Haiti, which they
burn in a pit to create charcoal for sale at
the local markets. This demand, coupled
with the lack of alternative employment,
has contributed to the deforestation and
erosion crisis in the country. Photo:
UNICEF/UNI43567/LeMoyne

Some 3.6 million Haitians are facing food insecurity, among them more than 1.5 million
people who are severely food insecure. This is a key finding from an emergency food
security assessment conducted by WFP, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
and National Food Security Coordination.
Without rain for the 2016 spring season, farmers will lose their fourth consecutive harvest
on which they normally depend to feed their families, warned Wendy Bigham, WFP's
Deputy Country Director in Haiti, in a news release.

We need to help them meet their immediate needs and help build up their resilience, she added.
According to the agency, the main harvest in 2015 fell below average, with losses of up to 70 per cent in some areas. This is
severely threatening food security in Haiti, where agriculture employs half of the working population and 75 per cent of
people live on less than $2 per day.
In addition, the current El Nio phenomenon, which began in early 2015, is one of the strongest on record and is affecting
the food security of vulnerable people around the globe, including in Haiti.
In some areas of the country, up to 70 per cent of the population is facing hunger and a recent study conducted by the UN
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Government of Haiti revealed that malnutrition rates are above emergency levels in
several communes.
WFP intends to scale up its food assistance programmes to address the most critical and immediate needs of one million
drought-affected people by distributing cash and food rations. The agency also plans to complement the immediate
distributions with Cash-for-Assets programmes, in which 200,000 Haitians are paid in cash in exchange for work on
watershed management and soil conservation projects to improve local infrastructure for long-term development.
In coordination with the Government, WFP has been distributing food to about 120,000 Haitians since November in areas
worst affected by the drought. A two-month food ration feeds a family of five and includes such basic food items as rice,
pulses, oil, sugar and salt.
WFP said its assistance to families is essential until at least the next harvest, expected in July. To meet the basic needs of 1
million Haitians, the agency, which is funded entirely by voluntary contributions, requires $84 million.

UN News Centre www.un.org/news

UN Daily News

- 12 -

9 February 2016

'Dismal' human rights situation in Belarus unchanged after

election, UN expert warns
9 February - The United Nations-appointed monitor of the human rights situation in
Belarus warned today that opposition leaders, activists, journalists, and many other citizens
have been subjected to harassment, administrative procedures and fines since the country's
October presidential election.

Member of a polling station committee

for Belarus' presidential election empty a
ballot box prior to counting in Minsk, 11
October 2015. Photo: OSCE/Thomas
Rymer

During the last four months, no changes have been initiated in Belarus to alter the
oppressive laws and practices, while numerous cases of new violations of basic rights have
emerged, UN Special Rapporteur Mikls Haraszti said in a news release, which described
the presidential poll as falling short of democratic standards, just as all votes in that
country since the 1990s.
The incumbent was reappointed following an unverifiable turnout and non-transparent

ballot count, he added.

Unfortunately, the dismal state of human rights has remained unchanged in the country, said Mr. Haraszti, who was
designated as Special Rapporteur by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council in 2012.
He said that the authorities have neither ceased the systematic harassment of those who attempted to practice their
individual, civil, political, and other rights, nor shown any willingness to reform the entrenched, highly oppressive legal
system.
The independent expert, however, commended that political prisoners had been released on the eve of the election, noting
that it indicated a good start as the authorities, unlike during the 2010 election, refrained from violence against political
opponents, and they did not arrest the rival candidates.
Yet, the Government has not restored the civil political rights of the released political prisoners, the rapparteur said, pointing
out that the politically construed criminal cases against the 2010 presidential candidate Ales Mikhalevich and journalist
Aliaksandr Alesin continue, just as the imprisonment of cultural activist Mikhail Zhamchuzhny.
Belarusian human rights activist Alena Tankachova has been banned from entry into his homeland, and no safe re-entry has
been granted for those forced to leave the country due to political persecution, Mr. Haraszti said, adding that registration of
human rights organizations 'For Fair Elections', Viasna, and others has been repeatedly rejected on flimsy administrative
reasons.
Ceasing all these arbitrary persecutions would only take political will in this highly centralized system, and the Government
should engage in a broad reform to bring legislation in compliance with its international human rights obligations, he
stressed.
The rapporteur highlighted that Belarus has for 20 years been the only country in Europe where there is no opposition in
parliament. The forthcoming parliamentary elections in 2016 will also be an opportunity for the authorities to attest of their
commitment to reform, he said.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and
report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN
staff, nor are they paid for their work.

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)