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Abstract: OneResponse is a collaborative inter-agency website designed to enhance humanitarian coordination within the cluster approach, and support the predictable exchange of information in emergencies at the country level. The website will support Clusters and OCHA fulfill their information management responsibilities as per existing IASC guidance. Key characteristics of the site include:
- A global entry page, where all global cluster guidance materials located on www.humanitarianreform.org is currently being migrated.
- Country or emergency specific content will be hosted on the field level site.
- A specific disaster site will be created within 24 hours, during the onset of a new emergency.
- A low-bandwidth version of the site is available, to enable access and exchange of information in poor connectivity environments.
- Information can be categorized as either public or private. This allows sensitive information to be made accessible only to cluster specific working groups.
- Clusters will directly manage their own content on the site.
- OCHA owns the website and is responsible for its management.
Abstract: This report documents numerous abuses during renewed fighting in the past year by parties to the 20-year-long conflict in Somalia. These include the Islamist armed group al-Shabaab, the Somali Transitional Federal Government, the African Union peacekeeping forces, and Kenya- and Ethiopia-backed Somali militias. The report also examines abuses by the Kenyan police and crimes committed by bandits in neighboring Kenya against Somali refugees.
Abstract: Key facts and figures for Sudan with a focus on Darfur as of June 2011. Categories include:
- Geography and demographics Area Sudan
- Map and focus areas
- Human Development (HDI, Sudan)
- Economy, Budget and Aid
- GDP / govt revenue ($bn, Sudan)
- Aid ($bn, Sudan)
- Health
- Acute respiratory infections (incidents / 10,000 population, Darfur)
- Nutrition
- Food security
- Cereal production (‘000 MT, Darfur)
- Population
- Urbanization (%,Sudan)
- Min. food basket (SDG / day, Darfur)
- Education
- Water and sanitation
- Environment
- Conflict and fatalities (Darfur)
- Fatalities Darfur
- UN & Partners Work Plan 2011
- Displacement and refugees
- Villages affected (Darfur, cum. total)
- UNAMID
Abstract: A new law passed by the Colombian government to make reparation to victims of the
armed conflict has implications for the approximately 455,000 Colombians who live
as refugees, asylum-seekers, or in a refugee-like situation outside the country.
Although these vulnerable individuals may be entitled to reparation for human rights
violations suffered in Colombia, the ongoing armed conflict impedes their access to
this offer. This paper investigates the legal and practical implications of offering such
‘transnational’ reparations to externally-displaced victims in circumstances of
protracted armed conflict.
The new Victims’ Law in Colombia provides for wide-ranging reparation measures to
persons who have suffered damages directly as a result of human rights violations or
infractions of international humanitarian law.
Although refugees and other
EDVs do not figure prominently in its provisions, this new legal framework generates
a range of wider questions about the positioning of such persons vis-à-vis the offer of
reparation from their home country, including:
- To what extent does international law require the home state to address the
specific needs of EDVs when designing reparation measures and
procedures?
- What are the international law implications of home country reparation to
EDVs for third states?
- What is the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – as the international agency mandated with refugee protection
in such processes?
- What does ‘reparation’ mean for refugees and other EDVs, and what are
their needs in this regard?
- What are the political consequences of the often tense border dynamics
that accompany refugee outflows for the implementation of any reparation
measures for EDVs?
By addressing these questions through a Colombian case study, this paper constitutes a
first step towards understanding what the provision of reparation may mean for
refugees and other displaced persons where the circumstances giving rise to their
displacement remain.
Abstract: Multiple threats to Libya's stability and public order could emerge if the Qaddafi regime falls. Scenarios range from Qaddafi loyalist forces launching a violent resistance to internecine warfare breaking out among the rebel factions. This instability in Libya could lead to a humanitarian disaster, the emergence of a new authoritarian ruler, or even the country’s dissolution. Given these potential consequences, Daniel Serwer recommends in this Center for Preventive Action Contingency Planning Memorandum that the European Union lead a post-Qaddafi stabilization force in Libya. The force preferably should fall under the United Nations umbrella with modest participation from the African Union and Arab League. The United States should support the stabilization effort with the aim of helping to establish a united and sovereign Libya with inclusive democratic institutions.
Abstract: Yemen has suffered from internal conflicts and clashes for several years, resulting in severe disruptions of services, lack of security for the population and a large number of internally displaced people. The internal security threats include three distinct elements: a conflict in the north; a secessionist movement in the south; and the threat posed by terrorist elements.
Abstract: Three years after their August 2008 war over the South Ossetia region, tension is growing again between Russia and Georgia, and talks are needed to restore stability and create positive momentum in a situation that is fragile and potentially explosive. Diplomatic relations are suspended, and the two have only started limited negotiations, with Swiss mediation, on Russia’s World Trade Organisation membership. Yet, they share interests in improving regional security, trade and transport and should start discussions on these rather than continuing to exchange hostile rhetoric that only makes renewed dialogue more difficult.
Lack of contact has increased distrust since the fighting ended. For Georgia, Russia is an occupier who is undermining its sovereignty and security. While almost the entire international community regards South Ossetia and Abkhazia as parts of sovereign Georgia, Russia recognised both as independent shortly after the war. Moscow maintains an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 combat, security, and border forces in those two territories and is building and refurbishing permanent military bases there, in violation of the ceasefire brokered by the EU presidency in 2008. Some 20,000 persons displaced that year have been prevented from returning home, and casualties still occur along the administrative border lines.
Abstract: The ‘human security’ paradigm emerged in the early 1990s as a means of refocusing the security referent away from the state to the individual. It is a theory that is grounded in human rights and the provision of basic needs for all of humanity, regardless of their locale, identity or citizenship status. As a theory, it was not intended to replace notions of traditional security, but was instead intended to be a complementary theory on security as it has been argued that human insecurity actually threatens state security. While the concept itself remains somewhat contested in the political sciences, human security nonetheless provides a useful analysis of non-state security issues and dilemmas, particularly those that concern the human condition. In recent years there has been increasing recognition that the human security paradigm has overlooked the vulnerabilities often faced by women, many of which are gender-based and thereby not shared by men. To counter this, there have been attempts to ‘engender’ human security discourse in academic literature. This paper considers the vulnerabilities faced by female rural to urban migrants in the People’s Republic of China and intersects the mainstream discourse on human security in an attempt to contribute further to the engendering of human security discourse.
Abstract: In February the conflict was sparked by anti-Government protests which drew a Government of Libya response. Since then, the
conflict has moved back and forth across Libya. The humanitarian and protection situation remains of utmost concern to the
humanitarian community. Over 686,422 migrants have fled the violence, including 261,118 third-country nationals. Hundreds of thousands of Libyans are internally displaced. At least 40,000 are refugees in neighbouring
Tunisia. Humanitarian partners have provided over 5,180 metric tons of aid including food, medical supplies, shelter
and non-food items. Over 12,800 people have been evacuated from Misrata so far. The humanitarian community is in
contact with all parties to carry out assistance. By far the greatest impact has been wrought on Misrata, a city of 300,000
people, which has seen the bloodiest fighting with thousands of casualties. Precise numbers of civilians killed or injured are unknown.
Abstract: The Georgian government must put a stop to forced evictions of internally displaced people and provide them with adequate housing, Amnesty International said today.
The call comes as Amnesty International publishes a briefing, Uprooted again: Forced evictions of internally displaced persons in Georgia, detailing a pattern of forced evictions in June – August 2010 and January 2011 from temporary shelters where people have sought refuge.
With a fresh wave of evictions having started in Tbilisi in July 2011, Amnesty International is urging the Georgian authorities to ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated.
"In their drive to empty temporary housing shelters in the capital and provide displaced people with durable housing the Georgian authorities have ignored essential protections for those evicted and estranged many from established support networks and livelihoods," said Natalia Nozadze, Amnesty International's Georgia researcher.
Abstract: L’arrivée au pouvoir du président élu Ouattara ne doit pas masquer la réalité. La Côte d’Ivoire reste un pays fragile et instable. Les atrocités commises après le second tour de l’élection présidentielle du 28 novembre 2010 et la tentative de confiscation par tous les moyens du pouvoir perdu dans les urnes par Laurent Gbagbo ont renforcé les tensions communautaires déjà très vives. Les prochains mois seront cruciaux. Il appartient au nouveau gouvernement de ne pas sous-estimer les menaces qui pèseront pendant longtemps sur la paix et de rompre avec la légèreté et l’ivresse du pouvoir qui ont conduit le pays à des choix désastreux au cours des deux dernières décennies. La communauté internationale doit maintenir un regard attentif sur la période actuelle de transition et jouer sa partition dans les domaines de la sécurité, de l’économie et de la coordination de la réponse humanitaire. Le président doit prendre des décisions courageuses dans les registres de la sécurité, de la justice, du dialogue politique, du redémarrage économique et intégrer un élément de réconciliation dans chacun de ces domaines.
Abstract: Scores were killed in Syria as security forces backed by tanks launched an assault on the restive central city of Hama and other towns and cities, at the end of a month which saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets as daily anti-regime protests continued to spread. Syrian rights groups reported that more than 1,600 people have been killed and at least 12,000 arrested since the unrest began in March.
In Yemen violence escalated in Arhab, a mountainous area northeast of the capital Sanaa, where at least 40 were killed at the end of the month in clashes between government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to the opposition.
The UN declared a state of famine in Somalia's Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, both controlled by Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, following the worst drought in half a century and protracted instability.
There were hopes for political reconciliation in Burundi, as opposition parties welcomed President Pierre Nkurunziza's 30 June Independence Day speech inviting opposition leaders to return from exile and resume talks with the government.
In Malawi security forces used live ammunition to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters from 20-21 July, leaving at least eighteen people dead.
At least one presidential guard was killed on 19 July during two separate attacks on the home of Guinea's President Alpha Condé. Security forces arrested 38 people in connection with the attacks, including 25 military personnel. Most of those arrested have links with former junta leader Sekouba Konaté.
Ethnic violence flared in Pakistan's second city and commercial hub Karachi, leaving more than 200 people dead. July was the deadliest month in decades for clashes between supporters of the mainly Pashtun Awami National Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, representing the Urdu-speaking majority.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban stepped up their assassination campaign against government officials and key allies of President Hamid Karzai. Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president's half-brother and influential governor of volatile Kandahar province, was killed by his own bodyguard on 12 July, while the mayor of Kandahar city and a top adviser to the president died in separate suicide attacks later in the month.
Tensions soared in Kosovo late month after Kosovo special police attempted to take control of two customs posts in the north to enforce a new ban on imports from Serbia, triggering a violent response from Kosovo Serbs.
Abstract: Palestinian civilians living in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) continue to
bear the brunt of ongoing conflict and the Israeli occupation. This has resulted in
a protection crisis with serious and negative humanitarian consequences.
In the midst of this ongoing crisis, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and
its partners in the oPt have identified five key protection themes as priorities for
targeted advocacy:
- Accountability and Third State Responsibility
- Life, Liberty and Security
- Forced Displacement and Population Transfer
- Movement and Access
- Humanitarian Space
This report, one of a series that will address these priorities, focuses on the
displacement of Palestinian civilians and communities. Displacement in the oPt
is caused by a combination of factors, including lack of access to and control
of land and resources; restrictive zoning, planning and permit regulations; forced
evictions and house demolitions; restrictions on freedom of movement and access
to services and assistance; violence, intimidation and harassment; and finally,
revocation of civil status.
The displacement and dispossession of hundreds of Palestinian men, women and
children in the oPt each year must be brought to an end and the policies and
practices placing thousands of others at-risk of displacement must change.
Abstract: 2011 has witnessed an unprecedented arrival of IDPs into Mogadishu due to drought related reasons. While the largest influx of IDPs occurred in January 2011, trends indicate that since March, the rate of influx has been steadily increasing. Based on IASC Population Movement Tracking (PMT) data, this analysis aims to identify the key areas receiving IDPs in Mogadishu as well as the source of displacement this year.
Abstract: People become refugees for many
reasons, not least because of violent
civil conflicts in which ordinary citizens
are the greatest victims. This has
led to large numbers of women,
men and children being forced to
seek sanctuary in their neighbouring
countries and further afield. These
people can remain displaced for years,
or even decades. Some may fear that
the prolonged presence of refugees
will have a negative impact on their
community or country.
In reality, if given the opportunity to
integrate and belong, former refugees
are able to be self-reliant and to
contribute socially and economically,
in many cases becoming an asset to
their host States.
Local integration is one of the
three ‘durable solutions’ for refugees
developed by the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR), in partnership
with host and origin countries. The
other durable solutions are voluntary
repatriation to the refugees’ country
of origin, and resettlement in a third
country. Local integration is particularly relevant
when people cannot return to their
country of origin in a foreseeable
future, or have developed strong
ties with their host communities
through business or marriage. It
is based on the assumption that
refugees will remain in their country
of asylum permanently and find
a solution to their plight in that
State, possibly but not necessarily
though acquiring citizenship.
Local integration is all about
partnerships and collaboration
between agencies and countries in
the pursuit of collective solutions.
Ultimately, however, both the vision
and leadership of host governments
and the support of the international
community are critical to the
ongoing success of local integration
strategies.
Abstract: It would be hard to conceive of two States that offer greater contrasts than
Somalia and Eritrea: the former, a collapsed State for over two decades, with no
functional national institutions; the latter, possessing the most highly centralized,
militarized and authoritarian system of government on the African continent. From a
sanctions monitoring perspective, however, the two countries present very similar
challenges: in both cases, power is concentrated in the hands of individuals rather
than institutions and is exercised through largely informal and often illicit networks
of political and financial control. Leaders in both countries often depend more
heavily on political and economic support from foreign Governments and diaspora
networks than from the populations within their own borders. And both countries —
in very different ways — serve as platforms for foreign armed groups that represent a
grave and increasingly urgent threat to peace and security in the Horn and East
Africa region.
More than half of Somali territory is controlled by responsible, comparatively
stable authorities that have demonstrated, to varying degrees, their capacity to
provide relative peace and security to their populations. Without exception, the
administrations of Somaliland, Puntland, Gaalmudug, and “Himan iyo Heeb”
evolved independently of centralized State-building initiatives, from painstaking,
organic local political processes. Much of Galguduud region is controlled by anti-Al-
Shabaab clan militias loosely unified under the umbrella of Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a
(ASWJ), but lacks a functional authority. Consolidation of and cooperation between
such entities represents the single most effective strategy for countering threats like
extremism and piracy, while expanding peace and security in Somalia.
Abstract: International interest in the Democratic Republic of Congo is waning at a time when hundreds of thousands of Congolese continue to be displaced by ongoing violence. This shift risks squandering the substantial investments made towards peace and stability in the DRC and leaves internally displaced people vulnerable to further violence and suffering. Continued political and financial support by the U.S. and other donor governments is still essential to address both the root causes of the problem and emergency needs – all the more so in the context of November’s elections.
Donor governments should press for key changes to help protect people from harm and to reduce the appalling gaps in assistance for displaced people. Pressuring the Congolese government for effective reforms of the security sector will decrease the growing insecurity caused by efforts to reconfigure the Congolese national army. Hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people can receive more effective assistance and protection if humanitarian funding is increased and if UNHCR reallocates its resources appropriately. Finally, important efforts to address horrific incidents of sexual violence must receive continued support, as should wider protection needs of women and communities.
Abstract: Each year Oxfam undertakes a far-reaching survey of unheard, conflict-affected people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Three-quarters of the 1,705 people polled in 2011 said that they felt their security had not improved since last year. In areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), this figure rose to 90 per cent, with communities telling Oxfam that they felt abandoned, isolated, and vulnerable.
Communities everywhere painted a grim picture of continued abuse of power by militias, the Congolese army, and other government authorities, wearing away their livelihoods and ability to cope.
Abstract: This paper documents the opinions of victims of human rights violations in Kenya about the country’s unfolding transitional justice process. The first section gives background into the human rights violations; the second section presents victims ideas about reparative justice. The report recommends implementing an urgent reparations program to address the needs of the most vulnerable victims, as well as establishing a process to lead to a more comprehensive reparations program in the future.
Abstract: Côte d'Ivoire security forces and a state-backed militia are creating a climate of fear that is preventing hundreds of thousands of people displaced by post-election violence from returning to their homes, Amnesty International said in a report released today.
"We want to go home, but we can't" Côte d'Ivoire's continuing crisis of displacement and insecurity describes how ethnically targeted killings and attacks by the government security forces and a militia composed of Dozos - traditional hunters - have left the population unable to leave the relative safety of temporary camps.
"The stalemate that is keeping more than half a million people from their homes cannot be allowed to continue," said Gaëtan Mootoo, Amnesty International's West Africa researcher.
"The authorities must act to establish a clear chain of command and disband militia groups who, despite the end of the conflict, continue to spread fear among the population."
Amnesty International's report details how government security forces and the Dozo continued to kill and otherwise target people solely because of their ethnic group even after the inauguration of President Alassane Ouattara.
