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e-ContegoDedicated to the global community of peacekeepers and humanitarian aid providers

Journal of Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Support March 6, 2012

Failures in Syria Must be Addressed

UNDP’s First-Ever Use of Mobile Money Transfers in Haiti

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Survivors of the 2010 devastating earthquake in Haiti have this week started receiving cash subsidies through the first-ever mobile money transfer system in support of post-disaster hous-ing reconstruction, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) reported on March 1. More than 2,000 mobile money transfers are planned in the next three months to 1,000 low-income families receiving subsidies totalling $500 to purchase construction materials such as cement, iron and wood at selected project-certified stores. The initiative is part of the ‘Com-

munity Support Centres for House Repairs,’ a partnership between UNDP and the government of Haiti. Commissioned by UNDP and de-veloped by Digicel, one of the country’s largest cell phone service providers, the mobile telephone cash transfers are helping boost financial inclusion in Haiti, where nearly two-thirds of the population has access to mobile phones, but only 10 per cent have bank accounts. Beneficiaries can also access a mobile phone checking account, which

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently underlined the need for concerted action to end the crisis in Syria, lamenting that the international community has thus far failed in its responsibility to stop the bloodshed in the country, where he said the Govern-ment was waging an “atrocious assault” against its own people. “In fact, the actions—indeed, the inaction—of the international com-munity seems to have encouraged the Syrian authorities in their brutal sup-pression of its citizens,” Ban said as he reported to the General Assembly on the implementation of its 16 February resolution on Syria. That resolution strongly con-demned the continued “widespread

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63The percentage of the world’s population that has access to improved sanitation. A figure that is projected to hit only 67% by 2015—well below the 75% goal.

The next generation of disaster volunteers will be mobilized with the touch of a button, thanks to a new smartphone app recently launched. Premier Anna Bligh said the free App, Ready Qld—developed by Volunteer-ing Qld with the research assistance of the University of Queensland—would empower Queenslanders to be better equipped to work together in situations of disaster. “This app will not only inform Queenslanders about preparedness for disasters—resources, checklists and advice—but will also provide real-time updates and information about vol-unteering opportunities in your local area,” said Bligh. “While our communi-ties were devastated, the outpouring of compassion was overwhelming. Immediately following the disasters, Volunteering Qld was inundated with calls from people around Queensland and Australia. Within three days of the floods striking Brisbane, 55,000 people had registered their desire to help. We always hope that nothing like this ever happens again, but if it does, this new app will be a great source of real-time information,” Bligh said. Key things the app can do:• Register with CREW (community response to extreme weather) to be an emergency volunteer

is a safer method of keeping cash, reduces financial transaction costs, im-proves users’ ability to save and helps bring more people into the formal financial sector. “Mobile phone vouchers create additional security and convenience here in Haiti, especially for women, who might feel more vulnerable when carrying large sums of money,” said Jessica Faieta, senior UNDP country di-rector for Haiti. She stressed that more than 40 per cent of Haitian households are led by women.

“With safer housing conditions, this initiative will also encourage the permanent return of camp residents to their neighborhoods and repaired homes,” she added. The support centers, known locally by their French acronym as CARMEN, have been empowering quake-affected communities in Port-au-Prince and the western town of Léogâne to directly take charge of house repairs, with en-gineering assessments and construction training. Four thousand families have already registered to participate in the project, benefiting 12,000 people. Five thousand participants have been trained in construction techniques and 2,000 damaged houses have already been evaluated, according to UNDP.

UNDP’s Mobile Money TransfersContinued from Page 1

• See current emergency volunteering opportunities• Access all the key contacts for emer-gencies in one place and save your own emergency contacts• Watch the short disaster prepared-ness and response videos• Find out what you need to have in your emergency stay/go kit (and check them off when you’ve got them) The project has been made pos-sible through the joint state and federal government funded Natural Disaster Resilience Program (NDRP). Volunteering Qld CEO, Jelenko Dragisic, said the natural disasters of 2011 highlighted just how important technology and social media were when it came to rebuilding homes, neighborhoods and communities. “Vol-unteering Qld has learnt much from thos experiences, now providing better support and services for emergency volunteering,” Dragisic said. “We’ve enhanced our database of emergency volunteers, agencies and opportunities. Improved services means we can quickly register, search and match opportunities with volunteers easily and conveniently—and Ready Qld will take that to a whole new level. Over the past year we have referred over 14,500 volunteers to agencies for disaster recovery work,” he said.

Mobilizing Volunteers via an App

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and systematic” human rights violations by the Syrian authorities and demanded that the government immediately cease all violence and protect its people. “Further militarization of the Syrian opposition is not the answer,” Ban told the assembly. “The international community must urgently find unity in pressing the Syr-ian authorities and all other parties to stop the violence. It must insist, with one voice, that the Syrian authorities give access to international humanitar-ian workers as an essential first step towards a peaceful solution,” he said. The Secretary-General said that the newly-appointed Joint Special Envoy of the UN and the League of Arab States for Syria, Kofi Annan, will seek to end the violence and human rights viola-tions, and promote a peaceful solution to the crisis. Ban stressed the need to ensure that “there is only one track in the media-tion process being undertaken by the international community. The way to-wards a peaceful solution of the Syrian crisis is difficult but clear,” he said. “First, there should be an immedi-ate end to the killings and violence. International relief workers must be allowed in. Second, there is a clear need for an inclusive political dialogue among all Syrian actors. “The international community must align itself with the process led by the Joint Envoy. To succeed, he will need our full and undivided support. It is time for the international community to speak with one voice, loud and clear,” said Ban, adding that division could embolden the Syrian authorities “in their violent, dead-end path.” Continued violence, Ban empha-sized, risks plunging Syria into full civil war and sectarian strife that could haunt the country for generations. “The stakes are high, above all for the people of Syria—but also for the international community. We must act,

urgently and in concert,” he said. He pointed out that disproportion-ate use of force by Syrian authorities had driven what had been largely peaceful opposition forces to resort to take up arms in some cases. The op-position’s firepower, however, appeared to be minimal compared to the heavy weapons being used by the Syrian army, the Secretary-General said. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari of Syria repeated his country’s rejection of the General Assembly resolution, saying it did not meet “the minimum require-ments of diplomatic activities in the United Nations.” He said the Syrian government was not consulted and the drafters of the resolution “openly turned a blind eye to Syria’s reforms and the criminal activities undertaken by armed terrorist groups.” Ja’afari said the Syrian opposi-tion has been invited to “participate in authentic national dialogue,” and urged the UN to provide help that is “based on the charter.” In a related development, the Of-fice of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) voiced alarm today over reports from the Baba Amro district of the Syrian city of Homs after it was taken over by government forces yesterday, including unconfirmed al-legations of 17 summary executions. “Although we are not, at this point, in a position to confirm any of those reports, we would like to remind the authorities of their responsibilities un-der international law,” OHCHR spokes-person Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva. He warned against reprisals, sum-mary executions, torture and arbitrary detention. “The rights of those who are detained must be respected. Enough crimes have already been committed in Syria over the past year. We urge the authorities to take immediate steps to ensure no more are committed now that they have taken control of Baba Amro,” Colville added.

Failures in Syria Must be AddressedContinued from Page 1 The Aidmatrix Foundation Inc. has

announced its spring 2012 release of the Aidmatrix Network for Humanitar-ian Relief. This latest release is deliv-ered as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) to partnering NGOs, businesses and government agencies. The major addi-tions include the three new integrated platforms. These integrated platforms provide end-to-end workflows for the delivery of humanitarian relief within an NGO’s global network of offices, between the public and private sectors, and between food banks and their local food pantries and kitchens, respectively. SCM4Good-Full Aidmatrix Inte-gration is an integrated supply chain management and logistics platform for NGOs to accelerate their efforts to pro-cure, manage and deliver humanitarian relief and provide global transparency and collaboration within their organi-zation and with their donors. Software modules include: procurement, trans-portation management, warehouse management, online ordering, fleet management and digital hub. SCM4Giving-Full Aidmatrix Inte-gration is an integrated platform for government emergency agencies and businesses that engage in humanitarian relief, especially during times of disas-ter, to connect donors with NGOs in high-value public/private sector partner-ships. Software modules include: asset registry, needs management, donations management: in-kind, donations man-agement: transportation, warehouse management and digital hub. SCM4Hunger- Full Aidmatrix Integration is an integrated platform for high-volume food banks to streamline their management of food inventories and empower their interactions with corporate donors for collecting over-flows and converting that inventory into goods available to local agencies who can shop the warehouse through online ordering. software modules include: donations management: in-kind, ware-house management, online ordering, online auction and digital hub.

Software Specifically for Aid Providers

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International Medical Corps (IMC) will scale up health care and nutrition programs for vulnerable communities across the Middle East and Northern and Eastern Africa with a $2.3 mil-lion gift from GE. “GE’s tremendously generous support will enable us to reach more communities in Libya, Lebanon, Yemen, as well as East Africa with lifesaving health services, nutri-tion, and training programs,” said Nancy A. Aossey, president and CEO of International Medical Corps. “With vulnerable communities in Libya and throughout the Middle East needing critical assistance, and with the ongo-ing drought and hunger emergency ravaging East Africa, GE’s timely award will help us expand vital health care and training services in both regions.” “GE is proud to support the mis-sion and work of International Medical Corps with this donation,” said Bob Corcoran, vice president corporate citizenship, GE. “Our hope is that the funds will enable positive change for health care and nutrition for some of the most vulnerable populations in the world today.” With GE’s support, IMC will focus on these interventions:• Having provided a comprehensive emergency response in Libya since the outbreak of conflict one year ago, IMC will scale up access to primary health care services for hardest-hit communities. • In response to an influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon, IMC will pro-vide health services and emergency psychological first aid trainings to frontline responders.• In Yemen, IMC will establish two stabilization centers to treat children with acute malnutrition and conduct community outreach and nutrition education. • In response to the ongoing drought and hunger emergency in East Africa, IMC, will increase services to treat and manage malnutrition in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

Mineseeker Operations, through its joint venture company, Mineseeker Opera-tions Southern Africa, has held important meetings regarding opportunities to deploy its landmine survey systems in southern Africa. The Mineseeker team presented the technology to Major General Matlakeng, chief director in the South African National Defence Force, together with Brigadier General Pule and Brigadier General Modise who were the first people, outside the company, to be shown sample results of the industry demonstration that Mineseek-er conducted in Croatia. “The generals could clearly see suspect sub-surface targets and quickly real-ized how the system could be used to rapidly identify landmines and unexploded ordnance such as that found on military ranges in South Africa,” commented Mineseeker CEO, Mike Kendrick. Mineseeker Southern Africa director Tabane Romakola added, “Clearing up ar-eas affected by unexploded ordnance is an important step in returning land to the people of South Africa. The generals were clearly impressed by the advances in the technology and immediately saw the potential for several other African countries such as Angola and Mozambique with whom they have close ties.” Some of the countries within the Southern African Development Community are amongst the worst affected countries in the world: In Angola alone there are 50 thousand amputees and huge areas of land that cannot be used for housing, ag-riculture or the mining of the valuable minerals found there. It is having a devastat-ing effect on the economy and communities across the whole region. Eric Du Plessis, a native of South Africa said, “This meeting represents a game changing opportunity for Mineseeker and for the people of Southern Africa. The need, particularly in Angola, is now and we must respond to the generals’ ad-vice. With their support, Mineseeker is poised to enter into further discussions to deploy the technology and develop the aid free zone programs in order to create sustainable growth and local wealth to the area, which is an integral part of the Mineseeker ethos. It is hugely exciting to play our part in helping these countries to resettle their land that has been unusable and for which there are established government funding programs available.”

Donation Allows IMC to Meet Needs

Left to right, Brig. General Pule, Major General Matlakeng, Mike Kendrick, Brig. General Modise at their headquarters in Pretoria, RSA.

Mineseeker’s Unexploded Ordnance Solution in South Africa

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A permanent, sustainable source of drinking water that is expected to serve as many as 25,000 people in Niger is being funded in part by a $40,000 donation from The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF). With the grant, TPRF is providing further aid to the nonprofit Amman Imman: Water Is Life for an effort already started with the financial assistance of the Vibrant Village Foundation. “This project,” said TPRF Presi-dent Linda Pascotto, “is particularly valuable because it will not only transform life for people living in this arid region, but will involve them in future management of the water source so that it will be self-sustain-ing.” The grant will fund construc-tion of a borehole in the village of Ebagueye in the Azawak region that will serve as a year-round source of clean water for people and livestock. Plans call for training local villagers to manage the borehole and engage in activities that will assure water and food security in the future. Ariane Kirtley, founder and executive director of Amman Imman, said Amman Imman is the only or-ganization that she knows of entirely dedicated to building sustainable and permanent sources of water in the

Azawak, a dry plain about the size of Florida. Amman Imman is also one of the few organizations working in the Azawak region to address the food crisis and emergency humanitarian situation afflicting most countries of the Sahel. The borehole-building team has been in Niger since mid-November. “We chose the site of Ebagueye and its surrounding communities at the beginning of December,” Kirtley says. “By the end of December, the Ebagu-eye borehole had been drilled. The infrastructure was finished at the be-ginning of February, and the commu-nity has begun drinking the potable water.” Kirtley says it is part of her organi-zation’s overall goal to eventually cre-ate an “Oases of Life” across the vast Azawak, starting with drilling perma-nent and sustainable water sources, not only for its 500,000 inhabitants, but also for the refugees that seek shelter on its vast plains, including those that fled Libya last year, and those fleeing Mali today. “We at Amman Imman are most grateful for the collaboration that has developed between our organization, TPRF and the Vibrant Village Founda-tion,” said Kirtley.

As negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh stall, the Azerbaijan government has improved living condi-tions for the internally displaced (IDPs), though return to the occupied territories remains by far the preferred solution.Tackling Azerbaijan’s IDP Burden, the latest International Crisis Group brief-ing, examines the impact of the failure to reach a peace settlement on the nearly 600,000 Azerbaijani IDPs forc-ibly evicted from homes in Nagorno-

Funding Can Open Water Sources for a Sustainable Future

Karabakh and seven surrounding dis-tricts. With no quick solution in sight, the government, aided by increasing oil wealth since 2004, has intensified efforts to deal with IDP needs. Poverty rates have decreased dramatically, and the state is building better housing and improving health care. “The government of Azerbaijan has progressed from its old attitude of indifference and institutional dysfunc-tion to a new approach of dealing with the painful reality of trying to cope with

the economic and social needs of its extremely large displaced population,” says Lawrence Sheets, Crisis Group’s Caucasus Project Director. Yet, 400,000 still live in sub-stan-dard dwellings, there are problems with bureaucracy and corruption, and ap-proximately 128,000 IDPs and perma-nent residents live in close proximity to the 180 kilometer-long line of contact (LoC) that has divided the opposing forces since the 1994 ceasefire. They are exposed to the immediate threat of ongoing front-line skirmishes that kill some 30 persons yearly. To protect the civilians along the LoC, the Azerbaijan authorities should agree to an expanded interim monitor-ing role by the Organization for Secu-rity and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), to proposals to remove snipers from the LoC and to set up an incident investiga-tion mechanism between the sides to discuss ceasefire breaches. The govern-ment should also create an inter-minis-terial task force, including the National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA), to design a strategy to increase the safety of communities near the LoC. IDPs should be given opportunities to engage on policies relevant to their daily lives. The Azerbaijan government should include them more in hous-ing decisions, streamline processes for reporting incidents of corruption or vio-lations of state law regarding IDP issues and allow them to vote for municipal councils in their places of temporary residence. The political voice of IDPs in decision-making processes that affect their lives remains weak and should be strengthened. “While the Azerbaijan government has taken important steps to improve living conditions for IDPs, it is shocking that a generation on, displacement and occupation continue to mar regional development and security”, said Sabine Freizer, Crisis Group’s Europe program director. “Lack of sustainable solutions is an important reason why a negoti-ated settlement is essential if even-tual resumption of all-out war is to be avoided.”

Azerbaijan has Improved Living Conditions for Internally Displaced People

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Mauritania and Burkina Faso con-tinue to receive large numbers of Ma-lian refugees fleeing conflict between the army and ethnic Tuareg rebels in the northern region of their country, the United Nations refugee agency noted on March 2. “Refugees tell our staff that their main fear is of being caught up in the fighting,” Andrej Mahecic, spokesper-son for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva. “They are also concerned about bandits who are taking advan-tage of the prevailing instability to loot homes and property.” Tens of thousands of people have been uprooted from their homes in Mali, with many seeking refuge in neighboring countries, since fresh clashes erupted in mid-January between the Malian army and the Tuareg insur-gency known as Mouvement National

Disabled people of Darfur need full access to information, particularly from radio. That was the objective behind the provision of 30 wind-up and solar-oper-ated radios to the El Fasher Association for the Disabled organized by Radio-TV El Fasher, the state broadcaster. The wind-up radios were a gift by the Communications and Public Infor-mation Division of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur. In addition, as the state broadcaster was also holding a workshop on covering peace and reconciliation for journalists

from around North Darfur, UNAMID gave five radios for correspondents from distant parts of the state where electric-ity is inconsistent or not available. The mission had also provided the Disabled Association with a new build-ing which will be used to house an au-diovisual library. This centre is intended to assist disabled university students, particularly the sight-impaired, with accessible material so that they can proceed through a standard university program. For now, the building is empty as the association is seeking funds and

UNAMID Delivers Self-Powered Radios to Dafur Disabled

de Liberation de l’Azawad (MNLA). According to Mauritanian govern-ment estimates, there are now over 31,000 Malian refugees in that country, the majority of them having arrived over the past six weeks, Mahecic said. Some 1,500 people are arriving daily. In Burkina Faso, where 19,198 refugees have already been recorded by the authorities, 500 Malians on average are crossing the border every day. The number of refugees entering Niger has subsided over the past week. The overall number of people who have crossed from Mali into neighbor-ing countries now stands at close to 80,000, according to official tallies. Inside Mali, the number of inter-nally displaced persons (IDPs) has been revised upward to 81,000, according to

government officials and humanitarian organizations operating in the north. UNHCR has started to register refu-gees in all three countries of asylum to enable the agency to refine the number of affected people and establish what their needs are. Refugees are settling along the bor-der in the arid regions of Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, where a pro-longed drought has caused acute food and water shortages in recent years. A coordinated relief effort includes trucking water into areas where those in need have gathered and distributing rice and other forms of food. “We are also planning to relocate refugees to several camps that we are establishing in the region,” said Ma-hecic. “In Mauritania, we have already transferred 8,300 particularly vulnera-ble men, women and children from the border crossing in the region of Fassala further inland to a camp called Mbera,” he added.

gifts for Braille materials. UNAMID had another objective to the gift of radios: the mission’s Yala Nebni Darfur program will begin to be broadcast next week over Radio El Fasher’s FM frequency. Currently the UNAMID programming is broadcast to Darfur over short-wave by the Sudan National Radio Corporation’s Al Salaam (peace) Radio. UNAMID’s acting director of com-munications, Susan Manuel, discussed with El Fasher broadcasting director Saad Abuzeid Ali, collaboration on a listener survey with the University of El Fasher’s Peace Centre, to determine what kinds of programming are most popular and effective for the ongoing peace process.

Malian Refugees Flood Into Mauritania and Burkina Faso

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so it all had to be sold at a bad price. Now I am able to separate the grains and get better prices for better grades of maize.”

Credit for Production and Commercialization

IFAD’s role was to establish a guarantee fund managed by a local microfinance institution that became operational in 2011 and is used as a hedge against loan defaults. With the support of IFAD, FO representatives and partners entered into negotiations with financial institutions to achieve the best possible credit conditions. The contract between farmers’ organizations and WFP served as a form of collateral. IFAD provided close assistance to the joint program in managing the credit component.

A Step Ahead

Gender is critical for the joint efforts of the UN agencies in Mozam-bique because the majority of small-holder farmers are women. Under the lead of UN Women, the joint pro-gramme took into account the inequal-ity between women and men in access-ing seeds, fertilizers, technology, credit, transport, markets and business devel-opment services. Women farmers have

WFP, FAO, IFAD and UN Women are working closely together in Mozam-bique, one of the countries in the UN “Delivering as One” pilot. P4P in Mo-zambique has been implemented under a joint UN program called “Building Commodity Value Chains and Market Linkages for Farmers’ Associations.” This joint program was coordinated by WFP’s and planned and executed at country level together with FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) and IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural De-velopment). Over 11,000 farming fami-lies have been reached until the joint program ended in December 2011. The UN agencies in Mozambique are cur-rently looking into developing a new joint program along the same lines. For farmers like Etalvinha, the pro-gramme had many benefits. She lives in the north of Mozambique’s Zambe-zia Province with her three children. Etalvinha has been growing maize, beans and cassava since she was 14. Her husband works in a mechanical plant in Nampula, but he does not earn enough to ensure the family has food throughout the year.

Raising Productivity

Her farmers’ organization in Alto Molocue was one of 14 engaged in the joint program that combined the UN agencies’ efforts: “I attended a training held by FAO in March 2010. We were mostly women and even though we felt we knew a lot about farming, we felt it’s always fun to learn. The train-ing showed us how to sow our seeds differently, how to irrigate the crops and how to ensure the quality of the seeds. The trainers also came to the village to show us how to lay out our crops and how to inter-change the crops to make sure the soil is kept rich,” says Etalvinha. The farmers were also trained to increase the quality of their commod-ity with special cleaning techniques available at their homes. “Before I used to get a low price for my maize because they told me not all was good quality,

been engaged in the joint programme, enabling them to gain extra skills, both in business and in quality crop produc-tion. Establishing community storageWith funding from the European Com-mission and from the Flemish Interna-tional Cooperation Agency (FICA), WFP financed new community warehouses and on-farm silos to help farmers store their crops better. This in turn has ensured that farmers can sell their produce at a higher price. Etalvinha’s fellow farmer Celeste remembers: “Last year, our seeds became infested with pests already in May, and we lost about half of the stock”. The warehouse not only enables safe storage, it also provides a forum for combined sales and more appropriated pricing. “The warehouse is the future of our association. If we had one in each locality, the farmers would have a target to produce for; they would trust enough to diversify their fields and if possible, they would combine their yields to get the best prices,” Celeste said. As a result of joint UN efforts, fe-male farmers like Celeste and Etalvinha were able to progress: “The income gained from increased sales of maize and beans allows me to expand pro-duction, educate my children and take care of other family needs,” Etalvinha recalls happily. “I did not expect such a big difference in two years. Once you know what it takes to produce good crops and you know someone will buy it, then I am inspired to do more each year.”

Working Together, UN Agencies Combine Efforts in Mozambique

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Aiming to boost knowledge of human rights in the military, UNMISS completed a three-day training session for Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) officers at the end of February in the Western Equatoria State capital of Yambio. The training, conducted in close collaboration with UNMISS Yambio military observers, the state Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Forum of Civil Society Groups, was attended by 30 senior SPLA officers based in the town. In closing remarks, Major Joseph Ohia, Chief of Moral Orientation of 8th Infantry Bridged said the workshop would help officers learn human rights skills in dealing with soldiers and civil-ians. “Since South Sudan has become independent, it is very important for us to learn what human rights are and … (the) use of force as an army,” Ohia said.

The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), the culmination of two years of peace negotiations between the government of the Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), was officially launched on March 4 at a dissemination event in Nyala, South Darfur. The exercise “aims at delivering the DDPD text and communicating its content to increase greater awareness of the peace agreement and what it holds for the people of Darfur. The parties need to ensure that the DDPD message is taken to every corner of Darfur,” said UNAMID Joint Special Representative (JSR) and Joint Chief Mediator a.i Ibra-him Gambari. More than 200 people, mostly con-sisting of internally displaced persons (IDPs), participated, along with Chair-person of the Darfur Regional Authority

(DRA) Tijani Seissi, newly appointed South Darfur Wali (Governor) Hamad Ismail Hamad Abdelkareem, and JSR Gambari. In his remarks, Seissi stressed that the implementation of the document is not only between the government and LJM, but for all the people of Darfur. The chairperson also reiterated his commitment to work with everyone to ensure the full implementation of the DDPD and to address the issue of voluntary return of those internally displaced. “Despite the challenges, we are optimistic that the people of Darfur will make achievements in changing the situation in Darfur. The international community has assured their support to help us develop our states,” he added. Wali Hamad Ismail Hamad Ab-delkareem reaffirmed the government’s

UNMISS Human Rights Officer Mary Bindi said the training aimed to emphasize human rights and rule of law with respect to the Security Code of Conduct. “Some of the officers lack basic knowledge on human rights in a way that has been witnessed in their actions and omissions,” Bindi said. Topics included democracy, human rights and the SPLA, SPLA human rights and civil disorder, SPLA and rule of law, humanitarian law and human rights implementation in armed conflicts, sexual and gender-based violence, chil-dren’s rights and the role of civil society

After Two Years, the Doha Document for Peace in Dafur

commitment to implement the Agree-ment. “We are moving forward and here in South Darfur we are ready to host the land and Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commissions under the DRA,” said the Wali. “The DDPD offers an opportunity for a new beginning, but this is a shared responsibility. We are all committed to sustainable peace in Darfur and must support the signatories in their efforts,” said JSR Gambari who called on the hold-out movements to join the pro-cess. The dissemination exercise which began in February in South Darfur has conducted six workshops in Nyala, while similar exercises have also been organized in North, West and Central Darfur. Gambari concluded the day at UNAMID’s hospital in Nyala where he visited three peacekeepers who were injured in the line of duty on 25 Febru-ary. He thanked them for their service and wished them a speedy recovery.

in protecting and promoting human rights. Bashir Ahmed, state chairperson of Human Rights Forum of Civil Society groups, said the training should enable SPLA officers to identify their roles in protecting and promoting human rights. “When members of the military have enough awareness on the mean-ing and applications of human rights, they will promote and protect (them), as they are the main actors in human rights protection,” he said. Training participant Major Akuot Aiom Akuot said the training increased his knowledge on the fundamental rights of citizens and prisoners of war. “We learned many things, like how to protect the rights and safety of prisoners of war without killing them, during and after war,” the major said. “We also learned how to protect civil-ians from any type of threat and the rights of children, and how to avoid recruiting them into the army.” The training, which falls under UNMISS Human Rights section man-date, will be carried out among the military all 10 states of South Sudan.

Human Rights Training for Sudan People’s Liberation Army Officers

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Bid No. Subject Opening Date

AIR CHARTER

ITBS-2631 Provision of Two Medium Cargo Aircraft for 2+1 Years in Support of MONUSCO Mar 30, 2012

ITBS-2632 Three Medium Utility Helicopters (one of three with enhanced SAR equipment Mar 14, 2012 for a Period of 1+1 Years (UNMIT)

ITBS-2633 One High Speed Liaison Aircraft for 2+1 Years (UNAMID) Mar 15, 2012

ITBS-2634 One Medium Utility SAR/AME Helicopter, gor a Period of 1+1 Years (UNMIT) Mar 14, 2012

ITBS-2641 Short Term Air Charter for Passenger Movement Mar 8, 2012

ITBS-2642 Short Term Air Service Mar 14, 2012

ITBS-2643 One Light Utility Fixed Wing Aircraft for 2+1 Years (UNMIL) Mar 27, 2012

ITBS-2637 One (plus one optional) Medium Combi Jet for 2+1 Years (MONUSCO) Mar 20, 2012

ITBS-1678 Air Charter for One Long Range Wide Body Passenger Aircraft for 2+1 Years Mar 19, 2012

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT

RFPS-1679 UN MPLS Network May 1, 2012

RFPS-1641 Maintenance and Repair Services for UPS System Mar 7, 2012

FREIGHT FORWARDING

RFPS-1685 Sea Shipment of Pakistani COE from Port Port-au-Prince, Haiti to Mar 8, 2012 Door Karachi, Pakistan

RFPS-1637 Sea/Surface Freight Forwarding and Related Services Mar 16, 2012

RFPS-1689 Freight Forwarding Services for Shipment of Mongolian Contingent-Owned Mar 13, 2012 Equipment to South Sudan

MISCELLANEOUS

RFPS-1686 Risk Assessment Study of the UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) Mar 23, 2012

RFPS-1682 Provision of Standard Instructor-Led IT Training for UN Staff Mar 23, 2012

RFPS-1683 Third Party Consultancy for SAP Basis Administration & Support Services Mar 16, 2012

RFPS-1684 Third Party Consultancy for Security Design Services Mar 19, 2012

ITBG-2042 Provision for UN Medals and Numerals Mar 22, 2012

ITBG-2640 Provision of Recruitment Advertising Services (Re-Bid) Mar 16, 2012

RFPS-1650 Provision of Food Rations and Related Services to the UN Support Mar 15, 2012 OfficeforAMISOM

Anticipated UN Future Solicitations

13


Bid No. Subject Opening Date

RFPG-558 ProvisionofDigitalCertificatesfortheUN Mar21,2012

RFPS-1634 Strategic Captial Review for FMS Mar 19, 2012

RFPS-1635 Pest Control Services Mar 22, 2012

RFPS-2636 Renewal of Websense Web Filtering and Security Mar 13, 2012

Anticipated UN Future Solicitations

MISCELLANEOUS (continued)

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Maritime Task Force (MTF) recently underwent a transfer of command from Rear Admiral Luiz Henrique Caroli (Brazil) to Rear Admiral Wagner Lopes de Moraes Zamith (Brazil). The hand-over ceremony aboard the Brazilian Flagship Frigate União was attended by UNIFIL force commander Major-General Paolo Serra, Lebanese Navy commander Rear Admiral Nazih Baroudi, senior officers from Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and UNIFIL as well as representatives from countries contributing troops to UNIFIL. UNIFIL-MTF has been deployed at the request of the Lebanese government to assist the Lebanese Navy to help prevent the unauthorized entry of arms or related material by sea into Lebanon. UNIFIL-MTF also has been working closely with the Lebanese Navy on training and capacity

building programs. “The Lebanese Navy has demonstrated, time and again, its professionalism and outstanding commitment towards se-curing Lebanese waters,” Major-General Serra said. “Through its monitoring activities, the MTF is playing a vital preventive role by warding off attempts at illegal arms trafficking, while also having a positive effect on the security of the merchant traffic in the area,” he added. Rear Admiral Zamith said he was looking forward to his task. “I reiterate my commitment to maintaining the high level of relationship between the maritime task force and the Lebanese Navy. We shall continuously strive to strengthen our ties of friendship and cooperation,” he said. Since the start of its operations on October 15, 2006, MTF has hailed around 42,900 ships and referred nearly 1,750 vessels to the Lebanese authorities for further inspec-tions. A total of 15 countries have contributed to the MTF in these years: Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. UNIFIL-MTF currently comprises naval units from Bangladesh (2 ships), Brazil (1 ship - flagship), Germany (3 ships), Greece (1 ship), Indonesia (1 ship) and Turkey (1 ship). Out of UNIFIL’s nearly 12,000 military personnel from 37 contributing countries, about 1,050 officers and sailors are currently deployed in the MTF.

UNIFIL Maritime Task Force Change of Command

Force Commander Maj-Gen Serra hands over UN flag to new UNIFIL Maritime Task Force commander Rear Admiral Zamith aboard Brazilian flagship Frigate União.

14


Morocco is taking steps to join 78 other nations whose governments have created National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction to support policies for building resilience to disasters. “The future National Platform will help the work of all sectors to converge into one common objective, which is to construct a country that is safer for current and future generations,” said Mehdi Chalabi, director of surveillance and prevention of risk at the Depart-ment of Environment. Morocco is one of the Arab region’s most hazard-prone countries and the economy is frequently affected by dry spells, floods, landslides and invasion by locusts. Parts of the country are also exposed to seismic risk; 12,000 people lost their lives in a massive earthquake in the coastal town of Agadir in 1960. Cities and rural communities alike face the danger of sea-level rise and deserti-fication as a result of climate change. As with many countries, the responsibility for leading on disaster risk reduction lies within a govern-ment ministry which is also the focal point for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction—in Morocco’s case, within the Department of Environment at the Ministry of Energy, Water, Mines and Environment. But for resilience-building to be effective, there must be strong collaboration and coordination across many ministries. To realize a “whole-of-society” ap-proach to managing the risk of disas-ter, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disas-ters—the world’s blueprint for creating resilient communities—encourages the establishment of National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction. These are multi-stakeholder organizations aimed at improving national coordination in disaster risk management and reduc-tion. A road map for creating Morocco’s National Platform was developed by 40

participants after three days of meetings earlier this month between govern-ment officials from nine ministries—Energy, Water, Mines and Environment; General Affairs and Governance; the Interior; Health; Agriculture; Education; Finance; Tourism; and Transport. They were joined by experts in urban development, meteorology, en-gineering, reinsurance and other fields, along with representatives of the Mo-roccan Red Crescent National Society, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN’s disaster risk reduction office in the Arab States (UNISDR) as main facilitator. Welcoming the news, UNISDR regional program officer, Lars Bernd, said disaster risk reduction activities were common in Morocco as a direct result of the country’s exposure to a wide range of hazards but the activi-ties “were too loosely connected” and insufficient to meet the population’s needs whose vulnerability is growing. “Given the vulnerability of Moroc-co’s population and growing exposure of the country’s economic assets to risk, the forthcoming National Platform,

supported by a strategic national action plan, can help trigger more coherent and systematic interventions,” said Bernd. A robust system for managing disaster risk could also help the country encourage more investment in disaster risk reduction, he added. He referred to the Department of Environment and UNISDR initiative to establish a na-tional disaster loss database that—once finalized—would assess the costs borne by Moroccan households of disasters both large and small. In addition, the World Bank is undertaking a probabilistic risk assess-ment—a technique used by experts to determine how a complex system of risk assessment can contribute to ensure more safety in Morocco. Under an existing plan to prevent flood risk, Morocco has already devel-oped a forecasting and flood warning system, according to the 2011 National Hyogo Framework Progress Report for Disaster Risk Reduction. The same re-port says the country intends to develop a geographic information system con-taining data on natural and technologi-cal hazards across the country, called “GIS-Risk”. Additional support to the event was given by the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and UNICEF Morocco. Fund-ing came from the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery’s contribution to UNISDR.

Morocco Takes Steps in the Creation of National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction

15


Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Jan Eliasson of Sweden, a veteran in the fields of diplomacy and foreign rela-tions, as the new Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Eliasson, who will take over from Asha-Rose Migiro of Tanzania on July 1, is no stranger to the UN, having served as the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Darfur, President of the 60th session of the General Assembly and first Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. He is currently a member of the Secretary-General’s Mil-lennium Development Goals (MDGs) Advocate Group. At the national level, he has served in key ambassadorial positions repre-senting his country in New York and Washington, as well as State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Minister of Sweden. Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters, Ban also announced that Susana Malcorra of Argentina, who has served as Under-Secretary-General for

The March to May rainfall season in the Greater Horn of Africa is likely to result in “near normal to below nor-mal rainfall” over much of the region, according to the 30th Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHA-COF30). This rainfall outlook applies in particular to areas plagued by drought in recent years including much of Somalia; Djibouti; eastern and northern Kenya; southern, eastern and north-eastern Ethiopia. UNISDR’s Deputy Regional Coor-dinator, Youcef Ait-Chellouche, said: “This is not good news for farmers in areas which have been affected by agricultural drought in recent years.

We must plan for the probability that rainfall will be erratic and there will be long dry spells which will impact on crop production and food security. “People’s resilience and coping capacity has been eroded by the last two difficult years especially in Somalia so it’s clear that we must act now. The general consensus from this meeting is that the Horn of Africa is still very much at risk.” Ait-Chellouche said that disaster managers and sector specialists were in agreement that disaster risk reduction must be embedded now in long-term development plans for the region while preparedness measures are put in place for the humanitarian consequences of a

poor rainy season in many parts of the Horn. The Greater Horn of Africa region comprises Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. GHACOF30 also found there is “increased likelihood of near normal to above normal rainfall” over south-west-ern Tanzania, south-western Ethiopia, South Sudan and south-western Sudan. The near normal to below normal fore-cast also applies to much of Tanzania, western and southern Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. The GHACOF30 statement reads: “The outlook is relevant only for sea-sonal time scales and relatively large areas. Local and month-to-month varia-tions might occur. For example, epi-sodic heavy rainfall events leading to flash floods might occur in areas with increased likelihood of near normal to below normal rainfall. “Additionally long dry spells may occur in areas with increased likeli-hood of near normal to above normal rainfall. Some of these dry and wet spells are linked to indirect impacts of the unseasonal tropical cyclones in western Indian Ocean areas during February to April months.” Disaster managers and other end users of the information are advised that the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (IPAC) and na-tional meteorological and hydrological services will provide regular forecast updates. GHACOF30 reviewed the impact of global climate systems including the influence of sea surface temperature anomalies over the adjacent tropical In-dian and Atlantic Oceans, the La Niña conditions over the Pacific Ocean and evolving atmospheric circulation. Guidance and valuable predic-tion information was drawn from various sources including the World Meteorological Organisation’s Global Producing Centres, operational re-search and expert opinion. These inputs were combined using deterministic and probabilistic modelling alongside expert analysis to obtain the regional rainfall forecast for the period March to May 2012.

Normal to Below Normal Rainfall for Greater Horn of Africa

Field Support since 2008, will be his new Chief of Staff as of April 1. In her current position, Malcorra directs logistical and administrative support for UN peace missions world-wide in support of about 30 field operations comprising 120,000 mili-tary, police and civilian personnel. She will succeed Vijay Nambiar of India, who will carry on at the UN as the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar. Ban said that “transparent and competitive” selection processes for 10 Under-Secretaries-General have started. It was also announced that Robert Orr and Kim Won-soo of the Executive Office of the Secretary-General will move on to new functions. Mr. Orr will lead the effort to create a new partner-ship facility as a way to harness public and private partnerships to meet global challenges.

Eliasson is New Deputy Secretary General

Jan Eliasson

e-Contego March 6 2012

Documents

humanitarian support

mobile money transfers

mobile phones

mobile money transfer

support of global peacekeeping

mobile phone checking

international community

humanitarian air providers