PRAY FOR PEACE in Venezuela: UN rights office urges all parties to refrain from violence amid protests

 According to media reports, President Nicolás Maduro declared victory in elections for a Constituent Assembly convened by him. The new body could replace the current legislative body, the National Assembly. “The Office also expressed concern that the Venezuelan authorities continue to violate the right of peaceful assembly by violently dispersing demonstrators,” Mr. Dujarric said. OHCHR calls on the authorities to cease the use of excessive force to repress demonstrations, and to ensure the right of peaceful assembly is respected, and it calls on all parties to refrain from the use of violence, he added. Ahead of Sunday's elections, OHCHR spokesperson Elisabeth Throssell told reporters in Geneva Friday that the Office urged the authorities to manage any protests against the Constituent Assembly vote in line with international human rights norms and standards while calling on those opposing the election and the Assembly to do so peacefully. With regard to the legitimacy of the vote itself, the spokesperson noted that it is “a hugely controversial issue” amplified by the fact that there had been an unofficial consultation by the opposition on the constituent assembly. “[Our] Office is concerned about the environment in which the elections are to take place and believes that a constitutional process can only be successful if based on a broad consensus and the participation of all sectors of society,” Ms. Throssell said. "



'via Blog this'  United Nations News Centre - Venezuela: UN rights office urges all parties to refrain from violence amid protests over weekend polls: "31 July 2017 – The United Nations human rights office has expressed regret that at least 10 people died in Venezuela over the weekend amid clashes between security forces and protestors opposing the Constituent Assembly elections, a spokesman for the Secretary-General said today. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) “calls for the investigations into the deaths to be prompt, effective and independent, and urges the Government to cooperate fully with such investigations,” UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the daily Headquarters briefing in New York.

PRAY FOR PEACE to Settle Conflicts Because Cost of Feeding Hungry World Surging due to Conflicts and Instability

 “More than anything else, the world needs to wake up, and end these wars and these conflicts, so we can make real progress in ending hunger,” said David Beasley, the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme in a news release today. “Around 800 million people – one in nine around the world – go to bed on an empty stomach. But man-made conflicts and other strife make it difficult to help those who need it most. Reducing these roadblocks would ease the path towards long-term solutions.” In its report, World Food Assistance 2017: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead, WFP notes that its costs spiked by more than 140 per cent over a seven-year period – from $2.2 billion in 2009 to $5.3 billion in 2015. The need for additional resources come amid significant changes to the international food assistance sector since 2009. Within WFP, the share of assistance delivered as food declined from 54 per cent to less than 40 per cent. Conversely, the share of cash-based transfers surged from less than 1 per cent in 2009 to 20 per cent in 2016. In this scenario, the WFP report argues that improvements such as more accessible and safe humanitarian access could reduce costs by almost $1 billion each year. Furthermore, if the roughly 80 countries where the UN agency operates were better able to cope with climate-related, political, and economic shocks, another $2.2 billion annually could be saved. And if food systems – the networks responsible for producing food, transforming it and ensuring that it reaches hungry people – could be improved in these countries, another $440 million could be saved annually. “If solutions or improvements to these challenges were found, cost savings to WFP could be as high as $3.5 billion per year,” noted the UN agency."



'via Blog this' United Nations News Centre - Cost of feeding hungry world surging due to conflicts and instability – UN agency: "20 July 2017 – Improved aid access, strengthened resilience and advances in food system networks could provide as much as $3.5 billion in annual cost savings at a time when humanitarian needs are skyrocketing in multiple complex emergencies across the globe, a new United Nations study has found.

PRAY FOR PEACE in Libya: UN Security Council urges all Libyans to support calls for national reconciliation

The United Nations Security Council today welcomed the Joint Declaration issued after a meeting between two Libyan political figures and urged all Libyans to support its calls for a negotiated political solution, national reconciliation, and an immediate ceasefire. The Joint Declaration was issued after a meeting on 25 July between Fayez Al Sarraj, President of the Presidency Council of Libya, and General Khalifa Haftar, Commander of the LNA, hosted in Paris by President Emmanuel Macron. In its statement, the 15-member Council praised “recent efforts to strengthen an inclusive political dialogue among all Libyans, supported by Libya's neighbours, international partners and regional organizations.” The efforts are done within the framework of the Libyan Political Agreement endorsed by UN Security Council resolution 2259 (2015), which endorsed the Rome Communiqué to support the Government of National Accord as the sole legitimate Government of Libya. The statement also stressed the “importance of the United Nations' central role in facilitating Libyan-led political dialogue,” and Secretary-General António Guterres's “personal involvement” in helping to build stability, security, and national unity in the country. The Council also welcomed the appointment of Ghassan Salame as the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General, succeeding Martin Kobler. Mr. Salame will head the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), which was established in 2011 by the UN Security Council at the request of the Libyan authorities following six months of armed conflict to support the country's new transitional authorities in their post-conflict efforts."



'via Blog this' United Nations News Centre - UN Security Council urges all Libyans to support calls for national reconciliation: "27 July 2017 –

PRAY FOR PEACE in Vietnam: Human rights defenders in Viet Nam should 'never be treated as criminals,' says UN rights office

The United Nations rights office expressed concern today over the intensifying crackdown in Viet Nam against human rights defenders who have questioned or criticized the Government and its policies. Noting that last Tuesday, well-known activist Tran Thi Nga was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment and five years' house arrest for so-called “anti-State propaganda” for comments posted online, Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed “serious concerns about the severity of the sentence and the conduct of the trial, which does not appear to have met due process standards.” “Human rights defenders should never be treated as criminals who are a threat to national security,” she told reporters at the regular bi-weekly news briefing in Geneva. In accordance with provisions of article 88 of Viet Nam's Penal Code, Tran was kept in incommunicado detention for some six months – from her arrest in January until a few days before the trial. Tran was not allowed adequate time to prepare her defence, the trial lasted just one day and her family and friends were denied entry to the courtroom, according to the UN rights office. Tran Thi Nga's sentence comes less than a month after Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, a prominent blogger known as 'Mother Mushroom,' was jailed for 10 years, also under article 88, following similarly flawed judicial proceedings. OHCHR pointed out that over the last six months, at least seven other human rights defenders have been arrested and face prosecution, several dozen are currently detained, and two have been deported or sent into exile abroad. Many others have been intimidated, harassed and brutally beaten. The UN Human Rights Office and international human rights mechanisms have repeatedly denounced article 88 of the Penal Code, along with several other provisions of the Code, as being in breach of international human rights law. “The Vietnamese Government's failure to address the concerns of the international community about restrictions on fundamental freedoms raises doubts about its commitment to protect and promote human rights,” stressed Ms. Throssell. “We urge the Vietnamese authorities to immediately release all those detained in connection with their exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, and to amend the overly broad ill-defined laws that are used – under the pretext of national security – to crack down on dissent,” she stated."



'via Blog this' United Nations News Centre - Human rights defenders in Viet Nam should 'never be treated as criminals,' says UN rights office: "28 July 2017 –

PRAY FOR PEACE in the Philippines: UN experts urge Government to address spiralling rights violations

 A group of United Nations experts has urged the Government of the Philippines to immediately address reported human rights violations......



 “Attacks are spiralling against many groups in society and we are making an urgent appeal for Government action,” said a joint statement issued by Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children. They said attacks target indigenous peoples and human rights defenders, including children. The experts noted that a number of villagers, farmers and human rights defenders seeking to protect the ancestral land of Lumad indigenous peoples against businesses have been reportedly killed, or executed outside the ordinary legal proceedings....



 “We urge the Government to ensure effective protection of individuals and groups who may be subject to extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions, or those who received death threats,” the experts said. “The Government must also prevent incitement to violence or killings against indigenous communities, human rights defenders and farmers,” they concluded. The group of UN human rights experts has been in contact with the Government of the Philippines regarding these concerns. Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work."



'Read Source: United Nations News Centre -Nations News Centre - Philippines: UN experts urge Government to address spiralling rights violations: "31 July 2017 –

PRAY FOR PEACE in South Sudan: UN peacekeeping chief urges an end to fighting to give peace process 'better chance'

The conflict in South Sudan has to end in order to give the peace process there “a better chance of success,” the top United Nations peacekeeping official said today, kicking off a three-day trip to the African country. In the South Sudanese capital, Juba, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix met with with senior Government officials including the First Vice-President Taban Deng, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deng Alor and the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Martin Lomuro, as well as other ministers. The peacekeeping chief said that there was a “shared understanding” with the Government that actions and initiatives to advance peace are important and that they have to be put in place to accelerate the implementation of the Peace Agreement and bring sustainable peace to the world's youngest nation. Mr. Lacroix underlined that the peace process could not move forward if fighting continued. The UN peacekeeping chief commended efforts made by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and neighbouring countries, such as Uganda, to revitalize the implementation of the Peace Agreement and to bring stakeholders together. The conflict in South Sudan began in December 2013 and since then a humanitarian crisis has developed which has left more than 5.5 million people in need of aid. Some 1.7 million refugees have also fled to neighbouring countries. “The UN is here to help move forward efforts to achieve peace in South Sudan and to help the people of South Sudan,” said Mr. Lacroix. “UN humanitarian agencies are doing their best to help South Sudanese and we look forward to further cooperation with the Government so that we can access populations in distress wherever the needs are.”"



'via Blog this'United Nations News Centre - In South Sudan, UN peacekeeping chief urges an end to fighting to give peace process 'better chance': "1 August 2017 –

PRAY FOR PEACE in Yemen: Deadly combination of cholera, hunger and conflict pushes Yemen to 'edge of a cliff' – senior UN official

 Describing the situation in Yemen as “very bleak,” with “no end in sight,” a senior United Nations official envoy today said the war-torn country, already reeling from malnutrition and dwindling health care, is plummeting into further distress amid a deadly cholera outbreak and looming famine. “Historically, Yemen has been one of the poorest Arab nations – if not the poorest– with [poverty] and corruption, poor governance and poor infrastructure. The war has simply made it much worse,” said Auke Lootsma, UN Development Programme (UNDP) Country Director, briefing journalists in New York via teleconference from the capital, Sana'a. He compared the situation in the country to a bus “racing towards the edge of a cliff.” Instead of hitting the brakes and turning around, Mr. Lootsma said, “the one controlling the direction of the bus keeps going and pushes the accelerator, all but certain to crash.” He stressed that the Yemeni people are enduring incredible hardship, with 70 per cent of the population – some 20 million people – in need of humanitarian assistance. Additionally, some 400,000 cases of cholera recorded in the past few months have resulted in 1,900 deaths. Mr. Lootsma emphasized that due to the scope of the crisis combined with a lack of funding and access, humanitarians “are asked to cover gaps that are well beyond” their mandates and capacities. The country is on the brink of famine, with 60 per cent of the population not knowing where its next meal is coming from, according to the UN envoy. The current food security crisis is a man-made disaster resulting not only from decades of poverty and under-investment, but also as a war tactic through economic strangulation He made clear that “the current food security crisis is a man-made disaster not only resulting from decades of poverty and under-investment, but also as a war tactic through economic strangulation.” Pointing out that Yemen imported 90 per cent of its food even before the crisis, he painted a picture of the difficulty in bringing food into the country now. “Although food may be physically available in the market, it is actually financially out of reach for many of the poor families at this point in time,” explained Mr. Lootsma. The UNDP Country Director said that while cholera is not new to Yemen, “the collapse of the health, water and sanitation sector due to a lack of salaries and damaged infrastructure” exacerbated the situation. Time is running out to 'stop the bus from going off the cliff' He added that almost half of the health facilities are no longer functioning because they are partly or completely damaged, a situation made worse because “doctors and nurses are not coming to work because they have not been paid and looking for income elsewhere.” With almost 1.2 million civil servants having not been paid since September 2016, many businesses have collapsed. The conflict continues unabated as remaining infrastructure continues to be shattered –garbage is piling up and water treatment facilities are marginally functioning, creating ideal conditions for diseases – and civilian casualties continue to mount, rendering Yemen as the world's largest cholera crisis, according to Mr. Lootsma. With its population set to double by 2050, pressing development challenges – including changing climate, negative production and malnutrition – will have a great impact on Yemen's future. Mr. Lootsma called on the international community to redouble their efforts, warning that time is running out to find the brakes to stop the bus before it goes off the cliff."



'via Blog this'United Nations News Centre - Deadly combination of cholera, hunger and conflict pushes Yemen to 'edge of a cliff' – senior UN official: "1 August 2017 –