Deadly Mali attack to be investigated by UN rights experts

MINUSMA/Gema Cortes

Peacekeepers conduct civil-military activities to secure the circle of Koro, in Mali’s central Mopti region. Called FADEN 6, the project includes free medical consultations, sensitization and education sessions on social cohesion, human rights, justice, and distribution of goods to the community. 18 December 2018.


3 January 2019

Peace and Security


An attack on a village in central Mali earlier this week in which at least 37 civilians died, is to be investigated with the help of United Nations human rights experts, the UN stabilization mission in the country (MINUSMA), announced on Thursday.


Women and children were among those killed in Koulogon Peul on Tuesday, according to MINUSMA. It has called for justice for the victims, whose deaths come amid escalating intercommunal clashes, fuelled in part by decades-old disputes over land and cattle by pastoralists across the whole Sahel region and by extremist armed groups.

“I strongly condemn these attacks against civilians in the village of Koulogon Peul and call for the perpetrators to be held accountable,” said Joanne Adamson, MINUSMA Deputy Special Representative.

“It is becoming more and more important to bring an end to violence in the regions of Mopti and Segou. We need to intensify our efforts to find judicial and political solutions,” she insisted.

According to MINUSMA, the latest incident saw unidentified armed assailants attack Koulogon Peul village in Mali’s central Mopti region, at around 5am on New Year’s Day. In addition to those killed and wounded in their homes, houses and granaries were also destroyed on purpose, it said in a statement.

The assailants wore traditional hunting outfits associated with the Dozos people, MINUSMA also reported.

After welcoming the rapid deployment of Malian troops to the site of the attack and the decision to open a police inquiry, the Mission’s communiqué added that “in the coming days”, it will deploy a human rights team to support the probe.

“This work will make it possible to carry out an investigation in the zone where the attack took place”, the MINUSMA statement continued, noting that it would also help to complete evidence-gathering, establish the reasons for the killings and apportion responsibility.

The attack is the latest episode of violence involving self-defence militias and armed groups in Mali, where extremists took over the north of the country in 2012.

Although the French military succeeded in forcing them back, the jihadists have maintained support in communities in the north and centre, causing a significant deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the last 12 months.

Overall, some 7.2 million people living in Mali’s 50 administrative districts, or “cercles”, have been affected by insecurity, drought and flooding.

Among them, 3.2 million require humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and four regions have acute malnutrition levels above the 10 per cent alert threshold: Gao, Menaka, Segou and Timbuktu.

For the situation in Mali to improve, the effective implementation of the peace agreement in the north needs to happen, OCHA said in its 2019 Global Humanitarian Overview, along with the restoration of law and basic services throughout the country, and the protection of civilians by national and international forces.



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Security Council condemns attacks on Afghan security forces which killed at least 27

UNAMA/Eric Kanalstein

An IDP camp in the northern Afghanistan Province of Balkh. Photo: UNAMA/Eric Kanalstein


3 January 2019

Peace and Security


The United Nations Security Council has condemned “in the strongest terms” a series of coordinated attacks aimed at security checkpoints in northern Afghanistan which took place on Monday night, killing at least 27 and wounding dozens of others


According to news reports, the assaults were carried out by Taliban extremists in the provinces of Sar-e-Pul and Balkh, striking security forces in three areas; the centre of Sayad District, along a road linking Sar-e-Pul to Jowzjan, and a village where oil wells are situated.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Afghanistan and they wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured”, said a statement issued on Thursday.

Council members “reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security”, and underlined the need “to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”

They called on all States “to cooperate actively with the Government of Afghanistan and all other relevant authorities” to help end the cycle of violence in the country.
New presidential election date

The attacks on New Year’s Eve came a day after the announcement by Afghan electoral authorities of a new date for planned presidential elections, which had been scheduled to take place on April 20. Elections will now be held in July this year.

In a statement, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, said that “the United Nations understands that the new date announced by the Independent Election Commission follows consultations with a broad range of political actors, civil society organizations, and the Government of Afghanistan, all of whom have expressed the strong desire for a credible and transparent presidential election.”

“The United Nations acknowledges the IEC’s assessment that additional time is needed in order to learn from the 2018 parliamentary elections and adequately prepare”, said UNAMA.




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‘Milestones are clear’ for ‘significant progress’ in Somalia during 2019, Security Council hears

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Nicholas Haysom, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in Somalia, on 3 January 2019.


3 January 2019

Peace and Security


Somali Government efforts to build a lasting peace through political reform and transformation have progressed along a “positive trajectory” but everyone involved in the process needs to “pull in the same direction”, the UN Special Representative in the country told the Security Council on Thursday.


Nicholas Haysom commended the Office of the Prime Minister “for leading Government efforts to tackle corruption”, and praised improvements in public financial management which had led to a recorded surplus of $8 million last September.

But turning to Somalia’s complex “Roadmap on Inclusive Politics” reform process, he said that a “key milestone” had been missed in not meeting the December deadline for a draft new Electoral Law. Despite that, the National Independent Electoral Commission has made progress with voter registration planning, and 35 political parties have been officially registered.

“Women’s meaningful participation” in the Constitutional Review process, and other draft national agreements on justice, mineral resource-sharing, “allocation of powers and fiscal federalism” was essential, said the top UN official from South Africa, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, UNSOM.

Overshadowing progress there however, he said, was a continuing stalemate between the leaders of central Government, and Somalia’s Member States, which “continues to impede progress in defining the federal model, building institutions of state, and in the implementation of the National Security Architecture”.

There had been encouraging steps taken to “restore relations” by the President and Prime Minister, and a committee established to work with the Upper House of parliamentary representatives, Mr. Haysom told Council members.

Risk that ‘complexity shifts to conflict’

The Special Representative noted that “politics is complex in any nation, but in one that is still establishing its norms, institutional parameters” and debating how they will work for the common good “there is a risk that complexity shifts to conflict”.

This had proved the case in the election process for South West State, where allegations of interference by the Federal Government and violence which erupted following the arrest of a candidate who was a former al-Shabaab deputy-leader, “marred the process and does not bode well for upcoming” elections, said Mr. Haysom.

He said it was regrettable that 15 people, including a regional assembly member had lost their lives, adding that the detention of the former extremist group leader, could deter others from abandoning terrorist violence, for the ballot box.

Al-Shabaab still the ‘biggest source of insecurity’

Al-Shabaab continues to be “the biggest source of insecurity in Somalia” said Mr. Haysom, welcoming the Government’s condemnation of the group’s attack on New Year’s Day against the UN’s headquarters in the Somali capital, which injured three staff members.

Thanks to the African Union’s AMISOM troops, and Government forces, conventional attacks have been largely stymied he said, with Al-Shabaab now relying on assassinations and improvised explosives, but “indiscriminate attacks” were still a constant threat.

He added that the UN had “continued to support conflict prevention and conflict resolution efforts in several parts of the country in collaboration with our partners”, said the top official.

Humanitarian needs remain high, with 4.2 million requiring assistance and protection, almost two-thirds of them children. “Around 1.5 million are severely food insecure at crisis or emergency levels. Around 2.6 million people are internally-displaced” he said.

Finally, he added, respect of human rights in the country and international humanitarian law, and the protection of civilians caught up in violence, “remains key for Somalia’s transition and sustainable peace”.

For more on this story including remarks made by the head of AMISOM, and the Somali Ambassador to the UN, go to our UN Meetings Coverage here.




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Germany, Indonesia, South Africa, Dominican Republic, Belgium, elected to Security Council

What is the Security Council?

About the Security Council


The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.


The Security Council takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.



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Attack on UN compound in Somalia may be 'violation of international humanitarian law'

UNSOM

A worker putting up a sign for the new UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) Headquarters in Mogadishu.


1 January 2019

Peace and Security


United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned Tuesday’s attacks against the UN compound in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, saying that intentionally attacking UN personnel may constitute "a violation of international humanitarian law.”


Seven mortars landed inside the compound, injuring two UN staff members and one contractor. None of the injuries is life-threatening.

Mr. Guterres wished the injured a speedy recovery and urged the Somali authorities to “investigate the attacks and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.”

The Secretary-General reaffirmed that “such acts will not diminish the strong resolve of the United Nations to continue supporting the people and Government of Somalia in their efforts to build peace and stability in the country.”


Investigate the attacks and swiftly bring those responsible to justice -- UN chief

Meanwhile, Nicholas Haysom, his Special Representative in the country and head of the Assistance Mission UNSOM, condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms.”

Al-Shabaab has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Deploring the “unwarranted act of aggression against our personnel,” Mr. Haysom stressed that “no political agenda can be served through violence that deliberately targets staff members of international organizations who are supporting the consolidation of peace and the strengthening of governing institutions in Somalia.”

Hours later, news media reported that the Somali Government declared Mr. Haysom persona non-grata and asked him to leave the country, saying that he violated international diplomatic norms by interfering in the State’s national sovereignty.

The unfolding news reports detailed that on Monday, the UN diplomat wrote the Somali government a letter asking it, among other things, to explain the legal basis for arresting Mukhtar Robow, the former al-Shabab deputy leader who was the main challenger in the South West State elections for regional presidency.



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Президент США готов ко второй встрече с северокорейским лидером

2019-01-02   11:24:52



Photo : YONHAP News

Президент США Дональд Трамп выразил готовность во второй раз встретиться с северокорейский лидером Ким Чон Ыном, который в своём новогоднем обращении к народу страны выразил аналогичную готовность.

 «Я с нетерпением жду встречи с председателем Кимом, который так хорошо понимает, что Северная Корея обладает огромным экономическим потенциалом!»,- написал глава Белого дома на своей странице в Twitter. 

 Он не стал комментировать остальную часть выступления Ким Чон Ына, в том числе, предупреждение «не проверять терпение» Пхеньяна с помощью санкций и давления. 

В этой связи эксперты оценивают реакцию Дональда Трампа как положительную. 

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Лидер КНДР выразил готовность встретиться в 2019 году с президентом США

2019-01-02   10:42:43




Photo : KBS News

Выступая утром 1 января с новогодним обращением к народу, которое транслировало Центральное телевидение КНДР, северокорейский лидер Ким Чон Ын выразил готовность встретиться в 2019 году с президентом США Дональдом Трампом. 

Он сообщил также о своей готовности приложить усилия для достижения результатов, которые будут приветствоваться мировым сообществом. 

Одновременно Ким Чон Ын подчеркнул, что КНДР будет вынуждена искать альтернативный курс, «если США неправильно истолкуют терпение, которое проявляет народная республика» в ожидании ответных шагов. 

Касаясь межкорейских отношений, Ким Чон Ын отметил готовность создать на Корейском полуострове прочный пояс мира. 

Он назвал беспрецедентным проведение в прошлом году трёх межкорейских саммитов. Соглашение в военной сфере Ким Чон Ын назвал фактической декларацией о ненападении. 

При этом он подчеркнул недопустимость размещения в РК стратегических вооружений, призвав Сеул не проводить совместные с внешними силами военные учения. 

Ким Чон Ын выразил готовность возобновить работу Кэсонского индустриального комплекса и туристической программы в горах Кымгансан. Он подтвердил твёрдое намерение КНДР выполнить обещания о полной денуклеаризации страны, отметив, что если США примут ответные меры, то процесс денуклеаризации ускорится. 

Председатель Госсовета КНДР назвал развитие экономики одной из основных задач страны в 2019 году. Он подчеркнул необходимость значительно увеличить производство продукции машиностроения, энергетики, и сельского хозяйства.



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