View previous stories
	Human toll of 4 years of intensive, virtually non-stop combat has been enormous by OCHA, NRC, Red Cross, agencies Iraq   Feb. 2018 (OCHA)   The humanitarian crisis in Iraq is entering a new phase. Combat operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have ended and hundreds of thousands of displaced people are returning to their homes and communities.   Retaken areas are being cleared of explosive hazards and rubble and major efforts are underway to restore electricity, water and sewage grids, re-establish the Government’s social protection floor, restart local economies and open schools and health centres.   The human toll of four years of intensive, virtually non-stop combat has been enormous. In 2014, 2.5 million civilians were displaced inside Iraq; in 2015, more than one million people fled their homes; in 2016, an additional 700,000 people fled and in 2017, 1.7 million civilians were newly displaced. Population movements have been multidirectional; at the same time that hundreds of thousands of people have been fleeing their homes, hundreds of thousands have been returning.   The pace and scale of displacement have made the Iraq crisis one of the largest and most volatile in the world. Civilians have been at extreme risk throughout, from aerial bombardment, artillery barrage, cross-fire, snipers, and unexploded ordnance. Tens of thousands of civilians have been used as human shields and hundreds of thousands have survived siege-like conditions.   During 2018, and beyond, millions of people are likely to need protection support as families and communities grapple with post-conflict realities.   Families without civil documentation are struggling to access the Government’s social protection floor and claim compensation. Hundreds of thousands of people who have been brutalized by violence, including women and children, require specialized support and services, many of which are only partially available.   It will take years to rebuild Iraq. Damage and loss assessments estimate that reconstruction will take at least 10 years and cost well over US$88 billion. The health and education sectors have been particularly hard-hit. For example, thirty-six per cent of health centres in Salah al-Din are damaged or destroyed and only half of health facilities in Ninewa are fully functional. Last year alone, more than 150 schools were damaged or destroyed. Nearly 50 per cent of children in displaced camps do not have access to quality education and 3.2 million children attend school irregularly or not at all.   Agricultural production has declined 40 per cent compared to pre-conflict levels when crop production, including wheat, barley, maize, fruits and vegetables in Ninewa and Salah al-Din provided nearly 70 per cent of household income. The poverty rate in the areas most impacted by the fighting exceeds 40 per cent.   Nearly 1.9 million Iraqis are food insecure; 7.3 million people require health care; 5.2 million protection support; 5.4 million water and sanitation assistance and 4.1 million people need shelter.   * 2018 Iraq Humanitarian Respnse plan (88pp): http://bit.ly/2Jiwv7P   Aug. 2017   Iraq: First time aid enters West Mosul. (International Committee of the Red Cross)   The International Committee of the Red Cross is carrying out a major distribution of food and other essential items to more than 64,000 people in West Mosul. This is not only the first such distribution of its kind since the western part of the city was recaptured by the authorities on 10th July, but the first major delivery of aid to the area since Mosul was cut off from the world in 2014.   Much of West Mosul has been devastated by the fighting, with private homes, roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, electricity plants and water systems in ruins. Many thousands of civilians have died as a result of the conflict. The population – the few who had stayed throughout the military offensive, families who returned home, and those displaced from other inaccessible yet neighborhoods– have to struggle to put food on the table. Access to food or water is either limited, or high market prices make essential supplies out of reach for many.   At the same time, wounded people keep arriving to medical facilities, after being wounded by unexploded ordanance hidden under the rubble of their homes.   Since the Mosul operations started in October 2016, the ICRC has helped more than 1.4 million people, including internally displaced, returnees, and host communities.   (Unacknowledged estimates suggest thousands of civilians died in the battle to retake Mosul)   Good health includes good mental health. (Gulf News, Medecins sans Frontieres)   The MSF Medical team were shocked to hear the traumatic stories Iraqis had experienced living in Mosul, writes Jumana Al Tamimi, Associate Editor of Gulf News.   While several Iraqi cities suffered over the past few years of continuous war and conflict, the residents of Mosul which was recently liberated from the brutal grip of IS/Daesh carry some of the deepest scars.   Mosul’s civilian population, who fled the city in waves seeking refuge in other parts of Iraq, had suffered enormously in all capacities: physical, mental, financial, social and economic, according to a mental health expert.   “When it comes to the level of suffering, I think that the people who experienced living under Daesh in Mosul have gone through more than any other group of people that I have worked with,” said Gregory Keane, Regional Mental Health Advisor for the Middle East at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders.   “Really, the sense of loss, the violence that they faced, the deprivation, and the insecurity is tremendous,” Keane told Gulf News in an interview on the eve of the World Mental Health day, which is celebrated on October 10.   “MSF has worked in mental health contexts for more than 20 years now. It is crucial, that if you want to approach someone’s health that you must include their mental health. Good health includes good mental health. There is no health without good mental health,” said Keane.   The international humanitarian non-governmental organisation has established clinics in Iraq to treat people traumatised by war.   The organisation’s mental health team consisted of six psychiatrists, four medical doctors, seven counsellors, five psychologists and several community health workers.   The team was shocked as to just how bad the situation was when they began receiving people.   “People were actually asking for mental health treatment, and honestly, I have not seen it before in public with people saying I am suffering, I need help, or my family is suffering can you please help us, and it was quite a shock for me,” he said.   “I think people lost so much, and finally they have someone to talk to,” he said.   Patients spoke of violence, grief, fear, loss of beloved ones, as well as lack of basic needs.   Visiting various displacement camps between Mosul and Arbil, MSF conducted 17,000 individual consultations between January and September this year.   “People were waiting in line for up to 45 minutes for a chance to speak to a mental health professional,” said, Keane who obtained his Masters in health care policy and management from Harvard’s School of Public Health.   According to MSF statistics, between one and three per cent of the population of any given country on average suffer from severe mental illness.   Between five and 15 per cent of any population suffers from psycho-social conditions, such as depression, anxiety or Post-Traumatic Stress disorder.   There are no official statistics yet on mental health cases caused by the recent wars in Iraq, but Keane expects the number to be exponentially larger than the global average. http://www.msf.org/en/news   July 2017   Humanitarian funding is urgently required to assist 700,000 civilians displaced from Mosul. (OCHA)   Since the military campaign to retake Mosul began on 17 October 2016, 920,000 civilians have fled their homes. Close to 700,000 people are still displaced, nearly half of whom are living in 19 emergency camps.   “It''s a relief to know that the military campaign in Mosul is ending. The fighting may be over, but the humanitarian crisis is not,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, Ms. Lise Grande.   “Many of the people who have fled have lost everything. They need shelter, food, health care, water, sanitation and emergency kits. The levels of trauma we are seeing are some of the highest anywhere. What people have experienced is nearly unimaginable,” said Ms. Grande.   "We''ve been working around the clock for months. We''ve done our best to protect and assist the people who need it the most.”   "There''s a lot to do in the months ahead. Of the 54 residential neighborhoods in western Mosul, 15 are heavily damaged and at least 23 are moderately damaged.”   Only 43 percent of the USD 985 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Iraq has been received. Partners urgently require US$562 to meet the needs of millions of Iraqis who need help.   July 2017   End of the battle for Mosul isn’t end of ordeal for civilians, says Norwegian Refugee Council.   As the Iraqi government declares that Mosul has finally been retaken from the Islamic State group, the hundreds of thousands of people in the city and who have fled remain in grave danger.   “Rebuilding will be the key to preventing further conflict in Iraq,” said Heidi Diedrich, Iraq country director with the Norwegian Refugee Council. “People from every ethnic, religious and socio-economic group in Iraq have suffered as a result of this conflict. It is the responsibility of the international community now to help them rebuild their country and repair the divisions that helped to create the conflict in the first place,” she said.   The military offensive to retake Mosul from IS started in October last year and according to government figures over 900,000 people have fled the city since then. Although 90 percent of the population of east Mosul have returned, the same proportion of the population is still displaced from west Mosul.   Tens of thousands of people are likely to return to the city in the near future, placing pressure on the Iraqi Government and the international community to begin rebuilding the city. A lack of basic services, education opportunities, and livelihoods, the presence of unexploded ordnance and explosive devices, destroyed property and ongoing violence are just some of the challenges that need to be addressed.   “Now that the battle for Mosul has ended, the Iraqi state must provide safety and security for all civilians. Combatants must not take the law into their own hands. In particular, there must be no collective punishment of families suspected of affiliation with IS,” Diedrich said.   Due to the protracted conflict, over three million people are displaced across Iraq. One third of Iraq’s population, 11 million people, are in need of humanitarian assistance. Yet only 42 per cent of the funding required to meet their needs has been provided this year.   “Sustained funding so civilians are assisted and protected during the aftermath of Mosul is the least the Government of Iraq and the international community must commit to now. Looking ahead there must be a commitment to rebuild and to alter the conditions that created the conflict in the first place,” Diedrich said.   NRC has provided food and water to the majority of the over the 742,993 who have fled west Mosul since 19 February.   http://www.nrc.no/countries/middle-east/iraq/ http://reliefweb.int/country/irq http://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/ngo-statement-iraq-ahead-july-meeting-members-global-coalition-counter-isil http://www.unhcr.org/news/latest/2017/6/595255454/mosul-battle-rages-trapped-residents-face-terror-hunger.html http://www.unhcr.org/iraq-emergency.html http://uni.cf/2svJbA7 http://www.savethechildren.net/article/mosul-s-children-mentally-scarred-brutal-conflict   May 2017   Alarming numbers of people fleeing western Mosul city (OCHA)   Since military operations began in Mosul city seven months ago, nearly 700,000 people have been displaced from their homes, including 500,000 people who have been forced to flee from the western neighbourhoods of Mosul city alone. As fighting has intensified in western Mosul, the number of people fleeing the west of the city has increased sharply.   “The numbers of people fleeing their homes in western Mosul are overwhelming,” said Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq. “We are talking about very large numbers of families who are leaving everything behind. They are fleeing under very difficult circumstances.   "Many are food insecure and haven’t had access to safe drinking water and medicines for weeks or months.”   “The Government is leading the operation, providing transport and aid. Humanitarian partners are doing their best to provide support along the routes out of the city and to help families when they reach emergency sites and camps,” said Ms. Grande.   “The numbers of people who are moving are now so large, it’s becoming more and more difficult to ensure civilians receive the assistance and protection they need. As military operations intensify and move closer to Mosul’s old city area, we expect that up to 200,000 more people will flee,” said Ms. Grande.   “It’s incredible to see the generosity of people in other parts of Mosul city who are opening their homes and looking after displaced families from western Mosul. Without this support, the camps would have been overwhelmed long ago,” said Ms. Grande.   “The military battle in Mosul isn’t over yet and even when it is, the emergency will continue for months. We have no choice—we have to re-double our efforts to mobilize more resources and get assistance to the people who need it the most,” said Ms. Grande. “Hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake.”   As of 18 May, the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Iraq, requesting US$985 million, is currently only 28 per cent funded. Under the 2017 HRP, approximately $331 million is being sought for the Mosul operation. http://bit.ly/2rseLRQ   http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/latest/2017/7/5965e7814/malala-highlights-education-needs-iraqs-displaced-children.html http://www.iom.int/news/un-migration-agency-over-830000-remain-displaced-outside-mosul   Jan. 2017   UN agency cuts food aid to 1.4 million displaced Iraqis   The World Food Programme (WFP) has slashed food rations distributed to 1.4 million displaced Iraqis by 50 percent because of delays in payments from donor states. The sharp cutbacks come at a time when a growing number of Iraqis flee the Islamic State (IS/Daesh) group.   WFP spokeswoman Inger Marie Vennize said the UN agency was talking to the United States - its biggest donor, Germany, Japan and others to secure funds to restore full rations.   "We have had to reduce [the rations] as of this month," she said. "The 50 percent cuts in monthly rations affect over 1.4 million people across Iraq," she added.   "They are giving an entire family the food supply of one person.. we want to go back home," said Omar Shukri Mahmoud at the Hassan Sham camp. Safa Shaker, who fled with her extended family, said: "We are a big family and this ration is not going to be enough. "We escaped from [IS] in order to have a chance to live and now they have cut the aid. How are we supposed to live?".   http://bit.ly/2jVFLFW http://www.unicef.org/media/media_94438.html http://www.unicef.org/iraq/ http://www.unocha.org/iraq http://bit.ly/2e2YeMG http://bit.ly/2e30tj9 http://bit.ly/2dTPFoY http://bit.ly/2tygJAC http://medium.com/stories-from-unicef-in-iraq-english http://www.savethechildren.net/news/iraq/t-328 http://www.unhcr.org/emergencies.html Visit the related web page
	Act to protect civilians, UN experts urge Burundi Government by Anastasia Crickley UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination   Nov. 2016   The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has called on the Government of Burundi to take prompt and effective action to protect civilians, including allowing the immediate admission of a UN police contingent to monitor the security and human rights situation in the country.   The fact that armed militia are openly intimidating people demonstrates, “the unwillingness or the inability of the Government to protect civilians,” the Committee wrote in a decision issued under its early warning and urgent action procedure. CERD also expressed deep concern regarding a Civil Service questionnaire issued on 8 November that asks public servants to state their ethnicity.   “Such a survey, given Burundi’s history of virulent ethnic conflict, could spread fear and further mistrust among the population, and could be hugely dangerous if misused,” said CERD Chairperson Anastasia Crickley.   Acting under its early warning procedure, CERD also voiced deep concern at reports of killings, summary executions, disappearances and torture; the frequent use of hate speech by Government officials; and the growing number of Burundians fleeing the country.   The Committee deplored Burundi’s increased lack of co-operation with the international community and called on the Government to re-engage with the UN Human Rights Office. CERD also urged the Government to abide by Burundi’s human rights obligations, including those arising from the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.   “CERD established its early warning procedure in response to the conflicts of the early 1990s, including in the Great Lakes region, as a way of preventing problems or crises from escalating into conflicts and above all to prevent the wounds of old conflicts from re-opening,” said Ms. Crickley. “That is why we expressed alarm in August this year and this is why we are raising our voice again.   “Burundi is at a dangerous junction. We therefore call on the Government to step back from any actions that risk stoking ethnic conflict and that could even be a precursor to mass atrocities,” said Ms. Crickley.   Aug. 2017   ''No sign of positive evolution'' in Burundi, says head of independent UN rights probe. (UN News)   Ahead of next month''s presentation to the United Nations Human Rights Council, an independent panel today said that the human rights situation in Burundi has not improved.   Fatsah Ouguergouz, the head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Burundi, told UN News that based on more than 470 testimonies with people inside Burundi and in exile, alleged human rights abuses in the Great Lakes state are continuing.   “Since last June, where the Commission made its oral declaration at the Human Rights Council, we received no sign of a positive evolution of the situation in Burundi, in particular as far as the restriction to certain freedoms are concerned,” Mr. Ouguergouz said. “On the contrary, we have received some testimonies since June showing that there''s a kind of tendency that what we have underlined in June is persisting.”   The Commission is following up on reports of horrific abuse including extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, and sexual violence.   “The signal that we have received through those testimonies are for us clear evidence that the situation is not improving since June,” the senior official said.   He noted that “there is no cooperation with the Government” on these findings, and that the Commission was not allowed into the territory. The nearly 500 interviews were done outside of Burundi or through third-parties with people in Burundi.   The findings will be presented to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in September. Established for a period of a year at the Council''s 33rd session last year, the Commission has also been mandated to identify the alleged perpetrators of violations and abuses, since April 2015, with a view to ensuring full accountability. http://bit.ly/2wlKsPw   Aug. 2017   The United Nations Security Council today expressed “deep concern” over the political situation in Burundi – including increasing numbers of refugees and reports of torture, forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings – and strongly urged the Government and all parties to immediately cease and reject such violence.   In a statement read out by Ambassador Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta of Egypt, which holds the Council presidency for August, the 15-nation body underscored deep concern regarding the continued worsening humanitarian situation, “marked by nearly 202,000 internally displaced persons, three million people in need and more than 416,000 Burundians seeking refuge in neighbouring countries […] resulting from the country''s persisting political impasse.”   The Council commended the host countries for their efforts, and regional governments “to respect their international obligations relating to the status of refugees, and to ensure that their return is voluntary, based on informed decisions and in safety and dignity.”   It also strongly condemned all public statements inciting violence or hatred towards different groups, “including calls for forced impregnation of women and girls” and urged the Government and all parties to cease all violence and to condemn any hate speech.   The Security Council stressed that the prevailing situation has “seriously undermined” the gains achieved through the 2000 Arusha Agreement, with “devastating consequences for Burundi and the region as a whole.”   The Council reiterated its intention to pursue targeted measures against all actors, both inside and outside of the country, who threaten the peace and security of Burundi and underlined “the utmost importance of respecting the letter and the spirit of the Arusha Agreement” that has helped to sustain a decade of peace in in the nation.   “The Security Council urges the Government of Burundi to reengage with international partners, especially the United Nations, in a constructive manner based on mutual trust,” the statement said.   In that regard, the Council reiterated its concern over significant delays in the deployment of African Union human rights observers and military experts, noting that only 40 of the former and eight of the latter had been deployed to Burundi so far.   Reaffirming the Government''s primary responsibility for ensuring security in its territory and protecting its population, with respect for the rule of law, human rights and international humanitarian law, it also called on States in the region to contribute to a solution to the crisis in Burundi and to refrain from supporting the activities of armed movements in any way. http://bit.ly/2vE8t3P   http://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2017/08/21/hate-speech-stirs-trouble-burundi Visit the related web page
	View more stories