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	War in Yemen poses ever-growing threat to children by OHCHR, UNICEF, Reliefweb, agencies   Sept. 2017   Yemen: The pain of conflict permeates deeply into communities - Speech by ICRC President Peter Maurer, High-Level Event on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, United Nations General Assembly, 72nd session.   I was in Yemen just a few weeks ago. What I saw was a stark reminder of how the pain of conflict permeates deep into communities and how webs of alliances equipped with easily available weapons complicate and prolong wars.   For many Yemenis, a normal, dignified life is impossible. Electricity and water supplies have been damaged. Hospitals have been attacked. Young boys, armed with guns, control checkpoints. People struggle to survive against poverty aggravated by war and against death from treatable chronic diseases.   Now a deadly cholera outbreak is threatening the lives of more than half a million people, actually the latest figures stand at 700,000 suspected cases this morning. So it''s by the largest numbers that have been reported since numbers have been recorded. The import restrictions and warfare in frequent violation of international humanitarian law is leading to hyper-fragility for as many as 20 million people.   This indeed extends far beyond a localized conflict.   ICRC has doubled its budget this year to around 100 million dollars, our third largest operation worldwide.   We''re in the hospitals, in the cholera treatment centres, in the towns and villages. We repair water and sewage systems. We''ve trained more than 200 doctors and nurses in mass casualty management. We''ve carried out hundreds of operations. We help treat those with chronic illness. We give food, water and household items. We provide seeds and tools for farmers. Our staff have been killed and kidnapped. Our courageous colleagues in the Yemen Red Crescent have lost ten of their volunteers.   There are some questions that need to be asked: Why have there been so many violations of international humanitarian law, from all belligerents, but with different patterns of ill-behavior? What has happened to all those who have been detained: how were they treated? Will there be a concerted effort to find a political solution?   The answers lie in national, but also in regional dynamics, and far beyond. More engagement is needed with parties of influence outside of the region to find a solution to the conflict and, in the meantime, to bring those on the ground to respect the basic rules of warfare.   The ICRC makes these recommendations today. First, a political solution is needed. Without doubt, this is the number one priority, as others have said. Pending an comprehensive political solution we urgently need agreements on larger areas of tranquility for civilians. A war, which is running out of military targets must not continue.   Second, while conflict continues, the parties must abide by international humanitarian law, including the rules governing the conduct of hostilities and the treatment of detainees. Respect and protect civilians and civilian objects.   Ensure steadfast adherence to the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. Adapt these principles to the predominantly urban contexts of vulnerability. Spare Yemen''s essential services for now and for the future.   My request to those who are involved either directly or indirectly – by fighting alongside the belligerents, or by transferring weapons or in any other way supporting them – is to bring pressure onto the parties to abide by humanitarian law.   Third, if the international community is to respond meaningfully to the crisis, humanitarian access must be allowed and facilitated by all parties. The flow of aid and commercial items - both into and across Yemen - must be permitted.   It''s important that transport hubs, such as Sana''a airport, and also the seaports are opened again and quickly. We need a humanitarian access and supply regime, helping us to prevent the worst.   Fourth, access to detainees. The vicious cycle - whereby each side does not give ICRC access until their own people have been seen first - must be broken. There has been some access. But it needs to be significantly extended.   Colleagues, the ICRC stands by the Yemeni people but it needs a concerted effort from everyone. To conclude: I am reminded of an old saying well-known in the Middle East, "I hear what you say and I like it. I watch what you do and I wonder." Help me and others to put a stop to this endless wondering. http://bit.ly/2fX7kuS   Dec. 2016   Malnutrition amongst children in Yemen at an all-time high, warns UNICEF   Nearly 2.2 million children in Yemen are acutely malnourished and require urgent care. At least 462,000 children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), a drastic increase of almost 200 per cent since 2014. An additional 1.7 million children suffer from Moderate Acute Malnutrition.   The situation of severely malnourished children in Governorates such as Hodeida, Sa’ada, Taizz, Hajjah and Lahej is most critical. These five governorates put together have the highest of all SAM cases in the country. Sa’ada also has the world’s highest stunting rates amongst children with an unprecedented eight out of 10 children in some areas being chronically malnourished.   “Malnutrition in Yemen is at an all-time high and increasing,” said Dr Meritxell Relano, UNICEF Acting Representative in Yemen. “The state of health of children in the Middle East’s poorest country has never been as catastrophic as it is today.”   Even before the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, Yemen faced challenges from widespread poverty, food insecurity and a dearth of health services. Now Yemen’s health system is on the verge of collapse.   Less than a third of the country’s population has access to medical care. Less than half of health facilities are functional. Health workers have not been paid their wages for months and aid agencies are struggling to bring in lifesaving supplies because of the political deadlock between the warring parties.   At least one child dies every ten minutes in Yemen because of preventable diseases such as diarrhoea, malnutrition and respiratory tract infections.   “Violence and conflict have reversed significant gains made in the last decade in the health and nutrition of Yemeni children. Diseases such as cholera and measles have spread and, with few health facilities functional, such outbreaks are taking a heavy toll on children,” said Relano.   In 2016, UNICEF has supported the treatment of 215,000 children suffering from SAM across Yemen and provided more than 4 million children under the age of five with vitamin supplements to boost their immunity. But this lifesaving work remains hindered by the shortage of funding and limited access to areas caught in the fighting.   “We call on parties to the conflict to give us unhindered access to children in need across the country so we are able to deliver nutrition supplies, treat malnourished children and support Yemen’s health services,” said Relano.   Funding continues to be a challenge. In 2017, UNICEF needs US$70 million to provide the much needed nutrition services to mothers and children across the country.   http://uni.cf/2gI21AC http://bit.ly/2iBsa6m http://bit.ly/2iC1vGl   May 2016   OCHA Operations Director warns of consequences of shockingly low funding for Yemen humanitarian crisis, which demands urgent international attention.   After a joint visit to Yemen by OCHA, WHO and WFP, John Ging, Director of Operations in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), today drew urgent attention to the desperate humanitarian situation in Yemen, which continues to deteriorate more than a year after the conflict escalated.   Since mid-March 2015, the conflict has prompted a widening protection crisis, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation brought on by years of poverty, poor governance and instability, leaving more than 13 million Yemenis in need of immediate, life-saving humanitarian assistance.   “Millions of people in Yemen are in increasingly dire need of assistance,” warned Mr. Ging, pointing out that food and nutrition, insecurity and access to healthcare are among the most critical areas of need.   “People are dying of preventable illnesses because of the limited availability of even the most basic medical supplies.” Over 7.6 million people are severely food insecure, and 2.5 million people have been displaced by violent conflict since January 2014.   “The continued conflict, months of limited imports of essential supplies, and rapidly deteriorating basic services are deepening humanitarian needs,” Mr. Ging told media in New York.   Last year the humanitarian community delivered vital assistance to 8.8 million women, children and men across the country despite severe restrictions on humanitarian movement and on-going conflict, making all humanitarian support, including the transportation of goods, difficult and often dangerous.   John Ging noted that, “Yemen is one of the most acute humanitarian crises in the world, and the courageous and impressive work of the humanitarian staff is truly inspiring.”   Mr. Ging made a crucial appeal to the parties of the conflict to prioritize the protection of civilians and civilian needs, and to swiftly enable unhindered humanitarian access so that humanitarian actors have sustained, unhindered and safe access to all people in need. “The people of Yemen must be at the centre of this response, and our collective duty is to protect them and provide them with food, health, shelter and other vital support,” said Mr. Ging.   To the donor community, Mr. Ging appealed for an urgent increase in attention and support for the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, which requires US$1.8 billion to reach over 13 million people this year, but remains shockingly underfunded at only 16 per cent.   http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/ocha-operations-director-warns-consequences-shockingly-low-funding-yemen-humanitarian   18 March 2016   UN Commissioner for Human Rights condemns repeated killing of civilians in Yemen airstrikes.   In the wake of another deadly airstrike that killed some 106 civilians in a crowded village market in north-western Yemen, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday condemned the repeated failure of the Coalition forces to take effective actions to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, and to publish transparent, independent investigations into those that have already occurred.   “The carnage caused by two airstrikes on the Al Khamees market, in north-western Yemen on Tuesday was one of the deadliest incidents since the start of the conflict a year ago,” said Zeid, noting that it was the second such incident in the past three weeks. On 27 February, at least 39 civilians, including nine children, were killed, and another 33 injured, by an airstrike on the Khaleq market in a north-eastern district of Sana`a.   UN Human Rights Office staff in Yemen, who visited the site of the attack in northern Hajja Gvernorate on Wednesday and interviewed a number of eyewitnesses, said the airstrikes had completely destroyed 16 shops in the Al Khamees market, which is the primary shopping area for some 15 surrounding villages. The attack had apparently taken place during the afternoon rush hour when the market was particularly crowded.   There were 24 children among the 106 people reported dead so far. UN staff recorded the names of 96 of the victims, although a further 10 bodies were burned beyond recognition. More than 40 other people were reported to have been injured during the attack.   Since the beginning of the conflict a year ago, the UN Human Rights Office has recorded a total of just under 9,000 casualties including 3,218 civilians killed and a further 5,778 injured (from 26 March 2015 to 17 March 2016).   The UN human rights staff could find no evidence of any armed confrontation or significant military objects in the area at the time of the attack, beyond the presence of a check-point some 250 meters away from the market usually manned by a small group of policemen and Houthis.   “Looking at the figures, it would seem that the coalition is responsible for twice as many civilian casualties as all other forces put together, virtually all as a result of airstrikes,” the High Commissioner said. “They have hit markets, hospitals, clinics, schools, factories, wedding parties – and hundreds of private residences in villages, towns and cities including the capital Sana’a. Despite plenty of international demarches, these awful incidents continue to occur with unacceptable regularity. In addition, despite public promises to investigate such incidents, we have yet to see progress in any such investigations.”   “It would appear to be the case that the distinction between legitimate military targets and civilian ones -- which are protected under international law -- is at best woefully inadequate,” Zeid said. “And at worst, we are possibly looking at the commission of international crimes by members of the Coalition. There is an obligation to distinguish at all times between military targets and civilians. The Houthis and their allies have also been responsible for indiscriminate ground attacks resulting in civilian casualties, which I also condemn and which could qualify, likewise, as international crimes.”   One year on from the start of the conflict, the UN Human Rights Chief lamented the failure of the two sides to the conflict to agree a peace deal, adding he hoped that an announcement by a Coalition spokesman on Thursday that Saudi Arabia was planning to scale back major combat operations would indeed lead rapidly to a full ceasefire and peace agreement.   “I urge both sides to swallow their pride and bring this conflict to a halt,” Zeid said. “The people of Yemen have suffered enough. A very poor country is having its limited infrastructure decimated, and people are struggling desperately to survive.”   Jan 2016   “With no end in sight to the deadly conflict in Yemen, nearly 10 million children inside the country are now facing a new year of pain and suffering.   “Continuous bombardment and street fighting are exposing children and their families to a deadly combination of violence, disease and deprivation.   “The direct impact of the conflict on children is hard to measure. The statistics confirmed by the UN (747 children killed and another 1,108 injured since March last year; 724 children pressed into some form of military activity) tell only part of the story. But they are shocking enough in themselves.   “The broader effects of the violence on innocent civilians extend much further. Children make up at least half of the 2.3 million people estimated to have been displaced from their homes, and of the more than 19 million people struggling to get water on a daily basis; 1.3 million children under five face the risk of acute malnutrition and acute respiratory tract infections. And at least 2 million children cannot go to school.   “Public services like health, water and sanitation have been decimated and cannot meet the ever-increasing needs of a desperate population. Few of the 7.4 million children requiring protection (including psycho-social support to help deal with the effects of their exposure to violence) will actually receive it.   “The longer-term consequences of all this for Yemen – which was already the Middle East’s poorest nation even before the conflict can only be guessed at.   “Agencies like UNICEF are doing the best they can, in an extremely hazardous working environment. As a result, in 2015, more than 4 million children under 5 were vaccinated against measles and polio, and 166,000 children were admitted for treatment against malnutrition. Over 3.5 million affected people were provided with access to water and 63,520 people belonging to extremely poor communities were assisted with humanitarian cash transfers in the cities of Sanaa and Taiz.   “But so much more is needed. The children of Yemen need urgent help and they need it now.   “That can happen if all parties involved in the conflict – as is their duty under International Humanitarian Law -- were to allow unhindered access to areas affected by the fighting, where civilians are dying because hospitals are not functioning, medicines are in short supply and children are at risk of dying from preventable diseases. Aid agencies would then be able to scale up their work accordingly.   “But what is really needed - above all else - is an end to the conflict. Only in that way can the children of Yemen look forward to 2016 with hope rather than despair.”   http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemen-s-children-suffering-silence-nearly-10-million-children-caught-humanitarian-and http://reliefweb.int/report/yemen/security-council-urged-impress-importance-facilitating-unconditional-humanitarian Visit the related web page
	Local ownership – An imperative for inclusive peacebuilding by Interpeace, Dag Hammerskjöld Foundation   Peacebuilding needs to come full circle back to its origins. In the early 1990s, when the developed world was becoming overwhelmed with a backlog of failed peace negotiations in the wake of the end of the Cold War, it was clear that without the consolidation of peace within a country, externally-driven, negotiated peace agreements could not deliver conflicted societies from the grip of violence and destruction.   The concept of peacebuilding arose out of a recognition that from within a society, structures needed to be identified and supported that would strengthen and solidify peace, says Interpeace Deputy Director-General Jerry McCann in an article published in the Dag Hammerskjöld Foundation’s Development Dialogue.   He explains how external actors must reconsider their support so that peace is built from within society, ensuring that these efforts are locally owned, in line with the fundamental tenants of peacebuilding.   http://www.interpeace.org/2015/12/local-ownership-an-imperative-for-inclusive-peacebuilding/ http://www.daghammarskjold.se/publication/inclusive-peacebuilding/ Visit the related web page
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