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	Over $28 billion invested in companies that produce banned cluster bombs by The Cluster Munition Coalition   Despite the international ban on cluster munitions, 158 financial institutions invested more than US$28 billion in seven producers of the weapons between 1 June 2012 and 8 April 2016, according to a new report. The Cluster Munition Coalition calls on these financial institutions and governments to put an end once and for all to investment in producers of cluster bombs.   The report ‘Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions: a shared responsibility’ is published by PAX (the Netherlands), a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition.   “Financial institutions must stop turning a blind eye to the lethal consequences of their investments,” said Branislav Kapetanovic, Ambassador of the Cluster Munition Coalition who survived a cluster bomb explosion some 16 years ago. “Cluster munitions are being used in Yemen and Syria, causing significant civilian casualties including among children and women. All banks and financial institutions must prohibit investment in companies that produce these indiscriminate weapons,” Kapetanovic added.   China Aerospace Science and Industry, China Aerospace Science and Technology, Norinco (China), Hanwha and Poongsan (South Korea), Orbital ATK and Textron (United States) are reported as the cluster munitions producers which have benefited from the US$28 billion worth of investments.   “It is an outrage that so many financial institutions have no qualms about investing in companies that make banned cluster munitions. However, a positive development is that the number of financial institutions with a policy comprehensively banning investments in such companies has gone up. We commend these financial institutions for halting their investments and encourage others to follow suit,” said Suzanne Oosterwijk, co-author of the PAX report. In addition, Singapore Technologies Engineering publicly announced in 2015 that it has stopped producing cluster munitions.   One type of cluster munition produced by Textron has been used by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen since March 2015, according to research by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. On 27 May 2016, the United States government blocked the transfer of these CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons to Saudi Arabia because of concern at the use of cluster munitions in or near civilian areas.   In 2015 and 2016 ninety-one percent of all known cluster munition casualties in Yemen were civilians including deminers. Of the civilian casualties at least twenty-two percent were children.   The 158 financial institutions are from fourteen countries. The vast majority of the financial institutions (138) are from countries that have not joined the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. Of these, 74 are from the United States, 29 from China and 26 from South Korea. However, 20 financial institutions that have invested in producers of cluster munitions are from countries that have joined to the convention: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom.   “The core objective of the Convention on Cluster Munitions is to put an end to the suffering caused by these weapons,” said Megan Burke, Director of the Cluster Munition Coalition. “We urge all seven States Parties to the convention that are mentioned above to outlaw all investments associated with producers of cluster munitions and to fulfill their treaty obligations,” Burke added.   To date, 10 countries have put in place legislation against investments in cluster munitions (Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Samoa, Spain and Switzerland). Spain is the latest country to have enacted a ban on the financing of cluster munitions, in mid-2015.   A total of 119 states have signed or acceded to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, as well as assistance with any of these banned activities. The convention also requires clearance of areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants and assistance to victims of these weapons.   Members of the Cluster Munition Coalition in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Vietnam and the United States, among others, are taking action worldwide to “Stop Explosive Investments”.   http://reliefweb.int/report/world/cluster-munition-monitor-2016 Visit the related web page
	Half the Population of the Central African Republic faces Hunger by OCHA, UNHCHR, Unicef, agencies   Jan. 2016   Half the Population of the Central African Republic faces Hunger, WFP Warns   An Emergency Food Security Assessment by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners reveals that half the population of the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) – nearly 2.5 million people faces hunger. This marks a doubling in the number of hungry people in a one-year period, as conflict and insecurity have led to limited access to and availability of food.   “Three years of crisis have taken a huge toll on the people of the C.A.R. Families have been forced so often to sell what they own, pull their kids out of school, even resort to begging, that they have reached the end of their rope. This is not the usual run-of-the-mill emergency. People are left with nothing,” said Guy Adoua, WFP Deputy Country Director in the C.A.R.   According to the assessment, one in six women, men and children struggles with severe or extreme food insecurity, while more than one in three is moderately food insecure, not knowing where their next meal is coming from.   “WFP is extremely concerned by this alarming level of hunger. People not only lack enough food but are also forced to consume low-cost, low-nutrient food that does not meet their nutritional needs,” added Adoua.   The report shows that the 2014-2015 harvest was poor and that food prices remain high as farmers have not tended their fields due to insecurity, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes and abandon their land and livelihoods.   Further clashes erupted in late September as much of the food security data for the assessment was being collected. That violence fuelled more displacement as people were slowly returning home. Nearly 1 million people are still displaced inside the C.A.R. or seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.   The report recommends continued emergency food assistance to displaced families and returnees; food and technical assistance to farmers to recover; creating safety nets through programmes such as the school meals programme; and providing support to rehabilitate the infrastructure through food-for-assets activities.   WFP is providing emergency food and nutritional support to those most vulnerable and plays a crucial role in supporting recovery efforts. WFP’s programmes focused on cash-based transfers and local food purchases going into school meals for thousands of children boost the local economy and people’s livelihoods.   “We must help the most vulnerable, who need emergency food assistance to survive, yet we also need to focus on people across the C.A.R. so they can recover and rebuild,” said Adoua.   In December 2015, WFP provided food for nearly 400,000 people through general food distributions, cash-based transfers, nutrition support and school meals, and food-for-assets activities.   WFP needs urgent support to continue to provide food and nutritional assistance to displaced and vulnerable communities as well as to support recovery efforts. US$41 million is needed so that WFP can respond to urgent needs through to the end of June in the C.A.R. and the neighbouring countries hosting C.A.R. refugees. To date, WFP’s operation is only 45 percent funded.   http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/half-population-central-african-republic-faces-hunger-wfp-warns http://unocha.exposure.co/36e4dae3838a9f016403a62118a02efd   Nov. 2015   UN Humanitarian Coordinator calls for more international support to humanitarian crisis.   More than half of the population consisting of 2.3 million people is in dire need of urgent humanitarian assistance nearly three years after the outbreak of violence in the country. The humanitarian appeal remains dramatically underfunded, with funding levels of only 48.6 per cent.   While aid agencies continue to face access constraints in their operations; they now have serious funding problems too.   "The current funding does not enable us to ensure the protection of displaced persons or to provide the minimum of what is needed to meet the huge humanitarian needs. If we do not take action to increase aid efforts, the situation in the country could become one of the largest humanitarian crises of our time. We can no longer allow the millions of Central African people to suffer in silence. We still have time to act that is why we are calling on international donors to look at CAR and act accordingly,” Mr. Agbénonci said.   More than 447,000 people are still displaced across the country, including 58,000 in Bangui, fearing violence and human rights violations. Over 452,000 people have fled to neighboring countries including 254,115 in Cameroon, 66,382 in Chad, 101,866 in DRC and 29,884 in Congo.   “Conflict has devastated hundreds of thousands of people, trapping them in conflict areas and denying them access to basic provisions and healthcare. Many live in fear on displacement sites or in the bush, children can’t go to school and parents can’t go out to work. The humanitarian situation is becoming protracted.   Enough funds will help us to provide the relief required. CAR is a difficult and dangerous place to work but the humanitarian community remains committed to helping the most vulnerable people caught in the crisis,” Mr. Agbénonci added.   Despite relative calm since January 2015, the capital Bangui has been severely affected by violence since 26 September, when armed clashes left at least 90 people dead and forced more than 40,000 people to flee to safer areas. This new spiral of violence caused additional humanitarian needs and the increasing insecurity is rendering the work of humanitarian actors more challenging.   More than 1 million children in urgent need of assistance after three years of fighting in Central African Republic reports UNICEF.   An estimated 1.2 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance nearly three years after conflict erupted in the Central African Republic.   As the nation welcomed Pope Francis for a two-day visit aimed at promoting reconciliation, UNICEF is calling on all parties to the conflict to grant unrestricted access to organizations seeking to aid those affected by the crisis.   “The violence that has plagued this country has had a devastating impact on the lives of children,” said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF’s Representative in the Central African Republic. “The humanitarian needs are overwhelming, to meet them we need access and we need greater international support.”   UNICEF estimates that more than two million children have been affected by the violence which first broke out in December 2012 and which reached crisis levels in December 2013 following clashes that led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands in the capital, Bangui.   Nearly 400,000 people remain displaced within the country, and a further half a million people are living as refugees in neighbouring countries.   Insecurity and underfunding continue to put urgent lifesaving activities at risk, while attacks on humanitarian conveys threaten the deployment of relief supplies to the interior of the country.   Even in those areas not affected by the fighting, communities continue to need support. Around one third of the population has no access to safe drinking water and 41 percent of children under five are chronically malnourished.   Despite the scale of the emergency, UNICEF has received just over 50 percent – of the funding required to provide urgent lifesaving interventions for the most vulnerable in 2015.   http://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/more-1-million-children-urgent-need-assistance-after-three-years http://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/central-african-republic-humanitarian-coordinator-calls-more http://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/un-stresses-need-access-thousands-affected-central-african-republic Visit the related web page
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