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	Security and humanitarian situation in the Darfur region of Sudan has deteriorated significantly by Alertnet, UN News, agencies   27 January 2016   Darfur: UN expresses grave concern over new hostilities and impact on thousands of civilians   The United Nations today expressed grave concern over the impact of the ongoing hostilities in Darfur on thousands of civilians who have been forced to flee their homes amid the conflict that began two weeks ago.   Initial reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicate that about 19,000 civilians have fled into North Darfur state, and up to 15,000 into Central Darfur state, following fighting in the mountainous Jebel Marra region that straddles three Darfur states.   According to a statement issued by the Africa Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), these figures represent more than a 52 per cent increase in just 24 hours, reportedly caused by intensified aerial bombings carried out on Monday.   “The protection of civilians remains our paramount concern during conflict,” said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Marta Ruedas, in a separate statement.   “While it is encouraging that some humanitarian assistance is being provided, clearly much more is needed and we are working with our national and international partners on the ground to ascertain how the vulnerable can be helped during this time. We are therefore advocating for safe and unfettered access to provide timely assistance to those in need,” she added.   OCHA indicated that some humanitarian assistance, including nutritional supplements for children, medicine and purified water, has been provided in North Darfur to some of the newly displaced people – the vast majority of whom are women and children. The humanitarian community is also working to provide emergency relief to those displaced in Central Darfur, but the lack of access is preventing the immediate provision of aid.   Yesterday, UNAMID received information that 19 villages near Rockero, north Jebel Marra in Central Darfur, were burned down during fights. Most residents of these villages are reported to have fled to Sortoni, Kabkabiya and Tawila, while others have sought shelter in surrounding mountains. Many children have also been reported missing.   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53104#.VqmA5U-pXh5   August 2015   UN report reveals “endemic impunity” in Darfur.   Serious human rights violations and abuses that occurred in Darfur in 2014, including killings and sexual violence, have largely gone uninvestigated and unpunished, according to a new report by the UN Human Rights Office.   The report, based on information provided by the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), details cases of human rights violations and reveals widespread impunity. Of the 411 cases documented by UNAMID of alleged violations and abuses of the right to physical integrity, by all parties to the conflict, very few were investigated or resulted in arrests. Of these, 127 involved the use of sexual violence. These 411 cases are illustrative of a much broader pattern of violence, the report states.   “The report paints a very grim picture of the systemic failure, or outright refusal, by the authorities to take human rights violations seriously. Most victims have not received justice or any remedies for the wrongs that they suffered,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said.   “The casual manner in which inquiries by UN human rights staff have been dismissed by local police is deeply disturbing and indicates the extent to which State officials feel they are above the law. The authorities must bring an end to the endemic impunity in Darfur.”   The report details incidents where Sudanese police and security forces were allegedly involved in physical attacks against civilians, including shooting and killing, as well as abductions, robberies and extortion. Such cases are underreported due to fears of reprisals and a general lack of trust in the authorities.   In some cases, the work of UN human rights staff was impeded by difficulties in gaining access, including the refusal of Government authorities and armed opposition groups to allow staff to reach areas where serious abuses were alleged to have taken place.   This was the case in Thabit village in North Darfur, where media sources indicated a mass rape had occurred on 31 October 2014. Following initial denial of access by the Government, UNAMID was finally allowed to visit Thabit on 9 November, but due to the presence of Sudanese Armed Forces, residents were reluctant to speak freely. Further requests for access were denied.   The report also documents violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict, including indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian areas resulting in deaths and injuries, burning of villages, and destruction of other civilian property and means of sustaining livelihood. In these cases, the State has also failed to establish effective legal or judicial mechanisms to hold perpetrators of such crimes accountable.   Earlier initiatives by the Government of Sudan to address the situation, including the creation of the Special Court for Crimes in Darfur in 2003, national commissions of inquiry, judicial investigation mechanisms and the revision of the Criminal Code of 1991, have so far been ineffective – reflecting a lack of will to address impunity, the report states.   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51692#.Vdj5W32pVoy   March 2015 (UN News)   The security and humanitarian situations in the Darfur region of Sudan “deteriorated significantly” over the past year, the head of United Nations peacekeeping told the Security Council today, adding that there had also been no tangible progress toward resolving the conflict.   Herve Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, presented two reports to the Council, including one specifically dedicated to implementation by the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) of new strategic priorities, which highlights progress made and difficulties encountered during the exercise.   “The current upsurge in Darfur, at least for now, is largely attributable to the ongoing Government of Sudan and the RSF [Rapid Support Forces – a counter-insurgency militia] military offensive,” he said, adding that it was not “directly linked with the forthcoming Sudanese general elections.”   He warned that events on the ground could change as election campaigns intensified, particularly in light of recent calls by Sheikh Musa Hilal, a prominent tribal leader in North Darfur, for an election boycott and disruption of the electoral process across Darfur. Also, if the threat did actualise, existing inter-tribal tensions may heighten as strict security measures and additional Government security forces were deployed, he added.   Describing the Government’s ‘Decisive Summer’ military offensive against non-signatory armed groups, he said the national army had significantly weakened and isolated the armed groups geographically, also causing “significant loss of lives and large-scale displacement.”   Around 450,000 people in total were displaced over 2014, as a result of violence, which Mr. Ladsous said was a higher volume in any single year since the peak of the conflict in 2004. At least 300,000 of those remain displaced, mostly in camps for internally displaced persons, with the total number of displaced persons in Darfur now totalling 2.5 million.   “This negative trend has continued most recently with the continuation of fighting between the Government and the armed groups,” he said, pointing to “at least 43,000 new displacements since the beginning of the year.”   At the same time as the situation on the ground was worsening, Mr. Ladsous said prospects for holding the National Dialogue between the Government and the opposition before the election were limited, with talks on Darfur breaking down and the Government implementing measures curtailing political freedom.   Mar 2015   According to the United Nations, about 4.4 million people need humanitarian assistance in Darfur and more than 2.5 million remain displaced. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and genocide in Darfur.   A joint U.N. and African Union peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, has been deployed since 2007.   Law and order have collapsed in much of Darfur, where mainly non-Arab rebels took up arms in 2003 against the Arab-led government in Khartoum, accusing it of discrimination.   The Government of Sudan asked UNAMID late last year to prepare to leave amid a dispute over attempts by the mission to investigate an alleged mass rape by Sudanese soldiers in the Darfur town of Tabit. The government denies any wrongdoing by the soldiers.   Human rights advocates have called on the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur to be renewed and strengthened. On paper, the Council has given UNAMID a strong mandate, including the use of force to protect civilians. But in reality, Sudan has been allowed to intimidate UNAMID and there has been little accountability from the international community when the mission fails to report or act to protect civilians. The UN Security Council must demand that Sudan immediately cease attacks on civilians.   http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/we-just-want-rest-war-civilian-perspectives-conflict-sudan-s-southern-kordofan-state http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/05/06/sudan-bombing-campaign-s-heavy-toll-children http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/horn-of-africa/sudan/b110-the-chaos-in-darfur.aspx Visit the related web page
	Libya: Civilians Trapped in Benghazi by UN News, ReliefWeb, Human Rights Watch   28 Jan 2016   Libya conflict lingers leaving nearly 2 million in need of health care, reports World Health Organization   As Libya’s yearlong peace talks aimed at establishing a unity government stall again, the lives of millions of people needing urgent health care linger in the balance. WHO and health partners require a total of US$ 50 million in 2016 to meet the urgent life-saving needs of nearly 2 million people.   Speaking at a special briefing on Libya in Geneva, Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya, urged, “We cannot wait for a political solution in order to respond, we need to act now. We need both financial resources and the international humanitarian community to step up efforts to help save the lives of children, mothers and the elderly who are most at risk. This is not about politics, it is about health needs.”   Since the escalation of the conflict in July 2014, violence and instability have spread to almost every part of the country, with more than 3 million people – nearly half of the total population – affected. Almost 2 and a half million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, of which 1.9 million people have serious, unmet health needs.   “The health situation in Libya is rapidly deteriorating, with extensive displacement, damage and closure of health facilities in conflict areas. Repeated rounds of violence have not allowed for a proper recovery of the health system, which even prior to the crisis was struggling to meet the basic needs of the Libyan population,” said H.E. Dr Reida Oakely, Libya’s Minister of Health.   Even bleaker, as the security situation deteriorates due to fighting, health personnel have fled the country. More than 80% of all nursing staff were evacuated in 2014.   Attacks on health care workers also continue, with 5 health workers killed and more than 20 health facilities damaged in the past 18 months alone. Consequently, several aid and UN agencies have reduced staffing levels and moved international staff to neighbouring Tunisia in 2014.   In addition to staff shortages, hospitals, laboratories, blood banks and other health facilities are increasingly unable to remain functional as they face shortages in medicines and other health supplies.   http://reliefweb.int/report/libya/libya-conflict-lingers-leaving-nearly-2-million-need-health-care   Nov. 2015   Report on the Human Rights Situation in Libya from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Support Mission in Libya   Published on 16 Nov 2015.   Libya continues to be embroiled in political strife and deadly violence, with multiple armed conflicts affecting several regions, and contributing to a general breakdown of law and order, according to a new UN human rights report.   All parties in Libya “appear to be committing violations of international humanitarian law including those that may amount to war crimes” as well as “gross violations or abuses of international human rights law.” The report lays bare in particular the abuses faced by vulnerable civilians such as internally displaced people, human rights defenders, migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.   The report documents the indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, the abduction of civilians, torture and executions, as well as deliberate destruction of property among other serious abuses and violations of international law in various parts of the country between 1 January and 31 October this year.   “Across Libya, warring factions showed little regard for avoiding or minimizing loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects,” says the report. The violence has led to hundreds of deaths, mass displacement and humanitarian crises in several regions in Libya.   Rival armed groups looted, burned or otherwise destroyed homes and other civilian property seemingly in retaliation for owners’ actual or perceived political allegiances. They continued to abduct civilians on the basis of their family links, origin or their actual or perceived political affiliation. Those detained are vulnerable to torture and other ill-treatment, sometimes leading to death in custody – carried out with impunity. Methods of torture including beatings, suspension in stress positions, electric shocks and sleep deprivation are documented. Those abducted are frequently denied contact with their families.   Against the backdrop of the breakdown of law and order and infighting, groups that pledge allegiance to IS gained and consolidated control over swathes of territory in Libya, committing gross abuses, including public summary executions of individuals based on their religion or political allegiance. The report has also documented cruel punishment such as amputations and flogging carried out by such groups.   The report also highlights the plight of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, who are increasingly vulnerable to killing, detention in inhumane conditions, torture, kidnapping, physical assault, armed robbery and exploitation. Some were taken by armed groups in apparent retaliation for the actions of the governments of their country of origin.   The report also documents the shelling of medical facilities, with medical professionals caught up in the violence, abducted or detained by the different actors, with some allegedly victims of torture and other ill-treatment. For instance, the Benghazi Medical Centre, the largest functioning hospital in Benghazi, was shelled on at least four occasions between April and July.   “Medical professionals and other hospital staff across Libya complained of a general climate of insecurity, with armed men forcibly entering and engaging in armed skirmishes inside hospital premises, as well as threatening staff,” the report states. The report calls on all those with effective control on the ground to immediately take action to stop acts in breach of international human rights and humanitarian law. Commanders must publicly declare that such acts will not be tolerated.   Those involved in grave abuses of international human rights and international humanitarian law are criminally liable, including before the International Criminal Court which is investigating the situation in Libya.   The report also warns that abuses and violence will continue unless a political settlement is reached without delay and based on respect for human rights and the rule of law.   http://reliefweb.int/report/libya/report-human-rights-situation-libya-16-november-2015 http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53315#.Vs-M20DSPh4   11 August 2015   UN talks endeavor to move disparate factions towards Unity Government to bring an end to ongoing conflict.   With Libya’s disparate factions starting to coalesce around United Nations-backed proposals on a comprehensive settlement and a unity government, UN special envoy Bernardino León previewed the latest round of talks opening in Geneva today, telling reporters that with political will, the parties could wrap up “this very difficult process” with an agreement by the end of August.   "We will work in coming days on the basis of a timetable which necessarily has to be short. Libya is facing huge challenges," said Mr. León, who is the UN Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in the strife-torn country, known as UNSMIL.   "We are proposing the parties to work on the coming three weeks and to try to have agreement on the important two points, by the end of August,” he said, referring the draft political proposal he presented to the parties in mid-June, which includes several annexes and outlines the parametres of a unity government.   He said that the “nomadic process” – the UN-sponsored dialogue that began earlier this year in Geneva, has travelled to Morocco, Algeria and Libya itself dealing with different parties and tracks, including civil society representatives, political parties and political leaders, as well as militias – was always intended to converge, “and this is what we are doing today.”   “On the one hand we are starting a new round of talks [focused on] the annexes and unity government, and starting a convergence of tracks by bringing political parties, and in the coming days we intend to do the same with the other tracks.”   Mr. León stressed that that the security track – participation and input from the militias and those who are on the ground, “has been important to reaching where we are now; to stabilizing the situation in the west. And of course we are looking forward to having more interaction with the army and to different actors in the eastern part of the country.”   He acknowledged that in the past weeks, there have been “serious problems” in the south of the country. “It is very important that the situation there also be stabilized. This process is about the whole of Libya; East, West and South should be a part of the effort to bring about stability and security in line with the agreement,” he declared.   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51609#.VctHNbWpVow   April 2015   The parties to the conflict in Libya should allow civilians safe passage out of neighborhoods in the eastern city of Benghazi and other areas caught up in the hostilities and permit access to deliver food and medical supplies.   Residents of Benghazi whom Human Rights Watch met on April 17, 2015, and interviewed by phone on May 21 said that Libyan families and foreign civilians were trapped in downtown Benghazi affected by fighting, including areas of El-Blad, Sidi Khreibish, and El-Sabri. They said the militants controlling these areas were not allowing civilians to leave, and conditions were increasingly dire, due to food shortages and lack of medical care and because electricity to most areas had been cut. One Sidi Khreibish resident who managed to leave said that the Libyan army would no longer allow people to leave unless through a coordinated safe passage by the Libyan Red Crescent, and that militants were barring people from leaving the areas under their control.   “As fighting in Benghazi intensifies, all the forces involved need to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian property,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director. “It’s vitally important for the Libyan Army and militias in Benghazi to allow civilians safe passage and to facilitate access to take badly needed aid to the people inside.”   The number of people killed and injured in Benghazi has continued to rise since Human Rights Watch visited the city in April. On May 12, a shell fired into the Ard Baloun neighborhood killed three children and injured two others from the same family, according to a local news report. Militants affiliated with the extremist group Islamic State (also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack. Two days later, one man and seven children died when a shell hit the Hay Al-Salam neighborhood, according to the website of Al-Jalaa hospital in Benghazi.   The Benghazi residents told Human Rights Watch that the Libyan Red Crescent Society had coordinated arrangements with forces loyal to the Libyan Army and the opposing militants to allow civilians safe passage out of the city’s neighborhoods until November 4, 2014. Since then, all further attempts by the Red Crescent to facilitate the evacuation of civilians had failed, including three attempts in February and March 2015, because either the militants disagreed or forces loyal to the army refused to agree, claiming that it would put the civilians’ lives at risk.   Under international humanitarian law – the laws of war – all forces engaged in armed conflict must allow civilians to safely evacuate from areas affected by fighting and give civilians “effective advance warning” of attacks that could put them at risk whenever circumstances permit. Even after armed forces have warned civilians of impending attacks, they must still take all feasible precautions to avoid causing loss of civilian life. This includes canceling an attack when it becomes apparent that the target is civilian or that the civilian loss would be disproportionate to the expected military gain.   Warnings such as those issued by the Libyan Army in November telling civilians to evacuate their neighborhoods do not absolve it of the duty to avoid attacks likely to cause indiscriminate or disproportionate loss of civilian life, Human Rights Watch said.   International humanitarian law also requires parties to a conflict to allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. Denying civilians access to food and medical care is a serious violation of international humanitarian law, and intentionally attacking personnel, installations, material, units, or vehicles involved in relief efforts is a war crime.   In the face of mounting atrocities, Human Rights Watch has called on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into serious ongoing violations in Libya. The ICC prosecutor has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in Libya since February 15, 2011.   During the 28th session at the Human Rights Council in March 2015, member states created a UN inquiry to investigate serious crimes in Libya since 2014. Human Rights Watch urged the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to speed up the deployment of the mission so it can exercise its mandate.   “With each day that passes, civilians who remain trapped in Benghazi neighborhoods face worsening conditions and greater peril for their lives,” Whitson said.   Mar 2015   400,000 people internally displaced and at risk in a fragmenting Libya. (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre)   The political instability and crimes against humanity that accompanied and followed the uprising which overthrew President Muammar Qadhafi in October 2011 drove tens of thousands into displacement. Those perceived to have supported Qadhafi or to have benefited from privileges he dispensed through tribal patronage networks were attacked in retaliation. They were often driven out of their cities, unable to return. Some 60,000 IDPs who had fled during the uprising were still living in protracted displacement by February 2015.   Following the failure of political processes, Libya’s situation became increasingly anarchic, culminating in the collapse of a fragile central authority and the emergence of two rival centres of power in mid-2014.   Against this backdrop, and ensuing infighting among myriads of militias, violence increased. There was more than a six-fold rise in the number of IDPs, reaching at least 400,000 by December 2014, some eight per cent of the population. Precise figures are not available given lack of access and on-going pervasive chaos.   IDPs’ basic needs for shelter, food and medical services remain grossly unmet. Their physical security has been seriously threatened by indiscriminate shelling, attacks on IDP camps and sieges that have prevented them from seeking security. The situation of tens of thousands of displaced migrants who remain trapped in Libya and are particularly vulnerable is a cause for serious concern.   State collapse and fragmentation of Libya’s essentially tribal society have hampered an effective national response to displacement and coordination of policies to address IDPs’ needs. Security constraints have forced international actors to operate from Tunisia since July and August of 2014. In this context of political chaos and on-going conflict, durable solutions appear ever more remote. Lack of coordination of relief and assistance is a crucial impediment to an effective response to the plight of IDPs.   http://www.internal-displacement.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/libya/2015/libya-uprising-and-post-qadhafi-tribal-clashes-displacement-in-a-fragmenting-libya/   Libya: As violence continues, humanitarian needs increase. (ICRC)   The violence shows no sign of abating. Libya remains a patchwork of conflict, fuelled by a plethora of armed groups with varying allegiances and diverse agendas. Thousands have been killed; hundreds of thousands more have been displaced. The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. The ICRC and its partner, the Libyan Red Crescent Society (LRCS), are boosting their support for the most vulnerable of those caught up in the violence.   With several on-going conflicts from Benghazi in the east, to Tripoli in the west and to Sabha in the south – and much of the land in-between – the violence has varied in intensity, but the results have been the same: a breakdown in basic services, an increase in prices of basic food items, power cuts, fuel and water shortages and an overwhelming sense of uncertainty amongst the population. Access to health care has also become extremely difficult.   "We have increased our response to the emergencies arising from the current situation, but it is extremely difficult to reach out to the victims due to the security constraints," says the head of the ICRC delegation for Libya, Katja Lorenz. "We are trying to find ways to help people more effectively. But in order to assist the victims of the conflicts, humanitarian workers must be respected and their work facilitated."   With more than 100 Libyan staff working around the country and with operational offices in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Sabha, the ICRC is the largest international humanitarian organization on the ground. Working alongside the Libyan Red Crescent Society, the ICRC has been doing all it can to alleviate the situation.   "We hope that the fighting will soon come to an end, but the future is unpredictable and, in the meantime, the humanitarian situation is deteriorating," says the head of the ICRC"s operations in North and West Africa, Yasmine Praz Dessimoz.   Like other international organizations, the ICRC relocated part of its staff to Tunisia and developed new methods of working in Libya itself. "We have shown that our new operating method works. Now we want to expand it and reach more people. In particular, we want to provide more medical supplies to hospitals, more food and essential household items to people in need and to help the Libyan Red Crescent strengthen its capacity," says Yasmine Praz Dessimoz.   The ICRC has had a permanent presence in Libya since 2011. It is one of the very few international organizations still present and active in the country and in a position to provide humanitarian relief. As the situation in Libya shows little sign of improving in the short term, the ICRC and LRCS will continue to support the Libyan population and will step up their efforts to meet the increasing needs.   http://www.icrc.org/en/resource-centre Visit the related web page
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