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	Cessation of Hostilities agreement violated repeatedly in South Sudan by UN Mission in South Sudan, relief agencies   24 September 2014   South Sudan: civilians fleeing violence nears 2 million with no likelihood of return soon.   The United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights said today that gross violations committed by all parties to the conflict in South Sudan have declined but the number of civilians forced to flee the violence now nears 2 million “with no likelihood that people will return to their homes soon.”   Referring to the damaging impact of the conflict on human rights across the country, including gross violations committed by all parties to the conflict, such as extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, rape, other forms of sexual violence, and attacks on hospitals and UN facilities, Flavia Pansieri noted that the scale and severity of reported violations had declined compared to the first months of the conflict.   “However, civilians have continued to bear the brunt of the ongoing armed conflict and of their leaders’ failure to stop the fighting,” she said in her remarks to a panel discussion on South Sudan held by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.   Both the South Sudan Government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition have continued to mobilize forces and amass weapons in an effort to consolidate their respective power bases, she said.   “The numbers of civilians displaced across and from South Sudan has continued to rise, with no likelihood that people will return to their homes soon,” she said. “Since the conflict began in December 2013, some 1.5 million people have been internally displaced inside the country and a reported 400,000 people have sought refuge in neighbouring Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and the Sudan.”   Ms. Pansieri also reported the country is experiencing extreme food insecurity and facing a possible famine.   Yesterday, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the combined efforts of the agency, the World Food Programme (WFP) and Mercy Corps have helped to pull 2 million people back from the brink of famine and severe food insecurity in South Sudan.   “This progress, however, is fragile, partial, temporary and expensive. Despite current short-term improvements, 1.5 million people are projected to remain severely food insecure until the end of 2014, which is a 50 per cent increase from December 2013,” FAO said in a news release.   Last month, the UN declared that the South Sudan aid operation is the biggest of any single country, “but that it still falls far short in the face of overwhelming needs,” Ms. Pansieri said.   And the reports of killings and wounding of civilians by all parties to the armed conflict and other armed groups have continued unabated, she said.   The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has opened its gates to civilians who fled the violence. Around 100,000 internally displaced persons are now seeking shelter in Protection of Civilians sites within UNMISS compounds – an entirely unprecedented influx in the history of the UN, which presents the Mission with unique challenges.   The Deputy High Commissioner recommended that more needs to be done to protect civilians and to ensure accountability for crimes and human rights violations.   “Up to now, neither the Government nor the [opposition] SPLM/A-IO has demonstrated any real interest in ensuring accountability for widespread violations and abuses committed in the course of the conflict,” she said.   She urged the international community to put pressure on the country’s leaders to prevent further violations by forces under their command and to make it clear that anyone committing crimes and human rights violations will be arrested and prosecuted.   09 July 2014   Aid effort to avert South Sudan famine in jeopardy: Aid agencies face closure of projects as money fails to arrive from Tearfund, CARE, Christian Aid, Oxfam, International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, World Vision.   A group of seven major international aid agencies said they face a shortfall of $89m/£52m just when the South Sudan humanitarian crisis edges closer to the risk of famine. Speaking out on the 3rd anniversary of the country’s independence they warned their aid efforts to help hundreds of thousands of people caught up in the conflict was under threat due to a lack of funds.   South Sudan is the most pressing humanitarian crisis in Africa. Violence, hunger and sickness blight the lives of people who three years ago were hopeful of an independent future and end to war. Some 1.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to fighting including nearly 400,000 people who are refugees in neighbouring countries. Many have crossed the border weak and malnourished. Nearly 4 million people in South Sudan are facing crisis or emergency levels of hunger. In the UN camp in Bentiu child deaths are well above emergency threshold.   World Vision, which estimates that 250,000 children are at risk of severe malnutrition, faces the largest single funding gap of $33/£19m million. Oxfam which has helped over 260,000 people since the crisis began has only managed to raise half of the $30.35m/£17.8m it needs. Save the Children has helped nearly 162,000 and has plans to help over 500,000 but needs an extra $19.5m/£11.42m. Care International is currently assisting over 150,000 people and is short of more than $9m/£5.25m to continue and expand life-saving work.   Expanding International Rescue Committee’s work in South Sudan and refugees in Ethiopia and Uganda is under threat due to a shortfall of $3.3m/£1.9m. Christian Aid, which has so far supported over 100,000 people, needs an additional $7m/£4m and Tearfund faces a $2.4m/£1.4m and if it had more funds it would expand its current work.   The risk of famine is rising as the number of people requiring help is steadily rising, but the money to enable agencies to do something about this is not coming through. The funding crisis is not affecting the agencies alone. The UN’s $1.8bn/£1.06bn appeal is so far less than half funded.   The agencies said that there is a desperate need for peace in South Sudan so that people can go home, go back to school, plant crops and patch their lives back together. International pressure is needed on all parties to the conflict to end the violence and to build a nation for all South Sudanese people. However, without more funding now, that future is slipping further away and may not exist for many.   Mark Goldring Oxfam’s Chief Executive said:   “We will be staring into the abyss and fail to avert a famine if funds do not start arriving soon. This is a not a crisis caused by drought or flood. It is a political crisis turned violent. The people of South Sudan can only put their lives back together once the fighting ends. In the meantime civilians caught up in this crisis not of their making need our help. We are asking the public to help us with our urgent humanitarian work, but mainly we are calling on governments to fund the aid effort before it is too late.”   Families’ food stocks are low due to sharing with those displaced and in some case food stocks have been looted during the course of the conflict. Food markets are not functioning and with trade routes hindered this is likely to further exacerbate the crisis. Destruction, looting and occupation of health facilities have impeded health services and many facilities lack essential supplies.   The aid effort is hampered not only by a lack of funds but also insecurity and poor roads and in some areas airdrops are the only way aid can get to people.   Aimee Ansari, Care International’s Country Director in South Sudan: “On the day I left Bentiu, CARE transported the bodies of three children who had died from malnutrition to a burial site. It was a brutal demonstration of the impact both of the insecurity and the lack of funding.”   Tearfund reports the number of malnourished children and mothers needing food from its six feeding centres in remote communities in Jonglei, one of the country’s worst affected states, has more than quadrupled compared to this time last year. New admissions have doubled every month since March this year, a trend which is expected to rise in the coming months.   Kathleen Rutledge, Tearfund’s Country Director in South Sudan said:   “We are seeing unprecedented numbers of malnourished children and mothers in need of urgent help. Many are extremely weak, having walked for days to flee the fighting with no food or means to support their families.”   Perry Mansfield, director of World Vision’s programs in South Sudan said:   "We estimate that a quarter of a million children in South Sudan are at risk of severe malnutrition. Every delay in securing funds means higher risk of famine, higher risk of children being used as child soldiers, and a higher ultimate price tag to deal with this disaster. World Vision urgently needs to increase the tempo and scale of our response to the looming food crisis – a response that is becoming even more difficult as the rainy season leaves us fewer options to get food to those in need. "   Christian Aid has supported over 100,000 people so far and without additional funding it cannot provide the needed humanitarian assistance for over 150,000 people. With the anticipated famine and the increased primary and secondary displacements, this figure may rise further if the conflict persists in the coming months.   Women are particularly affected by the food crisis and bear a heavy and dangerous burden.   Wendy Taeuber, IRC Country Director in South Sudan said:   “As food becomes more scarce, women are forced to take greater risks to try to feed their families. At times, this includes walking long distances to search for anything for their families to eat, to fetch firewood to use or to sell, and to look for water. Worsening food insecurity is placing women and girls at serious risks of sexual violence, exploitation and abuse.”   Save the Children said that in any conflict, children suffer most. In South Sudan, they have been the victims of terrible violence that has erupted around them and engulfed their communities. Hundreds of thousands have been made homeless. Many have seen friends, parents and family members attacked or killed. Thousands have been separated from their families and 2 million children will be facing a hunger crisis by the end of August. The current need is overwhelming, and our ability to respond to specific protection needs of children in particular has been hampered by the lack of funding.   Pete Walsh, Save the Children’s Country Director in South Sudan, said: “Save the Children’s feeding clinics are dealing with an influx of severely malnourished children. We urgently need to further funds to provide families with life-saving food supplements. South Sudan is a newly formed country and its first generation of children are eating potentially noxious berries just to survive another day. They need help and if we wait any longer, I fear all hope will be lost.”   http://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/aid-effort-avert-south-sudan-famine-jeopardy-aid-agencies-face-closure-projects http://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/child-malnutrition-rates-skyrocket-south-sudan   21 April 2014   Opposition forces in South Sudan killed “hundreds of South Sudanese and foreign civilians” after determining their ethnicity or nationality when they captured Bentiu last week, the United Nations confirmed today, calling for an immediate stop to the targeting of “innocent, unarmed” civilians.   The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) strongly condemned the killings, which reportedly included attacks on a hospital, mosque and church, and a UN World Food Programme (WFP) compound.   “These atrocities must be fully investigated and the perpetrators and their commanders shall be held accountable,” said the Officer in Charge of UNMISS, Raisedon Zenenga, who also urged the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) forces and the Government troops to respect the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement they signed in January.   Over the past two months, thousands of people are believed to have been killed by fighting that began in mid-December as a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy president, Riek Machar.   The Mission also decried the use of hate speech over the radio “declaring that certain ethnic groups should not stay in Bentiu and even calling on men from one community to commit vengeful sexual violence against women from another community”.   The attacks took place between 15 and 16 April, in the same timeframe that UNMISS extracted hundreds of civilians, some injured, who had taken refuge in places throughout Bentiu and Rubkona. The Mission is currently protecting more than 12,000 civilians on its base, and some 60,000 others around the country.   At the Bentiu Hospital, several Nuer men, women and children were killed on 15 April for hiding and refusing to join other Nuers who had gone out to cheer the SPLA as they entered the town.   “Individuals from other South Sudanese communities, as well as Darfuris, were specifically targeted and killed at the hospital,” UNMISS confirmed in today’s statement.   According to the Mission, the SPLA also entered the Kali-Ballee Mosque where civilians had taken shelter, separated people into nationalities and ethnic groups, and killed some of them.   “More than 200 civilians were reportedly killed and over 400 wounded at the Mosque,” UNMISS said.   At a Catholic church and at the vacated WFP compound, SPLA soldiers similarly asked civilians who had taken refuge there to identify their ethnic origins and nationalities and proceeded to target and kill several individuals.   In an interview with UN Radio, Joseph Contreras, Acting Spokesperson of UMISS, said that along with condemning the violence in Bentiu, the Mission deplored the hate speech and incitement to violence as “especially regrettable and unfortunate, given what happened in Rwanda 20 years ago, when radio stations were used to broadcast the hate messages” that fanned the flames of tension, ultimately sparking mass ethnic killings in that country.   While it was difficult to establish a direct link between the hate messages and the violence that erupted on 15 April, “at a minimum, the airing of such messages only further poisons the political and social climate of that part of South Sudan and polarizes even further between the leading ethnic groups in the region.”   Jan 2014   The UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) is concerned about indications of substantially higher numbers of casualties in South Sudan as it accesses more areas and more displaced persons.   UNMISS notes media reports (New York Times, 9 January) estimating that up to 10,000 people may have been killed since the conflict in South Sudan started on 15 December 2013.   While UNMISS has continued to monitor the human rights situation, interviewing witnesses, the Mission is not at this stage in a position to establish and verify the exact numbers of casualties.   Despite serious security constraints due to the fighting in Bor and Bentiu which has restricted access by UNMISS Human Rights Officers, UNMISS started interviewing victims and eyewitnesses among displaced people from Bor who have arrived in Juba and Awerial County in neighbouring Lakes State. UNMISS Human Rights Officers have also been able to return to Bor on 9 January. Preliminary indications from these interviews and investigations in Bentiu and Malakal contain horrific allegations of atrocities by anti-government forces against civilians and surrendering soldiers, including summary executions, torture, sexual violence and ethnically targeted killing. UNMISS deplores these horrendous acts of violence and utter disregard for human life and dignity.   The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Ms. Hilde F. Johnson calls on all parties to cease hostilities immediately, and respect and protect civilians.   An estimated 395,000 people have been displaced by the crisis in South Sudan, including 352,000 internally displaced people and close to 43,000 refugees in neighbouring countries.   December 2013   UN officials urge protection for all communities.   Amid reports of continued clashes in South Sudan, senior United Nations officials are calling for restraint and protection of civilians, regardless of their communities.   Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), whose members are fighting with each other in the capital, Juba, “to impose discipline on their forces and to exercise maximum restraint in the use of force.”   “It is essential that the Government guarantees the security of all civilians”.   He called on the entire Government to extend an offer of dialogue to its opponents and to resolve their respective differences peacefully.   The Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “appalled” to learn of the attack on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) base in Akobo and demanded that Government and opposition forces respect the rights of civilians and ensure their safety and security. Some 35,000 civilians have fled to UN installations.   The head of UNMISS and Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Hilde Johnson, warned against hate speech in relation to the inter-communal violence, cautioning that it is paramount that it does not assume ethnic dimensions.   “At a time when unity among South Sudanese is more needed than ever, I call on the leaders of this new country and all political factions and parties, as well as community leaders to refrain from any action that fuels ethnic tensions and exacerbates violence,” she said.   “As South Sudan struggles to overcome the current crisis, the Mission urges all of its citizens and leaders to guard against any incendiary actions or violence against particular communities,” UNMISS added.   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said over 20,000 people, mainly women and children, are still camped at UN premises in Juba. Others are reported to be leaving the town in fear of attack by rival groups, in what she called a rapidly deteriorating security situation.   “We have received reports of civilians killed in Juba based on their ethnicity,” she added. “I call on the Government to send a clear message on command responsibility within the SPLA (South Sudanese Army) to prevent retaliatory attacks based on ethnicity and tribal affiliation and to hold the alleged perpetrators accountable,” she added.   “I am deeply worried about the safety and security of civilians caught in the crossfire. The risk of seeing the fighting taking on an ethnic dimension is extremely high and could result in a dangerous situation,” Ms. Pillay said.   “South Sudan will face a large displacement and protection crisis, if the situation is not managed with restraint or if political dialogue does not take place,” the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), Chaloka Beyani, has warned.   “I am deeply concerned about this violent upsurge, and the targeting of civilians, and call on all those involved to cease hostilities immediately,” Mr. Beyani said, adding his voice to those of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.   More than 34,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought shelter in UN compounds in Juba, Bor and Bentiu due to the violence that broke out in South Sudan’s capital earlier this week.   “This is primarily a political crisis that is spreading into an increasingly ethnicized conflict across South Sudan,” he said. Initial reports indicate several hundreds have died with many more injured. “Ethnically targeted violence is already reported and could escalate unrest across the rest of the world’s youngest nation,” Mr. Beyani noted.   Clashes in South Sudan’s capital, Juba, began on Sunday, 15 December 2013, allegedly triggered by either a mutiny or an attempted coup. The President’s dismissal of the former Vice President in July 2013 along with the entire Cabinet had already intensified political frictions along ethnic lines.   http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46906&Cr=south+sudan&Cr1= http://reliefweb.int/country/ssd http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/un-south-sudan-arms-embargo-crucial-after-massive-chinese-weapons-transfer-2014-07-17 Visit the related web page
	70% rise in civilian casualties from IEDs around the world in the last three years by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV)   There has been a dramatic rise in civilian casualties from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) over the last three years, new data from Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) shows.   Numbers compiled from English-language media reports show there was a 70% rise in the number of civilian casualties globally from IEDs like car bombs and suicide vests last year compared to 2011. In 2011 13,340 civilians were killed and injured by IEDs. 2013 saw this number shoot up to 22,735.   In total AOAV’s data, which has been compiled over the last three years and is the only dataset used by the United Nations for tracking explosive weapon harm, showed there have been over 60,000 deaths and injuries from IEDs in 2011 – 2013. 81% of these casualties were civilians.   IEDs did not just impact Iraq and Afghanistan. AOAV recorded IED incidents in 66 different countries and territories in the last three years. Of these countries, eight, including Pakistan, Nigeria and Thailand, saw over 1,000 civilian casualties of IEDs.   New trends show that civilians are at greater risk due to the increased use of large vehicle-borne IEDs and the rise in the numbers of incidents occurring in populated areas.   The figures showed that:   In 2013, 62% of all IED incidents took place in populated areas, like markets and cafes. This is compared to 51% in 2011.   Civilians are at much greater risk from IEDs in populated areas. 91% of casualties from IEDs in populated areas were civilians, compared to 42% in other areas.   Car bombs are being used more frequently. The proportion of IED attacks involving car bombs rose from 11% of all IED incidents in 2011, to 33% in 2013. Each car bomb incident caused an average of 25 civilian casualties.   Over the last three years 34% of civilian casualties from IEDs were caused by suicide bombers. Suicide bombs were reported in 26 different countries, causing over 18,000 civilian casualties in the last three years.   “This huge increase in the number of innocent victims harmed and killed by IEDs is a terrible concern. Not only to those whose lives are transformed in an instant by these pernicious weapons, but to governments who have to bear the costs of the medical and security implications of these attacks. The use of suicide and car bombing as a major weapon is spreading, and fast. Countries that had not seen their use five years ago are experiencing their horrors now,” said Iain Overton, AOAV’s Director of Investigations.   “Governments should wake up to this emerging reality. Explosive munition stockpiles should be better maintained to prevent explosives from being smuggled out. Victims of IED attacks should receive proper medical and psychological help,” said AOAV’s CEO Steve Smith.   “And society at large should respond, condemning this rising use, just as they did on land mines and poison gas. Because if actions like these are not carried out then the use of IEDs in populated areas will continue its harmful and bloody ascent.”   AOAV’s data on IEDs is drawn from almost 500 different English-language media sources. It captures only a snapshot of worldwide explosive violence as reported in the news media. As such it presents only a low estimate of the real extent of suffering caused by explosive violence.   AOAV is a founding member of the International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW), a coalition of NGOs working to prevent the suffering caused by explosive weapons. UK-based organisations Oxfam International and Save the Children are also members.   http://aoav.org.uk/2014/70-per-cent-rise-civilian-casualties-ieds/ Visit the related web page
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