UN SEEKS $1.5 MILLION TO TACKLE RISING MALNUTRITION AMONG CENTRAL AFRICAN CHILDREN

Malnutrition is on the rise among children in the Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nation Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) warned today, appealing for $1.5 million to provide life-saving support.

CAR is one of the most impoverished nations in the world and remains beset by violence and widespread displacement in the north. An estimated 1 million people, out of a population of 4 million, are in need of humanitarian assistance.

"In both the conflict-affected north and the more stable south, almost 700,000 children under five are living below acceptable standards. Many are moving toward the outer edge of survival," said Jeremy Hopkins, acting representative of UNICEF in CAR.

Poverty, ongoing insecurity, and loss of income in areas where the diamond mining sector has been impacted by the global economic slowdown are among the causes cited for this situation.

Also a factor is the prevalence of HIV in the country, which at 6.3 per cent is the highest in its region and affects the nutritional situation of families.

In addition to providing essential food, drugs and supplies, funds from the $1.5 million appeal will also be used to conduct a national nutritional survey, as well as train community health workers in the early detection of children and women whose nutritional health may be at risk.

"These children's lives, their ability to learn, to earn, and to lead productive lives is being stunted by this tragic crisis," said Mr. Hopkins. "These children could be leading normal lives. We must try harder to fulfil their rights."

Yesterday a senior UN humanitarian official called for urgent action by the international community to assist those in need in CAR.

"It's not like any other humanitarian situation I've run across," Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, said as she briefed reporters on her visit to the country two weeks ago.

GREATER EFFORTS NEEDED TO END DISPLACEMENT IN NORTHERN UGANDA, SAYS UN EXPERT

Stepped up efforts are needed to ensure that the last of the people uprooted by the long-running conflict between the Government and a notorious group in northern Uganda are able to return to their homes, a United Nations independent expert said today.

Wrapping up a week-long visit to the Great Lakes nation, Walter Kaelin, the Secretary-General's Representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), said that he is "impressed" by progress made in tackling the displacement situation in the country's north, where nearly 80 per cent of the uprooted have returned to their villages.

He voiced his appreciation for the Government's actions in allowing the IDPs to find durable solutions, welcoming progress made in restoring security and freedom of movement in northern Uganda, which has seen two decades of fighting between the Government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

But Mr. Kaelin noted that "serious challenges remain for those remaining in camps to freely opt for return, local integration or settlement elsewhere as provided for by the Ugandan National IDP Policy and to ensure the sustainability of returns or other durable solutions.

Also impeding sustainable returns are the lack of water, food, health and education services, as well as land and property disputes, in areas of return, he added.

In spite of the Government's efforts, the Representative said that the low impact of recovery and development activities in the north, especially the setting up of basic services in return areas, threatens stability and the durability of peace.

He called on national and local authorities to implement the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan for northern Uganda, calling on the international community to support recovery efforts.

"The implementation of recovery projects and support for solving land conflicts would go a long way in restoring economic, social and cultural rights of those who have been deprived of their human rights for so long," Mr. Kaelin said in a press release issued in the capital, Kampala.

Food insecurity is another cause for concern, especially among elderly people and orphans, he noted, urging authorities and their development partners to increase investment in guaranteeing the right to food.

Earlier this week, the outgoing UN envoy for the conflict in northern Uganda today stressed the need for a two-pronged strategy of pursuing negotiation as well as military action against the LRA.

In his last briefing to the Security Council as the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the LRA-affected areas, Joaquim Chissano spoke about the state of the Juba peace agreements – originally signed in Sudan in February 2008 and set to take effect after the signing of a final overall peace accord – involving the LRA and the Ugandan Government.

Countries in the region, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have joined forces with Uganda to militarily root out the LRA, following the failure by the group's leader, Joseph Kony, to sign the final peace pact which would end two decades of fighting.

Those operations, which display a new determination by countries to collectively deal with t

he dangers posed by the LRA, had both uprooted and disrupted the group, Mr. Chissano, the former president of Mozambique, told the 15-member Council in a closed meeting.
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FRESH ATTACKS BY HUTU REBELS LEAD TO MORE DISPLACEMENT IN DR CONGO – UN

FRESH ATTACKS BY HUTU REBELS LEAD TO MORE DISPLACEMENT IN DR CONGO – UN
New York, Mar 20 2009 10:00AM

The United Nations refugee agency said today that attacks by a Hutu rebel group are continuing to uproot thousands in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reportedly displacing nearly 30,000 people just over the past two weeks.

Altogether, an estimated 1 million people are displaced in North Kivu province by a series of conflicts involving Government forces and various rebel groups, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The ethnic Hutu militia known as the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), which has been the target of a joint military operation conducted by DRC and Rwanda since January, has been retaliating against civilians and attacking villages in North Kivu.

"The FDLR fighting has left more than 160,000 civilians displaced since mid-January," UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.

Local authorities tell UNHCR that in the province's Lubero territory, fresh attacks on civilians by the FDLR have displaced nearly 30,000 people over the past two weeks. Newly displaced families in the Lubero area report that FDLR raids increased during the first half of March, along with growing human rights violations.

Also, further south in Masisi territory, local authorities said the FDLR mounted attacks that killed at least three civilians on 15 March and caused a number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to flee. The rebel group has reportedly threatened to continue its attacks in the area.

"Most of the displaced from the continuing FDLR attacks are spending their nights in the bush for fear of attacks and harassment," said Mr. Redmond.

He added that UNHCR is reinforcing its activities in Masisi and trying to establish presence in Lubero for the swift delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection.

Meanwhile, the agency is concerned that continuing violence against aid workers will hinder assistance to the displaced. In the latest incident, armed men attacked and looted a vehicle belonging to an international non-governmental organization (NGO) in Rutshuru on 18 March. No fatalities were reported.

During a visit to North Kivu yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for DRC, Alan Doss, pledged that the UN peacekeeping mission there – known as MONUC – will reinforce its presence in localities and continue to logistically support the Government army in its operations against the FDLR.
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