Ottawa (Ontario) ― L'honorable Beverley J. Oda, ministre de la Cooperation internationale, a annonce aujourd'hui que le Canada prenait des mesures pour prevenir une famine et une grave crise humanitaire en Afrique de l'Ouest.

« La population dans la region du Sahel a manifestement besoin d'aide pour faire face a une realite inimaginable. Le Canada est profondement preoccupe par la securite alimentaire et la crise nutritionnelle qui s'annonce au Sahel, a declare la ministre Oda. (...)

Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos called for a coherent approach to addressing the humanitarian, development and political challenges in Somalia today at the London Conference.

Co-chairing a humanitarian event at the conference, Ms. Amos emphasized the importance of dealing with the immediate needs of millions of Somalis and the longer-term development issues critical to helping the country build resilience.

I. Introduction

1. The present report, which covers the period from December 2010 to November 2011, is submitted pursuant to paragraph 18 of Security Council resolution 1960 (2010), by which the Council requested me to submit a report on the implementation of that resolution, as well as resolutions 1820 (2008) and 1888 (2009). The report updates progress made in the implementation of the monitoring, analysis and reporting arrangements and the placement of women's protection advisers; provides information on parties to conflict credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for acts of rape or other forms of sexual violence; highlights major outcomes of missions and political engagements undertaken by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict; describes key initiatives taken by the United Nations to address conflict-related sexual violence; and outlines a series of recommendations aimed at strengthening collective efforts to combat this egregious crime.

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CUENCA

Las maquinas sin funcionar por falta de electricidad, la vía que pasa por el frente de su taller cada día a desnivel y las casas colindantes desmoronandose, son causas para que -segun el carpintero Romulo Coraizaca- desde hace un mes pierda contratos y sus recursos economicos.

El taller de Coraizaca funciona desde hace 20 anos en la calle Guayasamín, de la ciudadela Jaime Roldos, al noreste de la ciudad, donde durante las dos ultimas semanas siete casas colapsaron y 7 mas estan en riesgo de desmoronarse, debido a la filtracion del agua durante la epoca de lluvia.

Las crecientes de los ríos Chico y Portoviejo ocasionaron serios danos en los sectores agrícola, vial y residencial de 20 recintos del canton Rocafuerte, en el centro de Manabí. El agua sobrepaso el metro de altura en sectores residenciales de Sosote y Tierras Amarillas de Rocafuerte.

Mariela Macías vive en el callejon de la ciudadela Rosita de Sosote. 'Esta es una inundacion historica, nunca el agua ha sobrepasado los 30 centímetros de altura. (...)

WASHINGTON - Today's London Conference on the future of Somalia is widely seen as a critical moment in Somalia's long 20-year crisis and could shape the direction of the country in the coming years, for better or for worse, according to a new Enough Project report.

The report, 'Somalia: What to Expect of the London Conference and Beyond,' by Somalia expert Ken Menkhaus, details the expectations of the conference and the future of Somalia after its political transition is completed in the next six months.

'The next year in Somalia constitutes a narrow but very real window of opportunity for the country to emerge from over 20 years of war and state collapse,' Menkhaus said. (...)

23 February 2012 - The annual United Nations report documenting conflict-related sexual violence around the world today for the first time names some of the military forces, militia and other armed groups that are suspected of being among the worst offenders.

The groups listed in the report include the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Central African Republic (CAR) and in South Sudan, armed militia groups and former armed forces in Cote d'Ivoire, and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The report provides examples of how sexual violence has threatened security and impeded peacebuilding in post-conflict situations, such as in Chad, CAR, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and how it has been used in the context of elections, political strife and civil unrest in Egypt, Guinea, Kenya and Syria, among others. (...)

KANO, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - Gunmen burnt down a school in Nigeria's troubled city of Maiduguri, the second such attack in two days in an area rocked by Boko Haram Islamist raids, an official said Thursday.

A group of unknown gunmen stormed Budun primary school in central Maiduguri Wednesday evening and set fire to classrooms and a store after seizing the security guard at gunpoint, according to state education commissioner, Tijjani Abba Ari.

"The gunmen held the security guard at gunpoint and set fire to a block of four classes and an adjoining store which gutted the whole block," he said. (...)

Ottawa ― Today, the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, announced that Canada is taking action to prevent a famine and a severe humanitarian crisis in western Africa.

'Clearly, the people in the Sahel region are in need of help to face their unimaginable reality. Canada is deeply concerned about the impending food security and nutrition crisis in the Sahel,' said Minister Oda. (...)

Human rights abuse allegations as tens of thousands forced off traditional lands to make way for Gibe III dam project plantations

Read the full article in the Guardian.

London, 23 February 2012 The European Union is here to support the people of Somalia in their efforts to build a stable political future, to develop their economy and to be able to live in security under the rule of law.

The EU set out its comprehensive approach in its Strategic Framework for the Horn of Africa last November and the EU Special Representative to the region Alex Rondos is playing an active role of coordination, focusing primarily on Somalia.

We have been putting our words into action through a range of interventions:
The EU has saved lives through humanitarian effort to tackle famine and disease. (...)

February 2012 | News Feature by Steven Heydemann

Today, almost a year after the start of the Syrian uprising, 70 governments and the opposition-led Syrian National Council will participate in the first Friends of Syria Group meeting in Tunis.

The long-delayed establishment of the Friends Group is a response to the failure of the U.N. (...)

An agreement has been signed between Hamas and the Egyptian government that should put an end to a two week old energy crisis that has drastically reduced the supply of electricity for use by the population of the Gaza Strip. The agreement, announced by a Hamas spokesman, has three stages: first, it must meet immediate needs, Egyptian companies will deliver fuel directly to Gaza, Egypt will also upgrade Gaza's only power station enabling it to produce more power, reaching a capacity of 40 megawatts in the third stage; the power grid in Gaza will be directly linked to the Egypt and the power generation plant will run on gas. To help finance the project, the Islamic Development Bank will offer loans amounting to 25 million euros.

For two weeks in Gaza, the power has been delivered for only six hours a day while fuel is scarce, having become unavailable at regular market prices, which have tripled on the black market. (...)

Victims are mostly women and children; MSF is calling on all parties to the conflict to spare civilians

Bamako/Paris, 23 February 2012 - Yesterday afternoon, 22 February, a camp of Tuareg civilians was targeted in an airstrike by the Malian army in the north of the country.

Medecins Sans Frontieres MSF (Doctors without Borders) teams and the Malian Ministry of Health in the area treated 11 injured people. Those hurt were almost exclusively women and children, including a young girl who died from her injuries. (...)

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

· A Principal Regional Advisor from USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) traveled to Yemen's capital, Sana'a, in early February to meet with USAID/OFDA grantees, coordinate USAID/OFDA activities with other donors and humanitarian organizations, and assess the humanitarian situation.

The London Conference on Somalia has not adequately tackled the dire human rights situation in the country which is threatening the lives of civilians including children, Amnesty International said today.

'The recent surge in military operations increases civilians' vulnerability to attacks and displacement, and brings more arms into a country already awash with weapons,' said Benedicte Goderiaux, Amnesty International's Somalia researcher.

'This is a lethal mix that could fuel further human rights abuses. (...)