05/17/2012 19:40 GMT

TRIPOLI, May 17, 2012 (AFP) - Libya faces the daunting task of vetting thousands of candidates wishing to compete in June elections for a constituent assembly, with several bodies involved in the process.

'If a person committed a criminal offence or had ties to the former regime he is excluded,' Al-Taher Qraf, the deputy head of the electoral commission said on Thursday, the final deadline for candidates to register.

WAM MOGADISHU: Eighty Somali patients with cataract and glaucoma were treated by a Red Crescent Authority's (RCA) team in Somalia in cooperation with local charities.

The complex eye surgeries were performed in cooperation with Al-Manhal Chairty as part of efforts by the emirati humanitarian major to help needy patients displaced by armed conflict in the Horn of Africa country.

150 other patients who were diagnosed for glaucoma, cataract and trachoma, which are among the major causes of blindness worldwide, at the National Ophthalmology Center in the Somali capital. (...)

HIGHLIGHTS

UN Secretary-General issues report on children adn armed conflict.
Mass displacement rises by 49% in April. Clashes along the Pacific Coast exacerbate vulnerabilities.
Hostilities drop but impact on civilians remains dire. (...)

Stamford, Conn. - May 17, 2012 - AmeriCares and icddr,b have launched a new cholera-fighting program in the Horn of Africa, where recent rains have increased fears of large-scale outbreaks. The two organizations began by training 50 doctors and nurses in cholera prevention and treatment this week. The health professionals-half in Mogadishu, Somalia, and half in Dadaab, Kenya- learned cholera management techniques they will teach other local health workers in upcoming months to increase preparedness. Every year, as many as five million cholera cases worldwide cause more than 100,000 deaths. (...)

17 mai 2012 - Une delegation du Conseil de securite va s'envoler vendredi de New York pour une tournee dans trois pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest, le Liberia, la Cote d'Ivoire et le Sierra Leone, a indique jeudi le porte-parole du Secretaire general.

Au Liberia, la delegation examinera les progres realises dans la mise en œuvre du mandat de la Mission des Nations Unies au Liberia (MINUL) et rencontrera la Presidente liberienne Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Elle se rendra ensuite en Cote d'Ivoire, où elle rencontrera le President ivoirien Alassane Ouattara et des representants de l'Assemblee nationale de ce pays. (...)

"Good morning, its 6:30am; time to get up". Another day at the Ecole Nationale de la Protection Civile (National School for Civil Protection) in Schimpach, Luxembourg has just started. We're here for the Let's Net training with a group of 11 participants who will become Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) Data Responders.

LUXEMBOURG - The Government of Luxembourg, WFP and Ericsson Response worked together to make this training happen. (...)

Como parte de las estrategias para enfrentar los efectos del cambio climatico, la Comision Nacional del Agua (Conagua) continua construyendo infraestructura de almacenamiento de escurrimientos pluviales, a fin de tener agua suficiente para el abasto de la poblacion y controlar las grandes avenidas generadas por las lluvias torrenciales, con lo que se reducen riesgos de inundaciones o deslaves.

A ese proposito contribuye la presa Paso Ancho, indispensable para afrontar las lluvias y las sequías cada vez mas severas y, con ellas, garantizar el abasto de agua proveniente de fuentes superficiales, cuando menos, durante 30 anos, explico Jose Luis Luege Tamargo, Director General de la Conagua.

Durante una gira de trabajo por Oaxaca, visito lo que sera esa presa sobre el río Atoyac, a 100 kilometros al sur de la ciudad de Oaxaca, entre los municipios San Vicente Coatlan, Sola de Vega y Santiago Yogana. (...)

Bonn, 17 May, 2012 - Two UN agencies and the World Bank today expressed appreciation at the launch of a pilot version of a Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions, designed to harmonize emissions measurement and reporting process for the world's cities. The protocol was released at the UNFCCC climate meetings in Bonn by C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, with input from the World Resources Institute.

UNEP, UN Habitat, and the World Bank supported development of the protocol via the Joint Work Programme of the Cities Alliance, and after close consultation with local governments around the world. For all these organizations, the fact that the source of as much as 70% of global GHG emissions can be attributed to urban areas is a compelling call to action. (...)

17 May 2012 - The Darfur Women Legislative Caucus and UNAMID today concluded a three-day advocacy seminar. The forum was aimed at assessing the challenges faced by women in Darfur, identifying gender gaps in the Constitution and Sudanese laws, and examining relevant international and regional human rights instruments for effective sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response in the region.

More than forty-five women representatives from North Darfur state and local level legislatures, including members of the constitutional committee, the judiciary, the bar association and various Government institutions attended the session that took place in El Fasher, North Darfur.

The Somali capital is not an obvious choice for a conference that highlights 'ideas worth spreading,' but organizers say growing peace gives Somalis a chance to change their future.

Read the full article in the Christian Science Monitor.

El Ministerio del Interior recibio hoy 10 toneladas de víveres, medicamentos, ropas y colchones, entregados por integrantes de la Cooperativa del Personal Policial '17 de Mayo'. Se trata de donaciones que seran destinadas a los damnificados por las inundaciones en el Chaco paraguayo.

El viceministro de Seguridad Interna, Gregorio Almada Barrios, recibio dos camiones de todo lo recibido por parte del presidente de la cooperativa, Crio. Princ. (...)

Communique de presse n:2012/456/AFR

WASHINGTON, le 17 mai 2012. Le Conseil des Administrateurs de la Banque mondiale vient d'approuver ce 17 mai 2012 un financement de 28,2 millions de dollars pour le Projet de Renforcement des Services de Sante de Base en Republique Centrafricaine (RCA). L'objectif de cette operation est d'accroitre l'utilisation et d'ameliorer la qualite des services de sante dans les zones rurales avec un accent particulier sur la sante maternelle et infantile. De maniere concrete, ce financement va contribuer a couvrir au moins 2,5 millions de personnes vivant en milieu rural et representant la moitie de la population totale de la RCA en quatre ans. (...)

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE DEVELOPMENT AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

CWS EMERGENCY APPEAL:
Pakistan Displacement 2012 (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province)

APPEAL #: 700-D CWS
APPEAL GOAL: $854,638

May 15, 2012

SITUATION: Due to increasing military operations against militants in tribal regions and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (northern Pakistan), residents have begun evacuating to safer regions. (...)

14/Mayo 2012: En el marco del Plan Nacional de Contingencia por la presencia de inundaciones, desbordes y riadas debido al fenomeno 'La Nina' 2011-2012, aprobado en Diciembre pasado, el Viceministerio de Defensa Civil en coordinacion con representantes de Gobernaciones y Municipios afectados han desarrollado acciones de respuesta para la atencion de mas de 25 Mil familias con asistencia humanitaria y otras necesidades.

En ese contexto, concluida las evaluaciones de danos en los principales puntos de afectacion el Viceministro de Defensa Civil, Oscar Cabrera, junto a representantes de la Comision Europea y la FAO presentaron hoy 14 de mayo en el auditorio del Ministerio de Defensa el Proyecto 'Ayuda Humanitaria de emergencia a traves de la asistencia para la recuperacion de las comunidades vulnerables afectadas por las inundaciones F-Nina 2012 en Oruro, Bolivia.

Este proyecto cubrira los Municipios de Chipaya, El Choro, Toledo y Soracachi del departamento de Oruro, con una duracion de 6 meses con presupuesto aprobado de doscientos mil euros, financiados por la Comision Europea. (...)

by Eleanor Kelly

On the release of the report The Democratic Republic of Congo: Taking a Stand on Security Sector Reform, I spoke to Marta Martinelli, a senior policy officer on Africa for the Open Society Foundations, on what the 'security sector' actually looks like for people on the ground in the DRC, why these changes need to happen and what others are doing to either help or hinder this process.

What does the 'security sector' in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mean to people who live inside and outside the country?

As experience with both disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) grows, there is increasing recognition that these two fields share a common focus: reducing the vulnerability of communities and contributing to sustainable development. The high level of climate-related risks in the Pacific, make DRR and CCA key policy goals. The objective of this study is to provide an analysis of the current level of integration of DRR and CCA in the region, with an emphasis on the policy and institutional environment. The report outlines some of the barriers to integration and makes recommendations on how they can be addressed. The analysis presented includes seven Pacific island countries (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Palau, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu), however, a more detailed analysis was undertaken of only four of those countries (the Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau and Vanuatu). (...)

17 May 2012 - The members of the United Nations Security Council will leave New York on Friday for an official mission to West Africa.

The 15 ambassadors will visit Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone, a UN spokesperson told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

In Liberia, they will review progress in the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), in addition to meeting President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. (...)

This report is produced by OCHA Afghanistan in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period only 17 May 2012.

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES