HIGHLIGHTS
• Due to heavy rain, road access has been flooded. Hence, there is a need to explore the possibility of using water and air transport.
• 62,809 refugees (Leitchour 47,122, Matar 7,581, Nip Nip 2,854, Pamdong 2,452 and Pagak 2,800) need to be relocated to new camps.
• Total number of refugees evacuated by IOM: 171,733 from Gambella and 2,439 from Benishangul‐Gumuz.
South Sudan - An IOM health clinic built in August and now fully operational is making a huge difference for the 47,000 displaced Sudanese by the fighting who have found refuge in the UN compound of Bentiu in South Sudan. The maternity unit is of particular value as the continuous flooding increases the likelihood of waterborne diseases for new born babies.
Even before the recent crisis, South Sudan had some of the worst health indicators in the world and a health care system reaching only 20 per cent of the country’s population. The heavy rains which started in June and are still going on worsened the already dire conditions of the displaced population in Bentiu and their access to life-saving health care. Health services to reduce preventable maternal and infant mortality were flooded by 70 centimetres of standing water.
The new clinic is critical as flooding has made access to the main hospital difficult. It is only accessible by foot. Furthermore, the continued presence of standing water raises many public health concerns in a highly concentrated population area. Respiratory tract infections, malaria and water borne illnesses remain the most common illnesses and IOM’s health team conducts on average over 600 consultations per week.
The new clinic provides the community with primary health care, including a larger space for confidential preventative and curative consultations, an immunization room, a laboratory and a more secure storage area for drugs and vaccines.
In addition to the new clinic building, a separate maternity wing allows IOM to provide a comprehensive package of reproductive health services, including facility based deliveries, pre- and post-natal care, as well as awareness on topics related to nutrition, child immunizations and family planning for mothers.
The IOM health team is also providing on-the-job trainings on safe deliveries to midwives and traditional birth attendants. Many women still give birth at home, but IOM is working with women’s groups and community leaders to encourage deliveries at the new clinic where women can be attended by trained midwives. Once fully operational, the maternity unit will be available for deliveries 24 hours a day.
IOM activities in Bentiu for displaced people include as well water and sanitation services, health programming, Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) and registration of displaced people.
For more information, please contact
Jennifer Pro IOM South Sudan Email: jpro@iom.int
HIGHLIGHTS
IOM launches a new protection program to provide psychosocial support to conflict affected populations with the PoCs
Biometric Registration exercises completed in both the Bor PoC and Juba Tongping and UN House PoCs
Since conflict broke out in December 2013, 1.7 million have fled their homes. Many have crossed into neighboring countries (estimated 449,000 people have fled to neighboring countries of Kenya 42,200 individuals, Uganda 123,100 individuals, Ethiopia 189,900 individuals and Sudan 93,400 individuals). However, 1.3 million individuals remain internally displaced and most are seeking shelter in remote rural areas across the country. Displacement patterns remain fluid, driven by violence, access to emergency assistance and floods. There are currently 96,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) sheltering in nine UN bases across South Sudan. Approximately 186,999 people displaced early during the conflict have since returned to their homes having in many cases lost all their belongings.
The general security situation for the reporting period has been tenuous and unpredictable with reports of gunfire and conflict taking place in Renk, Upper Nile State. Security concerns in Bentiu resulted in the suspension of fixed-wing flights to the Rubkona/Bentiu airstrip and surrounding counties though helicopter flights are still permissible.
Cholera cases in South Sudan continue to decline with only 28 cases reported earlier this month. However, poor conditions, particularly in the Bentiu PoC, continue to be a concern for partners. There is an increase in Kala-azar reported in Sudan with 50% of reported cases found in Lanken, Jonglei State. Kala-azar is a disease caused by a sand fly endemic to South Sudan. The increased prevalence of this disease is largely attributed to the ongoing conflict as access to treatment is challenging and food insecurity and malnutrition decrease immunity.
Heavy rains throughout the country continue to pose significant challenges for the transport of humanitarian staff and cargo with the conditions of roads worsening and runway conditions remaining poor.
September 18, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – The sixth round of peace talks between South Sudan’s two warring parties and other stakeholders has been delayed to allow discussions over substantial issues and agenda disagreements, as mediators and stakeholders remain locked in an endless round of consultations, a rebel spokesperson has confirmed.
The peace talks between president Salva Kiir’s government and the rebel faction of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM-in-Opposition) led by the former vice-president, Riek Machar, began in January in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to end the 9-month long political crisis which threatens to plunge the young country into a full blown civil war.
The venue for the talks which is being mediated by the regional bloc of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was on Monday relocated to the town of Bahir Dar, north of Addis Ababa.
However, the parties have not yet engaged in negotiating substantial issues due to disagreements over the agenda for discussions. Mediators have been consulting with the stakeholders since Monday in order to agree on agenda.
Machar’s spokesperson James Gatdet Dak when reached on Thursday explained that IGAD mediation and the government continued to insist on the “rejected protocol imposed by the regional mediators” as the basis for the talks.
“IGAD seems to continue to mishandle the peace talks against the majority opinion of the stakeholders who should have been the owners of agenda or any document that emerges from the peace process,” Dak told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.
“While the SPLM [in opposition], former SPLM detainees, political parties, civil society organisations and faith-based groups all want the negotiations to resume based on the initial documents produced by thematic committees, IGAD again wants to drag the process back by trying to impose the unpopular protocol.”
“This bias and unjust document was already rejected by all the stakeholders except the government,” he added.
The rebel spokesperson also added that political parties were not part of the recent consultations in Bahir Dar because their leader, Lam Akol, was prevented from leaving Juba by the government.
He also stressed that IGAD should only play the role of mediation and leave the parties to negotiate including deciding on the agenda for discussions.
IGAD heads of state and government in their recent 27th extraordinary summit in Addis Ababa produced a document which they attempted to impose on the warring parties.
Rebel leader Machar refused to sign the protocol document which attempted to set out principles for power-sharing in the transitional government as well as address political, security and economic issues.
The document endorsed president Kiir to continue leading the would-be transitional government for the next two and half years until elections are held.
It also provided for the rebels to nominate a position for a prime minister whose personality would also be approved by president Kiir and would not run for a public office.
Dak however argued that Kiir was “no longer a legitimate president because he oversaw the massacres of over 20,000 ethnic Nuer people who voted him into office” and dragged the country into the current deep crisis.
The rebel leader’s spokesman further argued that the IGAD protocol which tended to impose dictatorship was a “non-starter” and should have been “non-binding.”
He however said if IGAD wanted a serious discussion on the power-sharing protocol it should have proposed that the would-be “prime minister heads the government and its security sectors while the president plays ceremonial role”.
The rebel leader’s spokesperson also said the would-be nominated prime minister by the SPLM rebel faction should not be approved by his rival, Salva Kiir, saying “this was an insult,” adding he should also be eligible for election.
(ST)
HIGHLIGHTS
As at 17th September 2014, Kakuma had received 43,253 asylum seekers from South Sudan. This brings the total camp population to 178,210. As at 15th September 174,398 refugees had been registered by UNHCR and DRA.
A delegation from WFP Ethiopia, UNHCR Ethiopia and the Administration for Refugee and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) conducted a day mission to Kakuma.
The team’s objective was to assess the Biometrics project used for food distribution in the camp and discuss possible scenarios for its implementation in Ethiopia.
Officials from BPRM visited Kakuma from 15th – 17th September. The team held discussions with several partners on resettlement matters and also toured various facilities in the camp.
Karin Zeitvogel
More than three years ago, President Salva Kiir pledged to build schools in all of South Sudan's 10 states within 100 days of independence.
That has not happened, says former "Lost Boy" Michael Kuany. So Kuany has taken things into his own hands.
Around seven years ago, Kuany went back to his village in Jonglei state and asked the people there what he could do to help them. He expected them to ask for food. They asked for something else.
"They said, 'Food will finish in one day or two, but if you help us with education, our children will learn and the next generation will learn from that school,'" Kuany told South Sudan in Focus by phone from Bor.
So Kuany set up an NGO called Rebuild South Sudan and teamed up with a group of Americans to build a school for the people of Jalle.
"We don't go in and tell them what they should do. We said, 'What do you need?' and are working with the community to give them what they need," Katie Rivers, the board president of Rebuild South Sudan said.
Ground was broken in February 2012 on the spot in Jalle where the school will one day stand. Everyone chipped in to help build the school: little kids carried planks of wood, men hoisted steel beams into the air for the roof.
And then fighting broke out in South Sudan last December. As the conflict spread from Juba to Jonglei state, Kuany told the people of Jalle to go somewhere safe. But many of them refused to leave their payam.
"They actually didn’t want to leave because the school structure was there and that was a source of hope," Rivers explained. "They were, like, we don’t want to leave this school and Michael was on the phone with them, telling them, like, you have to leave. We can’t have a school if you’re not alive."
Construction of the school was put on hold because of the fighting. Kuany said he still hopes the school will have a roof and walls by the end of this year, and that it can be put to good use by the villagers.
But he is disappointed.
“This school could have been operating right now but because of this crisis we actually created, it's not," he said.
"But I'm not giving up hope. I’m not losing hope. I strongly believe education can transform the minds and hearts of people who have gone through trauma.”
When construction is finished, the school will include a 5,000-book library, solar lighting so that grown-ups can use the facility in the evening and to power a ventilation system, eight classrooms that can hold 640 students, and ... a computer lab.
The school was designed to be flood resistant, because Jalle sits on a flood plain, and durable, so that the building does not have to be rebuilt every year.
The design has won awards in the United States and Rebuild South Sudan wants to share it with other NGOs in South Sudan and the rest of Africa, with a view to giving more villagers on the continent hope for the future.
"We've talked about, not only in South Sudan but across Africa, offering this building as a prototype for other non-profits," Luke Haqq, another member of the board of Rebuild South Sudan, said.
"It's a permanent structure that people can look to and have some sort of sense of home, and it also gives people in places like Jalle the sense that people care about them in other parts of the world, that their calls for help and education have been heard," he said.
So far, only the steel skeleton of the school is standing but Kuany and the rest of Rebuild South Sudan hope the fighting will stop in South Sudan, construction of the school can resume, and the building will be able to open its doors early next year.
HIGHLIGHTS
Efforts to improve living conditions continue at the UNMISS protection of civilians (PoC) site in Bentiu town, Unity State
Health actors are responding to an increase in the number of reported cases of kala-azar disease in endemic areas of the country
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Humanitarian agencies continue to respond to difficult living conditions at the UNMISS PoC site in Bentiu, where approximately 47,200 displaced persons are seeking shelter. Relief actors are preparing additional drainage infrastructure, improving sanitation facilities, and deploying further water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) staff, the U.N. reports.
As seasonal heavy rains affect living conditions for displaced populations, relief agencies are responding to several health-related concerns, including increased incidences of water-borne diseases and an increase in cases of kala-azar disease. The increase in kala-azar cases demonstrates the threat conflict poses to the well-being of displaced populations, who often experience decreased immunity to diseases due to limited access to health care facilities and increased levels of malnutrition, the U.N. reports.
HIGHLIGHTS
Some 3.1 million people have been reached with humanitarian assistance.
Malaria was increasing with the highest incidence in Renk and Malakal, both in Upper Nile State.
There was increased insecurity in parts of Jonglei, Lakes, and Upper Nile States - as well as in the area around Bentiu, Unity State.
Situation overview
The security situation in Upper Nile State remained tense, with clashes reported at Canal and Dolieb. There was heavy shelling in Renk and humanitarian partners had taken shelter at the UNMISS compound there. Civilians were reportedly fleeing towards Wanthou at the Sudan border.
There were reports of an influx of displaced people into Akobo area, reportedly coming from Nasir, Upper Nile. In Malakal, within the PoC site, some 300 new arrivals were reported following fears of imminent clashes.
In Bentiu, Unity State, gunfire was reported in the area of Rubkona airstrip during the week, as was renewed harassment of staff at the airstrip itself. Meanwhile, heavy rains during the week caused more flooding in the protection of civilians (PoC) site. Partners stressed that the living situation remained very difficult for people in the site and that flooding and poor WASH conditions continued to threaten people’s health. WASH partners were working to construct more latrines with additional teams on the ground. In Jonglei, reported troop movements were creating an uncertain situation. Efforts were underway to resume rapid response operations in Canal and Khorfulus areas, once the security situation allowed.
Inter-communal clashes were reported in Lakes State, where the overall security situation was increasingly unstable.
In Rumbek and Cueibet, 14 people were reportedly killed in clashes. It was reported these attacks had a gender based violence component.
As of 15 September, some 96,800 people were sheltering inside UNMISS Protection of Civilians sites – about 7 per cent of the total estimated 1.3 million people displaced by the conflict inside South Sudan. The largest PoC site in terms of population was Bentiu, with an estimated population of some 47,200 - although partners stressed that biometric registration is needed to verify the people living there.
Clarifications made
The government clarified that the United Nations and other humanitarian cargo agencies would be permitted to continue their normal operations at Juba Airport in the midst of construction improvements there. The government also addressed a circular issued on 12 September on foreign workers, but partners continued to seek clarity on the document.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Tensions remain high in Kalma camp in South Darfur as the Government mobilises more forces to conduct search operation in the camp where IDPs oppose the move.
• Over 277,000 people in Sudan have been affected by rains and flooding since late July 2014, according to HAC.
• The number of Sudanese migrants arriving in West and North Darfur after expulsion from Chad reduces, according to IOM.
• HAC in Blue Nile reports that inter-agency needs assessments will be allowed in six localities in the State.
FIGURES
People in need of humanitarian aid in Sudan 6.9 million
IDPs in Darfur in 2013 in 2014 (to date) 2 million 398,550
GAM caseload 1.4 million
Refugees in Sudan (UNHCR) 157,000
South Sudanese refugees in Sudan - since 15 Dec 2013 (UNHCR) 94,196
20 September 2014, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia: The IGAD Special Envoys to the South Sudan Negotiations condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing fighting between the two warring parties taking place in Renk County and in the area south of Malakal town in Upper Nile State.
This is happening after the signing of the Implementation Matrix of the Cessation of Hostilities (COH) Agreement on 25 August 2014. The Special Envoys regret this unfortunate turn of events and call upon both parties to immediately stop the senseless fighting. They further described it as an unnecessary and destructive action aimed to derail the Sixth Session in the Second Phase of the peace talks.
Amb. Seyoum Mesfin, the Chairperson of the IGAD Mediation Process appealed to both parties to stay calm and exercise restrain, as the IGAD Monitoring and Verification Teams investigate the ongoing fighting before issuing a comprehensive report to expose the real perpetrators and violators of the COH. “It is unfortunate that this trend of events has been observed every time a new session of talks begins and any such sideshows aimed at derailing the peace process will not be tolerated,” said Amb. Seyoum, recalling similar acts that have been made in the past.
He further urged the parties to refrain from any actions that could upset the ongoing peace talks and instead give peace a chance at the negotiating table, reminding the parties to adhere to all the agreements that have been signed, particularly the COH. ##
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Haile Michael Gebreslasie | Communications Officer | OSESS |
E-mail: btey2001@yahoo.com| Tel: +251.924.909.948
Mr. Brazille Musumba | Communications and Media Advisor | IGAD Secretariat |
E-mail: brazille.musumba@igad.int |
20 September 2014 - The South Sudanese people desperately yearned for peace and development, but their hopes were dashed by the current conflict, a top academic said in Juba today.
Speaking at celebrations marking International Day of Peace (traditionally celebrated on 21 September), University of Juba Director of Peace and Development Studies Luca Biong Deng said development comprised economic and political aspects, which were both affected by war.
“War is best understood through the destruction of both developments,” he said at the University of Juba event organized by his department in coordination with UNMISS under the theme “The right of people to peace”. “It takes about 30 years to take development back to the society affected by war.”
The peace director pointed to Rwanda as a country that had successfully recovered from a devastating conflict that had claimed a million lives. “This shows how a nation could rise up and become the most stable country in Africa … through an inclusive, solid foundation for sustainable peace, development and harmony.”
South Sudan was trying to achieve the same peace through ongoing negotiations in Addis Ababa, he said. “The good news is that, as they are negotiating for a transitional government, the parties are narrowing their differences.”
As part of the peace process, the Inter-governmental Authority on Development had agreed that atrocities must be investigated through a Commission of Inquiry, Mr. Deng said. Those implicated would be banned from the transitional government or forced to resign from their current positions.
Negotiations had also led to establishment of a Commission for Truth, Justice and Reconciliation as well as the post of Prime Minister elected by the people.
“The power of peace in us is more powerful than the power of destruction,” Mr. Deng said. “Rwanda did it. We can do it and put our nation on the path to peace and development.”
Also attending the event was Dr. Leo Onek, Dean of the College of Applied and Industrial Sciences at the University of Juba, UNMISS Spokesperson Brian Kelly and Human Rights Officer Mary Lokoyome.
Dr. Onek, an experienced peace mediator, stressed the importance of non-violent solutions to conflicts. “How do you solve community fighting? Through negotiations.”
The parties then entered into enter bilateral discussions with a mediator, which must be performed without hostility and the willingness to compromise, Dr. Onek said. “Do not insult, shout at the other side. If you step on toes, say you are sorry.”
As a final step, any agreements or protocols compiled must be signed by the principles – in the case of the current conflict, Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir – to make them binding.
Human Rights Officer Lokoyome said UNMISS had recommended the country abandon military options and focus on peace talks. It must investigate violations of perpetrators, setting up a credible, accountability mechanism consistent with international standards to hold them responsible.
“When victims see perpetrators go free, they will take the law into their own hands,” she said.
The warring parties must also immediately comply with the cessation of hostilities agreement, end attacks on civilians and immediately suspend from positions and discussion all senior and lower-level combatants responsible for violations.
“Peace in South Sudan is a number one priority of UNMISS, which was mandated to monitor and investigate human rights, report publicly any abuses or violations of rights or of international humanitarian law, she said.
In his message for the day, read by UNMISS Spokesperson Brian Kelly, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said peace and security were essential foundations for social progress and sustainable development. “Armed conflict causes untold grief to families, communities and entire countries,” Mr. Ban said. “Too many are suffering today at the brutal hands of warmongers and terrorists.”
The UN was founded to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, he said. “We must douse the fires of extremism and tackle the root causes of conflict. Peace is a long road that we must travel together – step by step, beginning today.”
KHARTOUM / SOUTH KORDOFAN (21 Sep.) - After three years of civil war in South Kordofan, the humanitarian situation is extremely bad.
“The Nuba in South Kordofan are on the brink of starvation,” Najwa Musa Kinda, executive director of the Nuba Relief and Reconstruction Organisation, told Radio Dabanga.
She described the humanitarian situation in Southern Kordofan since the outbreak of fighting as “extremely bad”. “The Sudanese Air Force is continuously bombing the areas controlled by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), which has prevented the farmers from planting this rainy season.”
“Owing to the constant bombardments on residential areas, as well as vast tracts of farmlands, the people have sought refuge under the ground or in the hills, where there is nothing to drink or eat. They have now also consumed all their planting seeds. The majority of the Nuba who did not flee to South Sudan or towards the north are severely malnourished. They are depending on wild fruits and trees barks’ to stay alive, as relief organisations are not allowed access to the area.”
Kinda said that more than 1.2 million people have been displaced in the Nuba Mountains during the three-year-war. “They are surviving in dire conditions. About 800,000 fled to areas under control of the SPLM-N. Some 90,000 fled from the areas of Rashad and Dalami in April and May this year.”
“The areas controlled by the rebel movement are devoid of any health care services”, the NGO director explained. “Only one hospital and one health clinic are still kind of functioning in Kauda, with one doctor present. The number of patients by far exceeds the capacity of both health institutions. There are many patients now being treated in improvised shelters, and under trees.”
“Both the hospital and the clinic have been bombed intentionally, earlier this year, by the Sudanese Air Force”, the NGO director noted. “An aircraft first took photographs of both health institutions, and a few days later they were bombarded.”
Regarding the Nuba who fled to South Sudan, “they are not better off”. “The UN refused to officially recognise the 80,000 Nuba in Yida camp, and the about 10,000 Nuba in the Jwan Tong camp in South Sudan as refugees. Consequently, they have not been provided any relief.”
She appealed to the UN to immediately intervene, and provide relief to the Nuba people in the refugee camps, and the displaced in the areas controlled by the SPLM-N.
Officials from both countries are expected to meet in Kajo-Keji tomorrow in efforts to smoothen relations between communities of Kajo-Keji and the Madi in Uganda’s Moyo district.
Kajo-Keji County Commissioner Henry Kala Sabuni says there was more violence last night that left two children dead.
Sabuni: “Yesterday in the afternoon there was a rain shower. The Madi attacked a village at Sunyu, which is a distance of a kilometer or two, like that. They came and burnt the houses, over ten because the village is very small and they killed one boy and chopped people with pangas and this one that I got now they are two. And then four wounded badly but they are still under the management of the hospital authority. These people have come with their arrows. They are attacking our boys at Sunyu side, a village called A’baya. They are attacking them with bows and arrows and I have not any other information yet. Their interest is to burn the area around Sera Jale so that they chase the people away from there.”
The Coordinator of South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission in Kajo Keji, Sokiri Henry,says his office has registered more than 8,000 people, mainly women and children, who have fled in Kajo-Keji.
Sokiri says the communities are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.
John: “At the moment we have registered 8,107. The majority are children, women and elderly men. It is an issue of relief, issues of water. There are a lot of things that require urgency. So the number is swelling and we have low capacity to accommodate them and we really want that any agency that has heard what I have said should really rush to help the situation.”
Kajo-Keji and Moyo have had a longstanding border dispute, but the situation was made worse when Ugandan officials attempted to conduct a population census in the disputed area.
The chairperson of the camp’s management committee, Mijak Duta says more than 200 IDPs have not been registered and are waiting to receive food and non-food items.
Dut says the IDPs were scattered in the bushes at the time of registration.
World Food Program field monitor, Carlo Kuot says the food organization is working hard to deliver assistance, but delivery is being delayed by the bad roads.
Kuot says there are over three hundreds thousands metric tons of food stranded along the Yambio-Wau road.
According to South Sudanese and international media, the government of South Sudan has announced their intention to replace all foreign workers with locals by October 15th.
16.09.2014 | Julie Offerdal
“This is very concerning news, and if correct this could have very serious consequences for the people of South Sudan”, said Liv Tørres, Secretary General of Norwegian People’s Aid.
The message came from South Sudanese government officials in a circular this weekend. It remains unclear if the order concerns specific positions listed in the circular or foreign workers in general.
“We assume this order is issued on account of South Sudan’s high unemployment rates, and a need to nationalize the work force”, said Tørres.
“We agree that there should be an increased nationalization, but if they go through with this plan, the consequences for the South Sudanese will be catastrophic. There are four million people in South Sudan today who are in need of emergency aid, the worst food crisis in the world according to the UN. A drastic nationalization of the work force will affect the distribution of emergency aid in this very critical period”, said Tørres.
In addition, the conflict in South Sudan has developed ethnic dimensions, and consequently the UN and international NGOs have needed to hire more foreign workers in order to avoid accusations of ethnic bias.
Norwegian People’s Aid has about 30 foreign employees in South Sudan, most of them from neighboring countries. 2 of them are Norwegian. The organization is one of the largest employers in South Sudan, with about 800 local employees.
“We are one of the organizations who have come the furthest in terms of nationalizing the work force. The reason for this is that we have worked in the country for a very long time, and that capacity building and training of local employees is part of our program”, said Tørres.
While NPA are building local capacity, there will still be a need for foreign employees in key positions for some time to come.
“We will happily engage in dialogue with the South Sudanese government about increasing the nationalization in the workforce, but this should be part of a sensible, long-term plan”, said Tørres.
21 September 2014 – Ahead of this week's opening of the United Nations General Assembly's annual high-level session Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed a host of top Government officials throughout the day, continuing the tradition of meeting arriving world leaders for one-on-one talks spotlighting key international issues.
According to a readout from his spokesperson, among the leaders Mr. Ban met today was Ms. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission. They discussed the strategic partnership between the two organizations and ways to continue to enhance such cooperation in the area of peace and security.
They also reviewed challenges to peace and security in Africa, including the situation in Libya, Mali/Sahel, Somalia, South Sudan and the Great Lakes Region. Mr. Ban reaffirmed the United Nations' commitment to a strengthened partnership with the AU and its Regional Economic Communities. The UN chief also briefed the Chairperson on UN efforts to combat the spread of the Ebola disease.
The Secretary-General also met with Mr. Lamberto Zannier, Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Underscoring today's ever-complex and increasingly transnational challenges to peace and security, Mr. Ban reaffirmed that the UN's partnership with regional organizations under Chapter VIII of the UN Charter was more important than ever.
In that context, the Secretary-General highlighted the growing partnership between the two organizations and commended the OSCE for its key role in peace and security in Europe and in particular for its strong commitment to support a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis.
Among his other meetings, the Secretary-General held talks with Nabil Elaraby, Secretary General of the League of Arab States and thanked him for the continued great cooperation between the two organizations.
On Syria, the two Secretaries-General agreed that there was no military solution to the conflict, and that the situation was getting worse, which could lead to more radicalization in the region. In this connection it was imperative that the international community should cooperate in the face of the scourge represented by ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant].
Turning to Gaza, they agreed that the latest tragic round of violence needed to be the last. Mr. Ban said he hoped international donors would be generous at the conference for the reconstruction of Gaza next month, but it was wrong to keep destroying a place and expect the international community to repeatedly repay for its reconstruction. The cycle of build-destroy, build-destroy had to come to an end. They also discussed the worrying situation in Libya.
Mr. Ban also held separate talks with leaders from the Latin American and Caribbean region, including President Michelle Bachelet Jeria of Chile. He expressed his gratitude for Chile's contributions to the United Nations, including as a troop contributor to UN peacekeeping operations and as a member of the Security Council. They discussed regional developments, as well as issues relating to climate change and women's empowerment.
In talks with Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Foreign Minister of Cuba, the Secretary-General discussed that country's current economic changes, the post-2015 development agenda, climate change and Cuba's role in hosting the Colombian peace talks. They addressed the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and Mr. Ban thanked Cuba for its important contribution of medical doctors as part of international efforts to address the crisis.
A full account of Mr. Ban's meetings today can be found here.
