HIGHLIGHTS

• Hepatitis E surge was confirmed in Upper Nile State refugee campsites and has infected 3,319 people and led to 69 deaths since July 2012.

• A clash between two factions of the same armed group affected about 2,500 people in Pibor town, Jonglei State.

• Food prices to remain high in the border areas.

On 31st January, the ground-breaking ceremony for The Project for Maintaining Juba Na Bari Community Road (USD 1,041,330), funded by the Government of Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots and Human Security Projects*, was held in Tonping in the presence of Mr. Akamatsu, the Representative of Liaison Office of the Government of Japan in Juba, Colonel Harutoshi Tsuchiya, Director of the Joint Coordination Office, Japanese Contingent to UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Mr. Tomoki Kobayashi, Acting Chief Representative of JICA, Mr. Simon Majok Majak, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Roads and Bridges, Mr. Suba Samuel Manase, Minister of Physical Infrastructure of Central Equatoria State, and Ms. Hilde Johnson, SRSG of UNMISS.

Every year, during rainy season, Juba Na Bari community suffers from heavy rain and flood due to its topographical characteristics and lack of drainage system. This has been causing extensive damages to the roads, and limiting the mobility of the people. During rainy season, children are not able to access schools and adults also have difficulty in accessing to work. Further, water-born diseases such as typhoid, diarrhea, and malaria are widely prevalent in the area especially during rainy season. All of the above are resulting in the deterioration of overall socio-economic productivity of the people living in the community.

The Project for Maintaining Juba Na Bari Community Road will pave the 1.7km of Juba Na Bari Road with side ditches for the improved drainage. The Project is the first attempt to gather joint efforts from the Government of Japan, JICA, UNMISS and local government. While the Government of Japan is providing the fund, feasibility study was undertaken by JICA, and actual construction, ie. Procurement, road maintenance and the drainage construction is made through collaboration between MOPI and Japan Self Defense Force Contingent dispatched to UNMISS. The project is expected to benefit more than 3500 households in the community by improving the mobility of people as well as the living condition in general. It is hoped that the outcome of the project will also contribute to enhancing the economy of the Juba city as a whole.

*Japan’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots and Human Security Projects (GGP) is designed particularly to support the community-level socio-economic projects that address Basic Human Needs (BHN) such as access to health, water and sanitation, education, income generatoin skills, and other means to maximize opportunities for individuals. GGP’s approach reflects the Government of Japan’s strong commitment to uphold the notion of ‘Human Security’ as basic human rights for all. All individuals, in particular vulnerable people, are entitled to freedom from fear and freedom from want, with an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potential. By directly supporting the projects implemented by grassroots organizations, GGP encourages bottom-up efforts by the local communities, and realizes their empowerment.

For more information, please contact Ms. Kayo Imamura, Second Secretary, Liaison Office of the Government of Japan in Juba. (e-mail: kayo.imamura@mofa.go.jp)

Efforts to establish “safe reporting sites,” where rebels with the Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, can surrender peacefully, are starting to pay off. Enough Project partner Invisible Children recently reported on their blog:

Five individuals, some of them teenagers (...), escaped into Mboki, the first established Safe Reporting Site, after multiple years in the LRA and cited defection flier messaging as one of their main pieces of encouragement. (…) They walked out on November 30th and are no longer are living a life captive by the LRA.

Invisible Children has worked hand-in-hand with local community leaders, regional security forces, and U.S. military advisors to set up safe reporting sites across areas affected by the LRA in the Central African Republic and South Sudan. In contrast to previous initiatives implemented by MONUSCO in Congo, where the sites were established in remote locations in the bush, these new sites are located close to small villages with permanent deployment of local security forces. This is paramount to ensure the safety of civilians and to protect the defectors.

Escaping from the LRA is not easy. First of all one have to get the courage to run away from the group, with the danger of being killed by the former comrades, if unsuccessful. Then there are the practical questions like where and how do you escape?

In August 2012 I travelled with the U.S. advisors to Gulu in northern Uganda and took part in a series of meetings with former LRA commanders, who advised on how the reporting sites could be created and how best to pass on the message to active LRA fighters. Their main recommendations were that the sites should not be ‘opened too fast’ and that sensitization of the local communities next to the sites was absolutely crucial for success. All it would take would be one case where the local people harmed a LRA defector to make the whole effort fall apart, they warned. Fear of repercussions from local communities and security forces have been and continue to be one of the major stumbling blocks that hinder defections.

The safe reporting sites play a crucial role in a multifaceted strategy needed to end the LRA, and the efforts are having a demonstrated impact. As one example, a defector who surrendered close to Mboki village in CAR was transported into the village on the back of a motorcycle driven by one of the local residents. This would have been impossible just a few months back. Next step should be to replicate these positive initiatives to the LRA affected areas in Congo.

The former LRA commanders also recommended that defectors who recently left the bush and those already re-established in civilian life should broadcast radio messages together during the same recording. The purpose is to counter the widespread fear within the LRA that defectors are killed once the recordings have been done. New joint-radio messages are now broadcasted across the LRA affected areas.

The U.S. advisors are also using innovative strategies to reach LRA fighters who are not able to listen to the radio. The advisors are using an air-borne speaker system—basically huge speakers mounted on a helicopter, which flies over the jungle where groups of LRA are believed to be hiding. Both pre-recorded and live broadcastings can be made. Former high-ranking LRA commander Caesar Acellam has already done a couple of live broadcasts, where he was in the helicopter speaking directly to his former fighters in the bush. Already on the second day when the helicopter flew over the jungle in CAR two people managed to escape from the LRA, citing that they “heard the voice from the sky.”

HIGHLIGHTS

•Revised estimates put the number of people displaced or severely affected by inter-tribal fighting in the Jebel Amir area, North Darfur, at around 100,000.

•20,000 people who returned to South Kordofan between January and November 2012 have been displaced again as a result of renewed fighting.

•An estimated 50,000 Misseriya nomads with 1.2 million livestock are currently in the Abyei area, according to UNISFA.

The UN Mission in South Sudan's new civilian protection strategy perpetuates expectations it will never be able to meet. However, notwithstanding existing challenges, improvements to the mission's current performance in this area seem feasible, according to a new CRU Policy Brief.

This CRU policy brief looks into the UN Mission to the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) and its performance to date. It pays particular attention to UNMISS's contribution to the protection of civilians - the mission's self-proclaimed key responsibility. It examines strategic and operational challenges, dilemmas and trade-offs, and ends with a number of policy considerations on how to overcome existing barriers. The field work for this policy brief was co-funded by the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Center (NOREF).

In the East and Central Africa programme region, 2012 was a year of ups and downs, peaks and troughs of Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) activity. The year saw a rising tide of other problems such as explosions of conflict elsewhere, both in affected states and beyond.

The LRA were high on some agendas at the beginning of 2012 but escalating conflict in DR Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR), a stand-off of sorts in Sudan plus the crises in Mali, North Africa and the Middle East have all focused international attention away from Joseph Kony and his self-proclaimed army.

Disrupting lives and disturbing livelihoods

Recorded LRA activity paints a picture of continued attacks and movements across affected areas. In the last year 202 people were attacked resulting in around 80 people killed. Most concerning is the resulting numbers of displaced communities and associated human flows of either into camps for internally displaced people, across borders or further into the bush.

In the last year more than 5,700 people have been displaced across affected areas. Only 176 people have been returned in the last year. Clearly the LRA are still a threat.

However these figures cloud the situation in some areas and hide some of the gains, most significantly in South Sudan and Uganda.

South Sudan has been almost free of recorded LRA abductions, attacks and killings. Far fewer people have been displaced as well. In Uganda there has been no recorded LRA activity except for the return of a high profile LRA commander – Caesar Achellam.

Weak states and a plethora of non-state actors: DRC and CAR

LRA activity in the DRC and CAR has been far more common than in other affected states. In the last year the LRA killed more than 50 people in CAR and over 30 people in DRC. Both states have recorded massive displacement; over 2,000 in CAR and over 3,300 in DRC.

LRA activity has been limited to peripheral and borderland areas of both countries where state control or even presence is minimal a best.

Even the deployment of 100 US military advisors has not resulted in any real significant gains. The LRA continue to operate in small groups and have a disproportionate effect in terms of their numbers.

The North East of Orientale province in DRC and South East CAR provide perfect sanctuary for LRA rebels. The areas lack infrastructure and basic state security institutions. In addition both governments have failed to deal with non-state armed actors, including the LRA, resulting in a pool of un-demobilised armed men and boys operating over vast swathes of land with near impunity.

These include the LRA but also poachers, disgruntled security forces, local defence units in lieu of effective state security institutions, and nomadic armed groups such as the Mbororo.

The result is an extremely murky picture in which attacks and banditry are rife.

Those responsible are usually hard to identify. Violence occurs to eke out a survival, in retaliation to (or perceived) hostility from other communities and to impose social dominance at a very local level, from village, to community, to sub-prefecture, to province and finally to the national level.

Both countries have also suffered from serious insurrections forcing both governments in Kinshasa and Bangui to prioritise other issues. The M23 rebellion in DRC from early 2012 diverted attention in Kinshasa but also from regional states and abroad to deal with the explosion of conflict in North Kivu province

As a result, Congolese army units left a security vacuum when they were moved out of LRA affected areas to deal with the new rebellion.

In similar circumstances a rebellion flared up in CAR and threatened to topple the government, forcing Bangui to redeploy troops away from LRA affected areas. Negotiations continue but clearly the authorities in Bangui have prioritised dealing with the Seleka rebel alliance to the detriment of the LRA issue.

A beacon of hope? South Sudan and Uganda.

LRA activity has been minimal in South Sudan and non-existent in Uganda in 2012. Zero attacks have been recorded in 2012 in both states. Uganda has been free of LRA activities since 2006 indicating a move from conflict resolution to the development of Northern Uganda.

South Sudan, although still affected by the LRA, has managed to keep them at bay. The young country has seen one of Africa’s most violent civil wars with continued hostility and worse from the North.

Severe underdevelopment plagues the new state. It is especially difficult to provide security, infrastructure and basic social services to the population, most of which is rural.

This situation should provide perfect sanctuary for the LRA, so the fact that activity has been kept at a minimum is extremely good news.

It seems that the Ugandan Army (UPDF) and the South Sudanese Army (SPLA) have worked very well together along side some local defence units (Arrow Boys) in LRA affected areas. In addition civil society groups have been at the forefront of spreading awareness to communities and encouraging defections. These gains must be consolidated.

If Uganda but more importantly South Sudan can maintain low levels of attacks and displaced, defections and returns should follow. Furthermore the effective relationship between the SPLA, UPDF and local defence units must continue alongside the initiatives of local civil society organisations.

Conclusions

The LRA clearly remains a threat to populations. The rebel movement continues to operate with impunity in peripheral areas of East and Central Africa. Most activity is limited to DRC and CAR where state weakness combined with a rising tide of other non-state armed groups provides perfect sanctuary for the LRA.

South Sudan and Uganda are a different story however and have made considerable gains against the LRA, not least due to regional cooperation in tandem with local civil society initiatives.

The top–down approach has worked in some areas to an extent but real gains have been made by including a bottom-up element.

The Arrow Boys in South Sudan plus the reconciliation and development activities of civil society groups in South Sudan and Northern Uganda attest to this.

If significant action is to be taken against the LRA elsewhere, top-down action must take on board bottom-up realities in order to be effective. Attention must be paid to the views of those affected by instability and the ongoing threat of violence.

Many people who are currently in the LRA were abducted as children and based on information from members who have escaped, are constantly expressing a strong desire to leave. There are three major obstacles for LRA defectors who want to escape: 1) Fear of being killed during their escape or by the community when the escape, 2) uncertainty of what awaits them at home and 3) the process of escape – where do they go and how do they get there?

Working with partners and local communities in the region, Invisible Children is helping LRA combatants overcome these fears and safely surrender. Electing to be a part of the Safe Reporting Site (SRS) project, communities that the LRA has victimized over the past three years are now allowing LRA defectors to surrender in their town. This project communicates safe locations for the LRA to escape, places where a security force is present, and where the community has consented to allowing the LRA to surrender there.

We are currently establishing Safe Reporting Sites across Central African Republic and South Sudan and recently had our first success. Five individuals, some of them teenagers (pictured below), escaped into Mboki, the first established Safe Reporting Site, after multiple years in the LRA and cited defection flier messaging as one of their main pieces of encouragement. They had come across a new white flier that had the photo of a former LRA combatant who had escaped only weeks before. They walked out on November 28th and are no longer are living a life captive by the LRA.

Invisible Children is continuing to work with partners and communities to establish Safe Reporting Sites where the LRA can safely surrender. Recent efforts have proved extremely effective and we’ve seen off the charts defection numbers. It’s bringing us one step closer to the end of the LRA.

Geneva – A world-first online resource has been launched to help strengthen the ability of healthcare systems in developing countries respond to AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have produced a comprehensive web-based toolkit that enables countries such as South Sudan, Zimbabwe and Haiti to set up and bolster their own response mechanisms to these major global diseases.

Inspired by a successful capacity development assessment and planning approach in Zambia in 2010 for a Global Fund program, UNDP worked over two years to build and field-test a comprehensive toolkit containing practical advice that would empower government and non-government partners to manage the capacity development process.

The toolkit provides guidance on how to implement Global Fund grants --- achieving the results while at the same time managing the risks --- by training local staff and building the systems necessary to adequately respond to HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.

Supported by the UNDP-Global Fund partnership, the ultimate goal is to lead to a transformation in the health sector that is generated, guided and achieved by those it is meant to benefit, ensuring ownership and sustainability.

The toolkit is available at – www.UNDP-GlobalFund-CapacityDevelopment.org– and comprises:

• the guidelines, which consist of the narrative describing the process of all stages of the capacity development cycle;

• the toolbox, which contains templates, tools, links and other practical resources;

• the rapid assessment tool template, which is aligned to the capacities and indicators in the guidelines and can be adapted to carry out the capacity assessment and planning.

In Zimbabwe, local stakeholders are using the toolkit to implement a US$204.8 million grant and have been producing encouraging results.

Zimbabwe has achieved one of the sharpest declines in HIV prevalence in Southern Africa, from 23.7% in 2001 to just over 13% in 2011 according to the latest UNAIDS progress report.

In Tajikistan, UNDP has enhanced Global Fund grants by funding ongoing capacity development activities. At the request of the Ministry of Health, the capacity development toolkit is currently being used to identify the priorities to strengthen national implementation of the country’s HIV, TB and Malaria programmes.

UNDP introduced the toolkit also as an application for smart phones making it easy for anyone with a mobile phone to get straightforward and practical information on how to set up and strengthen response mechanisms to HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark has today addressed the global fight against HIV/AIDS during a speech about health as a gateway to global development at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

Access the mobile version of the UNDP-Global Fund Capacity Development toolkit here: http://www.undp-globalfund-capacitydevelopment.org/mhome

January 31, 2012 (JUBA) – At least 300 refugees from Sudan’s South Kordofan are crossing the border into Yida, South Sudan’s largest refugee camp, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

The influx of refugees, it says, calls for creation of new sites away from the “volatile” border area where Yida, currently hosting an estimated 61,000 Sudanese refugees, is located. The move, it added, seeks to ensure the safety of the refugees and maintain the civilian character of the settlement.

However, while a new site was chosen in South Sudan’s Unity State for one such settlement, UNHCR says it plans to open other camps in the state in order to settle these people.

About 20,000 people, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says, were in January displaced, following renewed fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N), which intensified in October last year.

Meanwhile, over 67,000 displaced people, according to IOM and the government-initiated Voluntary Return and Resettlement Commission (VRRC), were registered in 13 localities of South Kodofan between January and November 2012.

“IOM, in collaboration with the VRRC and with support from HAC [Humanitarian Aid Commission] in South Kordofan, is currently collating and verifying the number of returnees to South Kordofan following the October clashes,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) says in its 21-27 January bulletin.

In addition, VRRC say it estimates that over 160,000 people from South Kordofan remain displaced in neighbouring states within Sudan.

Absence of a proper framework to provide overall guidance to planning and implementation of return assistance, IOM maintains, is a major setback to emergency assistance provision in South Kordofan.

In a related development, amnesty international has expressed concerns over the plight of people facing the brunt of conflict in Sudan’s conflict region.

Alex Neve, the Secretary General, Amnesty International Canada, who visited South Kordofan, last week, said the bombings of innocent civilians in the region by Sudanese government forces violates international humanitarian law.

“There is absolutely no doubt that this indefensible bombing campaign violates international humanitarian law – the repeated indiscriminate air attacks, as well as possibly direct attacks on civilians, by the Sudanese armed forces, constitute war crimes. So why does it attract so little international attention?” he asked.

Neve, in an article published on Amnesty’s global human rights blog, also wondered why the UN Security Council resolutions only “urge and encourage but do not condemn and deplore” the negative things happening in South Kordofan.

"The Sudanese government plays games with UN, African Union and other officials, promising that aid access will open up, but consistently failing to follow through.”

He describes the Sudanese government’s “cruel” refusal to allow independent humanitarian access to this area as part of the tripartite arrangement, as an action “beyond measure”.

(ST)

January 31, 2013 (JUBA) – Peace talks organised by local leaders in Pibor county of South Sudan’s Jonglei state with David Yau Yau’s rebels have been delayed by recent clashes in the town, officials say.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Thursday, Pibor county commissioner Joshua Konyi said efforts are being exerted by members of Jonglei state’s parliament to reach the militia group in their hideouts in the Lekuangole area.

“The MPs [Members of Parliament] prepared the letter [to invite rebel leader Yau Yau] but it is not yet sent,” said Commissioner Konyi.

At least three people died on Sunday when South Sudan’s army (SPLA) clashed with James Kuburin, a former rebel leader previously allied to David Yau Yau, who surrendered to the SPLA in December 2012.

Kuburin and his forces surrendered themselves to the SPLA in Pibor on 27 January but a dispute arose when a group of his men tried to enter Pibor market with their weapons.

The United Nations estimates that 2,500 people were forced to flee the fighting. Witnesses told Sudan Tribune that the SPLA had fired "indiscriminately" and that many buildings caught fire.

On Monday, the SPLA said that the security situation in Pibor had returned to normal and Commissioner Konyi said Thursday that people had to returned to the area.

Since the fighting, the whereabouts of Kuburin and his estimated 200 strong force remains unknown.

Jodi Jonglei Boyoris, who represents Pibor county in Jonglei state assembly, said the recent tension in Pibor town dims hopes for realisation of a peaceful solution to the conflict.

“I think it will take some time to get the negotiation started [with Yau Yau],” the MP said.

Yau Yau first rebelled in 2010 following defeat in local parliamentary elections, alleging that the seat he was competing for was fraudulently won by the ruling party’s candidate, Jodi Jonglei Boyoris.

The former civilian accepted a presidential amnesty in 2011 and was made a General in the SPLA, but re-launched his rebellion in April 2012, allegedly with the backing of the Sudanese government.

(ST)

Despite surplus cereal production, food insecurity persists in many areas

KEY MESSAGES

• As of January 2013, about 3.5 million people in Sudan face Stressed and Crisis (IPC Phase 2 and 3) levels of food insecurity, with 80 percent of the food insecure population in conflict-affected areas of Darfur, South Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Abyei. Last year at the same time, about 4.5 million people were estimated to be food insecure.

• The decrease in the food insecure population is mostly attributed to the good harvest this year. Total area planted during the 2012/13 season is more than double last year’s figure, and yields are expected to be significantly higher than last year due to favorable rainfall and decreased pest infestations. A surplus of 1.41 million metric tons (MT) of sorghum and millet is expected. However, high production costs (due to the shortage and high cost of labor) have discouraged some farmers from harvesting, which could increase post-harvest losses.

• With abundant supply and household consumption of own stocks, consumer prices of sorghum and millet are declining but remain 41 percent higher than last year and 123 percent higher than the five-year average. Inflation and increased production costs are keeping prices high.

• In spite of the surplus national cereal production, Stressed and Crisis levels of food insecurity persist in South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Darfur, and Abyei due to the impacts of conflict on production, market access, and livelihood options. Crisis levels are expected to persist at least through June in SPLM-N-controlled areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, and conflict-affected areas of Darfur (Jebel Mara and Serief Beni Hissein areas).

Syria - As 80 Filipinas and one Vietnamese flew out of Lebanon's Rafic Hariri airport on Wednesday (30/1/2013) IOM has expressed concern about the situation of thousands of other foreign migrant workers believed to still be inside Syria.

"Many have no means to leave the areas where they are working and risk becoming trapped. Others have no documents and therefore don't have the same level of legal protection accorded to citizens," says IOM Regional Coordinator for Syria, Othman Belbesi.

IOM believes there are as many as 120,000 migrant workers still in Syria, of which 60,000 may be in priority need of assistance for evacuation, transit or border reception, repatriation, health services and psychosocial support.

Some 6,800 stranded migrants have already contacted their embassies and IOM directly to communicate their urgent need for repatriation assistance.

They include vulnerable women at risk from human trafficking, the elderly and sick, and migrants from countries unable to assist their nationals to leave, especially those with no diplomatic representation in Syria.

The Filipina migrants who left Beirut for the Philippines on Wednesday had been working in Syria as domestic helpers for periods ranging from a few years to 30 years and had taken shelter at the Philippines Embassy in Damascus. The embassy was also sheltering a stranded Vietnamese woman.

Felisa, 51, was one of the group. She told IOM that some of her colleagues who decided to stay on in Syria expected the situation to improve. Many did not want to return to the Philippines after working for years in Syria and becoming part of Syrian society.

"I have been living in Syria since 1987, working as a housekeeper for the same family for almost three generations. They call me "grandma" and everyone cried when I decided to leave. My husband passed away many years ago, and my employer sent my only son to an international school in Damascus. I went on vacation to Manila once every two or three years. I considered my employer’s family as mine. They are Muslims and I follow the United Church of Christ. But they never interfered or prevented me from praying. But now we hear shelling around the compound all day long. I cannot go to the Church anymore, because there are gangs and militias in the streets. I want to go home now because I have worked more than enough. It is time for retirement now and I need to pray," she says.

IOM continues to receive requests from embassies to assist in the repatriation of their citizens. It is currently working on requests from the embassies of Sudan, the Philippines, Chad and Yemen to evacuate a total of 443 of their nationals.

A group of 65 vulnerable migrants is currently ready to travel. They will return to Egypt (40), South Sudan (20), Belarus (3), Nigeria (1) and Liberia (1).

To date, IOM, working closely with UNHCR and local partners, has assisted 3, 223 migrant workers from 35 different countries and their families, to safely return to their countries of origin.

IOM’s humanitarian work in Syria and neighbouring countries has received financial support from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), Chile, China, Cyprus, Germany, the Philippines, Switzerland, the UK, the US, UNHCR and IOM’s own emergency fund.

In January 2013, IOM appealed for US$ 35 million in its consolidated appeal, including US$13.6 million to fund the repatriation of stranded migrants and provide emergency aid to the internally displaced and other conflict-affected people in Syria. To date, no contribution has been received for activities in Syria under this year’s appeal.

For more information, please contact

Monica Goracci IOM HQ Email: mgoracci@iom.int Tel. +41 22 717 92 71

An epidemic of hepatitis E is escalating across refugee camps in Maban County, South Sudan. So far Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has treated 3,991 patients in its health facilities in the camps and has recorded 88 deaths, including 15 pregnant women.

Hepatitis E is a virus that causes liver disease and can lead to acute liver failure and death, and is particularly dangerous for pregnant women. Like cholera, the virus spreads in environments with poor sanitation and contaminated water. There is no cure, but its symptoms are treatable.

“We have been doing everything we can to care for people with hepatitis E, but there is no treatment for the disease,” says José-Luis Dvorzak, physician and MSF medical coordinator in Maban County. “We suspect this outbreak is far from over, and many more people will die.”

The first cases appeared in June 2012 and three camps, Jamam, then Gendrassa and Batil have seen the most cases so far. Numbers still have not peaked in Batil camp, where death rates have steadily risen from one or two a week in November, to 10 a week in January.

Over the past two weeks, MSF has identified a further 41 suspect hepatitis E cases in Doro camp, two of whom have died, meaning that all of the camps in Maban County are now affected by the outbreak.

This hepatitis E outbreak was able to take hold because of poor water and sanitation conditions – such as inadequate distribution of clean water, limited access to functioning latrines and too few hand-washing points – in the Maban refugee camps, which host more than 110,000 Sudanese refugees.

“The refugee camps should not only be a place of safety from conflict, but also a place where refugees can stay alive and are safe from preventable diseases and outbreaks,” says Laurence Sailly, MSF emergency coordinator in Doro camp.

While continuing to concentrate on the extremely heavy medical workload of caring for hepatitis E patients and treating all the other patients with other pathologies who present in its field hospitals, MSF teams are also filling in gaps in emergency activities, such as pumping, treating and distributing around 2.5 million litres of water per week in Doro camp.

Because of the geographical location of Maban County – a flood plain in the rainy season and a parched wasteland in the dry season – the refugees in these camps are completely reliant on humanitarian assistance for the food, water and healthcare they need to survive. MSF has been working in Maban County since November 2011, and is the main healthcare provider across the four refugee camps, running three field hospitals and seven outreach health posts.

February 1, 2013 (JUBA) - Following protests and inter-ethnic conflict in South Sudan’s Western Bahr el Ghazal in December, the state has launched an reconciliation process to promote dialogue and confidence building among citizens.

The government’s proposed transfer of the administrative headquarters of Wau County led to protests in December, the polices response to which led to the death of 20 people in Wau town, collated figures from government sources indicate.

Local leaders have now accepted move from Wau town to Bagari, which is 12 miles south west of the state capital. Many members of the Balanda ethnic group, initially rejected the change, perceiving it to be an attempt to marginalise their community.

The government, however, argues that the move is necessary to provide better services to people in rural areas. Investigation committees are looking into the incidents in Wau as well as the killing of 26 Dinka civilians in the Farajallah area, some 48 miles south west of Wau town, also in December.

Disunity and hatred amongst people can only breed underdevelopment and dislodge the peace and stability people enjoy in their communities, the Governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Rizik Zachariah Hassan said Friday.

Hassan was speaking at an official function launching dialogue and confidence building among citizens of the state during which he observed that when people are united and respect different opinions and view, it will lead to development and progress.

Governor Hassan told participants that it is their responsibility to come up with projects that would benefit the community they are serving and to ensure that unity, respect and understanding are maintained and become the order of the day in the community.

“I have always emphasised on peace building and I continue to put more emphasis on it here today. My advice to our people, particularly young people, the youth group, is that you must work in partnership and promote unity in the village, without which you can hardly achieve your target goals,” he said.

He called on the community to take ownership of the peace and confidence building projects in their areas.

He also tasked the community elders to engage both the past and the present committee members into mature dialogue, emphasising that without genuine dialogue and negotiation between the people, the misunderstanding that exists between the two people would not be resolved.

“Please bury your past differences and work towards a common understanding and the advanced development of this state,” Hassan reportedly told the gathering.

State minister of information Alfred Derek Uya said the meeting was aimed at discussing issues confronting the state and to layout plans for implementation.

"The conference will be discussing the need to live in peace, take reconciliation as way to mend ties and putting behind the past in order move together and live as one people and the same family", Uya told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

(ST)

February 1, 2013 (JUBA/RUMBEK) - Young men arrested in relation to recent violence in Lakes state will be held at a special secret prison without access to their own lawyers or human rights officials, the troubled state’s new military caretaker governor has said.

Prisoners at the special prison, which is in an unknown location in Rumbek, will only be accessed by a government appointed attorney, Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol said on a visit to Cueibet County on Thursday.

"No human rights people" will be able to visit this prison nor would families be able to visit relatives held there, the acting military governor said.

"You and your God will stay in that prison” added the caretaker Governor, who replaced Chol Tong Mayay on January 22. Mayay was sacked without warning by South Sudanese president Salva Kiir, apparently because he had struggled to maintain security in the state.

Earlier this month, clashes between sections of the Dinka ethnic group erupted in Rumbek Central county, killing 25 people and injuring more than 30.

On Tuesday, Dhuol directed the commissioners of all eight counties in Lakes state to confront cattle raiders in their communities and bring them to justice.

He has also warned members of Lakes state’s legislative assembly to stop debating politics in parliament, saying he will shut down parliament if political topics continue.

In a rally at the Cueibet County headquarters on Thursday, Dhuol said he had been appointed to oversee security reform and bring peace back to the state. Those who raided cattle from neighbouring states must immediately to return them, he said, warning that the military would retrieve the cattle by force, if they were not returned.

Dhuol warned that chiefs and commissioner who fail to return looted cows will be sacked and arrested.

DISARMAMENT

Thousands of young men still have illegal firearms in Lakes state, despite a disarmament campaign initiated in 2010. Dhuol has ordered firearms registration to start immediately, but no deadline for the process has been announced.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir directed the Lakes State caretaker Governor to carry out an immediate, comprehensive and unconditional collection of illegal weapons held by civilians and unauthorised groups, according to a senior government official.

Kiir, in a briefing with the new interim governor, reportedly said he does not want to hear any more reports from Lakes state about people being killed in ambushes or by cattle raiders.

"The mission we gave you is to ensure that law and order is restored in Lakes. You have to initiate and draw up clear action plans to bring stability to the area. Our people should learn how to live in peace so that they would be able to enjoy the benefits of being in an independent state. We did not fight for independence so that we could turn against ourselves when freedom we wanted is gained", an aide quoted President Kiir as telling Dhoul over the phone on Friday.

The president also instructed the conduct of thorough searches for weapons in the state and the immediate identification and arrest of ring leaders in connection with an attack in a dispute over grazing land and water in a rural area in the eastern part of the state, between rival clans from the Dinka Agar ethnic group.

“One of your immediate tasks is to form [a] fact finding committee to conduct a full and thorough investigation to establish the root cause. The committee should identify the ring leaders and make necessary recommendations on which the government will act. The law will deal with those who will be found involved. Whatever their political or social status will be, they will have to answer justice. There should be no excuses for inciting violence and killings”, added Kiir, during the telephone conversation with the interim military governor.

The caretaker governor, a source at the presidency said, told president that he has held series of meetings with county commissioners and key members of state legislative assembly to chat a way to bring peace and build trust between communities in the area.

In January, armed clansmen with modern weapons, allegedly from Rumbek East County, clashed with members of a rival ethnic group in neigbouring Rumbek Central County, forcing them to retreat into Rumbek town, capital of Lakes state.

The initial attempts by the state authorities, including a night-time curfew and deployment of extra soldiers and police, did not immediately contain the clashes. It is widely believed that this is what could have led to the sacking of the former governor.

Lakes state is one of the many areas in South Sudan were pastoral communities have repeatedly clashed over access to grazing land, water resources and cattle ownership.

Neighbouring Jonglei state has been undergoing a disarmament campaign since March, but cattle raids and insecurity still persist.

(ST)

Ten people are said to have died of hunger in Eastern Equatoria State.

State Governor Louis Lobong Lojore, said the deceased were residents of the Greater Kapoeta area, where severe hunger has been reported.

Radio Miraya reported last week that most of the produce from the last harvest in the state were destroyed by worms.

Governor Lobong, said the situation has been made worse because bordering countries have stopped traders from exporting food to the state.

“We do not know what is the reason people planted several times but all failed to germinate and sometimes back traders used to bring some food items from the neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda and this years these countries are not allowing maize to be exported from their countries because they have the similar problems. Cows, goats are in a market in Kapoita. There is no market; nobody is buying because they are just too many and is becoming very cheap to the point that a goat cannot afford to buy a bag of sorghums. This is a problem that people are facing. I had appealled to the national government, international organizations, bussiness community to come in,” the governor said.

Governor Lobong, said that the crime rate is likely to rise as a result of famine.

During a recent visit to Yida refugee camp in South Sudan, Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Richard Marles, was able to see for himself the kind of impact Australia’s humanitarian funding to the country is having.

Hosting around 60,000 people and currently receiving around 300 every day, Yida is the largest of seven camps established to cope with the steady stream of refugees fleeing ongoing violence in Sudan. Just 15 kilometres from the north-south border, the place is truly remote.

More than 175,000 people have now sought refuge in South Sudan. While this not a huge number—especially when compared to somewhere like Kenya, which hosts 450,000 refugees in just one camp—the remoteness of the camps makes it a very complex operation.

In particular, the rudimentary road network and the long rainy season that only subsided in November has made these areas particularly difficult to reach. There are also very real security concerns because some camps are so close to the border with Sudan.

Sustenance for refugees

The United Nations World Food Programme, one of Australia’s main partners in South Sudan, provides a food ration to everyone in Yida as well as curative nutrition services. This is helping, but while high malnutrition rates have dropped, new arrivals still tend to be dehydrated due to the long journeys they have made to cross the border, often on foot.

At the camp, Mr. Marles announced Australia’s $5 million contribution to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which is coordinating the operation. South Sudan remains a focus of Australia’s aid program in Africa and - given high levels of need across the country—maintaining humanitarian funding will continue to be important.

Responding to the refugee crisis in South Sudan is adding to an already stretched humanitarian operation. Last year, food insecurity affected a staggering 4.7 million people—over half the country’s population. Widespread flash floods and insecurity due to inter-communal and border-area violence caused substantial internal displacement.

South Sudan has some of the worst development indicators in the world and access to services is extremely limited. Over half of the country’s 8.26 million population lives on less than a dollar a day—unable to obtain a minimum level of basic needs—and life expectancy is estimated to be around 42 years of age. Only a quarter of people can read and the maternal mortality rate is the highest in the world.

In 2012, Australia provided over $40 million in assistance to South Sudan.

The number of dead from the Syria conflict continues to rise after new clashes across the country. Two days of severe fighting on 30-31 January in the province of Idlib left 47 people dead. The offensive by the Syrian army against opposition strongholds has continued with attacks and fresh clashes in Southern Damascus, Aleppo, and the city of Homs. The number of Syrian refugees continued to rise over the past week, amounting to a total of 733,196.

The French-led ground offensive against Islamist rebels continued in Mali with French troops securing Kidal airport and entering the city of Kidal on 29 January. Aerial operations targeting Islamic militant training camps and arms depots around Kidal and Tessalit were initiated by the French troops on 2 February. Military progress in the centre and north of Mali has improved humanitarian access, although conditions remain unstable.

The recent floods in southern Africa have affected several countries in the region. In Mozambique, an additional 19,000 people have been temporarily displaced, bringing the total number of temporarily displaced to 169,000.

Global Emergency Overview web interface

02/04/2013 21:47 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Feb 04, 2013 (AFP) - Sudan on Monday accused South Sudan of continuing to occupy six points along their disputed frontier and of failing to withdraw from a buffer zone as agreed in September.

The two sides, which fought along their undemarcated border last March and April, have failed to demilitarise the frontier despite months of African Union mediation and two presidential summits since early January.

"We confirm that South Sudan is still occupying six points inside Sudan," the official SUNA news agency quoted army spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad as saying.

"The spokesman... confirmed this issue will have a dangerous impact on the peoples of the two states while negatively impacting peace and stability on the borders."

Troops were to withdraw 10 kilometres (six miles) from the de facto line of control under key deals which Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir hailed as ending conflict.

The deals also allowed for a resumption of South Sudanese oil exports through northern pipelines, a move vital for both stricken economies.

Saad said Khartoum has informed the United Nations that Sudan "doesn't have any troops inside South Sudanese borders or the buffer zone."

On January 17 South Sudan said it had begun withdrawing soldiers to create the Safe Demilitarised Border Zone (SDBZ) designed to cut support for insurgencies in Sudan.

Both nations tend to employ "a lot of lip service" when discussing troop redeployments, a foreign diplomat told AFP.

Khartoum accuses South Sudan of supporting rebels over the border in the northern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. This has been a major obstacle to implementing the September agreements.

Sudan has insisted that the oil deal cannot go ahead until the security issue is addressed.

The government in Juba in turn says Khartoum supports rebels on Southern territory.

South Sudan's army on Sunday accused Sudan of launching a deadly air assault along the border in Upper Nile state which adjoins South Kordofan. Khartoum denied the claims.

On Monday, local government officials in South Kordofan reportedly accused "South Sudanese militia" of attacking nomads on the Sudanese side of the boundary and said troop reinforcements had been sent, including to the country's main oil-producing area of Heglig.

"The government of South Sudan continues supporting disturbances against the border of South Kordofan and we are ready to react to any aggression," said Bakri Salih, the head of Keilak district. He was quoted by the Sudanese Media Center which is close to the security apparatus.

South Sudan separated in July 2011 under a peace agreement that ended a 1983-2005 civil war.

str-it/boc

© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

The main thematic focus for the Republic of Korea’s month-long Presidency of the Security Council would be civilian protection, Ambassador Kim Sook said today, briefing reporters at Headquarters on the 15-nation body’s February work programme, which also featured meetings on United Nations peacekeeping operations in South Sudan and Kosovo.

Pledging full cooperation among Council members and the Organization’s wider membership to ensure the Council worked effectively and efficiently, Mr. Kim said the open debate on protection of civilians in armed conflict, slated for 12 February, would provide an opportunity for Member States to enhance awareness about protection measures, as well as to identify opportunities and challenges on the horizon.

With a presidential statement as the expected outcome of the meeting, he said the Republic of Korea would propose possible sub-themes for the discussion: strengthening accountability to increase adherence to international humanitarian and human rights law; upgrading protection mandates of United Nations peacekeeping operations; and bolstering protection specifically for women, children and medical workers in the field. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay were expected to provide briefings, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea would preside over the meeting.

Mr. Kim said that the Council’s second thematic meeting, scheduled for 13 February, would focus on cooperation with the European Union and feature a briefing by High Representative Catherine Ashton. Turning to the remainder of the programme of work, he said the Council planned meetings or consultations to consider mandate renewals for the United Nations Office in Burundi (BNUB) (13 February), the Panel of Experts for the Committee on Sudan Sanctions (7 and 21 February), and the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) (22 February).

The Council would be briefed in open session tomorrow, 5 February, on the situation in Guinea-Bissau, he said, adding that it would hold consultations regarding other country-specific matters during the month, including on the work of: the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) (5 February); the situation in Mali, including the composition and deployment readiness of African-led troops in that country’s north; and the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) (7 February).

He went on to say that, on 7 February, the Council would be briefed in open session by the representatives of the United Kingdom and Morocco, co-leaders of the recent mission to Yemen. The quarterly debate on the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) would be held in the afternoon of 22 February, and the monthly briefing on the Middle East was set for 26 February.

Mr. Kim also flagged a wrap-up meeting his delegation would hold on the last day of the month to discuss the Council’s work and enhance transparency and cooperation with the wider United Nations membership. He said that other “pressing issues”, such as non-proliferation and the situation in Syria, were included in the “footnotes” of the Council’s work plan, and could be possibly discussed.

Answering several questions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in his national capacity, he said that in recent weeks there had been much “busy activity” at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and that “everybody is watching”. The non-proliferation issue was in the “footnotes” and he assumed the Council would convene “very swiftly”, if or when the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea carried out a nuclear test. During consultations on the matter over the past month, he had seen that all Council members were “very unified and resolute”, and expected their stance to remain the same when the Council moved to condemn “such provocation.”

“I would like to see the Security Council take strong measures,” he continued, responding to another question on the matter. He said that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had violated Council resolutions “time and again”, even conducting two missile tests in 2012. Now that country was threatening to “fire on” those that joined in implementing recent Council sanctions measures. That was obviously a threat to regional peace and security, as well as a direct attempt to undermine the Council’s authority. With so many serious issues at stake, he hoped for swift and resolute action from the Council, he reiterated.

On Syria, he told another correspondent that it was “no secret” that there was disagreement among Council members on the issue. During a recent closed-door briefing, Joint United Nations-Arab League Special Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi had urged the Council to take a “strong lead” and ensure that all elements of the Geneva Communiqué on Syria were implemented. In any case, the Council would not lose sight of the situation on the ground and he expected that it could consult on the issue during the month.

As for whether delegations would discuss the Syrian crisis during the thematic debate on civilian protection, he expected that Member States could raise matters regarding civilian casualties and the refugee situation, with such displaced persons now facing harsh winter conditions. He also said that “heinous” terrorist acts were being perpetrated in the country that violated international humanitarian law.

On other matters, he confirmed one correspondent’s assertion that a letter had been sent to the Security Council from Syria’s Permanent Representative, regarding the alleged Israeli airstrike in that country. The letter had been received, but no further action had been taken.

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