organization:united nations

  • An Ocean of Lies on Venezuela : Abby Martin & UN Rapporteur Expose Coup
    https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/an-ocean-of-lies-on-venezuela-abby-martin-and-un-rapporteur-expose-c

    On the eve of another US war for oil, Abby Martin debunks the most repeated myths about Venezuela and uncovers how US sanctions are crimes against humanity with UN Investigator and Human Rights...

  • Al menos 60 niños vietnamitas no acompañados han desaparecido en Holanda | Planeta Futuro | EL PAÍS
    https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/04/02/planeta_futuro/1554211145_407046.html

    Entre 2013 y 2017, unos 1.080 menores no acompañados desaparecieron en Holanda de diversos centros para solicitantes de asilo. De estos, al menos 60 eran adolescentes vietnamitas acogidos en refugios especiales para evitar que fueran víctimas del tráfico de personas. Entraron en el país de forma ilegal y contaban con la protección de las autoridades. Los procedentes de Vietnam se consideran muy vulnerables por ser los preferidos de los traficantes, que supuestamente los llevan luego a Francia, el Reino Unido o Alemania. Allí pueden acabar en la prostitución o explotados en salones de manicura. La situación evidencia la falta de coordinación de la Unión Europea en el caso de los niños extranjeros solos.

    “Los vietnamitas desaparecen siempre, a pesar de nuestros esfuerzos”, asegura Johan van der Have, encargado de los refugios —situados al norte y al sur del país— en el programa Argos, de la emisora holandesa de radio VPRO, recién emitido. Ha sido elaborado junto con el colectivo internacional de periodistas Lost in Europe, del que participan, entre otros, la BBC y el rotativo británico The Guardian. Los reporteros de Argos viajaron a Alemania, el Reino Unido y Francia, y revisaron cientos de mensajes internos de la Agencia Central para la Recepción de Solicitantes de Asilo (COA, en sus siglas neerlandesas). De este modo, pudieron presentar la cifra general de 1.080 desaparecidos. Sobre la más concreta, los 60 vietnamitas, recabaron además un testimonio inquietante. Los trabajadores sociales holandeses dijeron tener “la sensación de que los locales protegidos son vistos por los que trafican como estaciones de paso: el mismo día podemos perder de vista a varios de estos menores”, señalan. No pueden salir sin permiso, aunque a medida que se hacen mayores las reglas se adaptan a su situación y grado de madurez.

    En diciembre de 2018, el ministerio holandés de Justicia aseguró que no tenían en esos momentos datos sobre una posible red involucrada en la desaparición de los niños procedentes de Vietnam. Sin embargo, en 2012, Bureau Beke, un organismo especializado en estudios de seguridad y delincuencia, señaló que la policía había encontrado un número creciente de vietnamitas sin documentos trabajando en los cultivos ilegales de cannabis. Y en 2017, la policía militar indicó en un comunicado que había vietnamitas [sin documentación en regla] que dicen ser víctimas de traficantes. “Sospechamos que hay una organización detrás”, aseguraba. Tras las revelaciones del programa, el Gobierno ha anunciado una nueva investigación independiente a cargo del centro especializado en analizar el tráfico de personas. Sus conclusiones serán luego remitidas a la Fiscalía. El Parlamento había pedido una reacción oficial sin más demoras.

    D’autres infos encore dans l’article, je n’ai rien vu en français...

    #migrants #trafic #disparitions

  • #Yémen : de l’école au cimetière, les petits boulots des #enfants de la #guerre - La République des Pyrénées.fr
    http://www.larepubliquedespyrenees.fr/2019/03/24/yemen-de-l-ecole-au-cimetiere-les-petits-boulots-des-enfants

    D’après l’Organisation internationale du travail, le Yémen est le pays où le travail des enfants est le plus répandu dans le monde arabe.

    Et, avec le chaos de la guerre, les enfants sont les plus exposés, des filles étant mariées avant 15 ans et des garçons recrutés comme #enfants_soldats.

    En novembre 2018, le Fonds des Nations unies pour l’enfance (Unicef) a qualifié le Yémen d’"#enfer sur terre" pour les enfants, 80% des mineurs ayant besoin d’aide.

  • British Special Forces fighting on same side as Yemen child soldiers triggers UN investigation | Daily Mail Online
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6869027/British-Special-Forces-fighting-Yemen-child-soldiers-triggers-investiga

    An exclusive report in The Mail on Sunday that British Special Forces have been wounded while fighting on the same side as child soldiers in Yemen has triggered a United Nations investigation.

    Our devastating expose last week told how Special Boat Service commandos had been wounded during top-secret operations in the conflict that has left millions facing starvation.

    The report sparked furious questions in the Commons over Britain’s complicity in its support for Saudi Arabia, which is allied to the Yemeni government fighting rebels backed by Iran in the four-year civil war.

    #yemen #enfants #civilisés

  • Humanitarian snapshot : casualties in the Gaza strip | 30 Mar 2018 - 22 Mar 2019

    Since 30 March 2018, the Gaza Strip has witnessed a significant increase in Palestinian casualties in the context of mass demonstrations and other activities along Israel’s perimeter fence with Gaza, as part of the “Great March of Return” (GMR). Additional casualties have resulted from hostilities and access related incidents. The large number of casualties among unarmed Palestinian demonstrators, including a high percentage of demonstrators injured by live ammunition, has raised concerns about excessive use of force by Israeli troops. Exposure of children to violence and lack of protection for medical teams are also of concern. Despite significant assistance provided, addressing the resulting multiple needs of the mass influx of casualties remains challenging due to the lack of funds, years of blockade, the internal Palestinian political divide and a chronic energy crisis.


    https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-snapshot-casualties-gaza-strip-30-mar-2018-22-mar-2019
    #Gaza #statistiques #chiffres #2019 #morts #décès #Palestine #frontières #les_frontières_tuent #Israël #visualisation #blessures #blessés #décompte

  • Lebanon looks to hardline eastern Europe approach for Syrian refugees

    Lebanon said on Wednesday it wanted to follow the example of eastern EU states that have largely rejected refugees as a way of resolving its own refugee crisis.
    Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil sympathized with the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia’s refusal to accept refugee distribution quotas proposed by the EU after the 2015-16 migrant crisis, when more than a million people streamed into Europe, mostly from Syria.
    Populist eastern EU leaders including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Poland’s powerbroker Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Czech President Milos Zeman, among others, blasted German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “open door” policy on accepting migrants during that period.
    These countries “were acting in their national interest and decided that the redistribution of refugees among European countries is not in their national interest, although they faced EU sanctions for that,” Bassil told reporters in Prague.
    “I would like this attitude to be an inspiration for Lebanon, because every state must make national interests its top priority and at this moment Lebanon’s key national interest is the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland,” he added.
    Lebanon says it is hosting 1.5 million Syrians — around a quarter of its own population. Less than one million of them are registered with UN refugee agency the UNHCR.
    Most of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in insecurity and depend on international aid.
    The International Monetary Fund has said their presence has led to increased unemployment and a rise in poverty due to greater competition for jobs.
    The influx has also put strain on Lebanese water and electrical infrastructure.
    Lebanese government officials and politicians have ramped up calls for Syrians to return home, but the United Nations has consistently warned that conditions in the war-ravaged country are not suitable for such returns.
    “I would like Prague or Beirut to host a meeting, an initiative of countries seeking to plan and ensure the return of Syrian refugees to their country,” said Bassil.
    “This would be immensely useful for both Lebanon and Syria and in general it would be the best solution to the human, humanitarian and political crisis we have right now and which could get worse in the future,” he said.


    http://www.arabnews.com/node/1473496/middle-east
    #Liban #it_has_begun #modèle_hongrois #asile #migrations #réfugiés #réfugiés_syriens #intérêt_national #populisme #modèle_Visegrad #retour_au_pays

  • EU to end ship patrols in scaled down Operation Sophia

    The European Union will cease the maritime patrols that have rescued thousands of migrants making the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing from North Africa to Europe, but it will extend air missions, two diplomats said on Tuesday (26 March).

    A new agreement on the EU’s Operation Sophia was hammered out after Italy, where anti-migrant sentiment is rising, said it would no longer receive those rescued at sea.

    Operation Sophia’s mandate was due to expire on Sunday but should now continue for another six months with the same aim of deterring people smugglers in the Mediterranean. But it will no longer deploy ships, instead relying on air patrols and closer coordination with Libya, the diplomats said.

    “It is awkward, but this was the only way forward given Italy’s position, because nobody wanted the Sophia mission completely shut down,” one EU diplomat said.

    A second diplomat confirmed a deal had been reached and said it must be endorsed by all EU governments on Wednesday.

    The tentative deal, however, could weaken Operation Sophia’s role in saving lives in the sea where nearly 2,300 people perished last year, according to United Nations figures.

    From the more than one million refugees and migrants who made it to the bloc during a 2015 crisis, sea arrivals dropped to 141,500 people in 2018, according to the United Nations.

    Still, Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, has said his country would no longer be the main point of disembarkation for people trying to cross the Mediterranean by boat and rescued by Sophia’s patrol ships.

    Rome called for other countries to open up their ports instead, but no other EU states came forward. Diplomats said countries including Spain, France and Germany signalled they were not willing to host more rescued people – most of whom are fleeing wars and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

    However, EU governments did want the mission to continue because they felt it had been effective in dissuading smugglers.

    The compromise discussion in Brussels did not discuss military aspects of the role of air patrols. But the new arrangement will involve more training of the coast guard in Libya, where lawlessness has allowed smugglers to openly operate sending people to Europe by sea.

    But it would be in line with the EU’s policy of turning increasingly restrictive on Mediterranean immigration since the surge in 2015 and discouraging people from risking their lives in the sea in trying to cross to Europe where governments do not want them.

    The bloc has already curbed operations of EU aid groups in the part of the Mediterranean in question and moved its own ships further north where fewer rescues take place.

    https://www.euractiv.com/section/justice-home-affairs/news/eu-to-end-ship-patrols-in-scaled-down-operation-sophia
    #opération_sophia #méditerranée #asile #réfugiés #sauvetage #missions_aériennes #migrations #frontières #contrôles_frontaliers #mer_Méditerranée #sauvetages

    • Commissioner calls for more rescue capacity in the Mediterranean

      I take note of the decision taken by the EU’s Political and Security Committee with regards to Operation Sophia. I regret that this will lead to even fewer naval assets in the Mediterranean, which could assist the rescue of persons in distress at sea. Lives are continuing to be lost in the Mediterranean. This should remind states of the urgency to adopt a different approach, one that should ensure a sufficiently resourced and fully operational system for saving human lives at sea and to safeguard rescued migrants’ dignity.

      Whilst coastal states have the responsibility to ensure effective coordination of search and rescue operations, protecting lives in the Mediterranean requires concerted efforts of other states as well, to begin with the provision of naval assets specifically dedicated to search and rescue activities, deployed in those areas where they can make an effective contribution to saving human lives. Furthermore, I reiterate my call to all states to refrain from hindering and criminalising the work of NGOs who are trying to fill the ever-increasing gap in rescue capacity. States should rather support and co-operate with them, including by ensuring that they can use ports for their life-saving activities.

      Finally, the decision to continue only with aerial surveillance and training of the Libyan Coast Guard further increases the risks that EU member states, directly or indirectly, contribute to the return of migrants and asylum seekers to Libya, where it is well-documented, in particular recently by the United Nations, that they face serious human rights violations. So far, calls to ensure more transparency and accountability in this area, including by publishing human rights risk assessments and setting up independent monitoring mechanisms, have not been heeded. The onus is now on EU member states to show urgently that the support to the Libyan Coast Guard is not contributing to human rights violations, and to suspend this support if they cannot do so.

      https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/commissioner-calls-for-more-rescue-capacity-in-the-mediterranean
      #droits_humains #gardes-côtes_libyens #Libye

    • EU to end ship patrols in scaled down migrant rescue operation: diplomats

      The European Union will cease the maritime patrols that have rescued thousands of migrants making the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing from North Africa to Europe, but it will extend air missions, two diplomats said on Tuesday.
      A new agreement on the EU’s Operation Sophia was hammered out after Italy, where anti-migrant sentiment is rising, said it would no longer receive those rescued at sea.

      Operation Sophia’s mandate was due to expire on Sunday but should now continue for another six months with the same aim of detering people smugglers in the Mediterranean. But it will no longer deploy ships, instead relying on air patrols and closer coordination with Libya, the diplomats said.

      “It is awkward, but this was the only way forward given Italy’s position, because nobody wanted the Sophia mission completely shut down,” one EU diplomat said.

      A second diplomat confirmed a deal had been reached and said it must be endorsed by all EU governments on Wednesday.

      The tentative deal, however, could weaken Operation Sophia’s role in saving lives in the sea where nearly 2,300 people perished last year, according to United Nations figures.

      From the more than one million refugees and migrants who made it to the bloc during a 2015 crisis, sea arrivals dropped to 141,500 people in 2018, according to the United Nations.

      Still, Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, has said his country would no longer be the main point of disembarkation for people trying to cross the Mediterranean by boat and rescued by Sophia’s patrol ships.

      Rome called for other countries to open up their ports instead, but no other EU states came forward. Diplomats said countries including Spain, France and Germany signaled they were not willing to host more rescued people - most of whom are fleeing wars and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

      However, EU governments did want the mission to continue because they felt it had been effective in dissuading smugglers.

      The compromise discussion in Brussels did not discuss military aspects of the role of air patrols. But the new arrangement will involve more training of the coast guard in Libya, where lawlessness has allowed smugglers to openly operate sending people to Europe by sea.

      But it would be in line with the EU’s policy of turning increasingly restrictive on Mediterranean immigration since the surge in 2015 and discouraging people from risking their lives in the sea in trying to cross to Europe where governments do not want them.

      The bloc has already curbed operations of EU aid groups in the part of the Mediterranean in question and moved its own ships further north where fewer rescues take place.

      https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-sophia/eu-weighs-up-awkward-migration-compromise-on-mediterranean-mission-idUSKCN1

    • En Méditerranée, l’UE retire ses navires militaires qui ont sauvé 45.000 migrants

      Les États membres de l’Union européenne ont décidé, mercredi 27 mars, de retirer leurs navires militaires engagés en Méditerranée dans le cadre de l’opération militaire dite « Sophia », au moins temporairement. Depuis 2015, ces bateaux ont pourtant permis de sauver 45 000 migrants environ.

      https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/280319/en-mediterranee-l-ue-retire-ses-navires-militaires-qui-ont-sauve-45000-mig

    • #EUNAVFOR_MED Operation Sophia : mandate extended until 30 September 2019

      The Council today extended the mandate of EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia until 30 September 2019.

      The Operation Commander has been instructed to suspend temporarily the deployment of the Operation’s naval assets for the duration of this extension for operational reasons. EU member states will continue to work in the appropriate fora on a solution on disembarkation as part of the follow-up to the June 2018 European Council conclusions.

      The Operation will continue to implement its mandate accordingly, strengthening surveillance by air assets as well as reinforcing support to the Libyan Coastguard and Navy in law enforcement tasks at sea through enhanced monitoring, including ashore, and continuation of training.

      The operation’s core mandate is to contribute to the EU’s work to disrupt the business model of migrant smugglers and human traffickers in the Southern Central Mediterranean. The operation has also supporting tasks. It trains the Libyan Coastguard and Navy and monitors the long-term efficiency of the training and it contributes to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya. In addition, the operation also conducts surveillance activities and gathers information on illegal trafficking of oil exports from Libya, in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions. As such, the operation contributes to EU efforts for the return of stability and security in Libya and to maritime security in the Central Mediterranean region.

      EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia was launched on 22 June 2015. It is part of the EU’s comprehensive approach to migration. The Operation Commander is Rear Admiral Credendino, from Italy. The headquarters of the operation are located in Rome.

      Today’s decision was adopted by the Council by written procedure.

      https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2019/03/29/eunavfor-med-operation-sophia-mandate-extended-until-30-september-2

  • Record sans précédent du nombre de #civils tués en #Afghanistan en 2018
    https://www.france24.com/fr/20190224-afghanistan-onu-record-victimes-civiles-2018-taliban

    « C’est la première fois que les opérations aériennes se traduisent par la mort de plus de 500 civils », note le rapport, attribuant 393 décès à la coalition internationale de l’#Otan et 118 à l’armée de l’air afghane.

    Pour la seule année 2018, « à peu près le même nombre de civils sont morts des suites de bombardements que les années 2014, 2015 et 2016 combinées », note l’#ONU.

    L’aviation américaine, qui soutient l’armée de l’air afghane, a considérablement intensifié ses frappes aériennes en 2018. Selon le Centre de commandement de l’US Air force, 7 362 missiles et drones ont visé les positions ennemies, soit près du double de l’année précédente, déjà record.

    UN : American airstrikes contribute to record number of children, civilians killed in Afghanistan - News - Stripes
    https://www.stripes.com/news/un-american-airstrikes-contribute-to-record-number-of-children-civilians-ki

    [...] pro-government forces — which include the U.S. military — were shown to have killed more Afghan children last year than their adversaries, which UNAMA said was largely due to U.S. airstrikes.

    #victimes_civiles #enfants #crimes #états-unis

  • ‘Where are you from?’ Facing fines and bureaucracy, refugee children in Jordan go undocumented

    Located off the highway in the southern Amman suburbs, the Syrian embassy in Jordan almost looks like it’s made for long waits.

    It’s a quiet day outside, as a group of elderly Syrians wearing traditional keffiyeh scarves sit on a patch of grass next to the sand-colored building smoking cigarettes and passing the time.

    Aside from two flags attached to the roof of the embassy, the steel bars across the windows—shaped in classic Umayyad patterns—are one of the few hints of the otherwise rather anonymous building’s affiliation with Damascus.

    On the wall between the counters, a large bulletin board is plastered with instructions for various civil status procedures: births, marriages and identity cards. Flyers address the “brothers and sisters of the nation” waiting quietly outside.

    But not all Syrians feel welcome here.

    “I feel uncomfortable going to the embassy,” says Bassam al-Karmi, a Syrian refugee in Jordan originally from Deir e-Zor.

    “I can’t control my feelings and might start rambling on about politics and other things,” he explains, adding with a laugh, “I really can’t stand seeing the red [Syrian] flag, either.”

    If possible, al-Karmi says, he avoids approaching the embassy. But when he had his first daughter two years ago, there was no way around it. That’s where he needed to go to register her birth—at least if he wanted her to be recognized as a Syrian national.

    At last week’s international “Brussels III” donor conference, Jordan was commended for its efforts to provide Syrians with legal documentation. The civil status department of Jordan’s Ministry of Interior even maintains a presence in refugee camps, tasked with issuing official birth certificates.

    But acquiring Jordanian documents is only one part of the process. Having them authenticated by the Syrian authorities is a whole other story.

    According to several Syrian refugees in Jordan, bureaucratic procedures, lack of information and high costs are deterring them from registering their children’s births at the Syrian embassy—leaving thousands of Jordanian-born Syrian children without proof of nationality, and some potentially at risk of statelessness.

    When Ahmad Qablan’s second son was born in 2014, one year after the family’s arrival in Jordan, he went through all the procedures and paperwork that were required of him to register them first with the Jordanian authorities and then with the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR.

    When his third son was born, he did the same.

    Even so, years later, neither of them have Syrian documents officially proving their nationality.

    A resident of a refugee camp some 70 kilometers east of the capital, Qablan would have to travel for two and a half hours each way to get Syrian birth certificates for his two sons—by submitting the papers at the Syrian embassy—only to come back again a week later to pick them up.

    But the biggest obstacle to registering, he says, is the fees involved with late registration.

    Even though, as a teacher, Qablan claims to have one of the highest salaries in the camp, the family is only just getting by, he says.

    “Why would I go spend that money at the embassy?”

    If a Syrian child is registered at the embassy later than three months after his or her birth, a $50 fine is added on top of the standard $75 registration fees. For a delay of more than a year, the fine goes up to $100.

    According to al-Karmi, those costs make families postpone the procedure. But the longer they wait, the more expensive it gets. As a result, he and others around him find themselves caught in a spiral of increasing costs.

    “You know the fees will increase,” he says, “but in the end people keep postponing and saying, ‘Maybe there’s another solution’.”

    According to a source from the Syrian embassy, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press, some refugees even choose to send family members across the border to go through the procedures in Syria itself just to save on consular fees.

    Reports: ‘125,000’ Syrian refugee children born in Jordan

    Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising and ensuing conflict, more than 125,000 Syrian children are estimated to have been born on Jordainan soil, according to reports in Jordanian media. However, with many children going unregistered with the Jordanian government, an accurate number can be hard to find.

    UNHCR counts 107,268 children under the age of five in Jordan.

    Even though the Jordanian government has issued nearly 80,000 birth certificates to Syrian children born in Jordan since 2015, experts say that the vast majority of those remain unregistered with the Syrian embassy.

    One of the largest obstacles to registration, according to aid workers and Syrian refugees alike, is a lack of information about the procedures.

    A former Daraa resident, Qasem a-Nizami attempted to navigate registration after the birth of his now three-month-old daughter, but he wasn’t sure of where to start.

    According to a UN source speaking to Syria Direct on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, there is no coordination between UNHCR and the Syrian embassy.

    However, refugees can consult UNHCR about steps they need to take to register civil status procedures in Jordan.

    After asking around in his community and finally talking to the Jordanian Civil Status Department’s office in Zaatari camp, where he resides—sometimes receiving contradictory information—a-Nizami soon discovered that the procedures were much more complicated than he thought.

    To get a birth certificate at the Syrian embassy, refugees need to present the passport of the mother and father as well as a Jordanian birth certificate and marriage contract validated by the embassy.

    When a-Nizami got married in Syria, his town was under siege, and—like many other Syrians—the couple wasn’t able to access the government civil registries responsible for recording civil status events. Instead, the couple settled with a traditional Islamic marriage, involving a sheikh and witnesses.

    Today, a-Nizami has finally registered his marriage with the Jordanian authorities and is currently waiting to get the papers.

    “I can’t register my daughter until I’m finished with the trouble that I’m going through now,” he says.

    ‘Undocumented children’

    According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), having valid identity papers is crucial for refugees to access basic rights in a host country like Jordan, and children lacking a Jordanian birth certificate are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking and child marriage.

    “Undocumented children in Jordan cannot prove their identity, access justice and face difficulties in enjoying rights,” the NRC said in an email to Syria Direct.

    The worst case scenario is that some children end up stateless—and because of Syria’s patrilineal nationality laws, this is particularly a risk for female-headed households unable to prove the nationality of the father.

    But a lack of Syrian documents issued by the country’s embassy also has much more immediate consequences.

    Since the Jaber-Naseeb border crossing between Syria and Jordan reopened for traffic in October after a three-year closure, at least 12,842 Syrians have made the trip across the border, according to the UNHCR.

    Crossing the border, however, either requires a passport or an exit permit issued by the Syrian embassy in Jordan—neither of which can be obtained without Syrian identity documents.

    For years, experts have advocated that the lack of civil documentation could be one of the most significant barriers to the return of Syrian refugees, and as governments, UN bodies and humanitarian organizations increasingly grapple with the infinitely complex question of return, the issue of civil documentation is ever more pressing.

    Last week’s international “Brussels III” donor conference also underlined the need for affordable access to civil documentation for Syrians.

    ‘Cut from the tree of her father’

    While the vast majority of Syrians in neighboring countries surveyed by UNHCR earlier this month have a hope of returning to Syria some day, less than six percent expressed intentions to return within the next year.

    For al-Karmi, the hope of things changing in Syria was part of the reason why he kept postponing registration.

    “I was hoping that by the time we had our first child, maybe Assad would be gone,” he explains.

    And although he eventually registered his first-born daughter, the family’s youngest—who is nine months old—still only has Jordanian documents.

    “For the next child we also thought, ‘Bashar will be gone by then’,” al-Karmi says. “But that didn’t happen.”

    Now, he says, the family is doing what they can to make sure their daughters will grow up identifying with their Syrian roots.

    “She’s been cut from the tree of her father,” he says, explaining how they’ve turned to the internet as the only way of nurturing the children’s ties to family members spread out across the globe.

    “We are currently teaching her to remember the answer to, ‘Where are you from?’ and then responding, ‘I’m from Syria’,” he says.

    “This is the most we can do in exile.”

    But not everyone feels a need to raise their children to feel Syrian.

    Abu Abida al-Hourani, a 28-year-old resident of Jordan’s Zaatari camp, is not even interested in registering his two-and-a-half-year-old son at the Syrian embassy.

    “It’s better to belong to a country that will protect my son and make him feel safe and doesn’t deprive him of the most basic rights,” he explains.

    “How am I supposed to raise my son to feel like he belongs in a country full of killing, displacement and injustice?”

    https://syriadirect.org/news/%E2%80%98where-are-you-from%E2%80%99-facing-fines-and-bureaucracy-refug
    #enfants #mineurs #enfance #Jordanie #réfugiés #réfugiés_syriens #asile #migrations #clandestinisation #certificats_de_naissance #bureaucratie #apatridie

  • Driven to suicide in Tunisia’s UNHCR refugee shelter

    Lack of adequate care and #frustration over absence of resettlement plans prompt attempted suicides, refugees say.

    Last Monday night, 16-year-old Nato* slit his wrists and was rushed to the local hospital in Medenine.

    He had decided to end his life in a refugee facility run by the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, in Medenine. After running for two years, escaping Eritrea and near-certain conscription into the country’s army, making it through Sudan, Egypt and Libya, he had reached Tunisia and despair.

    A few days later, Nato was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in #Sfax, 210km north of Medenine, where he was kept on lockdown and was frustrated that he was not able to communicate with anyone in the facility.

    Nato’s isn’t the only story of despair among refugees in Tunisia. A female refugee was taken to hospital after drinking bleach, while a 16-year-old unaccompanied young girl tried to escape over the borders to Libya, but was stopped at Ben Gardane.

    “I’m not surprised by what has happened to Nato,” a 16-year-old at the UNHCR facility told Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity.

    “They just keep us here without providing any support and after we ... witnessed killings of our friends. We feel completely abandoned. We don’t feel secure and protected,” he said.

    The 30 to 35 unaccompanied minors living in UNHCR’s reception facility in Medenine share a room, spending their days remembering past images of violence and abuse.

    “I cannot get out of my mind the picture of my friend dying after they pointed a gun at his temple. He was sitting next to me. Sometimes at night, I cannot sleep,” the 16-year-old said.
    ’They’re trying to hide us here’

    The UNHCR facility in Medenine struggles to offer essential services to a growing number of arrivals.

    According to the information given to Al Jazeera, the asylum seekers and refugees have not received medical screenings or access to psychosocial support, nor were they informed clearly of their rights in Tunisia.

    “We feel they are trying to hide us here,” said Amin*. “How can we say we are safe if UNHCR is not protecting our basic rights? If we are here left without options, we will try to cross the sea.”

    Amin, 19, has no vision of what his life will be. He would like to continue his education or learn a new language but, since his arrival, he has only promises and hopes, no plans.

    The young people here find themselves having to take care of themselves and navigate the questions of what their future will be like, at times without even being able to reach out to their families back home for comfort.

    “My parents are in Eritrea and since more than a year, I was able to speak with them only for three minutes,” said Senait*, a 15-year-old boy from Eritrea.

    Aaron*, a 16-year-old boy who has been on the road for three years and three months, has not been able to call his relatives at all since his arrival in Tunisia.

    “Last time I have contacted them was in 2016 while I was in Sudan. I miss them so much,” he said.

    Last week, many of them participated in a peaceful demonstration, demanding medical care, support from the UNHCR and resettlement to third countries.

    Refugee lives in suspension

    Nato, as well as a number of refugee minors Al Jazeera spoke to, arrived in Tunisia over the Libyan border with the help of smugglers. The same is true for hundreds of refugees escaping Libya.

    Tunisia registered more than 1,000 refugees and 350 asylum seekers, mainly from Syria, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia.

    But the country has neither the capacity nor the means to host refugees, and because it doesn’t have a coherent asylum system, the refugees find themselves living a largely suspended life.

    Officially, refugees are not allowed to work and, therefore, there is no formal system of protection for those that do work.

    Awate*, a 24-year-old man from Eritrea, had been working for nine days in a hotel in the seaside city of Zarzis when he was arrested and brought to a police station where he was interrogated for 30 minutes.

    “They told me ’why are you going to work without passport?’,” he said, adding that he has not worked since.

    The UNHCR in Tunisia is pushing alternatives, which include enhancing refugees’ self-reliance and livelihood opportunities.

    A month ago, a group of 32 people moved out of the reception centre with an offer of a monthly payment of 350 Tunisian dinars ($116) and help to find private accommodation. Among them, nine decided to go to the capital, Tunis. The plan is confirmed for three months, with no clarity on what happens next.

    Aklilu*, a 36-year-old former child soldier from Eritrea who took up the offer, is now renting a small apartment on the main road to Djerba for 250 Tunisian dinars ($83).

    “Why should I be forced to settle in a country that’s not ready to host refugees?” he said. “They are thinking of Tunisia as the final destination but there are no conditions for it. The UNHCR is not making any effort to integrate us. We don’t get any language courses or technical training.”


    https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/driven-suicide-tunisia-unhcr-refugee-shelter-190319052430125.html
    #Tunisie #HCR #UNHCR #camps_de_réfugiés #suicide #réinstallation #limbe #attente #transit #trauma #traumatisme #santé_mentale #MNA #mineurs_non_accompagnés #migrations #asile #réfugiés
    ping @_kg_

  • Human rights groups slam draft UN plans to send #Rohingya to barren island
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/03/25/human-rights-groups-slam-draft-un-plans-send-rohingya-barren

    A document drawn up this month by the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN’s food aid arm, and seen by Reuters, has revealed how the agency supplied the Bangladeshi government with detailed plans of how it could provide for thousands of Rohingya being transported to the island on a voluntary basis.

    #onu #pam

  • Kenya: LGBTI Refugees Detained after Delay of Ruling on Decriminalising Homosexuality

    20 refugees who arrived to Kenya on February 22, the day of an expected land-mark ruling on decriminalising homosexual conduct by the High Court, have been detained and are suffering severe abuse.

    The ruling by the High Court was postponed last minute and the group of refugees who had arrived to escape repression and abuse in other African countries were instead arrested on charges of “creating a public nuisance, trespassing, and defecating in public,” near United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) headquarters in Nairobi.

    Six detainees in the men-only prison identify as trans women. The Washington Post was allowed interviews with five of the detainees who revealed that they were facing sexual abuse and violence from prison guards and other inmates. According to UNHCR spokeswoman Yvonne Ndege, the agency is looking into the allegations and plans to visit the detainees.

    Following attacks on LGBT refugees in December 2018 in the Kakuma camp injuring 20 people UNHCR relocated victims to safe-houses in Nairobi. According to a UNHCR spokeswoman quoted at the time: “the Kakuma context does not provide a safe environment for LGBTI refugees and asylum-seekers.”

    The annual report (https://ilga.org/downloads/ILGA_State_Sponsored_Homophobia_2019_light.pdf) on State Sponsored Homophobia from the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) states on the situation in East Africa: “continued criminalization of private consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex, as well as the outlawing of diverse gender expressions are indicators of States’ interest to entrench discrimination and violence based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.”

    https://www.ecre.org/kenya-lgbti-refugees-detained-after-delay-of-ruling-on-decriminalising-homosex
    #Kenya #réfugiés #homosexualité #LGBT

  • The Golan Heights first

    Trump gave Syria and its allies a renewed pretext for possible military action
    Haaretz Editorial
    Mar 24, 2019

    https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/editorial/the-golan-heights-first-1.7046251

    U.S. President Donald Trump’s statement that “it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights” received an enthusiastic welcome in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who got a shot in the arm from Trump at a low point in his election campaign, welcomed this “Purim miracle.” His rival Benny Gantz, whose party’s leading lights helped push for American recognition of the Golan’s annexation, said in a statement that Trump was cementing his place in history as a true friend of Israel.

    That Netanyahu and Gantz were both delighted is no surprise; the annexation of the Golan and the settlements established there enjoy widespread support in Israel. Since the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Syria has refrained from any attempt to recover the Golan by force, preferring to maintain the quiet and conduct peace talks that achieved nothing. The Druze residents of the northern Golan have also accepted Israeli rule without rebelling.

    The settlements on the Golan were established by the Labor Party, rather than the messianic Gush Emunim movement that settled the West Bank, and the Israelis who live there are termed “residents” rather than “settlers.” The beautiful vistas, the empty spaces and the snow on Mount Hermon are especially beloved by Israeli tourists.

    >> Read more: Trump’s Golan tweet brings U.S. to Syria through the back door | Analysis ■ Trump’s declaration: What does it mean and what happens now | Explained ■ How Secret Netanyahu-Assad backchannel gave way to Israeli demand for recognition of Golan sovereignty

    Nevertheless, despite the quiet and the internal consensus that sees the Golan as an inseparable part of Israel, this is occupied territory that Israel retains in violation of both international law and the principle at the basis of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 — that the acquisition of territory by war is unacceptable. Israel accepted this principle, and six prime ministers, including Netanyahu, have held talks with the Syrians on returning the Golan in exchange for peace.

    The most recent talks were cut short by the outbreak of Syria’s civil war eight years ago, and the implosion on the other side of the border spurred appetites here for perpetuating the occupation with U.S. backing. During President Barack Obama’s tenure, that idea seemed hopeless. But Trump, no great fan of international laws and agreements, acceded happily to the Israeli request.

    Trump’s announcement and the applause that greeted it in Jerusalem send the troubling message that Israel is no longer interested in a peace agreement. It’s true that Syria, having fallen apart, is now weak and will settle for diplomatic censure, and in any case the chance of resuming negotiations in the north is near zero. But Trump gave Syria and its allies a renewed pretext for possible military action.
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    In the near term, the U.S. green light to annexing the Golan will deepen the Israeli delusion that U.S. approval is sufficient to revise the world map and contribute to erasing the 1967 lines as the relevant reference points for solving the Israeli-Arab conflict. The U.S. recognition will inevitably increase pressure from the right to annex Area C of the West Bank (which is under full Israeli control), intensifying the occupation and the bloody conflict with the Palestinians.

  • UNHRC adopts resolution to strengthen UN presence in Palestine
    March 22, 2019 4:14 P.M.
    http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=782955

    BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a draft resolution to strengthen the UN presence in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory, on Friday afternoon.

    The UNHRC requested “the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to strengthen the field presence of the Office of the High Commissioner in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip.”

    The Council requested the deployment of “personnel and expertise necessary to monitor and document the ongoing violations of international law” in the occupied territories.

    It condemned Israel’s “apparent intentional use of unlawful lethal and other excessive force” against civilian protesters, including children, journalists and health workers, in Gaza.

    The resolution was adopted with 23 states in favor, 8 against, and 15 abstentions.

    The votes against the resolution were given by Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Hungary, and Ukraine.

    #ONU

  • School Building Demolished in Shu’fat Refugee Camp

    Israeli bulldozers, today, demolished an under-construction building belonging to a Palestinian school in the Shu’fat refugee camp of occupied East Jerusalem, on Tuesday.

    Dozens of Israeli soldiers escorted bulldozers into the refugee camp, surrounded the al-Razi School and went up rooftops of nearby buildings as drones flew overhead; Israeli bulldozers then began to demolish the school’s building.

    Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets towards locals in the refugee camp.

    Muhammad Alqam, owner of the school building, told Ma’an News Agency that Israeli authorities had issued a demolition order against the building last November, pointing out that he had headed to the Israeli Jerusalem Municipality, before the construction of the building, to issue necessary permits. However, he was told that the area belongs to the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA.)

    Principal of the school, Saleh Alqam, pointed out that the demolition was carried out without prior notice.

    He added that 400 Palestinian students had registered for the 2019/2020 school year in the new building, which was supposed to serve kindergarten and elementary students. However, after the demolition, these students now have no place to go.

    School was suspended, for Tuesday, for 1500 students of all stages who attend the al-Razi School.

    Israel uses the pretext of building without a permit to carry out demolitions of Palestinian-owned homes on a regular basis.

    Israel rarely grants Palestinians permits to build in East Jerusalem, though the Jerusalem municipality has claimed that compared to the Jewish population, they receive a disproportionately low number of permit applications from Palestinian communities, which also see high approval ratings.

    For Jewish Israelis in occupied East Jerusalem’s illegal settlements, the planning, marketing, development, and infrastructure are funded and executed by the Israeli government. By contrast, in Palestinian neighborhoods, all the burden falls on individual families to contend with a lengthy permit application that can last several years and cost tens of thousands of dollars.

    According to Daniel Seidemann of the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem, “Since 1967, the government of Israel has directly engaged in the construction of 55,000 units for Israelis in East Jerusalem; in contrast, fewer than 600 units have been built for Palestinians in East Jerusalem, the last of which were built 40 years ago. So much for (Jerusalem Mayor Nir) Barkat’s claim ‘we build for everyone.’”


    https://imemc.org/article/school-building-demolished-in-shufat-refugee-camp
    #Israël #Palestine #réfugiés_palestiniens #école #destruction #réfugiés #Shu'fat #Jérusalem
    ping @reka @nepthys

  • Sciences Po censure une #conférence sur l’apartheid israélien

    Le 20 mars 2019 devait se tenir à Sciences Po un événement sur l’apartheid israélien dans le cadre de l’Israeli Apartheid Week. Deux jours avant l’événement, Sciences Po a décidé d’annuler la conférence. Voilà la réponse des organisateurs-rices à cette censure politique. Tou-te-s au 96 boulevard Raspail le 20 mars à 19h, en soutien au peuple palestinien et contre la répression !

    https://blogs.mediapart.fr/collectif-lintersection/blog/190319/sciences-po-censure-une-conference-sur-l-apartheid-israelien
    #apartheid #Israël #Sciences_po #palestine #France

    • Une université suisse doit annuler la « fête de la haine » anti-juive

      Demande d’annulation de la « fête de la haine » d’Israël à la Haute Ecole pédagogique Vaudoise

      Monsieur le recteur Guillaume Vanhulst,

      J’ai appris par un article publié par le centre Simon Wiesenthal, qu’HEP Lausanne a reprogrammé (sous un autre titre (1), mais sans changer le contenu), une formation antisioniste que les autorités vaudoises avaient fait annuler en octobre pour cause de « déséquilibre pédagogique ».

      C’est une formation politique clairement partisane, qui entre en conflit frontal avec les Valeurs et la Charte éthique "favorisant le développement d’une réflexion critique", et le souci d’une "approche critique parmi la diversité des courants de pensée dans le cadre de ses activités de formation et de recherche" énoncées par HEP (2).

      La formation, en effet, est composée de virulents activistes anti-israéliens engagés dans des campagnes antisémites, « qui nient le droit à l’autodétermination du peuple juif, et sont déterminés à détruire l’Etat juif » précise le Centre Simon Wiesenthal, et la lecture du nom des intervenants le confirme au-delà du moindre doute (3).

      Je ne pense pas qu’une "fête de la haine" qui vise à répandre l’idéologie anti-israélienne aux lycéens au travers de la formation que vous assurez aux professeurs, ait sa place dans une école dont la mission est de transmettre la tolérance et l’ouverture par la connaissance.

      La délégitimation d’Israël porte en elle un fruit unique : celui de la haine. Aucun autre.

      Et cette formation à la haine d’Israël est en contradiction profonde avec la charte éthique d’HEP.

      Je vous demande en conséquence et très respectueusement, monsieur le recteur, d’annuler définitivement cette formation des enseignants à la délégitimation d’Israël, ainsi que toute autre formation future qui ne serait pas honnêtement et fondamentalement équilibrée dans son esprit et ses objectifs, et qui ne prévoirait pas la présence d’académiciens pro-Israéliens et anti-Israéliens réputés en nombre égal.

      Veuillez accepter, monsieur le recteur, l’expression de mes sentiments les meilleurs.

      (1) Le titre initial était « 1948 : connaître et enseigner la Nakba palestinienne » et cela s’appelle maintenant : « 1948 : les origines du problème des réfugiés palestiniens »

      (2) https://www.hepl.ch/cms/accueil/mission-et-organisation/valeurs-et-vision/valeurs.html

      (3)
      Elias Khoury, écrivain libanais qui a rejoint l’organisation du Fatah en 1967,
      Ilan Pappe, activiste anti-israélien d’extrême gauche, qui a soutenu la thèse inventée d’un étudiant, Teddy Katz, du massacre par des juifs d’un village palestinien, et continue à la soutenir bien qu’elle ait été rétractée par son auteur et démentie par un comité universitaire.
      Elias Sanbar, actuel ambassadeur palestinien auprès de l’UNESCO,
      Et Shlomo Sand, auteur de plusieurs livres violemment anti-israéliens.


      https://actionnetwork.org/letters/une-universite-suisse-doit-annuler-la-fete-de-la-haine-anti-juive-swi

    • 1948 dans le respect de l’#objectivité scientifique

      Face à une série de #pressions et d’informations erronées liées à la tenue du cours "1948 : Aux origines du problème des #réfugiés_palestiniens", le Comité de direction de la HEP Vaud réaffirme son attachement au respect des principes scientifiques et éthiques fondamentaux, moteurs de sa #liberté_académique.

      Le cours de #formation_continue destiné aux enseignants secondaires d’histoire, intitulé "#1948 : Aux origines du problème des réfugiés palestiniens" fait l’objet, depuis l’automne 2018, d’une série de pressions et d’informations erronées quant à son contenu, ses intervenants pressentis ou de prétendues intentions politiques malveillantes.

      La direction de la #HEP_Vaud, en accord avec les organisateurs du cours, a pris les dispositions nécessaires pour garantir à ce cours une approche respectueuse de la #neutralité_politique et de l’#objectivité_scientifique légitimement attendues de l’institution qui entend en assumer l’entière responsabilité.

      Elle rappelle que ce cours, non public et destiné exclusivement à des spécialistes de la didactique de l’histoire, devra se dérouler dans un climat de réflexion, de respect, d’ouverture et d’échanges académiques. La HEP Vaud proscrira toute approche polémique, tendancieuse, partisane ou arbitraire du sujet.

      « Je sais à quel point le fait d’aborder dans les curriculums de la HEP Vaud des thématiques vives peut susciter des réactions », souligne le recteur Guillaume Vanhulst. « La seule réponse que la HEP Vaud puisse apporter à des interprétations subjectives, voire à des tentatives de manipulation et d’#intimidation, repose sur un strict respect des #principes_scientifiques et éthiques fondamentaux que la Loi sur la HEP lui confère. »

      La compétence à respecter ces principes est à la racine d’un droit fondamental que le Comité de direction de la HEP Vaud entend promouvoir : la liberté académique.

      https://www.hepl.ch/cms/accueil/actualites-et-agenda/actu-hep/1948-respect-objectivite.html
      #éthique

  • Sahel violence displaces another million people

    Rising conflict and insecurity are accelerating forced displacement across the Sahel, and a new upsurge of violence along the Mali-Niger border has left 10,000 people in “appalling conditions” in improvised camps in Niger’s #Tillabéri region. The UN says IDP numbers in Mali have tripled to around 120,000. The UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund, or CERF, has allocated $4 million to assist 70,000 people who have fled their homes in just two months in Burkina Faso. Around 4.2 million people – a million more than a year ago – are currently displaced across the Sahel due to a combination of armed attacks by extremist militants, retaliation by regional militaries, and inter-communal violence.

    https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2019/03/08/local-ngo-risks-white-saviours-and-sahel-s-million-new-displaced

    #IDPs #déplacés_internes #violence #conflit #Mali #Niger #frontières #camps #conflits #réfugiés #migrations

  • Bosnia Records 12 Migrant Deaths in 2018

    Bosnian ministries recorded a dozen deaths last year among migrants and refugees in the country, but precise data on those who lost their lives crossing the country remain absent.

    Official data from Bosnian government ministries shows that 12 migrants or refugees lost their lives in the country last year.

    The data were gathered from the interior ministries of Bosnia’s two entities, the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, RS, and the mainly Bosniak and Croatian Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    It is not clear if that is the final number, as the interior ministries in each entity only keep data on deaths where they suspect violence was the cause.

    Border police have data on bodies of people transported back to “countries of high migration risk”, referring to those states from where most migrants and refugees are coming.

    “In 2018, we had four cases; namely two transported to Pakistan and one to Jordan and one to Morocco,” Bosnian Border Police told BIRN.

    Una Sana Canton recorded four migrant or refugee deaths. One of ten units in the Federation entity, in northwest Bosnia, it is where most migrants and refugees are based, as it lies closest to EU-member Croatia.

    “In two cases, natural deaths were confirmed, one case concerned drowning and one person was killed,” the prosecutor’s office of Una Sana Canton told BIRN.

    No Name Kitchen, an NGO that assists migrants and refugees, said it was concerned over the fate of one young Moroccan who they fear is lost in Bosnia or Serbia.

    “He went to cross the border to Croatia from Republika Srpska in Bosnia and got pushed back into Serbia. As he wanted to cross back into Bosnia, he went to cross the [border] Drina river, and that was the last news we have of him,” No Name Kitchen told BIRN.

    His fate remains unknown, as local police could not confirm any details about him.

    The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, told BIRN it does not possess data on migrants and refugees who died in Bosnia but recalled its recently published report on their plight, Desperate Journeys.

    The report notes an estimated 2,275 people perished crossing the Mediterranean in 2018 – an average of six deaths every day, as more and more people attempted the perilous sea crossing to Europe.

    Just over 20,000 migrants and refugees were registered as having entered Bosnia during 2018, according to the country’s Service for Foreign Affairs.

    But the exact number of those still in Bosnia is hard to confirm, as many have clearly moved on.

    Latest information from Bosnia’s Council of Ministers, or government, says only 3,900 remain. That means most of those who declared an intention to claim asylum in Bosnia have in fact left the country.

    Those who stayed and are registered in Bosnia have been placed in seven locations: in Sarajevo, Mostar, Bihac, Cazin and Velika Kladusa. Most are in Bihac.

    Most of them are taking the new so-called “Balkan route” to Western Europe, which passes through Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia.

    The former route was closed off after Hungary built a fence to stop migrants and refugees from entering the country from Serbia, and then moving on to Austria.

    https://balkaninsight.com/2019/03/07/bosnia-records-12-migrant-deaths-in-2018
    #mourir_aux_frontières #Bosnie #asile #migrations #Balkans #route_des_Balkans #statistiques #chiffres #morts #décès

    • Reçu via la newsletter Inicijativa Dobrodosli, le 02.08.2019 :

      In Bosnia and Herzegovina, two people lost their lives this week, one in #Bihać (https://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/u-bihacu-umro-migrant-spavao-je-na-pruzi-kad-je-na-njega-naletio-vlak/2105526.aspx) and one in #Polje (https://www.radiovkladusa.ba/u-naselju-polje-pronadjeno-bezivotno-tijelo-migranta). Uncertain and inhumane living conditions and the absence of legal and safe roads have once again proved fatal for those in need of safety.

      #Bihac #2019

      –---------

      U Bihaću umro migrant, spavao je na pruzi kad je na njega naletio vlak

      SINOĆ je na pruzi u Bihaću od udara vlaka iz smjera Sarajeva poginuo jedan migrant, javlja Klix.ba.

      Nesreća se dogodila oko 00:25 na pruzi u blizini Jablaničke ulice kod benzinske pumpe Čavkunović, potvrdio je glasnogovornik MUP-a Unsko-sanskog kantona Ale Šiljdedić.

      Migrant je navodno spavao, nije čuo sirene upozorenja

      Prema riječima svjedoka, vlak se pokušao zaustaviti, ali neuspješno. Migrant je navodno spavao i nije se uspio skloniti s pruge premda su ga sirene upozoravale da se nalazi na mjestu kojem se približava vlak.

      Policajci su odmah izašli na teren, a obaviješteno je i tužiteljstvo.

      Nije poznato iz koje zemlje dolazi nesretni čovjek koji je preminuo na pruzi.

      https://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/u-bihacu-umro-migrant-spavao-je-na-pruzi-kad-je-na-njega-naletio-vlak/2105526.aspx

      –--------

      U naselju Polje pronađeno beživotno tijelo migranta

      Jučer je u Velikoj Kladuši, prema još uvijek neutvrđenim okolnostima, smrtno stradala muška osoba za koju se pretpostavlja da je migrant, potvrdio je za naš Radio portparol MUP-a USK Ale Šiljdedić.

      Naime, policijski službenici, u 16:55h, zaprimili su dojavu da se na spratu jedne kuće, u naselju Polje nalazi tijelo nepoznatog muškarca. Slučaj je prijavila uposlenica trgovine koja se nalazi u prizemlju pomenute kuće.

      Policijski službenici su po dolasku na teren utvrdili da se radi o beživotnom tijelu, za sada, još uvijek neidentificirane muške osobe. Kako je naveo Šiljdedić, najvjerovatnije je riječ o migrantu, koji je pronađen sa teškim povredama u predjelu glave. Pretpostavlja se da je do smrti došlo usljed nesretnog slučaja, ali se ne isključuje ni mogućnost krivičnog djela. Više informacija bit će poznato nakon što se završi obdukcija tijela.

      https://www.radiovkladusa.ba/u-naselju-polje-pronadjeno-bezivotno-tijelo-migranta

  • 19 million Yemeni children suffer malnutrition and illness
    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/19-million-yemeni-children-suffer-malnutrition-illness-190308133114035.ht

    Medical sources quoted by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen said late on Monday that the attacks in Kushar district, in Hajja Province, killed 10 women and 12 children and wounded 30 people
    https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/middle-east/2019/03/12/un-22-civilians-killed-including-children-in-north-yemen

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-47434630

    Mr Hunt said 80,000 children in the country had already starved to death.
    More than 20 million people were on the brink of starvation, he added. The UN says at least 6,800 civilians have been killed and 10,700 injured in the fighting.

  • #Kajsa_Ekis_Ekman : A Name Of One’s Own – Or How Women Became the Second Sex of the Second Sex
    https://tradfem.wordpress.com/2019/03/18/a-name-of-ones-own-or-how-women-became-the-second-sex-of-the-seco

    In a recent letter to the United Nations, the British government recommended that the term “pregnant woman” be replaced with “pregnant person”. This since the term “woman” might offend and exclude pregnant men.

    Now we don’t want to offend, do we?

    Thus, the word “woman” is removed, having been deemed too narrow and exclusionary. But anyone who supports the principles of inclusion will soon find that they also come with a new definition of gender.

    According to this definition, gaining ground without having really been debated, a person’s sex is rooted not in their body, but in their mind. Several countries, including Norway and Greece, have already amended their laws so that people now can self-define their sex with no requirement for surgical intervention. If the current Swedish bill becomes law, this policy will soon also apply here. Faced with the issue, the International Olympic Committee has issued recommendations according to which an athlete can compete as the gender he/she chooses, as long as one has lived as that gender for four years and meets the hormonal criteria. Further, the British Labour Party has published new guidelines concerning its all-women candidates lists, so that anyone who identifies as a woman can enter.

    This change is generally viewed as progressive. From now on, sex will no longer be reduced to biology and transgender people will finally be recognized by law! Positing the change as a question of identity, rather than one of ideology, has made debating difficult – because how can you question somebody’s identity? – when the matter actually concerns society as a whole.

    Version française de #Tradfem : https://tradfem.wordpress.com/2019/01/14/ce-sexe-qui-na-plus-de-nom

    #identité_de_genre #politique_d'identité #féminisme

  • #Pakistan has planted over a billion trees

    Pakistan hit its billion tree goal in August 2017 – months ahead of schedule. Now, the hills of the country’s northwestern province of #Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa are alive with newly planted saplings.

    The massive reforestation project – named the #Billion_Tree_Tsunami – added 350,000 hectares of trees both by planting and natural regeneration, in an effort to restore the province’s depleted forests and fight the effects of climate change.

    Decades of felling and natural disasters have drastically reduced Pakistan’s forests. Figures for the country’s total forest cover range between around 2% and 5% of land area. Nevertheless, Pakistan has one of the lowest levels of forest cover in the region and well below the 12% recommended by the UN.

    It is also among the six countries that will be most affected by global warming.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had lost large areas of forest to felling, which increased the likelihood of flooding and landslides. In 2016 flash floods hit the province, killing dozens of people.


    https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/pakistan-s-billion-tree-tsunami-is-astonishing
    #plantation #arbres #forêt #déforestation #reforestation #climat #changement_climatique

  • Philippines becomes second country to quit ICC

    The Philippines on Sunday has withdrawn from the International Criminal Court, becoming the second country to leave the Hague-based tribunal meant to prosecute the world’s worst atrocities.

    The move comes a year after Manila officially notified the United Nations that it was quitting the ICC—the only permanent international judicial body to try individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

    Read more at https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/03/17/1901757/philippines-becomes-second-country-quit-icc#Cpd5wLjUQPUbf3U6.99

    https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/03/17/1901757/philippines-becomes-second-country-quit-icc

    #CPI #cour_pénale_internationale #Philippines #it_has_begun #Burundi #justice

    v. aussi
    https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/03/16/1797330/philippines-formally-informs-un-icc-withdrawal

    ping @reka

  • D’après El Nacional, les militaires ayant quitté le Venezuela pour la Colombie seraient consignés à Cúcuta, dans leurs hôtels par l’UNHCR (Acnur en espagnol) et y subiraient des mauvais traitements

    Militares venezolanos son aislados y maltratados por Acnur en Cúcuta
    http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/sociedad/militares-venezolanos-son-aislados-maltratados-por-acnur-cucuta_275026


    Cortesía

    Cercados y sin comunicación fuera de su país. La Agencia para los Refugiados de las Naciones Unidas (Acnur) mantiene aislados a militares venezolanos que han huido a Colombia por la crisis que padece el país. Los funcionarios, que fueron ubicados en albergues desde su llegada a ese país, no tienen acceso al exterior por órdenes de la organización.

    Los uniformados no disponen del permiso para salir del hotel donde se mantienen hospedados por instrucciones de Rafael Zabala, jefe de las oficinas de Acnur en Cúcuta (Colombia). En el lugar son sometidos a maltratos e insultos por abandonar el país y apoyar a Juan Guaidó, presidente interino de Venezuela.

    Estos militares tienen estipulado un horario dentro de esas instalaciones, no se les permite salir y son tildados de traidores a la patria por desertar. Acnur tampoco permite que ningún representante político acceda a ellos”, indicó una fuente en exclusiva para El Nacional.

    Luis González, sargento segundo de la Fuerza Armada Nacional, fue el vocero del grupo de militares y policías venezolanos que emitió este sábado unas declaraciones que habrían sido manipuladas por el organismo internacional. En dicho pronunciamiento González alega abandono por parte de las autoridades colombianas luego de que Acnur les informara sobre una orden de desalojo del hotel donde se encuentran hospedados.

    • Un capitaine de l’armée vénézuélienne dément les mauvais traitements ainsi que d’avoir quitté le pays contre de l’argent.

      Militares que cruzaron la frontera desmienten que no fueron atendidos
      http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/politica/militares-que-cruzaron-frontera-desmienten-que-fueron-atendidos_274989


      Captura de video

      Jean Marchena Castillo, capitán del Éjercito que cruzó la frontera y expresó su apoyo al presidente interino de Venezuela, desmintió a Nicolás Maduro que los militares no fueron atendidos por los diputados en el exilio y el gobierno colombiano.

      «Es mentira que no tenemos comunicación. Yo me comunico directamente con nuestros diputados Arellano y Olivares y estamos trabajando. Desmentimos que vinimos para acá porque nos ofrecieron 20.000 dólares», dijo Marchena.

      El militar agregó que está en Colombia para «sacar al usurpador Maduro» y además contribuir a la entrega de la ayuda humanitaria. Indicó que los familiares de los funcionarios militares en el país sufren por la crisis que atraviesa el país.

    • Militaires vénézuéliens à Cúcuta : c’est réglé… absolument aucune précision sur qui, quoi, comment. Seul élément : oui, on a un problème avec le porte-parole, mais TVB, maintenant.

      Militares en Cúcuta : El inconveniente se ha resuelto en las últimas horas
      http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/politica/militares-cucuta-inconveniente-resuelto-las-ultimas-horas_275196


      Cortesía
      (capture de vidéo, en fait)

      Un grupo de militares venezolanos que se mantiene en condición de refugiado en Colombia, hizo una declaración este lunes en la que aclara su situación con la Acnur, luego de que representantes de la organización ordenaran el desalojo de los agentes del hotel donde se encontraban hospedados. 

      Informó que existe «un inconveniente» con Luis González, sargento segundo de la Fuerza Armada venezolana, quien fue el vocero del grupo de agentes en unas declaraciones en las que alegaba abandono por parte de las autoridades colombianas. «Sí existe una novedad con este sargento y otros tres más, pero la irregularidad se ha venido resolviendo en las últimas horas», indicó. 

      Los funcionarios señalaron que cada día se encuentran más «fuertes, unidos y determinados con la misión de liberar a Venezuela» bajo las órdenes de Juan Guaidó, presidente interino del país, por lo que están a la espera de sus instrucciones.

      Fuentes de El Nacional denunciaron que la Agencia de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados mantiene aislados a un grupo de militares que huyó del país por la crisis que padece la nación. Los representantes del ente no permiten el contacto de los funcionarios con los diputados de la Asamblea Nacional para que constaten su situación en el hotel Villa Antigua, en Cúcuta.

  • Which countries have the most immigrants?

    The proportion of immigrants varies considerably from one country to another. In some, it exceeds half the population, while in others it is below 0.1%. Which countries have the most immigrants? Where do they come from? How are they distributed across the world? We provide here an overview of the number and share of immigrants in different countries around the world.

    According to the United Nations, the United States has the highest number of immigrants (foreign-born individuals), with 48 million in 2015, five times more than in Saudi Arabia (11 million) and six times more than in Canada (7.6 million) (figure below). However, in proportion to their population size, these two countries have significantly more immigrants: 34% and 21%, respectively, versus 15% in the United States.

    Looking at the ratio of immigrants to the total population (figure below), countries with a high proportion of immigrants can be divided into five groups:

    The first group comprises countries that are sparsely populated but have abundant oil resources, where immigrants sometimes outnumber the native-born population. In 2015, the world’s highest proportions of immigrants were found in this group: United Arab Emirates (87%), Kuwait (73%), Qatar (68%), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman, where the proportion ranges from 34% to 51%.

    The second group consists of very small territories, microstates, often with special tax rules: Macao (57%), Monaco (55%), and Singapore (46%).

    The third group is made up of nations formerly designated as “new countries”, which cover vast territories but are still sparsely populated: Australia (28%) and Canada (21%).

    The fourth group, which is similar to the third in terms of mode of development, is that of Western industrial democracies, in which the proportion of immigrants generally ranges from 9% to 17%: Austria (17%), Sweden (16%), United States (15%), United Kingdom (13%), Spain (13%), Germany (12%), France (12%), the Netherlands (12%), Belgium (11%), and Italy (10%).

    The fifth group includes the so-called “countries of first asylum”, which receive massive flows of refugees due to conflicts in a neighbouring country. For example, at the end of 2015, more than one million Syrian and Iraqi refugees were living in Lebanon, representing the equivalent of 20% of its population, and around 400,000 refugees from Sudan were living in Chad (3% of its population).

    Small countries have higher proportions of immigrants

    With 29% immigrants, Switzerland is ahead of the United States, while the proportion in Luxembourg is even higher (46%). Both the attractiveness and size of the country play a role. The smaller the country, the higher its probable proportion of foreign-born residents. Conversely, the larger the country, the smaller this proportion is likely to be. In 2015, India had 0.4% of immigrants and China 0.07%.

    However, if each Chinese province were an independent country – a dozen provinces have more than 50 million inhabitants, and three of them (Guangdong, Shandong, and Henan) have about 100 million – the proportion of immigrants would be much higher, given that migration from province to province, which has increased in scale over recent years, would be counted as international and not internal migration. Conversely, if the European Union formed a single country, the share of immigrants would decrease considerably, since citizens of one EU country living in another would no longer be counted. The relative scale of the two types of migration – internal and international – is thus strongly linked to the way the territory is divided into separate nations.

    The number of emigrants is difficult to measure

    All immigrants (in-migrants) are also emigrants (out-migrants) from their home countries. Yet the information available for counting emigrants at the level of a particular country is often of poorer quality than for the immigrants, even though, at the global level, they represent the same set of people. Countries are probably less concerned about counting their emigrants than their immigrants, given that the former, unlike the latter, are no longer residents and do not use government-funded public services or infrastructure.

    However, emigrants often contribute substantially to the economy of their home countries by sending back money and in some cases, they still have the right to vote, which is a good reason for sending countries to track their emigrant population more effectively. The statistical sources are another reason for the poor quality of data on emigrants. Migrant arrivals are better recorded than departures, and the number of emigrants is often estimated based on immigrant statistics in the different host countries.

    The number of emigrants varies considerably from one country to another. India headed the list in 2015, with nearly 16 million people born in the country but living in another (see the figure below); Mexico comes in second with more than 12 million emigrants living mainly in the United States.

    Proportionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina holds a record: there is one Bosnian living abroad for two living in the country, which means that one-third of the people born in Bosnia and Herzegovina have emigrated (figure below). Albania is in a similar situation, as well as Cape Verde, an insular country with few natural resources.

    Some countries are both immigration and emigration countries. This is the case of the United Kingdom, which had 8.4 million immigrants and 4.7 million emigrants in 2015. The United States has a considerable number of expatriates (2.9 million in 2015), but this is 17 times less in comparison to the number of immigrants (48 million at the same date).

    Until recently, some countries have been relatively closed to migration, both inward and outward. This is the case for Japan, which has few immigrants (only 1.7% of its population in 2015) and few emigrants (0.6%).
    Immigrants: less than 4% of the world population

    According to the United Nations, there were 258 million immigrants in 2017, representing only a small minority of the world population (3.4%); the vast majority of people live in their country of birth. The proportion of immigrants has only slightly increased over recent decades (30 years ago, in 1990, it was 2.9%, and 55 years ago, in 1965, it was 2.3%). It has probably changed only slightly in 100 years.

    But the distribution of immigrants is different than it was a century ago. One change is, in the words of Alfred Sauvy, the “reversal of migratory flows” between North and South, with a considerable share of international migrants now coming from Southern countries.


    #migrations_nord-sud #migrations_sud-sud #migrations_sud-nord #migrations_nord-nord #visualisation

    Today, migrants can be divided into three groups of practically equal size (figure above): migrants born in the South who live in the North (89 million in 2017, according to the United Nations); South-South migrants (97 million), who have migrated from one Southern country to another; and North-North migrants (57 million). The fourth group – those born in the North and who have migrated to the South – was dominant a century ago but is numerically much smaller today (14 million). Despite their large scale, especially in Europe, migrant flows generated since 2015 by conflicts in the Middle East have not significantly changed the global picture of international migration.

    https://theconversation.com/which-countries-have-the-most-immigrants-113074
    #statistiques #migrations #réfugiés #monde #chiffres #préjugés #afflux #invasion

    signalé par @isskein

  • #Venezuela : la crise du Système électrique national
    (avec un bref historique des grandes pannes, 2009, 2011, 2018,…)

    El desastre eléctrico
    http://www.el-nacional.com/noticias/columnista/desastre-electrico_274680

    Si alguien quiere informarse acerca de los antecedentes del desastre eléctrico que arrancó el jueves 7 de marzo y cuyos efectos todavía se hacen sentir al día de hoy, no tiene más que leer el documento que elaboró la Comisión Eléctrica del Colegio de Ingenieros de Venezuela, titulado “Crisis en el Sistema Eléctrico Nacional”, el cual se hizo público en abril de 2016 y cuya versión digital (PDF) puede encontrarse a través del motor de búsqueda de Google. Ahí leemos señalamientos como los que registramos a continuación de manera reducida y no textual.

    Para el momento en que Hugo Chávez Frías asumió la Presidencia de la República por primera vez, el 2 de febrero de 1999, Venezuela tenía uno de los sectores eléctricos más desarrollados de América Latina. Entonces contábamos con un moderno parque de generación hidroeléctrica y térmica, una red de transmisión de alta tecnología y otra de distribución que abarcaba 96% de la población y a casi todo el territorio nacional. En esa industria eléctrica participaban el Estado y el sector privado nacional.

    ¿Qué hizo que todo cambiara? Las razones fueron múltiples y acá solo destacaremos cuatro de ellas. La primera fue el predominio de lo político sobre lo técnico y económico. Al igual que ocurrió con nuestra industria petrolera, se inició un proceso de desplazamiento de los altos niveles gerenciales y técnicos, que fueron sustituidos por figuras vinculadas al gobierno, sin la preparación y experiencia necesarias.

    La segunda causa del cambio fue la centralización que se llevó a cabo de toda la industria. El gobierno procedió a crear una entidad única (Corpoelec) para atender todo el servicio eléctrico, la cual absorbió las tareas que llevaban a cabo catorce empresas estatales, mixtas y privadas, distribuidas en todo el país. De esa manera el proceso de toma de decisiones se concentró en Caracas y las diferentes regiones perdieron su capacidad de respuesta rápida a los requerimientos de sus usuarios. En pocas palabras, la centralización generó retardos en las tareas operativas y de mantenimiento.

    La tercera fue la insuficiencia de ingresos. Las tarifas cobradas por las políticas populistas de Chávez no permitían cubrir los gastos que generaba la prestación del servicio. Lo que no deja de asombrar es que los principales deudores de la corporación son el Estado, sus empresas y los distintos organismos que le están adscritos.

    Y la cuarta fue el abandono de los planes de mediano y largo plazo que la industria eléctrica venía ejecutando a lo largo de los años, los cuales se sustituyeron por decisiones improvisadas. Eso generó un grave desfase entre la demanda y la oferta del servicio, lo cual condujo al deterioro de todo el sistema eléctrico.

    De los anteriores polvos viene el lodo de hoy. De modo que los recientes señalamientos de Nicolás Maduro de culpabilizar a Estados Unidos por supuestos ataques cibernéticos al cerebro de distribución de Corpoelec, no son más que el producto de su fantasía desbocada y acomodaticia.

    No hay que olvidar que la primera “emergencia eléctrica” del país arrancó el 21 de diciembre de 2009. El propio Chávez firmó ese día un decreto reconociendo la situación, la cual se mantuvo hasta el 30 de noviembre de 2010, aun cuando el problema no estaba resuelto. De hecho, el 14 de mayo de 2011, luego de que el país experimentase dos apagones nacionales, el gobierno puso en práctica un plan de racionamiento “temporal” y reconoció que el sistema eléctrico continuaba enfrentando dificultades. Inicialmente el racionamiento incluyó a Caracas. Pero tras la medida, las protestas comenzaron y Hugo Rafael no tuvo más alternativa que excluirla de sus planes. El fantasma del “Caracazo” le generó fríos súbitos en todo el cuerpo.

    El problema se mantuvo con variada intensidad a lo largo de toda la gestión de Hugo Chávez y continuó durante el gobierno de Maduro. Ello se hizo notar el 5 de marzo de 2018, una fecha especial para la revolución. Ese día un apagón eléctrico afectó varios estados del centro de Venezuela, ensombreciendo los actos de conmemoración del quinto aniversario de la muerte de Hugo Chávez. El Distrito Capital, Miranda y Vargas fueron las zonas más perjudicadas; y en el caso de Caracas, la falla afectó puntos neurálgicos de la ciudad, tales como la Candelaria, Chacao, El Paraíso, Los Palos Grandes y Sabana Grande.

    De allí en adelante, en todos los centros poblados del país la situación se estuvo repitiendo con mayor o menor intensidad, hasta que finalmente alcanzó la condición de colapso total. Ahora detentamos el desgraciado honor de ser el país que ha sufrido la paralización eléctrica más grande de América.