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Issue DH/7437 Friday, 23 June 2017

In the headlines:

• More than $350 million pledged for refugees in Uganda; 'A good start, we cannot stop,' says UN chief

• On International Day, UN says widows' rights to

independent life, livelihood after loss must be ensured

• Civilian casualties continue to rise in Yemen, warns UN human rights office

• Food insecurity threatens children in Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia – UNICEF

• Security 'number one concern' of displaced Iraqis

seeking to return home – UN study

• Lake Chad Basin: UNICEF warns 5.6 million children at risk of waterborne diseases in rainy

season

• Country-level action 'new frontier' for tackling soil pollution – UN agriculture agency

• Strengthen existing protections to curb negative impact of sanctions, UN rights expert urges EU

• UN chief welcomes deployment of regional force to combat terrorism in the Sahel

• Pakistan: UN chief condemns separate deadly bomb attacks

• UN opens international probe into alleged abuses in DR Congo's Kasai provinces

More than $350 million pledged for refugees in Uganda; 'A good start, we cannot stop,' says UN chief

23 June – A ‘Solidarity Summit’ for refugees hosted by Uganda has

raised some $358 million in pledges, the United Nations announced

today.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters in the Ugandan

capital, Kampala, that it was a “good starting point” although the

international conference was looking to raise $2 billion.

Hosted by President Yoweri Museveni and the UN Secretary-General,

the Summit sought to rally international support for refugees and host

communities in the form of donations, investments and relevant

programmes, over the next four years.

Mr. Guterres noted that the World Bank and the African Development

Bank had promised “innovative funding” for projects involving both

refugees and the local communities.

“We cannot stop,” he underscored, recalling that several of the countries agreed to put forward their pledges in the weeks to

come.

"Solidarity Summit" in Kampala, Uganda. Secretary-General

António Guterres (centre) co-chairs the Summit with President

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (right) of Uganda. Also pictured, Filippo

Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. UN Photo/Mark

Garten

UN Daily News

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

Uganda: Africa’s fastest-growing refugee emergency

Uganda is hosting a little over 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers, some 950,000 of them are from war-torn South

Sudan, according to estimates from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also a co-chair of the

international conference.

Furthermore, perhaps 2,000 people a day are crossing the border into northern Uganda’ Arua district. The majority are

women and children who arrive exhausted and hungry, with little more than the clothes on their backs. Some of them even

have their first meal at the Imvepi reception centre, after walking for days to reach safety, UNHCR field workers confirmed.

The mass influx has triggered a humanitarian emergency, what the Secretary-General described as the “biggest refugee

exodus since the genocide in Rwanda.”

The Government of Uganda, the UN team in in the east Africans country, including its humanitarian partners, are all

struggling to respond to this emergency. The new arrivals need life-saving assistance such as water, food and health

services.

Everything must be done to end the war in South Sudan – UN chief Guterres

In his remarks at the opening ceremony of the Solidarity Summit, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi,

warned that close to one-third of the people in South Sudan have been uprooted from their homes by the ongoing conflict.

“It’s almost as if the country is emptying itself,” he noted, while reminding the participants that South Sudan was the

“world’s newest nation.”

Meanwhile, during Thursday’s visit to the Imvepi refugee settlement, David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme

(WFP), said his agency was struggling to provide three meals a day. “We need $100 million to feed these people for the

remaining part of the year. We need the money and we need it now.”

Mr. Beasley accompanied Mr. Grandi and Mr. Guterres to the settlement to hear about the challenges facing the refugees

from South Sudan, as well as the host communities.

Uganda, through its Refugee Act of 2006, has a generous and progressive refugee policy which does not confine refugees

and asylum seekers to camps and allows them to travel freely, own land, open businesses and go to school.

Earlier in the day, the UN chief said it was necessary to recognize that Uganda remained “a symbol of the integrity of the

refugee protection regime” that unfortunately is not respected everywhere in the world, he stressed.

“Not all doors are open and not all refugees are accepted, and sometimes in countries richer than Uganda,” he said.

Twelve years ago, Mr Guteress reminisced, he was celebrating with the South Sudanese who were about to return home full

of hope.

Now they were back in exile and for him, the conclusion was obvious: everything must be done to end the war in South

Sudan.

At the conclusion of the Summit, after all the pledges were made, the Secretary-General, responding to a question asked by

a reporter, drove home that point, emphasizing: “If there is one clear message from all the refugees that we met, it is that this

conflict must stop. It is politically and morally unacceptable.”

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

On International Day, UN says widows' rights to independent life, livelihood after loss must be ensured

23 June – Whether they are single, married, separated or widowed,

women must be able to enjoy the inviolable right that they are not

dependent on anyone, the United Nations has said, marking

International Widow's Day.

“The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on all of us to

include those who are at risk of being left behind,” said the UN Entity

for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, better known

as UN Women, in a statement commemorating the Day, urging

everyone to work to ensure that “all widows have the opportunity to

build a new life after personal loss.”

Although accurate information is limited, it has been estimated that

there are some 285 million widows around the world, with more than

115 million living in deep poverty.

Data on women's status are not often disaggregated by marital status, so at every level of gender statistics, from national to

global, widows are not visible. Yet, according to UN Women, many elderly widows face multiple and intersecting forms of

discrimination, based on their gender, age, rural location or disability.

Others, who lose their husbands as young women, perhaps from of conflict or because they were married as children to a

much older man, face a long lifetime of widowhood.

“Along with the shock of losing a spouse, the situation for widows is often compounded by stigma and social isolation,” the

statement continued. “In many countries, widows are stripped of their rights to assets such as land, income and property.

Without access to social protection, they face destitution.”

According to the World Bank Group's Women, Business and the Law 2016 report, of 173 countries, 90 per cent have at

least one law limiting women's economic participation, including constraints on their ability to inherit or own land.

Repealing these discriminatory laws is not only ethical it is a mandate of the SDGs. A key target of Goal 5 is the need to

undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land

and other forms of property. Action on these could impact the lives of millions of widows who are currently dependent on

their husbands for their livelihoods.

UN Women is committed to working with Member States and civil society on ensuring the human rights of widows. This

includes providing women with information on access to a fair share of their inheritance, land and productive resources;

pensions and social protection that are not based on marital status alone; decent work and equal pay; and education and

training opportunities.

Widows must be empowered to support themselves and their families. This also means addressing social stigmas that create

exclusion, and discriminatory or harmful practices, such as [being] required to undergo a period of isolation and

imprisonment, purification ceremonies to 'cut the link' with her deceased husband, and pressed to remarry,” concluded the

statement.

Aisatou Reourey, 52, runs a restaurant in the Ngam refugee camp.

Her husband and 9 of her 14 children were killed during the conflict

in Central African Republic. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

Civilian casualties continue to rise in Yemen, warns UN human rights office

23 June – The United Nations Human Rights Office in Yemen continues to document reports of civilian casualties in the conflict and had verified 49 civilian deaths over the past month, a UN spokesperson said today.

“All incidents resulting in civilian casualties […] must be thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability when breaches of international law have been found to have taken place,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid

Ra'ad Al Hussein, told a news briefing in Geneva.

She said 19 civilians were killed in Taiz between 21 May and 6 June. According to witnesses interviewed by the High Commissioner's Office (OHCHR), the victims were hit by shelling attacks by a group affiliated with the Houthis rebels.

Seven civilians were killed reportedly as a result of mortar attacks from areas controlled by fighters affiliated with forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

She went on to say that at least 23 civilians were killed on 17 June by an airstrike, helicopter attack and shelling on a house and nearby market area located just a few hundred metres from the Yemeni-Saudi border in Shada District in Sa'ada Governorate.

Since March 2015, OHCHR has recorded a total of 13,504 civilian casualties, including 4,971 killed and 8,533 injured.

“We recall that indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks, or attacks targeting civilian objects such as markets, are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Ms. Shamdasani said, reminding all parties to the conflict of their obligation to ensure full respect for international human rights and humanitarian laws.

On cholera, she said the outbreak of disease has affected eight prisons and detention centres in six governorates. Some 50 prisoners have contracted cholera and there are 72 other suspected cases. “In the best of circumstances, prisoners are among the most vulnerable members of society,” she said.

Bombed out buildings in Aden, Yemen. Photo: WFP/Ammar

Bamatraf

Food insecurity threatens children in Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and Somalia – UNICEF

23 June – Calling for immediate humanitarian action amid rising

malnutrition, thirst and disease, the United Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF) warned today that millions of lives are at risk in four

countries stretching from Africa to the Middle East.

The welcome announcement of an end to famine conditions in South

Sudan earlier this week should not distract from the severe food

insecurity that continues to put the lives of millions of children at risk

in north-east Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, said

UNICEF.

“The crisis is far from over and we must continue to scale up our

response and insist on unconditional humanitarian access, otherwise

the progress made could be rapidly undone,” said Manuel Fontaine,

UNICEF Director for Emergency Programmes, in a press statement.

A UNICEF nutrition volunteer measures the mid-upper arm

circumference (MUAC) of a child during a health screening as part of

a UNICEF Rapid Response Mission to the village of Aburoc, South

Sudan. Photo: UNICEF/Hatcher-Moore

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

“There is no room for complacency,” he continued. “While famine has been reversed in South Sudan, the lives of millions

of children are still hanging by a thread.”

In north-east Nigeria, Boko Haram violence continues to contribute to large-scale population displacement, limit market

activity and restrict normal livelihoods. Around 5.2 million people remain severely food insecure, with 450,000 children

expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year. With deteriorating road conditions and flooding making

populations harder to reach, the rainy season will further complicate the humanitarian response and raise the risk of water-

borne diseases.

The fragile Somali population, battered by conflict, is facing further exposure to prolonged drought. An estimated 275,000

children will suffer from severe acute malnutrition in 2017, making them nine times more likely to die of diseases such as

cholera, acute watery diarrhoea and measles, which are spreading through the country.

After a scaled-up humanitarian response, famine in South Sudan has eased, according to new analysis released this week.

However, the situation remains dire across a country where some six million people struggle to find enough food each day –

the highest level of food insecurity ever experienced there. This year, an estimated 276,000 South Sudanese children will be

severely malnourished.

In Yemen, an estimated 400,000 children are severely malnourished as an unprecedented cholera outbreak – with over

175,000 suspected cases and more than 1,000 deaths to date –has complicated the ongoing humanitarian response. Some of

the children who have become ill or died from cholera were already suffering from malnutrition, which had weakened their

immune systems.

Moreover, Yemen's healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, with hospitals and treatment centres struggling to cope

amid dwindling medicines and medical supplies. As the conflict continues, famine is a possible worst-case scenario.

Beyond these four countries, food, water and health crises are endangering hundreds of thousands of children across the

Greater Horn of Africa, the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel.

This year, UNICEF is working with partners to provide therapeutic and life-saving food treatment to severely malnourished

children in Nigeria (314,000), South Sudan (200,000), Somalia (200,000) and Yemen (320,000).

UNICEF is also restoring and equipping health facilities, developing medical and nutritional supply pipelines and providing

clean and safe water to vulnerable children and families.

Security 'number one concern' of displaced Iraqis seeking to return home – UN study

23 June – With three million Iraqis remaining internally displaced

across the country, the United Nations migration agency today

published findings of a study showing that the decision to return or

remain displaced depends largely on how close their home is to the

frontline of conflict.

The study, titled Obstacles to Return in Retaken Areas of Iraq,

commissioned by the International Organization for Migration (IOM),

has surveyed more than 1.7 million Iraqis who opted to return, posing

questions as to the factors that motivate, or inhibit, Iraqis from

returning to their areas of origin.

The qualitative and quantitative data collection was carried out in

eight sub-districts the Government has recently retaken from the

An Iraqi woman and her son, internally displaced from Mosul, stand

beside a water truck on the road leading past the Garmava transit

camp. Credit: UNHCR/S. Baldwin (file)

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh).

Security in the areas of origin topped all other factors in influencing the decision to return home or remain displaced, with

proximity to the frontline – and perceived instability in the place of origin – remaining the most relevant obstacle for return,

according to the study.

Speaking to reporters at the regular bi-weekly news briefing in Geneva, IOM spokesperson Joel Millman said security is the

“number one concern. If they feel fighting is still going on or that the people who had destroyed their homes are still at large

in the community – that is a major deterrent.”

Feelings of trust towards the security actors in control of the areas of origin promotes a higher number of returns, while fear

of security actors in the place origin is a strong drawback and reinforces the perceived advantage of staying in displacement,

the study finds.

Fear of reprisal back home is a concern for more than 30 per cent of all internally displaced persons (IDPs) interviewed.

However, that perception is much lower among interviewed returnees, at 10 per cent.

The data suggest that damage to housing does not constitute an obstacle to return, although the presence of actors whom

IDPs hold responsible for the damage inflicted in a given location is, noted IOM.

Livelihood options and previous or current employment status also play an important role in influencing the decision to

return. IDPs who have jobs in the location of displacement are less inclined to return home. By contrast, those who are

unemployed appear to be more likely to return to seek new opportunities.

The study shows that almost a quarter of interviewed IDPs who decided to return were prevented from doing so, mostly by

delays in processing their documentation, or by being stopped at checkpoints on the way back to their place of origin.

Lake Chad Basin: UNICEF warns 5.6 million children at risk of waterborne diseases in rainy season

23 June – More than 5.6 million children are at increased risk of

contracting waterborne diseases, such as cholera and diarrhoeal

infections, as the rainy season begins in conflict-affected areas of

countries around Lake Chad, the United Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF) warned today.

“The rains will further complicate what is already a dire

humanitarian situation, as millions of children made vulnerable by

conflict are now facing the potential spread of diseases,” said Marie

Pierre Poirier, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central

Africa, in a press release.

The threat of disease outbreaks in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria

coincides with growing regional insecurity and increased population

movements particularly in Nigeria's north-east.

“Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene conditions can lead to cholera outbreaks and to Hepatitis E, a deadly

disease for pregnant women and their babies, while standing water pools can attract malaria-carrying mosquitos. Staving off

disease is our top priority,” Ms. Poirier said.

The 5.6 million children in need in the Lake Chad region are spread across the four countries in varied living conditions

from host communities to camps for internally displaced and refugees.

Children wash a mat in water in Toumour, Niger. Thousands of

displaced civilians are sheltering in and surrounding the village, many

having arrived after attacks by Boko Haram in Bosso, Niger. Photo:

UNICEF/Phelps

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

Flooding and muddy roads are expected to severely limit humanitarian access to remote areas for several weeks, just as the

needs of children and families are sharply on the rise because of heightened insecurity across the region.

In Nigeria, security concerns have made it difficult to preposition supplies ahead of the rains and UNICEF is concerned

about the availability of clean water for large numbers of people returning from Cameroon.

In the Diffa region of Niger, UNICEF explains, some 150,000 people are living in makeshift shelters and will be exposed to

heavy rains and unsanitary conditions.

Across the Lake Chad region, UNICEF and its partners are working in communities at higher risk of cholera outbreaks to

teach families about the effects of the disease and practical steps like hand washing to help avoid infection.

In Niger, Cameroon and Chad, essential drugs and bars of soap have been prepositioned in warehouses close to IDP camps

in case of a cholera outbreak.

Less than 20 per cent of the $80 million required to meet urgent needs for water, sanitation and hygiene in the Lake Chad

Basin for 2017 has been received.

Country-level action 'new frontier' for tackling soil pollution – UN agriculture agency

23 June – Nitrogen and metals, like lead and mercury, can strain

farmable land by polluting soil, and damaging plants, and ultimately,

posing risks to food security, according to the United Nations

agriculture agency.

Soil pollution due to human activities that leave excess chemicals in

soils took centre stage at the 5th Global Soil Partnership (GSP)

Plenary Assembly held at the Food and Agriculture Organization's

(FAO) headquarters this week in Rome.

“Soil pollution is an emerging problem, but, because it comes in so

many forms, the only way we can reduce knowledge gaps and

promote sustainable soil management is to intensify global

collaboration and build reliable scientific evidence,” said Ronald

Vargas, FAO soils officer and Secretary of the GSP.

Excess nitrogen and trace metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury can impair plant metabolism and cut crop

productivity, ultimately putting pressure on arable land. When they enter the food chain, such pollutants also pose risks to

food security, water resources, rural livelihoods and human health, underscored FAO.

“The GSP Plenary Assembly is a unique, neutral and multi-stakeholder platform to discuss global soil issues, to learn from

good practices, and to deliberate on actions to secure healthy soils for an effective provision of ecosystem services and food

for all,” said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources. “Action at the country

level is the new frontier.”

The Plenary Assembly endorsed three new initiatives aimed at facilitating information exchange: the Global Soil

Information System; the Global Network of Soil Laboratories, set up to coordinate and standardize measurement across

countries; and the International Network of Black Soils, launched to increase knowledge about the world's most fertile

agricultural soils, which are also known for their high carbon content.

Soil pollution under scrutiny

Farmers unload soil in Sri Lanka. Photo: FAO

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

The term soil pollution refers to the presence in soils of chemicals that are either out of place or at higher-than-normal

concentrations. It is an insidious risk because it is harder to observe than some other soil degradation processes, such as

erosion.

Agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides – and antibiotics contained in animal manure – are major

potential pollutants, posing special challenges due to the fast-changing chemical formulas employed.

The GSP endorsed a global symposium on soil contamination and pollution, for April 2018, and supported data networks to

share information and harmonize standards to ease the burden.

Black soils

“Black soils” are far from uniform. The new International Network of Black Soils defines them as containing at least 25

centimetres of humus and with soil organic carbon content above two per cent; by this definition they cover about 916

million hectares, or seven per cent of the world's ice-free land surface.

The Network will promote their conservation and long-term productivity by producing analytic reports and serving as a

platform for knowledge sharing and technical cooperation.

Strengthen existing protections to curb negative impact of sanctions, UN rights expert urges EU

23 June – Noting progress made by the European Union (EU) to

ensure that its sanctions allow for legal remedy and offer a measure of

due process, a United Nations expert has called for further

strengthening such measures to ensure that the human rights of those

impacted are protected to the greatest extent.

“If sanctions are ever to be used, they should only address direct

security threats or internationally recognized human rights

violations,” Idriss Jazairy, the UN Special Rapporteur on the

negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures, said in a

news release today, at the end of his first official visit to Brussels –

the official seat of the EU.

Highlighting that EU sanctions offered “a measure” of due process for

those being targeted, and while such efforts were “still insufficient,”

they compared favourably to the legal remedies available in other blocs and States that impose sanctions.

“These steps, though they need to be further reinforced, are important commitments by the EU and its members

to ensure that the States or individuals targeted by sanctions have the possibility of effective remedies.”

In the release, issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Special Rapporteur also

positively noted the position of the EU not to claim extraterritorial enforcement of domestic legislation concerning unilateral

sanctions.

He also urged the regional bloc to clarify “practical implications” of its legal requirements and to make clear that

humanitarian exemptions from sanctions should be mandatory and that these exemptions should become effective and be

communicated to financial institutions and other stakeholders at the time of the enforcement of sanctions, so as to avoid a

protection gap between the start of sanctions and decisions on humanitarian exceptions.

Mr. Jazairy also called on EU institutions to reiterate their endorsement of the principle identified by the Committee on

European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Carmen

Cuesta Roca

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Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – an independent body of experts that monitors the implementation of the

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by its States parties – that “when an external party takes

upon itself even partial responsibility for the situation within a country […] it also unavoidably assumes a responsibility to

do all within its powers to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of the affected population”.

This would be in line with the EU's commitment to uphold human rights and international law, stressed the Special

Rapporteur.

'Common ground' to address sanctions 'stalemate' in international community

Mr. Jazairy noted that a sanctions “stalemate” in the international community, with most countries agreeing that sanctions

had to be adopted by the UN Security Council in order to be compatible with international law, while States that frequently

use sanctions believe there are exceptions to this principle.

A common ground could be found, he said, suggesting a declaration on minimum standards of behavior aimed at further

mitigating the impact on human rights until the international community could agree on giving up on the “very blunt policy

tool” of unilateral sanctions.

It was hoped that beyond that point, sanctions would only be enacted through the Security Council as provided for under the

UN Charter, noted Mr. Jazairy.

The findings from the expert's visit will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council – the highest intergovernmental

body on human rights issues within the UN system – in September 2018.

Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific

human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for

their work.

UN chief welcomes deployment of regional force to combat terrorism in the Sahel

23 June – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has

welcomed the deployment by the so-called Group of Five (G5) –

Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – of a joint force to

tackle the threat of terrorism and organized crime in the Sahel region.

In a statement issued late last night by his spokesman, the Secretary-

General welcomed the recent adoption of Security Council resolution

2359 (2017), which created the joint task force.

Mr. Guterres reiterated the UN's commitment, working closely with

the African Union (AU) and other partners, “to do its utmost to help

mobilise adequate resources for the attainment of the objectives of

the Force as agreed by the leaders of the G5 and endorsed by the AU

Peace and Security Council.”

The unanimous adoption of the resolution on Wednesday coincided

with the second anniversary of the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. The agreement, signed on 20 June

following Algeria-led mediation, included political and institutional reforms, and those relating to defence and security. It

also encompasses humanitarian, economic and legal aspects.

In his statement, Mr. Guterres welcomed the “important progress” made by the Government and the groups, and stressed the

need “for expeditious progress” on the remaining aspects of the agreement for sustaining peace in Mali and the region.

Children affected by violence attend temporary schools in the refugee

camp of Kabelewa. Forced displacement in the Diffa region, Niger's

poorest, is becoming regular and is conducted by the armed group

Boko Haram. Photo: UNICEF/Sylvain Cherkaoui

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Pakistan: UN chief condemns separate deadly bomb attacks

23 June – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has

condemned the twin bombing at a marketplace in Parachinar, in the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, and a suicide attack

at a checkpoint in Quetta, Balochistan.

“He hopes those responsible for these crimes will be swiftly brought

to justice,” according to a statement issued today by his

spokesperson.

According to news reports, dozens of people were killed and more

than 100 were injured in the two separate attacks. Early on Friday, a

bomb attack took place in Quetta in Pakistan's south-west. In the

afternoon, deadly blasts hit a market in Parachinar.

Further to the statement, Mr. Guterres extended his condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a

speedy recovery. He also expressed his solidarity with the people and Government of Pakistan and its efforts to fight

terrorism and violent extremism.

Secretary-General António Guterres. UN Photo/Violaine Martin (file)

UN opens international probe into alleged abuses in DR Congo's Kasai provinces

23 June – The United Nations today opened an international

investigation into alleged killings, mutilations and destruction of

entire villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC)

restive Kasai provinces.

The UN Human Rights Council, comprised of 47 countries, adopted

the resolution by consensus during a meeting earlier today in Geneva.

“The victims – those who have been killed, maimed, subjected to

terrible violence and forced from their homes – deserve justice,” said

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein,

who has been called on to appoint a team of international experts to

carry out the investigation.

In a statement, Mr. Zeid, who has repeatedly called for a probe, said

the creation of the investigation is “a step forward in identifying the

perpetrators of gross violations and bringing them to justice.”

His office said it expects and counts on “the full cooperation of the authorities” including “unfettered access to all sites,

files, people and places.”

He added that the team will conduct investigations “in a fully independent manner, in accordance with international

standards.”

Addressing the Council on Tuesday, Mr. Zeid recounted chilling details of apparent ethnic violence that included mutilated

babies and fetuses.

Violence flared up in the DRC's Kasai regions in August 2016, when a customary chief was killed by Forces armées de la

République démocratique du Congo (FARDC), as DRC's armed forces are known. The Kamuina Nsapu militia (named after

Returned persons from Kasala village, Kasaï Province, awaiting food

distribution by the NGO COPROMOR and Christian Aid. Photo:

Joseph Mankamba/OCHA-DRC

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UN Daily News 23 June 2017

The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section

of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)

the chief) then set about avenging the killing, committing widespread atrocities as well as recruiting children into its ranks.

The gravity of the situation was further underscored by the discovery in April of forty-two mass graves by Mr. Zeid's office

(OHCHR) and the UN mission in the country, known by its French acronym, MONUSCO.

Since the start of the violence, more than 1.3 million people have since been displaced within the country as well as

thousands forced to flee across its borders.