Day: February 17, 2023

The text of the following joint statement was released by the Government of the United States of America and the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council Counterterrorism Working Group.

Begin Text:

Senior officials of the United States and the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) convened their Working Group on Counterterrorism at the GCC’s headquarters in Riyadh on February 16. The Working Group affirmed the longstanding partnership between the United States and the member states of the GCC and our shared determination to contribute to regional security and stability, under the framework of the GCC-U.S. Strategic Partnership.

The United States and GCC member states discussed the range of terrorist threats to the Middle East and other regions, including South and Central Asia and Africa. The participants affirmed that terrorism should not be associated with any religion, nationality, or ethnic group. The participants reaffirmed the November 2021 and February 2023 statements of the U.S.-GCC Iran Working Group, again condemning Iran’s malign behavior through proxies such as Hizballah, as well as those in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Iran has used Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and supported terrorist and other armed groups to conduct hundreds of attacks in the region. The United States and GCC member states affirmed that Iran’s support to terrorist militias and armed groups across the region and use of unmanned aircraft systems threatens regional security and stability. Participants took note that the United States and GCC members have already affirmed that diplomacy remains the preferred way to address Iran’s destabilizing policies.

The United States and GCC member states affirmed that to reduce the risk of ISIS/Da’esh re-emerging in Syria and Iraq, more joint effort should be encouraged globally to ensure that a practical and sustainable solution is achieved for individuals currently located in camps and detention facilities in northeast Syria that could include safe repatriation, rehabilitation, reintegration, and prosecution, as appropriate. The United States and GCC member states underlined the need for civilian-led efforts, including stabilization assistance, countering terrorist financing, and countering ISIS narratives, in Syria and Iraq to continue. The United States and GCC member states also emphasized the need to continue efforts to enhance the Government of Iraq’s counterterrorism capabilities and reforms.

The United States and GCC member states stressed the importance of strengthening joint action to collectively address terrorist threats by countering the financing of terrorism and strengthening resilience in the face of terrorism. They further decided to hold subsequent meetings of this working group to discuss these and other issues.

The United States and GCC member states welcomed opportunities for further cooperation under the auspices of the Global Coalition to Defeat-ISIS, including upcoming working and focus group meetings on countering ISIS financing and ISIS messaging, deterring foreign terrorist fighter travel, and implementing stabilization lines of effort in Syria and Iraq.

Source: US State Department

A steady flow of UN aid trucks filled with vital humanitarian relief, continues to cross the border from southern Türkiye into northwest Syria to help communities enduring terrible trauma caused by last week’s earthquake disaster – and “will continue every day for as long as the needs are there”, UN aid teams said on Friday.

Since 9 February, 143 trucks have passed through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). “The movements continue today, they continue over the weekend and will continue every day for as long as the needs are there,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists in Geneva.

Asked about earthquake damage to roads leading to the aid corridors, the OCHA spokesperson referred to information that “all the roads through all the crossing points are passable and you can drive there…I was myself at Bab al-Hawa a few days ago and the trucks were indeed rolling across”.

Amid massive devastation in both Türkiye and Syria after the double quake strike on 6 February, relief workers continue to stress that the full extent of disaster is still unfolding. Echoing that message, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Thursday that earthquake damage in Syria threatens “immediate and longer-term food security” in Syria.

In Türkiye, it’s estimated that more than 15 million people have been affected, while in Syria, 8.8 million have been impacted. Humanitarian assistance is urgently needed, as relief teams have seen first-hand in Aleppo, particularly after more than a decade of war.

Cracks in buildings – and people

“I was quite overwhelmed by not only the magnitude of the destruction but the loss that was inflicted on families, you know, during only 60 seconds,” said Fabrizio Carboni, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Director for the Near and Middle East.

“For the first time I saw that there was not only a crack, and cracks in the buildings, but for the first time I really saw that our colleagues, the people you talked to in Syria, they were really wounded, and something is broken.”

Aid blocked from Damascus

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, the ICRC official also issued a strong appeal for crossline aid deliveries from Damascus to be allowed through to the largely opposition-held northwest: “We tried to get into Idlib through crossline and so far we’ve been blocked, unfortunately. So, I don’t have first-hand information on the roads and access but we’re ready to get in but we are so far blocked to do crossline, hoping that this could change soon.”

Hot meals, family rations

As part of the UN-wide response, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Thursday that it has stepped up its emergency response to nearly half a million quake-affected people in Türkiye and Syria, providing hot meals, emergency ready-to-eat food packages and family food rations.

“Families tell me they left everything behind when the earthquake hit, running for their lives. WFP’s food is a lifeline for them; while they think about their next steps in the destruction left by the earthquake, their children can eat,” said Corinne Fleischer, WFP Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and East Europe.

She added: “We have scaled up rapidly and requests for more food are coming every day from municipalities and communities. We are there for them, but WFP can’t do it alone. We urgently appeal for funding to help us reach those in need.”

Source: United Nations

Addis Ababa – The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu today called for a collective sustained effort, political will and renewed commitment across the African continent, and globally, to transform agrifood systems and deliver better nutrition.

Qu was speaking at a High-Level event on addressing malnutrition in Africa during the 36th ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“It is now more crucial than ever to support vulnerable communities with multiple and innovative solutions to build their resilience and transform agrifood systems to deliver better nutrition,” he told the gathering attended by over a dozen of African heads of state and government, and high-level officials from international organizations including UN agencies and development banks.

The event, co-hosted by FAO, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank, and the African Leaders for Nutrition (ALN), aimed to evaluate the progress and achievements in addressing malnutrition in Africa.

According to the last joint report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, led by FAO, 281 million people in Africa are undernourished, nearly 60 million African children under 5 suffer from stunting and 14 million suffer from wasting.

The FAO Director-General further warned that 1 billion people in Africa could not afford a healthy diet in 2020, and the impacts of the climate crisis, conflicts, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine are raising levels of malnutrition and hunger.

“Unfortunately, we know that Africa is falling behind in meeting the Malabo nutrition targets and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he noted.

Key actions needed

Qu explained that a series of key actions should be put in place to address Africa’s nutrition challenges.

One of them is to promote nutrition-sensitive agrifood systems making sure they deliver safe, nutritious, and diverse food to all people.

“Agriculture has the potential to improve nutrition outcomes, and we need to ensure that agricultural policies and programmes prioritize nutrition,” he explained.

For Qu, it is also necessary to scale up interventions that address the underlying causes of malnutrition such as promoting breastfeeding, improving access to safe drinking water and improving hygiene and sanitation.

The FAO Director-General asked African leaders to promote accountability for results by setting targets, tracking progress and being transparent about achievements and challenges, as well as to strengthen the capacity of national nutrition systems to collect, analyze and use data.

“Addressing malnutrition requires a multi-sectoral approach, and we need to work together to achieve our collective targets by leveraging the expertise, resources, and networks of all stakeholders to make effective progress in addressing malnutrition”, he underscored, urging to strengthen partnerships and collaboration.

Behind the Malabo Targets

At the African Union Summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, in June 2014, Heads of State and Government adopted a set of concrete agricultural goals to be attained by 2025, including ending hunger and halving poverty through agriculture.

At today’s event in Addis Ababa, African Union officials as well as Heads of State and Government including King Letsie III of the Kingdom of Lesotho and FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition, evaluated the progress towards the Malabo goals.

Josefa Sacko, AU’s Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, informed during today’s event that with only two years remaining to 2025, at the current pace, the continent will not meet the Malabo goals and targets related to nutrition.

She underscored how hunger and malnutrition are major causes of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa by causing poor health, low levels of energy, and mental impairment, all leading to low productivity impacting negatively on education.

Sacko called on all Member States and Regional Economic Communities to double or triple efforts to accelerate the pace of implementation of strategies and programs improving the nutrition outcomes of the African population.

FAO’s nutrition work in Africa

FAO has supported the development of several policies and strategies in Africa on nutrition including the Africa Regional Nutrition Strategy, the Sustainable School Food and Nutrition Strategy, the Africa Renewed Initiative for Stunting Elimination and the AU Initiative for Nutrition in Drought and Conflict Countries.

FAO also supports countries to strengthen data and information systems, and to train experts about hunger and nutrition indicators to align them with the SDGs.

Meanwhile, FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative supports the implementation of nationally-led programmes to accelerate agrifood systems transformations by eradicating poverty, ending hunger and malnutrition, and reducing inequalities.

“Together, we must continue to invest and innovate in diversified nutrition-sensitive agriculture that nourishes people and nurtures our planet,” the FAO Director-General underscored.

Source: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations

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Guterres in Africa: End political stalemate in Libya now, UN chief urges leaders

Overcoming the current political impasse in Libya can unleash much-needed progress in tackling myriad crises there, the UN chief said on Friday at a high-level meeting of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital.

“What is urgently needed is the political will to break the protracted political stalemate and achieve progress on multiple fronts,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the latest meeting of the High-level Committee on Libya, taking place in Addis Ababa.

Progress is sorely needed towards holding elections and advancing gains in security, national reconciliation and human rights, he said, adding that the UN continues to be committed to Libyan-owned and Libyan-led solutions.

Priority areas for action

Noting that the UN has been “totally committed to overcoming the misunderstandings of the past”, he outlined priorities areas for action.

“We have no agenda and no goal but one: to secure the right of the Libyan people to live in peace, to vote in free and fair elections, and to share in the prosperity of their country,” he said.

The challenges are dire. A UN human rights fact-finding probe in late January included testimony of extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, human trafficking, internal displacement, and the existence of mass burial sites.

Since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi who had led Libya since 1969, the oil-rich nation has grappled with multiple crises and rival administrations – a UN-recognized Government of National Accord, based in the capital Tripoli, and the so-called Libyan National Army based in the east.

‘No alternative to elections’

In December 2021, legal disputes and other challenges forced the cancellation of historic presidential and parliamentary elections. To address this pressing issue, the Secretary-General said his Special Representative has engaged the Libyan parties and international partners to agree on a constitutional basis for elections by the end of February.

“I share the growing frustrations of the Libyan people,” the Secretary-General said. “The absence of elections worsens economic insecurity, heightens political instability, risks renewed conflict, and raises the specter of partition.”

But, without agreement, the United Nations, in close collaboration with key Libyan stakeholders, the African Union, and international partners, should propose and pursue alternative mechanisms towards finding solutions, he said.

“There is no alternative to elections,” he stated. “They remain the only credible pathway to legitimate, unified governance.”

‘Instrument of hope’

Meanwhile, the 2020 ceasefire agreement continues to hold, he said, commending progress on security challenges. Efforts include the work of the “5+5’ Joint Military Commission, convened by his Special Representative, which represents “an instrument of hope for all Libyans”, he said, as well the African Union’s engagement and support.

Withdraw foreign fighters

“The next priority of the Joint Military Commission must be the complete withdrawal of foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya,” he said, recalling that external interference had fuelled Libya’s descent into conflict.

Welcoming the recent meeting in Cairo between the military commission and representatives of Libya, Sudan, and Niger, he said the decision to establish a coordination and information sharing committee marks “an important step towards greater stability and peace in Libya and the wider region”.

Progress towards national reconciliation is also a priority, he said, pointing to the AU’s ongoing efforts to support an inclusive process.

Human rights concerns

Outlining serious human rights concerns, he said migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers continue to suffer abuses with impunity. Thousands who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea are returned to Libya and detained in inhumane and degrading conditions with restricted humanitarian assistance, with thousands more unaccounted for.

He reiterated his call for all countries involved to respect the integrity of international refugee law, and for Libyan authorities to find rights-based alternatives to detention.

“The United Nations and the African Union – together with other key regional actors and organizations – must work together to support the Libyan people in realizing their legitimate aspirations to a more peaceful and prosperous future,” he said.

Source: United Nations

Aflao, (Ghana), 2 February 2023 — Every morning, hundreds of local residents cross the border between Ghana and Togo. They may be headed to work, visiting the markets, or meeting with friends and relatives in Lomé (the capital of Togo, which lies within walking distance right across the border). Locals benefit from simplified procedures allowing them to easily transit between the two countries without queues or laborious exit and entry processes.

But in addition to the daily regular crossings, the Aflao border area witnesses irregular border crossings, often facilitated by smugglers. Some try to take advantage of the heavy daily traffic and simply enter Togo unnoticed, while others try to cross the border irregularly. These people include refugees or asylum seekers, searching for an escape from a desperate situation at home. They could be migrants, unaccompanied children, or any others who cross the border outside of regular migration channels.

“As many as 300 people were intercepted in a single day trying to enter Ghana through unapproved routes at the north of the city of Aflao during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the borders were closed,” said Frederick Duodu, Ghana’s Assistant Commissioner of Immigration (ACI) and Sector Commander of the Aflao Border. Even with the border now re-opened, he added, “we are still intercepting 10-15 persons per day attempting to enter irregularly.”

Very often, these irregular border crossings are facilitated by criminal smugglers and may be only a small leg of a long journey towards destination countries in the North of Africa, Europe, or even the United States. Such journeys present risks that many migrants dismiss or of which they may be simply unaware.

“Migrants often see smugglers as their benefactors and the immigration authorities as preventing them from achieving their goals and reaching their destination,” remarked Duodu.

Smuggled migrants are vulnerable to human rights violations and exploitation by profit-seeking smugglers. Many die or are gravely harmed en route, while others are subject to blackmail or debt bondage once they reach their destination. Through the bribery of officials, this crime can also fuel corruption and organized crime in countries of origin, transit, or destination.

In order to address challenges in detecting and investigating migrant smuggling, on 1 and 2 February 2023, under its STARSOM project, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organized a mentoring session for 30 officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) deployed in Aflao.

STARSOM experts visited Aflao together with the group of officers from the GIS Headquarters in Accra who had received mentoring under the initiative in the previous months.

The visit to Aflao allowed them to share their knowledge, interact with other colleagues and learn first-hand of migrant smuggling challenges in their day-to-day work at the border.

During the mentoring exercise, participants “observed, monitored, and shared ideas on trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants,” said Superintendent Alberta Ankrah, Head of the Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons Unit of GIS. “This has been an opportunity to have practical experience on how officers work at the borders to handle migrant smuggling cases and identify vulnerable migrants and perpetrators.”

“It is crucial that officers deployed at the borders have the knowledge and skills not only to detect and investigate the perpetrators of migrant smuggling, but also to consider and attend to the needs of men, women and children that are smuggled,” said Panagiotis Papadimitriou, STARSOM Coordinator and Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer at UNODC.

Based on the findings and observations that emerged during the implementation of STARSOM in Ghana and Nigeria, UNODC will develop a plan to further its support in the fight against migrant smuggling, focusing particularly on border areas. In the meantime, immigration officers of the GIS from Accra and Aflao will attend monthly online mentoring sessions, alongside their counterparts from Nigeria, to deepen their understanding of migrant smuggling.

Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime