The UN Security Council Tuesday expressed its deep concern over troubling humanitarian situations in many parts of Africa and, recognizing that the efforts to turn back such crises were often under-funded, stressed the need for the prompt and predictable provision of resources and relief aid.
Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Løj of Denmark, Council President for May, highlighted the concerns of the bodys 15 members in a press statement summing up the discussions on the worlds greatest humanitarian challenges – all of which are in Africa – that took place during a closed-door briefing given by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland.
– As regards northern Uganda, members of the Council condemned the atrocities carried out by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and called on the LRA to cease all acts of violence and enter into peace negotiations, said Ambassador Løj.
She added that Council members also expressed the hope that a peaceful solution to the conflict in northern Uganda could be achieved and encouraged the Government of Uganda to seek and facilitate such a solution.
In relation to the Darfur region in western Sudan, Ms. Løj said the Council expressed “deep concern” over the situation there, as well as the hope that in light of further deployment of African Union (AU) forces, the overall situation would improve, including for humanitarian workers.
– Worry was also expressed over the situation in Chad as a consequence of the influx of refugees from Darfur, she added, referring to the more than 200.000 Sudanese who fled over the border to escape the two-year long conflict pitting the Government and its allied militias against rebels.
On Togo, she said several members expressed the hope that efforts of the AU and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would be successful and that a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation there could be avoided.
– We held a longer discussion on insufficient funding for humanitarian crises in Africa, and Council members acknowledged the need for prompt and predictable funding and reiterated the Councils strong support for relief efforts in Africa,” Ambassador Løj said.
She added that Council members also underlined that in the financing of much needed aid efforts, it was important that the various crises were financed in a balanced manner. The importance of aid workers having access to populations in need was also underlined.
For his part, Mr. Egeland told reporters that the humanitarian community appreciated the opportunity to bring to the Councils attention the challenges of trying to secure enough resources to help deal with acute humanitarian needs in Africa, as well as problems in gaining access to vulnerable populations there.
– If we get more political attention, more diplomatic pressure on parties, and more resources, many of the worst humanitarian crises in the world that are in Africa can be solved, he said.
He noted that great progress had been made in Darfur because of the massive investment in the humanitarian programme underway in that region throughout the year, saving hundreds of thousands of lives this year.
– But in general, there is still not enough attention to specific situations elsewhere, where there is still too little investment Mr. Egeland said, reiterating his warning that without more resources, there would be a break in northern Ugandas food pipeline by June.
This would mean that rations would have to be cut from the present meagre level and become totally substandard, he added.
Egeland appealed in particular for urgent attention to northern Uganda, where several recent attempts to sign truces and open peace talks have faltered, and fighting has intensified in an 18-year-old conflict between rebel fighters and the government that has left 500.000 people dead and 2 million displaced.
Asked if the rest of the world was discriminating against Africa in terms of providing money humanitarian aid, Mr. Egeland said that the discrimination was “in-built.”
If everyone agreed that every human life had the same value, then the same attention would be paid to northern Uganda as to northern Iraq, or the same attention to Congo as there was to Kosovo, he said.
– That is simply not the case today. The majority of our activities in Africa are badly under-funded, he noted.
The UN humanitarian chief said that rich nations are discriminating against Africa on desperately needed aid for humanitarian crises, resulting in meager food rations for thousands of people, no food for others and many deaths.
Jan Egeland told the UN Security Council that donors are more generous if humanitarian crises happen in Europe or the Middle East than in Africa, where all the major humanitarian challenges are located and the need is the greatest.
Of 14 UN humanitarian appeals for Africa this year, eight have received less than 20 percent of the money requested, and except for a small appeal for Angola, none has received more than 40 percent, he said.
The New York Times added, that Egeland warned of a “triple threat” menace to southern Africa – a combination of HIV/AIDS, which he said had taken 250.000 lives in the region since January; drought brought on by catastrophically low rainfall, and weak government.
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