2013 lagde store byrder på det humanitære system, men 2014 kan blive endnu værre, for udover Syrien har især millioner af afrikanere måttet forlade deres hjem på grund af vold og konflikt – og i Fjernøsten slog tyfonen til mod Filippinerne.
NEW YORK, 2 January 2014 (UN News Service): An unprecedented number of people are beginning 2014 either as displaced (fordrevne fra deres hjem) or as refugees crossing into other countries, the United Nations humanitarian chief warned Thursday.
She urged sustained support for millions who have been driven from their homes by violence and bloodshed or uprooted by devastating natural disasters.
“2013 was a real test of the global humanitarian system, and there is no indication that 2014 will be any different,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos, at a briefing in New York on the past year.
A year, which was marked by the international community’s massive efforts to ease suffering in war-torn Syria and typhoon-hit Philippines. And the year ahead has opened amid sectarian fighting in both Central African Republic and South Sudan.
“It is clear that the United Nations and its partners will be needed more than ever,” she said.
She noted, that just a little more than two weeks ago, the Organization had launched its largest ever funding appeal – nearly 13 billion US dollar (71 milliarder DKR) – to reach millions of people with life-saving aid in 2014, with half of that sought for those affected by the deepening crisis in Syria.
Tragically since then, inter-communal fighting has shattered the world’s youngest nation – South Sudan – and bloody violence has spread throughout the Central African Republic, where a worrying crisis has been unfolding against a backdrop of abject (dyb) poverty and a collapsing State.
“The world’s collective response capacity and resources are being stretched to the limit,” she said, stressing that more funds will be needed to address emerging needs.
En dyster liste
In SOUTH SUDAN, violence has driven an estimated 194.000 people from their homes in a matter of weeks with more than 57.000 seeking protection at UN missions.
Some 107.000 people have been reached with assistance, Ms. Amos said, adding that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which she heads, aims to reach over 600.000 people in the first three months on this year.
She expressed deep concern about ongoing disturbing reports of gross violations of human rights and the lack of protection of civilians,
“Aid organizations need access to affected communities to provide shelter, health care and clean water. People’s lives depend on this,” Ms Amos stated.
In SYRIA, where over 100.000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2011, Ms. Amos noted that the collapse of the country’s infrastructure, ongoing targeting of civilians and militarization of schools and hospitals remain ongoing concerns.
The result is, that some 6,5 million people displaced and more than 2,3 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries.
“We continue to stress the need for a political solution to the crisis. Every day that passes leads to further deterioration of the situation,” Ms. Amos said adding that the funding need is “unprecedented”.
On 15 January, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due to chair the second Pledging Conference for Syria, in Kuwait City.
Plans are also underway for the long-awaited international conference aimed at achieving a political solution. The so-called Geneva II conference is due to begin in Switzerland on 22 January.
On the CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, Ms. Amos noted that violence and unrest continue against the backdrop of abject poverty and the collapse of the State, with more than one of six residents are displaced, an equivalent of more than 800.000 people, and a half-million hungry.
“Aid agencies continue to scale up their response activities as fast as security conditions allow but it has not been easy,” she said.
In SUDAN, aid workers continue to face challenges accessing South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, with limited access also to Darfur whose crisis is now entering its tenth year.
Large-scale displacement is also a concern in the DR CONGO where 2,7 million people remain uprooted, 65 per cent of them in the Kivu provinces alone.
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