Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, Deputy Head of UNHCR’s New York Office, briefs media at the UN’s New York headquarters on the International Day Against Homophobia. Photo Credit: UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

Speaking at a headquarters press briefing on Friday, the International Day Against Homophobia, Deputy Head of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) Maarit Kohonen Sheriff said further work must still be done by the UN and other groups to prevent the execution of men and women on the basis of sexual orientation.

“The death penalty is just like LGBT issues, one of the very sensitive issues that nobody wants to address,” Sheriff tells MediaGlobal. The UNHCR addresses the death penalty and LGBT rights together, explains Sheriff, “We focus equally, but we focus on the death penalty overall anyway because in the UN nobody else does.”

“We cannot promote and protect human rights if we don’t include the rights of LGBT people in this struggle,” Sheriff said at the briefing. Today “is not an official UN day. Its not been declared an official UN day by the General Assembly, and that in itself speaks volumes.”

According to Executive Director of the UN Joint UN Program on HIV and AIDS Michel Sidibe, who also spoke at the briefing, the death penalty still exists as punishment for same-sex acts in seven countries, three of them in Least Developed Countries, and 78 countries still view these acts as illegal.

Currently, executing someone based on his or her sexual orientation is a breach of international human rights law. However, Human Rights Watch reported that nearly one-third of the 193 United Nations Member States criminalize homosexual acts, with 38 of those countries located in Africa.

In Uganda and Ethiopia in the past year, where being gay is already considered illegal, political and religious groups have advocated for legislation that would execute those convicted of homosexuality.

“People are not informed, they don’t have the chance to talk about it,” says Sheriff. “They don’t know that statistics show that the death penalty is not an effective deterrent for crime. So that’s why we say when talking about LGBT, people have an opinion but not an informed opinion.”

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From left to right: Panelists Eugenie Mukeshimana, Daphrose Mukarutamu and her translator, and Nahla Valji at the screening of “Duhozanye.” Photo Credit: MediaGlobal/ Madeleine Kuhns

At the United Nations on Tuesday, a screening and discussion of the documentary “Duhozanye” highlighted the continued struggle of the elderly community to survive in post-genocide Rwanda.

Organized by the Outreach Programme on the Rwanda Genocide and the United Nations and UN Women, the short film recounted the lives of the women behind the Duhozanye Association, a group founded after the 1994 Rwandan genocide as a support network for survivors, in particular widows and orphans.

“Duhozanye” is a Rwandan word meaning “let’s console one another.”

While the documentary sought to highlight women’s empowerment, speakers stressed the need for dialogue about how to care for Rwanda’s elderly survivors.

No formal care system was ever constructed by the government of Rwanda for its older citizens, panelist Eugenie Mukeshimana, the founder and executive director of the New Jersey-based Genocide Survivors Support Network, explained during the discussion. Consequently, she said, “We have an aging population that needs to be cared for in a way that we never had to do before.” 

“They are almost invisible,” Mukeshimana tells MediaGlobal. “To me its really, this is really the beginning of the conversation,” she says. “I think the government and the international community really need to work on this, and I don’t think there is one way to solve the issue necessarily.”

Mukeshimana explained that elders in Rwanda, where the average life expectancy is around 50 years of age, were traditionally supported by relatives or close neighbors.

However, with so many family members killed in 1994, large numbers of older people—many of them women—are living in isolation and unable to care for themselves.

Long-established community networks for elders are also gone. Nearly a decade after the genocide, the neighbor-to-neighbor relationship remains “broken down,” says Mukeshimana, with survivors still living near those who participated in the killings.

“The thing is, it takes a long time for us, the survivors, to truly see. You have to convince me that you are a different from the person who killed my kids,” Mukeshimana says. “It’s going to take time until that trust can be restored fully.”

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At the daily noon briefing by the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General on Thursday, UN officials gathered for the International Day of Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, first declared in 2005.

Every 22 minutes, someone in the world is killed or maimed by a land mine or uncleared ordinance, with most accidents resulting in loss of limbs or death. By holding discussions and mine action-related activities, member nations and NGOs hope to raise awareness, increase the elimination of mines, and advance economic development.

Decades of fighting has left Afghanistan littered with land mines such as this one outside of Bamyan. Photo credit: UN Photo/Luke Powell

Paul Heslop, Chief of Programmes with United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), tells MediaGlobal News that funding is often one of the biggest challenges for mine-action.

“Funding is down by 40 percent,” says Haslop, “so if we want to continue the effort and hopefully make Afghanistan mine-free within ten years we need the funding to go back to its previous levels.”

Established in 1997, UNMAS collaborates with 13 UN departments to carry out mine-action projects for clearance and risk education. They deal with land mines, unexploded ordnance, and explosives weaponry such as cluster munitions.

So far 161 members states are bound by the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention to prohibit and destroy mines. Areas in dire need of mine clearance include, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Colombia, South Sudan, Angola, and Laos.

Saleumxay Kommasith, the Permanent Representative of the Laos People’s Democratic Republic, also announced the campaign launch of “Voices from Laos,” soon traveling to 11 cities around the United States.

“This year marks the end of the bombardment in Laos, during the Vietnam war 40 years ago,” he said.  Kommasith estimates that more than two million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos during the Vietnam War era, of which 30 percent failed to detonate.

Syria and Mali are now the “new frontiers,” where large numbers of people are being killed or injured by explosive devices.

Heslop tells MediaGlobal News that although he believes the battle against land mines is being won and the use of new ones have lessened, mines and other explosives will remain a serious danger in previously war-torn territories for years to come.

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Noella Coursaris Musunka, Founder & CEO of Georges Malaika Foundation, with GMF Director Yamandou Alexander. Photo credit: Owen Rogers

On March 18, Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda, voluntarily surrendered himself to the United States Embassy in Rwanda. Wanted since 2006 for drafting child soldiers during a 2002-03 conflict in the eastern Ituri province, the leader of the rebel group M23 will now face charges at the Hague for murder, rape, and the conscription of child soldiers under the age of 15 in eastern Congo.

“It is a very important day. It is a signal of change of the culture of violence in the Congo,” International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told MediaGlobal News, while attending the March 19 Georges Malaika Foundation (GMF) fundraiser in New York City. “Bosco was responsible for awful crimes, has surrendered himself and they are now working to send him to the court in the Hague.”

If found guilty, Ntaganda will be the second criminal convicted by the ICC for recruiting and using child soldiers. The first, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his war crimes.

Engulfed in a complex regional conflict since 1996, the death toll of more than 3 million civilians in the DRC makes it the most deadly conflict to civilians since World War II. The investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes of international concern is enforced by the ICC, now currently investigating seven situations including that of the DRC.

The years of conflict have gravely affected the educational achievement levels with an estimated illiteracy rate of 17.5 percent for men and 46 percent for women. Fewer girls are enrolled in school than boys and the gross enrollment rate for girls has dropped from almost 100 percent thirty years ago to 58 percent in 2012.

“I am here for the importance of educating young women and girls. I hope we stop the rapes and killings but it is not enough to put people in jail,” Moreno-Ocampo said. “We need to educate future generations. All these girls and kids should be educated and that is why we are here – to support the schools and empowerment through education.”

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Parliamentarians at the Arms Trade Treaty press conference: Oudit (2nd from left) Pritchard (3rd from left) Addo (5th from left). Photo credit: MediaGlobal/Jennie Swenson

At a UN press conference on Tuesday, parliamentarians gathered to discuss the arms trade treaty.

Irene Addo, Member of Parliament in Ghana, said that in developing countries such as hers the treaty would indeed by a “stepping stone.”

Addo told MediaGlobal that she was optimistic about the treaty’s ability to regulate the illegal arms trade in Western Africa “because almost all of the countries have ratified it.”

“I can see it could be a problem with all the loopholes,” Addo continued. “But it is better put in place and amended. It is a very important start for me, and I would like to see it happen.”

Senator Lyndira Oudit from Trinidad and Tobago expressed her disappointment with the proposed treaty during the conference. “This treaty is a good place to start,” she said, “but threatens to become saturated in mediocrity.”

It seems to be “lacking in teeth,” Oudit said.

Mark Pritchard, Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom, saw the treaty as a positive development. Remarking on the great strides towards a global treaty, he said, “I think that is progress. I think that is good news.”

Asked by the audience whether a weak treaty would be worth ratifying, Oudit and Pritchard again disagreed.

“If you do not have something that is enforceable, what good is it?” Oudit asked.

Pritchard, however, believed that “yes, something is better than nothing, and we do have a lot more than nothing.”

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UN display of the Thirteenth Amendment and Emancipation Proclamation. Photo credit: MediaGlobal/Jennie Swenson

On Monday, at the United Nations panel discussion to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, it was announced that the Permanent Memorial Committee at the UN will build a new memorial in an effort to preserve the memory of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.

Facilitator Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division in the UN Department of Public Information, who made the announcement, said the Permanent Memorial Committee will also raise the funds to build the memorial. The monument will be an opportunity for UN visitors to “witness and have an explanation on this topic,” thus “looking long term” and preserving this important element of global history, Nasser said.

“The main purpose of the monument is a point of reflection, and to honor the memory of those who suffered the horror of slavery,” Kurt Davis, Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the UN, told MediaGlobal. Davis said that currently, $1.3 million of the estimated $4.3 million needed for the memorial has been raised, with a target installation date of late 2014.

Davis underscored the necessity to “reflect, remember, and honor the victims of slavery” while also “reflecting on our own role in righting wrongs in the future.”

“People’s lives matter. These people’s lives matter,” said panelist Anne Bailey, an Associate Professor of African History at Binghamton University. Her voice trembled as she recounted her own work documenting the stories of hundreds of living descendants of slaves during the discussion.

“We must recuse that voice from obscurity, to break the silence, and to give honor to that voice,” Bailey said, drawing from the 1831 narrative of Mary Prince, a former West Indian slave and the first black woman in the UK to publish an account of her life.

Bailey emphasized the dire implications of forgetting the slave trade: “When we erase the memory, we erase the contribution.”

Part of the day of remembrance is the “Forever Free” exhibition at the UN Visitors Center, which will display a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution until March 26.

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United Nations officials say that there may be a peacekeeping operation in Mali by July, and that refugees may soon be able to return to their homes.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced the possibility of Malian refugees being able to return to their homes in the short term, thanks to French intervention against the Islamic groups that had occupied northern Mali.

Mali refugees collecting water in a Niger camp. Photo credit: Sean Smith / EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection.

However, the UNHCR reports there is still an outflow of refugees from Mali to neighboring countries.

William Spindler, Malian Emergency Spokesperson for UNHCR, told MediaGlobal that “while some of the people displaced by the conflict inside Mali may have already started to return to areas in the center of the country, refugees continue to leave northern Mali for neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger, albeit in smaller numbers than in previous weeks.”

What started out as a rebellion for the independence of the region Azawad for the Tuaregs, a nomadic ethnic group inhabiting the area, evolved into an infiltration of Islamic terrorists that threatened the whole country. While the French intervention helped the Malian government push back Islamic terrorist groups that had taken over northern Mali, there are still remnants in the area.

“Most refugees say that they are not yet ready to return to Mali, as military operations are still going on there,” Spindler said.

Tuareg refugees said they are afraid of reprisals because of their perceived support for the rebels fighting the Malian government, Spindler explains. Others say that they are afraid that the rebels may return. General insecurity, lack of food and basic services, and the presence of bandits or militias from rival ethnic groups, were all given as reasons why the refugees refuse to return.

The UNHCR confirmed that refugee camps set up in neighboring countries will help take people in. Spindler explains that UNHCR camps in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Niger are receiving the majority of Malian refugees. Camps supply essential services such as food, shelter, drinking water, and relief items.

“The two main obstacles to our work on behalf of the Malian refugees are the security situation in the areas close to the border with Mali, which restricts our movements and ability to help the refugees; and insufficient funding for our programs,” Spindler told MediaGlobal.

“Because of insufficient funding, we are facing considerable challenges in providing enough drinking water for human consumption, access to health care, education for refugee children, and the provision of specialized services for people with special needs.”

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SG Ban Ki-moon stands with President Joseph Kabila of the DRC (left), and Vice President Edward Ssekandi of Uganda (right). Photo credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for “sustained engagement” by the international community and concerned nations in the effort to address the violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Speaking from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 25 at a high-level signing ceremony of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region, the SG remarked on the hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians and the horrendous acts of violence committed by the perpetrators.

“The civilian population in the affected areas endured terrible suffering as a result. The numbers of displaced persons grew by the hundreds of thousands, and innocent people were—and still are—subjected to horrendous acts of violence, including rapes and summary executions,” Ban said.

The DRC is one of the many regional States suffering from increased militant and rebel activity over the past few years. Uganda, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic have all documented incidents of violence by both rebel groups and the army.

In October 2012, President Obama dispatched 100 US soldiers to the region to assist in training and support for the DRC army. Most of the violence is attributed to rebel groups such as M23 and the Lord’s Resistance Army. However, several humanitarian organizations have accused governments of aiding rebel groups in order to gain access to resources along provincial borders.

Carina Tertsakian, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch Africa Division, told MediaGlobal that the agreement is a positive first step.

“The accord contains some good elements and some positive things, but it’s quite vague, and very, very wide ranging, so I think the very first thing is that no one should expect the Accord to provide any immediate resolution to the conflict in East Congo,” she said.

Tertsakian added that the SG’s commitment to name a special envoy is a positive element in the regional agreement because it shows a willingness by the UN to play a more direct political role in the peace negotiations.

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Za’atri refugee camp, host to tens of thousands of Syrians displaced by conflict, near Mafraq, Jordan. Photo credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten

Ongoing civil war in Syria will leave behind dangerous explosives and those near them in harm’s way, a spokesperson for the Secretary-General and the United Nations Mine Action Service announced Thursday.

The National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition forces, officially recognized by the United States on Tuesday as the country’s legitimate representatives, have sought to oust President Bashar al-Assad since March 2011. Clashes have been fierce, featuring a variety of explosives that will remain dangerous long-term, said the spokesperson.

“The intensity and length of the conflict has involved the use of a broad range of weapons which will result in a devastating level of deadly explosives littering residential areas in cities and towns throughout Syria long after the conflict ceases,” said Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, at Thursday’s Daily Noon Briefing.

The Syrian Civil War has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 people — more than 40,000, by some estimates — and began as part of the Arab Spring, a series of political protests that ignited in Tunisia in December 2010 and to-date has toppled four rulers in the region.

Though the Syrian government has retained Iranian support, the US joined Britain, France and Turkey in formally recognizing the rebels. According to the United Nations, the conflict has left more than 2.5 million people requiring humanitarian assistance.

“The Mine Action Service is urgently seeking funding to deliver risk awareness on these dangers to Syrian refugees and internally displaced people, as well as funding to pre-position clearance teams and equipment to enable rapid deployment when the situation allows,” Nesirky said.

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Security Council meets regarding rebel incursions into DRC. Photo credit: UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz

The United Nations Security Council extended sanctions against armed rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday, and signaled that more sanctions against M23 rebels may be on the way.

A unanimous Security Council vote in favor of the French-drafted Resolution 2078 continued an arms embargo against non-government groups, as well as a travel ban and asset freeze for violators, until 1 February, 2014.

During the Security Council meeting, Christian Atoki Ileka, the DRC’s ambassador to France, charged the neighboring Rwandan government with supporting M23, citing a recent examination by a panel of UN experts.

“It is appropriate to indicate that what is being done by Rwanda is an astute crime, considering the type of people involved,” Ileka told the Security Council. “[It] has used people who are in a position to control and direct military and political action in the state to create instability in the east of the DRC, violating…the political independence of my county.”

The Group of Experts’ report of 15 November accuses the Rwandan government of providing “direct military support to the M23 rebels, facilitating recruitment, encouraging and facilitating desertions…and providing arms, ammunition, intelligence and political advice.”

Tensions escalated on 4 April when a group of soldiers mutinied against the DRC government, citing the latter’s failure to implement a peace bargain struck on 23 March, 2009, giving the movement its name. Fighting has flared since, with M23 soldiers attacking and seizing several areas while drawing nearer and nearer to Goma.

On 21 November of last year, one day after rebels successfully captured Goma — capital of the North Kivu region and home to approximately one million people — the Security Council adopted a similar measure to Wednesday’s resolution, demanding the soldiers withdraw and condemning the attack.

While the rebels remain in the city, the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) reported Wednesday that M23 soldiers may be beginning to withdraw. They failed to do so earlier this week, ignoring a Tuesday-at-midnight deadline imposed by regional leaders in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa.

Oliver Nduhungirehe, representative of Rwanda to the UN, dismissed the Group of Experts’ report at the Security Council meeting, calling its findings flawed and Security Council support for it “astonishing.” Despite the accusations, he maintained a commitment to positive dialogue between the neighboring countries.

“Rwanda is not the cause of this crisis nor a party in the conflict,” Nduhungirehe said. “The DRC and Rwanda are blood brothers and are going to continue as much as possible to get over our differences and ensure lasting peace in the region.”

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