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Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the): North Korea Today No.454

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - 3 hours 42 min ago

Source:  Good Friends: Centre for Peace, Human Rights and Refugees Country:  Democratic People's Republic of Korea (the)

Gwangmyungsung 3 will be Launched for the Second Time Soon

Serious Food Crisis at Hwanghae Steelworks

A Ban on Exporting Marine Products in Effect from April

“The Food Export Ban Won’t Be Lifted Easily”

Food Purchasing Emergency, Even Soybean Oil Byproduct Is Precious

Many Automobile Accidents in Pyongyang’s Downtown

Categories: News

Egypt: Widespread Military Torture of Protesters Arrested in May - Impunity Enables Further Abuse

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - 3 hours 50 min ago

Source:  Human Rights Watch Country:  Egypt

(Beirut, May 19, 2012) – Military soldiers beat and tortured protesters they arrested at a demonstration near the Defense Ministry on May 4, 2012, Human Rights Watch said today, after interviews with numerous victims and lawyers. The military also failed to protect the protesters from attacks by armed groups in the early morning hours of May 2, at the same demonstration, which began on April 27 in Cairo’s Abbasiyya neighborhood.

On May 4, after the protest turned violent, military officers arrested at least 350 protesters, including 10 children and 16 women. They were brought before military prosecutors, who ordered their detention pending trials before military courts. At least 256 remain in detention. Human Rights Watch interviewed many of those who had been released, who gave consistent accounts of torture and beatings during arrest and in detention.

“The brutal beating of both men and women protesters shows that military officers have no sense of limits on what they can do,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The official law enforcement authorities may arrest people where there is evidence of wrongdoing, but it never has the right to beat and torture them.”

The demonstrators gathered in Abbasiyya on April 27 to protest the Supreme Presidential Election Commission’s exclusion of Hazem Abu Ismail as a presidential candidate.

Although there had been some prior scuffles with people in civilian clothes who threw stones at demonstrators at the sit-in, there was no major violence until May 2, according to witnesses and participants, when several dozen armed men without uniforms began shooting rifles and pellet guns at protesters, killing nine protesters and bystanders. Numerous witnesses described how violence and gunfire continued for at least six hours while armed military stationed nearby took no action to prevent it.

The security forces present on the scene and witnessing the violence should have taken all reasonable steps to end it and to protect those there, including arresting those taking part in the violence, especially the armed gang, Human Rights Watch said. The failure of military personnel nearby to intervene to protect lives demonstrated – at a minimum – serious negligence in the performance of their law enforcement duties.

In response to the violence against protesters on May 2, thousands gathered on Friday, May 4 in Abbasiyya, near the Defense Ministry. At a televised news conference on May 3, the day before the planned protest, Gen. Mokhtar al-Molla, a member of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), said: “We have positioned the military to prevent people from approaching the Ministry of Defense. We are protecting them from themselves because if anyone comes near the Ministry of Defense we have a right of legitimate self-defense.”

The military’s role in protecting buildings must be governed by Egypt’s human rights obligations which protect against arbitrary arrest, beatings, and torture of detainees, and the arbitrary use of force – especially lethal force – in law enforcement, Human Rights Watch said.

There has been no accountability for the earlier cases of torture at the hands of the military that Human Rights Watch and Egyptian human rights groups such as the Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture have documented over the past year of military rule.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 16 men and women who stated they were tortured by beating, electroshocks, and whipping by military officers on March 9, 2011, on the grounds of the Egyptian Museum, adjacent to Tahrir Square, and on March 6, 2011, in Lazoghli square. The military has not investigated or punished these incidents or similar incidents on December 16, 2011, despite promises to do so.

International human rights law bans trials of civilians before military courts. Nevertheless, the Egyptian military has insisted on continuing to try civilians before military tribunals, on the basis of the 1966 Code of Military Justice. On May 6 the Egyptian parliament approved amendments to the Code of Military Justice that limit only the right of the president to refer civilians to military tribunals and fail to address the broad discretion given to the military in articles 5 and 7 to try civilians.

Over the past year Human Rights Watch has documented at least three other cases in which the military stood by as gangs in civilian clothes, in some cases apparently under military command, and attacked and sometimes arrested protesters. They include incidents at a Tahrir Square protest in March 2011, a protest at Abbasiyya in July, and the Maspero protest in October.

“Egyptians won’t feel secure until there is a law enforcement system they can trust to police demonstrations effectively and protect them from attacks by thugs,” Stork said. “And they won’t feel secure as long as the military beats and tortures people it arrests and then brings them before military courts.”

For details about the arrests, torture, military trials, and failure to protest protesters follow.

For more Human Rights Watch reporting on Egypt, please visit: http://www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/egypt

For more information, please contact: In Cairo, Heba Morayef (English, Arabic, French): +20-122-381-0319 (mobile); or morayeh@hrw.org In Washington, DC, Joe Stork (English): +1-202-299-4925 (mobile); or storkj@hrw.org In Beirut, Nadim Houry (English, Arabic, French): +961-1-217-670 ; or +961-3-639-244 (mobile); or houryn@hrw.org

Dispersal of Protest, Arrests, and Military Trials At around 3 p.m. on May 4, protesters and troops, separated by barbed wire about 600 meters from the Defense Ministry, started to throw stones at each other, witnesses told Human Rights Watch. The military then used teargas and water cannons and fired blanks to disperse protesters, who started to retreat. Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) then drove through the streets in Abbasiyya and into neighboring Ghamra – a ten-minute drive away – with soldiers firing blanks from the vehicle roofs. In the early evening, General al-Molla announced that the military was imposing an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew in the area surrounding the Defense Ministry.

The Health Ministry announced on May 5 that it had recorded 373 injuries and one fatality, a soldier.

As they dispersed the protest, military officers arrested at least 350 protesters, bystanders, journalists, and medics. The Front for the Defense of Egyptian Protesters, a coalition of human rights lawyers and nongovernmental organizations, documented many arbitrary arrests, including journalists, medics, and bystanders. The Committee to Protect Journalists documented the assault, arrest, or injury of 18 journalists.

Military prosecutors issued 15-day detention orders for the entire group of 350 pending interrogation, on charges of “illegally demonstrating, entering a military zone, assaulting the authorities, blocking traffic and membership in an illegal group that aims to threaten public order.”

Mohamed Abdelaziz, a lawyer, told Human Rights Watch that the coalition had submitted a request to the head of the military justice system, Gen. Adel Morsy, to transfer the entire case to civilian courts on the grounds that the military’s involvement in the violence would mean that it cannot investigate it with any impartiality. There has been no ruling on this.

Torture, Beatings, and Violence Against Unarmed Protesters On May 5 military prosecutors released 16 women, and on May 10, 17 men, on grounds that they were students. Over the following week, the prosecutors released 66 others.

Accounts from released detainees, lawyers who were present during their interrogation, and video footage confirm that military police systematically beat both male and female protesters during their arrests. The released detainees also said that beatings continued during detention. One video taken by Rasd News Network shows military police beating protesters with batons as they arrest them. In video footage broadcast live on state TV, at least six military police are seen dragging a bloodstained man with a torn shirt to a wall and beating him with their batons until other officers intervene.

Adel Khattab, one of those released, told Human Rights Watch that military officers had arrested him along with a friend when they were looking for a third friend who had been arrested:

Military soldiers beat us all the way up the street, from the bridge to the hospital. They beat us with their sticks, kicked us, and punched us. At one point there were around 10 or 15 of them beating me. They put us into vans; there were around 25 or 28 of us in one van and there were women with us. I saw soldiers hit them. Then they took us to the military police camp in Khalifa al-Maamoun, where they beat us again. My head was bleeding and my clothes were ripped by the time they brought me after that to the military prosecutor. Then they moved us to Tora prison. When we arrived there we were given a “reception party” where three plainclothes prison officials beat us and whipped us with hoses.

Military officers also beat and arbitrarily arrested women protesters. Hagar Abu Khazeem said at a news conference at the lawyers’ syndicate in Cairo on May 12:

I’d gone into the mosque because things were getting violent outside and I thought I’d be safe in the mosque. But military police came into the mosque and started yelling at us. One soldier pointed a gun at me and next thing I knew he shot at me and the bullet went through my arm. The soldiers came up to where I was with four other women and around 20 or 30 of them attacked us as if they hated us.

Aya, a doctor who had treated injured protesters, had also gone into Nour mosque to escape the violence. In a televised parliamentary hearing, she said:

I saw military police and special forces soldiers come into the mosque and start arresting the protesters inside the mosque. They seemed to be searching for arms but they didn’t find anything. I saw one soldier waving his gun around at us and then heard a shot as he fired. I learned later that he had shot a woman demonstrator in the arm.

Then one of the soldiers pushed me toward the exit to the steps of the mosque. On the steps I saw how they treated both the men and the women: they beat them, slapped in the face, kicked them. They beat me and their hands were touching everywhere in my body... At one point the officer in charge came over and said let this one go and as I followed him I suddenly felt somebody hit me on the head with a heavy stick. I fainted and they carried me to a van; when I came to, there were two other girls there, one of them 14. In the van they beat us again, sexually harassed us, insulted us. One soldier hit me in the eye with his elbow.

When they took us to the military camp they beat us again and threatened us, saying “if you open your mouth we’ll throw you to the soldiers and you know what will happen to you.” I could hear the officers saying to the soldiers, “These are the people who killed hundreds of soldiers.” So now Egyptian soldiers are made to feel that civilians are there to attack them, that we are the enemy, and they congratulate themselves for arresting us.

Abdel Hamid Mekkawy had been protesting on May 5 outside S28, the military base that houses the military courts, in response to the May 4 arrests, along with dozens of others who were chanting anti-military slogans, when military officers arrested him along with nine others. Military prosecutors released him a week later. He told Human Rights Watch:

When they first took me inside the military base they started beating me with sticks and with the end of a gun in my back. They beat me for around an hour. I had long hair at the time and at one point the soldier grabbed me by the hair and banged my head against the wall, again and again. They hit me in the kidneys; everywhere on my body with sticks and with their fists and they kicked me.

Five lawyers from the Front for the Defense of Egyptian Protesters told Human Rights Watch that every detainee they had represented before military prosecutors had been beaten and that prosecutors had consistently failed to investigate their torture, neither questioning them about who had beaten them nor referring them to forensic medical doctors, the only officials competent according to Egyptian law to issue a medical report that can be admitted as evidence of torture.

One of the lawyers, Mahmoud Fathelbab, said he had attended the interrogations of five journalists who all had visible injuries and that in all but one case the prosecutors had failed to ask the detainees about their beating. In the one case where the prosecutor had noted the protester’s injuries, he had failed to order a referral to a forensic medical doctor.

Tamer Baza, another lawyer, said that he had been present during the interrogation of 10 detainees who had clear marks of whipping on their backs and that three had stitches in their heads. He told Human Rights Watch:

The detainees had been too scared to formally file a beating complaint. They see the judge in front of them who is a ranked military officer and if they speak of having been tortured it’s as if they are accusing him. So they don’t say anything because all they want is to be released and they are scared that bringing up torture will mean further detention.

Mohamed Abdelaziz, a third lawyer, told Human Rights Watch that he had filed a torture complaint before the public prosecutor on behalf of a released protester, Halim Heneish, whom military officers had beaten on the head with the back of a gun.

Failure to Protect: May 2 Attack on Protesters by Gangs Human Rights Watch spoke to protesters, witnesses, and medics who described the armed attack between 1 and 4 a.m. on May 2 in Abbasiya Square and along the road leading to the Defense Ministry.

One protester, Ibrahim, who would give only his first name, told Human Rights Watch that he had seen a group of at least 50 men carrying guns and sticks. Ahmed Aggour, another protester, told Human Rights Watch that at around 1:30 a.m., he was near the Noor mosque:

There were armed thugs in the side streets and at the gas station. The thugs shot at us with pellets and guns. Those in the front were the ones most likely to be shot. I saw four men shot in front of me. One of them was a doctor who was trying to treat an injured man.

Abdel Karim said he had gone into Abbasiya Square along with other protesters at around 2 a.m. and that after hours of exchanges of stone-throwing and running back and forth, a man in civilian clothes shot him in the right foot with a rubber pellet gun.

Doctors on duty in the field hospital set up at the site told Human Rights Watch that they started receiving gunshot victims just after 1 a.m. Dr. Saleh Mohamed said that he had received the bodies of five people killed by gunshots, three people wounded by gunshots, and scores of people with minor injuries from rubber pellets.

The Health Ministry confirmed nine deaths. Dr. Ashraf Refai told the Egyptian daily Al Shorouk that the seven autopsies conducted at Zeinhom morgue had concluded that six deaths were caused by live ammunition, including three of people with head wounds, and that one death was caused by pellets in the chest. Maha Maamoun, a lawyer with the Hisham Mubarak Law Center, told Human Rights Watch that she was at Zeinhom morgue while the autopsies were being conducted and that two of those killed were residents of Abbasiya who had been shot next to their homes.

Protesters told Human Rights Watch that between 8 and 9 a.m. on May 2, military police and riot police approached Abbasiya Square and stationed themselves between the sit-in and the armed groups, which effectively ended the violence.

The witnesses who spoke with Human Rights Watch said that the military made no effort to intervene during the height of the violence, despite being stationed at the ministry of defense nearby. Karim Ennarah, a protester who was present from 2:30 a.m. to 6 a.m., told Human Rights Watch that the military had remained stationed at the barricade on the street leading to the Defense Ministry and within clear earshot of the shooting.

Another protester, Mahmoud, who said he was there from midnight to 6:30 a.m., told Human Rights Watch, “As in previous days, the army and central security forces were standing and watching us.”

Categories: News

Mali: Sahel Food Insecurity and Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #8, Fiscal Year (FY) 2012

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - 4 hours 13 min ago

Source:  US Agency for International Development Country:  Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia (the), Mauritania, Niger (the), Senegal, United States of America (the)

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

· Humanitarian agencies continue to negotiate for full access to northern Mali to ensure aid reaches populations in need. On May 16, the Ansar Dine militant group allowed a humanitarian convoy carrying food and medical assistance to reach Tombouctou city, according to international media. In addition, the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) reported that 31.5 metric tons of emergency food assistance—sufficient to benefit approximately 7,800 conflict-affected individuals—recently arrived in Gao, Kidal, and Tombouctou regions in northern Mali.

· In May, members of USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) Sahel Assessment Team completed rapid assessments in several food-insecure regions in Chad, where the team met with community members, local officials, and U.N. and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners to identify humanitarian needs. USAID/OFDA staff also assessed needs in drought-affected southern Mauritania, including Mbera refugee camp—where more than 61,000 Malian refugees reside—and surrounding host communities.

· USAID/OFDA recently conducted a rapid needs assessment in The Gambia, where poor rains have led to decreased crop production and rising food prices are further affecting household food security. On May 8, U.S. Ambassador Pamela White declared a disaster due to food insecurity in The Gambia.

· To allow WFP sufficient flexibility to respond to needs across the Sahel, USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) recently granted WFP the ability to borrow or loan resources from its authorized Title II programs, including food commodities and associated costs, to meet emerging needs in the region.

· USAID/OFDA recently committed approximately $5.4 million to improve food security, increase communities’ access to safe drinking water and sanitation services, enhance the logistical capacity of the humanitarian community, and support the prevention, treatment, and management of acute malnutrition in countries across the Sahel. In May, USAID/FFP sent additional staff to the Sahel to further support a robust response to the food insecurity and nutrition crisis in the region.

Categories: News

158280-2012: CH-Yverdon-les-Bains: parts of railway or tramway locomotives or rolling stock; railways traffic-control equipment

TED Tenders Electronic Daily - 10 hours 39 min ago

Publication date: 19-05-2012 | Deadline: 11-07-2012 | Document: Contract notice

Categories: Tenders / Awards

158274-2012: RS-Uzice: EBRD - Duboko Solid Waste Management Project

TED Tenders Electronic Daily - 10 hours 39 min ago

Publication date: 19-05-2012 | Deadline: | Document: Prior Information Notice

Categories: Tenders / Awards

158273-2012: TR-Gaziantep: EBRD - Gaziantep CNG Buses Project

TED Tenders Electronic Daily - 10 hours 39 min ago

Publication date: 19-05-2012 | Deadline: 25-06-2012 | Document: Contract notice

Categories: Tenders / Awards

158272-2012: RS-Belgrade: EBRD - Belgrade Bus Renewal Programme

TED Tenders Electronic Daily - 10 hours 39 min ago

Publication date: 19-05-2012 | Deadline: | Document: Prior Information Notice

Categories: Tenders / Awards

156932-2012: GI-Gibraltar: ambulances

TED Tenders Electronic Daily - 10 hours 39 min ago

Publication date: 19-05-2012 | Deadline: 15-06-2012 | Document: Contract notice

Categories: Tenders / Awards

155877-2012: BA-Banja Luka: Power distribution equipment (EIB)

TED Tenders Electronic Daily - 10 hours 39 min ago

Publication date: 19-05-2012 | Deadline: 10-07-2012 | Document: Contract notice

Categories: Tenders / Awards

Yemen: Total number of IDPs by district in Yemen (north and south) – February 2012

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 22:03

Note: Map in 3 pages

Country:  Yemen Source:  UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Categories: News

Yemen: New Arrivals Along the Yemen Coast (as of 1 April 2012)

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 21:34

Country:  Yemen, Djibouti, Somalia Source:  UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Categories: News

Mali: Mali parliament approves amnesty for coup leaders

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 21:19

Source:  Agence France-Presse Country:  Mali

05/18/2012 21:14 GMT

BAMAKO, May 18, 2012 (AFP) - The parliament in Mali on Friday passed a law granting amnesty to the leaders of the March coup that plunged what was considered one of Africa's democratic success stories into chaos.

The text, which must be signed by the president before becoming law, was part of an agreement signed by the putschists and west African bloc ECOWAS on April 6 to restore constitutional order in the country. It was passed by the 122 deputies present in the national assembly, according to an AFP reporter.

The amnesty covers the period from March 21, the day before the coup toppled then-president Amadou Toumani Toure's government, to April 12, the day interim president Dioncounda Traore took office, according to a parliament document obtained by AFP.

The list of acts exempted from prosecution includes "mutiny, attacking internal state security, attacking external state security, destruction of property... violence and assault, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, looting" and other crimes.

An amendment adopted by lawmakers said the law covers both the putschists and those who opposed them.

The amnesty law comes amid a political impasse in Mali, where the leaders of the coup still wield great influence despite officially handing power over to Traore's transitional government.

The putschists refuse to see Traore stay in office more than 40 days, beyond May 22.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which mediated the return to civilian rule, planned for Traore to lead a 12-month transition that would pave the way for new elections.

ECOWAS on Friday accused the putschists of blocking efforts to restore constitutional rule.

Ministers from the regional bloc are due to hold new talks on Mali and Guinea-Bissau, also struggling to restore order after an April 12 coup, in Abidjan on Saturday.

Islamist and Tuareg rebel groups in Mali took advantage of the power vacuum created by the coup to seize the vast desert north of the country, effectively splitting it in two.

sd/cs/jhb/yad

Categories: News

Guatemala: Boletín informativo no. 2562 - Lluvias ocasionaron incidentes en Santa Rosa, Sololá, Chimaltenango y Sacatepéquez

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 21:01

Source:  Government of Guatemala Country:  Guatemala

Las lluvias registradas la tarde y noche del jueves 17 de mayo en el territorio guatemalteco ocasionaron el colapso de un puente tipo badén en Santa Rosa, material que descendió en el cerro Lec en Sololá, así como inundaciones en calles y avenidas en los departamento de Chimaltenango y Sacatepéquez, incidentes atendidos por instituciones que integran el Sistema de la Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres –CONRED-.

En el kilómetro 64.5 de la ruta departamental RD-SR0-03 que comunica Barberena con Santa Rosa de Lima en el municipio de Nueva Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, se registró el colapso de un puente tipo badén instalado en el sector, situación generada por la crecida del río Las Cañas.

Autoridades de la Coordinadora Departamental para la Reducción de Desastres – CODRED- de Santa Rosa analizan las acciones a tomar en dicho punto que presenta una carga vehicular de aproximadamente 600 vehículos diarios y que interrumpe la comunicación hacia Cuilapa, Santa Rosa de Lima, Nueva Santa Rosa, Casillas y con el municipio de Mataquescuintla en Jalapa.

Otro punto afectado por las lluvias el día de ayer fue en el área del cerro Lec en la ruta que comunica a San Andrés Semetabaj con Panajachel en Sololá. Como parte de las acciones tomadas por la CODRED de Sololá se tomo la decisión de cerrar el paso por la noche y a partir de las 05:30 horas de este día maquinaria de COVIAL trabaja para rehabilitar el paso, estimado para el medio día.

En la aldea Puerta Bajo de Zaragoza, Chimaltenango, y entre Pastores y Panorama en Sacatepéquez, se registraron inundaciones debido al colapso de drenajes en calles y avenidas lo que ocasionó problemas al tránsito en el lugar.

Delegados de esta institución en apoyo a la toma de decisiones de autoridades municipales y departamentales continúan con las acciones en atención a la población afectada por dichos incidentes.

La Secretaría Ejecutiva de la CONRED recomienda a la población estar atenta a la información que autoridades den a conocer a través de los medios de comunicación, así como reportar cualquier incidente al número telefónico 1566 que se encuentra habilitado las 24 horas del día.

Categories: News

Algeria: Mediterranean Review - May 15, 2012

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 20:57

Source:  NATO Civil-Military Fusion Centre Country:  Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan (Republic of), Sudan (the), Syrian Arab Republic (the), Tunisia

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 08 May - 14 May, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

In Focus:

HoA: Land & Sea

North Africa

Northeast Africa

Syria

Categories: News

El Salvador: El Secretario para asuntos de vulnerabilidad actuando en su calidad de director general de protección civil declara alerta verde en todo el territorio nacional

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 20:55

Source:  Government of El Salvador Country:  El Salvador

El Director General de Protección Civil, Prevención y Mitigación de Desastres, con base al Informe Especial Meteorológico No. 1, del Ministerio del Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales; y el análisis de la Unidad de Alerta Temprana de esta Dirección, y considerando la susceptibilidad para generarse inundaciones, desbordamientos de ríos y pequeños deslizamientos.

De conformidad al artículo 22 de la Ley de Protección Civil, Prevención y Mitigación de Desastres, DECLARA ALERTA VERDE en todo el país a partir de este día.DESCRIPCIÓN DEL FENOMENOLa permanencia de una BAJA PRESION al norte de Honduras y otra BAJA PRESIÓN al sur de México y la ZONA DE CONVERGENCIA INTERTROPICAL, frente a las costas de Centroamérica en el Pacifico, forman un amplio campo de inestabilidad en todo el país, condición que hará mantener un escenario de lluvias que podrían presentarse de forma generalizada y de moderada a fuerte intensidad sobre todo en horas de la tarde y noche.

Los factores atmosféricos han aumentado la probabilidad de lluvias en El Salvador para los próximos días; por las condiciones de vulnerabilidad en el territorio nacional y la alta susceptibilidad a inundaciones en la zona costera genera condiciones que podrían llegar a ser de ALTO RIESGO, debido al acercamiento de la ZONA DE CONVERGENCIA incrementando el ingreso de humedad. Dependiendo de la evolución que presente el fenómeno, las lluvias podrían cambiar las condiciones esperadas, por lo cual se mantendrá un monitoreo permanente.

RECOMENDACIONES:

Se comunica a los Técnicos y personal de la Dirección General de Protección Civil que nuestra institución entra en estado de ALERTA INSITUCIONAL, por lo que deberán estar a disposición las 24 horas del día, para cualquier llamado que se requiera para atender la emergencia;

A los presidentes de las Comisiones Departamentales y Municipales de Protección Civil, deberán mantener mecanismos de comunicación con todos los integrantes de su comisión; así mismo establecer un equipo de apresto en sus respectivos Centros de Operaciones de Emergencia;

A la población se les pide acatar las medidas y recomendaciones que en cualquier momento brinde esta Dirección General y las instituciones del Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil;

A las Comisiones Comunales de Protección Civil, mantener un estado de vigilancia y alerta temprana, en base a sus planes de respuesta;

Colaborar con las labores de prevención, mitigación y de protección que emprendan las autoridades e instituciones del Sistema Nacional de Protección Civil o Comisiones del Sistema;

A la población en general se pide informar a las Comisiones Municipales y Comunales de Protección Civil, o a cualquier autoridad, la existencia de señales o signos que pudieran significar riesgo;

A los conductores que se movilizan en la ciudad y en las carreteras a que tomen las medidas de precaución necesaria, para evitar riesgos por desprendimientos de tierra, zonas inundadas y caída de árboles;

En caso de presentarse una tormenta eléctrica, se recomienda buscar refugio en sus viviendas o en una edificación, no mantenerse en campos abiertos ni bajo árboles;

A los medios de comunicación social, mantenerse atentos para difundir cualquier información que se emita de esta Dirección General.

La Dirección General de Protección Civil, se mantendrá vigilante e informará oportunamente de cualquier situación.

Categories: News

Colombia: Oficina de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos reitera obligación de respetar y proteger los derechos de las mujeres defensoras y de lideresas en el país

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 20:50

Source:  UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Country:  Colombia

La Oficina en Colombia del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos expresa su profunda preocupación por las amenazas de muerte que han recibido diferentes integrantes de organizaciones de derechos humanos, en particular organizaciones de mujeres, y lideresas que trabajan por los derechos humanos, los derechos sexuales y reproductivos, y la búsqueda de la paz en el país.

“Reitero la necesidad urgente de investigar, juzgar y sancionar a aquellas personas responsables de las amenazas a defensoras y defensores de derechos humanos, y saludo el compromiso expresado por la Fiscalía General de la Nación de investigar estas a amenazas, atentados e intimidaciones”, expresó Todd Howland, Representante en Colombia de la Alta Comisionada de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos.

“La Ley de Víctimas y Restitución de Tierras es considerada un avance”, añadió. “De igual forma, la Marcha Patriótica, llevada a cabo por personas civiles e integrantes de organizaciones que creen en las posibilidades de paz, es un espacio para la reflexión y la búsqueda de la salida negociada al conflicto armado”, explicó Howland.

Desde hace varias semanas, la Oficina ha conocido amenazas de muerte, en particular transmitidas a través de panfletos firmados por “Los Rastrojos” y “Las Águilas Negras”, en las cuales se hostiga a personas y organizaciones que trabajan por los derechos humanos, la restitución de tierras o que hacen parte de la Marcha Patriótica. En ambos casos, muchas mujeres dirigen, participan e impulsan estos movimientos y procesos.

Además, en los últimos dos meses, en varias regiones del país, la Oficina ha recibido quejas según las cuales grupos armados ilegales han atacado, atentado o amenazado a defensores y defensoras de derechos humanos.

“Condeno, en nombre de la Alta Comisionada, las amenazas de muerte, los atentados y la intención de intimidar a defensoras y defensores de derechos humanos por parte de estos grupos armados ilegales”, dijo el Representante de la Alta Comisionada.

“Insisto –añadió- en la obligación del Estado de proteger a las defensoras de derechos humanos a través del desarrollo de medidas de protección e investigación efectivas, y con enfoque de género, que garanticen su seguridad e integridad, lo mismo que las de sus hijas, hijos y familiares. La protección integral requiere una respuesta coordinada del Estado y medidas estructurales para enfrentarla y prevenir estos ataques”.

Por último la Oficina reitera a quienes amenazan de muerte a estas personas en Colombia que tienen la obligación de respetar los derechos humanos de todas las personas en el país, en particular de las mujeres.

Categories: News

Colombia: La unidad nacional sigue gestionando apoyos para el Casanare

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 20:48

Source:  Government of Colombia Country:  Colombia

Yineth Pinilla/UNGRD

Bogotá 18 de mayo de 2012. El apoyo para los habitantes del Casanare, afectados por la temporada de lluvias, no se detiene. Tras la destinación de $1.000 millones para el tema de operatividad de la respuesta ante el desabastecimiento de agua en Yopal, la Unidad Nacional para la Gestión del Riesgo de Desastres (UNGRD) con el apoyo de la Gobernación de Cundinamarca, ubicó una planta para el tratamiento del agua potable que permite seguir aliviando la situación de los afectados de esta ciudad. Esta planta contribuye al suministro de líquido vital para unos 4 mil habitantes de la capital del Casanare, ya que el suministro es de 14 litros de agua por segundo. Con el agua suministrada por la Planta se abastecen por lo menos 30 carro tanques que se ubican en sitios estratégicos de Yopal. Durante la situación de emergencia se han visto beneficiadas 228.125 personas de todo el departamento, que fueron afectadas por las inundaciones generadas por los ríos que cruzan por el departamento y que se desbordaron ocasionando la situación. Los beneficios siguen llegando a los municipios de: Villanueva, Tauramena, Aguazul, Nunchia, Maní, Orocue, Sabanalarga, Pore, Hato Corozal, Recetor, Chameza, Paz De Ariporo, Trinidad, Orocue, San Luis De Palenque, Tamara y La Salina, además de la ciudad de Casanare. Redactó: Yineth Pinilla

Categories: News

Mexico: BM/México: Modernización del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional mejorará respuesta al cambio climático

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 20:45

Source:  World Bank Country:  Mexico

Comunicado de prensa Nº:2012/459/LAC

• Generará información meteorológica confiable y oportuna
• Facilitará toma de decisiones y planificación en sectores productivos
• Ayudará a manejar los riesgos frente a desastres naturales

WASHINGTON, DC, 17 de MAYO de 2012 – La Junta de Directores Ejecutivos del Banco Mundial (BM) aprobó hoy un préstamo por US$105.26 millones para el fortalecimiento del Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) para que pueda responder mejor a la creciente demanda de información climática fiable que permita un mejor manejo de los recursos hídricos y de los riesgos generados por desastres naturales en el contexto del cambio climático.

El plan de modernización del SMN incluye acciones como el rediseño institucional, la incorporación y capacitación de nuevo personal, la instalación de infraestructura moderna y la mejora en técnicas de modelamiento para generación de pronósticos climáticos y alertas meteorológicas.

La muy dispar distribución estacional y espacial del agua en México, exacerbada por la variabilidad climática que altera los patrones de acumulación y escurrimiento del recurso, revela la importancia de aumentar la capacidad de monitoreo y proyección de eventos hidro-meteorológicos.

“La modernización del SMN forma parte de las acciones del Gobierno Federal para adaptarse al cambio climático, un fenómeno global que provoca serios retos en México, tales como los períodos de sequía cada vez más prolongados, así como ciclones y huracanes cada vez más severos”, destacó José Luis Luege Tamargo, Director General de la Comisión Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA).

Se espera que el mejoramiento de sistemas de alertas tempranas para administración de riesgos en desastres naturales hidrometeorológicos traiga importantes beneficios directos para las poblaciones más desprotegidas, como son los pequeños campesinos y habitantes de barrios marginales, ubicados en general en zonas más vulnerables.

Más indirectamente, la iniciativa tendrá efectos positivos en la reducción de la pobreza y la desigualdad, puesto que ayudará a aumentar la productividad y competitividad del país en general.

“Una vez más, México demuestra su compromiso en materia de adaptación y mitigación ante el cambio climático al reconocer que la información meteorológica adecuada constituye un valor económico fundamental”, afirmó Gloria M. Grandolini, Directora del Banco Mundial para México y Colombia.

Entre los objetivos concretos del proyecto se encuentran:

Aumentar la precisión de los pronósticos climáticos en un 80 por ciento, Aumentar a 95 por ciento la información climatológica generada por el SMN, que pueda ser incluida en los sistemas de monitoreo internacionales. Implementar un sistema de evaluación para medir la calidad de los servicios del SMN.

La asociación estratégica entre México y el Banco Mundial en temas de cambio climático comenzó a mediados de los años 90 y contempla un programa integral de servicios financieros, de conocimiento y convocatoria. Al día de hoy, el programa de apoyo contempla más de 35 iniciativas entre préstamos, donaciones, certificados de reducción de emisiones de carbono, emisión de bonos catastróficos y otros instrumentos financieros. En particular, esta operación estará acompañada de servicios de conocimiento y coordinación establecidos en un programa de asesoría técnica.

CONAGUA es la entidad responsable para la implementación del préstamo y contará con la participación del SMN que a su vez designó al Banco del Ahorro Nacional y Servicios Financieros (BANSEFI) como agentes financieros.

El proyecto tendrá un costo de US$170.96 millones de los cuales US$66 millones vendrán del gobierno y US$105.26 millones serán financiados por el Banco Mundial. Se trata de un préstamo a una tasa de interés y margen variable, con fecha de vencimiento del 15 de octubre, 2024 y un período de gracia de 12 años.

Contactos:

En México: Fernanda Zavaleta, (5255) 54-80-42-00, fzavaleta@worldbank.org;

En Washington: Ricardo Vargas, (202) 458-0777, rvargasgomez@worldbank.org.

Para más información, por favor visite: www.bancomundial.org.mx

Visítenos en Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bancomundialmexico

Actualícese via Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bancomundialmx

O por medio de nuestro canal YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/bancomundialmexico

Categories: News

Honduras: Se extiende alerta verde a Choluteca, Valle, La Paz, Intibuca y Lempira

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 20:40

Source:  Government of Honduras Country:  Honduras

La Alerta Verde vigente hasta el día de hoy en horas de la tarde, para los departamentos de: Olancho, El Paraíso, Colón, Yoro, Cortés, Comayagua y Francisco Morazán

(Tegucigalpa y Comayagüela), se extiende por 72 horas más y se incluye en la misma a los departamentos de: Choluteca, Valle, La Paz, Intibucá y Lempira.

La extensión y ampliación de esta alerta verde se debe a que las lluvias caídas en las últimas 48 horas han provocado la saturación de los suelos y el incremento en los caudales de los principales ríos, riachuelos y quebradas en estos departamentos, hecho que podría originar deslaves e inundaciones.

La emisión de esta alerta verde, conlleva el monitoreo permanente del fenómeno por el Sistema de Alerta Temprana (SAT) de COPECO en el cual participa el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN).

COPECO llama a la ciudadanía a tomar todas las medidas de precaución relacionadas con: limpieza de cunetas y tragantes, así como la cuenca de los ríos, riachuelos y quebradas, particularmente en las zonas de recurrente vulnerabilidad como en el Distrito Central (Tegucigalpa y Comayagüela), y en el Sur del país.

Además este fenómeno meteorológico provoca inestabilidad en la mayor parte del territorio nacional, generando lluvias y chubascos de moderados a fuertes acompañados de actividad eléctrica.

De igual manera COPECO advierte sobre la alteración del oleaje en el Mar Caribe, sobre todo en los bancos de pesca en donde se espera olas de hasta 7 pies, por consiguiente se solicita a las capitanías de puerto restringir la navegación para embarcaciones de pequeño y mediano calado.

Fecha: 18 de Mayo de 2012 Hora local: 11:00 horas

Categories: News

World: UN Rome-based agencies welcome G8 commitment to keep food security high on global agenda

ReliefWeb - Latest Updates - Fri, 2012-05-18 20:38

Source:  Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Programme Country:  World, Niger (the), Somalia

By José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General, Kanayo F. Nwanze, IFAD President, and Ertharin Cousin, WFP Executive Director

A new G8 initiative on food security.

"Agriculture is a powerful tool for reducing poverty and hunger. Events of recent years - such as food price increases, droughts, growing climate change impacts and other emergencies - have put agriculture high on the international agenda. We should be clear that agriculture is the solution. Economic growth generated by agriculture is more than twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth in other sectors. Agricultural development is also an effective means of assisting developing countries in building capacity and infrastructure as well as introducing innovation and technology.

Future food and nutrition security and the eradication of poverty will be profoundly influenced by the steps we take today to support the 2 billion people in developing countries who depend on small-scale farms, herding, fishing and other forms of agriculture.

The past year has seen a food security crisis in the Horn of Africa and a developing emergency in the Sahel region of West Africa, where we are just entering the peak hunger season. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme have responded in a variety of ways, from immediate humanitarian relief to building the capacity of smallholders to grow more food, increase their livelihoods and feed their families and communities.

But it is clear that much more needs to be done at every level. Far-reaching partnerships, broader consultation in the formulation and implementation of country-led development processes, as well as long-term commitments, must be made and maintained. In order for development efforts to be successful, it is essential to have the participation of civil society, farmers' organizations and the private sector at every stage.

Beginning with the L'Aquila summit three years ago, the G8 has led a serious and sustained process to mobilize support for greater aid to food and nutrition security. At the L'Aquila Summit, US$22 billion was pledged over three years. The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) trust fund that emerged from the L'Aquila commitments is a new vehicle to ensure accountability in the implementation process for aid for food security and agriculture to some of the poorest countries in the world.

This financial commitment to support country-owned plans can help to make a big difference, but official development assistance alone has not and will not solve the problem. A favourable climate for investment must be created to attract other resources and partners in the framework of established development plans.

For example, in Africa, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), with its national compacts and investment plans, provides a key platform for public and private efforts to converge towards agricultural development and food security. Governments are primarily responsible for providing public goods and services that underpin and facilitate private investment, as well as the governance mechanisms that ensure socially and environmentally sustainable benefits from private investment.

Farmers and their organizations must also be supported to benefit from increased investments, and they must be engaged from the outset in real, meaningful partnerships from public policy and programme design onward through evaluation.

Private sector investment, particularly through small- and medium-sized enterprises, is a critical factor for reaching the goal of a hunger-free Africa. However, the quality of this investment is of key importance. In this regard, Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, in the Context of National Food Security were endorsed earlier this month by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). Implementing these guidelines, which have been agreed upon by governments, civil society and the private sector, will help ensure that responsible governance of tenure contributes to responsible investment, enabling sustainable social, economic and environmental development around agriculture and towards food security.

The United Nations Rome-based agencies welcome the G8's renewed commitment to keep food security high on the global agenda and the creation of the New Alliance to Increase Food Security and Nutrition.

The New Alliance complements on going activities and processes, starting from the CAADP itself, and is a tool that can accelerate progress in eradicating hunger and poverty in Africa. These efforts can and will succeed if they support smallholder production and market integration. This includes ensuring that technologies and inputs are adapted to local conditions and promoting environmentally and socially sustainable farming practices to boost local economies. Stakeholders at the national and local level must drive and own the process from the start.

The New Alliance should avail itself of the opportunities to build upon, and further foster, truly participatory processes involving the G8, African countries, and the private sector, including first and foremost agricultural producers. In this way, it will respond to the needs of rural families and communities, and to the broader needs of African societies.

At the same time, we need to ensure that environmental sustainability is squarely addressed in the type of agricultural investments that are promoted, and that safety nets are in place and emergency preparedness is sustained to protect vulnerable people from the consequences of drought and other shocks.

Together, our agencies have been working with national governments, non-governmental organisations and civil society to help build resilience in developing countries. This includes targeted productive safety nets, such as school meal programmes, and other efforts that ensure that when the next disaster occurs, poor people are better equipped to feed themselves and protect assets such as livestock and property.

We welcome that the New Alliance is promoting a set of enabling tools related to markets and finance, risk and insurance, and science and technology that can address gaps and strengthen smallholders' position in the value chain.

We would, however, like to draw particular attention to the need to support women's empowerment. Women make up nearly half of farmers in sub-Saharan Africa but face disproportionate barriers in access to resources and markets. The New Alliance must also address the aspirations of rural youth, who are key to long-term sustainability and the viability of rural agricultural communities. Ending hunger and achieving food and nutrition security for the people of Africa is a pressing issue that cannot wait.

Smallholders and rural people, who face the daily threat of food insecurity, urgently require access to science, technology and the most basic tools and services that would allow them to invest in their farms and businesses. With these benefits and a renewed commitment across all sectors we have an opportunity to reduce poverty, solve hunger and strengthen food security."

(18 May 2012)

Categories: News