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	Global homicide rate rises for first time in more than a decade by Small Arms Survey, agencies   Dec. 2017   The global homicide rate rose last year for the first time in more than a decade, with marked increases in Venezuela and Jamaica, a study has shown.   The Small Arms Survey report, published on Thursday, estimated that 385,000 people were killed in homicides across the world in 2016, an increase of 8,000 on the previous year.   Despite that, the report estimated that the overall number of violent deaths had decreased, primarily as a result of fewer people being killed in wars in 2016 than in 2015.   Of the five countries with the highest violent death rates in 2016 – Syria, El Salvador, Venezuela, Honduras, and Afghanistan – only two had armed conflicts last year.   The researchers noted that while the increase in the homicide rate “does not necessarily indicate a new trend … it signals growing insecurity in non-conflict areas”. Taking into account population rises, 2016 had a global homicide rate per 100,000 of 5.15 – 0.04 points higher than in 2015.   “As the uptick in homicides affects far more people’s perceptions of local security than does the drop in conflict deaths, however, the overall decrease in violent deaths is unlikely to lead to an increased sense of safety at the global scale,” the researchers said.   Of the 23 countries with a violent death rate of more than 20 people per 100,000, 14 were not not involved in wars: they include Brazil, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and South Africa.   The report said in such countries “crime claimed, in proportion to their populations, as many victims as some high-intensity conflicts”.   The number of people killed as a direct result of armed conflict fell from a peak in 2014 of 143,000, to 119,000 the following year and 99,000 in 2016. That resulted in a fall in the rate per 100,000 people from 1.96 in 2014 to 1.32, according to the report.   This helped the overall rate of violent deaths fall from 7.73 per 100,000 population to 7.50 between 2015 and 2016. The report’s authors, Claire McEvoy and Gergely Hideg, said more than a million lives could be saved by 2030 if the trend continued.   “The annual number of violent deaths is likely to increase to approximately 610,000 by 2030, primarily due to population growth,” they wrote.   “Yet if states were able to replicate the results of the countries that have been most successful at preventing and controlling violence in their respective world regions, that number could drop to about 408,000, meaning that about 1.35 million lives could be saved between 2017 and 2030.”   The Small Arms Survey’s report, Global Violent Deaths 2017, was produced with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The group is funded by several governments and its past work has been supported by international organisations, such as UN agencies.   http://bit.ly/2BHD5Rx http://bit.ly/2jrmF8O http://ceip.org/2z5xKF1   * Reporting by Kevin Rawlinson for Guardian news, access the report via the link below. The cited figures represent the analysis of Small Arms Survey and should be viewed as indicative rather than definitive, as data collection particularly in armed conflicts remains incomplete. Visit the related web page
	Humanitarian catastrophe looms in DR Congo by International Organization for Migration, agencies Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)   Dec. 2017   Over the past year, the humanitarian situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has deteriorated at an alarming rate. IOM, the UN Migration Agency is appealing for urgently for funding to meet the growing needs of displaced Congolese and the communities hosting them in the eastern and south-central provinces of North and South Kivu, Tanganyika and the Kasai.   In recent months, fighting has spread to parts of DRC that had not seen such violence since the 1994-2003 conflict, which claimed millions of lives. This and largescale hostility between communities has led to the internal displacement of 4.1 million people, making the DRC, the African country with the highest displacement of its population.   Violence in South Kivu, Tanganyika and the Kasai is estimated to have alone displaced 2.5 million of the total figure and new displacements are occurring daily in North Kivu. On average, over 44,000 people are being displaced each month. The country is also host to some 600,000 refugees from neighbouring countries, who are also in need of support.   “With so many humanitarian crises worldwide, the situation in DRC is at risk of being ignored while it develops into the biggest emergency of 2018,” said Mohammed Abdiker, IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies following a visit to the country last week. “Robust funding and concerted action are urgently needed to stop already immense suffering from spiralling beyond the humanitarian community’s capacity to respond.”   The deepening of the crisis in DRC is sparking rises in malnutrition, food insecurity and health epidemics, such as measles and cholera outbreaks, which are stretching to breaking point the current response capacity of the humanitarian community. An estimated total of 13.1 million Congolese will be in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection throughout 2018 with access to shelter, food, clean water, sanitation and health of particular concern.   “Due to ongoing fighting, access to those newly displaced is a major challenge to IOM’s response on the ground. Our teams are having to travel up to four hours on ‘safe routes’ to reach communities most in need,” said Abdiker.   Children, young men, women and ethnic minorities have been among the hardest-hit by the violence. More than 4 million children under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition. Some 7.7 million people are expected to be impacted by the devastating effects of an acute food emergency, while 10.5 million have limited or no access to healthcare. An estimated 4.7 million women and girls will be exposed to gender-based violence (GBV) in crisis-affected areas in 2018.   “The rise in sexual and violent assault against women in DRC is shocking and bears a stark resemblance to the widespread targeting of vulnerable women and girls in the 1994-2003 conflict. The humanitarian community must do everything possible to protect them and assist survivors,” added Abdiker.   People forced to flee their homes and those returning to burnt villages face intense levels of vulnerability and are in urgent need of multi-sectoral assistance from the humanitarian community, particularity protection, including from GBV, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), shelter, education, food security and health.   In October, through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the humanitarian community declared the situation in South Kivu, Tanganyika and the Kasai to be a Level-3 emergency, which means that an urgent scale-up of humanitarian assistance, funding and capacity is needed to meet the growing needs.   “The historically low level of humanitarian funding is the single-most debilitating factor blocking humanitarian actors from providing lifesaving assistance in the DRC,” said Abdiker. “By failing to secure the funding needed, many thousands of displaced Congolese and host communities will be deprived of crucial protection and assistance and countless lives will be unnecessarily lost.”   * In September 2017, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights considered that the situation in the Kasai provinces was still one of the worst human rights crises in the world. At least 3,383 persons were killed, over 87 mass graves were discovered; at least 1.4 million people, including almost 600,000 children, were forced to find refuge in neighbouring provinces. These figures are conservative estimates, and it would seem that the acts of violence were committed on an even larger scale.   http://bit.ly/2D09PWG http://bit.ly/2BX4xyr http://tmsnrt.rs/2BSokwc http://tmsnrt.rs/2BSfmiv   June 2017   International community must ensure ''endemic'' impunity in DR Congo brought to an end – UN rights chief.   Voicing concern over lack of progress on the part of Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to undertake credible investigations into widespread allegations of rights violations and abuses in the Kasai Central and Kasai Oriental provinces, the top United Nations human rights official today called for setting up of an international investigation mechanism to look into the situation.   “The crimes committed in the Kasais appear to be of such gravity that they must be of concern to the international community as a whole, and in particular the Human Rights Council,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra''ad Al Hussein, urged the Council today.   “We have an obligation to the victims and a duty to send a message to the perpetrators of these crimes that we are watching and that the international community is throwing its weight behind ensuring that the endemic impunity in the DRC is brought to an end.”   According to a news release issued by the High Commissioner''s Office (OHCHR), since August last year, some 1.3 million people from the two provinces have been displaced within the country and about 30,000 forced to flee to neighbouring Angola.   The release raised particular alarm over the presence of at least 42 mass graves – documented by OHCHR – and reports that many of these were dug by Forces armées de la République démocratique du Congo (FARDC) after clashes with presumed elements of the Kamuina Nsapu militia over the past several months. The actual number of the graves are feared to be higher.   In early May this year, High Commissioner Zeid urged the Government of the DRC to take a series of steps to ensure that a credible, transparent investigation, respecting international standards and with the involvement of OHCHR, be established by 8 June.   However, while the Government sought technical support and advice from OHCHR and the UN mission in the country (known by its French acronym, MONUSCO) the response of national authorities till date falls short, in view of the gravity and widespread nature of the violations and the need to ensure justice for victims, noted the news release.   “It is the sovereign duty of the Government of the DRC to carry out judicial investigations into human rights violations committed on its territory and we will continue to support the Government by providing advice and support towards its fulfilment of these obligations,” noted the High Commissioner, adding: “However, the scale and nature of these human rights violations and abuses, and the consistently inadequate responses of the domestic authorities, oblige us to call for an international investigation to complement national efforts.” http://bit.ly/2uavR93   http://webtv.un.org/watch/-briefing-on-the-humanitarian-situation-in-the-democratic-republic-of-congo-and-central-african-republic/5534067738001/ http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/latest/2017/7/596765c84/violence-engulfs-congos-once-peaceful-kasai-region.html http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/850000-children-displaced-waves-violent-conflict-greater-kasai http://unocha.exposure.co/kasai-in-crisis http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/food-insecurity-soars-conflict-ridden-democratic-republic-congo Visit the related web page
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