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	World has a collective responsibility to protect humanitarian aid workers & UN Staff by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon United Nations   UN Secretary-General"s report calls for international collective responsibility to protect United Nations staff, humanitarian workers.   Attacks on United Nations and humanitarian field workers have increased to alarming levels, according to a report by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released today.   Deaths of United Nations staff by malicious attack increased by 38 per cent in the period covered by the report (1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008), or to 26 deaths from 16 in the previous year. Locally recruited humanitarian and United Nations personnel accounted for the majority of casualties (22 of the 26 deaths). The year under study was also the worst in recorded history for non-governmental organizations, which lost 63 workers to malicious acts.   "I"m gravely concerned by the wide scale of threats, the rise in deliberate targeting of humanitarian and UN personnel and their vulnerability worldwide," the Secretary-General says in his report.   He calls for international collective responsibility and closer collaboration between the United Nations and Member States, especially host Governments, to protect humanitarian and United Nations staff.   Key factors in the alarming growth of malicious incidents include: expanded and sustained United Nations operations, particularly in conflict or post-conflict areas; rising criminality; the spread of terrorist acts; sharp increases in food and fuel prices; rising public expectations and local misconceptions about United Nations operations or presence; and the climate of impunity for violent acts against United Nations and humanitarian personnel.   Most of the security incidents directed against United Nations staff occurred in Africa. However, the Secretary-General notes, "While threats by extremists existed in the past in a few locations, the threats have expanded indiscriminately to all locations." The attack against United Nations offices in Algiers on 11 December 2007, in which 17 United Nations staff members were killed, provides stark evidence of this disturbing trend.   The Secretary-General makes particular note of attacks on United Nations and humanitarian workers in Afghanistan, Darfur, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia, where 18 non-governmental organization staff were killed during the reporting period: "I condemn such behaviour in the strongest terms and call upon all parties to respect humanitarian principles and to allow the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance."   The security of its staff directly affects the United Nations ability to carry out its programmes and to implement its mandates, especially in conflict or post-conflict areas where the United Nations must sometimes suspend or curtail life-saving humanitarian or development activities or evacuate staff.   The Secretary-General reminds Member States that the primary responsibility for the security and protection of staff members rests with the host Governments, who are the "first line of defence in the protection of humanitarian and UN personnel".   "I call on all Member States to address three topical issues: unlawful arrest, detention and harassments of UN staff; obstruction of freedom of movement of UN and humanitarian workers; and impunity for crimes committed against humanitarian and UN personnel."   Over the reporting period, there were 490 attacks on United Nations offices, convoys and premises, 84 forced entries of United Nations offices and 583 residential break-ins. There were also 546 harassment and intimidation cases, 578 robberies, 263 physical assaults, 119 hijackings, 160 arrests by State authorities and 39 cases of detention by non-State actors of United Nations staff.   Security incidents against humanitarian non-governmental organizations reported to the United Nations Department of Safety and Security during the same period included 236 attacks of convoys and premises, 70 cases of detention by State authorities and 103 incidents of unlawful detention by non-State actors, 41 incidents of assault, 132 incidents of harassment, 138 incidents of forced entry or occupation of premises, 113 armed robberies, 50 incidents of vehicle hijacking, 70 residential break-ins and 124 thefts. The Department of Safety and Security receives first- and second-hand accounts of incidents involving non-governmental organizations; thus, these numbers do not represent an exhaustive account.   The Secretary-General calls in particular for an urgent review of the "policies and arrangements necessary to provide locally recruited personnel with adequate safety and security".
	After 10 Years, No African Rights Trial by George Mukundi Minority Rights Group International   September 25, 2008   The landmark African court of human rights has not heard a single case since its creation ten years ago, despite serious human rights crises in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe, says a new report from an international rights monitor.   "The Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC] has been engulfed by conflict for over a decade and remains one of the world''s worst and most forsaken humanitarian crises," writes the international Rescue Committee, an organization working to support refugees worldwide. The most recent development - a peace agreement negotiated this January - is quickly unravelling, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with no other option but to flee their homes.   In contrast to the impunity that characterizes the conflict in DRC, victims of deposed Chadian dictator Hissene Habre may finally see their nemesis tried for crimes against humanity after a nearly 20-year wait. The opportunity comes as legal obstacles to prosecution in Senegal were overcome this July, and survivors subsequently filed charges of torture and crimes against humanity against the man known as the "Pinochet of Africa."   24 September 2008,   Ten years since its establishment - despite major human rights crises in Darfur, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe - the landmark African court of human rights has yet to hear a single case, a new report says.   In its report, African Court on Human and Peoples'' Rights: Ten years on and still no justice, launched on 24 September, MRG says that even though judges have already been appointed, lack of political will has hampered the court from commencing work.   Having voted to establish the African Court, States seem wary about seeing it come to fruition. So far only 24 out of a possible 53 states of the African Union have ratified the Protocol to create the Court.   George Mukundi, author of the report, says, ''Africa''s peoples deserve better. If human rights on the continent are to come of age, the Court must start its work without any further delays.''   The Court is especially crucial for Africa''s minorities and indigenous peoples, who, as some of the poorest and most vulnerable on the continent, experience multiple human rights violations on a daily basis.   Samia Khan, MRG''s Head of Programmes, says, ''Africa''s minorities and indigenous peoples often fail to find redress for rights abuses in their own domestic courts. A strong regional legal mechanism such as the African Court is essential if their marginalization is to come to an end.''   George Mukundi says, ''The human rights landscape in Africa continues to be of grave concern. It is in the interests of States to make good their promises of a decade ago - an effective Court will help to strengthen democracy on the continent and ultimately lead to more robust and prosperous nations.''   The Court will have the power to bring States to account for violations of rights enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and will be a judicial system unique to the continent.   Unlike existing regional human rights monitoring body the African Commission, the African Court can issue binding legal decisions which States must abide by and can orders for specific remedies in favour of victims of rights abuses. Visit the related web page
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