Libya: On Sunday, the SG persuaded Qaddafi’s Foreign Minister Mr. Musa Kousa to allow in a humanitarian assessment team to Tripoli over the phone and strongly appealed for the end to hostilities and ensure full compliance of SCR. 1970. He expressed concern about the fighting in western Libya and urged for the lift of restrictions on media. The SG appointed the former FM of Jordan, Abdul-illah Khatib, as his Special Envoy to Libya to undertake urgent consultations with authorities in Tripoli and in the region on the immediate humanitarian situation, as well as the wider dimensions of the crisis. Over the weekend, the U.S. announced a $3 million contribution to the IOM as part of a joint U.S.-IOM partnership to strengthen efforts to return home Egyptians and other nationals who fled Libya and are now in Tunisia. Additionally, the UN and its partners launched a $160 million appeal today to address the humanitarian needs, which will help fund the activities of 17 aid organizations (i.e. OCHA, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, and WHO) for the next three months to help the projected 400,000 people leaving Libya (including the roughly 200,000 people who have already left) as well as 600,000 inside Libya (for roughly 1 million total). Camp coordination and camp management, food security, nutrition, healthcare, water, sanitations and hygiene, protection, shelter and logistics will also be covered under this appeal. Also over the weekend, Valerie Amos, USG for Humanitarian Affairs, traveled to the Tunisia-Libya border and called for urgent access in western Libya. In Geneva, Amos told the press that UN agencies and partners have met the needs of people fleeing the country.
Sudan: Haile Menkerios, SRSG for Sudan, welcomed the agreement between SPLM and the National Congress Party (NCP) made on March 4th, to jointly address the security situation in the Abyei region. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan said that UN and other aid agencies urged parties to respect their agreements to refrain from violence.
Peacebuilding Initiative: today the SG released a report of a Senior Advisory Group chaired by former USG for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno entitled “Civilian Capacity in the Aftermath of Conflict” that makes recommendations on strengthening international civilian support for post-conflict countries. Specifically, the Report advocates an approach called “OPEN”: a UN that enables Ownership, works in Global Partnership, delivers Expertise and is Nimble in the face of change. In a follow-up to the report, the SG has decided to create a steering group that will be headed by Susana Malcorra, the USG for Field Support, to pursue coordinated action on this agenda.
UNICEF: Today UNICEF launched its 2011 Humanitarian Action for Children Report, which appeals for $1.4 billion to help donors assist women and children in crises.