Editorial: Knowing when and how to disengage humanitarian response

Waterlines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-143
Author(s):  
Richard Carter

The machinery of international humanitarian response, once triggered and functioning in a country, has a life of its own. A multiplicity of United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations set up their programmes. The various sector- or subject-focused ‘clusters’, established to strengthen pre-emergency preparedness and operational coordination once an emergency has occurred, are activated. Humanitarian response plans are published, and appeals for funds made.

1955 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 552-561

Executive Board37th Session: The 37th session of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Executive Board was held in Paris from March 10 to April 9, 1954, under the chairmanship of Sir Ronald Adam. At its opening meeting, the Board heard oral reports from the chairman, Professor Oscar Secco Ellauri and the Director-General on a visit they had made to member states in Asia. The report of the Director-General on the activities of UNESCO in 1953 was considered by the Board in conjunction with the draft program of work and budget estimates for 1955–1956 prepared by the Director-General and the preparation of recommendations to the General Conference. The Board approved comments to be made in communicating the report of the Director-General to member states, and also a report on its own work during 1953. Various modifications in the Director-General's draft program and budget estimates for 1955–1956 were recommended by the Board, which decided to prepare its recommendations to the eighdi session of the General Conference at its 38th session, on the basis of the revised draft to be presented at that time by the Director-General. The Board approved reports from the Program Commission on Fundamental Education Centers and the special committee set up to study questions relating to subventions to non-governmental organizations.


Author(s):  
Albanese Francesca P ◽  
Takkenberg Lex

This chapter examines the protection dimension of the distinctive regime set up for Palestinian refugees in an historical and comparative fashion. It then addresses the need for international protection of Palestinian refugees. As Palestinian refugees in need of protection have spread outside UNRWA’s area of operations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) became increasingly involved. Since the mid-2000s, cooperation between UNHCR and UNRWA has become more structured. As awareness of the protection needs of Palestinians has increased, so have the contributions of others, including UN agencies and human rights mechanisms, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the Palestinians’ own embassies. These developments reflect a profound change: a shift from treating protection of Palestinians as something exceptional and separate from the global regime for refugees to a recognition that their protection is and should be treated as an integral, albeit distinct, part of that regime. Ultimately, a major improvement in the protection of Palestinian refugees would occur if states and regional bodies fully honoured their commitments and obligations under international law, and, for those state parties to the international refugee regime, the obligations stemming from it. For this to happen and to ensure continuity of protection, the partnership between UNRWA and UNHCR should be upgraded through a comprehensive approach aimed at ensuring that practices fully align with the provisions of relevant UN resolutions, Article 1D of the 1951 Convention and human rights norms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Quraish Sserwanja ◽  
Mohammed Bashir Adam ◽  
Joseph Kawuki ◽  
Emmanuel Olal

AbstractThe novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in Sudan on 13 March 2020. Since then, Sudan has experienced one of the highest rates of COVID-19 spread and fatalities in Africa. One year later, as per 22 March 2021, Sudan had registered 29,661 confirmed cases and 2,028 deaths with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 6.8 %. By 12 December 2020, of the 18 states in Sudan, South Kordofan had the fifth highest CFR of 17.4 %, only surpassed by the other conflict affected North (57.5 %), Central (50.0 %) and East (31.8 %) Darfur States. By late March 2021, just three months from December 2020, the number of cases in South Kordofan increased by 100 %, but with a significant decline in the CFR from 17.4 to 8.5 %. South Kordofan is home to over 200,000 poor and displaced people from years of destructive civil unrests. To date, several localities such as the Nubba mountains region remain under rebel control and are not accessible. South Kordofan State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the federal government and non-governmental organizations set up four isolation centres with 40 total bed capacity, but with only two mechanical ventilators and no testing centre. There is still need for further multi-sectoral coalition and equitable allocation of resources to strengthen the health systems of rural and conflict affected regions. This article aims at providing insight into the current state of COVID-19 in South Kordofan amidst the second wave to address the dearth of COVID-19 information in rural and conflict affected regions.


1993 ◽  
Vol 33 (293) ◽  
pp. 94-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Doswald-Beck ◽  
Sylvain Vité

International humanitarian law is increasingly perceived as part of human rights law applicable in armed conflict. This trend can be traced back to the United Nations Human Rights Conference held in Tehran in 1968 which not only encouraged the development of humanitarian law itself, but also marked the beginning of a growing use by the United Nations of humanitarian law during its examination of the human rights situation in certain countries or during its thematic studies. The greater awareness of the relevance of humanitarian law to the protection of people in armed conflict, coupled with the increasing use of human rights law in international affairs, means that both these areas of law now have a much greater international profile and are regularly being used together in the work of both international and non-governmental organizations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. 448
Author(s):  
Elsa Inés DALMASSO

Resumen: La Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas para el Cambio Climático (CMNUCC) establecida en mayo de 1992, en la «Cumbre de la Tierra de Río de Janeiro», entró en vigor en marzo de 1994 con la premisa de reforzar la conciencia pública a escala mundial sobre los problemas relativos al Cambio Climático. Entre sus objetivos principales se destaca la estabilización de las concentraciones de Gases de Efecto Invernadero (GEI) en la atmósfera, para impedir riesgos en el sistema climático. La Conferencia de las Partes (COP) se establece como el órgano supremo de la Convención y la asociación de todos los países que forman parte de ella. Como asimismo lo es en calidad de Reunión de las Partes del Protocolo de Kioto (PK), En las reuniones anuales de la COP participan expertos en medio ambiente, ministros, jefes de estado y organizaciones no gubernamentales con la función de supervisar y examinar la aplicación de la Convención y del Protocolo. El objetivo es preparar inventarios de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero por las fuentes y su absorción por los sumideros, promoviendo y facilitando el intercambio de información sobre las medidas adoptadas y el desarrollo del proceso de negociación entre las Partes de la Convención. Concluyendo con la elaboración de un Compromiso de Estados, Empresas y Comunidad respecto a la regulación de los efectos sobre cambio climático.   Palabras clave: Cambio Climático; Naciones Unidas; Conferencia de las Partes.   Abstract: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established in May 1992, at the "Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro"; It entered into force in March 1994 with the premise of strengthening public awareness on a global scale about the problems related to Climate Change. Among its main objectives is the stabilization of concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere, to prevent risks in the climate system. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is established as the supreme organ of the Convention and the association of all the countries that are part of it. As it is also in the capacity of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (KP), Environmental experts, ministers, heads of state and non-governmental organizations participate in the annual meetings of the COP, with the function of supervising and examining the application of the Convention and the Protocol, in order to prepare inventories of greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse effect by the sources and their absorption by the sinks, promoting and facilitating the exchange of information on the measures adopted and the development of the negotiation process between the Parties to the Convention. Concluding with the elaboration of a Commitment of States, Companies and Community regarding the regulation of the effects on climate change Keywords: Climate Change; United Nations; Conference of the Parties


1983 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.A. Keenleyside

Prior to 1947, India, despite its dependence upon Great Britain, was represented in most of the bonafide international conferences and organizations that evolved especially during the inter-war years. For example, India participated in the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Washington Conference on Naval Armaments of 1921, the London Naval Conference of 1930, the Disarmament Conference of 1932 and the annual inter-war conferences of the International Labour Organization. In addition, India was represented in two important international organizations of the inter-war period—the British Commonwealth, in whose deliberations it was included from 1917 onwards and the League of Nations, of which it was a founding member. For a variety of reasons; Indians involved in the independence movement disassociated themselves from and were critical of official Indian diplomacy conducted through the major international conferences and institutions of the world community and tended to attach greater importance to those non-governmental organizations in which the voice of nationalist India could be fully heard—that is to the deliberations of such bodies as the League Against Imperialism, 1927–1930, the Anti-War Congress of 1932, the World Peace Congress of 1936 and the International Peace Campaign Conference of 1938. Nevertheless, despite the nationalist antipathy for official Indian diplomacy, an examination of such governmental institutions as the League of Nations from the perspective of nationalist India is still important in order to understand some aspects of independent India's foreign policy and more specifically its approach to international organization. Further, even though Indian delegations to the League were unrepresentative, there were subtle ways in which they reflected national Indian opinions and exhibited specifically Indian traits, so that a study of the official Indian role is useful in drawing attention to what were to prove to be some of the earliest and most persisting elements of independent Indian diplomacy via such bodies as the United Nations. It is thus the purpose of this article first to explore nationalist Indian attitudes towards the League (especially the reasons for opposition to the organization), second to analyze the extent to which the official Indian role in the League reflected nationalist Indian concerns, and third to comment upon the impact of the League of Nations on independent India's foreign policy, especially its role in the United Nations.


Author(s):  
Kua Ee Heok ◽  
Iris Rawtaer

The main caregivers of elderly people with dementia in Singapore are the family. In recent years, community services like day care centres, home care, respite care, and nursing homes have expanded. Non-governmental organizations are actively involved in providing a spectrum of services, ranging from medical, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and counselling. General hospitals have set up geriatric and psycho-geriatric teams for dementia patients. There is now a focus on dementia prevention, and a successful prevention programme has been extended to three additional community centres. The challenge ahead is not only having sufficient dementia services, but also ensuring there are sufficient trained health professionals to provide the services. Current strengths in dementia care include strong emphasis on family care, increased availability of dementia community services like day care centres, and increased number of health professionals trained in dementia care. Future priorities include integrating hospital care into the community, keeping down the cost of dementia care, and creating dementia-friendly environments.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document