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UN Daily News
Friday, 8 April 2016

Issue DH/7133

In the headlines:
Greece: UN agency urges full hearings for stranded

Video: UN senior official visits CAR to focus on

UN officials urge boost in development action to

Ban welcomes G20 support for Paris climate accord

At Geneva conference, Ban calls for global

UN rights office expresses concern about death

UN Development Cooperation Forum can contribute

refugee and migrant children

meet humanitarian challenges in Africa

partnership to prevent violent extremism

UN rights chief urges sustained commitment for

redress of child victims of torture

stronger measures against sexual abuse

signing

sentences in Bangladesh

to advancing 2030 Agenda

After Panama Papers leak, UN expert calls for end

of financial secrecy to halt illicit fund flows

Greece: UN agency urges full hearings for stranded refugee and

migrant children
8 April With the process of returning refugees and migrants from
the Greek islands to Turkey underway as part of a European UnionTurkey agreement, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) is
reminding States of their duty to care and protect all children and give
them a full and fair hearing when deciding on their future.
UNICEF said in a press release that it welcomed a new Greek law,
which came into force on 4 April, exempting certain vulnerable
groups, including unaccompanied and separated children, children
with disabilities, victims of distress and trauma, pregnant women and
women who recently gave birth, from exceptional border
procedures or returns. However more needs to be done.
Currently more than 22,000 refugee and migrant children are stranded
in Greece, facing an uncertain future and even forms of detention
since the EU-Turkey agreement went into effect last month.

Child refugees in Idomeni, Greece, March 2016. Photo:

UNICEF/Tomislav Georgiev

UNICEF called for a well-managed process to be put in place to determine each childs best interests and fulfil the basic
needs of all children including adequate accommodation, health care and protection against trafficking and exploitation in
line with international and European laws.
Children have specific grounds to claim international protection; such as if faced with the threat of recruitment to armed
forces or forced marriage. The European Commission has stipulated that returns will be in accordance with international and
European law, said UNICEF.

For information media not an official record

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Any decision about any child, whether a toddler or a teenager, whether with family or not, should be guided by the best
interests of that child, said Marie-Pierre Poirier, Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis in Europe.
Children need to be heard. A rushed decision to return can lead to a rash result and going back to a place of fear and
violence. Children, no matter where they come from, must have access to basic services at all times, she added.
Capacity to care and support for unaccompanied and separated children has been overstretched in Greece. With nowhere to
house them, many are taken into temporary protective custody, or de facto detention within closed first reception or police
facilities, for increasingly extended periods.
Ms. Poirier expressed concern about reports that some children are being detained due to their migration status. Escaping
war and seeking survival is never a crime, she said.
Unaccompanied and separated children, are among the most vulnerable and make up about 10 per cent of all refugee and
migrant children in Greece, or some 2,000, but not all are registered.
Between January and mid-March 2016, 1,156 unaccompanied and separated children had been registered in Greece, an
increase of over 300 per cent in the rate of registration compared to the same period in 2015.
The first returns to Turkey from the Greek islands were monitored this week by UNICEFs partners, in Dikili port, in Izmir
province. UNICEF will continue to work closely with Turkish Government authorities to provide humanitarian assistance.
Turkey currently hosts over 2.7 million Syrian refugees.
UNICEF has been helping Syrian refugee children and families since 2012. Last year UNICEF, working with government
and civil society partners, provided support to over 400,000 Syrian children with education, protection and basic services.

UN officials urge boost in development action to meet

humanitarian challenges in Africa
8 April Greater efforts in preparedness response, recovery and
development interventions are needed from humanitarian actors for
African nations to meet the immediate needs of their citizens, become
more resilient to shocks and crises, and ultimately achieve food
security, senior United Nations officials stressed today.
Speaking at an informal meeting of the UN General Assembly held
this afternoon at Headquarters in New York on addressing
humanitarian needs in Africa, particularly the needs of refugees,
World Food Programme Executive Director Ertharin Cousin, who
served as the events moderator, highlighted that every refugee crisis
is by nature also a food and nutrition crisis. At the same time, she
said, food and nutrition crises often drive conflict and displacement.

A group of refugees from South Sudan at a settlement in Uganda.

Photo: UNICEF/UNI183475/Wandera

Moreover, growing levels of conflict and violence, coupled with the

impact of changing climates, even El Nio, have not only protracted existing crisis, but have also created new displacements
both within Africa and neighbouring regions, she stressed.
The resulting increasing needs, as well as capacity and resource constraints, threaten our collective solidarity, which
demands, at the very least, we respond to the basic needs of people in distress, Ms. Cousin said.
The Executive Director said it was necessary to warn the General Assembly that meeting both the needs of new refugee
populations as well as refugees in protracted situations is increasingly challenging.
She noted that WFP provides food assistance to more than 3.1 million displaced persons of concern in 25 countries across
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Africa. This past year, in East and Central Africa funding constraints forced WFP to cut rations by up to 30 per cent in five
out of seven operations.
While collective global solidarity demands making additional resources available, our primary duty is to galvanize
innovation and new ways of working not only because of increased efficiency but also because of the improvements in wellbeing they offer. In practical terms, it means shifting our focus towards activities promoting self-reliance and income
generation.
The meeting today would be beneficial in identifying priority actions to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of refugees,
as well as to examine the necessary collective actions to support continent-wide resilience and achieve food security, Ms.
Cousin said.
The meeting, titled Humanitarian Response in Africa: The Urgency to Act, included interventions from a number of
panellists, followed by an interactive discussion between UN Member States, members of the UN system and other
stakeholders.
Also speaking at the meeting was the President of the UN General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft, who encouraged
participants to move beyond a diagnosis of the problem and towards identifying real solutions.
What we really need is to reform our overall approach to humanitarian response take a long-term approach both in terms
of financing and in terms of building resilience; investing in disaster risk reduction; breaking barriers between the
development and humanitarian response so that we move forward within the 2030 Agenda together; and improving the
efficiency and effectiveness of our overall response, he said.
This is precisely the task facing the World Humanitarian Summit next month, Mr. Lykketoft said, adding that he hoped
todays meeting could inform deliberations at the Summit and build momentum for real commitments and real reform.

At Geneva conference, Ban calls for global partnership to

prevent violent extremism
8 April The objective of extremists is for us to turn on each other
[and] our unity is the ultimate rebuke for that bankrupt strategy,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, underscoring that the
action plan he presented to the United Nations General Assembly in
January contains concrete recommendations and could be the basis of
a global partnership to defeat violent extremism.
While it may be inevitable to draw on examples, such as Daesh [also
known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL] or Boko
Haram, the phenomenon of violent extremism conducive to terrorism
is not rooted or confined to any religion, region, nationality or ethnic
group,
the Secretary-General told the Geneva Conference on Preventing
Violent Extremism The Way Forward, co-hosted by the
Government of Switzerland and the UN.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the Geneva Conference on

preventing Violent Extremism. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferr

Mr. Ban stressed: Let us also recognize that today, the vast majority of victims worldwide are Muslims.
Violent extremists seek to divide communities and the goal is to let fear rule, he said. Let this conference and our unity
today be the ultimate rebuke to that bankrupt strategy.
Violent extremists pose a direct threat to the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They
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undermine collective global efforts to maintain peace and security, foster sustainable development, promote the respect for
human rights and deliver much needed humanitarian aid, said the UN chief.
Violent extremism is clearly a transnational threat that requires urgent international cooperation, Mr. Ban said, explaining
that his Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism puts forward a comprehensive and balanced approach for
concerted action at the global, regional and national levels.
The Plan was first submitted to the General Assembly on 15 January. Then, on 12 February, the 193-nation body adopted a
resolution that welcome Mr. Bans initiative, pledging to give further consideration to the Plan, including in the Global
Counter-Terrorism Strategy review in June 2016, as well as in other relevant forums.
Mr. Ban expressed hope that todays discussions will galvanize unity for a strong consensus outcome in the Assembly in
June.
The Geneva Conference, which opened yesterday, aims to provide an opportunity for the international community to share
experiences and good practices in addressing the drivers of violent extremism and to build support for the Plan of Action.
The first day was dedicated to a meeting of senior experts on key issues related to the prevention of violent extremism.
Five points of Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism
The action plan is based on five interrelated points, Mr. Ban said, namely prevention, national ownership, international
cooperation, UN support and united action.
Security and military responses sometimes have proven to be counter-productive, and there is a need to address the drivers
of violent extremism, he noted.
There is no single pathway, and no complex algorithm that can unlock the secrets of who turns to violent extremism, he
stated. But we know that violent extremism flourishes when aspirations for inclusion are frustrated, marginalized groups
linger on the sidelines of societies, political space shrinks, human rights are abused and when too many people especially
young people lack prospects and meaning in their lives.
The Plan emphasizes conflict prevention, conflict resolution and political solutions, and urges full implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as that will address many of the socio-economic drivers of violent extremism.
The Plan offers a menu of recommendations for Member States to forge their own national action plans, which should use
an all-of-Government approach and engage all-of-society to be effective. No country or region alone can address the
threat of violent extremism, he said, stressing the need for a dynamic, coherent and multi-dimensional response from the
entire international community.
He pledged to leverage the universal membership and the convening power of the UN to further strengthen international
cooperation at the national, regional and global levels, noting that he plans to create a UN system-wide high-level action
group to spearhead the implementation of the Plan at both the Headquarters and field levels.
We will not be successful unless we can harness the idealism, creativity and energy of 1.8 billion young people around the
world, he said, calling for a global partnership to prevent violent extremism. I have no doubt that we will succeed if we
are united in action, he concluded.

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UN rights chief urges sustained commitment for redress of child

victims of torture
8 April The deliberate infliction of torture on children is an
unbearable reality in many conflicts and human rights crises around
the world, but the international community must continue to
demonstrate its commitment to holding the perpetrators of such acts
accountable as well as assist the recovery of affected children, the
United Nations human rights chief said today.

Photo: UNICEF/Karel Prinsloo

Speaking in Geneva at the 43rd session of the Board of Trustees

of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein noted
that the Funds work over the past three decades shows the
extraordinary capacity for resilience of child victims of torture, who
are often targeted to extract information, pressure their parents, or
simply as punishment for supposed misbehaviour.

Neither national security nor the fight against terrorism, the threat of armed conflict, or any public emergency can justify
torturing anyone, Mr. Zeid stressed. And yet many States and non-State actors continue to torture people a horror that
my staff must combat daily.
States have an obligation to help child victims of torture work towards recovery and find redress, the UN human rights chief
emphasized, although he expressed regret that this obligation is often ignored. But he noted that around the world, networks
of physicians, psychologists, social workers and lawyers do assist child survivors of torture to deal with the trauma they
have suffered.
Much of their work is supported by the UN Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture, which marks its thirty-fifth
anniversary this year, and which Mr. Zeids Office manages.
Today, the Fund launched a new booklet, From Horror to Healing, with personal accounts from victims of torture, and
the practitioners who help them heal and reclaim their lives and rights. The testimonies were collected from organizations
and rehabilitation centres supported by the Fund, which provide direct assistance to about 50,000 victims of torture and their
family members every year.
Mr. Zeid noted that these rehabilitation efforts also focus on refugee and migrant children. Many of them have endured
severe trauma and ill-treatment before leaving their homes in some cases, already amounting to torture. In addition,
children caught up in large-scale migration movements are also at high risk of violence during their journeys, including
sexual violence at the hands of traffickers and criminal gangs.
A shockingly high number of child migrants suffer detention at borders, and may suffer very harsh physical abuse in
detention by agents of the State, the UN human rights chief said. It is absolutely vital that States attentively protect the rights
of all migrants and, most especially, all child migrants, he stressed.
These children must know that they are uniquely precious in the eyes of the world; that they have rights; and that what has
been done to them is illegal and wrong, Mr. Zeid said. We must demonstrate that we are committed to tracking down the
perpetrators and holding them to account. And we must do what we can to help them develop the resilience and wisdom to
free themselves from the physical and emotional pain they have endured.
In customary law, under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child , torture is prohibited in all circumstances, without
exception, and children are entitled to specific protection, because of their heightened vulnerability.

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Yet, the UN human rights chief said that as documented by the work of the UN Fund and other UN mechanisms, children
are often targeted because they are children, as a way of intimidating entire communities, or to leverage additional pain onto
their parents.
The torture of children is an unbearable reality, particularly in countries in conflicts such as Syria, where the Commission
of Inquiry has repeatedly excoriated the torture of children, Mr. Zeid said. Even very young children are spared no
suffering including the use of specific machinery to inflict pain; mock executions; the obligation to witness pain being
inflicted on other children or family members; and sexual mutilation and assault.
Emphasizing that it is more unbearable to work on a daily basis with children who have been tortured, Mr. Zeid said that is
vital to assist them to recover, particularly because torture inflicts massive physical and emotional damage on the developing
bodies and minds of children and adolescents.
In addition to its sometimes very significant physical and cognitive impact, the experience of such profound helplessness
may fundamentally impair the childs ability to trust, to freely develop her or his personality and skills, and to navigate
changing circumstances with confidence, he said.

After Panama Papers leak, UN expert calls for end of financial

secrecy to halt illicit fund flows
8 April In the wake of last weeks leak of a trove of confidential
financial documents from a Panama law firm, a United Nations
human rights expert called on the international community to urgently
put an end to financial secrecy.

Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights, Juan Pablo

Bohoslavsky. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferr

Tax evasion and the flow of funds of illicit origin undermine justice
and deprive Governments of resources needed for the realization of
economic, social and cultural rights, UN Independent Expert on
foreign debt and human rights, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, warned, as
the documents, which have been dubbed the Panama Papers, have
shown how corporations, wealthy individuals and politically exposed
persons have systematically hidden assets in more than 21 offshore
jurisdictions.

The clients may have had different motives for depositing their assets
into more than 210,000 secret shell companies. But tax evasion, hiding corruption and criminal funds appear to be a
prominent reason, said Mr. Bohoslavsky, author of a recent study on illicit financial flows presented to the UN Human
Rights Council.
The expert noted that shell companies have also been used in the past by groups and individuals busting sanctions,
trafficking drugs, engaging in illicit arms trade, terrorism as well as by authoritarian rulers responsible for severe violations
of human rights.
Tax evasion destroys trust in public institutions and the rule of law, and shrinks the fiscal space for investing in public
health care, education, social security and other public goods and services, the expert explained. Public funds that are
essential to guarantee economic, social and cultural rights to all are robbed from the people, he added.
The UN human rights office noted that the leaked documentation shows that many banks and financial intermediaries have
failed to exercise due diligence with their clients. Some of them may actually have aided and abetted tax evasion, corruption
and other criminal activities. According to the Panama Papers more than 14,000 banks, law firms, company incorporators
or other middlemen have set up companies, foundations and trusts for customers.
Mr. Bohoslavsky recalled that the UN Human Rights Council recognized that flows of funds of illicit origin deprive many
States of resources required to progressively realize human rights. In a resolution adopted last month, the Council stressed
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the need for transparency and effective due diligence procedures of financial intermediaries.
Reducing substantially by 2030 illicit financial flows is an agreed target of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). Curbing such flows was also agreed to at the Third International Conference on Financing for
Development held in July 2015 in Addis Ababa.
States need now to take action to honour these commitments, the expert said. The Panama Papers underscore the need
to make public disclosure of beneficial ownership information legally binding in all countries. States must put an end to such
harmful banking secrecy, for which there is no meaningful justification.
Mr. Bohoslavsky urged moving towards a global system of automatic exchange of tax information which ensures that
developing countries can benefit from it on an equal footing. Financial institutions and intermediaries facilitating tax
evasion, corruption or other criminal activities must be also held to account, he said.
According to estimates by the Washington based think tank Global Financial Integrity, illicit financial outflows from
developing and emerging economies related to tax evasion, crime, corruption and other illicit activities amounted to $1.1
trillion in 2013. This is a significant drain of resources which increased during the last decade on an average rate of 6.5 per
cent per year.
Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report
back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff,
nor are they paid for their work.

UN senior official visits CAR to focus on stronger measures

against sexual abuse
8 April The United Nations special coordinator on sexual
exploitation and abuse is in Central African Republic (CAR) to
discuss stronger measures to respond to the scourge.
During the visit, her first in the new capacity, Jane Holl Lute has been
meeting with senior management at the UN mission in the country,
known by the acronym MINUSCA, about recent allegations.
She called stressed that we have to get to the root of this problem
describing what occurred as unacceptable.

Blue helmets and uniforms of UN Peacekeepers. UN Photo/Marco

Dormino

Ms. Lute said the UN must create an environment where the victims
can come forward when these behaviours have occurred, levy
allegations without fear, and see that justice is done.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Ms. Lute in February to coordinate efforts to curb sexual exploitation and abuse
among UN peacekeepers.

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Ban welcomes G20 support for Paris climate accord signing

8 April United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today
welcomed the statement of China, this years President of the Group
of 20, affirming the G20s full support for the 22 April signing of the
Paris Agreement on climate change, and calling for the accords
entry into force as early as possible.
The Secretary-General thanks China for its continued strong
leadership in promoting global cooperation, grounded in ambitious
national action, on climate change, said a statement from the office
of the UN chiefs spokesperson.
Renewable energy: a thermo-solar power plant. Photo: World
Bank/Dana Smillie

Mr. Ban is also encouraged by the strong political momentum from

the more than 130 countries that have confirmed their intention to sign
the accord on 22 April, urging all other countries to join them in the
signing ceremony to be held at the UN Headquarters, the statement

added.

UN rights office expresses concern about death sentences in

Bangladesh
8 April The United Nations human rights office today expressed
concern about the latest death sentences handed down against two
leaders of an opposition party by the Bangladesh International Crimes
Tribunal, noting the court's practices have not met international
standards of fair trial and due process.
Since its inception in 2010, the tribunal has delivered at least 17
verdicts, the majority of which have resulted in the imposition of the
death penalty. So far, four men have been executed, according to the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR).

OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani. Photo:UN Multimedia

The UN opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances, no

matter the gravity of the crime committed and even if the most
stringent fair trial standards were respected, said Ravina
Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human

Rights.
While recognising Bangladesh's determination to tackle past crimes, the trials conducted before the Tribunal have
unfortunately not met international standards of fair trial and due process as stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR), she said.
Serious due process problems, which have been repeatedly raised by various UN independent experts, include lack of
adequate access to legal assistance and a lack of equality of arms between the prosecution and the defence, among other
issues, she added.
OHCHR called on Bangladesh to respect its obligations under the ICCPR, to which it acceded in 2000. Article 14 of the
ICCPR details the right to a fair trial. The imposition of a death sentence following a trial in which these provisions have not
been respected constitutes a violation of the right to life.
The two leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami opposition party who were given death sentences are Mir Quasem Ali and Motiur

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Rahman Nizami.
The former was sentenced to death in November 2014 by the Tribunal, and the Supreme Court also upheld the verdict on 8
March.
Nizami was sentenced to death on charges of planning, ordering and committing murders and rapes, among other serious
crimes during the 1971 war of independence. He filed a review petition against his death warrant, due to be heard on
Sunday, 10 April, following a one-week deferral. This is the last stage of the legal process in appealing against his
execution, other than to seek a presidential pardon. We hope it will be considered thoroughly by the court, the
spokesperson said.
Bangladesh reportedly has more than 1,200 prisoners on death row. In the month of March this year alone, at least 13 people
were reportedly sentenced to death in separate murder cases in four districts in Bangladesh.
We renew our call to the Government of Bangladesh, as a first step forward, to halt all executions and institute a
moratorium on the use of the death penalty, the spokesperson said.

UN Development Cooperation Forum can contribute to

advancing 2030 Agenda
8 April In Brussels today, the President of the United Nations
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Oh Joon, emphasized that
its forum that reviews the latest international development cooperation
trends has an important role to play in advancing the new global
development agenda.
Wrapping up the High-level Symposium of the Development
Cooperation Forum (DCF), he reiterated that the implementation of
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developmentis a responsibility of
all.
President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Oh Joon.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

Development cooperation plays a more prominent role in translating

these aspirations into reality, by better aligning the goals, resources,
capacities, and incentives of governments, he said, noting that 2030
Agendas goals can only be achieved by unlocking the potential of all

stakeholders.
Policy innovations grow out of exchange of views that are not necessarily sanitized for political correctness, stated Mr.
Oh, stressing that the DCF can contribute to context-specific and vulnerability-sensitive development cooperation policies
and actions.
The DCF provides the flexibility for free, innovative and transformative discussions, and there is a need to ensure that other
forums, such as the High-Level Political Forum and ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development, fully take into account
the outcomes of the DCF.
The UN development system must be upgraded to be more resilient and united, and the whole system must be upgraded to
become more effective, efficient, resilient and united, he said.
The three-day conference focused on the theme Rethinking development cooperation for the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs): country-level perspectives and lessons. During the various sessions, the participants discussed how to make
development cooperation a better fit for achieving the SDGs, and how to adapt development cooperation institutions in all
countries to the 2030 Agenda.

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Discussions centred around country-level experiences, including the role of development cooperation in areas such as
strengthening domestic resource mobilization, responding to climate change challenges, and supporting policy coherence for
sustainable development. Citizen leadership and the key role of women and local authorities were emphasized throughout.
Gyan Chandra Acharya, UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries asked for good coordination
mechanisms both within the UN and on the national levels. When it comes to the least developed countries, Mr. Acharya,
who is also High Representative for the Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, stressed the
importance of official development assistance (ODA) to help least developed countries close the gap, in order to allow them
to move towards economic growth.
He also emphasized that climate change will put a big burden on those countries as when it comes to climate change, the
event is similar all over the planet, but the impact is not.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, whose Department
co-organized the event with Belgium, stated: We must have the courage to look for new forms of development cooperation,
find smarter and more flexible ways to carry it out, and keep a constant focus on knowledge sharing and mutual learning.

The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section
of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)