U N I T E D   N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa

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Fax: +254 2 622129
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HORN OF AFRICA
IRIN-HOA Weekly Round-up 128
15 - 21 February 2003


CONTENTS:

ERITREA: Deepening crisis because of delays in international aid
ERITREA: Gov't imports grain, Isayas says aid should not be "political tool"
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN says groups may be trying to "destabilise" Eritrea
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border demarcation to start in east
ETHIOPIA: US government officials call for more aid
ETHIOPIA: UNICEF campaign to get girls into school
ETHIOPIA: Warning that food aid could run out within a month
ETHIOPIA: International concern over draft press law
SOMALIA: Key issue is "survival" says UNICEF
SOMALIA: Somaliland denies supporting anti-Puntland forces
SOMALIA: Delegates to be screened and re-registered
SUDAN: Urgent humanitarian needs in Southern Blue Nile


See also: ETHIOPIA: Interview with Information Minister Bereket Simon at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32417

HORN OF AFRICA: Press conference by US Major General John Sattler at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32436



ERITREA: Deepening crisis because of delays in international aid

Aid agencies in Eritrea have warned of a deepening humanitarian crisis
caused by delays in the international response to the devastating drought
gripping the country. "Further delays in the international humanitarian
response to the drought situation in Eritrea could turn the current crisis
into an appalling cycle of hunger and desperation," the Lutheran World
Federation/World Service (LWF/WS) said. In a statement, its deputy
representative in Eritrea, Fikreyesus Kristos, pointed out that drought
and malnutrition were not new to the country "but the looming crisis is
even more destructive than the previous ones, and neither the people nor
the government can cope on their own". The UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Eritrea has warned that existing food
reserves will run out within the next two months. Two-thirds of the
country's population are at risk of severe food shortages, and 10,000
children are seriously malnourished.
[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32414 ]
 

ERITREA: Gov't imports grain, Isayas says aid should not be "political
tool"

Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki has said the government is diverting
funds for food purchases to help combat the effects of drought, but
condemned those who were using humanitarian assistance as a "political
tool". In a recent speech to mark the anniversary of the liberation of
Massawa port, he thanked international agencies which were "sincerely and
generously rendering their relief aid". "Nevertheless, I would like to
mention in passing that it is sad to witness that there are those who are
using humanitarian assistance as a political tool in continuation of their
futile pressures, and are, towards that end, causing delays in the
delivery of food relief," he said, according to the ruling party's Shaebia
website. "We are at a time when we have to combat a natural crisis and
other hostilities, whether they are immediate short-term or long-term," he
said. "Thus it is imperative that we understand our challenges objectively
and redouble our efforts, and not relax our resolve." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32321 ]


ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: UN says groups may be trying to "destabilise" Eritrea

Dissident groups may be trying to "destabilise" the Eritrean authorities,
the UN's peacekeeping force said on Friday. The United Nations Mission in
Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said it believed rebel groups were laying new
mines in the buffer zone that separates both countries. There have been
six blasts over the last two weeks. "All six incidents during the past two
weeks are either suspected or confirmed as being from newly-laid mines by
persons unknown," UNMEE spokeswoman Gail Bindley Taylor Sainte said.
"However the assumption is that dissident groups seeking to destabilise
the Eritrean authorities are responsible for these incidents." [Full story
at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32435 ]


ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Border demarcation to start in east

Demarcation of the contested border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is now
due to start from the east, rather than from the west, sources told IRIN
on Monday. The move comes after high-level talks between both sides,
hosted by the independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) in
London on 8/9 February. The meeting was also attended by Legwaila Joseph
Legwaila, the head of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
According to diplomatic sources close to the peace process, Ethiopia was
keen for border demarcation to start in the eastern sector of the 1,000 km
border. It had called for "comprehensive clarifications" to the border
ruling issued last April, including details of the western sector of the
border which contains the disputed village of Badme where the countries'
border conflict flared up in 1998. According to the sources, the EEBC has
also ordered that both sides change their liaison officers who work with
the commission in helping implement demarcation. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32320 ]


ETHIOPIA: US government officials call for more aid

The US government made an impassioned plea on Wednesday to boost aid for
drought-stricken Ethiopians and save thousands of lives. The call came
from the US ambassador to the UN's Food and Agriculture agencies, Tony
Hall, and his colleague from the US Agency for International Development
(USAID), Roger Winter, at the end of a visit to Ethiopia. They said the
international community had to speed up deliveries of desperately needed
food before aid ran out. They also criticised the United Nations, calling
for "stronger leadership" in tackling the crisis. They reiterated USAID's
commitment to cover a third of the entire needs of the crisis. So far, the
US has pledged 508,000 mt tons of food worth US $233 million. The two
officials announced a further US $19.4 million in food and non-food aid to
the country. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32415 ]


ETHIOPIA: UNICEF campaign to get girls into school

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is launching a campaign to boost the
enrolment of girls at schools in five of Ethiopia's poorest regions. The
aim is to have the same numbers of girls in schools as boys within three
years. Currently a fifth more boys than girls go to school in Ethiopia.
"We must work together to become stronger advocates for an increased
public demand for girls' education," said Ethiopia's UNICEF head, David
Bassiouni. He said it was vital to tap women's associations and other
groups to promote schooling for girls. UNICEF is developing strategies
with the Ethiopian education ministry to get girls into school. It is
organising a workshop with educationalists aimed at overcoming the hurdles
that prevent girls attending schools. These include domestic chores and
early marriages. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32384 ]


ETHIOPIA: Warning that food aid could run out within a month

Food aid in drought-stricken Ethiopia could run out within a month, the US
government's Famine Early Warning System (FEWS NET) warned on Tuesday. It
said that unless food starts arriving in the country, critically low
supplies will be exhausted in March and desperately needed deliveries will
grind to a halt. So far the international community has pledged just over
half of the food aid needed for some 11 million people facing starvation
in one of the worst-ever droughts to hit the country. Some 771,000 mt of
food have been pledged out of 1.4 million needed. "Food aid pledges need
to translate into actual deliveries quickly or food aid distributions will
be halted altogether as early as March," FEWS said. "On-going food aid
distributions have to be scaled up in the coming months in order to reduce
consistently high levels of malnutrition." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32352 ]


ETHIOPIA: International concern over draft press law

Ethiopia's controversial new draft press law could breach international
standards on freedom of expression, a leading advocacy group declared on
Tuesday. ARTICLE 19, an international media advocacy group, argued that
the new law raised "key areas of concern in relation to freedom of
expression." In a 33-page report, it urged the Ethiopian government to
abandon the draft law and even change elements of its 1995 constitution to
meet international guidelines. It added that the draft law could breach
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 19
of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Both declarations have been
adopted by Ethiopia and key elements incorporated into its own
constitution. "The government should refrain from manifesting open
hostility towards the private media and it should take positive measures
to stop the arrest and other forms of harassment of journalists," ARTICLE
19 said in its report. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32353 ]


SOMALIA: Key issue is "survival" says UNICEF

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said that the survival and protection
of children and women will remain key issues in Somalia over the next five
years. In a press statement, it said UNICEF would also continue to support
basic health education and water services. This, it said, was essential to
ensuring that children grew up in a society where they would be able to
reap the long-term benefits of development initiatives whose foundations
were currently being laid.  Addressing a gathering of donors on Wednesday
in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, UNICEF-Somalia Representative Jesper Morch
said the programme would continue to be guided by basic human rights
principles, chief among which was that of non-discrimination.
"UNICEF-Somalia's goal is to build on progress achieved over the last few
years to uplift the status of women and children," Morch said. "In this,
UNICEF will continue to fulfil its mandate to enhance the survival needs
of children and women, and at the same time will assist in preparing for a
future in which civil conflict will no longer prevail." [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32412]


SOMALIA: Somaliland denies supporting anti-Puntland forces

The authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have denied
accusations by the neighbouring self-declared autonomous region of
Puntland of supporting and arming dissident forces. Abdullahi Muhammad
Duale, the Somaliland information minister, told IRIN on Wednesday that
the charges "are absolutely false and baseless". Abdishakur Mire Adan, the
Puntland deputy information minister, claimed that the Somaliland
authorities were arming and supporting forces led by Gen Ade Muse, which
are loyal to Jama Ali Jama. Both Jama and Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad claim
to be the legitimate president of Puntland. "We have evidence that the
Riyale administration [in Somaliland] has allowed Gen Ade Muse to import
12 four-wheel-drive vehicles through the port of Berbera [in Somaliland],
and that seven of them have already been turned into technicals
[battle-wagons]," Abdishakur told IRIN. He also accused Somaliland of
providing the anti-Puntland forces with 300 assorted small arms. [Full
story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32382 ]


SOMALIA: Delegates to be screened and re-registered

Delegates to the Somali peace conference, which has been moved to the
Kenyan capital Nairobi from the town of Eldoret, will be re-registered and
screened before proceedings resume, a source close to the talks told IRIN
on Tuesday. The first group of delegates arrived at the Kenya College of
Communications Technology (KCCT) in Nairobi's Mbagathi suburb on the
evening of 15 February. Almost all the delegates were reported to have
reached the new venue by Monday, said the source. The process of
re-registering and screening was likely to take about two days. According
to the source, the screening of the delegates was made necessary by the
fact that "many people who are not bona fide delegates are currently at
the KCCT". "We need to screen them so that only bona fide delegates will
remain," he said. In the rush to move to the new venue, many people -
including those not on the final list - were transported to Nairobi, one
delegate told IRIN. Many female delegates were complaining that the
accommodation at the KCCT was such that men and women were forced to share
bathroom facilities. "It is extremely embarrassing for us to have to queue
with men to use the bathrooms," one woman said. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32351 ]


SUDAN: Urgent humanitarian needs in Southern Blue Nile

Humanitarian agencies in Sudan have identified pressing humanitarian needs
in the Southern Blue Nile region of southern Sudan, where thousands of
people are threatened by a combination of insecurity, water and food
shortages. The agencies, which operate under the "Operation Lifeline
Sudan" umbrella, said insecurity had displaced 30,000 people who now
resided in camps. In a report released on Thursday, OLS said a recent UN
assessment revealed that the displaced camps were insecure and the
priority was to move the population to safer areas. The assessment also
found high rates of malnutrition and acute water shortages in the camps.
"The shortage of water became critical following lower than normal
rainfall last year," the report noted. [Full story at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=32431 ]


IRIN-CEA
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