UN suspends all aid after convoy hit

The UN has suspended all aid convoys in Syria after a devastating attack on its lorries near Aleppo on Monday. The attack at Urum al-Kubra destroyed 18 of 31 lorries and killed about 20 civilians, including a senior local official of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, named as Omar Barakat.

Russia and Syria have both insisted that their forces were not involved.

The UN would not confirm what type of attack took place, saying “we are not in a position to determine whether these were in fact air strikes”.

Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that after studying video taken at the scene they “did not find any signs of munitions hitting the convoy”. He said, “Everything shown in the video is the direct result of a fire which mysteriously began at the same time as a large scale rebel attack on Aleppo.”

The Syrian military, quoted by state media, said there was “no truth” to reports that the army had targeted the convoy.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking alongside his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, insisted the ceasefire deal was “not dead”, following talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on New York on Tuesday. UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura also said there was still hope.

[BBC]

Politics and the Humanitarian Aid challenge in Syria

A deal brokered by the U.S. and Russia was to last for seven days and allow humanitarian aid to reach besieged neighborhoods of Aleppo held by the rebels. But even before the agreement officially expired at midnight local time Sunday, both sides appeared to have breached this shaky moratorium, each accusing the other of being at fault.

The Russian side says the lack of consensus and stability in the American political elite is the key obstacle to implement the Moscow-Washington ceasefire agreement on Syria.

Moscow said that the United States is not implementing its obligations from the agreement, especially on separating so-called moderate rebels from terrorists on the ground. Moreover, on Saturday, warplanes of a US-led coalition attacked positions of the Syrian Army near Deir ez-Zor, killing 62 personnel.

A United Nations convoy — laden with an enough supplies to feed 185,000 people for a month — is packed up and ready to go. The 20-truck fleet is still sitting on the other side of the Turkish border, unable to move into Syria.

Humanitarian aid has begun to flow to other areas in Syria, according to Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking on Monday morning.

Stephen O’Brien, the U.N.’s undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, said Monday he was “pained and disappointed” at the impasse.

[From various media outlets]

Emerging hot spots for businesses doing good

From pioneering programs in slum housing to mobile phone banking, Santiago and Nairobi are emerging hot spots for business leaders seeking to drive social change, according to a poll of experts on the best countries for social entrepreneurs.

Stephanie Koczela, co-founder of Nairobi-based Penda Health, a for-profit medical clinic group, said in richer countries, like the United States, people often ignored or dismissed social issues and enterprises but poorer nations saw the impact.

East Africa is one of the global centers of impact investing–the fledgling market in investing for social good–according to a 2015 report by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). This followed a major success in innovation by Kenya’s biggest communications operator, Safaricom, which pioneered a mobile money service called M-Pesa in 2007 that allows Kenyans to pay bills or receive funds on the simplest of mobile phones, giving people a new way of accessing banking. M-Pesa swept across the country and has been mimicked across Africa.

In Chile, it is support from the government which has fuelled the recent, fast-growing trend in social enterprises in and outside Santiago, experts say. Chile’s leading social entrepreneurs say access to government funding, the role of universities, a pool of well-educated Chileans, media interest and good internet connection have all helped make Santiago a hotbed for social entrepreneurs.

They said TECHO, a Santiago-based non-profit organization that tackles poverty and housing in slums, played a key role in raising awareness about doing social good after its 1997 set-up. TECHO, with a large network of young volunteers and now one of the largest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Latin America, has served as a platform to launch future leading social entrepreneurs and enterprises.

[Reuters]

Two human rights groups criticize UN over refugees

Leaders from around the world will meet in New York on Monday to discuss what to do about the world’s over 21.3 million refugees — more than any time since World War II. The next day, U.S. President Barack Obama will host a “Leader’s Summit,” in hopes of raising money for refugee initiatives.

And two prominent human rights groups have said the planned outcome document for this UN summit on refugees falls short of what is needed to deal with the massive crisis. In separate statements, Human Rights Watch called the draft of the final document “a missed opportunity,” and Amnesty International accused member states of stripping away any proposals of substance.

Amnesty said the outcome document had been rendered toothless after member states removed a clause asking governments to resettle 10 percent of the world’s refugees each year, thus making sure there was no obligation to take in a specific number of people.

“Millions of lives hang in the balance,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “This is not just about more money or greater resettlement numbers, but also about shoring up the legal principles for protecting refugees, which are under threat as never before.”

Human Rights Watch said it was particularly concerned about the risk to the bedrock foundation of refugee protection: not forcibly returning refugees to places where they would face persecution. The group said, so far this year, it has documented cases of refugees pushed back at borders in Jordan and Turkey and the harassing and de-registering of Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan. Kenya has also declared that it will close the world’s largest refugee in camp pushing Somalis to return home.

[AP]

For refugees in Lebanon, cash instead of camps

Lebanon, a country of 4.5 million people, has taken in probably close to 1.5 million Syrians fleeing their civil war. At equivalent levels, the United States would have 107 million Syrian refugees by now.

Lebanon’s government and international aid groups are doing something new: Each needy Syrian refugee family gets a banking card. Family members use it to shop for food at the 450 participating stores and markets; a family of five gets about $135 per month.

“There is nothing that could replace cash,” said Alan Moseley, the Lebanon country director for the International Rescue Committee, a member of the Lebanon Cash Consortium. “If we provided shelter materials, clothing, food or direct rent subsidies, it would be more costly to deliver and people would be getting things they don’t necessarily need.”

Research comparing cash and in-kind aid in four countries found that cash allowed more people to be helped for the same money, as many as 23 percent more.

Providing cash is also much faster than sending food, which can take months to arrive. Cash is flexible. It reduces waste. It protects dignity–especially important for people who have lost almost all control over their lives. And there is overwhelming evidence that people do not spend cash on alcohol and cigarettes.

Another major way cash can help refugees: it builds good will with hosts.  Syrians go to nearby stores to buy food that has been grown by local farmers and transported in local trucks.

One problem that cash can’t solve is the big one: There’s not enough aid. These grants will reach only half of the very poorest refugees.

[New York Times]

US offers humanitarian aid as Iraq prepares Mosul offensive

The United States said on Wednesday it would give Iraq $181 million in humanitarian aid, anticipating a wave of displaced people when Iraqi forces launch a drive to recapture the northern city of Mosul from Islamic State. The advance on Mosul, the biggest city held by the militant group also known as ISIL, could begin as soon as next month.

On a visit to discuss planning for the offensive with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and other officials, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the money would be used to pre-position emergency food and relief supplies.

The United Nations expects up to 1 million people could flee their homes in Mosul, the group’s de facto Iraqi capital. Critics say preparations for the humanitarian and political fallout have not kept pace with military gains.

The additional aid brings U.S. humanitarian assistance to more than $1 billion since 2014, when a U.S.-led coalition started bombing Islamic State in Iraq and neighboring Syria as well as providing training and advice to Iraq’s security forces.

[Reuters]

After rains and severe flooding, North Korea makes rare public appeal for relief

North Korea usually projects itself to the world as a fully functioning worker’s paradise. Yet severe flooding in the country’s northeast has resulted in a rare admission that all is not so well.

According to a report published Sunday by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) — North Korea’s official state media — the country’s northeast has been affected by the “heaviest downpour” since 1945, with “tens of thousands” of buildings destroyed and people left homeless and “suffering from great hardship.”

Figures released by the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed the natural disaster. So far, 133 people have been killed, 395 people are missing and 140,000 people are in “urgent need of assistance.”

Chris Staines, the head of a Red Cross delegation to North Korea, said he witnessed how the floods had “destroyed everything in their path” during a government-led trip to North Hamgyong province between September 6-9. Shelter will be a major concern in the coming months, Staines said in a statement. “Thousands of homes will need to be rebuilt before winter sets in and by the end of October overnight temperatures can plummet to sub-zero,” he added.

[CNN]

U2’s Bono asking Justin Trudeau to consider UN foreign aid goal

U2 frontman Bono is urging Justin Trudeau to resist ruling out a foreign-aid boost to help Canada meet a United Nations development target, even though the Liberal government has deemed it too ambitious.

In an exclusive interview with The Canadian Press, the Irish rock star praises Canada for showing an openness to the world at a time when many countries have been retreating deeper into isolation. But Bono, who will meet Trudeau this weekend at an international-aid event, says while he recognizes the U-N’s recommended spending objective is a difficult goal – he hopes the prime minister doesn’t push it aside.

The U-N target challenges countries to dedicate at least 0.7 per cent of their gross national income to foreign aid. Bono is calling on Canada to use the target as a kind of beacon of hope — not only for the people whose lives depend on Canadian dollars, but for Canada to have that place in the world itself.

Bono will appear alongside Trudeau, Microsoft’s Bill Gates and actress Danai Gurira at an event Saturday in Montreal, where the prime minister will also host a conference for the replenishment of the Global Fund. It’s an international partnership focused on eradicating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Trudeau has committed 785-million dollars from Canada over two years to the Global Fund – a 20-per-cent increase.

[GlobalNews.ca]

Syria ceasefire begins as international aid agencies prepare to deliver aid

A nationwide ceasefire in Syria brokered by the United States and Russia came into effect on Monday as aid agencies prepared to send food and medical supplies to the besieged city of Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war from a network of sources in the country, said major conflict zones were calm after the ceasefire took effect. The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that a delivery of aid to Aleppo would start immediately.

The agreement initially aims to stop fighting between western-backed rebels and forces loyal to the Syrian government, and allow aid to enter areas where it is most desperately needed.

Turkey on Monday said more than 30 aid trucks, under UN supervision, were ready to deliver humanitarian supplies to the city, amid hopes that the truce will hold and secure a rare lull in a war that has killed almost 300,000 people and displaced millions from their homes.

Britain’s former foreign secretary, David Miliband, now chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, said the deal offered the best chance of a ceasefire since the five-year civil war began. He said aid agencies had been given assurances at the highest level that they would be able to deliver aid over the next week if all sides complied with the agreement.

[The Guardian]