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]

Aid agencies call for investigation into UN operations in Syria

More than 70 humanitarian groups have suspended information-sharing cooperation with the UN in Syria, accusing the world body of being influenced in its operations, including in the distribution of aid, by the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Besides suspending participation in a program in which groups share information to help in the delivery of aid across Syria, the letter’s signatories also called for a transparent investigation into the “political impact that the Syrian government has on humanitarian actors”.

The UN is accused of complacency amid Syrian government interference in the delivery of humanitarian assistance, including blocking aid to besieged rebel-held areas, removing medical aid from convoys, and marginalizing humanitarian workers for political reasons, according to a copy of the letter sent to Al Jazeera.

UN officials in Syria are aware of the situation and remain silent, the letter states. “This deliberate manipulation by the Syrian government and the complacency of the UN have played hand-in-hand. The people of Syria have suffered ever more as a result.”

[Al Jazeera]

New Syrian ceasefire offers humanitarian hope and more

The United States and Russia hailed a breakthrough deal on Saturday to put Syria’s peace process back on track, including a nationwide ceasefire effective from sundown on Monday.

“Today, Sergei Lavrov and I, on behalf of our president and our countries call on every Syrian stakeholder to support the plan that the United States and Russia have reached, to … bring this catastrophic conflict to the quickest possible end through a political process,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that despite continuing mistrust, the two sides had developed five documents that would enable coordination of the fight against armed groups and a revival of Syria’s failed truce in an enhanced form.

The Syrian government accepts the agreement and will cease hostilities in the besieged city of Aleppo for “humanitarian reasons,” according to the state news agency SANA.

The UN’s Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura described the deal as a “window of opportunity”, and said he would discuss with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon when stalled political negotiations can restart.

[Al Jazeera / CNN / Bloomberg]

Nearly half of all refugees are children

Children now make up more than half of the world’s refugees, according to a UNICEF report, despite the fact they account for less than a third of the global population.

New and on-going global conflicts over the last five years have forced the number of child refugees to jump by 75%, the report warns, putting these children at high risk of human smuggling, trafficking and other forms of abuse.

The UNICEF report–which pulls together the latest global data regarding migration and analyses the effect it has on children–shows that globally some 50 million children have either migrated to another country or been forcibly displaced internally.

“Though many communities and people around the world have welcomed refugee and migrant children, xenophobia, discrimination, and exclusion pose serious threats to their lives and futures,” said UNICEF’s executive director, Anthony Lake. “But if young refugees are accepted and protected today, if they have the chance to learn and grow, and to develop their potential, they can be a source of stability and economic progress.”

[The Guardian]

50 million children are refugees or migrants

Nearly 50 million children worldwide have been uprooted from their homes due to violence, poverty and other factors out of their control, according to a new report released by the U.N. children’s agency, “Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children.”

Of that total, 28 million are child refugees who fled conflict. An additional 20 million are child migrants who left their homes in search of better lives.

Children account for more than half of all refugees fleeing conflict, the report states. Nearly half of those children come from just two countries — Syria and Afghanistan.

What’s more, the number of children fleeing alone is on the rise. In 2015, an estimated 100,000 unaccompanied children filed for asylum in 78 countries, the reports says. That’s a threefold increase over 2014.

The number of child refugees has jumped by 75% in the past five years, the report states, spurred by new and ongoing conflicts. Today, 1 of every 200 children is a refugee.

“Children on the move are at risk of the worst forms of abuse and harm and can easily fall victim to traffickers and other criminals.” said Lily Caprani, UK deputy executive director of UNICEF. Boys are more at risk of recruitment by armed groups, while girls are more vulnerable to sexual violence, the report states.

[CNN]

Costa Rica becomes a magnet for migrants

Costa Rica is best known for its vacation beaches and lush rain forests. But recently it’s become a thoroughfare for tens of thousands of migrants from South America and elsewhere who are hoping to reach the U.S.

Many are from the Caribbean, but a significant number trekking through the country are Africans and Southeast Asians. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” says migration officer Marvin Rodriguez.

Late last year, thousands of Cubans came. They got stuck in Costa Rica when Nicaragua refused to let them continue northward. Then soon after came Haitians, Nigerians, Congolese, and even Kashmiris started coming. Authorities say about 150 migrants arrive every day, though only about 30 can sneak out daily into Nicaragua. That’s left most migrants stranded at Costa Rican shelters.

In just the last four months, more than 6,500 migrants have been registered entering Costa Rica’s southern border. The majority have told officials they are from Congo. But most are believed to be Haitians who were living in Brazil and left when their construction jobs in the run up to the Olympics ended. With so many migrants coming through, authorities say even if they could determine nationalities, mass detention or deportation is not an option financially or morally.

[NPR]

What refugees most need

Regardless of why refugees have fled their countries and whether or not they can return, there are three steps we can take to greatly improve the lives of displaced people the world over.

First, we need to continue to support countries at the front lines of the crisis with pressing immediate needs. Nearly every refugee family says the main reason they fled their country is so their children could have an education and a childhood. In places like Lebanon — a small country where more than 25% of the population is refugees — they need additional funding from the international community for extra shifts at school so more children can access quality education, vocational training and cash subsidies to avoid a rise in child labor.

Second, as leaders prepare to meet in New York for the UN General Assembly, they should commit to the principle that no refugee child should be out of school for more than 30 days. Given what these children have been through, we need to focus on more than just their immediate physical needs. Learning inside a classroom helps children gain skills that enable them to become productive members of society and embrace a future of hope, not one overshadowed by the false promises of extremism.

Finally, we need to change the negative and generalized way that we think about the 65.3 million people worldwide who are currently forcibly displaced. They come from all races, religions, professions and more than 150 countries. They are individuals who would collectively make up the 21st-largest country in the world, with a population larger than Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania combined.

Many have experienced or witnessed violence on a scale that most Americans cannot fathom. Each has a family and has had to leave a job and oftentimes a home. We need to understand that those displaced are people with great potential.

[CNN]

How will history reflect on our actions?

Every week last summer news of refugees streaming into Europe dominated global headlines. Yet it wasn’t until September 2, one year ago, that the world reacted in horror to the image of Alan Kurdi — the 3-year-old Syrian toddler who drowned trying to escape a war that was older than he was — dead on a beach in Turkey.

Like the photo of the naked girl burning from napalm during the Vietnam War or images of starving children in Ethiopia in 1984, would Alan’s photo prompt action by world leaders to end the suffering that has caused millions of people to risk their lives in search of safety?

Sadly, the answer so far is no. And the world must do better.

Since Alan died, more than 4,000 mothers, fathers, sons and daughters have died trying to make a similar journey across the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration.The situation is so dire that Save the Children, an organization for children in need, is launching a search and rescue boat to prevent children from drowning as they try to get to Italy from Africa.

Globally, during the same period, the International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 6,000 migrants died attempting to find a better life.

[CNN]

Humanitarian access falters with stalled Syrian peace talks

Senior United Nations officials acknowledge that efforts to resume deadlocked Syrian peace talks and gain humanitarian access to besieged areas in that war-torn country remain unsuccessful, as fighting continues to escalate with no let up in sight.

Senior U.S. and Russian military, security, and diplomatic experts are meeting in Geneva to try to finalize a cessation of hostilities agreement, which would make it possible for U.N.-mediated intra-Syrian peace talks to go ahead.

The meeting is a followup to last week’s day-long meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, aimed at sealing a deal. U.N. officials had hoped to restart the Syrian peace talks, which broke off in April, by the end of August. Officials say they now have set a new target date of September 21 for the resumption of negotiations.

A stock-taking meeting by the International Syria Support Group’s Humanitarian Access Task Force found that U.N. aid convoys were able to reach only three of Syria’s 18 besieged areas. U.N. special adviser Jan Egeland said U.N. relief convoys are ready to go to those places, but are being prevented from doing so.

The United Nations has been asking for a 48-hour pause to allow desperately needed food supplies to reach people trapped in Aleppo.

 [VoA]