Sir Stephen Rothwell O'Brien, is a British politician and diplomat who was the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. O'Brien assumed office on 29 May 2015, succeeding Valerie Amos.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. It is the successor to the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO).
The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force operating primarily in the country's western region of Darfur to perform peacekeeping operations related to the Darfur conflict. It was founded in 2004, with a force of 150 troops. By mid-2005, its numbers were increased to about 7,000. Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1564, AMIS was to "closely and continuously liaise and coordinate ... at all levels" its work with the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). AMIS was the only external military force in Sudan's Darfur region until UNAMID was established. It was not able to effectively contain the violence in Darfur. A more sizable, better equipped UN peacekeeping force was originally proposed for September 2006, but due to Sudanese government opposition, it was not implemented at that time. AMIS' mandate was extended repeatedly throughout 2006, while the situation in Darfur continued to escalate, until AMIS was replaced by UNAMID on 31 December 2007.
There is a significant amount of foreign aid to Sudan, including a large amount of relief aid from international organizations to alleviate the effects of civil wars in the South and in Darfur. Amounts vary according to the intensity of the conflicts and rainfall patterns, both of which affect food production. Much aid is channeled through the United Nations, which sought to raise US$225 million for its programs in 2003–04.
al-Fashir or El Fasher is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a large town in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, 195 kilometres (121 mi) northeast of Nyala, Sudan. A historical caravan post, Al-Fashir is located at an elevation of about 700 metres (2,300 ft). The town serves as an agricultural marketing point for the cereals and fruits grown in the surrounding region. Al-Fashir is linked by road with both Geneina and Umm Keddada. Al-Fashir had 264,734 residents as of 2006, an increase from 2001, when the population was estimated to be 178,500. UN Habitat reported a population of 500,000 for al-Fashir in 2009, attributing the increase to refugees and economic migrants.
Mediation of the Chadian-Sudanese conflict began shortly after the government of Chad declared an "état de belligérance", or 'state of belligerency' with Sudan. on December 23, 2005. The BBC translated "belligérance" as "war".
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. This resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
While there is a consensus in the international community that ethnic groups have been targeted in Darfur and that crimes against humanity have therefore occurred, there has been debate in some quarters about whether genocide has taken place there. In May 2006, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur organized by United Nations "concluded that the Government of the Sudan has not pursued a policy of genocide ... [though] international offences such as the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in Darfur may be more serious and heinous than genocide." Eric Reeves, a researcher and frequent commentator on Darfur, has questioned the methodology of the commission's report.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1706, adopted on August 31, 2006, after recalling previous resolutions on the situation in Sudan, including resolutions 1556 (2004), 1564 (2005), 1574 (2004), 1590 (2004), 1591 (2005), 1593 (2004), 1663 (2006), 1665 (2006) and 1679 (2006), the Council expanded the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS) to include deployments in Darfur to enforce the Darfur Peace Agreement.
The Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) is an advocacy tool for humanitarian financing, in which projects managed by the United Nations, NGOs and other stakeholders come together to approach the donor community funding international development activities. The target of the CAP is long term development, whereas the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), started in 2006, targets sudden onset humanitarian crisis such as natural disasters. The 2011 CAP seeks USD 7.4 billion to help 50 million people in 28 countries. The 2006 CAP was covered by the donor community to 63%.
The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur was a joint African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission formally approved by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769 on 31 July 2007, to bring stability to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan while peace talks on a final settlement continue.
Éliane Duthoit, a French citizen, is a senior United Nations official at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The 2007–2008 Ethiopian crackdown in Ogaden was a military campaign by the Ethiopian Army against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). The crackdown against the guerrillas began after they killed 74 people in an attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April 2007.
John Ging, an Irish national, was appointed as Director of the Operational Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York in February 2011. He oversees the management of all OCHA field operations worldwide. On behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator, he is the day-to-day focal point for supporting Humanitarian Coordinators. Ging is also the lead adviser to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs on operational decision-making.
Sudan–United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between Sudan and United Kingdom. Sudan has an embassy in London whilst the United Kingdom has an embassy in Khartoum. Most of the recent relations between the two countries centre on the region of Darfur.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1935, adopted unanimously on July 30, 2010, after reaffirming all previous resolutions and statements on the situation in Sudan, the Council extended the mandate of the African Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) for a further 12 months until July 31, 2011 and demanded an end to fighting and attacks on United Nations personnel and civilians.
Gereida, also spelled Gerida or Graida, is a large town located in south-western Sudan at an altitude of 1,586 feet above sea level. It lies about 100 km south of Nyala, and has a population of over one hundred thousand people.
The United Nations World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) was held in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 23 and 24, 2016. The summit was an initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon and was organized by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The Darfur genocide is the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people which has occurred during the ongoing conflict in western Sudan. It has become known as the first genocide of the 21st century. The genocide, which is being carried out against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, has led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict several people for crimes against humanity, rape, forced transfer and torture. An estimated 200,000 people were killed between 2003 and 2005.
Anita Kiki Gbeho is a Ghanaian United Nations official who has been the Deputy Special Envoy for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) since 2020.
