Local EU Statement on the execution of five suspected Al Shabab members in Puntland MyZA

APO News from Africa:

Local EU Statement on the execution of five suspected Al Shabab members in Puntland:

The EU Delegation regrets the execution of five suspected Al Shabab members by the Puntland authorities on Saturday 8th April 2017.

While the EU condemns in the strongest terms all acts of terror and supports the application of robust sentences that follow due process, the EU also opposes on principle the death penalty in all circumstances. The European Union considers the death penalty to be a cruel and inhuman punishment, which fails to provide deterrence to criminal behaviour and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity. Any miscarriage of justice – which can occur in any legal system – is irreversible.

The EU also notes with growing concern the recurrent use of military courts in Somalia.

The EU Delegation calls upon the authorities of Puntland and the Federal Government of Somalia to instate a moratorium on the death penalty and to ensure that civilians are tried before civilian courts.

The EU is committed to strengthening the Somali judicial system and the promotion of rule of law and justice for the Somali citizens. We look forward to supporting the Somali authorities in adopting legislation to abolish the use of the death penalty.

Distributed by APO on behalf of EU Delegation to Somalia.

Media files

Download logo

Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

Joint Statement on the recent violence in Libya’s south:

In light of recent violence in Libya’s south, including near the Tamanhint airbase, which risks escalating into renewed conflict.

Recalling relevant UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs), including UNSCRs 2213, 2259 and 2278, and Reiterating our determination to support the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) in order to alleviate the suffering of the Libyan people, and our grave concern about the terrorist threat in Libya.

We underline the difference between acts against the terrorist threat and acts that can lead to further deterioration of the situation in Libya. We call for full de-escalation on the basis of broad inclusive political dialogue and avoiding provocative actions.

Distributed by APO on behalf of United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Media files

Download logo

Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

Guinea battling a large scale measles epidemic:

The international humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders (MSF) is launching today a large scale measles vaccination campaign in Conakry, together with the Guinean Ministry of Health. Since the beginning of the year there have been 3468 confirmed cases and 14 deaths dues to measles in Guinea. Conakry and Nzérékoré are the most affected districts.

Routine vaccination in Guinea was drastically reduced during the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic, both because most resources and attention were geared towards the management of Ebola and, mainly, due to fear. People stayed away from health facilities and vaccination activities were suspended because of infection risks, and this left thousands of young children unprotected against easily preventable diseases. A nation-wide vaccination campaign was organized by authorities one year ago to vaccinate the children who had not received their shots (MSF did not participate to this campaign). Despite this catch up effort, a measles epidemic was declared on February 8th 2017.

“The fact that a new epidemic occurs barely a year after a massive vaccination campaign is a worrying sign of the weakness of health care in Guinea”, says Ibrahim Diallo, MSF’s representative in Guinea. “Major problems remain in the health system, undermining its capacity to prevent and respond to outbreaks effectively and in a timely manner.”

After the devastating Ebola epidemic that killed over 11,000 people and severely affected the health systems of the three most affected countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia), the WHO and leading public health experts insisted on the importance of rebuilding responsive health systems in the three countries, equipping and supporting them to better manage similar or new health crises.

According to the UN body in charge of Ebola response, only 18% of the funds disbursed to support countries during Ebola were meant for recovery. International donor commitments to health systems strengthening have focused on improving disease surveillance to ensure early detection and response to outbreaks, such as Ebola. However, in the face of a large outbreak of measles, MSF (in Conakry) and Alima (in Nzérokoré district) are currently the only NGOs providing support to the Ministry of Health for the vaccination campaign in the worst affected districts. WHO and UNICEF have pledged support to other affected districts across the country, which is still under discussion.

“If Ebola was a wakeup call, since then the world seems to have fallen back asleep. As shown by this measles outbreak, the concrete impact of the promises of funding, support and training made during and after the Ebola crisis still remains to be felt by ordinary Guineans”, says Dr Mit Philips, MSF’s Health Policy Analyst. “Access to good healthcare was clearly lacking before Ebola struck, and the country is still facing today the same problems that it was facing then, largely alone, in spite of the international public commitments to build better and more responsive health systems”.

To contain the measles epidemic, MSF, with the Ministry of Health in Conakry, is mobilizing 126 teams of 13 people, spread out across 164 vaccination sites in a city of 3 million people. All children from 6 months up to 10 years old will be vaccinated. MSF also supports 30 health centres in Conakry to care for children suffering from mild cases of measles, as well as the referral centre where severe cases are hospitalized.

Distributed by APO on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

Media files