WordPress

Tag: Protection

  • UN urges enhanced protection of healthcare, relief workers in Somalia

    Protection
    Mogadishu, June 19, 2024 (Xinhua/NAN) The United Nations in Somalia has called for greater protection for healthcare professionals and humanitarian workers who provide critical services to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in the country.
    In a statement issued to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict that falls on Wednesday, the UN said attacks against healthcare and humanitarian workers are on the rise in Somalia.
    James Swan, the UN secretary-general’s acting special representative for Somalia, said although many of these incidents go underreported but women and girls in the country continue to be exposed to many forms of sexual violence.
    “The sexual violence are higher in the areas affected most by conflict and insecurity.
    “As the health professionals operate in those areas, they often risk their own lives,” Swan said in a statement in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.
    According to the World Health Organisation’s surveillance system in Somalia, at least 10 healthcare workers were injured in attacks launched by non-state actors on healthcare facilities between January 2023 and May 31, 2024.
    It added that the figures are believed to be significantly underreported.
    “I pay tribute to the health workers who assist survivors in the aftermath of rape and other forms of sexual violence.
    “And I call for enhanced protection of all those who dispense critical care to those in need,” Swan added.
    Since 2015, the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict has been observed annually on June 19.
    The event marks the UN Security Council’s adoption of a resolution recognising sexual violence as a weapon of war and a threat to international peace and security. (www.nannews.ng)
    UMD/EAL
    =========
    Edited by Ummul Idris/Ekemini Ladejobi

  • Scholz vows to protect Germans after Ukraine weapons u-turn

    Protection

    Berlin, June 6, 2024 (dpa/NAN) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has promised the citizens that he would do everything in his power to ensure that Germany is not drawn into Russia’s war on Ukraine.

    Scholz said in his address to the parliament on Thursday.

    His comments came days after he authorised Kiev to deploy German weapons on Russian territory, a decision long resisted by Berlin over fears it could draw Germany into the war.

    “We have closely coordinated our response with our allies. Just as we always do’’, Scholz told lawmakers in the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, following his government’s change of course.

    After long-held concerns about escalating the conflict with Russia and drawing Germany into the war, Scholz altered his policy on Ukraine last week to allow the government in Kiev.

    It is for the government to use German weapons to attack military targets on Russian territory, in particular to defend its second city of Kharkiv, near the Russian border.

    Several other countries, including the U.S., have recently made similar moves to give Ukraine more room for manoeuvre in its use of Western-supplied weapons.

    It is after the previously specifying that they should only be used against targets within Ukraine itself.

    In Germany, the opposition subsequently called on Scholz to explain the sudden reversal.

    In the Bundestag, Scholz said that Russia had opened a new front against Kharkiv, home to millions and close to the Russian border.

    Together with its partners, Germany had reaffirmed Ukraine’s right under international law to defend itself against attacks on its territory, cities and citizens, he said.

    That is why “Ukraine can also use the weapons supplied by us and our allies always in accordance with international legal obligations,’’ he said.

    As chancellor, Scholz said he is responsible for ensuring “that no child born in Germany today will ever have to experience war in our country. That is my absolute priority.’’

    He said he wanted to reassure citizens who are fearful that the war could escalate and jeopardise German security and peace.

    “There is nothing naive or disreputable in worrying about peace, as is sometimes portrayed,’’ he added, referring to fierce debates over how much Berlin should support Ukraine.

    Earlier, on Thursday, Scholz added that it was right for Germany to consult closely with its partners and allies “again and again and again’’ before making such far-reaching decisions.

    He promised Germans that they could rely on the fact that “we will act prudently. That we carefully weigh up all the risks.’’

    He underlined, “I stand by this as chancellor, committed to peace and Germany’s security.’’

    Before Scholz’s address, left-wing politician Christian Görke said he would have preferred Scholz’s statement to come last week, “instead of announcing lonely decisions to expand the war in Ukraine.’’

    The chancellor also addressed the recent knife attack carried out by an Afghan national during an anti-Islam gathering in Mannheim.

    It killed a policeman and has sparked a debate about security and the threat of extremist violence.

    Meanwhile, calls have since been growing for the government to again allow deportations to Afghanistan and Syria, a move that Scholz told the Bundestag he supported. (dpa/NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

    COO/HS
    ======

    Edited by Cecilia Odey/Halima Sheji