UN and Africa: focus on migrants and South Sudan

13 April 2017

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Migrant slave market horrors revealed in Libya

Migrants are being sold as a commodity in Libya by smugglers, the UN warned on Tuesday. The findings by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) follow testimonies from victims who have described being traded in garages and squares in a town in the war-torn country's south-west. IOM Chief of Mission in Libya, Othman Belbeisi, tells Daniel Johnson that the abuse is likely being perpetrated elsewhere in the country by other human traffickers.

Refugees from South Sudan arrive in Elegu, northern Uganda Photo: UNHCR/Will Swanson

Thousands of people flee attack in South Sudan into Uganda

Uganda’s northern Lamwo district has received over 6,000 South Sudanese since last Monday, with at least 4,500 still crowded together at the border. As well as the fighting near Pajok in Eastern Equatoria state, ongoing fighting is also reported in the districts of Magwi and Oboo, close to the border with Uganda. The East African nation is now the main host of the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis. Auma Lucy Yubuan escaped Pajok and walked for two days to reach the refugee center in Lamwo. She recalled the brutal scenes that took place there. Jocelyne Sambira has the story.

Ajok Ding Deng is a mother of five who lives in the village of Mayen Adut, South Sudan. Here she stands with her youngest child, Abuk Mor, and her husband, who is carrying a box of SuperCereal Plus the family has just received from WFP. WFP Photo: George Fominyen

Faced with rise in violence in South Sudan, aid alone “isn’t enough”: WFP

While humanitarian support has saved “countless” lives, ongoing fighting in the South Sudan continues to make difficult the rollout of aid programmes, according to the Regional Director for Eastern and Central Africa at the World Food Programme (WFP). Valerie Guarnieri made the remarks on Tuesday during a joint press briefing with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the escalating hunger crisis on Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenyan and South Sudan. The WFP programme in South Sudan is facing a potential funding shortfall of $US189 million. Since 2013, Africa’s youngest nation has suffered continuous conflict between rival factions, leaving millions displaced and hundreds of thousands dead. Lucy Dean began by asking Ms Guarnieri how the abduction of eight WFP aid workers in South Sudan in March, and similar incidents across the region, impact the efficacy of aid programmes and the morale of staff.

Presenter: Jocelyne Sambira

Production Assistant: Sandra Guy

Duration: 10’00″

Audio

10'

Photo Credit

Omar Hama