Upsurge in violence forces 80,000 people in CAR to flee: UNHCR

An upsurge in violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) has forced more than 88,000 people to flee their homes, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said. Twenty thousand of them have sought refuge in neighbouring DRC, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Babar Baloch confirmed. The agency is appealing for more than US$200 million to assist those forcibly displaced, but has so far received only nine per cent of the funds. Clashes between armed groups divided along sectarian lines plunged the country of 4.5 million people into civil conflict in 2013. The UN human rights office, OHCHR, recently released a report mapping 13 years of “violence and impunity,” and depicting “horrific” abuses including accounts of gang rapes of girls as young as five. Jocelyne Sambira spoke to Mr Baloch to find out what the UN refugee agency is doing to help people who have crossed over into the DRC.

700,000 people in north-east Nigeria need aid desperately, says UN

An estimated 700,000 people remain beyond the reach of aid workers and are living in desperate conditions in north-eastern Nigeria, the UN said on Tuesday. The Boko Haram insurgency which is now in its eighth year has killed over 20,000 people and caused 1.8 million to flee their homes. According to OCHA, the UN Humanitarian Coordinating Agency, many refugees returning from Cameroon and neighbouring countries in recent weeks as a result of the on-going conflict, lack basic necessities. Mihika Acharya has more.

UN Standing Police Capacity: 10 years on the job

From preparing for the Pope’s visit to the Central African Republic to assisting Sierra Leone in conducting elections, the UN’s Standing Police Capacity wears many hats. The rapid response unit deploys police experts to UN peacekeeping operations and post-conflict or crisis situations. Since 2007, it has established police components in five peacekeeping operations, among other duties. Chad, Central African Republic, Haiti, Somalia, Liberia, Sudan and South Sudan stand out as the States in which most SPC officers have been deployed. SPC chief Maria Appelblom, one of the most senior women police officials in the UN, spoke to Liz Scaffidi about the unit and its role in peacekeeping.

Presenter: Jocelyne Sambira

Production Assistant: Ana Carmo

Duration: 10’00″