Violence against civilians, aid workers leaves CAR on “brink” of crisis

On-going violence against civilians and aid workers trying to protect them, has left the Central African Republic (CAR) “on the brink of a humanitarian crisis”. That’s the view of Joseph Iganji, who heads the UN Humanitarian Affairs office (OCHA) in the capital, Bangui. Around 23,000 civilians have fled into the bush in western areas of the country, and the instability and violence has led to the temporary suspension of all relief activities. Cristina Silveiro asked Mr Iganji to describe conditions on the ground in CAR.

“We know and we see you”: poetry champion returns home to Darfur

Eimtithal (Emi) Mahmoud writes poetry to draw attention to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, as well as the global refugee crisis. The Sudanese poet, who currently lives in the United States, recently visited El Fasher, Darfur. Brought up in the region - which has suffered years of conflict - she left Sudan as a toddler for Yemen, and reached the United States in 1998. Emi first discovered slam poetry while attending Yale University, and holds two world championship titles. To mark UNHCR’s announcement of the one-millionth South Sudanese refugee entering Uganda in August this year, Emi wrote the poem ‘Head over Heels.’ She spoke to Adam Ahmed from the joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur, UNAMID.

Mission chief says peace deal crucial to ending South Sudan crisis

Only an internationally-recognized and functioning peace agreement can end the suffering of millions in South Sudan. That’s the firm view of the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, David Shearer, who was in New York this week on behalf of UNMISS, as world leaders debated how to help the world’s youngest country recover from its conflict-driven humanitarian crisis. There are two million South Sudanese refugees and nearly two million displaced by fighting between political rivals. Mr Shearer and his peacekeeping forces are protecting more than 200,000 civilians at sites around the country. We sat down together in the studio here in New York.

Presenter: Matt Wells

Duration: 10’00″