UN chief reaffirms international support to the Central African Republic

The UN Secretary General António Guterres visited the Central African Republic in October 2017.  There he met with CAR President Faustin Archange Touadera, religious and civil society leaders, UN MINUSCA peacekeepers and with a range of civil society groups, including youth and women representatives.  A UN operation has been in the CAR since 2014, following violence between mainly Muslim and Christian communities, leaving one in four citizens displaced.  Matt Wells reports more on the Secretary General’s trip to the CAR.

South Sudanese will only “feel ownership” when rights are respected

South Sudanese civilians will only “feel ownership” of their country when fundamental freedoms and rights are respected by all, and for all.  That’s the essence of a new campaign aimed at internally-displaced people sheltering in Protection-of-Civilian, or PoC, sites around the country, run by the UN Mission, UNMISS.  Much of the violence which has wracked the world’s youngest nation since civil war erupted in 2013 has occurred along ethnic lines, but UNMISS says it is time now to stand up in solidarity for the rights of all citizens, especially in PoC sites.  Just under 215,000 civilians are under UN protection across South Sudan.  Anthony Nwampa of the mission’s Human Rights Division spoke to Radio Miraya reporter Sworo Charles at the main PoC camp in the capital, Juba.

South Sudan peacekeepers aim to reach “more vulnerable people”

Peacekeepers with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) are aiming to reach more vulnerable civilians in more remote parts of the country.  It’s part of a more “nimble and proactive” approach that’s being spearheaded by UNMISS chief, David Shearer.  On Wednesday he was in Akobo, near the Ethiopian border, where around 71,000 displaced people are living after fleeing fighting between government and opposition forces.  The mission operated a base in the town up until 2013, but it was closed following an attack in which two peacekeepers died, and 30 civilians killed.  Akobo is in a part of the north-east currently held by the opposition, and Mr Shearer gave Dan Dickinson his impressions of what he’d seen on the ground.

Presenter:  Matt Wells

Duration: 10’00″