Crisis humanitaria

MundoOriente Próximo,

Chairman Murphy, Ranking Member Young, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee, thank you for your attention to this important subject and for inviting me to testify.

I am a Senior Consultant for the International Crisis Group, which covers more than 50 conflict situations around the world, including Afghanistan, with the aim of helping to prevent, resolve or mitigate deadly conflict. I have worked in the country since 2005.

In previous years, I listened to U.S. congressional hearings from Kandahar or Kabul, sometimes with gunfire or explosions in the background. The Internet connection was not always good, but I heard enough to understand that the United States had ambitious plans for Afghanistan.…  Seguir leyendo »

Afghanistan Is Facing a Total Economic Meltdown

MundoOriente Próximo,

When I was traveling around Kabul a few weeks ago, the city felt worlds apart from my last visit in 2019 — and not just because a 20-year war had finally ended. The economy is spiraling out of control. And unless money starts flowing soon, a total economic collapse will plunge Afghans into a humanitarian catastrophe.

The desperation is everywhere. Mothers I sat down with in makeshift tents told me their families have no income and no reserves, and they’re worried that their children will starve and freeze to death this winter.

I met teachers, health workers and water engineers who have not been paid since May.…  Seguir leyendo »

Más de 13 millones de personas necesitan asistencia urgente: alimentos, agua, refugio, acceso a salud o a educación Lys Arango (ACH)

MundoÁfrica, ,

La Conferencia de Donantes sobre el Sahel central, la zona de las tres fronteras entre Malí, Burkina Faso y Níger, que se celebra este 20 de octubre debe dar respuesta a una crisis compleja sin precedentes y a una de las más graves urgencias humanitarias a nivel mundial. ¿Será de nuevo una cita de promesas incumplidas o se alcanzarán compromisos financieros y políticos a la altura de la crisis que sumerge a esta región en un círculo vicioso?

Desde hace varios meses, el personal de nuestras organizaciones que trabaja en esta zona afronta con gran consternación cómo se degrada día a día la situación humanitaria y sus peticiones suelen quedarse en papel mojado.…  Seguir leyendo »

Un mercado en el centro de Caracas durante la cuarentena impuesta por el gobierno en marzo de 2020. Credit Adriana Loureiro Fernandez para The New York Times

MundoAmérica,

Hace algo más de un año que la comunidad humanitaria internacional empezó un paulatino proceso de instalación en Venezuela, con la aquiescencia del gobierno. Y aunque algunas organizaciones no gubernamentales internacionales y agencias de las Naciones Unidas operan en el país desde hace años, dando respuesta a las necesidades derivadas del refugio colombiano, nunca antes se habían alcanzado los actuales niveles de sofisticación y presencia humanitaria.

En contextos como el venezolano, el espacio humanitario —el ambiente donde operan las organizaciones humanitarias— surge como resultado de complejas transacciones entre los distintos actores y poderes a través de una diplomacia humanitaria de alto nivel y bajo perfil, con capacidad para huir de las ortodoxias y con una visión de proceso.…  Seguir leyendo »

Los rostros de la crisis venezolana

MundoAmérica,

Visitar Venezuela hoy en día es atestiguar la forma en que un mal gobierno puede aniquilar un país. Los años que han pasado bajo un gobierno corrupto, incompetente y autocrático han hecho que los venezolanos ahora padezcan hambre y que los niños mueran por falta de atención médica básica. A Daniela Serrano (en la fotografía anterior) se le murió un hijo por desnutrición este año y ahora observa con inquietud cómo le practican un examen médico a su hija, Daryelis, de 3 años, en una clínica asociada a un grupo de ayuda, el Proyecto Nodriza. Algunos venezolanos temen que haya hambruna en su futuro y parece que es más fácil encontrar partidarios del presidente Nicolás Maduro en un campus universitario estadounidense que en Venezuela.…  Seguir leyendo »

Un grupo de niños espera comer en un comedor de beneficencia en Caracas en febrero de 2019. Credit Meridith Kohut para The New York Times

MundoAmérica, ,

En los últimos dos años, Estados Unidos ha impuesto sanciones económicas cada vez más severas contra Venezuela. Estas sanciones han restringido el acceso del gobierno al financiamiento externo, han limitado su capacidad de vender activos y, más recientemente, ha impedido que le venda petróleo a Estados Unidos.

Las sanciones fueron diseñadas para cortar las ganancias del régimen de Nicolás Maduro, y sus artífices dijeron que aplicarlas no generaría sufrimiento a los venezolanos. El razonamiento era que Maduro recularía de inmediato o que el ejército lo obligaría a salir antes de que las sanciones pudieran comenzar a surtir efecto.

Se equivocaron. A dos años de su entrada en vigor, Maduro sigue en el poder y su régimen se ha vuelto todavía más represivo y despiadado.…  Seguir leyendo »

El 5 de julio de 2019 se llevó a cabo una marcha ciudadana para protestar contra la represión del gobierno de Nicolás Maduro. Credit Miguel Gutiérrez/EPA vía Shutterstock

MundoAmérica, ,

Los actos de opresión y violencia ocurridos en Venezuela en los últimos tiempos solo pueden ser comparados con los que también hemos visto durante años a través de vídeos y fotos de la guerra en Siria. Cuando creemos que ya no se puede ir más lejos en el horror, surge otra prueba de que la monstruosidad sigue devorando a la humanidad y de que no será fácil escapar de ella.

El 1 de julio el joven venezolano Rufo Antonio Chacón, de 16 años, fue herido gravemente mientras protestaba por la falta de gas en el municipio del estado Táchira donde vive con su madre.…  Seguir leyendo »

Caracas, febrero de 2019. Credit Meridith Kohut para The New York Times

MundoAmérica,  

Nicolás Maduro tiene una gran habilidad para desafiar las profecías sobre su caída.

Cuando fue elegido presidente de Venezuela en 2013, la gente dijo que no duraría ni doce meses en el cargo. Trece meses después, cuando las manifestaciones sacudían a la nación, la gente dijo que sus días estaban contados. Al año siguiente, cuando los partidos de la oposición ganaron la mayoría en la Asamblea Nacional y, de nuevo, cuando pelearon por un referendo revocatorio en 2016 y otra vez con el regreso de las protestas masivas en 2017, la gente dijo que ese sería el fin de Maduro. Sobre todo, se suponía que Maduro no sobreviviría a la campaña que se organizó este año con el fin de derrocarlo: un esfuerzo internacional que comenzó en enero y llegó a un punto culminante el fin de semana pasado.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Yemeni man walks carrying food aid provided by a local charity to families affected by the ongoing conflict, in the capital Sanaa on 14 February 2019. MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

This week, we look at how economic issues will affect future peacebuilding efforts.

Trendline: Putting Yemen to Work

Late February brought some hope to Yemen’s embattled population, large segments of which were on the verge of starvation at the end of 2018. The UN announced that it had both raised billions of dollars to pay for its humanitarian work over the coming year and had regained access to the Red Sea Mills, an important food storage and distribution hub outside the port city of Hodeida for the first time in five months. But without a peace deal and, in the longer term, significant economic reform, the most the UN and other organisations can do is arrest the sharp humanitarian decline of the past eight years.…  Seguir leyendo »

People in Caracas walk by graffiti that says, in Spanish: “Together we can take down hunger.”. Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

MundoAmérica,  

Nicolás Maduro has a knack for defying prophecies of his demise.

When he was elected president of Venezuela in 2013, people said he would not last 12 months in office. Thirteen months later, when protests racked the nation, people said his days were numbered. The year after that, when opposition parties won a congressional majority, and again when they fought for a recall referendum in 2016, and yet again with the return of mass protests in 2017, people said, this will be the end of Maduro. Most of all, Maduro was not meant to survive this year’s campaign to oust him — an international effort that began in January and reached a peak last weekend.…  Seguir leyendo »

A building in Yemen, with protest graffiti painted by the artist Thiyazen Al-Aalawi, that was destroyed allegedly by a Saudi-led airstrike. Credit Yahya Arhab/Epa-Efe, via Rex and Shutterstock.

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

On a recent evening, Ali al-Hajori, a man in his 60s, was begging on 70th Square in the western part of Sana, the capital of Yemen. Mr. Hajori, whose lips were parched, would stop by each car pulling over at a public park and raise his right hand in an appeal for help. As the sun set over the war-torn country, Mr. Hajori walked back to a rented room, where he lived with his family, who have been starving.

About three years earlier, after intense bombing by Saudi Arabia, Mr. Hajori fled his home in Mahwit province, 75 miles northwest of Sana.…  Seguir leyendo »

Pro-government fighters in Yemen carrying explosives thought to have been dropped by Houthi rebels, around Al Hudaydah, this month. Credit Nabil Hassan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Last-ditch diplomatic efforts could not stop the Saudi Arabian and Emirati coalition’s offensive on the Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah this week. With no real prospect for peace talks of any kind, the city, a fief of the Houthi rebels who control much of the country and a hub for humanitarian assistance for millions of desperate Yemeni civilians, could fall within days.

If the offensive goes according to the Saudis’ and Emiratis’ plan, promptly after that, the Houthis, who also control the capital Sana, will sue for peace. The maritime blockade in place since 2015 could then be lifted. After that, a vast humanitarian operation could unfold, saving Yemen from a devastating famine.…  Seguir leyendo »

Yemeni women and children wait during food distribution in the province of Hodeida on May 30, 2018. Hodeida port, Yemen's largest entry point for aid, is now in the crosshairs of the Saudi-led coalition which is intent on cutting off the Huthi rebels from alleged Iranian arms shipments. The United Nations has warned that any operation aimed at seizing Hodeida itself would disrupt the entry of aid shipments to Yemen, 70 percent of which flow through the rebel-held port. / AFP PHOTO / ABDO HYDER

MundoOriente PróximoEuropaUnión EuropeaPolítica Exterior, ,

After more than three years of fighting, Yemen is teetering on the cusp of an even fiercer war. The Saudi Arabian-led coalition is poised for an offensive on the Red Sea port of Hodeidah that could plunge Yemen into greater turmoil, deepen its humanitarian crisis, and provoke a surge in cross-border missile attacks by the Houthi rebels.

The European Union and its member states have a chance to stop the conflict from sliding into a lethal new stage; now is the time to take action. All sides have declared a readiness to engage in talks (with various conditions), but they need to be nudged towards the table before a full-fledged battle for Hodeidah breaks out.…  Seguir leyendo »

People walk with their belongings as they flee the rebel-held town of Hammouriyeh, in the village of Beit Sawa, eastern Ghouta, Syria 15 March, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki

InternacionalOrden Mundial,

From Syria to Yemen, from South Sudan to Venezuela, war and political crisis are causing human anguish on a scale unseen in a generation.

That conflict and crisis take a high human toll is hardly new, of course. Yet the scope of suffering today is striking. The number of people displaced globally by conflict and persecution stood at 65.6 million at the end of 2016, the greatest number since World War II. Figures released earlier this month show that there were 11.8 million new internal displacements in 2017, nearly double the 6.9 million in 2016. The number of people facing acute hunger globally due largely to conflict and instability reached almost 74 million across eighteen countries in 2017.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoÁfrica, , ,

One of the world’s worst humanitarian crises is unfolding in West Africa’s Lake Chad region, where 11 million people are in urgent need of emergency aid.

Nigeria, its neighbours, and the world are struggling to find an adequate response. Failure to do so will condemn millions to more suffering, and raise the region’s vulnerability to violent extremism.

Donors meeting at the Oslo Humanitarian Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad region on Friday must seize the opportunity to act more effectively.

Up to 100,000 people may have died in the seven-year Boko Haram insurgency, according to Governor Kassim Shettima of Borno State in Nigeria’s northeast, the epicentre of the fighting.…  Seguir leyendo »

Ending a humanitarian crisis

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Two months after Saudi Arabian airstrikes killed more than 140 people at a funeral in Yemen — the latest in a long string of attacks on civilian targets that have led to accusations of war crimes in the tiny Gulf nation — the Obama administration has decided to curtail American support for Riyadh’s bloody intervention in the Yemeni civil war.

“We continue to have concerns about the conflict in Yemen and how it has been waged, most especially the air campaign,” an unnamed administration official told ABC News. “Consequently, we have decided to not move forward with final approval on some sales of munitions.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Syrian boy sits with belongings he collected from the rubble of his house in Aleppo's Al-Arkoub neighbourhood on December 17, 2016.

InternacionalONUMundoOriente Próximo, ,

How do you monitor a skeleton of a city bereft of its citizens, who have been bused out after seeing their homes bombed to pieces by barrel bombs from the Syrian regime and bunker busters from their Russian supporters?

And what will be left to watch when -- and if -- the monitors ever arrive?

In the best-case scenario, the United Nations observers in Aleppo may find out.

In a rather realistic one, the world will never know.

At long last, the United Nations Security Council has been able to agree on something.

That something is the monitoring of the evacuation of the children and parents, men and women left alive in Aleppo, after the siege of their city -- starved on the ground, bombed from the sky and sealed in without any refuge or non-lethal path to escape -- grew inhuman enough to prick the world's conscience and puncture its longstanding indifference to Syria's carnage.…  Seguir leyendo »

Illustration on Iran’s future role in Syria by Linas Garsys/The Washington Times

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

Over the last five years, Syria has been descending into a hell on Earth. Over the last four months, the lowest depths of the inferno have been on display in Aleppo, an ancient city, once among the most diverse and dynamic in the Middle East. On Friday, in the final press conference of his presidency, Barack Obama addressed this still-unfolding humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.

“So with respect to Syria,” he said, “what I have consistently done is taken the best course that I can to try to end the civil war while having also to take into account the long-term national security interests of the United States.”…  Seguir leyendo »

A boy is evacuated by bus from a rebel-held sector of eastern Aleppo, Syria, on Sunday. (Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters)

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

“Responsibility for this brutality lies in one place alone, with the Assad regime and its allies, Russia and Iran,” President Obama said last week of the barbarity in Aleppo, Syria, “and this blood and these atrocities are on their hands.”

My journalism students and I here in Dubai follow the news together closely to talk about stories and how they’re reported. We followed this one with some disappointment, however, because the president would not acknowledge the consequences of his own lack of action in Syria. And when his U.N. envoy, Samantha Power, talked about shame, my class could only wonder whether she had looked in the mirror recently.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoOriente Próximo, ,

The world is at last, reluctantly, looking at the horrors unfolding in Aleppo. The dictatorship of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with the support of Iran, Russia, Hezbollah and other Iran-organized Shiite militias, has all but pulverized parts of the city, deliberately attacking hospitals and homes and targeting non-combatants and civilians.

They are carrying out a new form of ethnic cleansing, with Shiites expelling Sunnis and making it impossible for them to return to their destroyed homes.

This is hardly unexpected. It's been unfolding gradually, for all to watch. The immediate culprits are the direct perpetrators, let that be clear. But this episode marks a supreme failure of our 21st century society, our leaders, our institutions and the people who claim to care about more than their own well-being.…  Seguir leyendo »