Zimbabwe Online News

Ties between the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), have been formalised and strengthened after the two entities signed a memorandum of understanding for the promotion, advocacy and protection of the human rights of asylum-seekers, refugees, internally displaced people and stateless persons living in the country.

The SA Human Rights Commission said the agreement will pave the way for increased cooperation between the two entities.

“The MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] enables information sharing, protection interventions on individual cases, consultations, knowledge exchange, as well as cooperation on projects which promote human rights of persons of concern to UNHCR and the SAHRC. Amongst the joint engagements, the SAHRC and UNHCR will advocate progressive policies, legislation, processes and practices for the protection and promotion of human rights,” the SAHRC said on Wednesday.

According to the SAHRC, together, the organisations will promote social cohesion and also “advocate for the inclusion of persons of concern” in South Africa’s national protection plans.

The UNHRC defines a person of concern as an asylum seeker, a refugee, an internally displaced person or a person with no statehood.

“Through the MoU, SAHRC and UNHCR, will take part in initiatives which promote social cohesion and peaceful co-existence between foreigners and South African nationals. In addition, research projects will be conducted to further the advancement of human rights of all persons of concern,” the commission said.

South Africa’s UNHRC Representative Leonard Zulu highlighted that the two organisations share similarities in their work towards the attainment and enjoyment of basic human rights.

“Human rights are at the centre of the protection regime for persons forcibly displaced by conflict, persecution and violence. The congruence of our respective mandates is obvious. A person seeking international protection does so when he or she is no longer able to have national protection of their countries of origin.

“In order to protect this individual, it follows naturally, that the person concerned must enjoy basic and fundamental human rights in the host country. Sadly, this very often does not occur automatically. It then becomes incumbent on institutions such as ours to advocate on their behalf,” he said.

Source: Government of South Africa

A global network of humanitarian agencies, including Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children, Action Against Hunger, Plan, Oxfam and World Vision, have signed a climate risk insurance policy that will protect up to 160,000 people in Senegal from the effects of drought. One of the first of its kind, the policy will enable aid agencies to offer life-saving support to people in Senegal as soon as a drought is predicted, helping to prevent famine.

The $1.5 million USD policy, signed by Start Network, a global network of more than 50 humanitarian agencies, and provided by African Risk Capacity, is built on ‘parametric’ insurance. This means it pays out before a crisis, based on pre-agreed scientific triggers, based for example on rainfall data. Unlike the current model, in which aid agencies receive funding only after a crisis has hit, it enables organisations to plan for and mitigate the worst effects of a drought.

A similar policy was signed for the 2019/2020 growing season and a 10.6m USD payout meant that more than 300,000 people were supported. In 2020 the payout enabled families to protect livestock and other valuable assets and avoid resorting to ‘negative coping strategies, such as skipping meals or sending children to work instead of school. The new policy announced today complements one purchased by the Government of Senegal, to ensure as many people as possible will be protected, in total more than 500,000 people.

Christina Bennett, CEO of Start Network said:* “We are delighted to work with African Risk Capacity again to offer this protection for the people of Senegal at risk during the next drought. Slow aid funding is one of the biggest structural problems in disaster response efforts, yet the majority of crises can be predicted. And with the effects of the climate emergency on the world’s most vulnerable, the need for a new approach is more urgent than ever. We urge governments ahead of COP26 to fund anticipatory humanitarian action that can intervene before risks turn into disasters, to save more lives.”*

“We have consistently proven that parametric insurance coverage is a valuable tool for protecting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities in the event of natural perils. We are excited that our collaboration with partners like Start Network is helping Senegal and other countries to access an expanded risk coverage beyond that purchased by themselves. As we aim to provide coverage to the entire region, we call on our development partners to support this model and facilitate the participation of other countries for a well-coordinated and timely response in the event of climate risk events,” said Lesley Ndlovu, CEO, African Risk Capacity.

Start Network will also purchase a similar policy for Zimbabwe later this year, in partnership with African Risk Capacity, the Government of Zimbabwe and the World Food Programme. The initiative in Senegal is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Development Bank, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

Source: African Risk Capacity

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) convene today, the first-ever meeting of the Oversight Committee for Missing Migrants with South African authorities.

South Africa is a major destination and transit country for migrants from the Eastern and Southern Africa regions and beyond, with a large number coming from Zimbabwe. Along the journey to and within the country, migrants often face intense hardships and violations of their fundamental rights. Many lose their lives, and it is not infrequent for migrants to involuntarily lose contact with their families and disappear without a trace.

Against the backdrop of the ICRC reporting that 44,000 migrants in Africa are considered missing, a joint initiative with IOM has, for the first time, brought together a community of concern to address the plight that families of missing Zimbabwean migrants face in the search for their relatives.

“The family members who are left behind are deeply affected as they face uncertainty of not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead. This causes great suffering and can be extremely distressing,” says Marie-Astrid Blondiaux who coordinates the ICRC’s protection work which is aimed at mitigating the consequences of armed conflict, violence, natural disasters and migration. “South African authorities have the responsibility, infrastructure, legislation and technical expertise to address this humanitarian concern. It will be beneficial to them at various levels and showcase the high-level of forensic expertise in South Africa on a global stage,” Blondiaux adds.

On this occasion, the IOM and the ICRC are unveiling for the first time in South Africa a memorial exhibition in commemoration of the countless missing migrants and their families.

The memorial features a series of 60 images in an incomplete puzzle with each puzzle piece representing individuals who migrated from Zimbabwe to South Africa and went missing along the journey or after arrival. These families form part of the ICRC’s Missing and Deceased Migrants Programme, which, with the involvement of the authorities, seeks to clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing individuals, help families restore and maintain contact and increase the rate of identification of bodies in South African and Zimbabwean mortuaries.

"Families of missing migrants often face an endless search for answers, therefore it is crucial for states to set up efforts to support families of missing migrants in line with the resolution adopted by the African Commission on Human and people's rights,” says Lily Sanya, IOM’s Chief of Mission for South Africa.

The memorial symbolizes how the families of missing migrants are connected in their search for their missing loved ones but similarly to the fragmented memorial puzzle, for the families, their lives remain incomplete as the search for answers continues.

It is reported that 4 000 to 7 000 unidentified bodies are buried as paupers annually in South Africa. The plight of missing migrants and their families is without doubt a humanitarian issue that requires efforts and commitment from the authorities and other actors.

Source: International Organization for Migration

In the United Republic of Tanzania, rapid notification of animal diseases in the field is a major challenge due to weak veterinary infrastructure and lack of human resources. The country has adopted technology developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to enhance the national reporting system for animal disease.

The Event Mobile Application (EMA-i) is a reporting tool to collect data and facilitate real-time disease reporting to support veterinary services’ capacities in disease surveillance in the field.

FAO, through its Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is involved at national, regional and global level with the development of disease early warning systems. Through a series of workshops and training sessions, it has been building capacities and promoting the use of EMA-i to access and utilize relevant information available in existing surveillance systems for prioritized zoonoses and transboundary animal diseases.

“For a country to have efficient and effective epidemio-surveillance system for animal diseases, all actors, especially field officers, must play their roles to ensure animal disease information is effectively collected based on the signs and symptoms observed and reported timely,” according to the Director of Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries (MoLF) of the United Republic of Tanzania, Dr Hezron Nonga.

EMA-i roll-out in the United Republic of Tanzania

The main goal is to build a network of EMA-i users equipped with smartphones to assist the country to better prevent, detect and respond to animal disease threats in a more cost-effective manner.

FAO, in collaboration with MoLF, piloted the use of EMA-i in 2017. During the pilot phase, FAO trained 13 EMA-i users from MoLF and the Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency, which was followed by another training of 23 users from 20 districts across the country and three zonal veterinary centres.

In 2018, FAO supported the scaling-up of the tool to an additional 50 districts, seven zonal veterinary centres, three wildlife institutions, two veterinary laboratory centres and the Sokoine University of Agriculture, where a total of 59 users were equipped with smartphones to use the application.

In collaboration with MoLF, FAO conducted two more phases of training in November 2019 and October 2020, rolling out EMA-i to another 19 and 25 districts respectively.

The use of the EMA-i application in the United Republic of Tanzania has demonstrated major improvements in disease reporting and communication between districts and central level. According to Cainan Kiswaga, a reporting field officer trained in EMA-i use: “Before introduction of EMA-i, it took more than seven days for animal disease reports from lower lever to reach district level for processing.”

Overall, the four successful phases carried out since 2017 have resulted in the current use of EMA-i in 115 districts (about 62 percent of districts), with 114 field officers trained, which has significantly increased the number of reports received from field officers.

FAO ECTAD’s goal is to ensure the use of EMA-i in 80 percent of districts, in accordance with the planned targets for the country. To support its implementation, FAO supported MoLF with more than 100 smartphones with Internet connectivity that were provided to trained field officers. In Tanzania, access to the Internet can be limited, especially outside urban centres, while telephone networks have good coverage over wider areas with rapid connection from the field.

EMA-i in COVID-19 times

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, given the importance of field-reported health information (e.g. disease outbreaks) and optimized surveillance systems based on risk assessment and mapping of priority zoonotic diseases at country level, FAO ECTAD in East Africa, with the support of FAO headquarters, has rolled out a series of trainings for veterinary services staff in the United Republic of Tanzania. These trainings aimed to strengthen capacities and further facilitate the exchange of information on animal disease reporting between all actors, from farmers to chief veterinary officers.

Following COVID-19 travel restrictions and limitations on face-to-face meetings, trainings were organized and delivered virtually in a series of online webinars. In the United Republic of Tanzania, FAO conducted phase four of the EMA-i implementation and reinforced the capacity of 25 field officers from 25 districts. The training of the new districts’ veterinary officers was conducted by national trainers with FAO on site and virtual support from FAO headquarters. MoLF’s Head of Information, Communication and Technology, Baltazary Kibola, told the opening ceremony: “Information technologies are the key to improvement of animal disease surveillance and reporting. EMA-i has simplified and enhanced surveillance and early warning of animal disease outbreaks in Tanzania.”

The way forward

Since its implementation, a total of 9 273 disease events were reported via EMA-i from June 2017 to August 2021 in the districts of the United Republic of Tanzania where the tool has been rolled out, compared with the 283 events reported countrywide from December 2016 to November 2017. By building surveillance and early warning capacities and improving communication between stakeholders, EMA-i has strengthened early warning of animal disease occurrence at national level.

Through the EMA-i application, a rapid, real-time, efficient and confidential communication channel is guaranteed, allowing for more immediate and effective during a disease outbreak. This is why FAO is planning to extend the use of this tool nationwide in the United Republic of Tanzania to enhance global capacities in disease reporting, surveillance and early warning.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations