Supporting the Special Criminal Court in Central African Republic

UNV’s support to the Special Criminal Court
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In August 2016, the Central African Government and the UN system signed off on a five-year joint project to support the creation of a Special Criminal Court, the overall objective of which is to contribute to fighting against impunity, mending the rule of law and social cohesion and supporting the process of national reconciliation. UNV’s support to the Special Criminal Court represents a component of this joint project focused on outreach activities that ensure the involvement of Central African Republic’s population, especially those particularly affected by the crimes falling under the Court’s jurisdiction. UNV leads activities that target the local communities, including youth and women, and aim to sensitize on the role, mandate and functioning of the Court.

In 2014, national authorities in CAR decided to establish a Special Criminal Court (SCC) to investigate and prosecute serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. The law on the creation of the Court was promulgated on the 3 June 2015. It demonstrated strong political willingness to end impunity and the importance of equality, justice and freedom in achieving sustainable peace.  

Supporting the mental health needs of frontline responders

International Volunteer Day 2017
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When the biggest natural disaster on record in Sierra Leone hit Freetown on 14 August, hundreds of staff and volunteers immediately joined in the response and relief efforts to assist those affected. The scale of the disaster challenged the authorities’ existing resources, particularly for search and rescue. “I played my part. Our contribution might not have made headlines in the media but it was a significant part of the process and I feel satisfied in myself to have supported these efforts,” says Dain Kay*, a volunteer grave digger in Waterloo village.

At the scenes of the mudslides and flash floods that killed over 500 people and displaced approximately 6000 others, volunteers played amazingly important roles in very many ways. According to Pieter Peters*, a resident of the downstream Kamayama community, rescuing people that were being washed away as well as recovering the dead from the gushing streams was frightening, but, he says, it had to be done. “We pulled both living and dead people from the flood waters in large numbers.”

Volunteers fight Zika in the aftermath of natural disasters

International Volunteer Day 2017
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In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret which hit Trinidad and Tobago in June 2017, many areas were affected by heavy rains, flooding and landslides. With the rains, some areas reported an influx of mosquitoes. Volunteers, together with the Regional Corporations, carried out damage assessments and assisted affected residents in cleaning up their homes and businesses.

Akeisha Benjamin, Zika Project Coordinator with the Trinidad and Tobago Red Cross society (TTRCS) explains, “As people are cleaning up from the floods we are pushing the message to get rid of stagnant waters as quickly as possible, to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds. Given the fact that some people had to evacuate and go to shelters, we are encouraging affected persons to clean up quickly. We are also working with the Regional Corporations to spread the message.” The focus of the project has primarily been on community and school’s outreach in selected areas.

Volunteers provide rescue and first aid to people affected by earthquake in Iran and Iraq

International Volunteer Day 2017
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Red Crescent volunteers in northern Iraq and Iran are providing urgent search and rescue and first aid to victims of the devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake that shook the region on 12 November 2017.

According to Iran Red Crescent, at least 328 people have been killed and 3,950 injured. In Iraq, the Iraqi Red Crescent report that nine people have been killed and more than 425 injured.

Volunteers in race against time to find survivors in Sierra Leone mudslides

International Volunteer Day 2017
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Red Cross staff and volunteers worked alongside emergency officials to rescue survivors and assist desperate communities that lost their homes and loved ones in the mudslides in and around the capital Freetown in August 2017.

The most severe mudslides – triggered by three days of heavy rains – occurred in the coastal suburb of Racecourse on the city’s eastern edge, as well as in Regent and Lumley where thousands of makeshift settlements are home to the city’s poorest communities.

Response teams, including dozens of Sierra Leone Red Cross (SLRCS) volunteers recovered people from the mud and debris, helping evacuate residents, transferring bodies to morgues and providing medical care to the injured.

Volunteer puts others first during Ethiopian drought

International Volunteer Day 2017
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Since 2015, failed rains, combined with an El Nino weather phenomenon, have left millions of people across Ethiopia in desperate need of food and water. Yonas Bade, a farmer and local volunteer, decided to build a road with his own means to ensure water distribution by the Ethiopian Red Cross Society.

Deep in the heart of the district of Kindo Koysha in southern Ethiopia, the road system is rudimentary. When volunteers from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society wanted to start distributing emergency water rations to the most vulnerable of families, getting there was a noted challenge. But, with people like Yonas Bade, a farmer and local volunteer on hand, it was a challenge that would be quickly overcome.

Volunteer medical teams reach trapped flood survivors in Bangladesh

International Volunteer Day 2017
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One of 20 volunteer teams made up of a doctor, a nurse and two civilians works across Bangladesh to treat people in remote communities who have been cut off by flood water or damage to roads. The teams hope to reach 30,000 flood survivors across the country to treat diseases caused by contaminated flood water.

Volunteer Sonali Rani Das works as a nurse and has been a member of the mobile medical team since 2011. Currently the team is seeing 200 patients a day, all presenting complaints about the recent catastrophic floods that hit Bangladesh.

 We are seeing a lot of women and children. They have problems like skin infections, eye infections, scabies, diarrhoea and asthma. We have even seen snake bites. When I see the children, I take the mother’s blood pressure and check her over too,” she explains.

UNDP Executive Board Decision (2000/14) - see page 28

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The Executive Board reaffirms the importance as well as the value-added of the United Nations Volunteers programme at the global, regional and national levels, including in poverty reduction, electoral support and the promotion of South-South collaboration. Furthermore, the Executive Board supports the relevant bridging role that UNV volunteers can play in the transition from humanitarian assistance to reconstruction and rehabilitation and to longer-term sustainable development.

UNDP Executive Board Decision (98/13) - see pages 38-39

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The Executive Board notes the diversity in the range of work of the United Nations Volunteers and their roles, the growth of the United Nations Volunteers Programme overall, and in particular, the achievement of reaching the largest number of the serving volunteers. In addition, the Executive Board welcomes the decision to proclaim 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers.

UNDP Executive Board Decision (95/28) - see pages 170-176 (UNV mentioned on pp. 171-176)

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Revised budget estimates for the biennium 1994-1995 and budget estimates for the biennium 1996-1997. The Executive Board takes note of the cost-savings that will occur as a result of decision 95/2 on the relocation of the United Nations Volunteers headquarters to Bonn, and urges the Administrator, in light of these savings, to increase programme activities involving the United Nations Volunteers.

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