Ban concerned over security
Ban says he is concerned about the continuing deterioration of the security environment in Burundi.
The Secretary-General welcomes Nkurunziza’s message to the nation to remain calm and to the competent authorities to expeditiously investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Secretary-General renews his appeal to all Burundians to resume an inclusive dialogue without delay and peacefully settle their differences under the facilitation of President Museveni as mandated by the East African Community.
Shot
Mbonimpa is shot as he makes his way home from work in the capital, by a gunman on a motorbike. Family member:
His condition is stable, and has even slightly improved.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban condemns ‘the assassination attempt’ and calls for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
This incident… is part of a growing pattern of politically-motivated violence in Burundi that must be broken before it escalates beyond control.
Several diplomats, including from the United States and France, as well as African Union officials, attend Mbonimpa’s hospital bedside during the night until the arrival of the police.
AU Commission chief Dlamini-Zuma calls on the government to investigate the ‘attempted murder’ as well as ‘all other such killings’, and wishes Mbonimpa ‘a speedy recovery’, while Human Rights Watch Africa chief Bekele calls on the government to ensure his safety.
We are shocked at this blatant attack on one of Burundi’s most prominent and respected activists. The Burundian authorities should take immediate steps to secure Mbonimpa’s safety and protection.
Amnesty International condemns the ‘brazen attack’ it says is part of ‘a disturbing escalation’ of violence.
Ban urges calm
UN Secretary General Ban presses Burundian authorities to ensure elections are carried out peacefully.
[The Secretary] calls on the authorities to do all in their power to ensure security and a peaceful atmosphere during the election. He further calls on all parties to refrain from any acts of violence that could compromise the stability of Burundi and the region. [The pause in the inter-Burundian dialogue] took place without agreement being reached on a range of issues that would have contributed to the creation of a climate conducive to the holding of credible and peaceful elections, as contained in the relevant recommendations of the EAC and the African Union.
Ban seeks action on barrel bombs
A report by the UN chief Ban to the Security Council lists five priorities for action including the lifting of sieges on 212,000 people, ensuring access to medical aid to all of Syria, and rebuilding the education system. He also says the 15-member council must address barrel-bomb attacks on civilians and ending the practice of denying services as a weapon of war. Ban says barrel bombs are used against civilians in Aleppo, where the United Nations is seeking to freeze fighting as part of peace efforts. Ban:
This conflict has become business as usual.
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United Nations: Combat Ebola Mission
For the first time, the UN opens a health mission headquarters. UNMEER, or United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, provides coordinating international efforts to combat the Ebola virus. Team lead Anthony Banbury with crew members arrive on Monday in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Speaking to the Security Council, Ki-Moon:
This international mission, to be known as the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response, or UNMEER, will have five priorities: stopping the outbreak, treating the infected, ensuring essential services, preserving stability and preventing further outbreaks. Under the leadership of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General, the Mission will bring together the full range of UN actors and expertise in support of national efforts. Our best estimate is that we need a 20-fold increase in assistance.
Urges political solution
Ban says Assad can participate in the international coalition being assembled to fight ISIS by seeking a political solution to the crisis in Syria:
He (Assad) can play a role through ending the crisis as soon as possible and engaging in political dialog.
He says that agreement is important on outside intervention in Syria, but stops short of saying that airstrikes against ISIS would need approval from Assad:
I know that some leading countries are trying to discuss the matter, and the position of the U.N. will be declared at the suitable time. But it is important that the international community is united and shows strong support for any action that has to be taken to root out this terrorism.
Commission meets Ban about drug war policy
The Global Commission on Drug Policy supported by Branson meets Ban ahead of the UN’s 2016 session on drugs to lobby the group to adopt recommendations making drugs a health issue instead of a criminal one. The group including Annan, Zedillo, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Cesar Gaviria, Ruth Dreifuss, Michel Kazatchkine, Jorge Sampaio, and Thorvald Stoltenberg hopes the UN will alter ‘dated rhetoric and unrealistic goals’ set in the previous drugs session in 1998. GCDP report:
Punitive drug law enforcement fuels crime and maximizes the health risks associated with drug use, especially among the most vulnerable. Criminal drug producers and traffickers thrive in fragile, conflict-affected and underdeveloped regions, where vulnerable populations are easily exploited. The corruption, violence and instability generated by unregulated drug markets are widely recognized as a threat to both security and development.
Among other findings, it cites statistics showing that almost one in four Russian heroin users is HIV positive. Annan:
The facts speak for themselves. It is time to change course. We need drug policies informed by evidence of what actually works.
It also looks at death rates in the Mexican cartel wars. Former president Zedillo:
Decriminalization of drug consumption is certainly crucial but not sufficient. Significant legal and institutional reforms, both at the national and international levels, are needed to allow governments and societies to put in place policies to regulate the supply of drugs with rigorous medical criteria, if the engines of organized crime profiting from drug traffic are to be truly dismantled.
The recommendations are similar to drug laws that allow regulated cannabis sale points in the Netherlands, some states in the U.S., and recently introduced in Uruguay. They advocate banning crack cocaine and Krokodil, a class of Russian-invented synthetic heroin substitutes that users manufacture from red phosphorous from matchbooks, gasoline, and cough medicine containing codeine or even anaesthetic eye drops, and which cause skin necrosis and brain damage when injected.