KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• More than 87 percent of IDPs in southern Yemen have returned to areas of origin since July 2012 as a result of improved security conditions, according to the U.N. However, less than 11 percent of IDPs in northern Yemen have returned home due to protracted insecurity. A lack of basic services is an issue in both northern and southern areas.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

· Despite security improvements in parts of southern and central Somalia, ongoing insecurity and restricted humanitarian access continue to hinder the delivery of life-saving assistance to populations in need. Al-Shabaab activity in Mogadishu and Bakool Region in March and April heightened insecurity, caused additional population displacement, and obstructed relief efforts.

Summary

Founded on January 13, 2012, the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) helps the Secretary improve the effectiveness and coherence of the U.S. government’s response tooverseas crises.With the hard work of our staff, the efforts of State’s regional and functional bureaus, and the cooperation of our interagency partners such as USAID and the Department of Justice, CSO made notable progress over the past year.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

• On March 7, the fifth Ministerial Friends of Yemen meeting was held in London. Foreign ministers and delegations from approximately 30 countries attended the meeting, including U.S. Department of State Deputy Secretary William Burns. Meeting participants discussed a number of topics, including the need for continued humanitarian support for IDP and refugee populations. The 2013 YHRP requests $716 million and aims to provide assistance to 7.7 million vulnerable people in Yemen.

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
January 17, 2013

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

· On December 14, the U.N. released the 2013 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (YHRP), requesting $716 million for humanitarian interventions in Yemen. The 2013 YHRP reflects growing humanitarian needs, enhanced capacity of the humanitarian community, improved access in certain areas, and increased focus on Yemen’s transition toward early recovery and development.

The Results Are In:

More States Prepared to Protect Our Children “As a nation, we have a moral obligation to protect those who are most vulnerable during disasters: our children,” asserts Mark Shriver, senior vice president of Save the Children’s U.S. Programs.
That’s why Save the Children is committed to working with policymakers, emergency professionals and child-focused organizations across the U.S. to ensure our children’s safety and well-being – and to hold our states accountable.

The Report Card: Protecting Our Children During Disasters

SG/SM/14631
ENV/DEV/1326

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the International Conference on Food Security in Drylands, in Qatar on 14 November:

I am pleased to send greetings to the International Conference on Food Security in Drylands, and I thank His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and the Qatar National Food Security Programme for organizing it. I also thank Qatar for hosting the forthcoming 18th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Despite a four-day truce which was supposed to come into effect on Friday 26 October, fighting has continued to escalate in Damascus province, Aleppo, Idlib, Daara and Deir Ezzor in Syria manifested by a new wave of airstrikes by the Syrian forces and attacks by the rebels on strategic army checkpoints and air bases.