Media Contact: Oisika Chakrabarti, Media Specialist,
oisika.chakrabarti[at]unwomen.org, +1 646 781-4522.

High impact political and economic empowerment programmes sought, grantees to be announced in December; other regions to follow

6 May 2011 (13h00-18h00)

Oxford Department of International Development, University of Oxford

3 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TB

This report analyses the main themes arising from the presentations and discussions at the ‘North Africa in Transition: Mobility, Forced Migration and Humanitarian Crises’ workshop organized by the International Migration Institute and Refugee Studies Centre on 6 May 2011.

Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
27 May 2011

(1)Yemen

The situation deteriorated in Sudan (Northern) as both North and South appear to be militarising Abyei ahead of the South Kordofan elections scheduled for May. Tensions triggered militia attacks in el-Faid town leaving at least seventeen dead and over 250 houses burned. President Bashir’s removal of Salah Gosh from the national security committee signalled growing divisions within the ruling party.

Human Rights Council Should Act on Bahrain and Yemen

April 30, 2011

(Geneva) - Syria should end its violent repression of peaceful protests following unequivocal condemnation of its actions by the United Nations Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch said today. The council's resolution, adopted by a large majority on April 29, 2011, also calls for an urgent investigation by the UN high commissioner for human rights into killings and other human rights violations in Syria.

As unrest and violence continue to spread across the Middle East and North Africa, ICRC deputy director of operations Dominik Stillhart outlines the challenges that local health workers and hospitals are facing in the region and the support that the ICRC is giving them.

What are the greatest medical challenges and priorities in the wake of the latest outbreak of unrest?

To date, WHO has been informed of 364 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - influenza A(H1N1) - from 15 countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: Bahrain (15 cases), Egypt (67 cases), Iraq (11 cases), Islamic Republic of Iran (1case), Jordan (22 cases) Kuwait (34 cases), Lebanon (47 cases), Morocco (17 cases), Oman(3 cases) Palestine (30 cases) Qatar (10 cases), Saudi Arabia (89 cases) Tunisia (3 cases), United Arab Emirates (8 cases) and Yemen (7cases).

To date, WHO has been informed of 151 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with new influenza A(H1N1) virus, with no deaths, from 12 countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: Bahrain (15 cases), Egypt (34 cases), Jordan (12 cases) Kuwait (18 cases), Lebanon (12 cases), Morocco (6 cases),Oman (3) Palestine (8 cases),Qatar (3 cases) Saudi Arabia (34 cases) and United Arab Emirates (2 cases).Yemen (4 cases)

What can I do to protect myself from catching influenza A(H1N1)?

To date, WHO has been informed of 94 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with new influenza A(H1N1) virus from eleven countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region: Bahrain (13 cases), Egypt (26 cases), Jordan (2 cases), Kuwait (18 cases), Lebanon (11 cases), Morocco (3 cases), Palestine (2 cases), Qatar ( 3 cases),Saudi Arabia (14 cases), United Arab Emirates (1 case) and Yemen (1 case) .

Is there a concern that the new influenza A(H1N1) virus may mutate and reassort with avian Influenza virus H5N1 which