With the first round of presidential elections in Mali due on July 28, consultations are under way between the interim Malian government and refugee hosting countries on including refugee populations in the voting. These consultations are expected to be followed by bilateral agreements that will form the basis of the electoral process in each of the main refugee-hosting countries.

While details of the out-of-country electoral process are still being worked out, UNHCR is ready to facilitate the exercise by refugees of their right to vote.

I. Introduction

Despite the perceived threat to international peace and security presented by the crisis in Mali, the international community did not act to resolve it for nearly ten months, which allowed Islamists to militarily take control of the whole of northern Mali and impose sharia law.

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 13 November—03 December, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

In Focus 1

North Africa 2

Northeast Africa 4

Horn of Africa 6

Natural disasters, including drought, earthquakes, floods, and wildfires, as well as ongoing complex emergencies and limited government capacity in the region, present significant challenges to vulnerable populations in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia (EMCA). Between Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 and FY 2012, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided assistance in response to a range of disasters, including floods, wildfires, winter emergencies, and complex crises.

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 28 August — 10 September, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Sahel Crisis 1

North Africa 2

Northeast Africa 4

Horn of Africa 6

By Roland Berehoudougou Disaster Risk Manager, Plan International West Africa

When Plan International and other aid agencies sounded the alarm bells and appealed for public assistance to finance an emergency response to the Sahel Food Crisis, there were those sceptics who saw this crisis as an annual chronic food shortage which was being exploited by aid agencies to raise money.

Those sceptics were wrong.

This report is the third annual report produced by the North Africa regional office of the African Development Bank. This year, the focus of the report is on the underlying challenges the region faced before the Arab Spring, and further explores how the political transition taking will reshape North Africa, in particular its economic future.

This document provides an overview of developments in the Mediterranean Basin and other regions of interest from 24 April —30 April, with hyperlinks to source material highlighted and underlined in the text. For more information on the topics below or other issues pertaining to the region, please contact the members of the Med Basin Team, or visit our website at www.cimicweb.org.