Horn of Africa has entered 6th consecutive wet season with no rain: UNHCR

Horn of Africa has entered 6th consecutive wet season with no rain: UNHCR

Subject : International relations

Section :Place in news

Context: The Horn of Africa has now entered its sixth consecutive rainy season with no rain, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement  Feb 28, 2023.

The last five rainy seasons have been deficit and the rains from March-May were likely to be average, according to the joint statement released by multilateral agencies and another report by REACH, a humanitarian initiative.

Details:

• Three countries in the Horn of Africa — Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia— have been experiencing an ongoing drought since late 2020. A humanitarian crisis has been brewing since then and is now even more worrying for Somalia. The number of displacements in the country has peaked to a new high of 3.8 million people.
• Since January 2023, at least 288,000 people have become internally displaced in the country due to conflict and drought according to UNHCR estimates (as of February 28, 2023). This is very close to total 305,000 new displacements during the entire year of 2016, according to the UNHCR data portal.
• Failure of rains and conflict in Somalia could further force people to migrate to major cities and towns, especially Baidoa and Mogadishu. Close to 300,000 people could be newly displaced by July 2023, according to the projected the International Organization for Migrants (IOM).
• Somalia migrants seek refuge in drought-affected areas of Kenya and Ethiopia too, stated UNHCR

The UNHRC

• The UNHRC describes itself as an inter-governmental body within the UN system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe.
• It addresses situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.
• The UNHRC has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year.
• The UNHRC replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR).

HRC Meetings

• The Human Rights Council holds no fewer than three regular sessions a year, for a total of at least 10 weeks.
• The sessions are held at the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland.
• If one-third of the Member States so request, the HRC can decide at any time to hold a special session to address human rights violations and emergencies.

Membership

• The Council is made up of 47 UN Member States, which are elected by the UNGA through a direct and secret ballot.
• The General Assembly takes into account the contribution of the candidate states to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard.
• Members of the Council serve for a period of three years, and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

Seats distribution

• African States: 13 seats, Asia-Pacific States: 13 seats, Latin American and Caribbean States: 8 seats, Western European and other States: 7 seats and Eastern European States: 6 seats.

Horn of Africa

• The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in Africa. It lies along the southern side of the Red Sea and extends hundreds of km into the Gulf of Aden, Somali Sea, and Guardafui Channel.
• The area is the easternmost projection of the African continent.
• Referred to in ancient and medieval times as the land of the Barbara and Ethiopians, the Horn of Africa denotes the region containing the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.