MBN:The Monte Bubbles Network, soon to be your source for news on the net

 

 

UN FOOD AGENCY DIRECTOR-GENERAL CALLS FOR ‘GREEN REVOLUTION’ TO FEED WORLD

 New York, Sep 13 2006 11:00AM The Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) has called for a second ‘Green Revolution’ to feed the world’s growing population while preserving natural resources and the environment. “In the next few decades, a major international effort is needed to feed the world when the population soars from six to nine billion,” Jacques Diouf <"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000392/index.html”>told a meeting of the World Affairs Council of Northern California in San Francisco. “We might call it a second Green Revolution.” The original Green Revolution of the 1950s and 60s doubled world food production by bringing the power of science to agriculture, but “relied on the lavish use of inputs such as water, fertilizer and pesticides,” Mr. Diouf said. “The task ahead may well prove harder,” he cautioned. “We not only need to grow an extra 1 billion tonnes of cereals a year by 2050 – within the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren – but do so from a diminishing resource base of land and water in many of the world’s regions, and in an environment increasingly threatened by global warming and climate change.” He noted that 100 million people faced forced migration as a consequence of advancing desertification and soil degradation while water reserves had started to run low in key grain production areas such as India and China. “The new Green Revolution will be less about introducing new, high-performance varieties of wheat or rice, important as they are, and much more about making wiser and more efficient use of the natural resources available to us,” Mr. Diouf said. The San Francisco-based World Affairs Council of Northern California, which has 10,000 members, is considered a leading United States forum for discussion and debate of international affairs. 2006-09-13 00:00:00.000

 

UN STATISTICS SHOW MIGRATION AS A DYNAMIC FORCE IN GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

New York, Sep 13 2006 11:00AM As preparations for the upcoming first-ever session of the General Assembly on migration and development take shape, national, regional and global statistics made available by the United Nations draw a complex picture of the movement of people between countries in the twenty-first century. Conceived and scheduled more than two years ago by the General Assembly, the 14–15 September High-level Dialogue follows a period of intense public attention to the cross-border movement of people, and a quickening pace of multilateral talks on international migration. Three per cent of the world’s population – or 191 million people – lived in a country other than the one in which they were born in 2005, with one third having moved from a developing country to one that is developed, one third moving from one developing nation to another, and another third originating in the developed world, according to an analysis of migration and development prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (<"http://www.un.org/esa/">ESA). A greater share of workers moving to developed countries are college educated, and without migration the size of the labour force in the developed world will begin shrinking drastically beginning in 2010, the analysis said. A UN compilation of migration statistics from 228 countries and areas indicates that the United States leads the world as a host country, with 38 million migrants in 2005 constituting almost 13 per cent of its population. But the share of the population who are migrants is larger still in Australia (19.6 per cent in 2005) and Canada (18.9 per cent). In regional terms, however, Europe’s migrant population of 64 million in 2005 is almost 50 per cent greater than the 45 million in Northern America. Western Asia, with its oil producing nations, also hosts a considerable share of the world’s migrants, totaling 22 million in 2005. Nearly half of the world’s migrants now are women, the UN reports, and they outnumber male migrants in the developed countries. Remittances, even when used for consumption, stimulate demand and support local enterprises. As a result, the UN estimates that overall, remittances could have an impact equivalent to about half a trillion US dollars. Despite tensions in many receiving countries, more than 50 per cent of governments surveyed by the UN in 2005 expressed an intention to maintain incoming migrant flows at roughly the same level. Just about 20 per cent had as objective the reduction of incoming flows, but that share was down from 40 per cent in 1996. Six per cent of governments favoured higher levels of immigration in 2005. This week’s High-level Dialogue will focus on ways to maximize the development benefits of international migration and reduce difficulties. 2006-09-13 00:00:00.000

 

WORLD SHOULD EMBRACE NEW TARGET FOR PROTECTING BIODIVERSITY – UN OFFICIAL

New York, Sep 13 2006 10:00AM Arguing that environmental degradation could undermine progress in reaching global anti-poverty goals, a senior United Nations official today urged action in support of an international target for cutting biodiversity loss. Alexander Müller, Assistant Director-General of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/”>FAO), made his remarks ahead of the first meeting of the Heads of Agencies Task Force on the 2010 Biodiversity Target. In a <"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000393/index.html">statement, he said the recent proposal by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to establish a new target under the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs) to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity by 2010 “is very much welcomed.” The meeting, to be held in Gland, Switzerland, on 15 September, will bring together representatives of UN agencies, international environmental agreements and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who are expected to adopt a joint statement promoting action to reduce biodiversity loss. The 2010 Biodiversity Target calls upon countries “to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth.” Endorsed by 110 leaders at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002, and then again by the Millennium +5 Summit in New York in 2005, the target is a follow-up to the <https://www.biodiv.org/default.shtml">Convention on Biological Diversity, FAO said. 2006-09-13 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN IMMUNIZATION DRIVE IN AFGHANISTAN AIMS TO REDUCE CHILD AND MATERNAL DEATHS

New York, Sep 13 2006 10:00AM A newly launched United Nations Children’s Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org">UNICEF) immunization campaign in Afghanistan aims to reduce child measles mortality by 90 per cent and to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus. Overall, Afghanistan’s infant mortality rate is alarmingly high at over 25 per cent, according to the agency. Measles is a major cause of child death, and tetanus – which often results from unsanitary conditions at delivery – is a leading killer of mothers and their newborn babies. In the complex immunization effort now under way, more than 4 million children under five will be vaccinated against measles and an estimated 4.2 million women of child bearing age are to receive tetanus vaccine, UNICEF said in a press release. Mothers who have been vaccinated will pass on tetanus immunity to their children for the first nine months of life. Remote provinces such as Bamyan are being targeted by the campaign. Located in mountainous central Afghanistan, Bamyan poses a security and access challenge for vaccinators. “Some children live in remote mountain villages that are hard to reach because the country lacks a transportation infrastructure,” said UNICEF health advisor Agostino Paganini. “There are also gender issues. Even now, many women are wary of moving around freely, so we need to be very culturally sensitive.” The people of Bamyan have limited access to health care, and the province’s child and maternal mortality rates are among the world’s highest. UNICEF and its partners are supplying vaccines and training for health care workers to travel to remote regions such as Bamyan in the current campaign. Temporary immunization posts are set up in village centres, where children get their measles vaccinations. Teams then go from house to house to immunize women against tetanus. The immunization drive is expected to cover all of Afghanistan in phases, starting with hard-to-reach areas in nine provinces. Vaccination teams plan to visit these provinces before November – when snow will likely block the roads – before proceeding to the second phase, which encompasses another 25 provinces. Diseases such as measles and tetanus can be easily prevented, and UNICEF said Afghanistan’s dual campaign to fight these diseases will ensure healthier lives for children and their mothers. 2006-09-13 00:00:00.000

 

FIGHTING POVERTY, UN REFORM TO TOP GENERAL ASSEMBLY AGENDA, SAYS NEW PRESIDENT

 New York, Sep 12 2006 7:00PM As the General Assembly opened its 61st session today, the body’s new president promised to focus on alleviating extreme poverty and advancing the process of UN reform undertaken during the previous session. “The General Assembly has to continue to evolve and strive to deliver sustainable solutions to the major challenges of our time,” Sheikha Haya Rashid Al Khalifa told delegates this morning. “Reform is a process rather than an event.” She noted that several recommendations of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document have yet to be fully realized, such as disarmament and non-proliferation, Security Council reform, mandate review and system-wide coherence. The UN also had a crucial role in promoting peace and security, she said. “Today, man-made conflicts are destroying lives and displacing people on a scale that sometimes exceeds the destructive effects of nature – floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.” A pressing issue was combating international terrorism, which required the adoption of both preventive and defensive measures, she said. Later briefing reporters, she expressed the hope that after last week’s adoption of a resolution on a global counter-terrorism strategy, the current Assembly session would reach agreement on a comprehensive definition of terrorism. She also said that it was important to consolidate the reforms that had been achieved in the past year, notably by ensuring that the new Peacebuilding Commission and Human Rights Council have a real impact on large numbers of people. Improving the situation of women is also one of her top goals. The fact that half the world’s population typically have less access to health care, employment, decision-making and property ownership needed to be addressed, she told Assembly delegates. Sheikha Haya is the first female General Assembly President since 1969 and the first Muslim woman to hold the post. “It does not matter that I am a Muslim or a Christian or Jewish,” she told reporters. “We are human beings and we have the same worries and we have the same problems. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

30 COUNTRIES EXPECTED TO CARRY OUT TREATY ACTIONS AT ANNUAL UN EVENT

New York, Sep 12 2006 7:00PM Thirty countries are expected to sign and ratify international treaties at an upcoming annual United Nations event designed to spur participation in these pacts, the UN Legal Counsel said today. Briefing correspondents in New York, Nicolas Michel said the occasion sought to promote increased participation of countries in the more than 500 multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General, and by so doing, to strengthen the rule of law. “Treaties are, in fact, the key framework on which most international relations are conducted,” Mr. Michel said. “Much of what we take for granted in our day-to-day activities is underpinned by a complex web of treaty-based rules.” This year’s signings – held this week and next – would coincide with the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, he said, focusing on 30 treaties regulating a broad range of cross-border issues. In addition to treaties relating to migration, refugees and stateless persons, the event will showcase treaties on human trafficking, organized crime, corruption, climate change, sustainable development, indiscriminate or excessively injurious weapons, torture and food security. Three new treaties will also be featured, Mr. Michel said: the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Safety of UN and Associated Personnel, the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts and the International Tropical Timber Agreement. A fourth treaty, the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railways Network, will open for signature in November. Beginning in 2000, the UN has held the treaty event at the beginning of the new General Assembly session, with treaties often signed or ratified by the Head of State or the Foreign Minister. At last year’s event, 99 countries and the European Community undertook a total of 265 treaty actions. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

CONCLUDING AFRICA TOUR, UN RELIEF AID OFFICIAL VOICES HOPE FOR LASTING PEACE

 New York, Sep 12 2006 6:00PM Wrapping up an eight-day mission to southern Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda and the Great Lakes region of Africa, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today expressed cautious optimism about prospects for peace in the region. “I’m more optimistic than I’ve been on any of my visits before to this region that some of the worst wars of our generation are coming to an end,” said Mr. Egeland at a press conference in Nairobi. He arrived there from Juba, in southern Sudan, after stops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Mr. Egeland said that the DRC and northern Uganda could see a dramatic return to normalcy in the coming months, with hundreds of thousands going back to their homes. He said that improving conditions in the region, where conflict has claimed millions of lives, is “the greatest challenge of our time.” Mr. Egeland added that, after meeting with the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, he was hopeful that the LRA would soon begin releasing some of the thousands of women and children it has abducted. He expressed concern that the UN system, though more than willing to help with recovery and the return of displaced persons, would not have enough money to get the job done. He also voiced hope that African political, military and cultural elites would avoid the catastrophic mistakes they made in the past and that there would not be impunity for crimes against civilians, especially widespread rapes. “Sexual abuse of women has become a cancer really in the whole culture, in the whole civilization of the Great Lakes Region,” he said noting that tens of thousands of women had been abused. “It is destroying the whole moral and social fabric of society.” Help was needed to build a justice system, he said, while pointing out that “it takes five minutes to demote a colonel who is responsible for soldiers who have abused civilians; it takes five minutes to demote or fire a public employee who tolerated corruption or tolerated abuse.” Asked whether he would be able to convince displaced persons that indictments against members of the LRA will not stop the peace process, Mr. Egeland said that merely forgiving and forgetting could lead to violence starting all over again. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has indicted the five most senior LRA leaders. “These are war crimes, crimes against humanity,” said Mr. Egeland. “Justice has to be served in a manner which is commensurate.” 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

AIR AND SEA TRAFFIC TO LEBANON IS RETURNING TO NORMAL, UN REPORTS

 New York, Sep 12 2006 6:00PM With last week’s lifting of the Israeli air and sea blockade of Lebanon, the United Nations said today that air and sea traffic had begun returning to levels seen before the month-long conflict, while the UN food agency announced it would conduct a survey this month to assess reconstruction needs. “The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/webpage.asp?Page=873&Lang=en">OCHA) reports that, since the lifting of the Israeli blockade, air traffic is quickly resuming to pre-conflict levels [and] the lifting of the sea blockade has allowed commercial vessels to return as well,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. He said that eight ships have now docked in Beirut’s port, carrying wheat, cars and raw products for manufacturing, although import and export activity is not expected to return to normal in the country for another three or four months. “Meanwhile, the Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) says it will conduct a damage and needs assessment mission in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors this month,” Mr. Dujarric added, referring to a Rome-based UN agency. Earlier this month international donors pledged $940 million to help Lebanon reconstruct following damage caused by the 34 days of fighting between Hizbollah and Israel. UN and other agencies continue to assist with humanitarian supplies to those in need, particularly in devastated southern parts of the country. It is estimated that the country suffered around $3.6 billion in physical damage alone during the fighting. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

ANNAN CALLS FOR ‘MORE FLEXIBILITY’ FROM BOTH SIDES IN TALKS OVER KOSOVO

New York, Sep 12 2006 5:00PM Expressing disappointment over the lack of common ground during the past few months of talks over the future of the United Nations-run province of Kosovo, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called for “more flexibility” from both the Serbian and Kosovo delegations, saying they need to show a spirit of compromise. In his latest <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2006/707">report to the Security Council, released today and covering the period from 1 May to 14 August, Mr. Annan said the discussions – including the first high-level meeting between both sides in July along with other talks covering boundaries and cultural sites – revealed that “the parties remain far apart on most issues.” “I am disappointed… that little common ground has been identified between the positions of the Serbian and Kosovo delegations, which remain committed to ‘substantial autonomy’ and ‘full independence’ respectively, with minimal space for negotiation.” “Both sides would be better served by more flexibility in their positions. I again call on both sides to engage in these talks in a spirit of compromise. It is the responsibility of the parties to find common ground and a sustainable solution, acceptable to both sides, although the support of the international community remains essential to ensure progress.” Mr. Annan also highlighted the continued boycott by Kosovo Serbs of the province’s local Government ‘Provisional Institutions,’ and repeated calls on Belgrade to “remove all impediments” to their participation, while also urging Kosovo’s leaders to redouble their outreach to all communities. “Now is the time to reassure all communities that they have a place in Kosovo in the future regardless of its status.” Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by 9 to 1 in the province, which the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has administered since 1999 when NATO drove out Yugoslav troops amid ethnic fighting. Mr. Annan says that despite the “generally stable political situation,” he is nevertheless concerned with violence targeting people or religious sites, and strongly condemns them, “particularly those that are inter-ethnic,” calling for all those responsible to be quickly brought to justice. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

 

DR CONGO’S 2 LEADING PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO MEET FACE TO FACE – UN MISSION

 New York, Sep 12 2006 5:00PM Three weeks after supporters of the two leading presidential candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) clashed in the streets of Kinshasa, the two politicians have finally agreed to meet face to face, the UN mission in the country reported today. According to the mission, known by its French acronym <"http://www.monuc.org/Home.aspx?lang=en">MONUC, President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba will come together tomorrow afternoon at a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council. That word comes from the European Union’s High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana, who met with the two men earlier today. At a press conference in Kinshasa, Mr. Solana said he spent more than an hour with Mr. Kabila discussing how to complete the transition process and “write a new page in the country’s history following the elections.” July’s historic polls were the country’s first free and fair elections in 45 years. Mr. Solana said he also asked Mr. Bemba to renew his commitment to the process, reminding him that he is not just a presidential candidate but also the country’s current vice president. Mr. Solana says Mr. Bemba’s response gave him “a great deal of hope.” Intense diplomatic activities are underway to reconcile the candidates’ positions, with several other visiting foreign dignitaries holding separate talks with the two candidates, including South African President Thabo Mbeki and Italy’s foreign minister. Mr. Bemba and Mr. Kabila will face each other in runoff elections on 29 October. Meanwhile, as a further confidence-building gesture, mediators say the Congolese Government restored the broadcasting signals of two television stations owned by Mr. Bemba this morning. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

SECURITY COUNCIL APPROVES EXTENSION OF SECURITY FORCE’S MANDATE IN AFGHANISTAN New

York, Sep 12 2006 3:00PM The Security Council today <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sc8826.doc.htm">extended for another year the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, which has been beset by an increasing number of terrorist attacks in recent months. In a unanimously adopted resolution, Council members also called on UN Member States to contribute greater personnel, equipment and funding so that the force can be more effective. The resolution voiced concern at Afghanistan’s security situation following a surge in violent attacks and terrorist activities by the Taliban, Al-Qaida and armed groups linked to the country’s booming illegal drug trade. It also stressed the importance of making simultaneous progress on the fronts of security, governance, development and counter-narcotics, given their inter-connected nature, so as to mutually reinforce each element. After United States-led forces ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001, ISAF was established to help Afghanistan’s then interim authorities maintain security across the impoverished nation following years of civil conflict and misrule. Its new mandate runs through 13 October 2007. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

FORMER RWANDAN MILITARY COMMANDER FOUND GUILTY OF GENOCIDE BY UN TRIBUNAL

 New York, Sep 12 2006 2:00PM The United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda today sentenced a former military commander to 25 years’ jail after finding him guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity for his role in a series of massacres in 1994 that included the killing of orphans who had sought shelter at a school. Tharcisse Muvunyi, 53, was <"http://69.94.11.53/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2006/493.htm">convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (<"http://69.94.11.53/default.htm">ICTR) after the three-member panel of judges found the former lieutenant-colonel had done nothing to prevent massacres carried out by soldiers under his command, nor punish them afterwards. Judges Asoka de Silva of Sri Lanka (presiding), Flavia Lattanzi of Italy and Florence Rita Arrey of Cameroon also found Mr. Muvunyi not guilty of a charge of crimes against humanity (rape) and dismissed the alternative charge of complicity in genocide. In sentencing Mr. Muvunyi, the judges said they considered several aggravating factors, including the separation and subsequent massacre of orphan children at the school by soldiers under his command. They further noted that he chastised a local mayor for hiding a Tutsi man who was later produced and killed by an armed Hutu mob at his instructions. Mr. Muvunyi also attended a public meeting of mostly Hutus in which he called for the killing of Tutsis, referred to them as snakes, and urged the destruction of Tutsi property. In mitigation, the judges noted that Mr. Muvunyi was considered to have had a good character until 1994, had spent much of his life working for his country, and was a husband and father of three children. The ICTR was established by the Security Council to try individuals responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Rwanda in 1994, when more than 800,000 people were massacred, mostly by machete, for being ethnic Tutsis or Hutu moderates. In a separate ruling today, the Tribunal acquitted a former mayor in eastern Rwanda of three charges of complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity after finding significant credibility issues in witness testimony. Jean Mpambara, the ex-mayor of Rukara commune in Kibungo prefecture, was not alleged to have killed anyone himself, but to have instigated and supported attacks by other people that led to the deaths of 2,500 people. Judges Jai Ram Reddy of Fiji (presiding), Sergei Alekseevich Egorov of Russia and Ms. Lattanzi ruled that the testimony of all but one witness was either uncorroborated or lacked credibility. The judges also heard from several defence witnesses, including some Tutsis, that Mr. Mpambara had publicly opposed the violence and did all he could with limited resources to deter the attacks. Evidence was also brought that Mr. Mpambara issued identity cards marked Hutu to fleeing Tutsis so they could pass through roadblocks safely. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

UN LIBERIA MISSION OPENS TWO RENOVATED COURTHOUSES

 New York, Sep 12 2006 2:00PM As part of its ongoing efforts to improve Liberia’s infrastructure as the once conflict-torn country embarks on the process of reconstruction, the United Nations peacekeeping mission there has officially opened two renovated courthouses. The buildings in Kakata, Margibi County, and Gbarnga, Bong County, were renovated through the UN Mission in Liberia’s (<"http://www.unmil.org/article.asp?id=1623">UNMIL) Quick Impact Projects. During Friday’s ceremony marking the opening of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Kakata, the Officer-in-Charge of UNMIL said improving the judicial infrastructure is an essential part of strengthening the justice system and re-establishing the rule of law in Liberia. “It is incumbent upon all members of the judiciary, the prosecution and the public and private defence bar to play their part by performing their duties and functions in a manner characterized by dignity, fairness, transparency and integrity,” said Luiz Carlos da Costa. Later speaking at the Gbarnga Judicial Circuit Court, Mr. da Costa said the equal treatment of all persons, whether rich or poor, would engender greater public confidence in the system. “The principles of equality before the law and due process of law must be upheld,” he said. “There is no place in the justice system for corruption and discrimination.” He also urged the review of several laws, including the bail law, to make them more effective. “The issue of bail for very serious offences is of grave concern and is a clear and present danger to an effective judicial system,” said Mr. da Costa. The development challenges facing Liberia were one of the “Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About” released by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) earlier this year. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

UN REFUGEE AGENCY TO HELP SOUTH SUDANESE RETURN FROM DR CONGO

 New York, Sep 12 2006 2:00PM The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today announced that it will soon operate a convoy to help some 400 South Sudanese refugees begin their journey home from the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The cross-border, voluntary returns come in the wake of January’s tripartite agreement between UNHCR, Sudan and the DRC allowing the repatriation of refugees in both countries, some of whom have lived abroad for decades. Agency spokesman Ron Redmond told a <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=450684c34">press briefing in Geneva today that many Sudanese refugees eager to return home have already made the trip on their own. Earlier this year, <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNHCR organized “go-and-see visits” for community leaders to see their villages, assess living conditions and meet with their home communities and the local authorities. Tomorrow’s convoy will depart from the Aba area of the DRC’s Oriental Province, where most South Sudanese refugees in the DRC are housed, Mr. Redmond said. UNHCR staff in South Sudan will provide returning refugees with basic assistance, including construction materials, household items and a three-month food ration supplied by the UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=31">WFP). Regular returns from Aba are expected to continue at a rate of one convoy a week during the coming months. Overall, 350,000 Sudanese fled to neighbouring countries and four million more were internally uprooted during the 21-year civil war in southern Sudan that ended in January 2005 with the signing of a peace agreement between the Government and rebels, according to UNHCR. Since the end of last year, the agency has also been organizing voluntary repatriations from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and the Central African Republic. A separate, still unresolved conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region has uprooted more than two million people, including more than 200,000 who have fled to eastern Chad. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

SLOVAKIA: UN AGENCY ASSISTS ASYLUM-SEEKERS FORCED TO FLEE BURNING REFUGEE CENTRE

New York, Sep 12 2006 1:00PM The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is providing assistance to some 40 asylum seekers in Slovakia who were forced to flee a fire at a refugee reception centre. Flames reportedly broke out yesterday morning in Brezova pod Bradlom, which is 100 kilometres north of the capital, Bratislava. Refugee children playing with a lighter apparently started the blaze, a <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=4506d7634">UNHCR spokesman told a <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=450684c316">press briefing in Geneva today. Everyone was evacuated from the centre safely, but the wooden structure burned to the ground, Ron Redmond said. “Some of those housed in the centre managed to take a few personal belongings, but most had to leave with only the clothes on their backs. The asylum seekers were taken to Gabcikovo, another accommodation centre east of Bratislava,” Mr. Redmond said. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

UN FORCE COMMANDER BRIEFS LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER AS ISRAELI TROOPS WITHDRAW FURTHER

 New York, Sep 12 2006 12:00PM The United Nations military commander in Lebanon today briefed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora on the latest troop movements in the south of the country, while Israeli forces continued their withdrawal as stipulated by the Security Council resolution that ended the month of conflict in the region on 14 August. “I also informed the Prime Minister on the deployment of additional <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/unifilpress.htm">UNIFIL (the UN Interim Force in Lebanon) troops, on the expected arrivals of the French and Spanish contingents in the next few days, thus ensuring that UNIFIL will reach 5,000 officers and soldiers very soon,” said Force Commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini. Maj-Gen. Pellegrini expressed his hope that the withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) would be “completed soon” so that Lebanese forces could then deploy throughout the south, UNIFIL said in a press release. The IDF are currently withdrawing from the general areas of Al Qusayr, Al Qantarah, At Tayyabah, Markaba and the areas west of Hula in the central sector of the south, while UNIFIL’s Indian battalion has set up a number of checkpoints and is carrying out intensive patrolling. Once it has confirmed that all Israeli forces have left these areas, the Indian battalion will then coordinate the deployment of Lebanese forces in the area tomorrow, UNIFIL said. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY REVIEW OF MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT OPENS THIS WEEK

 Sep 12 2006 10:00AM In a bid to identify ways to maximize the development benefits of migration and to reduce difficulties, representatives of over 120 governments, including some 90 ministers, will convene in New York this week for the first-ever plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly on migration issues. “We are only beginning to learn how to make migration work more consistently for development,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report prepared in anticipation of the meeting. “Each of us holds a piece of the migration puzzle, but none has the whole picture. It is time to start putting it together.” In addition to the plenary debate, the meeting will bring ministers and delegates together in informal round table discussions on themes such as monies sent home by workers abroad, or “remittances;” the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons; and partnerships between and among countries. Conceived and scheduled more than two years ago by the General Assembly, the 14-15 September High-level Dialogue follows a period of intense public attention to the cross-border movement of people, and a quickening pace of multilateral talks on migration. The report of the Secretary-General on international migration and development estimates that 191 million people live in countries other than where they were born. It notes that migration does not follow only a South-to-North track. One third of the world’s migrant stock are workers and families from developing countries living in developed nations; one third have moved from one developing country to another, and another third have migrated from a developed country. By the most recent estimate, $173 billion in remittances from migrants was sent to homes in developing countries in 2005. In the developed world, immigrants often fill certain work force shortages or take jobs that are unwanted locally, reduce the extent of population ageing and help to maintain the solvency of social pension systems, and stimulate demand and economic growth, the UN report finds. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

 

AT UN MEETING, STATES ACCEPT MEASURES FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SHRIMP FARMING

Some 50 countries attending a United Nations meeting on aquaculture have <"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000391/index.html">welcomed a series of non-binding international principles for responsible shrimp farming which offer guidance on how to reduce its environmental damage while boosting its ability to alleviate poverty. Shrimp farming is often criticized for its environmental impacts, said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"" target=_blankhttp://www.fao.org/”>FAO)), which organized the event, but millions of small-scale producers in the world’s poorest countries, who produce 99 per cent of the world’s farmed shrimp, depend on it for their livelihoods. Consumer demand in northern markets is at record highs, and shrimp exports from the developing world run to the tune of $8.7 billion a year, the agency said. An FAO meeting in New Delhi last week produced general consensus that the principles should be relied upon as a global point of reference for aquaculture policy and development. The principles touch on a number of environment-related issues, including the location of farms and their design, the use of resources like water and feed, as well as the social impacts of aquaculture on local communities. Drawn up in a five-year consultative process involving several partner organizations, including the Network for Aquaculture Centres for the Asia Pacific, WWF, the World Bank and the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), the new principles represent the first-ever attempt to provide an overarching international framework for improving the sustainability of the shrimp farming industry. “We hope that these new principles will help pave the way for a more common vision of how we should define responsible shrimp farming, globally,” said Rohana Subasinghe, a senior aquaculture expert at FAO and Secretary of the Sub-Committee. “They can also serve as a point of reference for governments, non-governmental organizations and private industry who are developing systems to certify farm-raised shrimp as eco-friendly or sustainable, or who are looking to harmonize systems that are already in place,” he added. Mr. Subasinghe said the challenge for the next decade is to develop specific recommendations for better management practices that will allow producer countries to apply the new principles in the field. “FAO will be giving a lot of attention to this in the coming years, with an eye to seeing management practices put into place around the world that are grounded in these principles and therefore all on the same page,” he said. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

NATO FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN SHOULD DO MORE TO CURB DRUG TRADE, UN OFFICIAL SAYS

The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html">UNODC) today <"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press_release_2006_09_12.html">called for a robust military action by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces to destroy the opium industry in southern Afghanistan. Presenting details of the <"http://www.unodc.org/pdf/execsummaryafg.pdf">2006 UNODC Annual Opium Survey at a news conference in Brussels, Antonio Maria Costa noted that the dramatic surge in opium cultivation and production had occurred mainly in the increasingly lawless southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. “In the turbulent southern region, counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics efforts must reinforce each other so as to stop the vicious circle of drugs funding terrorists and terrorists protecting drug traffickers,” the UNODC Executive Director said. “I call on NATO forces to destroy the heroin labs, disband the open opium bazaars, attack the opium convoys and bring to justice the big traders,” he said, adding that coalition countries should give NATO the mandate and resources required to accomplish this. Opium cultivation throughout Afghanistan surged 59 per cent to 165,000 hectares in 2006. The opium harvest was an unprecedented 6,100 tonnes, an increase of 49 per cent from 2005, making Afghanistan virtually sole supplier to the world. Only six of the country’s 34 provinces are opium-free. Cultivation fell in eight provinces, mainly in the more stable north. Around the country, the number of people involved in opium cultivation increased by almost a third to 2.9 million, representing 12.6 per cent of the total population. “Revenue from the harvest will be over $3 billion this year, making a handful of criminals and corrupt officials extremely rich,” Mr. Costa said. “This money is also dragging the rest of Afghanistan into a bottomless pit of destruction and despair.” The UNODC Executive Director warned drug-consuming nations that the Afghan opium boom was likely to fuel a surge in the number of lethal drug overdoses when the new heroin starts reaching users in 2007. “I fear that in 2007, once the new crop has reached the retail markets, Afghan opium will kill more than the 100,000 people it has killed in the recent past.” Among the measures he called for to redress the situation was increased aid to Afghanistan. The more vigorously district and provincial leaders commit themselves to eliminate opium and curb corruption, the more aid they should receive, he said. “If we lose their support, insurgents will have an unlimited supply of foot-soldiers and no resources will be available to fight them,” he warned. “There is no magic formula to save Afghanistan. Instead, we need to insist on full implementation of the Afghan national drug control strategy, which is based on development, security, law enforcement and good governance.” 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

 

UNIVERSAL RELIGIOUS VALUES ANIMATE UN’S WORK, ANNAN SAYS

Observing that universal religious values animate the work of the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sgsm10630.doc.htm">said that men and women of faith are crucial to the world body. “As teachers and guides, you can be agents of change and inspire people to new levels of public service,” Mr. Annan said on Monday in remarks at the Holy Family Church in New York. “You can help bridge the chasms of ignorance, fear and misunderstanding that plague our world. You can set an example of interfaith dialogue, cooperation and respect,” he said. While spiritual and religious practices differ widely, “at heart we are dealing in universal values: to be merciful, to be tolerant, to love thy neighbour,” he pointed out. “No tradition can claim a monopoly on such teachings; they are ingrained in the human spirit and enshrined in international human rights law. They animate the United Nations Charter and lie at the root of our search for global harmony and peace.” Mr. Annan, whose second and final five-year term as Secretary-General ends this year, hailed the annual event. “As someone who believes in the power of prayer, I am grateful for all your prayers these past 10 years,” he said. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

 

SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS CONDEMN SPATE OF SUICIDE BOMBINGS IN AFGHANISTAN

Members of the Security Council have added their collective voices to a growing chorus of United Nations officials condemning rising terrorist violence in Afghanistan. “The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms recent suicide bombings in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan, including the one on 10 September that killed Abdul Hakim Tanaiwal, the Governor of Paktia province,” Security Council President Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sc8825.doc.htm">press statement issued on Monday. Council members reiterated their concern at the increasing threat to the local population, national security forces, international military and international assistance efforts. “The members of the Security Council stressed that no terrorist act can reverse the path toward peace and reconstruction in Afghanistan, which is supported by the people and Government of Afghanistan and the international community,” the Council President said. On Sunday, the senior United Nations envoy to Afghanistan condemned the recent attacks, particularly the assassination of the Governor of Paktia province. “The murder of Mr. Tanaiwal is entirely beyond my understanding,” said Tom Koenigs. “I condemn it.” Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday evening reacted to the increasing number of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan over recent months. “The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest possible terms these acts, which reflect an inexcusable disregard for the value of human life and only serve to undermine the country's transition,” his spokesman said in a statement. 2006-09-12 00:00:00.000

 

VOLUNTARY DISARMAMENT CONTINUES IN DR CONGO AS RUN-OFF ELECTION PREPARATIONS SPEED UP

 Another 34 militia members have surrendered themselves and their weapons over the past week in the strife-torn Ituri district in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations mission in the vast Central African country. The latest figures bring the total number of combatants to have surrendered in Ituri since the start of June to over 4,800, the mission, known by its French acronym <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC, said. About 2,400 weapons and more than 350,000 units of ammunition were also handed over during the same period. The resource-rich Ituri district has been scene some of the worst fighting and atrocities during the DRC’s recent war, with numerous armed groups operating there or in nearby areas. The latest disarmament figures come weeks after the DRC held its first free and fair elections in 45 years, when millions of Congolese cast ballots for a president and members of the 500-seat National Assembly. President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba will compete in a run-off election on 29 October after the two men attained the highest number of votes in the first round in July. Provincial parliamentary elections will also be held on the same date next month. Preparations for next month’s poll have gathered pace, MONUC reported, with ballot papers being printed in South Africa and the UN helping to disseminate electoral kits across the DRC. 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

 

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: UN SENDS TEAM TO HELP COORDINATE RESPONSE TO DEADLY TOXIC WASTE CRISIS

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today dispatched a three-member team to Côte d’Ivoire to help the West African country’s Government respond to the contamination crisis following last month’s dumping of toxic waste around the city of Abidjan. A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team will offer particular help in technical coordination and information management on health and security issues, <"http://ochaonline.un.org/webpage.asp?Page=2186">OCHA said. The UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/en/">WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) have also contributed medicines worth almost $50,000 to the Ivorian Ministry of Public Health. Three people are reported killed and some 3,000 others have sought medical help, complaining of intestinal and respiratory problems, as well as vomiting, nausea and nose bleeds, after inhaling fumes from hazardous substances dumped at a series of sites around Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s biggest city and commercial capital. Last week OCHA quoted sources saying the as yet unidentified substances were dumped from a vessel, <i>Probo Koala</i>, on 19 August, and possibly exported illegally from Europe. OCHA said today that preliminary observations indicate that most of the waste sites, which include Abidjan’s lagoon and its sewage system, are not adequately secured or marked with appropriate signage to warn residents about the dangers. The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, known by its acronym <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/index.html">UNOCI, has helped establish an inter-agency UN taskforce to coordinate the world body’s response and run a public awareness campaign. Following a formal request from the Ivorian Government, the UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/">UNEP) is conducting an investigation through the Secretariat of the <"http://www.basel.int/">Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which it administers. The Secretariat is probing whether the Basel Convention’s trust fund can be used to help pay for the clean-up operation, which could cost more than $13 million. It is also studying where legal responsibility for the crisis may lie. 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

 

 

IRAQ IS AT ‘CROSSROADS’ WARNS ANNAN, AS REPORTS SAY 100 CIVILIANS ARE KILLED EVERY DAY

society today stands at a critical juncture, says United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, warning that with Government figures showing an average of 100 civilians killed everyday and over 14,000 wounded each month, the State runs the risk of a breakdown into civil war. “The Iraqi people and their leaders have arrived at an important crossroads: if they are able to build firm foundations for the common interest of all Iraqis, the promise of peace and prosperity will be within reach,” Mr. Annan says in his latest <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2006/706">report to the Security Council, which was released today. “However, if current patterns of discord and violence prevail for much longer, there is a grave danger of a breakdown of the Iraqi State, and potentially of civil war, which would be detrimental not only to the Iraqi people, but also to countries in the region and the international community in general.” The report, covering the period from 2 June until 2 September, describes Iraq as “one of the most violent conflict areas in the world,” adding that according to the latest Government figures, the number of civilians killed has increased considerably and stands at an average of 100 people per day, while more than 14,000 were reportedly wounded per month. Faced with growing violence and insecurity, the Iraqi Government has focused its political efforts on promoting national reconciliation and dialogue, Mr. Annan says, and while he notes “significant achievements” in the political transition process, he points out “there can ultimately be no military solutions to the many challenges” the country faces. He acknowledges that the “burden of leadership is a heavy one,” and notes in particular the growing threat of militia activities, urging the Government to do “everything possible to progressively foster an environment conducive to the demobilization, disarming and reintegration” of these forces. Mr. Annan also highlights the role of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (<"http://www.uniraq.org/aboutus/aboutus.asp">UNAMI), noting that although the country’s insecurity had “severely constrained” its ability to operate effectively, the Mission was exploring how it can maximize its impact and prioritize its tasks. He also welcomed the Security Council’s decision last month to extend UNAMI’s mandate for another year, adding that the UN also wanted to engage in “strategic dialogue” on future plans for the country and that was why it would convene a high-level international meeting in New York next week with Iraqi representatives. “A vital element in the quest for addressing the security and human rights situation is the improvement of living conditions for all Iraqis,” Mr. Annan points out, highlighting that one important Government initiative to deal with this is the International Compact with Iraq. The Compact, which is co-chaired by the UN, is a new partnership with the global community that was launched in July and aims to pursue political, economic and social development over the next five years in the strife-torn country. Mr. Annan notes that “considerable preparatory work” has already been done to create an effective framework for the Compact in which the Government can develop its economic programme according to clearly defined priorities, benchmarks and commitments. And yesterday an international agreement was adopted to move the process further along. Representatives of 13 Governments, the League of Arab States, the World Bank and other regional and international organizations met in the United Arab Emirates to welcome the Iraqi Government’s commitment to “making urgent progress” on national reconciliation, political inclusion and other measures. The Abu Dhabi Declaration also pledged to work closely with the authorities in further developing the Compact with the UN and the World Bank, and “recognized the need to expeditiously complete the development” through a “broad consultative process at the national, regional and international levels.” The meeting also pledged to work towards adoption of the Compact by the end of this year. 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

 

 

OUTGOING UN ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT SAYS MOMENTUM NEEDED TO SUSTAIN REFORM PROGRESS

 6:00PM As the General Assembly moved to close its sixtieth session today, the body’s outgoing president, Jan Eliasson, hailed the unprecedented reforms achieved during his tenure while cautioning that greater effort is needed to sustain that momentum during the coming session. “The 60th General Assembly session’s score-card is a good one,” Mr. Eliasson told delegates this morning. Highlighting areas where progress was achieved, he cited the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council, as well as last week’s agreement on a UN counter-terrorism strategy. He added that there was now a once-in-a-generation opportunity to “make poverty history,” with greater awareness of the global problem, better aid than ever before, and many governments committed to improving the lives of their peoples. Mr. Eliasson noted, however, that many reforms were not achieved during the 60th session, including strengthening the Economic and Social Council and reforming the Security Council. “More than ever before, we also need to focus on the underlying lack of dialogue among civilizations, cultures and nations,” he said. “There are no fewer tensions in the world of September 2006 than there were in 2005.” Member States must also live up to the “responsibility to protect,” he added. The same horrors that befell Cambodia, Rwanda and Srebrenica while the world stood by should not be allowed to happen in Darfur or elsewhere, he said. He also called for more action to ensure the different parts of the United Nations work together, as well as to build on the potential of regional organizations, the private sector, civil society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to reach shared goals. “The UN can never be the panacea,” he later told reporters at a press briefing. “The problems are so huge now that the UN can’t deal with them alone.” Noting that the end of his tenure also fell on the fifth anniversary of September 11th terror attacks, Mr. Eliasson paid homage to the victims of that day, “as well as the thousands of others who have been victims of terrorism all over the world both before and since.” He thanked Secretary-General Kofi Annan – whose second and final five-year term ends this year – for his “unfailing commitment to the principles and ideals of the United Nations, for his initiation and support of the reform process – and for his friendship over many years.” And Mr. Eliasson extended the “warmest of welcomes” to his successor, Haya Rashid Al Khalifa, who tomorrow becomes the first female General Assembly President since 1969.

 

UN FOOD AGENCY STARTS FEEDING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FLOOD-HIT NEPALESE

New York, Sep 11 2006 10:00AM The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) this week began feeding survivors of recent flooding in southwestern Nepal, nearly 80,000 people affected by extensive flooding who are believed to be cut off from regular access to food and shelter. “Over the weekend the country was again pounded by heavy rainfall, but we've been able to get enough food out to feed nearly 50,000 people for seven days,” said Richard Ragan, WFP's Country Director for Nepal. Working with the Nepal Red Cross Society, WFP will provide rice, oil, lentils, and salt, worth some US$500,000, to feed people over the next month in four western districts of Nepal. “Our operations are underway and working with Nepal Red Cross we plan to make sure that food isn't a problem for the victims of this tragic crisis,” Mr. Ragan said. “While much of the world's attention is focused on the ongoing peace process in Nepal, it is important that we also respond to the very real and immediate needs of these victims of a terrible natural disaster.” WFP is also working closely with the Government of Nepal and the Red Cross to determine what kind of medium and longer term recovery needs might be necessary. The UN humanitarian agency anticipates that needs are likely to rise over the rest of this year as the districts of Banke and Bardiya are important rice producing areas for Nepal where flooding has washed away much of the upcoming crop. “If the government identifies the need for additional international support, we are prepared to help,” Mr. Ragan pledged. Since June of this year, the agency has also been working to feed 225,000 people in the remote parts of western Nepal affected by ongoing drought. But funds are low; only about 40 per cent of what is needed is available, and most of this came from temporary WFP sources. Tony Banbury, WFP’s Asia Director said it is “critical” that international donors step forward and provide resources necessary to make the agency’s continued assistance possible. 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

THE ATTACKS ON THE US FIVE YEARS AGO WERE AGAINST ‘HUMANITY ITSELF’: ANNAN

 New York, Sep 11 2006 12:00PM Marking five years since the September 11 attacks on the United States, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2196">said they were directed against “humanity itself,” as he urged all Member States to honour the victims of terrorism everywhere by implementing a new strategy that the world body adopted last week to fight the global scourge. “The attacks of 11 September 2001 cut us all to the core, for they were an attack on humanity itself. Today, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, and with all those who lost loved ones in the tragedy…And we remember all those who have fallen victim to other acts of terrorism around the world,” Mr. Annan said in a statement. “Last Friday’s adoption by the General Assembly of a United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy sends a clear message that terrorism is unacceptable…I urge all Member States to honour the victims of terrorism everywhere by taking swift action to implement all aspects of the strategy. In this way, they will demonstrate the international community’s unwavering determination to defeat terrorism.” The strategy, in the form of a resolution and a plan of action, includes practical steps at the local, national and international level – ranging from strengthening the capacity of individual States to prevent and combat terrorism to ensuring that human rights and the rule of law are always respected in the fight against terrorism. Speaking after the strategy was adopted by consensus at UN Headquarters in New York, General Assembly President Jan Eliasson said “we should consider this as a great achievement for the General Assembly, which has established itself in the area of fighting terrorism.” Acknowledging that the 12 months of negotiations had sometimes been “troublesome,” Mr. Eliasson said the definition of terrorism remained a source of contention for many nations. But he said it was a sign of the mutual commitment to defeating terrorism that States were able to overcome their differences and find enough areas of common ground to devise a strategy. The strategy makes clear that it is vital to consistently, unequivocally and strongly condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations, committed by whomever and for whatever purposes. Terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

 

UNESCO SENDS EXPERTS TO ASSESS WAR’S EFFECTS ON LEBANON’S CULTURAL HERITAGE

 New York, Sep 11 2006 10:00AM The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today announced the dispatch of a mission of experts to Lebanon to assess the possible damage caused to historical sites in the recent conflict there. Among other locations, experts will visit UNESCO’s World Heritage sites of Tyre, Baalbek and Byblos. Tyre and Baalbek, first built by the Phoenicians grew over the centuries and retain, to this day, some of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its zenith, the agency said in a news release, adding that experts will analyze the structural soundness of the monuments on these sites and their state of conservation. Byblos, north of Beirut, bears testimony to the earliest stages of the Phoenician civilization and early urban organization in the Mediterranean world, UNESCO said. It has been affected by the oil spill caused by a leak from a coastal power plant bombarded in July. The experts will assess the potential damage of the oil spill to the ancient Port. The experts are also expected to visit cultural heritage sites in the south of Lebanon that are not inscribed on the World Heritage List at the request of the Lebanese authorities. UNESCO first sent a mission to Lebanon in August for a preliminary identification of possible areas of cooperation with the national authorities. “While initial inspection has revealed no significant destruction of cultural heritage sites in Lebanon, we must ensure that ancient edifices have not been structurally weakened by the impact of explosions nearby,” UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura explained. He added that “Naturally, UNESCO also stands ready to help Israel take stock of the effect of the war on its heritage, including, for example, the Old City of Acre inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.” 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

 

UNESCO CHIEF CONDEMNS KILLING OF SUDANESE NEWSPAPER EDITOR

New York, Sep 11 2006 10:00AM The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today spoke out against the recent kidnapping and beheading of Sudanese newspaper editor Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed in Khartoum and urged that the perpetrators be brought to justice. “I condemn the brutal murder of Mohammed Taha Mohammed Ahmed,” UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said. “Freedom of expression is not only a fundamental human right but also a pre-requisite for effective democracy and rule of law.” Voicing shock at the brutality of the crime, he called on the Sudanese authorities “to do all they can to ensure that Mr. Mohammed Taha’s killers are brought to trial.” Mr Mohammed Taha, the 50-year-old editor-in-chief of the privately-owned daily Al-Wifaq, was kidnapped by masked gunmen outside his home on 5 September. Police found his decapitated body the following day. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that Mr. Mohammed Taha was detained for several days in May 2005 and that his paper was closed for three months after he published an article considered blasphemous. Six-months ago, also according to the CPJ, unidentified assailants set fire to the offices of Al-Wifaq, badly damaging the building. Mr. Matsuura has been campaigning against the murders of journalists across the world as part of the agency’s campaign to spotlight threats to press freedom. 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

 

 

FIGHTING IN DARFUR CUTS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SUDANESE OFF FROM AID – UN AGENCY

New York, Sep 11 2006 10:00AM Hundreds of thousands of people in the volatile Darfur region of Sudan have gone hungry for three consecutive months because fighting and banditry have prevented the United Naitons World Food Programme (WFP) from reaching them, the agency’s representative to the country said today. Quoting figures released today, Kenro Oshidari said that insecurity has cut off 355,000 people from food aid in August, all of them in North Darfur. Their situation is reaching a critical stage because the area has experienced a sharp increase in tensions since May when the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) was signed, he warned. “Most of these people have now gone three entire months without our help. Their situation is even more desperate because we’re in the middle of the ‘hunger season’ –the period right before the harvest – so they have very little chance of finding food elsewhere,” he said. In July, WFP was blocked from delivering food to 470,000 war-affected people: 355,000 in North Darfur and almost 120,000 in South Darfur. In August, WFP was able to reach the people in South Darfur, thanks to careful daily security monitoring and diligent work by field staff, but large parts of North Darfur remained cut off from food aid. “Without food aid, things will become more volatile. Hunger exacerbates the already precarious security situation. It will add fuel to the fire,” Mr. Oshidari cautioned. “Food aid is vital to stability.” In recent weeks, WFP and other aid groups have been warning that Darfur region is reaching a critical state. Nearly 3 million people there depend on international aid for food, shelter and medical treatment, but rising insecurity in many parts of the region has made it more difficult for aid workers to reach them. Twelve humanitarian workers have been killed in Darfur since May – more than the total number since the conflict began in early 2003. The obstacles are not only physical; they are also financial. The agency was forced to cut Darfur rations by 50 percent in May so that it would have enough food to last through the current rainy season. It was able raise the ration level back up to 85 per cent in June after some donor nations responded swiftly. At current funding levels, WFP said it will only be able to continue feeding people in Darfur at the reduced ration amount until the end of the year. “It takes up to six months, once we get a donation, for the food to reach the people in the field. If we don’t convince donors to commit now, we could be facing more dramatic ration cuts in the future,” Mr. Oshidari said. 2006-09-11 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR SPOTLIGHTS PEACE EFFORTS IN NORTHERN UGANDA

New York, Sep 10 2006 6:00PM The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today met with internally displaced people in northern Uganda, where peace efforts offer hope to end a rebel-fueled conflict notorious for abuses against children. "The ongoing peace process is the best and most serious opportunity we have had to end the conflict in northern Uganda," Jan Egeland said today. In northern Uganda on the second leg of his eight-day, three-nation mission to Africa, Mr. Egeland spent Saturday night in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in eastern Gulu district, where he participated in a traditional gathering with approximately 70 people, discussing issues of concern for the community, including the ongoing peace negotiations between the Government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The Emergency Relief Coordinator visited a new settlement site for returning IDPs currently under construction and met with a group of former women abductees who formed the local association, Empowering Hands, to assist other women going through the reintegration process, as well as with a group from the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative and elected and administrative leaders of the district. Meeting with the UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in Gulu, Mr. Egeland encouraged them to work to fill existing gaps in aid, stressing the importance of moving with the people as the returns process progressed. He said improved security conditions should enable the UN and NGOs to have greater access to the IDP camps. The central concern voiced in all his encounters in Gulu was the population's fear that the indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the five most senior LRA leaders could jeopardize the peace process. In response, Mr. Egeland acknowledged the important role to be played by traditional Acholi justice mechanisms, but stressed that there could be no impunity for those allegedly respo against humanity, war crimes, and even genocide. Bringing justice to northern Uganda should incorporate traditional justice mechanisms, he said, but must go beyond them as well. Upon arriving in Gulu yesterday, Mr. Egeland met with community elders, camp leaders and local elected officials, as well as with a group of former LRA combatants and a group of former LRA women abductees who provided firsthand accounts of the "The peace talks bring great hope for safe return and rebuilding of Acholi and Ugandan society," he stressed. Prior to his arrival in Gulu, Mr. Egeland concluded the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) leg of his mission by visiting a centre for demobilized girls, many of whom had suffered from sexual abuse, as well as Gety IDP camp in Ituri province, where he reviewed UN efforts to provide urgent assistance to newly displaced people. 2006-09-10 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN ENVOY IN AFGHANISTAN CONDEMNS MURDER OF GOVERNOR IN SOUTHEASTERN PROVINCE

New York, Sep 10 2006 6:00PM The senior United Nations envoy to Afghanistan today condemned the assassination of the governor of Pakia province in the country's troubled southeast. Abdul Hakim Tanaiwal was apparently killed in a suicide bombing along with members of his entourage and several other people. "The murder of Mr. Tanaiwal is entirely beyond my understanding," said Tom Koenigs. "I condemn it." He noted that professor Tanaiwal had returned to Afghanistan from Australia following the collapse of the Taliban to help rebuild his homeland. "His death is a great loss to the people of Paktia, to the people of the Tani tribe -- of which he was a leader, and to the country as a whole," the UN envoy said. "He and I worked together, there was trust and respect between us, and we had much in common." 2006-09-10 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN CONFERENCE ADOPTS ACTION PLAN TO HELP PALESTINIANS LIVING UNDER OCCUPATION

New York, Sep 8 2006 7:00PM A two-day United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian People concluded in Geneva today with the adoption of a Plan of Action aimed at addressing their plight. The Plan of Action commits civil society organizations to ending the Israeli occupation and to achieving the rights of self-determination and return of the Palestinian people. It acknowledges that the war against Lebanon and the continuing assault on Gaza have created new realities. The Plan notes that the conditions of Palestinians under occupation continue to deteriorate and Palestinian refugees continue to be denied their international rights, including their right of return. Conference participants commit to working in the coming months to mark the 40-year anniversary of the occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The Plan also commits them to expanding the global campaign of boycotts, divestment and sanctions to ever broader sectors of countries and regions, including an urgent campaign to end the sanctions against the democratically-elected Palestinian Authority. The Plan demands that governments urgently provide international protection to the Palestinian people living under occupation, including efforts to bring to justice those guilty of war crimes against them. Paul Badji, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, which convened the International Conference, pledged in concluding remarks that the Committee would continue to hold periodic consultations with civil society representatives and would incorporate their recommendations into its work. 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS LANDMARK GLOBAL STRATEGY TO COMBAT TERRORISM

New York, Sep 8 2006 7:00PM The United Nations General Assembly today adopted a comprehensive global strategy to counter terrorism, overcoming differences between Member States and a year of often fractious negotiations to agree for the first time on a common approach to fighting the scourge. The strategy, in the form of a resolution and a plan of action, includes practical steps at the local, national and international level – ranging from strengthening the capacity of individual States to prevent and combat terrorism to ensuring that human rights and the rule of law are always respected in the fight against terrorism. It also calls for measures to enhance the role of the UN system to deal with terrorism, and to make sure that the world body’s efforts are better coordinated. Speaking after the strategy was adopted by consensus at UN Headquarters in New York, General Assembly President Jan Eliasson said “we should consider this as a great achievement for the General Assembly, which has established itself in the area of fighting terrorism.” Acknowledging that the past 12 months of negotiations have sometimes been “troublesome,” Mr. Eliasson said the definition of terrorism remained a source of contention for many nations. But he said it was a sign of the mutual commitment to defeating terrorism that States were able to overcome their differences and find enough areas of common ground to devise a strategy. The strategy makes clear that it is vital to consistently, unequivocally and strongly condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations, committed by whomever and for whatever purposes. Terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group. Identifying some conditions – such as prolonged unresolved conflict, human rights violations, socio-economic marginalization and lack of good governance – as conducive to the spread of terrorism, the strategy’s plan of action stresses the importance of achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), resolving conflicts and promoting dialogue and tolerance between civilizations. The resolution calls for the strategy to be reviewed by the General Assembly in two years’ time to chart the progress made by Member States. Welcoming the strategy, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10625.doc.htm">statement that it “sends a clear message that terrorism is unacceptable, no matter who commits it, no matter what the reason.” Mr. Annan said he hoped Member States would now move swiftly to implement all aspects of the strategy so that they can “honour the victims of terrorism everywhere.” The Secretary-General congratulated Mr. Eliasson and his two co-chairs, Singaporean Ambassador Vanu Gopala Menon and Spanish Ambassador Juan Antonio Yáñez-Barnuevo, “for leading the membership to this historic achievement.” In May, Mr. Annan unveiled a series of recommendations for the counter-terrorism strategy, which world leaders pledged to work towards at last year’s World Summit in New York. Speaking to reporters following today’s action, he said: “I am extremely happy that the General Assembly has approved this historic document on the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. And I think it is the first time the 192 countries have come together and taken a stand on the issue of terrorism. Now the test will be how we implement it.” 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

ANNAN HAILS CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS, CREDITING THEIR SUPPORT FOR HIS ACHIEVEMENTS

New York, Sep 8 2006 7:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today told more than 2,500 representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) gathered in New York for their last annual meeting before his term ends in December that the support of civil society groups has been critical to his accomplishments. Mr. Annan, who is widely viewed as having broken new ground in terms of NGO involvement in the UN’s work, also stressed the vital role these groups have played in achieving progress on a number of political and social issues. “Much of my daily work involves contacts with Governments. Yet, much of what I have achieved as Secretary-General was made possible by your support and involvement,” he told the closing session of the annual conference, which is organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI). “That is why, as I approach my own transition from public civil servant to a private life, I am particularly delighted to be amongst so many civil society representatives from all over of the world who have gathered here to learn, exchange ideas and build ties,” Mr. Annan said. The Secretary-General, whose second and final five year term expires at the end of this year, looked back “with some pride and satisfaction on a decade in which UN-civil society interactions have both widened and deepened.” “From debt relief and the fight against disease to good governance, human rights, the global NGO revolution has helped move the global agenda and given new life and new meaning to the idea of an international community,” he said. “More and more, the initiative in taking action to improve the human conditions comes from voluntary groups such as yours.” Looking ahead, the Secretary-General outlined a vision of a civil society role “with virtually no limits, but one which gives you solemn obligations to your constituents.” He urged participants to wield their growing influence responsibly and to strengthen alliances with the UN, the private sector, the public sector and among each other. “I see a United Nations keenly aware that if our unfinished agenda – in human security, in sustainable development and beyond – is to be realized, we must share our knowledge and reinforce our actions,” he said. “I see a United Nations that celebrates the non-governmental revolution – the power of the global citizen – as the best thing that has happened to our Organization in a long, long time.” 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

UN NAVAL PATROLS BEGIN IN LEBANESE WATERS AFTER ISRAEL LIFTS ITS BLOCKADE

 New York, Sep 8 2006 7:00PM Following the lifting of Israel’s blockade against Lebanon, United Nations naval vessels began patrolling alongside their Lebanese counterparts today to secure the country’s maritime border ahead of the deployment of a full task force in the coming weeks, the UN force announced. A Naval Operations Centre has been set up at the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in Naqoura in the south of the country to coordinate all operational details and Italian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi is leading the interim maritime force. “The Force is now operational and I understand that the naval blockade is lifted,” <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/pr048.pdf">said UNIFIL commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini. “The blockade has seriously undermined the Lebanese economy and it is high time for it to end so as to allow the people to get back to their businesses.” Secretary-General Kofi Annan <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10623.doc.htm">welcomed the start of the UN naval patrols, and said in a statement that the interim task force will remain in place “until the maritime component of <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/index.html">UNIFIL is fully assembled and deployed in the coming weeks.” In a related development, UNIFIL said that a team of UN police, border and military security experts will deploy in Lebanon tomorrow at the request of the Lebanese Government to help monitor coastal entry points, Beirut International Airport and the land border, as well as to identify areas in which the world body might provide technical assistance. Regarding the situation on the ground in the south, UNIFIL said that Lebanese troops started deploying today in areas left by the withdrawing Israeli army as stipulated by Security Council resolution 1701 that ended the 34 days of fighting on 14 August. UNIFIL, which is coordinating the troop movements, confirmed that all Israeli troops had left yesterday from the areas of Al Bayyadah, Tayr Harfa, Shihin, Al Jibbayn, Bustan, Yarin and Al Duhayra. It was the first time Lebanese troops had taken up positions in some of the towns in these areas in more than 30 years. There are currently more than 3,200 UNIFIL personnel in Lebanon and a further 200 logistics personnel from France are expected to arrive over the weekend, a UN spokesman told reporters in New York. 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

 

LEBANON: ANNAN HAILS ‘IMMINENT’ DEPLOYMENT OF NAVAL FORCE AS INTERIM PATROLS BEGIN

New York, Sep 8 2006 1:00PM Following yesterday’s lifting of the Israeli blockade against Lebanon, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced the “imminent” deployment of a UN naval task force off the Lebanese coast to assist in securing the maritime border, saying that in the meantime an interim maritime force has begun patrols alongside the Lebanese navy. Following discussions with the Government of Lebanon as well as the Governments of France, Greece, Italy and the United Kingdom, “the Secretary-General welcomes the imminent deployment of an interim naval task force off the Lebanese coast,” his spokesman said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2189">statement issued in New York. “The interim maritime task force will remain in place until the maritime component of UNIFIL (the UN Interim Force in Lebanon) is fully assembled and deployed in the coming weeks.” UNIFIL has set up a Naval Operations Centre at its headquarters in Naqoura in southern Lebanon to coordinate all operational details of this interim maritime task force that is led by Italian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi. “The Force is now operational and I understand that the naval blockade is lifted,” said UNIFIL commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini. “The blockade has seriously undermined the Lebanese economy and it is high time for it to end so as to allow the people to get back to their businesses.” In a related development, a team of UN police, border and military security experts will deploy in Lebanon tomorrow at the request of the Lebanese Government to help monitor coastal entry points, Beirut International Airport and the land border, as well as to identify areas in which the UN might provide technical assistance. Regarding the situation on the ground in the south, UNIFIL said that Lebanese troops started deploying today in areas left by the withdrawing Israeli army as stipulated by Security Council resolution 1701 that ended the 34 days of fighting on 14 August. UNIFIL, which is coordinating the troop movements, confirmed that all Israeli troops had left yesterday from the areas of Al Bayyadah, Tayr Harfa, Shihin, Al Jibbayn, Bustan, Yarin and Al Duhayra. 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

UNICEF, FUTBOL CLUB BARCELONA KICK OFF PARTNERSHIP FOR KIDS IN DEVELOPING WORLD

 New York, Sep 8 2006 1:00PM The United Nations Children’s Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_35642.html">UNICEF), FC Barcelona and its foundation Fundació Futbol Club Barcelona have announced a public alliance and kicked off a five year global partnership to extend the work of the club and benefit orphans and vulnerable children in the developing world. “Barcelona shows us that sports can be a powerful, positive force for children,” Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF’s Executive Director, said, describing the landmark alliance with the Club as a “priceless” donation. “It will push open a door of hope to thousands of children,” she added, emphasizing that UNICEF recognizes the great vehicle sports can be to reach and teach children. The legendary Spanish professional soccer team, which has been active in numerous social causes through its philanthropic foundation, marked the partnership by unveiling the new football jersey featuring the UNICEF logo, the first time in the club’s 107-year history that a logo has been featured. The new global alliance with UNICEF and the foundation begins a five-year commitment to extending collective work on behalf of children, with the Club giving financial support to projects around the globe. Club president Joan Laporta stressed the importance of the partnership with UNICEF. “It represents a historic agreement that positions our organization as ‘More than a club’ throughout the world. We are very satisfied because it’s the beginning of a challenge and this challenge is beginning to turn into concrete objectives.” In addition to the UNICEF-branded jersey, Futbol Club Barcelona has also agreed to donate at least €1.5 million per year to UNICEF over the next five years to support the agency’s programmes for children all over the world. Mr. Laporta described the agreement with UNICEF as a “landmark” event, “an initiative with soul...it means winning the ‘Champions League’ on a social level. The Club, he said, “has a future as it is helping the children of the world.” The logo, he said, is not just a publicity brand. “It’s an honour to wear the UNICEF logo because it's an agreement without precedent for UNICEF as well.” The first campaign will kick off with in Swaziland, where they are working hard to stop AIDS in a country that has the world’s highest estimated adult HIV prevalence. In 2004, 43 per cent of women seen at antenatal clinics tested positive for HIV. But just under 12 per cent of HIV-positive pregnant women are receiving the drugs necessary to protect their newborns from contracting the virus. The first year’s donation will improve children’s lives in Swaziland, through strengthening education and sports programmes to provide better protection, care and support for orphans and vulnerable children, adding to the effort of raising public awareness to limit the spread of AIDS. Children and their mothers will have improved access to life-saving drugs to prevent transmission of HIV and dangerous opportunistic infections of the virus, including access to life-prolonging antiretroviral treatment. UNICEF is spearheading the Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS global campaign which aims to ensure that children affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic are an integral part of the global AIDS response. 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

WORSENING DARFUR CRISIS THREATENS ENTIRE REGION, UN REFUGEE AGENCY CHIEF WARNS

 New York, Sep 8 2006 10:00AM The United Nations High Commissioner (<"http://www.unhcr.org">UNHCR) for Refugees today <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=45015e104 ">warned that the worsening situation in Sudan's Darfur region <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=45015e104">threatens to spark another round of massive displacement that could destabilize the entire region and result in a “major catastrophe.” “Humanitarian agencies are already struggling to cope with the enormous needs of some 2 million internally displaced people inside Darfur, plus more than 200,000 refugees in 12 UNHCR-run camps across the border in Chad,” Mr. Guterres said in Geneva. “Deteriorating security has left us unable to provide even minimal help across wide areas of Darfur, and resources in neighbouring Chad have been stretched to the limit. An already bad situation is worsening by the day.” He cited the lack of security and access as well as continuing uncertainty over the deployment to Darfur of a UN peacekeeping force that was recently approved by the UN Security Council. The Khartoum Government has voiced opposition to the UN deployment. In addition, thousands of Sudanese troops have been deployed to Darfur in recent weeks, prompting fears of a major military offensive that could lead to yet more displacement. “Millions of people are already at grave risk,” the High Commissioner said. “Hundreds are still dying amid ongoing violence, and thousands are still being forcibly displaced. Urgent international action is needed to put pressure on the parties to the conflict and to convince everyone involved on the ground to let humanitarian agencies safely carry out their work.” He warned that if the situation does not improve, “we're heading for a major catastrophe.” UNHCR has six offices and nearly 100 staff in South and West Darfur to carry out protection monitoring activities. Security in many parts of Darfur has steadily deteriorated since last December. A dozen aid workers have been killed since May, and humanitarian convoys are repeatedly attacked and vehicles stolen. Offices and compounds have also been attacked, and staff are only able to travel by helicopter to reach some areas. Mr. Guterres said the worsening situation in Darfur could also have dire consequences for the rest of the region. Neighbouring Chad, where UNHCR camps currently hold more than 200,000 Darfur refugees, is already grappling with cross-border insecurity that has displaced some 50,000 Chadians and sent about 15,000 of them fleeing into Darfur. The Darfur crisis also has the potential to exacerbate continuing instability in the northern Central African Republic, UNHCR warned. Some 46,000 Central African refugees are housed in three of the agency’s camps in southern Chad. “Chad has been extremely generous in helping refugees, but it's now close to the breaking point,” Mr. Guterres cautioned. “It is hard to comprehend the enormity of the crisis we would face if there is additional large-scale displacement in Darfur. Even without the violence and insecurity, humanitarian operations in this remote and resource-poor region are extremely difficult.” 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

UN HEALTH AGENCY TO VACCINATE MILLIONS OF CHILDREN IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

 New York, Sep 8 2006 10:00AM In the largest-ever synchronized vaccination campaign in the Horn of Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya will simultaneously vaccinate millions of children under five years of age starting this weekend, the United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/WHO) announced today. In Ethiopia, the polio vaccination campaign will administer two drops of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to nearly 1 million children, from the two regions of Somali and Afar that border Somalia and parts of Kenya. On the Somali side of the border, vaccinators will aim to reach a total of 1.7 million children in a nation-wide campaign, with exceptional concentration on regions bordering Ethiopia and Kenya. In northern Kenya, a total of 240,000 children will be targeted in five districts bordering Somalia and Ethiopia, the agency <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr49/en/index.html">said. Polio-free for almost three years, Somalia became re-infected last year with a poliovirus imported from Yemen, WHO said, and has since seen some 215 confirmed cases. Since its re-infection in December 2004, Ethiopia has reported a total of 37 polio cases with four out of 11 regions infected. The high-risk areas remain the cross-border region of Somali, Ethiopia and north/central areas of Somalia. Kenya has been polio-free for the last 22 years. The upcoming drive will involve teams on the ground ensuring that every child is vaccinated by moving from house to house, in cities, towns, and villages, and in hard to reach areas, using all transportation means possible, such as camels, horses and donkeys. The polio eradication effort in the Horn also involves religious and community leaders, women’s groups, youth associations, schools, and governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), all working to prevent the paralysis of children, WHO said. The complex operating and unstable environments, exacerbated by recurrent drought and floods in Somalia and heavy rains in Ethiopia, continue to hamper the implementation of high-quality polio immunization campaigns, according to the agency. International and national staff have difficulties accessing conflict zone areas. Depending on the availability of funds, three synchronized campaigns are planned for this year, in September, November and December in the Horn of Africa, WHO said. But globally, there is a funding gap of $50 million for 2006, which the agency said in a news release “must be filled urgently by October to ensure the implementation of planned activities through the end of the year.” If these funds are not mobilized, it warned, “immunization campaigns may need to be scaled back, which would result in more children being paralyzed.” 2006-09-08 00:00:00.000

 

LIFTING OF BLOCKADE AGAINST LEBANON A VICTORY FOR INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS: ANNAN

New York, Sep 7 2006 2:00PM Welcoming today’s lifting of the Israeli blockade against Lebanon, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said it was a victory for the intensive international efforts of recent days, as he met with Spanish officials on the last leg of two weeks of shuttle diplomacy to shore up the cessation of hostilities agreement that ended the recent conflict. “He said this would allow Lebanon to press ahead with recovery and reconstruction without impediment and added, ‘I am really pleased that we have all rallied’ and that, if the international community continues to pool its efforts, it will succeed,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric summed up Mr. Annan’s comments. “That lifting follows the intensive consultations the Secretary-General has had with European and Middle Eastern leaders in recent days, in person and by phone, trying to get the issues around the blockade resolved,” he told reporters in New York. In Spain today, Mr. Annan met with Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero who said he would propose that Spanish troops join the strengthened UN force in Lebanon, as called for by Security Council resolution 1701 that ended the fighting on 14 August. “The Secretary-General also said he was very pleased that Prime Minister Zapatero decided to recommend to the Spanish Parliament that Spanish troops join other European countries in helping to stabilize Lebanon,” Mr. Dujarric said, adding that Mr. Annan also reiterated that recent troop contributions to the enhanced UN force were “a sign of international solidarity for the people of Lebanon.” The Secretary-General also met King Juan Carlos of Spain and the Foreign Minister to brief them on the situation in the Middle East and he is now on his way back to New York, his spokesman said. 2006-09-07 00:00:00.000

 

UN AGENCY CHIEF VISITS WAR-RAVAGED SOUTHERN LEBANON IN BID TO ASSESS RELIEF NEEDS

 New York, Sep 7 2006 11:00AM The Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/">WFP) today traveled to southern Lebanon to witness the impact of the war on a town badly damaged by bombing and to review the needs of the people as they rebuild their lives after nearly five weeks of conflict. “Having followed the conflict day by day, I was determined to come to Lebanon and see for myself what people have gone through,” James Morris said. “I am saddened by their losses but also encouraged by people's strength and resilience.” He went to Ghazieh, a farming community where 31 residents were killed in Israeli bombing raids and some 20 houses and dozens of shops destroyed, the agency said in a <"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2236">news release. Most of those who fled the fighting have now returned, and have started repairing and reconstructing their properties. “Over the next few weeks, many people still need food aid so their resources and energies can be devoted to the numerous other issues they face while recovering from the crisis," said Mr. Morris, who arrived in Lebanon yesterday on a two-day visit following a trip to Egypt, where he addressed the League of Arab States. “Once commercial activities return to normal, we will be able to wind up our operations. We do not want to stay a day longer than necessary.” In line with WFP's policy of distributing two-week rations to those in need, the people of Ghazieh are this weekend due to receive packages of wheat flour, salt, and canned meat and vegetables. WFP rations will be distributed locally to some 2,500 people by the municipal authorities. Yesterday, Mr. Morris met Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and other senior officials. Since the beginning of the emergency operation in Lebanon, WFP has dispatched a total of 4,500 tons of food to locations in all parts of the country. The agency has reached more than 700,000 people since the start of its emergency operation in July and is now targeting some 350,000 of the worst-affected people in Lebanon. The agency is preparing to wind up its emergency food aid operation in Lebanon by the end of October. 2006-09-07 00:00:00.000

 

UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS HEAD TO LEBANON, ISRAEL TO PROBE VIOLATIONS

New York, Sep 7 2006 10:00AM The United Nations is sending four independent human rights experts to Lebanon and Israel to gather facts about abuses during the recent conflict there. “The independent human rights experts will gather first-hand information, establish facts and conduct an impartial legal analysis of the persistent allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law during the recent conflict in order to make specific recommendations to the concerned authorities,” the UN said in a news release. In Lebanon from 7 to 10 September and in Israel the following three days, the experts will meet with government officials and representatives of civil society. They will also visit scenes of attacks in the past few weeks and meet there with victims, their relatives and other witnesses. The four going are Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Representative on the human rights of internally displaced persons, Walter Kälin; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Paul Hunt; and the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, Miloon Kothari. They will submit a joint report on their mission to the Human Rights Council for consideration at a session to be held later this month. 2006-09-07 00:00:00.000

 

SWEDEN’S DRUG CONTROL POLICIES MODEL FOR OTHER STATES – UN OFFICIAL

New York, Sep 7 2006 10:00AM The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html">UNODC) said today that Sweden’s successful drug control policies were a model which other countries could emulate. Launching a UNODC report entitled Sweden’s <"http://www.unodc.org/pdf/research/Swedish_drug_control.pdf">Successful Drug Policy: A Review of the Evidence, Antonio Maria Costa, <"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/press_release_2006-09-06.html">said drug use in Sweden was just a third of the European average while spending on drug control was three times the EU average. “Societies have the drug problem that they deserve,” Mr. Costa said. “In Sweden’s case, the commitment to prevention, law enforcement, demand reduction and treatment over the past thirty years has made a significant difference.” The report shows that amphetamine use in Sweden was high in the 1950s when those stimulants were readily available. Overall drug use rose in the second half of the 1960s during a period of relatively liberal drug policies but declined strongly in the 1970s and 1980s due to progressively tightening drug control. Drug use rose again in the 1990s due to budget cuts, unemployment and growing drug supplies but has followed a clear downward trend since 2001 as a result of a National Action Plan, the establishment of a National Drug Coordinator and improved funding, according to the report. Mr. Costa praised the culture of drug abuse prevention and treatment in Sweden. “Long-term and cohesive policies, backed up by sufficient funding and the support of civil society, have proven vital for success,” he said. “The lessons of Sweden’s drug control history should be learned by others,” said Mr. Costa. 2006-09-07 00:00:00.000

 

STATES MUST DO MORE TO TACKLE RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST WOMEN, TRAFFICKING

: UN New York, Sep 6 2006 5:00PM Governments must do more to address the human rights violations and lack of opportunities that force women and girls, who make up half the world’s 95 million migrants, to leave their homes, while countries need to work together to make migration safer and in particular stamp out human trafficking, according to new reports issued today by the United Nations Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/index.htm">UNFPA). This year’s <I><"http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2006/english/introduction.html">State of World Population report, A Passage to Hope: Women and International Migration</I>, was accompanied for the first time by a companion volume entitled <I><"http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2006/moving_young_eng/Adama/Adama.html">Moving Young</I>, which highlights the social, economic and demographic aspects of youth migration, the agency said in a <"http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=859">press release. “There is an urgent need for stronger cooperation between countries to make migration more safe and fair. And there is a dire need for greater action to address the lack of opportunities and human rights violations that lead many women to migrate in the first place,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA Executive Director. “Although awareness and action against trafficking is growing, there is an urgent need to do more to end this terrible crime and the impunity that goes with it. The report calls for greater cooperation between and within countries to bring traffickers to justice and to provide services and human rights protection for trafficking victims.” Human trafficking is the third largest illicit trade after drugs and gun smuggling, UNFPA said, warning that it remains an ongoing source of “revenue” to be exploited over and over again until those being trafficked are too ill or too worn out to continue. Many die as a result of their servitude—either as a direct result of violence or from contracting the many diseases, including HIV, to which they are susceptible. Another manifestation of female migration is the massive outflow of nurses from the developing world to industrialized countries such that the yearly exodus of 20,000 highly qualified nurses and doctors from Africa is worsening an already grave situation for a region ravaged by HIV/AIDS, malaria and high numbers of maternal and child deaths. “Now is the time for vision and leadership on behalf of women migrants,” said Ms. Obaid. “Labour, human rights protections and sound immigration policies can ensure that migration for women is a passage to hope as the title of this year’s State of World Population report suggests.” The Moving Young report offers a glimpse into the lives of young migrants and the reasons that compel them to leave their homes and countries, through profiles of young men and women from 10 countries whose stories are very similar to those of millions of others who cross borders every day. Many are searching for jobs and better opportunities, while others are forced to escape conflict or persecution. An increasing number of students are seeking education abroad, while many young people move to be reunited with parents or other relatives who have already settled abroad. Many leave their homes to marry, including young women forced to do so against their will. Many go willingly, lured away by false promises, while others are coerced into sex slavery. “Young people are characterized by innovation, by creativity, by perseverance and hard work, and by wanting to try something new. If well-guided and directed, that spirit is the kind that will bring well-being to any society,” said Ms. Obaid. The launch of the two reports comes a week before the UN holds a High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in New York from 14 to 15 September. That event will be the first of its kind to bring together the world’s governments to discuss the many challenges and benefits of migration. 2006-09-06 00:00:00.000

 

THOUSANDS PROTEST IN DARFUR AGAINST SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION FOR UN DEPLOYMENT

 New York, Sep 6 2006 4:00PM About 10,000 demonstrators have protested in the South Darfur town of Nyala against last week’s Security Council resolution calling for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force in the strife-torn Darfur region, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported today. Many of the demonstrators threw stones at UN offices in Nyala, the provincial capital, as well as at the compounds and vehicles of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. Last Thursday, 12 Council members voted in favour – while three members abstained – of expanding UNMIS’ mandate to cover Darfur, where spiralling violence and displacement has led senior UN officials to warn of an impending humanitarian catastrophe. <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/res/1706(2006)">Resolution 1706 “invites the consent” of the Sudanese Government to the deployment of more than 17,000 additional troops. But Khartoum has said on several occasions that it is opposed to any kind of UN force taking over the role of the African Union’s (AU) current operation, known by the acronym AMIS, in Darfur. <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=934">Speaking to reporters yesterday in Alexandria, Egypt, during his tour of the Middle East, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the planned force of blue helmets will only be effective if there is Sudanese consent and cooperation. But he warned the Government that if it is not successful at protecting an estimated 3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, then “it will have lots of questions to answer to the rest of the world.” Mr. Dujarric said UNMIS also reported that armed men fired on an AMIS patrol of six vehicles near Kutum in North Darfur on Monday. The mission said the patrol was able to return safely to Kutum, while the armed men fled when one of their vehicles was hit during an exchange of gunfire. 2006-09-06 00:00:00.000

 

UN HEALTH AGENCY ANNOUNCES 13 NOMINEES TO BECOME NEXT DIRECTOR-GENERAL New

York, Sep 6 2006 4:00PM The United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) today unveiled the names of the 13 nominees proposed by Member States to replace the late Lee Jong-wook as Director-General of the Geneva-based agency. Fernando Antezana Araníbar, Chairman of WHO’s Executive Board, announced the list of nominations after the deadline for submissions passed yesterday. The nominees’ curricula vitae will now be circulated among the organization’s 192 Member States. A shortlist of candidates will be drawn up by the 34-member Executive Board during its meeting in Geneva from 6-8 November, and those candidates will be interviewed. The Executive Board will then choose one candidate by secret ballot and submit that name to the World Health Assembly for a vote on 9 November. The nominees are, in alphabetical order: Kazem Behbehani (Kuwait), Margaret Chan (China), Julio Frenk (Mexico), David A. Gunnarsson (Iceland), Nay Htun (Myanmar), Karam Karam (Syria), Bernard Kouchner (France), Pascoal Manuel Mocumbi (Mozambique), Shigeru Omi (Japan), Alfredo Palacio González (Ecuador), Pekka Puska (Finland), Elena Salgado Méndez (Spain) and Tomris Türmen (Turkey). The new Director-General will face a series of pressing tasks, from the threat of a bird flu pandemic to ongoing battles against HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Dr. Lee, who died suddenly in May, two years before the end of his five-year term, was the WHO’s sixth Director-General since its founding in 1948. Anders Nordstrom, who had been WHO Assistant Director-General, General Management, has been serving as Acting Director-General since Dr. Lee’s death. 2006-09-06 00:00:00.000

 

 

TANZANIA RELEASES UN RWANDA TRIBUNAL DEFENCE COUNSEL

 

WITHOUT GIVING REASON FOR ARREST

New York, Sep 6 2006 1:00PM Tanzanian authorities have released a defence lawyer serving before the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), but they have provided the tribunal with no explanation for why they took the man into custody, the court said today. Yesterday the Tribunal <"http://69.94.11.53/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2006/491.htm">expressed concern about arrest of Calixte Gakwaya, the leading defence counsel in the trial of Yusuf Munyakasi, last Friday in Arusha, where the <"http://69.94.11.53/default.htm">ICTR is based. Mr. Gakwaya was released yesterday morning but only after “undertakings were made by private persons to the Tanzanian police,” the ICTR said in a news release. Yesterday the ICTR’s registrar, Adama Deng, expressed to Tanzanian authorities his strong concern about the arrest, noting that the UN and Tanzania have agreed on certain immunities for lawyers representing those brought before the Tribunal. Mr. Deng also stressed that Mr. Gakwaya had travelled to Arusha in his official capacity as Counsel for the accused. 2006-09-06 00:00:00.000

 

UN’S RWANDA TRIBUNAL VOICES CONCERN ABOUT ARREST OF DEFENCE COUNSEL IN
TANZANIA
New York, Sep  5 2006  7:00PM
The Registrar of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR) today expressed his concern about the arrest of one of
its lawyers by Tanzanian authorities.       

Calixte Gakwaya, who is the leading defence counsel in the trial of
Yusuf Munyakasi, was taken into custody on Friday in the Tanzanian town of
Arusha, according to a media statement released by the ICTR.       

The Tribunal’s registrar, Adama Deng, has requested an explanation from
the local authorities. He noted that the ICTR did not receive any prior
notice of an intention to arrest Mr. Gakwaya and that it had not
engaged in any prior consultations with Tanzanian police regarding the case.       

As soon as the Tribunal learned of Mr. Gakwaya’s arrest, it took
appropriate measures to secure his welfare, the statement said. Security
officers have visited and spoken with him several times, and the ICTR’s
security chief has met with his counterpart in the Tanzanian police to
discuss the case.       

Mr. Deng noted that the UN and Tanzania have agreed on certain
immunities for lawyers representing those accused before the Tribunal and added
that Mr. Gakwaya had travelled to Tanzania in his official capacity.       

Mr. Deng observed that he has no warrant of arrest to execute from any
government and that he exercises his functions independently from the
interests of the parties before the ICTR or from external pressures.         
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

AS LIBERIANS RETURN HOME, UN AGENCY TO CLOSE REGIONAL OFFICE IN
SOUTHERN GUINEA
New York, Sep  5 2006  7:00PM
Almost 300 Liberian refugees returned home last week from the
Kissidougou region of southern Guinea in the final convoy of the United Nations
refugee agency’s voluntary repatriation programme, setting the stage
for the closure later this month of the agency’s office in the region
after almost two decades.        

The last convoy from the Kountaya and Télikoro camps on Friday was
organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=44fd53e914">UNHCR)
and local authorities in Kissidougou and Gueckedou districts and
brought back 119 Liberian families (297 persons), a spokesperson told
reporters in Geneva today.        

“The 61st convoy ended the UNHCR repatriation operation for Liberian
refugees in Guinea's Kissidougou region, launched on 10 May 2005. Since
the beginning of organised voluntary repatriation to Liberia in November
2004, over 38,000 Liberian refugees have been repatriated with UNHCR
assistance,” said Ron Redmond.        

“The closing of the UNHCR office in Kissidougou at the end of this
month will be a landmark in achieving UNHCR's objectives in Guinea and will
end an 18-year presence helping Liberian refugees in the area.”        

Yesterday, UNHCR started the relocation of the remaining 3,000 Liberian
refugees in Kissidougou's Kountaya camp. These refugees either cannot
or would not return to their homeland. Those originating from Lofa and
Nimba counties in Liberia are being moved to Kouankan and Lainé camps
respectively. The relocation should be completed by 15 September, Mr.
Redmond said.        

More than 33,000 Liberian refugees remain in Guinea. Almost all of them
are still in the refugee camps located along the Guinean border with
Liberia.         

In all, there are still 142,720 Liberian refugees in the region,
outside their homeland, primarily in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and
Ghana.          
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

DRUG-RESISTANT STRAINS OF TUBERCULOSIS SPARK CONCERN FROM UN HEALTH
AGENCY
New York, Sep  5 2006  7:00PM
The World Health Organization
(<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2006/np23/en/index.html">WHO)
today expressed concern about the emergence of virulent strains of
tuberculosis (TB) that are virtually untreatable with existing drugs and
called for the strengthening of prevention measures.     

Extensive Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB) is resistant to not only the two
main first-line TB drugs – isoniazid and rifampicin – but also to three
or more of the six classes of second-line drugs.     

Recent findings from a survey conducted by WHO and the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that XDR-TB has been
identified in all regions of the world but is most frequent in the countries of
the former Soviet Union and in Asia.     

“XDR-TB poses a grave public health threat, especially in populations
with high rates of HIV and where there are few health care resources,”
said WHO in a statement issued in Geneva.     

Separate data on a recent outbreak of XDR-TB in an HIV-positive
population in Kwazulu-Natal in South Africa found alarmingly high mortality
rates, said WHO.  52 out of 53 patients identified with XDR-TB died
within 25 days on average, including those benefiting from antiretroviral
drugs.     

WHO noted that its recommendations for managing drug-resistant strains
of TB include strengthening basic TB care, ensuring prompt diagnosis
and treatment of drug resistant cases, increasing collaboration between
HIV and TB control programmes, and boosting investment in laboratory
infrastructure.     

On Thursday, WHO will join other TB experts at a two-day meeting in
Johannesburg, South Africa, to assess the response required to critically
address TB drug resistance, particularly in Africa.       
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

ANNAN WELCOMES ‘POSITIVE STEP FORWARD’ RESULTING FROM SOMALIA PEACE
TALKS
New York, Sep  5 2006  7:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the results
of talks on Somalia held in Khartoum over the weekend, calling the
outcome a positive step forward in reconciling the positions of the
Transitional Federal Institutions and the Union of the Islamic Courts, which
agreed to form a unified army in the troubled country.    

“The Secretary-General commends the parties for having taken this
positive step forward in efforts to resolve their differences through
dialogue and consultations, with a view to achieving lasting peace and
stability in Somalia,” a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a
<"http://www/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2181">statement.    

“He encourages the parties to implement what has been agreed upon thus
far, and to do everything possible to ensure a conducive environment
for the next round of talks, which will take up crucial political,
power-sharing and security issues,” the spokesman added.    

The Islamic Courts took over the capital, Mogadishu, in June. Somalia
has not had a functioning national government since President Muhammad
Siad Barre’s regime was toppled in 1991.    

The accord, signed by representatives of both sides, commits them to
honour previous agreements and to reconstitute the Somali national army
and the national police force and work towards reintegration of the
forces of the Islamic Courts, the Transitional Federal Government and other
armed militias in the country.     

Other provisions oblige the two sides refrain from helping, rearming
and encouraging warlords and to meet again in Khartoum on 30 October.       
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

DR CONGO:  UN HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS CHIEF CALLS FOR AN END TO CULTURE OF
IMPUNITY
New York, Sep  5 2006  6:00PM
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today called for end to
the “culture of impunity” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
(DRC), where he just arrived on the first stop of an eight-day trip to three
central African nations.

Violence poses an ongoing threat to untold numbers of Congolese,
particularly in the strife-torn eastern provinces.  The country is also still
recovering from clashes two weeks ago between the security forces of
President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, the two
leading candidates after July’s historic presidential elections.

Meeting with representatives of UN agencies working in the DRC, UN
Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland told them that the humanitarian
community is making progress there, saving more lives per dollar spent
than anywhere else.  As a positive sign, he cited the large number of
displaced persons who have returned to their homes since the beginning of
the year.

“We must stay the course. We are engaged in a humanitarian marathon
here,” said Mr. Egeland, noting that the DRC represents a unique challenge
for the aid community, given its huge size – roughly equivalent to all
of Western Europe – and enormous unmet humanitarian need.

Tomorrow Mr. Egeland, who is also the UN Under-Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs, will travel to the southern province of Katanga. 
There he will visit camps for internally displaced persons and towns
that have been seriously affected during the past decade of fighting.

After the DRC, Mr. Egeland will also travel to Uganda and Juba, Sudan.

In other news, the publication of results from the DRC’s July elections
has again been delayed.  The Supreme Court was originally scheduled to
announce official first-round results of the presidential election
today, but those will not be available before Saturday.

The delay stems from a constitutional requirement that the second round
of the presidential election must take place 15 days after the
publication of official results from the first round, according to the UN
mission in the DRC, known by its French acronym MONUC.

The Supreme Court met today with the president of the Independent
Election Commission (IEC) to ask for a dispensation allowing both the
presidential second round and provincial elections to take place on 29
October, as envisioned in the electoral calendar.

In the meantime, MONUC reports that the IEC has also postponed the
release of provisional results from the legislative elections, pending a
fraud investigation.

Yesterday 10 IEC workers were arrested on suspicion of falsifying
documents in favour of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) legislative
candidate in some Kinshasa districts.  The IEC is now re-verifying
election tallies in 25 other districts nationally.  As a result, provisional
legislative results, originally slated for release yesterday, are now
expected on Thursday.
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 MIDDLE EAST PROBLEMS EXPECTED TO TOP SECURITY COUNCIL AGENDA IN
SEPTEMBER
New York, Sep  5 2006  6:00PM
The crises and problems of the Middle East will be at the forefront of
a busy Security Council programme this month, Ambassador Adamantios
Vassilakis of Greece, which holds the Council presidency for September,
said today as he outlined the 15-member body’s schedule.

The situation in Lebanon following the cessation of hostilities last
month between the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah, events in
the occupied Palestinian territory, and the question of Iran’s nuclear
ambitions are among the issues likely to be discussed.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan may brief the Council on his current trip
to the Middle East after he returns to UN Headquarters in New York, Mr.
Vassilakis told reporters, while the Secretary-General’s next formal
report on the situation in Lebanon following the adoption of Resolution
1701, which ended the hostilities last month, is also due. Consultations
on Lebanon have been scheduled for 15 September.

Later this month, the head of the UN probe investigating the February
2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Serge
Brammertz, is slated to brief the Council on his most recent work.

Mr. Vassilakis said Council members are still considering a request by
the League of Arab States to hold a ministerial-level meeting during
September on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Greek ambassador added no Council meeting has been scheduled so far
ahead of a gathering in Berlin on Thursday of the Council’s permanent
five members and Germany on the latest report of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran. But several briefings have already been
scheduled to discuss the latest events in neighbouring Iraq.

Outside the Middle East, Mr. Vassilakis said a high-level meeting on
the deteriorating situation inside Sudan’s Darfur region has been
postponed from Friday to next Monday to allow Mr. Annan to attend after he
completes his current trip. Representatives from the Sudanese Government,
the League of Arab States and the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) have been invited to attend that debate.

On 20 September, the Council will hold an open debate with regional
organizations to discuss how they can strengthen their mutual efforts to
promote peace and security, the President said.

The Council has also scheduled meetings on the situation in Somalia,
Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia &
Eritrea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Kosovo, among subjects, he told the
press.<meta name="palestin">
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 THOUSANDS OF LEBANESE STILL UNABLE TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES, WARNS UN
REFUGEE AGENCY
New York, Sep  5 2006  6:00PM
Thousands of Lebanese are still unable to return to their homes more
than three weeks after the cessation of hostilities began because they
have lost their livelihoods, the United Nations refugee agency said
today, warning that many are also in need of long-term medical assistance.

“There are thousands of Lebanese who have not been able to return to
their homes – in areas around Beirut there are an estimated 12,000
displaced who have not returned after the war,” UN High Commissioner for
Refugees
(<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=44fd53e92">UNHCR)
spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.

“In Beirut itself, the charity Caritas estimates there are 35,000.
These people have lost their source of income. Older people and those with
disabilities have chronic medical needs.”

He said UNHCR’s distribution of emergency aid was continuing smoothly
but added that children need extra help due to the conflict, both in
terms of resuming their education and also with counselling because of
their war experiences.

“As part of that problem, UNHCR has helped a Lebanese non-governmental
organization (NGO) the Development for People and Nature Association to
set up a summer camp they’re running for children in the town of
Jezzine.” Over 100 children up to the age of 14 from various villages in the
area have activities that include peace education, plays and
handicrafts.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said recently that it is working to
ensure hundreds of thousands of pupils receive notebooks and other
supplies before classes resume next month. The Fund is also continuing its
other humanitarian efforts in Lebanon, including helping to deal with the
chronic shortage of clean water in the south, a UN spokesman said
today.

“UNICEF reports that it is working with the Lebanese authorities to try
to rehabilitate the water system that used to serve up to 750,000
people in the south. UNICEF is also fixing labels to the bottled water it is
distributing, to better inform families and children about the threat
of unexploded ordnance,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

There are now 10 UN teams operating in Lebanon trying to deal with the
masses of unexploded ordnance that litter the countryside and more will
be arriving soon, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) said today. So far, they have identified 434 cluster bomb
strike locations and destroyed 112 unexploded bombs and almost 14,000
cluster sub-munitions.
<meta name="palestin">
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

LEBANESE TROOPS DEPLOY IN MORE AREAS OF THE SOUTH AS UN CLEARS
UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE
New York, Sep  5 2006  5:00PM
Lebanese troops deployed further south today, occupying some areas for
the first time in decades, as Israeli troops continued their withdrawal
and United Nations teams worked to rid the countryside of the masses of
unexploded ordnance from the recent conflict.       

“Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) withdrew yesterday from several areas in
southern Lebanon... The Lebanese army is to deploy to the areas that
were vacated by the Israelis today [and] earlier the Lebanese army moved
into the southern town of Bint Jbeil for the first time in three
decades,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.       

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon
(<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/index.html">UNIFIL), which
is helping coordinate the movement of Israeli and Lebanese forces in
the south, also held another meeting yesterday with the two sides to
discuss the latest developments on the ground, he added.       

Continuing its work to clear the area of the masses of unexploded
ordnance, mostly made up of cluster bomblets, which litter the countryside,
UNIFIL said today that a de-mining team from its Chinese contingent had
disposed of over 1,260 pieces during the past week.       

Also on the humanitarian front, UNIFIL is continuing efforts to counter
the chronic shortage of clean water in the south, with the Indian and
Ghanaian battalions distributing 100,000 litres to the villages of El
Khiyam, At Tayyabah, Kafr Kila, Tibnin and Haddathah during the past 24
hours. In addition, UNIFIL contingents treated 227 people in need of
medical care and the Indian battalion provided veterinary assistance to
504 animals.       

UNIFIL also said today that over the past 24 hours there had been eight
Israeli air violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement.         
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000


BLUE HELMETS WILL ONLY BE EFFECTIVE IF THEY HAVE SUDANESE CONSENT, SAYS
ANNAN
New York, Sep  5 2006  5:00PM
The planned United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur will only be
effective if the Sudanese Government gives its consent and cooperation,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today as the Security Council unveiled
plans for a high-level meeting on the issue next week.          


<"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=934">Speaking to
reporters in Alexandria after talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul
Gheit, Mr. Annan said that blue helmets would be there “to help the
Government protect the people and assist them. We are not going there to
invade. We have no other intentions.”          


Last week Council members agreed to dispatch more than 17,000 UN
peacekeepers to Darfur as part of a resolution that also “invites the
consent” of the Sudanese Government to the deployment. Khartoum has stated on
several occasions that it is opposed to any kind of UN force operating
there.          


The Secretary-General expressed concern over reports that Khartoum has
demanded that the African Union (AU) force in Darfur leave by the end
of the month unless it agrees to certain conditions, saying it “leaves
hanging in the air the question of what happens to the internally
displaced people and the people who are in need of help in Darfur.”          


UN humanitarian agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
estimate they are giving support to up to three million people in Darfur
and neighbouring Chad as a result of the conflict that has raged on
Sudan’s impoverished and remote western flank since 2003.          


“If we have to leave because of lack of security, lack of access to the
people, then what happens?” Mr. Annan asked. “The Government will have
to assume responsibility for doing this and, if it doesn’t succeed, it
will have lots of questions to answer to the rest of the world.”          


The Security Council has postponed a meeting on Darfur scheduled for
this Friday until next Monday to allow the Secretary-General, who is
currently touring the Middle East, to return to UN Headquarters in New York
and attend.          


Adamantios Vassilakis, Ambassador of Greece, which holds the Council
presidency for September, told reporters today that the Council has sent
invitations to the Sudanese Government, the League of Arab States and
the Organization of the Islamic Conference to dispatch high-level
representatives for the meeting.          


Mr. Vassilakis said he has received no response yet from the Sudanese
Government on whether they would attend the Council meeting.          


In a separate development, the existing UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has
condemned the killing of another NGO staffer in Darfur, the latest in a
string of aid workers to have been murdered in the region during the
past two months.          


The victim was a nurse working for the International Rescue Committee.
During the attack, the health centre where the nurse worked was looted,
as was a pharmacy and guesthouse managed by the NGO.          


UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Manuel da Silva condemned the
killing and voiced alarm at the attack on the clinic.          


“The targeting and looting of a humanitarian facility such as a medical
centre is completely unacceptable. The neutrality and essential
services provided by such facilities must be recognized by all.”          


In North Darfur, a team from the AU’s mission in the region was held up
by 12 armed men while they attempted to escort women who were carrying
firewood. The armed men took away weapons and ammunition, as well as an
AU vehicle.          


UNMIS reports that the entire region remains volatile, but clashes have
been particularly frequent in North Darfur between the parties that
signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May and those rebel groups that
did not.             
2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

TIMOR-LESTE: NEW ACTING UN POLICE COMMISSIONER NAMED

New York, Sep 5 2006 11:00AM As part of United Nations efforts to foster stability in Timor-Leste, Police Advisor Antero Lopes has been designated Acting Police Commissioner for the UN peacekeeping operation in the country, where he worked previously on law enforcement issues. Mr. Lopes joined the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste <" http://www.unmiset.org/">(UNMIT) in mid-August. He had previously assisted in the planning of the police component of the new Mission as a member of the assessment mission led by Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Envoy, Ian Martin, in June. His deployment with UNMIT during this transitional period will facilitate discussions with the Timorese Government on policing matters as well as the smooth implementation of the recommendations on the establishment of the police component including ensuring the restoration and maintenance of public security through the provision of support to the Timorese national police. Mr. Lopes comes to the job from UN Headquarters, where he served as Deputy Police Advisor and Head of Operations Support in the Police Division, which he helped to establish nearly six years ago. In 2000, Mr. Lopes held the post of Deputy Police Commissioner in <" http://www.un.org/peace/etimor/etimor.htm">(UNTAET) following positions as Police Spokesperson and First Special Assistant. In a recent interview, Mr. Lopes said “I’ve been here before and I am acquainted with the reality of Timor-Leste. Our job is to serve and protect the interests of the population of Timor-Leste.” From 1993 to 1995 Mr. Lopes served as a Regional Commander and Chief of Operations in the former Yugoslavia, where he was also co-founder of the project that lead to the Human Rights Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has been instrumental in conducting assessment missions, coordinating planning and working in support of police operations in Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Côte d’Ivoire, Kosovo, Afghanistan and other. “I am pleased to have on board a UN Police Commissioner of the caliber of Antero Lopes, not just because of his high competence level, but because I know that the Timorese people will benefit from his experience in capacity-building and in helping to reconstitute a national police force that will ensure service to the population is a priority,” Special Representative for the Secretary-General for Timor-Leste Sukehiro Hasegawa said. 2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

SOMALIA: FIRST UN FOOD AGENCY SHIP ARRIVES IN MOGADISHU IN MORE THAN A DECADE

 New York, Sep 5 2006 11:00AM Aiming to alleviate suffering caused by drought, a ship chartered by the United Nations World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2233">WFP) docked this weekend in Mogadishu – the agency's first delivery to the Somali capital’s port in more than a decade. The MV Redline docked at Mogadishu port on Sunday loaded with 3,300 metric tons of WFP food – 2,400 tons of cereals, 780 tons of lentils, 90 tons of highly nutritious blended food and 30 tons of vegetable oil. The food will be trucked to the drought stricken regions of Bay and Bakool in the south. Rival claims by competing warlords closed Mogadishu port in February 1995 until the Union of Islamic Courts seized the capital in June. The port was reopened to shipping in August. “Mogadishu is once again a key entry point for getting food stocks into the country. The reopening of the port makes it easier for us to reach more than one million people across the country who rely on our assistance,” said WFP Somalia Acting Country Director Leo van der Velden. He said that using the country's largest port should reduce unloading times and help ease logistical problems that have complicated WFP's supply lines into Somalia over the past 10 years. With Mogadishu closed to shipping, WFP-chartered ships had to unload their cargo at beach ports near the capital and at the port of Merka to the south. Cranes unloaded the food commodities from ships onto smaller barges, which then ferried them to the shallows, where porters waited to wade ashore with the bags. Mr. Van den Velden said WFP was discussing with Mogadishu's newly appointed port management the use of WFP food in return for work to clean up the facility after years of disuse. A spate of pirate attacks in Somali waters in 2005 forced WFP to bring food aid to the drought-stricken south by road because shipping companies were unwilling to risk voyages to Somalia. Two WFP-chartered ships were seized by pirates in 2005 and one escaped a pirate attack in March 2006. Although the recent harvest has provided a respite for some people in Somalia, many families are still struggling to recover from last year's devastating drought, according to the agency, which estimated that 1.4 million people in North, central or southern Somalia face either an acute food and livelihood security crisis or humanitarian emergency until at least the end of December 2006. In addition, 400,000 internally displaced people need prolonged humanitarian assistance. WFP needs a total of $37 million to assist 1.1 million people in Somalia until July 2007. 2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 

LIBERIA: UNICEF TO HELP HALF A MILLION CHILDREN THROUGH VITAMIN A AND DEWORMING DRIVE

 New York, Sep 5 2006 11:00AM Aiming to prevent deadly childhood illnesses, the United Nations Children’s Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/media/index.html">UNICEF) and the Government of Liberia have launched a five-day campaign to administer Vitamin A supplementation and deworming tablets to more than 500,000 children under the age of five. Some 519,000 children aged six to 59 months are targeted to receive Vitamin A supplementation while 502,000 children aged 12 to 59 months are projected to receive a deworming Mebendazole tablet. The drive began Monday at government health clinics and other designated locations in 10 counties across the country. “This public health campaign is completely free to Liberian families, and we call on all mothers, fathers, and guardians to bring their children to the nearest government clinic to receive Vitamin A and the deworming medicine,” said the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Walter Gwenigale. “If a government clinic is not near to your home community, ask your town crier and he or she will be able to tell you where the nearest fixed point is. Vitamin A helps protect young children from blindness, measles, diarrheal dehydration, and acute respiratory infections. Intestinal parasites can be deadly and the deworming of children also helps children grow stronger because it helps their bodies resist infections. UNICEF Liberia’s Acting Senior Programme Officer, Kabuka M. Banda, explained while this effort is underway in 10 counties this week, children in the remaining five counties of Liberia are receiving Vitamin A and deworming tablets through an ongoing campaign to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus from Liberia, in an initiative funded by UNICEF in collaboration with the Government of Liberia, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN Mission in Liberia (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmil/">UNMIL). “For the first time in Liberia, a national tetanus vaccination campaign is underway,” said Mr. Banda. “This is the start of a long-term plan to eradicate tetanus from Liberia and ultimately, the strategy will ensure that more than 800,000 Liberian women of child-bearing age receive three doses of the tetanus toxoid vaccine necessary to protect them and their newborns from tetanus. If successful, he said the strategy “will contribute to the elimination of tetanus in Liberia,” where the disease is a major cause of morbidity for children under the age of one. 2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 

ASIAN LEADERS TO FOCUS ON GOVERNMENT REFORMS AT UN BACKED MEETING

New York, Sep 5 2006 10:00AM Ministers, senior government representatives, academics, members of civil society and representatives of the private sector are expected to gather in Seoul tomorrow for the United Nations-backed Regional Forum on Reinventing Government in Asia. The event will also see the launch of the first-ever UN Project Office on Governance. Based in Seoul, the office will act as a regional and international focal point for research, training and advocacy in improving governance. “The new Office will act as a hub within Asia, where interested governments and stakeholders can seek and exchange information on the experiences of other countries in selecting and implementing innovations in governance that improve conditions for citizens,” said Guido Bertucci, Director of the UN’s Division for Public Administration and Development Management. The two-day meeting, organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Korea, the UN Development Programme (<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/?categoryID=349437&lang=en">UNDP) and the UN Project Office on Governance, is one of six regional meetings taking place this year to provide policy recommendations for the Seventh Global Forum on Reinventing Government. To be held in June 2007 at the UN Office in Vienna, that meeting will tackle on the theme of “Building Trust in Government.” “The theme for this year’s event is an important one which underlines a great many of the other objectives that we at the United Nations aim to achieve, in terms of development, security and the defense of human rights.” said José Antonio Ocampo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. With increasing demands on governments and a need to adapt effectively in today’s globalized world, the focus will be on the sharing of innovations and best practices. The meeting will assist governments and stakeholders to strengthen their governance and public sector capacities, take greater advantage of the potential of globalization and achieve development objectives. The meeting will identify Asia-specific issues, challenges and responses within the sphere of public administration, the UN said in a news release. Key themes include: public sector capacity and innovations; service delivery and access; decentralization; transparency, accountability and e-government. The Global Forum on Reinventing Government first began in 1999 and is part of an on-going effort by the UN and its members to improve the quality of governance and public administration world-wide. The first Global Forum was held in Washington D.C. 2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 

NEARLY HALF OF ALL FISH EATEN TODAY FARMED, NOT CAUGHT, UN FOOD AGENCY SAYS

 New York, Sep 5 2006 10:00AM Nearly half the fish consumed as food worldwide are raised on fish farms rather than caught in the wild, says a new report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000383/index.html">FAO). “The State of World Aquaculture 2006,” which was presented to delegates from more than 50 countries attending an FAO meeting on the issue in New Delhi, shows that while in 1980 just 9 per cent of the fish consumed by human beings came from aquaculture, that figure has jumped to 43 per cent today. That amounts to 45.5 million tonnes of farmed fish, worth $63 billion, eaten each year. Currently, freshwater and marine capture fisheries produce 95 million tonnes annually, of which 60 million tonnes is destined for human consumption, the FAO said. Globally, consumer demand for fish continues to climb, especially in affluent, developed nations which in 2004 imported 33 million tonnes of fish worth over $61 billion, or 81 per cent of all fish imports that year, in value terms. But levels of captures of fish in the wild have remained roughly stable since the mid-1980s, hovering around 90 to 93 million tonnes annually. There is little chance of any significant increases in catches beyond these levels, FAO says. The agency's most recent global assessment of wild fish stocks found that out of the nearly 600 species groups it monitors, 52 per cent are fully exploited while 25 per cent are either overexploited, depleted or recovering from depletion. Twenty per cent are moderately exploited, with just three percent ranked as underexploited. “Catches in the wild are still high, but they have levelled off, probably for good,” said Rohana Subasinghe of FAO's Fisheries Department and Secretary of the Sub-Committee on Aquaculture. The FAO report estimates that an additional 40 million tonnes of aquatic food will be required by 2030 just to maintain current levels of consumption. The only option for meeting future demand for fish, the agency said, is by farming them. “Aquaculture is crucial to the fight against global hunger,” said Ichiro Nomura, FAO Assistant Director-General for Fisheries. “We must ensure that the sector continues to expand, sustainably, to provide more people with food and income, especially in areas like sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where hunger and poverty prevail.” 2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 

UN, LEBANESE TROOPS DEPLOYED BY MID-SEPTEMBER SHOULD ALLOW ISRAELI PULLOUT --

ANNAN New York, Sep 4 2006 7:00PM The deployment of a credible presence of United Nations and Lebanese troops in southern Lebanon by mid-September should allow for Israel to withdraw, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today in Saudi Arabia. "I expect that by mid-September, we'll have about 5,000 international troops on the ground, and they will be deployed to the south with the 16,000 Lebanese troops," he told a joint press conference with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal. "And with that credible force on the ground at that time, Israel should be able to withdraw its forces completely." He said the pullout of Israeli forces is critical to regional stability. "As long as they are in southern Lebanon some Lebanese will rightly see that as an occupation and there could be miscalculation an accident could occur so we need to have a clear situation where the Israelis fully withdraw and international and Lebanese forces taking over that territory." The Secretary-General also emphasized that the UN and Lebanese forces will be necessary to ensure that progress so far is maintained. "What is important is that the cessation of hostilities, which was declared on the 14th of August, has, on the whole, held very well. But it is fragile and we need to move on as rapidly as we can to consolidate it, and this is why we are pressing ahead with the rapid deployment of the international troops to assist the government and the Lebanese army to extend its authority throughout the south." He also urged attention to the fundamental problems plaguing the region. "The key issue and the root cause that we should deal with is Palestine, the lifting of the air, sea, and land blockade, and the issue of the borders of Lebanon and the question of Shabaa Farms," he said. "I myself have urged consistently that Israel lifts the embargo, and I hope that it will be done sooner rather than later, because it is necessary for a country that there has to be free movement of people and goods for it to be able to handle this urgent task," he said, repeating a call he has made throughout the trip, which has taken him to Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Iran and Qatar. Mr. Annan said his discussions with leaders in Saudi Arabia had been fruitful and stressed the country's regional and global importance. "When it comes to resolving conflicts, whether it is Lebanon or the Palestinian one, or for that matter Iraq, their views and their weight is important and we need to factor that into whatever scheme we have for resolving it," he said. Responding to press questions, he said the Saudi leaders had voiced support for the Security Council resolution that ended the hostilities in Lebanon and mandated an expanded UN Interim Force there (UNIFIL). "I did get confirmation that they will cooperate and will support [resolution] 1701 and they will work with Lebanon and the international community to implement it." The Secretary-General's intensive diplomatic tour takes him next to Egypt and Turkey. 2006-09-04 00:00:00.000

 

 

SUDAN SHOULD ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL HELP ON DARFUR, ANNAN SAYS

New York, Sep 4 2006 2:00PM Secretary-General Kofi Annan today reiterated his appeal to the Government of Sudan to accept United Nations forces in the country's troubled Darfur region, as mandated by the Security Council. Last week, the Council agreed today to deploy a UN peacekeeping force of more than 17,000 troops in Darfur. The resolution creating the operation "invites the consent" of the Sudanese Government to the deployment, although Khartoum has said on several occasions that it is opposed to any kind of UN force taking over the role of the African Union's (AU) current operation -- known by the acronym AMIS -- in Darfur. The Secretary-General was asked about Khartoum's rejection of the resolution at a press conference today in Qatar. "If the Government of Sudan had been able to protect these people, we would not even be talking about deploying international troops," he noted. Since Sudan's Government has not been able to address the situation, "it is incumbent on it to accept international help to pacify the region so that people can live their lives in peace and dignity," he added, voicing hope that the country's leaders will "realize that by their inability to protect them, they will be held liable at some stage for what is going on on the ground." The Secretary-General recalled that UN members recently accepted the concept of 'responsibility to protect,' "which means each government has the responsibility to protect its people from genocide, ethnic-cleansing, gross and systematic violations of human rights." When a government fails, he said, the international community has the right to step in and assist. "We now have to redeem that solemn pledge that was made only last September," he said. "I would urge the Sudanese authorities to reconsider and work with the international community and accept the forces. We are going in to help. We have no other ambition than that." Mr. Annan pointed out that the UN currently has 10,000 troops f over the world deployed in South Sudan to support a peace agreement that ended a separate conflict there. "We work peacefully with their consent and cooperation and I hope we can do the same in Darfur," he said. These views echo those Mr. Annan expressed in a letter to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir last week. The Secretary-General wrote that only an impartial peacekeeping force like the proposed expansion of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), currently deployed to help implement an accord that ended fighting in the country's South, would have the resources and capacity to effectively support the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) signed by the Government and some of the region's rebel groups in May. In the letter, Mr. Annan also expressed alarm over the recent deployment of large numbers of Sudanese troops in Darfur, which UN officials have called an apparent sign that the Government is determined to pursue a major military offensive there soon. 2006-09-04 00:00:00.000

 

ITALIAN TROOPS DEPLOY IN LEBANON AS PART OF UN FORCE

 New York, Sep 4 2006 2:00PM The first large contingent of Italian troops has joined the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) as part of international efforts to foster the Security Council-mandated withdrawal of Israeli forces from the country's South. The 880 Italian troops arrived this weekend by helicopter in Tyre, by boat in Naqoura, and by fixed wing aircraft in Beirut, UNIFIL said. They are from the Navy San Marco Regiment and the Army Lagunari "Serenissima" Regiment. In addition, 159 tracked and wheeled vehicles disembarked in Naqoura, Tyr and Beirut. UNIFIL said on 10 September, an additional Italian company of 120 officers and soldiers is expected to arrive in South Lebanon. The Italian contingent is the largest single deployment of troops to the Force since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that mandated an increase of UNIFIL to up to 15,000. The total number of UNIFIL troops is currently estimated at approximately 3,100. In other developments, UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini today met with the senior representatives of the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on the premises of the UNIFIL position at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura. They discussed coordinating the process of the IDF withdrawal and subsequent deployment, in conjunction with UNIFIL, of the Lebanese Army in specific areas in the South. "The meeting was productive and I think we are on the right track in securing the full withdrawal of IDF from Lebanon and finally ensuring that the Lebanese Army will take control of the whole border area in the South," Major-General Pellegrini said. 2006-09-04 00:00:00.000

 

UN ENVOY TO IRAQ CONDEMNS 'BRUTAL MURDER' OF RELIGIOUS PILGRIMS

New York, Sep 4 2006 2:00PM The senior United Nations envoy to Iraq has strongly condemned the "deliberate murder" of over a dozen foreign pilgrims while on their way to the Holy City of Karbala. The murder of 14 people, including five women, while on their religious pilgrimage is "a heinous crime that violates the fundamental precepts of Islam and humanity," said Ashraf Qazi, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative in Iraq. In a statement issued on Sunday, he also extended his condolences to the families of the victims and called on the Iraqi authorities to "vigorously pursue the perpetrators of this crime and bring them to justice." 2006-09-04 00:00:00.000

 

MIDDLE EAST COUNTRIES SUPPORTIVE OF SECURITY COUNCIL LEBANON RESOLUTION, ANNAN SAYS

 New York, Sep 4 2006 2:00PM Following a series of diplomatic meetings with top leaders across the Middle East, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today said the region is supportive of the Security Council resolution which ended the hostilities in Lebanon, and countries are stepping forward to contribute troops for an international force there. "I am leaving the region convinced that Lebanon takes the resolution seriously and is intending to implement it to the fullest," the Secretary-General declared. "The Israelis have given me the same assurance. And in the capitals I have visited, from Syria to Tehran, and now here, everyone supports the resolution," Mr. Annan told reporters in Qatar at a joint press conference with the country's Foreign Minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr Al-Thani. With an international consensus, "all governments in this region and beyond will have to support its implementation," he continued, referring to Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the hostilities and authorized an expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). "I don't see any government that wants to isolate itself by working against the Lebanese and international interests, and we all need to work together to get it done." The Secretary-General said there currently exists an opportunity "not only to stabilize Lebanon, but to build on that achievement, if we succeed, to expand our efforts to the other peace tracks, the Palestinian and Syrian tracks." Qatar has provided "very strong and consistent support," he said, noting that as a member of the Security Council, the country plays a key role. The Secretary-General said UNIFIL currently includes a geographically broad range of troops, including those from China, India and Ghana. "And in addition to the European forces deploying, we will be bringing in troops from Indonesia, Malaysia and possibly Nepal," he said. In Naqoura, UNIFIL announced that 8 weekend to join the Force, and an additional Italian company of 120 officers and soldiers will deploy to Southern Lebanon on 10 September. The international force constitutes "a manifestation of international solidarity" the Secretary-General said, voicing hope that this will continue as Lebanon embarks on reconstruction and recovery. Responding to press questions, the Secretary-General repeated his call for a lifting of the Israeli blockade against Lebanon. "It is a particularly destructive act because it is at a time when Lebanon is trying to reconstruct and needs to bring in material and get its commerce going to be able to rebuild," he said. The Secretary-General was in Qatar following stops in Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Iran. <meta name="palestin"> 2006-09-04 00:00:00.000

 

ANNAN TO APPOINT ‘FACILITATOR’ IN ISRAELI-LEBANESE PRISONER RELEASE; AWAITS BLOCKADE NEWS New York, Sep 5 2006 2:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today he would appoint a “facilitator” to assist in the release of Israeli and Lebanese prisoners abducted during the recent conflict, adding he was also hoping for "positive" news in the next 48 hours on whether Israel would lift its air and sea blockade on Lebanon. Mr. Annan, currently in Egypt on the latest leg of his regional initiative to shore up support for resolution 1701 that ended the month of fighting, made his <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=934">comments after meeting with President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Alexandria. “With regards to the abducted Israeli soldiers and the Lebanese prisoners, I have accepted to appoint a facilitator who will work with the two parties to find a solution to this problem, and I am hopeful that my facilitator will be ale to work expeditiously with the parties to come forward with a mutually acceptable solution for both parties.” The blockade of Lebanon “has been one of the issues on my agenda right from the beginning and I know it is very important for the Lebanese government and for the people of the region. I don’t want to raise any false hopes but I hope that within the next 48 hours we will have some news on that – constructive and positive news.” Following his talks so far in the region, which have included high-level discussions in Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian occupied territory, Syria, Iran as well as with other regional players, Mr. Annan said he was “quite satisfied” and convinced that countries would work for the full implementation of <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/res/1701(2006)">resolution 1701, although challenges remained. “It is important that we work together to pacify Lebanon and its relations with Israel – but not stay there – and move on to work on peace on the other tracks – Palestinian in particular, and the Syrian track. And I am convinced that with that determined effort we can succeed. The ceasefire is fragile, but I believe we are taking steps to consolidate it,” he said. “We need to solve the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We need to look at comprehensive peace in the region based on UN resolutions and the concept of ‘land for peace.’” From Egypt, Mr. Annan flew later today to Turkey. 2006-09-05 00:00:00.000

 

IRANIAN PRESIDENT PREPARED TO NEGOTIATE ON NUCLEAR ISSUE, ANNAN SAYS

New York, Sep 3 2006 3:00PM
Iran's President is prepared to negotiate on the issue of his country's nuclear ambitions but said he will not suspend uranium enrichment activities, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today in Tehran following a meeting with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other top officials.

The UN Security Council, which has threatened sanctions if Iran does not suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and take steps to assure the world that it is not developing nuclear arms, is currently considering a new report on the matter from the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA).

"On the nuclear issue, the President reaffirmed to me Iran's preparedness and determination to negotiate and find a solution to the crises," Mr. Annan told reporters in the capital today. "He indicated that they do not accept suspension before negotiations. But he assured me that
they are prepared to negotiate."

In addition to meeting with President Ahmadinejad, the Secretary-General has held talks this weekend with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Kamal Kharazzi, the Chairman of
the Foreign Relations Strategic Committee.

Looking forward to a planned meeting between Mr. Larijani and Javier Solana, the High Representative of the European Union for Common Foreign and Security Policy, the Secretary-General said, "I hope at that point they will find a way to move forward and begin serious work on this dossier."

The Secretary-General is currently on an intensive diplomatic tour of the region aimed at bolstering support for the Security Council resolution that ended the hostilities in Lebanon last month while and addressing other regional hotspots. He has held meetings in Lebanon, Israel,
Syria and Qatar.

He told reporters that President Ahmadinejad voiced backing for the resolution, which mandated a cessation of hostili the size and scope of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon. "He
reaffirmed his country's support for the implementation of resolution 1701 and agrees with me that we should do everything to strengthen the territorial integrity of Lebanon, the independence of Lebanon, and work together for the reconstruction of Lebanon."

President Ahmadinejad also "indicated that Tehran will work with us in a collective effort to reconstruct Lebanon," Mr. Annan said. "Iran is an important regional player and has a key role to play, and the President did assure me that it would play that role."

Responding to press questions, he emphasized that both Israel and Lebanon accepted the resolution, and troops are deploying quickly into southern Lebanon. "I expect around the middle of the month that we would have, if all goes well, about 5,000 international troops there in addition
to the 16,000 Lebanese troops ready to deploy to the south," he said.

"That will constitute a credible force that will take over the territory in the south of Lebanon in support of the Lebanese Government so that the Israel troops can withdraw completely."

The Secretary-General also voiced concern about the Holocaust cartoon exhibit. He recalled his own appeals for sensitivity during the furor over the Danish cartoons. "I did state that, while there may be freedom of expression and the right to freedom of expression, that right is not
a license and that it has to be exercised with responsibility, with sensitivity, and judgment. And I think that the tragedy of the Holocaust is a sad and undeniable historical fact so we should really handle that and accept that fact, and teach children what happened in World War II, and ensure that it is never repeated."

Mr. Annan further cautioned that, "Words can soothe and words can harm. And we should be careful not to say anything that can be misused as an excuse for incitement to hatred or violence."

2006-09-03 00:00:00.000

 

AFGHANISTAN OPIUM CULTIVATION SURGES IN VOLATILE SOUTH, UN DRUG AGENCY SAYS New York, Sep 2 2006 3:00PM Opium cultivation is surging in the troubled southern part of Afghanistan and fuelling insurgency across the region, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported today. According to UNODC's annual survey, a record 165,000 hectares were under opium cultivation in 2006, a 59 per cent gain over 2005. In the southern province of Helmand, where Taliban insurgents have intensified their attacks on Afghan government and international forces, cultivation soared 162 per cent. UNODC notes that this year's harvest of around 6,100 tons of opium will represent 92 per cent of total world supply and exceed global consumption by 30 per cent. "These are very alarming numbers. Afghanistan is increasingly hooked on its own drug," said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa in Kabul after presenting the survey to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The UNODC chief warned that the southern part of Afghanistan, with its large-scale drug operations, terrorism, crime and corruption, was verging on collapse. "The political, military and economic investments by coalition countries are not having much visible impact on drug cultivation," said Mr. Costa. "As a result, Afghan opium is fuelling insurgency in western Asia, feeding international mafias and causing a hundred thousand deaths from overdoses every year." Mr. Costa called on the Afghan Government to take greater action against corruption and to arrest major drug traffickers and wealthy opium-farming landlords and seize their assets. He added that governors and police officials presiding over opium-growing provinces should be removed and charged while drug-free areas should be rewarded with more substantial and more visible development aid. The UNODC Executive Director also called on western governments to do more to curb drug abuse in their countries. "Heroin habits in the West put huge sums of money into the pockets of criminals and insurgents who and civilians alike," he said. 2006-09-02 00:00:00.000

 

 

ANNAN HOLDS 'GOOD AND CONSTRUCTIVE' TALKS IN IRAN WITH SENIOR OFFICIALS New York, Sep 2 2006 3:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan held what he termed "very good and constructive" talks with Iranian leaders in Tehran today covering the nuclear issue and regional hotspots. "I found the discussions helpful and it will come in handy as I move ahead with my work," Mr. Annan told reporters after meeting for an hour and a half with the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani. The Secretary-General characterized the discussions as "very good and constructive" and said they touched on "the nuclear issue as well as the many regional issues of concern to Iran and to the United Nations." On 31 August, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent a new report on Iran to the UN Security Council, which has threatened sanctions if the country does not suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and take steps to assure the world that it is not developing nuclear arms. Earlier this month, Mr. Annan appealed to Tehran to respond positively to an offer made by China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the support of the European Union's High Representative. The so-called "EU-3 plus 3" proposals, which were endorsed by the Council in its July resolution, envisage a long-term comprehensive arrangement which would allow for the development of relations with Iran based on mutual respect and the establishment of international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. Also speaking to the press today, Mr. Larijani agreed that the talks had been constructive and pledged to support Mr. Annan's efforts in this connection. "The best solution to this problem can be found through negotiation," he said, adding, "We need to have continuous consultations with the Secretary-General of the United Nations." In an interview with Le Monde, Mr. Annan said he was in contact with all sides and emphas conflict in a region that is already being subjected to a great deal of stress. Earlier in the day, the Secretary-General met Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and held talks with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Their discussions covered implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the recent hostilities in Lebanon, as well as the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, the nuclear issue and human rights. During a subsequent meeting with the Chairman of the Expediency Council and former President, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Secretary-General reviewed the outcome of his visits to Lebanon, Israel and Syria. Their discussions also dealt with the nuclear agenda and Iran's engagement with the international community, according to a spokesman traveling with the UN delegation. The Secretary-General is expected to meet President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tomorrow morning. Iran is the latest stop on a diplomatic tour that has taken Mr. Annan to Lebanon, Israel, Syria and Qatar.<meta name="palestin"> 2006-09-02 00:00:00.000

 

KOSOVO: UN ENVOY WELCOMES TREATMENT FOR FORMER RESIDENTS OF LEAD-POLLUTED CAMPS New York, Sep 1 2006 3:00PM The senior United Nations envoy in Kosovo has welcomed the start of medical treatment to help internally displaced persons (IDPs) suffering from lead toxicity as a result of living in camps in the northern part of the disputed province. Joachim Rücker, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, said in a press statement today that the World Health Organization  has been able to begin the medical treatment programme now that IDPs have transferred to a safer UN-run camp. Almost 600 IDPs from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities have moved since the start of the year to Camp Osterode from the lead-contaminated camps in Cesmin Lug/Llugë, Žitkovac/Zitkovc, Kablare/Kablar, with the latter two camps now closed entirely. Some 148 people still remain in Cesmin Lug/Llugë. Mr. Rücker congratulated those IDPs who agreed to relocate to Osterode for the sake of their children while permanent homes in the Mitrovica/Mitrovicë Roma Mahala are under construction. “This has been a painful chapter in the lives of the IDPs concerned, whom circumstances connived to keep in extremely unhygienic and adverse living conditions in the camps,” he said, urging those people remaining in Cesmin Lug/Llugë to move to Osterode as soon as possible. The UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) arranged the move in cooperation with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), WHO and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Before it was opened this year, Osterode was cleaned and refurbished by UNMIK and tested by environmental engineers for lead contamination. Residents have been provided with household items to replace those tainted goods from the previous camps, and some job opportunities have also been created. Most of the IDPs have been displaced from the Roma Mahala that was destroyed during the conflict in 1999, when NATO forces drove out Yugoslav troops amid human rights abuses in fighting between Serbs, Albanians and other ethnic communities. UNMIK was then created by the Security Council to administer the province. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

UN AID CHIEF URGES ACTION TO STEM SUFFERING IN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES New York, Sep 1 2006 3:00PM Painting a grim picture of the current social climate in the Middle East, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today urged donors meeting in Stockholm to address the severe suffering of Palestinians living under occupation. Mr. Egeland, reflecting on more than two decades of travel to the region, said he had never felt such a sense of disillusionment, despair and hatred as on his last mission there in July. Calling the situation in Gaza severe, he said a cessation of hostilities and the release of the captured Israeli soldiers were needed. The humanitarian community also needed better access to Gaza, especially since the “hermetically sealed” Karni crossing made people feel like they were living in a cage, he added. During his visit to Gaza in July, Mr. Egeland called Israel’s military offensive there a “disproportionate use of force” but emphasized that all sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were guilty of violating humanitarian law. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

FRESH ROUND OF SOMALIA PEACE TALKS KICKS OFF IN KHARTOUM – UN SPOKESMAN New York, Sep 1 2006 3:00PM The Secretary-General’s top envoy to Somalia is taking part in peace talks starting today in Khartoum between the troubled Horn of Africa’s disputing parties, the Transitional Government and the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts. Francois Lonsény Fall, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, is expected to release a statement tomorrow on the progress of the dialogue between the two sides, United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters today at UN Headquarters in New York. Mr. Fall has called repeatedly for dialogue in recent weeks to defuse tensions in Somalia, which has not had a functioning government since 1991. The Transitional Government was recently set up in Baidoa, while forces connected to the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts took over the capital of Mogadishu. The Khartoum talks are taking place as the UN agriculture agency warns that a food crisis is looming in Somalia, with almost 2 million people requiring immediate help and the situation likely to worsen if the violence escalates into full-scale conflict. Poor rainfall this year has meant cereal crop production has been well below average, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a press statement released at its headquarters in Rome. About 1.8 million Somalis now need urgent support, at least until the end of the year, FAO said, noting that conditions are most severe in the country’s south. Acute malnutrition rates have already surpassed 20 per cent in Gedo and Lower and Middle Juba regions. FAO said the situation is exacerbated by Somalia’s large population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) following years of civil conflict. There are an estimated 400,000 IDPs, often without access to their regular means of production. The agency is concerned that the IDP population could swell even more if the tensions between the Transitional Government and the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts, escalate in the weeks and months ahead. FAO Technical Director Cindy Holleman said “this would not only prolong the time period of the crisis, but further undermine the resilience and abilities of the population to manage future shocks.” 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

SYRIA AGREES TO HELP ENFORCE ARMS EMBARGO ON ITS BORDER WITH LEBANON, SAYS ANNAN New York, Sep 1 2006 3:00PM Syria agreed today to increase the number of guards on its border with Lebanon and “take all necessary measures” to curb the flow of arms to Hizbollah as stipulated in the United Nations resolution that ended the recent hostilities with Israel, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said after meeting Syrian President Bashar al Assad. “The President informed me that Syria supports Security Council resolution 1701 and will assist the United Nations in its implementation,” Mr. Annan said at a press conference following the discussions in Damascus, the latest stop of his diplomatic effort to bolster support for the resolution that ended the month-long fighting. “While stating Syria’s objection to the presence of foreign troops along the Syrian-Lebanese borders, the President committed to me that Syria shall take all necessary measures to implement in full paragraph 15 of resolution 1701. That is the paragraph that deals with arms embargo and rearmament.” These measures include increasing the number of Syrian border guards, and setting up possible joint border patrols with Lebanese police and also joint control points, Mr. Annan said, adding also that the Syrian President had invited Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to meet to discuss normalizing relations between the two countries. “On the question of disarmament of all militias in Lebanon, the President assured me that he accepts and supports the decisions of the Lebanese National Dialogue related to disarmament of militias,” the Secretary-General said. “I encouraged a meeting between President Assad and Prime Minister Siniora of Lebanon to allow them to discuss issues of mutual interest and improve their relations. The President gave his consent and said that he is ready to meet Prime Minister Siniora any time and that’s a standing invitation.” Mr. Annan also discussed humanitarian issues with the Syrian leader, including the Israeli blockade of Lebanon, which he has consistently said must be lifted, and also the release of Israeli soldiers held by Hizbollah and in Gaza, as well as the release of Lebanese prisoners. From Syria, the Secretary-General flew to Qatar and tomorrow he will travel to Iran for talks with the Foreign Minister and then on Sunday discussions with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL NAMES EXPERTS PROBING ISRAELI CIVILIAN KILLINGS IN LEBANON New York, Sep 1 2006 2:00PM The United Nations Human Rights Council today named three members of the High-Level Commission of Inquiry probing what the Geneva-based body termed “systematic targeting and killings of civilians by Israel” in Lebanon. The three experts are: Clemente Baena Soares of Brazil, a former Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Mohamed Chande Othman, a judge on the Supreme Court of Tanzania, and Stelios Perrakis of Greece, who is the Director of the European Centre for Research and Training on Human Rights and Humanitarian Action. The High-Level Commission of Inquiry was established in August by a resolution of the Council which mandated it to investigate the systematic targeting and killings of civilians by Israel, examine the types of weapons used by Israel and their conformity with international law, and assess the extent and deadly impact of Israeli attacks on human life, property, critical infrastructure and environment. The resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 27 in favour to 11 against with 8 abstentions, strongly condemned the “grave Israeli violations of human rights and breaches of international humanitarian law in Lebanon” and called on Israel “to observe the principle of proportionality and refrain from launching any attack that may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life.” 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL MOURNS VICTIMS OF IRAN PLANE CRASH VICTIMS New York, Sep 1 2006 2:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who heads to Iran tomorrow on an official visit, today voiced sadness at the plane crash in Mashhad that reportedly killed scores of people. “On the eve of his visit to the country, the Secretary-General’s thoughts are with the families of the victims of this tragedy,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters in New York. Mr. Annan will head from Qatar to Iran, where he will hold talks over the weekend as part of a regional tour that has taken him across Middle East. He is expected to meet the country’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as the Foreign Minister and several other officials, Mr. Dujarric said. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

UN HAILS DECISION BY INDIA TO SEND 125 FEMALE POLICE OFFICERS FOR PEACEKEEPING New York, Sep 1 2006 2:00PM India’s landmark decision to send 125 female police officers, one complete specialized unit, to assist United Nations peacekeeping operations in Liberia next month is an “unprecedented” move that sends a message not only to other post-conflict countries about the importance of having women officers, but also to police contributing nations, senior UN officials said today. “This is an unprecedented move by India to deploy these female officers in policing and we applaud it and think that it is extremely timely and extremely relevant to the policing needs in the years ahead,” Police Adviser Mark Kroeker told the UN News Service. “We think it’s a breakthrough that India has expressed its willingness and it’s also good for our Liberia mission because it brings to that police operation these officers who are trained, who are capable, who are women and who can bring the best of what the UN police is to the component there.” The 125 officers, who are currently undergoing the final stages of their training in India, will make up a specialized unit, known as a Formed Police Unit (FPU). The UN has had increasing success with such units over the past few years as a means of bridging the gap between regular and lightly-armed police and fully-armed blue helmets. Details of what exact role the all-female FPU will play as part of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) are currently being worked out, said Noor Gabow, Acting Mission Management Coordinator at the UN Police Division. However he added these specialized units have traditionally been employed as a rapid reaction force, trained in crowd control and better armed than regular police, as well as playing a strong training role for local officers. “This Indian women’s contingent are made up solely of volunteers who have decided that they’d like to be a part of peace operations and that they can play an effective, credible role which we know they can,” said Mr. Gabow. India currently contributes almost 400 police officers to UN missions worldwide, one of the top 10 police-contributing countries, but only 15 of these personnel are female officers, something which the introduction of the 125 women officers next month will dramatically change and which UN officials say will also send a powerful message for change to other contributing countries. “This decision is extremely timely because as we look at our deployment of women in UN police components around the world, we still retain an unacceptably small number of three or four per cent, compared to up to 25 per cent of women officers in an acceptable police organization,” said Mr. Kroeker, himself a former Los Angeles police officer for over 30 years. “It enhances our access to vulnerable populations by having women in UN missions and also sends a message to the post-conflict societies where we work that women officers can have any position and play any role in a police organization, including that of commissioner, or deputy-commissioner or chief of regions or whatever.” The all-female Indian unit will join other FPUs currently serving in Liberia, where the concept was first tried out although its success there and in other operations has led to calls for increasing deployment. UN officials also highlight that FPUs are cheaper to deploy than regular military units, noting that it costs around $5 million to set up a specialized police formation while a military battalion can cost up $30 million. In addition, the deployment of FPUs sends a message to the populations of post-conflict countries that the UN is demilitarizing, while maintaining a credible force that at the same time is helping build local police capacity. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

VIOLENCE INCREASING IN TIMOR-LESTE, UN REFUGEE AGENCY REPORTS New York, Sep 1 2006 1:00PM The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ) is voicing alarm about rising violence in Timor-Leste, where the agency today gave the Government 1,500 family-size tents, plastic sheeting and other relief items to help people affected by unrest earlier this year. "UNHCR is very concerned at the recent escalation of violence in Dili -- in and around some displacement sites themselves -- as well as within communities," agency spokesman Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva. "Burning and stoning of houses in the capital has increased in recent days, as the city has returned to a higher level of violence," he said. "There appear to be attempts by some elements to polarize communities according to their place of origin." An estimated 1,500 homes in Dili were destroyed or significantly damaged by arson during the unrest that began in April, according to UNHCR. Dozens were killed and some 155,000 forced to flee their homes after clashes broke out following the Government's dismissal of about 600 soldiers who had gone on strike. While many people have returned to their homes in recent weeks, the displaced population remains large. According to current official estimates, there are 67,900 internally displaced persons in Dili while 78,000 people are staying primarily with host families outside the capital. According to UNHCR protection staff, in some camps, internally displaced persons (IDPs) live in fear of attacks and intimidation, and some of those who have returned to their homes are also fearful of night-time attacks. Mr. Redmond pointed to a "clear need for an ongoing strong and robust international security presence until national institutions can be rebuilt" in Timor-Leste, which the UN helped guide to independence from Indonesia in 2002. Last wee expanded UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT). Its mandate includes improving security, providing economic assistance, and supporting next year's presidential and parliamentary elections. The mission's civilian component will include more than 1,600 police personnel and up to 34 military liaison and staff officers initially. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

 

LEBANESE ARMY DEPLOYS IN MORE AREAS OF THE SOUTH; UN HELPS CLEAR DEADLY ORDNANCE New York, Sep 1 2006 12:00PM Lebanese troops today moved into more areas of the south of the country after Israeli forces withdrew, the United Nations said, as it continued to coordinate the deployment and stepped up its work to clear the masses of deadly unexploded ordnance that litter the countryside. “The Lebanese Army has started the deployment in the general area of Bastra and the area south of the Kafr Shuba and Shaba villages in the Eastern part of South Lebanon where the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) withdrew on 30 August,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a press release. Carrying on the Force’s humanitarian work, in the past 24 hours UNIFIL’s Chinese Battalion disposed of over 250 pieces of unexploded ordnance, while teams from the Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) carried out controlled demolition of over 300 pieces, it said. The UN estimates that around 120,000 pieces of unexploded ordnance litter southern Lebanon, the vast majority cluster bomblets, and since the cessation of hostilities began on 14 August, this menace has already killed 13 people and wounded almost 50, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said. This ordnance remains the biggest threat to civilian life in Lebanon because as well as killing people it affects livelihoods by killing and wounding animals and preventing farmers from working their fields. UNIFIL said today that its contingents provided medical care to 145 people and veterinary services to over a thousand animals. “Cluster bombs are all over the place…All the places they have the bombs. [Animals] can't graze. They can't go,” said Major Bapu Parasanalli of the Indian Battalion of UNIFIL, a veterinarian who has been working with animals wounded by cluster bomb shrapnel. “They may have some blasts and they may lose their goods. Already they have lost a lot of animals,” he added, referring to the goat and sheep herders who cannot use their fields. Hundreds of sheep have already been killed by the deadly ordnance as thousands have been forced away from their normal grazing, he added. Teams from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are also working alongside the UNMACC to publicize the dangers of unexploded ordnance and have been in villages near the port city of Tyre spreading the message. "This training is crucial, especially for children who are innocent, want to play and are totally unaware that small little items can be so harmful," said Dalia Farran, UNMACC's media and clearance officer at a playground just outside Tyre. UNIFIL also continued its efforts today to help ease the chronic water shortage faced by many villagers in the south and supplied over 40,000 litres to those in need. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

ERIA: UN TROOPS HELP REBUILD SCHOOL AS PART OF RECOVERY INITIATIVES New York, Sep 1 2006 10:00AM In a move to support peace-building and recovery initiatives, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has commissioned a school building project was funded and built by Nigerian contingent troops as part of their community relations activities. At Unification Town outside Monrovia on Wednesday at a ceremony that included traditional Nigerian performances and tree-planting by dignitaries, Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative, Alan Doss, thanked the residents for their contributions to building the school. “Not only have you built a school building, but you have begun building the future of Liberia by investing in its most precious resource, its children,” he said. Mr. Doss also thanked the Nigerian contingent for their efforts. “I would like to praise you for your hard work and your financial contribution to this project,” he told them. Lt.-Col. Y.M. Abubakar, the Nigerian Battalion Contingent Commander, explained that this project was made possible as a result of the financial contributions made by each of the 850 soldiers in this contingent and their desire to help the people of Liberia. The new school building, consisting of two classrooms and an office, will increase the capacity of the Robertsfield Baptist Academy by up to 100 students. This project is part of a larger Peace Building and Recovery Support Programme that UNMIL has coordinated with local authorities and communities which was established to support launch projects vital to improving lives and promoting recovery from years of conflict. So far, the Programme has facilitated projects in the areas of sanitation, agriculture, infrastructure, health, sports and education. The development challenges facing Liberia were one of the “Ten Stories the World Should Hear More About” released by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) earlier this year. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

RENEWED FIGHTING IN SRI LANKA DISRUPTS RETURN OF DISPLACED, UN REFUGEE AGENCY SAYS New York, Sep 1 2006 10:00AM A new flare-up of fighting in Sri Lanka has disrupted returns to Muttar Town, the scene of recent violence and military operations, the United Nations refugee agency reported today. “We had seen some families returning to their own homes, at least in the daytime, but that movement has now come to a halt,” a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ) told a press briefing in Geneva. The new shelling around Trincomalee comes as the number of civilians displaced within Sri Lanka since April reached nearly 214,000. “This may not reflect the full number,” the spokesman cautioned, “since we do not yet have access to all the areas hosting displaced persons.” In addition, more than 11,000 Sri Lankan refugees have crossed into Southern India since the start of the year, after crossing the Palk Strait in boats that the agency said “are often overloaded and unseaworthy.” On Wednesday, the UN launched an appeal for $37.5 million to help victims of violence in the country. As part of that, $5 million is being sought for UNHCR to enable the agency to meet the needs of people displaced within Sri Lanka. Although 23 lorries carrying food for displaced civilians were granted access to Kilinochchi District on Tuesday, the spokesman said that “with so many mouths to feed, more supplies are urgently required” and called upon the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to allow critical humanitarian aid to reach those in need. The spokesman also welcomed the easing of restrictions on freedom of movement in Batticaloa District. UN agencies and their partners are now permitted to enter the LTTE-controlled area, and UNHCR “expects further access to reach larger sectors of the displaced population,” the spokesman said. Fighting between Government forces and the LTTE has intensified since April despite a ceasefire agreed in 2002 aimed at ending a conflict that has lasted for more than 20 years and claimed some 60,000 lives. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

ITALIAN BLUE HELMETS TO DEPLOY LEBANON SATURDAY, UN FORCE COMMANDER SAYS New York, Sep 1 2006 10:00AM The first large contingent of Italian troops will arrive in Tyre on Saturday as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon the Force Commander announced today. Some 880 officers and soldiers and 158 vehicles from the Navy San Marco Regiment and the Army Lagunari “Serenissima” Regiment will disembark on two beaches next to the Rest House starting at 9 a.m. They will then proceed to a staging camp located in the area of Jabal Marun (Burj Qallawiyah) for a briefing on their mission before being deployed to the area of operations. This is the largest single deployment of additional troops to UNIFIL II since it was established last month by Security Council resolution 1701, which mandated an increase of UNIFIL to up to 15,000. Welcoming the valued contribution from Italy, UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alain Pellegrini said, “These troops have a challenging job ahead of them and I am fully confident that they are up to the task.” He paid tribute to the San Marco and Lagunari Regiments, adding, “All of us at UNIFIL are honored to serve with them here in South Lebanon.” The San Marco Regiment has participated in recent years in missions in Lebanon in 1982; in the Persian Gulf in 1987 and again during the Gulf War in 1991; in Somalia in 1992; in Albania in 1997; in East Timor in 1999-2000, and in Kosovo. The Lagunari Regiment is the only amphibious asset of the Italian Army and belongs to those units which are specifically trained to be sent abroad either for operational or humanitarian tasks. The Regiment had been deployed in Bosnia and in Kosovo and conducted reconstruction work in Iraq during the last war. 2006-09-01 00:00:00.000

 

ANNAN SAYS ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF LEBANON MUST NOT BE A ‘COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT’ New York, Aug 31 2006 8:00PM Warning that Israel’s continued blockade of Lebanon risks being seen as “collective punishment” of the Lebanese people, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today renewed calls for it to be lifted as he met with officials in Jordan on the latest leg of his regional tour of the Middle East. “I think it is important that that is lifted and not be seen as collective punishment of the Lebanese people, and Israel itself has said it has no quarrel with the Lebanese people… But in any event, I think that the blockade cannot be sustained for long,” Mr. Annan said at a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib. The Secretary-General also criticized Israel’s use of cluster bombs during the 34-day conflict with Hizbollah, many of which still lie unexploded over large areas of the Lebanese countryside. However, after his meetings in Lebanon and Israel this week, Mr. Annan said he remains confident a lasting agreement can be put in place. “I think those kinds of weapons should not be used in civilian and populated areas and we are working very hard through our mine-action unit to de-mine as quickly as possible. I ask the Israeli authorities to give us maps and indications of where these bombs were dropped.” “And of course even though we have gone through a very difficult period, I still believe we have an opportunity or a chance to turn the tragic events of recent weeks into something more constructive and turn a page and establish a normal reasonable relationship between Lebanon and Israel.” After his discussions with the Foreign Minister, Mr. Annan also met His Majesty King Abdullah bin Hussein, who he also briefed on the recent conflict and the need to shore up resolution 1701 that brought the cessation of hostilities on 14 August. “I expect, and I did make this clear to the Israeli authorities, that when the international forces have reached 5,000 and are deploying to the south with the Lebanese that it’s time for them to withdraw and withdraw completely from southern Lebanon,” he told reporters. “This would be a truly international force. Of course, Europe has provided a large number of forces and they… are the backbone of the force. But we will be bringing in troops from other regions. There will be Islamic troops on the ground Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey has also offered… So we will have an international force with troops coming in from both western and Islamic countries.” From Jordan, Mr. Annan flew to Damascus, where he briefed Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem on his latest discussions over the ending of the conflict in Lebanon and stressed Syria’s role in ensuring the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1701. The Secretary-General is scheduled to meet President Bashar al-Assad tomorrow. He also met UN staff working in Syria earlier today. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

ANNUAL UN ECONOMIC REPORT WARNS ABOUT DANGERS OF GLOBAL TRADE IMBALANCES New York, Aug 31 2006 7:00PM Although a major global economic crisis is unlikely, significant trade imbalances are posing a threat to long-term world economic health, a new United Nations report warns. The UN Conference on Trade and Development in its annual report released today, characterizes the global economy as one of “relatively fast growth in developing countries, driven by strong global demand originating mainly in the United States and amplified by the rapid expansion of the large Chinese economy.” The report finds little evidence of a looming major financial crisis, comparable to the Asian or Latin American crises of 10 years ago. It notes that many developing countries are now less vulnerable to big shocks because they have stabilized their exchange rates at low levels and are running sizeable current-account surpluses and accumulating large amounts of dollar reserves. That approach poses a problem, however, because it “can only function as long as there is at least one country in the global economy that accepts running the corresponding trade deficit,” the report says. That country, the US, has become overburdened in its role as “global engine for growth.” UNCTAD economists fear that, at some point, American demand will no longer be able to act as a bulwark against worldwide deflation and recession. They add that other key industrial countries have not only failed to play their part, but have actually added to the US’ burden by running up huge surpluses of their own. They say countries like Japan and Germany must increase their domestic demand to prevent a sharp devaluation of the American dollar that could send shocks reverberating throughout the developing world. The report notes that China’s surging domestic demand and imports have played a positive and vital role in spreading and sustaining global growth. To prevent that process from being derailed, its currency, the renminbi, should not be revalued too quickly. UNCTAD economists say that redressing global imbalances requires a responsible multilateral effort rather than pressure on the developing world. “A well-coordinated international macroeconomic approach would considerably enhance the chances of poorer countries being able to preserve and continue recent improvements in their growth performances,” the report notes. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

SECURITY COUNCIL RECEIVES UN WATCHDOG’S REPORT ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES New York, Aug 31 2006 7:00PM The International Atomic Energy Agency ) today sent a new report on Iran to the United Nations Security Council, which has threatened sanctions if the country does not suspend uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and take steps to assure the world that it is not developing nuclear arms. In announcing that the report went to the 15-member body, the Vienna-based UN nuclear watchdog said its circulation is restricted “and unless the IAEA Board of Governors and Security Council decide otherwise, the Agency cannot authorize its release to the public.” In a 31 July resolution, the Council said Iran had not taken required steps to assure the world it is not developing nuclear arms, demanded a suspension of the country’s nuclear enrichment and reprocessing activities, and threatened sanctions for non-compliance. The IAEA was requested to report on whether Iran had complied with the resolution within a month. In previous reports, the Agency has been unable to verify that Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful, though it had not seen any diversion of material to nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who is currently on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East, is likely to stop in Iran, according to his spokesman. Earlier this month, Mr. Annan appealed to Tehran to respond positively to an offer made by China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the support of the European Union's High Representative. The so-called “EU-3 plus 3” proposals, which were endorsed by the Council in its July resolution, envisage a long-term comprehensive arrangement which would allow for the development of relations with Iran based on mutual respect and the establishment of international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. “Iran's reply will, I trust, be positive and that this will be the foundation for a final, negotiated settlement,” the Secretary-General said in an appeal to the country’s Government on 20 August. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

 

SIERRA LEONE’S PROGRESS HAS BEEN SOLID BY THREATS TO STABILITY REMAIN – ANNAN New York, Aug 31 2006 4:00PM Despite significant progress, Sierra Leone faces numerous threats to its stability as it continues on the path to recovery from the disastrous and brutal civil war that engulfed the country in the 1990s, according to a new report from Secretary-General Kofi Annan. In a report to the Security Council issued today, the Secretary-General, who visited the country in early July, said he remained “reasonably optimistic” about prospects for long-term peace and economic recovery from the 10-year conflict, which began in 1991 and left thousands dead and many more with amputated limbs. Mr. Annan noted that the transfer in June of former Liberian President Charles Taylor to The Hague to face war crime charges removed a major source of potential instability in Sierra Leone. He expressed concern, however, about several other factors. “Currently, the most serious potential threats to the country’s stability emanate from domestic challenges, including the need to improve the general standard of living of the population, stimulate economic progress, step up anti-corruption efforts and address the issue of high unemployment, particularly of the youth,” he said. The Secretary-General also expressed concern about the country’s political situation, as preparations get underway for elections to be held next July. “There are also worrisome signs of growing intolerance among various political party leaders and their supporters, which portend acrimonious and potentially violent campaigns in the period leading up to the 2007 elections,” he said. Mr. Annan noted that some parties and their supporters are reported to have declared certain areas “off limits” to opponents and that the Government had issued a directive requiring political parties to obtain permission from the police before holding meetings. The Secretary-General said he plans to dispatch an electoral needs assessment mission to the country to meet with its Government and determine what type of assistance the UN, which currently has an Integrated Office in Sierre Leone (UNIOSIL), can provide. He also appealed to Member States to close the gap of $8 to $9 million in funding needed for the elections. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

SECURITY COUNCIL VOTES TO SET UP UN PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN DARFUR New York, Aug 31 2006 4:00PM The Security Council agreed today to deploy a United Nations peacekeeping force of more than 17,000 troops in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region by the end of the year to try to end the spiralling violence and displacement there that has led senior UN officials to warn of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe. Twelve Council members voted in favour of a resolution to expand the mandate of the existing UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) from southern Sudan to cover Darfur as well. China, Russia and Qatar abstained in the vote. Resolution 1706 “invites the consent” of the Sudanese Government to the deployment, although Khartoum has said on several occasions that it is opposed to any kind of UN force taking over the role of the African Union’s (AU) current operation – known by the acronym AMIS – in Darfur. Under the resolution, UNMIS will have up to 17,300 additional troops and as many as 3,300 civilian police officers, and must take over AMIS’ duties by no later than 31 December. Before AMIS hands over to the expanded UNMIS, the UN has been authorized to provide air, engineering, logistics, communications and other support to AMIS. After the vote in the Council, Ambassador John Bolton of the United States, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said it was imperative to act now to stop the violence, where scores of thousands of people have been killed and 2 million others forced to flee their homes since 2003. “We cannot afford to delay,” he stressed, asserting that every day lost only extended the genocide in the remote and impoverished region on Sudan’s western flank. Earlier this week Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland warned the Council that “a man-made catastrophe of an unprecedented scale” looms within weeks unless the Council acts immediately. Mr. Egeland said “we could see hundreds of thousands of deaths” if aid operations – already at grave risk because of rising numbers of attacks against individual workers, dramatically reduced access to those in need, and massive funding shortfalls – collapse. Ambassador Wang Guangya of China said that while his country concurred that UN troops should take over the work of AMIS as soon as possible, the timing of the vote and the fact that the resolution did not specify “with the consent of” the Sudanese Government meant they had to abstain. The resolution was adopted as Secretary-General Kofi Annan released a letter he had sent to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir endorsing the creation of a UN force in Darfur and calling for continuing discussions with Khartoum on this issue. In the letter, Mr. Annan voiced concern that the Sudanese Government’s own formal plan to restore stability to Darfur and protect civilians there does not provide for the transition from an AU force to a UN operation. He said only an impartial peacekeeping force like the proposed UNMIS expansion would have the resources and capacity to effectively support the implemention of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), which was signed by the Government and some of the region’s rebel groups in May. Mr. Annan also expressed alarm over the recent deployment of large numbers of Sudanese troops in Darfur, which Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi told the Council earlier this month was an apparent sign that the Government is determined to pursue a major military offensive there soon. In a separate development, UNMIS issued a statement today in Khartoum deploring the murder of an aid worker with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The driver was killed following a hijacking in North Darfur state. The man’s death brings to 12 the number of aid workers who have been killed in Darfur this year – almost all of them in the past two months. UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Manuel da Silva said he was especially concerned that aid workers are being attacked while they are attempting to help people suffering in Darfur. “The UN calls upon everyone in Darfur to recognize the neutrality of all humanitarian staff, and the vital work that they are doing, and to ensure their safety,” he said. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

WITH MOST PAKISTAN QUAKE SURVIVORS NOW HOME, UN HANDS TASKS TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES New York, Aug 31 2006 3:00PM Now that hundreds of thousands of survivors of last October’s deadly earthquake in Pakistan have returned home from temporary camps, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees today closed the offices in the region, handing over full responsibility for managing remaining relief camps to local authorities on schedule. “This was part of an overall framework for the transition of camp management responsibilities,” said Kilian Kleinschmidt, UNHCR's senior emergency coordinator. “From the outset, we had made it clear that our involvement would be until the end of the winter and that we would phase out as of September 1, 2006 in a responsible, transparent and professional manner.” The offices were located in Mansehra in North West Frontier Province and in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. UNHCR will continue to provide advice to local authorities until the end of the year. Since March, more than 140,000 quake survivors have left relief camps for home. About 36,000 people remain in 44 camps. In the months leading up to the handover, UNHCR upgraded services in the remaining camps and made provisions to ensure that basic services would continue. While the refugee agency normally does not get involved in natural disasters, the enormous scale of the quake, as well as the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, represented exceptional cases. The 8 October earthquake in the mountainous Kashmir region left more than 70,000 people dead and millions homeless. Immediately after the quake, UNHCR rushed thousands of tonnes of supplies from its emergency relief stockpiles to survivors. At the height of the emergency operation, UNHCR had some 150 staff in Pakistan. It supported the local government in running 170 temporary relief camps and coordinated with UN agencies and non-governmental organisations to ensure basic services in the camps. “You can measure the success of our activities by what was averted. There were no epidemics in the camps and few casualties over the course of winter,” Mr. Kleinschmidt observed. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

UN FOOD AGENCY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF TUNGURAHUA VOLCANO IN ECUADOR New York, Aug 31 2006 3:00PM The United Nations World Food Programme ) announced today that it will distribute rations among 25,000 people that were evacuated in the Andean region after the Tungurahua volcano erupted earlier this month affecting more than 100,000 people affected in six provinces of Ecuador. Tungurahua volcano, located 135 kilometres southeast of the capital Quito, in central Ecuador, began erupting on 16 August with explosions producing abundant massive clouds of ash, steam and gas, as well as abundant lava and pyroclastic flows, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Ash clouds moved to surrounding areas in a radius of 550 km, causing extensive environmental damage, killing five people, causing severe burns to 50 people and other injuries to a further 40, WFP said. “The food assistance provided by WFP will allow people to use their remaining resources to help them rehabilitate their lives and rebuild their communities,” the agency’s Ecuador Representative, Helmut Rauch, said of the displaced people living in the volcano area, who are among the poorest in the country. On 18 August, the Government of Ecuador called for international assistance to meet the immediate needs of the affected population and preliminary assessments have determined that there are satisfactory conditions in public shelters, where more than 100,000 people affected have sought refuge. The continuing humanitarian need is for dust masks, goggles, jerry cans, emergency medical kits, tents, blankets, and especially clean drinking water, food, kitchen sets and hygiene kits, OCHA said. Since 20 August, the seismic activity has been decreasing, while the threat of further activity remains high and the volcano is being continually monitored by the National Geophysical Institute. An assessment carried out by the Government and the United Nations estimated that 25,000 people who were evacuated to temporary shelters or went to stay with relatives or friends need further food assistance following the loss of houses, crops and livestock, after depletion of rations provided by the Government. A total of 282 metric tons of food will be distributed to the victims in the temporary shelters and in affected villages in the provinces of Tungurahua, Chimborazo and Bolivar over the next three months, in close collaboration with the Civil Defence, Red Cross, the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Ministry of Agriculture and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), WFP said. The UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction  has been helping Ecuador to prepare for potential mudflows that could be triggered by high accumulations of ash and other materials on the volcano’s slopes. Additionally, the ISDR has been requested to provide support for the modelling of potential mudflows that can be triggered by high accumulations of ash and other volcanic materials on the volcano’s slopes. According to ISDR, this type of study has been undertaken with great success for the Pichincha volcano, also in Ecuador, and is used to identify high-risk areas and support early warning and relief operations. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

UN MOURNS LEBANON FORCE STAFF MEMBER KILLED DURING ISRAEL-HIZBOLLAH CONFLICT New York, Aug 31 2006 2:00PM The United Nations today held a solemn ceremony in Cyprus to mourn Augustine Bielonwu, a civilian staff member of the UN Interim Force for Lebanon who died last month during an Israeli rocket attack in Tyre. “His unexpected and tragic passing has shocked us all and filled our hearts with sorrow,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told the gathering held at Columba’s Church in Nicosia. Mr. Guéhenno paid tribute to the fallen staff member, who joined the UN in 1989 and served in Naquora, Rawalpindi, Kabul, Teheran and Laayoune. “Augustine was a paragon of courage, industry and unselfish devotion to duty. Those who knew him admired and respected him. He was gentlemanly, scholarly and kindly. He was an international civil servant in the very best sense of the term, and one who verily and truly exemplified the spirit of the United Nations.” Mr. Bielonwu, who is survived by six children, was killed on 17 July during the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah when an Israeli rocket hit the building where he lived in Tyre. Four other UNIFIL staff members died in the same conflict. Since its establishment in 1978, 258 UNIFIL staff members have died while in service with the mission. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST ACT QUICKLY TO HELP LEBANON REBUILD, ANNAN’S DEPUTY SAYS New York, Aug 31 2006 2:00PM Warning of a “race against time” to rebuild Lebanon after the recent devastating month of conflict, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General today urged donors to provide funds for the task, as he repeated calls for Israel to lift its air and sea blockade, saying it severely hinders relief efforts. Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown made his remarks to donors at an international aid conference for Lebanon in Sweden, at which Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora appealed for assistance to help rebuild the country after the 34 days of fighting that caused around $3.6 billion in physical damage. “Our challenge is now two-fold: to respond to Lebanon’s immediate needs, and to get the Government-led recovery off to a determined start in the weeks ahead, even as we prepare for an international conference on the country’s longer-term needs,” Mr. Malloch Brown said. “Yet it is the immediate recovery process that demands our most urgent attention. We must act quickly to build on what the Lebanese people are already doing to restore some normalcy to their lives after the conflict,” he stressed, warning: “We remain in a race against time.” Mr. Malloch Brown said these immediate needs include providing resources and materials to repair houses, rehabilitate schools, reopen roads to traffic as well as an “emergency environmental cleanup,” especially to address the devastating oil spill threatening the coast. He highlighted that the cessation of hostilities, which went into effect on 14 August, had allowed a strong and effective response that had now helped stabilize the humanitarian situation, but warned that the continuing Israeli air and sea blockade “severely hinders relief efforts.” “Aid when there is a blockade is like putting someone on life support when there is a foot on their wind pipe. We need an immediate end to the blockade and a political solution to the underlying causes of the conflict,” he said. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which last week estimated that Lebanon suffered $3.6 billion in physical damage during the conflict, said that it will launch a revised Flash Appeal at today’s conference, expected to total around $96.5 million. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland is also expected to speak at the meeting. Some 60 Governments and organizations are attending the one-day conference in Stockholm, which has been arranged by the Swedish Government, and it hopes to raise $500 million to assist in Lebanon’s reconstruction. “The clear message of this conference is about showing solidarity with the Government of Lebanon,” said Stephane Jaquemet, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Lebanon, who is attending the conference. “The Government is in the driving seat.” In the latest humanitarian developments on the ground in Lebanon, assistance continues to get through to those most in need and today municipal workers handed out food rations from the World Food Programme (WFP) to vulnerable families in Beirut's southern suburbs, a UN spokesman told reporters in New York. The rations included packets of vegetable oil, lentils, canned vegetables and high-energy biscuits, Stephane Dujarric said, adding that authorities in all four municipalities in the south of the capital say they will hand out WFP rations to more than 100,000 people over the coming weeks. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

IN STEP FORWARD, KOSOVO GOVERNMENT TAKES OVER MINORITY TRANSPORTATION FROM UN New York, Aug 31 2006 11:00AM In a step forward towards fulfilling international goals for Kosovo, which the United Nations has administered since 1999, the world body has turned over responsibility for transportation services for minorities to the local Government. Patricia Waring of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo ) and the province’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Qemajl Ahmeti, today signed an agreement governing the transfer of UNMIK’s competency to provide humanitarian transportation for the minorities in Kosovo to the Ministry. Ms. Waring voiced confidence that the Kosovo Government “will fulfil all its political, administrative and financial commitments to ensure the freedom of movement to all of Kosovo’s communities.” She added that the transfer would not change or disrupt existing services. Since 2001 UNMIK has been operating the “Freedom of Movement Train” from Leposavic to Skopje and a humanitarian bus service for minority communities throughout Kosovo. For the past four months, representatives from Kosovo, the UN and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have been working to ensure the freedom of movement for all of Kosovo’s communities including their direct participation in any decision to change humanitarian transportation services. Ms. Waring stressed that in signing the agreement, the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo are fulfilling one of the priorities for implementing the so-called Standards, a set of eight targets that include building democratic institutions, enforcing minority rights, creating a functioning economy and setting up an impartial legal system. The Standards framework is considered key to achieving progress on the issue of the status of the ethnically divided Serbian province. 2006-08-31 00:00:00.000

 

ACROSS SOUTHERN LEBANON, UN REFUGEE AGENCY TEAMS ASSIST WITH RETURNS New York, Aug 29 2006 9:00AM The United Nations refugee agency today announced that its teams are operating across southern Lebanon assisting thousands of displaced people who have been unable to return either because their homes were destroyed during the recent conflict or because of continued insecurity. Jennifer Pagonis, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees told a press briefing in Geneva that the agency’s relief convoys are heading into the villages of south Lebanon daily carrying thousands of essential items like tents, blankets, mattresses and cooking kits. “The tents are an emergency measure to help those whose houses are destroyed or too damaged to live in while they rebuild,” she explained, adding that UNHCR teams are now operating across southern Lebanon while new emergency relief supplies continue to arrive in Lebanon to support this programme of aiding the victims of the war. The agency’s teams, she said, are discovering “more of the complexity of the displacement situation.” While most of the nearly 1 million Lebanese who fled their homes at the height of the conflict are now home, thousands remain displaced either because their homes are destroyed or because of continuing security concerns. UNHCR staff are also reporting evidence of the psychological effects of the war, especially on children. In Sidon and Nabatiyah, the agency is providing tents to the local authorities who are organizing boy scout camping for children in the areas as a way to ease the trauma of the war. “Many of those still displaced are staying with friends or relatives in the vicinity of their destroyed homes. But others are further away, and UNHCR has found even a few families that returned to Syria until they feel able to return home,” Ms. Pagonis said. Larger pockets, often of several thousand displaced, remain in many areas of Lebanon, according to the agency. Most assistance is coming from government bodies, but UNHCR teams are also assisting those in need by providing items like tents, blankets and mattresses. 2006-08-29 00:00:00.000

 

ANNAN APPOINTS NEW ENVOY FOR NEPALESE PEACE PROCESS AMID ENCOURAGING SIGNS New York, Aug 25 2006 4:00PM Heartened by signals that Nepal’s disputed parties are starting to build mutual understanding, Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced today that he has appointed a new envoy to spearhead the United Nations’ efforts to promote peace in the troubled Himalayan country. Ian Martin has been chosen as Mr. Annan’s Personal Representative in Nepal for Support to the Peace Process, according to a statement released today at UN Headquarters in New York by the Secretary-General’s spokesman. The seasoned envoy has previously served on several occasions as Special Envoy to Timor-Leste. Mr. Martin, who assumes the post immediately, “will conduct intensive discussions with” Nepal’s key actors, the statement said, adding that he will be assisted by a small multi-disciplinary team of UN officials. Earlier this month the Nepalese Government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) sent identical letters requesting UN help in areas ranging from human rights monitoring to electoral observation to management of arms and armed personnel. Noting that he was encouraged to receive those letters, Mr. Annan said in his statement that he believes “it is now urgent to undertake follow-on consultations with all concerned parties in Nepal in order to build on the common understanding that now exists, so that detailed planning for UN assistance may proceed.” The appointment follows the recent week-long UN assessment mission to Nepal, where a ceasefire is in place after a 10-year conflict that has killed some 15,000 people. 2006-08-25 00:00:00.000

 

UN REFUGEE CHIEF SET TO VISIT CAMP OF MYANMAR REFUGEES IN THAILAND New York, Aug 25 2006 2:00PM The head of the United Nations refugee agency begins a four-day mission on Monday to Thailand, where he will visit one of the camps housing refugees from neighbouring Myanmar and emphasize resettlement as a durable remedy for these displaced persons. UN High Commissioner for Refugees ) Jennifer Pagonis told reporters at a briefing in Geneva today that High Commissioner António Guterres will travel with the United States Assistant Secretary of State Ellen Sauerbrey, head of the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, for the first time. The two officials are scheduled to visit the overcrowded Tham Hin refugee camp of 9,500 people. Ms. Pagonis said tensions should ease in the congested camp as ethnic Karen refugees started heading to the US last week under a resettlement program. By year’s end, the United States plans to accept 2,700 Karen refugees, who fled conflicts in their home country of Myanmar as long as nine years ago. More than 140,000 refugees from Myanmar live in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border and Guterres intends to underscore the importance of resettlement for these people, some of whom have lived in the camps for more than two decades. UNHCR is working with a number of countries – including the US, Canada, Australia, Britain, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and Norway – to boost the number of Karen refugees accepted for resettlement from Thailand. 2006-08-25 00:00:00.000

 

CAUTIOUS OPTIMISM AS TALKS ON UN DISABILITY TREATY NEAR END New York, Aug 25 2006 1:00PM The chair of the negotiations on a new United Nations convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities said he was confident that a deal could be reached, despite several key differences between Member States as the talks entered their final day. Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand said many of the participants meeting at UN Headquarters in New York remained confident that an agreed text could be achieved by tonight. “We are definitely within striking distance,” he said. “I think it will be finalized.” The Coordinator of the International Disability Caucus, Maria Veronica Reina, said she was also cautiously optimistic. “Even though the last mile is the most difficult mile, we are almost there,” she said. If the negotiations succeed, the convention – which could be adopted by the General Assembly during its upcoming session – would mark a turning point in ending official discrimination against persons with disabilities. Mr. MacKay said about half of the convention has already been agreed upon and he expected agreement today on some of the more difficult issues, such as an international monitoring mechanism, education, and the clauses which would spell out how the convention would take effect. “All of us know that agreement is within reach at the end of this week,” Mr. MacKay said. But delegations, he added, had to ask themselves whether sticking to a position would prevent their government from becoming a party to the convention. “If the answer is no, please do not insist on a position,” he implored. 2006-08-25 00:00:00.000

 

SECURITY COUNCIL DECIDES TO PROCEED WITH SCHEDULED MEETING ON DARFUR New York, Aug 24 2006 7:00PM The Security Council will proceed with plans to meet on Monday to discuss the deteriorating situation in Sudan’s impoverished and strife-torn Darfur region, despite a request from the Sudanese Government to postpone the meeting, the Council’s President said today. Ambassador Nana Effah-Apenteng of Ghana, which is serving as Council President during August, told reporters at United Nations Headquarters in New York that the 15-member body considers the situation in Darfur to be so grave that a meeting is necessary. Speaking after members held closed-door consultations today, Mr. Effah-Apenteng acknowledged that the Council had received a letter from Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir asking for a postponement of Monday’s meeting “to enable better preparations.” The Ghanaian ambassador added that Council members would also continue to discuss a draft resolution circulated by the United Kingdom that outlines the size and scope of a possible UN peacekeeping operation. Mr. al-Bashir wrote a separate letter to the Council this week about Khartoum’s plan for restoring stability and protection to civilians in Darfur, where violence between Sudanese armed forces, allied militias and rebel groups has killed scores of thousands of people since 2003 and forced 2 million others to flee their homes. In this letter Mr. al-Bashir stated that a transfer of the African Union’s (AU) current peacekeeping mandate in Darfur to a UN operation “does not find acceptance among large sectors of the people of Darfur. “All its legislative, parliamentary and executive institutions at every level, including the Government of National Unity, have adopted unanimous resolution categorically rejecting the process of transfer.” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that Khartoum’s opposition to a force of blue helmets in Darfur remains the key issue before individual UN Member States determine whether they are willing to contribute troops to such a force. Last week Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown warned that “something ugly is brewing” in Darfur, a region roughly the size of France on Sudan’s border with Chad. 2006-08-24 00:00:00.000

 

SUDAN: UN HELPS LAUNCH PROGRAM TO IMPROVE CAPACITY OF INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY New York, Aug 24 2006 2:00PM The United Nations Development Programme  the World Bank, and Sudan’s Ministry of Finance have launched a programme designed to strengthen the judiciary in the strife-torn African country. The $18 million initiative, launched yesterday in Khartoum, will provide training and technical and operational support to the National Judicial Service Commission and the National Judiciary. It will also develop judicial training curricula and materials, and train 1,200 judges at the state and central level. In addition, the initiative will establish a pilot National Legal Training Resource Centre, as well as rehabilitate court facilities in several locations across the country, including the judiciary training facility in Khartoum. “A sound and independent judiciary is central to any society striving to achieve sustainable human development,” said UNDP Country Director Jerzy Skuratowicz. “Recovery and reconstruction cannot progress without basic human security and strong national institutions that uphold the rule of law and bring justice to all citizens.” Sudan’s Government of National Unity has provided $5 million for the project, while the international community has funded $13 million through the World Bank. The initiative will be jointly implemented by the judiciary and UNDP over a three-year period. 2006-08-24 00:00:00.000

 

ANNAN TO VISIT MIDDLE EAST TO TRY TO BOLSTER PARTIES’ COMPLIANCE WITH TRUCE New York, Aug 23 2006 6:00PM Secretary-General Kofi Annan will head to the Middle East and Europe later this week in a trip designed to strengthen the situation in Lebanon and Israel following the formal cessation of hostilities there in the wake of the recent Security Council resolution. Mr. Annan will travel first to Brussels to attend Friday’s meeting of European foreign ministers to promote contributions of troops to the expanded UN Interim Force in Lebanon  his spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters today at UN Headquarters in New York. The Secretary-General will then head to Lebanon and Israel to meet senior officials of both countries to encourage them to implement their commitments under Resolution 1701, adopted unanimously by the Council on 11 August to end the month-long conflict in the Middle East. That resolution calls for both sides to “support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution” to the conflict while respecting several principles, including ensuring that the area between the Blue Line and the Litani river in southern Lebanon is free of any armed personnel and weapons other than those of the Lebanese armed forces and UNIFIL. Mr. Dujarric said Mr. Annan will also visit the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, and is likely to head to Syria and Iran as well, with the sequence of stops yet to be determined. Responding to a question from reporters, Mr. Dujarric said the issue of Israel’s sea blockade of Lebanon would be raised during Mr. Annan’s visit, adding that it is important that Lebanon be able to use its ports freely so that commercial activity and regular traffic can resume. In another development, the Secretary-General’s high-level delegation on the issue held talks today in Berlin with Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and other senior officials. Mr. Annan’s Special Political Adviser Vijay Nambiar and his Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen have already visited Israel and Lebanon during their trip. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

 

IN WAKE OF VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN ECUADOR, UN AGENCIES PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN AID New York, Aug 23 2006 3:00PM Several United Nations agencies are stepping in to provide relief assistance to Ecuador after last week’s deadly volcanic eruption in the central part of the Andean country. The Tungurahua volcano, located 135 kilometres southeast of the capital Quito, began spewing lava, rock, and massive clouds of ash, steam and gas into the air on 16 August. Five people have reportedly been killed and roughly 19,000 people forced to evacuate. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs  has released a $30,000 emergency cash grant to respond to immediate relief needs. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing food to shelters in hard-hit areas, and the World Health Organization (WHO), with the Pan American Health Organization, has carried out a health assessment. For its part, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) is helping Ecuador to prepare for potential mudflows that could be triggered by high accumulations of ash and other materials on the volcano’s slopes. Preliminary assessments have determined that conditions in public shelters, where 15,000 people have sought refuge, are satisfactory. There is, however, a continuing need for dust masks, goggles, jerry cans, emergency medical kits, tents, blankets, clean drinking water, food, kitchen sets and hygiene kits. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000  

 

 

UN ENVOY TO TIMOR-LESTE URGES RENEWED PLEDGE TO JUDICIARY

Two days before the mandate of the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste comes to an end, the Secretary General’s Special Representative to the Southeast Asian nation called for renewed commitment to the integrity of the country’s judicial system. In a statement released in the capital of Dili, Special Representative Sukehiro Hasegawa urged all members of the judiciary – national and international judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers – to uphold the tenets of professional integrity, judicial impartiality and independence. To ensure the system functions properly, the safety and security of judges and prosecutors must be enhanced, he added. The Security Council created UNOTIL last year as a special political mission to carry out peacebuilding activities. Last week, the Council briefly expanded the mission’s mandate, which was set to expire on 20 August. The security situation remains fragile in the nation, which the UN helped guide to independence from Indonesia in 2002. A wave of violence earlier this year left dozens dead and forced 155,000 people to flee their homes after clashes erupted when the Government dismissed about 600 soldiers who had gone on strike. With the UNOTIL mandate winding up on Friday, all 17 international judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers and court clerks recruited by the mission are now completing their assignments. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is taking over many of these positions and recruiting new people so the public prosecution service and courts can keep running. UNOTIL is also arranging for additional prosecutors to be deployed from other international judiciary institutions on a temporary basis to sustain the rule of law in the country. As unlawful violent acts continue, these steps are designed to help the Timorese judiciary institutions handle the greater number of arrests by international forces. The number of arrests is expected to increase with the arrival of the UN police and the new UN mission in Timor-Leste. “Once the new international judges and prosecutors arrive within the new few weeks, judicial proceedings will be stepped up to address not only the pending, but also newly emerging cases,” Mr. Hasegawa said. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

 

 

UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF OFFERS SUPPORT FOR ADOPTION OF DISABILITY TREATY

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today expressed support for an international convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities, adding that its adoption – the latest round of negotiations on an agreed text conclude this week – would offer such persons the genuine protection that they have lacked until now. “The existing human rights standards and mechanisms have not been sufficiently effective,” said Ms. Arbour. “As a result, about 10 per cent of the world’s population is exposed to the most extreme forms of denial and violation of the full range of human rights.” If adopted, the convention would be the first new human rights treaty of the 21st century, marking a major shift in the way the world’s 650 million people with disabilities are treated. The General Assembly’s Ad Hoc Committee is scheduled to wrap up its latest round of negotiations on the proposed treaty on Friday. Ms. Arbour added that the new convention would help improve human rights protection at the national level. She said that the treaty-monitoring mechanism should work closely with inter-governmental mechanisms and UN agencies, programmes and funds to ensure that all persons with disabilities enjoy their full human rights. “I look forward to collaborating with States and civil society to support the new human rights monitoring mechanism, enabling it to provide useful advice to States and to help raise awareness, including of the need to address the stereotypes and prejudices that deny persons with disabilities enjoyment of their human rights,” Ms. Arbour said. The convention would obligate countries, among other measures, to gradually include disability-friendly features into the construction of new facilities, promote and improve access to education and information and introduce measures that eliminate discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

UN AID CONVOYS LEAVE FOR SOUTHERN LEBANON AS EXTENT OF DESTRUCTION BECOMES CLEAR

Five more United Nations aid convoys carrying essential supplies left Beirut for southern Lebanon today, as UN agencies said the full extent of the destruction in the south was becoming clear and warned of growing public health dangers faced by survivors of the month-long conflict. "In a matter of a few days, we have managed to determine the immediate needs of some 30 most affected villages in the area," said Andrew Duggin, the UN High Commissioner for engineer in the southern city of Tyre. UNHCR has begun an extensive returnee monitoring process in the south. "These villagers have suffered severe destruction – some say, worse than seen in Bosnia – and will as a first priority be targeted for immediate assistance. The whole south is, however, severely handicapped because of a lack of electricity and water, the destruction of infrastructure and the presence of cluster bombs." UNHCR has set up a base in Tyre and started trucking in kitchen sets, tents, blankets, diapers and other essentials from Beirut, so that it can provide these items quickly to people in need in the south. Flights are also bringing supplies into Beirut from Amman, the agency said. Five overland humanitarian convoys left the Lebanese capital today for the south, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, including trucks carrying water from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), supplies from the World Food Programme (WFP) and essentials from other agencies as well. The need for water is increasingly a concern throughout the area, as is public health, OCHA said, adding that the UN’s Mine Action Coordination Centre (UNMACC) is providing maps of cluster bomb attack sites and passable roads in southern Lebanon, because many areas are littered with unexploded ordnance that have already claimed lives. In terms of the UN’s overall $165 million Flash Appeal for Lebanon, it said that so far the international community has committed just under $93.5 million, or almost 60 per cent of the funds needed, while an additional $4.7 million has been received in pledges. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

 

ANNAN VIEWS HOLOCAUST DENIERS AS BIGOTS, SAYS SPOKESMAN

Secretary-General Kofi Annan considers anyone who would try to deny the truth of the Holocaust or make false claims about it to be a bigot, his spokesman told reporters at United Nations Headquarters in New York today. Responding to a question at the regular press briefing about whether Mr. Annan would raise the subject of Iran’s cartoon contest on the Holocaust during his expected upcoming visit to the country, Stephane Dujarric reiterated that Mr. Annan condemns all forms of anti-Semitism. Mr. Dujarric said that while he would not pre-judge any of the issues to be discussed, Mr. Annan has already made his views clear and has brought up the matter during previous discussions with Iranian officials. He also said that the Secretary-General, as he did during the row earlier this year over the Danish cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad, affirms the universal right to free expression while insisting it must be used responsibly, and not as an incitement to hatred against anyone or any group. Mr. Annan is likely to visit Iran as part of his trip to the Middle East and Europe, starting later this week, in which he aims to strengthen the situation in Lebanon and Israel following the formal cessation of hostilities there in the wake of the recent Security Council resolution. Asked about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s reported threats against Israel, Mr. Dujarric also noted that Mr. Annan has spoken out against them before and his position has not changed. Last December Mr. Annan issued a statement expressing shock following media reports that Mr. Ahmadinejad had cast doubt on the truth of the Holocaust, in which the Nazi regime in Germany murdered one third of the world’s Jewish people during World War II, along with countless members of other minorities. He also called on UN Member States to combat Holocaust denial and to educate their populations about the well-established facts of the subject. A month earlier the General Assembly passed a resolution which rejects “any denial of the Holocaust as an historical event, either in full or in part.” 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

 

EUROPEAN FUNDS ALLOW UN CHILDREN’S AGENCY TO HELP VULNERABLE ZIMBABWEANS

Union (EU), the United Nations children’s agency can now help half a million Zimbabweans hit by the HIV virus tap into cleaner water and improved sanitation facilities. The European contribution comes along at a crucial time because many Zimbabwean families and communities are struggling with reduced access to basic services after nearly four years of drought, a sustained economic downturn and the AIDS pandemic, the United Nations Children’s Fund said today in a press release. The EU funds, which will be distributed over five years in six districts throughout the southern African nation, comprise the single largest donation toward UNICEF’s water and sanitation activities in the country. Focusing on people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, the project will include the promotion of hygiene and nutrition gardens, the construction of latrines in households and schools, and the drilling of critical new bore holes and protection of shallow wells. “As recent cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe remind us, water and sanitation are among the most important determinants of public health,” UNICEF’s Representative in Zimbabwe, Festo Kavishe, said. “When people achieve reliable access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, they have won a major battle against a wide range of diseases.” Since anecdotal evidence suggests that the trend toward urbanization has hurt rural communities, the venture will zero in on the water and sanitation needs of Zimbabweans residing in rural areas. There are plans to build more than 6,700 household latrines and 540 school latrines. In return, schools will offer free slots to orphans and other vulnerable children. The growth of nutritious foods for HIV-positive people will be encouraged by the promotion of nutrition gardens and livestock-rearing through new water sources. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

BURUNDI: SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED ABOUT REPORTS OF COUP ATTEMPT, ARRESTS

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has expressed deep concern about reports of a possible coup attempt in Burundi and the subsequent arrests of several prominent politicians. Citing reports of those arrests between 31 July and 3 August, as well as the imprisonment of former President Domitien Ndayizeye two days ago, Mr. Annan’s spokesman issued a statement yesterday in which the Secretary-General urged the Government of the small African country to “pursue due process and respect the rights of the detained individuals in addressing this delicate issue.” He also called on the people of Burundi, especially the political leaders and their parties, to “work together to preserve the hard won peace and consolidate the fragile democracy in the country.” He further called on the Government and the National Liberation Forces (FNL) to negotiate a comprehensive ceasefire agreement as soon as possible. The FNL, the last remaining major rebel hold-out from a four-year transition process, signed a preliminary agreement with the Government in June. Last month, citing “factors of instability,” the Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Operation in Burundi, known by its French acronym ONUB, through the end of the year. The mission was established in May 2004 as Burundi emerged from 12 years of civil war between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

 

ANNAN CALLS FOR AN END TO VIOLENCE IN DR CONGO; URGES ALL FORCES OFF THE CAPITAL’S STREETS

Repeating his earlier calls for an end to the fighting that erupted in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following Sunday’s provisional election results, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has also called for all opposing forces to withdraw from the streets of Kinshasa. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan underlined the “responsibility of President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba to resolve the situation through dialogue and peaceful means, and urges them to meet as quickly as possible to ease tensions.” He also called on all Congolese parties and candidates to “abide by the electoral law in the resolution of any disputes, and to respect the process and the timetable for holding the run-off presidential elections as announced by the Independent Electoral Commission.” The UN said yesterday that a group of President Kabila’s Presidential Guards had opened fire on Vice-President Bemba’s compound in Kinshasa on Monday afternoon, while the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, William Lacy Swing, and a dozen members of the Committee in Support of the Transition were meeting inside. Mr. Swing and Mr. Annan had then phoned the President calling on him to end the fighting, allow the safe evacuation of the diplomats and civilian personnel inside and meet immediately with the Vice-President to resolve any differences peacefully. Some 150 UN peacekeepers in armoured personnel carriers then brought Mr. Swing and the other dignitaries to safety, while UN and European Union peacekeepers later deployed to Mr. Bemba’s residence and elsewhere in Kinshasa to ensure public order and safety, the UN said. The Security Council also issued a statement yesterday backing Mr. Annan’s call for an end to the violence and for President Kabila and Vice-President Bemba, who are the two leading presidential candidates in the polls, to meet. The Council demanded that the Congolese political leadership “exercise restraint and immediately implement the ceasefire agreed between their forces.” According to Sunday’s provisional presidential results, Mr. Kabila won 45 per cent of last month’s historic vote, while Mr. Bemba received 20 per cent. The two candidates are scheduled to face off in a second round on 29 October. 2006-08-23 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

 

UN DELEGATION SPEAKS OF MIXED FEELINGS AFTER ENDING ITS MISSION TO LEBANON AND ISRAEL

Concluding its regional diplomacy today by meeting Israel’s Prime Minister, a high-level United Nations delegation that also met Lebanese leaders at the weekend said there were reasons for both optimism and pessimism after the past few days of talks, namely because the UN-brokered cessation of hostilities has so far held but also because there still exists a worrying power vacuum in southern Lebanon. The delegation, which is led by Vijay Nambiar, Special Political Adviser to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, arrived in Israel on Sunday night and met today with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem to discuss all aspects of the UN-backed resolution that led to last week’s cessation of hostilities with Hizbollah. Yesterday, the delegation, which also includes Terje Roed-Larsen, held talks with Israel’s Foreign Minister. “The mission has reasons for optimism and reasons for pessimism as we conclude our mission here. Our optimism is predominately grounded on the fact that, by and large, the ceasefire so far has been honoured,” Mr. Roed-Larsen told reporters before the delegation leaves Israel for Europe to brief the Secretary-General on the details of its meetings. “The reason for pessimism is that until there is a capable and fully deployed Lebanese force along the borders, and in Southern Lebanon, and until there is implemented a full reconfiguration and deployment of an international force there will – up to a point, and I emphasize – remain a security vacuum in Lebanon.” Mr. Roed-Larsen also said that the issue of the abducted Israeli soldiers had been raised by the delegation during all its meetings, as also had the issue of Israel lifting the embargo on Beirut’s airport and latterly the full blockade. Mr. Nambiar told the reporters that there had also been “considerable discussions” on the question of enhancing the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which currently stands at 2,000 strong, but which resolution 1701 calls to be increased to a maximum of 15,000 personnel. “We are hoping that in the course of the coming days, particularly at the forthcoming meeting in Brussels of the European Union (EU) that there will be some concrete indications of enhanced offerings from the European countries for this force,” he said. The Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1701 on 11 August, in which it called for an immediate cessation of hostilities – which went into effect on 14 August local time, the deployment of Lebanese troops, the significantly expanded UN peacekeeping presence across southern Lebanon as well as the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the area. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

SECURITY COUNCIL EXPRESSES SERIOUS CONCERN ABOUT VIOLENT CLASHES IN THE DR CONGO

Expressing serious concern about clashes that have taken place in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since presidential election results were released on Sunday, the Security Council today called for an end to the violence and expressed its hope that the two leading candidates in the polls would meet to resolve their differences peacefully. In a statement to the press, the Council demanded that the Congolese political leadership “exercise restraint and immediately implement the ceasefire agreed between their forces and henceforth refrain from any threats or use of force or intimidation against political opponents or their supporters.” Echoing remarks made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who has been in touch by telephone with the two candidates, the Council expressed the hope that a proposed meeting between President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba would be held as soon as possible. “There can be no military solution to political issues in the DRC,” said the statement, which urged all parties “to take immediate steps to support the democratic process that is underway.” The Security Council also “appealed to political leaders to respect the electoral calendar as established by the Independent Electoral Commission.” Run-off elections between Mr. Kabila, who received 45 per cent of the vote, and Mr. Bemba, who garnered 20 per cent, are scheduled to be held on 29 October. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

 

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF CHILDREN IN SUDAN

As the humanitarian and security situation in Sudan continues to worsen, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called on all parties to put an end to grave child rights violations and grant humanitarian workers unfettered access to children. In a report released today, the Secretary-General details the abuse of children during the armed conflict, which has continued despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May. He strongly urges the leaders of the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan to end child recruitment. “The current peace processes in Darfur and southern Sudan offer a real opportunity for the leaders of the Sudan to end the practice of recruitment and use of children once and for all.” Mr. Annan also details the recruitment, killing and rape of children by various parties, ranging from the Janjaweed militias and rebel groups in Darfur to Chadian opposition forces and the Lord’s Resistance Army. While individual commanders of armed groups bear responsibility for grave violations by their forces, Mr. Annan says that the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan are also directly accountable for violations by individuals under their command. “This responsibility of the Government must be stressed, particularly in the present context of shifting alliances and arrangements in the Sudan,” he says in the report. The Secretary-General adds that he is deeply concerned about the increase in sexual violence against girls and women, particularly in Darfur, as well about reports of the systematic abduction and kidnapping of children there. He also expresses his deep concern over the continued lack of access in many areas of Sudan for child protection activities, particularly in the east. In other news, the UN Mission in Sudan says it has successfully completed a community-driven voluntary disarmament exercise, the first of its kind. According to UNMIS, residents in the southern state of Jonglei handed in roughly 1,250 weapons between 14 July and 30 July. The Government of Southern Sudan says it plans to carry out the peaceful disarmament program throughout all of Jonglei. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

UN AGENCIES HIGHLIGHT SHORTAGES OF WATER, SHELTER AS MOST LEBANESE HAVE NOW RETURNED

With most Lebanese who fled the devastating month-long conflict in their homeland now having gone back to their homes, United Nations agencies on the ground have identified shortages of clean water and shelter as two of the most pressing needs faced by the hundreds of thousands of returnees. “I have never seen destruction like this,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) water and sanitation specialist Branislav Jekic, after the agency conducted preliminary assessments in southern Lebanon. “Wherever we go, we ask people what they need most and the answer is always the same: water.” "People want to move back to their communities. But whether they stay or not will depend on the availability of water.” In 10 out of 12 war-affected communities visited by UNICEF in recent days, underground pipes and other water-related infrastructure had been seriously damaged or destroyed, the agency said, adding that it had stepped up its response to deal with the problem. Since the beginning of the crisis on 12 July, more than a quarter of a million litres of bottled water has been sent to some of the worst-hit communities including Bint Jubail, Ait el Shaab and Tibnin. Currently, around 50,000 litres a week are being sent south by truck, but this quantity will more than double by the weekend. Teams from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"">UNHCR) have also described similar needs in their assessments on the ground, highlighting also the destruction in the south. “A UNHCR team that went through nine villages along the border on Monday saw this reality. Four of the villages were largely destroyed, with buildings razed and rubble strewn over the ground,” spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva. “In response to requests for rebuilding assistance, UNHCR is preparing emergency repair tool kits that include plastic sheeting, plywood, corrugated metal sheets, wood, as well as basic tools such as hammers, nails, shovels.” According to Lebanon’s Interior Ministry, some 97 per cent of those displaced by the conflict between Hizbollah and Israel have now returned to their homes, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"">OCHA) said today. OCHA also said that four more convoys of UN aid left Beirut for the south. Further on the humanitarian front, the UN Development Programme (<"">UNDP), with the support of the World Bank, has donated $500,000 to Lebanon for emergency relief, a UN spokesman said in New York. UNDP has also established a political advisory group within the Lebanese Prime Minister's Office, concentrating on support to the recovery and reconstruction effort, with initial funding of $800,000. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

UN FOOD AGENCY PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO ALMOST 120,000 AFFECTED BY FLOODING IN ETHIOPIA

With heavy rains still lashing Ethiopia, the United Nations World Food Programme ) is working with other humanitarian groups and the Government to help almost 120,000 people affected by devastating floods over the past month, and warns that the number of victims could rise over the next few weeks. The disaster has already killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands of others as this East African nation experiences some of the heaviest and most intense floods on record during the June to September rainy season. Residents have been advised to evacuate where water levels are rising to critical levels at three dams in the west, south and north. Together with other humanitarian partners, WFP has distributed tons of grain, vegetable oil, and other essentials to survivors throughout the country. “The scale of this crisis is huge, the magnitude and impact remains to be seen,” said Abnezer Ngowi, WFP Acting Country Director in Ethiopia. In eastern Ethiopia in Dire Dawa, where flash floods have killed 254 people, a joint UN, inter-agency and Government flash appeal for $5.82 million has been issued to cover a range of food and non-food items as well as provisions for infrastructure rehabilitation. With many people still missing, the national death toll may increase. The Omo River has already burst its banks and flooded large swathes of land in the southwest, about 800 kilometres south of Addis Ababa, the nation’s capital. Officials are also very concerned about the Amhara region in the north, where flood waters from Lake Tana have apparently affected 20,000 people. About 10,000 of these are camped in temporary shelters. And with more rains predicted in the next few weeks, WFP officials are warning that the crisis is not over as the Ethiopian government and military accelerate the evacuation of scores of people from flood-prone, low-lying areas. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

ANNAN CALLS ON BOTH SIDES IN THE DR CONGO TO MEET AFTER VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN KINSHASA

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, working to defuse tension in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been in touch by telephone with the two leading candidates in the country’s landmark presidential elections, calling on them to meet and demanding an end to the violence, the world body said today. The UN’s Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) reports that relative calm has now been restored in the capital Kinshasa after violent incidents yesterday between supporters of President Joseph Kabila and Vice–President Jean Pierre Bemba, a spokesman told reporters in New York. A group of President Joseph Kabila’s Presidential Guards opened fire on Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba’s compound in Kinshasa yesterday afternoon, the spokesman said, adding that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, William Lacy Swing, and a dozen members of the Committee in Support of the Transition were meeting inside. “As the shooting continued, Swing spoke on the telephone from Bemba’s residence with President Kabila and demanded that Kabila immediately bring the situation under control,” said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. “The shooting, however, continued for another two hours.” Mr. Dujarric added that the Secretary-General also phoned the two candidates to demand an immediate end to the violence, as well as the safe evacuation of the diplomats and civilian personnel trapped inside the residence. “The Secretary-General urged both Kabila and Bemba to meet immediately to resolve the situation in a peaceful manner,” said Mr. Dujarric. Some 150 UN peacekeepers in armoured personnel carriers brought Mr. Swing and the other dignitaries to safety, Mr. Dujarric said, adding that UN and European Union peacekeepers later deployed to Mr. Bemba’s residence and elsewhere in Kinshasa to ensure public order and safety. Additional UN peacekeepers arrived in Kinshasa from other parts of the country this morning after looting broke out there and gangs of street youths ransacked businesses and the homes of real or perceived Kabila supporters, reported the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUC. Additional European Union forces also arrived from Gabon to help restore order. Meanwhile, Special Representative Swing continued his efforts to broker peaceful talks between the parties, as military chiefs from the MONUC, the European force, Vice-President Bemba’s security detail and the Congolese Army met separately to secure an agreement to stop the shooting. “It is imperative that the confrontations cease immediately and that the two presidential candidates meet urgently, for the good of the democratic process and above all for the Congolese people, who have already suffered too much as a result of armed conflict,” said Mr. Swing this morning. According to provisional results of last month’s historic elections, which were released on Sunday, Mr. Kabila won 45 per cent of the vote, while Mr. Bemba garnered 20 per cent, says MONUC. The two candidates are scheduled to face off in a second round on 29 October. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

UN OFFICIAL PAINTS GRIM PICTURE OF PALESTINIAN SITUATION; URGES RENEWED INTERNATIONAL EFFORT

Briefing the Security Council today on the situation of Palestinians in the Middle East, the top United Nations political officer painted a grim picture of developments over the past 12 months, warning that the vision of Israel and Palestine living peacefully side-by-side has slipped “further away,” and stressing the need for a renewed international effort in the region. In an open meeting of the Council, which also heard speeches from almost 30 countries, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, listed six main reasons why the situation had changed so much from a year ago, when Israel was disengaging from Gaza and part of the northern West Bank and the world community was working to ensure both sides would return to the Road Map for the region. “Far from advancing towards the vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security, we have seen that vision slip further away during the past year.” Listing the reasons for such developments, he said the first was the “political positions and actions of the parties,” noting that the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority has not fully committed itself to basic principles of the peace process, while Israel has itself failed to implement Road Map obligations, including freezing settlement activity. Mr. Gambari also highlighted the financial difficulties faced by the Palestinian Authority, but said that the “most terrible” measure of the state of the peace process was the death and destruction from violence, as he cited examples of the suffering on both sides. “The cycle of attack and counter-attack leads only to increased human suffering which is intolerable on all sides…in the past year a total of 41 Israelis have been killed, and nearly 480 injured, by Palestinian violence. In the same period, over 450 Palestinians have been killed, and over 2,500 injured by Israeli violence.” He highlighted also that no progress has been made in securing the release of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit, despite calls for his unconditional release, while efforts to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners have also been unsuccessful. A fourth reason for the lack of progress towards a negotiated two State solution, said Mr. Gambari, was the fact that settlement activity continues and so too does the building of The Barrier, large parts of which are on occupied Palestinian territory. He also highlighted the high degree of poverty, noting that “impoverishment in the Palestinian territories is more severe now than it has ever been,” but concluded by saying that perhaps the most worrying development of the past year was in the attitudes of ordinary people. “The sixth measure of the state of the peace process is perhaps the most worrying development…difficult to quantify, but easy to discern – in the attitudes of ordinary men and women. Opinion polls suggest a woeful decline in confidence in the peace process and in the prospects for a negotiated settlement on both sides.” “Positions may be hardening, and could harden further unless a credible political process is somehow revived,” he said, as he emphasized the importance of Security General Kofi Annan’s recent call for greater global involvement and the need to look at peace in the whole Middle East region as a whole. “There are many concrete steps, some immediate, which need to be taken in order to get out of the current crisis and back towards a political path. And as the Secretary-General stressed on 11 August, something more is needed – a renewed international effort, in which the various crises in the region are addressed…as part of a holistic and comprehensive effort, sanctioned and championed by this Council.” 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

 

VIET NAM, CAMBODIA TO FURTHER COOPERATE WITH THE UN OVER MONTAGNARD HILL TRIBESPEOPLE

Viet Nam, Cambodia and the United Nations refugee agency have agreed to further cooperate to resolve the situation of Montagnards who cross the border into Cambodia, after holding their first full meeting to discuss the issue since signing a joint agreement last year. “It was very useful to sit down together and look at how we can practically continue the good cooperation we've developed over the last eighteen months on trying to resolve this issue,” said Hasim Utkan, the Bangkok-based regional representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Montagnards who had arrived in Cambodia and were recognized as refugees could either be resettled to a third country or returned to Viet Nam, which has guaranteed they would not be punished, discriminated against or prosecuted for illegal departure. Out of an original group of 750 Montagnards, 561 have been resettled in third countries – mainly the United States – 163 have returned to Viet Nam, and 26 remain in Cambodia. Some 237 Montagnards who arrived after the 2005 agreement are currently staying in Phnom Penh. Participants at Monday’s meeting in the Cambodian capital agreed that UNHCR would continue monitoring returnees to Viet Nam’s Central Highlands. The refugee agency has so far carried out 12 monitoring missions and visited 115 returnees, some of them more than twice. UNHCR says it has no serious concerns about the conditions of the returnees. The parties also decided to speed up the voluntary repatriation process, as well as joint missions by UNHCR and the Cambodian authorities to retrieve Montagnard asylum seekers in border areas. Viet Nam reiterated that Montagnards who wish to join their families in the United States can leave directly, noting that it has issued 435 passports to Montagnards to help accelerate their departure. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

UN FORCE DESTROYS HUNDREDS OF PIECES OF UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE IN SOUTHERN LEBANONA

team from the United Nations force in Lebanon has destroyed more unexploded ordnance in the south of the country in a controlled explosion, the mission said today, as it continues humanitarian work for Lebanese civilians and also coordinates troop movements as part of the international agreement that ended the recent fighting. “The cessation of hostilities generally was maintained in the past 24 hours. There were however, two air violations by Israeli jets recorded yesterday. There was also a clash reported between Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah members east of Shamaha. Details are still to be established,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon said. “A team from the Mine Action Coordination Centre carried out a controlled demolition of 445 pieces of unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the areas of Yohmor, Smayieh, Ras Al Ain, Tibnin and Aita Al Jabal.” Unexploded ordnance litters many areas in the south and will take months to clear, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said yesterday, warning that de-mining will take up to six months in the region of Nabatiye alone. UN agencies are already working with the Government on a public awareness campaign on the dangers posed by the ordnance. UNIFIL also said today it was continuing ground and air patrolling throughout its area of operation to assess the situation on the ground and to monitor the cessation of hostilities, and it is keeping up its distribution of clean water to villages in the south, handing out 45, 000 litres of drinking water in El Khiam, Kafer Kela and Ebel Es Saqi. 2006-08-22 00:00:00.000

 

 

ANNAN MAPS OUT WAYS TO BOLSTER UN ABILITY TO PREVENT ARMED CONFLICT, SAVE LIVES

In an effort to help prevent crises from escalating into armed conflicts that take precious lives and destroy livelihoods, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has issued a wide range of recommendations to bolster the Organization’s capacity to avert conflict around the globe. In a report released today at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Annan says averting conflicts is one of the UN’s chief obligations and urges Member States to channel more money into preventive measures as the world body strengthens its capabilities to detect and then mediate disputes. “Too often the international community spends vast sums of money to fight fires that, in hindsight, we might more easily have extinguished with timely prevention action before so many lives were lost or turned upside down,” the Secretary-General says. “Over the past five years, we have spent over $18 billion on United Nations peacekeeping that was necessary partly because of inadequate preventive measures. A fraction of that investment in prevention action would surely have saved both lives and money.” Issued five years after his first comprehensive report on the prevention of armed conflict, this 54-page document responds to resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. It follows an interim report in 2003 and also includes the results of an in-depth review of UN capacity in this area. Mr. Annan notes that “a culture of prevention is indeed beginning to take hold at the United Nations,” but adds that “an unacceptable gap remains between rhetoric and reality in the area of conflict prevention.” This latest report outlines a three-pronged approach to preventing armed conflict: targeting the sources of tension within and between societies, States and regions; reinforcing the norms and institutions for peace; and strengthening the mechanisms that can resolve inter-State disputes. As a way to mitigate sources of tension, the report details the concept of so-called “systemic prevention,” or cooperative efforts. These global initiatives would help deal with a wide range of issues – from the illicit flow of small arms to environmental degradation to the spread of HIV/AIDS - that are fuelling tensions around the globe. Mr. Annan also suggests that sanctions could be used more creatively as a tool to tackle conflict. The Security Council, for example, could use the reports of expert groups to then take action to help curb the exploitation of natural resources and the use of revenues by armed groups. And to provide more predictable financial support for conflict prevention activities, Mr. Annan urges Member States to “consider dedicating an amount equivalent to a certain percentage of the annual peacekeeping budget - say two per cent – to the prevention of armed conflict.” Among other recommendations, the report calls for strengthening the UN Department of Political Affairs; more support for development assistance through the UN Development Programme; and to the UN Democracy Fund. “If we are serious about conflict prevention, we have to better equip the Organization to fulfil its core mandate,” the report concludes. The General Assembly is to discuss the report in an open debate on 7 September when the Secretary-General will introduce the document. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

BIRD FLU A THREAT TO SOUTHERN BALKANS, CAUCASUS REGION, WARNS UN AGENCY

 

 Despite successful efforts to contain the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus, avian flu poses a threat to a growing number of countries, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO), which says the Caucasus and southern Balkans are now considered “high-risk” areas. “The region is not only a prime resting ground for migratory bird species, but poultry production is mostly characterized by rural and household husbandry with little in terms of biosecurity and strong regulatory inspection,” says Juan Lubroth, head of FAO’s Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal Diseases. The FAO says bird flu has been confirmed in 55 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, up from 45 just four months ago, though the rate of infection among poultry has slowed in most countries. “We don’t expect to eradicate the H5N1 virus from possible wild bird reservoirs, but we can contain and control it fully in the poultry sector, which is the best insurance we have that it will not mutate into a virus that is easily transmissible among humans,” says Joseph Domenech, Chief Veterinary Officer of FAO. For that to happen, however, he says veterinary and laboratory services need to be improved in poorer countries, where a general lack of funds hampers public services. “Just like a chain with a weak link, we need to find the weak links in the global effort to contain H5N1 and strengthen them,” says Mr. Domenech. The virus has killed 140 people worldwide since 2002, including 63 so far this year, according to the World Health Organization. More than 220 million birds have died from the virus or been killed in culling activities aimed at stopping the spread of the disease. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

MORE UN AID GETS THROUGH TO LEBANON; UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE IN MANY SOUTHERN AREAS

 

More United Nations aid arrived in Lebanon today as the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah entered its second week but the UN office coordinating humanitarian assistance warned that unexploded ordnance litters many areas in the south and will take months to clear. “The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that three convoys were dispatched from Beirut today, bringing the number of convoys sent since 26 July to 52,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. “OCHA also reports that the entire Sidon region, with the exception of Marjayoun, is heavily contaminated by unexploded ordnance; de-mining will take up to six months in the region of Nabatiye alone. UN agencies have worked with the Government on a public awareness campaign on the dangers posed by the ordnance.” Since the current crisis started, the World Food Programme has fed 460,000 people, and the UN Children’s Fund has provided essential drugs for 70,000 people and carried out vaccination campaigns against measles for 13,000 children and against polio for 9,000, Mr. Dujarric added, outlining some of the relief work. To help deal with the chronic fuel shortage in Lebanon, the UN also assisted in bringing in 135,000 tons for the Government and aid agencies between 2 and 17 August. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimated today that only a few thousand of the 180,000 Lebanese who found shelter across the border were still in Syria and it also reported a similar situation inside Lebanon with most of the hundreds of thousands of displaced returning to their homes. However, with many discovering that they had lost their homes or livelihoods, or both, they may require considerable assistance as they rebuild, the Agency said, as it continued to bring in more supplies today for those affected by the recent conflict. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

PROGRESS MADE IN TALKS ON UN DISABILITY CONVENTION BUT DIFFERENCES REMAIN

 

The pace of progress in current negotiations for an international convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities needs to pick up if an agreement is to be reached by the end of the week, the chair of the negotiations warned today. Progress has been made on several key issues, said Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand, who is chairing the talks. He added, however, that delegations have submitted roughly 150 new proposals on language for the convention, and the negotiations are under extreme time pressures in order to conclude by Friday. “We are within striking distance of having a convention that will be a huge advance in securing the rights of persons with disabilities around the world,” Mr. MacKay said. Nonetheless, he said that the process could begin to unravel if the negotiations become too prolonged. Progress had been made, he said, in several key areas, such as on an international mechanism to monitor the convention, on a definition of disabilities and the issue of legal capacity, where countries have indicated a shift toward a policy of supporting people in their decision-making abilities rather than imposing a guardianship decision-maker for those who have intellectual disabilities. Among the remaining issues are those that have “bedeviled other negotiations as well,” such as concerns over sexual and reproductive rights, said Thomas Schindlmayr of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at a briefing today. Asked whether an agreement could be reached by Friday, Mr. Schindlmayr said it was too soon to predict an outcome but that many participants remained optimistic. “There is an immense amount of good will in the room,” he said. “There is no dispute that this convention is necessary. There is no dispute that people want this convention.” 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN DELEGATION DISCUSSES LEBANON SITUATION WITH ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER, OTHER OFFICIALS

 

A high-level United Nations delegation met Israel’s Foreign Minister and other senior officials today to discuss the issue of prisoners, an arms embargo, the lifting of the blockade of Lebanon and other issues relating to the Security Council resolution that led to the cessation of recent hostilities between Hizbollah and Israel. The team, which arrived in Israel after meetings in Lebanon, was sent to the region to discuss ways of implementing Security Council resolution 1701 and, after meeting Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, also held talks with the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister's office, Defence Minister Amir Peretz, and Vice-Premier Shimon Peres. “We have discussed a number of issues with the Foreign Minister; in particular, we discussed the prisoners’ issue…Further, we have discussed the necessity of implementing the Security Council resolution’s call for an arms embargo,” Terje Roed-Larsen, a senior member of the delegation, was quoted as saying after the meeting with the Foreign Minister. “We have in this context also discussed the lifting of the blockade in Lebanon, both of the land crossings, seaports and at the airports,” he said, adding that the delegation hoped that “in the very near future” this can start to be lifted, with the appropriate authorities of Lebanon taking full control of all of its borders. Vijay Nambiar, Special Political Adviser to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, leads the delegation and in their meeting with the Foreign Minister, Mr. Roed-Larsen said “all matters related to the implementation, full implementation, of all provisions of Security Council resolution 1701,” had been discussed. “The meeting today has been very constructive, very friendly and very forward-looking. We have reason to be hopeful that now there will be a full respect of the ceasefire and full support of all parties concerned for the full and total implementation of Security Council resolution 1701.” Mr. Roed-Larsen also characterized the other meetings held today by the delegation, as well as those in Lebanon, as “very good,” adding that they had received “very constructive attitudes and suggestions from all parties we have been speaking to so far.” The Council unanimously adopted resolution 1701 on 11 August, in which it called for an immediate cessation of hostilities – which went into effect on 14 August local time, the deployment of Lebanese troops and a significantly expanded UN peacekeeping presence across southern Lebanon as well as the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the area. In New York today, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi briefed the Council on the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of resolution 1701, which was given to its 15 members last Friday. In the 13-page report, the Secretary-General says that he is “encouraged by the positive first steps” since the coming into effect of the cessation of hostilities a week ago, however he cautions that the situation remains “very fragile.” “I call on all parties to do their utmost to ensure that the cessation of hostilities holds and to transform it into a durable ceasefire…I call on both the Government of Lebanon and the Government of Israel to work resolutely towards a long-term solution and a permanent ceasefire.” Mr. Annan also says that a reinforced UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), as called for by the resolution, “is not going to wage war on any of the actors in the theatre,” but emphasizes its supporting role to the political process and the importance of negotiation. “That political process, however, will need the kind of help, assistance and confidence that only a robust peacekeeping presence can provide, in support of the Government of Lebanon and its efforts to exercise its authority effectively throughout its territory.” 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN SUDAN MISSION CONDEMNS MURDERS OF AFRICAN UNION SOLDIERS

 

The UN mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today strongly condemned Saturday’s attack on the African Union’s mission in that country, in which two soldiers were killed. In a statement issued in Khartoum, the spokesperson for UNMIS extended condolences to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and to the families of the two soldiers killed by an unidentified group of armed men in the Kuma area of North Darfur. “UNMIS calls on all parties to the Darfur conflict to respect the neutral and impartial status of AMIS,” said the statement, which went on to recall that “any attack against the African Union personnel deployed in Darfur is a serious violation of international law, constitutes a breach of existing ceasefire agreements, and contravenes relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.” The statement added that UNMIS supports the AMIS decision to carry out a thorough investigation to identify the perpetrators of the attack, urging all parties to fully cooperate in bringing those responsible to justice. Despite the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May, fierce fighting has continued in the region, and the number of attacks on humanitarian workers has recently soared to unprecedented levels. A draft resolution to replace AMIS with a UN peacekeeping operation is circulating among Security Council members, but the Sudanese Government says it opposes having blue helmets in Darfur. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

TOGO: SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES SIGNING OF POLITICAL REFORM AGREEMENT

Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hailed the signing of an agreement between members of Togo’s Government, political parties and civil society aimed at promoting lasting political reform in the West African country. A statement from Mr. Annan’s spokesman called yesterday’s agreement “an important undertaking by Togolese as a whole to put the past behind them and to build a brighter future based on reconciliation, transparency and the rule of law.” The death of long-time president Gnassingbé Eyadéma in February 2005 and subsequent disputed presidential elections precipitated a political crisis and factional fighting in which at least 400 people were killed and tens of thousands fled to neighbouring countries. The Secretary-General welcomed President Faure Gnassingbé’s commitment to rapidly implement the agreement and said he was encouraged by the “spirit of conciliation and compromise demonstrated by Togolese political leaders throughout the process.” Mr. Annan also commended President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso for his part in facilitating the talks. Mr. Annan also called upon the international community to “help Togo consolidate the new chapter in the country’s process of democratic reform through renewed and increased cooperation and support, in particular to revitalize the economy.” 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

LEBANESE ARMY MOVE INTO MORE POSITIONS VACATED BY ISRAELI TROOPS AS UN COORDINATES

 Lebanese forces moved into more areas in the south of the country today as Israeli troops withdrew and the cessation of hostilities with Hizbollah continued to hold, the United Nations interim force, which is coordinating the operation, said in a statement. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon said that this latest withdrawal of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and the deployment of Lebanese troops was going ahead in accordance with plans agreed yesterday during a third trilateral meeting held between its Force Commander and senior representatives from both sides. “Yesterday, the IDF withdrew from general areas of east-south and east-west of Bayt Yahoun and south along the road to Kunin. UNIFIL moved into vacated areas early in the afternoon. Today, the Lebanese Army shall take control over those areas.” UNIFIL is continuing ground and air patrols throughout its area of operations to monitor the cessation of hostilities and said that there had been Israeli air violations yesterday. “The cessation of hostilities was maintained in the past 24 hours. There was however, four air violations by Israeli jets and drones recorded yesterday,” the statement said. As part of its humanitarian efforts, the Mission also distributed drinking water to villagers in El Khiam, Houle, Ebel Es Saqi and Wadi Khansa, and in total supplied 35,000 litres. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN AGENCY CONDEMNS MURDER OF NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES IN GUYANA

 Continuing his campaign to spotlight threats to press freedom worldwide, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization today condemned the murder of four employees at a newspaper in Guyana. The workers at the Kaieteur News printing plant on the outskirts of the capital, Georgetown, were murdered on the night of 8 August, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Masked attackers armed with automatic weapons first shot a plant guard, then forced five employees to lie down before shooting them in the back of the head. One survivor reportedly remains in critical condition. “I condemn the brutal killing of Richard Stewart, Chetram Persaud, Elion Wegman, and Mark Mikoo,” said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, in a statement issued in Paris. “I am deeply shocked by this heinous crime against innocent workers.” “This must be considered as an attack on freedom of the press and democracy,” he went on to say, adding: “I trust that the authorities will do all they can to bring the culprits to justice, thereby protecting democracy and rule of law.” In recent weeks, Mr. Matsuura has condemned the murders of journalists in half a dozen countries. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

UNESCO EXPERTS ARRIVE IN LEBANON TO PLAN EARLY RECOVERY EFFORTS

 

One week after a cease-fire between Israel and Hizbollah went into effect, four experts from the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today began a five-day mission to Lebanon to determine how the cultural agency can best help the country recover from the devastation caused by the conflict. “In view of the situation in the field, it is now possible for UNESCO to start assisting Lebanon in its early recovery efforts, particularly with regard to cultural heritage and education,” said the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura. The experts will meet with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and members of his government, including the culture and education ministers. In addition, the team will visit some of the country’s World Heritage sites, including Byblos, which has been affected by the oil spill from a power station that was hit by Israeli bombs in mid-July. UNESCO is also focusing on restoring the educational system and providing post-trauma support for schoolchildren and teachers. Two follow-up missions are planned, with one focusing on cultural issues and the other on education, science and communication, Mr. Matsuura said. The Lebanese government-led early recovery plan will be presented to an international donors’ conference for Lebanon in Sweden on 31 August. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY SET TO BEGIN AERIAL SURVEILLANCE OF LEBANESE OIL SPILL

 

Following assurances from Israeli authorities of safe passage for its flights, the UN’s Environmental Programme is swiftly moving to begin aerial surveys of the massive oil spill that affected some 150 kilometres of Lebanese and Syrian coastline. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 tons of oil spewed into the sea after Israeli missiles struck a power utility south of Beirut between 13 and 15 July but because of the recent conflict between Israel and Hizbollah, comprehensive aerial surveillance has not been possible until now. On Friday UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, wrote to Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection, Gideon Ezra, requesting assurances of safe passage for the flights. Mr. Steiner says he received a reply today offering such guarantees. “I would like to acknowledge the response by the Israeli authorities giving safe and secure passage of aerial surveillance flights,” said Mr. Steiner. “It is absolutely vital that these are swiftly undertaken to establish the quantity of oil still floating on the sea and to thus tailor the appropriate clean-up response.” Computer models estimate that some of the oil has evaporated and significant amounts are on shore, but experts are uncertain how much remains at sea. Last week UN agencies, Mediterranean environment ministers and experts meeting in Athens approved a $64 million action plan to clean up the spill. Among the priorities identified in the plan were aerial surveys to help determine the operation’s next steps. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

ANNAN URGES ALL PARTIES IN THE DR CONGO TO ABIDE BY THE ELECTORAL LAW; RESPECT POLL RESULTS

 Welcoming the weekend announcement of provisional election results from last month’s landmark polls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged all Congolese parties to abide by the electoral law and to “accept and respect” the final results of the elections. “The Secretary-General welcomes the announcement…by the Independent Electoral Commission of the provisional results of the presidential election, which was held together with national assembly elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo on 30 July,” he said in a statement attributable to his spokesman. Describing the elections as a “vital step in the long process of peace consolidation,” Mr. Annan acknowledged that major challenges lay ahead, but called on the Congolese parties and candidates to “abide by the electoral law in the resolution of any disputes related to the electoral process.” “He also urges them to accept and respect the final results of the elections, in a spirit of peace and reconciliation, when they are announced by the Independent Electoral Commission,” the statement said. Mr. Annan also reiterated the UN’s commitment to supporting the people of Congo in their efforts to achieve lasting stability and democracy throughout the country, as well as sustained economic development. 2006-08-21 00:00:00.000

 

 

UNESCO CHIEF CONDEMNS MURDER OF COLOMBIAN RADIO JOURNALIST

As part of his continued campaign to focus attention on threats to press freedom worldwide, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization today condemned the killing of a radio journalist in Colombia. Milton Fabián Sánchez, whose programme for Yumbo Estéreo focused on political and community issues, was shot by two men as he was on his way home on 9 August. “I urge the Colombian authorities to do all they can to bring the culprits of this crime to justice,” said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in a statement released in Paris. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 25 media professionals have been killed in Colombia in the past decade. The CPJ notes, however, that such attacks have declined recently, with only one murder in 2005 and one so far this year. Nonetheless, the CPJ reports that journalists, especially those covering crime and corruption, continue to face threats. “Although I welcome the commitment shown by the authorities in Colombia to defend press freedom and note the decrease in the number of deadly attacks on journalists in the country over the past two years,” said Mr. Matsuura. “I am concerned about this murder and about reports of continued threats and intimidation against journalists, notably those reporting on crime.” Mr. Matsuura has recently condemned the murders of journalists in Iraq, Mexico, China, Russia and Brazil. 2006-08-18 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

DPR KOREA WILLING TO ACCEPT EMERGENCY AID FOR FLOOD VICTIMS, SAYS UN FOOD AGENCY

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has agreed to accept emergency rations to help the victims of last month’s devastating floods and landslides in the central and southern regions, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today. About 13,000 people in Songchon county in South Phyongan province will receive 30-day rations of wheat flour and enriched vegetable oil as a result of the decision, WFP said in a statement issued in Pyongyang. Hundreds of people are dead or missing and tens of thousands of others have been left homeless by the floods and landslides, which followed a period of torrential rains in the North Asian country in mid-July. Many roads, bridges and railway lines have been badly damaged. As many as 90,000 tons of cereals have been lost from this year’s harvest as well, according to preliminary estimates. Michael Dunford, WFP’s acting Country Director for the DPRK, said: “We are very willing to help those unfortunate victims of the recent floods, who lost so much. We stand ready to provide additional assistance based on demonstrated need.” The WFP rations being distributed in South Phyongan province come from a contingency reserve established as part of WFP’s two-year operation to combat nutritional deficiencies and improve food security in the DPRK. This programme aims to feed up to 1.9 million of the most vulnerable North Koreans, but since an appeal was launched in June, the WFP has received just 8 per cent of the $102 million it needs. 2006-08-18 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

SRI LANKA: UN AGENCY CALLS ON BOTH SIDES OF CONFLICT TO ALLOW URGENT AID TO GET THROUGH

Aid workers need access to deliver vital humanitarian supplies to thousands of Sri Lankan civilians who are running short of water and food after their communities were cut off by fighting between the Government and separatist Tamil Tigers, the United Nations refugee agency warned today. “We and our partners are now seriously concerned about the welfare of civilians in areas inaccessible to humanitarian agencies because of strictly enforced travel restrictions, as fighting continues in the north and east,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva. “UNHCR calls on the Sri Lankan Government and the rebel Tamil Tigers, or Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), urgently to allow access for humanitarian aid workers so vital supplies can reach those in need, and to permit freedom of movement to all affected populations.” With the closure of the A9 access road to the Jaffna peninsula through LTTE-controlled Kilinochchi District, supplies of food and water have fallen to alarmingly low levels in many locations, Ms. Pagonis said, adding this has also led to people hoarding food and merchants sharply hiking prices. Some 15,000 to 20,000 people are now said to be displaced in Kilinochchi as a result of repeated artillery shelling and air strikes, and aid agencies are targeting their help to those displaced people – some 9,500 individuals – living outdoors or in communal buildings. Coordinating its response with other groups, UNHCR has already distributed emergency relief items – kitchen utensils, pots and pans, towels, bed sheets, jerry cans, tarpaulins, mats, laundry soap and personal soap – to about 1,500 families there, giving priority to the most vulnerable people. But the agency has limited supplies because of the road restrictions. Eastern districts face a similar crisis, with thousands of displaced families in Muttur, Eachchilampattu Divisions of Trincomalee District, and Vaharai Division in Batticaloa District, in desperate need of sustained humanitarian relief. Since fighting flared up again in April, more than 162,200 people have fled their homes but remained within Sri Lanka, while 6,672 have crossed the Palk Strait to become refugees in India's Tamil Nadu state. 2006-08-18 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES STRIVE TO INSPIRE AND EDUCATE THROUGH UN TREATY PROCESS

Youth from across the world are a driving force behind talks now taking place at United Nations Headquarters in New York aimed at finalizing a treaty protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. Born in Venezuela, Vincent Pineda has muscular dystrophy and Svetlana Kotova from Russia has a sight disability. While they come from opposite ends of the earth, with very different personal circumstances, both represent the new generation of young leaders hoping to make a difference through the drafting and, ultimately, carrying out the provisions of the proposed International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities. Ms. Kotova is minimally sight-impaired, yet growing up during the Soviet era, where the disabled were segregated from the rest of society, meant that she only had blind friends until she reached the age of 17. When she went to United States to study in a traditional school and had sighted friends, she realized that she needed to change something in her home country. She now works as legal advisor at Perspektiva, a Moscow-based organization that provides a new look at disabilities in contrast to the previous approach. “It’s about empowerment, about being independent and living independently and about not asking money from the State but asking access and asking equal rights,” she said. Living with his disability in wheelchair, Mr. Pineda could not go to school in his homeland because his family was told that it would be too costly and educating a disabled child wasn’t worth the effort. Once his family moved to the United States new doors opened for him. And his perspective was further broadened through research on other countries with strong legislation protecting persons with disabilities, particularly in Scandinavia. Mr. Pineda is now pursuing a doctorate degree and makes documentary films on disability issues. His newest film will be based on the process of drafting the treaty, which would provide an international legal standard for how countries treat people with disabilities and promote their human rights. In producing the film on the UN, Mr. Pineda hopes to create a set of images that will empower, inspire and educate people worldwide on the convention. “A law is a law, but if it’s not really understood, embraced and communicated effectively, it doesn’t do anybody any good,” he observed. The media is an important tool for both of the young leaders in their efforts to educate the public and uplift persons with disabilities. Mr. Pineda said it can serve to “empower people, inspire people and really push people to create the society in which justice and equality can prevail.” He said the issue of disability must be viewed from a broader perspective. “If you look at the link between disability and poverty, it’s very much related to the Millennium Development Goals,” he said, referring to a set of time-bound targets adopted by leaders at a 2000 UN summit for addressing a host of global ills. “People that live in poverty because of harsh living conditions acquire disabilities and people that acquire disabilities slip into poverty so it’s a vicious cycle and at the core of that is access and policies that can remove those barriers and can keep people in that cycle of poverty.” The treaty, he said, would pave the way for positive change. “If we can create the political and legal mechanisms that will allow these barriers to come down we can create the possibility for people to contribute their real talents, their real capabilities, their real visions and their real skill to making our world a better place.” Delegates from all 192 Member States and representatives of more than 90 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are involved in talks on the 33-article draft convention. At the outset of the two-week session, which began on Monday, the Chairman, Ambassador Don MacKay of New Zealand, voiced optimism that agreement was close at hand but cautioned that negotiators “are going to have to start compromising” in order to reach a final text. The convention would obligate countries, among other measures, to gradually include disability-friendly features into the construction of new facilities, promote and improve access to education and information and introduce measures that eliminate discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities. 2006-08-18 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UN’S TIMOR-LESTE MISSION EXTENDED BRIEFLY WHILE COUNCIL MULLS FUTURE OPTIONS

As the Security Council weighs requests from Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Government of Timor-Leste to create a new, expanded United Nations mission in the South-East Asian country, the 15-member body today briefly extended the current mission there. The mandate of the UN Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), a special political mission established by the Council last year to carry out peace-building activities, was set to expire on Sunday but now has a mandate running through 25 August. The security situation remains fragile in Timor-Leste, which the UN shepherded to independence from Indonesia in 2002. A wave of violence earlier this year left dozens dead and forced 155,000 people to flee their homes after clashes broke out when the Government dismissed some 600 soldiers who had gone on strike. In a report last week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the Council to establish a new mission to help rebuild institutions, promote reconciliation and assist in nationwide elections scheduled for next year. He also proposed a UN police force of more than 1,600 to provide additional security. Timor-Leste’s Government has issued repeated calls for an expanded mission. In unanimously adopting today’s resolution, the Council took note of two letters from the country’s Prime Minister José Ramos Horta to Mr. Annan earlier this month. In one of those letters, the prime minister characterized the country’s national police force as “dysfunctional,” adding that some 70,000 internally displaced persons remained in camps, afraid to return to their homes. “We believe that a robust police, military and civilian element is indispensable to our hard-won peace and freedom,” said Mr. Ramos Horta in another letter. “There is a consensus among all stakeholders that the situation in Timor-Leste requires the establishment of a United Nations multidimensional and integrated peacekeeping mission.” 2006-08-18 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

DETERIORATING SITUATION IN DARFUR LEAVES UN ‘EXTRAORDINARILY CONCERNED’ – ANNAN’S DEPUTY

Warning that “something very ugly is brewing” in Darfur, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown today urged the international community to pay close attention to the crisis in the impoverished and strife-torn region of western Sudan. “We are extraordinarily concerned,” Mr. Malloch Brown told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, calling attention to the worsening humanitarian and security situation in the remote region in recent months and “the absence of a clear political path to the deployment of a UN force.” A draft resolution circulating among Security Council members outlines the size and scope of a possible UN peacekeeping operation, which would replace the current mission of the African Union (AU). But so far the Sudanese Government has said it is opposed to having blue helmets in Darfur. In a closed-door briefing yesterday, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi told the Council that Khartoum is building up its armed forces in Darfur, an apparent sign that it is determined to pursue a major military offensive there soon. The period since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in early May has been marked not only by fierce fighting, but also by an unprecedented number of attacks on humanitarian workers – in July alone there were 36 reported incidents that led to nine deaths. Mr. Annabi said some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have indicated they may be forced to withdraw entirely from North Darfur, one of three states which comprise the region, because of the dangers to their staff members. Last week Secretary-General Kofi Annan wrote to the Council to express his alarm about the situation, pointing out it has become much harder for those aid workers who remain to direct humanitarian assistance to those in need. As many as 1.6 million people are currently inaccessible, Mr. Annan said in his letter. Today, Mr. Malloch Brown urged the reporters to not forget about Darfur, despite the importance of other crises in the world. He acknowledged that it is “hard to keep two stories in the air at once” but stressed that “it is very, very important that we all pay lots of attention to Darfur.” Scores of thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million others have been displaced since conflict erupted in 2003 between rebels, Government forces and allied militia groups in Darfur, a region roughly the size of France. 2006-08-18 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES HOLDING IN LEBANON, REPORTS UN FORCE AS IT WORKS ON DE-MINING

The United Nations-backed cessation of hostilities in Lebanon is generally holding as more Israeli troops leave Lebanese territory, while the end to the fighting allows the world body’s peacekeepers in the south to carry out urgent humanitarian work, including de-mining and assisting villagers with water and other essentials. The Israeli Army withdrew today from the areas of Yatar and Haddathah in the central sector and handed over control to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon Checkpoints and patrols then verified the withdrawal. “The cessation of hostilities was generally maintained in the past 24 hours. There were no reports of incidents or breaches of the agreement, the parties have not fired into the territory of or at the other side, and there were no attempts to occupy any additional territory,” the mission said in a press release. The Lebanese Armed Forces then completed the process of deployment inside the territory vacated by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), while controls a buffer zone to the south, between the Lebanese Army and the IDF. These operations will continue along the plan and timeline adopted at a trilateral meeting of the Force Commander with senior representatives of the Lebanese and Israeli Armies, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York, emphasizing that UNIFIL is closely coordinating and monitoring the operations. “The UNIFIL Chinese de-mining teams, meanwhile, carried out operations to clear unexploded ordnance in various areas south of the Litani River and UNIFIL troops also provided water and food to returnees in their villages in the south,” he said. De-mining is considered a crucial activity given the threat to civilians posed by unexploded ordnance. 2006-08-18 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

ISRAEL'S VIOLATION OF CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES ENDANGERS FRAGILE CALM -- ANNAN

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been in touch with top Israeli and Lebanese officials today following an Israeli raid in eastern Lebanon which he warned endangers the fragile calm that has generally held in the region since Monday. "The Secretary-General is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities as laid out in Security Council resolution 1701," a UN spokesman said in a statement. Adopted on 11 August, that text mandated a halt to the fighting which took effect three days later. There have also been several air violations by Israeli military aircraft, according to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which is helping to support and coordinate the Israeli withdrawal. Mr. Annan said violations of Security Council resolution 1701 such as the Israeli raid today "endanger the fragile calm that was reached after much negotiation and undermine the authority of the Government of Lebanon." He called on all parties "to respect strictly the arms embargo, exercise maximum restraint, avoid provocative actions and display responsibility in implementing resolution 1701." The Secretary-General has today spoken to the Prime Ministers of Israel and Lebanon about this matter, according to the spokesman, who added that Mr. Annan has further instructed that daily reports of compliance on the cessation of hostilities by the parties should be provided to the Security Council. Under resolution 1701, UNIFIL is to be given more robust rules of engagement and expanded to include up to 15,000 peacekeepers to support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy across the south of the country at the same time as Israel withdraws from the area.

 

 

 

 

 

ANNAN APPEALS TO IRAN TO REPLY POSITIVELY TO UN-BACKED OFFER ON NUCLEAR ISSUE

Reacting to a signal from Iran that it was set to reply next week to a package of Security Council-backed proposals on resolving the nuclear issue, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today appealed to Iran to seize "this historic opportunity" and respond positively to the offer. "I am pleased that the Islamic Republic of Iran has indicated it will respond to the proposal of the EU3 plus 3 for a comprehensive solution to the nuclear issue on Tuesday, 22 August 2006," the Secretary-General said in a statement, referring to the offer made by China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the support of the European Union's High Representative. "Iran's reply will, I trust, be positive and that this will be the foundation for a final, negotiated settlement," Mr. Annan said in his appeal to the Government of Iran issued at UN Headquarters in New York. The EU3 plus 3 proposals, endorsed by the Security Council in resolution 1696 of 31 July, envisaged a long-term comprehensive arrangement, which would allow for the development of relations with Iran based on mutual respect and the establishment of international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. The Secretary-General stressed that in a time of acute crisis in the Middle East, progress on the nuclear issue was essential for the stability not only of the region, but the international system itself. "It is time to take steps in the right direction," Mr. Annan said. "I am convinced that a way is now open for setting a milestone for international non-proliferation efforts." Noting that the EU3 plus 3 had reaffirmed Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the Secretary-General said it was important for Iran to assure the world that its intentions are peaceful, and that it re-builds confidence in its nuclear programme, as both the International At called for. By its action last month, the Council requested IAEA to report, by 31 August, on whether Iran has established full and sustained suspension of all activities mentioned in resolution 1696, as well as on the process of Iranian compliance with all the steps required by the IAEA Board. 2006-08-20 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

WATER AND OTHER ESSENTIALS NEEDED IN BEIRUT, SAYS UN, AS IT SENDS MORE CONVOYS SOUTH

The tens of thousands of people returning to the war-ravaged southern suburbs of Beirut desperately need clean drinking water, medicine and other essentials, the United Nations said today, as it dispatched more aid convoys to others in need in the devastated towns and cities in the south of the country. The three convoys are headed to Sidon, Tyre and Marjayoun, a UN spokesman told reporters in New York, adding that the World Health Organization is also sending more than 120 trauma kits and six medical kits, with equipment for some 12,000 operations, to the Marjayoun hospital. In addition, a WHO fuel tanker has left Tyre for the southern village of Bint Jbeil, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, while highlighting that since the beginning of the current crisis, the World Food Programme has distributed more than 1,300 tonnes of food to over 262,000 Lebanese. Almost 100,000 people have now returned from Syria, or more than half of an estimated total of 180,000 Lebanese who fled there to get away from the fighting, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said today, as it continued to organize bus transport for many of the returnees. “The people are very excited to go. They certainly know about the difficult situation in Lebanon, but all we see here are happy faces,” said UNHCR protection officer, Lisa Quarshie, at the Al Aarida border crossing. “Lately we see people with lots of boxes going back, filled with food and bedsheets and other donations from the Gulf States.” The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which along with providing essential aid is also helping run awareness programmes on the danger of unexploded ordnance in Lebanon, estimates that 6,000 people are headed back toward the worst-hit areas in the south of the country every hour. A UNHCR team has now arrived in the southern port city of Tyre, which was cut off at one stage during the conflict, and the agency says this is the advance guard of the staff who will establish warehouse facilities and establish exactly what assistance will be needed by those trying to rebuild in the worst-affected areas. “There's severe destruction caused by aerial bombardments,” said UNHCR's senior liaison officer Harry Leefe. “Where there was once a house, I could just see a bomb crater. There are also lots of cluster bombs.” 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE TO TIMOR-LESTE CHAIRS ELECTION MEETING

As a first step toward helping Timor-Leste hold free and fair elections next year, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in that country today convened a meeting of the major political parties to negotiate a new law that would govern those elections. Politicians representing 17 parties discussed two competing drafts, one by the ruling Fretilin party and the other by members of opposition parties. An electoral adviser from the UN Development Programme offered an analysis of the proposals. Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta, who also attended the meeting, said he would study both drafts. “This was an extremely important exercise in preparation for free, fair and credible elections next year,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Timor-Leste, Sukehiro Hasegawa, who noted that he had already seen a movement toward consensus among the political parties. “This is democracy at work.” The tiny South-East Asian nation is still recovering from a wave of violence earlier this year. Dozens were killed and 155,000 people forced to flee their homes after clashes broke out when the government dismissed some 600 soldiers who had gone on strike. In a report last week, Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the UN Security Council to establish a new mission in Timor-Leste to help rebuild institutions, promote national reconciliation and assist in next year’s elections. He also proposed a UN police force of more than 1,600 that would, among other activities, provide security during the voting. At today’s meeting, Mr. Hasegawa noted that the Secretary-General had also requested a team of electoral advisors and specialists. He added that the UN would be prepared, if requested by Timor-Leste’s Government, to send a high-level team to certify each step of the electoral process. “The international community is committed to assisting in further strengthening the democratic foundations of Timor-Leste and believes that jointly, we can make the 2007 elections a success,” said Mr. AHasegawa. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN TEAM DISCUSSES HOW TO ACHIEVE LONG-TERM CEASEFIRE WITH OFFICIALS IN
BEIRUT

A United Nations delegation met in Beirut today with Lebanese Prime
Minister Fouad Siniora and other senior officials to discuss carrying out
the terms of Security Council resolution 1701, which was adopted just
over a week ago and forced a cessation to the hostilities that had
engulfed Lebanon and northern Israel over the previous month, with a view to
forging a long-term ceasefire.

The delegation, which arrived in Beirut last night on a two-day visit,
includes Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Advisor, Vijay Nambiar,
and Terje Roed-Larsen, Mr. Annan’s Special Representative for the
implementation of Security Council resolution 1559. Adopted in September,
2004, that text called for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from
Lebanon, the disbanding of all militias and the extension of Government
control over the whole country.

In addition to Prime Minister Siniora, the delegation also met
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of National Defense Elias Murr, and Minister of
Interior Ahmed Fatfat.

Resolution 1701, adopted by the Security Council on 11 August, brought
about a cessation of hostilities in the month-old conflict which led to
the deaths of over 1,100 Lebanese and about 150 Israelis.

The delegation was also briefed by General Alain Pellegrini, Commander
of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), on the situation in South
Lebanon and the ongoing withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The delegation is going to meet with senior Lebanese politicians and
members of Parliament on Sunday before leaving for Israel.
2006-08-19 00:00:00.000

 

 

LEBANON: MORE WORK NEEDED TO MEET TROOP DEADLINE ON UN FORCE, SAYS
ANNAN’S DEPUTY

Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown said there had been “a
reasonable start” from United Nations Member States participating in
today’s meeting of potential troop contributors for an expanded and more
robust peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, but that much work remains
to be done to achieve the initial deadline of dispatching an extra 3,500
troops to the region within the next 10 days.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting at UN Headquarters in New York,
Mr. Malloch Brown said that about a third of the 23 countries whose
representatives spoke during the meeting made “relatively firm
commitments,” while another third “made conditional commitments in which they felt
there was still a relatively major hurdle to cross,” and a final third
“were much more cautious, offering just support in principle.”

Many delegations will need to return to their capitals for
parliamentary approval or some other form of acceptance from their domestic
governments, he said, before they can issue a clear commitment.

The UN convened today’s meeting of potential troop contributors after
the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah took effect on
Monday following last Friday’s Security Council resolution on the
month-long conflict in the Middle East.

That resolution called for the existing UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to be
given more robust rules of engagement and expanded to include up to 15,000
peacekeepers to support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy across
the south of the country at the same time as Israel withdraws from the
area.

Mr. Malloch Brown warned that it was vital to install at least 3,500
troops within the next 10 days because “the current cessation of
hostilities is not going to be stable for long. It has to move towards a full
disengagement and ceasefire.”

He said some Member States had raised questions about whether their
troops, if they were dispatched, would have to take part in hostile or
offensive activities against Hizbollah members.

“What we said to them was, ‘Look, this is a prudently designed [set of]
rules of engagement, which is non-offensive in character but very much
does call on you to robustly use force if it’s necessary.’ ”

Asked about reports that France, which has been discussed as possibly
leading an expanded UNIFIL, had agreed to send 200 extra troops, Mr.
Malloch Brown said the UN was disappointed.

“We had hoped France would be able to do more. But President Chirac has
been very clear with the Secretary-General that France is keeping its
1,700 troops at sea in the area to give logistics support to the Force,
it is doubling its current level of contribution, and we’re going to
stay in touch on what more is possible.”

The Deputy Secretary-General added that he agreed with a point made by
France that UNIFIL’s legitimacy is actually “enhanced if it’s seen as
having a number of very significant contributors who between them
represent a wider geographic balance than just one lead country.”

He also said that other countries have also come forward and “we’re
pretty convinced we’ve got the elements here of a strong force which is
very multilateral in character but well able to do the task it will be
given.”

Earlier, in his address to the meeting, Mr. Malloch Brown stressed the
importance of converting promises into commitments and then turning
those commitments into rapid deployments on the ground.

“Every moment we delay is a moment that the fighting could re-erupt,”
he said.
2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 UN-ORGANIZED ‘RED RIBBONS’ AWARDED FOR LOCAL AIDS INITIATIVES

As part of an effort to highlight some of the most outstanding and
least recognized participants in the frontline response to HIV and AIDS,
the first-ever Red Ribbon Awards were handed out to five local community
groups at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto last night.

Nearly 600 communities around the world were nominated for the $20,000
awards, which were organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in
partnership with the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).  Twenty
finalist communities will also receive $5,000 each.

“The Red Ribbon Award is a great opportunity to bring communities
together that have fought this disease,” said UNDP Administrator Kemal
Dervis.  “Sometimes they work in extremely difficult situations, in contexts
of war or extreme poverty, and yet they have found ways despite these
obstacles to make things happen, to generate some real success on the
ground.”

Zimbabwe’s Girl Child Network, which counsels and supports girls in
rural areas, including victims of sexual abuse, received the award for
best practice in overcoming women’s equality from UNAIDS Special
Representative HRH the Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway.

The Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, which successfully
campaigned to bring anti-retroviral treatment into Thailand’s
public-health system, was honored for its role in providing access to care,
treatment and support.

The All Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, a lobbying
group, was rewarded for its efforts to address stigma and discrimination,
secure treatment and organize support for people living with HIV/AIDS
in Ukraine.

Durjoy Nari Shongo, a Bangladeshi project that educates, protects and
advocates for sex workers and their families, received the award for its
work in promoting prevention initiatives.

Mboole Rural Development, a youth-led community network in Zambia that
sews school uniforms for AIDS orphans, was also honored last night.

The winners were chosen by an international jury that included the
Norwegian Crown Princess, actress Naomi Watts, and former Irish President
Mary Robinson.
2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

REPORTED EXECUTION OF AFGHAN PROMPTS UN ENVOY TO TAKE STAND AGAINST DEATH PENALTY

The top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan today condemned the death penalty as reports emerged that Iranian authorities recently executed an Afghan national living in Iran. “My position on the death penalty is clear: in all countries and for all crimes without exception I stand against it. There can be no room in any modern society for state executions,” said Tom Koenigs, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, in a statement issued in Kabul. “The United Nations has always and continues to support the abolition of the death penalty amongst all member states.” 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

UN AGENCIES AGREE ON CLEAN-UP PLAN TO TACKLE OIL SPILL POLLUTING LEBANON AND SYRIA

United Nations agencies backed a wide-ranging multimillion dollar action plan today to tackle up to 15,000 tonnes of fuel oil that spewed into the Mediterranean Sea, killing marine life and affecting around 150 kilometres of Lebanese and Syrian coastline, after a power utility was damaged last month during the fighting between Israel and Hizbollah. The plan, which envisages an initial cost of around $64 million with possibly more funds needed next year, was agreed to at a meeting convened by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the UN Environment Programme in Athens, Greece, and which also involved countries in the region and the European Commission. “Now the bombs have stopped and the guns have been silenced we have a chance to rapidly assess the true magnitude of the problem and finally mobilize the support for an oil clean-up and a restoration of the coastline,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP’s Executive Director. “The experts are on standby and today the international community have agreed on an action plan. I sincerely hope we have secured the financial backing to swiftly and comprehensively deliver on this promise to the Lebanese people, on this request to the UN for assistance from the Lebanese authorities,” he added. The International Assistance Action Plan envisages three stages of response, namely priority short-term actions – including immediate helicopter aerial surveys to determine the extent of the pollution; medium-term actions – including a workforce of 300 people cleaning up to 30 sites simultaneously; and long-term actions to assess the lessons learned. “I am delighted that we have been able to agree on this action plan which now sets the stage for the wide-ranging assistance the Lebanese and, to a lesser extent, the Syrian authorities so urgently need,” said Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the IMO. Several countries have offered clean-up and oil containment equipment and the Plan recommends that each donor providing equipment should also make available one or several specialists to train local staff in its use. It also highlights a “continually evolving scenario demanding a move, for example, from vacuum trucks and pumps to mechanical grabs as the oil becomes more viscous”. The Plan has been prepared by the Experts Working Group for Lebanon under the supervision of the UNEP-Mediterranean Action Plan’s Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea (REMPEC) and the Minister of the Environment of Lebanon. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

BIRD FLU VIRUS BECOMING ENDEMIC IN PARTS OF ASIA – UN

Laboratory results show that a recent wave of bird flu in poultry in Thailand and Laos was the result of both old and new strains of the H5N1 virus, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said today, calling for vigorous implementation of control measures to prevent further spread of the disease. The FAO says last month’s outbreak in Thailand’s Pichit province was caused by the same strain that has been circulating in the area since 2003, meaning the virus has become endemic to the region. “The H5N1 virus thus remained alive in central Thailand in a reservoir of birds and poultry, most probably a mix of backyard chickens, ducks and fighting cocks,” said Laurence Gleeson, regional manager of FAO’s bird flu centre in Bangkok today. Outbreaks in Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom province and Vientiane in Laos, on the other hand, were caused by strains that did not exist there previously but that did resemble ones found in southern China, the FAO said. The bird flu situation in the region has reached a “critical juncture,” said the agency, noting that outbreaks were continuing in China and also reoccurring in Laos, while cross-border poultry trade persisted across South-East and East Asia, despite well-known risks. For all of those reasons, heightened vigilance was essential throughout the region. “Timely reporting and sharing information continue to be crucial,” said He Changchui, FAO’s Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, pointing out that while some countries can beat back occasional bird flu reoccurrence, poorer countries still need funding to strengthen veterinary services and build up transboundary animal disease containment programmes. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

UNESCO CHIEF CONDEMNS MURDER OF MEXICAN MAGAZINE EDITOR

Continuing his campaign to draw the world’s attention to threats against freedom of the press, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization today condemned the killing of the editor of a Mexican magazine. The body of Enrique Perea Quintanilla was found on the outskirts of the northern city of Chihuahua on 9 August with bullet wounds to the head and back. Mr. Perea was the editor of Dos Caras, Una Verdad (Two Sides, One Truth), a monthly magazine focusing on local drug trafficking and closed murder cases. “Crimes against journalists and editors constitute a grievous offence against democracy and rule of law,” said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in a statement released in Paris. “They undermine the freedom of media professionals to inform public debate and participation.” “I trust that the special prosecutor appointed to deal with crimes against the press will be able to ensure that the perpetrators or such crimes are brought to justice and that Mexican journalists will be able to carry out their professional duties without fear of reprisals,” Mr. Matsuura added. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), four Mexican journalists have been killed in the past five years in direct reprisal for their work. The CPJ is also investigating the slayings of six other journalists, whose murders may be related to their work. Two journalists are currently missing. One was abducted last month and the other in April. Mr. Matsuura has recently condemned a wave of murders of journalists in Iraq, as well as killings of members of the press in China, Russia and Brazil. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN DEMANDS IMMEDIATE END TO DEMOLITIONS AND FORCED RELOCATION OF DISPLACED SUDANESE

A United Nations human rights expert joined her voice today to the growing alarm about the Sudanese authorities’ demolition yesterday – without warning – of the homes of 12,000 long-term internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in a camp south of the capital Khartoum. Sima Samar, Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Sudan, told a press conference in Khartoum that there had been reports “of a number of deaths,” including some children, during the demolition operation. “I call on the authorities to immediately halt the forced relocation and allow access to the area so services can be provided to the population,” Dr. Samar said. In a statement released today the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) said heavily armed policemen and tanks surrounded the squatter camp at Dar Assalam, situated about 43 kilometres from Khartoum, about 8 a.m. yesterday. With only a few minutes’ notice, bulldozers then moved in and demolished hundreds of houses. UN officials in the area were barred entry and told to leave after they heard gunshots. UNMIS, which has also condemned the operation and asked for immediate access to the area to assess the humanitarian situation, said it was particularly concerned because Dar Assalam residents and authorities had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier this year indicating that there would be no forced relocations until another site acceptable to both sides had been found. “The UN remains ready to provide all necessary assistance to ensure that any relocation of the people of Dar Assalam takes place on the basis of the MoU and with due regard to the human rights and humanitarian needs of all residents,” according to the UNMIS statement. Most residents of Dar Assalam have lived there since the 1980s, having fled western Sudan during the famine of that period. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000