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ISRAEL BEGINS WITHDRAWAL FROM LEBANON AS LEBANESE TROOPS MOVE IN, UN FORCE REPORTS

The Israeli Army has started its withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the Lebanese Army has begun deploying troops south of the Litani River, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon , which is helping to support and coordinate the operations, reported today. The Israeli Army withdrew yesterday from Tibnin, Frun, Ghanduriyah, Marjayoun, Qulayah and Khiyam, handing over control to UNIFIL, which established a number of checkpoints and patrolled these areas to verify the withdrawal of the Israeli Army. This morning, the Lebanese Armed Forces started the process of deployment inside the territory vacated by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), while UNIFIL controls a buffer zone to the south, between the Lebanese Army and the IDF. “Significant numbers of troops of the Lebanese Army arrived this morning to Tyre, with around 500 already deployed in the general area of Tibnin, and some 800 in the general area of Marjayoun,” the Force said. The Israeli Army withdrawal and the deployment of the Lebanese Army are planned to continue in the coming days in accordance with arrangements worked out during a meeting which brought together the UNIFIL Force Commander and representatives of Lebanon and Israel. Under a resolution adopted Friday calling for the cessation of hostilities – which UNIFIL said is generally holding – the Security Council welcomed the Lebanese Government's plan to deploy 15,000 troops across the south of the country as Israel withdraws behind the Blue Line, and also backed the simultaneous deployment of an expanded and enhanced UNIFIL with up to 15,000 peacekeepers. Although no shots were fired, UNIFIL said three times over the past 24 hours, Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace. UNIFIL de-mining team from the Chinese contingent continued operations to clear unexploded ordnance – considered a key threat to civilians now on the move as they return to their homes – from the area. The Force also distributed food and water to a number of villages and has been providing medical assistance and water to a number of local villages in area of operations. In addition, peacekeepers provided fuel to the village of Rmeich to power the water supply system there. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

WITH UN SUPPORT, CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HOUSING UNITS BEGINS IN SERBIA

Top government and civil society leaders have formally laid the first foundations of new homes under a housing and social integration programme for tens of thousands of war refugees and other vulnerable people in Serbia being supported by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). The programme aims to provide some 670 new homes for 3,000 refugees and vulnerable people, to build institutional capacities for social housing development, assist the social and economic integration of refugees and displaced people, and help boost the development capacity of local governments in their development planning and municipal information systems, the agency said in a press release. Special ceremonies were held in the municipality of Niš on 9 August, following others in different areas, where senior government and local officials were at hand to witness the start of the initiative. The Settlement and Integration of Refugees Programme in Serbia is a three-year effort being funded by the Government of Italy. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UNICEF WORKING TO HELP QUAKE-AFFECTED SCHOOL CHILDREN IN TAJIKISTAN

With thousands of children returning to school in Tajikistan in the first week of September as usual, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is working to ensure that those living in areas hit by a recent earthquake will be able to learn despite the devastation wrought by the disaster. The earthquake that rocked Qumsangir on 29 July left 5,000 children without classrooms, causing severe damage to over a dozen of the area’s 44 schools. “UNICEF stands ready to provide school-in-a-box kits, school desks and chairs for a number of affected schools before school resumes in early September,” said the agency’s Representative, Yukie Mokuo, who visited the affected sites earlier this month along with officials from the Government. The team found that many classrooms are unsafe and will not be ready for the beginning of the school year. In a news release on Wednesday, the agency warned of the threat of a possible outbreak of water-borne diseases in the area, which relies solely on a damaged irrigation canal as its source of water supply for cooking and drinking. Sanitation conditions are also poor. Immediately after the earthquake, UNICEF sent initial emergency supplies worth $10,000 containing hygiene kits, water purification tablets, towels, jerry cans and high protein biscuits to the affected areas. Another batch of supplies, mostly hygiene items, will be distributed next week in partnership with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on health care and hygiene promotion. UNICEF and its partners have also assessed water and sanitation and are working to ensure their long-term rehabilitation. The Government of Tajikistan is working to rebuild the damaged schools with support from the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, a global partnership between donor and developing countries to ensure universal primary education by 2015, UNICEF said. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UN OPENS NEW OFFICES IN AFGHANISTAN’S TROUBLED SOUTHERN REGION

The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan has opened a new regional office in Qalat, Zabul, in the south of the country, where a growing insurgency threatens stability, as part of its efforts to work with Afghans to boost development and monitor human rights. “The new offices build on our current network and will help us to listen closely to the needs of the people, the community, the elders and the local authorities to get a better understanding about what can be done to help to bring prosperity to Afghanistan,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the country, Tom Koenigs. “The office will closely cooperate with the local government and local governors and with all the administration to strengthen good governance and the rule of law, as well as monitoring human rights issues and will assist the local population where needed to ensure that more development reaches these areas,” he said. UNAMA has plans to open more offices across in the whole country, the envoy noted. “We believe that our presence can help contribute to the stabilization of the country,” said Mr. Koenigs. The mission is mandated to provide political and strategic advice for the peace process and help the Government towards implementation of the Afghanistan Compact, a five-year development plan for the country. UNAMA is also promoting human rights, providing technical assistance, and continuing to manage all UN humanitarian relief, recovery, reconstruction and development activities in coordination with the Government. Mr. Koenigs has warned the Security Council that Afghanistan faces a growing insurgency in the south, calling for international efforts to counter the threat he said was posed by a coherent leadership with a clear intention to overthrow the Government and return the country to the way it was under the Taliban. 2006-08-17 00:00:00.000

 

SOMALIA: UN ENVOY URGES SECURITY COUNCIL TO MAINTAIN PRESSURE FOR
RESUMPTION OF TALKS

The international community must maintain the United Nations arms
embargo on Somalia, refrain from interfering in the strife-torn Horn of
Africa country’s internal affairs and urge the disputing parties there to
resume dialogue, the senior UN envoy to the nation told the Security
Council today.

In a closed-door briefing to the Council, the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative Francois Lonsény Fall called on the 15-member body to
press both the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and the Supreme
Court of Islamic Courts to not take any provocative measures that might
cause a further deterioration of the situation.

Speaking later to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Fall
said he was disappointed that the second round of dialogue – proposed for
later this month in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum – has been postponed
again.

Mr. Fall said his office was informed this morning by Sheikh Sharif
Sheikh Ahmed, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Islamic Courts,
that talks with the TFIs would not be possible as long as Ethiopian troops
remained in Somalia.

Asked if he could confirm reports that Ethiopian troops were operating
in Somalia, Mr. Fall said his office had no monitoring capacity on the
ground to make such a confirmation. But he added that all countries
should refrain from interfering in the affairs of Somalia, which has not
had a functioning national government since President Muhammad Siad
Barre’s regime was toppled in 1991.

Representatives of the TFIs, which are based in Baidoa, and the Supreme
Council of Islamic Courts held talks in Khartoum in June after militias
associated with the Courts drove warlords out of Mogadishu, to take
control of the capital earlier that month.
2006-08-16 00:00:00.000 
 

 

 

ANNAN DISPATCHES SENIOR ENVOYS TO THE MIDDLE EAST FOR TALKS ON IMPLEMENTING RESOLUTION

Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a high-level mission to Lebanon and Israel tomorrow to talk to leaders of the two countries about how to implement last Friday’s Security Council resolution on the recent conflict in the Middle East, Mr. Annan’s spokesman announced today. Stephane Dujarric told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York that Mr. Annan is dispatching his Special Political Adviser Vijay Nambiar and his Special Envoy Terje Roed-Larsen, who are scheduled to leave tomorrow and then return at some point next week. The full programme of meetings for Mr. Nambiar and Mr. Roed-Larsen has not yet been set, Mr. Dujarric added, but their role will be to help Mr. Annan fulfil his duties under the Council resolution to help the parties meet their commitments. In New York today, Mr. Annan also held a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni about the current situation. Speaking to reporters after their encounter, the Foreign Minister said, “Part of the discussion that I had with Secretary-General Annan assured me that we have the same goals.” Mr. Nambiar and Mr. Roed-Larsen will set off as Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown chairs a meeting tomorrow at UN Headquarters of potential troop contributing countries for the expanded UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Resolution 1701, passed unanimously by the Council, called for an expanded force of up to 15,000 peacekeepers to help the Lebanese army deploy 15,000 of its own troops to exert control over the country’s southern flank as the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) simultaneously withdraws from those areas it occupies. This expansion was slated to follow a cessation of hostilities between the IDF and Hizbollah, which came into effect on Monday morning local time. Yesterday a senior UN official said the Organization wants to see a strengthened UNIFIL as soon as practicable, with a vanguard unit of some 3,000 or 3,500 troops possibly in place on the ground within the next 10 days or so. He called for firm commitments from nations at tomorrow’s meeting of potential troop contributors. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

LIBERIA RETAKES RUBBER PLANTATION AS PART OF UN-BACKED CAMPAIGN TO RESTORE AUTHORITY

The Liberian Government has formally re-possessed a public rubber plantation that had been illegally occupied by ex-combatants, part of a United Nations-backed effort to restore state authority and the rule of law across the formerly war-torn West African country. UN officials, including the Secretary-General’s Special Representative Alan Doss, joined local officials at a ceremony yesterday marking the re-possession of the Guthrie Rubber Plantation, the UN Mission in Liberia press release issued in the capital, Monrovia. In his speech to the ceremony, Mr. Doss thanked the efforts of the joint Liberian-UN Rubber Plantation Task Force, which was set up in February this year to tackle ongoing tensions and government revenue losses from the inefficient management of the country’s public rubber plantations. “Today, the Government of Liberia is taking back what belongs to Liberia,” he said. Mr. Doss also pledged the support of UNMIL troops so that Liberian National Police officers can maintain law and order on the plantation, situated about 50 kilometres from Monrovia. With the aid of UN Police (UNPOL), Liberian police officers have started conducting regular patrols of the plantation, while a contingent of UNMIL military engineers from Pakistan has erected housing and office space at Guthrie. “We have to make sure that the plantations remain safe so we can begin the task of rebuilding the plantations, including allowing for investments and aid to come in.” The Liberian Government has installed an interim management team to take over the running of the plantation, with the aim of regularizing employment and promoting labour standards ahead of the introduction of a permanent management structure. UNMIL said it would assist efforts to help reintegrate those ex-combatants who had occupied Guthrie. Mr. Doss urged those former fighters to “help us to rebuild the community and together we will make sure that this plantation will generate jobs for you and your children.” 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN FOOD AID ORGANIZATION WARNS OF FOOD CUTS FOR 6 MILLION PEOPLE IN DARFUR

With food stocks running short, rations for 6 million people in Darfur could be scaled back as early as October unless funds are raised, the United Nations food agency warned today, calling on the international community to help the region’s beleaguered population. “While the news cameras are focused on the conflict in Lebanon, the situation in Sudan has quietly grown more dangerous and desperate than ever,” said World Food Programme (WFP) Sudan Representative Kenro Oshidari. “As we continue to press for peace in Darfur, we must ensure that food aid gets to millions of hungry people trapped by violence.” In May, WFP was forced to cut food rations by half due to funding shortages. This time, unless $350 million in funds are raised, the agency could be forced to put beneficiaries on a reduced-calorie diet. “The minimum standard food basket represents some 2,100 calories per person. With such a diet one person can survive. If you reduce the calories the implication will be a slow degradation of the nutritional status ending ultimately with starvation,” WFP spokeswoman Ellen Gustafson told the UN News Service. The escalating violence has been another hindrance in getting food to nearly half a million people living in camps as the deaths of 11 relief workers has prompted concern by humanitarian actors working in the region. “The safety of staff is crucial and we take great precautions to avoid dangerous situations,” Mr. Oshidari said. The organization says it can limit the risk on the ground by moving staff by air only, advocating for a political solution and raising awareness of the dire conditions on the ground through the media.” The three-year conflict in Darfur between Sudanese government forces, pro-government militias and rebels has seen many thousands killed and more than 2 million forced to flee to camps. There have been widespread charges of civilian massacre, rape and other atrocities. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

PLAN IN WORKS TO CLEAN OIL SPILL POLLUTING LEBANESE AND SYRIAN COASTLINE

An International Assistance Action Plan has been drawn up to deal with the oil spill off the Lebanese coast caused by Israel’s bombing of the Jiyyeh power station last month, a spokesman for the United Nations announced today. The plan has been put together by experts under the supervision of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea – which is partly administered by the UN Environment Programme and the International Maritime Organization A high level meeting to finalize the Action Plan will take place in Athens tomorrow, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. On 8 August, two UN experts arrived in Syria to evaluate the consequences of the oil spill that has already polluted over 140 kilometres of Lebanese and Syrian coastline. UNEP said the quantity of oil spilled in Lebanon is already comparable to the disaster caused in 1999 off the coast of France when the Erika tanker spilled an estimated 13,000 metric tonnes of oil into the Atlantic Ocean. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

SUDAN: UN RAISES ALARM ABOUT FORCED RELOCATION OF DISPLACED PEOPLE OUTSIDE KHARTOUM

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) today cited alarming reports about the forced relocation of a large area for internally displaced persons (IDPs) outside Khartoum and the demolition of their houses, urging the authorities to immediately halt these activities. “According to an UN team that visited the area, thousands of heavily armed policemen and several tanks surrounding Dar Assalam, an area about 40 kilometres outside Khartoum, early this morning and at 8 a.m. a bulldozer started demolishing hundreds of houses randomly with less than five minutes notice to the families,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. The team also heard a number of gunshots before being told to leave the area, he said, adding that the UN is “urging Government authorities to immediately stop the forced relocation and demolition of this area.” In another development, the UN Human Settlements Programme has opened a new office in South Sudan, aiming to bolster the reconstruction effort in the vast region, which is benefiting from a peace deal that ended over two decades of war in that part of the country. “Our officers are experienced at post-conflict management and recovery of shelter and human settlements issues and we look forward to working with all the parties in the north and Southern Sudan to re-house and resettle the over 2 million internally displaced persons and refugees,” said the agency’s Executive Director, Anna Tibaijuka. The 2005 peace accord provides for a high degree of autonomy for the south of Sudan, one of Africa’s largest and most diverse countries, home to deserts, mountain ranges, swamps and rainforests. The new office is headed by Garth Seneque, a senior South African urban and regional planner with close to 20 years of professional experience in developing and post-conflict countries. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UN AGENCY WARNS THAT LACK OF FUNDS COULD HALT AID TO LEBANON AS 60,000 CROSS THE BORDER

With 60,000 displaced Lebanese already having crossed the border back to their homes since Monday, the United Nations World Food Programme today appealed for more funds, warning that emergency aid to the almost one million people displaced by the recent fighting could stop unless more international assistance is forthcoming. WFP, which is responsible for moving humanitarian relief supplies into and within Lebanon for all UN agencies and their partners, as well as providing inter-agency telecommunications support, has so far received only $19.2 million of the $39.5 million it requires for its three-month operation, leaving a shortfall of 47 per cent. “We are now seeing hundreds of thousands of people returning to the south of the country and many more crossing the border from Syria. With the extent of the damage, many of them will find they have nothing left when they get home,” said Thomas Keusters, WFP head of logistics in Lebanon. “They will be relying on relief assistance for many weeks to come.” Around 200,000 people have returned to their home areas in Lebanon in the past three days, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs  said today, reporting official Lebanese Government figures, adding however that less than half of the UN’s $165 million flash appeal for emergency aid has been committed so far. But despite the shortfall, WFP and other aid organisations have massively stepped up operations in Lebanon since the cessation of hostilities by both sides in the conflict came into effect on Monday, allowing access south of the Litani river for the first time in more than a week. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and WFP, along with volunteers from the Aga Khan Foundation and the Syrian Red Crescent Society, are working around-the-clock at the main border crossings, handing out food aid packages to the thousands of returnees to help them through their first days back in Lebanon, after weeks spent in public buildings in Syria. “It is reassuring that in spite of all the suffering they have been through and the uncertainty of what awaits them back home, they are filled with hope and excitement, keen to start rebuilding their lives,” said Pippa Bradford, WFP’s Representative in Syria. Two convoys carrying emergency aid also left Beirut this morning, one headed to the southern port city of Tyre and the other, sent by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to Wavel Camp in Baalbek carrying food for some 5,000 residents, OCHA said in a press release. “A UN-chartered ship also left Beirut for Tyre this morning, carrying food, medical supplies, drinking water and fuel. Part of that fuel will be used to supply hospitals. Meanwhile, a plane chartered by the UN refugee agency arrived in Beirut from Amman today with tents, mattresses and other relief supplies,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. Also on the humanitarian front, the UN Children’s Fund and other partners are distributing tens of thousands of leaflets and warning people through radio and television broadcasts of the danger of unexploded munitions left after the fighting, as these represent perhaps the most immediate danger awaiting the Lebanese returnees. It is estimated that 10 per cent of munitions fired during the 34-day conflict have not been detonated and many may lie dormant in schools, hospitals and houses, with the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) already reporting several incidents, including the death of a child in Tyre, caused by unexploded munitions. “Children are more vulnerable to the danger because they are attracted to things and pick them up, they know less and they are more compact than adults and closer to the ground – so any explosion impacts them more greatly,” said UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Programmes, Dan Toole, speaking from New York. According to the UN Interim Mission in Lebanon and the National De-mining Office, approximately 2,600 pieces of ordnance – artillery rounds, missiles, and bombs – were fired every day into Lebanon during the conflict and around 8,000 to 9,000 pieces could remain unexploded. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

MILESTONE REACHED IN HIV TREATMENT ACCESS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, WHO REPORTS

 The number of people receiving HIV antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa has surpassed the one million mark for the first time, but much work remains to be done to reach the goal of providing universal access to prevention, treatment and care by 2010, said a UN health care agency official at the International AIDS Conference in Toronto today. The one million figure represents a tenfold increase since December 2003, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Sub-Saharan Africa still accounts for 70 per cent of the global unmet treatment need, however, and 95 per cent of the 38.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS live in the developing world, where countries face tremendous challenges in dealing with the epidemic. “In many ways we are still at the beginning of this effort,” said Dr. Kevin De Cock, WHO’s HIV/AIDS Director. “We have reached just one quarter of the people in need in low and middle-income countries, and the number of those who need treatment will continue to grow.” The WHO notes that many nations are suffering “crippling” shortages of HIV-related health workers, many of whom are either becoming infected themselves or leaving for better-paying jobs in larger cities and wealthier countries. “The shortage of health workers is devastating public health systems, particularly in the developing world,” said Dr. Anarfi Asamoa-Baah, Assistant Director-General of WHO. “It is one of the most significant challenges we face in preventing and treating HIV.” Some 57 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, need more than four million HIV-related health care workers to fill the gap, the WHO estimates. To confront the problem, the agency has launched, in collaboration with the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration, a new plan called “Treat, Train, Retain”. The initiative is aimed at providing health care workers themselves with access to HIV/AIDS services while at the same time helping countries increase the number of health workers, maximize their efficiency and retain them. Meanwhile, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is calling attention to the fact that millions of people still lack access to the most basic and available method for preventing HIV – the male and female condom. “People are getting infected now,” said Steve Kraus, Chief of the HIV Branch of UNFPA, in a statement. He noted that promising new technology is on the horizon but will not be widely available for years. “The condom already exists and it hasn’t been delivered. It works and represents the best tool we have in the fight against HIV/AIDS.” The UNFPA points out that, in sub-Saharan Africa, men have access to only 10 condoms on average per year, while the eight to 10 million condoms being used in low- and middle-income countries represent only half of the total need. At the same time, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is highlighting food and nutritional support as an essential, and often overlooked, part of essential care for people living with and affected by HIV. The WFP cites a new study by HIV Medicine, which found that such people most often list food as their greatest need and that patients who start new antiretroviral therapy while malnourished are six times as likely to die. The WFP estimates that nearly one sixth of the people enrolled in antiretroviral programmes in 2008 will need some kind of nutritional support, which could be provided for a mere 65 cents (US) per patient per day. "We cannot win the battle against AIDS by focusing on drugs alone,” said Robin Jackson, Chief of WFP's HIV/AIDS Service, at a press conference in Toronto today. “Funding antiretrovirals with no thought to food and nutrition is a little like paying a fortune to fix a car but not setting aside money to buy gas.” 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN HEALTH AGENCY HAILS NEW YORK MAYOR’S DONATION TO ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN

 The United Nations health agency today welcomed a contribution of $125 million to a worldwide anti-smoking initiative from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as part of the larger drive to restrict tobacco use, which currently kills some 5 million people a year. Dr. Anders Nordström, Acting Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), hailed Mr. Bloomberg’s donation, as well as other recent contributions from philanthropists, saying the funds will have a direct impact on global public health. “The World Health Organization welcomes this movement, which stands to save and improve millions of lives,” said Dr. Anders Nordström, Acting Director-General of WHO. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death globally, killing 5 million people each year, a number that will double if current trends continue, WHO estimates. “There is now a global momentum to reverse that, with many countries both wealthy and poor taking action to restrict tobacco use, and support those who need help stopping,” said Dr. Nordström. “This contribution will help to increase this momentum.” Through its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which has been ratified by more than 130 countries, WHO is spearheading the fight against the world’s tobacco epidemic. The agency supports country-level efforts to restrict tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, set new labelling and indoor air standards, and strengthen laws against tobacco smuggling. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

ACTOR JACKIE CHAN STARS IN UN-BACKED TV ANNOUNCEMENT WARNING ABOUT DEADLY BIRD FLU

 World-famous actor and martial arts expert Jackie Chan stars in a United Nations-backed television public service announcement alerting children and their families around the world to the dangers of bird flu, which has killed more than 130 people worldwide and led to the deaths of 200 million birds. The one-minute announcement was produced by the UN Children’s Fund (< the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization  with funding from the Government of Japan, and it shows Mr. Chan, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, with six children and some very colourful origami birds. Mr. Chan tells the girls and boys, who come from all over the world, that birds can pass on flu, or avian influenza, to people, so it’s important to stay away from sick and dead birds, especially chickens. He then nods approvingly as 8-year-old Ava pipes up: “But playing with paper birds is fine.” “It was great to work with this group of children on something that concerns Asia and the entire world. This is not about creating alarm but helping children be more alert and careful. When it comes to bird flu, we don’t want to take any chances with our kids,” said Mr. Chan. The children, ranging in age from six to nine, were filmed at Sha Tin Junior School in Hong Kong although bird flu, which was first detected in Southeast Asia, has now spread to most parts of the world and the TV announcement will be broadcast as widely as possible, UNICEF said. There have been more than 230 human cases of influenza caused by the H5N1 virus, over half of which were fatal and 200 million birds have been killed directly by the virus or culled as the first line of defence to contain outbreaks and reduce the possibility of transmission to humans. The great majority of human deaths have been in Asia and all evidence indicates that close contact with sick or dead birds is the principal source of human infection with the H5N1 virus. FAO is leading global efforts to eradicate avian influenza in birds, while WHO is coordinating the worldwide response to human cases of the virus and UNICEF is working closely with UN organizations, governments and other partners to arm families with the knowledge and skills they need to protect themselves and reduce the risk of a human influenza pandemic. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UNESCO CHIEF CONDEMNS WAVE OF KILLINGS OF JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ

The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization today condemned the recent murders of several journalists in Iraq, calling the attacks an “alarming campaign against freedom of the press in the country.” “I am deeply concerned about the unrelenting violence against journalists and media workers in Iraq,” said Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in a statement released in Paris. He urged those rebuilding the country to work with media organizations to devise measures that “make respect for the fundamental human right of freedom of expression an absolute priority.” According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 77 journalists and 27 media support workers have been killed in Iraq since the war began there in 2003. In this latest wave of violence, unidentified gunmen shot Mohammad Abbas Mohammad, 28, as he was on his way to work in western Baghdad on 7 August. Mr. Mohammed, an editor for the Al-Bayinnah Al-Jadida newspaper, had been highly critical of politicians and officials. He had received several death threats in connection with his work, the CPJ said. Later that same day, police found the bullet-riddled body of freelance journalist Ismail Amin Ali, 30, in eastern Baghdad. Mr. Ali, a well-known columnist for several papers, may have been targeted because he had criticized the security forces, the CPJ said. Adel Najee al-Mansouri, 34, a correspondent for the Iranian satellite channel Al-Alam, was shot by unidentified gunmen on 29 July as he was driving in western Baghdad, according to the CPJ. Unidentified attackers shot Riyad Muhammad Ali, a reporter for the local weekly Talafar al-Yawm, in Mosul on 30 July, the CPJ said. He was the second journalist from the weekly to be murdered. As part of UNESCO’s continuing campaign to spotlight such threats to freedom of the press worldwide, Mr. Matsuura has in recent weeks issued condemnations of the killings of journalists in China, Russia and Brazil. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

ANGOLAN REFUGEES IN ZAMBIA HAVE FINAL CHANCE UNDER UN PROGRAMME

The voluntary repatriation of Angolan refugees from Zambia has resumed, providing them with a final chance to return with the assistance of the United Nations refugee agency. The first group of 45 refugees went in a UN High Commissioner for Refugees  convoy by road to Ndola airport on Tuesday before being airlifted to Angola. Both UNHCR and the Zambian Government emphasized that the exercise will close in December, ending the organized voluntary repatriation of Angolan refugees from Zambia. With only two to three months left before the start of the rainy season, UNHCR has begun road repairs on camp access roads and transit centres. An information campaign is being conducted in all camps to stress to refugees that this is their last opportunity to be assisted under organized repatriation. Surveys undertaken in several camps in May indicated that some 14,400 refugees wished to return to Angola this year. Since the voluntary repatriation from Zambia started in 2003, more than 63,300 Angolan refugees have been repatriated from refugee settlements in Zambia to Angola. An estimated 29,000 Angolan refugees remain in camps and settlements in Zambia. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

ISRAEL-HIZBOLLAH CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES ‘GENERALLY MAINTAINED,’ UN LEBANON FORCE SAYS

The Security Council-imposed cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah was generally maintained in the past 24 hours, with three incidents reported, according to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon which has been in talks on facilitating a withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese Army. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah exchanged fire in the area of Haddathah, the Force said. Peacekeepers who arrived on the spot shortly after the incident observed four dead bodies of Hizbollah members which were later taken away in an ambulance. In another incident last night, an IDF tank positioned on the Israeli side fired one round across the Blue Line into Lebanese territory towards the village of Markaba, the mission reported. There was no response from the other side and the situation in the area remains calm. Yesterday afternoon, an Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace in the eastern sector, UNIFIL said. The peacekeeping mission continued contacts with both the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army with a view to facilitating an early withdrawal of the Israeli Army and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south. The UNIFIL Force Commander “met with the senior representatives of the Lebanese Army and the Israeli Army this morning inside the UNIFIL position at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura to discuss and coordinate the process of the Israeli withdrawal and subsequent deployment of the Lebanese Army in specific areas in the south,” the mission said in a news release. Under the resolution calling for the cessation of hostilities, the Security Council welcomed the Lebanese Government's plan to deploy 15,000 troops across the south of the country as Israel withdraws behind the Blue Line, and also backed the simultaneous deployment of an expanded and enhanced UNIFIL with up to 15,000 peacekeepers. Yesterday, a senior UN official said the world body would like to see “a kind of vanguard element of some 3,000 or 3,500 troops, including support units” possibly deployed within the next 10 days or so to support the fragile truce. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

UN PALESTINE RELIEF AGENCY STRONGLY CONDEMNS THE KILLING OF ITS STAFF MEMBER

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees  has spoken out against the “senseless and tragic” killing of one of its workers, who died in Lebanon during an Israeli air attack just 20 minutes before the Security Council-mandate cessation of hostilities took effect on Monday morning. Abdel Saghir, a sanitation worker, was felled when Israeli aircraft targeted a Palestinian faction in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp in Saida with two missiles fired into a civilian residential area, UNRWA said, strongly condemning the incident and pointing out that the staff member was working to help others in the war-torn country. “He was carrying out his duties in the most difficult of circumstances, helping to prevent outbreaks of disease in the camp where Palestine refugees and displaced Lebanese have been largely trapped by the conflict of the last month,” the agency said in a press release. “That he was killed just as hostilities were about to cease makes his death particularly senseless and tragic.” Richard Cook, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, expressed the Agency’s sadness at the loss of Mr. Saghir and offered his condolences to his family. “There can be no justification for firing two missiles into a densely populated civilian refugee camp whose residents have taken no part whatsoever in the recent conflict,” he said. “It shows a total disregard for innocent lives and the obligations of international humanitarian law. It was a matter of chance that in such a crowded camp there were not more deaths and injuries.” Mr. Saghir, 48, leaves behind a wife and three children. In addition to the death of Mr. Saghir, who had worked for UNRWA for 21 years, three refugees were injured by the explosions and a number of refugee shelters were damaged. Ein el-Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, with a population of over 47,000 people crammed into an extremely small area, the Agency said. On 9 August, two people, one a child, were killed when shells were fired from an Israeli gunboat at the vicinity of the camp. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

AIMING TO HELP REBUILD SOUTH SUDAN, UN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS AGENCY OPENS OFFICE THERE

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme  has opened a new office in South Sudan, aiming to bolster the reconstruction effort in the vast region, which is benefiting from a peace deal that ended over two decades of war. “Our officers are experienced at post-conflict management and recovery of shelter and human settlements issues and we look forward to working with all the parties in the north and Southern Sudan to re-house and resettle the over 2 million internally displaced persons and refugees,” said the agency’s Executive Director, Anna Tibaijuka. The 2005 peace accord provides for a high degree of autonomy for the south of Sudan, one of Africa’s largest and one of the most diverse countries, home to deserts, mountain ranges, swamps and rain forests. The new office is headed by Garth Seneque, a senior South African urban and regional planner with close to 20 years of professional experience in developing and post-conflict countries. 2006-08-16 00:00:00.000

 

 

STRESSING CRIME PREVENTION, SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN MISSION IN HAITI BY 6 MONTHS

 Calling on the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) to step up its efforts to prevent crime and reduce violence in the impoverished Caribbean country, the Security Council today extended the mission’s mandate by another six months. At a meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, the Council voted unanimously to extend the mandate through 15 February next year, six months earlier than the date requested by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in a recent report. The resolution passed by the Council calls for MINUSTAH to be comprised of up to 7,200 peacekeeping troops and as many as 1,951 police officers, as well as 16 corrections officers seconded from other UN Member States. As of mid-July, there were some 6,200 troops and 1,687 police. Violent crime remains a problem of enormous magnitude in Haiti, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where the number of kidnappings by armed groups has started to surge again after declining at the beginning of the year. The Council asked MINUSTAH to reorient its programme of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants “towards a comprehensive community violence reduction programme adapted to local conditions,” including the provision of job opportunities for gang members and other at-risk youths. The mission was also asked to work closely with Haitian authorities to combat cross-border drugs and arms trafficking, train police officers and help reform the justice sector, which is plagued by problems ranging from prison overcrowding to impunity for many violent crimes. Council members also asked Haiti to complete run-off legislative and municipal elections as soon as feasible, and for MINUSTAH to help in the organization of those polls. In his most recent report on the mission, Mr. Annan said that Haiti is posed for a fresh start after the successful staging of elections earlier this year and the subsequent formation of a broad-based government, which has representatives from seven different political parties in the 18-member cabinet. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

LEBANON: UN EMERGENCY AID DISTRIBUTED IN THE TYRE; FUEL SUPPLIED TO HOSPITALS

United Nations emergency aid is being distributed today to Lebanese in the devastated southern port city of Tyre, tonnes of fuel are being sent to hospitals to keep them operating, and two UN-chartered ships are off-loading supplies in the capital Beirut, a spokesman for the world body reported. “Seven of the 24 trucks have already distributed food and water in Tyre and nearby villages, while 14 are proceeding to neighbouring villages today,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York. “A World Health Organization team is in southern Lebanon to evaluate damage caused to sanitation infrastructure. WHO also reports that, together with the UN Children’s Fund  it has transported 60 tonnes of fuel to South Lebanon for 18 hospitals to cover their operational needs for the next 10 days.” In response to the threat of unexploded ordnance and landmines, UNICEF has launched an information campaign to raise awareness of this danger, he said, adding that a de-mining team from the UN Interim Force in Lebanon has conducted 36 controlled explosions of unexploded ordinance. Thousands of displaced Lebanese both within Lebanon and from Syria are streaming back to their homes since the UN-brokered cessation of hostilities started on Monday, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) saying today that nearly 22,000 had crossed the border, adding to the 16,000 that returned yesterday. Teams from the refugee agency are monitoring the returns from Syria, handing out emergency supplies, and helping with transportation as well as identifying vulnerable cases that require additional help. “The Government of Syria has asked for UNHCR assistance with the transportation, which could be needed by many of the 180,000 Lebanese who fled to Syria” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters. “Inside Lebanon, UNHCR teams have set up at major points on the return routes and are distributing assistance such as plastic sheeting, mattresses, water and other supplies.” She also said that UNHCR expected a considerable number of displaced people both in Syria and Lebanon to need continuing assistance until they are able to go home as their villages may be hard to reach because of the bomb damage or unexploded ordnance. Ms. Pagonis said the agency is prepared to assist up to 50,000 Lebanese who may delay their return from Syria and also added that arrival of UNHCR aid for internally displaced Lebanese is accelerating, with one C-130 aircraft landing in Beirut today and more being planned. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UN WANTS TO SEE BEEFED-UP INTERNATIONAL FORCE IN LEBANON AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

The United Nations wants to see a strengthened international force in war-ravaged southern Lebanon as soon as possible, with a vanguard unit of several thousand troops possibly on the ground within the next 10 days or so, to support the Security Council-mandated cessation of hostilities that was reached last week. “This is an exceptional situation where obviously we have a very fragile cessation of hostilities… so what we would like to see is the deployment of a kind of vanguard element of some 3,000 or 3,500 troops, including support units,” a senior UN official said today. “That could be deployed extremely rapidly in the next 10 to 15 days so that it does give UNIFIL (the UN Interim Force in Lebanon) the means to start implementing the responsibilities entrusted to it.” Under last Friday’s resolution from the Council calling for the cessation of hostilities, the 15-member body welcomed the Lebanese Government's plan to deploy 15,000 troops across the south of the country as Israel withdraws behind the Blue Line, and also backed the simultaneous deployment of an expanded and enhanced UNIFIL with up to 15,000 peacekeepers. The senior UN official said today that meetings would be held on Thursday with potential troop contributing countries for the enhanced force, adding that he hoped for firm commitments from these countries. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

TIMOR-LESTE: UN ENVOY CALLS FOR AN EXPANDED MISSION

 Given the fragile security situation in Timor-Leste, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to that country today called on the Security Council to establish a new, larger United Nations mission there. Ian Martin said the Council should not see the request as a reversion to an earlier stage of engagement with the tiny South-East Asian nation, which the UN shepherded to full independence from Indonesia in 2002. “Timor-Leste is today a sovereign State which struggled hard for its right to self-determination and its independence,” said Mr. Martin. He told the Council that the violence that rocked the country earlier this year revealed a central failure in the area of security. 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 Council to establish the new mission in Timor-Leste to help rebuild its institutions, bring about national reconciliation and assist in national elections scheduled for next year. The Special Envoy echoed this call, saying the Council should “send a strong message to the people of Timor-Leste that the renewed determination of the international community to stand by them will indeed be a sustained commitment.” Also addressing the Council, which heard today from some two dozen participants, was Timor-Leste’s foreign minister, who offered his full support of the Secretary-General’s plan, including the call for an additional force of 1,600 civilian police officers. “Many guns remain in civilian hands, and the underlying causes of the conflict remain to be fully addressed,” Jose Luis Guterres told the Council. “It will take time for us to reconstitute the defence and the police force. It will take many more years for these institutions to regain the confidence and trust of our people.” Mr. Guterres also said that the new mission should play an important role in promoting economic growth and achieving development goals. “Timor-Leste is one of the poorest countries in the world,” he said, adding that high unemployment, especially among young people, contributed to the recent unrest. Currently, the United Nations has a special political mission carrying out peace-building activities in the country. The mandate of the UN Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), which the Security Council established last year, expires on 20 August. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

PROPOSED TREATY TO PROTECT PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES WILL HELP THEM – CHAIR OF UN TALKS

 A successful outcome of negotiations now taking place at the United Nations on a treaty to protect the rights of persons with disabilities could make a huge difference in the lives of almost 650 million such people, the Ambassador chairing the process said today. “This is a convention that can make a difference,” Don MacKay of New Zealand told a press briefing in New York. “It will touch people in all countries. It will touch all of us, no matter where we come from.” Mr. MacKay said the current round of negotiations, which began yesterday and will conclude 25 August, should be the final talks, with only a few outstanding issues yet to be resolved. “It is the shared objective of countries that this should be the final negotiation. There is no Plan B,” he said. The provisions still under discussion relate to whether an international monitoring mechanism is necessary to ensure compliance with the convention. Some countries, the Chairman said, have taken the position that this would impose reporting burdens or would cause duplication among various other treaty bodies. But he came down strongly in favour of a monitoring mechanism and said it was widely supported by others as well. “If we end up with a convention without a monitoring mechanism, we won’t end up with a convention.” Touching on controversial issues, Mr. MacKay sharply disputed the notion that the convention would extend abortion rights or euthanasia. “When it comes to establishing national laws on abortion or sex education, it is up to national governments. This convention is not in the business of telling countries what they can or cannot do.” He added that the convention did say that there must be no discrimination and that if there was a law, it must extend to persons with disabilities. Maria Veronica Reina, the Coordinator of the International Disability Caucus, told the briefing that persons with disability had been discriminated against, marginalized, barred from education, jobs and voting. “We want to like other people live,” she said. “We expect a strong document that gives us all the rights that other people enjoy,” she said. “We want this convention now and we want this convention right.” 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

NEW HEAD OF UN KOSOVO MISSION OPTIMISTIC ABOUT A STATUS SETTLEMENT

 In his first public comments since being named Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative in Kosovo yesterday, the new envoy said he expects to be the last person to hold that position because he believes a resolution of the province’s final political status can soon be reached. Speaking at the headquarters of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in Pristina yesterday, Joachim Rücker said work would focus on preparing for the operation’s departure and the handover of Kosovo to the appropriate authorities, as determined by a final status settlement. The UN has run Kosovo, an Albanian-majority Serbian province, since international forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid ethnic fighting. Independence and autonomy are among options that have been mentioned for its final status. “I recognize and I respect that minority communities in Kosovo, especially the Kosovo Serb community, need special reassurances, and I would emphasize that the majority population has an obligation and responsibility to reach out to the minorities more than ever before,” said Mr. Rücker, who assumes his post on 1 September and said he expects to be the Secretary-General’s “last” Special Representative there. He said the key tasks ahead included the creation of stable institutions, a peaceful and secure environment, economic development, and minority participation in Kosovo’s life. “I have great faith in the people of Kosovo, and in particular I have great faith in Kosovo’s young generation, a generation that has the opportunity to live in peace and prosperity,” he said. Mr. Rücker added that UNMIK would work to leave behind a united Kosovo, despite the fact that Serbia rejects the idea of independence and Kosovo’s Serbs have been boycotting the province’s local government. “We cannot and we will not accept partition as an option,” he said. “Engagement with UNMIK and with the Kosovo Institutions is the only method of ensuring that the Kosovo Serb concerns are addressed and an acceptable solution is found.” 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

ANNAN PLEDGES CONTINUED UN AID TO VICTIMS OF ETHIOPIA’S DEADLY FLOODS

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today pledged the world body’s continued support to Ethiopia as it works to assist victims of recent floods that took the lives of more than 350 people and displaced nearly 20,000 others. “The Secretary-General is deeply saddened over the loss of life and damage caused by the recent flooding in Dire Dawa and South Omo, Ethiopia,” his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, today, extending condolences to those affected and commending the Government for its rapid rescue operation of thousands of people marooned by the floods. Mr. Annan reaffirmed “that the United Nations humanitarian and development agencies will continue to assist the national response to this disaster.” The UN World Food Programme (has already distributed tents, blankets, jerry cans and plastic cups and plates to some of those struck by the floods while releasing enough rations to feed 10,000 people there for a month. The UN Children’s Fund is sending 2,000 family kits, which include buckets, soap and water purification tablets, to the affected area. On 6 August, the Dechatu River burst its banks by as much as 200 metres on either side in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia’s sixth-largest city and home to about 400,000 people. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

 

ISRAEL, HIZBOLLAH ARE HOLDING FIRE, UN’S LEBANON FORCE REPORTS

 There have been no breaches of the Security Council-mandated cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah since it came into effect on Monday morning, the United Nations Interim Force for Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported today. “The parties have ceased firing into the territory of or at the other side, and there were no attempts to occupy any additional territory,” the Force said following “intensive patrolling” throughout its area of operation. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have maintained their presence inside Lebanese territory in different areas, with no “significant changes in position or strength,” UNIFIL said. Under the resolution calling for the cessation of hostilities, the Security Council welcomed the Lebanese Government's plan to deploy 15,000 troops across the south of the country as Israel withdraws behind the Blue Line, and also backed the simultaneous deployment of an expanded and enhanced UNIFIL with up to 15,000 peacekeepers. Today, UNIFIL said it continued contact with both Lebanese and Israeli military officials with a view to facilitating an early withdrawal of the Israeli side and the deployment of the Lebanese Armed Forces in the south. Also today, the Force made an early assessment of the damage to the civilian infrastructure in parts of its area of operation, reporting that in the village of Tayyabah, 80 per cent of civilian houses have been destroyed. Other areas also suffered widespread damage. In addition, the bridge at Ain Arab, and the bridge over the Litani River in the area of Al Qusair have been completely destroyed. With UN officials warning that unexploded shells, mines and other military debris pose as serious hazard to civilians, Chinese UN blue helmets have conducted controlled explosions of three dozen pieces of unexploded ordinance in the general area of Kafr Kila, and two in the vicinity of the Ras Naqoura border crossing on the Mediterranean coast. The Force has also has been providing medical assistance and water to a number of local villages. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

MORE UN OFFICIALS DEPLORE VIOLENCE IN SRI LANKA AS TOLL ON CHILDREN RISES

Reacting to a bombing in Sri Lanka on Monday that reportedly killed dozens of children and wounded many more, two senior United Nations officials added their voices to growing international calls for the Government and separatist rebels to lay down their arms and resume talks. Statements deploring the violence by the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the senior UN official dealing with children and armed conflict came one day after Secretary-General Kofi Annan raised the alarm about intensifying violence in Sri Lanka, including the weekend assassination of Ketheshwaran Loganathan, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Government Peace Secretariat and veteran Tamil human rights advocate. UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman today called on both the Government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to “respect international humanitarian law and ensure children and the places where they live, study and play are protected from harm.” According to press reports, as many as 40 adolescent girls were killed and some 100 children were wounded, many critically, when a compound in Vallipunam in the northern part of the country was bombed. Girls from various schools were staying overnight at the compound, attending a two-day course in first-aid. UNICEF staff from a nearby office immediately visited the area to assess the situation and provide counselling services to those in need. “The latest shocking developments in Sri Lanka show once again that children continue to bear the brunt of this conflict,” said the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, calling on the parties to cease hostilities and return to the negotiating table. The LTTE continues to recruit children and use them in their fighting forces on the battlefield, she said in a statement released in New York. Echoing Mr. Annan’s remarks yesterday, Ms. Coomaraswamy voiced support for the Co-Chairs of the “Tokyo process” – the European Union, United States, Norway and Japan – and reminding the parties that there is no military solution to this conflict. “They should work toward reinstating the peace process to protect their people, especially children, from further hardship,” she said. Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported today that continued heavy fighting in the north and east of Sri Lanka has sent several thousand more civilians fleeing their homes in search of safety. UNHCR is having difficulty helping refugees in the area, because freedom of movement is heavily restricted in many areas, complicating the agency’s efforts to deliver much-needed aid to civilians. Since April, more than 128,800 people have been newly displaced within Sri Lanka, including more than 50,000 who fled since the flare-up of violence in Muttur and its surrounding areas in Trincomalee District in early August. A further 6,600 Sri Lankans have fled across the border to Tamil Nadu in India since the beginning of the year. UN agencies are preparing an assessment mission to Jaffna, where thousands of trapped families are unable to move freely. “Our offices are ready to distribute emergency packs, additional water jerry cans, water bladders and lanterns if required,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told a press briefing in Geneva. Many of the people who could get out of Jaffna District have begun making their way south to Killinochchi District, an area controlled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), where the displaced are being assisted in schools and other communal centres, she said. UNHCR and other partners have worked closely with the military and local authorities to secure safe passage to the LTTE-controlled area of Vaharai Division, allowing truckloads of food, medicine and other supplies to reach civilians affected by the fighting. But access to Muttur and Eachchilampattu in Trincomalee District is still blocked, Ms. Pagonis said. “We and our partners are deeply concerned about the well-being of those still trapped in these areas, estimated to number around 15,000.” 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

UN-ORGANIZED HUMAN RIGHTS WORKSHOP EDUCATES IRAQI OFFICIALS

Over a dozen Iraqi officials have benefited from a workshop on international human rights treaties, related national institutions and other mechanisms designed to prevent abuses and promote the enjoyment of human rights at a workshop held in Geneva and organized by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). Participants at the five-day workshop, which wrapped up on Friday, also learned about the new UN Human Rights Council and the role of parliaments in human rights, UNAMI said in a press release, adding that the event “generated a highly participatory dialogue among the participants and their interlocutors.” The mission pledged to continue working closely with Iraqi officials to promote and support the establishment of a strong human rights protection system. UNAMI organized the workshop in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights  and with the support of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS). 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

SRI LANKA: CIVILIANS CONTINUE TO FLEE HEAVY FIGHTING, UN REFUGEE AGENCY REPORTS

Continued heavy fighting in the north and east of Sri Lanka has sent several thousand more civilians fleeing their homes in search of safety in the last few days, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  reported today, just one day after Secretary-General Kofi Annan voiced alarm about intensifying violence in the country and urged the Government and separatist rebels to resume talks. UNHCR is having difficulty helping refugees in the area, because freedom of movement is heavily restricted in many areas, complicating the agency’s efforts to deliver much-needed aid to civilians. Since April, more than 128,800 people have been newly displaced within Sri Lanka, including more than 50,000 who fled since the flare-up of violence in Muttur and its surrounding areas in Trincomalee District in early August. A further 6,600 Sri Lankans have fled across the border to Tamil Nadu in India since the beginning of the year. UN agencies are preparing an assessment mission to Jaffna, where thousands of trapped families are unable to move freely. “Our offices are ready to distribute emergency packs, additional water jerry cans, water bladders and lanterns if required,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told a press briefing in Geneva. Many of the people who could get out of Jaffna District have begun making their way south to Killinochchi District, an area controlled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), where the displaced are being assisted in schools and other communal centres, she said. UNHCR and other partners have worked closely with the military and local authorities to secure safe passage to the LTTE-controlled area of Vaharai Division, allowing truckloads of food, medicine and other supplies to reach civilians affected by the fighting. But access to Muttur and Eachchilampattu in Trincomalee District is still blocked, Ms. Pagonis said. “We and our partners are deeply concerned about the well-being of those still trapped in these areas, estimated to number around 15,000.” On Monday, Mr. Annan added his voice to a growing chorus of UN officials speaking out against the rising bloodshed in Sri Lanka, deploring recent attacks, including the weekend assassination of Ketheshwaran Loganathan, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Government Peace Secretariat and veteran Tamil human rights advocate. “The Secretary-General calls on both parties to allow humanitarian agencies free and unimpeded access to the affected population,” a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement. “He draws attention to the appeals by Sri Lanka’s humanitarian community for both sides to allow the civilian population to leave the contested areas.” 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

AS DROUGHT AND FLOODS STRIKE DIFFERENT AFGHAN REGIONS, UN AGENCIES RUSH TO HELP

The United Nations humanitarian arm has stepped in to assist Afghanistan, where the population is suffering on two fronts – drought is devastating large swathes of the country and recent floods have caused damage to two provinces. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is giving $11 million in emergency drought relief, according to a statement issued yesterday in New York, as part of a programme to provide food, water and health services to those in need. An estimated 2.5 million Afghans face an imminent food crisis because of inadequate rainfall during April and May, OCHA said, swelling the ranks of roughly 6.5 million people considered to be at seasonal or chronic risk of food insecurity because of the harsh conditions. Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Margareta Wahlström said “drought devastates communities in many ways and leads to spiralling impoverishment. Households consume their harvests much sooner than usual, which leads to increased malnutrition; seeds are eaten before the next year’s planting season; animals and household goods are sold; and migration to cities takes place.” Nearly all of the money from OCHA will go to a World Food Programme (WFP) operation to bring food to 1.7 million people across 13 provinces, while some funds will go to the UN Children’s Fund  and the World Health Organization to help them with their work. Meanwhile, recent floods have affected more than 5,500 families in Ghazni and Paktya provinces in Afghanistan’s east, a spokeswoman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan told reporters at a briefing in Kabul. UNICEF and WFP are distributing medical kits, food and other items such as blankets and cooking utensils, and have announced they will hand out more aid once a full assessment of the needs in the two provinces has been made. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN AGENCY PRAISES KAZAKH DECISION NOT TO EXTRADITE REFUGEE TO UZBEKISTAN

The United Nations refugee agency today warmly welcomed a decision by Kazakhstan’s authorities not to extradite an Uzbek refugee, despite a request from Uzbekistan, but instead to hand him over to the UN for immediate permanent resettlement with his family. The decision comes less than a week after four Uzbek refugees and an asylum seeker were sent back by neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, a move that was sharply criticized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which expressed grave fears for their safety. UNHCR said today it has heard nothing about the five since their forced return. “We particularly welcome the open and cooperative spirit in which this case has been resolved, and the level of professionalism demonstrated by the Kazakh authorities in the process,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva today. The Uzbek refugee in Kazakhstan, who had been living in the country for seven years with his family, was detained in late June following an Uzbek extradition request. After a thorough review, UNHCR considered the claims against him groundless and that he was in need of international protection and recognised him as a refugee. “We feared his life would be in danger if he was returned to Uzbekistan,” the spokesperson said. “The Kazakh authorities also concluded the evidence upon which the extradition request was based was insufficient and rejected the request.” Last week’s forced return of the Uzbeks by Kyrgyzstan was a “serious violation” of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Ms. Pagonis said, while adding that the agency was reassured by Kazakhstan’s commitment to the agreement as shown by today’s decision. The refugee was handed over to the UNHCR in the city of Almaty. “We see this as the result of a long-standing cooperation between UNHCR and the government, aimed at strengthening Kazakhstan's capacity to provide international refugee protection as set out in international refugee law.” 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

UN AGENCIES MOUNT INCREASED AID EFFORT IN LEBANON FOLLOWING CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES

United Nations agencies stepped up their efforts today to bring humanitarian relief inside Lebanon to hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians as they try to return to their homes after the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah took effect this morning. But they warned that the area south of the Litani river – where UN agencies are concentrating their relief efforts – would remain dangerous for many weeks, especially given the large amounts of unexploded artillery and mortar shells in the area. UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Lebanon David Shearer said today that following the cessation “there can no longer be any no-go areas in Lebanon,” but he added that UN agencies will continue to notify both sides of their movements “as a precautionary measure during the transition period.” The UN Relief and Works Agency for the Near East said displaced Lebanese and Palestinians who had taken refuge inside its schools and camp areas started leaving this morning as they began their journeys home. Four distribution hubs have been established across Lebanon to speed up the process of delivering aid and to allow easy access to those in need, the UN Children’s Fund ) said in a press release issued in Beirut. The hubs, in the Mediterranean coastal cities of Tyre, Sidon and Tripoli can be supplied by land or sea, while the fourth hub has been set up in Zahle, a town in the Beka’a Valley in Lebanon’s east. The World Food Programme’s  head of logistics in Lebanon, Thomas Keusters, said the distribution hubs will allow the agencies’ relief efforts to become quicker and more effective. “Up until now, our efforts to reach people with desperately needed aid have been severely hampered by the damage inflicted by bombs on roads and bridges, forcing us to take lengthy and circuitous detours,” he said. Within minutes of the cessation of hostilities coming into effect, two truck convoys carrying food, medical supplies, water and sanitary goods left Sidon for Tyre. A ferry carrying food and other relief supplies for UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) docked in Beirut yesterday, and it is expected to deliver supplies to Tyre later this week. Meanwhile, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that a staff member for UNRWA was killed during an Israeli air strike at the Ein el-Hilweh camp for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) today, only 90 minutes before the cessation of hostilities took effect. In a separate development, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the UN Environment Programme announced they will jointly convene a meeting in Greece on Thursday to discuss how to minimize the impact of an oil spill that has devastated Lebanon’s coast. At least 140 kilometres of coastline have been polluted by the slick, which was caused by an Israeli air strike in mid-July on an oil storage unit at a power plant in Jiyyeh, south of Beirut. Until the cessation of hostilities, no clean up of the area has been possible. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

DR CONGO VOTE COUNT ON SCHEDULE, SAYS UN MISSION THERE

The counting of the ballots from last month’s historic elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is ahead of schedule, and results of the presidential race should be available in less than a week, according to the UN Mission in that country (MONUC), which is advising the Congolese people to disregard media speculation on the outcome. The mission says that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the sole authority permitted to release the vote total, has counted 90 per cent of the ballots from the 30 July elections. Nonetheless, the IEC will not be able to issue provisional results before the originally scheduled deadline of 20 August, the mission reports. In an interview with MONUC, Dieudonné Mirmi, the first reporter of the IEC, stressed how important it was for the Congolese people to remain patient in the meantime, and to disregard the results that appear daily in the local media. “These are partial results and one should not speculate or extrapolate from these data,” said Mr. Mirmi. Meanwhile, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the DRC, William Lacy Swing, welcomed former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano in Kinshasa yesterday. Mr. Chissano is serving as Chairman of the International Committee of the Wise, a UN-backed advisory group on the Congolese elections. In an interview with MONUC, Mr. Chissano said he believed the elections had been successful, citing the strong turnout and high level of enthusiasm among the Congolese people. “They recognized the value of the vote, and they recognized this as their right, but they also wanted to participate in choosing their leaders,” he said. In a statement, Chissano and his fellow members of the Committee called on the Congolese to remain calm and patient while the ballot counting continues. During the largely peaceful elections, millions of voters went to some 50,000 polling stations to choose from among 32 candidates for president and more than 9,000 candidates for the National Assembly. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN AFGHANISTAN IS ‘ENDEMIC,’ PERPETRATORS GO UNPUNISHED – UN STUDY

 Domestic violence against Afghan women appears endemic, and attacks against them usually take place with impunity, according to a disturbing new report by the United Nations Development Fund for Women <i>Uncounted and Discounted</i>, a study of more than 1,300 cases reported to authorities between January 2003 and June 2005, found that violence against women – whether sexual, physical or psychological – affects all branches of Afghan society, regardless of the woman’s marital status or her level of education or employment. At a briefing in Kabul today, UNIFEM’s Afghanistan Director Meryem Aslan told reporters that local women seeking help from violence need improved access to public services, given that the traditional support structure for women – the family – is often the source of the violence. “I would guess if Afghanistan progresses better economically, and women and men in this country get a better economic situation, women will at least be able to seek help more easily,” she said. More than eight out of every 10 acts of violence is committed by a family member such as a husband, father-in-law, son or cousin. In many of the remaining cases the perpetrator is someone known to the woman. The study found that women committed about 10 per cent of the violent acts. Ms. Aslan cited several examples of cases examined in the study, including one where village elders ruled that a six-year-old girl who had been promised in marriage to an older man who then died should marry another member of his family instead, despite the girl’s refusal. In another case, a woman was charged and jailed for adultery was then raped by prison guards and not allowed to see her children. The study was conducted in part because there is very little research or formal records of violence against in women, Ms. Aslan added, and most experts suspect that the violence is widely under-reported. But she said there are limited attempts to tackle the problem, including safe houses for victims of domestic violence in the cities of Kabul, Herat and Mazar-e-Sharif and some legal aid programmes. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN AGENCIES PRESENT PLAN TO BRING ESSENTIAL MEDICINES TO CHILDREN

With millions of children dying every year from treatable diseases, United Nations agencies have devised a plan aimed at increasing children’s access to essential medications. The World Health OrganizationWHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fundheld a joint meeting in Geneva last week, where experts formed a strategy to expand access to child-focused formulations and improve the medicines and prescribing guidelines for the entire range of infant and child care needs. "Children are often hailed as the hope and future of humanity, but they don't benefit enough from pharmaceutical research and technology," said Dr Howard Zucker, Assistant-Director General at the World Health Organization (WHO). Some 10 million children die every year, many of them from diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS, malaria, respiratory tract infection or pneumonia. Effective treatments for these illnesses exist, but there is a lack of knowledge of how best to use such medicines in children, as well as a lack of paediatric formulations. Under the plan, UNICEF’s supply division said it would work with industry to promote the development of paediatric formulations for HIV/AIDS medications. It also promised to work towards painless remedies, better-tasting medications and new mini-tablets to treat other diseases, as well as to emphasize the importance of climate zone considerations in creating and distributing new formulations. The WHO’s Director for Medicines Policy and Standards, Hans Hogerzeil, said the agency would work towards ameliorating the cost of many medicines, especially “for children in resource-poor settings where there is enormous need.” 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

PROPOSED UN CONVENTION ON DISABLED RIGHTS CLOSE TO FRUITION AS NEGOTIATIONS RESUME

 A new United Nations convention to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is within reach and could be adopted later this year, the chairman of the negotiations said today as he opened what may be the final round of talks. Don MacKay, New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, told delegates to the talks and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that a successful conclusion would mark a “significant outcome for the UN.” He said he hoped the negotiations could be wrapped up at the two-week session in New York and that the convention could be adopted by the General Assembly at its 61st session. “It is extremely gratifying to have such a large turnout for what we hope will be the final meeting on the working text,” Mr. MacKay said, adding that most provisions in the text under discussion were either finalized or very close to being finalized. “We open with the expectation that we will be able to complete our work,” Mr. MacKay said. “We have a lot of work to do but I am confident that we will manage to conclude our work successfully at this meeting.” Mexican Ambassador Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo said that the convention, by giving an “international impetus against discrimination of so many people,” will also provide an impetus to action at the national level. In preparing for the meeting, the UN constructed a special ramp to the podium, removed seats to accommodate wheelchairs, and established a power station so that participants could recharge battery operated wheelchairs and other electronic devices. A Braille embosser was also installed to provide Braille copies of documents under discussion. Mr. MacKay noted that while previous negotiating sessions had achieved considerable progress, this session would confront the more difficult issues. Among them is international monitoring of the convention, an issue that has been controversial in many human rights treaties as some countries believe some monitoring mechanisms are unduly intrusive or burdensome. The proposed treaty, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, would be the first new human rights treaty of the 21st century and would mark a major shift in the way the world’s 650 million people with disabilities are treated. Presently, discrimination against persons with disabilities is widespread – for example, it is estimated that 90 per cent of children with disabilities in developing countries do not go to school. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

NIGERIA HANDS CAMEROON FORMAL CONTROL OF BAKASSI PENINSULA UNDER UN-SPONSORED DEAL

 A formal ceremony was held on the Bakassi Peninsula today to mark Nigeria’s peaceful transfer of authority over the once-disputed region to Cameroon following a pact signed under United Nations auspices earlier this year. Former UN Under-Secretary-General Kieran Prendergast, who serves as chairman of the follow-up committee for the implementation of the Greentree Agreement between Nigeria and Cameroon, attended the ceremony in Archibong Town, the capital of northern Bakassi, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. The defence chiefs of the African neighbours and Mr. Prendergast signed documents transferring authority before the Nigerian flag was lowered and the Cameroonian flag was hoisted in its place. In his speech at the ceremony, Mr. Prendergast hailed the Greentree Agreement as a powerful example for conflict prevention for the whole world and praised both Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya for their work to implement their commitments under the deal. The accord – reached in June – was the culmination of the work of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, set up by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to peacefully resolve the Bakassi dispute. Under the agreement, Nigeria’s recognized Cameroon’s sovereignty over the territory, in accordance with a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2002, and agreed to withdraw its forces and administration. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula had been the subject of intense and sometimes violent disputes between the two countries for decades. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

WITH END OF AIDS ‘NOWHERE IN SIGHT,’ UN OFFICIAL URGES TORONTO MEETING TO LOOK AHEAD

 As scientists, world leaders, activists and others gather in Toronto for the XVI International AIDS conference, the head of the UN agency responding to the disease today said it is time to move the world’s response to the epidemic to the next level by expanding the current crisis management model into a sustainable response plan that looks to the next 25 years and beyond. “We will set ourselves up for demoralization and indeed for failure if we base our strategies on wishful thinking that the end of AIDS can be achieved any time soon,” said Dr. Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS “Tragically, the end of AIDS is nowhere in sight. Dr. Piot also delivered a message to the conference from Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said it was important to sustain the momentum of the High-Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly earlier this year. The declaration adopted there pledged renewed efforts to tackle the causes of the epidemic and the forces that propel it, especially by increasing protection for vulnerable groups. “This is a pivotal moment. After an unconscionably late start that cost tens of millions of lives and tore apart hundreds of millions more, the world’s response has finally gained real strength,” said Mr. Annan, who has personally championed efforts to halt the spread of the virus and treat those who have been infected or become ill. “We need to accelerate this process,” he declared. The theme of the XVI International Conference on HIV and AIDS, which is taking place from 13 to 18 August, is “Time to Deliver,” underscoring the urgency of effective HIV prevention, care and treatment as well as the need for increased accountability from individuals, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies. Among the conference’s major themes is the need for the global AIDS response to focus on women and girls. Dr. Piot said it is important to address the social factors that continue to drive the epidemic, especially the low status of women, homophobia, HIV-related stigma, poverty and inequality. “An AIDS response that is not as embedded in advancing social justice as in advancing science is doomed to failure,” he said. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Rima Salah, who is leading her agency’s delegation to the conference, said this week’s discussions were critical for children, who were still largely missing from positive reports on the global fight against HIV and AIDS. She called on world leaders to deliver an “AIDS-free” generation. “A whole generation of young people today has never known a world free of HIV/AIDS,” said Ms. Salah. “It is a disease that has redefined childhood, forcing many of them to grow up alone, too fast and in many cases, sadly, not at all.” 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

GERMAN OFFICIAL SERVING WITH UN KOSOVO MISSION PROMOTED TO TOP POST

The Secretary-General has informed the Security Council of his plans to appoint Ambassador Joachim Rücker from Germany as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), effective 1 September. Mr. Rücker was previously UNMIK’s Deputy Special Representative and Head of the Economic Reconstruction component. He has also held several positions in the German Foreign Ministry. Mr. Rücker would replace Mr. Søren Jessen-Petersen of Denmark, whose term ended earlier this year. The UN has run Kosovo, an Albanian-majority Serbian province, since international forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid ethnic fighting. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

ALARMED AT RISING VIOLENCE IN SRI LANKA, ANNAN CALLS FOR HALT TO FIGHTING

Adding his voice to a growing chorus of United Nations officials speaking out against the rising bloodshed in Sri Lanka, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today deplored recent attacks, including the weekend assassination of a Government peace official, and called on both sides to stop fighting and resume talks. “The Secretary-General stresses that a return to civil war will not resolve the issues involved,” a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement released in New York, voicing alarm at the ongoing violence and joining the Sri Lanka Co-Chairs – the European Union, United States, Norway and Japan – in calling on the parties “to cease hostilities immediately and to return to the negotiating table.” Mr. Annan “is profoundly concerned at the rising death toll, including the seven people killed in a bomb attack in Colombo today, and reports of dozens of students killed in a school as a result of air strikes in the northeast,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. The Secretary-General deplored the assassination over the weekend of Ketheshwaran Loganathan, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Government Peace Secretariat and veteran Tamil human rights advocate. Both parties, Mr. Annan said, must allow humanitarian agencies free and unimpeded access to the affected population. The violence in Sri Lanka has forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is working with local organizations to provide relief to those in need. Last week, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on human rights defenders Hina Jilani, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions, Philip Alston, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Jean Ziegler, expressed alarm at the growing violence, especially the killing of relief workers from French organization Action against Hunger who were providing assistance to survivors from the 2004 tsunami when they were murdered execution-style in the town of Muttur. The UN country team in Sri Lanka called the killings “totally reprehensible” and urged an independent investigation of the incident, which took the lives of 17 aid workers. UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery and former US President Bill Clinton urged the authorities to do “everything possible to apprehend the perpetrators of this crime and to bring them to justice.” 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

ANNAN WELCOMES SIGNS THAT MIDDLE EAST CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES SEEMS TO BE HOLDING

Expressing relief that the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and northern Israel “appears to be generally holding” since it began earlier today, Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on all sides in the recent conflict in the region to act quickly to consolidate progress and then convert it into a durable ceasefire. As the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon dispatched patrols to monitor the cessation across its area of operation in southern Lebanon, Mr. Annan said in a statement issued in New York that millions of people around the world are counting on the agreement leading to peace. “Neither side should have any reason to disappoint those hopes and, if either were to do so, it would pay a heavy price in terms of world public opinion,” he said. The cessation of hostilities took effect at 8 a.m. local time today, following talks Mr. Annan held with the leaders of Israel and Lebanon in the wake of Friday night’s Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cessation. The resolution also calls for the deployment of Lebanese troops and a significantly expanded UN peacekeeping presence across southern Lebanon, as well as the simultaneous withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the same area. In his statement Mr. Annan urged Member States to contribute to an enhanced UNIFIL, which has been authorized to have up to 15,000 peacekeepers. The mission said in a press release that there were no reports of incidents or breaches of the agreement in its area of operations up until 1 p.m. local time today. At a meeting at the border crossing at Ras Naqoura, UNIFIL Force Commander General Alain Pellegrini met senior officials from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) and the Lebanese army to discuss the implementation of the agreement, as well as the withdrawal of the IDF and the deployment of Lebanese forces in the south. In the 24 hours before the cessation of hostilities came into effect, UNIFIL said that fierce fighting continued across the south, from the Mediterranean coast to close to the Syrian border. The IDF intensified its shelling and aerial bombardment, while Hizbollah fired rockets, albeit in reduced numbers. There were also nine serious incidents of firing from the Israeli side directly at UN posts in Tibnin, Haris, At Tiri and Marun al Ras, “causing massive material damage to all the positions,” UNIFIL said. Mission personnel at those posts were forced into shelters to prevent casualties. UNIFIL stated that it had protested strongly to the command of the IDF about the incidents. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

ANNAN HAILS 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF DEMILITARIZATION OF ÅLAND ISLANDS

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has hailed the 150th anniversary of the Åland Islands, saying that the international community’s ability to avert a war between Finland and Sweden over the territory stands as a useful example of conflict resolution that should inspire approaches to current situations. “The Åland Islands model is a highly sophisticated and imaginative one, which promoted the coexistence of different linguistic communities within a larger, internationally viable State,” he said in a message marking the milestone. The settlement averted a potential armed conflict between Finland and Sweden by preserving the territorial integrity of both countries while allowing the area’s people to preserve their autonomy and the specific character of their community, and confirmed the 1856 demilitarization of the Islands. The Secretary-General said that elements of the settlement could be used elsewhere, even if the model as a whole could not. “Perhaps the most important lesson it teaches us is that flexibility and imagination are always needed in applying general principles to particular situations,” he said. “Certainly any zone of conflict could benefit from a dose of what I might call the Åland spirit – a spirit of pragmatism, compromise, and, above all, commitment to peace.” 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

 

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees today started a six-day visit to the southern Caucasus

an area that is host to over 1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees. António Guterres will be meeting with senior government officials, IDPs and refugees during his visits to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, the agency announced today. “The mission will focus on strengthening UNHCR’s supportive role in ongoing conflict resolution efforts and political dialogue in the region” where the agency spends $9.4 million annually, spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told a briefing in Geneva. Displacement in the southern Caucasus region is the result of protracted conflicts, and Ms. Pagonis pointed out that “peaceful settlements and stability would allow refugees and internally displaced people to return and reintegrate.” In Azerbaijan and Armenia the displacement is linked to a 15 year unsettled dispute and the future status of the Nagorno Karabakh region. In Georgia, UNHCR is part of two parallel peace processes currently under way in South Ossetia and in Abkhazia. “UNHCR is ready to be actively involved in the peace process and develop, together with the concerned governments, a framework plan for the return in the event of a settlement,” Ms. Pagonis said. 2006-08-15 00:00:00.000

 

 

AS LEBANESE RETURN HOME, UN PROVIDES AID, WARNS OF MINE RISK

With thousands of people moving back to their homes or communities in war-ravaged Lebanon, where a cessation of hostilities took effect this morning, United Nations agencies are providing assistance while warning of the dangers posed by landmines and other unexploded ordnance. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has immediately sent out five emergency mobile teams to the main transit routes. The relief workers are handing out water, blankets, mattresses and other desperately needed items and assessing the population’s requirements and movements. In an update, the agency reported that as Lebanese civilians drive to their homes in cars stuffed with belongings, they are voicing relief at going back but trepidation at what they might find. “People are very happy to return, but have no clue whether their house is still there or whether they will have food to eat tonight,” the agency said. “One girl who came back from Syria told us she had left at 6 a.m. and now only wants to return home to her toys and friends.” The agency is not only helping the displaced but also refugees crossing back into Lebanon. Its teams in Syria have seen thousands of people return through the Dabousyah border crossing. UNHCR mobile teams are on hand there to distribute food and water. In preparation for the return, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner Judy Cheng-Hopkins met today with the Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who shared the agency’s wish for people to return home or as close to their original homes as soon as possible. The agency will be offering assistance to those without any homes, providing shelter during the emergency and transition phase. In the immediate future this would mean tents, but on the longer term, UNHCR plans, with the help of other agencies and in support of government activities, to contribute to providing more permanent shelter that can take people through the winter. Today UNHCR staff in Saida will be opening a warehouse and office and set up operations, while in Tyre a joint UN office will also be set up. “We are preparing for large distributions to help the returnees and are pre-positioning goods,” the agency said. Some 50,000 tents, 230,000 mattresses, 172,000 blankets as well as other supplies, including trucks, are presently being flown from all over the region or shipped towards Beirut. Meanwhile, UNHCR, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) have issued an urgent appeal concerning the dangers to civilians of unexploded military ordnance (UXO). They advised civilians to “exercise the utmost caution when approaching zones of military activity to ensure that the situation is safe.” On average, 10 per cent of shells, mortars and other projectiles do not explode on impact, according to the agencies, which warned that these pieces of (UXO) can remain lying on the ground or in other locations, but remain highly dangerous, according to the agencies, which warned that the slightest movement can cause them to explode. In order to avert the risk of loss of life or injury caused by UXO, the agencies are launching a nationwide campaign on Tuesday. 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

INDONESIA: ANNAN HAILS PROGRESS IN BUILDING PEACE IN ACEH

Marking the first anniversary of the signing of a pact between the Government of Indonesia and the Free Aceh movement, Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed progress in efforts to build peace in the region, which has seen nearly 30 years of separatist conflict, and said elections will mark the next crucial chapter in the process. In a message marking the milestone, the Secretary-General noted that over the past year, the Indonesian Government has withdrawn its troops from Aceh, while the Free Aceh Movement has handed over its declared arsenal of weapons, and dissolved its armed wing. In addition, the National Parliament last month unanimously adopted an autonomy framework which will pave the way for Aceh’s first direct local elections. “Only a strong democracy could have done that. It shows that Indonesia’s new democracy is growing stronger by the day,” Mr. Annan said. He stressed that elections will mark “ the next crucial chapter in Aceh’s transition” and urged all involved to make them a success. “Any remaining concerns must be addressed through the political and legislative process,” he cautioned. “It would be tragic if, after coming so far, any party in Aceh resorted to violence or coercion.” The Secretary-General urged efforts to ensure that the peace accord is fully carried out. “The people of Aceh want to live without fear, and to build their future within a peaceful, prosperous and democratic Indonesia,” he said. “Let us show that peace in Aceh is finally here to stay.” 2006-08-14 00:00:00.000

 

 

UN POISED TO RUSH AID TO LEBANON ONCE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES TAKES EFFECT

With a cessation of hostilities set to take effect in Lebanon and Israel on Monday, United Nations agencies are poised to immediately step up emergency relief operations as soon as safe land movement is possible. Convoys are loaded with supplies, including 100 metric tons of fuel for besieged hospitals, and waiting to proceed to Tyre and other locations in South Lebanon, subject to successful repair of the roads, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today. In addition, one of the two vessels chartered by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) which docked in Beirut today should proceed to Tyre with emergency supplies for different humanitarian agencies. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Saturday had announced that following talks with the leaders of both Israel and Lebanon, "the cessation of hostilities and the end of the fighting will enter into force on 14 August, at 0500 hours GMT." That move followed the Security Council's adoption Friday evening of a resolution calling for an end to the fighting. The text welcomed the Lebanese Government's plan to deploy 15,000 troops across the south of the country as Israel withdraws behind the Blue Line. It also backed the simultaneous deployment of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with up to 15,000 peacekeepers from the current strength of some 2,000. Humanitarian hubs in Tyre and Saida should become fully operational in the next 48 hours, said OCHA, functioning as 'integrated UN offices' that will serve the broader relief aid community. All activity is dependent on ability to move on the roads, many of which have become impassable due to bombing. Three convoys of 24 trucks carrying drinking water, food, hygiene kits, and other emergency supplies travelled to Saida today, while other vehicles were allowed to proceed to Aarida, Tripoli and Jezzine, OCHA said. WFP-chartered ships brought in 2,750 metric tons of flour, past lentils to Beirut today. Part of this cargo is set to be transshipped to Tyre on Monday. In announcing the cessation of hostilities on Saturday, Mr. Annan said there should be an immediate end to the fighting "to respect the spirit and intent of the Council decision, the object of which was to save civilian lives, to spare the pain and suffering that the civilians on both sides are living through." But UNIFIL reported today that fighting between Israel and Hizbollah intensified, and OCHA's update confirmed a rising death toll. Citing government statistics, more than 19 Lebanese civilians were reportedly killed in Israeli air raids yesterday, while one Israeli civilian was reportedly killed in a Hizbollah rocket attack.