MBN: THE MONTE BUBBLES NETWORK

RISING NUMBER OF VEHICLES FEEDS DEADLY AIR POLLUTION IN ASIAN CITIES
– UN-BACKED REPORT

New York, Dec 13 2006 11:00AM
With 600,000 people in Asia dying prematurely from air pollution each
year, the continent’s major cities face a key challenge in reducing
the daunting figure, according to a new United Nations-backed report:
although vehicle emissions are being reduced, the volume of vehicles is
rising rapidly. 

The study, Urban Air Pollution in Asia Cities, released ahead of the
first governmental meeting on urban air quality opening today in
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, reports that while air quality has improved in some,
pollution remains a threat to health and quality of life in others.
Asia’s growth in population, urbanization, motorization and energy
consumption remain major challenges.

One of its key findings is that concentrations of the fine particulate
matter PM10, one of the main threats to health and life is,
“serious” in Beijing, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kathmandu,
Kolkata, New Delhi, and Shanghai.

“There is as strong an association between fine particulate matter
and health issues in Asia as there is in Europe and the United States,
but in Asia the concentrations of particulates are much higher,”  the
study’s lead author Dieter Schwela said.

But the report, focusing on 22 cities, also finds that Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo have an
“excellent” capacity to manage air quality. Beijing, Busan and New Delhi are
rated as having “good” air quality management capability. All these
cities have achieved major reductions in key emissions but still need to
address fine particulate pollution from vehicle fumes.

Colombo, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila and Mumbai have
“moderate” management capability. The report says these cities have reduced
sulphur dioxide emissions but have the challenge of addressing
transport-related emissions. Dhaka, Hanoi, Surabaya and Kathmandu have
“limited” capability and need to improve air quality monitoring as well as
achieve further reductions in emissions.

Mr. Schwela said many Asian cities can learn from Hong Kong and Tokyo,
which are further along the road to achieving better air quality. The
report is a collaborative effort led by the Stockholm Environment
Institute and the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia), together
with the Korea Environment Institute and the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP).

In a related development, the first Asia-Pacific Ministers Conference
on Housing and Human Settlements opened in New Delhi today with a
clarion call to reduce urban poverty and pollution. The four-day meeting,
hosted by India with UN-HABITAT, the UN agency that seeks to achieve
sustainable development of human settlements, drew ministers and
representatives from more than 35 countries on its first day.

“You represent the world’s most populous region, the region with
most of the world’s largest cities,” UN-HABITAT Executive Director
Anna Tibaijuka said in a message read for her. “You represent a part of
the world that is the global economic powerhouse of the future.

“You are gathered here to help devise a common new vision aimed at
harnessing some of that great Asian know-how and economic power to ensure
that our growing cities of the future will not only be better managed,
but manageable – or what we in the United Nations call,
sustainable,” she added.
2006-12-13 00:00:00.000

SOUTHERN AFRICA’S FUTURE DEPENDS ON TACKLING IMPACT OF HIV/AIDS –
SENIOR UN OFFICIAL

New York, Dec 13 2006 11:00AM
With more than 3.3 million children in southern Africa already orphaned
by HIV/AIDS, the region’s future depends on governments’ halting
the disease’s effects and ensuring that orphans receive good nutrition,
education and care, a senior United Nations humanitarian official said
today.

“Until the HIV/AIDS pandemic is brought under control and orphans
have an environment in which they can put their lives back together,
southern Africa will continue to struggle to make long-term development
gains and break the poverty cycle,”
James T. Morris, Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Envoy for
Humanitarian Needs in Southern Africa, told a news conference in
Johannesburg, South Africa, today.

“Countries need also to embrace crop diversification, improve access
to clean water and sanitation, and improve the plight of women who are
disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and carry the burden of
household and farming responsibilities,” he added.

Mr. Morris, who is also the Executive Director of the UN World Food
Programme (WFP) and is making a farewell tour of the region before
stepping down, noted that southern Africa had come a long way in the five
years since his appointment as Special Envoy. “But there are still
enormous challenges,” he warned.

The region has nine of the 10 highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the
world and this, combined with the more than 3.3 million AIDS orphans,
is straining government budgets for health care and social services,
food security, education, communities and extended families. According to
the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the proportion of orphans in
southern Africa is growing faster than anywhere else in the world.

In 2002, southern Africa teetered on the brink of one of the worst
humanitarian crises the region has ever seen, with more than 14 million
people needing assistance across six countries. Serious loss of life was
averted by unprecedented coordination in the humanitarian response and
generosity of donors, particularly the United States, the European Union
and its member states, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Africa.

Since then, the number of people requiring food aid has steadily
decreased, but in the first quarter of 2007, 4.3 million people in the region
will still require WFP food, most of them are women and children.

The decline in aid needs is attributed to better harvests stemming from
less erratic rains and an improved availability of seeds and
fertiliser, but many people still face shortages, either because they lacked
seeds and fertilizers or access to adequate land.

In the last week, Mr. Morris, a United States citizen, has visited
Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe and was due to move on to Mozambique today. His
term as WFP head officially ends on 5 April and he will be succeeded by
Josette Sheeran Shiner, US Under Secretary of State for Economic,
Business, and Agricultural Affairs.
2006-12-13 00:00:00.000

AS ‘MAJOR CATASTROPHE’ LOOMS OVER IRAQ, UN ENVOY URGES REGIONAL
APPROACH TO PEACE

New York, Dec 11 2006  6:00PM
With Iraq at the brink of civil war, some 5,000 people dying each month
and a major humanitarian catastrophe looming, the senior United Nations
envoy to the country today said the region and the international
community must come together in support of a solution.

“There is no merit in arguments that assume pessimistic outcomes in
Iraq because for the people of Iraq, failure is not an option,” Ashraf
Qazi <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sc8895.doc.htm">told the
Security Council. “A collective international and regional initiative
in support of the efforts of the Government of Iraq to reduce the
current levels of violence and resolve key issues is the only way
forward.”

Mr. Qazi offered a blunt assessment of the ongoing instability in Iraq.
“Efforts made by the Government of Iraq and the Multinational Force
have not prevented a continuous deterioration of the security situation
which, if not reversed, will progressively undermine Iraq’s political
prospects,” he said.

Recent initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue “have had no impact on
the violence and bloodshed,” he added. “The violence seems out of
control.”

Given the current conditions, “it is not realistic to expect the
Government and Parliament to bring about progress without the active
cooperation of the regional and international community,” he warned.
Reliance on the use of force alone, he added, “could indeed preclude
negotiated compromise, the only sound basis for stability.”

The envoy called for a broad approach involving Iraq’s main
neighbours and the permanent members of the Security Council. “The structure
of the situation in and around Iraq requires that all regional countries
see it is in their interest to contribute to the peace and unity of
Iraq as a matter of priority and to participate in efforts to ensure that
their contributions collectively assist the Government and people of
Iraq.”

Toward that end, he welcomed Iraq’s decision to send envoys to its
neighbours and prepare the ground for a regional conference.

He emphasized the reconciliation process must address sensitive issues,
not shy away from them. These include a fair sharing of oil revenues; a
realistic sharing of powers enabling the central government to deliver
essential services; the development of trusted and respected Iraqi
security forces; the disabling of militias and other illegal armed groups;
the protection of human rights; a functioning judiciary; and the
fostering of non-sectarian politics.

In addition, there must be a way to discuss the role of the
multinational force “as a key component of a national reconciliation process.”

In calling for these measures, Mr. Qazi cited statistics illustrating
the stark problems facing Iraq, where more than 5,000 people die violent
deaths each month and nearly half a million have been internally
displaced since February. “In the event of a further deterioration of the
security situation, a major humanitarian and refugee catastrophe may
ensue.”

Speaking on behalf of the 25 countries making up the Multinational
Forces-Iraq (MNF-I), Ambassador Jackie W. Sanders of the United States
acknowledged that security remains a grave concern. “Sunni insurgent
attacks against the Iraqi Security Forces and MNF-I remain at high levels,
and the forces continue to experience attacks from armed Shia groups,
especially in the Baghdad region,” she said. “At the same time,
sectarian violence, much of it directed toward civilians, has increased.”

She said the UN continues to play a “crucial role” in Iraq's
stability and development. “A robust UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI)
presence remains essential to supporting Iraqi efforts, including on
national reconciliation, constitutional review and future provincial
elections,” she told the meeting, which saw the participation of over a
dozen speakers.

“Iraq’s stability and security is a regional issue, as well as an
international issue, and Iraq’s neighbours have an important role to
play. We call on the entire international community to support Iraq’s
sovereign Government and assist efforts for a democratic, united and
prosperous Iraq.”

Hamid Al Bayati of Iraq said his Government would resolutely challenge
those seeking to undermine the democratic process. “To defend the
political process in Iraq is to defend international legality,” he said,
pledging that the Iraqi people would emerge victorious over terrorists
and preserve the unity of their land.

Political consensus is the only way to end the security deterioration,
he said. A national conference involving different Iraqi political
forces is planned for the future. “Any call for an international or
regional conference that goes in the same direction will be welcomed…
however, if the purpose is to circumvent the gains achieved by the Iraqi
people and to take the political process back to square one, that would
be unacceptable.”
2006-12-11 00:00:00.000

SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITY CENTRE WINS UN PRIZE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
EDUCATION
New York, Dec 11 2006  6:00PM
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=36119&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO)
announced today that a South African university centre established
during the apartheid era has been awarded its biennial prize for human
rights education.

The Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria has received
the $10,000 prize in recognition of its “outstanding contribution to
the cause of human rights in South Africa and to the advancement of a
human rights culture by means of education and training of professionals
in South Africa, other countries on the continent and beyond,” UNESCO
said in a press statement.

UNESCO’s Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura designated the Centre,
which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, as the laureate
following the recommendation of a six-member panel that considered 49
candidates from 37 countries.

The Centre contributed to the adoption of a national bill of rights and
to the constitution-building process in the early 1990s following the
demise of South Africa’s apartheid system, before broadening its
activities in human rights education and training.

Its two flagship programmes are the Master’s Degree in Human Rights
and Democratization in Africa, established in 2000, and the African
Human Rights Moot Court Competition, which was launched in 1992.

The jury awarded honourable mentions to two other entries: the European
Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratization of the
European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratization, set up
in Venice in 1997; and the One World International Human Rights
Documentary Film Festival of the Czech Republic, which has been held annually
since 1999.

The UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education has been awarded every two
years since it was created in 1978 to mark the 30th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration on Human Rights. It can be awarded that an
institution, organization or individual that has made a particularly
significant contribution to the field.
2006-12-11 00:00:00.000

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RESUMPTION OF SIX-PARTY TALKS ON KOREAN
NUCLEAR ISSUE

New York, Dec 11 2006  5:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed news that
the six-party talks aimed at achieving a denuclearization of the Korean
peninsula are scheduled to resume later this month.

In a
<"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10792.doc.htm">statement issued by his spokesman, Mr. Annan voiced hope that the
participants in the talks, slated to resume next Monday, “will use this
opportunity to make meaningful progress towards implementing their Joint
Statement of 19 September 2005.”

In that statement, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)
committed to abandoning nuclear weapons and rejoining the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in return for benefits on aid and security.

The talks are between DPRK, China, the Japan, the Republic of Korea,
Russia and the United States have been going on sporadically in Beijing
for several years, but there has not been a meeting since late last
year.

The Secretary-General, who has been calling for a resumption of the
six-party talks since the DPRK carried out its first nuclear test in
October, pledged today that the UN Secretariat would remain steadfast in its
efforts to support the multilateral diplomatic approach.
2006-12-11 00:00:00.000

UN ANTI-CRIME CHIEF URGES PROGRESS IN FIGHTING GLOBAL CORRUPTION

New York, Dec 11 2006 12:00AM
The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) urged
governments gathered at a conference in Jordan today to take practical
action to combat crimes such as bribery, embezzlement and
influence-peddling in order to convince a skeptical public that it is possible to
fight corruption.

Opening a high-level conference on corruption, Antonio Maria Costa said
the international climate against corruption was changing, as reflected
in high-profile criminal trials and even in the ousting of governments.

He also challenged participants to take more action. "Are you freezing,
seizing and confiscating assets?  Do you enforce codes of conduct for
public officials, with disclosures of their annual earnings and assets?
This would answer simple, yet tough, questions from the public, such as
how certain officials own new Mercedes cars while earning $200 per
month," he said.

The UN Convention against Corruption, which came into force a year ago,
provides a global framework for effective action, he said. Nearly 150
countries have signed the Convention, the first legally binding
international instrument against corruption, and 80 have so far ratified it.

All countries must learn how to protect witnesses and whistleblowers,
how to deal with money-laundering and how to improve transparency in
procurement contracts and the management of public finances. UNODC had the
tools and expertise to assist them, the Executive Director added.

The first Conference of the States Parties to the UN Convention against
Corruption, attended by ministers, policy-makers, parliamentarians,
practitioners and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
and the private sector, held at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention
Centre on the Dead Sea, Jordan. It will continue until December 14.

Mr. Costa urged participants "not to go through the usual conference
motions" but to take decisive steps to turn the Convention into the
powerfu
hope that the conference would, as a minimum, make progress in
establishing a mechanism for monitoring implementation of the Convention.

Getting international agreement on returning stolen assets to their
countries of origin had been a major achievement of the Convention. "I
urge you to take a political decision at this Conference in order to
increase the capacity of States to prevent the diversion of assets and to
help victims get their money back," he said.

Mr. Costa also urged companies to pass on good practices in fighting
corruption to their business partners in countries where corruption was
rife.

In addition, he said organizations such as the UN should apply the
Convention in their own work. "Let us practice what we preach," he said.

2006-12-10 00:00:00.000

ANNAN SAYS UN HAS OFTEN FAILED TO DELIVER ON PROTECTING AND PROMOTING
HUMAN RIGHTS

New York, Dec  8 2006  7:00PM
The United Nations has often failed to live up to its responsibility to
promote human rights, with the ongoing killing and displacement of
civilians in Darfur only the latest example of how the world has not
improved its act, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today as he urged Member
States, organizations and individuals to make the protection of rights
a reality in every country.

In an
<"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10788.doc.htm">address at the Time Warner Centre in New York to mark
<"http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006/">International Human Rights
Day, which is being staged on Sunday, the outgoing Secretary-General
said he had tried to make human rights central to all of the world
body’s work during his 10 years at the helm.

“But I’m not sure how far I have succeeded, or how much nearer we
are to bringing the reality of the UN in line with my vision of human
rights as its ‘third pillar,’ on a par with development and peace and
security,” he said.

Despite the adoption by leaders attending last year’s World Summit of
the doctrine of a “responsibility to protect” endangered civilians,
and the lessons learned from the disasters of Rwanda and Bosnia during
the 1990s, he said “reports still pour in of villages being destroyed
by the hundred and of brutal treatment of civilians” across the
war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur.

“How can an international community which claims to uphold human
rights allow this horror to continue?” he asked. “There is more than
enough blame to go around. It can be shared among those who value
abstract notions of sovereignty more than the lives of real families, those
whose reflex of solidarity puts them on the side of governments and not
of peoples, and those who fear that action to stop the slaughter would
jeopardize their commercial interests.”

Mr. Annan also criticized those governments that have tried to depict
the principle of responsibility to protect as an imperialist conspiracy
against developing countries.

“This is utterly false. We must do better. We must develop the
responsibility to protect into a powerful international norm that is not only
quoted but put into practice, whenever and wherever it is needed.”

He urged civil society groups, human rights defenders and individuals
to each play their part to ensure that governments and the UN are held
to account for their promises on rights.

Aside from giving real meaning to “responsibility to protect,”
there must be an end to impunity, he said, citing Bosnian Serb leaders
Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic and the leaders of the rebel Lord’s
Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda as examples of war criminals still at
large.

But the Secretary-General noted there has been some progress in this
area, particularly in the creation of the International Criminal Court
(ICC), the work of the UN war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former
Yugoslavia, and the hybrid tribunals in Sierra Leone and Cambodia.

Mr. Annan added that “we need an anti-terrorism strategy that does
not merely pay lip service to the defence of human rights, but is built
on it,” adding that States which violate human rights in fighting
terrorism lose the moral high ground.

“That is why secret prisons have no place in our struggle against
terrorism, and why all places where terrorism suspects are detained must
be accessible to the International Committee of the Red Cross.”

He concluded by saying the international community must move beyond
“grand statements of principle… [and] work to make human rights a
reality in each country.”

Mr. Annan on Monday will travel to the Truman Museum and Library at
Independence, Missouri, to pay homage to the memory of one of the UN’s
founders and to deliver his last speech as Secretary-General to an
American audience, a spokesman announced.

“He will spell out five lessons derived from his 10-year experience
at the helm of this organization and challenge American leaders of today
and tomorrow to live up to Truman's example of enlightened leadership
in a multilateral system,” Stephane Dujarric said.
2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

UN IN TIMOR-LESTE ARRESTS 17 PEOPLE AFTER COMING UNDER ATTACK IN THE
TOWN OF BIDAU

New York, Dec  8 2006  6:00PM
Continuing United Nations efforts to bring stability to Timor-Leste,
police officers assisted by a New Zealand Defence force unit this week
arrested 17 people after coming under attack at a police post in the town
of Bidau, possibly linked to gang rivalries.

A large group of people allegedly threw rocks and darts at the police
station on Tuesday evening, UN Police (UNPOL) spokeswoman Monica
Rodrigues said in a press release, adding that when the officers tried to
determine the reason for the attack they were also allegedly threatened
with machetes and sling shots with metal balls.

UNPOL, with help from a New Zealand Defence Force Unit, pursued the
alleged offenders, arresting 17 people and confiscating 21 weapons, the
release said. The attack appeared to be motivated by an earlier arrest of
a group member, who has since been charged with possessing a gas
grenade and a baton in connection with a gang rivalry.

A judge in the capital’s District Court remanded the 17 in custody
until their trial on a date yet to be announced.

UNPOL has been stepping up its patrols and increasing its numbers in
the tiny South-East Asian nation since the UN Integrated Mission in
Timor-Leste (UNMIT) was created in August to help restore order after deadly
violence broke out in April and May, causing the deaths of at least 37
people and forcing about 155,000 people – or 15 per cent of the
population – to flee their homes.

Last week, the UN signed an agreement with the Government giving it
prime responsibility for policing throughout the country, which the world
body shepherded to independence from Indonesia just four years ago.

August’s Security Council resolution calls for a police presence of
up to 1,608 qualified UNPOL officers from various nations to help
Timor-Leste improve all aspects of policing operations including leadership,
community-policing, investigations, traffic, public order and
administration. There are currently 966 UNPOL officers in the country.

Also in Timor-Leste, the first batch of UN Volunteers (UNV), out of a
planned total of 250 to be brought in to help with next year’s
elections, today showed off their Tetum skills after attending an intensive
3-week course to learn the local language.

“The purpose of the course is to give the participants a basic
command of Tetum to make it possible for them to communicate with the
Timorese population in the districts and to perform their duties more
effectively and with increased cultural sensitivity,” said UNV Tetum Language
Coordinator Bodil Knudsen.
2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

ANNAN WARNS IVORIAN POLITICAL LEADERSHIP NOT TO DELAY IN REVIVING PEACE
PROCESS

New York, Dec  8 2006  6:00PM
Now that the Security Council has extended the transitional government
in divided Côte d’Ivoire for a final year, the country’s political
leadership must not delay in restarting the stalled peace process and
resolving their disputes, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his
latest <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2006/939">report on
the West African nation.

Civil society must also put the national interest first and avoid
partisan political agendas, Mr. Annan states in his report to the Council,
which adopted a resolution on 1 November endorsing an African Union (AU)
decision to renew the mandate of Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny and
President Laurent Gbagbo “for a new and final transition period not
exceeding 12 months.”

The Secretary-General writes that the resolution provides a sound
framework for re-launching aspects of the peace process, including the
staging of long-delayed national elections, which have been stalled since
August.

He calls on Mr. Banny and Mr. Gbagbo to “eschew confrontation and
maintain a constructive working relationship,” especially in the areas
of disarmament, identification of voters and the restoration of State
authority.

“Ivorian political leaders and civil society… must together
cultivate a culture of political accommodation and tolerance, fight impunity,
tackle the hate media, rid the nation of xenophobia, pay attention to
the insidious local land and ethnic conflicts in the west and
contribute… to put in place a mechanism to guarantee the credibility and
transparency of the crucial identification of the population,” Mr. Annan
says.

Welcoming the fact that “some technical preparations” for
disarmament and identification have taken place despite the stalemate, Mr. Annan
nevertheless urges all sides to recognize that exceptional measures –
including the possibility of power-sharing arrangements – will be
needed during and immediately after the transition period.

Côte d’Ivoire has been split in two between the
Government-controlled south and the rebel-held north since the sides agreed to a cessation
of hostilities in 2002. The UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI)
has more than 9,000 military or police personnel in place to maintain
peace, and Mr. Annan recommends that its mandate be extended for another
year until 15 December 2007.

The report notes that the security situation across the country is
relatively calm, with only a handful of violent clashes – unrelated to
domestic reaction to the Council resolution – taking place recently.
Yet the humanitarian picture remains grim, with reports of fresh
outbreaks among cholera and yellow fever.
2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

PROSPECTS OF ALL-OUT CIVIL WAR IN IRAQ MUCH MORE REAL THAN THREE MONTHS AGO, ANNAN WARNS

New York, Dec 8 2006 3:00PM The prospects of all-out civil war in Iraq and even a regional conflict have become much more real over the past three months as sectarian violence, insurgent and terrorist attacks, and criminal activities have risen significantly, according to the latest United Nations <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2006/945">report on the war-torn country released today. “The sectarian carnage has resulted in a vicious cycle of violence fuelled by revenge killings,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan tells the Security Council in the report, proposing a possible international conference to foster national reconciliation and offering UN good offices in helping to arrange such a meeting. “The challenge is not only to contain and defuse the current violence, but also to prevent its escalation,” he writes, stressing that the situation has deteriorated since he warned in his last report in September that that Iraq was at an important crossroads between taking the high road to negotiation and compromise or descending further into fratricidal sectarian conflict. He notes that although the figures on civilian casualties since the United States-led invasion in March 2003 vary between 50,000 and more than 600,000, depending on the sources, the predicament of the Iraqi people is a constant, with violence permanently hampering human development and greatly adding to the burden of access to proper health care, social services, education, employment and economic opportunities. “While I note the efforts of the Government of Iraq to improve security and promote national reconciliation, it must undertake an urgent review of strategies, policies and measures, with the aim of implementing a consensus-based action plan to halt and reverse current political and security trends in the country, which needs to be supported by a much broader and inclusive regional and international effort,” Mr. Annan notes. He lays out a three-point roadmap for the Government to meet the challenges: Developing a fully inclusive process to bring all disenfranchised and marginalized communities into the mainstream with equitable access to political power, State institutions and natural resources; Establishing a Government monopoly on the use of force, not only by addressing the terrorist, insurgency, sectarian and criminal violence but also dealing with the problem of militias, including their removal from all ministries and security forces; Cultivating a regional environment supporting Iraq’s transition, with the Government normalizing relations with its neighbours and the neighbours working towards fostering greater stability and security in Iraq. “However, in the light of the deteriorating situation in Iraq and its potentially grave regional implications, it may be necessary to consider more creative ways for fostering regional dialogue and understanding, which could result in concrete confidence-building measures between Iraq and its neighbours,” Mr. Annan writes. “This process could be broadened to include the permanent members of the Security Council. The United Nations is prepared to explore the possibilities of such a process in consultation with all concerned.” Citing positive UN experiences in other parts of the world, such peace accords for Afghanistan reach in an international meeting in Bonn, Germany, in 2001, he raises the prospect of bringing Iraqi political parties together, possibly outside Iraq, with the UN playing a facilitating role. Mr. Annan reaffirms the UN commitment to Iraq in the political and humanitarian fields, including strong support for the constitutional review process and immediate and long-term relief needs. But he also stresses the severe constraints that deteriorating security has clamped on the Organization’s ability to carry out its activities. He recalls as “one of the darkest moments in my career” the bombing of the UN compound in Baghdad in August 2003 when the world body lost 22 friends and colleagues, including the head of the mission, Sergio Vieira de Mello. “Although there appears to be greater Iraqi and international support for a more active United Nations role, should there be a further deterioration of the security situation, the viability of maintaining a significant United Nations presence in Iraq might be called into question,” he warns. “There can be no tolerance for exposing United Nations personnel to unacceptable risk.” 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

UN AGENCY SET TO RESUME REPATRIATION OF REFUGEES LIVING IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

New York, Dec 8 2006 5:00PM The United Nations refugee agency announced today that it plans to resume next week the voluntary repatriation of nearly 9,000 people from the Central African Republic (CAR) back to their homes in either southern Sudan or the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). About 8,000 Sudanese and 900 Congolese will be repatriated by the middle of 2007 under the programme, which was suspended earlier this year because the border between the CAR and Sudan was officially closed and the volatile DRC was holding its first free and fair elections in more than 40 years. Starting next Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR) will fly Sudanese by air from the Mboki settlement in the southeast of the CAR, where most have been living. More than 2,100 others were repatriated before the border was closed in April. The CAR Government agreed to open a “humanitarian corridor” to allow the repatriation operation to resume. On Friday, the first of the Congolese refugees – who are nearly all from the Equateur province – will cross the Oubangui River, which separates the CAR and the DRC, by boat. They will join 3,250 refugees who left before the lengthy election period began. UNHCR’s representative in the CAR, Bruno Geddo, said in a statement released in the capital, Bangui, that the refugees were grateful for the hospitality they have received while living in the country. “But now that the circumstances in their home countries are gradually improving, they have opted for return, and they are looking forward to regaining their homes,” he said. “By returning home, the refugees are sending a strong signal that they are committed to help rebuilding their country of origin and contributing to national reconciliation.” The Sudanese are returning following a comprehensive peace agreement last year that ended a 20-year civil war in the south of the vast country, while the Congolese are also returning as their country recovers from a brutal civil conflict. The repatriation programme is resuming as widespread criminal activity and recent clashes between national security forces and armed rebels have forced around 220,000 inhabitants of the CAR to flee their homes. An estimated 150,000 have become internally displaced persons (IDPs), mostly in the north, near the borders with Cameroon, Chad and Sudan’s Darfur region. Some 50,000 live in UNHCR-assisted camps in southern Chad and another 20,000 reside in Cameroon. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

LEBANON’S SECURITY HAS STABILIZED BUT ISRAELI OVERFLIGHTS CONTINUE, ANNAN REPORTS

New York, Dec 8 2006 6:00PM Security in Lebanon has stabilized in recent months but Israeli overflights continue, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in his latest update on the United Nations Interim Force in the country (UNIFIL), where arms caches have also been discovered in the peacekeeping mission’s area of operation. In a <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2006/933">letter to the President of the Security Council released today, the Secretary-General points to greater stability along the Blue Line of Israeli withdrawal. “The cessation of hostilities was maintained and there were no serious incidents or confrontations. Nevertheless, UNIFIL observed and reported air violations by Israeli jets and unmanned aerial vehicles on an almost daily basis.” The report notes that Israel maintains that its repeated overflights are not violations but a necessary security measure. “While mindful of the Israeli motivations to continue their air incursions into Lebanese airspace, I would note that such violations of Lebanese sovereignty…undermine the credibility of both UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and compromise overall efforts to stabilize the situation in the south and efforts to build trust and confidence generally,” Mr. Annan says. Israel continued to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) retaining a presence only in the northern part of the village of Ghajar, which is divided by the Blue Line. UNIFIL is working with the Lebanese and the Israelis to finalize the withdrawal of the IDF from the remaining area inside Lebanon and set up temporary security arrangements for the part of the village of Ghajar inside Lebanese territory. As Israeli forces pull out, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have been moving in. “The deployment of the LAF throughout the south for the first time in decades down to the Blue Line is a most notable achievement and a key stabilizing factor,” Mr. Annan says, praising the Lebanese forces for their “high degree of cooperation” with the Force. Since early September, there have been over a dozen instances where UNIFIL came across unauthorized arms or related materiel in its area of operation, including the discovery of 17 Katyushas and several improvised explosive devices. “On all of these occasions, UNIFIL informed the LAF, who took prompt action either to confiscate or destroy the materials,” the Secretary-General writes. Although the UN continues to receive reports of illegal arms smuggling across the Lebanese-Syrian border, these have not been verified, according to the report. The report also details efforts to tackle the dangers of contamination from unexploded cluster munitions, which continue to kill and maim even after the guns have fallen silent. Israel has yet to provide UNIFIL with the detailed firing data on its use of cluster munitions, says Mr. Annan, voicing his expectation that such information will be furnished to help efforts to mitigate the threat to innocent civilians. The letter will be discussed by the Security Council on Monday, a UN spokesman told reporters today. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

CONGOLESE REFUGEES WHO FLED TO UGANDA START TO RETURN HOME, SAYS UN AGENCY

New York, Dec 8 2006 6:00PM Most of the estimated 12,000 people who fled across the border from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Uganda earlier this week to escape violent clashes between Government troops and rebel forces have returned now that the fighting has subsided, the United Nations refugee agency said today. Only about 4,000 Congolese remain in the south-western Ugandan town of Kisoro, and no new arrivals have been reported in the past few days, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/457984a44.html">UNHCR) spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told a <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/45795c3425.html">press briefing in Geneva. The refugees, mainly women and children, fled to Uganda after clashes erupted about 100 kilometres north of Goma in North Kivu province in the far east of the vast DRC, close to the Ugandan border. Most of the refugees have been living in local schools and churches in Kisoro, but some are also sleeping on the porches of private homes, Ms. Pagonis said, adding that about 950 moved to Nyakabanda, a site south of Kisoro. Health authorities have started vaccinating the child refugees and UNHCR is working with local officials and the Ugandan Red Cross on installing latrines and basic shelter. This week’s influx is the second of its kind this year. In January and February about 17,000 Congolese entered Uganda to escape fighting near their homes. Although the majority of that group returned home as soon as the clashes ended, some 3,500 remained in Uganda and were later moved to a refugee settlement at Nakevale. Ms. Pagonis said there are 23,000 Congolese refugees living in Uganda, many of whom fled during the long and brutal civil war in the DRC. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

VIET NAM BECOMES A PILOT COUNTRY FOR UN EFFORTS TO REFORM AND IMPROVE EFFICIENCY

 New York, Dec 8 2006 7:00PM As part of ongoing United Nations efforts to make itself more efficient and responsive to national needs, Viet Nam today was selected as the first pilot country in the “One UN” reform programme, involving six UN agencies working more closely together to avoid duplication and fragmentation. “Viet Nam is at the forefront of the UN move to deliver as one. The UN family has to combine the diversity of skills and mandates present in our agencies to realize our tremendous potential as partners in development,” said Kemal Dervis, who heads the UN Development Group and is the Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The “One UN” pilot programme will include at least five other countries and aims to move beyond coordination to consolidating a single presence in countries, UNDP said in a press release from the Vietnamese capital Hanoi. This Viet Nam pilot programme will comprise six participating agencies: the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), <"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/">UNDP, the UN Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/">UNFPA), the UN Development Fund for Women (<"http://www.unifem.org/index.php?f_page_pid=6">UNIFEM), UN Volunteers (<"http://www.unv.org/">UNV) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (<"http://www.unaids.org/en/">UNAIDS). Other agencies are expected to join or cooperate with the programme in the near future. “There was a realization that while we were doing a good job, we weren’t being fully efficient,” said UNICEF Representative in Viet Nam Jesper Morch. “By working together, <"http://www.unicef.org/index2.php">UNICEF will be able to deliver far more for Vietnamese children. It seemed obvious to embrace the idea.” The “One UN” plan envisions agencies working as one team, with the aim of avoiding fragmentation and duplication of efforts and instead ensuring a unity of purpose, coherence in management and efficiency in operations while maintaining the distinct personality, agenda, and purpose of the different agencies. Today’s announcement came after a meeting between a taskforce on UN reform and the Vietnamese Government, which also involved participating UN agencies, funds and programmes, and bilateral donors. “Viet Nam is always pushing us to do things better, to be ever more responsive and efficient, and the UN team here is working to answer that call for more effective assistance,” said UN Resident Coordinator John Hendra. “With this very exciting pilot opportunity, Viet Nam is being recognized for its openness and drive to make the UN work better. In a sense, this pilot is like bringing global reform efforts home, and the development community will be very interested in what happens here as Viet Nam is now literally at the centre of UN reform efforts.” This announcement comes nearly a month after the UN High-Level Panel on Systemwide Coherence released its report, <"http://www.un.org/events/panel/">Delivering as One, which recommended, among other things, that the UN “deliver as one at the country level, with one leader, one programme, one budget, where appropriate, one office.” Additional pilot countries will likely be announced at the end of this month. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

ANNAN MOURNS DEATH OF FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO UN JEANE KIRKPATRICK

New York, Dec  8 2006  3:00PM
Secretary-General Kofi Annan today paid tribute to the late former
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick for her
commitment to the world body.

“Always ardent and often provocative, her commitment to an effective
United Nations was clear during her tenure as Permanent Representative,
and in her later career,” he said through a
<"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2352">statement issued by his
spokesman on Ms. Kirkpatrick, who died yesterday at the age of 80.

Expressing sadness, he extended his condolences to her family and
“all others touched by this loss.”
2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

SERB POLITICIAN AWAITING TRIAL AT UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL AGREES TO END HUNGER STRIKE

 New York, Dec 8 2006 1:00PM The Serbian politician who has been on a hunger strike for almost a month as he awaits trial before the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia announced today that he will resume eating and accept medical treatment now that the court has reversed an earlier decision concerning his counsel. Vojislav Šešelj <" http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1134-e.htm">informed the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) that he made his decision after the Tribunal’s appeals chamber earlier today set aside a ruling from its trial chamber imposing standby counsel on him, and its registry made commitments to facilitate many of his requests about the conduct of his defence. The trial of Mr. Šešelj, who faces charges over his role in an ethnic cleansing campaign during the Balkan wars of the 1990s, has been suspended by the Tribunal until he is fit enough to participate fully in the proceedings as a self-represented accused. The <" http://www.un.org/icty">ICTY, which sits in The Hague, said in a press statement that its doctor had begun an examination of Mr. Šešelj to assess his condition and what immediate steps are necessary to safeguard his health. Although he continued to drink water, Mr. Šešelj had declined food and medical care since 11 November. The ICTY warned this week that it held grave concerns about his deteriorating health. In granting Mr. Šešelj’s appeal, the ICTY appeals chamber found that the trial chamber had abused its discretion by ordering standby counsel without first establishing additional obstructionist behaviour by the accused that would warrant such an intervention. That move meant Mr. Šešelj was not given a real opportunity to show that, despite his conduct during the pre-trial period, he now understood that to be permitted to conduct his own defence he would have to comply with the ICTY’s rules of evidence and procedure and was willing to do so. If Mr. Šešelj again behaves in an obstructionist way, jeopardizing the likelihood of a fair and expeditious trial, and the trial chamber considers standby counsel should again be imposed, the appeals chamber said a list of such counsel should first be provided to Mr. Šešelj and he should be allowed to select a lawyer from that list. The president of the Serbian Radical Party, Mr. Šešelj faces charges of crimes against humanity and others relating to the persecutions of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb people and their expulsions from area of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Vojvodina region of Serbia, between August 1991 and September 1993. Prosecutors allege Mr. Šešelj participated in a joint criminal enterprise with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, among others, that led to the extermination and expulsion of non-Serb people. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

INTERNATIONAL DONORS PLEDGE $475 MILLION TO FIGHT BIRD FLU AT UN-BACKED CONFERENCE

New York, Dec 8 2006 11:00AM The International donor community today pledged $475 million to fight bird flu after a senior United Nations official warned them that the virus, with its possible mutation into a deadly human pandemic, remains a potent threat around the world. The pledges came at the end of a major three-day donor <" http://www.avianinfluenzaconference4.org">conference in Bamako, Mali, during which UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller said greater transparency and data sharing were critical in combating the disease. At the same he called on donors to make Africa “a top priority” for resources and technical aid. “Failure by any one country to contain the disease could lead to rapid re-infection in many more countries. One weak link can lead to a domino effect, undoing all the good that we have achieved so far. Now is no time for complacency,” he said. Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza David Nabarro said last month $1.5 billion is needed worldwide over the next two to three years for preventive measures. Although well over 200 million birds have died worldwide from either the H5N1 flu virus or preventive culling, there have so far been only 258 human cases, 154 of them fatal, since the current outbreak started in South East Asia in December 2003, and these have been ascribed to contact with infected birds. But experts fear the virus could mutate, gaining the ability to pass from person to person and, in a worst case scenario, unleash a deadly human pandemic. The so-called Spanish flu pandemic that broke out in 1918 is estimated to have killed from 20 million to 40 million people worldwide by the time it had run its course two years later. FAO says winning the battle against the virus demands a long-term vision with more surveillance as well as stronger emphasis on hygiene and movement control throughout the animal production and marketing chain. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

BELARUS: UN EXPERT CALLS FOR HEALTH ACCESS FOR JAILED OPPOSITION LEADER ON HUNGER STRIKE

 New York, Dec 8 2006 11:00AM An independent United Nations human rights expert today called on the Government of Belarus to assure access to proper health care for a jailed opposition political leader who has been on hunger strike for the past 49 days. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, Adrian Severin, <" http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/60EC9B50BC20D896C125723E0051B7D5?opendocument">urged the Government to grant family members, legal representatives and independent monitors free access to Alexander Kazulin, leader of the Belarusian Socialist Democratic party Narodnaya Hramada and former presidential candidate, who was sentenced to five-and-a-half years imprisonment in July. “On 20 October, Mr. Kazulin started a hunger strike to protest against the lawlessness in Belarus and to draw the attention of the [UN] Security Council to the situation in Belarus,” Mr. Severin said in a statement, voicing “his deepest concern.” In a letter to his family Mr. Kazulin indicated that a doctor’s exam last month confirmed that he had lost 36 kilos, the statement noted. Special Rapporteurs are unpaid, independent experts who report to the <" http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil">UN Human Rights Council. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

YEMEN: UN VOICES GROWING CONCERN OVER IMMINENT DEPORTATION OF ETHIOPIANS

New York, Dec 8 2006 11:00AM Despite repeated appeals Yemen has still not granted the United Nations refugee agency access to 126 Ethiopian boat people who have been detained for almost two weeks and are now threatened with imminent deportation. “We also have unconfirmed reports that Ethiopians who arrived in the last few days have also been detained,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis <" http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/45795c357.html">told a news briefing in Geneva today. “Despite various appeals access has still not been granted. Instead, we have been informed the group will be deported in the coming days,” she said. The Ethiopians made the two-day crossing of the Gulf of Aden smuggled in boats from Somalia, but Yemeni officials have told UNHCR staff that all non-Somali arrivals will now be detained and deported to their home countries. The agency wants to determine if there are refugees among the group who should not be deported. “UNHCR continues to appeal to the Yemen government to abide by its international obligations under the <" http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3c0762ea4.html">1951 Refugee Convention and provide UNHCR with access to this group and other new arrivals who could fear persecution in their country of origin,” Ms. Pagonis said. “Yemen has previously generously kept its doors open for tens of thousands of people arriving on its coast every year after making the perilous crossing of the Gulf of Aden. We urge the government to continue this policy. UNHCR has consistently offered to help Yemen screen and register all new arrivals. This offer remains open,” she added. This year, more than 22,000 people have been recorded arriving in Yemen from Somalia. The number of Ethiopians has increased over the past month. Many Ethiopians do not register for fear of being deported and instead attempt to travel on to the Gulf States. At least 133 Somalis and 193 Ethiopians are said to have died making the crossing, during which the smugglers reportedly sometimes attack their passengers and throw them overboard. In all, there are currently over 80,000 registered refugees in Yemen, including some 75,500 Somalis. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

HEALTH CRISIS LOOMS FOR OVER 300,000 IN EASTERN CHAD AS TURMOIL CONTINUES, UN WARNS

New York, Dec 8 2006 11:00AM More than 300,000 Sudanese refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and local villagers in eastern Chad are facing a potential health crisis following the withdrawal of many humanitarian workers in the face of ongoing military movements, rebel attacks and inter-communal tensions, United Nations agencies warned today. “Many people living in camps and local communities have little access to health care and their situation could deteriorate quickly,” the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said. “Due to the reduced humanitarian health assistance, the health status of refugees and <" http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3b84c7e23.html">IDPs can rapidly deteriorate. The increase in the local population has overstretched the capacity of health services and aid agencies, while supply chains have been affected.” The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the situation remained extremely volatile. “We are working to ensure the basic needs of refugees such as water, food and primary health services are met while we continue the relocation of staff from the three northern locations of Bahai, Iriba and Guéréda to the main eastern town of Abéché or the Chadian capital N'Djamena,” UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis <" http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/45795c344.html">told a news briefing in Geneva. “We are keeping skeleton teams in place in these locations, where 110,000 refugees live in six camps,” she added, noting that over 400 international and local humanitarian staff had been relocated in the past 12 days, with 100 more still waiting to be moved from Guéréda. The overall situation of 218,000 refugees from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, 90,000 displaced Chadians and thousands of villagers took a serious turn for the worse some two weeks ago when Abéché, hub for relief efforts, was occupied by rebel forces, then re-taken by Government troops. During the turmoil the main UN relief supply warehouses were pillaged, reportedly by local residents. Since then military movements and armed attacks in the region have continued to cause havoc. Just this Wednesday, 13 armed men raided the market in Kounoungo refugee camp near Guéréda. There was an exchange of fire with the gendarmes responsible for camp security. One local person was wounded. Ms. Pagonis said contingency plans were in place to keep the six camps running for a month after UNHCR and its partners trained refugee committees to take on services such as water and sanitation, food distribution, and health. “Refugees have responded quickly to help run the camps but are concerned about the deteriorating security situation,” she said. While the primary causes of illness among refugees were acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malaria, <" http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr72/en/index.html">WHO said there were a growing number of injuries from fighting between rebels and government soldiers. Nearly 200 people were reportedly injured last week in Guéréda and Abéché. “As violence intensifies, the number of persons wounded by fighting is becoming a serious concern,” the agency’s coordinator in Abéché, Innocent Nzeyimana, said. “Local personnel is not sufficiently trained nor local resources sufficient to handle these cases.” The situation also remains precarious in south-eastern Chad around Goz Beida and Koukou and along the border with Sudan with regular reports of inter-communal tensions, attacks on refugees and displaced Chadians, villages being re-attacked and burned, cattle theft and intrusions of cattle herds on cultivated fields. “Refugees in Goz Amir camp situated in this area fear for their security and report that refugees who go to harvest their fields, allocated by the local authorities, have frequently been threatened by armed men in military uniforms,” Ms. Pagonis said. 2006-12-08 00:00:00.000

GENDER EQUALITY IN ARAB WORLD CRITICAL FOR PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY, UN
REPORT WARNS

New York, Dec  7 2006 11:00AM
Women in the Arab world are still denied equality of opportunity,
although their disempowerment is a critical factor crippling the Arab
nations’ quest to return to the first rank of global leaders in commerce,
learning and culture, according to a new United Nations-sponsored report
released today.

Women in the Arab world are still denied equality of opportunity,
although their disempowerment is a critical factor crippling the Arab
nations’ quest to return to the first rank of global leaders in commerce,
learning and culture, according to a new United Nations-sponsored
<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/december-2006/ahdr-launch-20061206.en">report
released today.

It not only calls for all Arab women to be given equal access to
essential health, education and all types of activities outside the family,
but also urges temporary adoption of affirmative action to expand such
participation, thus allowing centuries-old structures of discrimination
to be dismantled.

“Full participation and empowerment of women, as citizens, as
producers, as mothers and sisters, will be a source of strength for Arab
Nations and will allow the Arab World to reach greater prosperity, greater
influence and higher levels of human development,” said UN
Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis, whose agency sponsored
the Arab Human Development Report 2005: Toward the rise of women in the
Arab world.
 
It commends some states for “significant, progressive changes” in
tackling fundamental gender biases prevalent in the region, but cites a
range of obstacles to equitable development, from cosmetic reforms with
little real effect to violent conflict, foreign occupations and
terrorism casting a shadow over the tantalizing hints of progress.

The fundamental obstacle to the rise of women remains how to deal with
conflicts between the needs of a productive economy and internationally
agreed standards on the one hand and traditions and customs on the
other, according to the report.

The strongest inhibitors of development for many Arab citizens, women
and men, have been foreign occupations and the ‘war on terror,’ with
basic rights from the right to life through civil and political rights
to economic and social rights continuing to be violated.

This negative environment, together with the spectre of extremist
terrorism, which the report condemns in the strongest possible terms,
damages the prospects for a broad revival by impeding reform and obstructing
opportunities for peaceful and just solutions to the occupation of Arab
lands and the restriction of Arab freedoms and rights.

A continued impasse over these matters may push the region further
towards extremism and violent protest in the absence of a fair system of
governance at the global level that ensures security and prosperity for
all, according to the report, the fourth and final part of an annual
study of Arab development.

“To embrace the courage and activism of women in the Arab world is to
champion the catalysts of human development,” UNDP regional director
Amat Al Alim Alsoswa said. “Hard-won gains in women’s rights are
the culmination of decades of committed engagement by generations of
women’s rights campaigners and their allies in Governments across the
region.”

Islamic movements, often characterized in the West as uniformly
malevolent have in reality been in many cases at the vanguard of women’s
empowerment, with most mainstream movements witnessing notable growth of
an enlightened leadership among their relatively younger generations,
the report says.

“In the last five decades, the internal dynamics of these movements,
their relationship to mainstream society and their positions on vital
societal issues, on human rights and on good governance and democracy
have undergone significant, progressive changes,” it adds.   

But these positive developments have not cancelled out other currents
outside mainstream Arab society that could seek to curtail freedom and
democracy if they came to power, especially with regard to women.

Among achievements that have been secured, the report cites the
presence of at least one woman in most Arab countries’ parliament, cabinet
or local council but it warns that political reform, at every level,
must go beyond the cosmetic and the symbolic: “In all cases…real
decisions in the Arab world are, at all levels, in the hands of men,” it
says.
2006-12-07 00:00:00.000

ANNAN STRESSES NEED FOR CONGOLESE TO WORK TOGETHER AS HE CONGRATULATES NEW President'

New York, Dec 6 2006 3:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today stressed the need for all Congolese to work together as he congratulated Joseph Kabila on his inauguration as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following the recent elections, the first democratic polls in the strife-torn country in more than 40 years. Mr. Annan also told the country’s leaders that their people expect them to make a clean break with the past, which included a brutal six-year civil war that cost 4 million lives through fighting and attendant hunger and disease. Factional clashes have remained a problem since the end of the war, especially in the east. “The Congolese people have understandably high expectations. They are looking to their leaders and elected officials to deliver a peace dividend, and to make a clear break with the past. They want to live in a new Congo: a State in which they have access to basic services,” Mr. Annan said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10781.doc.htm">statement read out by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno at the ceremony in Kinshasa. “To achieve these goals, I encourage the Government to work closely with the Congolese people and civil society throughout the country to stimulate economic growth,” he said. Stressing the importance of reconciliation, he urged the Congolese people “to work together to resolve their differences peacefully, through legitimate channels, and thereby avoid renewed upheaval that could keep the country from pursuing the new path it has chosen.” Mr. Annan also renewed the UN’s pledge to continue assisting the DRC following the two rounds of elections, which were the largest and most complex polls that the world body has ever helped organize and were aimed at cementing the country’s transition to stability. In the past few weeks, fighting and tension has increased with supporters of Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba – who lost in the 29 October run-off poll – taking to the streets in protest. Mr. Annan has called on both sets of supporters to accept the election results and last month peacekeepers from the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) shot into the air to disperse a violent demonstration by Mr. Bemba’s men in Kinshasa. MONUC currently has over 18,000 uniformed personnel in the DRC to help the country. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

NOTORIOUS PASTOR CONVICTED BY UN TRIBUNAL OVER RWANDAN GENOCIDE COMPLETES JAIL TERM

 New York, Dec 6 2006 4:00PM An elderly former pastor today became the first person convicted and jailed by the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Rwandan genocide to be <"http://69.94.11.53/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2006/502.htm">released after serving his sentence. Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, 81, a former senior pastor of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, was sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (<"http://69.94.11.53/default.htm">ICTR) in February 2003 to 10 years’ imprisonment after being convicted of aiding and abetting the 1994 genocide in the central African country. He was also convicted of aiding and abetting extermination. Mr. Ntakirutimana was given credit for the time spent in detention before his trial. He was arrested in the United States in September 1996, later released and re-arrested, before being transferred to the ICTR detention centre in Arusha, Tanzania, in March 2000. At his trial, prosecutors told the ICTR how Mr. Ntakuritimana personally drove armed Hutu attackers to various places where Tutsis had taken refuge and also went to a church in the Bisesero area of western Rwanda in which he was pastor and ordered the removal of its roof so that Tutsis could no longer use it as a shelter. Several witnesses testified that they believed Mr. Ntakuritimana would use his influence to protect them from attacks, and in April 1994 seven Tutsi pastors wrote a letter to him pleading for his intervention. “We wish to inform you that we have heard that tomorrow we will be killed with our families,” the letter stated. But in his reply the pastor wrote “there is nothing I can do for you. All you can do is prepare to die, for your time has come.” His son, Gérard, a medical doctor, was sentenced by the Tribunal to 25 years’ jail for related war crimes. Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered, mostly by machete, across Rwanda in just 100 days starting in April 1994. The Security Council set up the ICTR in November that year to prosecute people responsible for genocide and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

FIJI MUST ABIDE BY GLOBAL OBLIGATIONS ON RIGHTS, FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS: UN RIGHTS CHIEF

New York, Dec 6 2006 4:00PM United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today <"http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/962D45D7041F1D22C125723C0051B0E3?opendocument">called on Fiji to guarantee fundamental freedoms for its people, and also abide by international obligations covering civil, political and other rights, as she expressed concern following the recent coup. “The forcible and unconstitutional replacement of Fiji’s freely-elected Government raises serious concerns regarding the country’s ability to guarantee human rights,” Ms. Arbour said in a statement, which also echoed Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s call yesterday for the immediate reinstatement of the country’s legitimate authority. She pointed out that the country's 1997 Constitution protects human rights and fundamental freedoms, including through the work of the Fiji Human Rights Commission. “Fiji must also abide by the obligations it has undertaken under a number of international treaties covering a broad range of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights,” she said. Last week Mr. Annan warned that Fiji’s international standing, especially as a contributor to UN peacekeeping missions, could be jeopardized by the current political crisis. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

SERB POLITICIAN ON HUNGER STRIKE ‘HOLDS THE KEY TO HIS HEALTH,’ SAYS UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

 New York, Dec 6 2006 7:00PM The Serbian politician who continues to refuse food as he awaits trial before the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia “holds the key to his health and life,” the tribunal warned today. A spokesperson for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said Vojislav Šešelj – who faces charges over his role in an ethnic cleansing campaign during the Balkan wars of the 1990s – has legal avenues open to pursue any of his requests or complaints about the Tribunal. “It is Mr. Šešelj’s decision to take this action, it is Mr. Šešelj’s decision to refuse food and medicines [and] it is Mr. Šešelj who actually holds the key to his health and life – it is not the Tribunal,” Refik Hodžic told journalists at the ICTY’s weekly press briefing in The Hague. Mr. Hodžic said that “the only way for him to address the issue of self-representation is through the courtroom, through him taking part in the court process,” noting that the 52-year-old accused began his hunger strike while he was representing himself. Although he continues to drink water, Mr. Šešelj has declined food and medicine since 11 November. A trio of doctors who examined him yesterday expressed grave concern at the state of his health but added they were satisfied with the conditions provided in the Dutch prison hospital where Mr. Šešelj has been monitored since last Wednesday. Asked by journalists about what the Tribunal would do if Mr. Šešelj’s health deteriorates, Mr. Hodžic said “a prompt medical intervention” will take place based upon a decision of the medical officer and the doctors in the prison hospital. Last week, ICTY judges assigned defence counsel to the accused, saying he had persistently obstructed the proper conduct of the trial since resuming self-representation in late October. “But he has also made other less publicized demands, such as that the Tribunal approach a foreign State in order to unfreeze assets he holds in overseas bank accounts,” the statement noted. The president of the Serbian Radical Party, Mr. Šešelj faces charges of crimes against humanity and others relating to the persecutions of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb people and their expulsions from area of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Vojvodina region of Serbia, between August 1991 and September 1993. Prosecutors allege Mr. Šešelj participated in a joint criminal enterprise with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, among others, that led to the extermination and expulsion of non-Serb people. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

UN ASSEMBLY TAKES STEPS TOWARDS NEW TREATY REGULATING GLOBAL CONVENTIONAL ARMS TRADE

New York, Dec 6 2006 7:00PM The United Nations General Assembly today adopted a resolution effectively kicking off a diplomatic process aimed at promulgating a new international treaty on the global trade in conventional arms – a move immediately hailed by Secretary-General Kofi Annan – as it acted on a series of resolutions adopted at the recommendation of its Disarmament and International Security (First) Committee. “The Secretary-General welcomes today’s adoption by the General Assembly of a resolution launching a process that could lead to a treaty regulating international trade in conventional weapons,” his spokesman said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2346">statement released in New York. “While there are still many steps to be taken to forge a consensus to this end, the resolution represents the first formal step towards developing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional weapons,” the spokesman said, pointing out that “unregulated trade in these weapons currently contributes to conflict, crime and terrorism, and undermines international efforts for peace and development.” The resolution, “Towards an arms trade treaty: establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms,” was adopted by a recorded vote, with the United States alone in opposing the text which was supported by 153 countries. An additional two dozen countries abstained. Under its terms, the Secretary-General was requested to seek the views of Member States “on the feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive, legally binding instrument establishing common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms” and to report on this at its next session. He was also asked to establish a group of governmental experts to start examining in 2008 the feasibility, scope and draft parameters for such a treaty. This will be considered by the Assembly’s sixty-third session, which opens in September 2008. The resolution was one of 52 submitted by the First Committee to the Assembly for action today. The Committee’s measures are traditionally among the most contentious submitted each year, and 2006 was no exception, with dozens of votes expected to be cast before day’s end on texts covering such subjects as the prevention of an arms race in outer space, multilateralism in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation, the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

NEW CHAIRMAN OF UN DISARMAMENT COMMISSION PREDICTS CHALLENGES AMID STALEMATE

 New York, Dec 6 2006 6:00PM Citing a stalemate in international efforts to dismantle arsenals and stop the spread of arms, the newly elected Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Commission predicted a challenging session ahead. Addressing a brief organizational <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/dc3056.doc.htm">session of the Commission, which will meet from 9 to 27 April, Elbio Rosselli of Uruguay noted that the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament has been unable to adopt a programme to make it possible to renew substantive negotiations, and the recent Review Conference on the small arms action plan had also failed to achieve solid results. Ten years ago, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) opened for signature, but it had yet to enter into force, he noted, because not enough designated countries have ratified it. In addition, no significant progress had been made on practical steps towards nuclear disarmament agreed at the 2000 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. But he said he looked forward to chairing the Commission and pledged to work closely with the heads of its two working groups. The first, dealing with nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, is chaired by Jean-Francis Regis Zinsou of Benin. The second, on confidence-building in the conventional weapons sphere, is chaired by Carlos Duarte of Brazil. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

AMID MOUNTING CONCERN IN NORTH DARFUR, UN TEMPORARILY RELOCATES NON-ESSENTIAL STAFF

 New York, Dec 6 2006 6:00PM The United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have temporarily relocated their non-essential staff from the North Darfur provincial capital of El Fasher amid heightened security concerns because of recent clashes between militia groups and other armed movements. In a news update from Khartoum, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported that a total of 134 staff (comprising 82 from the UN and 42 from NGOs) were relocated last night to the Sudanese capital. About 200 UN staff and many NGO workers have stayed behind in El Fasher to ensure that humanitarian operations in the area can continue, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said there should no be significant impact on the delivery of relief and assistance. UNMIS stated that at least eight people were killed on Monday in clashes between an Arab militia and a section of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) linked to the leader Minni Minawi. The clashes took place after the militia invaded El Fasher’s cattle market, opening fire and harassing locals. Citing information from the African Union (AU), which conducts the peace operation in Darfur known as AMIS, the Mission said the security situation inside El Fasher remains extremely tense, with gunshots heard yesterday, most shops closed, and few people out on the streets. There are also reports circulating of a possible attack on the town by a coalition of rebel forces. The clashes in and around El Fasher follow a reported series of attacks by Government forces and an allied militia on a North Darfur village on Friday and Saturday that culminated in the burning of the homes and the looting of the residents’ livestock. More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed and another 2 million forced to flee their homes because of fighting across Darfur, a vast and impoverished region on Sudan’s western flank, since 2003. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

ANNAN STRESSES NEED FOR PARTNERSHIPS, REFORM, RESOLVING DARFUR AND FIGHTING INEQUALITY

New York, Dec 5 2006 9:00PM Looking back on his 10 years as head of the United Nations, Secretary-General, Kofi Annan today spoke of the continuing need for reforming the world body, efforts to build partnerships between the UN and other organizations, and the myriad challenges that lie ahead, particularly in bringing peace to strife-torn Darfur. "When I became Secretary-General [in December 1996]? I felt the Organization needed to be reformed and brought in line with today's requirements, and so I embarked on a very early reform at the beginning, trying to improve the management, administrative and financial processes of the organization," he told the International Women's Forum. Describing this as a process and "not an event," Mr. Annan also stressed his belief that if the UN was going to help people, it had to focus on inequality, and that was the reason for proposing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight targets that aim to reduce poverty, hunger and other social ills by 2015. "We needed to focus on inequality - inequality within States and between States, and that we had to really come together to fight abject poverty, and that's what led to my report 'We the Peoples' and the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals by the? General Assembly in the year 2000." As he prepares to step down at the end of this year, Mr. Annan voiced satisfaction that Member States accept that the UN's work rests on three major pillars. peace and security; economic and social development; and human rights and the rule of law. He also pointed to such challenges as HIV/AIDS, bird flu and environmental degradation, saying that individual governments alone couldn't deal with such problems and that was why he had sought to develop partnerships between the UN and other organizations to improve the world body's efforts to counter these threats. "As an international community we needed to find ways of dealing with this, an partnership with all the stakeholders - civil society, governments, international organizations, private sector and foundations, and so I can say that today the UN has become a partnership organization, reaching out and working with others." However, while pointing to UN achievements, Mr. Annan also admitted that "many challenges remain," particularly how best to stop the bloodshed in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region. "Darfur is still a challenge," he said, acknowledging that despite the recent agreement in Ethiopia to put an eventual UN-African Union force into the troubled region, the "challenge will be in its implementation." "The expectation is that the Sudanese will work with the international community to get it done, and so we will be pressing ahead on that," he went on, noting that "everybody is looking at how we handle Darfur." Mr. Annan also stressed that the UN is made up of Member States, a fact often forgotten particularly by those criticizing the world body. "When people talk of the UN, what is the UN? There are two UNs -- the UN that is of Member States who sit in the Security Council and the General Assembly and give mandates to the Secretariat -- the Secretary-General and the Secretariat. And there is a Secretariat which carries out these mandates," he said. "But the way the media covers it if anything goes wrong, 'It's the UN.' They talk and write about the UN as if it's some satellite out there which their governments and others have nothing to do with. But the UN is their government and mine," he said. 2006-12-05 00:00:00.000

BIRD FLU REMAINS POTENT THREAT WITH POSSIBILITY OF HUMAN PANDEMIC, UN AGENCY WARNS

New York, Dec 6 2006 11:00AM The bird flu virus, with its possible mutation into a deadly human pandemic, remains a potent threat around the world, with greater transparency and sharing of information critical to meet the challenge, and Africa emerging as a top priority for resources and technical aid, according to the latest United Nations update released today. “Failure by any one country to contain the disease could lead to rapid re-infection in many more countries,” UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller warned in a statement ahead of a major donor <"http://www.avianinfluenzaconference4.org">conference in Bamako, Mali, tomorrow. “One weak link can lead to a domino effect, undoing all the good that we have achieved so far. Now is no time for complacency.” <" http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000454/index.html">FAO said several parts of the world remain particularly vulnerable because of a shortfall in donor funding, including Africa, eastern Europe and the Caucasus, and Indonesia where just this year there have been 55 human cases, 45 of them fatal. Although well over 200 million birds have died worldwide from either the H5N1 flu virus or preventive culling, there have so far been only 258 human cases, 154 of them fatal, since the current outbreak started in South East Asia in December 2003, and these have been ascribed to contact with infected birds. But experts fear the virus could mutate, gaining the ability to pass from person to person and, in a worst case scenario, unleash a deadly human pandemic. The so-called Spanish flu pandemic that broke out in 1918 is estimated to have killed from 20 million to 40 million people worldwide by the time it had run its course two years later. “The possibility of a human pandemic hangs over us,” FAO warned in a statement prepared for tomorrow’s conference. H5N1 remains a “potent threat around the world, both to animals and humans,” it said, noting that with the arrival of the virus this year in Africa there is much cause for concern. “Africa must now be a top priority for resources and technical assistance in the battle against avian influenza,” it added, also calling for continued commitment to unaffected parts of the world like Latin America and the Caribbean, “where FAO’s investment in national and regional preparedness planning is paying off.” Winning the battle against the virus demands a long-term vision, with more surveillance, rapid response to outbreaks and greater transparency and sharing of information essential. “Scientific breakthroughs on improved diagnostics, vaccines and treatments can only emerge if virus information is shared widely and willingly, for the greater good,” FAO said. It called on countries to place stronger emphasis on hygiene and movement control throughout the animal production and marketing chain to produce positive results. “In Viet Nam, for example, an integrated strategy of surveillance and laboratory capacity building, movement control, vaccination and culling has averted what could have been a disaster,” the agency noted. “It would not have been possible without the government’s resolute support and the backing of the international donor community,” it added. Overall Vietnam has suffered 93 cases, 42 of them fatal, but none this year. Senior UN System Coordinator for Avian and Human Influenza David Nabarro said last month $1.5 billion is needed worldwide over the next two to three years for preventive measures. So far, FAO has received $76 million for its, and agreements have been signed for $25 million more, with a further $60 million in the pipeline. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

AFGHANISTAN: UN STUDY PAINTS GENERALLY POSITIVE PICTURE OF REFUGEE RETURNS

New York, Dec 6 2006 11:00AM A majority of the 4.7 million Afghan refugees who have returned home since the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime in 2001 feel optimistic about the future even as they believe they are worse off economically than their neighbours, according to a United Nations-commissioned study which cites concerns over future absorption capacity. “While there have been difficulties for some, the majority of returnees have responded successfully and resiliently to the same challenges and opportunities faced by all Afghans,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<" http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4575a5722.html">UNHCR) country representative Jacques Mouchet said of the study, which painted a generally positive picture of the integration of returnees into the labour market. The European Commission-funded report, commissioned by UNHCR and the UN International Labour Organization (<"http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/index.htm">ILO) and conducted by Kabul-based Altai Consulting, studied more than 600 rural and urban households – about 4,200 people – and 100 enterprises in the provinces of Kabul, Herat in the west and Nangarhar in the east. Some 40 per cent of the returnees live in these provinces, which have performed well compared to others. The study found that the average monthly income per household was $212, compared to mean monthly expenditure of $200, but income distribution showed 10 per cent earning an average of $920, and 90 per cent an average of $130. Of the latter, 35 per cent had an income of less than $100 per month. Many said that during their years overseas they had gained knowledge, skills, education, and new social and economic connections, but they noted difficulties caused by loss of family, property, land and livelihood. A total of 53 per cent believed they were worse off economically than their neighbours, while adding that their social status, education and skill levels had improved and they could face the future with optimism. The survey raised concerns about the Afghan economy’s future absorption capacity, finding that new approaches would be needed if the majority of the estimated 3.5 million Afghans still in Iran and Pakistan are to return. It recommended that to avoid social exclusion of those with limited assets, skills and networks, more emphasis will be needed on social integration, labour intensive employment programmes and market oriented vocational training. Meanwhile, the reintegration of better-educated Afghans and those with resources could be enhanced through business development services, access to credit and employment placement services, it said. 2006-12-06 00:00:00.000

UN NEEDS URGENT FUNDS TO FEED THOUSANDS FLEEING TERROR IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

New York, Dec 5 2006 11:00AM With violence, fighting and rebel attacks spreading terror and uprooting scores of thousands of people in the north-western Central African Republic (CAR), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today called for <"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2310">urgent international funding and a presence on the ground to support its emergency feeding operations. “The world must wake up to the reality and extent of the suffering here in Central Africa,” WFP Country Director Jean-Charles Dei said, voicing particular concern for an estimated 150,000 people who are believed to be living in the bush, surviving on little more than the wild food that grows around them. “It’s hard to comprehend just how traumatized and desperate many of those affected by the fighting have become. This is a very real humanitarian crisis in one of the most forgotten corners of the world,” he added, putting WFP needs at $11 million to ensure its operations in CAR for the next eight months. And that is assuming the situation does not deteriorate further. The region has already been destabilized by fighting in neighbouring Chad and Sudan. The northwest is normally CAR’s breadbasket, but since being plunged into violence prices for staple foods such as manioc and cassava have risen sharply, causing hardship elsewhere across a country where most people live in appalling poverty. A recent WFP mission into the region around Paoua witnessed many people running in fear at the sound of approaching vehicles. Several villages have been burnt to the ground, others deserted, the inhabitants having fled into the bush, living in the open sometimes several kilometres away. Diets are extremely poor, people are quickly falling ill with virtually no healthcare and many schools are closed or barely functioning, WFP said. Conflict in north-western CAR has pushed nearly 50,000 people across the border into refugee camps in southern Chad in the past four years. But WFP is especially concerned about those that remain, living in terror in the Central African bush. Many have been unable to return to their villages for over a year. Recent attacks targeted food supplies, just a few weeks after the harvest, leaving villagers with almost nothing on which to survive until they can harvest again, late in 2007. Emergency distributions to 25,000 of the most vulnerable people around Paoua are currently suspended due to fighting. “We appeal to the authorities to allow humanitarian organizations to continue our work without obstruction,” Mr. Dei said. “Our only concern is to provide life-saving assistance to those who need it most. If we cannot do this and circumstances deteriorate further, it will cost more in the long term – both in human and financial terms.” The lack of non-governmental organization (NGO) partners with a presence in the northwest further hampers delivery of food aid, with only Médecins sans Frontières, the Italian NGO COOPI, and a number of Catholic missions providing assistance to the desperately needy. WFP said more humanitarian partners are urgently needed to assist. 2006-12-05 00:00:00.000

CHAD: VIOLENCE THREATENS FRAGILE UN RELIEF LIFE-LINE FOR 110,000 REFUGEES FROM DARFUR

 New York, Dec 5 2006 11:00AM The fragile life-line for 110,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad is stretching even thinner as the security situation deteriorates, with fighting between Government troops and rebels forcing humanitarian agencies to reduce staff to the bare minimum, the United Nations refugee agency warned today. “We plan to keep a minimum presence in each of the three field offices of Bahai, Iriba and Guereda to ensure assistance to the refugees continues and to monitor the situation,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4575557c4.html">told a news briefing in Geneva, referring to the three worst affected areas. The overall situation for 218,000 Darfurian refugees and 90,000 displaced Chadians took a serious turn for the worse some 10 days ago when the town of Abeche, hub for relief efforts, was first occupied by rebel forces and then re-taken by Government troops. During the turmoil the main UN relief supply warehouses were pillaged, reportedly by local residents. The precariousness of the security situation for UN staff was underlined by an incident during military activity in Guereda on Friday, when four armed men forced their way into UNHCR’s compound, threatened the staff at gunpoint and stole two vehicles. So far, over 200 humanitarian staff have been relocated from Abeche. “We plan to use Abeche as a base to send mobile teams of our staff and partner NGO staff to the northern camps for a couple of days as security permits,” Ms. Pagonis said. The UN World Health Organization (<" http://www.who.int/en">WHO) also reported that its operations were being hampered by the growing unrest. Its staff stationed in Abeche, including three internationals, have expertise in emergency response and fighting epidemics. There are 110,000 refugees from Darfur in six camps in the three worst affected areas. All essential international and local staff of UN agencies operating there are scheduled to be relocated to Abeche or the Chadian capital N'Djamena. “UN agencies are working with their operational partners to ensure vital services such as primary health, access to water and distribution of food are maintained in the camps,” Ms. Pagonis said. “Contingency plans are being activated with pre-positioning of supplies so the six camps directly affected by the staff reduction can run themselves for about one month.” This process got under way yesterday at Mile and Kounoungo camps near Guereda. Humanitarian teams are meeting refugee leaders to keep them informed of the reductions and the measures necessary for each camp to keep functioning. Some 54 people are needed to keep both camps working with basic assistance. These tasks will be performed by partner NGO staff as well as by designated refugees. The same measures are being put into place for camps around Bahai and Iriba. UNHCR has recovered at least 50 per cent of the $1.3-million worth of relief items looted from its main warehouse in Abeche. 2006-12-05 00:00:00.000

UN MARKS INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEER DAY WITH CALLS TO HUMANITY’S BETTER NATURE

New York, Dec 5 2006 11:00AM The United Nations today honoured the tens of thousands of volunteers from both developing and industrialized countries who over the past 35 years have supported the Organization’s peace, relief and development initiatives around the planet, as well as the millions of others who daily offer their humanitarian services. “Their ethos makes volunteerism one of the most visible, and most welcome, attributes of global citizenship,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan <" http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sgsm10759.doc.htm">said in a message marking International Volunteer Day. “In ways both big and small, volunteers are transforming their communities and our world. “And in this era of growing problems without passports, from HIV/AIDS to trafficking in people and contraband, they are providing grass-roots solutions to humanity’s most pressing needs.” Mr. Annan stressed the importance of volunteers in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (<" http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals">MDGs), the targets set by the UN World Summit of 2000 to halve extreme poverty and hunger, ensure universal primary education, slash child mortality by two-thirds and maternal mortality by three-quarters and reverse the incidence of HIV/AIDS, as well as tackle a host of other social ills – all by 2015. “Each day, millions of volunteers make a statement that despite everything – despite poverty and hatred, despite apathy and the seeming intractability of some of the challenges we face ¬– people can change the world for the better,” he said. The UN’s own volunteer programme (<" http://www.unvolunteers.org">UNV) was created by the General Assembly in 1970 to serve as an operational partner in development cooperation at the request of UN Member States. It is administered by the UN Development Programme (<" http://www.undp.org">UNDP) and works through UNDP country offices around the world. In 2005, its eighth consecutive year of growth, UNV mobilized some 8,400 volunteers, representing 168 nationalities, who served in 144 countries. Since 1971, more than 30,000 UN Volunteers have supported humanitarian efforts. Since its adoption by the General Assembly in 1985, <" http://www.unv.org/infobase/facts/04_08_17DEU_fs_IVD.htm">International Volunteer Day has offered a unique opportunity for various volunteer-related organizations to work together to attain common goals. Every year on 5 December, millions of supporters of volunteerism engage in various initiatives at local, national and international levels. Rallies, parades, community volunteering projects, environmental awareness campaigns, free medical care and advocacy campaigns are among the activities that mark the Day. “Volunteering is an effective and an essential means to achieve the MDGs. These goals can only be achieved with the full involvement of people all over the world,” UNV Executive Coordinator Ad de Raad said in a message. UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis cited last year’s earthquake in Pakistan as an example of the importance of volunteers. “Thousands of volunteers from all over the country as well as from different parts of the world participated in relief efforts urgently needed on the field,” he said in his message. “The United Nations Volunteers programme gave its full support to the Government of Pakistan in helping to set up its National Volunteer Movement. Such accomplishments highlight UNV’s essential role within both UNDP and the UN system in supporting volunteerism for development.” In another example, in the face of ongoing conflicts in Sri Lanka, peace promotion is a major focus of UNV activities. The programme for the Day, titled “Let’s Volunteer For Peace and the MDGs,” includes a peace concert, an ethnic fashion show, video presentations and the unveiling of a peace monument, all seeking to stimulate voluntary engagement towards peace and reconciliation and the MDGs. 2006-12-05 00:00:00.000

UN HOSTS MEETING AIMED AT TACKLING PROBLEMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE BY FIELD PERSONNEL

 New York, Dec 4 2006 8:00PM DNA samples, new international pacts and assistance to victims were among the measures discussed today at a conference on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations and non-governmental organization (NGO) personnel, where Secretary-General Kofi Annan set a strict tone by declaring that no one should be above the law. Almost 150 different agencies and country representatives, including diplomats and other officials, gathered at UN Headquarters in New York for the event. Paying tribute to the vast majority of upstanding personnel who serve under difficult conditions, the Secretary-General called it “tragic and intolerable that those contributions are undermined by the small number of individuals among them who have engaged in acts of sexual exploitation and abuse.” He decried the damage caused by these acts, including “great harm to women and children who already face extreme hardship and violations in their daily lives,” and condemned sexual exploitation and abuse as “utterly immoral, and completely at odds with our mission.” Three years ago, the Secretary-General instituted special measures spelling out prohibited sexual conduct applied to all UN staff, as well as uniformed personnel. In his remarks to the conference, he said those steps had been effective. “Today, our personnel are better informed about what is expected of them. Allegations of exploitation and abuse are being handled in a more systematic and professional manner. Staff who commit such acts are being fired. And uniformed peacekeeping personnel are being sent home and barred from future peacekeeping service, and also in the expectation that their own governments will deal with them.” At the same time, he acknowledged the need for more action. “My message of zero tolerance has still not got through to all those who need to hear it – from managers and commanders on the ground, to all our other personnel.” In response, Mr. Annan called for fostering “an environment in which people feel able to report abuses without fear of retaliation” and said he has drafted a policy statement and comprehensive strategy on assistance to victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN personnel. “I look forward to the discussions that the Member States will have on the proposal later this month,” he said. Declaring that “no one in the UN is above the law,” he said a new report includes proposals for a binding treaty on the matter. Mr. Annan, who completes his decade-long service at the helm of the UN at the end of this year, predicted continued focus on the problem. “I am sure that my successor will take this issue every bit as seriously, and will, therefore, find the work of this conference very useful,” he said. The Secretary-General’s Adviser on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN Peacekeeping Personnel, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan, agreed on the importance of the conference “to develop a common understanding and appreciation of the diagnosis and the remedies to be decided upon.” He stressed the need to understand that only host countries or the national States of individuals suspected of abuse could exercise authority. “When you look at UN peacekeeping missions or other humanitarian presences the situation is made worse when you don’t have a complete judicial system in place in those particular countries.” He also emphasized that more progress is needed in legislating against sexual exploitation and abuse. Efforts were under way to draft memoranda of understanding to be signed by the UN and contributing countries outlining what each could expect of the other, he said. Another document, on assistance to victims, “is groundbreaking in many areas,” the Prince said. “There was some discussion within the Secretariat about DNA sampling which I personally believe is absolutely appropriate,” he said, “the idea being that anyone who serves in the field provides a sample of their DNA and on completion of duty that sample is returned to them. It makes investigations easier and it is a considerable deterrent.” Negotiations will be held next year to examine a possible treaty. “The idea here is that you will always have some jurisdiction covering the actions of a UN peacekeeper.” Prince Zeid voiced hope that “once we have this comprehensive strategy in place, the culture will follow.” Speaking at a press briefing held in conjunction with the conference, Jasmine Whitbread, the Chief Executive of Save the Children, welcomed what she termed “leadership and commitment at the highest UN levels” to address the problem across the UN system. UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jane Holl Lute stressed that there are nearly 100,000 peacekeepers in the field and because of the high turnover rates, the UN effectively manages about twice that number each year. “The vast majority of them serve honourably with pride and purpose,” she said. “It is in their honour that we are pursuing this agenda so vigorously to root out even a single instance of this behaviour where it occurs.” Meanwhile in Liberia, the Government, together with national and international partners, today launched a campaign to combat sexual exploitation and abuse, the UN mission there (UNMIL) announced. “Zero tolerance is the norm,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Alan Doss, told a ceremony attending also by Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. “We have a duty of care as UN staff to help the people of Liberia and not contribute to the trauma they have suffered; this is why we must be part of the solution and not a cause of the problem.” 2006-12-04 00:00:00.000

MAKING THE INTERNET MORE DISABILITY-FRIENDLY IS GOOD BUSINESS, EXPERTS TELL UN

PANEL New York, Dec 4 2006 8:00PM Making Internet sites accessible to persons with disabilities is not just a moral issue but also a business opportunity to tap into a larger share of the global market, according to business executives speaking at events marking the International <"http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/iddp2006.htm">Day of Persons with Disabilities at the United Nations today. Secretary-General Kofi Annan also echoed this theme in his message marking the occasion. “Access to information and communication technologies creates opportunities for all people, perhaps none more so than persons with disabilities,” he said. “And, as the development of the Internet and these technologies takes their needs more fully into account, the barriers of prejudice, infrastructure and inaccessible formats need no longer stand in the way of participation.” Speaking at a panel discussion at UN Headquarters, Preety Kumar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Deque Systems, a company that helps make websites accessible, said, “When you’re talking about one in five people being disabled, we got management’s attention.” “E-Accessibility”– or making the Internet easier to use for persons with disabilities – was the theme of this year’s International Day. “Information and communication technologies (ICT) can create further barriers for persons with disabilities,” according to Dr. Harold Snider, who is blind. “We can’t use them effectively.” “If a website is designed properly, it can give you a lot of information,” said Betsy Zaborowski of the United States National Federation of the Blind while demonstrating a website reader on the site of her organization. “It is the first time in my life that I can access so much information at the click of a mouse,” she said, while the automatic voice of the device read out the content of the page. Making websites accessible was justified as a business initiative, said Frances West, Director of IBM’s World Wide Human Ability and Accessibility Centre. “You don’t design accessible websites just for persons with disabilities, but for all of us,” she said, adding that standards should be global, not countrywide or region-wide. Ms. Kumar added that Web accessibility would increasingly become an issue with the ageing of the world population. It was also a matter of corporate responsibility and there was a business rationale – such as reducing web maintenance costs, increasing market share and providing services an ageing population. “The cost implications of adding accessibility to a website are like those of purchasing car insurance,” she said. “Usually they amount to 5-10 per cent of the total cost of web site ownership.” An accessible website, according to Judy Brewer of the World Wide Web Consortium, an organization that sets standards for the Internet, relies on accessible browsers, accessible media players and other user-friendly features for hundreds of assistive technologies, such as screen readers and screen magnifiers. She added that the ideal website should be “perceivable, navigable, operable and robust”. Industry-wide standards would build a unified market for accessibility tools, helping to bring down costs. Also meeting for the first time was the Steering Committee of the Global Initiative for Inclusive Technologies, bringing together representatives from the private sector, disability groups, international bodies and academia to discuss possible standards for new technologies. “Greater harmonization and standardization of solutions will make them more affordable,” said Alex Leblois, of the Boston-based Wireless Internet Institute. With the right standards for accessibility, “ICT vendors will pay more attention, and the market will evolve that way,” he said, adding that the goal was to reach economies of scale to make production more attractive for the private sector. One major goal of the Initiative, which is led by the Wireless Internet Institute and the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development, is to standardize technology for persons with disabilities so as to dramatically lower production costs. A similar initiative to harmonize standards for microchips brought down the cost from $45 to $3. 2006-12-04 00:00:00.000

DEPARTING UN AID CHIEF URGES SECURITY COUNCIL TO NEVER FALTER IN DEFENDING CIVILIANS

New York, Dec 4 2006 7:00PM Although there has been a steady decline in the number of conflicts in the past 15 years, violent attacks against civilians have surged over the same period, the top United Nations humanitarian official told the <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/sc8884.doc.htm">Security Council today. Jan Egeland, the departing Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, <" http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YSAR-6W6PDA?OpenDocument">told a Council meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict that the number of attacks leapt by 55 per cent between 1989 and 2005 – with much of that increase taking place in the past five years. Mr. Egeland said the proliferation of informal or non-State groups with access to sophisticated weapons and the “the intentional, reckless and often times disproportionate use of military weaponry and tactics with little or no regard for their impact on the civilian population” were among the key reasons for the surge. He cited recent events in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories as examples. Reviewing events during his three-year tenure as Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mr. Egeland noted the “vast progress” in Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and southern Sudan, attributing those results in part to united action by UN Member States. “We have not had the same unity of purpose nor action in Darfur or in Gaza,” he lamented. “Our readiness to act, to sanction and to fund must be the same in Uganda, Chad or Côte d’Ivoire as it is in Afghanistan, Kosovo or Iraq. Our responsibility to protect must transcend singular interests and become a core principle of humanity across all civilizations.” Mr. Egeland added: “When the lives and safety of civilians is at stake, regardless of where, neither strategic, nor economic or other political interests should deter you from acting swiftly upon your united responsibility to protect.” He called on the Council to make more effective use of mechanisms of its disposal to prevent violations of human rights and humanitarian law, pointing to targeted sanctions as one option that could be deployed more frequently. The Under-Secretary-General also called for greater guidance and support for UN peacekeeping operations so that they have the resources to strengthen civil order, judicial systems and the rule of law. Comprehensive and predictable aid funding is critical, he stressed, hailing the Central Emergency Response Fund (<" http://ochaonline.un.org/webpage.asp?Page=2101">CERF) launched earlier this year as “a significant advance.” Mediation must be undertaken at the earliest of opportunities so that conflicts do not deteriorate further, he added. Later, Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar, which holds the Council presidency this month, read out a press statement stressing the Council’s commitment to translating the words of resolution 1674 (adopted in April) – which deplored attacks on civilians during armed conflict – into concrete action. Mr. al-Nasser also briefed journalists today on the Council’s programme of work for December, forecasting that it would be a busy month, with formal meetings, briefings and reports expected on topics ranging from Iraq to Sudan to Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. 2006-12-04 00:00:00.000

SUDAN: UN WARNS DARFUR REMAINS VOLATILE, DESPITE RELATIVELY FEW INCIDENTS THIS WEEK

New York, Dec 4 2006 5:00PM The situation in the war-torn Sudanese region of Darfur remains volatile, although there were fewer incidents than usual reported over the past week, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (<"http://www.unmis.org/english/en-main.htm">UNMIS) said today. In its latest news update from Khartoum, the Mission said Government forces and an allied militia were reported to have burned down a North Darfur village during attacks on Friday and Saturday. UNMIS added that there are reports of civilian casualties in the attack and there are also indications that all of the villagers’ livestock was looted. More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in Darfur since 2003 because of fighting between Government forces, allied militias and rebel groups. Another 2 million people have become internally displaced or been forced to flee into neighbouring Chad. The Secretary-General’s Principal Deputy Special Representative for Sudan, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, held talks over the weekend in Khartoum with Salim Ahmed Salim, the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission. He also met Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol to discuss cooperation between UNMIS and the Government. The meetings follow Mr. Zerihoun’s return from Abuja, Nigeria, where the AU Peace and Security Council discussed Darfur at a summit late last week. In a communiqué after the Abuja summit, the Peace and Security Council extended the mandate of the current AU peace mission in Darfur, known as AMIS, by six months until the end of June next year. Participants also endorsed the conclusions reached at a meeting last month in Addis Ababa for a three-phased process of enhanced UN support to AMIS culminating in a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping operation. The hybrid force is expected to have about 17,000 troops and 3,000 police officers, compared to the current AMIS strength of around 7,000. 2006-12-04 00:00:00.000

GENERAL ASSEMBLY BACKS KIMBERLEY PROCESS TO PREVENT DIAMONDS FROM FUNDING CONFLICT

 New York, Dec 4 2006 5:00PM The General Assembly today passed a resolution backing the Kimberley Process, a global initiative involving governments, the international diamond industry and civil society aimed at preventing so-called “conflict diamonds” from funding warfare and civil unrest. The resolution was adopted after the 192 Member States were briefed by President Festus Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana, which holds this year’s Chair of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme that imposes extensive requirements on participants to certify that shipments of rough diamonds are free from conflict diamonds. “The General Assembly, recognizing that the trade in conflict diamonds continues to be a matter of serious international concern, which can be directly linked to the fuelling of armed conflict… reaffirms its strong and continuing support for the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme and the Kimberley Process as a whole,” it stated. The resolution also recognized that the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme can help to ensure that Security Council’s resolutions containing sanctions on the trade in conflict diamonds are carried out, while helping to prevent future conflicts. The Assembly resolution also supported a decision taken by a meeting of the Kimberley Process earlier this month calling for “stronger internal control” standards for participants in the process –– who now number 47 representing 71 countries –– as well as for clearer guidance on implementing effective controls from the mining to the export of diamonds. President Mogae’s briefing to the Assembly also included a 2006 progress <"http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N06/625/97/PDF/N0662597.pdf?OpenElement">report on the Kimberly Process, which concluded that it was working well although there were still some problems, particularly in Côte d’Ivoire and South America. “Some of Côte d’Ivoire’s neighbours are not Kimberley Process Participants and, therefore, the Kimberley Process has relatively limited influence over such countries. The Kimberley Process views the problem of leakage diamonds from Côte d’Ivoire into the legitimate trade as one that may require a regional approach to resolve,” the report stated. “The other area where there are challenges that require a regional approach is in South America, and specifically concerning Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela,” it said, adding that “all countries” in both regions were encouraged to join the Process as recommended by the Security Council. Speaking to reporters after briefing the Assembly, President Mogae acknowledged there was still work to do with the Kimberley Process but highlighted also its successes. “Before the Certification Scheme it was reported that conflict diamonds were possibly about 4 per cent of global production. Now with Certification we have admitted in my report that …we are glad to say that they are now less than 1 per cent,” he said. Begun in 2000 by southern African diamond-producing countries, the Kimberley Process led to the adoption in November 2002 in Interlaken, Switzerland, of the international Certification Scheme for rough diamonds, based primarily on national certification schemes and on internationally-agreed minimum standards. 2006-12-04 00:00:00.000

WEST AFRICAN YOUTH COMMIT TO A BETTER FUTURE AT UN-BACKED FORUM IN
GUINEA-BISSAU

New York, Dec  1 2006  5:00PM
More than 80 youth representatives from 10 West African countries
attending a United Nations-backed conference pledged today to help their
peers throughout the region by taking steps to improve sexual and
reproductive health, encourage education, work towards poverty alleviation and
promote peace.

“Young people are our active partners in development,” UN
Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/">UNFPA) Representative Guy De Araujo
told the meeting in Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau. “Without their
leadership, we can not possibly hope to achieve the realization of the
MDGs in West Africa,” he added, referring to the Millennium Development
Goals.

Among other targets, these aim to halve extreme poverty and hunger,
ensure universal primary education, slash child mortality by two-thirds
and maternal mortality by three-quarters and halt and reverse the
incidence of HIV/AIDS – all by 2015.

“We are eager to offer them support in identifying challenges facing
youth today and help them achieve solutions regionally, nationally and
locally. These youth are taking responsibility for ensuring their own
futures,” said Mr. De Araujo, whose agency co-sponsored the forum.

The four-day meeting brought together representatives from the 10
member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
– Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau,
Niger, Mali, Guinea and Senegal.

The youth representatives identified four key areas of concern to West
African young people:

HUNGER STRIKE BY ACCUSED SERB POLITICIAN PROMPTS CONCERN FROM UN WAR
CRIMES TRIBUNAL

New York, Nov 30 2006  7:00PM
The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia today
expressed grave concern about the actions of Vojislav Šešelj, the
Serbian politician who has refused food as he awaits trial on charges of
taking part in an ethnic cleansing campaign during the Balkan wars of
the 1990s.

Mr. Šešelj is being monitored in a Dutch prison hospital after he was
transferred yesterday from the detention unit of the International
Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(<"http://www.un.org/icty/">ICTY), which is based in The Hague, the Tribunal said in a
<"http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2006/p1132-e.htm">press statement,
citing concern for the accused’s well-being.

Although he continues to drink water, Mr. Šešelj has declined food,
medicine and medical care since 11 November, and the ICTY said a medical
necessity requiring intervention could arise in the near future if he
does not start eating again.

Mr. Šešelj, 52, has refused to allow any doctor of Dutch nationality
to assess his condition, but has said he will accept a doctor from
France or Serbia. However, he refused to meet a French doctor who visited
the Dutch prison hospital today.

The Tribunal statement said the reasons provided by Mr Šešelj for his
hunger strike keep changing, ranging from his defence counsel to the
ability to receive unmonitored visits from his wife.

Earlier this week, ICTY judges assigned defence counsel to the accused,
saying he had persistently obstructed the proper conduct of the trial
since resuming self-representation in late October.

“But he has also made other less publicized demands, such as that the
Tribunal approach a foreign State in order to unfreeze assets he holds
in overseas bank accounts,” the statement noted.

The president of the Serbian Radical Party, Mr. Šešelj faces charges
of crimes against humanity and others relating to the persecutions of
Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb people and their expulsions from area
of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Vojvodina region of Serbia,
between August 1991 and September 1993.

Prosecutors allege Mr. Šešelj participated in a joint criminal
enterprise with former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, among others,
that led to the extermination and expulsion of non-Serb people.

In its statement the ICTY stressed that it is keeping officials from
Serbia informed at all times, and has also invited the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit its detention unit and the Dutch
prison hospital.
2006-11-30 00:00:00.000

UN CALLS FOR ALMOST $4 BILLION IN EMERGENCY AID TO HELP 27 MILLION
WORLDWIDE IN 2007

New York, Nov 30 2006  4:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today
<"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2336">launched an appeal for
almost $4 billion to provide food, water, medicine and other emergency
assistance to help millions of people struggling to survive in areas of
conflict and natural disasters in 29 countries or regions in 2007.

“These 27 million individuals seek not a hand out, but a hand up…
For 2007, such assistance amounts to $3.9 billion for basic
life-sustaining humanitarian aid and protection – or approximately the same price
as two cups of coffee for each citizen in the wealthy countries of the
world,” Mr. Annan said at UN Headquarters in New York.

The
<"http://ochaonline.un.org/humanitarianappeal/webpage.asp?Site=pub07&Lang=en">Humanitarian
Appeal 2007 is made up of 13 consolidated appeals for specific
emergencies involving UN agencies, some 140 non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), as well as other international and local organizations seeking
assistance. Aid to African countries dominates the appeal, with operations
in Sudan seen requiring over $1.2 billion, the highest amount.

“This year Africa remains the continent most in need. Yet previous
Appeal funds have made a remarkable difference. With your help, my fellow
Africans are transforming despair into hope, and hatred into healing.
They are resourceful and resilient, and they deserve our continued
strong support,” Mr. Annan said, in what will be his last yearly appeal as
Secretary-General.

The 2007 Appeal seeks humanitarian funding for the following crises:
Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the occupied
Palestinian territory, West Africa, Uganda, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Burundi,
the Great Lakes Region, Cote d’Ivoire, Central African Republic (CAR),
and the Republic of Congo.

It is also asking for less money than last year, which sought $4.7
billion and received – as of October – $3 billion for operations that
helped the UN and its humanitarian partners feed 97 million people in 82
countries, including 6.5 million people in Sudan, as well as provide
vaccinations and other essentials worldwide, the Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

“I think it’s a sign that the world is getting better, that we’re
actually asking for fewer dollars for a reduced number of countries,”
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator Jan Egeland told reporters after the appeal’s launch.

“It’s important to recognize that the process producing these
appeals has never been more comprehensive: 140 humanitarian organizations
participate in these consolidated appeals… that’s nearly 40 more than
last year so this is a process that goes way beyond the UN system,”
he said.

However Mr. Egeland noted that while the world’s response has got
better to emergencies, particularly since the setting up of the
multi-million dollar UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) earlier this year,
he also called for greater effort and pointed out that last year’s
appeal was still only 63 per cent funded.

“Our main appeal today was: it cannot continue with half-funding,
two-thirds funding, the hat going around. And in some places we are doing
fine – like we had oversubscription for the Lebanon crisis flash
appeal this year… but then there are other places, like the Horn of
Africa where we got only one third, 34 per cent.”

“One of the ways that we would be fully funded, would be if the rich
countries all are equally generous… the top one is Sweden… [but]
we’re asking nobody to really bankrupt themselves for this, we’re
asking for a minimum of generosity from everybody predictably. If the rich
countries gave 1 cent per $100 of their gross national product… we
would be fully funded.”

Also speaking to reporters after the appeal’s launch was Princess
Haya Bint Al Hussein of Jordan, a Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food
Programme (WFP), who stressed the importance of donor contributions and
what it means to those most in need.

“That’s the scary thought, just the difference between life and
death is what we’re asking for here today… [when] I think of how many
people we’re talking about dying it seems so overwhelming but if you
can just remember one person you’ve lost and the pain that losing one
person makes you feel then it does put the rest in a bit of
perspective.”

Participating in the launch ceremony alongside Mr. Annan and the other
officials was Dr. Denis Mukwege, Director of the Panzi Hospital in the
DRC, the next highest country after Sudan in terms of requests for
assistance, with organizations asking for $687 million from the 2007
Appeal.
2006-11-30 00:00:00.000

HAITI: UN SATISFIED AT VOTING PROCESS DESPITE ISOLATED VIOLENCE

New York, Dec  3 2006 11:00PM
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) today
expressed satisfaction with the conduct of elections in the country while
voicing concern at isolated outbreaks of violence.

In a statement released in Port-au-Prince, the Secretary-General's
Special Representative, Edmond Mulet, said the start of the process
allowing Haitians to elect representatives and finish a number of legislative
run-off elections had been good.

But MINUSTAH said it nevertheless regretted the isolated incidents of
violence which upset the balloting, even if these affected only a small
percentage of the electorate.

The Mission's 6,500-plus troops and 1,700 police were tasked with
providing security and logistic support throughout the country, including
distributing election material to some 9,200 polling stations.

2006-12-03 00:00:00.000

UN REFUGEE AGENCY CONCERNED AT DETENTION OF ETHIOPIAN BOAT PEOPLE IN
YEMEN