 Information with Integrity |
| Information with Integrity |
Todays Quote I call on men around the
world to lead by example: to make clear that violence against women
is an act perpetrated by a coward, and that speaking up against that
violence is a badge of honour. I call on Member States around the world:
the responsibility, above all, lies with you. I call on all of you to
pledge with me: United We Shall Succeed. Researcher Judi Bailey freelance writer from Ohio Cusp of History 12-16-2009 We are here today to write a different future. More than 130 Heads of State and Government have confirmed their presence in Copenhagen –- that is a clear proof that climate change has risen to the top of the international agenda. Every day brings new commitments to our cause –- from industrialized countries, emerging economies and developing countries alike. We know what we must do. We know what the world expects. Our job, here and now, is to seal a deal … a deal in our common interest. A deal that reduces greenhouse gas emissions …. that protects the most vulnerable … that ushers in a new era of clean development and green growth for all. Now is the time. For three years I have sought to bring world leaders to the table to solve climate change. Now they are coming. Three years of effort have come down to three days of negotiations and three days of action. From my first day in office, I have spoken out about climate change. It is the defining challenge of our era. No issue is more fundamental to the global challenges we face –- reducing poverty … maintaining economic growth … ensuring peace and stability. The evidence assaults us: melting ice caps, advancing deserts, rising sea levels. We have a chance … a real chance … here and now … to change the course of our history. The momentum is there. We see it from all sectors of our society. Business people … civic leaders … religious leaders … and young people. Two months ago, I convened a summit meeting on climate change at the General Assembly in New York. Many of you were there. You will remember the young people, from around the world, reaching out to us at the time. “Show us change,” they asked. “Show us leadership.” We are here today to seal a deal on climate change. To forge an agreement that all nations can embrace. An agreement that is fair … ambitious … and comprehensive. That acknowledges the demands of science … that involves all countries working to limit global temperature rise to within 2° C … that charts a path for green growth and strengthens our ability to adapt to inevitable climate changes. Darfur Orders Immediate Release 29 August 2009 – The head of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur has called for the immediate and unconditional release of two staff members who were abducted early Saturday. The mission, known as UNAMID, has not released the names or nationalities of the two international civilian staff – one man and one woman. The two were abducted at gunpoint by four or five armed men from their residence in the West Darfur town of Zalingei at 4:30 a.m. local time and taken to an unknown destination, according to information provided by the mission. Rodolphe Adada, the Joint Special Representative for Darfur and head of UNAMID, “called for the immediate and unconditional release of the two staff members, urging their abductors to return them unharmed.” The Security Council established UNAMID in 2007 to try to quell the violence in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others displaced as a result of conflict pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen since 2003. UN Security Council Condems N. Korea Misslie Tests 6 July 2009 – The Security Council today condemned the ballistic missile tests conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) over the weekend, saying they violate Council resolutions and pose a threat to regional and international security. Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda of Uganda, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, read out a statement to journalists this evening saying that the 15-member panel had “expressed grave concerns” following the reported tests off the DPRK coast on 4 July. H1N1 Global Threat According to Secretary General of the U.N. Ban Moon - I briefed the General Assembly on the latest developments regarding the H1N1 epidemic Monday. A s you know, this outbreak is yet another reminder that we live an interconnected world. A threat to one country is a threat to all, requiring a collective, global response. I understand that the World Health Organization does not plan at this time to raise its alert level. That said, there is still much that is not known about this new strain of virus and the dangers it poses. We must therefore be prepared, whatever trajectory the current outbreak may take. So far we have been fortunate that its consequences have been relatively mild we have learned valuable lessons. Our watchword in potential health crises, now and in the future, must be solidarity for a global solidarity.I will, therefore, be asking Governments in the coming weeks to: First, reach agreement on sharing of samples of viral and other materials, as well as data on outbreaks, in line with the International Health Regulations; Second, agree to establish coordinated long-term financing mechanisms for supporting poorer countries so that they are able to build their defences against global health threats; Third, ensure that WHO has all the resources it needs, when it needs them; and Fourth, reverse restrictions on trade and travel unless there is clear scientific evidence that it is necessary. I will begin these discussions in earnest when I travel to Geneva later this month for the World Health Assembly. I will also meet with donors, technical partners and the private sector, including pharmaceutical companies, to explore how all can contribute. As I say, we still do not know how this particular health challenge will proceed and we must be prepared. As previous pandemics in the twentieth century showed, the situation can unfold in stages because what begins as mild in the first stage might be less so in the next. As we look forward, we must remain vigilant and alert to the warning signs. This will help ensure the proper response that benefits all the people of our world. Voices of Concern 9 April 2009 – The United Nations today voiced its serious concern over the killings of three leaders from Balochistan province, the largest in Pakistan, calling for immediate investigations into their murders. The three men were members of the Balochistan Quam Dost Committee, recently created by the Pakistani Government to investigate missing persons cases in the province in the South Asian nation’s east. The UN, which expressed its sympathies to the families of the deceased, called on authorities to ensure that the committee continues its important work. Last weekend, a staff member of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was released after spending two months in captivity. John Solecki, the head of the agency’s office in Quetta, Balochistan’s provincial capital, was abducted in an attack on 2 February that also left another colleague, Syed Hashim, dead. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his gratitude to the Pakistani Government, Balochi authorities and others who helped secure Mr. Solecki’s release, re-affirming the UN’s commitment to helping the people of Pakistan. Benizar Bhutto UN assessment team arrives ahead of Bhutto probe Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan 8 April 2009 – A United Nations technical assessment mission has arrived in Pakistan to carry out preparatory work for the fact-finding commission being set up to look into the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a spokesperson for the world body said today. In February, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced his intention to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry into the killing, following a request from the Pakistani Government. “I can inform you that the technical assessment mission has arrived in Pakistan, and will return back to New York after a few days to report to the Secretary-General,” UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters at UN Headquarters. The three-member Commission of Inquiry, which will be led by Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz of Chile, will have a mandate of a maximum of six months. In a letter sent to the Security Council in February, Mr. Ban noted that it has been agreed that the probe should be “fact-finding in nature,” not expanding into a criminal investigation. The duty of determining criminal responsibility of the perpetrators of the assassination should remain with the Pakistani authorities, he added.
Secretary of U.N. Ban K. Moon as he addresses special session on Afghanistan AID for Afghans The U.N. agency’s repatriation programme for registered Afghans in Peshawar, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, will kick off on 1 April, while the start date for returnees from Quetta, further south in Pakistan, will be announced later. A large-scale voluntary return programme from Pakistan and Iran began in 2002, following the fall of the Taliban, and 4.4 million Afghans have returned home to date. Last year, 280,000 refugees repatriated under the initiative, and UNHCR predicts that some 220,000 others may opt to return this year. Registered Afghans repatriating with UNHCR’s help will receive around $100 per person as a transportation and re-integration grant to help them settle in Afghanistan. Last month, the Pakistani Government reached an agreement with UNHCR to allow some 1.7 million Afghans to continue sheltering in their country until the end of 2012.There are still nearly 3 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran, most of whom have been in exile for over two decades. Feed Young Minds “Let us find ways to assure that we are feeding young minds, as well as bodies; creating safe havens for learners, as well as their larger communities,” the President of the General Assembly, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, said at the opening of the Assembly’s day-long thematic dialogue on access to education for people caught in conflicts and disasters. “Let us give these girls and boys, youth and women the opportunity to contribute in the recovery and the future of their societies,” he said. “Let us give them hope by learning to overcome what, in the midst of chaos, must seem to be insurmountable challenges. This is a real opportunity to transform poverty and oppression into opportunity and integration.” With the fundamental right to education denied to an estimated 75 million children worldwide, nearly half of them in conflict-torn countries, today’s three interactive panels explored why the world community needed to act now. They considered the means of making education work and looked at ways to move forward. The participants underscored the need to include education as an important part of the humanitarian response to conflicts and natural disasters and stressed the international community’s collective obligation to fulfil the right to education for all. The final panel addressed the measures the international community could take to end impunity, guarantee greater protection of students and teachers, and ensure quality education in emergencies. Children and teachers, as well as policymakers, shared their experiences and “lessons learned through trial and error, action and reflection”, Mr. d’Escoto said. Most of those present believed that children needed schools in the same way they needed food, water and medical care. Yet only six development partners included education as part of their humanitarian policy. “Let us, as a body, as Member States and specialized agencies, look for ways to integrate this simple conviction into the complex policies of our humanitarian assistance operations,” he said, stressing the need to translate today’s discussion and recommendations into concrete policies and programmes for tens of millions of children and young people around the world. With education not enough of a priority in the world’s response to complex emergencies, the Assembly would press for clearer resolutions, legislation and policies to close that “glaring gap”, he added at the closing of the session. The legal basis for the protection of the right to education could be found in much of the international community’s human rights legislation, but in the face of rising incidents of violence and human disasters caused by natural phenomena those lofty goals had fallen victim to a culture of neglect, or worse, impunity. And the collective failure to stop impunity served as a license for perpetrators. He agreed with the emergent view that States be called on to protect schools and make them safe havens, especially in the most difficult situations. He also voiced support for calls that States should criminalize attacks on schools as war crimes, in accordance with the Rome Statute, and prosecute offenders accordingly. Such actions must be taken routinely and systematically, especially in a world where violent conflicts were lethal and where natural disasters were increasing in frequency. “We must apply all our tenacity and creativity to develop sound responses, ones that are feasible and that work in the worst conditions,” he said. That call for action was echoed by today’s keynote speaker, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), who stressed the need to activate existing international conventions and establish a practical global mechanism to prohibit attacks on the right to education. Perpetrators must be punished and made to compensate for the human and material damage resulting from their actions, she said, urging the debate to pave the way for an executive work plan, under United Nations auspices, to put that mechanism in place, so that educational institutions in areas of conflict could become true safe havens. Decision-makers should organize regional conferences with experts to deepen their understanding of the issue, and those efforts should culminate in an international conference, which Qatar would be willing to host. Despite all the frustrations and disappointments deepened by the war in Gaza, she was committed to the right of quality education for everyone, she said. That right was the perfect path to bridge the gap between different cultures and to reconcile various civilizations. Without such a right, values of liberty, justice and equality would be meaningless. Site Index 1. Health News 2. About Us 3. The &It. 5. Hotlines 9. Advertisers 10. The Ozone 11. FEMA 16. NASA info 17. Politico 18. AIDS Info 19. Marriage 21. U.N. Info 23. Pet Gallery 24. Natural Portraits New Photos 25. Pride Gallery A 27. This Page 28. Other News 29. Hurricane Katrina Help url's 30. Help 32. Int'l &News New Photos 33. See Safe Houses 34. Pride Gallery B 36. Travel Photos Diane Knaus New Photos 38. About Us
IN ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION, YOUTH FROM
AROUND WORLD CONSIDER ROLES Youth from around the world
voiced their views this afternoon on the challenges facing their generation
during an interactive round table entitled “Young people:
making commitments matter”. World’s Poorest
Nations Need global aid to Improve Disaster Preparedness - UN 3 November 2005 – Despite
a global effort to improve disaster preparedness, least developed countries
(LDCs) remain ill equipped to deal with the impact of natural calamities
and need further international aid to do so, according to a senior United
Nations development official. “In the case of the most
vulnerable countries, we must realize that the impact of disasters becomes
doubly magnified,” the High Representative for Least Developed
Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing
States, Anwarul K. Chowdhury, told the General Assembly yesterday. “Firstly, they have limited,
if any, areas where they can evacuate affected populations to,”
he said at a session devoted to the International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction. “Without international
assistance, many of them do not have the ability to tackle the resultant
shortage of shelter, food, fuel and medical needs of affected populations,
let alone effectively take up reconstruction and rehabilitation.” “The progress to establish
early warning systems to the extent that present day technology allows
us has been heartening to note, especially after the Asian tsunami,”
he said, referring to last December’s Indian Ocean disaster which
killed more than 200,000 people in a dozen countries. A tsunami early warning system,
based on quake and tidal sensors, speedy communications, alarm networks
from radio to cell phones, and disaster preparedness training in vulnerable
regions, gives people time to flee to higher ground before the waves
strike.
UN agency calls for major steps mitigate effects of Natural Disasters Worldwide “While early warnings
systems exist for many such hazards, they need to be further improved
and made available to all countries, particularly to those with least
resources,” UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General
Michel Jarraud said in a message marking World Meteorological Day. The theme of this year’s
Day is “Preventing and mitigating natural disasters,” and
Mr. Jarraud recited a litany of last year’s havoc: prolonged droughts
in the Horn of Africa, parts of Europe and Asia, Australia and Brazil,
with Malawi suffering its worst drought in a decade; exceptional or
heavy rainfall with extensive flooding in various parts of the world;
and a record number of devastating hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. He referred, too, to the catastrophic
tsunami of 26 December, 2004, which killed over 200,000 people in a
dozen Indian Ocean countries. Experts believe that many tens of thousands
of lives could have been saved had there been an early warning system
such as the one existing in the Pacific Ocean, currently the world’s
only fully functioning system. As it was several hours passed
between the quake that spawned the tsunami and the landfall of the waves
in some regions such as Sri Lanka, wasting precious time in which many
could have fled to higher ground. Mr. Jarraud noted that during
the 10-year period 1992-2001, natural disasters worldwide were linked
to more than 622,000 deaths and affected over 2 billion people. Economic
losses from water- and weather-related disasters were estimated at $446
billion - about 65 per cent of the total losses due to all natural disasters
for the period. Developing countries, especially
the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are more affected by these hazards,
thereby increasing their vulnerability and setting back their economic
and social growth, sometimes by decades, he added. “While natural hazards may not be avoided, integration of risk assessment and early warnings, with prevention and mitigation measures, can prevent them from becoming disasters,” he said. “That means that action can be taken to considerably reduce the resulting loss of life and socio-economic damage.” World Population Day 7-11-2006 UN marks World Population
Day with calls to invest in 3 billion young people11 July 2006 –
From its Headquarters in New York to hotspot frontlines like Afghanistan,
the United Nations today marked World Population Day with the focus
on the more than 3 billion young who represent nearly half of Earth’s
people and calls to answer their demand to narrow the gap between rich
and poor.“There is a clear need to answer their call,” Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said in a special message. “After all, providing for
youth is not just a moral obligation, it is a compelling economic necessity. “Study after study has
shown the benefits - to the young and to their communities - of investing
in education, reproductive health, job skills and employment opportunities
for young people. “Such returns are especially
great in the case of girls. Healthy, educated and informed young women
are better prepared to participate fully in society and contribute to
the life of their communities,” he added citing the “particularly
important” role of sexual and reproductive health information and
services in the global fight against AIDS and in allowing the young
to make better decisions about starting families. “The decisions young
people make will shape our world and the prospects of future generations,”
Mr. Annan declared. “Yet, underinvestment in the young means that
they often lack the resources, training or information to act. Governments
must, inevitably, lead the way in addressing this failing. But all of
us - policy makers, civil society actors and ordinary citizens - should
contribute in ways, both large and small.” The Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, stressed that millions of young people today are threatened by illiteracy, risks of pregnancy and childbirth, and HIV/AIDS. “Today, more than 500
million people aged 15 to 24 live on less than $2 per day; 96 million
young women in developing countries do not know how to read or write;
and 14 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 become mothers every year.
Every day, 6,000 young people are newly infected with HIV,” she
said in a message. “UNFPA champions young
people’s rights to education, health and employment. We recognize
that investments in young people promote social and economic growth.
Key to these efforts are keeping girls in school, building life skills,
delaying marriage and pregnancy until adulthood, and preventing HIV
infection. Young people have the power to drive development forward,”
she added. In the field, in Kabul, Afghanistan,
UNFPA teamed up with the Government to mark the Day at an event at the
Ministry for Culture, Information and Youth Affairs. “Today millions
of young people are threatened by poverty, illiteracy, risks of child
birth and HIV/AIDS,” UNFPA representative Alain Sibenaler said. “We will not meet these challenges unless young people are actively involved, their voices are heard, their needs are met and their human rights are respected,” he added. “More needs to be done. Today is a step forward in actively engaging with the young people of Afghanistan. They are the light of Afghanistan’s future.” Women's Civil and Political
Rights 6 June 2006 – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has hailed a decision by Nepal’s reinstated House of Representatives to grant citizenship rights to children born to Nepali mothers as “a milestone in the advancement of women’s civil and political rights.” Previously only fathers could
pass on citizenship. The House also called for 33 per cent of civil
service jobs to be reserved for women, and asked the Government to review
all laws that discriminate against women and girls. “Gender equality is essential
for Nepal to achieve sustainable development. Every women and girl should
be treated with dignity and respect.” Water for All 2-17-2008 Access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation was an alarming problem, which should be addressed in the context of providing a new human right, said Joaquín Antuña, President of the Spain-based non-governmental organization Peace and Cooperation, as he launched the Peace and Cooperation School Award 2008: “Water for all” at a United Nations Headquarters press conference this morning. Joining Mr. Antuña were
Nancy Rivard, President of the Airline Ambassadors, a United Nations-affiliated
humanitarian organization that co-sponsored this year’s award, and
two youth ambassadors, who were helping to promote the programme in the
United States. The press conference was sponsored by the Permanent Mission
of Spain. Mr. Antuña explained
that his organization had chosen the theme of “water for all, water
for life and water for people” as it had celebrated its twenty-fifth
anniversary on 25 December 2007. Since 1993, the Peace and Cooperation
organization had launched 25 peace awareness campaigns to educate students
worldwide about important global issues. To date, students from 87 countries
had been involved. The issue of safe drinking water was represented in the Millennium Development Goals as Goal 7, Mr. Antuña pointed out, and access to safe supplies made “common sense for life”. Citing World Health Organization data, he said that some 1 billion people lacked access to safe drinking water, while 2 billion lacked adequate sanitation. Every day, 4,500 children died from inadequate hygienic conditions. Every year, 2.2 billion people died of illnesses associated with water shortage, such as malaria. |
New Agreement on the Cusp of History Says Ban Ki-moon 19 December 2009 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the climate change deal reached by world leaders at a United Nations summit in Copenhagen, calling it an "essential beginning" that contains progress on all key fronts, but adding that work must now focus on turning the deal into a legally binding treaty. Delegates representing 194 countries attending the Copenhagen conference agreed overnight to work towards implementing an accord forged by some world leaders after two weeks of marathon negotiations in the Danish capital. "Finally we sealed the deal. And it is a real deal. Bringing world leaders to the table paid off... We have the foundation for the first truly global agreement that will limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support adaptation for the most vulnerable and launch a new era of green growth," Mr. Ban told journalists at the conference today. "The Copenhagen Accord may not be everything that everyone hoped for, but this decision of the Conference of Parties is a beginning, an essential beginning." He said results have been made on all four of the benchmarks for success that he laid out during the special leaders' summit on climate change held in New York in September. "All countries have agreed to work towards a common long-term goal to limit the global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius; many governments have made important commitments to reduce or limit emissions; countries have achieved significant progress on preserving forests; and countries have agreed to provide comprehensive support to the most vulnerable to cope with climate change." The Secretary-General said these commitments have been backed up by $30 billion of pledges for short-term adaptation and mitigation measures for poorer countries, and further commitments to raise $100 billion by 2020 to achieve those goals. The deal also provides a mechanism for drawing the many nationally announced climate goals into an international deal. Through an annex, developed countries would choose to list their greenhouse gas reduction targets and financing offers, and developing countries would register mitigation and adaptation projects that could be monitored or reviewed. But he cautioned that serious work lies ahead in turning the Copenhagen Accord into a legally binding treaty, and said he would work closely with world leaders to make that happen. The so-called Copenhagen Green Climate Fund, aimed at helping poor countries adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change, must be launched as soon as possible so it can start providing assistance to those in need and kick-start clean energy projects. Mr. Ban acknowledged that the current mitigation commitments offered by countries fail "to meet the scientific bottom line." The Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that to stave off the worst effects of global warming, industrialized countries must slash emissions by 25 to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, and global emissions must be halved by 2050. "We still face serious consequences. So while I am satisfied we have a deal here in Copenhagen, I am aware that it is just the beginning. It will take more than this to definitively tackle climate change, but it is a step in the right direction." UN Assistant Secretary-General Robert Orr said the Copenhagen conference may have “topped the list” for complexity. End Poverty 11-27-2009 Global poverty-fighting commitments are more important than ever in a world facing economic, food and climate crises, the UN said today, in a report on support for the Millennium Development Goals. Although development assistance rose to record levels in 2008, donors are falling short by $35 billion per year on the 2005 pledge on annual aid flows made by the Group of Eight in Gleneagles, and by $20 billion a year on aid to Africa, according to UN estimates. The report on Strengthening the Global Partnership for Development in a Time of Crisis was written by the Secretary-General’s MDG Gap Task Force, which brings together more than 20 UN agencies, the IMF, the World Bank, WTO and the OECD, to track progress on the development partnership called for in the eighth Millennium Development Goal. Speaking as world leaders prepare for next week’s General Assembly opening in New York, and the G20 Pittsburgh summit later in the month, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro cited last year’s confluence of steep recession and food shortages, the expected spread of pandemic influenza this year, and the continuing impact of climate change as factors impeding progress on realization of the MDGs. “In times of growth, we achieved a great deal,” she said. “Now, the world must show that it can also make progress under adverse conditions—when the poor, the hungry and the vulnerable need us most.” ODA ‘coverage gap’ Official development assistance (ODA) rose by about 10 per cent in 2008, to $119.8 billion, according to the Report. The share of ODA in the gross national income of donor countries improved as well – from 0.28 per cent in 2007 to 0.30 per cent in 2008. But this increase remains far from the agreed target of 0.7 per cent to be reached by 2015. It also falls short of the commitment to increase annual aid flows to about $155 billion per year by 2010. The global crisis has put aid budgets of donor countries under pressure, making it harder to meet that intermediate target. The Report also highlights a ‘coverage gap’ in ODA distribution, as most of the increase in ODA since 2000 has been limited to a handful of post-conflict countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan. In contrast, many of the poorest nations in Africa have seen very little increase in aid. UN takes a stand on global aid, trade and debt commitments, as G20 prepares to meet Issued by the UN Department of Public Information and the UN Development Programme Developing countries have been hurt by the collapse in trade finance since the onset of the financial crisis, tallied at a falloff of somewhere between $100 and $300 billion. Strangulation of trade finance has been combined to ill effect with new trade restrictions in many countries, and a stalemate in the Doha development round of trade negotiations. Compared with a 2005 agreement by the World Trade Organization in Hong Kong to allow 97 per cent duty-free access to imports from the poorest countries, only 80 per cent of least developed country (LDC) exports have acquired duty-free status in industrialized country markets. The Report also finds that even after the success of two major debt relief initiatives, high prices for imported fuel and food combined with weak demand for export commodities have left many developing countries with difficulties in paying their external debts. Access to medicines and technology The UN Report finds that just as the purchasing power of the poor is under threat, the cost of many essential medicines is rising. On average, people in developing countries now pay three to six times more than international reference prices for the cheapest generic medicines. The digital divide between the prosperous and the poor remains wide, both among and within countries. Although more than 65 million new mobile phone subscribers signed up in Africa in 2007, the penetration rate is still less than a third of the population, as compared to 100 per cent in developed countries. Fixed broadband Internet service remains prohibitively expensive in the developing world, where people pay 10 times more than in industrialized countries. Strengthening the Global Partnership for Development recommends public-private partnerships to improve access to essential medicines, mobile cellular telephony and Internet service. A major theme emerging from the UN study is that implementation of the full range of global commitments can effectively advance economically and environmentally sustainable growth —growth that mitigates climate change while addressing the political, economic and public health deficits associated with extreme poverty. Illegal Drug Trade Raising grave concerns over the dangers posed to political and socio-economic stability by the illegal drug trade, the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today approved, by consensus, a draft resolution paving the way for the General Assembly to adopt a declaration and plan of action on international cooperation towards a strategy to counter the world drug problem, as adopted at the high-level segment of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in March. That resolution was one of 14 approved by the Committee -- six by vote -- on a wide range of topics: crime prevention and criminal justice, international drug control, advancement of women, elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, right of peoples to self-determination, the promotion and protection of human rights, and country-specific resolutions on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Myanmar. Titled “international cooperation against the world drug problem”, the draft would have the Assembly recognize that strategies for controlling crops used for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances should be based on the principle of shared responsibility. It would stress the urgent need to respond to challenges posed by links between drug trafficking, corruption and other forms of organized crime, including trafficking in human beings, trafficking in firearms, cybercrime and, in some cases, terrorism and money-laundering. The Assembly would recommend the Economic and Social Council to devote one of its high-level segments to a theme related to the world drug problem, and also to recommend that the Assembly itself hold a special session. As noted by the representative of the Russian Federation, the resolution did not include a clear appeal to strengthen regional cooperation in and around Afghanistan. Earlier resolutions had drawn attention to the drug trade emanating from Afghanistan, which, the Russian Federation explained, was because Afghan opiates on the illegal drug market, and the proliferation of terrorist groups in that country in relation to the drug trade, was a global threat. But, in recent years, States had developed diverging opinions on whether Afghanistan’s poppy cultivation and the resulting drug trade should be an element of the text. Also approved by consensus was the draft resolution on the right to food, which passed without a vote for the first time to a jubilant round of applause from Member States. By its terms, the Assembly would reaffirm that hunger constituted an “outrage” and a violation of human dignity and, therefore, required urgent measures at the national, regional and international levels for its elimination. It would have the Assembly express concern that women and girls were disproportionately affected by hunger, food insecurity and poverty, and would reaffirm the need to ensure that programmes to deliver safe and nutritious food were inclusive of and accessible to persons with disabilities. The Assembly would also recognize State support for small farmers, fishing communities and local enterprises as a key element for food security and the provision of the right to food. Pakistani in Need of Health Care The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today launched a revised appeal for $543 million to meet the humanitarian needs of internally displaced persons in Pakistan, Under-Secretary-General John Holmes said today at Headquarters. 8-28-2009 Mr. Holmes, who is also United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the appeal had been launched this morning by Antonió Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and Abdullah Hussain Haroon, Permanent Representative of Pakistan. The revised Humanitarian Response Plan was meant to deal with the “very volatile and fluent situation” resulting from the rising number of internally displaced persons. Over the last few weeks, some 1.9 million internally displaced persons had joined an existing half million, bringing the total to 2.4 million, 90 per cent of whom were staying with families, communities or in public facilities. Adding to concerns about the growing numbers -- 120,000 of whom were in camps -- was the expectation that Government military operations might soon start in Waziristan. As no information was available about people currently in the conflict zone, he called on all parties concerned to respect international humanitarian law, in particular those relating to the protection of civilians. The humanitarian response was using the “cluster” system”, in which 12 new camps had been built over the last three weeks. Mobile teams and stationary clinics were used to meet health-care needs. Some 1.4 million litres of water were being distributed, and latrines were being built. A matter of concern was that people coming from the higher valleys were not used to the extremely high temperatures, which could reach 42 degrees centigrade. Mr. Holmes said efforts must be scaled up to raise the $543 million required to cover assistance through December, on the assumption that 1.5 million people would be displaced, of whom some 200,000 would be in need of assistance. Only 21 per cent of the required resources had been covered so far, $17 million of which had come from the Central Emergency Response Fund. While the $114 million currently available could only cover one month, the Pakistani authorities, as well as families and communities, were responding generously, which put a big strain on them. Responding to questions, he said the appeal had taken place this morning and had been attended by some 80 to 90 Member States. The Government of Pakistan was launching a separate appeal for reconstruction and contributing significantly to relief efforts. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also had its own appeal, for which there was no exact figure, but a “best estimate” could be revised upwards or downwards as the situation evolved. At the moment, there were 26 camps for internally displaced persons, which were already overcrowded. Asked about landmines which might hamper returns, he said there was no information about returns as yet, but concerns about returnees included landmines and unexploded ordnance, as well as destroyed infrastructure and a lack of water and electricity in areas that had witnessed armed conflict. $30 million was needed for early recovery. Another matter of concern was that no crops could be harvested in conflict areas, which gave rise to food aid requirements, even as the monsoon season approached rapidly. As for mechanisms to help families sheltering internally displaced persons, the issue was to identify them first and then decide how to assist them. UN Economic/Food Crises Gains –Loses 6 July 2009 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on rich and poor nations to boost efforts to fight poverty and hunger after a new United Nations report shows that recent advances are being threatened by the global economic and food crises. The report, launched today in Geneva by Mr. Ban, warns that, despite many successes, overall progress has been too slow for most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the globally agreed targets to halve poverty, hunger and a host of other social and economic ills – to be achieved by the target date of 2015. “This year’s Millennium Development Goals Report delivers a message that should not surprise us but which we must take to heart: the current economic environment makes achieving the goals even more difficult,” Mr. Ban told the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The Secretary-General noted that higher food prices in 2008 have reversed the nearly two-decade trend in reducing hunger. In addition, momentum to reduce overall poverty in the developing world is slowing; tens of millions of people have been pushed into joblessness and greater vulnerability; and some countries stand to miss their poverty reduction goals. Further, the target for eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 has already been missed, he noted. Meanwhile, 1.4 billion people must gain access to improved sanitation by 2015 in order to achieve the sanitation target. “We have been moving too slowly to meet our goals,” said Mr. Ban. “Yet the report also shows that when we have the right policies, backed by adequate funding and strong political commitment, actions can yield impressive results.” The new publication, based on data from over 20 organizations both within and outside the UN system, is considered the most comprehensive global MDG assessment to date. It finds, among other things, that the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day decreased from 1.8 billion to 1.4 billion in the period from 1990 to 2005. However, major gains in the fight against extreme poverty are likely to stall, indicators show, although data are not yet available to reveal the full impact of the recent economic downturn. In 2009, an estimated 55 million to 90 million more people will be living in extreme poverty than anticipated before the crisis. At the same time, the Secretary-General noted that the report does show some progress. Fewer people today are dying of AIDS and many countries are implementing proven strategies to combat malaria and measles, two major killers of children. “We are edging closer to universal primary education. We are well on our way to meeting the safe drinking water target,” he said. “We can and must build on these foundations. “In Africa and across the developing world, we have abundant evidence that aid can help transform lives. But delays in delivering aid, combined with the financial crisis and climate change, are slowing progress,” he stated. . Ban recalled that the Group of Eight (G8) and Group of 20 (G20) nations have made specific commitments to increase financial and technical support to developing countries by 2010 to achieve the MDGs. “Those commitments include raising annual aid flows to Africa, yet aid remains at least $20 billion below the Gleneagles targets,” he noted. “I urge the G8 to set out, country by country, how donors will scale up aid to Africa over the next year.” The Secretary-General also urged donor countries to meet existing pledges on aid for trade, a crucial component in improving trade competitiveness of developing country producers and exporters. Speaking at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Second Global Review on Aid for Trade, also in Geneva, he noted that the aid for trade initiative has made good progress in the three years since its launch. The April G20 Summit pledge of $250 billion for trade financing could lead to a significant increase in the $25 billion that aid for trade received in 2007. However, the global financial and economic crisis has had a severe impact on demand, and it is now widely predicted that global trade will decline by 10 per cent this year, he added. “Unless the direction of the crisis is reversed soon, it will further unravel the progress that developing countries have made over the past two decades in reducing poverty.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Nuclear Disarmament The Hiroshima Peace Memorial
Ceremony is much more than an annual ritual. It is an opportunity
for the citizens of this city and people around the world to honour the
memory of the first victims of atomic warfare, and to reflect upon what
is needed to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. From sadness
and grief can emerge new hope for progress in our common journey to a
new age of peace and security. I see many grounds for such hope. Global awareness of the need
for progress in nuclear disarmament is stronger now than it has been in
many years. This support is broad-based, spanning the entire world
and a variety of groups. Educators, religious leaders, current and
former Government officials, non-governmental groups, journalists, mayors,
legislators and countless individuals are not just advocating disarmament
by words alone; they are actively working to achieve this goal.I very
much welcome the annual participation of school children at this Ceremony.
Their generation will soon take on their own responsibilities for remembering
the past while continuing collective efforts towards a nuclear-weapon-free
world. I also wish to acknowledge the
leadership of the distinguished mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, whose
efforts through Mayors for Peace have gained recognition and respect throughout
the world. Given the recent announcement by the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) that the world’s population is now predominantly urban,
for the first time ever, mayors everywhere have a natural interest in
ensuring that nuclear weapons are never used again. They understand
that there is no more reliable way to achieve this than through the elimination
of such weapons. To the people of Hiroshima, from the youngest to the eldest, I wish to pay my deepest respects on this solemn occasion. I join you in commemorating the past and affirm my determination to work with you and all people to achieve a peaceful and secure world without nuclear weapons. WHO Restores Permanent
International Presence 17 July 2008 -- WHO has resumed the permanent placement of international staff in Iraq after five years. This move will strengthen WHO's support to the Iraqi government in responding to humanitarian crises, reforming healthcare system and prioritizing health services. Foreign staff were withdrawn after the August 2003 terrorist attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad Even before prices started rising
dramatically, nearly 10,000 children were dying from causes related to
malnutrition every day. At least 800 million people were going to
sleep hungry every night. This is a moral outrage. At the same time, the effects
of climate change -- such as increased exposure to drought, rising temperatures,
more erratic rainfall and extreme weather events -- are threatening water
and agricultural systems, potentially condemning millions more to face
malnutrition and water shortages. And now, with energy costs soaring
and the price of food increasing by more than 50 per cent in the past
year alone, the problem is certain to worsen, potentially pushing an additional
100 million people into hunger and poverty. As I stated at the Group of
Eight (G-8) Summit in Hokkaido, the three critical challenges to our shared
humanity, and in fact to our way of life –- realizing the Millennium
Development Goals, addressing climate change, and responding to the global
food and energy crisis -– are interrelated and global in nature.
And so they require a global response, through global partnerships.
We cannot afford to fail or betray the hopes of those tens of millions
of vulnerable. This crisis is not a short-term issue -– it
will require the sustained attention of Governments, donors, international
and regional organizations, civil society and the private sector for years
to come. The world community is already
moving in this direction. At the G-8 Summit, leaders of the world’s
richest countries made important commitments to tackle the triple challenge
of climate change, the Millennium Development Goals, and the food and
energy crises. United Nations agencies and
their partners are shifting resources and mobilizing new funds to ensure
that food assistance and nutritional care reach those most in need. And
we’re supplying small farmers in developing countries with seeds,
fertilizers and other inputs to grow more crops. That’s a start.
But with so many millions of people threatened by this crisis, all
of us, including Member States, need to do much more -– immediately.
This needs to be stepped up further and sustained over the next three
to five years. Allow me to applaud today’s proposal by the European Commission for a special facility worth more than $1.5 billion for rapid response to the food crisis. Crucially, the money would be in addition to existing development funds, and would be provided to developing countries most in need. The funds will be disbursed in coordination with the United Nations Task Force and other international organizations. Food Crisis, Climate Change
and MDGs top Ban's G-8 agenda 6 July 2008 – Global food
crisis and climate change will be among the top issues on the agenda of
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as he attends the Group of
Eight (G-8) Summit in Japan this week, following his just-concluded official
visit to the Republic of Korea, his home country. “We must act, in Hokkaido
and beyond -- not merely because it is the right thing to do but also
because it is in the enlightened interest of all of us,” Mr. Ban
wrote in an op-ed published in all G-8 countries ahead of the group's
meeting scheduled to begin tomorrow on the northern Japanese island of
Hokkaido. That theme was also a key message
of the letter the Secretary-General had sent to the G-8 leaders in which
he underscored that the world was facing three challenges that required
their urgent attention: the food crisis, climate change, and progress
on the anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline known as the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Mr. Ban warned that unless decisive
action is taken on the food crisis, an additional 100 million people around
the world could fall below the poverty line. He recommended that the proportion
of Official Development Assistance (ODA) earmarked for agricultural production
and rural development be increased from the present level of 3 per cent
to a new level of 10 per cent, without diverting funds from current education
or health budgets. On climate change, he wrote
that it is essential to reach agreement on what a new climate change regime
will entail, taking into account elements agreed upon by participants
at last year's historic conference in Bali. Yesterday, the Secretary-General
issued a call to students taking part in a Model UN conference at Cheongju
University, some 200 kilometres from the Republic of Korea's capital Seoul,
to look beyond national boundaries and aim high to help solve world's
numerous problems. “Look at all the names
of countries each of you are representing today, you will see that there
is a whole world out there,” said Mr. Ban, who himself attended school
in the city of Cheongju. “Yes, you are Koreans but you should go
beyond that and see that you are also citizens of the world. Korean may
not be a global power; but Korea can be a global nation; Koreans can be
global citizens.” The Secretary-General also paid
a visit to Haengchi village, his birthplace, where he and Mrs. Ban Soon-taek
were welcomed by relatives, villagers, traditional music and drum ensembles
and many others who traveled to see him. He arrived in the Republic of Korea from China, the second stop on a three-nation tour that also took him to Japan.
UN-organized Global Walk Raises Funds to Combat Child Hunger June 2-2008 2008 – Over 250,000 people in 70 countries took to the streets yesterday in a global walk organized by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and its largest corporate partners, TNT and Unilever, which raised more than $500,000 to feed hungry schoolchildren. End Hunger: Walk the World
featured events in more than 250 locations around the globe to raise
money for WFP’s school feeding programme. In Malawi, more than
50,000 people walked in 13 districts, most of them schoolchildren who
received WFP meals. Indonesia’s colourful
walk of 12,000 participants was followed by a concert featuring popular
bands. Over 20,000 people turned out on 14 May when Guatemala, a country
where approximately half of all children are chronically malnourished,
kicked off its walk. Over the past five years,
the event has raised enough money to feed more than 100,000 schoolchildren
for one year. “Walk the World delivers
a strong message that hungry children in school should not be forgotten,
especially in this time of high food prices and hardship,” said
WFP Deputy Executive Director, John Powell. According to WFP, nearly 60 million children around the world go to school hungry. The agency is a major provider of school meals in developing countries. From Afghanistan to Somalia, some 20 million children benefit from WFP school meals at the cost of only $0.25 a day. Iraq Makes Notable Progress 5-29-2008 29 May 2008 – Iraq is making “notable
progress” in the security, political and economic fields, Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon told the annual review conference of the International Compact
with Iraq today.“If I were asked to use one word to describe the
situation in Iraq today, I would choose the word ‘hope,’”
Mr. Ban said, speaking in Stockholm to the meeting on the Compact, the
five-year plan to promote peace and development in the strife-torn country. “There is new hope that the people and
Government of Iraq are overcoming daunting challenges and working together
to rebuild their country, after years of war, dictatorship and neglect,”
he added, addressing an audience that included the Prime Minister of Iraq
Nouri Al-Maliki. Because of concerted efforts by the Government
and others, Mr. Ban said there had been steady progress in strengthening
Iraqi security forces and in curbing the activities of militias and other
armed groups. Iraq is stepping back from the abyss that
we feared most US and European Plans Biofuels "A Criminal Path" April 2008 – The United States and the European Union have taken a “criminal path” by contributing to an explosive rise in global food prices through using food crops to produce biofuels, according to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food. Speaking at a press conference
today in Geneva, Jean Ziegler said that fuel policies pursued by the US
and the EU were one of the main causes of the current worldwide food crisis.
Mr. Ziegler said that last year the US used a third of its corn crop to
create biofuels, while the European Union is planning to have 10 per cent
of its petrol supplied by biofuels. The Special Rapporteur has called
for a five-year moratorium on the production of biofuels. UN Food AID Cut Rations 4-18-2008 Attacks on food trucks
force UN agency to cut rations in Darfur The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today that it will have to cut rations to the strife-torn Darfur region of Sudan by half because attacks on its trucks are preventing vital relief supplies from getting through. U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE TO MEET IN NEW YORK 17 MARCH – 4 APRIL Experts to Review Reports of Tunisia,Botswana , Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Panama.The Committee is scheduled to examine the fifth periodic report of Tunisia on 17 and 18 March; the initial periodic report of Botswana on 19 and 20 March; the third periodic report of Panama on 24 and 25 March; and the second periodic report of The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 26 March. The Committee will present its concluding observations at the end of its three-week session, on 4 April. Also during the session, country
report task forces will consider and adopt a list of issues concerning
the reports submitted by Japan, France, Nicaragua and Ireland. Under the Optional Protocol
to the Covenant, 111 States parties recognize the competence of the Committee
to consider confidential communications from individuals claiming to be
victims of violations of any rights proclaimed under the treaty.
During the course of the present session, most likely during the last
week, the Committee will review a portion of these communications in closed
session. ‘IT IS TIME FOR THE WORLD TO MAKE WOMEN A PRIORITY’ WOMEN’S UN COMMISSION TOLD Closing Education Gender Gap,
Equal Labour Market Access, Inequality and HIV/AIDS, Global Gender Architecture
among Issues Addressed “It is time for the world
to make women a priority,” said Safiye Cagar, Director of Information,
Executive Board and Resource Mobilization Division, United Nations Population
Fund, who stressed that “everything possible” must be done to
reduce the feminization of poverty and unleash the full potential of half
the human race to advance peace, development and human rights. She
was among the nearly 55 delegations taking the floor today who discussed
action plans to promote women’s advancement, or called on Governments
to increase emphasis on the gender dimensions of development. She recalled that, at the 2005
World Summit, world leaders had agreed to key policy actions to advance
women’s empowerment, including increased investments in universal
education to close the gender gap in schools by 2015, and promoting women’s
rights to own and inherit property and have access to resources such as
land, credit and technology. To accelerate action, those leaders
had also agreed to increase the representation of women in Government
decision-making. Real investment in women could create ripples that
brought about waves of positive change, and such change was urgently needed
and long overdue, she said, calling on Governments to stand by their commitments. In the same vein, Evy Messel,
Director of the Bureau for Gender Equality of the International Labour
Organization (ILO), said decent work was not only about the quantity of
jobs. It was also about quality. The struggle for equal labour
market access for women was marked by slow progress, and worldwide only
67 women were economically active for every 100 men. Women were
more concentrated in less productive jobs, such as the care economy, the
agricultural sector and services characterized by substandard terms and
conditions of work. That situation was even worse for young women,
particularly young educated women. Gender issues were integrated
into ILO’s Decent Work Agenda through the four pillars -- rights,
full employment, social protection and social dialogue, she said.
Technical, institutional, human and financial resources must be invested
to ensure that the gender dimension was given prominence. Specific
outcomes with indicators must be developed. Moreover, Governments
as well as workers’ and employers’ organizations must increasingly
invest in enhancing women’s capacity to organize and to have their
collective voices heard at all levels in the world of work. That said, she stressed that
there were more resources available for AIDS than ever, adding:
“We must now ensure that these funds are used effectively to tackle
the underlying societal drivers of the epidemic, including gender equality.”
Among other things, UNAIDS urged funding directed at women’s organizations,
which were often best placed to reach vulnerable communities. Funding
must also be committed to support the capacity-building, so such groups
could meaningfully participate in national development planning and in
planning national responses to AIDS. Among the civil society organizations
participating today, a representative of women’s groups dealing with
global gender architecture and women’s development, said that, while
significant advances for women had been made thanks to the United Nations
efforts, the Organization still lacked an effective mechanism to deliver
on commitments already made during numerous women’s forums. “There are a few small
agencies focusing […] and the larger agencies have limited mandates,”
she said, calling on Member States to act now to create a stronger United
Nations entity for women headed by an Under-Secretary-General to ensure
a high level of decision-making. The new entity required an extensive
field presence and programmatic mandate, with substantial and predictable
resources, including a minimum of $500 million to $1 billion. Further,
it should involve civil society and promote gender mainstreaming by integrating
gender equality and women’ rights. In what he called a “highly
informal” summary of the debate, Commission Chairperson Olivier Belle
( Belgium) said that the discussion had been “fruitful and lively”
and had been enhanced by contributions from senior ministers, and representatives
of United Nations agencies and funds. Representatives of non-governmental
organizations had also participated actively. It had been heartening
to hear countries share national experiences aimed at improving the status
of women in various societies. It had also been interesting to hear
legislative measures that had been taken to that end. He also underscored the appeal
made by many delegations for more and better analytical data and statistics.
Indeed, figures made it possible to identify problems and create
targeted, well thought out policies. He also recalled that many
delegations had supported the Secretary-General’s launch of a global
campaign to combat violence against women. The statements made on
financing gender equality would be helpful in the run-up to the Doha Review
of the United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development.
To those delegates returning to their capitals, he said now they
had ample evidence to convince their Finance Ministers to step up their
efforts to finance gender equality and the empowerment of women. Also making statements were
the Minister for Women’s Affairs of Haiti and the Deputy Minister
of Afghanistan, as well as a senior Government official of the Gambia. Also speaking were representatives
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the International
Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The representatives of several
non-governmental organizations also made statements, including the African
Women’s Caucus, Western Asia Women’s Caucus, International Network
of Liberal Women, Girls Caucus and the World Youth Alliance, American
Association of Retired Persons, Latin American and the Caribbean Women’s
Caucus, the International Council of Women and Women’s Information
Organizations. The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 5 March, to hear the introduction of draft proposals and to begin consideration of its agenda item on communications concerning the status of women.
|
General Ban Ki-moon 1-23-2010 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations’ first priority in Haiti was on the humanitarian relief operation. Coordination and logistics were crucial and he called for working closely with Haitian authorities, among others, in those efforts. Next, there could be no humanitarian relief or basis for construction without security. There also must be a focus on the future, as the weeks and months ahead would need to see a shift from emergency response to longer-term recovery. Despite the immense suffering, United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) troops were clearing roads and removing bodies, Mr. Ban said, and the situation, thus far, remained stable. Food had reached half a million people and a $575 million flash appeal had received $334 million thus far, including $25 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). He had directed United Nations agencies to work with the World Bank, among others, on an immediate post-disaster needs assessment. “I am proud of the United Nations’ response,” Mr. Ban said. Seldom had the international community acted in such solidarity or so quickly in the face of so many difficulties. At the same time, too many people lacked the assistance they urgently needed. Immediate priorities would continue to focus on medical assistance, water, sanitation, food and shelter, as well as on fuel and transportation equipment. Also, $41 million was being sought through a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) flash appeal to scale up a programme designed to pay Haitians for removing debris, delivering aid and constructing camps for the homeless. “Haiti has never been more in need”, he said. Acting President of the General Assembly Byrganym Aitimova, of Kazakhstan, speaking on behalf of President Ali Abdussalam Treki, of Libya, stressed that “we are still struggling with coordination”. There was an urgent need to do more to reach those desperate for water, food, medical supplies and shelter. While pleased that the whole United Nations membership had come together to express support to the Haitian people and Government, she said relief efforts, to be more effective, had to mobilize Haitians themselves. It was also crucial to ensure support for Haiti’s long-term reconstruction and development. Sustained focus would be needed in the years ahead, and the United Nations system would play a key role in those efforts.
UN Helps Children NAIROBI, KENYA, 11 November 2009 - Somali children and women received a high-impact life-saving health package during the Child health Days Campaign in the Afgoye Corridor, a 30 kilometer stretch of road west of Mogadishu and the world’s most densely populated settlement for the displaced. At least 46,000 children under-five and 37,000 women of child-bearing age benefited during the five-day campaign. Afgoye currently hosts over 524,000 displaced people driven out of their homes due to the conflict in Mogadishu and the south, who are enduring harsh living conditions and lacking even the most basic social services. The Child Health Days Campaigns are implemented across Somalia with support from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in close collaboration with local authorities and NGO partners. In a country where routine immunization coverage is amongst the lowest in the world, the intervention aims to immunize every under-five child against measles, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus, in addition to provision of Vitamin A, de-worming tablets and nutritional screening for referral of malnourished children to feeding programmes. Women of child bearing age are immunized against neonatal tetanus. The Child Health Days package also includes oral rehydration salts to treat diarrhea and water purification tablets. “Our joint success in implementing this large-scale outreach in the Afgoye area is a testament to how we can make a difference in Somalia even in the most difficult of circumstances.” said Ms. Rozanne Chorlton, UNICEF Representative to Somalia. “Afgoye corridor is one of the locations in Somalia where humanitarian access is very challenging, but it is also where the impact of such an intervention is extremely critical due to the high density of population. Therefore bringing the Child Health Days to Afgoye was a key priority and thanks to the determination of communities and to UNICEF’s and WHO’s extended partnerships on the ground, vulnerable children and women were reached with crucial services.” said Ms. Rozanne Chorlton, UNICEF Representative to Somalia. More than 200 vaccinators and 300 health workers implemented the campaign in Afgoye, making this large-scale programme possible despite poor infrastructure and lack of appropriate health facilities. The Child Health Days were launched in Somalia in December 2008 reaching over one million children under five and 800,000 women across the country during the first round. The intervention is repeated every six months to help promote child survival and boost immunization rates, in addition to promoting demand for public health services among communities. The campaign has already contributed to improving immunization rates by achieving coverage of 60 to 80 per cent, while immunization rates in Somalia over the last ten years have been in the range of 20-30 per cent. Violence against Afghan women widespread and unpunished, finds UN report 8 July 2009 – Violence against women, including rape, is widespread in Afghanistan, according to a new United Nations report, which details the extent of the problem against a backdrop of impunity and a failure by authorities to protect women’s rights. “This report paints a detailed and deeply disturbing picture of the situation facing many Afghan women today,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said of the 32-page report issued jointly by her office (OHCHR) and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). “The limited space that opened up for Afghan women following the demise of the Taliban regime in 2001 is under sustained attack, not just by the Taliban themselves, but by deeply engrained cultural practices and customs, and – despite a number of significant advances in terms of the creation of new legislation and institutions – by a chronic failure at all levels of government to advance the protection of women’s rights in Afghanistan.” The report, launched today in Kabul by the UN and Indian actress and social activist Shabana Azmi, touches on various aspects of the scourge, including so-called “honour” killings, the exchange of women and girls as a form of dispute resolution, trafficking and abduction, early and forced marriages, and domestic violence. It focuses on two principal issues – the “growing trend” of violence and threats against women in public life, and rape and sexual violence. Afghan women participating in almost all sectors of public life, including parliamentarians, civil servants and journalists, “have been targeted by anti-government elements, by local traditional and religious power-holders, by their own families and communities, and in some instances by government authorities,” says the report. Although the Afghan Constitutions includes a 25 per cent quota for female members of parliament – one of the highest such quotas in the world – the report also notes that “a number of female MPs have already indicated that due to the prevailing security situation and death threats they repeatedly receive, they will not be contesting the next national assembly elections in 2010.” The report also details numerous attacks on girls’ schools, and on girl students – including gas and acid attacks – by “anti-government elements.” When it comes to sexual violence, the report states that rape is both widespread and taboo, and it is the victims that are more likely to be punished than the perpetrators. “Only in a few isolated cases have public institutions taken appropriate action. In many instances, victims seeking help and justice are further victimized… Government action to address rape is woefully inadequate.” The report notes that there is no explicit provision in the 1976 Afghan Penal Code criminalising rape, and a survey of convicted rapists in one Afghan prison indicated that they did not know that rape was a criminal offence.< In addition, police and judicial officials are often not aware or convinced that rape is a serious criminal offence, the report states, and “investigating a rape case is rarely a priority.” The High Commissioner stressed that the Government has a duty to eradicate these practices, by making them illegal, educating its population and demonstrating leadership and commitment to safeguard the rights of all Afghan women and girls. “The silence surrounding the widely-known problem of violence against the girls and women of Afghanistan must be broken,” she stated. Kai Eide, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, emphasized that political and other leaders had to address this issue more vigorously and not leave it to human rights activists or women alone. “The problem isn’t that violence against women is being condoned. It’s not,” said Mr. Eide. “The problem is that violence against women is not being challenged or condemned. And that has implications both for countless individual victims and for the country’s future development." Criminal Charges of Genocide Laid Against President al-Bashir for the Terrible Crimes in Darfur 14 July 2008 – Three years
after the United Nations Security Council requested him to investigate
atrocities committed in Darfur, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal
Court today presented evidence against Sudan’s President for alleged
war crimes in the strife-torn region, including genocide. ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
is seeking an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir, who he believes
“bears criminal responsibility in relation to 10 counts of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes,” according to a news release
issued by the Court. The evidence presented today
at the ICC, which is based in The Hague, shows that Mr. Al-Bashir masterminded
and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part the Fur, Masalit
and Zaghawa groups, on account of their ethnicity. The President’s intent
to commit genocide became clear, according to the Prosecutor, with well
coordinated attacks on the nearly 2.5 million internally displaced persons
(IDPs) living in camps. Instead of helping the people
of Darfur, Mr. Al-Bashir “mobilised the entire State apparatus, including
the armed forces, the intelligence services, the diplomatic and public
information bureaucracies, and the justice system,” in carrying out
his campaign of violence. “They all report to him,
they all obey him. His control is absolute,” the Prosecutor added. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
has emphasized that the Court is an independent institution and that he
does not have any influence on the ICC Prosecutor, a point he reiterated
to Mr. Al-Bashir in a telephone conversation with the Sudanese President
on Saturday. In a statement issued today,
the UN said its peacekeeping operations in Sudan will continue to carry
out their functions in an impartial manner, “cooperating in good
faith with all partners so as to further the goal of peace and stability
in the country.” The world body will also continue its vital humanitarian
and development work there. “The Secretary-General
expects that the Government of Sudan will continue to cooperate fully
with the United Nations in Sudan, while fulfilling its obligation to ensure
the safety and security of all United Nations personnel and property,”
the statement added. In addition to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), a joint UN-African Union force – known as UNAMID – has been in place since the beginning of this year to try to end the violence in Darfur, which has uprooted some 2.7 million people, many of whom are living across the border in eastern Chad.
|
This site produced by Diane Knaus - Annapolis, Maryland mdknaus@911info.net Copyright ©2008-2009 Diane Knaus, All Rights Reserved / No part of this web site may be used without prior permission. Web Design with DreamWeaver CS4 |
