UN Gazeti
Wednesday 16 May 2007
Issue No. 221
UN Observances
UN IN AFRICA
DRC MISSION EXTENDED
Aiming to help the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) cement stability, the Security Council yesterday extended the deployment of the United Nations peacekeeping mission there until the end of this year.
Through a resolution adopted unanimously, the 15-member body agreed to maintain the personnel strength of the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC), whose mandate was due to expire yesterday, at approximately 17,000 troops, 760 military observers, 400 police trainers and 750 personnel of formed police units.
The resolution reaffirmed the importance of security sector reform and of the reintegration of Congolese and foreign armed groups for the long-term stabilization of the county, which is rebuilding following the end of a six-year civil war that cost 4 million lives due to fighting, hunger and disease.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
NORTHERN UGANDA IMPROVING BUT STILL FACES PROBLEMS – HOLMES UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF
Meeting with local authorities and aid workers in northern Uganda, the United Nations humanitarian chief warned yesterday that the region still faces serious problems despite the recently improved security situation.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes spent much of the day in Kitgum district, where about 260,000 IDPs are living in 23 settlements because of the 21-year conflict between Government forces and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
He visited the new settlement site of Labworomor, where many IDPs have gathered recently.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN TO DOUBLE ITS APPEAL FOR CYCLONE-HIT MADAGASCAR
The United Nations relief arm yesterday more than doubled the appeal it launched just two months ago to help Madagascar as the country tries to recover and rebuild its agriculture after a series of deadly recent cyclones and tropical storms since December.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is now seeking $19.5 million and those funds are needed urgently, OCHA spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs told a press briefing in Geneva.
More than 450,000 people have been affected by the six cyclones and tropical storms themselves and then by the subsequent heavy floods which have struck the Indian Ocean nation, severely damaging agricultural production in some areas.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
WFP APPEALS FOR $3.5 MILLION FOR CAR LOGISTICS
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) yesterday made an urgent appeal for $3.5 million for transport and storage needs in the Central African Republic (CAR), in order to feed at least 230,000 people affected by recent violence and displacement.
“The current infrastructure cannot cope with the scale of our new operation so we’re going to have to do the job ourselves,” WFP Country Director Jean-Charles Dei said.
“We need additional financial support to accomplish that, not only for WFP but also for other humanitarian organizations that need the means to reach people whose lives are at stake,” he stressed.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
HOLMES DISCUSSES PEACE TALKS WITH MUSEVENI
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator held talks on Monday with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, stressing the importance of protecting civilians and meeting their humanitarian needs during the current peace process between the African country’s Government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
John Holmes, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, met Mr. Museveni in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, at the start of the second leg of his African tour.
Mr. Holmes described the meeting as “a lively exchange” and said the latest round of peace talks in Juba, southern Sudan, between the Ugandan Government and the LRA topped the discussions, according to a press release issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
IN MOGADISHU, EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR URGES AID TO CIVILIANS
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator on Saturday 12th May 2007 became the highest-ranking UN official to visit Somalia's capital Mogadishu since the early 1990s, and amid continued violence called for increased relief aid to civilians there.
John Holmes undertook the mission to assess the humanitarian situation in the areas affected by the recent fighting, to commit parties in Somalia to respect International Humanitarian Law, and to encourage authorities to allow full and unhindered humanitarian access to populations in dire need of assistance and protection.
“It is the authorities' responsibility to look after civilians, to protect civilians and at the very least not to obstruct aid,” Mr. Holmes said. He noted that access and insecurity have impeded the provision of humanitarian assistance commensurate with the needs of the population.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
OHCHR CALLS DARFUR BOMBARDMENTS ‘INDISCRIMINATE AND INAPPROPRIATE’
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday 11th May 2007 described as “indiscriminate” a series of deadly aerial bombardments across the North Darfur region of Sudan and said there were many civilian casualties.
OHCHR said it has learned that the attacks – over which United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern on Wednesday – were carried out near El Fasher, North Darfur with helicopter gunships and Antonov aircraft between 19 and 29 April, killing and wounding civilians and destroying property, school buildings and livestock.
“The bombardments appeared to have been indiscriminate and disproportionate, failing to distinguish between military and civilian targets,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson Michele Montas said. “The disproportionate use of force constitutes violations of international humanitarian and human rights law,” she added.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN AROUND THE WORLD
REFUGEE AGENCY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IN CANADA AIMS TO SHOCK
The United Nations refugee agency is running a provocative international advertising campaign that employs shock tactics to raise awareness about its work and drum up public support for those who have been forced to flee their homes.
The pro bono TV campaign, launched in Canada earlier this month and also running in about a dozen countries in Europe, South America and Africa, was created by the Toronto office of the BBDO advertising agency, said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which hopes the drive will help raise $1.8 million for the agency this year.
One of the TV spots features a computer-generated snail being pulled from its shell with a pair of tweezers. The tag line reads: “If you think taking one snail from its home is disturbing, you should know it's already been done to 21 million people.”
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
YOUNG PEOPLE IN TURKMENISTAN PRODUCE FILMS ON CHILD RIGHTS – UNICEF
Young people in Turkmenistan are using their creativity to produce short video films on children's rights thanks to an initiative cosponsored by the country's Government and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The “One Minutes Jr. Video” workshop which opened this week in Ashgabat aims to encourage youth expression and motivate children to share their opinions. “The workshop is a chance for young people to speak out to a broad audience, using their creativity to bridge the gap between themselves and the media,” the agency said in a news release.
Over the next week, young people will develop their own scripts and produce 60-second videos on child rights in various parts of Ashgabat, including schools, parks, stadiums and markets, and 20 of these shorts will be launched at a National Children's Forum dedicated to child protection, and broadcast on TV, according to UNICEF.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN SAYS IT WILL NOT TOLERATE VIOLENCE IN TIMOR-LESTE
The top United Nations envoy in Timor-Leste has expressed concern at signs of a resurgence of gang fighting and mob violence in the nation's capital, Dili, in the past 24 hours.
The fighting, which included rock-throwing and arson, occurred yesterday evening between two groups of approximately 100 people in the Bairro Pite area of Dili, according to the UN Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), and continued this morning in the same area. Four small houses and a vehicle were burned.
Malaysian and Portuguese Formed Police Units along with UN Police and the International Stabilization Force (ISF) brought the situation under control, the mission said in a news release. There were no injuries and 17 people were arrested.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
IRANIAN NEWS AGENCY JOINS UN IN FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced a new partnership with Iran's Cultural Heritage News Agency (CHN) aimed at raising awareness and generating funding for relief operations.
As part of an agreement signed last week, WFP and CHN launched a Tourism against Hunger campaign in which the news agency, whose 100 journalists and photographers specialize on covering issues related to Iran's cultural heritage and tourism, will provide news coverage of all relevant WFP activities throughout the country.
CHN will also provide technical assistance to develop WFP's Farsi/English website, provide translation services as well as help develop a local advocacy strategy that will include the production of news packages, publications and advertisements.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
'FOOD FORCE' VIDEO GAME SWEEPS NORTHERN EUROPE – UN AGENCY
As Europe's largest games industry event gets underway in Sweden, “Food Force,” the world's first humanitarian video game for children, is celebrating the launch of three new language versions, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has announced.
“Children have very few opportunities to understand the realities of a hungry world. By engaging children in a fun and creative way, 'Food Force' will help children become better global citizens - now and in the future,” said John Powell, WFP Deputy Executive Director for Fundraising and Communications.
In the days leading up Nordic Game 2007, the gathering of video game professionals from the Nordic region and the world, WFP presented translations of the game about hunger in Finnish, Norwegian and German.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
TIME FOR SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION ON LEBANESE TRIBUNAL – SG
The Security Council should “take necessary action” to ratify the planned special tribunal to try the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri because the country’s own efforts to resolve its political impasse on the issue have not succeeded, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday.
Responding to press questions after his monthly luncheon with Council members at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban said he believed “that, as a matter of principle, there should be no impunity for the perpetrators of political assassinations.”
Mr. Ban noted that Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora had sent him a letter stating that “for all practical purposes, the road to ratification through constitutional procedures has no possibility” and calling on the Council to therefore take steps to ensure the tribunal is ratified and can enter into force.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
PROVIDING MEDICAL SERVICES PART OF UN POLICE ROLE IN HAITI
Along with its security and law-enforcement role, the Senegalese specialized United Nations police unit in Haiti continues to help civilian doctors provide medical services in some of the poorest areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, its commander highlighted recently before ending his mission to the impoverished country.
Officers from the Formed Police Unit (FPU) provide free consultations, medicine and hot meals to people from Cite Militairé and Village Solidarité, the UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said in a press release, adding that most of those receiving treatment are women and children.
“Since our arrival in Haiti, we initiated a policy of taking charge of medical services… officers must carry out development actions outside of their security activities. Thus they provide reinforcement to civilian doctors in offering consultations to the population,” said the contingent commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Diouf.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UNHCR ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS ON INTEGRATION OF REFUGEES IN EUROPE
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued a series of recommendations to help integrate refugees in Europe with the aim of enabling them to become productive members of society whether they stay or return home.
The proposals came following assessments in several countries which revealed a number of obstacles, including insufficient knowledge of local languages and differing cultures, lack of understanding within host societies of the specific situation of refugees, and discrimination and unreceptive attitudes towards foreigners, as well as the psychological impact of protracted inactivity during asylum procedures, agency spokesman William Spindler told reporters in Geneva on Friday 11th May 2007.
In response, he said, reception policies on asylum seekers “should be designed to minimize isolation and separation from host communities, as well as to provide for effective language and vocational skills development and assistance to pursue employment.”
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
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