UN Gazeti

Wednesday 18 July 2007

Issue No. 230

UN Observances

UN IN AFRICA

UN ENVOY ARRIVES IN KHARTOUM FOR TALKS WITH SUDANESE OFFICIALS

The United Nations senior envoy for Darfur and his African Union (AU) counterpart have arrived in Khartoum from the Libyan capital Tripoli, where they co-chaired two days of talks on fostering a settlement in the strife-torn region of Sudan.

During his three-day visit, Jan Eliasson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Darfur, will meet with senior Government officials in Khartoum, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said yesterday in New York.

Along with AU Envoy Salim Ahmed Salim, Mr. Eliasson will also meet with representatives of internally displaced persons and civil society groups, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as local authorities in Darfur.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

UGANDA: JUBA TALKS PAYING OFF AS IDPS RETURN HOME

The year-long talks between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) may not have reached a conclusion, but the relative peace across northern Uganda during this period has encouraged hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return home, officials said.

Walter Ochora, district commissioner in Acholi, said the local population, which had borne the brunt of the conflict, was still anxious about security but many had indeed returned home. The Acholi sub-region has been the epicentre of the conflict.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, about 55,000 IDPs have returned to their villages in Acholi, in addition to 431,000 who have gone back home to the Lango sub-region. Of those still in camps in Acholi, 359,000 people had by June moved to new sites, leaving 698,000 in former camps, compared with only 35,000 in camps in Lango by June, said Robertta Russo, UNHCR spokesperson in Uganda.

For more information, visit: http://www.unicnairobi.org/

INTERPOL LENDS AID IN ARRESTING REMAINING FUGITIVES OF UN TRIBUNAL FOR RWANDAN GENOCIDE

The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) will receive assistance from Interpol to apprehend the 18 individuals still wanted.

The call to support the ICTR came as Interpol wrapped up its 19th African Regional Conference last Friday in Arusha, Tanzania.

“It is our duty as police officers to do everything within our power to identify and apprehend those fugitives who are wanted in connection with such serious crimes,” said Interpol President Jackie Selebi. “I urge all of our member countries, not only those in the African region, to work together to bring these people to justice.”

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

SECURITY COUNCIL RENEWS UN MISSION IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE TO ASSIST WITH ELECTIONS

The Security Council on Monday 16 July, extended until mid-January 2008 the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) and French forces supporting it to support the holding of free and fair elections in the West African country.

By a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council terminated the mandate of the UN envoy for the elections in Cote d’Ivoire, Gerard Stoudmann, and tasked Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative in the country with certifying all stages of the electoral process.

Deployed since April 2004, UNOCI has been helping the parties in Côte d’Ivoire – which has been divided between the rebel-held north and Government-controlled south since 2002 – to implement the Ouagadougou peace agreement signed in January 2003.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

SG URGES GREATER PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN IN CHAD, DR CONGO

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for greater protection for children caught up in armed conflict in the African nations of Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in two reports made public on Friday 13 July.

Mr. Ban voiced his deep concern in one report over the grave violations of both children’s rights and international humanitarian law in Chad, including recruitment of children as soldiers with the Chadian Government forces, armed opposition groups, self-defence militias and Sudanese rebel groups operating in the neighbouring country.

“I appeal to these armed forces and groups to immediately cease such practices and identify, release and reintegrate into their communities all children associated with their forces with the support of the United Nations and other child protection actors,” he said.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

UN SENDS TEAM TO DRC TO PROBE ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT BY PEACEKEEPERS

The United Nations announced on Friday 13 July that it is sending a management audit team to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this weekend in response to allegations of misconduct by troops serving with the world body’s peacekeeping operation there.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told reporters that an investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has not found evidence of gun smuggling by blue helmets serving with the UN mission in the DRC, which is known by its French acronym MONUC, but added that “it points to the possibility that one individual may have facilitated gold smuggling.”

The results of that probe are being shared with the concerned troop contributing country “and we expect that action will be taken,” he added in response to press questions.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

UN AROUND THE WORLD

SG INVITES US PRESIDENT BUSH TO ATTEND UN CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday invited United States President George W. Bush to attend a high-level United Nations debate on climate change to be held this fall.

“On climate change, which is a very important issue for all humankind, I appreciate President Bush’s initiative, during the Heiligendamm G-8 Summit meeting,” Mr. Ban told reporters after his meeting with the US leader in Washington, DC.

The two men discussed a number of global hotspots, including Sudan’s Darfur region and the Middle East. Regarding the situation in Iraq, which the Secretary-General characterized as “the problem of the whole world,” he pledged the UN’s continued support to the country’s Government and people.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES RECENT INITIATIVES TO SUPPORT AFGHANISTAN

Condemning recent attacks against civilians in Afghanistan, the Security Council on yesterday affirmed its support for recent initiatives aimed at enhancing security, stability and development in the war-torn nation.

In a statement read out by Ambassador Wang Guangya of China, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency this month, the 15-member body referred to a recent rule of law conference held in Rome as well as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Kabul, saying these developments “reinforce the progress made in pursuing a comprehensive approach to the security, governance and development of Afghanistan.”

The Council’s action followed a briefing from Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hédi Annabi on recent developments on the ground, as well as the Rome conference.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

SG WELCOMES US PRESIDENT’S PROPOSAL FOR INTERNATIONAL MEETING

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday welcomed United States President George W. Bush’s proposal for an international meeting on the Middle East this autumn.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the statement made by US President George W. Bush on the Middle East peace process,” a spokesperson for Mr. Ban, was scheduled to meet the President yesterday in Washington, DC, said in a statement.

“He is encouraged by the President’s renewed commitment to a two-State solution, entailing the creation of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state living side-by-side with a secure Israel.”

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

UN EMERGENCY FUND PROVIDED OVER $200 MILLION IN FIRST HALF OF 2007

A landmark United Nations humanitarian aid fund has provided over $200 million in the first half of this year for live-saving activities ranging from supplying medical treatment, building material and food to Afghan refugees to distributing much-needed food in Sudan, the world body’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced yesterday.

The largest amounts of rapid response funding form the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) during this six-month period have gone to Mozambique, which received $11.2 million; Guinea, receiving $9.8 million; and Chad, receiving $7.2 million.

During the second quarter of this year, nearly $7 million was made available to Somalia to alleviate the suffering brought about by drought, floods, political violence and insecurity.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

UNHCR WELCOMES US HOUSE RESOLUTION ON COLOMBIA’S DISPLACED

The United Nations refugee agency yesterday welcomed a resolution recently passed by the United States House of Representatives calling for an increase in aid from Washington for millions of displaced people in Colombia.

“The resolution – which received widespread backing – recognizes 2007 as the Year of the Rights of Displaced People in Colombia and offers support to help the victims rebuild their lives,” said Ron Redmond, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“It is the first time the US Congress has singled out forced displacement in Colombia as one of the worst humanitarian crises on the American continent,” he noted.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

SG URGES BANGLADESH TO RESPECT UN EXPERT’S HUMAN RIGHTS

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday called on Bangladesh to respect the “full range of human rights” – including the right to a fair trial and rights relating to detention conditions during the trial – of a United Nations independent expert who is facing a criminal trial in the South Asian country on corruption charges.

Sigma Huda, a Bangladeshi national, was appointed as Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons in April 2004.

The 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations states that Special Rapporteurs “enjoy the privileges and immunities necessary for the independent exercise of their functions as experts on mission,” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

SG CONDEMNS TERRORIST ATTACKS IN PAKISTAN

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

“I am especially concerned about the situation in Pakistan and the loss of life and destruction of property there over the past week,” Mr. Ban told a news conference in New York, condemning the terrorist attacks over the weekend that claimed the lives of a large number of security forces and innocent civilians.

Noting that President Pervez Musharraf “has taken a strong stand against extremism,” Mr. Ban said, “While I am in favour of firm action against extremism, I am conscious that the Government faces a delicate balance in ensuring the safety of its citizens.”

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

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