UN Gazeti
Wednesday 31 October 2007
Issue No. 245
UN Observances
| 16 November |
International Day for Tolerance |
| 20 November |
Universal Children’s Day |
| 25 November |
International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women. |
UN IN KENYA
KENYA HOSTS MEETING ON PREVENTION OF TERROSRIST MOVEMENT AND EFFECTIVE BORDER SECURITY
Key Security Council committee on counter-terrorism began in Nairobi at the United Nations headquarters in Gigiri with more than three dozen international organizations to examine ways that countries can better secure their borders against terrorists and potential terrorist acts as well as how the UN system can assist in this effort. The conference began at 10 a.m. Monday 29 October and closes today 31 October.
The three-day meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) is intended to focus on such issues as hindering terrorist movement across national boundaries, bolstering the ability of countries to detect illicit arms shipments and preventing the abuse of the refugee and asylum system.
For more information, visit: http://www.unicnairobi.org/armed_conflict.asp
UNICEF LAUNCHES THE FIFITH ANNUAL PASTORALISTS WEEK IN NAIROBI.
UNICEF launched the fifth annual Kenya Pastoralists week on Monday 29 October at the Kenyatta International Conference Center. This conference aims to promote the role and recognition of pastoralism in Kenya and the greater horn of Africa. The focus of the conference was in how pasrtoralist communities work together to demand good governance and accountability by local and national authorities on issues that affect their daily lives.
Pastoralists occupy at least 80% of Kenya’s land. Their livelihoods depend on their nomadic lifestyle that is determined by availability of pasture. Yet the social structures to support them are inadequate or are sorely lacking.
For more information, email: plone@unicef.org
UN IN AFRICA
DARFUR: UN, AFRICAN UNION ENVOYS URGE ALL PARTIES TO PRESS AHEAD FOR PEACE
Top envoys from the United Nations and the African Union chairing talks in Libya on the troubled Darfur region of Sudan yesterday welcomed the Khartoum Government’s unilateral declaration of a cessation of hostilities and called on all parties to the conflict to make a similar commitment without delay.
“The parties cannot talk and fight at the same time, without tragic consequences to the population of Darfur,” said UN envoy Jan Eliasson and his AU counterpart, Salim Ahmed Salim, in a joint statement issued in Sirte. “It is critical that all parties do their utmost to improve the security and humanitarian conditions of the people in Darfur.”
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN ENVOY LAUDS PEACEFUL END TO CRISIS WITHIN SOMALI TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT
The United Nations envoy to Somalia yesterday welcomed the peaceful conclusion of the crisis within the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and called on the country’s leaders to overcome the challenges facing the war-torn nation.
Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, particularly acknowledged the “conciliatory tone and spirit” of the statements issued by both President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi during the official announcement of the latter’s resignation, according to a press release issued by the UN Political Office in Somalia (UNPOS).
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UNICEF SAYS CHILDREN NEARLY TAKEN OUT OF CHAD ARE IN GOOD HEALTH
Following the attempt by a French non-governmental organization (NGO) to fly them out of Chad, the 103 children held in an orphanage appear to be in good health and are doing fairly well, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported yesterday.
The agency has supplied food and games for the children, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said in New York.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
AFRICA READY FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT
As a two-day summit on improving Africa’s information technology infrastructure wrapped up yesterday in Rwanda, the head of the United Nations telecommunications agency reminded investors that Africa is “open for business and looking for partnerships.”
The Connect Africa Summit, held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, brought together some 1,000 participants, including political leaders, executives of information and communication technology (ICT) companies and heads of development banks.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
SECURITY COUNCIL RENEWS DIAMOND AND TRAVEL SANCTIONS ON CÔTE D’IVOIRE
The United Nations Security Council on 29 October renewed for another year a ban on diamonds and arms trade with Côte d’Ivoire as well as targeted sanctions restricting the travel of individuals.
By its unanimously adopted resolution on 29 October, the Council said it would review these measures once the parties have fully implemented the Ouagadougou political agreement which brokered an end to the conflict that had divided Côte d’Ivoire between a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south since 2002; and after the holding of open, free, fair and transparent presidential and legislative elections.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
CONGOLESE MILITIA LEADER IN NORTH KIVU SURRENDERS TO UN PEACEKEEPERS
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reports that a militia leader in the country’s troubled North Kivu province has turned himself over to peacekeepers along with nearly 30 of his men.
Kibamba Kasereka, leader of the Forces patriotiques Mayi-Mayi, also known as Forces armées populaires de libération (FAPL), and 29 of his men surrendered to UN peacekeepers on 27 October morning in the town of Kisharo, in North Kivu province, the UN mission, known as MONUC, said in a press release.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
IFAD ANNOUNCES NEW PROJECT IN GABON
The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on 29 October announced the launch of a new project aimed at helping farmers in Gabon diversify their incomes by developing and marketing new products from staple crops.
The agreement for the $5.7 million loan and $300,000 grant was signed in Rome on 29 October and will receive co-financing from the OPEC Fund for International Development, IFAD said.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN AND MICROSOFT TO BRING TECHNOLOGY BENEFITS TO AFRICANS
The United Nations telecommunications agency and technology giant Microsoft have announced a new partnership to help bring the benefits of information and communication technology (ICT) to millions in Africa, a key aim of a global summit that kicked off today in Rwanda.
As part of the partnership, announced on 29 October at the Connect Africa Summit, the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Microsoft will launch ITU Global View, a virtual earth-based online platform to showcase and track ICT-related development projects on the continent.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UNHCR SAYS WITCHCRAFT ALLEGATIONS PLAGUE CAMPS IN SOUTHERN CHAD
Allegations of witchcraft are swirling around camps for internally displaced persons in Chad are causing further confusion and violence in the already chaotic atmosphere, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which has organized initiatives to combat accusations and confusion on the matter.
When 11 refugees fell ill and died within a single week earlier this year at the Dosseye camp, host to over 5,500 of the 45,000 Central African Republic refugees in Chad, suspicions of witchcraft led to cases of assault and arson, the Geneva-based UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a news release.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN AROUND THE WORLD
SG HEADS TO TURKEY THIS WEEK FOR MEETING ON IRAQ
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend a high-level diplomatic meeting on Iraq to be held later this week in Turkey, his spokesperson announced yesterday.
The Istanbul Expanded Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Neighbouring Countries of Iraq will focus on ways to promote greater regional dialogue, Marie Okabe told reporters in New York.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN ONCE AGAIN CALLS FOR END TO UNITED STATES EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA
The United Nations General Assembly yesterday once again urged an end to the commercial, economic and financial embargoes imposed on Cuba by the United States for nearly half a century.
For the 16th year in a row, the Assembly adopted a resolution – with an overwhelming 184 votes in favour – reiterating its call to all States to refrain from promulgating and applying laws and measures not conforming with their obligations to reaffirm freedom of trade and navigation.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
SG TO VISIT LATIN AMERICA, ANTARCTICA AND EUROPE
Continuing his efforts to spotlight the issue of climate change, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Latin America, Antarctica and Europe next week where in addition to making diplomatic contacts, he will see first-hand deforestation and other environmental problems caused by the phenomenon.
Mr. Ban’s trip builds on his previous efforts to push for action ahead of a major climate change conference to be held in December in Bali, Indonesia, where delegates from across the world are expected to try to hammer out a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which contains legally binding targets for reducing emissions.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN POLITICAL CHIEF TO ATTEND MIDDLE EAST QUARTET MEETING
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs is heading to a meeting in Jerusalem on 25 October of the envoys of the Middle East Quartet, which brings together the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States, a spokesperson for the world body announced.
B. Lynn Pascoe, acting as the Secretary-General’s Envoy to the Quartet, also plans to hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials in Ramallah and Jerusalem, Marie Okabe said.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
ASYLUM SEEKERS NEED MORE PROTECTION IN FACE OF COUNTER-TERRORISM MEASURES
Counter-terrorism measures in many parts of the globe disproportionately impact asylum-seekers, refugees and immigrants, a United Nations independent human rights expert said in New York on 29 October.
"Asylum-seekers with a well-founded fear of persecution may be the largest similarly situated group of persons in the world who are seriously and adversely affected by the post-2001 wave of new counter-terrorism measures," Martin Sheinin, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, told the General Assembly committee dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural issues, known as the Third Committee.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
MIGIRO URGES BETTER COORDINATION OF EFFORTS TO ADVANCE GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro has called for all those working to make inroads in global public health to pool their efforts, stating that the world already has the resources and the know-how to enable people to lead long, healthy lives.
Despite the unprecedented involvement of health agencies and partnerships, the global health sphere is increasingly complex and fragmented, with no systemic approach, Ms. Migiro said on 25 October at a meeting on global health with international leaders and top-level experts from academia, philanthropy, civil society, the private sector and United Nations entities.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UNICEF MOURNS THE DEATH OF HUMANITARIAN EVE CURIE LABOUISSE
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 26 October mourned the death of Eve Curie Labouisse, a widow of the agency's former Executive Director and staunch humanitarian who supported the agency throughout her long life.
Mrs. Labouisse was 102 at the time of her death on 22 October. Her late husband, former UNICEF chief Henry Labouisse, passed away in 1987. During his leadership, which spanned 17 years from 1965 when UNICEF received the Nobel Peace Prize to 1979, Eve Labouisse was known as the 'First Lady of UNICEF' and travelled to many developing countries that were receiving the agency's assistance at that time.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
For more information on the United Nations and its activities, please visit the main U.N website at www.un.org or the U.N Kenya website at www.un-kenya.org
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