UN Gazeti

Wednesday 18 June 2008

Issue No. 268

UN Observances

UN IN KENYA

NEW UNEPSCHEME HELPS TO CLEAN UP NAIROBI

A wide-ranging new initiative by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to help the Kenyan Government deal with air pollution, waste management and the clean up of rivers in the country’s capital – and the agency’s host city – Nairobi.

The initiative, drawn up by UNEP in cooperation with the Government, the city council, donors and the Nairobi-based UN Human Settlements Programme (UN–HABITAT), will work in conjunction with the Government’s Nairobi Metro 2030: A vision for a World-Class Metropolis plan.

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

The 25th FAO regional conference for Africa started on Monday

16th at the United Nations Office Nairobi (UNON) Kenya from 16th to 20th June 2008.

The conference will discuss major issues affecting African Agriculture including:

• Scaling up Agricultural Water Management
  
• Intra-Africa Trade:Issues, Challenges and Implications for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation.
  
• Challenges for Sustainable Land Management for Africa Food Security.
  
• Urbanization and Food Security.
  
• Agrarian Reform and Rural Development.
  
• Knowledge Exchange, WAICENT and Capacity Building.
  
• Global and Regional Emergency Issues.

UN IN AFRICA

SUPPORT FOR SOMALI PEACE ACCORD FOCUS OF MEETING HOSTED BY UN ENVOY

The top United Nations envoy for Somalia met yesterday with the country’s international partners to discuss how best to support the war-torn nation in carrying out the peace deal reached last week in neighbouring Djibouti.

Under the Djibouti Agreement, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia agreed to end their conflict and called on the UN to deploy an international stabilization force to the troubled Horn of Africa country, which has not had a functioning government since 1991.

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

SENIOR UN POLITICAL OFFICIAL MEETS WITH ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT

A senior United Nations political envoy has held talks with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at the start of his visit to the Southern African country, aimed at reducing political tensions ahead of the run-off round of the presidential election later this month.

Haile Menkerios, Assistant-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, arrived in Harare on Monday for a five-day visit to Zimbabwe, which has been beset by deadly political violence since the first round of the presidential election on 29 March.

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

SECURITY COUNCIL PRESSES SUDAN TO COOPERATE IN ENDING IMPUNITY FOR DARFUR CRIMES

The Security Council on Monday urged the Sudanese Government and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to ensure that those responsible for crimes committed in the war-wracked region are held to account.

Sudan is obligated under Council resolution 1593 of March 2005 to fully cooperate with the ICC and to arrest and surrender those indicted by the Court.

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

SG, SECURITY COUNCIL VOICE DEEP CONCERN AT RENEWED FIGHTING IN EASTERN CHAD

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council on Monday condemned the series of attacks by armed rebels in eastern Chad over the past week, warning that the renewed fighting between Government forces and the Chadian Armed Opposition Group will only worsen an already grave humanitarian situation.

Mr. Ban has called on all parties to immediately stop their hostilities, abide by previous peace accords and turn to dialogue to achieve a negotiated settlement of the crisis, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

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

YOUNG PEOPLE’S VOICES MUST BE HEARD,-DAY OF AFRICAN CHILD

United Nations officials were on Monday marking the Day of the African Child by highlighting the need to ensure that the voices of young people are heard in their schools, communities and countries.

“Right to Participate: Let Children Be Seen and Heard” is the theme of this year’s Day, observed annually on 16 June, which is being commemorated in countries across the continent with events including songs, dances and drama presentations.

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

UNMIL BUILDS SAFE HOUSE FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN LIBERIA

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has built a new safe house for survivors of sexual violence in the capital, Monrovia, and helped refurbish a former jail to ease overcrowding in the West African country's prison system.

The safe house, which has been handed over to a local non-governmental organization (NGO) to operate, was built as part of a $24,000 project that was also supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

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

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS ZIMBABWEAN CHILDREN AT RISK AFTER AID BAN – UNICEF

The health of hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean children is in jeopardy because of last week's decision by the country's authorities to ban non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from distributing aid, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on 13 June.

“The situation in the last week has certainly got a lot worse for Zimbabwe's children because so many hundreds of thousands of them are dependent on aid,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said.

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

WFP DEPLORES KILLING OF FOOD CONVOY DRIVER IN SOUTHERN SOMALIA

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned the murder of one of its truck drivers who was gunned down on 12 June in southern Somalia while delivering food aid, the third incident of its kind this year.

Hassan Abdi, who was part of a convoy of WFP-contracted trucks carrying 328 metric tons of food from Mogadishu to Bay and Bakool regions, was killed by gunmen shortly after dawn near the village of Leego.

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

UN AGENCIES DRASTICALLY REVISE APPEAL AS ETHIOPIAN DROUGHT INTENSIFIES

United Nations relief agencies and the Ethiopian Government have drastically increased their appeal for funding to help people caught up in the country’s drought and the resulting widespread crop failures as the number of Ethiopians affected by the crisis continues to soar.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on 12 June that more than $325 million is now needed to meet aid demands – nearly five times the $68 million that authorities and aid officials estimated was required just two months ago.

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

 UN AROUND THE WORLD

SG DEPLORES DEADLY BOMBING AT BAGHDAD MARKET

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned yesterday’s terrorist bombing at a market in northern Baghdad that has reportedly killed at least 50 people and left scores more injured.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said he extended “his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous attack.”

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

POPULAR UN-BACKED INTERNET WORD GAME FEEDS MYANMAR’S CYCLONE VICTIMS

Survivors of the cyclone which ravaged Myanmar last month will soon be receiving rice generated by the popular United Nations-backed Internet game that allows players to expand their word skills while helping to feed the world’s hungry.

FreeRice.com, in which players donate 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) every time they answer a question correctly, has already generated over 36 billion grains of rice – enough for more than 3.7 million meals.

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

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE WILL HELP STOP DESERTIFICATION, SAYS IFAD

Poor farmers and herders in countries bearing the brunt of desertification and land degradation can help stop or reverse those processes by engaging in sustainable agriculture, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says.

Marking World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which is observed on 17 June, IFAD said in a statement that poor farmers and herders can form part of the solution with the assistance of international agencies.

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

UN AGENCY CALLS FOR GLOBAL CHILD HELPLINE TELEPHONE NUMBER

In a bid to make it easier for children around the world to call for support and counselling, the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has asked all countries to link child helplines to one telephone number.

The proposed global child helpline number – 116 111 – is already in use in a number of countries and was recommended by Child Helpline International (CHI), an organization that represents child helplines globally.

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

BAN WELCOMES MOVE BY SAUDI KING TO TACKLE ‘ABNORMALLY HIGH’ OIL PRICES

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the decision by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to convene a meeting of the world’s major oil producers to discuss ways of dealing with soaring fuel prices.

King Abdullah “acknowledged that the current oil price is abnormally high, due to speculative factors, and he is willing to do what he can to manage the price of oil to the adequate level,” Mr. Ban told reporters in Jeddah on 15 June following meetings with the Saudi monarch and other officials.

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

ON WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY, WHO STRESSES VALUE OF VOLUNTARY DONATIONS

China and the United Arab Emirates are both close to reaching 100 per cent voluntary donations for their national blood supplies, the United Nations health agency has announced, calling on other countries to use them as models to increase their own stocks of safe blood supplies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is using this year's World Blood Donor Day, which is being observed on 14 June, to highlight the benefits of blood donations that are voluntary – rather than involving payment or family interest.

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

COMMITMENTS ON HIV/AIDS MUST BE MATCHED BY ACTIONS – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

The world's renewed momentum to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic must be matched by accelerated efforts to implement commitments to obtain universal access to prevention, treatment and care by 2010, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim says after wrapping up a high-level meeting on the issue.

In his closing remarks last night,12 June, to the three-day meeting, held at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Kerim stressed the need for leadership and political accountability, saying Member States need to sustain and scale up the progress they have made so far.

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

TIMOR-LESTE TO REVIEW SECURITY SECTOR WITH UN HELP

The United Nations will assist the Timorese Government in carrying out a review of its security sector, a priority for the young nation which has already faced major security-related challenges since the world body helped it gain independence in 2002.

“The overall aim of the review is to strengthen the nation’s ability to protect itself, both internally and externally,” the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) said in a statement.

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

UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF WELCOMES UNITED STATES COURT RULING ON GUANTÁNAMO BAY

The United Nations human rights chief has welcomed 12 June’s decision by the United States Supreme Court that the country’s constitution extends to foreigners being held in Guantánamo Bay and that they have the right to challenge their detention in the civilian court system.

Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement that the detainees – some of whom have been detained for up to six years – have the right to a “prompt review” of the reasons for their detention.

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