UN Gazeti

Wednesday 23 July 2008

Issue No. 273

UN Observances

UN IN KENYA

UNEP WARNS THAT KENYA IS IN DANGER OF LOSING ITS LARGEST FOREST ECOSYSTEM

Kenya stands to lose $300 million in revenue from tea, tourism and energy if the forest of the country’s Mau Complex continues to be degraded and destroyed, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warned on 18 July.

“For the past few years UNEP has been documenting for the Kenyan Government and the people of Kenya the continued destruction and erosion of this vital ecosystem. It has reached a point where if no measures are taken, Kenya will lose one of its fundamental assets,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.

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

UN IN AFRICA

GABON AND EQUATORIAL GUINEA REPORT PROGRESS IN UN-LED EFFORTS TO END BORDER ROW

Gabon and Equatorial Guinea said yesterday that they have made substantial progress towards referring their border dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the main judicial organ of the United Nations.

In a joint statement issued after two days of meetings at the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG), representatives of the neighbouring African countries said they had worked on key documents for a planned joint submission to the ICJ, which would then adjudicate on the boundary.

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

DARFUR: AU-UN MISSION CONDEMNS ATTACK ON SECURITY OFFICER BY SUDANESE MILITARY

A security officer working with the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) today condemned an assault on one of its security officers in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

“Although this could be said to be an isolated incident, UNAMID condemns in the strongest terms such attacks on its staff members, who are here to help bring peace to the people of Darfur,” the mission said in a statement.

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SG WELCOMES AGREEMENT TO HOLD TALKS AIMED AT ENDING CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the announcement by the country’s President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), that they have signed an agreement paving the way for talks to end instability in the country.

“The Secretary-General welcomes the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the parties in Zimbabwe, which provides a framework for formal talks to end the political crisis in the country,” according to a statement released by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

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

DR CONGO: DISPLACED PEOPLE RESUME RETURN TO THEIR HOMES IN NORTH WITH UN HELP

Displaced people on Monday began returning to their homes in the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with the help of the United Nations refugee agency.

Five boats chartered by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ferried the first group of 712 people – from a settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs) at Tchomia – across Lake Albert to the town of Gobu in the Ituri district of DRC's Orientale province. A further 1,800 IDPs are expected to return by this route in the coming weeks.

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

IN MADAGASCAR, UNICEF PROVIDES HEALTH SERVICES TO CYCLONE-HIT AREAS

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the European Commission’s humanitarian wing are working together in Madagascar to provide medicines and other vital health services to a series of villages, five months after they were devastated by Cyclone Ivan in February.

UNICEF has delivered medicines to 36 health centres and conducted outreach activities in 20 remote villages, according to a press release issued on 17 July by the agency.

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

SOMALIA: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS REASON FOR HOPE DESPITE CHALLENGES – SG

Last month’s peace agreement between the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) and an opposition group is an important step towards peace, but the country’s deteriorating security situation is a matter of serious concern, according to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“Somalia remains a challenge for the international community, but recent developments provide reason to hope,’ Mr. Ban said in his latest quarterly report to the Security Council.

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JOINT UN-AFRICAN UNION MISSION PAYS TRIBUTE TO PEACEKEEPER KILLED IN DARFUR

The joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on 18 July paid tribute to a Nigerian peacekeeper killed two days ago while on patrol in the war-wracked Sudanese region.

The death of Major Shehu Abdullahi Gada, who was shot by unknown gunmen on 16 July in Forobaranga, West Darfur, brought to nine the number of UNAMID peacekeepers killed in Darfur this year.

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

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS TERMS OF JUDGES ON UN’S RWANDA GENOCIDE TRIBUNAL

The Security Council on 18 July extended the tenure of the judges serving on the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, so as to ensure that all remaining cases can be completed by the deadline set for the court’s work.

Under its Completion Strategy, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), which is based in the Tanzanian town of Arusha, is supposed to finish all of its trials, excluding appeals, by December 2008. All work is scheduled to be completed by 2010.

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

UNHCR SEEKS FUNDING TO HELP REFUGEES RETURN TO SOUTH SUDAN

The United Nations refugee on 18 July launched an appeal for $11.9 million to help assist the return of refugees, mainly from camps in Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, to South Sudan.

“If the current return trend is anything to go by, we could complete repatriation to Southern Sudan by the end of 2009 or the first quarter of 2010, provided we get funding on time for the rest of this year and next,” said Mengesha Kebede, Deputy Director of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Africa Bureau, in statement released on 17 July.

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

INSECURITY AND DROUGHT LEAVE MILLIONS OF SOMALIS IN DIRE NEED OF AID – UN

Attacks on aid workers and threats to ships delivering food aid to Somalia, coupled with the effects of drought and poor harvest, have left millions in the strife-torn nation in need of urgent aid, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said on 18 July.

Some 2.6 million people – representing 35 per cent of the population – are believed to be in need of food aid in the country, which has not had a functioning government since 1991. That number is expected to rise to 3.5 million by December.

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

 UN AROUND THE WORLD

HAITI’S CHILDREN STILL SUFFERING GRAVE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS – UN REPORT

Haitian children remain the target of kidnappings, killings, sexual violence and child trafficking, and they have also been active participants in recent public protests, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the impoverished Caribbean country reports.

The latest report from MINUSTAH, covering the period from January to July this year and released this week, found that children continue to be affected by armed violence, despite the general improvement in the security situation in Haiti.

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

SG CONGRATULATES FIRST PRESIDENT OF NEPAL

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Ram Baran Yadav on his election as the first President of the Republic of Nepal, and called on all parties in the Asian country to cooperate in forming a new government.

Dr. Yadav was elected by Nepal’s Constituent Assembly on Monday.

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

KARADŽIĆ ARREST ‘DECISIVE STEP’ TOWARD ENDING IMPUNITY, SAYS SG

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader and fugitive war crimes suspect Radovan Karadžić, who had evaded capture for over a decade after being indicted by the United Nations tribunal set up to try those responsible for atrocities committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.

Mr. Karadžić had been one of three remaining fugitives from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), along with Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladić and the ethnic Serb politician Goran Hadžić. He was detained in Serbia on Monday.

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

WTO chief says members ‘within reach of a major step’ toward new trade deal

The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Monday said he was convinced that the organization’s member states would be able to reach agreements on international trade, as this week’s meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee got under way this morning.

Referring to the Doha Round of negotiations on international trade which began in 2001, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy said that members are “within reach of a major step in our drive to conclude the Round this year” and added that he could think of “no stronger spur for our action than the threats facing the world economy across several fronts, including rises in food prices and energy prices and financial market turbulences.”

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

SG APPEALS FOR CALM BETWEEN CAMBODIA AND THAILAND

Expressing concern over the recent escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called on both sides to peacefully resolve the situation.

There is a build-up of military forces near the Preah Vihear Temple in Cambodia, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) earlier this month.

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

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT HOLDS TALKS WITH TOP VIETNAMESE OFFICIAL

Climate change, the global food and energy crisis, economic development and United Nations reform were among the highlights of wide-ranging discussions between General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim and Viet Nam’s Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Mr. Kerim briefed Mr. Pham on the priority issues of the Assembly’s current session, particularly climate change, development and UN reform, according to a statement issued by the President’s spokesperson after the two men met on 17 July in New York.

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

PROPOSED EU POLICY ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ALARMS UN RIGHTS EXPERTS

Ten independent United Nations human rights experts have expressed their deep concern at a proposed European Union policy that seeks to harmonize standards and procedures for returning “irregularly staying third-country nationals,” and which includes what they deem as provisions for “excessive” detention.

The so-called “EU Return Directive” was approved by the European Parliament on 18 June and is currently being considered by the Council of the European Union, which is likely to take action on it next week.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news

UN SEEKS CHILDREN’S DEPICTIONS OF IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on 17 July launched its annual painting competition for children, calling for artwork from youth on the subject of climate change, ranging from its impact on the planet to steps everyone can take, such as using renewable energy and energy-saving light bulbs, using public transportation and planting trees.

The agency is urging youngsters around the globe between the ages of 5 to 13 to take part in the 18th International Children’s Painting Competition, which this year is focusing on the theme “Climate Change: Our Challenge.”

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

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT IS A LEGAL MILESTONE, SG SAYS ON ANNIVERSARY

The creation of the International Criminal Court represents one of the biggest milestones of international law, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on 17 July as he marked the tenth anniversary of the ICC’s founding.

In a statement at a ceremony in New York for the anniversary, Mr. Ban also said the UN and the ICC fully complemented each other’s work.

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

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