UN Gazeti
Wednesday 29 October 2008
Issue No. 286
UN Observances
| 6 November 2008 |
International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict |
| 12 November 2008 |
World Population Day |
| 14 November 2008 |
World Diabetes Day |
UN IN AFRICA
FORCE NOT THE SOLUTION IN VIOLENCE-RIDDEN EASTERN DR CONGO, TOP UN ENVOY SAYS
The top United Nations envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has stressed that diplomacy – and not military action – is the only solution to the fighting that has engulfed the volatile far east of the country, as the UN humanitarian wing voiced concern over the impact of the latest violence on civilians.
Fighting resumed in North Kivu province on Saturday evening between Government forces (FARDC) and the militia known as the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), led by former general Laurent Nkunda.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
PROGRESS IN DARFUR UNDERMINED BY ONGOING CONFLICT, UN PEACEKEEPING CHIEF SAYS
The United Nations and African Union are making good progress in the deployment of their joint peacekeeping force in Darfur but the war-wracked region of western Sudan remains beset by deadly fighting, the displacement of civilians, banditry and human rights abuses, the head of UN peacekeeping told the Security Council yesterday.
Alain LeRoy, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, briefed Council members on his recent visit to Darfur, where the hybrid UN-AU operation (known as UNAMID) will eventually become the UN peacekeeping force in the world with more than 26,000 troops, military observers and police officers.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
LACK OF MUTUAL TRUST MAIN OBSTACLE TO NORTH-SOUTH PEACE IN SUDAN
A lack of mutual trust between the signatories remains the main challenge to implementing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan, says a new United Nations report released yesterday.
“This lack of trust consequently permeates into all major pending benchmarks set under the Agreement,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon writes in his latest report to the Security Council on Sudan, which the 15-member body will discuss next month.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
DRUG CRIME POSES SERIOUS THREAT TO WEST AFRICA, WARNS UN OFFICIAL
West Africa is at the heart of an illegal drug trade transporting massive amounts of narcotics from South America to Europe, the United Nations chief on drugs and crime said yesterday, warning of the danger the scourge poses to the region.
At least 50 tonnes of cocaine from Andean countries pass through West Africa every year, heading mostly to the streets of France, Spain and the United Kingdom, where they are worth some $2 billion.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
DELAYS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE’S POLLS COULD THREATEN PEACE, WARNS TOP UN ENVOYTHE UNITED NATIONS
Increasing delays in the dual identification and electoral processes is imperilling the hard-won peace in Côte d’Ivoire, which is rebuilding after a brutal 14-year civil war, the top United Nations envoy to the West African nation cautioned on Monday.
Nearly six weeks have passed since the launch of the identification and voter registration drive, which was slated to wrap up at the end of this month, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative Y. J. Choi told the Security Council in an open meeting
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
SG VOICES ALARM AT WORSENING CONFLICT IN VOLATILE EAST OF DR CONGO
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday expressed deep concern at the deteriorating security situation in the far east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where thousands of civilians have fled their homes because of fresh fighting and rebels have fired rockets at United Nations peacekeepers.
“The Secretary-General urges the Government and provincial authorities to make every effort to restore calm among the affected populations and to work in close cooperation with MONUC [the UN peacekeeping force],” according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson that also called for an immediate end to the fighting.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
SG WELCOMES LATEST EFFORT TO RESOLVE ZIMBABWEAN IMPASSE
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed on Monday’s initiative of regional leaders in Southern Africa to hold a summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, to resolve the outstanding issues to a power-sharing deal for a new government in the troubled and impoverished country, warning of the humanitarian consequences if the impasse does not end soon.
The summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) security troika “provides a critical opportunity for the leaders to finalize in good faith the formation of the new government based on an equitable division of power, and to move swiftly to implement the 15 September agreement on resolving the many serious challenges facing Zimbabwe,” his spokesperson said in a statement.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
TOP UN ENVOY TO SOMALIA WELCOMES PEACE DEAL BETWEEN WARRING PARTIES
The senior United Nations envoy to Somalia has welcomed the agreement between the country's transitional government and Islamist rebels on a ceasefire to end their deadly conflict, the establishment of a unity government and military forces and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.
The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) signed two accords on Sunday in neighbouring Djibouti after three days of talks backed by the UN and the wider international community.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN AROUND THE WORLD
SG LANDS IN PHILIPPINES ON FIRST LEG OF FOUR-NATION ASIA TOUR
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived yesterday in the Philippines, the first stop on a four-nation Asia tour that will also take the United Nations chief to India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Upon their arrival in Manila, Mr. and Mrs. Ban were greeted by a guard of honour and a military band, and welcomed by Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, other senior Government officials and heads of UN offices based in the Philippines.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
NEARLY 2 MILLION HURRICANE-AFFECTED CUBANS TO RECEIVE UN FOOD AID
Almost two million Cubans affected by hurricanes Gustav and Ike – two of the worst disasters to strike the small island nation in the past 50 years – will receive vital assistance from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) over the next six months.
Under the newly-approved emergency operation, WFP will provide $5.7 million in food rations, including rice, beans, vegetable oil, canned fish and CSB, a blended food compound of maize and soy fortified with vitamins and minerals.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN AGENCIES RUSH TO HELP AS FLOODS RAVAGE COUNTRYSIDE IN HONDURAS
United Nations humanitarian agencies have started mobilizing and distributing aid in Honduras, where floods brought on by a tropical depression have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes and destroyed vast areas of cropland.
A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team has been deployed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to the region and UN agencies have begun allocating more than $300,000 to help with relief efforts, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters yesterday.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
NEPALESE-DRIVEN PEACE PROCESS GLOBALLY ACCLAIMED, SAYS SG
The world has recognized the strides towards peace Nepalis have made, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report made public yesterday, commending the parties in the Asian country for their commitment to consolidating democracy.
“In common with other members of the international community, I have repeatedly stressed the importance of sustaining the cooperation among political parties on which the peace process was founded and which has brought it so far,” Mr. Ban wrote.
more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
CARBON FINANCING SCHEME CAN BOOST FARMING, REDUCE GLOBAL WARMING
Agricultural experts met yesterday to discuss how the sector can tap into the billions of dollars available every year under the United Nations-sponsored Kyoto Protocol – aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – to improve the lives of poor farmers from around the world.
Every year an estimated $15 billion is on hand under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to finance initiatives that help reduce GHG emissions into the atmosphere.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
MYANMAR’S POST-CYCLONE RECOVERY EFFORTS FOCUS OF UN-BACKED EXPERT MEETING
Participants at a United Nations-backed meeting that wrapped up yesterday in Bangkok have agreed that the need to “build back better” and a focus on disaster risk reduction should be key elements of the post-Cyclone Nargis recovery process in Myanmar.
Some 2.4 million people were affected by the cyclone, which battered the country in early May, leaving around 140,000 dead or missing and displacing 800,000 from their homes.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
PACIFIC RIM COUNTRIES STAGE UN-INITIATED TSUNAMI WARNING DRILL
The staged tsunami drill, “Exercise Pacific Wave 08,” will involve two days of testing the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (PTWS) – a UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established network to promote the exchange of seismic and sea level data for rapid tsunami detection.
With the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster providing a stark reminder of the need for preparedness, yesterday’s tsunami test will be the second of such exercises, the first conducted in May 2006.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN RUSHING AID TO YEMEN AFTER SEVERE FLOODING DISPLACES 10,000
The United Nations has begun providing assistance to Yemenis affected by recent severe flooding, which has killed 180 people and displaced some 10,000 from their homes.
The flooding which followed heavy rains on 24 and 25 October led the Government to declare Hadramout and Al-Mahara governorates in eastern Yemen disaster areas, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which reported that six other areas in the south were also affected.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN EXPORTS RISE IN FACE OF GLOBAL CRISIS, REPORTS UN
Exports from Latin America and the Caribbean are on track to grow at an estimated 23 per cent this year, despite the global financial crisis, according to a report released yesterday by the United Nations office for the region.
Higher commodity prices during the first half of the year, particularly in metal and fuel, led to a 25.5 per cent increase in the value of exports, compared to a 10 per cent increase for the same period in 2007.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
LATEST UN FINDINGS WILL HELP COUNTRIES DESIGN BETTER HEALTH STRATEGIES
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in rich countries, while pneumonia is the number one killer in poor nations, reveals a new study published by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) that provides countries with key data for decision-making, planning and setting priorities.
The latest assessment of the Global Burden of Disease provides features comparisons between deaths, diseases and injuries whether by region, age, sex or country income for 2004.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
APPEAL FOR HURRICANE RELIEF IN HAITI BADLY UNDER-FUNDED, UN AID CHIEF SAYS
Urgent action is required to respond to the “worst disaster in the last 100 years” to strike Haiti, the United Nations relief chief reported yesterday, warning that aid agencies remain far short of the millions they need to help the country recover after four deadly hurricanes this year left 800 people dead and affected another 1 million.
Only 40 per cent of the $107 million flash appeal aimed at assisting the emergency relief effort has been pledged, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told reporters in New York as he urged donors to contribute more humanitarian aid.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
NEW UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF IN COLOMBIA AS INDIGENOUS FLEE VIOLENCE
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights yesterday begins a week-long review of the situation in Colombia amid concerns that indigenous groups continue to be forced to flee their territories by armed groups.
Navi Pillay makes her first country visit since taking up the human rights post last month, as the UN reports that some 300 people have fled the north-western Antioquia department since fighting began in mid-September between the army and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN FORUM ON UPHOLDING HUMAN RIGHTS WHILE COUNTERING TERRORISM KICKS OFF
The United Nations yesterday convened a gathering of more than 60 delegates from 17 countries across the Middle East and North Africa in Amman to discuss the responsibility of States to protect human rights while countering terrorism, in the first event of its kind in the region.
Representatives of governments, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are taking part in the three-day seminar, organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in cooperation with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Jordan.
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
|
