UN Gazeti
Thursday 03 March 2009
Issue No. 08
UN Observances
| 08 March 2009 |
United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace (International Women’s Day) |
| 21 March 2009 |
International Day for the elimination of Racial Discrimination |
| 22 March 2009 |
World Water Day |
| 23 March 2009 |
World Meteorological Day |
UN IN KENYA
TOP ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY OFFICIAL NAMED DIRECTOR OF UN HEADQUARTERS IN NAIROBI
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has tapped the chief of the United Nation’s environmental agency to serve as the Director-General of the Organization’s headquarters in Nairobi, a UN spokesperson said yesterday.
Achim Steiner, whose new directorship is effective as of 1 March, will retain his position as Executive Director of the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP).
For more information, visit: http://www.unep.org
PAN-AFRICAN LANGUAGE CONFERENCE OPENS AT UNITED NATIONS OFFICES IN NAIROBI
Delegates from around the world joined senior officials of the United Nations, the African Development Bank, the European Union and representatives of the Brussels-based African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States on Monday for the first pan-African conference on the training of translators and interpreters.
In opening remarks, the Director General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, lamented the lack of suitably qualified language staff in Africa and the difficulties encountered by aspiring African translators and interpreters trying to get specialized training outside the continent.
For more information, visit: http://www.unicnairobi.org
UN IN AFRICA
CONDEMNING GUINEA-BISSAU ASSASSINATIONS, UN COUNCIL CALLS FOR CALM
Condemning “in the strongest terms” the assassination of the president of Guinea-Bissau and his chief of staff, the United Nations Security Council yesterday called on the people, political leaders, and the armed forces of the country to remain calm, exercise restraint and maintain stability.
Through a statement read out by Ibrahim Dabbashi of Libya, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council for the month of March, it also urged all parties in the country to resolve any disputes within the framework of democratic institutions and opposed “any attempt to change the government through unconstitutional means.”
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
LIBYAN PRESIDENCY OF UN COUNCIL TO FOCUS ON PEACEKEEPING POLICY, SUDAN
Peacekeeping policy and the repercussions of a possible indictment of the Sudanese President by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are among top concerns of the Security Council this month, according to the Charge d’affaires of Libya, the body’s March president.
There is nothing scheduled by the Council as an immediate reaction to tomorrow’s expected decision on an indictment of President Omar Al-Bashir for war crimes in violence-torn Darfur, Ibrahim Dabbashi said.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
SECURITY SITUATION CALM IN DARFUR, UN-AFRICAN UNION BLUE HELMETS REPORT
The United Nations-Africa Union (AU) hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur known as UNAMID yesterday reported that the security situation in war-ravaged Sudanese region is calm.
Forces with the mission are operating as normal, conducting patrols and closely monitoring the state of affairs throughout the area.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
DARFUR: JOINT UN, AFRICAN ENVOY MEETS WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES ON SECURITY
The joint Darfur envoy of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) on Monday travelled to Nyala, South Darfur, and El Geneina, West Darfur, to discuss security problems with local authorities of the strife-torn region of Sudan.
The Joint Special Representative Rodolphe Adada expressed appreciation for the good relationship between the hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNAMID, and the State Governments and reiterated the mission’s commitment to fulfil its mandate of protecting civilians, in meetings with the Deputy Governor of South Darfur, as well as the Deputy Governor of West Darfur.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN COMMITTED TO END SEXUAL AND GENDER BASED VIOLENCE IN LIBERIA, STRESSES ENVOY
The United Nations envoy to Liberia has underscored the world body’s commitment to working with the Government to end sexual and gender-based crimes at the opening of a new police unit tasked with investigating such violent offences.
In her remarks, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Liberia, Ellen Margrethe Løj, commended the country’s Ministry of Justice for its initiative in establishing the sexual and gender-based violent crime unit.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
PEACEKEEPERS WILL STAY IN DARFUR EVEN IF SUDANESE PRESIDENT INDICTED – UN OFFICIAL
With the International Criminal Court (ICC) expected to announce its decision on seeking an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir on charges of war crimes this week, the chief of United Nations peacekeeping operations on Monday said that the joint UN-African Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID) will continue its patrols protecting the local population.
Speaking to the press at UN Headquarters in New York, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alan Le Roy, said that he is assured that peacekeepers in Darfur will not come under threat should the ICC indict President Al-Bashir.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
BAN CONDEMNS ASSASSINATION OF GUINEA-BISSAU’S PRESIDENT
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday strongly condemned the killing of the president of Guinea-Bissau and his chief of staff, calling on the national authorities to maintain the rule of law and bring those responsible to justice.
“The Secretary-General is deeply saddened and dismayed by the assassinations of President João Bernardo Vieira and his Chief of General Staff, General Batista Tagme Na Waie,” Mr. Ban said in a statement released by his spokesperson.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN AROUND THE WORLD
GAZA: AFTER DONOR CONFERENCE, AID INFLOW STILL RESTRICTED, UN SAYS
Despite calls at yesterday’s donor conference for the unfettered import of aid and reconstruction supplies to the combat-battered Gaza strip, Israeli authorities continue to block crucial supplies, the United Nations said yesterday.
Key crossings remain closed or partially closed, reconstruction materials are still prohibited, and restrictions on food types, clothing and schoolbooks have been maintained, the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update on the situation in Gaza yesterday.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
‘MORAL COURAGE’ NEEDED TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
Human trafficking has no place in the 21st century, the General Assembly President said yesterday, calling for commitment and change exceeding political will to eradicate the scourge.
The industry of trafficking in humans is the third most profitable crime worldwide, after drugs and arms dealing, Miguel D’Escoto said at the end of a two-day conference in Manama, Bahrain.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UN BLUE HELMETS INVESTIGATE SHOTS FIRED INTO LEBANON FROM ISRAELI SIDE OF DIVIDING LIN
Shots were fired yesterday into Lebanese territory from the Israeli side of the Line of Withdrawal in contravention of the United Nations resolution that helped end fighting between the countries two years ago, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reports.
A team of UNIFIL blue helmets investigating the circumstances of the incident said that at least two of the 15 shots hit a wall 50 metres over the line separating Israeli and Lebanese forces in the area of El Adeisse.
FINANCIAL CRISIS TO DEEPEN EXTREME POVERTY, INCREASE CHILD MORTALITY RATES – UN REPORT
The global financial crisis sweeping through Wall Street and the European banking sector will touch the lives of the world’s most vulnerable, pushing millions into deeper poverty and leading to the deaths of thousands of children, according to a new United Nations study.
Reduced growth in 2009 will cost the 390 million people in sub-Saharan Africa living in extreme poverty around $18 billion, or $46 per person, warned the report by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
BAN, FORMER US PRESIDENT CLINTON TO JOIN FORCES TO HELP HAITI
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited former United States President Bill Clinton to join him on an upcoming trip to Haiti to raise awareness of efforts to help the Caribbean nation’s people and government bolster their economic security.
According to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban’s decision was spurred by the former American leader’s attention to Haiti while in office, his work as a United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and his September 2008 call to help Haiti as part of his Clinton Global Initiative (CGI).
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON KILLINGS A LANDMARK IN ENDING IMPUNITY – UN LEGAL CHIEF
The opening of the special tribunal to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of a massive car bomb blast that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others is a watershed moment in the fight against impunity in the Middle-Eastern country, the United Nations Legal Counsel said yesterday.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an independent and impartial institution located in The Hague, took over from the Beirut-based International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) on Sunday, Patricia O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, told reporters in New York.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
UNESCO CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST MURDER OF FILIPINO JOURNALIST
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom has condemned the killing of a Filipino radio journalist, who was shot dead by two masked gunmen last week.
Ernesto Rollin, 40, who hosted a popular local radio news programme, was shot at close-range on his way home on the island of Mindanao, Philippines, last Monday.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
CONSTANT VIGILANCE ON NUCLEAR RISKS CRITICAL, HEAD OF UN ATOMIC AGENCY SAYS
Nuclear safety worldwide is steadily improving but the risk of accidents or malicious acts can never be eliminated and there is no room for complacency, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog agency said on Monday.
“Vigilance and continuous improvement are key, both at existing nuclear facilities and at new facilities being planned in a growing number of countries, Mohamed ElBaradei, Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said as he opened the Board of Governor’s meeting of the organization on Monday in Vienna.
For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/news
BELGIUM TAKES HELM OF COAST FLOTILLA FOR UN FORCE IN LEBANON
Belgium on Monday took command of United Nations peacekeeping’s first-ever maritime task force (MTF), which was deployed off the coast of Lebanon in 2006 to curtail arms smuggling following that year’s war between Israel and Hizbollah.
At the handover ceremony, held on the flagship FS De Grass in the Port of Beirut, Major-General Claudio Graziano, Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), noted the progressive enhancement of operational cooperation between the MTF and the Lebanese Navy.
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 |
