United Nations News

BAN WRAPS UP AFRICA TRIP WITH STOP IN SIERRA LEONE
New York, Jun 14 2010  5:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with the leader of Sierra Leone and survivors of the country?s brutal civil war today, capping off his five-country tour of Africa.

In the capital, Freetown, he met with President Ernest Bai Koroma and attended a soccer game between amputees from the West African nation?s decade-long conflict.

He also visited the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the worst acts committed during civil war which ended in 2002.

The Special Court is an independent tribunal established jointly by Sierra Leone?s Government and the UN in 2002. It is mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed in the country after 30 November 1996.

Mr. Ban arrived in Sierra Leone from Benin, where over the weekend, he held extensive talks with President Boni Yayi on the country?s upcoming elections, climate change and the Millennium Development Goals , eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

Visiting a seaside site which has been particularly hard-hit by coastal erosion, he told reporters the scene was both strike and alarming.

Before departing for Sierra Leone today, the Secretary-General told the people of Benin in a televised address in the southern city of Cotonou that next year?s presidential and parliamentary polls will be a test of the country?s well-established democratic tradition.

Mr. Ban?s latest trip to Africa ? the second of three to the continent this month alone ? also took him to South Africa, Burundi and Cameroon.

Early this month, he visited Malawi and Uganda, and later in June he will travel to Gabon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where a UN peacekeeping mission ? known as MONUC ? has been in operation for 11 years.

In May, the Security Council agreed to transform the operation into a stabilization mission in the coming weeks, authorizing the withdrawal of up to 2,000 UN military personnel by 30 June this year from areas where security has improved enough to allow their removal.
Jun 14 2010  5:10PM




MAJORITY OF CHILDREN IN DJIBOUTI THREATENED BY POVERTY, UN AGENCY WARNS
New York, Jun 14 2010  7:10PM
As many as two out of three children in Djibouti are exposed to life-threatening situations because of poverty, the United Nations Children?s Fund  announced today, warning that urgent action must be taken to prevent the country from reversing the progress in basic care it has made in recent years.

?The intensity of the poverty situation in Djibouti tells us of the dangerous environment in which children live, one that exposes them to exploitation and abuse,? said Josefa Marrato, UNICEF Representative in Djibouti.

According to the report commissioned in 2009 by UNICEF and the Djiboutian Ministry for the Promotion of Women and Social Affairs, nearly 70 per cent of children are deprived of at least one basic right ? including the right to water and sanitation, information, nutrition, education and health.

The right to shelter is especially acute, with as many as nine out of 10 children in rural areas without a home.

In a statement released today, UNICEF said it was concerned that the high poverty rates could undermine the gains so far unless children were put at the centre of policy and decision-making, and resource allocation.

The UN agency has provided basic services in Djibouti in the areas of child survival and development, basic education and child protection, as well as basic life services such as vaccines and vitamin supplements.

?Now is the time to act to deliver our various commitments for the children of Djibouti. The key for their future lies with us confronting the current glaring realities of deprivation in which they live in,? Ms. Marrato added.
Jun 14 2010  7:10PM


NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND UN PILOT PROJECT, SAYS TOP OFFICIAL
New York, Jun 14 2010  7:10PM
National governments have proven to be the engine behind the success of an eight-nation pilot programme seeking to better coordinate development activities nationally, a senior United Nations official said today.

The so-called ?Delivering as One? scheme was launched in 2007 to respond to global challenges and test how the UN can provide more coordinate development assistance in the nations which volunteered to become pilot cases: Albania, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Pakistan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uruguay, and Viet Nam.

Together with the world body, these nations are experimenting with ways to increase the UN?s impact through more coherent programmes and speed up the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

?The governments of the ?Delivering as One? countries have stated clearly and unequivocally on numerous occasions that this reform of the UN development system in their country has supported enhanced national ownership and leadership of the development agenda,? Helen Clark, UN Development Programme  Administrator, said today.

She was speaking at the opening today of a conference in Hanoi, Viet Nam, to review lessons learned so far under the initiative.

?Without [the pilot nations?] support and advocacy, it would not have been possible for the UN development system to embark on this reform,? Miss Clark stressed. ?Where this process goes from here will also owe much to their advocacy and on our joint ability to show results.?

The gathering is bringing together representatives from the UN system, pilot countries and donors.

The creation of the pilot project was suggested in Delivering as One, a report by the UN High-Level Panel on System-wide Coherence that was released in November 2006.

That report recommended, among other elements, that the UN ?deliver as one at the country level, with one leader, one programme, one budget, where appropriate, one office? with the aim of avoiding fragmentation and duplication of efforts.

So far, the ?Delivering as One? pilot has helped to reduce ?both duplication and gaps in UN system support,? Miss Clark said today.

In Rwanda, the UN Country Team has created a multi-faceted HIV/AIDS scheme supporting the Government?s prevention and care efforts, while in Albania, the world body has supported increased women?s participation politics during an election which resulted in the more than doubling of the number of women in the country?s Parliament.

These pilots, the UNDP chief underlined, are an ?important achievement? for UN reform. ?They have followed a bottom-up approach, driven and owned by the national government involved.?
Jun 14 2010  7:10PM




TOP UN OFFICIALS IN SUDAN CALL FOR MORE POLITICAL SUPPORT IN YEAR AHEAD
New York, Jun 14 2010  7:10PM
The most senior United Nations officials in Sudan told the Security Council today that the international community must take a more active role in promoting democracy after the recent national elections, particularly ahead of next year?s referendum on possible southern secession, and also focus on stabilizing the increasingly violent Darfur region.

?Sudan needs to be encouraged and assisted to expand the democratic space opened by the recent elections and establish a broad-based system of national governance that leads to a more equitable society and durable peace,? Haile Menkerios, head of the UN Mission in Sudan , told the 15-member UN body.

?The international community must not only encourage and urge the parties to stay the course to ensure the timely conclusion of the CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement] implementation and continue peace and mutual benefit, but also to assist,? he added.

The planned referendum on self-determination in the south is meant to be the final phase of the 2005 CPA, which ended a two-decade-long civil war in the African country.

Mr. Menkerios said that the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People?s Liberation Movement (SPLM) ? both signatories to the CPA ? have separately informed UNMIS that they ?desire UN engagement at a much greater level? than in April to help ensure a fair vote, but have yet to provide Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with detailed requests.

Mr. Menkerios cautioned that with the UN is ready to extend technical and logistical support to the local referendum bodies, ?parties need to be encourages, indeed urged, to push on with the necessary preparations without further delay.?

Formal negotiations between the parties are scheduled to start on 21 June in Ethiopia, with the assistance of the African Union (AU).

Also speaking to the Security Council, the head of the joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur , Ibrahim Gambari, briefed the body on the upsurge in violence in Darfur where 447 people were killed in May alone. 

?The fighting between the two belligerent parties is still continuing, and the security situation in parts of Darfur remains tense and volatile,? Mr. Gambari said, detailing the recent ?serious escalation? of hostilities between the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Government forces.

?The military confrontations may continue for some time unless urgent efforts at ensuring a ceasefire are made by the international community,? Mr. Gambari warned.

UNAMID peacekeepers in Darfur, whose mandate is focused on protection of civilians, is boosting its military and police patrols among camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). The recent fighting has caused up to 50,000 people to flee.

The blue helmets are also working with Government officials to open up more roads to increase access for the humanitarian community. 

In the days before today?s briefing, Mr. Gambari met with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha in Khartoum. He said the Government had agreed to instruct its agencies to allow greater aid access, and a ban on helicopter flights was lifted on 13 June.   

The Security Council also heard from the Joint AU-UN Chief Mediator for Darfur Djibril Bassol?, who said a major meeting with civil society will be held in the first two weeks of July, and from the Chairperson of the AU Panel on Darfur (AUPD) Thabo Mbeki.
Jun 14 2010  7:10PM

 

UN JOINS FORCES WITH COMPUTER GIANTS TO TACKLE INTERNET TERRORISM
New York, Feb 22 2010  2:10PM
The United Nations and computer giants, including Microsoft and Google, are joining forces to identify ways to combat terrorists’ use of the Internet to recruit members, organize criminal acts and raise money.

The UN Working Group on Countering the Use of the Internet for Terrorist Purposes is holding talks with CISCO, Symantec and others in the United States city of Seattle to examine the technical issues involved in the issue.

There is a high level of crime on the Internet, and “it is essential that you bring in the private sector, [which is] an essential partner in moving forward,” Richard Barrett, who co-chairs the Working Group, told the UN News Centre.

The two-day meeting which started today comes on the heels of a gathering last month in Berlin, Germany, where participants examined laws currently in place regarding direct attacks on networks and computer systems.

Member States have yet to agree on a precise definition of “terrorism.” This complicates discussions on possible legal frameworks to prevent or curtail terrorists’ use of the Internet due to the resulting questions over possible infringements on the freedom of speech and human rights, Mr. Barrett noted.

Currently, the UN is the only international organization working on the links between the Internet and terrorism, said Jean-Paul Laborde, who heads the UN Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force .

That body was set up in 2006 and brings together two dozen UN entities, working under mandates from the General Assembly, the Security Council and various specialized agencies, funds and programmes.

The Working Group on curbing Internet terrorism is like “nothing which has been done before by any organization at the global level,” Mr. Laborde said.

There is “added value” in bringing together Members States, several UN departments and organizations, such as the European Union (EU) and the Council of Europe, to tackle the problem, he noted.

A third meeting, delving into how the Internet can also be utilized to counter the appeal of terrorism, is scheduled to be held in the near future.

There are eight other CTITF working groups which focus on, among other issues, protecting human rights while countering terrorism and conflict prevention and resolution.
Feb 22 2010  2:10PM

TOP UN OFFICIAL KILLED IN HAITI’S QUAKE LAID TO REST IN TUNISIAN HOMELAND
New York, Jan 22 2010  4:10PM
Senior United Nations official Hédi Annabi, lauded by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a “true citizen of the world” and a “mild man with the heart of a lion,” was laid to rest in the soil of his Tunisian homeland today, nine days after he died in the rubble of Haiti’s devastating earthquake.

Mr. Annabi, head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti , was accompanied on his final journey home by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy, representing Mr. Ban.

“Overwhelmed but guided by faith in God's will, we today bid farewell to a dear brother, a faithful man and a brilliant diplomat; a devoted and emeritus son of Tunisia who was imbued with immeasurable principles and inexhaustible human values of this land, called back to God while being at the height of his work,” Foreign Minister Kamel Morjane said in a eulogy.

“Our dear departed died while performing his noble mission of United Nations representative for stabilisation in Haiti, whose people and Government showed him a special affection, as stressed by Haitian President René Préval, who mourned what he described as ‘a great loss for the United Nations, Tunisia and all Haitians’.”

Mr. Annabi, his Deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa, and UN Acting Police Commissioner Doug Coates of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police died when the Hotel Christopher, MINUSTAH’s headquarters in Port-au-Prince, the capital, was destroyed by the 12 January quake, which is estimated to have affected some 3 million Haitians, a third of the impoverished country’s population.

Nearly 50 UN personnel lost their lives and nearly 150 are still not accounted for.

When Mr. Annabi’s death was confirmed last week, Mr. Ban declared: “He gave of himself – with energy, discipline and great bravery,” adding that the envoy was the “gold standard of service against which all who had the privilege to work with him were measured.”

The Special Representative “was proud of the UN mission in Haiti – proud of its accomplishments in bringing stability and hope to Haiti's people, proud of his UN staff,” he stressed.
Jan 22 2010  4:10PM
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UN DEATH TOLL FROM HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE REACHES 61
New York, Jan 21 2010  6:10PM
The number of United Nations staff killed in last week’s Haitian earthquake has climbed to 61 as rescuers continue their efforts to both find people alive and recover bodies from the collapsed headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in the country’s capital.

The toll, based on data received by this morning, comprises 23 civilian staff who worked for the peacekeeping mission (known as , 24 military staff and 12 UN police officers. A World Food Programmestaffer and a UN Volunteer  are also confirmed to have been killed.

UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told journalists today that 179 other UN personnel remain unaccounted for, a number that has fallen in recent days as communications have slowly improved on the ground since the quake rocked the capital, Port-au-Prince, and nearby towns on 12 January.

The overwhelming majority of the UN staff who remain unaccounted for worked for MINUSTAH, whose headquarters in the Christopher Hotel was levelled by the quake.

At least 20 other UN staff members were hospitalized or injured.
Jan 21 2010  6:10PM

SOMALIA FACES HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN 2010 WITH AID COFFERS EMPTY, UN WARNS
New York, Dec  8 2009  7:10PM
War-torn and drought-ravaged Somalia is facing a humanitarian crisis with no funding so far raised or pledged for next year for food, water, sanitation, health and other vital needs and the potential that the situation could spill over into a major regional crisis for its neighbours, senior United Nations officials warned today.

“The main message that we have is that the potential humanitarian funding crisis is life-threatening, it threatens a large proportion of the population,” UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Bowden told a news briefing in New York, noting that UN agencies are going into a new humanitarian funding cycle with no carry-over finances,

“The consequences of not addressing the situation in Somalia is that we could expect more displacement into other parts of the region putting a great deal more stress on Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya at a time when they can’t afford to support them either.”

The agencies are talking to donors, some of whom are concerned about the effectiveness of aid in a country torn apart by factional fighting and without a functioning central government since 1991, or worried that humanitarian supplies could fall into the hands of terrorists, but so far nothing has been concluded.

“Time is precious… so if we don’t resolve this soon, the humanitarian consequences are very, very serious indeed,” he added. “Time is running out.”

The UN Children’s Fund also took up the issue of donors’ concerns, stressing that the feeling that aid can barely do anything in Somalia is misplaced.

It is important to remember that the country has been polio free since 2007 and this year has immunized 1.5 million children – 85 per cent of those under five – as well as 1 million women, 65 per cent of those of child bearing age against tetanus, said UNICEF country representative Rozanne Chorlton.

“So Somalia on track to be measles- and tetanus-free,” Ms. Chorlton told the briefing, underscoring the need to keep up this level of activity. “Really big things can happen in Somalia in terms of humanitarian service delivery, in terms of saving lives. If we fail to get at least $12 million for the first quarter of next year, people will die, children will die.”

Overall, the humanitarian sector is seeking $689 million for the whole of next year. Mr. Bowden said, noting that over the past year the number of people in need of assistance on a regular basis had risen from 3.17 million to 3.64 million, well over half the total population, while 1.18 million face an acute crisis of food and livelihood insecurity. Some 1.55 million are displaced, “almost the world’s largest displacement,” he added.

He cited slow decision making in donor countries, a global downturn in humanitarian assistance, donor fatigue and the fear of aid falling into the hands of extremists among the reasons for the funding crisis. For 2009 humanitarian agencies received only about half of the $900 million sought for the year, thus allowing no carry-over for 2010.
Dec  8 2009  7:10PM

GLOBAL MINERALS, ARMS SMUGGLING NETWORKS FUEL DR CONGO CONFLICT – UN REPORT
New York, Dec  7 2009  6:10PM
Minerals and arms smuggling worth millions of dollars persists in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) despite international sanctions, fuelling rebel strength despite national army operations, and army and rebel soldiers continue to kill civilians, according to a new United Nations report that calls on the Security Council to take action to plug the gaps.

The independent Group of Experts monitoring UN sanctions on the DRC reports that the mainly Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR) continue to exploit gold and cassiterite in North and South Kivu provinces with the help of trading networks in Uganda, Burundi and the United Arab Emirates, while irregular arms deliveries have come from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Sudan.

End buyers for cassiterite include the Malaysia Smelting Corporation and the Thailand Smelting and Refining Company, which is held by United Kingdom-based Amalgamated Metals Corporation, the experts add. The rebels also get weapons leaked to them from the army itself while the rebel diaspora abroad, particularly in Europe, coordinates fundraising and operations. 

“The increasing rate of FDLR combatant defections and FDLR temporary removal from many of its bases are only a partial success, considering that the armed group has regrouped in a number of locations in the Kivus, and continues to recruit new fighters,” they write of the army’s offensive, noting that the rebels continue to benefit from residual but significant support from top army commanders and external support networks in Burundi and Tanzania.

“FDLR has a far-reaching international diaspora network involved in the day-to-day running of the movement, the coordination of military and arms trafficking activities and the management of financial activities.”

The report calls on the Security Council to ask Member States to share data on active FDLR diaspora members, prosecute sanctions violations by nationals or leaders of armed groups residing in their territories and take steps to prevent companies from supporting such groups by trade in natural resources.

The Council should also call on all States in the Great Lakes region to immediately publish their full import and export statistics for gold, cassiterite, coltan and wolframite and centralize them in a body chaired by an independent auditor mandated to verify any statistical anomalies.

“The focus of the report is the international, regional and local networks that are fuelling the crisis in eastern Congo,” Group Coordinator Dinesh Mahtani told a news conference.

The experts call on the Council to strengthen the authority of the UN Mission in the DRC  in monitoring the arms embargo, and to reiterate its request to Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, the Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia to provide full data on all flights to or from the DRC.

On human rights abuses, they call on the Council to mandate MONUC to set up a vetting mechanism to screen the records of national army officers and impose disciplinary and judicial sanctions on gross human rights abusers. “FARDC (the national army) and FDLR have been involved in significant killings of civilians and other abuses from March to October 2009, causing additional waves of displacement of several hundred thousand civilians,” they write.

Turning to the efforts to reintegrate former rebels into the army, the experts report that the officer class of another group, the Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP), in particular General Bosco Ntaganda, has continued to retain heavy weapons from its period of rebellion and still controls revenue-generating activities and parallel local administrations.

They call on the Council to urge the DRC authorities to remove General Ntaganda from the position of Deputy Commander of Kimia II operations (the offensive against FDLR) and implement an assets freeze and travel ban against him, since his name is included in the list of individuals under sanctions.

“CNDP military officers deployed as part of FARDC Kimia II operations have profited from their deployment in mineral-rich areas, notably at the Bisie mine in Walikale, North Kivu, and in the territory of Kalehe, in South Kivu,” they write.

“In both these areas, the FARDC commanding officers on the ground are former CNDP officers,” they add, citing evidence showing direct involvement of CNDP military officials in the supply of minerals to a number of exporting houses which supply the international companies mentioned above.
Dec  7 2009  6:10PM

TOP UN CLIMATE OFFICIAL CONFIDENT THAT NEW PACT WILL BE REACHED IN COPENHAGEN
New York, Dec  6 2009  6:10PM
On the eve of the historic United Nations climate change gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark, a top official with the world body today expressed confidence that the event will deliver a comprehensive and ambitious new deal.

The two-week talks are set to kick off tomorrow in the Danish capital, and by the end of the summit, Governments must adequately respond to the urgent challenge posed by climate change, said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change .

"Negotiators now have the clearest signal ever from world leaders to craft solid proposals to implement rapid action," he noted.

Mr. de Boer acknowledged the many pledges to slash reductions made by nations -- both developed and developing -- and underscored that there is an unprecedented political momentum to "seal the deal" on a new deal in Copen
hagen, which will be the scene of the world's largest meeting on climate change ever, with over 100 Heads of State expected to attend.

"Never in 17 years of climate negotiations have so many different nations made so many firm pledges together," he said. "So whilst there will be more steps on the road to a safe climate future, Copenhagen is already a turning point in the international response to climate change."

There are three layers of action, the official emphasized, that nations must agree on during the gathering: swift implementation of action on climate change ambitious commitments to curb emissions and a long-term shared vision of a low-emissions future for all.

Developed countries, he said, must provide at least $10 billion annually from next year through 2012 to help their developing counterparts plan and launch low emission growth and adaptation strategies, as well as to build internal capacity. Simultaneously, wealthier nations must also indicate how they will raise
predictable and sustainable financing for the long term, as well as what their future commitments will be.

According to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , an aggregate emission reduction by industrialized nations of between -25 and 40 per cent over 1990 levels is necessary by 2020 in order to avert the worst effects of climate change, with global emissions falling by at least 50 per cent by 2050.

A new <report backed by the UN Environment Programme  has found that countries taking part in the Copenhagen summit, expected to draw over 15,000 people, may be closer than some might realize to agreeing to emissions cuts required to allow the world to prevent a global temperature rise of more than 2 degrees centigrade.

The publication released today notes that the gap between countries' strongest proposed c
uts and what is needed could only be a few billion tonnes of greenhouse gases.

The study was compiled by Lord Stern of Brentford, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science, in collaboration with UNEP analysts.

To ward off a more than 2 degree temperature rise, it said that annual emissions in 2020 must not exceed more than 44 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent. The new analysis shows that the gap between this target and the most ambitious cuts suggested by nations in recent months is some 2 billon tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent.

The gap could be bridged in the Danish capital, the report suggests, by actions including additional reductions from deforestation and other sources slashing emissions from the aviation and shipping industries and key developing countries offering more than their current proposals.


"What we are presenting here is underpinned by numerous provisons -- n
ot least that serious and sustained funding is provided to assist countries like Brazil and Indonesia to achieve the high end of their new proposals, and that all nations deliver on their pledges and promises," said Achim Steiner, UNEP's Executive Director.

The "central message," he stressed, is that limiting global temperature rise to no more than 2 degrees can be achieved in a cost-effective way with clearly-designed policies consistently applied across countries and industries and "can also set the stage for a low-carbon, resource-efficient 21st century Green Economy."
 

SINGER-SONGWRITER STEVIE WONDER DESIGNATED UN MESSENGER OF PEACE
New York, Dec  1 2009  5:10PM
United States singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder is joining the prestigious roster of United Nations Messengers of Peace to advocate for the Organization’s work, with the artist – blind since birth – championing people with disabilities.

“Our newest Messenger of Peace is someone who is admired by millions of people and has given back to millions of people,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today ahead of Mr. Wonder’s official designation at a news conference on Thursday.

“I recognize that he has consistently used his voice and special relationship with the public to create a better and more inclusive world, to defend civil and human rights and to improve the lives of those less fortunate. Stevie Wonder is a true inspiration to young people all over the world about what can be achieved despite any physical limitations.”

He will join 10 other Messengers of Peace – individuals widely recognized for their talents in the arts, academia, literature, sports and entertainment – in helping to raise worldwide awareness of UN ideals and activities. Through their public appearances, contacts with the international media and humanitarian work, they expand public understanding of how the UN helps to improve the lives of people everywhere.

The other Messengers of Peace and their areas of focus are: conductor Daniel Barenboim (peace and tolerance); actor George Clooney (peacekeeping); author Paulo Coelho (poverty and intercultural dialogue); actor Michael Douglas (disarmament); primatologist Jane Goodall (conservation and environmental issues); violinist Midori Goto (Millennium Development Goals and Youth); Princess Haya Bint al Hussein (Millennium Development Goals and hunger); cellist Yo-Yo Ma (youth); actor Charlize Theron (ending violence against women); and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel (human rights).

“Stevie Wonder’s activism has been pivotal in US and world events,” the UN noted in a news release, citing the 1983 campaign he spearheaded to make Martin Luther King Day a national holiday in the US, and his advocacy for ending apartheid in South Africa.

He has been recognized for his philanthropic efforts, including the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, Junior Blind of America and the creation of the Wonder Vision Awards Program. For over 10 years, he has provided toys for children and families in need with his annual House Full of Toys benefit concert.

His career as a recording artist has reflected his concern with humanitarian issues. He has written, produced and/or performed songs relative to charities in support of disabilities, AIDS, cancer, diabetes, hunger and homelessness, domestic abuse and many other causes on behalf of children and adults.
 

UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG HAS HIT 'DEAD END' WITH IRAN, SAYS CHIEF 
New York, Nov 26 2009  1:10PM
The head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency today called on Iran to fully engage with the body to resolve outstanding issues related to its nuclear programme, citing no movement in over a year on the matter.

Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, who concludes his term at the end of this month, told a meeting of the Board of Governors in Vienna that the Agency has continued to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran.

"However, there has been no movement on remaining issues of concern which need to be clarified for the Agency to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme," he stated, noting that it is now over a year since the Agency was last able to engage Iran about outstanding issues.

"We have effectively reached a dead end, unless Iran engages fully with us," he said in a wide-rang
ing address -- his last to the Board -- that also touched on Syria, and issues of technicial cooperation, nuclear energy and nuclear security.

Iran has stated that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but some other countries contend it is driven by military ambitions. The issue has been of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that the country had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Mr. ElBaradei also described the proposed agreement to provide fuel for a research reactor in Tehran which produces medical radioisotopes for therapeutic and diagnostic procedures as a unique opportunity to address a humanitarian need and create space for negotiations.

Iran has informed the IAEA chief that it is considering the proposal, which was put forward in October during talks held at the IAEA, "in depth and in a favoura
ble light" but needed more time to provide a response. The other three parties to the talks -- France, Russia and the United States -- have all indicated their approval of the agreement.

"I am disappointed that Iran has not so far agreed to the original proposal or the alternative modalities, both of which I believe are balanced and fair and would greatly help to alleviate the concerns relating to Iran's nuclear programme," stated Mr. ElBaradei.

"This opportunity should be seized and it would be highly regrettable if it was missed," he added.

Mr. ElBaradei has headed the IAEA since 1998, and will be succeeded by Yukiya Amano, a Japanese diplomat with a lengthy record of working on disarmament and non-proliferation issues.

NUMBER OF POOR IN LATIN AMERICA TO RISE BY 9 MILLION THIS YEAR, SAYS UN REPORT
New York, Nov 19 2009  6:10PM
Nine million more people in Latin America will fall into poverty this year due to the global economic crisis, bringing the total number of poor in the region to 189 million, or 34 per cent of the population, according to a United Nations report released today.

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, which produced the report, stated that the new estimates depart from the trend towards poverty reduction that was prevalent in the region thanks to greater economic growth, the expansion of social spending and better income distribution.

“We can’t say that all that was attained between 2002 and 2008 has been lost,” said ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena, as she presented the report, <i>Social Panorama of Latin America 2009</i>.

“However, the rise in poverty calls us to action. We need to rethink social protection programmes with a long-term, strategic perspective and measures that make the most of human capital and protect the income of vulnerable families and groups,” she added.

ECLAC recommended, among other things, reforming social protection systems and adopting both urgent short-term measures as well as strategic long-term ones.

“In doing so, governments should avoid fiscal irresponsibility and rigid labour markets, increase taxes progressively, redistribute social spending and extend coverage of social services,” the Commission stated.

The Commission also noted that the projected increase in poverty for 2009 will impede efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals , the globally agreed targets to slash poverty, hunger and a host of other social ills, all by 2015.

At the same time, the impact of the current crisis on poverty in the region is not expected to be as great as with previous crises, such as the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, it pointed out.

GREEN ENERGY ON RISE ACROSS AFRICA BUT STILL LAGS BEHIND OTHER REGIONS – UN
New York, Nov 17 2009 12:10PM
More green energy and climate-friendly projects target Africa than ever before, but the numbers still lag behind Asia and Latin America, the United Nations Environment Programme  announced today.

The projects, from renewable energies to tree planting, are part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol – the global emissions reduction treaty. They allow developed countries to reduce emissions and meet global warming commitments by investing in carbon reduction projects in developing countries.

A total of 112 CDM Africa projects, worth a total of Euros 212 million a year, are at “validation, requesting registration or registered,” UNEP said, noting that this is up from 78 projects in 2008 and just two in 2004. 

Around 80 per cent of the projects are in sub-Saharan Africa, with 28 projects underway or planned in South Africa, followed by 14 in Kenya. In North Africa, Egypt has 13 projects, followed by Morocco with 10.

The projects include two large solar water heating projects in South Africa, the promotion of energy efficient light bulbs in rural Senegal and a municipal waste-composting project in Uganda. 

Experts say the latest figures underline the importance of Africa’s Governments pressing for reform in the weeks before the UN Climate Change Convention meeting in Copenhagen from 7 to 18 December.

At the same time, they noted that while the figures are cause for optimism, they also underline how few projects are currently flowing into Africa when compared with several other parts of the world.

Globally, there are over 4,730 CDM projects operating or close to approval. The lion’s share is in Asia and the Pacific with a total of just over 3,700 projects, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with close to 820. 

These issues will be part of the agenda at the Green Electricity Conference organized by UNEP, the Kenyan Government and the French development agency AFD in Nairobi on 23 and 24 November.

HIGH-SPEED INTERNET GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR WIDENING, UN OFFICIAL WARNS
New York, Nov 12 2009  6:10PM
While the “digital divide” between rich and poor countries may be shrinking overall, the gap is widening between the developed and developing worlds in the availability of broadband or high-speed Internet, a crucial tool for achieving economic and social goals, a top United Nations official said today.

“Australia, for example, a country with 21 million people has more broadband subscribers than the whole of Africa [a continent with nearly 900 million inhabitants],” UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka told the fourth World Electronic Media Forum in Mexico City.

He stressed that enhanced broadband connectivity can improve access to life-saving health care and information, provide opportunities for skills development and lifelong learning, lower costs for business, and connect farmers to markets, migrants to their families, and citizens to their governments.

“A person in a developed country is on average 200 times more likely than someone in a least developed country to enjoy high-speed access to the Internet,” he said, noting that in the case of Internet use, more than half of the developed world population is now online, compared to only 15 per cent in developing countries.

At the start of this year, there were about 4 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide. “Mobile phones have become one of the most equitably distributed ICTs (information and communication technology),” Mr. Akasaka said. “This is good news. But while the ‘digital divide’ between rich and poor may be shrinking, it is still a major concern.”

HOLLYWOOD ACTOR ORLANDO BLOOM NAMED UNICEF GOODWILL AMBASSADOR
New York, Oct 12 2009 10:10AM
Hollywood actor Orlando Bloom will be working to make the world a better place for young people as he steps into his new role as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Mr. Bloom, who has starred in the highly successful “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, was appointed by UNICEF in recognition of his commitment to the rights of children worldwide.

“We are proud to have Orlando Bloom as one of the strong voices for vulnerable children,” said the agency’s Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman.

The Hollywood actor has already seen the work carried out by UNICEF in Nepal, Russia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On his first visit to Nepal in 2007, he was able to see how UNICEF's water and sanitation programmes benefit local families, and he spoke about the importance of education. In addition, he agreed to perform a small role in the local school radio production after being asked by the students.

He says he looks forward to working with UNICEF – which is on the ground in over 150 countries and territories – as it continues to make the world a better place for children.

“UNICEF doesn't just deliver humanitarian aid, which is what they are known for all over the world. They also educate and provide tools which help women and children face challenges specific to their own lives,” he stated. “I look forward to learning more and to supporting UNICEF any way I can.”

Mr. Bloom joins a growing list of luminaries lending their star power to raise awareness of children’s issues, including tennis player Roger Federer, pop singer Shakira, footballer David Beckham and actor Jackie Chan.
Oct 12 2009 10:10AM

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES ARMENIAN-TURKISH ACCORD
New York, Oct 10 2009  8:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed today's signing of two protocols paving the way towards normalizing ties between Armenia and Turkey, voicing hope that the move will contribute to peace, security and stability in the South Caucasus region.

"This historic decision constitutes a milestone toward the establishment of good neighbourly relations and the development of bilateral cooperation between both countries," Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.

He also expressed hope that both protocols will be ratified quickly by the parliaments of Armenia and Turkey to "ensure full normalization of their bilateral relations.

BAN CALLS FOR DONOR SUPPORT TO TREAT MENTAL DISORDERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
New York, Oct 10 2009  1:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used World Mental Health Day today to appeal for donor support to care for such disorders in developing countries and among lower income groups.

"Mental disorders contribute more to disease burden and disability in developing countries than any other category of non-communicable disease, yet only a small minority of people with mental disorders in these countries have access to mental health services. The need is high, and care is inadequate," he said in a message marking the occasion.

"Governments and public health organizations, civil society, multilateral agencies and donors must join hands to make this happen," he added, noting that effective treatments exist for a wide variety of mental disorders. 

Due to limited available human and financial resources, community-based primary care facilities must be involved in delivering these services
  Moreover, providing effective services in primary care settings would help to reduce the stigma associated with mental disorders and could prevent unnecessary hospitalization and human rights violations of people with mental health problems.

"Such a strategy makes good economic sense," Mr. Ban said. "Mental disorders impair the ability of children to learn and the ability of adults to function in families, at work and in society at large. It is also a pro-poor strategy. Research shows that mental disorders are overwhelmingly concentrated in lower income groups. Poverty and its associated stresses, which include unemployment, violence, social exclusion and constant insecurity, are closely linked to the onset of mental disorders.

SAVE THE FORESTS, HELP SAVE THE PLANET – UN AGRICULTURAL OFFICIAL
New York, Oct  9 2009  4:10PM
With deforestation accounting for over 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, a senior United Nations agricultural official today called for preservation of an ecosystem that can play a major role in fighting global warming.

“Damage to forest ecosystems is affecting everyone in the world through climate change, water scarcity and the loss of biological diversity,” UN Food and Agriculture Organization  Assistant Director General of Forestry Jan Heino said ahead of a meeting later this month of World Forestry Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He called on the 4,500 participants, including delegates of governments, the private sector and environmental organizations from more than 120 countries, expected to attend the 18-23 October meeting to adopt more effective land, crop and livestock management practices.

“Given that agriculture and land use changes such as deforestation contribute about one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, the potential role of these sectors in meeting the climate change challenge is great,” he said in a news release. 

The World Forestry Congress, held every six years since 1926 and organized by the government of the host country under FAO auspices, is the most important meeting on the global calendar with regard to the forestry sector. It comes less than two months before the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, where it is hoped to forge a new pact to replace the Kyoto Protocol with even steeper reductions of greenhouse gases.

UN agencies have repeatedly pointed to the vital role that forests play in the health of Planet earth. Last month, a campaign backed by the UN Environment Programme  to plant 7 billion new trees in a bid to push governments into reaching agreement in Copenhagen achieved its goal.

The milestone was reached on 22 September with the news that China had planted 2.6 billion trees as part of the campaign, bringing the total to 7.3 billion trees planted in 167 countries.

Tree planting remains one of the most cost-effective ways to address climate change, according to UNEP. Trees and forests play a vital role in regulating the climate since they absorb carbon dioxide. Deforestation, in turn, accounts for over 20 per cent of the carbon dioxide humans generate, rivalling the emissions from other sources.

In a related development, efforts to set up a global body to address the loss and degradation of nature-based assets have gathered pace at a UNEP-backed gathering of representatives of nearly 100 governments.

At the Nairobi meeting, there was strong support to establish the Intergovernmental Panel or Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), which would catalyze political action as the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  has.

“This is the year the world had hoped to have turned the tide on the loss of biodiversity,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner. “This, however, is unlikely to be achieved which does not undermine the goal but speaks volumes of the need for an effective mechanism which IPBES could represent.”

The gathering revealed that “there is a clear recognition that the status quo is not an option,” he added.
Oct  9 2009  4:10PM

SERBIA-RUSSIA PARTNERSHIP ON NUCLEAR WASTE WILL HASTEN DEVELOPMENT, UN SAYS
New York, Sep 16 2009  5:10PM
Serbia will send its nuclear waste for reprocessing and disposal to Russia as part of a new agreement which will pave the way for economic and social development, the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency  said today.

The $25 million project – funded by Serbia and Russia, along with the Czech Republic, the United States, IAEA and the non-governmental organization (NGO) known as the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) – will send spent nuclear fuel back from the Vinca facilities, on the outskirts of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, back to Russia.

Vinca was set up as a research centre in the former Yugoslavia in the 1950s, housing a civilian nuclear research reactor loaded with high-enriched uranium and also serving as a central radioactive waste collection centre for the country. Although it has been offline since 1984, radioactive waste from around the country continued to accumulate, with global concern mushroom in the wake of the nation’s break-up in the 1990s.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said that the agency anxious over the state of the site, which he visited in July, from both the safety and security perspectives.

Thanks to the new scheme spearheaded by the IAEA, “we got rid of the negative legacy and we are now opening a new chapter where we can work together to use nuclear energy in a very constructive way for economic and social development, in all areas from power generation to health, medicine and agriculture,” he said.

The Serbian-Russian contract was signed during the IAEA’s 53rd General Conference in Vienna.

In a message to the start of the annual gathering, Secretary-General Ki-moon noted that concerns stemming from the dangers of the proliferation of nuclear weapons underscore the importance of the safeguards system of the IAEA.

Such worries also highlight the need for universal adherence to the additional protocol –  a set of safeguards aimed at boosting the agency’s ability to ensure that a State does not have undeclared nuclear material – to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), he stressed.
Sep 16 2009  5:10PM

CLIMATE CHANGE, POPULATION GROWTH THREATEN IMMENSE HUMAN CATASTROPHE – UN ADVISER
New York, Sep 16 2009 12:10PM
A senior United Nations adviser has called on world governments to reduce population growth and work together to keep climate change from causing an immense human catastrophe, starkly warning: “We’re on a trajectory that is absolutely unsustainable and profoundly dangerous.”

Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that seek to slash a host of social ills by 2015, said the rich world should pay for much of the necessary mitigating steps.

“We’re in the age of this planet where human activity dominates the earth's processes. Humanity has become so large in absolute number and in economic activity that we have overtaken earth processes in vital ways to the point of changing the climate, the hydrologic cycle,” he told the UN Conference on Trade and Development  in Geneva yesterday.

Mr. Sachs was giving the 14th annual Prebisch lecture, named after Raul Prebisch, the first Secretary-General of UNCTAD, which was established in 1964 to promote the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy.

Current international attempts to respond are off track, he said. “We don't need global negotiations right now as much as we need global brainstorming, global problem solving,” Mr. Sachs said, likening the approach to a high-stakes poker game in which negotiators hold their cards close to their chests. “The climate change problem is not a trade negotiation. It is simply the most complex engineering, economic, and social problem humanity has ever faced.”

He called for a massive, coordinated public-private effort with a great deal of input by experts to determine what can be done to allow substantial economic growth to raise living standards for hundreds of millions of poor while coping with environmental problems that already are unsustainable, highlighted by but not limited to climate change.

“We don't necessarily need diplomats around the table. We need engineers around the table, scientists around the table. We need to put the cards down and have a new kind of process,” he said.

On the current state of climate negotiations he said the issue of whether a national goal is binding or not is one of the least interesting questions. “What’s binding if you can't achieve it?” he asked.  “It's silly. We should be talking about what can we do, not what's binding – what can we do now, in five years, 10 years. Once we analyze those options we can talk about what to do…

“And no doubt the rich world can and should pay for much of the response,” he added, warning that the immense progress required, especially in terms of energy use, will not be achieved by free markets alone.

No private company “will profitably develop these technologies on their own. Large scale technical systems require clever policies and public-private partnerships,” he said.  “Over time, there are so many wonderful things we can do.  We can achieve economic growth at much lower impact if we think clearly, systematically, in systems terms, with a new kind of public-private approach based on shared global goals.”
Sep 16 2009 12:10PM

BAN EXHORTS WORLD TO SEIZE MOMENTUM TO REACH DISARMAMENT GOALS
New York, Sep 15 2009  6:10PM
Recent “encouraging” developments in the disarmament arena have provided a crucial window of opportunity for the international community to achieve its non-proliferation goals, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

“This is a very rare momentum created [by] the international community,” Mr. Ban told the UN News Centre today in a joint interview with UN Radio and UN Television.

In May, the Conference on Disarmament – the world’s sole multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations – adopted a Programme of Work for its 2009 session, ending a 12-year stalemate and allowing the body to negotiate and substantively discuss strategic disarmament and non-proliferation.

Further, Russia and the United States committed in July to cut their strategic warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 and their strategic delivery vehicles to between 500 and 1,000, as part of the Joint Understanding for a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

Later this month, US President Barack Obama will chair a meeting of the Security Council focusing on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the UN-backed Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

As Secretary-General, “I will devote my time and energy to making things move,” Mr. Ban said.

In his interview, he also voiced hope that the 64th session of the General Assembly, which kicked off today, will be among “the most historic and crucially important” in the UN’s history, as the world body forges ahead with efforts to combat global challenges ranging from climate change, pandemics and the financial crisis.

On the Middle East, Mr. Ban expressed concern that negotiations on the peace process have not “produced any tangible results despite such a high level of expectations from the international community.”

He said he is optimistic that Mr. Obama and the new US administration will be able to accelerate progress on this front so that Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace.

“This is our vision and this is our commitment,” he underscored.

The Secretary-General recently returned from a visit to Mexico, where he addressed the 62nd annual UN Department of Public Information (DPI) conference with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), whose theme this year was “For Peace and Development: Disarm Now!”

With global military spending topping $1 trillion and rising by the day, he reiterated his appeal to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

“The world is over-armed and peace is under-funded,” Mr. Ban said at the event, which drew over 1,700 representatives from NGOs and experts from 70 countries.

He noted that more weapons continue to be produced and are flooding markets around the world. “They are destabilizing societies. They feed the flames of civil wars and terror,” he stated.
Sep 15 2009  6:10PM

KAZAKHSTAN: UN VOICES CONCERNS OVER ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE OF UZBEK REFUGEES
New York, Sep 15 2009 11:10AM
The United Nations refugee agency today expressed its concern over the temporary detention and alleged mistreatment of Uzbek refugees and asylum-seekers that took place last week in Kazakhstan’s capital, Almaty.

The five men – three refugees and two asylum-seekers – reported to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees  that at a group of at least six armed and masked men entered their homes in the city at midnight on Monday and took them away for questioning.

“In one of the raids, one refugee was allegedly beaten and suffered a broken nose,” agency spokesperson Melissa Fleming >told reporters in Geneva.

Upon being taken to the Almaty Department of the Committee of National Security (DKNB), the refugees and asylum-seekers say they were verbally abused and threatened with immediate deportation to Uzbekistan, Ms. Fleming said.

They were released several hours later by the DKNB, which stated unofficially that they were arrested on suspicion of involvement in killing a policeman in their home country following the issuing of a search warrant from Uzbekistan.

“Refugees reported that at the time of detention some of them were handcuffed, and that plastic bags or woven hats were placed over their faces,” Ms. Fleming noted.

Although they are registered with UNHCR, they were not allowed to contact the agency or their relatives, nor were the provided with legal representation, she added.

People from neighbouring countries are “particularly vulnerable” as they do not have access to Kazakhstan’s asylum system, the spokesperson said, with their international protection needs determined by UNHCR, which has formally protested the incident to Kazakh authorities.

“We urge the Government of Kazakhstan, as a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol to respect its commitment to protecting refugees.”
Sep 15 2009 11:10AM

UN FORCE INVESTIGATING ROCKET FIRING INTO ISRAEL FROM SOUTH LEBANON
New York, Sep 11 2009  1:10PM
The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon said it has launched an investigation into an incident today in which at least two rockets were fired from the southern part of the country into northern Israel.

According to preliminary reports, the rockets were fired from the general area of Qlaileh, in southern Lebanon, and impacted northern Israel in the general area north of Nahariya, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon  said in a statement.

“The Israeli army retaliated with artillery fire aimed at the area from where the rocket fire originated. The firing stopped shortly thereafter,” it stated, adding that the mission has no reports of casualties on either side.

UNIFIL said it is in contact with both sides, urging them to exercise maximum restraint, uphold the cessation of hostilities and avoid taking steps which would lead to further escalation.

In coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces, the mission has deployed additional troops and reaction force in the area to prevent escalation.

UN officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have noted that incidents such as rocket firing pose a serious challenge to the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 which helped end the war between Israel and Hizbollah in the summer of 2006.

The resolution calls for respect for the so-called Blue Line that separates Israeli and Lebanese sides, the disarming of militias and an end to arms smuggling, among other measures.
Sep 11 2009  1:10PM

NEWSMAKER: FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE ENTERS UN OFFICIAL’S DAILY LIFE
New York, Sep 10 2009  4:10PM
Criss-crossing the globe to make the case for the need to combat global warming means that Rajendra K. Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), must find other ways to halt the damage being done to the planet.

“I really have one area where unfortunately I am guilty of a pretty large carbon footprint, and that is in terms of travel,” Mr. Pachauri told the United Nations News Centre in a Newsmaker interview.

But he said he has no choice in this regard because he must spread the message on the urgency of tackling climate change. “I have to go all over the world and I have to convince people this is a serious problem that we have to address.”

Mr. Pachauri helms the IPCC, which was set up in 1988 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) with the aim of providing governments with a clear scientific view of what is happening to the world’s climate.

In his personal life, Mr. Pachauri, who started his career in India as a mechanical engineer, said he is extremely careful to not be too consumptive in his habits.

“I’m not a consumerist, just buying and throwing stuff away,” he said.

In his daily life, the official said that he is careful in using transport, sets the thermostat at a high level and turns the lights off when he leaves the room. He has also converted to vegetarianism.

“I try to do what little I can,” Mr. Pachauri said.

Since he became involved in the field of climate change two decades ago, he said he has seen a massive shift in how global warming is viewed thanks to the accumulation of scientific data.

“We also know on the basis of observations, on the basis of what we see all around us, and based on recorded measurements, that climate change is a reality.”

Despite this evidence, the IPCC chair expressed regret that some nations continue to be paralyzed with inertia when it comes to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. “It just unfortunate that while leadership in most countries realizes what needs to be done, they are hiding behind very short-term and narrow so-called national interests,” he said.

Countries, he stressed, have the opportunity to rectify this situation in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December when talks on a new emissions agreement are set to conclude.

The IPCC has warned that if the world continues on its present course, emissions will rise by 25 to 90 per cent by 2030, compared to 2000 levels.

“If we don’t get an agreement and the world continues to increase its emissions of greenhouse gases, climate change will take place and there will be some very severe impacts that will be felt in several parts of the world,” Mr. Pachauri said.

Both developed and developing nations must do their part, but wealthier countries, which bear greater responsibility for global warming, have to set an example, he underscored. The Kyoto Protocol, which seeks to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, “is being observed in its breach rather than adherence to the limits that were set.”
Sep 10 2009  4:10PM

CARBON CREDIT SCHEME COULD PROPEL ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE – UN
New York, Sep 10 2009 10:10AM
A United Nations-backed gathering on how to scale up a carbon credit system wrapped up today, with participants agreeing that the mechanism can help contribute to a successful outcome at this December’s climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, which aims to conclude an ambitious new pact to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Over 200 participants from 20 countries gathered in Kiev, Ukraine, for a two-day gathering to discuss how to improve the Joint Implementation scheme which is part of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement which sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing emissions.

Under the Joint Implementation programme, countries can earn emission reduction units (ERUs) – each equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide – to meet part of their obligations under the Protocol.

“The international consensus is clear: climate change is a global threat that requires a global response,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ), the parent treaty of the Kyoto Protocol, noting that tackling global warming requires many resources.

The Joint Implementation scheme is one of “the few tools we have at our disposal, now, up and running, that can help deliver those resources,” he added.

Those attending the Kiev meeting said that the initiative, along with Kyoto Protocol mechanisms such as the clean development mechanism which allows industrialized countries to generate credits through investment in emission reduction projects in developing countries, should continue following the end of the Protocol’s first commitment period in 2012.

Sep 10 2009 10:10AM

UN AGENCY SAYS IT IS FACING 'STALEMATE' WITH IRAN OVER NUCLEAR PROGRAMME
New York, Sep  7 2009  4:10PM
The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog warned today that the agency has reached a deadlock with Iran over most aspects of its nuclear programme as he urged the country to credibly answer the international community's concerns over potential military dimensions to the programme.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a meeting of the agency's 35-member Board of Governors that although Iran had cooperated on some issues, such as improving safeguards at a fuel enrichment plans, "on all other issues? there is stalemate.

"Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities or its work on heavy water-related projects as required by the Security Council, nor has Iran implemented the Additional Protocol [of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]," Dr. ElBaradei said at the board meeting, held at IAEA headquarters in Vienn
a..

He called on Iran "to respond fully to all the questions raised by the agency in order to exclude the possibility of there being military dimensions to its nuclear programme.

"To this end, it is essential that Iran substantively re-engage with the clarify and bring to closure all outstanding issues, including the most difficult and important questions regarding the authenticity of information relating to the alleged weaponization studies, by granting the agency access to persons, information and locations."

Dr. ElBaradei said that if Iran does not implement the Additional Protocol, the IAEA "will not be able to provide credible assurances about the absence of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran, especially given Iran's past record of failing to declare material and activities."

Iranian authorities must also clarify their future intentions regarding the nuclear programme, he stressed.

"This is essentially a question of confidence-building between Iran and the international c
ommunity through comprehensive dialogue and other measures. I call on all parties to begin this dialogue as soon as possible and urge Iran to respond positively to the recent United States initiative in this regard," said Dr. ElBaradei, referring to an offer of talks.

Elsewhere in his report to the board, the Director General also said he was dismayed by allegations of some Member States that information concerning Iran's nuclear programme had been withheld from the board by the IAEA secretariat, calling them "politically motivated and totally baseless."

Turning to Syria, he said that while authorities in Damascus had cooperated with the IAEA over its verification activities at the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor, they have not yet granted the agency access to information, locations, equipment or materials concerning a destroyed building at Dair Alzour, which has been alleged by some to be the site of a nuclear reactor.

"I urge Syria to cooperate with the agency in its verificatio
n activities related to the nature of the Dair Alzour site. It is in Syria's interest to enable the agency to corroborate its statements. I also call on other States which may possess information relevant to the agency's verification to make such information available."
Sep  7 2009  4:10PM

MORE THAN 90 COUNTRIES AGREE TO UN-BACKED TREATY TO STAMP OUT PIRATE FISHING
New York, Sep  1 2009  1:10PM
Some 91 countries have agreed to the final text of a United Nations-brokered treaty aimed at combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/29592/icode/">FAO) announced today.

The first ever global pact, which intends to block illicit fish catches from entering international markets, focuses on ending such violations as fishing without a licence, using illegal gear, disregarding fishing seasons, catching prohibited or undersized species, and fishing in closed areas.

“By frustrating responsible management, IUU fishing damages the productivity of fisheries, or leads to their collapse,” said FAO Assistant-Director General for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ichiro Nomura.

“That's a serious problem for the people who depend on them for food and income,” stressed Mr. Nomura, noting that this “treaty represents a real, palpable advance in the ongoing effort to stamp it out.”

The “Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing” commits countries to a number of measures to harden their ports against illegitimate fishers.

Foreign fishing boats will be required to request permission to dock from specially designated ports ahead of time, transmitting information on their activities and the fish they have on board. The treaty also mandates regular inspections and outlines a set of standards that will be used during those inspections, including reviews of ship papers, surveys of fishing gear, examining catches and checking a ship’s records.

The treaty calls for information-sharing networks to allow communications to all national authorities about vessels that have been denied access to ports, and it contains provisions intended to assist resource-strapped developing countries meet their treaty obligations.

“Of course, the effectiveness of port state measures depends in large part on how well countries implement them,” said David Doulman, an expert on the issue from the FAO. “So the focus now is to make sure that countries and other involved parties have the means and know-how to enforce it and are living up to their commitments.”
Sep  1 2009  1:10PM

HISTORY NO LONGER A GOOD INDICATOR FOR WEATHER FORECASTS, SAYS TOP UN OFFICIAL
New York, Aug 26 2009  6:10PM
With the onset of climate change, relying on history is no longer an accurate way of predicting weather patterns, the head of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said today.

In the past, forecasts were made by taking statistics of past decades into account, but “now with climate change, these statistics are changing,” WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud told UN Radio.

In some areas, global warming will make rainfall less frequent, making the past an unreliable predictor for future precipitation levels, he said, while heat waves, on the scale of the massive and deadly one which engulfed Western Europe in 2003, “might occur more frequently.”

But Mr. Jarraud stressed that “there are many lessons to be learned from the past,” highlighting the value of climate statistics.

The WMO is organizing a week-long conference in Geneva, Switzerland, kicking off on 31 August, on how to best use climate predictions to adapt to climate change.

When socio-economic decisions – such as those involving health, food security and transport – are made by governments, the private sector and others, it is essential that they are based on “the best possible scientific information,” the WMO chief said.

Next week’s meeting, he said, seeks to “bridge the gap” between those who possess this kind of information with decision-makers around the world.
Aug 26 2009  6:10PM

VETERAN FRENCH DIPLOMAT NAMED UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR ASSISTANCE TO PAKISTAN
New York, Aug 24 2009  4:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed the current French Ambassador to the United Nations as his Special Envoy for Assistance to Pakistan, a newly-created position, it was announced today.   

In his new capacity, Jean-Maurice Ripert will, in concert with the Pakistani Government and international partners, promote a “strategic, coherent and comprehensive approach to supporting the humanitarian, recovery and reconstruction needs of crisis affected areas,” according to a press statement accompanying the announcement.   

The position was created by the Secretary-General to help the Government and the international community to respond to needs in the wake of Pakistan’s displacement crisis, which at its zenith earlier this year had forced over 2 million people from their homes in the South Asian nation’s north-west.   

Among Mr. Ripert’s tasks will be creating a comprehensive approach among bilateral and international financial institutions, as well as mobilizing resources and support.   

The veteran diplomat, who started his career in the French foreign service in 1980, “brings to this challenging assignment a wealth of experience in the international fora and a solid track record in consensus building,” the press statement noted.   

Prior to his current posting, Mr. Ripert served as France’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, and from 2003 to 2005 he was the Director of the UN and International Organizations section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris.   

Last week, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that around 1.6 million of the over 2 million people displaced by conflict in north-west Pakistan have returned to their villages, citing Government figures.   
Aug 24 2009  4:10PM
 

YOUTH TO MOBILIZE AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE IN 100 CITIES -- UN
New York, Aug 23 2009  4:10PM
Youth-organized rallies will be held in 100 cities across the globe to push governments to 'seal the deal' on an ambitious agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions later this year, the United Nations Environment Programme  announced today.

The largest-ever youth climate change conference, organized by UNEP and drawing some 800 young people, wrapped up in Daejeon, in the Republic of Korea, today, with participants pledging plow ahead with efforts to ensure that global warming remains an international priority, with just over three months remaining until negotiations on a possible new pact end in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"The young people of the world are the generation that will inherit the transformational decisions governments need to take in less than 110 days time," said Achim Steiner, UNEP's Executive Director.

"If their passion, commitment and ideas can be embraced by world leaders and governments over the coming days and weeks, then a climate agreement that can puts the world on track to a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy can be secured."

During the week-long Tunza International Youth Conference on Climate Change, young people agreed on regional action plans calling for, among other measures, reaching out to other environmental groups educating others about the upcoming Copenhagen conference and utilizing social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, to spread the message.

"There are a lot of indigenous cultures that are losing, because nobody wants to hear what we want to say, what we know about mother earth, and it is frustrating for us because we have so many things to share and the world doesn't listen to us," said Yaiguili Alvarado Garcia from the Kuna indigenous group in Panama.

"There are many things we
asked the governments to do and we know it is hard, but we want to work with them, we just want to make a better place for the children, for the animals and plants. It is about time we stop thinking just for us and think also for other beings that cannot speak for themselves. It is time to stop being selfish," she added.

The 17-year-old is one of the 13 newly-elected members of the Tunza Youth Advisor Council, which advises UNEP on how to better engage young people in its work.

Earlier this week, the young people at the Daejeon gathering issued a declaration, entitled "Listen to Our Voices: The Future Needs Strong Vision and Leadership," in which they expressed their "concern and frustration that their governments are not doing enough to combat climate change," and emphasizing that "we now need more actions and less talking."

It also asks governments to, among other things, agree on a more fair, just and action-
oriented post-Kyoto agreement develop and implement carbon action plans to be monitored by an independent body and support youth efforts to bring about change in the world.

"This statement is the fruit of a diversity of views and voices from young people of different ages and cultures," said Mr. Steiner. "We very much hope the spirit set by these young people will be reflected in the negotiations that will take place in December."

Aug 23 2009  4:10PM

RATIFICATION OF UN-BACKED NUCLEAR TREATY NEARS MILESTONE OF 150 COUNTRIES
New York, Aug 19 2009  7:10PM
The total number of countries that have ratified the United Nations-backed Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty  has inched closer to 150 after Liberia ratified the agreement this week.   

Liberia’s ratification on Monday brings the total number of countries having ratified the CTBT to 149, according to the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization .   

The West African nation’s move also means that the pact has 51 signatures and 37 ratifications out of the 53 countries on the continent, where the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Pelindaba, went into effect last month.   

To date, 181 States worldwide have signed the pact, which was adopted by the General Assembly in September 1996 to ban any nuclear-test explosions anywhere.   

It will enter into force 180 days after all 44 of the States mentioned in Annex 2 of the Treaty – those which possessed nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons technology at the time it opened for signature in 1996 – have ratified it. So far, 35 of these nations, including France, Russia and the United Kingdom, have ratified it, but China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States and Iran, among other nations, have not.   

In September, US President Barack Obama is scheduled to chair a meeting of the Security Council focusing on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the CTBT.   

“A world without nuclear weapons may be distant, but it is no longer just a dream,” Mr. Ban said earlier this month in a message to the Seventh General Conference of Mayors for Peace, which has helped inform millions of people around the world about the catastrophic effects of the 1945 nuclear bombings in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.   
Aug 19 2009  7:10PM

NEW UN REPORT DETAILS SHANGHAI’S ‘GREEN’ EFFORTS AHEAD OF EXPO 2010
New York, Aug 18 2009 10:10AM
Shanghai has made strides in ‘greening’ itself ahead of the Expo 2010, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which also called on the Chinese city to continue efforts to decrease its reliance on coal.

“Like many rapidly developing cities, Shanghai faces enormous challenges in ensuring fresh air, clean water, sustainable energy, efficient transport and waste reduction for its population,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.

The agency launched a new assessment of actions taken by Shanghai, with a population of 20 million, to organize an environmentally-friendly Expo 2010, expected to be attended by 70 million people.

China’s largest city has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, scaling up investment in environmental protection measures since preparations for the 2010 world fair kicked off in 2000.

Shanghai has developed a green transport system, constructing a world-class 400-kilometre rapid transit network. It is also experimenting with new energy vehicles, including electric buses, hydrogen fuel-cell buses and hybrid buses.

But the UNEP report also expressed concern over Shanghai’s high level of dependency on coal for electricity, calling for the city to boost the use of renewable energies, such as solar and wind power.

Additionally, the safe disposal of waste continues to be a challenge, the assessment pointed out. A more comprehensive strategy is needed for both the city and the Expo, whose theme will be “Better City, Better Life.”

Event though progress has been made in ensuring safe drinking water, UNEP said that nitrification of river systems continues to be an obstacle.

“Shanghai is clearly determined to turn its modernization into a green example for urban development of the future,” Mr. Steiner noted.

UNEP will produce a follow-up report after the city’s Expo ends on 31 October 2010.
Aug 18 2009 10:10AM

SCIENTISTS AND INTELLECTUALS 'KEY TO NEW GREEN ECONOMY,' BAN SAYS
New York, Aug 17 2009  5:11PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an academic forum in Seoul today that scientific and intellectual leadership is the key to creating the new green economy of the 21st century.

"Universities such as yours are founts of ideas and innovation," Mr. Ban said to the University Presidents' Forum on Climate Change and Sustainable Development in Asia and Africa, held at Korea University.

"Tell your university students, your colleagues, your political leaders: we must seize this once-in-a-generation chance? We need to put the best minds -- our best young minds, particularly -- to work in generating climate solutions."

Mr. Ban called for a "robust intellectual debate" on how to limit global temperature increase and on how to transform the world's economy toward low-emissions growth. He added that world leaders must "go to Copenhagen in December and make it real."

"They must seal a deal in t
he name of humankind," Mr. Ban said.

The Secretary-General also stressed the importance of addressing climate change during talks today with the mayor in his hometown, Chungju.
Yesterday, in Seoul, the Secretary-General met the Republic of Korea's Unification Minister for talks on inter-Korean relations, and on the UN's humanitarian work in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Aug 17 2009  5:11PM

UN BLUE HELMETS PROVIDE HELP IN WAKE OF DEADLY ATTACK IN EAST OF DR CONGO
New York, Aug 15 2009  2:10PM
The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is providing medical assistance to the victims of a deadly attack by armed militiamen in a mine-rich area in the strife-torn east of the country.

Media reports say at least 16 people were killed during Wednesday's attack, which took place in the remote village of Mpama in North Kivu province, close to the mines at Biseye. Mining is a lucrative source of income in the impoverished region, which continues to be beset by outbreaks of fighting involving militia groups and the army.

Troops from the Congolese army (FARDC) stationed nearby were dispatched to find the militiamen, but they had already fled, according to a press statement issued today by the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC.

Alan Doss, the head of MONUC and the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the DRC, denounced the
attack.

"Nothing can justify these crimes committed by the armed groups that strike at civilians," Mr. Doss said.

MONUC established a medical assistance team in the nearby town of Ishenga to treat the injured, with some others evacuated to other centres. The blue helmets have also stepped up their patrols in the Walikale-Biseye area.
Aug 15 2009  2:10PM

BAN DEPLORES DEADLY CAR BOMB ATTACK IN AFGHAN CAPITAL
New York, Aug 15 2009  1:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned Saturday morning's suicide car bombing in central Kabul that has reportedly killed at least seven people and injured dozens of others, days ahead of much anticipated presidential and provincial elections across Afghanistan.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said he was "deeply concerned at this indiscriminate violence" before the polls, which are scheduled to take place next Thursday.

"The Secretary-General extends his condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims. He also sends his wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured by this despicable act." The injured civilians include at least one United Nations staff member.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) warned in a report issued earlier this week with the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) that insecurity was having a serious impac
t on election preparations, particularly for women, but that Afghans were still eager to vote despite these challenges.
Aug 15 2009  1:10PM

FEATURE: WHEN DISASTER STRIKES – THE FIRST HOURS OF UN MOBILIZATION
New York, Aug 14 2009  5:10PM
It was 2 a.m. at the United Nations Geneva headquarters when the news broke on 26 December, 2004 – a massive earthquake had rocked the floor bed of the Indian Ocean. Veteran official Arjun Katoch, duty officer that night, had seen it all before – at almost the same time exactly a year earlier a quake had devastated the Iranian city of Bam.     

But this time was different for the first-line responder at the UN’s nerve centre for dealing with sudden-onset crises – the quake had spawned a tsunami of as yet undetermined proportions that affected a dozen countries over a vast area.     

“It was obvious that there was going to be a huge deployment,” Mr. Katoch, a former parachute colonel in the Indian army, tells the UN News Centre on the eve of the first annual World Humanitarian Day on 19 August, describing the nuts and bolts of the immediate response to a crisis in the first foggy hours after catastrophe strikes.       

Within three hours he had mobilized the first disaster coordination teams of what was to be the largest and most far-flung deployment of such groups that the UN has fielded, reaching at its peak some 45 members in five different locations around the world. Tiny in comparison with the armies of rescue and relief workers, they are of prime importance in avoiding duplication, wasted effort and further chaos in an already chaotic situation.       

Mr. Katoch holds the unwieldy titles of Chief of FCSS (Field Coordination Support Section) at the INSARAG (International Search and Rescue Advisory Group) Secretariat, ad interim Chief of CMCS (Civil Military Coordination Section), mobilizing UNDAC (UN Disaster Alert and Coordination) teams at UN OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Emergency Services Branch in Geneva.     

But beneath the rash of acronyms lies the very real responsibility of getting the right people to the right places in the shortest time. Geneva headquarters deals with immediate disaster response, and Mr. Katoch started mobilizing the first UNDAC teams within some three hours of being informed of the crisis, after seeking, often fruitlessly, more data from the United States Geological Survey, affected governments and others.     

“Getting the UNDAC teams out is one of the first actions taken because they’re the ones who are going to help the governments get organized on the spot, and if they don’t get out fast, you suddenly have this huge inrush of NGOs (non-government organizations) and bilateral assistance, and this and that, arriving in a very chaotic and uncoordinated fashion,” he says.     

This in fact happened in some of the tsunami relief operations, where host countries and agencies could not cope with the huge inflow of aid and workers. The first two teams – disaster management professionals nominated and funded by member governments and UN agencies – reached their locations within 24 hours.     

By early morning New York time, Mr. Katoch phoned the then-chief UN humanitarian official, Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland. “I had dealt with disasters and wars for many years, but the initial reports from many countries on two continents suggested a totally unprecedented disaster and the need for us to respond with unprecedented energy,” Mr. Egeland tells the UN News Centre.     

More people died in a 1976 earthquake in China and floods in Bangladesh in the early 1970s than the 227,000 who are estimated to have perished in the tsunami, but these earlier crises were geographically circumscribed.     

Back in Geneva, Mr. Katoch concentrated on the search and rescue operations – “the one in which you have to get people out alive from the collapsed buildings” – that are the domain of INSARAG, in which some 80 countries participate under the UN umbrella.     

“In Bam, by day three we had 1,300 respondents from 34 different countries,” he said. “Our function is to make sure that… everything that goes, goes in a cohesive coordinated fashion – I mean it’s almost impossible to do, but as cohesive and coordinated as we can,” he says.     

“We not only act as a coordinating body at headquarters; we are responsible for creating an on-site coordination centre at the site of the earthquake to help the national government.”     

Mr. Katoch, was coincidentally duty officer when a devastating quake hit Pakistan in October 2005 – “People don’t want me to be duty officer any more,” he says wryly – this time at about 9 a.m. Geneva time. By that night an UNDAC plane was on its way to the scene.     

The former paratrooper retires from the UN in three months, when he reaches 62, after 16 years of service. His most challenging experience was in Somalia, where he ran the UN humanitarian operation centre in Mogadishu in 1993 and 1994: “Rather fun. I got taken hostage once, got shot at twice.”     
Aug 14 2009  5:10PM

UNICEF MOURNS DEATH OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS FOUNDER
New York, Aug 13 2009 12:10PM
The head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has mourned the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics, paying tribute to her dedication to giving hope and opportunities to children around the world living with disabilities.

“While the world has lost a great visionary and leader, Mrs. Shriver’s legacy lives on through her strength, determination and the organization she founded, Special Olympics,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman.

Mrs. Shriver, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 88, was a “tireless advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, a determined champion of children and a true friend and partner to UNICEF,” the agency’s head stated yesterday.
The Special Olympics founder believed that all people deserved the chance to reach their full potential, Ms. Veneman said, expressing UNICEF’s condolences to her family and friends.

The agency “honors her long-lasting contribution as a true global ambassador of change in helping end discrimination one child, one community, one country at a time,” she added.
Aug 13 2009 12:10PM

UN-BACKED CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS GAINING TRACTION AHEAD OF GLOBAL CONFERENCE
New York, Aug 12 2009  5:10PM
Governments are making headway in negotiations aimed at reaching an ambitious and effective global greenhouse gas reduction treaty, the top United Nations climate change official said today, as the third day of the latest round of informal talks kicked off in Bonn, Germany.   

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ), said that the five-day meeting is seeing progress in efforts to narrow down the number of options contained in the 200 pages of the main negotiating text.   

The document is expected to serve as the basis for negotiations for a successor pact to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which is to be agreed in December at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.     

Mr. de Boer said that so far this week progress has been made in the areas of providing technology and finance to help developing countries reduce harmful emissions and adapt to the inevitable effects of climate change.     

He added that governments were looking at how mid-term emission reduction pledges could be translated into legally binding targets as a key component of the Copenhagen deal.     

Mr. de Boer also underscored the importance of harnessing the political momentum gained from the Group of Eight (G8) nations Summit and the Major Economies Forum meeting last month, so that Copenhagen can produce a strong, workable agreed outcome.     

The Bonn meeting is scheduled to end on Friday and is followed by sessions in Bangkok from 28 September to 9 October and Barcelona from 2 to 6 November.   
Aug 12 2009  5:10PM

UN MISSION IN LEBANON CONDUCTS NATURAL DISASTER RESPONSE EXERCISE WITH ARMY
New York, Aug 11 2009  1:10PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon today wrapped up a two-day large-scale disaster response exercise, responding to a fictitious earthquake in the south of the country.   

The dry run, which the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) conducted with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), tested the forces’ combined reaction to an earthquake with a magnitude of six on the Richter scale. 

“Whereas one wishes that a natural disaster never strikes any people, preparedness to respond to such an eventuality is always important in order to mitigate the resulting damage to life and property,” said UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Claudio Graziano. 

“In such situations, immediate first response is critical to save human life, treat the injured, and to prevent further injury and other forms of loss,” stressed Maj.-Gen. Graziano.   

The operation, called “United Beacon,” was carried out in cooperation with a number of Government and non-government organizations (NGOs) in the village of Srifa, involving some 700 soldiers split between LAF and UNIFIL, 140 vehicles and three helicopters. 

“This exercise is an important step in the continued efforts of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army to enhance our combined ability to deal with any natural disaster in our area of operations,” said Maj.-Gen. Graziano. 

The coordinated immediate response activities included deployment of emergency LAF and UNIFIL teams; aerial and ground reconnaissance of the affected area; search, rescue and relief activities including first aid for victims, medical evacuation by ground and air transportation, deployment of fire-fighting and engineers for clearing debris and explosive ordnance disposal. 

Also participating were units of the Internal Security Forces, Civil Defence, Lebanese Red Cross, teams of the concerned ministries of the Lebanese Government and local NGOs.   
Aug 11 2009  1:10PM

RAQI CHRISTIANS NEED BETTER PROTECTION, UN ENVOY SAYS AFTER DEADLY BOMBINGS
New York, Jul 13 2009  3:10PM
The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today called for a redoubling of efforts to protect the country’s Christians, as well as its other minority communities, following a series of “orchestrated” bombings over the weekend that hit several churches.

The weekend attacks in the capital, Baghdad, and the northern city of Mosul reportedly killed at least four people, and injured dozens more, including children.

“This campaign is aimed at terrorizing vulnerable groups and preventing the peaceful coexistence of different religious groups in what is one of the world’s cradles of religious and ethnic diversity,” said Ad Melkert, the newly-appointed Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq.

Mr. Melkert, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), called on all parties, including the Government, to redouble their efforts to protect minorities in the country.

This will contribute to preserving Iraq’s cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, he added.

An upsurge in attacks, threats and intimidation had forced more than 12,000 Christians to flee Mosul – Iraq’s second largest city – last October. Some of them later returned after hearing that the security situation had improved.
Jul 13 2009  3:10PM

INVESTING IN WOMEN AND GIRLS SMART CHOICE IN TROUBLED ECONOMIC TIMES -- UN OFFICIALS
New York, Jul 11 2009  9:10AM
Top United Nations officials have called for investing in women and girls during the global financial crisis to help promote economic recovery and tackle poverty and inequality.

"There is no smarter investment in troubled times," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

In a statement to mark World Population Day, observed on 11 July, Ms. Obaid noted that women and girls were the majority of the world's poor, even before the current financial crisis hit. "Now, they are falling deeper into poverty and face increased health risks, especially if they are pregnant."

Complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading killers of women in the developing world today, and maternal mortality represents the largest health inequity in the world. "This health gap will only deepen unless we
increase social investments, maintain health gains and expand efforts to save more women's lives," said the Executive Director.

Noting that the global financial and economic crisis threatens to reverse hard-won gains in education and health in developing countries, she called on world leaders to make the health and rights of women a political and development priority.

Investing in reproductive health is especially cost-effective, she said. "An investment in contraceptive services can be recouped four times over -- and sometimes dramatically more over the long term -- by reducing the need for public spending on health, education and other social services."

In his message for the Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on decision-makers to "protect women's ability to earn income, keep their daughters in school, and obtain reproductive health information and services, including voluntary family planning.

"Together, let u
s advance the rights of women and girls, and empower them as highly productive members of society capable of contributing to economic recovery and growth. There can be no better investment on this day or any other," said Mr. Ban.

Jul 11 2009  9:10AM

UNAIDS WELCOMES FRENCH-SPEAKING BLOC’S COMMITMENT TO COMBAT HIV
New York, Jul 10 2009  7:10PM
Parliamentarians from Francophone countries, which bear a large burden of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, today reaffirmed their commitment to tackling the disease, in a move welcomed by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS

A resolution adopted during the annual gathering of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie in Paris from 3-6 July sent a strong message that fighting AIDS is given high priority on the agenda of Francophone parliamentarians.

“I am encouraged to see this level of leadership from Francophone countries to the AIDS response,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

“A strong response is needed to break the trajectory of the epidemic and start building a better future for people affected by HIV,” he added.

The resolution adopted by the Assembly called for, among other matters, boosting HIV prevention efforts, especially among groups with higher risk of infection.

It also rejected punitive laws, such as the criminalization of HIV transmission and laws barring marginalized groups from accessing health services.

Access to anti-retroviral drugs must be free to all in need, the resolution added, stressing the need to ensure that the necessary resources are provided for the health-care systems of developing countries in Africa and Asia.

The lack of an effective response to poverty will weaken the response to AIDS, it warned.

More than half of all UN Member States hold either full-fledged or observer-status membership of La Francophonie, which signed a cooperation agreement with the UN in October 2006.
Jul 10 2009  7:10PM

PROPOSED CLIMATE CHANGE MEASURES INSUFFICIENT, BAN TELLS MAJOR ECONOMIES
New York, Jul  9 2009  1:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that the cuts in greenhouse gas emissions proposed by the world’s largest economies are not deep enough, and warned that much more effort is needed if governments are to reach a meaningful agreement on climate change by the end of the year.

Speaking in L’Aquila, Italy, where the annual summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations is taking place, Mr. Ban said the climate change commitments made by the leaders of those countries and other participants in this week’s Major Economies Forum (MEF) meeting, “while welcome, are not sufficient.”

“The time for delays and half-measures is over,” he said. “The personal leadership of every head of State or government is needed to seize this moment to protect people and the planet from one of the most serious challenges ever to confront humanity.”

G8 leaders agreed this week to a long-term goal of reducing emissions by 2050, but Mr. Ban said that this target was not credible without “ambitious mid-term targets, and baselines.

“In order to achieve such a global goal, developed countries must lead by example in making firm commitments to reduce their emissions by 2020 on the order of the 25 to 40 per cent below 1990 levels that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  tells us is required. It is disappointing to note that thus far, the mid-term emissions targets announced by developed countries in the MEF are not in this range.”

The Secretary-General noted that the countries represented in L’Aquila are responsible for more than 80 per cent of global emissions, “and that is why they bear special responsibility for finding a solution to the political impasse. If they fail to act this year, they will have squandered a unique historical opportunity that may not come again… We stand at a historical crossroads. Business as usual is no longer viable.”

Mr. Ban is convening a global summit on climate change in New York in September, when world leaders converge for the annual opening of the General Assembly, in a bid to build momentum ahead of talks in Copenhagen in December that are supposed to result in a far-reaching new pact on greenhouse gas emissions.

He stressed that every country must play its part, “based on the principle of equity.” Affluent countries can provide funding and technological assistance to poorer States so they can reduce or mitigate the impact of emissions, while those developing countries can step up their own efforts to reduce emissions.

Mr. Ban also urged world leaders to work harder to deal with other pressing global challenges, especially food insecurity and the H1N1 influenza pandemic.

He welcomed the G8’s pledge to spend $15 billion over the next three years to tackle food insecurity and improve agriculture, but noted that “now we need to deliver on that pledge, and work together to boost national action plans, in an integrated manner.”

Turning to influenza, the Secretary-General said the pandemic was “starting to accelerate in a disturbing way” and G8 members therefore should commit to at least $1 billion in additional spending to assist struggling countries with overloaded health-care systems.

“We have a small window of opportunity to help poor countries access what they need to get ready for the virus,” he said.
Jul  9 2009  1:10PM

BILL CLINTON WRAPS UP FIRST VISIT TO HAITI AS UN SPECIAL ENVOY
New York, Jul  8 2009  3:10PM
Former United States President Bill Clinton is wrapping up a three-day visit to Haiti today, his first since being appointed United Nations Special Envoy for the impoverished Caribbean nation.

During a visit to the country in March, Mr. Clinton and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon assessed the situation in the wake of four back-to-back tropical storms that battered the country in 2008, killing nearly 800 people and affecting an estimated 1 million people.

Mr. Clinton’s current trip was aimed at discussing how to support Government efforts to brace the country for hurricanes, generate new jobs and boost the delivery of basic social services.

Today he met with representatives of the private sector, women’s groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and discussed the key challenges facing them today in Haiti. The meetings aimed to ensure private sector investments in the country, coordination of NGO activities and the inclusion of women in recovery efforts.

Last night, Mr. Clinton and President René Préval had a working dinner with donors to encourage them to honour the commitments they made at a pledging conference in Washington, D.C. in April and align their contributions to the Government’s recovery plan.

The dinner capped off a day that included visits to, among others, the city of Gonaïves, which was devastated by floods last year, and to an emergency hospital that has temporarily replaced one destroyed by hurricanes.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, with an annual estimated gross domestic product (per capita) of $390.
Jul  8 2009  3:10PM

BAN WELCOMES RUSSIAN-UNITED STATES AGREEMENT TO CUT NUCLEAR ARSENALS
New York, Jul  7 2009  3:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the accord between Russia and the United States that commits the two countries to significantly reduce their nuclear arsenals.

The Joint Understanding for a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed yesterday in Moscow by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama, commits the two States to cut their strategic warheads to between 1,500 and 1,675 and their strategic delivery vehicles to between 500 and 1,000.

“This agreement is consistent with the disarmament obligations by the two largest nuclear-weapon States under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT),” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.

“The Secretary-General believes that this agreement will make a significant contribution to the process of nuclear disarmament, as well as nuclear non-proliferation, during the lead-up to the 2010 NPT Conference and eventually to achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.”

In May Mr. Ban told the Conference on Disarmament that he was encouraged by recent remarks by the leaders of both Russia and the US, and he urged the broader international community to undertake a new multilateral approach to ensure sustainable progress towards disarmament.
Jul  7 2009  3:10PM

UN AGENCIES JOIN FORCES TO REDUCE RISK FROM NATURAL DISASTERS IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
New York, Jul  6 2009  6:10PM
Two United Nations agencies are collaborating on a project to improve early warning systems to try to reduce the risk posed by natural disasters and extreme weather conditions across South-East Europe.

The World Meteorological Organization  announced today in a press release that it is working with the UN Development Programme  on a programme to integrate the national meteorological and hydrological services of countries in the region so that they better plan and prepare for possible disasters and extreme events.

Under the project, South-East European countries will have greater capacity to collect and share meteorological data with each other so that they can develop better warning systems, and move more closely in line with the standards and policies within the European Union (EU).

The programme is being financed by the European Commission and follows an assessment phase carried out by WMO with the support of the World Bank and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

WMO says the Western Balkans area and Turkey face threats from many natural hazards, including floods, droughts, forest fires, earthquakes and landslides, and those threats may increase.

Michel Jarraud, WMO’s Secretary-General, said climate change had the potential to increase the risks even further.

“Integrating early warning systems, based on accurate and timely hydro-meteorological data, analysis and forecasts, into disaster management and response will help save lives and protect property and livelihoods,” he said.
Jul  6 2009  6:10PM

SECRETARY-GENERAL: COOPERATIVES CAN HELP PULL WORLD OUT OF RECESSION
New York, Jul  4 2009  4:10PM
Cooperatives, based on the principles of self-help and reciprocity, have the potential to help address the global economic crisis, especially among the world's most vulnerable, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

Cooperatives' economic model is not based on charity, he said, noting that in countries affected by the turmoil, cooperative banks and credit unions have expanded lending when other financial institutions have scaled back.

"This highlights the importance of strong alternative business models and institutional diversity for the resilience of the financial system," Mr. Ban said in his message on the International Day of Cooperatives, whose theme this year is "Driving Global Recovery Through Cooperatives."

With communities worldwide rediscovering the need to work together to overcome the crisis, he stressed that cooperatives deserve greater support from governments, which can adopt policies to boost the setting up of cooperatives, and consumers, who can buy food produced by small-holder cooperatives traded in fair markets.

In 1992, the General Assembly proclaimed the first Saturday of every July to be the International Day of Cooperatives, marking the centenary of the International Cooperative Alliance, which united and represents cooperatives around the world.
Jul  4 2009  4:10PM

FINANCING TOPS DISCUSSION AMONG ADMINISTRATIVE HEADS OF UN-BACKED TRIBUNALS
New York, Jul  3 2009  6:10PM
The Registrars, or top administrative officials, of the International Criminal Court , United Nations tribunals and courts backed by the world body wrapped up a meeting today focusing on funding and resources.

Silvana Arbia of the ICC, John Hocking of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia , Adama Deng of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda  Binta Mansara of the Special Court for Sierra Leone , and Herman von Hebel of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon attended the two-day gathering in Venice, Italy.

Updating progress made by their respective institutions, the Registrars conferred on securing necessary funding and efficiently using resou
rces, identifying governance, effective decision-making and budgeting processes as key ares of concern.

They also discussed the need to retain qualified staff, particularly among tribunals and courts wrapping up their work.

The Registrars agreed to explore common strategies regarding cooperating with countries on enforcing sentences and witness protection.

Jul  3 2009  6:10PM

JAPANESE OFFICIAL CHOSEN TO HEAD UN ATOMIC WATCHDOG
New York, Jul  2 2009  1:10PM
A Japanese diplomat with a lengthy record of working on disarmament and non-proliferation issues will be the next chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog after winning a secret ballot today against two other candidates.

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, meeting at the IAEA’s headquarters in Vienna, chose Yukiya Amano as Director General to succeed Mohammed ElBaradei when he steps down at the end of November.

Mr. Amano was elected after he received 23 votes in favour, securing the necessary two-thirds majority from the 35-member board. He beat out Abdul Samad Minty of South Africa and Spain’s Luis Echávarri. Belgium’s Jean-Pol Poncelet and Ernest Petric of Slovenia had already withdrawn their candidatures.

Mr. Amano, 62, becomes the fifth Director General in the IAEA’s history. He is Japan’s current Ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna, and a member of theIAEA Board of Governors.

The ambassador has been involved in the negotiating process for major international instruments in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation and nuclear energy policy, and he has previously held senior Japanese Government posts in the scientific, nuclear energy and arms control fields.
Jul  2 2009  1:10PM

CLIMATE CHANGE, DPR KOREA FOCUS OF BAN’S TALKS WITH JAPANESE LEADER
New York, Jul  1 2009  2:11PM
Japan’s leadership in combating climate change, as well as the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), dominated today’s talks between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.

“Such leadership is needed urgently right now if we are to ‘seal a deal’ in Copenhagen that all the world’s governments can agree on,” Mr. Ban told reporters in Tokyo that he impressed upon the Prime Minister during their meeting.

Negotiations are expected to conclude in the Danish capital in December on an accord to replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

Calling climate change “the most crucial issue of the day for humanity,” the Secretary-General said he counts on Japan to play a “bold and active role towards this historic objective.”

Also discussed was the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), with both leaders stressing the need for all nations to fully implement last month’s Security Council resolution in response to the country’s nuclear test in May.

That resolution imposed tougher sanctions on the country, including a tighter arms embargo, and demanded that it “not conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology.”

The Secretary-General said today that during his meeting with Mr. Aso, he underscored the need to resume dialogue, including through the Six-Party talks, bringing together the DPRK, Republic of Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States.

“I will spare no effort in facilitating the achievement of verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as durable peace and stability in the region and beyond,” he told journalists.

On Myanmar – where Mr. Ban is scheduled to visit later this week – he said that he expressed his appreciation for Japan’s support for UN efforts in the South-East Asian nation.

He also thanked Mr. Aso for Japan’s decision to take part in UN peacekeeping operations’ standby arrangement.

This morning, the Secretary-General, who arrived in Japan yesterday, met with Japanese business leaders from the Keizai Doyukai (association of corporate executives) and the Global Compact Japan network, which are striving to usher in a new era of responsible and sustainable business, over breakfast, his spokesperson, Michele Montas, said today.

Following that event, he visited Tokyo University, where he held a lively exchange with students.

Mr. Ban also appeared on a children’s news television programme in a bid to reach out to Japan’s next generation of leaders, followed by a meeting with Japanese celebrities who serve as UN Goodwill Ambassadors, Ms. Montas said.

Tomorrow, he will leave for Singapore and travel on to Myanmar on Friday for a two-day visit.

The Secretary-General told reporters in Tokyo yesterday that he realized there were concerns about the timing of the visit, given that the trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is pending.

“It may be the case that the trial may happen during my visit in Myanmar. I am very much conscious of that. At the same time, to find the most appropriate timing has been a challenge for me, too,” he said, adding that he would use the visit to try to “raise in the strongest possible terms” the concerns of the international community about the situation inside Myanmar.

From Myanmar, he will travel to Switzerland, Ireland and Italy, where he plans to attend the summit of the so-called Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations.
Jul  1 2009  2:11PM

AFRICA’S FOOD CRISIS MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN AMID GLOBAL ECONOMIC WOES – UN TRADE BODY
New York, Jun 30 2009  6:10PM
The governing body of the United Nations trade and development agency has convened a meeting today in Geneva to highlight the need to keep the food crisis affecting Africa from being forgotten as governments focus on tackling the global economic downturn.

While the food crisis may not be making the headlines it did last year, food security is still a major concern in many African countries, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development .

The prices of staple foods remain above their long-term averages and over 300 million Africans – about a third of the continent’s population – continue to face chronic hunger, the agency said in an information note. Ensuring food security in the region will require improving productivity and rural livelihoods, as well as addressing global market imbalances.

UNCTAD said that decades of neglect, both national and international, of the African agricultural sector has transformed many countries from net food exporters to net food importers, leaving them vulnerable to price swings and variations in global crop yields. African countries currently import about 25 per cent of their food.

“The vulnerability of the continent to serious food shortages and hunger remains, since the root causes have not been resolved, and a repeat of the 2008 food crisis can recur if prices for such staples as rice, wheat, corn, and cooking oil climb again on world markets,” said the agency.

Among those addressing the meeting convened by the Trade and Development Board on the issue were UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, and David Nabarro, Coordinator for the Global Food Security Crisis and Avian and Pandemic Influenza, as well as several experts.
Jun 30 2009  6:10PM

OFFICIALS FROM UN-AFRICAN UNION MISSION VISIT RETURNEES IN NORTH DARFUR
New York, Jun 29 2009  6:10PM
Officials from the joint United Nations-African Union mission have visited areas of North Darfur to verify reports of the spontaneous return of refugees and displaced persons to their villages, and to assess their living conditions.

Residents in the village of Masri told the team, led by Head-of-Office Miguel Martin, that some 2,300 families have effectively returned to the area, according to the mission, known as .

Before the conflict in Darfur began in 2003, Masri’s population was more than 2,500 households, while others were displaced to places such as Kabkabiya, Nyala and Kutum town. People have been returning to Masri since mid-2007, and more displaced have expressed the willingness to return, the team was told.

However, lack of transportation is the main impediment preventing the displaced from returning.

Villagers also told the team that the returnees are receiving food and other aid from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund . They requested additional assistance for water, health facilities, plastic sheeting, food and education.

The team also made a similar visit to El Manara following its visit to Masri on 27 June.

UNAMID was established by the Security Council in 2007 to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million forced from their homes since violence erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and their allied Janjaweed militiamen.
Jun 29 2009  6:10PM

SACRED CHINESE MOUNTAIN AMONG SITES INSCRIBED ON UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST
New York, Jun 28 2009  6:10PM
A sacred Buddhist mountain in China and a British aqueduct and canal are among several sites that can now boast membership on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The agency's <http://whc.unesco.org/>World Heritage Committee, currently meeting in Seville, is considering a number of nominations for new additions of cultural and natural sites, as well as evaluating the conditions of several locations already on the List.

China's Mount Wutai is one of 13 sites added to the List since the Committee began its session on 22 June. The cultural landscape of the mountain in northern China features 53 monasteries, and includes the East Main Hall of Foguang Temple -- the highest surviving timber building of the Tang Dynasty with life-size clay sculptures. It also features the Ming Dynasty Shuxiang Temple with a huge com
plex of 500 statues representing Buddhist stories woven into three dimensional pictures of mountains and water.

Also inscribed is the 18-kilometre long Pontcysyllte Canal in north-eastern Wales, considered a "feat of civil engineering of the Industrial Revolution," according to the Committee, which added that its building required "substantial, bold civil engineering solutions, especially as it was built without using locks." Likewise, it called the aqueduct "a pioneering masterpiece of engineering."

The 5,000-year-old, and well preserved, Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru also made the cut to join the world renowned List. It is the oldest centre of civilization in the Americas, and is impressive in terms of its design and the complexity of its architecture, especially its monumental stone and earthen platform mounts and sunken circular courts, noted the Committee.

Likewise, the Committee inscribed the Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande in Cape Verde on the World Her
itage List. The town of Ribeira Grande, renamed Cidade Velha in the late 18th century, was the first European colonial outpost in the tropics. Located in the south of the island of Santiago, it features some of the original structures including two churches, a royal fortress and Pillory Square with its ornate 16th century marble pillar.

Among the natural sites inscribed on the List are the Wadden Sea (Germany/The Netherlands), which is composed of the Dutch Wadden Sea Conservation Area and the German Wadden Sea National Parks of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, as well as the Dolomites, comprising a mountain range in the northern Italian Alps that has 18 peaks and features beautiful landscapes with vertical walls, sheer cliffs and lots of narrow, deep and long valleys.

In addition, a number of extensions were added to existing properties on the List. The Committee added France's Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains as an extension to the site of Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans,
which was inscribed in 1982 the historic centre of the town of Levoèa to Slovakia's World Heritage site of Spi?ský Hrad inscribed on the List in 1993 and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in the Philippines to the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park inscribed in 1993.

Citing concerns over the preservation of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta in Georgia, the Committee inscribed that site on its List of World Heritage in Danger, and asked the Government to adopt an integrated management plan for the site and address problems related to the serious deterioration of the stonework and frescoes there.

Other issues of concern include the management of land near the churches and loss of authenticity due to work carried out in the buildings inscribed on the List in 1994, the Committee said.

The 21-member Committee will continue its current session until 30 June.

Jun 28 2009  6:10PM

TWO LATIN AMERICAN SITES ADDED TO UNESCO'S DANGER LIST
New York, Jun 27 2009  5:10PM
Threats to Belize's barrier reef reserve and Colombia's Los Katios National Park from deforestation, illegal fishing and "excessive development" have led the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to inscribe the sites on its List of World Heritage in Danger.

The agency's World Heritage Committee, which is currently meeting in Seville, said the main problem with the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System concerns mangrove cutting and excessive development in the property which was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1996.

The Committee requested stricter control of development on the site -- the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere -- as well as the reinstatement of the moratorium on mangrove cutting on the site which expired in 2008.

Los Katios National Park was placed on the Danger List at the request of Colombia so as t
o help mobilize international support for the preservation of the property which is threatened by deforestation, as a result of the illegal extraction of timber.

Inscribed in 1994 for its exceptional biological diversity, the site is also suffering from illegal fishing and hunting

Also today, the 21-member Committee inscribed the Stoclet House, a private residence in Brussels that dates back to 1911, on the World Heritage List.

When banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet commissioned this house from one of the leading architects of the Vienna Secession movement, Josef Hoffmann, in 1905, he imposed neither aesthetic nor financial restrictions on the project.

The Committee noted that the "austere geometry" of the house and garden, commissioned by banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet, "marked a turning point in Art Nouveau, foreshadowing Art Deco and the Modern Movement in architecture."

Also added to the World Heritage List was a Spanish lighthouse dating back to antiquit
y, the Tower of Hercules in La Coruña, and the watch manufacturing towns of La Chaux-de--Fonds/Le Locle watch-making town-planning in Switzerland.

Many legends from the Middle Ages to the 19th century surround the Tower of Hercules, which is unique as it is the only lighthouse of Greco-Roman antiquity to have retained a measure of structural integrity and functional continuity.

Planned in the early 19th century, after extensive fires, the towns of La Chaux-de--Fonds/Le Locle in the Swiss Jura mountains owe their existence to watch-making. Their layout along an open-ended scheme of parallel strips on which residential housing and workshops are intermingled reflects the needs of the local watch-making culture that dates to the 17th century and is still alive today.

The World Heritage Committee will continue its current session until 30 June.

Jun 27 2009  5:10PM

FOUR NEW SITES INSCRIBED ON UNESCO’S WORLD HERITAGE LIST
New York, Jun 26 2009  6:10PM
Four new sites – located in Burkina Faso, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and Republic of Korea (ROK) – have been added to the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization , it was announced today.   

The addition of the Ruins of Loropéni in Burkina Faso and the Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain in Kyrgyzstan marks the first time that these two countries have had sites inscribed on the List, the agency noted.   

The Ruins of Loropéni, situated near the borders of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo, is at last 1,000 years old and is the best preserved of ten fortresses in the Lobi area and is part of a larger group of 100 stone enclosures that bear testimony to the power of the trans-Saharan gold trade.   

Kyrgyzstan’s Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain, which forms the backdrop to the city of Osh, was revered for centuries by travellers along the ancient Central Asian Silk Routes. The site contains numerous places of worship, including two 16th century mosques, as well as caves with carvings depicting humans, animals and geometrical forms.   

Iran’s Shushtar water system can be traced back to the 5th century B.C. and one of its canals, Gargar, is still in use, providing water to the city of Shushtar. The site includes the Salâsel Castel, the operation centre of the entire hydraulic system, as well as the tower where the water level is measured, damns, bridges, basins and mills.   

Built over five centuries, beginning in 1408, the ROK’s Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty form a collection of 40 tombs scattered over 18 locations that honoured the memory of ancestors, showed respect for their achievements, asserted royal authority, protected ancestral spirits from evil and provided protection from vandalism.   

The inscription of the Joseon Tombs completes the two earlier series of Korean Peninsula royal tombs already inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List: the Gyeongju Historic Areas in the Republic of Korea, and Complex of Koguryo Tombs, in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.   

The 21-member World Heritage Committee, which is meeting in Seville, will continue reviewing nominations for new additions of cultural and natural sites, as well as the state of conservation of properties already inscribed on the List, until 30 June.   
Jun 26 2009  6:10PM

UN AND PARTNERS SEEKING ‘MEANINGFUL’ PROGRESS FROM ISRAEL, PALESTINIANS – BAN
New York, Jun 26 2009  2:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined the other members of the diplomatic Middle East Quartet today in calling on Israel and the Palestinians to fulfil their agreed obligations in the search for peace, adding that it is important to work hard towards meaningful progress.

“It is important for the Quartet members that all the parties concerned show meaningful signs of progress in the coming few months,” Mr. Ban told reporters in Trieste, Italy, following the meeting of the group, which comprises the UN, European Union, Russia and the United States.

In today’s meeting, the Quartet discussed moving towards Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and supporting the Palestinian Authority and economic growth.

They also conferred on the situation in Gaza; comprehensive peace between Israel and Syria, and Israel and Lebanon; as well as an international conference slated to be held in Moscow some time this year.

In a joint communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the Quartet called on Israel and the Palestinians to implement their obligations under the Middle East Road Map, which embodies the two-State solution, and affirmed that unilateral actions taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community.

In addition, the group agreed that the current situation in Gaza is “unsustainable and not in the interests of any of those concerned.”

Members called for the unimpeded provision of humanitarian aid, including food, fuel and medical treatment into the area, which recently endured a devastating Israeli offensive with the stated goal of ending rocket fire into its southern territory.

Earlier this week, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry told the Security Council that “the unresolved crisis in Gaza has negative repercussions on all efforts to advance the peace process, and wreaks unacceptable havoc on the fabric of civilian life in Gaza.”

Mr. Ban, in his comments to the press, stated that the UN has a good proposal to kick-start early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza and has made quite significant progress in the West Bank. The UN is urging the Israeli authorities to stop settlements, including natural growth, and open crossings, he added.

Following the Quartet meeting, Mr. Ban attended a closed meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) Foreign Ministers on Afghanistan, which focused on regional perspectives, including cooperation in border management and countering illicit drug trafficking. He is also scheduled to meet today with the Quartet’s Arab partners.
Jun 26 2009  2:10PM

‘GREEN’ ECONOMY VITAL TO PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT IN MIDST OF CRISES – UN AGENCIES
New York, Jun 25 2009  5:10PM
Nearly two dozen agencies of the United Nations system have banded together to issue an urgent call for nations to ‘green’ their economies to address the multiple crises that are dampening progress towards reaching development targets.

In a statement to the high-level UN Conference on the <"http://www.un.org/ga/econcrisissummit/">World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development, currently underway in New York, 21 agencies joined forces to underscore the need for a shift to a green economy that can spur job creation and curb a multitude of threats ranging from current crises related to food, water and climate change.

“The solidarity of the international community is being tested,” said the statement. “Let this economic recovery be the turning point for an ambitious and effective international response to the multiple crises facing humanity.”

The ultimate test, the agencies pointed out, will come in December when nations are expected to wrap up negotiations in the Danish capital on a new climate change pact that will replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period expires in 2012.

“Let Copenhagen be the turning point for ushering in a global green economy,” they said.

Today’s statement underscored the need for fiscal reforms which can encourage green investment, as well as phasing out “perverse” subsidies which result in the excessive use of fossil fuels in agriculture and fisheries.

“The revenues saved by phasing out such subsidies could be reallocated towards the development of green job skills, the provision of clean, affordable energy alternatives for the poor, and support to other green sectors with broad economic benefits,” it noted.

The agencies also highlighted the importance of reviving trade to boost development and the transfer of environmentally-friendly technologies to make clean energy affordable to poorer nations and support climate change mitigation and adaptation.

“Early conclusion of the Doha Round trade negotiations can facilitate a green recovery, in particular the negotiations on environmental goods and services, fisheries subsidies, and reforming agriculture rules that would be conducive to fostering food security for all.”

Further, the joint statement underlined the need for education to pave the way for sustainable development through training for new job skills and for newly-required health systems.

“Delivering a transition to a low-carbon, resource-efficient Green Economy cannot occur without the creativity, vision, actions and support of a broad cross-section of society,” said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme .

“This rapid harmonization of perspectives from so many agencies reflects their determination to be agents of change towards a sustainable 21st century,” Mr. Steiner, who presented the statement on behalf of all 21 agencies, said.

Among the agencies signing on to the statement are the Food and Agriculture Organization , the UN Development Programme  and the World Bank Group.
Jun 25 2009  5:10PM

BAN CALLS ON G8 TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE, BOOST SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT TARGETS
New York, Jun 24 2009  5:10PM
Climate change and development top the list of challenges requiring action that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has laid out in a letter to leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations ahead of their upcoming summit.

In the letter, Mr. Ban asks G8 governments to take the lead on the issue of climate change by making “ambitious and firm commitments” to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40 per cent, the levels the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change  says are required on the part of industrialized countries to ward off the worst effects of global warming.

“He says that he hopes that G8 governments will commit to a specific timetable and modalities to deliver the billions of dollars needed during the next few years to assist the poorest and most vulnerable to adapt to climate change,” his spokesperson, Michele Montas, said.

Resources must be committed to help the poorest and most vulnerable adapt to climate change as well as to “seal the deal” on an ambitious new pact in December in Copenhagen to replace the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012, the letter says.

On the Millennium Development Goals , the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline, the Secretary-General writes that annual aid to Africa is still at least $20 billion below the targets set at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, United Kingdom, in 2005.

“He urges the G8 to set out, country by country, how donors will scale up aid to Africa over the next year to make the Gleneagles commitments real,” Ms. Montas said.

This year’s G8 summit will be held from 8-10 July in the Italian city of L’Aquila.
Jun 24 2009  5:10PM

SLAMIC LAW MAJOR INFLUENCE ON MODERN GLOBAL REFUGEE LAW – UN STUDY
New York, Jun 22 2009  2:10PM
The 1,400-year-old Islamic custom of welcoming people fleeing persecution has had more influence on today’s international refugee law than any other traditional source, according to a new study sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

High Commissioner António Guterres said that more than any other historical source, Islamic law and tradition underpin the modern-day legal framework on which UNHCR bases its global activities on behalf of the tens of millions of people forced from their homes around the world.

This includes the right of everyone to seek asylum as well as prohibitions against sending those needing protection back into danger, Mr. Guterres said in the foreword to “The Right to Asylum between Islamic Shari’ah and International Refugee Law: A Comparative Study.”

In the study, Professor Abu Al-Wafa, Dean of the Law Faculty at Cairo University, describes how Islamic law and tradition respects refugees, including non-Muslims; forbids forcing them to change their beliefs; avoids compromising their rights; seeks to reunite families; and guarantees the protection of their lives and property.

“The international community should value this 14-century-old tradition of generosity and hospitality and recognize its contributions to modern law,” wrote Mr. Guterres.

He said that “racism, xenophobia and populist fear-mongering manipulate public opinion and confuse refugees with illegal migrants and even terrorists.”

These attitudes have contributed to misperceptions about Islam, and Muslim refugees – who account for the majority – have paid the price, said Mr. Guterres. “Let us be clear: refugees are not terrorists. They are first and foremost the victims of terrorism. This book reminds us of our duty to counter such attitudes.”

The study, published by UNHCR in cooperation with Naif Arab University and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), is scheduled to be launched on 23 June at Naif Arab University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Jun 22 2009  2:10PM

SCIENTISTS WARN OF GROWING THREAT TO GLOBAL WARMING FROM UNCHECKED GASES – UN
New York, Jun 22 2009  7:10PM
An international team of scientific researchers has warned that hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases – used increasingly in insulation foam, air-conditioning and refrigeration – present a significant threat to global efforts to stabilize climate change, in a move welcomed today by the head of the United Nations Environment Programme .

A scientific paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) highlights the need for urgent action over the HFC group of greenhouse gases, arguing that their use could climb sharply as replacements for gases being phased out to protect the ozone layer, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

“By some estimates, action to freeze and then reduce this group of gases [HFCs] could buy the world the equivalent of a decades-worth of C02 emissions,” said Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director.

Mr. Steiner stressed that cutting carbon dioxide emissions is the key to accelerating a transition to a low carbon, resource efficient ‘green economy.’

“It is also central to delivering a stabilization of the atmosphere as outlined by the assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” he added.

According to a news release issued by UNEP, if HFC growth continues unchecked, by 2050 the amount of gas produced could total nine Giga tons, or the equivalent of 45 per cent of total CO2 emissions. Conversely, rapid action to freeze and to cut emissions annually alongside fostering readily available alternatives could see HFC emissions fall to under one Giga ton in the same period.

The projected growth in production and consumption of HFCs is in part linked with the success of the UNEP-administered Montreal Protocol, which has successfully phased out 97 per cent of chemicals that deplete the ozone layer.

In 2007, countries meeting in Canada, under the Montreal Protocol, agreed to speeding up the freeze and phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) – chemicals designed to replace the old, more ozone-damaging CFCs.

The new research findings in the PNAS indicate that unless urgent measures are taken to restrict HFCs, countries and companies are likely to pick this group of gases to replace HCFCs in products such as air conditioning units, refrigeration and insulating foams.
Jun 22 2009  7:10PM

RUSSIA VETOES EXTENSION OF UN MISSION IN GEORGIA
New York, Jun 15 2009  8:10PM
The Security Council failed today to extend the presence of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia after Russia vetoed a technical roll-over for the nearly 16-year-old operation.

China, Libya, Uganda and Viet Nam abstained on the vote on the text, which would have extended the Mission – entrusted with overseeing the ceasefire accord between the Government and Abkhaz separatists in the country’s north-western region – for two more weeks, until 30 June. Its mandate expires at midnight Monday.

Explaining Russia’s negative vote, Ambassador Vitaly Churkin noted that UNOMIG’s mandate had already been rolled over twice for four-month periods, in October 2008 and more recently in February 2009.

“There’s no sense in extending it since it’s built on old realities,” said Mr. Churkin, adding that the current reality calls for a new security regime on the ground.

“Developing a new UN mission mandate would have allowed us to quickly put in place practical cooperation of all interested parties to strengthen security and to restore trust… However, our Western partners did not accept this approach.”

The draft resolution put forward in the Council was “clearly unacceptable,” he stated.

In his recent report to the Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that the Mission has contributed to the overall security of the local population, while cautioning that an agreement on a revised security regime is needed for lasting stability.

UNOMIG’s area of responsibility in Abkhazia consists of a security zone, where no military presence is permitted; a restricted weapons zone, where no heavy weapons can be introduced; and the Kodori Valley.

It has no jurisdiction in nearby South Ossetia, the scene of fighting last August which pitted Georgia against separatists and their Russian allies.
Jun 15 2009  8:10PM

TOP UN ENVOY DEPLORES ASSASSINATION OF IRAQI PARLIAMENTARIAN
New York, Jun 13 2009 11:10AM
The top United Nations official in Iraq has strongly condemned the "shocking" assassination of parliamentarian Harith Al-Ubaidi, who was reportedly shot as he left a mosque in western Baghdad.

Mr. Al-Ubaidi, who headed the Accordance Front-Al Tawaffuq in the Iraqi Council of Representatives, had just left Friday prayers when he was gunned down yesterday, according to media reports.

Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, described the killing as "particularly deplorable and a tragic loss."

Mr. Al-Ubaidi was known for his ability to work with all the different groups and political blocs in the country, Mr. de Mistura said, adding that he also worked tirelessly to ensure the rights of detainees and for the enactment of the Human Rights Commission Law.

The Special Representative urged Iraqi authorities to pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice,
according to a statement issued by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI).
 

AMBITIOUS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AGREEMENT IN SIGHT, SAYS TOP UN OFFICIAL
New York, Jun 12 2009 12:10PM
An ambitious and effective global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is in sight, the top United Nations climate change official said today, as the latest round of negotiations wrapped up in Bonn, Germany.

Delegates from 183 countries met for two weeks to discuss, for the first time, key negotiating texts which can serve as the basis for the global climate change deal, to be clinched in Copenhagen in December.

“A big achievement of this meeting is that governments have made it clearer what they want to see in the Copenhagen agreed outcome,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“In my view, an ambitious and effective agreed outcome in Copenhagen is in sight – an outcome that provides a strong and definitive answer to the alarm raised by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”

The Copenhagen outcome is to follow on the first phase of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012.

The negotiating text under consideration covers issues of a shared vision for long-term cooperative action, enhanced action on adaptation, mitigation and finance, as well as technology and capacity-building.

A group looking at further commitments for industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocol focused on a proposal for amendments to the Protocol, including the future emission reduction commitments of 37 industrialized countries for the second phase of the Protocol.

Mr. de Boer noted that the group was still far away from the emission reduction range that has been set out by science to avoid the worst ravages of climate change – a minus 25 per cent to minus 40 per cent reduction below 1990 levels by 2020.

“Between now and Copenhagen, the level of ambition needs to be increased. This is still possible if the opportunities for international cooperative action are fully seized,” he stated.

The gathering in Germany, which brought together more than 4,600 participants from government, business and industry, environmental groups and research institutions, was the second in a series of five major UN negotiating sessions slated for this year ahead of Copenhagen.

The next meeting is scheduled to be held from 10 to 14 August in Bonn, followed by sessions in Bangkok from 28 September to 9 October and Barcelona from 2 to 6 November.
Jun 12 2009 12:10PM

COCA COLA, MICROSOFT BOOST PROFITS WHILE PROMOTING AFRICAN, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT – UN
New York, Jun 11 2009  2:10PM
Coca Cola and Microsoft are among dozens of companies which are adding to their bottom line while helping Africa and Asia meet their development targets as part of a United Nations-backed scheme.

Global business leaders gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, today to celebrate the first anniversary of the Business Call to Action International Partnership, which was launched in May 2008 in London by the UN Development Programme UNDP) and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom.

The programme “builds upon the enlightened self-interest of the private sector to find financial gains while contributing to development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs],” said Bruce Jenks, Director of UNDPs’ Partnership Bureau, referring to the eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

“At a time when global business leaders are facing difficult decisions about how to manage growing costs and dwindling profits, it is even more important for companies to boldly explore business models that include the poor in their core strategies,” he added.

In just its first year, over 60 CEOs have signed on to the Business Call to Action Declaration, committing their companies to invest in ending poverty.

So far, 18 companies – including PepsiCo and Cadbury – have launched initiatives creating thousands of new jobs, setting up hundreds of small independent businesses and boosting trade and sourcing from Africa and Asia.

Coca Cola has created 700 small distribution centres in Africa, generating 4,500 new jobs, while Microsoft has launched its Students to Business Programme in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya and Senegal.

For its part, Cisco Systems is currently establishing several Connected Community Research Centres in Kenya to bring many affordable services to local residents, and SABMiller is trying to double the amount of barley it sources from India, in an initiative benefiting 7,500 farmers.
Jun 11 2009  2:10PM

BAN WELCOMES ELECTION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
New York, Jun 10 2009  5:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated veteran United Nations diplomat Ali Abdessalam Treki of Libya on his election as the President of the upcoming session of the General Assembly.

The three-time Libyan Ambassador to the UN and current Minister of African Union Affairs for the North African nation was elected by acclamation by the 192-member Assembly.

Mr. Ban welcomed the President-elect back to the UN, noting that his “wide-ranging diplomatic experience will be invaluable as he presides over the General Assembly.”

He said that as the world faces new problems and threats, Mr. Treki’s leadership will be crucial if the Assembly is to respond with unified action.

The Secretary-General also paid tribute to the current President, Miguel Brockmann D’Escoto of Nicaragua, “on his valuable contribution” and said that he anticipates a “smooth transition to the new leadership” of the body.”

The President-elect will take up his post when the Assembly begins its 64th session on 15 September.

Mr. D’Escoto said that he assumes Mr. Treki will face the job “with the same passion and determination that have inspired my presidency,” encouraging him to “press for the revitalization of this body as it seeks to restore its authority and leadership on the world stage during these perilous times.”
Jun 10 2009  5:10PM

UN AGREES TO ADVISE RUSSIA ON ‘GREENING’ 2014 SOCHI OLYMPICS
New York, Jun  9 2009  6:10PM
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has signed an agreement with the organizers of the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia to make the Games environmentally friendly.

In addition to advising on “greening” the Olympics, UNEP will also organize education programmes and a series of conferences to allow international experts to monitor and analyze key environmental indicators before and after the Games, a UNEP press announcement said.

The Sochi Olympic organizers are also planning to invest $1.75 billion in energy conservation and renewable energy to offset the remaining greenhouse gas emissions from the use of electricity, air travel and ground transportation.

Other environmental initiatives include the development of “green belts” in the city and reforestation of the Sochi National Park.

The Games’ organizers had previously agreed to a UNEP suggestion to move the bobsleigh and luge tracks away from the Caucasus nature reserve, which is one of the only mountain areas in Europe that remains virtually untouched by human activity.

The organizers commemorated the signing of the agreement by planting trees in several locations in Russia as part of UNEP’s Billion Trees Campaign.

The agency also advised on greening last summer’s Beijing Olympics, which set new records for eco-friendly mass spectator sporting events, according to a UNEP report published in February.
Jun  9 2009  6:10PM

BAN MOURNS DEATH OF GABONESE LEADER
New York, Jun  8 2009  8:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said he was deeply saddened to learn of the death of the President Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban extended his condolences to the leader’s family, the Government and people of the African nation.

“The Secretary-General pays tribute to the late President Bongo Ondimba for the key role he played in the search for peace and stability not only in the Central Africa subregion, but also in other parts of the continent,” the statement added.
Jun  8 2009  8:10PM

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RELEASE OF UN STAFFER HELD IN PAKISTAN
New York, Apr  5 2009  1:10AM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed his happiness at the safe release of United Nations staff member John Solecki, who was abducted in Pakistan two months ago, voicing his appreciation for the efforts of Government officials and others in securing his release.

Mr. Solecki, who heads the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Quetta, in Balochistan province, was abducted in an attack on 2 February that also left another colleague, Syed Hashim, dead.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General said that he is "grateful to all those who have tried over the past two months to help secure John Solecki's release, and would like in particular to express his appreciation for the strong message made by Balochi leaders in support of his release, as well as efforts made by the Government of Pakistan."

Mr. Ban also reaffirmed the UN's continued c
ommitment to help all Pakistani people, a dedication manifested in Mr. Solecki's own work.

Addressing reporters following a meeting with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Paris, he thanked President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, along with many others, for their tireless work in securing Mr. Solecki's release.

But the Secretary-General noted that Robert Fowler, his Special Envoy for Niger, is still missing following his kidnapping last December.

"I sincerely hope that the captors, whoever they may be, should immediately, without any conditions, release him as soon as possible," he said.

During Mr. Solecki's captivity, the world body had expressed its concern on many occasions regarding his health, given that he suffers from multiple health conditions requiring ongoing treatment.

A group known as the Balochistan Liberation United Front claimed to be holding him, demanding the release of people it says are in Pakistani custod
y..

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES RUSSIAN, US NUCLEAR COMMITMENTS
New York, Apr  3 2009  3:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the commitments made by the leaders of Russia and the United States to accomplish nuclear disarmament and intensify nuclear non-proliferation efforts.

Under the 1 April Joint Statement by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and US President Barack Obama, the two countries will take concrete steps to fulfil their obligations under the UN-backed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which forms the foundation of the world’s nuclear non-proliferation regime.

In a statement issued today by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said that their leadership is “vital to the process leading the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world.”

Along with their commitment to this goal, the Secretary-General said other “significant undertakings” include the presidents’ pledge to realize reductions in their strategic offensive arsenals by replacing the current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with a new, legally binding pact.

The statement noted that Mr. Ban is encouraged by the leaders’ efforts to overcome difference pertaining to missile defence deployment, welcoming their commitment to further strengthening the NPT, the global regime for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and the means of delivery of these weapons.

He also welcomed the leaders’ declaration of support for the Security Council resolution on preventing non-State actors from obtaining WMD-related materials and technologies.

“The promotion of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, heightened efforts to make nuclear weapons and materials secure, and to combat nuclear terrorism will contribute to addressing important nuclear challenges,” he noted.

As depository of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT), which outlaws all nuclear explosions and establishes a verification regime to monitor compliance, the Secretary-General said that he is “particularly pleased” by Mr. Obama’s confirmation that he will work towards US ratification of the pact, which Russia has already done.

Mr. Ban has repeatedly appealed to the members of the Conference on Disarmament – the world’s only multilateral disarmament negotiating forum – to break their deadlock and move to the negotiations phase, including on a treaty banning the production of fissile material. The Conference has not been able to agree on a programme of work for 10 years.

Therefore, the Russian and US leaders’ support for these negotiations is “most welcome,” the statement said.

Yesterday, the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said he believes the commitments by the two leaders will help move the world beyond the Cold War mentality.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said that the Joint Statement could also generate momentum towards the universal adherence to comprehensive safeguards agreements.
Apr  3 2009  3:10PM

AN WELCOMES G-20 LEADERS’ $1 TRILLION PLEDGE TO RESCUE THE WORLD’S POOREST
New York, Apr  2 2009  4:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the $1.1 trillion package committed by leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) nations in London, stressing that developing nations must receive the funds needed to stem the onset of a human development crisis.

The G-20 nations today also “reaffirmed previous commitments to increase aid and help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals,” Mr. Ban said in a statement, referring to the ambitious anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

This means that these nations are promising at least $300 billion in aid over the next two years, he said. “For the poorest countries this will be crucial. The world will be watching.”

According to new World Bank data, developing countries’ economic growth will slow sharply to 2.1 per cent this year, marking a 3 per cent drop from 2008. As a result, some 53 million more people would fall into poverty this year, living on less than $1.25 a day, due to the crisis.

Additionally, the world economy will contract by 1.7 per cent compared to last year’s 1.9 per cent growth, making the first global decline since the Second World War.

The G-20 leaders committed considerable new resources for the International Monetary Fund  and the World Bank, and asked the UN to monitor the impacts of the current and future crises on the world’s most vulnerable, the Secretary-General added.

“I welcome the commitment from G-20 leaders to resist protectionism and to monitor compliance,” he said, noting that he was also encouraged by their recognition of the strong links between tackling the economic turmoil, food security and climate change.

Among other things, the leaders also committed to combating climate change, vowing to reach agreement at the UN climate change conference this December in Copenhagen, where nations are expected to conclude an ambitious successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.

In an opinion piece published in The Guardian today, the Secretary-General made the case for $1 trillion to “stop the slide” and help the world’s poorest, who spend as much as 80 per cent of their income on food and have no safety net.

“One trillion dollars over two years is not so large a sum, considering the consequences,” he said. “Some might call it a moral imperative. But if our goal is to reverse a global slump, it is also sound economics.”

The financial crisis has spiralled into an economic crisis, he wrote. “I fear worse to come: a full-blown political crisis defined by growing social unrest, weakened governments and angry publics who have lost all faith in their leaders and their own future.”

Mr. Ban appealed to nations to recognize their global interdependence, with no single nation being able to safeguard its economic security without taking into account the well-being of other countries. “There is a thin line between failing banks and failing countries, and we cross it at our peril.”

Boosting liquidity through the IMF is key to reverse the credit crunch impacting developing nations which has retarded trade and growth, Mr. Ban underscored.

“Meanwhile, we must resist short-sighted pressures that would compromise, if not destroy, the progress we make in London – and say no to the new protectionism,” the Secretary-General wrote, calling on nations who have placed restrictions on trade to reverse the trend.

While in London, the Secretary-General held bilateral meetings today with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. Tomorrow he heads to Paris, where he will chair a meeting of the UN system’s Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB).
Apr  2 2009  4:10PM

UN-ASSISTED SCHEME TO DEMOBILIZE EX-SOLDIERS IN EASTERN SUDAN ENTERS NEXT PHASE
New York, Apr  1 2009  5:10PM
The second phase of a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme supported by the United Nations that aims to help nearly 2,300 ex-combatants put down their weapons and reintegrate into civilian life kicked off today in eastern Sudan. 

Senior governmental officials, UN officials and donors were among those on hand at the launch ceremony in Kassala State of the initiative, carried out under the Support to Human Security Project of the UN Development Programme (UNDP). 

The DDR process is part of the 2006 Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) that ended a decade-long conflict between the Government of Sudan and the Eastern Front. 

“The DDR is the backbone of consolidating any peace agreement. Without successful reintegration of former fighters, sustainable peace, and accompanying social and economic development will not be possible,” said UNDP Country Director Jerzy Skuratowicz. 

“Therefore, the work we are undertaking collectively will be central to assisting Sudan to achieve its social and economics goals and to foster peace and development in the East,” he added.   

During the first phase, carried out from 2007-2008, the project succeeded in registering demobilized combatants, and providing them with services such as medical screening, food and clothing packages, and financial support.   

Some 1,200 ex-combatants were trained on veterinary and basic business management skills, and provided with goats, sheep and commodities to help them start up small businesses.   
Apr  1 2009  5:10PM

GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONFIRMS HELEN CLARK AS NEW UN DEVELOPMENT CHIEF
New York, Mar 31 2009  6:10PM
The General Assembly today confirmed the appointment of former Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand as the new head of the United Nations Development Programme

UNDP is the largest of the independently funded UN agencies and, under its special General Assembly mandate, leads the world body’s work on eradicating extreme poverty and promoting good governance in the developing world.

Miss Clark’s nomination for UNDP Administrator was forwarded by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Assembly after an extensive selection process, which included the establishment of a senior appointments panel chaired by the Deputy Secretary-General and consisting of senior UN officials as well as two outside experts in financial and developmental economics.

She replaces Kemal Dervis of Turkey, who had been in the post since 2005 and stepped down on 1 March for family and personal reasons.

Miss Clark had been a member of the New Zealand Parliament since 1981, and was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2008, while concurrently holding a number of other portfolios including Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage.
Mar 31 2009  6:10PM

BILLION TREE CAMPAIGN GROWS PAST 3 BILLION MARK, SAYS UN AGENCY
New York, Mar 30 2009 12:10PM
An effort to fight climate change through reforestation, seeded at the grassroots level, has now blossomed into a woodland of over 3 billion trees, with the confirmation that over 300 million were planted in Turkey in 2008, the United Nations announced today.

In response to its success, the Billion Tree Campaign, which is under the patronage of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Kenyan Green Belt Movement founder Professor Wangari Maathai and Prince Albert II of Monaco, has already set a new target of 7 billion trees to be planted by the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in December 2009.

The campaign was launched by the UN Environment Programme  and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in 2006 as a response not only to the threat of global warming but also to wide sustainability challenges from water supplies to biodiversity loss.

Tree planting remains one of the most cost-effective ways to address climate change, according to UNEP. Trees and forests play a vital role in regulating the climate since they absorb carbon dioxide. Deforestation, in turn, accounts for over 20 per cent of the carbon dioxide humans generate, rivalling the emissions from other sources.

Trees also play a crucial role in providing a range of products and services to rural and urban populations, including food, timber, fibre, medicines and energy as well as soil fertility, water and biodiversity conservation.

With slightly over 700 million trees planted to date, Turkey now attains second position in the list of top 10 countries in the Campaign’s roll of honour. The leading country remains Ethiopia with 725 million trees planted, UNEP said.

Mexico, with 472,404,266 trees planted to date, Kenya with 139,893,668 and Cuba with 137,476,771 round out the top five in the sylvan effort.

Meanwhile, an organization in Romania known as the PRAIS Foundation, in partnership with the Romanian Government and other partners, has confirmed that it has planted over 11 million trees through the national tree-planting movement ‘Millions of People, Millions of Trees.’

In total, 3,071,704,993 trees have been planted around the world. So far, another 1,578,796,459 trees have been pledged and have yet to be planted.

UNEP is now making an appeal to UN peacekeeping missions and the armed forces of the world to also join in the Campaign by planting trees in areas where they operate.

The agency is further inviting all individuals, communities, businesses, civil society organizations and Governments to join the global tree-planting initiative by registering tree-planting commitments on the campaign’s website.
Mar 30 2009 12:10PM

MAJOR NEGOTIATIONS FOR NEW UN CLIMATE CHANGE PACT KICK OFF IN GERMANY
New York, Mar 29 2009 11:10AM
The first round of United Nations-backed negotiations designed to culminate in an ambitious new international climate change treaty in Copenhagen in December got underway today.

More than 2,000 delegates from government, business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions, have gathered in Bonn, Germany, for the first of a series of three sessions aimed at producing a draft document to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period to reducing greenhouse gas emissions ends in 2012.

"This first negotiating session this year is critical for moving the world closer to a political solution to climate change," said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

"The clock is ticking down and countries still have much work to cover," stressed Mr. de Boer at the start of the nine-day meeting.

Discussions on
greenhouse gas emissions reductions to be achieved by industrialized countries after 2012 will centre on issues relating to the scale of the reductions, improvements to emissions trading and the Kyoto Protocol''s carbon offset mechanisms, as well as concerns relating to land-use change and forestry.

"Industrialized countries are committed to lead the way, and the world is looking to them to agree on ambitious targets, in line with what science is telling us, in Copenhagen in December," said Harald Dovland, who chairs the working group leading the negotiations.

"We must lay the groundwork for this in Bonn at this session by shifting gears and moving into serious, in-depth negotiations," he added.
 

UN BACKS DIALOGUE AS ONLY MEANS TO STABILIZE MADAGASCAR
New York, Mar 27 2009  5:10PM
The United Nations today reiterated its belief that inclusive talks are the only means to bring about a smooth transition in Madagascar, which saw the resignation of President Marc Ravalomanana earlier this month.

Tensions have risen in the country in recent months, claiming some 100 lives and injuring many others since January, amid a dispute between Mr. Ravalomanana and the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, who now leads the country.

“The United Nations continues to believe that stability, prosperity and democratic freedoms can be ensured only through a consensual and inclusive dialogue process that would address the root causes of the crisis and would be accepted by all parties,” UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters today.

Tiébilé Dramé, the world body’s senior adviser to the African island nation, was in New York this week for consultations and will be returning to Madagascar shortly.

“We will remain engaged through Mr. Dramé to help achieve a peaceful, consensual solution in Madagascar,” Ms. Montas said. “The United Nations is ready to work with the Malagasy parties as well as regional and international partners to reach this goal.”

Last week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement that a “peaceful path” to stability in Madagascar “can only be the result of transitional arrangements arrived at by consensus and enjoying wide support.”

Further, he called on “all parties concerned to act responsibly to ensure stability and a smooth transition through democratic means,” urging all concerned, particularly the police and the army, to “ensure the security of the population and work together toward a non-violent resolution of the crisis.”
Mar 27 2009  5:10PM

BAN WELCOMES CENTRAL ASIA’S DECISION TO RENOUNCE NUCLEAR WEAPONS
New York, Mar 20 2009  5:10PM
Central Asia is set to become the Northern Hemisphere’s first-ever nuclear-weapons-free zone tomorrow, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcoming the entry into force of the pact underpinning the establishment of the zone.

All five Central Asian nations – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – have ratified the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, first formally proposed by Uzbek President Islam Karimov at the General Assembly in 1993.

The agreement, which opened for signature in September 2006, covers an area where nuclear weapons previously existed.

Kazakhstan, which endured over 400 atomic blasts at the Semipalatinsk testing ground in the country’s north, previously had the fourth largest nuclear weapon arsenal in the world, but renounced its arsenal after gaining independence.

Central Asia joins the four other nuclear-weapon-free zones: Latin America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific, South-East Asia and Africa.

Mr. Ban pointed out that the Treaty is also “significant” because it sets up the first nuclear-weapons-free zone requiring parties to fully comply with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Additionally, the five nations must also conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency . The Protocol is a set of safeguards to boost the IAEA’s ability to ensure that a State does not have undeclared nuclear material.

“In order to ensure the effective implementation of the Treaty, the Secretary-General would like to urge the States concerned to address any outstanding issues that may affect its operation,” according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

With the review of the UN-backed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which forms the foundation of the world’s nuclear non-proliferation regime, coming up next year, the Secretary-General said that he “trusts that the entry into force of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia will reinforce efforts to strengthen the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, underline the strategic and moral value of nuclear-weapon-free zones, as well as the possibilities for greater progress on a range of issues in the pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons.”
Mar 20 2009  5:10PM

REINSTATING JUDGES IMPORTANT STEP IN RESTORING RULE OF LAW IN PAKISTAN – UN OFFICIAL
New York, Mar 17 2009  1:10PM
The United Nations human rights chief has welcomed the Pakistani Government’s decision to reinstate the former Supreme Court Chief Justice and other judges, who had been removed from their posts in 2007, as an important step in restoring the rule of law in the country.

Navi Pillay also welcomed the Government’s pledges to free opposition activists and leaders who had been arbitrarily detained over the past week or so and to lift the ban on public demonstrations in the capital and provinces, Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights  told reporters in Geneva today.

“Reinstating all of the 60 judges who had been sacked by the previous administration was an important step in the process of restoring the rule of law in Pakistan,” he stated.

“The current Government appears to be showing willingness to respond to concerns voiced by its people regarding their human rights and the integrity of the judicial system,” he said, adding that the High Commissioner calls on the Government to release all activists that had been arrested during the recent protests.

Mr. Colville noted that since last year, Pakistan has taken a number of steps to promote human rights and the rule of law, including signing and ratifying global treaties and establishing a Ministry for Human Rights.

“However, OHCHR did not believe that sustainable peace and political stability within Pakistan, and in the wider region, would be achieved without real and sustainable advances on the human rights front,” he said.

Signing up to key international treaties was a very important step, but the challenge now is to ensure they were properly reflected in national law, and that the national laws are properly implemented, he stressed.

Last week, amid growing political tensions in the country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on Pakistan’s leaders to solve all their differences through an honest dialogue to be able to deal with the multitude of challenges the country and the region face.
Mar 17 2009  1:10PM

ARCTIC PEOPLES MUST BE CONSULTED ON ADAPTATION TO WARMING, SAYS UN-BACKED GROUP
New York, Mar 13 2009  1:10PM
Indigenous Arctic peoples must be consulted on ways to preserve their ways of life and boost employment opportunities as the northern ice retreats due to climate change, a group of experts convened by the United Nations cultural agency has agreed.

“Action formulated to address Arctic issues must begin from an understanding that many of the peoples of the Arctic have self-governing institutions,” according to recommendations issued by participants at the meeting organized by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization .

“These peoples and their institutions have immense creativity and seek to advance the self-determination, prosperity and aspirations of their communities and their regions,” they added.

According to UNESCO, rapidly changing climate in the Arctic is putting pressure on hundreds of thousands of indigenous people in the circumpolar north.

The agency noted that for decades they have been witnessing a dramatic shift during the Arctic Ocean’s open water season, as sea ice retreats further and further from coasts. Industrial development and shipping are expected to rise in its place.

The four-day meeting hosted by Monaco in early March sought to address the concerns of the Arctic communities and identify strategies for the sustainable development of the region, bringing together experts in the social and natural sciences, ethics, education, and international affairs with representatives of indigenous peoples.

The recommendations of the group include establishing “a working/advisory group to develop dialogue and strategy on the challenges of climate change for circumpolar indigenous peoples, including safeguarding intangible heritage and building synergies between indigenous and scientific knowledge.”

Other objectives range from promoting employment opportunities through the conservation of traditional activities to improving the access of researchers to exclusive economic zones in the Arctic area.

Participants at the meeting included representatives of the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North (RAIPON), the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), the Saami Parliament, the Arctic Council, UNESCO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

In addition, all Arctic States (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States) were represented as well as other concerned States, some from Europe but some from as far south as New Zealand, South Africa, and Japan.

The Director General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, opened the discussions, applauding the bold mandate of the meeting. “Adaptation and response have become an unavoidable necessity. The development of appropriate adaptation and response strategies has therefore emerged as a central preoccupation of all actors, including the UN system,” he said.
Mar 13 2009  1:10PM

SATELLITE LAUNCH BY DPR KOREA WILL THREATEN REGIONAL STABILITY, BAN WARNS
New York, Mar 12 2009  6:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced concern about plans by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to launch a satellite, warning that it could jeopardize stability in the region.

The DPRK authorities have reportedly announced that they plan to launch a satellite sometime between 4 and 8 April.

“I’m concerned about DPRK’s recent moves to launch a satellite or long-range missiles,” Mr. Ban told a news conference in New York. “This will threaten the peace and stability in the region.”

He encouraged Pyongyang to comply with Security Council resolution 1718, which demanded that the country “not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile,” following its claims to have conducted a nuclear test in October 2006.

“I hope they will abide by the relevant Security Council resolution and return to the Six-Party Talks,” he said, referring to the discussions involving DPRK, Republic of Korea, Japan, China, Russia and the United States.

Mr. Ban also said he hoped for improved bilateral relations between DPRK and the Republic of Korea.
Mar 12 2009  6:10PM

BALLOONING GLOBAL POPULATION ADDING TO WATER CRISIS, WARNS NEW UN REPORT
New York, Mar 12 2009  2:10PM
The surging growth in global population, climate change, widespread mismanagement and increasing demand for energy have tightened the grip on the world’s evaporating water supplies, warned a new United Nations report released today.

As the world’s population has swollen to well over 6 billion people, some countries have already reached the limits of their water resources, according to the report compiled by 24 UN agencies.

“Climate change is going to make this situation worse,” said William Cosgrove, Content Coordinator for the UN World Water Development Report.

“Not just because it’s going to increase climate variability but because generally it’s going to increase the stresses [on water resources] in the places where they already exist,” Mr. Cosgrove told a news conference in New York.

The “Water in a Changing World” report, a comprehensive triennial assessment of freshwater resources, was launched at UN Headquarters today ahead of the Fifth World Water Forum to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, from 16 to 22 March.

Due to climate change the report estimated that almost half the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030, including between 75 million and 250 million people in Africa. In addition, water scarcity in some arid and semi-arid places will displace between 24 million and 700 million people.

There is a strong link between poverty and water resources, the report noted, with the number of people living on less than $1.25 a day approximately coinciding with the number of those without access to safe drinking water.

The report highlighted the major impact this situation has on health as almost 80 per cent of diseases in developing countries are associated with water, causing some three million early deaths. For example, 5,000 children die every day from diarrhoea, and roughly 10 per cent of all illnesses worldwide could be avoided by improving water supply, sanitation, hygiene and management of water resources.

“Demand is increasing. It’s creating competition and what we need are improved water management, better legislation and more effective and more transparent allocation of water,” said Mr. Cosgrove.

He noted that the strain on water resources increases dramatically as living standards improve, urban areas grow and consumption levels increase and consequently the demand for energy spikes.

Dramatic increases in the production of biofuels, including the tripling of ethanol between 2000 and 2007, and the need for 1,000 to 4,000 litres of water to create a single litre of biofuel, have also added to the pressure put on worldwide water resources.

“The world’s need for energy is going to increase by 60 per cent by the year 2030 – this is a forecast by the International Atomic Energy Agency – and the demand for this energy is going to come from the developing countries,” noted Mr. Cosgrove, with the dependence on hydropower also estimated to rise by 60 per cent.

“With increasing shortages, good governance is more than ever essential for water management,” stressed the Director-General of the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization , Koïchiro Matsuura, who will present the report on 16 March in Istanbul.
Mar 12 2009  2:10PM

SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT COULD NET 10 MILLION NEW JOBS, UN AGENCY SAYS
New York, Mar 10 2009  5:10PM
Ten million new “green jobs” can be created by national investments in sustainable forest management, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization  said today.

“As more jobs are lost due to the current economic downturn, sustainable forest management could become a means of creating millions of green jobs, thus helping to reduce poverty and improve the environment,” said Jan Heino, Assistant Director-General of FAO’s Forestry Department.

Since forests and trees are vital storehouses of carbon, such an investment would also make a major contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, he said.

Jobs in forest management include agro-forestry and farm forestry, improved fire management, development and management of trails and recreation sites, expansion of urban green spaces, restoring degraded forests and planting new ones.

A number of countries, including the United States and the Republic of Korea, have included forestry in their economic stimulus plans, and it is an important component of India’s rural employment guarantee programme, FAO said.

Employment in sustainable forest management will be a major topic of World Forest Week, to be held in conjunction with FAO’s Committee on Forestry, 16 to 20 March in Rome.
Mar 10 2009  5:10PM

MARKETS ALONE CANNOT PROVIDE ADEQUATE HOUSING FOR ALL, SAYS UN EXPERT
New York, Mar  9 2009  9:10PM
The over-reliance on private home ownership that contributed to the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the subsequent global financial meltdown highlights the need to view housing through the lens of human rights and not just as a commodity, the United Nations independent expert on adequate housing said today.

“While political discussions are ongoing, I believe it is important to consider the linkage of the crisis with human rights, especially to look at the causes of the crisis and avoid repeating the same mistakes in any new national and global agenda,” said Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik, who presented a report to the Human Rights Council on the financial crisis, its causes and its relation to the right to adequate housing.

“One of the fundamental errors has been to consider housing only as a commodity and an investment asset,” she told the 47-member body in Geneva, underscoring that that the provision of adequate housing for all can not be left solely in the hands of private housing and financial capital markets.

As private loans and mortgages were the only option open to most people who needed a place to live, Ms. Rolnik noted that “credits were attributed by the private sector to households that – in normal circumstances – would not be eligible for loans.”

As a result, not only did private companies’ risk increase, but also “low-income households were made even more vulnerable to economic and financial changes,” she added.

In her report, the expert also argued that the reduction in the amount of public housing made available by the State had a significant impact on people in need of affordable accommodation, especially those that could not afford market prices and mortgages.

She noted that rapid increases in the price of housing led to excessive borrowing and the ensuing expansion of the financial system. 

“The ‘biggest bubble in history’ was foreseen, but little or nothing was done by Governments to prevent it,” Ms. Rolnik, an architect and urban planner with extensive experience in the area of housing and urban policies, said in a press release.

Since the so-called bubble has burst, the financial crisis has resulted in housing becoming even less affordable for many people around the world, she noted.

“It is a blunt reminder that it is not just the poor, but also low- and increasingly middle-income groups, who find it difficult to raise enough money to buy or rent adequate housing,” said Ms. Rolnik.

“I believe that the current crisis represents an opportunity for reflection, and to consider how to improve housing systems, policies and programmes so as to ensure adequate housing to all.”
Mar  9 2009  9:10PM

PROPOSED NUCLEAR FUEL BANK REACHES GO-AHEAD FUNDING LEVEL, UN AGENCY SAYS
New York, Mar  6 2009  5:10PM
A proposed nuclear fuel bank, part of a framework to put uranium enrichment under multinational control to reduce proliferation risks, has attracted enough promised funding to allow a go-ahead for its creation, the United Nations announced today.

A $10 million pledge from Kuwait pushed funding assurances over the $100 million level, with other donors including the United States, the European Union, the United Arab Emirates and Norway for the project, which would be taken forward by the UN International Atomic Energy Agency .

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei welcomed the achievement, saying that bold measures are vital to curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and eliminating them altogether.

Mr. ElBaradei has long proposed a system that would provide assurance of supply to States considering developing nuclear power and avoid the need for them to build their own nuclear fuel production capability.

The so-called front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, when fuel is enriched, as well as the back end, when spent fuel is reprocessed, provide points that pose proliferation risks because material can be diverted and used to produce weapons, the IAEA has explained.

The fuel bank is the cornerstone of Mr. ElBaradei’s proposal, as it would offer users of the system the insurance of guaranteed delivery if their regular supplies were interrupted.

Funding for the fuel reserve was kicked off in 2006 when the Nuclear Threat Initiative donated $50 million provided by United States billionaire Warren Buffet to the proposed fuel bank on condition that the contribution is matched by other pledges totalling $100 million.
Mar  6 2009  5:10PM

TOURISM INDUSTRY SET TO BOUNCE BACK STRONGER THAN EVER, UN FINDS
New York, Mar  6 2009  2:10PM
In spite of the hit that tourism is taking during the current global economic crisis, the industry will recover and be stronger than ever, the United Nations World Tourism Organization  announced today.

In conclusions issued by the agency’s Resilience Committee (TRC), the industry – which has been severely impacted by the recession and is forecast to continue its downturn for the near future – has a key role to play in helping the world recover from the current turmoil.

“History has demonstrated that crises can also provide opportunities as they call for substantial efforts and industry solidarity,” the body, which met for the first time last month in Madrid, found.

Addressing the recession through the lens of long-term issues such as climate change and global poverty will also help the tourism industry weather future crises, it said.

UNWTO’s Secretary-General ad interim Taleb Rifai stressed that while it is impossible to estimate how long the current crisis will last, it is clear that tourism has much to contribute to the recovery process with its “unique resurgence capacity and an immense potential in terms of employment creation and sustainability.”

The agency expects international tourism to stay even or fall by up to 2 per cent this year. The Americas and Europe are expected to be impacted most, while Asia and the Pacific, as well as Africa and the Middle East, will find growth easing in 2009.

In January, a UNWTO report found that the economic slowdown threatens to reverse the historic four-year gains made by the industry in foreign travel. Although international tourist arrivals reached 924 million in 2008, up 16 million from 2007 or a two per cent overall increase on the year, growth stagnated in the second half of last year, hitting Europe the hardest.
Mar  6 2009  2:10PM

MALDIVES: CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS RIGHT TO HOUSING, SAYS UN EXPERT
New York, Feb 26 2009 12:10PM
Rising sea levels and coastal erosion, both wrought by climate change, threaten the viability of Maldives, but overcrowding and other impacts are already felt by the island nation’s 300,000 people, a United Nations independent expert cautioned today.

After an eight-day visit to country, Raquel Rolnik, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, said that “Maldives and its Atolls, because of their unique geological and topographic aspects and their fragile and delicate environmental system, are already experiencing the impacts of climate change.”

This jeopardizes the survival of the nation, which could be inundated by water, but more immediately, it jeopardizes the right to housing due to the scarcity of land.

Ms. Rolnik stressed the responsibility of the international community to urgently support adaptation strategies, noting that “the post-2004 Indian Ocean tsunami reconstruction process in Maldives can be a source of precious lessons.”

Over the past four years, donors and agencies have mobilized over $400 million in aid, but the Rapporteur voiced concern over the allocation of the resources and their management by Maldivian authorities.

“In the new resettlement sites that I visited, I detected a lack of participation in the decision-making process concerning relocation, the design of new houses and the infrastructure, which resulted in new structures that were not always compatible with the livelihood of the communities,” she said.

Additionally, the expert noted that the tsunami may have been used by authorities as an opportunity to relocate communities, which has provoked serious conflicts. Today, there are still 3,500 people uprooted by the 2004 disaster who are still living in temporary shelters.

The reconstruction process has also resulted in a surge in the price of construction materials, putting upward pressure on rental prices and aggravating overcrowding.

Over 80,000 migrants from Bangladesh and other South Asian countries live in Maldives, with half of them working in the construction sector, and the Rapporteur said she was concerned over their housing and living conditions.

She called for a “human rights-based approach” to address the housing situation in the country, calling for the Government and international organizations to promote public participation in making key decisions.

Ms. Rolnik, who reports to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, took up her post last May and serves in an independent and unpaid capacity, as do all Special Rapporteurs.
Feb 26 2009 12:10PM

INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR SPURS CRITICAL RESEARCH ON GLOBAL WARMING – UN AGENCY
New York, Feb 25 2009  5:10PM
Research produced during the International Polar Year 2007-2008 shows clearly that the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctic are losing mass, providing a critical boost to knowledge of global warming, the United Nations’ climate agency said today.

“The International Polar Year 2007 – 2008 came at a crossroads for the planet’s future” said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the UN World Meteorological Organization , which today released a study entitled “The State of Polar Research” jointly with the International Council for Science (ICSU).

“The new evidence resulting from polar research will strengthen the scientific basis on which we build future actions,” Mr. Jarraud added.

A joint project of WMO and the ICSU, the International Polar Year (IPY) garnered international funding support of about $1.2 billion over the two-year period aimed at a better understanding of the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

More than 160 multi-disciplinary research projects, developed by scientists of more than 60 countries, have been carried out over the two-year period that will end in March 2009.

The new research shows that the warming of the Antarctic is much more widespread than previously known, and it now appears that the rate of ice loss from Greenland is increasing.

A freshening of the bottom water near Antarctica is consistent with increased ice melt from that continent and could affect ocean circulation, the research finds.

The report also identified large pools of carbon stored as methane in permafrost which, if thawed, threatens to become another massive source of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.

In addition to lending insight into climate change, the new research has aided our understanding of pollutant transport, species’ evolution, and storm formation, among many other areas, WMO said.

According to the agency, the Year will leave a legacy of enhanced observational capacity, stronger links across disciplines and communities, and an energized new generation of polar researchers.

“The work begun by IPY must continue” said Mr. Jarraud. “Internationally coordinated action related to the polar regions will still be needed in the next decades,” he said, adding that a major IPY science conference will take place in Oslo in June 2010.
Feb 25 2009  5:10PM

FOOD, CLIMATE AND FINANCIAL CRISES THREATEN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS – UN OFFICIAL
New York, Feb 23 2009  1:10PM
A range of challenges from food and financial crises to climate change are threatening global efforts to achieve development that is sustainable, or that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, a top United Nations official said today.

“These multi-dimensional challenges do not have purely economic solutions, nor purely social or environmental ones. They require integrated solutions that combine economic, social and environmental elements,” Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang told a UN meeting on sustainable development that began today in New York.

He noted that food prices remain high, following on from last year’s crisis, and the global financial and economic slowdown has exacerbated the situation.

“Forecasts suggest that this year could produce the worst economic record since the end of the Second World War,” Mr. Sha said, noting that growth rates are falling everywhere, unemployment is rising, poverty is deepening, and hunger and malnutrition are on the increase.

In addition, the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals  – the set of globally agreed anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline – is in “jeopardy.”

On top of these challenges, the international community faces the threat of climate change, which if left unaddressed will, as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, only increase poverty and hardship, he noted.

“Now is the time for the champions of sustainable development to step forward,” he exhorted the gathering, which is meeting in preparation for the 17th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which is slated to hold its annual session in May.

All of the present crises put “a new responsibility on the Commission to provide the leadership and guidance that the world needs today,” he added.

The themes on the Commission’s agenda this year are agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification, and Africa.

“Each provides an entry point for addressing the food crisis. Each is central to the pursuit of the MDGs. Each is affected adversely by climate change as well as the global recession,” he stated. “And the policy response in each of these agenda areas can contribute to the solutions of these global challenges.”
Feb 23 2009  1:10PM

UN ENVOY AWAITS ‘TANGIBLE’ OUTCOMES FROM LATEST MYANMAR VISIT
New York, Feb 20 2009  4:10PM
The United Nations envoy for Myanmar told the Security Council today his latest visit to the South-East Asian nation, the fifth in the past year and a half, has not yet yielded any concrete results.

“I informed the Council that, so far, we have not seen tangible outcomes of my visit,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari told reporters after a closed-door briefing to the 15-member body.

“But there seems to be some movement in that direction,” added the envoy, who was in Myanmar most recently from 31 January to 3 February as part of the good offices mandate entrusted to the Secretary-General by the General Assembly.

During the visit, Mr. Gambari met with Government officials such as Prime Minister Thein Sein, as well as opposition and other political parties, including detained pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD).

“As I told the Government, now is the time to demonstrate Myanmar’s commitment to addressing concretely the issues of concern to the international community, particularly the release of political prisoners and the resumption of dialogue between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” Mr. Gambari stated.

The Myanmar Government has reportedly announced today it will free some 6,000 prisoners beginning tomorrow. Mr. Gambari said he has not received any official communication on this from the authorities and is waiting to see who is among those that will be released.

“At the same time, I believe it’s fair to welcome the release of prisoners, particularly political prisoners,” he noted.

Last year the Government said it will hold multi-party elections in 2010. Both Mr. Ban and his Special Adviser have repeatedly said it is in Myanmar’s interest to ensure that the elections are as credible and inclusive as possible and to engage without delay in dialogue with Ms. Suu Kyi.

“Our position has not changed. We’re not advocating elections in 2010 or any time. It is up to the Government and people of Myanmar to decide but we continue to advocate conditions that are conducive to free and fair elections when they do take place,” said Mr. Gambari.
Feb 20 2009  4:10PM

FAKE COMPANIES, OPIUM TRADE, TRAFFICKING ROUTES CONTRIBUTE TO DRUG PROBLEM – UN REPORT
New York, Feb 19 2009  6:10PM
The growing sophistication of organized drug gangs, combined with the emergence of difficult-to-control smuggling routes, and high opium harvests in Afghanistan are just some of the major threats highlighted in a new report released today by the United Nations drug watchdog.

The International Narcotics Control Board annual report, launched at UN Headquarters in New York, spotlighted major trends in illegal drug use and trafficking in various regions around the globe.

The Vienna-based agency reported the practice of criminal groups setting up fake pharmaceutical businesses to buy the chemicals needed to manufacture illicit drugs, including methamphetamine, amphetamine and MDMA, also known as ecstasy.

The report noted that many of the fictitious companies are set up in Africa, which ships the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine chemicals to Mexico, where methamphetamine production supplies the large market in the United States.

Another cause for concern is the appearance of “illegal rogue internet pharmacies and the ability to purchase both legal and in some cases illegal drugs or seed, for example for marijuana, over the Internet,” Melvyn Levitsky, a member of the INCB, told journalists in New York.

Mr. Levitsky said that anybody with a Paypal account or credit card, including young people, could buy drugs through a “phoney consultation with a so-called doctor by e-mail.”

West Africa has fast become a major hub for smuggling cocaine from South America into the growing European market due to its geographical location and its weak government structures, which in turn has led to corruption and drug abuse, according to the report.

The report praised countries in the region, such as Senegal, which have taken up measures to address the problem, including stiffer penalties for trafficking in an effort to halt the erosion of the country’s political, economic and social structures.

The INCB also warned that insecurity in Afghanistan has allowed the strife-ridden nation to continue to produce over 90 per cent of the world’s opium, despite an almost 20 per cent reduction in the amount of land used in poppy cultivation in 2008.

Afghanistan’s neighbours suffer from the adverse effects of the illicit export of opium, especially as the trade passes out of the north of the country and fans into other parts of the region.

“A large amount goes through Iran, which has had the largest seizures in the world,” said Mr. Levitsky, adding that “it also has the largest opiate using population in the world …estimated at about three million people.

“That is a number that is, for example, larger than the total number of heroine addicts and abusers of heroine in the United States.”

Although an independent body, the INCB was established in 1968 in accordance with the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961.

The Board’s 13 members are elected by the UN Economic and Social Council, and serve in their personal capacity, not as government representatives, providing information to the general public and experts around the world on matters of drug control.
Feb 19 2009  6:10PM

GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS MAY POSE GREATER RISKS FOR MIGRANTS, UN-BACKED MEETING HEARS
New York, Feb 18 2009  2:10PM
The global financial crisis may have a dramatic impact on the lives of migrant workers in South-East Asia, participants at a United Nations-backed meeting held in Bangkok stressed, noting in particular the negative repercussions for migrants’ health and their risks of contracting HIV/AIDS.

The high-level regional meeting on migration and HIV noted that the crisis will result in more overseas migrants returning home after losing their jobs. It will also result in those recently laid off at home moving overseas in search of work.

“As some countries may take increasingly protectionist stances, the options for formal migration will narrow rapidly,” according to a press release on the meeting published by the UN Development Programme ).

This will lead to a situation in which migrants may face increasingly difficult conditions with fewer employment opportunities, and may encounter greater discrimination and stigmatization. It can also lead to more undocumented migrants and unsafe migration, as well as make migrants more vulnerable to HIV infection.

The meeting focused on safeguarding the health of migrant workers, especially their access to HIV services – a major challenge in the region.

Among other things, the meeting recommended that necessary policies are put in place to ensure that migrant workers are protected and are not subjected to stigma and discrimination, and have equal access to information, HIV treatment, care and support.

The 12-13 February meeting brought together government representatives from 10 member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), UN agencies and civil society organizations.
Feb 18 2009  2:10PM

‘GREEN REVOLUTION’ CAN ENSURE ENOUGH FOOD FOR ENTIRE WORLD – UN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
New York, Feb 17 2009  6:10PM
Unless major changes are made – including the way food is produced, handled and disposed of around the world – last year’s food crisis which plunged millions back into hunger may foreshadow an even bigger crisis in the years to come, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a new report.

<i>The Environmental Food Crisis: The environment’s role in averting future food crises</i>, released at the 25th session of the <"http://www.unep.org/GC/GC25/">UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Nairobi, outlines a plan to reduce the risk of hunger and rising food insecurity for this century.

The agency predicts that food prices may increase 30 to 50 per cent within decades, forcing those living in extreme poverty to spend 90 per cent of their income on food.

The report, compiled by a wide group of experts from both within and outside UNEP, stressed that changing the ways in which food is produced, handled and disposed of across the globe – from farm to store and from fridge to landfill – can both feed the world’s rising population and help the environmental services that are the foundation of agricultural productivity in the first place.

“We need a Green Revolution in a Green Economy but one with a capital G,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“We need to deal with not only the way the world produces food but the way it is distributed, sold and consumed, and we need a revolution that can boost yields by working with rather than against nature,” added Mr. Steiner

He noted that over half of the food produced today is lost, wasted or discarded as a result of inefficiency in the human-managed food chain.

“There is evidence within the report that the world could feed the entire projected population growth alone by becoming more efficient while also ensuring the survival of wild animals, birds and fish on this planet,” said Mr. Steiner.

The report also underscored the fact that over one-third of the world’s cereal harvest is being used as animal feed and by 2050 the ratio will rise to 50 per cent.

“Continuing to feed cereals to growing numbers of livestock will aggravate poverty and environmental degradation,” UNEP warned in its press statement.

Among the key points in its plan, the report suggested that recycling food wastes and deploying new technologies, aimed at producing biofuels, to produce sugars from discards such as straw and nutshells could be a key environmentally-friendly alternative to increased use of cereals for livestock.

The amount of unwanted fish currently discarded at sea – estimated at 30 million tons a year – could alone sustain more than a 50 per cent increase in fish farming, a rise needed to maintain per capita fish consumption at current levels by 2050 without increasing pressure on an already stressed marine environment.

The report highlights a number of other measures, including the reorganization of food market infrastructure to regulate prices, a micro-financing fund to boost small-scale farming, the removal of agricultural subsidies, managing and better harvesting extreme rainfall and adopting more diversified and ecologically-friendly farming systems.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to environment ministers gathered in Nairobi to help promote a green economy to tackle climate change and wasteful resource consumption, as well as re-energize economies, creating opportunities for new and better livelihoods.

“Soaring food prices brought intense focus not just on the issues of agriculture and trade but on the inflationary role of biofuel production,” Mr. Ban said in a message to the weeklong meeting.

“Wildly fluctuating crude oil costs illustrated once again our dependence on the fossil fuels that are causing climate change, and the short-sighted economic vision that has precipitated the current financial turmoil is also bankrupting our resource base,” he stated.

“UNEP has been instrumental in developing the concept of the green economy, and is now identifying the tools for achieving it, but UNEP needs your support,” Mr. Ban stressed. 

During the Forum, UNEP and technology giant Microsoft signed an agreement to work together using information and communication technology (ICT) solutions to help address today’s environmental challenges.

The partnership focuses on helping environmental organizations, such as UNEP, Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers, work more effectively by making use of new technologies.

“We view our partnership with Microsoft as key to delivering solutions on a scalable level to a community of more than 190 nations and the UN system as a whole,” said Mr. Steiner.

“Without equitable access to information and the capacity for developing countries to engage on an equal level in negotiating key agreements like the climate change treaty or the biodiversity convention, we will not make much progress,” he added.
Feb 17 2009  6:10PM

TOP UN SPORTS ENVOY ATTENDS SPECIAL OLYMPICS
New York, Feb 16 2009  2:10PM
The United Nations envoy tasked with promoting sport for development attended the Special Olympic World Winter Games, holding talks with United States Vice-President Joseph Biden on the role of sport in promoting peace.

Wilfried Lemke, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser, met with Mr. Biden in Boise, Idaho, on 12 February, where they discussed the part that sport can play in peacekeeping operations in conflict areas.
   
Prior to their meeting, the two mean, along with former US and world figure skating champion Michelle Kwan, handed out the medals for this year's skating portion of the Winter Games.

Before arriving in Boise, Mr. Lemke visited a rehabilitation centre in Cairo, Egypt, of the non-governmental organization CARITAS International, which aims to reintegrate people with mental disabilities into society.

"Through sport the children are gaining confidence about their abilities, strengths and co
mpetencies," the Special Adviser, who played soccer, basketball and handball during his visit, said. "This makes them proud and self-confident, a fundamental precondition for successful reintegration into society."

Feb 16 2009  2:10PM

FOLLOWING COLLISION OF SATELLITES, UN SPACE OFFICE CALLS FOR PREVENTIVE STEPS
New York, Feb 13 2009  6:10PM
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) today called all Member States and international organizations to fully implement measures to curb space debris following the collision of an inactive Russian satellite with an operational one from the United States.

“The prompt implementation of appropriate space debris mitigation measures is in humanity’s common interest, particularly if we are to preserve the outer space environment for future generations,” said the Director of UNOOSA, Mazlan Othman.

UN space debris mitigation guidelines call, among other things, for limiting the long-term presence of spacecraft and launch vehicles in low-Earth orbit (LEO), up to some 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) above Earth’s surface, after the end of their mission. Such craft should be removed from orbit in a controlled fashion. If this is not possible, they should be disposed of in orbits that avoid their long-term presence in the LEO region.

The inactive Russian communications satellite Cosmos 2251 and the operational US satellite Iridium 33 collided at an altitude of some 790 kilometres (500 miles) above the Earth on 10 February, creating a cloud of nearly 700 pieces of space debris. Space debris remains in orbit for a considerable length of time and poses a risk to spacecraft orbiting Earth.

The guidelines outline space debris mitigation measures for mission planning, design, manufacture and operational (launch, mission and disposal) phases of spacecraft and launch vehicles. Many Member States have incorporated the voluntary guidelines through national mechanisms. 

They call for limiting the long-term interference of spacecraft and launch vehicles with the geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) region, where the satellite rotates in lockstep with Earth, after the end of their mission. Such craft should be left in orbits that avoid long-term interference with the GEO region.
Feb 13 2009  6:10PM

NEARLY 1 BILLION PEOPLE HUNGRY WORLDWIDE, UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERT SAYS
New York, Oct 27 2008  7:10PM
Propelled by this year’s global food crisis, nearly one billion people
 worldwide are now hungry, an independent United Nations expert said
 today, urging the issue to be viewed through the lens of human rights.

Prices have dropped around the world, but “the crisis is still with
 us,” cautioned Olivier De Schutter, the Special Rapporteur on the right to
 food, noting that the number of hungry has grown significantly as a
 result.

Numerous international responses – including Secretary-General Ban
 Ki-moon’s convening of a high-level task force – have centred around the
 need to boost food production to meet rising demand and lower prices, he
 told reporters in New York.

“The human rights dimension has been all too often absent from these
 reactions,” Mr. De Schutter, who addressed the General Assembly today,
 said.

The “real problem of hunger” is not linked to inadequate food supplies,
 but rather that many people lack the purchasing power to buy available
 food, he pointed out.

“If you double the number of supermarkets in New York, those who today
 are hungry will still be hungry if they don’t see their incomes
 increase [and therefore] if their purchasing power remains too low for them to
 afford the food which is on the market.”

Hunger is a political problem, he stressed, with poor governance
 leading to insufficient attention being paid to swathes of the population
 traditionally discriminated against.

It is crucial to empower smallhold farmers, comprising half of the
 world’s hungry, as well as landless labourers, pastoralists and others, the
 Rapporteur, who took up the position this May, said.

“We must avoid at all costs that under the pretext of producing more
 food, we increase the marginalization of smallhold farmers and increase
 the dualization of the farming system for the benefit only of the very
 few large agricultural producers,” he stressed.
Oct 27 2008  7:10PM

YOUNG ARTISTS RAISE THOUSANDS FOR UNICEF AT AUCTION OF PAINTINGS
New York, Oct 26 2008 11:10PM
Child artists from around the world have raised $21,000 for the United
 Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to spend on climate-related disasters
 by auctioning off 26 of their paintings in New York last night.

The auction, held last night at the Harvard Club, was organized by the
 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) as part of its Paint for the Planet
 event, which attracted nearly 200,000 entries worldwide.

The stand-out paintings from those entries were chosen for an art
 exhibition that is currently on display in New York and will later travel to
 various climate-related events and meetings worldwide, culminating in
 the major talks on global warming scheduled for Copenhagen at the end
 of next year.

All the paintings in last night's auction were sold, with two works --
 one by Charlotte Sullivan, a 14-year-old Brit, and the other by Renee
 Wang, a 13-year-old from the United States -- each fetching 
$2,200.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner, UNICEF Executive Director Ann
 Veneman and Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework
 Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), were among the guests at the
 auction.

The Paint for the Planet event is part of the global campaign "Unite to
 Combat Climate Change," which is aiming to culminate in a definitive
 agreement on global warming at the Copenhagen talks.

Oct 26 2008 11:10PM

UN AND WORLD BANK AGREE TO BOLSTER PARTNERSHIP IN RESPONDING TO CRISES
New York, Oct 25 2008  9:10PM
The United Nations and the World Bank have signed an agreement to
 strengthen their commitment to work more closely together in countries
 struck by conflicts or natural disasters.

The agreement, signed yesterday in New York by Secretary-General Ban
 Ki-moon and World Bank President Robert Zoellick, sets out common
 principles to guide the two institutions on how to work with national
 authorities and aid partners to support crisis prevention, stabilization and
 recovery strategies.

At the same time, the agreement acknowledges the importance of the
 humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.

The UN and the World Bank are also committing themselves to improve
 inter-agency communications, strengthen joint planning, increase
 collaboration on funding mechanisms and foster a broader culture of
 collaboration between the two institutions.


Oct 25 2008  9:10PM

NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT MUST SHIFT FROM ASPIRATION TO REALITY, BAN SAYS
New York, Oct 24 2008  2:10PM
Acknowledging that obstacles to nuclear disarmament are daunting,
 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that it is more imperative than
 ever to make it a reality given the twin economic and financial crises the
 world is currently facing.

“The costs and risks of [disarmament’s] alternatives never get the
 attention they deserve,” Mr. Ban said in his
address
 to the East-West Institute in New York. “But consider the tremendous
 opportunity cost of huge military budgets. Consider the vast resources
 that are consumed by the endless pursuit of military superiority.”

The market turmoil and other crises have triggered an increasing
 awareness of the need for international cooperation to tackle global
 problems, he said. “This changing consciousness can also help us revitalize the
 international disarmament agenda.”

There is support worldwide for the idea that nuclear arms should never
 be utilized again due to their horrific effects, environmental impacts
 and repercussions on security, but since disarmament has yet to be
 achieved, “this forces us to ask whether a taboo merely on the use of such
 weapons is sufficient,” the Secretary-General said.

Many nations consider nuclear weapons to be a status symbol, with some
 viewing them as a deterrent, he said.

“Unfortunately, the doctrine of nuclear deterrence has proven to be
 contagious. This has made non-proliferation more difficult, which in turn
 raises new risks that nuclear weapons will be used.”

Mr. Ban also voiced concern that a “nuclear renaissance” could occur
 since nuclear power is seen as a clean alternative to combat climate
 change.

In his speech, he offered five proposals to reinvigorate the
 international push towards disarmament.

All parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) must fulfil
 their obligations under the pact, the Security Council’s five permanent
 members should start talks on the disarmament process, and
 strengthening laws to promote non-proliferation.

He also called for greater accountability and transparency, as well as
 complementary measures, such as eliminating other types of weapons of
 mass destruction.
Oct 24 2008  2:10PM

MIGRATORY BIRDS OF PREY TO BE PROTECTED BY UN-BACKED AGREEMENT
New York, Oct 23 2008  8:10PM
A new United Nations-backed agreement that aims to protect migratory
 birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia has been signed in Abu Dhabi in the
 United Arab Emirates by 28 countries and will enter into force at the
 end of next week.

Working through the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Convention on
 Migratory Species (CMS), the governments of the United Kingdom and the
 United Arab Emirates have led the negotiations on the Memorandum of
 Understanding (MoU), resulting in the signatories yesterday.

The new agreement area stretches across more than 130 countries from
 the African, Afrotropical, Palaearctic and Indo-Malayan realms and
 protects more than 70 species of migratory birds of prey including
 Falconiformes, ospreys, eagles and owls.

More than 50 per cent of migratory birds of prey have poor conservation
 status as a result of habitat loss due to agriculture, forestry,
 industry and fisheries, collisions with power lines, hunting and trapping
 for falconry, according to a
UNEP
 press release issued today.

Signatories to the new agreement – which enters into force on 1
 November – are committed to restoring positive conservation status of
 migratory birds of prey and protecting such bird species from illegal killing,
 including poisoning and shooting and unsustainable exploitation.

To promote and monitor the new agreement an extra CMS coordinating unit
 of six staff will be established in Abu Dhabi as a UNEP initiative.

“The establishment of this tri-continental agreement for birds of prey,
 with a coordinating unit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, marks a new era for the
 Convention,” stated the Chairman of the meeting Professor Colin
 Galbraith.  “Here is the Gulf, at the crossroads of migration and culture, we
 have a chance to establish a new UN base for wildlife conservation.”

The action plan foresees collective efforts for more research on
 species ecology and migratory behaviour, patterns and routes as well as data
 analysis.
Oct 23 2008  8:10PM

UNITED STATES MILITARY COMMISSIONS UNLIKELY TO PRODUCE FAIR TRIALS – UN
 EXPERT
New York, Oct 22 2008  7:10PM
The United States’ system of military commissions planned for suspects
 currently detained at Guantánamo Bay is not likely to reach
 international standards about the right to a fair trial, an independent United
 Nations human rights expert warned today.

Martin Scheinin, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection
 of human rights while countering terrorism, told the General
 Assembly’s third committee (social, humanitarian and cultural) that a visit to
 Guantánamo Bay in December last year confirmed his misgivings concerning
 the operation of the military commissions.

“I find it highly unlikely that they would be able to provide a trial
 that meets the standards of international human rights law concerning
 the right to a fair trial,” Mr. Scheinin said.

He said one of his concerns was confirmed when the US Supreme Court,
 the country’s highest court, found earlier this year that laws
 establishing the military commissions were unconstitutional for their denial of
 habeas corpus – or the legal opportunity to challenge someone’s
 detention – to suspects held at Guantánamo Bay.

Speaking to journalists after presenting the report, Mr. Scheinin said
 he expected that, regardless of whether Barack Obama or John McCain
 wins next month’s election to be the next President of the US, the new
 administration will take steps to close the detention facility at
 Guantánamo Bay.

He said, in response to a reporter’s question, that he based that
 observation on the public statements of Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain strongly
 criticizing Guantánamo Bay.

Mr. Scheinin also visited Spain in May this year, and he told the
 General Assembly’s third committee today that the Iberian country deserved
 credit for its efforts to encourage a human rights dimension to its
 response to terrorism.

“Nevertheless, I also identified matters of concern,” he said in his
 statement, adding that one of them was the continued use of incommunicado
 detention for terrorism suspects, despite recommendations to the
 contrary by a number of human rights bodies.”

The institution of incommunicado detention should be completely
 eradicated, in part because it would strengthen the credibility of
 counter-terrorism measures by law enforcement bodies, Mr. Scheinin said.

It would also enhance assurances that those falsely accused of
 ill-treatment of terrorism suspects could be cleared, the Special Rapporteur
 noted.

He told journalists that he expects to visit Tunisia very soon, and
 several requests for visits to other countries remain pending, including
 those sent to Algeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Oct 22 2008  7:10PM

NOT ENOUGH COUNTRIES HAVE TESTED THEIR ‘BIRD FLU’ RESPONSE PLANS, UN
 WARNS
New York, Oct 21 2008  7:10PM
Most countries that have strategies in place to deal with a possible
 avian influenza pandemic have not properly tested those plans, leaving
 them extremely vulnerable if a major outbreak were to occur, the head of
 United Nations efforts to prepare such an eventuality said today.

David Nabarro, UN System Influenza Coordinator,
 told
 journalists that the lack of preparation remains a real concern given
 that a recent World Bank study indicated that the economic cost of a
 global pandemic could surpass $3 trillion.

“When planning for an extraordinary concern like an influenza pandemic,
 it’s not enough just to have written a plan and have everybody signing
 off on it,” he said. “You also have to check it, test it and make sure
 that it works, and then revise on the basis of assimilation.”

Dr. Nabarro launched the latest joint progress report by the UN and the
 World Bank on responses to “bird flu,” noting that 148 countries
 provided data about their plans and strategies for a potential pandemic.

Yet only 53 per cent of those nations had tested their plans in the
 past year, and just one quarter had done so at all levels of their
 government. Less than 40 per cent had incorporated lessons learned from the
 tests.

Dr. Nabarro said the threat of a pandemic remained the same as it was
 three or four years ago, adding that a major influenza outbreak did not
 necessarily have to come from a strain of “bird flu” such as the H5N1
 virus that has afflicted some countries in recent years.

Sustained transmission of the virus among humans has not occurred so
 far, despite several hundred sporadic human cases and continued problems
 associated with some countries’ poultry industries.

Dr. Nabarro noted that no State reported that their poultry had become
 newly infected with H5N1 yet this year, and the number of countries
 with previously reported infections recording fresh outbreaks has dropped
 from 25 to 20.

But he voiced concern over the situation in Nigeria, which recently
 announced its first outbreak in almost 10 months, and in the nearby West
 African country of Togo, which also experienced a recent outbreak.

On Friday, government ministers and experts will gather in Sharm
 el-Sheikh, Egypt, for a three-day conference that will examine international
 efforts to prepare for a possible influenza pandemic.
Oct 21 2008  7:10PM

UN DONATES SATELLITE SYSTEM TO PRODUCE BORDER MAP IN SUDAN
New York, Oct 19 2008  2:10PM
The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
 has handed over a satellite imagery system to the team tasked with
 producing a border map, one of the key elements of the Comprehensive Peace
 Agreement (CPA) which ended the long-running north-south civil war in the
 vast African nation.

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi presented the equipment, worth $600,000, to the Ad
 hoc Technical Border Committee -- whose 18 members are drawn from both
 parties to the peace accord -- yesterday in the capital Khartoum.

It will be used to create the map to delineate the 1 January 1956
 border, one of the major benchmarks of the CPA. Next month, a final report,
 including the map, will be presented to the Presidency. Once it is
 endorsed, the Committee must proceed with demarcation on the ground.

Mr. Qazi, who serves as the Secretary-General's Special Representative,
 congratulated the Committee, established 
in 2005, on its vital work and underscored the readiness of UNMIS to
 assist its work.

Abdallah El Sadig Ali, the border team's chairman, called the UN's
 delivery of the satellite imagery system historic.

ONGOING VIOLENCE UPROOTS ANOTHER 5,500 PEOPLE FROM SOMALI CAPITAL, SAYS
 UN
New York, Oct 17 2008  4:10PM
An additional 5,500 people have been displaced this week from the
 capital of strife-torn Somalia, the United Nations reported today, bringing
 the total number of those uprooted by fighting between Government
 forces and Islamic insurgents since 21 September to over 61,000.

The clashes that erupted last month in Mogadishu have been some of the
 worst violence to hit the city in over a year and a half, and began
 just weeks after the signing of a UN-brokered peace deal between the
 Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the rebel Alliance for the
 Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) aimed at ending the fighting.

The violence has reportedly killed 80 civilians and wounded hundreds
 more. It has also caused thousands to flee their homes, brining the total
 number of people uprooted so far this year in Mogadishu to 160,000,
 according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
 (UNHCR).

Aid agencies have been stepping up their efforts since the latest surge
 in fighting to assist those affected in the Horn of Africa nation,
 which has not had a functioning government since 1991 and is trying to
 cope with an already dire humanitarian situation due to a combination of
 conflict and drought.

Some 3.2 million people in Somalia, or around 43 per cent of the
 population, are in urgent need of food and other humanitarian assistance. 

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and its
 partners are continuing to provide safe drinking water to over 100,000
 internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to the latest update provided
 by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
 (OCHA). 

They have also now provided emergency school tents and foundations for
 20 classrooms enabling access to education for another 1,000 children,
 along the corridor between Mogadishu and the town of Afgooye, bringing
 the total number of beneficiaries to 15,000. 

In addition, some 370 teachers from Gedo, Bay and Bakool regions were
 trained this week in management, educational psychology, emergency
 education, nutrition and HIV/AIDS by UNICEF. The training is expected
 benefit around 70,000 children through improved education service delivery.

Also in the Bakool region, the World Food Programme
 (WFP) plans to carry out direct distribution
 to beneficiaries of supplementary feeding, mother and child health
 centres and social support programmes. Malnutrition rates in the region
 stand at 25.5 per cent, one of the highest in Somalia.
Oct 17 2008  4:10PM

HAITI IN DESPERATE NEED OF INVESTMENT AND CONTRIBUTIONS, WARNS TOP UN
 OFFICIAL
New York, Oct 15 2008  5:10PM
A senior United Nations official to Haiti today pleaded with
 international donors to provide urgently needed resources to help with emergency
 relief and recovery efforts in the impoverished country, which was
 recently ravaged by a series of hurricanes.

Although the situation in Haiti has temporarily stabilized, it is still
 the middle of the hurricane season and if other storms hit the
 country, he did not know how the world body would be able to respond, the UN
 Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Haiti, Joël Boutroue, told the
 press.

He said that until now the UN agencies had been able to distribute
 food, water and non-food items on a regular basis throughout the country,
 including remote areas, despite the major destruction to roads and
 bridges causing significant logistical difficulties to the emergency relief
 effort.

However, some 3 million Haitians are food insecure because of the
 combined impact of the four successive hurricanes, which battered the
 Caribbean nation from mid-August to mid-September, and the global food and
 fuel price crisis, Mr. Boutroue told reporters. 

Haiti, which was already the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere,
 is back to where it was three or four years ago in terms of economic
 growth and poverty, he added.

“This means that we will need substantial additional resources if we
 want to be able to make a difference in the short to medium term,” he
 said at a press briefing at UN headquarters in New York. 

Mr. Boutroue reported that the UN does not have the capacity, without
 further contributions, to provide water and sanitation in their
 emergency shelters or to the general population whose water system has been
 destroyed.

“We are concerned because response has been generally OK to this date,
 but we do not have sufficient resources to continue food distribution
 at the required level. If we don’t deliver tangible results now, I
 frankly don’t know how they will survive.” 

He explained that the Haiti has suffered almost complete deforestation
 because 80 per cent of the population was dependent on charcoal as its
 energy fuel, and the small nation needed much more investment in the
 environment to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and to provide
 labour-intensive work to buoy the economy.

“Haiti is totally deforested. There is no investment worth mentioning.
 There is no industry worth mentioning and there is very low
 [agricultural] productivity due to soil erosion.”

Investment is needed in food security, basic services and watershed
 management, protecting the country’s mountain slopes with terracing, dykes
 and walls for future reforestation. 

“If we don’t invest in the short and medium term, we’ll have additional
 hardship, deepening poverty and we will enter a vicious circle of
 instability, unrest, insecurity,” Mr. Boutroue said. 

The UN Development Programme
 (>UNDP)
 today announced the return of its watershed management programme in
 Gonaïves, the city hardest hit by the recent earthquakes, employing some
 7500 people and providing rare job opportunities to a population whose
 livelihoods were destroyed.

The labour-intensive programme serves the dual purpose of offering
 income for families and reducing the threat from future climate related
 disasters. 

“Employment is the key pre-condition for social stability,” said Jean
 Marie Vander Wouwer, an adviser for the UN International Labour
 Organization (ILO), which,
 along with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
 (FAO) and support from France and Japan, is helping to implement the
 watershed project. 

“With donor support, we’re immediately ready to scale-up the programme
 by another 2500 people,” Mr. Wouwer stated. 

UNDP plans to implement programmes that will provide employment for up
 to 400,000 people. Its long-term aim is to provide stability through
 employment creation, according to its press release issued today.
Oct 15 2008  5:10PM

$1 BILLION DISBURSED SO FAR BY UN EMERGENCY FUND TO HELP MOST
 VULNERABLE
New York, Oct 14 2008  3:10PM
Disbursements by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund
 (CERF) for humanitarian aid worldwide topped the $1 billion mark this week
 when more than $200,000 was disbursed to feed women and children in
 Tajikistan, which is suffering from food insecurity and a poor harvest.

The Fund was set up in March 2006 to speed relief for natural and
 man-made disasters and save thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost
 to delay.

“As recently as two years ago, humanitarian agencies faced with a
 sudden onset crisis such as an earthquake or cyclone struggled to find
 resources to start life-saving operations,” Emergency Relief Coordinator
 John Holmes said. “CERF can now allocate funds within days of an emergency
 or a disaster to kick-start relief efforts saving thousands of lives.”

Since its creation, the voluntarily-funded
 CERF
 has given nearly $700 million to help those affected by rapid onset
 disasters, while $325 million has been earmarked for 33 countries –
 including Afghanistan, Iraq and Zimbabwe – to redress imbalances in global
 aid distribution for so-called forgotten crises.

Dozens of countries have benefited thus far from the Fund, with the
 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan and Afghanistan being the
 top three beneficiaries.

To date, 93 Member States, the Holy See, the private sector and
 individual donors have contributed some $1.1 billion to CERF, which seeks to
 raise $450 million annually.
Oct 14 2008  3:10PM

CYPRUS: UN-BACKED POWER-SHARING TALKS MOVE FORWARD, SAYS ENVOY
New York, Oct 13 2008  4:10PM
The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders made progress today in
 talks focusing on the issue of the presidency and vice-presidency in a
 new power-sharing government, the top United Nations envoy to Cyprus told
 journalists.

Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader
 Mehmet Ali Talat resumed discussions in Nicosia on the subject of the
 executive branch of the joint government as part of their full-fledged
 negotiations aimed at reaching a comprehensive settlement to the
 long-running problem on the Mediterranean island.

On Thursday, the representatives of the two parties will meet with
 experts under the sponsorship of the UN for further discussions on the
 issue before the leaders meet again a week on Wednesday to continue
 negotiations on the presidency and vice-presidency.

“There is a growing understanding between the tow sides of their
 positions, and as time goes on, of course, the gaps are going to narrow,”
 Alexander Downer, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus, told
 the press in the UN-protected area of Nicosia.

“It’s going to take a long time and it’s going to be a difficult
 negotiation. But what you have here is a political will, and the political
 will is very good,” he added.
Oct 13 2008  4:10PM

GREEK CYPRIOT AND TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADERS AGREE ON WEEKLY MEETINGS – UN
New York, Oct 10 2008  3:10PM
The leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities met
 today to continue talks on the reunification of the Mediterranean island
 nation, and agreed to meet on a weekly basis to keep up the momentum of
 the negotiations, according to a senior United Nations envoy.

Alexander Downer, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser, described
 the hour-long meeting between Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias
 and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat as “productive”. 

In May, Mr. Christofias and Mr. Talat committed to a partnership that
 will comprise a Federal Government with a single international identity,
 along with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot
 Constituent State, which will be of equal status.

The full-fledged negotiations between the leaders began last month with
 discussions on the issues of governance and power sharing.

“The leaders had further discussions today on the powers of the federal
 government, and they made progress,” Mr. Downer told reporters after
 the meeting, held in the UN Protected Area in Nicosia.

“They also began discussions about the structure of the federal
 executive,” he added. “Both sides made proposals and those discussions will
 continue next Monday.”

Mr. Downer emphasized that both leaders wanted to meet on a weekly
 basis to “keep the momentum of the process going.” 

He also urged the media to give the leaders the space they need to
 continue their work. “This is a very important negotiation for the future
 of Cyprus and the leaders will need a lot of space in order to conduct
 those negotiations.”

The UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
 (UNFICYP)
 has been in place on the island since 1964 after the outbreak of
 intercommunal violence. It is tasked with preventing a recurrence of
 fighting, contributing to a return to normal conditions and the maintenance of
 law and order.
Oct 10 2008  3:10PM

SECRETARY-GENERAL, DRUG COMPANIES AGREE TO BOOST EFFORTS TO TACKLE
 HIV/AIDS
New York, Oct  9 2008  7:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and top executives from over one dozen
 global pharmaceutical companies agreed today that greater efforts must be
 made to combat HIV/AIDS, despite significant strides that have been
 made in improving access to prevention and treatment.    

Attending the meeting were 17 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and
 diagnostic companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, along
 with representatives from the United Nations World Health Organization
 (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme
 (UNDP) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).    

“All participants agreed that increasing access to vaccines,
 diagnostics and medicines is essential in scaling up prevention and treatment
 efforts,” Mr. Ban said in a
statement issued
 following today’s gathering.    

Attendees also emphasized the importance of intellectual property in
 promoting research and development into new therapeutic and diagnostic
 options, he said.    

The private sector has much to offer in the bid to boost access to
 prevention and treatment, the Secretary-General noted. “More can be done,
 especially to address shortages of the health workforce and improve
 managerial capacities.”    

Important progress has been made since 2006, the last time there was a
 high-level exchange between the UN and drug companies, he said.    

The number of people receiving anti-retroviral treatment in low and
 middle income nations has more than doubled from 1.3 million in 2006 to 3
 million by the end of last year. Additionally prices have been slashed
 for first-line and paediatric antiretroviral drugs, as well as some
 second-line medicines.    

“We noted that despite the gains, the epidemic continues to outstrip
 our best efforts,” Mr. Ban said.    

Only one third of those needing care in poorer nations are receiving
 it, while every day, for every two people beginning antiretroviral
 treatment, five more people are infected.    

“Collectively, we still have more work to do,” today’s statement noted.
    

Pharmaceutical companies today pledged to invest more in research and
 development of new HIV-related medicines; developing affordable means to
 diagnose HIV and tuberculosis; and prevention technologies, such as
 vaccines.    

For its part, UN agencies committed to continue its advocacy and
 resource mobilization efforts; enhance WHO’s pre-qualification programme for
 urgently-needed medicines and diagnostics; and promote
 information-sharing among the UN, national regulatory authorities and pharmaceutical
 companies.      
Oct  9 2008  7:10PM

EXPERTS DEVISE ACTION PLAN TO EXAMINE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON
 HEALTH – UN
New York, Oct  8 2008  6:10PM
Experts at a meeting convened by the United Nations World Health
 Organization
 (WHO)
 today agreed on a plan of action to create guidelines on the impact of
 climate change on human health.     

Over 80 top researchers from around the world met in a three-day event
 in Madrid, Spain, that wrapped up today, and their new plan builds on
 what is already known about the health risks stemming from global
 warming.     

WHO’s 193 Member States asked the agency to strengthen the evidence
 base for policy action to be taken on the issue. “This plan provides the
 framework for doing just that,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.
     

The amount of scientific research into the links between climate change
 and health lag far behind studies on such issues as air pollution and
 smoking.     

The new plan announced today identifies five priority research areas:
 the interaction of climate change with other factors including economic
 development and urbanization; the impact of long-term changes such as
 increasing drought; comparing the effectiveness of short-term responses;
 the implications of mitigation and adaptation policies on non-health
 sectors; and boosting public health systems’ ability to address climate
 change-related risks.      
Oct  8 2008  6:10PM

COUNTRIES INTERESTED IN NUCLEAR POWER GROWING, SAYS UN ATOMIC WATCHDOG
 CHIEF
New York, Oct 16 2008  7:10PM
More than 50 countries have alerted the International Atomic Energy
 Agency (IAEA) that they are considering utilizing nuclear power, the head
 of the United Nations body said today.

Mohamed ElBaradei told a meeting in Paris of the 50th anniversary of
 the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic
 Cooperation and Development (OECD) that a decade ago, nuclear power’s
 popularity was in question.

“When we talked about transferring nuclear technology to developing
 countries, we generally meant applications in medicine and industry, not
 nuclear power,” the IAEA Director
 General said.

But the tides have turned and “change is in the air,” he added, with
 many of the agency’s Member States – mostly from the developing world –
 expressing interest in nuclear power.

One dozen countries, including Turkey and Viet Nam, are actively
 preparing nuclear programmes, while China is constructing six power reactors
 and Russia intends to build dozens of both large and small reactors by
 2020.

Greater efforts are essential to ensure that nuclear power’s future is
 “safe, proliferation-resistant and cost-effective,” Mr. ElBaradei said.

“Every country has the right to develop nuclear power, but also a
 responsibility to do it properly,” he noted.

But he cautioned that it is crucial to have realistic expectations of
 how quickly countries can have nuclear reactors online. “It can take a
 minimum of 10 years just to put the basic infrastructure in place. This
 is not an area where you can cut corners.”
Oct 16 2008  7:10PM

UN WORLD COURT TO GIVE OPINION ON LEGALITY OF KOSOVO’S INDEPENDENCE
New York, Oct  8 2008  7:10PM
The General Assembly voted today to ask the International Court of
 Justice (ICJ) for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of
 Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia.  

At UN Headquarters, 77 Member States voted in favour of the resolution
 – which was put forward by Serbia – and six voted against, with 74
 abstentions.  

Today’s meeting heard from nearly two dozen speakers, including Serbian
 Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremić.  

Kosovo, which has been administered by the UN since Western forces
 drove out Yugoslav forces amid inter-ethnic fighting in 1999, declared its
 independence in February.  

At last month’s annual high-level General Debate, Serbian President
 Boris Tadić said that as a result of Kosovo’s “unilateral, illegal
 illegitimate” move, “the very nature of the international system has been
 called into question.”   
Oct  8 2008  7:10PM

DPR KOREA: BAN SOUNDS ALARM ON LACK OF PROGRESS IN HUMAN RIGHTS
New
 York, Oct  7 2008  7:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has spoken out
 against the lack of “tangible progress” made by the Democratic People’s
 Republic of Korea (DPRK) in addressing serious human rights concerns,
 with reports from the nation pointing to such actions as torture, public
 executions and forced labour.


DPRK authorities have “not recognized the resolutions adopted by the
 Human Rights Council and the General Assembly on the situation of human
 rights in the country,” Mr. Ban said in a
report to the
 General Assembly made public today.


The Government has yet to engage in a substantive dialogue on the
 rights situation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
 (OHCHR). Further, the DPRK has not cooperated or given access to the
 Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the nation.


“Reports emanating from the country continue to indicate trends of
 arbitrary arrests, absence of due process and the rule of law, torture,
 inhumane conditions of detention, public execution, ill-treatment of
 refugees or asylum-seekers repatriated from abroad, and forced labour,” the
 Secretary-General wrote.


“In addition, reports also indicate that the population is being denied
 the freedoms of thought, religion, opinion and expression, peaceful
 assembly and association, movement and access to information.”


Calling on the Government to protect fundamental rights and freedoms,
 he urged authorities to enact domestic legal reforms to comply with
 international standards.


Mr. Ban spotlighted the dire food shortages in the DPRK, and their
 impact on the economic, social and cultural rights of the population.


The UN World Food Programme (WFP) cautioned in July that millions faced
 dangerous hunger levels, while the UN Food and Agriculture
 Organization (FAO) warned of a 1.7 million-ton cereal deficit.


But positive steps have been taken, the Secretary-General noted, such
 as the Government’s agreement to boost food assistance and expand the
 operations of UN agencies, including WFP and the UN Children’s Fund
 (UNICEF).


He stressed the need for authorities to increase budget allocations for
 food and highlighted the importance of preventing discrimination in
 distributing food and health services.


“The Secretary-General is encouraged by the Government’s recognition of
 the urgency of the problem and its desire to address the issue of the
 people’s sustainable access to food, and he welcomes the Government’s
 extension of cooperation to the United Nations agencies and encourages
 the international community to lend its full support to efforts to
 address this issue,” the report said.

Additionally, Mr. Ban welcomed progress made under the six-party talks,
 also involving China, Russia, the United States, Japan and the
 Republic of Korea, calling “upon all regional and international actors to
 facilitate the creation of an environment conducive to generating greater
 engagement between the Government of the [DPRK] and the international
 community.”

Late last month, DPRK authorities informed the UN International Atomic
 Energy Agency (IAEA) that it planned to restart nuclear activities at
 its reprocessing plant in Yongbyon, shut down last year.

They also said they are terminating access by IAEA inspectors to the
 facilities, which the agency verified had been taken off line last
 summer.   
 2008-10-07 00:00:00.000 

MURDER OF MEXICAN JOURNALIST SPARKS OUTRAGE FROM UNESCO HEAD
New York, Oct  6 2008 12:14PM
The head of the United Nations agency mandated to defend press freedom
 today condemned the shooting of Alejandro Xenón Fonseca Estrada, a
 Mexican radio journalist and activist who campaigned against organized
 crime.

The journalist, 33, hosted a local radio programme called El Padrino
 (“The Godfather”). On 23 September in Villahermosa, Tabasco, he was
 putting up stickers criticizing abductions when he was shot by people in a
 truck who asked what he was doing with the stickers.

“He was targeted for exercising free speech, a fundamental human right,
 which shows how important freedom of expression and press freedom are
 to democracy and rule of law,”
said
 Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura of the UN Educational, Scientific
 and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

“I trust that the authorities will spare no effort in bringing to
 justice those behind this reprehensible crime,” he added.
Oct  6 2008 12:14PM

BAN DEPLORES KILLING OF TURKISH SOLDIERS BY ARMED KURDISH GROUP
New
 York, Oct  5 2008  3:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the
 killing of 15 Turkish soldiers in the latest attack attributed to the
 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group operating out of northern
 Iraq.

"He expresses once again his deepest sympathies with the Government and
 people of Turkey in the face of terrorist violence," Mr. Ban's
 spokesperson said in a statement issued last night in response to the attack,
 which took place on Friday afternoon.

"He urges continued cooperation between the Governments of Turkey and
 Iraq to address this threat and to promote peace and stability along
 their border."

 2008-10-05 00:00:00.000 

UN HEALTH AGENCY ISSUES GUIDELINES ON MELAMINE-CONTAMINATED FOOD
New
 York, Sep 30 2008 12:10PM
With the crisis of contaminated milk products
 in China having driven over 54,000 children to seek medical treatment,
 the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has issued
 preliminary guidance to help authorities decide on the health concerns of
 melamine levels in food.

Kidney stones and renal failure has been reported in children in China,
 where three have died and a further 13,000 hospitalized, believed to
 be associated with the ingestion of melamine-contaminated infant
 formula.

Melamine was deliberately added to raw milk for several months to boost
 its apparent protein content, WHO said.

Commonly used in such materials as containers and labels, melamine can
 also be found in agricultural products such as fertilizer. Alone, it is
 of low toxicity, but animal studies have suggested that kidney
 problems occur when combined with cyanuric acid.

The new WHO guidelines -- "Melamine and Cyanuric acid: Toxicity,
 Preliminary Risk Assessment and Guidance on Levels in Food" -- seek to help
 national authorities assess the risks of melamine levels in food.

But the agency cautioned that this is only a preliminary assessment
 with more data needed, adding that it is currently working towards a more
 thorough assessment through meetings with scientists from around the
 world. 

 2008-09-30 00:00:00.000 

HIGH FOOD PRICES PLUNGE ANOTHER 75 MILLION PEOPLE INTO HUNGER, SAYS UN
 AGENCY
New York, Sep 18 2008 10:10AM
Rising food prices have pushed 75
 million more people into the ranks of the world’s famished, and
 threaten efforts to realize the goal of halving the number of those in hunger
 by 2015, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
 said today.

According to new figures released by the agency ahead of next week’s
 General Assembly high-level event on the global anti-poverty targets
 known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the number of people
 suffering from hunger is now roughly 925 million.
 
Contributing to this growth is soaring food, fuel and fertilizer
 prices, FAO said. Food prices rose 52 per cent between 2007 and 2008, and
 fertilizer prices have nearly doubled over the past year. The hardest hit
 have been the poorest, the landless and female-headed households. 
 
“The devastating effects of high food prices on the number of hungry
 people compound already worrisome long-term trends,”
 <"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000923/index.html">said Hafez
 Ghanem, FAO Assistant Director-General for Economic and Social
 Development. “Hunger increased as the world grew richer and produced more food
 than ever during the last decade.”
 
Not only does this development impact efforts to achieve the
 hunger-related MDG, but it also affects progress towards many of the Goals, said
 Mr. Ghanem. Hunger negatively impacts labour productivity, health and
 education, all factors for economic growth.
 
“Reducing the number of hungry people by 500 million in the remaining
 seven years to 2015 will require an enormous and resolute global effort
 and concrete actions,” he added.
 
FAO stressed the need for action on two fronts – making food accessible
 to the most vulnerable, and helping small producers raise their output
 and earn more.
 
In December 2007 the agency launched its Initiative on Soaring Food
 Prices to help vulnerable countries boost food supplies and improve access
 to food. Measures include the distribution of seeds, fertilizer,
 animal feed and other farming tools and supplies to smallholder farmers.
 
“Urgent, broad-based and large-scale investments are needed to address
 in a sustainable manner the growing food insecurity problems affecting
 the poor and hungry,” said Mr. Ghanem. “No single country or
 institution will be able to resolve this crisis on its own.”
 2008-09-18 00:00:00.000 

UN SOUNDS ALARM ON HUMANITARIAN CONDITIONS IN GEORGIAN CITY
New York,
 Sep  2 2008  7:10PM
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
 (UNHCR) today expressed concern over the humanitarian conditions facing
 people in and around the town of Gori, which lies just south of the
 border of the separatist region of South Ossetia.

Shelters in the city are stretched beyond capacity, with some 4,200
 people from the buffer zone between Gori and the South Ossetian boundary
 registered as being internally displaced.

More than 1,000 people are taking refuge in a UNHCR-tented camp that
 was just set up five days ago, another 1,000 are staying with host
 families and roughly 2,000 others are spread out among nearly two dozen
 collective centres.

“Our initial assessment indicates that some 450 people arrived from
 their villages within the last week due to massive intimidation by
 marauding militias,” agency spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.

The remaining internally displaced persons (IDPs) were on their way
 home from the capital Tbilisi and other parts of the country where they
 had sought refuge during the conflict, but could not travel into the
 buffer zone beyond Gori.

The most recent arrivals, reportedly from the village of Beloti in the
 buffer zone, told
 <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/48bd56044.html">UNHCR that more than half of its 200 inhabitants fled in the early stages
 of the crisis, which broke out on 8 August.

“Those who remained behind are now leaving due to beatings, harassment,
 looting and burning of houses,” Mr. Redmond said. “Some told UNHCR
 they had been travelling on foot and in hiding for more than two weeks
 before reaching Gori and the UNHCR-tented camp.”

Reportedly, 20 elderly and bedridden people remained in the village,
 and an IDP said that villagers left buckets of water behind for them
 before fleeing.

The uprooted have expressed anxiety over the future of their families,
 the safety of their villages and the conditions of their homes, harvest
 and livestock to UNHCR personnel.

Nearly 160,000 people were displaced during the conflict, with some
 128,000 uprooted within Georgia. Most of the roughly 30,000 who fled to
 Russia have since returned to South Ossetia.
 2008-09-02 00:00:00.000