SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR GREATER COOPERATION TO ATTAIN LEBANESE-ISRAELI PEACE

SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR GREATER COOPERATION TO ATTAIN LEBANESE-ISRAELI PEACE
New York, Aug 3 2007 7:00PM
The Security Council today <" http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9091.doc.htm">voiced grave concern at persistent reports that the arms embargo along the Lebanese-Syrian border has been breached, militias in Lebanon are re-arming and there have been increasing Israeli violations of Lebanese air space, and urged all sides to cooperate fully with the United Nations to achieve a permanent ceasefire.

In a presidential statement read out by Ambassador Pascal Gayama of the Republic of Congo, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, the 15-member panel stressed the need to work for the region towards a long-term solution in line with the resolution ending last year's war between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hizbollah.

The statement reaffirmed the Council's "full support for the legitimate and democratically elected Government of Lebanon" and condemned any attempts to destabilize the country.

But it said it was concerned by recent reports that the arms embargo on the Lebanese border has been breached and that both Lebanese and non-Lebanese armed groups and militias have rearmed.

The statement reiterated the call for all militias and armed groups in Lebanon to disband and disarm after noting recent Lebanese Government information about the activities of such groups, especially the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) and Fatah Intifada.

Council members also expressed concern about Hizbollah's statement that it retains the military capacity to strike all parts of Israel, and calls on all parties to refrain from statements and activities that could jeopardize the cessation of hostilities."

They added that Hizbollah is yet to return the two Israeli soldiers it abducted last year before the war began, and called for the soldiers' immediate return, as well as for greater efforts to settle the issue of Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel.

Today's statement also welcomed the recommendations of the Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team (LIBAT), which travelled to the region earlier this year. The Council said it looked forward to implementation of those recommendations.

The statement also referred to an increase in Israeli violations of Lebanese air space, and appealed to all parties to respect the cessation of hostilities imposed after last year's conflict and the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel.

Turning to border delineation issues, the presidential statement took note of recent progress on the Shebaa Farms, including Mr. Ban's announced intention to hold talks with the parties on that question and the "solid progress made by the cartographer towards a provisional determination of the geographical extent of the Shebaa Farms."
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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SIERRA LEONE: UN WORKSHOP FOR POLICE OFFICERS FOCUSES ON GENDER, HUMAN RIGHTS

SIERRA LEONE: UN WORKSHOP FOR POLICE OFFICERS FOCUSES ON GENDER, HUMAN RIGHTS
New York, Aug 3 2007 7:00PM
The United Nations in collaboration with Sierra Leone's Government today concluded a three-day workshop for national police officers covering gender issues, human rights, mediation and other topics aimed at ensuring next week's parliamentary and presidential elections are free of violence in the formerly war-torn West African nation.

The workshop, which began on Wednesday, was attended by 40 female and 10 male mid-level police officers from the Republic of Sierra Leone Police (SLP) and also focused on such issues as crowd control, security and electoral laws ahead of the 11 August polls, the second since the country emerged in 2002 from a brutal decade-long civil war.

"We are here to strengthen the capacity of the SLP to address post-war challenges and consolidate the hard-won peace in the country consistent with the mandate of <"http://www.uniosil.org/read.asp?newsID=536&cat=">UNIOSIL (the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone)," Navaraj Dahkal of the UN Police (UNPOL) told the officers.

In a joint presentation on gender relations and the status of the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (<" http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/index.html">CEDAW), Jebbeh Forster of the UN Development Fund for Women (<" http://unifem.org">UNIFEM) and Enshrah Ahmed of UNIOSIL focused on improving the way officers' deal with the public and particularly how they handle domestic violence.

Further, Sheik Bakarr Kamara, a UNIOSIL outreach officer, emphasized the training's consistency with Security Council Resolution <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/res/1325(2000)">1325 (2000) which is geared towards providing greater protection and building the capacity of women so that they "may become partners rather than followers."
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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'HATE SPEECH' THREATENS TO UNLEASH ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN DR CONGO - UN

'HATE SPEECH' THREATENS TO UNLEASH ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN DR CONGO – UN
New York, Aug 3 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (<" http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/monuc">MONUC) today spoke out against incitements to ethnic violence in the country and called on the authorities to take action against those responsible.

MONUC "is gravely alarmed at the rising incidence of hate speech at political rallies, in news publications, TV and radio commentaries, especially in Kinshasa and the eastern provinces," the mission said in a statement.

"Incitement to hatred, xenophobia and repeated references to ethnic or tribal differences threaten to tear apart communities already struggling with the harsh realities of recurrent armed conflict," it warned.

A community radio station in Moba, in the Katanga province, recently began to air false rumors to the indigenous population that Congolese Tutsis were to be resettled by the UN in their region from refugee camps abroad, according to MONUC, which said this led the people of Moba to ransack the local UN office "in a well-orchestrated early-morning assault."

Four UN military observers were wounded, and some 21 UN staff had to be evacuated from the region.

To prevent further escalation, the Mission called on the DRC authorities to investigate those responsible for the rise in hate speech and tribal hatreds and hold them accountable for their acts.

In a separate development, MONUC announced today that it has suspended five civilian staff members for "procurement irregularities" following an investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (<" http://www.un.org/Depts/oios">OIOS).

That probe led the Department of Management and the Department of Field Support to dispatch a high-level team to the DRC to address the OIOS findings and recommendations, and to "advise the UN Mission on an action plan to implement the recommendations for strengthening internal control measures and ensuring continuity in MONUC's procurement activities," spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON HOLDS TALKS IN BARBADOS WITH TOP OFFICIALS

BAN KI-MOON HOLDS TALKS IN BARBADOS WITH TOP OFFICIALS
New York, Aug 3 2007 6:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks with senior officials in Barbados today on regional hotspots and environmental concerns, a spokesperson for the world body announced.

In addition to meeting Acting Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Mr. Ban held talks with Foreign Minister Billie Antoinette Miller on the "climate change, Haiti, and the issue of drugs and crime in the Caribbean," spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

Mr. Ban's visit to Barbados follows a two-day trip to Haiti, where on Thursday he told reporters that he was encouraged by progress on a number of fronts thanks to the efforts of the UN Stabilization Mission (<"http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/minustah">MINUSTAH) and other UN agencies.

At the same time, he stressed that Haiti's development depends on its ability to confront corruption and impunity and to firmly establish the rule of law. Pointing out that the independence of the judiciary is critical to this process, he called on members of Parliament to adopt draft bills to boost the rule of law, Mr. Haq said.

Mr. Ban also pledged to ensure that the UN does not disengage too early from Haiti, where previous peacekeeping missions have been withdrawn only to be replaced by successor forces after fragile gains were lost to renewed violence.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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UN AND AFRICAN UNION ENVOYS CONVENE 'PRE-NEGOTIATION' TALKS ON DARFUR

UN AND AFRICAN UNION ENVOYS CONVENE 'PRE-NEGOTIATION' TALKS ON DARFUR
New York, Aug 3 2007 5:00PM
The United Nations and African Union envoys tasked with reviving the Darfur peace process are preparing for talks starting this evening with leading figures from rebel groups that have not signed a key agreement aimed at bringing an end to the violence wracking the Sudanese region.

The UN's Jan Eliasson and his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim were hopeful that three-day meeting "will produce understandings that will allow for invitations to peace talks on Darfur to be issued by the end of this month," UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

The "pre-negotiation" talks are being held in Arusha, Tanzania, with those rebel groups that did not join in the Darfur Peace Agreement reached with the Sudanese Government last year.

Last week the two envoys issued a statement describing the Arusha meeting's objective as "to take stock of the progress made in the Road-map and for the Special Envoys to consult with the movements on the preparations for the upcoming final negotiations."

The talks are also supposed to focus on "the key role to be played by the Sudanese parties concerned in ensuring a speedy, negotiated and sustainable settlement of the Darfur conflict, including the format and venue of and participation in the negotiations."

Earlier this week the Security Council <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9089.doc.htm">authorized the creation of a hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force – the first of its kind – to try to quell the violence in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and two million others forced to flee their homes since 2003.

The hybrid operation – to be known as UNAMID – has an initial mandate of 12 months and will incorporate the existing AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), which has been deployed across Darfur since 2004. It will become the largest peacekeeping force in the world, with almost 26,000 troops and police officers when it reaches full deployment.

By October UNAMID is scheduled to have its management, command and control structures in place, and then by the end of the year it is expected to be ready to take over operations from AMIS.

Assistant Secretary-General Jane Holl Lute is chairing a meeting of troop-contributing countries for UNAMID at UN Headquarters in New York today.

Since fighting erupted between rebel groups, Government forces and allied Janjaweed militias in 2003, UN officials have repeatedly described Darfur as the scene of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

In his latest progress <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2007/462">report on the situation in Darfur, released today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he was encouraged by the Sudanese Government's agreement to the deployment of UNAMID.

The Government's cooperation will be crucial to the operation's success, "especially with regard to the provision of adequate land, permission to drill for water and the timely clearance of critical mission-support items through customs."

But he says he remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian and security conditions inside Darfur, particularly for women and girls, who are frequently the victims of rape and other forms of sexual violence.

Sudanese armed forces also resumed their aerial bombardment of areas in North and West Darfur during April and May, and launched ground attacks with the help of armed militias, bringing "death, displacement and prolonged suffering to Darfurian civilians."

However, Mr. Ban says he was encouraged by the meeting convened by Mr. Eliasson and Mr. Salim in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, last month, to take stock of the progress so far towards holding full negotiations for a solution to the Darfur conflict.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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LEBANON: UN LEGAL CHIEF INVITES COUNTRIES TO SUBMIT CANDIDATES FOR HARIRI TRIBUNAL

LEBANON: UN LEGAL CHIEF INVITES COUNTRIES TO SUBMIT CANDIDATES FOR HARIRI TRIBUNAL
New York, Aug 3 2007 3:00PM
The United Nations' top legal official today sent a letter inviting UN Member States to submit names of candidates to be considered as international judges of an independent tribunal to try the suspected killers of the former Lebanese prime minister, <"http://secint10/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=110&Body=Lebanon&Body1=">Rafik Hariri.

UN Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel sent the letter on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asking for names to be submitted by 24 September this year, spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters.

Mr. Ban will appoint the judges based on the recommendation of a selection panel established by him, after he has indicated his intentions to the Security Council, Mr. Haq added.

That selection panel – which is itself yet to be appointed – will comprise two judges, either sitting or retired from an international tribunal, and a representative of the Secretary-General.
The tribunal will be of "an international character" to deal with the assassination of Mr. Hariri, who was killed along with 22 others in a massive car bombing in downtown Beirut in February 2005.
Once it is formally established, it will be up to the tribunal to determine whether other political killings in Lebanon since October 2004 were connected to Mr. Hariri's assassination and could therefore be dealt with by the tribunal.
In June Mr. Ban began taking the steps and measures to formally establish the tribunal after Lebanon missed a deadline to ratify itself.
That month a senior UN official also told reporters that it is likely to take at least a year for the tribunal to begin operations as funds have to be generated, a seat for the court must be found, judges and other officials appointed and security arrangements for staff, victims and witnesses determined.
According to the applicable rules, the Tribunal will not be established until there are sufficient financial contributions to create the court and run it for a year and enough pledges to meet the expected expenses of another two years.
The senior UN official said about $30 million could be needed to finance the court's first year, but that amount may change depending on whether the Tribunal is housed in existing buildings, a renovated complex or an entirely new structure. The Tribunal will be based outside Lebanon at a venue to be determined.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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GAZA: UN AGENCY FOR PALESTINIAN REFUGEES CONDEMNS ISRAELI INCURSION INTO SCHOOL

GAZA: UN AGENCY FOR PALESTINIAN REFUGEES CONDEMNS ISRAELI INCURSION INTO SCHOOL
New York, Aug 3 2007 3:00PM
The United Nations agency entrusted with aiding Palestinian refugees today condemned an Israeli army incursion into one of its schools in southern Gaza, which left property damaged.

"This is a violation of our property and we expect the IDF to halt any operation that places in danger our staff and which damages our installations," UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (<"http://www.un.org/unrwa/english.html">UNRWA) Director in Gaza John Ging said, using the acronym of the Israeli Defence Forces.

Local residents said Israeli soldiers and two tanks entered the compound of the Al Shouka Elementary Coeducational School and arrested two of the guards. The main gate of the school was damaged during the operation. Israeli soldiers then rounded up some 50 other people, bringing about 15 of them to the school, where they were held for several hours before being moved elsewhere.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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UN AGREEMENT ON AFGHAN RETURNEES FROM PAKISTAN EXTENDED FOR THREE MORE YEARS

UN AGREEMENT ON AFGHAN RETURNEES FROM PAKISTAN EXTENDED FOR THREE MORE YEARS
New York, Aug 3 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has extended by another three years its agreement with Pakistan and Afghanistan that has already regulated the voluntary repatriation of more than 3 million Afghans to their homeland since the fall of the Taliban.

The agreement was signed yesterday by UN Assistant High Commissioner for Refugees Judy Cheng-Hopkins and representatives of the Afghan and Pakistani Governments, <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/46b1e97e4.html">UNHCR said in a press release from Islamabad.

About 2.05 million registered Afghans remain in Pakistan, and those that return to Afghanistan in the next three years will be covered under the tripartite deal, which provides for the legal and operational framework for the repatriations.

Ms. Cheng-Hopkins said she was delighted by the spirit of cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan that had allowed the agreement to be established and now extended.

"By doing so, they have again recognized and have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to the principles of voluntary, gradual and sustainable returns that are enshrined in the agreement," she said.

Under the deal, a tripartite commission meets three times a year to discuss issues related to the repatriations and to those Afghans still living in Pakistan.

At least four million Afghans have returned home since the Taliban fell at the end of 2001, mostly from Pakistan but also from Iran. Returning refugees receive a reintegration package from UNHCR.

Ms. Cheng-Hopkins noted that conditions for returning Afghans remain difficult in their homeland after decades of war and misrule.

"These things take a long, long time. As we all know, development is not a miracle that happens overnight. It takes long investments [and] long, dedicated periods of time. But I am hopeful we are seeing the beginning of it."
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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UN, INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS TO EXAMINE JAPANESE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT HIT BY QUAKE

UN, INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS TO EXAMINE JAPANESE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT HIT BY QUAKE
New York, Aug 3 2007 1:00PM
A six-member team of international nuclear safety experts, assembled by the United Nations atomic watchdog agency, is set to arrive in Japan on Sunday to begin a six-day mission to examine the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant that was affected by a strong earthquake last month.

The mission, at the invitation from the Japanese Government, is important for identifying lessons learned that might have implications for the international nuclear safety regime, UN International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2007/prn200715.html">IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said in a news release today.

The team comprises two IAEA experts and four internationally recognized specialists in seismic safety, who will study current conditions at the plant, complementing an ongoing evaluation by Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) and Nuclear Safety Commission (NSC), as well as by the plant's operators, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

The experts will report their findings to the Japanese authorities and to the Director General. The team will leave Japan on 11 August.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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UNICEF URGES SOMALIA'S BATTLING RIVALS TO ENSURE CHILDREN'S SAFETY AS DEATH TOLL RISES

UNICEF URGES SOMALIA'S BATTLING RIVALS TO ENSURE CHILDREN'S SAFETY AS DEATH TOLL RISES
New York, Aug 3 2007 12:00PM
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today voiced distress at the deadly impact of Somalia's violent conflict on children in Mogadishu, the capital, and called on all parties to ensure their safety and that of other civilians.

At least 20 children have died in the past month from the fighting between the Islamist Courts Union and the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG), while many others are among the hundreds of thousands who have fled the city, <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_40493.html">UNICEF spokesperson Veronique Taveau told a news briefing in Geneva.

Late last month, five children were killed while en route to a mosque when one child innocently touched unexploded ordnance, underscoring the lingering danger posed by explosive remnants of war.

UNICEF has been running mine-risk education spots on radio stations covering Mogadishu and surrounding areas for the past two months. It is also supporting training of community-based child protection advocates by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Handicap International.

Since the beginning of June, an estimated 27,000 people have fled Mogadishu, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/46b338e14.html">UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond told the same <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/46b3108b4.html">briefing.

Between February and May, more than 400,000 civilians fled heavy fighting between the Somali Transitional Federal Government and the insurgents in Mogadishu, but 125,000 later returned to the city.

"Many of the people who fled told UNHCR that life was more unbearable than ever in Mogadishu because of the daily violence, making it too dangerous to leave their homes," Mr. Redmond said.

"They say the insecurity is widespread, with constant bombing and gun battles. Mothers are unable to buy food for their children and workers unable to make a living. They also complain that their children cannot attend school and many neighbourhoods are isolated because of insecurity or road closures," he added.

Young men told UNHCR they left the capital for fear of being arrested, claiming that after outbreaks of violence, Government forces sealed off the affected neighbourhood and arrested any young men on the streets.

Two-thirds of the families who have fled over the past two months have settled in the provinces of the Shabelles, immediately surrounding Mogadishu. UNHCR distributed aid to 50,000 people there in April.

Others have fled further north, including 2,600 people who have reached the town of Galkayo, 700 kilometres away in the region of Puntland. The town already hosts 11,000 people who fled Mogadishu between February and May. Some of the most recent arrivals, mostly women and children, reported robberies and some women said they had been raped by armed militiamen and thugs who set up roadblocks along the route.

Last week, UNHCR distributed blankets, kitchen sets and jerry cans to 780 families in southern Galkayo. On July 24 July, the agency issued a $48-million appeal to fund its work in Somalia and neighbouring countries until the end of next year.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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UN HEALTH AGENCY HELPS UGANDA RESPOND TO CASE OF DEADLY MARBURG DISEASE

UN HEALTH AGENCY HELPS UGANDA RESPOND TO CASE OF DEADLY MARBURG DISEASE
New York, Aug 3 2007 11:00AM
The United Nations health agency is helping the Government of Uganda in outbreak response and containment activities following a confirmed case of Marburg virus disease, a rare but highly fatal haemorrhagic illness with epidemic potential, but there is at present no indication of a need to restrict travel or trade with the East African country.

At the Ugandan Government's request the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO), along with partners in the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), will provide ongoing support in epidemiology, ecological studies, field communications, supplies and logistics, the agency said in a statement today.

Containment and control measures implemented so far by the Health Ministry are in accordance with international best practice, it added.

A 29-year-old man working in a mine in western Uganda was admitted to hospital on 7 July and died on 14 July, while the disease was confirmed by laboratory diagnosis on 30 July, WHO said.

The man had had prolonged close contact with a 21-year-old co-worker with a similar illness to whom he had been providing care. The 21-year-old had developed symptoms on 27 June and was hospitalized with a haemorrhagic illness. He then recovered and was discharged on 9 July.

The disease begins with severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and chest and lung pains, often leads to severe haemorrhage in the gastrointestinal tract and lungs. There are indications that close contact with bodily fluids of infected people, as in health care or burial, increases the risk of infection, but to date there have been no reported cases among health care workers in Uganda.

The worst ever outbreak of Marburg, which occurs very rarely and appears to be geographically confined to a few countries in Africa, killed nearly 250 people in Angola in 2005.

The disease, of the same family as Ebola, was first identified in 1967 during simultaneous outbreaks affecting laboratory workers in Marburg and Frankfurt, Germany, and in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The outbreaks, which involved 31 cases and seven deaths, were subsequently linked to contact with infected monkeys imported from Uganda.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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UN EVACUATES CRITICALLY ILL PALESTINIAN CHILDREN FROM IRAQ TO SYRIA

UN EVACUATES CRITICALLY ILL PALESTINIAN CHILDREN FROM IRAQ TO SYRIA
New York, Aug 3 2007 11:00AM
After weeks of appeals for the urgent medical evacuation from Iraq of seriously ill Palestinians, most of them children, the United Nations refugee agency was able this week to transport the first four patients into Syria to receive much-needed medical aid.

"We are pleased to report that Syrian authorities on Wednesday allowed the first four into Syria," UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/home.html">UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond told a <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/46b3110e4.html">news briefing in Geneva today. "The four are now in very critical condition and we greatly appreciate this decision by Syrian authorities."

The four patients, aged between 2 and 21, are suffering from severe diabetes, paralysis, Hodgkins disease and heart problems. They have been stranded in Al Waleed refugee camp on the Iraqi side of the border for months without proper medical attention.

At least 16 other critically ill Palestinians still remain in Al Waleed camp and Baghdad, where access to specialized medical care is impossible. They include a 3-year-old suffering from a severe and painful skin rash, a 1-year-old with serious urinary problems and a 2-year-old suffering from cerebral palsy.

"We continue our search for urgent solutions to get these children out, as most of them might die or be handicapped for life if they don't get proper care soon," Mr. Redmond said.

Some 1,550 Palestinians who fled violence in Baghdad are stranded in camps on the Iraq-Syria border. Over the past year UNHCR has repeatedly called on the Iraqi authorities and the United States-led multinational forces to protect the Palestinians, who fled to Iraq after the creation of Israel in 1948.

Some received preferential treatment under Saddam Hussein and have become targets for attack since his overthrow in 2003. Nearly 20,000 of them have already fled but an estimated 15,000 still remain in the country, mostly in Baghdad.

Of the four evacuated on Wednesday, two will be allowed to remain in Syria, with some family members, while undergoing urgently needed medical care. The other two will travel on to third countries, where they will receive more specialized care. "We will be monitoring and funding the medical care, lodging and rehabilitation process," Mr. Redmond said.

Meanwhile, conditions in Al Waleed and nearby Al Tanf camps remain dire, according to UNHCR. In recent weeks, temperatures rose to nearly 50 degrees centigrade, making daily life nearly unbearable. The agency has procured some 90 small fridges, one per family tent, and tent coolers.

"UNHCR continues to appeal for urgent solutions for the Palestinians at the border and in Baghdad, who are being targeted, killed, kidnapped and threatened," Mr. Redmond said.

"They have no possibility to leave Iraq as they are not accepted anywhere, unlike other persecuted Iraqis who can still flee to neighbouring countries and further afield. So far the response of the world has been minimal and we remain extremely concerned about their fate," he added.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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LOCUST INFESTATION IN YEMEN 'THREATENING AND EXTREMELY SERIOUS,' UN AGENCY WARNS

LOCUST INFESTATION IN YEMEN 'THREATENING AND EXTREMELY SERIOUS,' UN AGENCY WARNS
New York, Aug 3 2007 11:00AM
The locust infestation in Yemen remains "threatening and extremely serious" as egg-laying, hatching and band formation of the crop-devouring insects continue, with young immature adults forming small swarms and moving into agricultural land, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) warned in its latest update.

"In the past few days, new infestations have been found in areas that had not been surveyed previously," FASO said, citing remote wadis, dry river beds, of the interior of Al-Mahara region near the Oman border. Other infestations were discovered in wadis in the plateau south of Wadi Hadhramaut.

Ground teams using vehicle-mounted equipment have treated nearly 19,000 hectares since 4 July in some areas. But control operations are hampered by the presence of beehives and because many infestations are in extremely remote areas. Nearly a dozen teams are working in the field. A fixed-wing aircraft is undertaking aerial control operations that started this week. A helicopter will assist ground teams in surveying the extent of the infestations and identifying control targets.

"More swarms will form during August," FAO warned. As vegetation dries out, swarms are likely to move within the vast interior between Marib and the Oman border where they will mature in areas that remain green. If more rainfall occurs, egg laying could start by the end of August with another generation of hatching and band formation in September.

Most of the swarms that form during August are expected to stay in the interior but there is a slight risk that some could move to the highlands around Sana'a, the capital, and to the Red Sea coastal plains where good rains have fallen, or to southern Oman and continue to the Indo-Pakistan border, where small-scale breeding is in progress in desert areas.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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NEPAL: UN TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY FOOD FOR 60,000 FLOOD VICTIMS FOR THREE MONTHS

NEPAL: UN TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY FOOD FOR 60,000 FLOOD VICTIMS FOR THREE MONTHS
New York, Aug 3 2007 10:00AM
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is sending up to three months worth of emergency rations to some 60,000 flood victims in Nepal after incessant rains over the past three weeks wrought havoc across the Himalayan country.

"In response to the Government's request for humanitarian assistance, we are making available an initial $500,000 for procurement of immediate food assistance," <"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2590">WFP country representative Richard Ragan said.

"However, given the number of families affected and the remoteness of the impacted areas, we estimate that we will need to raise approximately $1.5million to meet the basic food requirements of the flood victims," he added.

An estimated 200,000 people currently face food shortages due to displacement, loss of livelihoods and damaged homes. WFP's initial response is based on needs identified by the Government and the Red Cross. The agency will work closely with both partners over the next few days to identify the people and communities most in need of aid, providing sufficient rice, lentils, oil and salt to feed 60,000 people for 90 days.

"Given that many of these affected areas are located within the Eastern Terai – districts that have been impacted by months of violence and insecurity – we appeal to all parties to support WFP's efforts to deliver food aid to the most vulnerable communities within these areas," Mr. Ragan said.

Clashes between the Madheshi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) in the central Terai region have claimed scores of lives in recent months.

Food, drinking water and temporary shelter have been identified as the major needs in the flood-stricken areas. There is a heightened risk of increased deaths and illness in the coming weeks and months due to outbreaks of communicable diseases, most importantly acute respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, vector-borne diseases and snake bites.

UN agencies are already providing water purification tablets and of oral rehydration salts as well as tarpaulins, water buckets and blankets, while UN Mission in Nepal (<"http://www.un.org.np/unmin.php">UNMIN) helicopters have flown in rescue teams from the Nepal Army, police and Red Cross.
2007-08-03 00:00:00.000

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UN MISSION IN DR CONGO RUSHES RESCUE TEAMS TO SITE OF DEADLY TRAIN CRASH

UN MISSION IN DR CONGO RUSHES RESCUE TEAMS TO SITE OF DEADLY TRAIN CRASH
New York, Aug 2 2007 5:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is sending doctors, nurses, emergency workers and rescue equipment to the centre of the vast country, where a train derailed last night, killing about 100 people.

Survivors reported that the goods train was speeding when eight of its carriages derailed near Kakenge in Western Kasai province, while en route from the town of Ilebo to the provincial capital of Kananga.

Kemal Saïki, a spokesperson for the UN mission (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC), said official Government figures placed the death toll at 100 after earlier estimates gave the number of dead as 68. At least 120 others are seriously wounded, and many remain trapped in the wreckage.

"It was a massive accident, and we are trying to assist as much as we can," Mr. Saïki said.

MONUC chief William Lacy Swing said the mission would contribute "all of its available resources" to help in the rescue efforts.

"We are appalled by the loss of life, especially in a country which has already suffered so much," he said.

The lack of serviceable transportation in the DRC, combined with the dilapidated state of the roads and railways, means that many Congolese people often ride on goods trains – sometimes on the roofs of carriages – to reach distant towns and cities. It is not known exactly how many passengers where aboard last night's train.

The mission dispatched a helicopter today from Kananga carrying four Congolese doctors and three nurses to treat the injured, as well as medical kits, UN police officers and other UN staff to help with the relief efforts. Those staff are going to conduct an assessment of the humanitarian needs in the wake of the crash.

Tomorrow MONUC will send further medical and emergency supplies, and will also transport high-level Congolese officials to the crash site.

The rescue operation is being hampered by the fact that local authorities do not have the technical equipment to lift the carriages, under which some people are believed trapped, or to cut through the heavy wreckage.

The nearest hospital is 12 kilometres away, and the first people rescued had to be transported by foot or bicycle.

MONUC is in the DRC to help the country rebuild after its five-year civil war, starting in the late 1990s, engulfed the Great Lakes region. Some four million people died in that conflict or because of related hunger or disease.
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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AFRICA TO BE FOCUS OF SECURITY COUNCIL THIS MONTH - PRESIDENT

AFRICA TO BE FOCUS OF SECURITY COUNCIL THIS MONTH – PRESIDENT
New York, Aug 2 2007 5:00PM
The August work programme for the Security Council will focus largely on issues affecting Africa, its President for the month announced today.

Briefing reporters at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Ambassador Pascal Gayama of the Republic of the Congo (ROC) said that the 15-member body will discuss the political aspect of the Darfur crisis next Thursday. That meeting will take place after the Council earlier this week adopted a landmark resolution authorizing the creation of a hybrid African Union (AU)-UN operation to quell the violence in the Sudanese region.

The UN and AU Special Envoys for Darfur, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, will also host three days of talks in Arusha, Tanzania, beginning tomorrow with those rebel groups and militias that have not signed the Darfur Peace Agreement.

"We expect a lot from that because, as you know, the solution to the Darfur situation is not a military one," Mr. Gayama said. "It is political."

Additionally, the Council will take up Somalia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and – while not on the formal work programme – Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).

The President also announced the convening of an open debate in the Council on the prevention and settlement of conflict in Africa to "come up with new ideas on what is to be done given that there are many factors and elements involved in prevention."

Also on the body's agenda are the impending expiration of the mandates of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Later this month, the Council will hold an open debate on the Middle East to assess the situation which "is greatly changing there this month," Mr. Gayama said.

Overall, he said "this is a month that should be lighter for everyone given the fact that there's the General Assembly, the major political event, in September."
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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GAZA'S ECONOMY WORSENING DUE TO BORDER RESTRICTIONS - UN

GAZA'S ECONOMY WORSENING DUE TO BORDER RESTRICTIONS – UN
New York, Aug 2 2007 4:00PM
The economy of the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate as a result of the limited opening of border crossing points into the territory, the United Nations said today.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the vast majority of import-dependent industries – notably the wood, construction and garment sectors – have temporarily closed down.

In addition, only 10 per cent of Gaza's industries, those depending on previously stored raw materials, remain partially functional.

Total losses since the closure of the Gaza crossings in mid-June is now reaching $23 million, OCHA says, with an average daily loss of about half a million dollars.

The Office also reports that, on Sunday and Monday, 414 Palestinians who were stranded in Egypt for 51 days returned to Gaza through the Nitzana and Erez crossings, and additional returns to Gaza are planned in the coming days.

Drawing attention to the situation on the ground, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated recently that "the continued restrictions on Gaza will have a severe humanitarian impact and can only cause further suffering to the people there."

Likewise, UN humanitarian officials have warned that the restrictions are threatening the economic sustainability of the territory, where more than 1.4 million live in a 360-square-kilometre area.
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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CONTINUING ATTACKS ON CONGOLESE JOURNALISTS DRAW CONCERN FROM UN MISSION

CONTINUING ATTACKS ON CONGOLESE JOURNALISTS DRAW CONCERN FROM UN MISSION
New York, Aug 2 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today denounced the recent series of attacks on journalists in the troubled country, especially those working for a UN-backed radio station with the largest Francophone audience in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the latest incident, four men attacked Florian Barbey, a journalist with Radio Okapi on Sunday night in his home in Bunia, the capital of the restive Ituri province in the northeast of the DRC. The reporter was beaten and the house was ransacked.

Radio Okapi is a partnership between the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, and the Hirondelle Foundation, a Swiss non-governmental organization (NGO), and the two bodies issued a joint statement today in Kinshasa condemning the ongoing attacks.

The work of journalists in the DRC "is essential to the security of the whole Congolese population and to the good running of a society striving to consolidate a nascent democracy," the statement said.

MONUC and the Hirondelle Foundation called on the Congolese judiciary and civil authorities to do all they can to ensure the safety of journalists and to apprehend and punish those people responsible for the recent wave of attacks.

On 13 June, Serge Maheshe, who also worked for Radio Okapi, was shot and killed by two men on a street in Bukavu, in the far east of the DRC, as he and two friends were about to enter a UN-marked vehicle.
Meanwhile, MONUC has also deplored an attack against four of its military observers yesterday by a hostile crowd of about 500 people in Moba in Katanga province.

After throwing stones towards MONUC vehicles, the crowd sacked the observers' home, ransacking the residence and injuring the observers.
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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POLLUTION ADDS TO GREENHOUSE GASES MELTING HIMALAYAN GLACIERS - UN-BACKED STUDY

POLLUTION ADDS TO GREENHOUSE GASES MELTING HIMALAYAN GLACIERS – UN-BACKED STUDY
New York, Aug 2 2007 4:00PM
A new study of the role played by pollution-filled "brown clouds" over South Asia offers hope that the region may be able to arrest some of the alarming retreat of Himalayan glaciers which provide a lifeline for billions of people by feeding the major rivers in the region, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=516&ArticleID=5640&l=en">UNEP).

The UNEP-supported analysis by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, found that the clouds containing soot, trace metals and other particles from a growing cadre of urban, industrial and agricultural sources enhance solar heating of the lower atmosphere by about 50 per cent.

The hope lies in reducing this pollution, which, combined with the heating effect of greenhouse gases, is enough to account for the retreat of Himalayan glaciers observed in the past half century, with serious implications for such famed rivers as the Yangtze, Ganges and Indus, the chief water supply for billions of people in China, India and other South Asian countries, the study notes.

"The main cause of climate change is the buildup of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels, but brown clouds, whose environmental and economic impacts are beginning to be unravelled by scientists, are complicating and in some cases aggravating their effects," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said.

"The new findings should spur the international community to ever greater action, in particular at the next crucial climate change convention meeting in Indonesia this December. For it is likely that in curbing greenhouse gases we can tackle the twin challenges of climate change and brown clouds and in doing so, reap wider benefits from reduced air pollution to improved agricultural yields," Mr. Steiner added.

The study appears in a paper released in the 2 August edition of the journal Nature. "The rapid melting of these glaciers, the third-largest ice mass on the planet, if it becomes widespread and continues for several more decades, will have unprecedented downstream effects on southern and eastern Asia," it concludes.
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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UN CONFERENCE PLEDGES TO STAMP OUT ILLITERACY IN EAST ASIA, SOUTH-EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

UN CONFERENCE PLEDGES TO STAMP OUT ILLITERACY IN EAST ASIA, SOUTH-EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC
New York, Aug 2 2007 3:00PM
A United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference to tackle illiteracy in East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific has wrapped up, with participants calling for strong political commitment and close cooperation between governments and civil society organizations.

"We cannot in all conscience abandon millions of adults and young people to a fate of lifelong illiteracy," said <"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura at the opening of the two-day meeting in Beijing. "This is unacceptable in the 21st century."

Those attending the conference – education ministers, first ladies, policymakers, civil society representatives, education experts and members of international organizations – discussed family literacy, intergenerational teaching, and literacy to promote health and economic self-sufficiency.

Compared to the global illiteracy rate of 20 per cent – or 774 million people being able to neither read nor write – there is a high literacy rate in East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific of 91.7 per cent.

Yet while countries such as China and Indonesia have made great strides in curtailing illiteracy in recent decades, there is a wide disparity among nations in the region. In the Pacific, Papua New Guinea has a 60 per cent literacy rate, while Tonga and Samoa have a 98 per cent rate. It is estimated that 125 million adults in the region have poor reading and writing skills.

Reflecting persistent gender inequality, women account for 70 per cent of those who are illiterate.

"Women who can read are more likely to be advocates for their own children's education," said United States First Lady Laura Bush, who serves as Honorary Ambassador for the UN Decade of Literacy, in a video address to the conference.

At the close of the meeting, participants highlighted the need to ensure literacy in people's mother tongues before national languages, as well as the importance of teaching migrants to read and write.

"External aid remains insufficient to meeting the Education For All goals," Mr. Matsuura noted, appealing for increased support to end illiteracy from the international community and donors.

Only $2.4 billion was earmarked for the Education For All programme, far short of the estimated $11 billion necessary to meet goals.

The conference in Beijing – called Literacy Challenges in East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific: Building Partnerships and Promoting Innovative Approaches – is one of the six regional conferences being convened to bolster literacy worldwide. The first took place in Doha, Qatar, this March, and four others are slated to take place by the end of next year in Mali, India, Costa Rica and Azerbaijan.
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON PLEDGES UN COMMITMENT AS HAITI STRIVES TO BUILD ON ACHIEVEMENTS

BAN KI-MOON PLEDGES UN COMMITMENT AS HAITI STRIVES TO BUILD ON ACHIEVEMENTS
New York, Aug 2 2007 3:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Haiti to consolidate its gains so far on the security front by strengthening the rule of law, reforming the judiciary and fighting corruption, and has pledged the continued engagement of the United Nations in the country.

"The time has come to rebuild the institutions that have been destroyed by years of neglect, corruption and violence, to strengthen them so that the State is able to deliver the services that the people need," Mr. Ban said yesterday in the capital, Port-au-Prince, on the first of his two-day visit.

Speaking at a joint <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1054">press conference with Haitian President René Préval, the Secretary-General added that the world body's presence in the country is "a committed and friendly engagement to help Haiti establish its own secure and sustainable future free of violence, discord and want."

"This time, the United Nations, which has been in your country five times in the past, will not leave until the future is secure," he stated.

Today, Mr. Ban visited the slum area of Cité Soleil, where UN peacekeepers have helped to restore order. There he met some students at the site of a school secured by the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) during the recent gang violence in the slum.

Despite the success in dismantling the gangs and improving public order, Mr. Ban has warned that improvements remain fragile, and stressed the need to enhance the capabilities and capacity of the Haitian National Police (HNP) to ensure law and order.

"The international community must not step aside and let spoilers succeed in jeopardizing Haiti's progress," he stated.

During his stay, Mr. Ban also has meetings with the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, as well as members of the UN Mission, which currently comprises nearly 9,000 uniformed personnel.

Mr. Ban travels later today to Barbados, which holds the current chairmanship of the Caribbean regional cooperation body known as CARICOM, where he will meet with Government officials and the UN country team.
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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TWO FORMER MILITIA LEADERS CONVICTED BY UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL IN SIERRA LEONE

TWO FORMER MILITIA LEADERS CONVICTED BY UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL IN SIERRA LEONE
New York, Aug 2 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (<"http://www.sc-sl.org/">SCSL) today <"http://www.sc-sl.org/Press/pressrelease-080207.pdf">convicted two former leaders of a pro-government militia of war crimes committed during the country's prolonged civil war in the 1990s.

Moinina Fofana and Allieu Kondewa of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) militia were each found guilty by the SCSL's trial chamber of four counts of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and collective punishments. Mr. Kondewa was also convicted of recruiting child combatants.

The two men were each acquitted of two counts of crimes against humanity and one count of war crimes, while Mr. Fofana was also found not guilty of recruiting child combatants. Sentencing is expected at a later date.

Today's convictions were handed down by Justice Benjamin Mutanga Itoe (presiding) and Justice Pierre Boutet during a SCSL hearing in the capital, Freetown. But Justice Bankole Thompson issued a separate and dissenting opinion in which he found Mr. Fofana and Mr. Kondewa not guilty on all eight counts.

Prosecutors said Mr. Fofana served as National Director of War for the CDF while Mr. Kondewa acted as High Priest for the militia. The case against a third accused CDF leader, Sam Hinga Norman, was halted after he died in February.

During Sierra Leone's civil war the CDF, comprised of various tribally-based traditional hunters, supported the Government against rebel groups, including the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC).

The indictment against the three CDF leaders detailed a series of crimes during the war, including the looting and burning of towns and villages and the killing of residents they deemed to be collaborators with the rebels.

The SCSL is mandated to try those bearing the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian and Sierra Leonean law within the country's borders since 30 November 1996. It is the second international war crimes tribunal established in Africa.
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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UN TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS HIT BY FLOODS IN COLOMBIA, DEEP FREEZE IN PERU

UN TO PROVIDE FOOD FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS HIT BY FLOODS IN COLOMBIA, DEEP FREEZE IN PERU
New York, Aug 2 2007 10:00AM
The United Nations is helping to provide emergency food to nearly 100,000 people after the worst floods in decades in Colombia and the coldest weather in 30 years in Peru brought even more misery to over 1 million of Latin America's most impoverished inhabitants.

"In these types of emergencies, it is the very poor that are always the most affected," UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2588">WFP) Latin America Regional Director Pedro Medrano said today. "In both these disasters, thousands of families have lost their crops and their livestock. WFP's food assistance will allow those affected to concentrate on rebuilding their lives and their communities."

In Colombia, where an unusually intense rainy season has claimed at least 57 lives, with 100 people missing, and left 443,000 people homeless, with their crops and animals washed away, WFP is boosting the Government's relief effort and drawing up plans to distribute food rations for an initial three months to 50,000 to 60,000 beneficiaries.

"The Colombian Government responded in a timely and efficient manner and gave the victims adequate attention, but the number of people together with the prolonged rains has gone beyond everybody's predictions," WFP Country Director Praveen Agrawal said.

In Peru, where sub-freezing temperatures averaging minus 27 have caused an epidemic of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, killing at least 70 children under five and sickening 600,000 other people, the agency is going to provide food to more than 34,000 beneficiaries.

Emergency food distributions started over the weekend in the Department of Vilcashuaman, and are expected to continue during August in the Departments of Ayacucho and Huancavelica.

Despite a recent improvement in temperatures, the Peruvian National Weather Service (SENAMHI) is warning that a new cold wave is expected to arrive as soon as this week. In the lower parts of the affected areas up to 4,000 metres above sea level, the whole harvest has been lost to frost and hailstones. In the highest areas, where the only economic activity is raising llamas and alpacas, all the animals have died of the cold.

"We are very concerned about the increasing number of people affected by the biting cold temperatures," Mr. Medrano said. "This WFP emergency operation will complement similar government operations being carried in the affected areas."
2007-08-02 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES GUATEMALAN APPROVAL OF BODY TO PROBE ARMED GROUPS

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES GUATEMALAN APPROVAL OF BODY TO PROBE ARMED GROUPS
New York, Aug 1 2007 7:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has applauded today's decision by the Guatemalan legislature to approve an independent body to investigate the presence and activities of illegal armed groups in the Central American country.

The Guatemalan Congress voted to establish the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (known by its Spanish acronym, CICIG) as a matter of urgency.

Mr. Ban "believes Guatemala has sent a clear message, both to its people and to the international community, that it is committed to fight crime and impunity, and to provide security for its citizens," his spokesperson said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2693">statement.

Under the terms of an agreement between the Guatemalan Government and the United Nations, the world body and the country will now work closely together with judicial authorities in Guatemala to set up CICIG.

The Commission will be able to conduct its own investigations and also help local institutions, particularly the Office of the Public Prosecutor. While it will be an independent, non-UN body, its commissioner will be appointed by the Secretary-General and report periodically to him.

One of its tasks is to recommend public policies and any legal or institutional measures for eradicating the illegal armed groups and preventing their re-emergence. The costs are expected to be borne by voluntary contributions from the international community.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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UN ENVOYS VOICE NEW OPTIMISM IN TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE

UN ENVOYS VOICE NEW OPTIMISM IN TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
New York, Aug 1 2007 7:00PM
Top United Nations climate change officials today voiced optimism that international leaders are ready and willing to tackle climate change on the second and final day of a General Assembly meeting on the issue.

Ricardo Lagos, one of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's three Special Envoys on climate change, said that discussions with world leaders on the topic had infused him with "an optimism that things can happen," adding that countries seem ready to consider novel solutions to the problem.

Mr. Lagos, a former Chilean president, said leaders also recognize the need for a "new, more sophisticated agreement" to succeed the Kyoto Protocol – the international community's current framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions which expires in 2012 – as well as the necessity for a "clear and definite timetable" on readying a successor pact to be ready to allow countries to make it law in time.

Another climate change envoy, former General Assembly President Han Seung-soo, also said he had been "greatly encouraged" by meeting global leaders, most of whom said that new approaches are crucial.

Speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 developing countries and China, Pakistan's Environment Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat said the Group welcomed the proposal by Mr. Ban to convene a high-level meeting on climate change next month at UN Headquarters in New York.

"With the clock continuing to click," he said, "we need to move fast and act before climate change turns into a climate crisis."

The Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO) Jacques Diouf said his agency supports the Secretary-General's proposed high-level event. Also this fall, FAO will hold its own meeting to discuss world food insecurity and the challenges posed by climate change and bioenergy.

Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC), told reporters that "while climate change is in the essence an environmental issue, it is an issue that can only be solved if an economic answer is provided to it."

International assistance is necessary to aid developing countries, whose "overriding concerns" are economic growth and poverty eradication, to allow them to take measures that are "not justifiable from a national economic point of view, but that are essential from a climate change point of view," he said.

Mr. de Boer added that there is a "general recognition that the Kyoto Protocol in itself is not enough," and that it is essential to reach agreement on a post-2012 mechanism to combat global warming.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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FIRST CHARGES ISSUED BY UN-BACKED KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL IN CAMBODIA

FIRST CHARGES ISSUED BY UN-BACKED KHMER ROUGE TRIBUNAL IN CAMBODIA
New York, Aug 1 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia set up to try Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings and other horrific crimes during the late 1970s has issued its first charges against a member of the notorious group.

Kaing Guek Eav, also known as Duch, now faces charges of crimes against humanity over his role as chief at the S21 prison in the capital, Phnom Penh, during the rule of the Khmer Rouge.

Co-investigating judges at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) said in a statement released in Phnom Penh that Mr. Kaing has been placed in provisional detention following the issuing of charges.

Today Mr. Kaing was assigned a lawyer, Kar Savuth, from the ECCC's defence support section, after he told the tribunal that he could not pay for legal representation. Another lawyer, François Roux, may also be assigned once his application for registration with Cambodia's Bar Association is heard.

Under an agreement signed by the UN and Cambodia, the trial court and a Supreme Court within the Cambodian legal system will investigate those most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979. More than 3 million people were killed during that period.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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UN-BACKED MEETING AIMS TO FOSTER WAYS TO ERADICATE FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

UN-BACKED MEETING AIMS TO FOSTER WAYS TO ERADICATE FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
New York, Aug 1 2007 6:00PM
Dozens of experts from around the world – including representatives from United Nations agencies, religious and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), law enforcement agencies, Government and research institutions – are meeting in Addis Ababa on ways to eradicate the practice of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C).

More than 100 million women and girls worldwide have undergone a form of FGM/C, which has serious physical and psychological effects.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) define this traditional practice as "the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons."

The UNFPA, along with its development partners, convened a Global Technical Consultation on FGM/C running from 30 July to 3 August. Participants are also discussing related issues of sexual and reproductive health, human rights and gender.

In welcoming remarks, the Director of UNFPA's Country Support Office in Addis Ababa, Benson Morah, stressed how entrenched the harmful practice is in some areas.

A collaborative approach including the participation of local communities is key "because the practice of FGM/C is deeply rooted in some of our cultures, and its eradication must also come from changes within those cultures," he noted.

According to UNFPA, FGM/C can result in serious health consequences, ranging from severe pain to haemorrhaging and infection which can be of such magnitude as to result in death. In the longer-term, the practice could result in damage to the urethra, fistulae and infertility. A recent WHO study in six countries confirmed that the more extensive the genital mutilation of a woman the higher her risks are in having obstetric complications.

The agency also states that the practice is a violation of women's basic human rights.

WHO estimates that between 100 and 140 million women and girls have been subjected to FGM/C in 28 African countries and in immigrant communities in Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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SURGE IN GORILLA KILLINGS IN DR CONGO SPARKS CONCERN FROM UN OFFICIAL

SURGE IN GORILLA KILLINGS IN DR CONGO SPARKS CONCERN FROM UN OFFICIAL
New York, Aug 1 2007 5:00PM
The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO) sounded the alarm today over the fate of mountain gorillas living in a national park in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after another four were found slaughtered late last month.

Seven gorillas have now been shot and killed this year, more than during the conflict that wracked Africa's Great Lakes region in the late 1990s, prompting UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura to call on Congolese authorities to introduce urgent measures to try to end the killings.

He also announced that a joint mission involving the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) will head to the DRC later this month to investigate why there has been a surge in gorilla killings.

In the most recent attack, probably on the night of 22 July, four gorillas – one "silverback" male and three females – were killed near Bukima. Two other gorillas, a female and her young, are now missing.

"The disappearance of these gorillas represents not only a tragedy for the preservation of the species, but also the loss of an important source of revenue for local communities," Mr. Matsuura said in a press release issued from UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The killings this year have been concentrated in the southern part of the Virunga National Park, which is close to the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

Virunga was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979 for its outstanding natural habitats, but the gorilla killings have led the World Heritage Committee to inscribe the park on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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TAJIKISTAN: UN CLOSES PEACEBUILDING OFFICE AT END OF MISSION

TAJIKISTAN: UN CLOSES PEACEBUILDING OFFICE AT END OF MISSION
New York, Aug 1 2007 5:00PM
The flag was lowered for the last time yesterday over the United Nations Tajikistan Office of Peace Building (UNTOP), ending the world body's 15-year political presence in the Central Asian country, first to help halt a civil war that killed over 50,000 people and then to further the consolidation of peace.

At the ceremony in Dushanbe, the capital, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Representative Vladimir Sotirov highlighted UNTOP's accomplishments in strengthening national dialogue, helping to build democratic institutions, and in promoting respect for human rights in the former Soviet republic of some 6 million people.

He also recalled the ultimate sacrifice of five UN staff members who were killed while working there for the cause of peace.

In addition, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi thanked the UN for its commitment to his country.

In a recent statement marking the 10th anniversary of peace in Tajikistan, Mr. Ban called UNTOP a successful illustration of the UN working with the Tajik people and the guarantor countries, adding that the past decade had shown that "there is no viable alternative to the road of peace and national reconciliation."

UNTOP was established in May 2000 following the successful completion of the UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT), which monitored the ceasefire between the Government and the opposition as well as the implementation of their peace agreement.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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SIERRA LEONE: UN RADIO EXPANDS COVERAGE WITH 40 NEW REPORTERS DURING ELECTIONS

SIERRA LEONE: UN RADIO EXPANDS COVERAGE WITH 40 NEW REPORTERS DURING ELECTIONS
New York, Aug 1 2007 5:00PM
Radio broadcasts on Sierra Leone's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections will be considerably enhanced thanks to the recruitment of 40 new reporters covering the polling process, the United Nations Integrated Office in the country (UNIOSIL) reported today.

Drawn from all over the country, the temporary staff have just completed a two-day training workshop in Freetown, organized by UNIOSIL's Public Information Office, on balanced and fair elections reporting.

The training involved coverage of political parties' rallies, reporting on voting, counting, tallying and election results, the historical importance of the 2007 polls and gender perspectives.

The temporary radio broadcasters were also briefed on the Political Parties Code of Conduct and the Sierra Leone media code of conduct on objective and fair electoral reporting, UNIOSIL said in a news release.

The new reporters, 16 of whom are women, are all expected to file their reports from 3 to 17 August.

Voters in the small West African nation, which emerged in 2002 from a decade-long civil war, will go to the polls on 11 August.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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UN EMERGENCY FUND PROVIDES $40 MILLION FOR 16 GLOBAL CRISES

UN EMERGENCY FUND PROVIDES $40 MILLION FOR 16 GLOBAL CRISES
New York, Aug 1 2007 4:00PM
The top United Nations humanitarian official today announced a grant of $40 million from the world body's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide life-saving support in 16 so-called forgotten crises around the world.

"These grants will provide vital funding for people caught up in some of the world's most neglected humanitarian crises," said John Holmes, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and manager of the CERF. "By filling gaps in the international response we aim to ensure that assistance will reach those most in need."

The largest recipients of the new funds will be the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the occupied Palestinian territory, Ethiopia, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire and the Central African Republic (CAR).

The countries selected for grants face severe ongoing emergencies, against a backdrop of protracted humanitarian needs and low levels of funding, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/FundingFinance/CERF/tabid/1109/Default.aspx">OCHA).

This is the fourth such disbursement since the launch of the landmark fund in March 2006. Managed by OCHA, it aims to speed up relief operations for humanitarian emergencies and make funds available quickly after a disaster, when people are most at risk.

CERF funding for aid programmes is made available within 72 hours in emergencies, allowing UN agencies on the ground to provide immediate assistance.

To date, the Fund has provided $125 million for humanitarian emergencies.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL DEPARTS FOR TWO-DAY VISIT TO HAITI

SECRETARY-GENERAL DEPARTS FOR TWO-DAY VISIT TO HAITI
New York, Aug 1 2007 4:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon departed New York today for a two-day visit to Haiti, where he will meet with Government officials, as well as representatives from churches, civil society and the private sector.

Tonight, Mr. Ban will attend a dinner hosted by President René Préval, which will be preceded by a joint press conference by the two men, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

Also on Mr. Ban's itinerary is a meeting with the leadership of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minustah/">MINUSTAH), which currently comprises nearly 9,000 uniformed personnel.

Edmond Mulet, the UN Special Representative in Haiti, said that significant progress has been made in the Caribbean nation, partly due to the cooperation between the UN and the Haitian National Police. Security operations in Port-au-Prince, the capital, have helped to restore relative calm to Cité Soleil, Martissant, Grand Ravine and Ti Bois.

Mr. Ban is scheduled to travel from Haiti to Barbados, which holds the current chairmanship of the Caribbean regional cooperation body known as CARICOM, where he will meet with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and the Governor General, as well as with the UN country team.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON ENDORSES NEW INITIATIVE ON DETERMINING KOSOVO'S FUTURE STATUS

BAN KI-MOON ENDORSES NEW INITIATIVE ON DETERMINING KOSOVO'S FUTURE STATUS
New York, Aug 1 2007 4:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed an agreement to have a troika comprised of the European Union, Russian Federation and United States lead further negotiations on the future status of Kosovo, the Serbian province administered by the United Nations since 1999.

"I hope that the new period of engagement will lead to agreement on Kosovo's future status, which remains a priority for the United Nations," Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11111.doc.htm">statement released today.

Stating that the status quo is "not sustainable," he urged the international community to find a solution that is "timely, addresses the key concerns of all communities living in Kosovo and provides clarity for Kosovo's status."

The agreement was arrived at by members of the Contact Group – the US, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and the Russian Federation – which will report back to Mr. Ban by 10 December on the progress of negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade.

It follows a deadlock in the Security Council over a proposal by Mr. Ban's Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari for a phased process of independence for the province, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and others by nine to one. Kosovo's Albanian leadership support independence but Serbia is opposed.

Mr. Ban pledged that the world body will continue to "play a constructive role in the new period of engagement," with the Office of the Special Envoy for Kosovo (UNOSEK) standing by to provide information and clarification on request, as well as continue its major role on the ground.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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HYBRID DARFUR FORCE WILL HELP PROTECT LIVES OF WOMEN, SAYS UN INSTITUTE CHIEF

HYBRID DARFUR FORCE WILL HELP PROTECT LIVES OF WOMEN, SAYS UN INSTITUTE CHIEF
New York, Aug 1 2007 4:00PM
The newly authorized hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur can serve as a major step towards saving the lives of vulnerable women and girls in the violence-wracked Sudanese region, the head of a UN women's institute said today.

Carmen Moreno, Director of the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (<"http://www.un-instraw.org/en/">UN-INSTRAW), said yesterday's Security Council resolution setting up the force "has provided an opportunity to put an end to violence against civilians, especially women, who are in danger."

Ms. Moreno called on the new peacekeeping operation, to be known as UNAMID, to treat the protection of Darfur's women as a priority.

"Training troops and police on gender issues before and during their field deployment will strengthen their ability to prevent the atrocities committed against women," she said. "Violence against women can only be tackled from a gender perspective."
UNAMID is the first hybrid force involving the UN and will become the largest peacekeeping force in the world, with an eventual force of nearly 26,000 troops and police officers.
The mission has been given an initial mandate of 12 months and will incorporate the existing AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), which has been deployed across Darfur since 2004, soon after deadly fighting erupted between rebel groups, Government forces and allied Janjaweed militias.
Since then Darfur has become the scene of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with more than 200,000 people killed and two million others forced to flee their homes. Rape, sexual enslavement, torture and abductions are also widespread.
Ms. Moreno said that rape was being used as a weapon of war, with women and girls – some as young as eight years old – at risk every day, even when living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) or refugees.
She added that women are estimated to represent more than two-thirds of the IDPs scattered across Darfur and the refugees who have fled to neighbouring Chad or the Central African Republic (CAR).
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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ASIAN EXPERTS TAKE PART IN UN MEETING TO PROMOTE REGIONAL TRADE

ASIAN EXPERTS TAKE PART IN UN MEETING TO PROMOTE REGIONAL TRADE
New York, Aug 1 2007 2:00PM
Experts from government, academia and the private sector have gathered today in the Chinese city of Kunming for a United Nations-sponsored meeting set up to identify ways to encourage greater trade within the Asia-Pacific region.

The three-day meeting, which started today, is expected to focus on promoting trade facilitation, agriculture and innovation. It will also look at devising policies to improve the efficiency of existing trade, including by simplifying the international transport of goods.

Trade and economic growth have boomed across much of the Asia-Pacific region in the last decade, but the conference's convenors – the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2007/aug/n37.asp">UNESCAP) – said in a press release that trade barriers still exist in the region and there is room for Asian countries to strengthen their trade relationships.

UNESCAP, which has convened the meeting in collaboration with authorities in China's Yunnan province, also said that about 20 experts are expected to attend.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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ZIMBABWE: UN FOOD AGENCY SEEKS URGENT FUNDS TO FEED OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE

ZIMBABWE: UN FOOD AGENCY SEEKS URGENT FUNDS TO FEED OVER 3 MILLION PEOPLE
New York, Aug 1 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2587">WFP) appealed today for $118 million to assist over three million Zimbabweans facing severe food shortages caused by a poor harvest and worsening economic turmoil in the southern African nation.

"Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are already starting to run out of food and several million more will be reliant on humanitarian assistance by the end of the year," stated WFP's Regional Director for Southern Africa, Amir Abdulla.

WFP has nearly 140,000 tons of food already in stock or in the pipeline for Zimbabwe but still needs another 207,000 tons of cereals and other commodities – valued at $118 million – to cover its increased relief activities from now until the next main harvest in April 2008.

"WFP plans to feed more than 10 times the current number of beneficiaries over the next eight months to avert the threat of widespread hunger, but to do this we need more donations – and we need them immediately," Mr. Abdulla said.

Without assistance, WFP notes that vulnerable families will be forced to adopt "risky survival measures," including eating unsafe wild food, selling household assets, exchanging food for sex and crossing illegally into neighbouring South Africa.

Mr. Abdulla noted that over the past five years, WFP and its partners have helped to save the lives of millions of hungry Zimbabweans, as well as stopped them from having to resort to desperate measures such as prostitution or migration.

"With sufficient funds, WFP will be able to help millions more to cope with this latest crisis," he added.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCIES URGE BREASTFEEDING RIGHT AFTER BIRTH TO REDUCE INFANT DEATHS

UN AGENCIES URGE BREASTFEEDING RIGHT AFTER BIRTH TO REDUCE INFANT DEATHS
New York, Aug 1 2007 1:00PM
Two United Nations agencies have kicked off World Breastfeeding Week today with a call for enabling new mothers to nurse their babies immediately after birth to prevent a significant number of neonatal deaths in developing countries.

"More than one third of child deaths occur during the first fragile month of life," said Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of the UN Children's Fund (<" http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_40463.html">UNICEF). "Early breastfeeding provides critical nutrients, protects infants against deadly diseases and fosters growth and development."

UNICEF estimates that exclusive breastfeeding to the age of six months can prevent the deaths of 1.3 million children under the age of five each year.

The issue is particularly relevant in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest infant mortality rate in the world. Some 10 per cent of all babies there die before the age of one and most neonatal deaths occur at home.

Though the rate of exclusive breastfeeding until the age of six months has more than doubled in the region since 1990 – to 30 per cent – this still leaves hundreds of thousands of children vulnerable to disease and death.

The UN World Health Organization (<" http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/world_breastfeeding_week/en/index.html">WHO) too recommends that all children be exclusively breastfed for six months, and believes colostrum – the sticky, yellowish substance that is rich in antibodies and produced by the mother soon after birth – is the perfect food for every newborn.

Mother's "first milk" not only nourishes, but it also protects and is "just what the baby needs during its first few days," according to WHO.

"In a world where more than 10 million children die before their fifth birthday due to preventable causes, and where malnutrition is still rampant and associated with over half of all childhood deaths, there is simply no time to waste," stated WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, stressing that breastfeeding needs to start in the first hour of life.

However, due to a widespread lack of awareness of its qualities and its key role in contributing to the health and growth of newborns, colostrum is frequently discarded. Feeding water or other liquids deprives babies of a good start in life, notes the agency.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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UN STUDIES USE OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY IN FIGHT AGAINST THE SPREAD OF BIRD FLU

UN STUDIES USE OF SPACE TECHNOLOGY IN FIGHT AGAINST THE SPREAD OF BIRD FLU
New York, Aug 1 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations is taking steps to promote the application of space technology to help Asian-Pacific countries fight bird flu, drawing on its potential as part of an integrated early-warning system to track the virus's path in a region that has suffered by far the largest share of both human and avian infections in the world.

About 60 experts from nearly 20 countries are participating in a three-day meeting opening today in Bangkok, hosted by the Information, Communication and Space Technology Division of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2007/aug/n38.asp">UNESCAP), to examine how the technology can help to track the flight patterns of migratory birds, believed to have played a role in spreading the H5N1 virus.

Jointly organized with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, the China National Space Administration and the Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand, the meeting will look at several potential uses of space-based technologies, such as geographic information systems, remote sensing and the Global Positioning System (GPS). These could, for example, help to monitor and determine the migratory routes of wild birds.

To make an avian influenza monitoring and early warning system effective, a mechanism needs to be set up to systematically collect and share information and participants will discuss ways for countries to cooperate in using space technology, not only to track bird flu but also other infectious diseases, such as malaria and schistosomiasis, a highly debilitating parasitic illness that affects some 200 million people worldwide.

Of the 319 human cases and 192 deaths so far, 256 and 165 respectively have been in the Asia-Pacific region. Experts fear the virus could cause a deadly worldwide pandemic if it mutated into a form more easily transmissible between humans, rather than from birds to people.

For that reason, the UN World Tourism Organization (<"http://www.world-tourism.org/media/news/en/press_det.php?id=1151&idioma=E">UNWTO) recently held its second regional Avian and Human Influenza Simulation in Jakarta, Indonesia, with the support of the Government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to model the impact of an evolving pandemic in the Asia Pacific region.

The 70 participants from more than 15 countries and several UN agencies replicated the roles of government departments, the tourism industry, international bodies and other stakeholders, including tourists themselves. It followed a similar exercise held in Paris in March, which focused on Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

With an estimated 10 million people travelling abroad at any given time and many more within their own countries, UNWTO keeps a close watch on health risks generally and bird flu specifically. While there has been no change in the level of alerts issued by the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en">WHO), the Tourism sector is already taking action to prepare effectively for the potential dangers.

The simulation helped to identify possible gaps in response systems and to understand the pressures and dynamics in a real-world situation. It underscored the need for good planning, clear communications, a fully prepared and trained work force, and unambiguous procedures for customer and workplace safety.

"The Avian Flu threat does not diminish and like other sectors of the economy tourism needs to strengthen its defences," UNWTO Assistant Secretary-General Geoffrey Lipman said. "Every time we hold an awareness-building exercise of this nature we increase preparedness and strengthen our coordination mechanisms."

After conducting its next simulation exercise in Mexico from 19-20 September for the Americas, UNWTO will have trained together with governments and international agencies around the world. This will provide a solid base for intensified national simulations in 2008.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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UN SENDS IN HELICOPTERS, FOOD, MEDICINES TO AID NEPALESE FLOOD VICTIMS

UN SENDS IN HELICOPTERS, FOOD, MEDICINES TO AID NEPALESE FLOOD VICTIMS
New York, Aug 1 2007 11:00AM
With helicopters, food, water purification tablets, blankets and medical supplies United Nations agencies have <" http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SODA-75NA6N?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=npl">rushed emergency aid to tens of thousands of Nepalese hit by floods and landslides, responding rapidly to the Government's request for assistance in the crisis.

"The UN System in Nepal stands fully committed to extend all possible assistance to the people of the affected districts who are suffering from the current natural calamity," UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Matthew Kahane said in an update on the incessant rains that over the past three weeks have triggered floods and landslides in 28 districts of the Himalayan country, killing some 57 people, affecting more than 230,000 others and driving 4,000 families from their homes.

Food, drinking water and temporary shelter have been identified as the major needs. There is a heightened risk of increased deaths and illness in the coming weeks and months due to outbreaks of communicable diseases, most importantly acute respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, vector-borne diseases and snake bites.

The UN Children's Fund (<" http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nepal.html">UNICEF) has provided water purification tablets and flocculent powder to purify water for some 30,000 people in affected areas in Banke, Bardiya, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Rautahat and Karnali Zone. The agency has also sent 6,000 packets of oral rehydration salts through its partners to address the onset of diarrhoea and dysentery that may arise from water contamination, as well as tarpaulins, water buckets and blankets.

The UN Mission in Nepal (<" http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=126&Body=Nepal&Body1=">UNMIN) has made its helicopters available, at the Government's request, and, with financial support from the UN Development Programme (<" http://www.undp.org">UNDP), has flown rescue teams including members of the Nepal Army, police, Red Cross, government officials and UN agencies for evacuation, relief and assessment operations. UNDP is also coordinating with the private sector to facilitate contributions to the overall response.

The UN World Food Programme (<" http://www.wfp.org/english">WFP) is ready to immediately respond with food aid for people displaced by flooding across the Terai if the Government requests such assistance, while the UN World Health Organization (<" http://www.who.int/en">WHO), along with the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division of the Department of Health, is conducting rapid health assessments, introducing post-emergency disease surveillance. Medical supplies have been pre-positioned and new requests are being processed.

For its part, the UN Population Fund (<" http://www.unfpa.org">UNFPA) has provided food and supplies to 1,000 flood victims in Mahottari, including medical support to the district hospital and jail, and its mobile health teams are on alert to go other affected areas as requested.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<" http://ochaonline.un.org">OCHA) has been helping to coordinate structures at all levels, facilitating inter-agency assessments as well as working with the with the Government, Nepalese Red Cross, Army, Police, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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INTENSIVE WORK NEEDED TO REINTEGRATE RETURNING AFGHAN REFUGEES, UN AGENCY WARNS

INTENSIVE WORK NEEDED TO REINTEGRATE RETURNING AFGHAN REFUGEES, UN AGENCY WARNS
New York, Aug 1 2007 10:00AM
The international donor and humanitarian community must work even more intensively to ensure that Afghan refugees returning home are able to resume a normal life, with the lack of land, shelter and jobs posing a very long-term challenge for which there are no quick fixes, the United Nations refugee agency has <" http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/46af528f4.html">warned.

Since 2002, some 5 million Afghan refugees have returned to their battle-scarred homeland, mostly from Pakistan and Iran, a majority aided by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). There are currently 3 million registered Afghans left in neighbouring countries, most of whom have been abroad for more than two decades.

"The return of millions of Afghans to their homes and communities has been one of the major success stories of Afghanistan's recovery," UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations Judy Cheng-Hopkins said yesterday at the end of a three-day visit to see first hand the challenges faced by refugees returning to Afghanistan.

"Repatriation will certainly continue but we will have to work even more intensively with the Government of Afghanistan, the donor community, and our implementing partners if we are to make return and reintegration sustainable for those who choose to return home in future," she added.

She noted that the deteriorating security situation in part of the country and difficult economic conditions underlined how important it will be to continue to maintain a gradual and voluntary approach to repatriation.

"The primary responsibility lies with the government of Afghanistan. But UNHCR will look closely at how we and our partners will need to work from now on to meet the reintegration needs of the long staying population," she declared.

Ms. Cheng-Hopkins left Afghanistan yesterday for Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, to extend the Tripartite Agreement governing the voluntary repatriation of refugees from Pakistan. The agreement, first signed in 2003, is a joint programme between the Governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan and UNHCR to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.

From Pakistan, she goes to Iran, where there are currently just over 900,000 registered Afghan refugees. The main purpose of her mission to Afghnaistan, where she met with senior Government officials, was to review UNHCR's activities in the country, one of the agency's most important operations in the world alongside Iraq and Sudan.

She visited one of the busiest returnee centres, close to Kabul, the capital, where she met with families as they received a UNHCR cash grant for transport and reintegration expenses and prepared to travel onwards to resettle in their places of origin. She then went to Parwan province to see a land allocation site.
2007-08-01 00:00:00.000

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DECISIVE GLOBAL ACTION NEEDED TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE, SAY TOP UN OFFICIALS

DECISIVE GLOBAL ACTION NEEDED TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE, SAY TOP UN OFFICIALS
New York, Jul 31 2007 7:00PM
Top United Nations officials joined leading experts today in urging decisive action on a global scale to combat the challenges posed by climate change.

"We cannot continue with business as usual," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11108.doc.htm">told a General Assembly <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/ga10607.doc.htm">meeting on the issue at UN Headquarters in New York, citing the findings of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which affirmed earlier this year that global warming is directly linked to human activity.

Mr. Ban called for "new thinking" to tackle the challenge, since how it is addressed "will define us, our era, and ultimately, our global legacy."

The Secretary-General is convening a high-level meeting on climate change when the new Assembly session starts in September.

In his statement today, Mr. Ban also highlighted the need for a comprehensive agreement under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to deal with the matter. The Kyoto Protocol -- the international community's current framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions -- expires in 2012, and he said that countries must agree to a successor pact to be ready for ratification three years before that date to allow countries to make it law in time.

A "Greening the UN" project has been launched to minimize the world body"s impact on the environment, he added.

Also voicing the need for urgent action, the President of the General Assembly emphasized the "cruel irony" of the disproportionate effects of climate change on the countries least responsible for it.

"Greater variations of rainfall, combined with rising sea levels, will lead to more extreme weather, particularly in parts of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America," Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa said, at the opening of today's meeting.

"We therefore have a special responsibility to he
affected to adapt to climate change."

She added that this assistance, which includes investing in climate-friendly energy production and energy efficiency, as well as technology transfers, will help to ensure the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of targets aimed at slashing a host of social and economic ills by 2015.

Such efforts "should not be at the cost of economic growth, but to achieve it," she said, noting that "a global consensus can only be secured if all countries can share in the benefits from action to address" climate change.

Sheikha Haya also said the debate itself was "carbon neutral," with the carbon emissions from both UN Headquarters and from the air travel to bring experts to New York having been off-set by investment in a biomass fuel project in Kenya.

The two-day plenary session that kicked off today is the first-ever devoted exclusively to climate change, seeking to translate the growing scientific consensus on the problem into a broad political consensus for action following alarming UN reports earlier this year on its potentially devastating effects. The event will include a thematic debate and interactive panel discussions with climate change experts.

The meeting seeks to build momentum towards the high-level meeting in September and the upcoming negotiations under the Climate Change Convention in December in Bali, Indonesia.
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES HYBRID UN-AFRICAN UNION OPERATION IN DARFUR

SECURITY COUNCIL AUTHORIZES HYBRID UN-AFRICAN UNION OPERATION IN DARFUR
New York, Jul 31 2007 6:00PM
The Security Council today approved the creation of a hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to quell the violence and instability plaguing the Darfur region of Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and two million others forced to flee their homes.

In what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called a "historic and unprecedented resolution," Council members unanimously backed the establishment of a force of nearly 20,000 military personnel and more than 6,000 police officers.

The hybrid operation – to be known as UNAMID – has an initial mandate of 12 months and will incorporate the existing AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), which has been deployed across Darfur since 2004. It will become the largest peacekeeping force in the world.

By October UNAMID is scheduled to have its management, command and control structures in place, and then by the end of the year it is expected to be ready to take over operations from AMIS.

Since fighting erupted between rebel groups, Government forces and allied Janjaweed militias in 2003, UN officials have repeatedly described Darfur as the scene of one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. More than 200,000 people have been killed and the conflict has spilled into neighbouring Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).

"You are sending a clear and powerful signal of your commitment to improve the lives of the people of the region, and close this tragic chapter in Sudan's history," Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11110.doc.htm">told the Council after it <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9089.doc.htm">voted for the resolution authorizing the force.

Stressing the need to move rapidly to ensure UNAMID can deploy on time, he called on Member States to contribute troops and police officers and urged the Sudanese Government and the rebel groups to immediately end hostilities and give their "unequivocal and continuous support" to the force.

UNAMID is tasked with acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to support the "early and effective implementation" of last year's Darfur Peace Agreement between the Government and the rebels, and it is also mandated to protect civilians, prevent armed attacks and ensure the security of aid workers and its own personnel and facilities.

Command and control structures and backstopping for UNAMID will be provided by the UN, today's resolution added, and the operation will also have a single chain of command.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told reporters that "enormous work" would be required between now and the end of the year to make sure that UNAMID can start operations on time.

The resolution has been adopted just days before the UN and AU Special Envoys for Darfur, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, host "pre-negotiation talks" in Arusha, Tanzania, with those rebel groups and militias that have not signed the Darfur Peace Agreement.
Mr. Ban said it was critical that the three-day meeting starting on Friday "yield positive results so as to pave the way for negotiations and, ultimately, a peace agreement. Only in this way can we end the violence and destruction that have afflicted Darfur for more than three years."
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES GREATER EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE ANTI-POVERTY TARGETS

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES GREATER EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE ANTI-POVERTY TARGETS
New York, Jul 31 2007 6:00PM
Stating that the world was "seriously off track" to reaching some of its shared anti-poverty goals by the target date of 2015, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for urgently stepped-up efforts to achieve the objectives on time.

"For the next seven and a half years, every day is a new day for us to make a difference for millions of people around the world," Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11107.doc.htm">said today in New York, urging more concerted action towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs) – the set of eight targets for slashing poverty and other social and economic ills, all by 2015.

Mr. Ban's call for action came at the launch of a new initiative by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown who, during his first visit to United Nations Headquarters since taking office last month, today announced a global partnership for development involving government and business leaders.

The Secretary-General hailed Mr. Brown's "deep and genuine commitment to development," and his proposal for a summit-level meeting on the Goals at the UN next year, saying that, to make such an event a success, the entire membership of the world body will need to be fully engaged in the preparations and follow-up.

A mid-point progress report on the MDGs, presented by Mr. Ban earlier this month, showed that the Goals remain achievable in most countries, but only if political leaders in rich and poor nations take urgent and concerted action.

Calling the 2015 target date a "goalpost that cannot be moved," Mr. Ban stressed today the need to "infuse our mission with the urgency it requires."

"As we reach the halfway point to that date, the clock is ticking louder every day," he stated, adding that reaching the Goals on time will require strengthened partnerships between developed and developing countries and "innovative and bold" contributions from business, civil society and faith groups.

"Some say we will not make it," he said. "But I say we still can."
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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UN REITERATES CALL ON GUATEMALA TO BACK PROPOSED BODY TO PROBE ARMED GROUPS

UN REITERATES CALL ON GUATEMALA TO BACK PROPOSED BODY TO PROBE ARMED GROUPS
New York, Jul 31 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations today reiterated its call on Guatemala to "seize this opportunity" to set up a proposed independent body to investigate illegal armed groups in the Central American country on the eve of a vote in the national legislature tomorrow.

A UN commissioner and experts would work with Guatemalan prosecutors to combat organized crime and impunity as part of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (to be known as CICIG, its Spanish acronym). The Commission will have an initial mandate of two years under the proposal.

Speaking to reporters, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe reiterated a statement by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this month urging Guatemala to take the opportunity "to use international assistance to strengthen its national judicial institutions in the fight against impunity in a way that is fully respectful of Guatemalan sovereignty."

Ms. Okabe added that the UN was committed to doing everything it could to make CICIG a success.

The Commission will be able to conduct its own investigations and also help local institutions, particularly the Office of the Public Prosecutor. While it will be an independent, non-UN body, its commissioner will be appointed by the Secretary-General and report periodically to him.

One of its tasks is to recommend public policies and any legal or institutional measures for eradicating the illegal armed groups and preventing their re-emergence. The costs are expected to be borne by voluntary contributions from the international community.
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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UN, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS TO STEP UP CONTACTS WITH RECONCILIATION BODY IN SOMALIA

UN, INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS TO STEP UP CONTACTS WITH RECONCILIATION BODY IN SOMALIA
New York, Jul 31 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations and its international partners in the search for peace in Somalia plan to step up their contacts with the country's National Reconciliation Congress in an effort to bring stability to a faction-riven land that has had no functioning central government for 16 years.

The UN led a delegation of the International Advisory Group to Mogadishu, the Somali capital, over the weekend to attend and receive an update on Congress's ongoing work.

"The delegation expressed its intention for members of the international community to have henceforth a frequent presence at the Congress," UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told a news briefing in New York today.

The delegation was led by the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for Somalia, Per Lindgarde, and included representatives from Norway, Sweden, Italy, Yemen and Egypt.

In addition to their conversations with delegates and organizers of the Congress, the group also met with representatives of the Transitional Federal Government (TGF) and with the Hawiye Council.

Hostilities in the country flared up again last year, culminating in the expulsion from Mogadishu in December of Islamist groups by the TFG, backed by Ethiopian troops.

According to UN figures, 340,000 people, or roughly one-third of Mogadishu's population, have fled the city in ongoing hostilities since February.
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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UN REGIONAL LITERACY CONFERENCE KICKS OFF IN BEIJING

UN REGIONAL LITERACY CONFERENCE KICKS OFF IN BEIJING
New York, Jul 31 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38881&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO) is holding a conference in Beijing starting today to help tackle illiteracy in East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific, where women make up nearly seven out of every 10 people who cannot read and write.

Education ministers, experts, civil society representatives and First Ladies from across the region have gathered in the Chinese capital for the two-day conference, which is focusing on encouraging partnerships and promoting innovative approaches to reducing illiteracy.

Almost 92 per cent of people in East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific can read and write, but the figures vary widely from country to country and the region as a whole suffers from a persistent gender gap, with women comprising 70 per cent of the illiterate population.

The conference is designed to trigger individual States to do more to promote literacy through measures such as building up their investment in literacy programmes and integrating such programmes into wider education strategies.

This week's gathering is the second of six regional meetings on global literacy to be held before the end of next year. They follow on from the White House Conference on Global Literacy, held in New York in September last year. That conference was hosted by United States First Lady Laura Bush, who is also a Honorary Ambassador for the UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012) and UNESCO's Literacy Initiative for Empowerment.
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS KILLING OF TWO KOREAN HOSTAGES IN AFGHANISTAN

BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS KILLING OF TWO KOREAN HOSTAGES IN AFGHANISTAN
New York, Jul 31 2007 2:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today spoke out against the recent killing of two South Korean nationals abducted in Afghanistan nearly two weeks ago, calling for the safe return of the remaining detainees, including several women.

"The Secretary-General deplores the killing of two of the hostages from the Republic of Korea held by the Taliban," his spokesperson said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2690">statement.

Deeply concerned for the safety and welfare of those still being detained – 21 Korean hostages, as well as a German national and four Afghans – Mr. Ban notes that these hostages include "many young women who came to help the people of Afghanistan and they should not be made part of the conflict in that country."

Mr. Ban "fully supports the Afghan authorities in their continuing efforts to ensure the safe return of all those being held against their will," the spokesperson added.
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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CYPRUS: UN MISSION WELCOMES EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S SUPPORT FOR DE-MINING PROJECTS

CYPRUS: UN MISSION WELCOMES EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S SUPPORT FOR DE-MINING PROJECTS
New York, Jul 31 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unficyp/index.html">UNFICYP) today lauded the signing of a €4 million contract between the European Commission (EC) and the UN Development Programme (<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/;jsessionid=aTn_2HxooEb8">UNDP) to clear remaining mines inside the buffer zone patrolled by the world body.

In a press release, the mission commended the EC for its continued financial assistance "to continue the important task of rendering the buffer zone free of all mines and ultimately returning the land to civilian use."

To date, the UNDP – through its Partnership for the Future, Mine Action Centre programme which was launched in November 2004 – has released more than 2 million square metres of land and removed over 2,800 mines from the Mediterranean island.

Last November, Nicosia, the capital, was declared mine-free after the Partnership cleared the area of its last mines, capping off a two-year campaign.

UNFICYP pledged its full support to the Partnership in completing "this important work" in the buffer zone, which is 180 kilometres long and covers around three per cent of the surface area of Cyprus.
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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BAN-KI MOON TO SEE UN REHABILITATION EFFORTS IN HAITI DURING UPCOMING VISIT

BAN-KI MOON TO SEE UN REHABILITATION EFFORTS IN HAITI DURING UPCOMING VISIT
New York, Jul 31 2007 1:00PM
When Ban Ki-moon arrives in Haiti tomorrow for a 24-hour tour, he will witness efforts by the United Nations in the fields of security, the economy and the judiciary that have fostered progress since the last visit by a Secretary-General to the impoverished Caribbean country a year ago, the UN mission there said today.

Notorious flashpoints of violence in Port-au-Prince, the capital, such as Cité Soleil, Martissant, Grand Ravine, Ti Bois, where residents were once terrorized by armed gangs, now enjoy relative calm thanks to security operations carried out by the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (<"http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/minustah">MINUSTAH) together with the Haitian National Police (HNP).

"We have made significant progress, even if the situation is still fragile," MINUSTAH's head and the Secretary-General's Special Representative Edmond Mulet said, noting that the cooperation between the UN and the PNH helped reduce the "confrontation and animosity" that existed between the gangs.

In an article on its website, MINUSTAH pointed to the professionalization of the HNP with its organizational, administrative and operational capacities reinforced. Some 30 trainers from the UN mission together with national trainers are involved in preparing cadets at the police academy.

Technical advisers are also on hand at police stations, departmental headquarters and in joint patrols, according to the mission.

On the judicial front, important work is under way to guarantee the independence of magistrates, judges and the whole legal system.

These measures combine to contribute to a greater sense of stability, considered essential to encouraging foreign investment, fostering job creation and re-establishing tourism in Haiti.

Mr. Mulet said that economic gains were also encouraging, citing the reduction in inflation and relations between the Government and the International Monetary Fund (<"http://www.imf.org/external">IMF), the <"http://www.worldbank.org">World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and bilateral lenders.

During his visit Mr. Ban will meet with the President René Préval, Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis and Justice Minister René Magloire, as well as with the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament, to discuss the great challenges lying ahead.

He will also visit Cité Soleil to see first hand the evolution of a social and development project set up by international partners including the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org">UNICEF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the inter-governmental International Organization for Migration (IOM).
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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PLAY ON - MUSIC SERVES AS TOOL IN UN-BACKED PLAN FOR PEACEFUL ELECTIONS IN SIERRA LEONE

PLAY ON - MUSIC SERVES AS TOOL IN UN-BACKED PLAN FOR PEACEFUL ELECTIONS IN SIERRA LEONE
New York, Jul 31 2007 10:00AM
If music be the food of love, then it can also serve to promote peaceful elections in a country recovering from a disastrous decade-long civil war. Such is the updating of the famous line from Shakespeare adapted by the United Nations and its partners to fit the upcoming polls in Sierra Leone.

More than a dozen well-known area musicians are touring the Sierra Leone countryside in a series of peace-promoting concerts as the small West African country prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections on 11 August, the second since it emerged in 2002 from a brutal conflict that saw thousands killed and many others with their limbs cut off in a terror-campaign of mutilation.

"Music is one of the most important resources of Sierra Leone," UN Development Programme (<"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2007/july/musicians-elections.en">UNDP) Resident Representative Victor Angelo says. "These young people represent what is best about the country, and the UN is proud to support them so that their message of peace reaches all the citizens of their country."

The initiative, "Artists for Peace," is being jointly organized by UNDP, the Government's National Communications Strategy Project, the Centre for the Coordination of Youth Activities (CCYA) and the participating artists, who will perform in several cities, with each concert encouraging political tolerance and non-violence.

Popular musicians such as Wahid, Daddy Ish, Cee Jay, Velma and Camouflage are among the line-up for the peace rallies scheduled for several locations in Freetown, the capital, and in the provinces in Makeni, Bo, Kenema and Kono.

"Elections are meant to uplift the lives of all citizens," Velma, one of the lead female musicians in her self-titled group, says. "We want to use our voices to encourage people to exercise their civic rights in a peaceful manner and to remain tolerant of each other."
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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DESPITE PROGRESS TOO MANY CHILDREN IN NIGER STILL FACE ALARMING MALNUTRITION, UN WARNS

DESPITE PROGRESS TOO MANY CHILDREN IN NIGER STILL FACE ALARMING MALNUTRITION, UN WARNS
New York, Jul 31 2007 10:00AM
As the impoverished West African country of Niger enters the "lean season," when food from the last harvest runs out, too many children are still at risk of malnutrition despite much progress made over the past two years, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) <" http://www.unicef.org/media/media_40443.html">warned today.

Although a lot has been done to improve the situation, "we must be ready and must scale up the response to save thousands child lives at risk during the lean season," UNICEF country representative Akhil Iyer said.

"Improvement of the situation will come only from a sustained support to improve access to health care, access to life-saving information and practices, especially for women, access to education, especially for girls, and rural and community development."

The latest national nutrition survey reveals that the proportion of children suffering from acute malnutrition is contained at 11.2 per cent at the national level, down from 15.3 per cent in October 2005. More importantly, as compared to October 2005, the severe form of acute malnutrition has been cut in half, illustrating the impact of the large scale intervention put in place in response to the 2005 food crisis.

"It means that thousands of child lives were saved but it also means that far too many child lives are on the brink" UNICEF's Nutrition Chief in Niger Noel Zagre said.

The national average, however, conceals alarming disparities and trends at the regional level and for different age groups with children under three the most affected: 15.5 per cent of these are acutely malnourished. The situation is especially worrying in the region of Agadez, Diffa, Maradi and Zinder where severe acute malnutrition in those under three has sharply increased in the last months.

In two regions, acute malnutrition is above the emergency threshold of more than 15 per cent, revealing a recent and significant deterioration in children under five. The global acute malnutrition rate is at a troubling 19.6 per cent in Diffa and at 17.5 per cent in Agadez. In Maradi and Zinder, considered as prime farming areas, the situation is critical. Acute malnutrition rates increased sharply in the last six months, now respectively at 11.8 per cent and 14.2 per cent.

High rates of malnutrition in young children are rooted in the lack of access to age-appropriate food and feeding practices and the lack of access to basic health services. The situation is compounded by the lack of access of women and caregivers to life-saving information, education and support within a context of massive and pervasive poverty.

In response UNICEF is stepping up its support to the Government in coordinating a network of 21 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to provide therapeutic care for children not yet covered by the more than 900 facility and community-based feeding centres already operational. UNICEF provides staff training, therapeutic foods, essential medicine, anthropometric equipment and monitoring and counseling to nutritional centers.

In cooperation with the UN World Food Programme (<" http://www.wfp.org/english">WFP) UNICEF is also seeking to provide all children under three in all the regions, except Niamey, with free supplementary food for two months. In Diffa, the operation will be extended to all children under five and to pregnant and lactating women and will include de-worming and vitamin A supplementation.

Other measures include intensified community-based activities to prevent children from slipping into malnutrition and identify and refer malnourished children to care and feeding centers and increased emphasis on improved infant feeding practices, such as exclusive breastfeeding and age-appropriate additional foods together with vitamin and mineral supplementation, de-worming and malaria control.
2007-07-31 00:00:00.000

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UN WELCOMES START OF DISARMAMENT PROCESS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

UN WELCOMES START OF DISARMAMENT PROCESS IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE
New York, Jul 30 2007 6:00PM
United Nations officials in Côte d'Ivoire welcomed a "flame of peace" ceremony held there today to officially launch the disarmament process by setting fire to weapons handed over by rebels.

Abou Moussa, the Officer-in-Charge of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (<"http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/unoci">UNOCI), and a delegation of senior officials attended today's ceremony in the northern town of Bouaké, a stronghold of the former Forces Nouvelles rebel group.

President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro each set fire to the stockpiled weapons during the ceremony, which was also attended by Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaoré, the facilitator of the peace process in Côte d'Ivoire, as well as by the heads of State of South Africa, Togo, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Benin, and representatives of Angola, Ghana, Niger, Senegal and the international community.

"The important symbolism of the event marks the determination of the Ivorian authorities to reunify their country and their commitment to taking all the necessary steps, as outlined in the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, that would lead to the holding of credible elections," UNOCI said in a press release issued in Abidjan.

The Ouagadougou deal, reached in March, is an attempt to heal the divide in Côte d'Ivoire, which has been split between the Government-controlled south and the Forces Nouvelles-held north since 2002.
The pact calls, among other steps, for: creating a new transitional government; organizing free and fair presidential elections; merging the Forces Nouvelles and the national defence and security forces through the establishment of an integrated command centre; dismantling the militias, disarming ex-combatants and enrolling them in civil services programmes; and replacing the "zone of confidence" separating north and south with a green line to be monitored by UNOCI.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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LEBANON: UN FORCE SHARPENS SKILLS WITH LIVE FIRE TRAINING EXERCISE

LEBANON: UN FORCE SHARPENS SKILLS WITH LIVE FIRE TRAINING EXERCISE
New York, Jul 30 2007 6:00PM
The Field Artillery Group, part of the Quick Reaction Force of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (<" http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/index.html">UNIFIL) carried out a major live fire training exercise today to hone its skills and expertise.

"The Quick Reaction Force's field artillery battle group was already highly trained to conduct fire missions in support of UNIFIL before being deployed to Lebanon," said Major Bertrand Taddei, an officer involved in the exercise, which was held near the Force's headquarters at Naqoura in southern Lebanon.

"However every professional soldier needs to regularly hone his skills. Training is of the utmost importance to guarantee the accuracy needed to avoid any collateral damage in the case of combat action," he added.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) cooperated in ensuring security, both at sea and on the ground.

To limit any potential disturbance to the local population, targets for the exercise were located at sea to reduce noise in any inhabited area and the firing position was located between the coastal road to Naqoura and the shoreline to prevent blocking local traffic.

In a six-hour period, the battle group fired 76 rounds of artillery at targets located off the coastline, the mission stated.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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CONVICTION OF GOVERNMENT SOLDIERS IN DR CONGO WELCOMED BY UN MISSION

CONVICTION OF GOVERNMENT SOLDIERS IN DR CONGO WELCOMED BY UN MISSION
New York, Jul 30 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today welcomed the conviction by a Congolese court of nine Government soldiers for killing 31 unarmed civilians last year.

The court in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province in the north-east of the country, found nine defendants guilty of war crimes, rape, arson, pillaging and murder, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York.

The court handed down lengthy sentences, including life in prison for the leader of the assault on 11 August 2006.

Most of the victims had been displaced by the violence in the vast Central African nation in recent years.

The UN mission, known as <" http://www.monuc.org/Home.aspx?lang=en">MONUC, said that although the ruling sends a strong message again impunity in the DRC, much remains to be done, including the prosecution of other similar cases.

In a related development, a UN independent expert said that violence against women in the DRC "seems to be perceived by large sectors of society to be normal."

Yakin Ertürk, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, <" http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/A4F381EEA9D4AB63C12573280031FBF3?OpenDocument">observed in a statement that "tragically, in a resource-rich country like DRC, poverty is all too striking and women disproportionately bear its hardships and burden."

Ms. Ertürk visited the country from 16 to 27 July, and focused primarily on sexual violence, which she said "is rampant and committed by non-state armed groups, the Armed Forces of the DRC, the National Congolese Police and increasingly also by civilians."

The situation in South Kivu province – which she said is the worst crisis she has come across so far – must be addressed immediately, she said.

The South Kivu Provincial Synergie on Sexual Violence, which brings together Government, UN and civil society representatives, has recorded 4,500 sexual violence cases in the first half of this year.

"The real number of cases is certainly many times higher as most victims live in inaccessible areas, are afraid to report or did not survive the violence," the Rapporteur said.

The atrocities – mostly committed by foreign non-state armed groups – are "of an unimaginable brutality that goes far beyond rape" and are "structured around rape and sexual slavery and aim at the complete physical and psychological destruction of women with implications for the entire society," she noted.

So far, the DRC armed forces, known as FARDC, have not been able to halt the violence against women in South Kivu. Therefore, Ms. Ertürk said, the international community and the Government must act urgently to bring an end to such atrocities.

The FARDC, the National Congolese Police (PNC) and other State security forces also commit acts of sexual violence which is not isolated to the country's troubled east. Particularly troubling is that major perpetrators of grave human rights violations are not excluded from being integrated into the regular armed forces, thus allowing a high number of such men to assume high ranks in the military.

The Rapporteur voiced alarm that in Equateur Province, the PNC and FARDC launch reprisal attacks targeting civilians and involving "indiscriminate pillaging, torture and mass rape." Last December, the 70 members of the PNC took revenge for the burning of a police station by torturing civilians and raping over three dozen women, as well as an 11-year-old girl, and yet no police officers have been charged or arrested, she said.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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NEPAL: UN ELECTION PROCESS MONITORS TO START SECOND VISIT THIS WEEK

NEPAL: UN ELECTION PROCESS MONITORS TO START SECOND VISIT THIS WEEK
New York, Jul 30 2007 6:00PM
United Nations election monitors will this week begin their second visit to Nepal as part of the world body's efforts to support the staging of Constituent Assembly polls there later this year.

The five-member UN Electoral Expert Monitoring Team (EEMT), which reports to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is responsible for reviewing all technical aspects of the Constituent Assembly electoral process and monitoring the conduct of the polls themselves.

The Assembly elections are scheduled for 22 November in the Himalayan nation, where a decade-long armed conflict that killed some 13,000 people came to a formal end when the Government and the Maoists signed a peace accord late last year.

The polls were to have been held in mid-June but had to be postponed because regulations governing the process were not ready. November was the next earliest available date because of the monsoon season and several major national holidays.

Last week, the top UN envoy in Nepal told reporters that while the peace process seems to be on track, it is vital to create a conducive political and security climate for the holding of credible Assembly elections.

Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for Nepal Ian Martin said that "considerable challenges" remain before the polls can be successfully staged.
Although the country's peace process started out focused primarily on ending the conflict between the Maoists and the State, it has become increasingly more complicated as traditionally marginalized groups ask for fair representation in the process, he noted, calling for greater dialogue with the marginalized groups.
The EEMT's report on its first visit to Nepal, held last month, was submitted by Mr. Ban to the Nepalese Government and the nation's Chief Election Commissioner earlier this month.

Established by the <" http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/index.html">Security Council, the EEMT's members are appointed directly by the Secretary-General and the team is not a part of the UN Mission in Nepal (<" http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=126&Body=Nepal&Body1=">UNMIN). The mission's Electoral Assistance Office provides separate technical assistance to Nepal's Election Commission.

Rafael Lopez-Pintor of Spain is the leader of the EEMT, and its other members are Ayman Ayoub (Syria), Stefanie Luthy (Switzerland), Antonio Reis (Brazil) and Bong-Scuk Sohn (Republic of Korea).
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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ATTACKS AGAINST AFGHAN SCHOOLS CONTINUES TO DISRUPT EDUCATION - UN

ATTACKS AGAINST AFGHAN SCHOOLS CONTINUES TO DISRUPT EDUCATION – UN
New York, Jul 30 2007 5:00PM
Security incidents in schools and threats against students and teachers in Afghanistan have spiked in recent months, disrupting education in the country, which this year has seen some of the worst violence since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, according to the United Nations mission there.

"Over 30 attacks against schools, many involving the torching or blowing up of school premises have been reported in all parts of the country from January until June," Nilab Mobarez, Information Officer with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (<"http://www.unama-afg.org/Index.htm">UNAMA), said at a press conference in Kabul today.

Deliberate attacks on girls and female teachers have resulted in at least four deaths and six injuries so far this year, he told reporters.

According to estimates by the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org">UNICEF), 262 of the total 740 schools in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Zabul are currently unable to provide education to their students.

"UNAMA appeals to all parties concerned for the resumption of normal education activities across the country, particularly in the south, so that boys and girls can exercise their right to education in a peaceful and secure environment," Mr. Mobarez said.

Speaking out recently against continued attacks against schools and schoolchildren, Catherine Mbengue, UNICEF's Representative in Afghanistan, expressed the agency's concern at the incidents and intimidation in some communities aimed at stopping families from sending children to school. "Schools of course are a visible sign of reconstruction and progress, and there are those who perhaps fear such progress," she stated.

UNICEF continues to be in discussion with local leaders, village elders and religious leaders to identify ways in which education can be continued, she said, adding that the agency stands ready to support any initiative "that will keep children learning in safety."
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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WOMEN'S ADVOCATE, QATARI AMBASSADOR CHOSEN TO HEAD UN REGIONAL BODIES

WOMEN'S ADVOCATE, QATARI AMBASSADOR CHOSEN TO HEAD UN REGIONAL BODIES
New York, Jul 30 2007 4:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has named a leading women's rights advocate from Singapore and the former Qatari ambassador to the United States to head up the world body's regional arms working to advance economic and social development in Asia.

Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore will head the Bangkok-based UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/unis/sub_unis/press_releases.asp">ESCAP), UN spokesperson Marie Okabe announced today in New York.

Ms. Heyzer has been "the first executive director from the South to head the UN Development Fund for Women (<"http://www.unifem.org">UNIFEM), where she has worked to promote women's empowerment and gender equality," she stated.

She will replace Kim Hak-Su of the Republic of Korea, who has held the post of Executive Secretary of ESCAP since 2000.

Mr. Ban also appointed <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sga1079.doc.htm">Bader Al-Dafa of Qatar as the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (<"http://www.escwa.org.lb">ESCWA).

His long and distinguished career includes representing his country in the Russian Federation, France, Egypt and Spain, and most recently in the United States where he also served as Qatar's observer at the Organization of American States.

Mr. Al-Dafa will begin his Beirut-based appointment in early August, Ms. Okabe stated.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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IN FIRST PLENARY ON CLIMATE CHANGE, GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO SEEK SPEEDY ACTION

IN FIRST PLENARY ON CLIMATE CHANGE, GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO SEEK SPEEDY ACTION
New York, Jul 30 2007 3:00PM
The United Nations General Assembly tomorrow <" http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/ga10606.doc.htm">opens its first-ever plenary session devoted exclusively to climate change, seeking to translate the growing scientific consensus on the problem into a broad political consensus for action following alarming UN reports earlier this year on its potentially devastating effects.

The two-day meeting features interactive panel discussions with climate change experts, a plenary debate with statements on national strategies and international commitments by Member States, as well as addresses by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and two of his Special Envoys on climate change, former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos and former Korean Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo.

"This debate is a testimony to the political importance of addressing climate change," General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa said. "We will need political action if we are to protect our environment, secure our planet and safeguard our future, for our children and generations to come. This is one of the greatest challenges of our time."

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<" http://www.ipcc.ch">IPCC) reported this year that the world's temperature warmed by .74°C during the last century and that it is likely to rise 3°C in this century unless measures are taken to reduce the rate of warming. The IPCC found that the evidence that warming was occurring is unequivocal and that it is due to human activities.

The debate, featuring prominent scientists, business leaders and UN officials, is expected to raise awareness and momentum for action in preparation for the Secretary-General's High Level Event on climate change in September.

The debate is being billed as "carbon neutral" since emissions from air travel to bring experts to New York and the entire carbon-dioxide emissions of the UN Headquarters are being off-set by investment in a biomass fuel project in Kenya, Sheikha Haya said.

The fuel switch project in Kenya supports the use of agricultural waste instead of traditional fossil fuels to power a crude palm oil refinery, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating new economic opportunities for local farmers.

Mr. Ban has made urgent international action to curb climate change a hallmark of his office since he became UN Secretary-General in January. Just last Friday he warned that failure to act would have grave consequences for all countries.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN MISSION IN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN MISSION IN ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA
New York, Jul 30 2007 3:00PM
The Security Council today agreed to <" http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9086.doc.htm">extend the mandate by six months of the United Nations peacekeeping mission monitoring the ceasefire that ended the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000, voicing concern about the ongoing tensions between the two African neighbours.

In a unanimous resolution, Council members said repeated violations by both sides of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) along the border, and continued delays in the demarcation of that border, were creating a "potentially unstable security situation."

The resolution called on Eritrea to immediately withdraw its troops and heavy military equipment from the TSZ and on Ethiopia to reduce the number of additional military forces recently introduced in areas next to the TSZ, and urged both sides to de-escalate the situation by returning to December 2004 levels of deployment.

Ethiopia and Eritrea should show maximum restraint towards each other, refraining from threats of force or ending their exchange of hostile statements, the resolution added.

Earlier this month, in a report to the Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had asked that the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmee/index.html">UNMEE) be extended until the end of January next year – a request the Council endorsed today.

The Council resolution and Mr. Ban's report also reiterated previous appeals to Eritrea to lift all restrictions it has imposed on UNMEE's movement and operations, and said it would reconsider any changes to UNMEE depending on future progress towards demarcation.

The demarcation of the border has stalled despite the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) handing down a final and binding decision in 2002, and today's resolution voiced frustration at the lack of recent progress on the issue.

It stressed that Ethiopia and Eritrea also have primary responsibility for implementing the Algiers Agreements, the pacts which ended the border war in 2000, and called on the two countries to take concrete steps to resume and complete the demarcation process.

The EEBC has convened a meeting with Ethiopia and Eritrea in New York on 6 September, a move that has been welcomed by the Council.

The 15-member panel also welcomed a recent letter from the Ethiopian Foreign Minister to the Council President saying that his Government has accepted the EEBC border decision without preconditions, and called on Ethiopia to immediately take action to enable the Commission to carry out that decision.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN ENVOY CONGRATULATES IRAQ ON CAPTURING FOOTBALL'S ASIAN CUP

TOP UN ENVOY CONGRATULATES IRAQ ON CAPTURING FOOTBALL'S ASIAN CUP
New York, Jul 30 2007 2:00PM
Congratulating Iraq's football team on its victory in the Asian Cup, the senior United Nations envoy in Baghdad today urged the people of the war-torn country to realize this potential for victory in other aspects of their national life.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, said in a statement that "the determination and ability that Iraqis brought to the game was a reminder that Iraq possesses so much potential."

He also <" http://www.uniraq.org">urged Iraqis "to come together to realize it in other aspects of the nation's life."

Last week, the Special Representative condemned two bomb attacks reportedly claiming the lives of more than 50 football fans after the Iraqi team's semi-final victory.

In a related development, Mr. Qazi – recalling previous statements urging the abolition of the death penalty in Iraq – deplored the execution of a man convicted of participation in the August 2003 attack on United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello and claimed the lives of 21 others.

Awraz Abdul-Aziz Mahmoud Sa'id, also known as Abu Umar Al-Kurdi, was convicted to death by the Iraqi Central Criminal Court on 30 March 2006 after being convicted for several terror-related offences. His death sentence was upheld by the Court of Cassation last August and subsequently ratified by the Presidency Council.

In a statement issued yesterday, Mr. Qazi "stressed the importance of fair trial principles that must be applied during criminal proceedings in the context of the fight against impunity, and in accordance with Human Rights Treaties to which Iraq is a signatory."

The UN rejects the death penalty, including in cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The Special Representative also repeated his hope that the Iraqi Government will prevent further executions from taking place.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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WITH DROUGHT-STRICKEN LESOTHO FACING SEVERE HUNGER, UN LAUNCHES NEW FLASH APPEAL

WITH DROUGHT-STRICKEN LESOTHO FACING SEVERE HUNGER, UN LAUNCHES NEW FLASH APPEAL
New York, Jul 30 2007 11:00AM
With one of the worst droughts in 30 years ravaging Lesotho, the United Nations has <" http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MMCY-75JNK5?OpenDocument">launched a $18.9 million flash appeal for the small Southern African kingdom where it is estimated that up to 553,000 people – one in four of the population – could face severe hunger.

Maize production, the country's main staple, has dropped by 51 per cent compared to last year, a deficit that is likely to be further aggravated by decreased cereal production in parts of South Africa, also suffering from below-average rainfall, which supplies some 70 per cent of Lesotho's food requirements.

"While the immediate concern is food assistance to food-insecure households, there is an urgent need to restore their productive capacity in order to facilitate prompt recovery," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org">OCHA) said in an update over the weekend.

"External assistance is urgently needed to allow poor households to resume their crop production activities for the upcoming 2007/2008 agricultural season; if this is not provided by October 2007, the planting season will be missed and food insecurity will extend another year," it added.

The drought will further worsen the already precarious situation of acute poverty and food security in Lesotho, OCHA stressed. The most vulnerable have depleted their food reserves and due to rising prices are not able to replenish them, while the lack of job opportunities will create a surplus of people looking for unskilled labour, thus driving wages down.

Wasting in children under five has surpassed the international threshold of 5 per cent for declaring a situation of concern, reaching 6 per cent this year from 2.4 per cent in 2006. An estimated 30 per cent of boreholes and wells for potable water have dried up, as have many small dam reservoirs on which livestock and gardens depend.

As part of its own national emergency response, the Government has allocated $119 million, of which $12 million to large cash-for-work projects through land reclamation, and $6 million to agricultural activities.

"Additional humanitarian assistance, both national and international, is greatly needed to take the most vulnerable through to the next harvest expected in late May 2008," OCHA said.

Within the framework of the flash appeal, the international community has identified key priority needs to be covered over the next six months in agriculture, early recovery, food, health, nutrition, protection and water and sanitation.

Just last week, OCHA launched $15.6 million flash appeal for nearby and equally drought-stricken Swaziland.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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WITH FIRES RAVAGING MEDITERRANEAN, UN AGENCY URGES PREVENTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

WITH FIRES RAVAGING MEDITERRANEAN, UN AGENCY URGES PREVENTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMMES
New York, Jul 30 2007 10:00AM
With record summer temperatures and hot dry winds turning parts of the Mediterranean into a tinder box, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<" http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000640/index.html">FAO) has called for education programmes to reduce the risk of wildfires, up to 95 per cent of which are caused by people through arson and negligence.

"While fire is an important and widely used tool in land management and maintaining ecological processes, wildfires destroy millions of hectares of forest and vegetation with a loss of human and animal lives causing immense economic and environmental damage," the agency noted in its latest update on the situation.

In addition to increased temperatures, socio-economic development in the Mediterranean, like abandoning the countryside as people move into the cities, has led to a general decrease in grazing and in the collection of fuel wood and fodder resulting in a buildup of highly inflammable forest litter and shrubs, FAO added.

This leads to more intense and severe fires which are difficult to suppress. With fewer people living in the countryside, fires set for agricultural clearing are more likely to run out of control.

"Most countries have laws to prevent the setting of fires or to control the period during which fire may be used. Many have developed fire prevention programmes or plans, but few countries have the ability to enforce these legal provisions or the capacity to administer the programmes," FAO Director of the Forest Resources Division Jose-Antonio Prado noted.

A key to successful prevention are fire education programmes involving public service campaigns, schools and community groups, the agency said, citing India as an example for its awareness-raising projects in communities, which has led to more involvement in prevention and suppression activities that are reported to have reduced fire outbreaks by as much as 90 per cent in some regions.

Fire-fighters are currently working round the clock to control blazes threatening people and vegetation on thousands of hectares in southern Italy, Greece, and other parts of the Mediterranean. About 50 000 fires sweep through as many as 1 million hectares of Mediterranean forest and other woodlands each year with 30,000 workers, and sometimes many more, mobilized to fight them, according to FAO.

In the Mediterranean, up to 95 percent of fires are caused by people. Arson and negligence, especially in the disposal of discarded cigarettes and the careless handling of barbecues and fires in camping sites, are the cause of many wildfires, the agency noted.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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SIERRA LEONE: UN, PARTNERS VOICE 'UTMOST CONCERN' AT ELECTORAL VIOLENCE

SIERRA LEONE: UN, PARTNERS VOICE 'UTMOST CONCERN' AT ELECTORAL VIOLENCE
New York, Jul 30 2007 10:00AM
The United Nations and its international partners have voiced renewed concern at widely reported cases of intimidation and violence ahead of elections in Sierra Leone next month, calling on all concerned to avoid incitement and provocation in the small West African country that is still recovering from a disastrous decade-long civil war.

"The UN and international community remain fully committed to supporting credible, fair and violence-free elections," the partners <"http://www.uniosil.org/read.asp?newsID=524&cat=">said in a weekend statement, which welcomed positive steps by the Government, including a successful voter registration exercise and preparations for polling, counting, tallying and the announcement of results.

"However, since the official start of campaigning, cases of intimidation and violence have been widely reported. We view this development with utmost concern. It constitutes a threat to the democratic process. It also goes against the interests of the people of Sierra Leone, who want peaceful, free and credible elections," they added.

The statement called upon leaders of all political parties to promote a peaceful campaign and prevent provocative conduct on the part of their supporters as the country prepares to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on 11 August, the second since emerging from the civil war in 2002.

It urged the political parties, Paramount Chiefs and the media to respect the codes of conduct that they have signed and to use existing and legitimate mechanisms to resolve disputes peacefully.

"We urge all political parties to use accredited party agents at polling stations to monitor the elections. The leaders of all political parties are urged to declare that they will accept the results of the elections and to encourage their supporters to do the same," it added.

Sierra Leone is one of the first beneficiaries of the UN's new <"http://www.unpbf.org">Peacebuilding Fund, launched last October to ensure that countries emerging from war and conflict do not relapse back into strife. Earlier this month the Fund approved four new projects to support the ongoing electoral process and improve the judiciary, water, sanitation and health facilities.
2007-07-30 00:00:00.000

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IN CALIFORNIA, BAN KI-MOON HAILS LOCAL INITIATIVES TO FOSTER ENERGY EFFICIENCY

IN CALIFORNIA, BAN KI-MOON HAILS LOCAL INITIATIVES TO FOSTER ENERGY EFFICIENCY
New York, Jul 29 2007 2:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in California on a trip aimed at spotlighting the issue of climate change, today praised the state for taking measures to foster energy efficiency and invited Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to United Nations talks on the issue this September.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Governor at the San José-based Echelon Corporation, which develops technology to improve energy efficiency, Mr. Ban called for measures to foster conservation, renewable fuels and private market incentives.

"The UN's environment and development programmes play a lead role in crafting strategies for achieving these aims," Mr. Ban said. "What's missing is political will and political leadership."

Mr. Ban praised Governor Schwarzenegger, saying he "has demonstrated what a difference leadership can make."

The Governor also hailed Mr. Ban for championing the cause. "You have called climate change the defining issue of the era, and so by making this the top United Nations priority I think is showing the kind of leadership that this really needs in order to tackle this big problem," he said.

California has embarked on an ambitious program to limit greenhouse gases with the target of cutting 25 per cent of emissions by 2020. "This is a very bold and courageous initiative," said the Secretary-General.

Mr. Ban pledged to encourage world leaders to embrace "a similarly bold vision -- one that can be applied beyond this Golden State to the entire world." He also invited the Governor to attend a high-level meeting on the issue that the Secretary-General is convening in New York on 24 September.

"It will be very useful for other world leaders to hear from your vision and your experience," the UN leader told the California Governor. "Initiatives by individual states and at the local government level or individual government initiatives -- they are all welcome."

Asked whether he would accept the inv
replied, "Yes, of course. I feel honoured."

2007-07-27 00:00:00.000

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