BAN KI-MOON URGES CLIMATE CHANGE BREAKTHROUGH IN BALI AFTER DIRE REPORT RELEASED

BAN KI-MOON URGES CLIMATE CHANGE BREAKTHROUGH IN BALI AFTER DIRE REPORT RELEASED
New York, Nov 17 2007 8:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has challenged the world's policymakers to start devising a comprehensive deal for tackling climate change at next month's summit in Bali, Indonesia, after a United Nations report released today found that global warming is unequivocal and could cause irreversible damage to the planet.

Launching the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which brings together hundreds of scientific experts, Mr. Ban said that slowing and even reversing the effects of climate change "is the defining challenge of our age."

He also stressed the report makes clear that "concerted and sustained action now can still avoid some of the most catastrophic scenarios" in the IPCC forecasts.

"We can transform a necessity into virtue," he said. "We can pursue new and improved ways to produce, consume and discard. We can promote environmentally friendly industries that spur development and job creation even as they reduce emissions. We can usher in a new era of global partnership, one that helps lift all boats on the rising tide of climate-friendly development."

For this to happen, the Secretary-General said the world's industrialized countries must form a "grand bargain" with developing nations, which are the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

The report details how reduced rainfall in much of Africa is likely to aggravate existing water shortages and slash crop yields, rising sea levels are set to inundate small island States and melting glaciers could trigger major floods in South Asia and South America.

More heat waves and periods of heavy rainfall are deemed very likely to occur, tropical cyclones are predicted to become more intense and a dramatic decrease in the polar ice caps is also expected as air and ocean temperatures keep rising. In the worst case scenario, nearly a third of all of plant and animal species could be at risk of exti

It also explains that industry, agriculture and infrastructure can become far more energy-efficient, water can be more effectively conserved and used and countries can become less dependent on fossil fuels and other non-renewable sources of energy.

IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri said governments have "a wide variety of policies and instruments" available to create incentives to mitigate behaviour -- especially in the area of carbon emissions.

"We need a new ethic by which every human being realizes the importance of the challenge we are facing and starts to take action through changes in lifestyle and attitude."

The report, released in Valencia, Spain, is the synthesis of three IPCC reports issued earlier this year that examined the scientific basis of climate change, the impact it is having and ways to mitigate and adapt to the phenomenon.

It is expected to form the basis of discussions in Bali next month when world leaders gather under the auspices of the UN to try to agree to a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions, which is due to expire by 2012.

Mr. Ban told reporters after today's launch that "the breakthrough needed in Bali is an agreement to launch for negotiations for a comprehensive climate change deal that all nations can embrace -- developed and developing countries alike. Scientists have now done their work and I call on political leaders to do theirs and agree not only to launch these negotiations but also to conclude them by 2009."

The report states that "neither adaptation nor mitigation alone can avoid all climate change impacts. However, they can complement each other and together can significantly reduce the risks of climate change."

The Secretary-General, who is in Valencia at the end of an international trip that has taken him to both Antarctica and the Amazon rainforest, said he had witnessed first-hand the perils posed by climate change.

"I can tell you with assurance that global, sweeping, concerted action is needed now. There is no time to waste."

UN
"we now have the compelling blueprint for action and in many ways the price tag for failure -- from increasing acidification of the oceans to the likely extinctions of economically important biodiversity."

Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), called for more detailed and continuing observation of the impact of climate change to help individuals, businesses and civil society make informed decisions about how best to adapt to meet their own circumstances.

2007-11-17 00:00:00.000

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TESTS CONTINUING AFTER MYSTERY DISEASE OUTBREAK IN ANGOLA -- UN HEALTH AGENCY

TESTS CONTINUING AFTER MYSTERY DISEASE OUTBREAK IN ANGOLA -- UN HEALTH AGENCY
New York, Nov 17 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) says it is still investigating the possible origin of an outbreak of a mystery illness that has forced at least 370 people to seek hospital treatment in Angola.

The symptoms include extreme drowsiness and loss of muscle control, WHO said in a statement issued yesterday, and although most patients recover slowly over a number of days many are still unable to walk without assistance. Children suffer the most extreme symptoms.

WHO said that while a toxicological cause is suspected, a series of tests on patients for 300 organic solvents and 800 compounds have proven negative and tests for cadmium, lead, manganese and mercury have shown levels within the normal range.

Health officials are still awaiting the results of environmental samples and tests of food and drinking water in Cacuaco municipality in the suburbs of the capital, Luanda, where the outbreak was first reported on 2 October.

WHO said it fears that the number of people affected by the disease may be more than reporter as some patients prefer to receive treatment from traditional healers or remain at home rather than visit a hospital.

2007-11-17 00:00:00.000

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DR CONGO: UN INQUIRY OPENS INTO SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST PEACEKEEPER

DR CONGO: UN INQUIRY OPENS INTO SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST PEACEKEEPER
New York, Nov 17 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced today that an independent investigation has begun into allegations of violent sexual abuse by a soldier serving with the force in the troubled northeast of the country.

Investigators from the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) are already on the ground in Bunia, the capital of Ituri district, to conduct the probe, according to a press release issued by the mission (known as MONUC).

A MONUC peacekeeper based in Bunia is accused of violence and sexual exploitation and abuse against a woman on the night of 13-14 November.

"All allegations of this nature are taken very seriously by the mission," the press statement said, stressing that OIOS investigators would receive the complete cooperation of MONUC in conducting their inquiries.

The UN has imposed a zero-tolerance policy against sexual abuse and exploitation by its peacekeepers, and senior officials have reiterated in recent years that this means there is no impunity for blue helmets who engage in such practices.

MONUC, which was established in late 1999, is one of the largest UN peacekeeping missions in the world. As of the end of last month, it had 18,382 serving personnel, including more than 16,000 troops.

2007-11-17 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL HEADS TO CHINA TO PUSH FOR GREATER CONTRIBUTION

TOP UN PEACEKEEPING OFFICIAL HEADS TO CHINA TO PUSH FOR GREATER CONTRIBUTION
New York, Nov 16 2007 7:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping chief is heading to China for a regional seminar and meetings with Government officials to encourage the world's most populous country to contribute more to UN operations.

Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told reporters in New York today that China's level of involvement in UN missions has surged dramatically in the past five years. The Asian nation is now the thirteenth largest contributor of uniformed personnel.

But he said that China, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, can increase its contribution even more, particularly in the areas of so-called "force enablers," where it has already provided medical and engineering units.

Mr. Guéhenno said he hoped to see a Chinese infantry battalion one day and air transport units as well.

"We have lots of capacities in short supply" and China, like the other permanent Council members, has a status that would bring greater authority to the blue helmets if it expanded its contribution, he said.

After arriving in Beijing on Sunday night, the Under-Secretary-General is scheduled to attend a peacekeeping seminar involving China and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and he is also due to hold talks with officials from the Chinese Government's foreign affairs, defence and interior ministries.

The UN and the African Union are about to deploy a hybrid peacekeeping force (known as UNAMID) to Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, but Mr. Guéhenno noted earlier this week that the Sudanese Government was yet to signal its approval of the presence of several non-African units in the operation.

Asked today whether he would raise the issue during his talks with the Chinese Government, Mr. Guéhenno said he thought it was "important that all members of the [Security] Council impress upon Sudan" that UNAMID is being deployed to help the people of Darfur.

He stressed that it was vital that UNAMID have all the units it needs to be able to implement a robust mandate in Darfur, where fighting since 2003 has left 200,000 people dead and forced 2.2 million others from their homes.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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IRAN: UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG CHIEF CIRCULATES LATEST REPORT

IRAN: UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG CHIEF CIRCULATES LATEST REPORT
New York, Nov 16 2007 7:00PM
The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog has circulated his latest report regarding the nuclear programme of Iran to the agency's Board of Governors.

The report covers developments since International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/iranreport1107.html">IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei issued his last report on 30 August.

The 35-member Board of Governors of the IAEA will consider the report at its next meeting, which is scheduled to take place at its Vienna headquarters next Thursday.

Last month Mr. ElBaradei told a General Assembly plenary meeting that Iran's "active cooperation and transparency" are key to resolving the outstanding issues on the country's nuclear ambitions.

"If the Agency were able to provide credible assurance about the peaceful nature of Iran's past and currently nuclear programme, this would go a long way towards building confidence, and could create the conditions for a comprehensive and durable solution," he said.

"Such a solution would assure the international community about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme, while enabling Iran to make full use of nuclear technology for economic and social development."

Iran's nuclear programme has been a matter of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that it had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Last December, the Security Council adopted a resolution banning trade with Iran in all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to the country's enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy water-related activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems. It tightened the measures in March, banning arms sales and expanding the freeze on assets.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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WHEN WOMEN ARE EMPOWERED, ALL OF SOCIETY BENEFITS - MIGIRO

WHEN WOMEN ARE EMPOWERED, ALL OF SOCIETY BENEFITS – MIGIRO
New York, Nov 16 2007 7:00PM
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today highlighted the importance of empowering women to build healthier, better educated, more peaceful and more prosperous societies.

"Study after study has shown us that when women are fully empowered and engaged, all of society benefits," Ms. Migiro <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/dsgsm353.doc.htm">told the International Women Leaders Global Security Summit in New York.

"Only in this way can we successfully take on the enormous challenges confronting our world – from conflict resolution and peacebuilding to fighting AIDS and reaching all the other Millennium Development Goals," she stated, referring to the ambitious set of anti-poverty targets the world has pledged to achieve by 2015.

She recalled that at the 2005 World Summit, leaders declared that gender equality and human rights for all are essential to advancing development, peace and security. Five years before that, the Security Council adopted resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.

But while global goals and commitments on women's empowerment are in place, "we still have far to go in implementing them fully – from school enrolment to women's economic independence and representation in decision-making bodies," she stated.

The Deputy Secretary-General noted that in almost all countries, women continue to be under-represented in decision-making positions; their work continues to be undervalued; and violence against women and girls continues unabated worldwide.

"Changing all this requires all of us – women and men – to work for enduring change in values and attitudes," she said. "It means working in partnership – Governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector. It means men assuming their responsibility. It means ensuring that women and girls enjoy their full rights, and take up their rightful place in society."

With regard to tackling violence against women in particular, she recalled that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had earlier this year urged the Security Council to establish a mechanism to monitor that scourge, within the framework of resolution 1325. He had also encouraged Member States to consider proposals to strengthen the UN's "gender architecture."

"The Secretary-General and I believe we could significantly advance our cause by replacing several current structures with one dynamic UN entity," she stated. "Such a new body should be able to call on all of the UN system's resources in the work to empower women and realize gender equality worldwide."
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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ILLEGAL TRADE IN IRAQI CULTURAL HERITAGE MUST END, SAYS UN EXPERT COMMITTEE

ILLEGAL TRADE IN IRAQI CULTURAL HERITAGE MUST END, SAYS UN EXPERT COMMITTEE
New York, Nov 16 2007 7:00PM
An international committee set up by 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) is appealing to the international community to help stop the illicit excavation, pillaging and trafficking of Iraqi cultural property.

The 20-member International Coordination Committee for the Safeguarding of Iraqi Cultural Heritage, which met for two days this week at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, has called for a series of measures to discourage the widespread trade in Iraqi artefacts.

The committee recommended the introduction of a formal global prohibition on the trade in or transfer of ancient Iraqi cultural property, and measures to encourage all countries to keep any recovered items in safe havens with a view to returning them to Iraq when the adequate conditions for their protection are met.

The committee also called for an awareness campaign to alert the world, especially participants in the art market such as antique deals and auction houses and museum staff, of their responsibilities towards Iraqi cultural property.

In addition, it said Iraqi professionals in the art, archaeological and history fields need longer and more sustainable training programmes so they can take better care of their country's cultural heritage.

UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura told the meeting that "the preservation of one of the world's richest and most ancient heritages is at stake. The rehabilitation of Iraqi cultural heritage is vital to restoring stability in the country – to rebuilding dialogue, social cohesion and, ultimately, peace."

The committee, which brings together experts on Iraqi cultural heritage, was jointly founded by UNESCO and the Iraqi Government and held its first meeting in 2004.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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CÔTE D'IVOIRE: UN MISSION WELCOMES SIGNING OF ELECTORAL CODE OF CONDUCT

CÔTE D'IVOIRE: UN MISSION WELCOMES SIGNING OF ELECTORAL CODE OF CONDUCT
New York, Nov 16 2007 7:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/index.html">UNOCI) today welcomed the adoption by the country's major political parties of a code of good conduct for upcoming general elections.

The code will help with efforts to ensure that the elections are "free, transparent, democratic and conforming with international norms," UNOCI said in a press statement issued from Abidjan, the commercial capital in the West African nation.

Côte d'Ivoire had been divided between the Government-controlled south and the rebel Forces Nouvelles-held north since 2002, but a peace accord signed by the leaders of the two sides in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, earlier this year is designed to end the deadlock and lead to elections by next year. Polls had been planned for October but were delayed.

The accord outlines a series of measures, including: the creation of a new transitional government; organizing free and fair presidential elections; the merging of the Forces Nouvelles and the national defence and security forces through the establishment of an integrated command centre; the dismantling of militias and disarming of ex-combatants; and the replacement of the so-called zone of confidence separating north and south with a green line to be monitored by UNOCI.

The mission said the code was a "significant advance" towards the implementation of the Ouagadougou agreement, but it warned the major political groupings that they must now ensure they apply the code as soon as possible.

The code was drawn up under the auspices of Côte d'Ivoire's Independent Electoral Commission.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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WORLD MUST KEEP SPOTLIGHT ON MYANMAR, URGES UN RIGHTS EXPERT

WORLD MUST KEEP SPOTLIGHT ON MYANMAR, URGES UN RIGHTS EXPERT
New York, Nov 16 2007 6:00PM
The independent United Nations human rights expert on Myanmar today urged the international community to maintain its focus on the South-East Asian nation, where the Government used force in responding to peaceful demonstrations earlier this year.

"The international community is supposed to do this to honour these young people, those women, students, the monks that assumed an enormous risk in going to the street to fight for the freedom of assembly, the freedom of opinion," Paulo Sergio Pinheiro told reporters in Bangkok following his five-day visit to Myanmar.

"The Human Rights Council must continue to follow with attention and interest the situation in Myanmar," he said.

Mr. Pinheiro, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, arrived in Yangon on Saturday – at the invitation of the Government – to verify allegations of abuses during the recent Government crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, determine the numbers and whereabouts of those detained or killed, and collect testimony about what happened.

The Special Rapporteur, who last visited Myanmar in 2003, held meetings, both in Yangon and the new capital Nay Pyi Taw, with Myanmar officials, the UN Country Team, monks, detainees and representatives of ethnic groups.

Even though he was not able to meet with detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi during his trip, Mr. Pinheiro drew attention today to the importance of the access he has had to some of the other detainees, as well as his ability to interview the law enforcement authorities.

In addition, he said his conversations with several monks had been "revealing in terms of the risks or the threats that the monks had to confront."

The expert, who works in an unpaid capacity, said he now has "a clear picture of the involvement of the monks, the events, the confrontation between the monks and law enforcement agencies."

Mr. Pinheiro said he has requested a number of crucial details from the authorities regarding, detentions, conditions of detention, numbers of released people, whereabouts of those detained, causes of death and other issues. The Government has provided the Special Rapporteur with a number of detailed records that responded partially to his requests.

As to the number of people killed during the crackdown, Mr. Pinheiro told journalists he was not in a position to confirm the Government's figure of 15 casualties. He said he was continuing to compile information and in his report he would "try to come up with an accurate number."

Similarly, he said that while the Government has said it has released around 3,000 detainees, the actual total is still to be determined. "What is clear is that the number of detainees is very high," stated Mr. Pinheiro.

He added that his trip cannot be considered a full fledged fact-finding mission, stating that the conditions for an independent and confidential investigation mission would require a different framework.

The Special Rapporteur will present his report to the Human Rights Council on 11 December.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES LEBANESE LEADERS TO WORK FOR NATIONAL INTEREST

SECRETARY-GENERAL URGES LEBANESE LEADERS TO WORK FOR NATIONAL INTEREST
New York, Nov 16 2007 6:00PM
Lebanon's leaders must place the national interest above their personal and sectarian interests as the country prepares to elect a new president before a constitutional deadline later this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as he wrapped up a two-day visit to the country.

Mr. Ban told reporters in Beirut that the whole world was watching Lebanon, adding that it was imperative that the Parliament be convened to elect a president.

He also reiterated that the election, which is supposed to take place by 24 November, must be held on time, in accordance with the constitution and without any foreign interference.

Earlier today the Secretary-General held talks with Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir at the residence of the Maronite Church leader. UN spokesperson Michele Montas said the two men discussed the current situation in Lebanon and Mr. Ban commended the Patriarch's efforts to seek a solution to the political crisis.

Mr. Ban also held discussions with Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano, the Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), on recent press reports concerning the mission's continuing presence in the country.

The Secretary-General emphasized that UNIFIL will stay in Lebanon as long as is necessary and that the international community remained fully behind the mission and its mandate.

In addition to those meetings, Mr. Ban also held talks with other Lebanese leaders, including representatives of the so-called 14 March coalition, Walid Jumblatt, the former president Amine Gemayel, Suleiman Franjieh, Samir Geagea and Mohammad Fneish.

Lebanon is the latest stop on an international trip that has recently taken the Secretary-General to Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Antarctica, Spain and Tunisia. He now returns to Spain to participate in tomorrow's launch of the fourth and final report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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SOUTH AFRICAN CHOSEN TO HEAD POLICE COMPONENT OF HYBRID UN-AU FORCE IN DARFUR

SOUTH AFRICAN CHOSEN TO HEAD POLICE COMPONENT OF HYBRID UN-AU FORCE IN DARFUR
New York, Nov 16 2007 5:00PM
An assistant police commissioner from South Africa has been appointed to head the police component of the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation (UNAMID) being deployed to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan early next year.

Michael J. Fryer was selected by the Chairperson of the AU Commission, in consultation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to become UNAMID's Police Commissioner, the AU said today in a press release issued in Addis Ababa.

Commissioner Fryer will have responsibility for implementing all police aspects of the mandate of UNAMID, which is aiming to quell the violence and humanitarian suffering that has engulfed Darfur since 2003.

Before this appointment, he headed the South African police force's Specialized Operation Division since September 2004 and, prior to that he was Commander of the South African Special Task Force.

More than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes because of continued fighting between rebels, Government forces and allied militia known as the Janjaweed.

When fully deployed UNAMID is expected to have nearly 20,000 military personnel and more than 6,000 police officers and will become the largest UN peacekeeping operation.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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DETAINED UN RIGHTS EXPERT RELEASED FROM HOUSE ARREST IN PAKISTAN - UN

DETAINED UN RIGHTS EXPERT RELEASED FROM HOUSE ARREST IN PAKISTAN – UN
New York, Nov 16 2007 4:00PM
A United Nations human rights official tasked with monitoring religious freedom worldwide has been released from house arrest in Pakistan, a spokesperson for the world body announced today.

José-Luis Diaz of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) told reporters in Geneva that Asma Jahangir's release was confirmed by colleagues who had spoken with her.

Ms. Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion, was detained over a week ago in the wake of the declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan when she refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Provisional Constitutional Order.

Mr. Diaz said he hoped other human rights defenders who had been detained in the wake of Pakistan's state of emergency, as well as others who have been imprisoned or detained for peaceful expression of their beliefs or for exercising their activities, will also be released immediately.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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UN REFUGEE AGENCY BOOSTS COOPERATION WITH CENTRAL ASIAN NATIONS

UN REFUGEE AGENCY BOOSTS COOPERATION WITH CENTRAL ASIAN NATIONS
New York, Nov 16 2007 3:00PM
During a just-concluded visit to Central Asia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has strengthened his agency's cooperation with the Governments of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to assist thousands of refugees and asylum-seekers in the two countries.

António Guterres wrapped up a five-day visit to the two countries on Thursday, after agreeing to boost refugee assistance in Kyrgyzstan and signing a cooperation agreement with Kazakhstan to play a greater role in addressing global asylum-migration issues, the agency (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/473d85b64.html">UNHCR) said in a press release.

While in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek, the High Commissioner met with President Kurmanbek Bakiev, as well as the prosecutor general, the minister of foreign affairs and the chairperson of the State Committee on Migration and Employment, which deals with asylum and refugee issues.

Mr. Guterres expressed his appreciation to the Government for respecting refugee rights in a difficult political environment, and for naturalizing some 9,000 refugees from Tajikistan. He also pledged to reduce statelessness in the country, believed to affect more than 10,000 people.

Also in Bishkek, the High Commissioner opened the region's first reception centre for asylum seekers, offering temporary shelter as well as interview, medical and information facilities to refugees and asylum seekers.

Kyrgyzstan hosts several hundred refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

During his stay in Astana, Mr. Guterres met Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and other high-ranking officials, including the ombudsman and the chairman of the Human Rights Commission.

UNHCR is assisting Kazakhstan in drafting a national refugee law. Mr. Guterres was assured that the law would serve as a model for legislation in the region as it seeks to strike a balance between Kazakhstan's national concerns and international refugee and human rights obligation, the agency said.

According to the agency, Kazakhstan is host to some 3,700 Chechens from the Russian Federation, as well as several hundred people from Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and China.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES LIFTING OF STATE OF EMERGENCY IN GEORGIA

BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES LIFTING OF STATE OF EMERGENCY IN GEORGIA
New York, Nov 16 2007 3:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the lifting of the state of emergency imposed nine days ago in Georgia and stressed the need for a credible election process ahead of presidential polls scheduled to take place 5 January next year.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11282.doc.htm">statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban "emphasizes the importance of the full restoration of freedom of expression and association" in the lead-up to the election.

"In particular, the Secretary-General looks forward for all media to fully resume normal operations in order to offer all relevant actors equal access in the electoral campaign."
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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FORMER RWANDAN MAYOR RECEIVES 11-YEAR JAIL TERM FROM UN TRIBUNAL

FORMER RWANDAN MAYOR RECEIVES 11-YEAR JAIL TERM FROM UN TRIBUNAL
New York, Nov 16 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations war crimes tribunal set up after the Rwandan genocide today sentenced a former mayor to 11 years in jail for his role in the mass killings that engulfed the small African nation in 1994.

Juvénal Rugambarara, who was mayor of Bicumbi commune in Kigali-Rural Prefecture in Rwanda from September 1993 to late April 1994, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of extermination as a crime against humanity after prosecutors agreed to withdraw eight other charges.

The amended indictment stated that he had failed as mayor to investigate the killings committed in Bicumbi commune during his term in office and had also failed to apprehend and punish the perpetrators of those crimes.

Some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered, mostly by machete or club, across Rwanda in less than 100 days starting in early April 1994. Later that year the Security Council established the <"http://69.94.11.53/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2007/537.htm">ICTR to deal with the worst cases.

Announcing the sentencing today, a three-judge panel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) said they had taken into account both aggravating and mitigating factors before reaching their decision.

Judges Asoka da Silva (presiding), Taghrid Hikmet and Seon Ki noted the magnitude of the deaths of Tutsi civilians in Bicumbi, but they also took into account Mr. Rugambarara's public expression of regret and testimony from five witnesses that he had also helped some Tutsi refugees.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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TOLERANCE POWERFUL TOOL IN FIGHTING TODAY'S GLOBAL THREATS - BAN KI-MOON

TOLERANCE POWERFUL TOOL IN FIGHTING TODAY'S GLOBAL THREATS – BAN KI-MOON
New York, Nov 16 2007 2:00PM
Tolerance is an important tool in tackling the growing threats facing humanity from conflicts to racism, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said.

"Our world today is confronted with war, terrorism, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, discrimination against minorities and migrants, and a multitude of other abuses against human beings," Mr. Ban notes in his message marking the <"http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/tolerance/">International Day for Tolerance.

Even globalization, "while knitting our world together, can also lead to greater fear and turning inward," he adds.

At the same time, he notes that the world has at is disposal the tools necessary to tackle growing threats to intolerance. "We know that our best tools are cultural diversity, the work for sustainable development, and education for tolerance and peace. We know that our most powerful safeguards are a vigorous civil society, attentive to human rights, and a free and responsible media."

He voiced hope the International Day will serve as a reminder of the need to adhere to the fundamental principle of tolerance in today's world. "The imperative to tolerance is very clear to all of us, but the will must be stronger," he stated.

In 1996, the General Assembly invited Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November. This came in the wake of the UN Year for Tolerance which was marked in 1995.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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UN FORUM AIMS TO SPUR INVESTMENT IN ASIAN HIGHWAY NETWORK

UN FORUM AIMS TO SPUR INVESTMENT IN ASIAN HIGHWAY NETWORK
New York, Nov 16 2007 2:00PM
Representatives of more than 30 countries are today attending a United Nations investment forum in Bangkok to drum up financing to complete the Asian Highway Network, the ambitious plan to crisscross the continent with 141,000 kilometres of high-quality roads.

About $26 billion has already been committed to upgrading the network, according to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2007/nov/n60.asp">UNESCAP), but a shortfall estimated at $18 billion remains to upgrade another 12,000 kilometres of roads to meet the necessary standards.

Twenty-eight countries signed a pact, developed in 2005 with UNESCAP's help, undertaking to make every possible effort to comply with the minimum desirable standards both in constructing new routes and in upgrading and modernizing existing ones.

When the highway upgrading is completed, the 32-country network – which will link cities as far apart as St. Petersburg and Singapore, and Seoul and Istanbul – will facilitate trade and tourism as well as access to landlocked countries.

In the two years since the treaty came into force, over 10,000 kilometres of roads have been upgraded, mainly in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. So far, all sections of the network in only 13 countries meet the treaty's minimum standards.

Today's forum is also being attended by representatives of 10 international organizations and many members of the private sector.
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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UN DRUG CHIEF URGES STEPPED-UP ACTION TO TACKLE SURGE IN AFGHAN OPIUM

UN DRUG CHIEF URGES STEPPED-UP ACTION TO TACKLE SURGE IN AFGHAN OPIUM
New York, Nov 16 2007 1:00PM
The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/afghan-opium-report.html">UNODC) has called on the international community to step up its efforts to reign in Afghanistan's booming opium production, which not only accounts for over half the country's gross domestic product but is also funding insurgents in the strife-torn nation.

Presenting UNODC's final report on opium production in Afghanistan, the world's leading drug producer, Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa told a gathering in Brussels that the total export value of opium and heroin being trafficked to neighbouring countries this year is $4 billion, an increase of 29 per cent over 2006.

That means that opium now accounts for more than half – 53 per cent – of the country's licit GDP, according to one of the findings of the <I><"http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan-Opium-Survey-2007.pdf">Afghan Opium Survey 2007</I>, a provisional version of which was presented in August.

Approximately one quarter of this amount, or $1 billion, is earned by opium farmers, while the rest is made by drug traffickers, the report noted. Since the drug increases in value with ever border it crosses, by the time it hits the streets of major Western countries, it could be worth 50 to 100 times as much as in Kabul.

As a result, while opium is profitable to some Afghan farmers, these sums – though significant in relation to the local economy – are only a fraction of the major profits that are being made world-wide by criminals, insurgents and terrorists.

Mr. Costa urged Afghanistan's international partners, including NATO and the UN Security Council, to boost their counter-narcotics efforts, especially if they wanted to address the insurgency that is threatening the fledgling democracy. He also stressed the need for greater development assistance, noting that the drug problem cannot be tackled solely by counter-narcotics measures.

In addition, he urged greater cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours, as well as the countries of Central Asia, emphasizing that drug trafficking is not a threat that States can address solely on their own.

"The threat is real and growing, despite a foreign military presence in the tens of thousands, billions of dollars spent on reconstruction, and the huge political capital invested in stabilizing a country that has been in turmoil for a third of a century," Mr. Costa wrote in the foreword to the report.

"The Afghan opium situation looks grim, but it is not yet hopeless," he added. "It will take time, money and determination – worthwhile investments to spare Afghanistan and the rest of the world more tragedies."
2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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DR CONGO: UNICEF AND ITS PARTNER HELP FREE OVER 230 CHILDREN FROM MILITIA

DR CONGO: UNICEF AND ITS PARTNER HELP FREE OVER 230 CHILDREN FROM MILITIA
New York, Nov 16 2007 8:00AM
Two hundred and thirty two children have been freed from Mayi Mayi forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with help from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and its partner, Save the Children -- but the UN agency warned that more must be done to end the use of underage conscripts in fighting in the country's troubled Kivu provinces.

The group was freed from Mayi Mayi forces in North and South Kivu over the last few days with support from the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) and following "an intensive media and outreach campaign on the non-recruitment and non-use of children by armed groups," UNICEF said in a news release

The children had been recruited recently in the wake of increased conflict in North Kivu, where fighting between opposing groups has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee.

"The majority of the 232 children are currently in transitory care facilities and awaiting family reunification. Once reunified, they will receive assistance to go back to school, undertake vocational training, or start small income generating activities," UNICEF said.

While lauding this positive development, the agency said it remains concerned about the hundreds of children who remain in armed groups and forces in the DRC.

The agency called on all armed groups and forces to release these children immediately into the care of child protection agencies as part of the National Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) Programme.

2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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UN FOOD AGENCY SENDS RELIEF TO CYCLONE-HIT PARTS OF BANGLADESH

UN FOOD AGENCY SENDS RELIEF TO CYCLONE-HIT PARTS OF BANGLADESH
New York, Nov 16 2007 8:00AM
Responding to the arrival of Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced the distribution of enough high-energy biscuits, considered vital in the early days of an emergency when cooking is impossible, to feed 400,000 people in the affected areas over the next three days.

"We have to move as quickly as possible to get food to the most vulnerable," said WFP Bangladesh Representative Douglas Broderick, pointing out that the biscuits are critical "when there is a scarcity of clean water for drinking and cooking."

Citing preliminary field reports, WFP said Cyclone Sidr caused hundreds of fatalities, damaged thousands of homes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.

Within hours of the disaster, the agency started supplying the biscuits to affected people in areas that suffered the worst damage in what WFP said was the first phase of its assistance.

The agency said it is able to respond quickly to disasters and humanitarian crises in Bangladesh because it has ongoing operations there to support some 5 million people affected by chronic food insecurity and malnutrition.

2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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UN MARITIME AGENCY TO INTENSIFY WORK ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

UN MARITIME AGENCY TO INTENSIFY WORK ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
New York, Nov 16 2007 8:00AM
The head of the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) today called for accelerating the agency's work on greenhouse gas emissions from ships.

Speaking to the IMO Council, Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said he would present a plan to accelerate work to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) when it meets in March of next year.

Mr. Mitropoulos spoke of the increasing importance and urgency given by the international community to the control of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and "of the globally expressed wish to act, and act now," the agency said in a news release.

He said that IMO and the international maritime community needed to demonstrate their determination to be in the front line of the global campaign to tackle this threat to the global climate without delay.

The acceleration involves measures to update of the 2000 IMO Study on emissions from ships, including development of a CO2 Emission Indexing Scheme, a CO2 emission baseline and technical, operational and market-based methods to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, all of which are currently planned to be finalized by July 2009.

Secretary-General Mitropoulos's call for an acceleration of the work plan has been endorsed by the MEPC Chairman, Mr. Andreas Chrysostomou of Cyprus.

The IMO is the UN's specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine pollution by ships.

2007-11-16 00:00:00.000

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OIL-PRODUCING STATES NEED NOT FEAR CLIMATE CHANGE MEASURES, SAYS UN OFFICIAL

OIL-PRODUCING STATES NEED NOT FEAR CLIMATE CHANGE MEASURES, SAYS UN OFFICIAL
New York, Nov 15 2007 8:00PM
The international battle against the effects of global warming represents a war against emissions rather than oil, the top United Nations climate change official today <"http://unfccc.int/files/press/news_room/statements/application/pdf/20071115_statement_riyadh_opec_update.pdf">told a gathering of the world's oil producers.

Yvo de Boer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/2860.php">UNFCCC), told a high-level seminar hosted by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that the fight offered economic opportunities for the group's members.

"International action on climate change is a war against emissions, not a war against oil," he said. "Oil will continue to play a pivotal role in the global energy mix for decades to come, not least due to growing global energy demand. But oil will have to be de-carbonized with adequate technologies. OPEC can deliver a big part of the solution to climate change."

Mr. de Boer said the implementation of stringent targets for emission reduction by industrialized countries will help to significantly spur the development and deployment of such technologies.

"In this way, oil-exporting countries need not fear that a shift to a low-carbon world economy would hurt their economies and can play a pivotal role in ensuring that international negotiations on a post-2012 climate change are launched this year."

Next month in Bali, Indonesia, the world's nations will gather under the auspices of the UN for talks to try to map out a new international accord to succeed the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol, the current mechanism for encouraging emission reduction and which is due to end in 2012.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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TRIPLE THREAT LOOMS OVER AFRICA'S RURAL POOR, WARNS UN AGENCY CHIEF

TRIPLE THREAT LOOMS OVER AFRICA'S RURAL POOR, WARNS UN AGENCY CHIEF
New York, Nov 15 2007 8:00PM
Africa's rural poor are facing a "perfect storm" of rising food prices, climate change and population growth, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2689">WFP) warned today, urging the international community to take more concerted action to help the continent's most vulnerable people.

Wrapping up a four-day visit to Senegal and Mali, WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran told reporters in Dakar that time was running out to build resilience among the millions of rural Africans who often have to go hungry.

WFP operations in West Africa planned from last month to June next year remain under-funded by as much as $168 million overall.

"I have seen in West Africa what havoc could be caused by the triple threat of climate change, rising food prices and population growth," she said.

"But I have also seen that there are solutions to help people adapt before it is too late. We must help people to protect themselves and their families. It's a large order, but with the help of the international community we can do it – we must do it."

The WFP chief said West Africa faces a particularly difficult challenge against the elements as the Sahara Desert creeps further and further south each year, consuming what was once arable land or pastures.

Global commodity prices are also soaring, driven in part by the rising cost of fuels, which means the prices of food staples have surged in poor African countries this year, placing them out of reach of many consumers.

In one example, Mauritania, Ms. Sheeran said the impact of the higher international prices has led to tensions this month and could turn into a food crisis next year unless more funds are pledged by donors.

"High world prices for grains have made our operations more challenging than ever. The overall cost of WFP reaching a hungry person has gone up by 50 per cent in the last five years."

An estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five in the Sahel region are now classified as acutely malnourished, the highest proportion of any region worldwide. This 'silent emergency' kills more than 300,000 children every year and stunts the growth of those who survive.

Ms. Sheeran noted that WFP is working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to help local communities adapt to climate change, such as by constructing small dams, completing irrigation projects and contribution to schemes that reduce soil erosion or promote reforestation.

But she also observed that continued population growth, combined with low school enrolment rates, is adding to the squeeze on the rural poor across Africa.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS TO REFLECT KEY PRINCIPLES

ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS TO REFLECT KEY PRINCIPLES
New York, Nov 15 2007 8:00PM
A new culture of international relations based on the principles of full respect for human rights, human security, the responsibility to protect and the promotion of sustainable development is necessary, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today.

<"http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2007/071115_Kerim.doc.htm">Speaking to reporters about the work so far of the sixty-second session of the 192-member Assembly, Mr. Kerim said those principles should drive discussions about all the key issues faced by the international community.

"The world needs more software than hardware in dealing with each other," Mr. Kerim said, stressing the importance of the values enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

"This new culture of international relations should be based on full respect of human rights, human security, the responsibility to protect and sustainable development. All this issues are intertwined, interrelated."

The priority issues for the Assembly this session remain climate change, financing for development, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), counter-terrorism and UN reform, he said.

Since it began in September the session had been generally conducted in "a spirit of good cooperation, good faith and constructive dialogue."

Next month's UN-led negotiations in Bali, Indonesia, on devising a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol on emissions reduction will be decisive in determining further progress on the issue, the President stressed, adding that the Assembly was planning to hold a series of follow-up meetings and activities in a bid to spur more progress.

Mr. Kerim also highlighted a series of events taking place during this session, including: a joint event next week with the Inter-Parliamentary Union on reinforcing the rule of law in international relations; a high-level meeting next month on children; and a separate high-level meeting on the HIV/AIDS pandemic and its impact on the attainment of the MDGs, the ambitious set of goals for reducing poverty and other social ills, all by 2015.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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CAMEROON: BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES RESPONSE TO KILLINGS IN BAKASSI PENINSULA

CAMEROON: BAN KI-MOON WELCOMES RESPONSE TO KILLINGS IN BAKASSI PENINSULA
New York, Nov 15 2007 7:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he was encouraged by the "prompt and statesmanlike" response of both Cameroon and Nigeria to Monday's attack by armed gunmen on a Cameroonian military installation in the once-disputed Bakassi Peninsula that left at least 20 soldiers dead.

In a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2867">statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban offered his "sincere condolences to the Government and people of Cameroon and in particular to the families of those killed and wounded during the tragic incident."

The statement added that the Secretary-General reiterates the readiness of the UN to support the efforts of the neighbouring countries, "notably within the framework of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, to strengthen border cooperation and bilateral relations overall."

Nigeria formally withdrew from the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula and transferred authority to Cameroon in August last year, in line with the Greentree Agreement signed by the two nations two months earlier. That accord was itself the result of a negotiation process conducted by the Mixed Commission, which had been set up by the then Secretary-General Kofi Annan to help the nations peacefully resolve the Bakassi border dispute.

Under the agreement, Nigeria recognized Cameroonian sovereignty over the region, in accordance with a ruling by the International Court of Justice (<"http://www.icj-cij.org/homepage/index.php?lang=en">ICJ) in 2002. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, the Bakassi had been the subject of intense and sometimes violent disputes between the two countries for decades.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE BACKS GLOBAL MORATORIUM AGAINST DEATH PENALTY

GENERAL ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE BACKS GLOBAL MORATORIUM AGAINST DEATH PENALTY
New York, Nov 15 2007 7:00PM
A committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted today to back a <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/c.3/62/l.29">resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions with a view to eventually abolishing the death penalty entirely.

The Assembly's third committee, which deals with human rights issues, voted 99 to 52, with 33 abstentions, in favour of the resolution, which states "that there is no conclusive evidence of the death penalty's deterrent value and that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the death penalty's implementation is irreversible and irreparable."

The resolution will now go before the full 192-member Assembly for a vote next month. All Assembly resolutions are non-binding.

The resolution welcomes "the decisions taken by an increasing number of States to apply a moratorium on executions, followed in many cases by the abolition of the death penalty," and expresses deep concern that the death penalty continues to be applied in some countries.

It calls on nations that do impose the death penalty to ensure they meet internationally agreed minimum standards on the safeguards for those facing execution, and to provide the United Nations Secretary-General with information about their use of capital punishment and observation of the safeguards.

Further, the resolution asks countries to progressively restrict the use of the death penalty, such as by reducing the number of offences for which it may be imposed, and calls on those States that have abolished the practice to not reintroduce it.

In the past two days, before the resolution was put to a vote by the third committee, more than a dozen proposed amendments to the text were rejected by committee members.

The third committee also passed a resolution today, this time by consensus without a vote, calling for the elimination of rape and other forms of sexual violence in all their manifestations, including in conflict and related situations.

The text urges States to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence; to end impunity for perpetrators of such crimes; to provide victims with greater access to health care, including trauma counselling; to promote human rights education and conduct public awareness campaigns; and to consider ratifying or acceding to all human rights treaties on the issue, particularly the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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UN RIGHTS EXPERT CALLS FOR OVERHAUL OF BRAZILIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

UN RIGHTS EXPERT CALLS FOR OVERHAUL OF BRAZILIAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
New York, Nov 15 2007 6:00PM
Brazil's police engage frequently in extrajudicial executions and many moonlight in death squads or militias involved in racketeering, an independent United Nations human rights expert said today, calling for wholesale reform of the country's culture of policing.

Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said in a <"http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/7F0F08340A31AC6FC1257394003B5D47?opendocument">statement detailing his preliminary observations after conducting an 11-day visit to Brazil that its prisons are also severely overcrowded, leading to riots and numerous killings by both guards and inmates.

While Brazil's authorities, especially in its biggest cities, face enormous pressure in protecting citizens from the threats of gang violence, drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime, he said the criminal justice system must be overhauled to stop the routine abuse of human rights.

"The people of Brazil did not struggle valiantly against 20 years of dictatorship, nor did they adopt a federal constitution dedicated to restoring respect for human rights, only in order to make Brazil free for police officers to kill with impunity in the name of security," Mr. Alston concluded.

The criminal justice system is not "hopelessly broken," he said, with many competent personnel working in its various institutions, but there remain too many "disaster areas" in which lawlessness and criminality prevail.

"It is imperative that the federal and state governments implement sustained reforms in the directions I have indicated in order to enhance the security of ordinary citizens and promote respect for human rights."

Homicide is the leading cause of death for Brazilians aged between 15 and 44, and the victims are overwhelmingly likely to be young, male, black and poor, Mr. Alston said. Yet in the country's largest cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, only about 10 per cent of these crimes are tried in courts.

Mr. Alston noted that in Rio de Janeiro this year the police have recorded 694 "acts of resistance followed by death," which he labelled "very often a euphemism for extrajudicial executions by the police" involving disproportionate or unnecessary force. "It is a category which virtually ensures that impunity will follow," he added.

The Special Rapporteur also observed that in one of the states he visited "a reliable estimate is that 70 per cent of all homicides are committed by death squads, and many of those death squads are made up of policemen and former policemen."

These death squads or related militias often violently enforce their own protection rackets against local shopkeepers, transport operators and others and kill anyone they suspect of corroborating with gangs.

"For residents of these communities, control by a 'militia' is nearly indistinguishable from control by gangs and traffickers," Mr. Alston said.

Prisons, meanwhile, are so overcrowded that they have three times the number of inmates than they are designed to hold, promoting an atmosphere in riots are commonplace and weapons are easily brought into the jails.

"Wardens are insufficiently trained and supervised. Low levels of education and work opportunities also contribute to unrest, as does the failure to ensure that inmates are transferred from closed to open prisons when they are entitled to do so."

Some states, such as Rio de Janeiro, force new prisoners to choose a gang faction when arriving in jail – a system which Mr. Alston said is "cruel and needlessly swells the size of the gangs."

The Special Rapporteur offered a series of preliminary recommendations ahead of the release of his final report on the visit, which he expects to complete by March next year.

They include: more effective investigations of every police killing to determine if they are justified or should be tried as homicides; higher police salaries to reduce the desire of officers to moonlight in militias and death squads or take part in corruption; greater protection for witnesses to extrajudicial killings by the police and organized crime; increased independence and resources for police ombudsmen and prison monitors; and ensuring that prisons are controlled by the wardens and not by inmates.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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UN FORUM EXAMINES INTERNET RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES

UN FORUM EXAMINES INTERNET RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES
New York, Nov 15 2007 6:00PM
The dangers and opportunities of the World Wide Web dominated discussions on the final day of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro, at which many of the nearly 1,400 participants, ranging from sceptics to supporters, provided a glimpse of what might lie in the future.

The British writer Andrew Keen warned "the future is not good." Despite much talk about the profound democratic transformations wrought by the Internet, he said there were also "unintended consequences" and the technologies of what is often described as "Web 2.0" – the second generation of web-based communities and hosted services – would bring less, not more, democracy.

User-generated sites like Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube were the future of the media, Mr. Keen said. But the explosion of user-generated content was not benefiting the talented. Profit was not going to the creators of content, but to a tiny corporate minority.

The Internet was also trivializing politics by helping to create a "cacophony of opinions, where one cannot sort out the truth." The remedy was to teach young people not technology, but media literacy and a healthy scepticism.

Robert Pepper of Cisco Systems pointed out the continuing trend to lower cost. For instance, local and regional Internet Exchange Points (IEPs) allowed traffic to be routed within a region, lowering global Internet costs.

Information technologies could also be used to address issues of energy and the environment, Mr. Pepper said. Technologies could not only improve the supply of energy where it was not easily available, but at the same time help to address climate change.

Vinton Cerf, sometimes described as one of the "fathers of the Internet," said there was increasing understanding of the need for Web responsibility.

"Global Internet law" would have to be developed at some point, Mr. Cerf said. "We will have to arrive at global agreements about what people can and cannot do," as well as ways to enforce laws globally when people did infringe the law.

"This will be very complicated, something like the Law of the Sea, but perhaps we will need such a matrix to sort things out."

Fatimata Seye Sylla, a leader of Senegal's civil society, said that for Africa access remained paramount, but "you cannot govern something that almost does not exist." Africa was still at the bottom of the list in terms of infrastructure, capacity and content. Work was ongoing across the continent to build capacity and create local content, she said. There was a need to develop public-private partnerships and a regional regulatory and policy framework conducive to investment in information technology.

"But until projects are fully implemented by Africans, there will be no sense of ownership," she said, calling for more involvement by civil society and for stronger political commitment by national leaders.

A total of 1,376 people from 109 countries attended the four-day Forum. The largest participation (380) was from civil society, followed by government (302), the private sector (168), the media (104) and intergovernmental organizations (67).

Eighty-four events held in parallel with the main sessions included 19 events on the issue of security, 11 on openness and freedom of expression, 12 on development and capacity-building, 10 on critical Internet resources, nine on access and six on diversity.

The Forum's third meeting will take place in New Delhi in December 2008.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL HEADS TO MIDDLE EAST AND SWITZERLAND

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL HEADS TO MIDDLE EAST AND SWITZERLAND
New York, Nov 15 2007 5:00PM
Asha-Rose Migiro is set to depart tomorrow for a trip that will take the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General to Israel, the occupied Palestinian territory and Switzerland.

Ms. Migiro will be the guest of honour at an international conference in Jerusalem with the theme of "Women's Leadership for Sustainable Development," UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York.

While there, she will also meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and UN staff. In addition, she is scheduled to visit Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

On 19 November, Ms. Migiro will travel to the occupied Palestinian territory, where she will meet the Palestinian Foreign Minister and the Minister of Women's Affairs, as well as visit a UN project.

Following that, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Geneva to deliver an address to the 16th Session of the General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

In Geneva she will also be meeting with local Government officials and heads of UN agencies and staff, the spokesperson stated.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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EUROPE'S 'APPETITE' FOR COCAINE ENDANGERING AFRICA, WARNS UN ANTI-DRUGS CHIEF

EUROPE'S 'APPETITE' FOR COCAINE ENDANGERING AFRICA, WARNS UN ANTI-DRUGS CHIEF
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) <" http://www.unodc.org/unodc/speech_2007_15_11.html">warned today that security in West Africa is being threatened by criminals who are using the region as a hub for trafficking drugs, particularly cocaine, from South America to Europe.

"A sniff here and a sniff there in Europe are causing another disaster in Africa, to add to its poverty, unemployment and pandemics," Antonio Maria Costa said at a conference on cocaine taking place in Madrid.

"The problem will persist until Europeans curb their appetite for cocaine," UNODC's Executive Director added, urging Europe's cocaine users to take greater responsibility for the consequences of their addiction.

He said that since traditional cocaine trafficking routes from the Andean countries to North America are heavily patrolled, and trafficking into Europe has become more difficult, smugglers have found an alternative route through West Africa in order to keep up with the high demand for cocaine in Europe.

West Africa has become a desirable alternative route for two reasons, namely its location and its vulnerability, he noted. "Governments of the region are poor, weak and vulnerable – they cannot patrol their waters, cannot control their territory, cannot administer justice, and are plagued by corruption.

"Africa is under attack and cannot defend itself," he stated, adding that the international community is reacting, but not as forcefully as needed.

Mr. Costa noted that more than 4 tons of cocaine were seized in West Africa this year, a 35 per cent increase over the entire haul for 2006. "But this is probably only the tip of a cocaine iceberg," he said, noting that the drugs trade in Guinea-Bissau may be as high as the country's national income. "Africa faces a crisis of epic proportions, by and large fuelled by Europe's cocaine users."

He said UNODC is helping West Africa, and especially Guinea-Bissau, improve its justice system and law enforcement capacity, just as it had done in Cape Verde in the past. The issue is also on the agenda of the Security Council since the implications for the stability of the whole region are serious, he added.

In order to help curb Europe's cocaine use, Mr. Costa called on celebrities, in particular, to accept a greater sense of responsibility for their words and deeds, and speak out about the dangers of cocaine use "to make it a public enemy rather than socially acceptable." He also urged the media to refrain from the "reckless" practice of glamorizing the lifestyles of "stars turned junkies."

In addition, he called for greater investment into drug prevention and treatment, warning that "Europe stands almost naked in the face of the cocaine threat."
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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SUDANESE OUTBREAK OF RIFT VALLEY FEVER CONTINUES TO GROW - UN HEALTH AGENCY

SUDANESE OUTBREAK OF RIFT VALLEY FEVER CONTINUES TO GROW – UN HEALTH AGENCY
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
The number of confirmed cases and deaths from the outbreak in Sudan of the viral haemorrhagic disease known as Rift Valley Fever (RVF) continues to rise, the United Nations World Health Organization reports, but authorities are stepping up measures to try to contain its spread.

At least 329 cases of RVF have been confirmed as of yesterday in three states in eastern Sudan, WHO said in its latest <"http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_11_14/en/index.html">update, up from 228 cases reported a week ago. Some 96 people have now died, an increase of 12 in the past seven days.

The outbreak has so far been confined largely to White Nile, Sinnar and Gezira states, and WHO said the cases that have been reported in Khartoum state, which surrounds the Sudanese capital, are not indigenous but were imported from one of the three affected states.

Gezira is witnessing the greatest increase in human cases, according to WHO, with most being reported in an area close to irrigation canals that is home to livestock and mosquitoes.
Transmitted by mosquitoes, <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs207/en/index.html">RVF is a dangerous disease that affects both livestock – including sheep, goats, cattle and camels – and humans, but is usually well-established in animal populations by the time the first human cases are observed.
Humans become infected through mosquito bites or direct contact with infected material and liquids such as animal blood during slaughtering, while the uncooked milk of infected animals can also pose a risk. No cases of human-to-human transmission have ever been reported.
While some infected people experience no detectable symptoms, others develop flu-like fever, muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, vomiting, loss of appetite and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases patients can also experience lesions in their eyes, neurological problems, liver impairment and haemorrhagic fever symptoms including widespread bleeding.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org">FAO) has deployed a senior animal health expert to Sudan to assist local veterinary services with prevention and control measures in animals, while the WHO Country Office and the Sudanese Health Ministry have presented a joint response plan to international donors in Khartoum.
WHO said it is also anticipating that the Sudanese Federal Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries will now implement an integrated control programme to try to limit the spread of RVF. This programme will include social mobilization activities to raise awareness among the local population about the health risks of the disease.
But the agency called for greater measures to be introduced, taking advantage of all media, including television and radio, and the support of community and religious leaders, to ensure that at-risk communities are more aware.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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KHMER ROUGE COUPLE DETAINED AHEAD OF TRIAL BY UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL IN CAMBODIA

KHMER ROUGE COUPLE DETAINED AHEAD OF TRIAL BY UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL IN CAMBODIA
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
Judges at the United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia trying Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings and other crimes three decades ago have decided to place a former foreign minister of the South-East Asian country and his wife in provisional detention for a year while they await trial.

Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister under the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who served as social affairs minister under the same regime, had been arrested earlier this week. Mr. Ieng faces charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes while Madame Ieng Thirith is charged with crimes against humanity.

In a press statement issued today, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (<" http://www.eccc.gov.kh/english/default.aspx">ECCC) said the tribunal's co-investigating judges agreed to provisionally detain the couple after holding consecutive hearings on the issue yesterday.
The husband and wife are the third and fourth people to be charged by the ECCC's co-investigating judges, joining Nuon Chea (aka Brother Number Two) and Kaing Guek Eav (aka Duch).
Under an agreement signed by the UN and Cambodia, the ECCC was set up as an independent court using a mixture of Cambodian staff and judges and foreign personnel. It is designated to try those deemed most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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DARFUR: UN, AU ENVOYS STEP UP EFFORTS TO FIND COMMON GROUND AMONG REBELS

DARFUR: UN, AU ENVOYS STEP UP EFFORTS TO FIND COMMON GROUND AMONG REBELS
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
The United Nations and African Union Special Envoys tasked with spearheading the peace process in Darfur say they are stepping up efforts to press some of the larger groups of the war-torn region's splintering rebel movements to find common ground ahead of scheduled direct peace talks with the Sudanese Government next month.

The UN's Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim of the AU, speaking last night at Khartoum airport after returning from a visit to Asmara, the capital of neighbouring Eritrea, said they hoped that more rebels will attend the upcoming talks in Sirte, Libya.

Many of Darfur's rebel groups, which have fragmented recently from three major groups into 16 or more separate factions, did not attend the opening round last month in Sirte that was designed to be the first step of a three-phase process to end the conflict.

Discussing the progress of the peace talks so far, Mr. Eliasson said that the envoys had wanted to start in greater glory with a lot more people present. But he added that there is now the beginning of a process, which has led to the series of consultations this month inside and outside Sudan with rebels to encourage them to participate.

Mr. Eliasson also stressed that he hoped the rebel movements realized the level of expectation among the people of Darfur and Sudan and from the international community that they must agree soon a common team and negotiating position for next month's talks in Sirte.

In Asmara, the two envoys met with representatives of countries in the region – including Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki – to help in the peace process, and they said later that they were encouraged by those talks.

More than 200,000 people have been killed since 2003 and another 2.2 million have been made homeless because of the fighting in Darfur between rebels, Government forces and allied militia known as the Janjaweed. A hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping mission known as UNAMID is slated to deploy at the start of next year to try to quell the widespread violence and humanitarian suffering.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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'ERA OF HOPE' FOR SIERRA LEONE AS NEW PRESIDENT IS INAUGURATED, SAYS BAN KI-MOON

'ERA OF HOPE' FOR SIERRA LEONE AS NEW PRESIDENT IS INAUGURATED, SAYS BAN KI-MOON
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
Declaring that "Sierra Leone faces an era of hope," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Ernest Bai Koroma on his inauguration as the West African country's President but warned that the transition to peace, stability and lasting economic growth after years of civil strife will be difficult.

The United Nations remains committed to supporting Sierra Leone as it rebuilds its society, especially through the work of the Peacebuilding Commission, Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11279.doc.htm">message delivered by Carolyn McAskie, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, in Freetown, the national capital.

Sierra Leone is one of two countries – the other is Burundi – which is currently under consideration by the Commission, which was established a year ago to help countries emerging from conflict avoid sliding back into war or chaos.

Mr. Ban noted that "a peaceful and transparent election process" had led to Mr. Koroma becoming President in September after he won a run-off race. It was the first presidential election since UN peacekeepers left Sierra Leone in 2005. Since then the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) has been engaged in helping the fledgling democracy.

"With the elections successfully concluded, Sierra Leone faces an era of hope. The people are waiting to see tangible improvements in their lives. They are looking to their new Government to remain steadfastly committed to consolidating peace, ensuring sustained economic growth and healing ethnic and national wounds. The road ahead will not be easy."

Mr. Ban commended Mr. Koroma for his efforts so far to develop an inclusive Government, tackle corruption and expedite the delivery of basic services to the population. But he said this can only be the start of a long process.

"The Government will need to focus on strengthening governance, rule of law and the protection of human rights, stimulating economic growth, building the capacity of critical State institutions, delivering basic services, fostering national reconciliation and addressing the root causes of the country's conflict."
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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UN RIGHTS EXPERT MEETS WITH POLITICAL PRISONERS ON FINAL DAY OF MYANMAR VISIT

UN RIGHTS EXPERT MEETS WITH POLITICAL PRISONERS ON FINAL DAY OF MYANMAR VISIT
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
The United Nations human rights official investigating alleged abuses by the Myanmar Government during a recent crackdown on demonstrators met with a group of political prisoners today before concluding his five-day visit to the South-East Asian nation.

Before departing Yangon today, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, told reporters that, among his stops, he visited the Insein Jail twice, with the second visit taking place this afternoon, when he met some political prisoners.

Recapping his visit, Mr. Pinheiro – an independent expert who reports directly to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council – also provided details of his meetings, both in Yangon and the new capital Nay Pyi Taw, with Myanmar officials, the UN Country Team, monks, detainees and representatives of ethnic groups over the past five days.

The Special Rapporteur, whose last mission to Myanmar was in 2003, arrived in the country on Saturday, at the invitation of the Government, on a mission to investigate allegations of abuses by the authorities in response to peaceful demonstrations, determine the numbers and whereabouts of those detained or killed, and collect testimony about what happened.

Mr. Pinheiro's trip follows that of the Secretary-General's Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari, who recently met senior officials in the country on speeding up the process of democratization and national reconciliation in Myanmar.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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INCENTIVES COULD ENCOURAGE FARMERS TO PROTECT ENVIRONMENT, SAYS UN AGENCY

INCENTIVES COULD ENCOURAGE FARMERS TO PROTECT ENVIRONMENT, SAYS UN AGENCY
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000698/index.html">FAO) has proposed offering cash payments as an incentive to encourage farmers to use eco-friendly practices, in a bid to protect the environment and address concerns associated with climate change.

In its annual publication, <i><"http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1200e/a1200e00.htm">The State of Food and Agriculture 2007</i>, FAO notes that hundreds of payment programmes for environmental services are currently being implemented around the world, mainly as part of forest conservation initiatives. "But relatively few programmes for environmental services have targeted farmers and agricultural lands in developing countries," it adds.

"Agriculture employs more people and uses more land and water than any other human activity," FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf says in the foreword to the report.

"It has the potential to degrade the Earth's land, water, atmosphere and biological resources – or to enhance them – depending on the decisions made by the more than two billion people whose livelihoods depend directly on crops, livestock, fisheries or forests. Ensuring appropriate incentives for these people is essential."

Payments can take different forms as voluntary transactions involving farmers, communities, taxpayers, consumers, corporations and governments, according to FAO. They could be direct payments by governments to producers or indirect transfers, such as consumers paying extra for a cup of shade-grown coffee beans.

The agency notes that population growth, rapid economic development, increasing demand for biofuels and climate change are putting environmental resources under pressure throughout the world.

One of the important reasons for environmental degradation is the perception that many of nature's services are free – no one owns them or is rewarded for them and farmers have little incentive to protect them, states FAO.

Payments for environmental services represent one way of increasing incentives to adopt improved agricultural practices – and even to offset pollution generated in other sectors.

FAO adds that while such measures can ensure that farmers consider the impact of their production decisions on the environment, they are not the best solution in all situations.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN ENVOY IN KOSOVO SAYS CLARITY ON STATUS IS VITAL FOR FUTURE STABILITY

TOP UN ENVOY IN KOSOVO SAYS CLARITY ON STATUS IS VITAL FOR FUTURE STABILITY
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
The Secretary-General's Special Representative in Kosovo said today that clarity on the future status of the United Nations-administered province is critical for its ethnic communities and to ensuring stability across the wider region in South-East Europe.

<"http://www.unmikonline.org/dpi/pressrelease.nsf/0/3F21C43345BF9134C1257394004A3D46/$FILE/pr1710.pdf">Speaking in Vienna to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Permanent Council, Joachim Rücker said he continued to have faith in the so-called Troika-led negotiation process, which brings together the European Union, Russia and the United States to try to devise a solution to the ongoing dispute about Kosovo's future status.

"An agreed solution would be the optimal outcome, and the easiest to implement," he said. "Still, even if no agreement is reached, clarity on Kosovo's future, key to ensuring stability in the region, will have to be forthcoming."

Earlier this year Belgrade and Pristina held direct negotiations on the future status of Kosovo, where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs and other minorities by about nine to one. This followed a report from the UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari in which he proposed a phased process of independence for Kosovo.

Municipal, assembly and mayoral elections in Kosovo are scheduled to take place on Saturday and Mr. Rücker stressed that preparations remain on track. The UN Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK), with the help of the OSCE mission in the province, is ready to deploy mobile polling stations in case voters in some areas are refused access to public buildings to cast their votes.

Last month both the envoy and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Kosovo's ethnic Serb community to take part in the polls.

UNMIK, which Mr. Rücker heads, has administered Kosovo since 1999, when Western forces drove Yugoslav troops out of the province amid inter-ethnic fighting.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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FREE AND FAIR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WILL BE 'MILESTONE' FOR LEBANON - BAN KI-MOON

FREE AND FAIR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WILL BE 'MILESTONE' FOR LEBANON – BAN KI-MOON
New York, Nov 15 2007 4:21PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid a visit today to Lebanon, where he has once again stressed that the holding of a free and fair presidential election later this month, without any foreign interference, would constitute a milestone for a country whose political situation he described as "complex and difficult."

Mr. Ban's visit comes as Lebanon prepares to elect a new president before the constitutional deadline of 24 November. If successful, it would mark the first time that the Lebanese people have had the opportunity to conduct free and fair presidential elections since the end of the country's brutal civil war in 1990.

"The country now stands at an important crossroads in its modern history," Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1098">told reporters upon arriving in Beirut. "A free and fair election of a new president according to constitutional rules without foreign interference is a milestone in the development of Lebanon as a vibrant democracy.

"It constitutes a pillar in its aspirations to recover its full political independence and sovereignty; and to secure its territorial integrity," he added, while stressing that the election should take place on time and in accordance with Lebanese constitutional rules.

While in Lebanon, the Secretary-General is scheduled to meet separately with Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri and leader of the 14 March movement Saad Hariri, before having a working dinner with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

Beirut is the latest stop on an international trip that has already taken the Secretary-General to South America, Antarctica, Spain and Tunisia.

Earlier today in Tunis, Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11280.doc.htm">addressed the international conference on counter-terrorism taking place in the Tunisian capital, stating that the UN's 192 Member States made history just over one year ago when they adopted the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy as a visionary yet practical guide for international activities to counter terrorism.

"Yet our work together is just beginning," he told participants. "Now we must implement the Strategy in all its dimensions. By next September, when the General Assembly meets to review implementation of the strategy, we must all have concrete progress to show – Member States, the UN system, and our key partners in regional and other organizations."

Before leaving Tunisia, the Secretary-General met with that country's President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as well as the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

<"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1097">Speaking to reporters after his meeting with the President, Mr. Ban said the two discussed, among other topics, Tunisia's sustained economic growth and its progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of ambitious targets the world has set itself for slashing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and other social ills by 2015, as well as how to counter terrorism.
2007-11-15 00:00:00.000

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VIABILITY OF UN-AU PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN DARFUR AT RISK, WARNS TOP UN OFFICIAL

VIABILITY OF UN-AU PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN DARFUR AT RISK, WARNS TOP UN OFFICIAL
New York, Nov 14 2007 8:00PM
The lack of offers from Member States for key ground transport and aviation units and the Sudanese Government's unwillingness so far to approve the presence of non-African units means the hybrid United Nations peacekeeping mission planned for the war-torn Darfur region could fail, a senior UN official warned today.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told reporters that if the joint UN-African Union operation – known as UNAMID – does not have the necessary capacities in critical areas by the start of next year, when it is due to take over from the existing AU mission, it may not be wise to deploy the force.

"It is a terrible dilemma, because on the one hand, you can say that a force, even if it doesn't have all the assets, can make a limited difference for a number of people in Darfur, and that is something in itself which is good," he said. "On the other hand, if that force was to know humiliation in the early stages of its deployment, then it would be very hard to recover from such a humiliation. So it's an extremely difficult decision to make."

Mr. Guéhenno spoke after briefing Security Council members on the latest developments regarding UNAMID, which is aiming to quell the conflict between rebels, Government forces and allied militia that has killed more than 200,000 people and left 2.2 million others homeless since 2003.

He said Council members and UN Secretariat officials remain worried that the mission will not be able to robustly carry out its mandate without the support of both the missing units and those that Sudan has not yet approved.

"If those issues are not addressed in a timely manner, very shortly, it means that the mission in 2008 will not be able to really meet the expectations, [and] that it will not be able to make the difference that the world wants it to make, and that it may become a failure, so this is a very important moment."

He noted that UNAMID still does not have a commitment for a ground transport unit, for 18 transport helicopters to serve as close air support and for six helicopters to be used for light tactical purposes.

"I think it tells a sad story on the commitment to Darfur, frankly. I think there is an immense tragedy that has unfolded in Darfur and now it is up to the countries that care about Darfur to really make the commitment that will make a difference. I think this is the time for concrete action."

Mr. Guéhenno also voiced concern that the Sudanese Government has not clearly signalled its approval of several non-African units in UNAMID, which is to have a predominantly African character.

"The Sudanese Government hasn't said no to any particular unit, but the Sudanese Government hasn't said yes either to any of those units that have been mentioned… We believe that the clock is ticking and that it is important to move forward."

Thailand has offered to provide an infantry battalion, Nepal is willing to contribute a force reserve and sector reserve unit and the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway and Denmark have offered to send an engineering unit.

"There is no alternative to those units because to prepare for deployment takes time. We know that these units are ready; we know that they have made the preparation. They need now to deploy, and they are ready to deploy."

The Under-Secretary-General stressed that even with the provision of these units, UNAMID will be overwhelmingly African in its composition. The Thai battalion would be one of 18 battalions in the peacekeeping force.

Meanwhile, the Security Council today also heard briefings from the chair of three of its subsidiary bodies, committees set up to examine counter-terrorism issues, monitor Al-Qaida and the Taliban, and promote the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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DR CONGO: UN REFUGEE AGENCY HELPS HUNDREDS OF DISPLACED RETURN TO ITURI

DR CONGO: UN REFUGEE AGENCY HELPS HUNDREDS OF DISPLACED RETURN TO ITURI
New York, Nov 14 2007 7:00PM
The United Nations refugee agency has this week begun an operation to return hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to their homes in the troubled north-eastern province of Ituri by the end of the year.

On Monday a convoy organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/473b31044.html">UNHCR) took about 210 Congolese from Beni in North Kivu province, which has become extremely volatile this year, along bush tracks to the town of Komanda, which is located in Ituri.

A second convoy, this time carrying 216 returnees, left Beni early today bound for Ituri province, according to a press report issued by UNHCR.

Two convoys each week are planned over the next month so that eventually an estimated 2,400 Congolese should be able to return to Ituri, with further returns dependent on demand.

Returnees are given a series of items by UNHCR to help them re-adjust to life in their former homes, including jerry cans, blankets, mats, plastic sheets, kitchen sets, seeds and agricultural tools. The World Food Programme (WFP) is also supplying food rations for a month.

Some 40,000 people from Ituri have been living in camps or with host families in the area around Beni since 2003 after inter-ethnic clashes erupted across their home province. But security conditions in Ituri have improved recently and UNHCR said thousands of IDPs have returned home spontaneously.

UNHCR field officer Sani Chaibou added that UN forces would conduct patrols in the return zones in Ituri to ensure the safety of the IDPs.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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UN FORUM TACKLES BALANCE BETWEEN PROPERTY RIGHTS AND INTERNET FREEDOM

UN FORUM TACKLES BALANCE BETWEEN PROPERTY RIGHTS AND INTERNET FREEDOM
New York, Nov 14 2007 7:00PM
Reconciling the free flow of information with intellectual property law topped the agenda today as the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, which has brought together 1,700 delegates from government, civil society and the private sector this week, continued its <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/pi1814.doc.htm">discussions in Rio de Janeiro.

"For many outside this room, IP does not mean 'Internet Protocol' but 'Intellectual Property'," said Masanobu Katoh, Fujitsu's Corporate Vice-President. Freedom of information and regulations could coexist, as shown by legislation and guidelines adopted by the United States Congress, the European Parliament and Japan.

Self-regulation by the private sector should supplement government action, he said, and the dilemma between Internet freedom and Internet regulation could be resolved by striking a balance among the various competing interests.

Alexandre Jobim of the International Association of Broadcasters said broadcasters were held accountable through laws prohibiting child pornography, incitation to violence and other crimes. But these same restrictions did not apply to the Internet, leading to an unfair imbalance between traditional and Web-based media. Broadcasters fully supported Internet freedom, but saw the need to limit online criminal activities.

Nick Dearden of Amnesty International said Internet filtering was spreading rapidly, activists were imprisoned for legitimate online activities and companies cooperated with governments in censorship. "As Internet access continues to grow, this repression seems certain to increase as well," he said.

"For many governments across the world, human rights are actually slipping down the agenda," he said. Governments were concerned about credit card frauds, child pornography and cyberterrorism but seldom mentioned freedom of expression.

Peter Dengate, Chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), said freedom of expression was sacrosanct, but so was "the freedom to enjoy the fruits of your labour and the freedom to enjoy the undisturbed use of your property." The Internet had made the copying of property "extraordinarily easy," with images, music and texts able to be taken and used instantly.

Carlos Gregorio, an expert in privacy rights, said everybody wanted to keep the broadest degree of openness possible, but this was making people vulnerable, and "the State is a main destroyer of the balance between access and privacy."

In Latin America, many of the websites of the judiciary had been made public in the name of transparency, but in one country the names and social security numbers of almost all people living with HIV/AIDS, most of them children, were available online. Workers who had sued their former employer saw the verdict posted on the Web, and would never be hired again.

"Privacy, regrettably, is being lost," Mr. Gregorio said, "and it will be very difficult to keep it up."
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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GREATER EFFORTS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE GENDER BALANCE WITHIN UN SYSTEM - MIGIRO

GREATER EFFORTS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE GENDER BALANCE WITHIN UN SYSTEM – MIGIRO
New York, Nov 14 2007 7:00PM
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today called for greater efforts to achieve gender balance within the United Nations system, stating that statistics show an "unacceptable" lack of progress in this area despite the measures taken so far.

While the UN has proclaimed the equal rights of men and women, and the General Assembly has called for 50-50 gender balance in the world body's staff in numerous resolutions over the years, gender parity has yet to become a reality.

"Our own statistics showed an unacceptable lack of progress in achieving gender balance among United Nations staff," Ms. Migiro said in a message to the expert group meeting on measures to accelerate the improvement in the status of women in the UN system.

She noted that, for the past eight years, the share of female Secretariat staff in professional and higher categories increased by an average of only 0.35 per cent per year. Between 2004 and 2006, the proportion of women in most professional grades actually decreased.

Also during the same period, there was close to a 20 per cent rise in the proportion of women leaving the Organization voluntarily before retirement age.

"Simple projections show that at the current glacial pace, we would achieve gender balance at the USG [Under-Secretary-General] level in 2080, and, even more alarmingly, at the P-5 level in 2120."

In addition, if UN managers today were judged on their performance on gender, "few of them would get a passing grade."

She stressed the need for managers at all levels to be bold and creative in their efforts to reach gender parity throughout the UN system, including in recruiting and retaining qualified women.

Ms. Migiro also suggested exploring the kind of temporary special measures that have been used by some Member States to reach legislated gender targets. "It is my firm conviction that without temporary special measures, tradition, whatever its manifestation, cannot be overcome," she stated.

Another area that the Deputy Secretary-General feels requires greater efforts within the Organization is regarding rule of law. "Despite our strengths, we have struggled to ensure strategic coherence and coordination in our engagement in rule of law," Ms. Migiro told a round-table discussion on cooperation between the UN and rule of law assistance providers, held yesterday.

To address that issue, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has established the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group, which Ms. Migiro chairs, and the Rule of Law Unit. The Unit supports the Group in system-wide coordination, guidance and development of best practices, and fostering effective partnerships with external actors.

"With these new arrangements, we have set firmly down a path towards shared strategic and policy direction, coordination and quality-control," she said, stressing that for the UN, the rule of law is fundamental to achieving long-lasting peace and security, effective protection of human rights, economic progress and sustainable development.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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PROGRESS MADE ON PATH TO SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM, SAYS ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

PROGRESS MADE ON PATH TO SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM, SAYS ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
New York, Nov 14 2007 7:00PM
United Nations Member States have paved the way to identifying the contentious elements that will form the basis of negotiations on reforming the Security Council, the General Assembly President said today after the 192-member forum wrapped up a three-day <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/ga10658.doc.htm">debate on the issue.

In his closing remarks, Srgjan Kerim said "the debate demonstrated the clear commitment of Member States to embark upon a new stage that offers the prospect of achieving the ultimate goal of comprehensive reform of the Security Council."

He noted that nearly half of the UN's membership had taken part in "a frank and effective dialogue" in which they all agreed on the importance and urgency of Council reform, even if they still differed on the precise formula for change and the process for achieving it.

The process "will require our combined efforts based on pragmatism, political courage, mutual faith and respect, as well as flexibility and the political will to reach the broadest possible agreement."

Mr. Kerim warned that the world "cannot afford to undermine this collective political momentum by calculating to imbibe it with hesitation in order to derail or disrupt the process."

But for intergovernmental negotiations on the issue to begin successfully, the Assembly President said Member States should be guided by a series of principles that have emerged during the long-running debate on Council reform.

Those elements include: that Council reform must go hand-in-hand with transforming the wider UN system; that negotiations must be undertaken in good faith and based on mutual respect; that reform must "accommodate the interests and concerns of all sides, especially those who are currently underrepresented"; and that the process must always be transparent and objective.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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STEADY GROWTH WILL HELP AFRICA REALIZE UN MILLENNIUM GOALS, SAYS WORLD BANK

STEADY GROWTH WILL HELP AFRICA REALIZE UN MILLENNIUM GOALS, SAYS WORLD BANK
New York, Nov 14 2007 6:00PM
A new report released by the <"http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21548806~menuPK:258649~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258644,00.html">World Bank shows that many African economies are experiencing the faster and steadier growth needed to reduce poverty, one of the eight ambitious targets known as the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs) that the world has pledged to try to achieve by 2015.

"After years of stop-and-start results, many African economies appear to be growing at the fast and steady rates needed to put a dent on the region's high poverty rate and attract global investment," the Bank said upon the release of its Africa Development Indicators 2007.

The new report, released in Johannesburg today, reveals that growth in Africa has averaged 5.4 per cent over the past 10 years, which is on par with the rest of the world.

"The ability to support, sustain, and in fact diversify the sources of these growth indicators would be critical not only to Africa's capacity to meet the MDGs, but also to becoming an exciting investment destination for global capital," said the Bank's Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili.

The report finds solid economic performance across the continent in the period from 1995 to 2005, which contrasts with the economic collapse of 1975-1985 and the stagnation of 1985-1995.

It also shows that performance among countries varied greatly with 2005 growth rates ranging from 30.8 per cent in Equatorial Guinea to a decrease of 2.2 per cent in troubled Zimbabwe. Nine countries had growth rates near or above 7 per cent, the minimum needed for sustained poverty reduction.

"Africa has learnt to trade more effectively with the rest of the world, to rely more on the private sector, and to avoid the very serious collapses in economic growth that characterized the 1970s, 1980s and even the early 1990s," John Page, Chief Economist for the Africa Region, said concerning the report's findings.

While the report cited significant long-term gains for sub-Saharan economies, it warned that the region remains volatile – a condition that has dampened investment. "Avoiding growth collapses is key to accelerating progress toward the MDGs in Africa," Mr. Page stated.

The report is based on more than 1,000 indicators covering economic, human and private-sector development, governance, environment, and aid.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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RAPPER JAY-Z WINS AWARD FOR 'WATER FOR LIFE' CAMPAIGN INVOLVING UN

RAPPER JAY-Z WINS AWARD FOR 'WATER FOR LIFE' CAMPAIGN INVOLVING UN
New York, Nov 14 2007 5:00PM
The United Nations campaign to bring the worsening water and sanitation crisis to the attention of the world's young people has been recognized with an award to one of the programme's partners, the best-selling recording artist Jay-Z.
Jay-Z's multimedia "Water for Life" campaign, developed jointly with the UN's Department of Public Information and MTV Networks, included a television documentary, an interactive website profiling the water problem in 26 countries and the distribution of free education resources.

In an online voting contest organized by the Vibe Awards, which celebrate excellence and innovation in urban music, lifestyle and culture, Jay-Z won a new prize known as Vibe Props (VPROPS), which recognizes individuals who show unyielding commitment to serving their community.

In a taped video <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11278.doc.htm">message to the awards, which are being screened tonight on United States television, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon accepted the prize on Jay-Z's behalf.

"My man Jay-Z has been a wonderful partner to the UN, and a champion of those in need around the world," he said, adding how proud he was that the award had been given for the rapper's work on the 'Water for Life' campaign.

"More than one billion people have no access to safe drinking water. Two billion lack adequate sanitation. As a result, thousands of children die every day from diseases that could be prevented.

"When world leaders adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), they pledged to change all that. They promised, by the year 2015, to cut by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water. Let us hold them to that promise."
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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MYANMAR: UN RIGHTS EXPERT MEETS WITH SENIOR MINISTERS

MYANMAR: UN RIGHTS EXPERT MEETS WITH SENIOR MINISTERS
New York, Nov 14 2007 4:00PM
The independent United Nations human rights expert probing recent events in Myanmar continued his visit today holding meetings with a number of Government officials, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and the UN Country Team.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, arrived in Yangon on Saturday on a mission to verify allegations of abuses during the recent Government crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, determine the numbers and whereabouts of those detained or killed, and collect testimony about what happened.

Today he met with Foreign Minister U Nyan Win and Information Minister Brig.-Gen. Kyaw Hsan in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw. He also met with U Aung Kyi, Minister for Labour and Minister for Relations, who is the Government's liaison with detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

While thanking the authorities for the wide range of meetings with Government officials, Mr. Pinheiro renewed his request to be given access to other non-government interlocutors, according to a statement issued by the UN.

Also in Nay Pyi Taw, the Special Rapporteur held meetings with the UN Country Team, led by Resident Coordinator Charles Petrie, as well as with over 20 members of the diplomatic corps in Myanmar, who travelled to the new capital.

The Special Rapporteur, who had not been allowed into the country since 2003, returns to Yangon tomorrow to wrap up his five-day visit.

Mr. Pinheiro's trip follows that of the Secretary-General's Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari, who recently visited the troubled South-East Asian nation for the second time since Government forces began using force to respond to peaceful protesters in August.

Speaking to reporters yesterday in New York, where he briefed the 15-member Security Council on his mission, Mr. Gambari said that while the Government of Myanmar has taken several positive steps in recent weeks, it is still necessary to "push them further on making the process of dialogue lead to very substantive discussions, substantial negotiations in order to lead to the kind of positive change we want in that country."

"I think the burden is now on them to show that they are moving in the direction that is more positive than negative," he stated.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN GERMANY MAY BE DE-LISTED IF BRIDGE IS BUILT - UNESCO

WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN GERMANY MAY BE DE-LISTED IF BRIDGE IS BUILT – UNESCO
New York, Nov 14 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=41264&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO) warned today that a German court's decision to authorize the construction of a bridge could lead to the removal of the Dresden Elbe Valley from the <"http://whc.unesco.org/en/list">World Heritage List of the planet's outstanding natural and cultural sites.

The erection of the Waldschlössen Bridge over the Elbe River "could irreversibly damage the values and integrity of the Dresden Elbe Valley," UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and World Heritage Committee Chairperson Christina Cameron said in a joint statement released in Paris.

"It saddens us that the intense negotiations launched between UNESCO and the national and municipal authorities of Germany have failed to secure the protection of a site so recently inscribed [in 2004] on the World Heritage List."

The Committee placed the Dresden Elbe Valley on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger last year and said today that it would review the site's status at its next session, scheduled to take place in Quebec in July 2008, after receiving a technical assessment of the impact of the bridge's construction.

About 18 kilometres long, the Dresden Elbe Valley site was inscribed for its "outstanding cultural landscape," which brings together a combination of baroque and other historic buildings and landscape features in and around the city of Dresden into a parkland setting along the river.

Only one other site has been de-listed since the World Heritage List, which features natural or cultural sites deemed to have outstanding universal value, began in 1978. That was the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary of Oman, which was removed in July this year because of the country's failure to meet what the Committee said were its conservation obligations. In total, there are currently 851 sites on the World Heritage List.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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GLOBAL LANDMARKS LIGHT UP IN BLUE TO MARK FIRST UN WORLD DIABETES DAY

GLOBAL LANDMARKS LIGHT UP IN BLUE TO MARK FIRST UN WORLD DIABETES DAY
New York, Nov 14 2007 4:00PM
Over 200 of the world's most famous landmarks, including New York's Empire State Building and the Sydney Opera House, are lit up in blue today to mark the first United Nations World Diabetes Day which aims to raise awareness about this growing epidemic.

<"http://www.worlddiabetesday.org/">World Diabetes Day was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/diabetes/en/index.html">WHO) in response to concern over the escalating incidence of the disease, which occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.

Recognizing the chronic, debilitating and costly nature of the disease, which affects over 246 million people around the world, the UN made World Diabetes Day an official UN day last year, increasing the visibility of diabetes as an important global public health problem requiring urgent attention.

The Empire State Building, one of New York's most famous landmarks, was the first building to join the World Diabetes Day campaign and agree to light up in blue, which is the colour of the diabetes circle – the global symbol for the disease.

Other famous landmarks that have joined the campaign include the Sydney Opera House, the London Eye, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Tokyo Tower and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.

The Day is celebrated each year on 14 November to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.

The theme of this year's Day is diabetes in children and adolescents, chosen by the International Diabetes Federation and WHO to draw attention to the fact that diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood.

About 70,000 children under the age of 15 are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes every year, according to International Diabetes Federation estimates.

The Federation also points out that diabetes claims as many lives each year as HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Yet it receives a fraction of the funding required to tackle it. Those are just two of the reasons why the disease needs increased and urgent attention from health officials and policymakers alike.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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ANNUAL CHRISTMAS FUND-RAISING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED BY UN REFUGEE AGENCY

ANNUAL CHRISTMAS FUND-RAISING CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED BY UN REFUGEE AGENCY
New York, Nov 14 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations refugee agency today launched its annual Christmas fund-raising appeal that aims to generate donations to help provide shelter, schooling and support for refugee children worldwide.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/473b1e234.html">UNHCR) said it hopes this year's Star Appeal can surpass the record total of $560,000 that was raised last year. Members of the public can donate to the appeal through a <"http://www.starappeal.unhcr.org/">special link on the agency's website.

Nick Van Praag, the head of UNHCR's Department of External Relations, said "our goal is to strike when the iron is hot – and there is no better time to fund-raise than during the holiday season."

UNHCR is stressing that even small donations can go a long way to bringing relief to children who have been forced to leave their homelands. A donation of $40 buys a survival kit for children who are badly malnourished, while $80 purchases a durable lightweight tent for a family of eight and $210 pays the wages of a teacher for three months.

Last year's Star Appeal helped young residents of the Nakivale settlement in Uganda, which is home to refugees from several African countries.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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UN REFUGEE AGENCY SIGNS COOPERATION DEAL WITH ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

UN REFUGEE AGENCY SIGNS COOPERATION DEAL WITH ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
New York, Nov 14 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations refugee agency today signed a cooperation agreement with the 35-member Organization of American States (OAS) so that it can strengthen its programmes across the region to assist refugees, asylum-seekers, the stateless and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/473b16504.html">UNHCR) said in a media statement today that the accord, which was signed in Washington, formalizes an already long-standing relationship of cooperation between the two organizations.

Philippe Lavanchy, UNHCR's Director for the Americas, said the signing of the agreement reflected the region's importance in the protection of refugees.

"Our cooperation with the OAS will enhance our work to promote international refugee law and the implementation of the Mexico Plan of Action," Mr. Lavanchy said, referring to a 2004 agreement endorsed by 20 Latin American nations to promote protection and more durable solutions for refugees and IDPs.

The main focus of UNHCR's activities in the Americas remains the massive displacement in Colombia as a result of the violence across the country, which has endured one of the world's longest-running internal armed conflicts.

More than two million Colombians are now listed on the national registration system for displaced people, according to UNHCR, and each month an average of between 18,000 and 20,000 are forced to flee their homes.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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NEW UN REPORT CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING LIBERIA'S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

NEW UN REPORT CALLS FOR STRENGTHENING LIBERIA'S JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
New York, Nov 14 2007 2:00PM
Liberia's juvenile justice system, which like most institutions in the country suffered significantly during the country's brutal 14-year civil war, needs to be strengthened to ensure that the legal rights of children are upheld, the United Nations said today in a new report.

The latest quarterly report on the human rights situation in Liberia, released today by the UN mission there – known as <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmil/index.html">UNMIL – outlines a broad range of human rights concerns, with a particular focus on the challenges facing the West African country's juvenile justice system.

Containing information gathered across Liberia from February to April 2007, the report reveals that children below the age of criminal responsibility were tried in adult courts. In addition, in many instances, they were detained with adult inmates in violation of national law and international human rights standards.

Human rights violations by some law enforcement officials and the need to improve standards in detention facilities were also cited in the report, as was the slow progress in the hearing of cases in a number of circuit courts during the February court term. Some circuit courts had not tried any cases, or only a few, due to the absence of essential personnel, the report stated.

Through its quarterly reports, UNMIL's Human Rights and Protection Section provides recommendations to help the Government promote, protect and respect the rights of all its citizens. The Section works in four key areas: monitoring, protection and reporting; transitional justice and institution-building; child protection; and capacity-building.

As part of its efforts to support Liberia's justice sector, the Mission has so far renovated and/or built 13 court houses, seven detention facilities and 24 police stations across the country.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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ON LATEST STOP OF TOUR, BAN KI-MOON DISCUSSES CLIMATE CHANGE WITH SPANISH LEADER

ON LATEST STOP OF TOUR, BAN KI-MOON DISCUSSES CLIMATE CHANGE WITH SPANISH LEADER
New York, Nov 14 2007 2:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks about the pressing global issue of climate change today with the Spanish Prime Minister during the latest leg of an international trip that has already taken the United Nations chief to Antarctica and South America.

The Secretary-General and Spain's José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero spent more than an hour in Madrid discussing the issue, including the launch in Valencia in a few days of the next report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC), UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters.

She said Mr. Ban briefed Mr. Zapatero on his observations from his trip so far, which has included a historic visit by a UN Secretary-General to Antarctica, where he witnessed first-hand the melting glaciers as a result of global warming. Climate change was also atop the agenda during Mr. Ban's stops in Argentina, Chile and Brazil.

During their meeting Mr. Ban and Mr. Zapatero also discussed counter-terrorism, the Middle East, the situation in Kosovo, the Alliance of Civilizations initiative, the Darfur crisis and Western Sahara. In two months Mr. Ban is scheduled to return to Spain for a meeting of the Alliance.

Mr. Ban is now heading to Tunis to participate in an international counter-terrorism conference set up by the UN, the Tunisian Government and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

In addition, Ms. Okabe said the Secretary-General will travel to Lebanon soon to focus on the upcoming presidential election in that country. Mr. Ban hopes to hold meetings with Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri and Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir of the Maronite Church.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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THIRD WITNESS IN KOSOVO TRIAL FACES CHARGES AT UN TRIBUNAL OVER REFUSAL TO TESTIFY

THIRD WITNESS IN KOSOVO TRIAL FACES CHARGES AT UN TRIBUNAL OVER REFUSAL TO TESTIFY
New York, Nov 14 2007 1:00PM
A witness who failed to appear before the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia during the trial of the former prime minister of Kosovo has been arrested on contempt of court charges.

Sadri Selca becomes the third witness in the trial of Ramush Haradinaj to be charged with contempt of court, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/">ICTY) said in a <"http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1197e.htm">media statement issued from its headquarters in The Hague yesterday.

Prosecutors have complained throughout the trial of Mr. Haradinaj, who faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, that a climate of intimidation has led to many witnesses refusing to testify. They expect to wrap up their case-in-chief within the next few days.

Mr. Selca was indicted for contempt of court for having failed to appear, without just cause, before the Tribunal on 21 June this year. Another witness, Shefqet Kabashi, was charged after refusing to testify while taking the oath before his testimony on 5 June.

Last week, another witness, Avni Krasniqi, was arrested, charged for failing to comply with a binding order to appear before the ICTY, and detained. Mr. Krasniqi did not enter a plea at his initial appearance before the Tribunal on Monday.

Mr. Haradinaj, 39, was a well-known figure with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the conflict with Serb forces in 1998-99 and later served as the leader of a minority political party and briefly as the province's prime minister.

The indictment against him accuses Mr. Haradinaj of participating in a joint criminal enterprise with two others, Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj, between March and September 1998 aimed at consolidating KLA control in the Dukagjin area by attacking, persecuting and forcibly removing Serb civilians and violently suppressing "any real or perceived form of collaboration with the Serbs by Albanian or Roma civilians."

While they may not have physically committed every crime for which they are charged, the indictment states, they are still considered criminally responsible for planning, instigating, ordering or aiding and abetting their commission.

The charges against Mr. Haradinaj include murder, rape, torture, abduction, cruel treatment, harassment and the deportation or forcible transfer of civilians.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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UNESCO CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST MURDER OF NEPALESE JOURNALIST

UNESCO CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST MURDER OF NEPALESE JOURNALIST
New York, Nov 14 2007 11:00AM
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with monitoring press freedom worldwide has condemned the murder of Nepalese journalist Birendra Shah, voicing grave concern about reports of a growing campaign of intimidation of media professionals.

"Freedom of expression is a basic human right and using force to silence journalists undermines the democratic rights of society as a whole," Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) <"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=41260&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">said today, urging authorities in the South Asian nation to do all they can to bring the perpetrators of the killing to trial.

Mr. Shah, 34, was a correspondent for the Nepalese private radio station NepalFM, the Dristri Weekly and the television station Avenues TV. He was abducted from his home in Bara district on 5 October and killed on the same day, according to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ). His death was only made public on 5 November when the Maoist Party of Nepal admitted having killed the journalist.

Mr. Matsuura expressed concern about increasingly frequent reports of attempts to intimidate reporters and editors. "Using physical violence or threats to keep reporters from doing their work is unacceptable and measures must be taken to stop these practices," he stated.

Independent journalists and media companies have become the subject to increasing bullying by the Maoist Party of Nepal, according to Nepalese and international media organizations.
2007-11-14 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL TO VISIT AFGHANISTAN

TOP UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL TO VISIT AFGHANISTAN
New York, Nov 13 2007 2:00PM
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour will visit Afghanistan from 15 to 21 November with the aim of engaging the country's Government in its efforts to promote and protect human rights.

During her week-long visit to the strife-torn nation, Ms. Arbour will meet with President Hamid Karzai, as well as senior Government officials and representatives of the judiciary and the Parliament, according to a statement issued by her office.

She will also hold discussions with members of the UN family and representatives of the international armed forces operating in the country.

In addition, the High Commissioner will meet with representatives of civil society and victims of human rights violations, as well as with the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission.

This is Ms. Arbour's second visit to Afghanistan as High Commissioner. Her first visit was in 2005.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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FRESH SKIRMISHES FORCE THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED CONGOLESE TO FLEE NORTH KIVU - UN

FRESH SKIRMISHES FORCE THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED CONGOLESE TO FLEE NORTH KIVU – UN
New York, Nov 13 2007 3:00PM
The United Nations refugee agency is concerned about tens of thousands of Congolese civilians who, having already been displaced due to recent clashes between Government forces and renegade troops in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), have had to flee anew as gun battles erupted today between the two groups.

The previously uprooted masses were housed at five UN-run camps for the displaced in the region around Goma, the main town in the DRC's North Kivu province.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4739e11d2.html">UNHCR) does not believe the camps themselves were targeted. However, panic spread among the displaced following this morning's skirmishes in the hills surrounding the camps, causing 30,000 of the camps' residents to flee.

"The situation is dramatic and critical as tens of thousands of IDPs from the camps, mixed with local people who are also fleeing the fighting, jam roads leading to Goma under torrential rains," the agency said in a press release.

UNHCR teams, along other UN agencies, are currently trying to assess the situation and the immediate needs, including shelter, food and protection.

Some 375,000 Congolese have been forced to leave their homes in North Kivu province, including more than 160,000 in the last two months alone, since fighting between Government forces, renegade troops and rebels began last December.

Today's incident comes at a time when UN humanitarian agencies had stepped up their joint efforts to curb the spread of cholera in the camps in North Kivu. Nearly 600 cases of the potentially fatal diarrhoeal disease were reported during the past month.

UNHCR hopes that the distribution of soap, improved water supply and sanitation, as well as an intensive public awareness campaign on hygiene, will prevent any further spread.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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UN DEMOCRACY FUND TO BEGIN SECOND ROUND OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS

UN DEMOCRACY FUND TO BEGIN SECOND ROUND OF FUNDING APPLICATIONS
New York, Nov 13 2007 3:00PM
The United Nations Democracy Fund (<"http://www.un.org/democracyfund/">UNDEF), which awards grants to projects that aim to promote and consolidate new and restored democracies, is opening its second round of funding applications this week.

More than $62 million is available in the trust fund to support applications, which will be accepted online in either English or French from this Thursday until 18 December, UNDEF said in a press release.

The applications can focus on one or more of six areas: strengthening democratic dialogue and support for constitutional processes; civil society empowerment; civic education, voter registration and strengthening of political parties; citizens' access to information; human rights and fundamental freedoms; and accountability, transparency and integrity.

So far some 30 Member States have made voluntary contributions to UNDEF since its establishment in July 2005, but further financial contributions are expected later this year.

Last year, in the first round of project selection and fund disbursements, the UN Secretary-General approved 125 projects worth $36 million, with the largest share devoted to projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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CAMBODIA: KHMER ROUGE COUPLE SELECTS LAWYERS FOR TRIAL AT UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL

CAMBODIA: KHMER ROUGE COUPLE SELECTS LAWYERS FOR TRIAL AT UN-BACKED TRIBUNAL
New York, Nov 13 2007 2:00PM
A former foreign minister of Cambodia and his wife have been brought before the United Nations-backed tribunal in the South-East Asian country that is trying Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings and other crimes during their rule three decades ago.

Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister under the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who served as social affairs minister, met yesterday with the defence support section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) to choose their co-lawyers.

The meeting follows their arrests earlier yesterday. Mr. Ieng faces charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes while Madame Ieng Thirith is charged with crimes against humanity.

Mr. Ieng and Madame Ieng Thirith claim they cannot afford to pay for their lawyers, the ECCC said in a press release issued in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, where the court is based. While the claims are being assessed, the ECCC's legal assistance scheme will fund their defence.

Mr. Ieng has chosen the Cambodian lawyer Ang Udom to represent him and shortlisted two possible foreign co-lawyers as well. The court said a final selection is expected later this week.

Madame Ieng Thirith has selected Phat Pouv Seang as her Cambodian lawyer and Diana Ellis QC from the United Kingdom as her foreign co-lawyer.

Under an agreement signed by the UN and Cambodia, the ECCC was set up as an independent court using a mixture of Cambodian staff and judges and foreign personnel. It is designated to try those deemed most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AFFECTED BY CONFLICT

BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS AFFECTED BY CONFLICT
New York, Nov 13 2007 2:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stressed that the protection of civilians in armed conflict must remain an absolute priority, noting that even though the number of hostilities around the world has decreased, millions of men, women and children continue to bear the brunt of war.

"In conflicts around the world, civilians continue to be killed, maimed, raped, displaced and unable to meet their basic needs," Mr. Ban writes in his latest <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2007/643">report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

Although there has been a decline in the number of conflicts around the world, Mr. Ban notes that large numbers of civilians "remain at risk of, or suffer, brutality and degradation."

"Some are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time," he states. "Others are deliberately targeted and subjected to atrocities in an environment of almost total impunity."

In that regard, he adds that the deliberate targeting of civilians has become more widespread in places such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Iraq, Somalia and the Sudan, "creating a climate of fear aimed at destabilizing and displacing civilian populations."

Conflict has forced some 35 million around the world to leave their homes, resulting in the highest number of refugees in years – 9.9 million – as well as some 24.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), the report states. The increase in refugees stems largely from the crisis in Iraq, which has forced well over 2 million people to seek refuge abroad.

While displacement is "the most significant humanitarian challenge that we face," says Mr. Ban, it is only the beginning of an ordeal that may last for years or even decades, marked by suffering, deprivation and a daily fight for survival. In many cases, it leads to the permanent loss of livelihoods, opportunities and cultural identity.

In addition to the 2.2 million IDPs in Iraq, the Secretary-General also draws attention to the 2.2 million internally displaced in the Darfur region of Sudan, as well as the 1.2 million in DRC and 700,000 in Somalia.

A particularly worrying trend is the increasing resort to suicide attacks in some countries, as well as civilian casualties resulting from military operations conducted against non-State armed groups in places such as Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, Mr. Ban states.

Another issue of concern is the increasing number of journalists and media personnel killed or injured while reporting from areas of conflict. The Secretary-General notes that in 2006 – for the fourth consecutive year – Iraq was reportedly the most dangerous country for the media, with 64 journalists and media assistants killed, the majority of them Iraqi nationals.

Mr. Ban also calls for a more robust response to sexual violence, stating that "in no other area is our collective failure to ensure effective protection for civilians more apparent – and by its very nature more shameful – than in terms of the masses of women and girls, but also boys and men, whose lives are destroyed each year by sexual violence perpetrated in conflict."

While such violence is not confined to the DRC, Mr. Ban says "the gruelling situation in the eastern provinces of Ituri and the Kivus epitomizes the devastating effect of sexual violence in conflict." In South Kivu province alone, some 4,500 cases of sexual violence were recorded in the first half of 2007.

The Secretary-General stresses the need to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators, enact laws that criminalize sexual violence, improve access to justice for victims, and strengthen prevention and response activities by humanitarian actors, as some of the ways in which to address this particularly horrific method of warfare.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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THOUSANDS OF MAURITANIANS TO RETURN HOME FROM SENEGAL WITH HELP OF UN AGENCY

THOUSANDS OF MAURITANIANS TO RETURN HOME FROM SENEGAL WITH HELP OF UN AGENCY
New York, Nov 13 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations refugee agency has signed an accord with Mauritania and Senegal that will allow an estimated 24,000 Mauritanians living in northern Senegal to return home and reintegrate into their former communities.

Under the agreement, signed yesterday in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4739c70c4.html">UNHCR) will next month begin its programme of assisted voluntary repatriation.

UNHCR will provide safe transport to Mauritania and give the returnees an assistance package, which includes shelter, food rations for three months and other non-food items, to help them rebuild their lives. So far it has assembled a fleet of 20 trucks and motorized pirogues to transport the returnees.

Basic services such as health and education will also be strengthened in the areas of Mauritania where the refugees are returning to help those communities adjust to the new arrivals.

Some 2,000 Mauritanians are expected to return home by the end of this year, but the entire operation is scheduled to last 17 months, according to a UNHCR media release issued today. In August the agency launched an appeal for $7 million to fund the operation.

UNHCR officials attending the signing ceremony welcomed the accord, saying it would help to resolve one of Africa's most protracted refugee situations. More than 60,000 Mauritanians fled their homeland for neighbouring Senegal and Mali in 1989 after a long-standing border dispute between Mauritania and Senegal erupted into ethnic violence. Many Mauritanian citizens were also expelled from Senegal to Mauritania at this time.

Until 1995 UNHCR provided assistance to Mauritanian refugees living in northern Senegal and helped facilitate the reintegration of 35,000 who spontaneously returned home between 1996 and 1998. Most of the remaining refugees in Senegal are living in rural areas along the Senegal River Valley, where they have been granted access to land and public services.

UNHCR said the programme's formation follows the announcement by the recently elected Mauritanian President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, made on World Refugee Day on 20 June this year, inviting all remaining refugees to return home.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL ANNOUNCES PLAN TO APPOINT CANADIAN TO HEAD HARIRI INQUIRY

SECRETARY-GENERAL ANNOUNCES PLAN TO APPOINT CANADIAN TO HEAD HARIRI INQUIRY
New York, Nov 13 2007 2:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the Security Council of his plan to appoint a senior Canadian legal figure as the next head of the independent commission tasked with investigating the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and many other killings in the Middle Eastern country.

Mr. Ban sent a letter to the Council detailing his intention to appoint Daniel Bellemare, who served until recently as Canada's Deputy Attorney-General, as the Commissioner of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC), UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters today.

Mr. Bellemare will replace Serge Brammertz, who had previously informed Mr. Ban that he would not be available to head the IIIC when his current mandate expires at the end of this year. Mr. Brammertz, who is Belgian, has served as Commissioner since early 2006, when he succeeded Detlev Mehlis of Germany.

In April 2005 the Council set up the IIIC after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon's own inquiry into the Hariri assassination was seriously flawed and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the attack. Mr. Hariri died in a massive car bombing in Beirut in February 2005 that also took the lives of 22 others.

Mr. Brammertz told the Council last year that evidence obtained so far suggests that a young, male suicide bomber, probably non-Lebanese, detonated up to 1,800 kilograms of explosives inside a van to assassinate Mr. Hariri. The IIIC is also probing at least 17 other cases in Lebanon.

This year Mr. Ban began taking measures to formally establish a special tribunal of an "international character" to try the suspected killers of Mr. Hariri, and possibly those responsible for the subsequent assassinations in Lebanon as well.

Ms. Okabe said today that the Secretary-General is awaiting a response from the Security Council to his letter regarding Mr. Bellemare.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS AMAZON RAINFOREST ON LATEST STOP OF INTERNATIONAL TRIP

SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS AMAZON RAINFOREST ON LATEST STOP OF INTERNATIONAL TRIP
New York, Nov 13 2007 3:00PM
Climate change remained the focus today as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon concluded the South American phase of his latest tour with a visit to the Amazon rainforest and meetings with local indigenous leaders.

Mr. Ban took a boat ride on the Amazon River and visited Combu Island, where he met with indigenous community leaders, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told journalists.

Speaking to reporters at Combu Island, Mr. Ban described the Amazon as a common asset of all mankind that must be preserved, and he added that the region's inhabitants are the pioneers in preserving the rainforest.

Mr. Ban is now scheduled to travel to Tunisia to attend an international counter-terrorism conference, organized by the UN, the Tunisian Government and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. From there, he heads to Valencia, Spain, to participate in launching the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Secretary-General has already visited Argentina, Chile and Antarctica before he reached Brazil, where he held talks yesterday with the country's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The two men discussed the relationship between the UN and Brazil, Mr. Ban's appreciation for Brazil's contribution to UN peacekeeping missions, especially in Haiti, and the plans to hold a high-level meeting next year on the progress so far towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the set of anti-poverty targets which world leaders have committed to try to achieve by 2015.

Mr. Ban and President Lula also talked about climate change, Ms. Okabe said, and the Secretary-General asked for a greater Brazilian contribution to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), given the growing number of natural disasters worldwide.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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UN TOURISM AGENCY MEETS TO BUILD SUPPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE

UN TOURISM AGENCY MEETS TO BUILD SUPPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
New York, Nov 13 2007 3:00PM
More than 100 government ministers are meeting today in London at a United Nations-organized tourism summit to consider ratifying a declaration on climate change that has been recommended by environmental experts.

The so-called Davos Declaration, reached last month in the Swiss town of the same name, urges the tourism industry to "rapidly respond to climate change, within the evolving UN framework, if it is to grow in a sustainable manner."

The declaration also stresses the role that tourism can play in tackling climate change to help promote both sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs), the series of ambitious anti-poverty targets that world leaders have committed to try to achieve by 2015.

Participants at the Davos meeting concluded that the tourism sector must lessen its greenhouse gas emissions, derived from transport and accommodation activities; spur tourism businesses and destinations to adapt and alter their practices; utilize technology to bolster energy efficiency; and obtain financial resources to assist poor regions and countries.

Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization (<"http://www.unwto.org/index.php">UNWTO), which is hosting today's ministerial summit, said "tourism is a central part of our society, our economic progress and our contribution to the war on poverty."

Mr. Frangialli added that today's meeting is designed to "put a ministerial seal on the Davos Declaration" and ensure that the tourism industry is at the leading edge of global efforts to combat the effects of climate change.

The Davos Declaration will form a key part of the UNWTO's submission to next month's UN-organized summit in Bali, Indonesia, on how to deal with global warming. That meeting seeks to determine future action on mitigation, adaptation, the global carbon market and financing responses to climate change for the period after the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol – the current global framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions – in 2012.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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SUDANESE OUTBREAK OF RIFT VALLEY FEVER LEADS UN AGENCY TO SEND ANIMAL EXPERT

SUDANESE OUTBREAK OF RIFT VALLEY FEVER LEADS UN AGENCY TO SEND ANIMAL EXPERT
New York, Nov 13 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations agricultural agency has sent a senior animal health expert to Sudan to advise the country's Government on prevention and control measures to deal with a deadly outbreak of the viral haemorrhagic disease known as Rift Valley Fever (RVF).

At least 84 deaths in Sudan have been attributed to RVF and the number of infected people is also on the rise, according to the UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO), which has tracked the outbreak to three states on the eastern side of the African country: White Nile, Sinnar and Gezira.

The animal health expert being dispatched by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization will work with the Sudanese Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries, <"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000703/index.html">FAO said in a press release issued today from its headquarters in Rome.

Transmitted by mosquitoes, RVF is a dangerous disease that affects both livestock – including sheep, goats, cattle and camels – and humans, but is usually well-established in animal populations by the time the first human cases are observed.

Humans become infected through mosquito bites or direct contact with infected material and liquids such as animal blood during slaughtering, while the uncooked milk of infected animals can also pose a risk. No cases of human-to-human transmission have ever been reported.

While some infected people experience no detectable symptoms, others develop flu-like fever, muscle pain, headaches, joint pain, vomiting, loss of appetite and sensitivity to light. In more severe cases patients can also experience lesions in their eyes, neurological problems, liver impairment and haemorrhagic fever symptoms including widespread bleeding.

Joseph Domenech, FAO's Chief Veterinary Officer, said the source of RVF within the local animal population needs to be identified and control measures introduced to reduce the public health risk, avoid further spread of the disease and limit the impact on the livelihood of local farmers.

The focus on locating infected animals and herds will be to try to disrupt the transmission cycle of the RVF virus by controlling the movement of livestock, using insecticide to treat animals and the environment and taking precautionary measures during any slaughtering of animals or handling of carcasses.

Mr. Domenech said targeted vaccination campaigns may help to protect uninfected ruminant animals in high-risk areas such as wetlands but will not work with already infected herds and areas.

"Vaccination of infected herds arrives too late for controlling the disease and must be avoided as it may aggravate the situation," he said. "The repeated use of needles and other equipment during vaccination campaigns could actually help to spread the disease from infected to healthy animals."
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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LOCUST INFESTATION IN NORTHERN SUDAN SPARKS WARNING FROM UN AGENCY

LOCUST INFESTATION IN NORTHERN SUDAN SPARKS WARNING FROM UN AGENCY
New York, Nov 13 2007 5:00PM
An outbreak of desert locusts has occurred in northern Sudan, prompting the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000700/index.html">FAO) to warn that a potentially dangerous infestation of the insects could emerge along the Red Sea during the upcoming winter season, especially if there is strong rainfall.

The situation must be monitored carefully by governments in the region, FAO said in a news release issued yesterday, after unusually favourable breeding conditions have caused wingless hoppers – or young, immature locusts – to concentrate and form small bands and adults to form several small swarms.

It called for early warning measures and rapid responses to protect the agricultural industry and ensure that the risk of a plague developing is minimized. Japan has already provided $2 million to help in these efforts.

The problem is greatest in the Tokar Delta region of northern Sudan, which is also the most important agricultural area on the country's coast. Small groups and bands of hoppers formed last week and are being joined by adults arriving from more remote desert areas in the interior.

FAO said the remoteness of much of the affected region is hampering the efforts of the Sudanese Government to find and treat all of the locust infestations, although its aerial and ground control teams have treated more than 11,000 hectares so far.

The agency expects more swarms to form in the interior this month and then move to the coast, and expects hatching and band formation to occur in the Tokar Delta from mid-December onwards.

The risk of infestations in neighbouring nations remains low at the moment, according to FAO, but small populations of locusts are already present and breeding in northern Eritrea and on Yemen's coastal plains. Local breeding is expected to start soon in south-eastern Egypt and in Saudi Arabia, and the FAO said locust swarms could also travel as far west as Darfur, on Sudan's border with Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), by early summer next year.

Desert locusts, which live for three to five months, are migratory grasshoppers that often travel in vast swarms. One adult locust consumes roughly its own weight in fresh food every day, and a small section of an average swarm can eat as much food each day as 2,500 people.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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DARFUR: UN AND AU ENVOYS HEAD TO ERITREA FOR TALKS WITH REGIONAL PARTNERS

DARFUR: UN AND AU ENVOYS HEAD TO ERITREA FOR TALKS WITH REGIONAL PARTNERS
New York, Nov 13 2007 5:00PM
The United Nations and African Union envoys tasked with spearheading the peace process in Darfur are meeting tomorrow with countries in the region to discuss the progress made so far and how to chart a way forward.

The UN's Jan Eliasson and the AU's Salim Ahmed Salim will hold the meeting in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, according to a press release issued today by the UN-AU Joint Mediation Support Team (JMST).

The Asmara meeting follows a week of consultations and preparations in Sirte, Libya, by JMST experts on some of the key issues facing war-wracked Darfur, such as power-sharing, wealth-sharing, the humanitarian situation and security conditions.

Late last month Sirte was also the site of negotiations that formed the first round of a three-phase process led by the UN and AU to try to end the conflict between rebels, Government forces and allied militia known as the Janjaweed.

Since 2003 more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others are now homeless across Darfur, a remote and impoverished region on Sudan's western flank. The UN and AU are deploying a hybrid peacekeeping mission (known as UNAMID) to Darfur at the start of next year in a bid to quell the violence and humanitarian suffering.

As part of the second phase of the peace process, a delegation from the JMST also travelled to Juba, southern Sudan, and to Darfur last week to exchange views with some of the region's splintering rebel movements to help prepare for scheduled direct negotiations between the Government and the rebels next month.

Those consultations are designed in part to try to bring unity to the rebels' position ahead of the full talks.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCIES TO HELP LA PAZ SET UP EARLY WARNING SYSTEM AGAINST DISASTERS

UN AGENCIES TO HELP LA PAZ SET UP EARLY WARNING SYSTEM AGAINST DISASTERS
New York, Nov 13 2007 5:00PM
United Nations agencies will help implement a new early warning system in the Bolivian city of La Paz, where floods and mudslides are recurring and often deadly disasters, as part of a scheme funded by the German Government.

The new measures will be unveiled in detail at a launch later this week in La Paz, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (<"http://www.unisdr.org/">UN/ISDR) said in a press release issued today.

La Paz, which is Bolivia's largest city, lies along a narrow valley crossed by more than 200 rivers, including many that are subterranean, and also suffers from unstable geological conditions.

The city's rapid growth in recent decades means that many residents live in flood plains or on high-slope hills, which leaves them particularly vulnerable to floods and landslides during the annual rainy season between December and March.

The most recent major floods, which took place in February 2002, are blamed for the deaths of 77 people and caused an estimated $100 million in damage to the city's housing and other infrastructure.

Under the new project, Germany will spend about $600,000 on the first phase, which is focusing on helping about 300,000 people. Officials from the former German capital of Bonn, which has a long relationship with La Paz, will work closely with the Bolivian city's municipal government to implement the early warning system.

The UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) and the UN/ISDR will also help to introduce the measures as well as to build public awareness in La Paz about how to react appropriately to the early warning system.

UN/ISDR Director Sálvano Briceño said "early warning systems are only effective if people understand their purpose and know what to do when they are activated."

Meanwhile, on Thursday the agency is also launching PreventionWeb.net, a new website for increasing knowledge-sharing on disaster risk reduction issues concerning natural hazards and catastrophes.

The website, which is aimed at both the general public – including the media and schoolteachers – and specialists, will feature news reports, publications, fact sheets, examples of best practices and country reports. It will be managed by a team of seven people in Geneva, Panama City, Nairobi, Cairo, Bangkok, Kobe and Bonn.

The project's senior coordinator Craig Duncan said: "Prevention Web is expected to become an indispensable tool for practitioners working to build the resilience of nations and communities in disasters, much like Relief Web has served the humanitarian response community in the effective delivery of emergency assistance."
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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DIALOGUE ONLY WAY FORWARD IN RESOLVING MYANMAR CRISIS, SAYS UN ENVOY

DIALOGUE ONLY WAY FORWARD IN RESOLVING MYANMAR CRISIS, SAYS UN ENVOY
New York, Nov 13 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations Special Envoy to Myanmar today urged the South-East Asian nation to immediately begin talks between the Government and the opposition, stressing that dialogue was the only way forward to address the country's ongoing crisis.

"In today's world, no country can afford to stay outside the irreversible trends towards stability, prosperity and democracy, and it is the responsibility of every government to listen to its people, respond to legitimate popular demands and respect in full the human rights of its citizens," Ibrahim Gambari told the Security Council today.

Briefing the 15-member body on his latest mission to the country, he said that "in the case of Myanmar, this implies starting a dialogue without delay between the Government and the opposition as a necessary part of any reconciliation process, and addressing the humanitarian and socio-economic factors underlying popular grievances."

He stated that a process is now in motion that will hopefully lead to a substantive dialogue with concrete outcomes within an agreed time frame between the leadership of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. "In order to succeed, dialogue will require flexibility on all sides, but I am convinced that it is the only way forward for Myanmar."

Mr. Gambari, who visited Myanmar from 3 to 8 November, told the Council it is important to note the initial positive steps taken by the Government since his last visit, including the lifting of curfews put in place during the demonstrations, the withdrawal of a visible military presence from the streets and the release of over 2,700 people detained during the course of the protests.

In addition, the Government has appointed a liaison officer to pursue dialogue with Ms. Suu Kyi, set up a constitutional drafting committee and agreed to receive the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro.

At the same time, he reported that the Government has yet to provide any assurance that it will lift restrictions on Ms. Suu Kyi. "I have stressed to the Government that the best way to make real their commitment to dialogue with Daw Aung Suu Kyi is to release her without delay so that she can become a full partner in dialogue."

Mr. Gambari said that although his mission did not produce all the results he had hoped for, there were a number of positive outcomes.

Among them was the fact that, for the first time since she was last put under house arrest in May 2003, Ms. Suu Kyi was allowed to pronounce herself publicly through a statement read by the Special Adviser on 8 November. Following that statement, she was also allowed for the first time in four years to meet with members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

In addition, the Government assured the Special Adviser that it would release more detainees and that no more arrests would be carried out, and it agreed in principle to consider establishing a broad-based poverty alleviation commission.

With regard to the UN Country Team in Myanmar, Mr. Gambari reported that an agreement was reached with the authorities, whereby an acting Resident Coordinator would take over until a new Resident Coordinator was appointed. The government had informed the UN that it did not want the current Resident Coordinator Charles Petrie to continue working in the country.

"The positive outcomes of this latest mission show that the Government of Myanmar, while stressing its sovereignty and independence, can be responsive to the concerns of the international community," Mr. Gambari stated.

He added that "although high expectations continue to be borne out of the recent crisis, the situation today is qualitatively different from what it was a few weeks ago."

Mr. Gambari, who has been invited to return to Myanmar by the Government, also informed the Council about the consultations he carried out in key regional capitals prior to visiting Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Mr. Pinheiro continued his mission to Myanmar today with a visit to the new capital, Nay Pyi Taw, where he met the Home Minister Maj.-Gen. Maung Oo, who assured him that he will be able to interview detainees before the end of his mission, as requested.

The Special Rapporteur also met with 20 members of the newly-established human rights body within the government, and engaged in a dialogue on issues of mutual concern.

Later in the afternoon, he held a meeting with representatives of international non-governmental organizations, as well as with government officials dealing with religion and economic development.

Mr. Pinheiro has said he intends to use the 11 to 15 November visit to verify allegations of abuses during the Government's crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, determine the numbers and whereabouts of those detained or killed, and collect testimony about what happened.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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UN MISSION HAILS CONVICTION OF KILLER OF TWO UN OBSERVERS IN DR CONGO

UN MISSION HAILS CONVICTION OF KILLER OF TWO UN OBSERVERS IN DR CONGO
New York, Nov 13 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today welcomed the conviction and sentencing of a former rebel militia member over the murder of two UN observers in the northeast of the country in 2003.

Agenonga Ufoyuru, alias Kwisha, was sentenced to life in jail by a military tribunal in the eastern city of Bunia, according to a statement issued by the mission, known as <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC.

Mr. Ufoyuru, who was a member of the Nationalist Integrationalist Front (FNI) militia in the Ituri region, was charged over the killings of Swafat Oran of Jordan and Davis Banda of Malawi, two military observers who were killed on 12 May 2003 at Mongwalu.

MONUC said it "noted with satisfaction" the conviction and sentencing of Mr. Ufoyuru and four others over the killings.

"These verdicts constitute a real advance in the fight against impunity," the mission said, stressing that a lot more still needs to be done to be combat the problem in the DRC, where many serious war crimes and violations of human rights remain unpunished.

Mr. Ufoyuru was first arrested and detained in November last year, but he escaped from prison in February, before his trial could be completed. He was convicted and sentenced in absentia.

On 6 October Mr. Ufoyuru was arrested again by Congolese national police, with the help of MONUC civil police from Bunia, and brought before the military tribunal.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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NIGERIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION DRIVE SETS A WELCOME EXAMPLE, SAYS UN ANTI-CRIME CHIEF

NIGERIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION DRIVE SETS A WELCOME EXAMPLE, SAYS UN ANTI-CRIME CHIEF
New York, Nov 13 2007 6:00PM
The head of the United Nations anti-crime agency today praised the efforts of Nigeria to bring about what he called a "climate change" in attitudes and actions about corruption in a country that has long suffered from the ruinous effects of the practice.

Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/press_release_2007_11_13.html">UNODC) welcomed a series of recent initiatives by Nigerian authorities to combat corruption, but urged them to do more to crack down, particularly on cyber-crime.

"Thanks to strong political leadership and a fearless anti-corruption agency, high-level officials who used to be esteemed or feared because of the money that they stole are now behind bars," he said in a speech to a seminar on economic crime in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.

He paid particular credit to the work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which he described as the "most effective anti-corruption agency in Africa," and called on the Government to ensure that the Commission has the independence and resources to carry out its mandate effectively.

Mr. Costa also welcomed Nigeria's greater international cooperation on the issue, such as by participating in the UNODC and World Bank Stolen Asset (StAR) Recovery Initiative, which is helping to recover some of the estimated $400 billion stolen from the national coffers between 1960 and 1999.

The Executive Director reaffirmed the commitment of UNODC to assist in the process of strengthening judicial integrity in Nigeria and to improve transparency and accountability in business transactions in the African nation.

"Such checks and balances can ensure that, unlike in the past, Nigeria's wealth – particularly from oil and gas – will be shared by all of its citizens rather than a few corrupt leaders."

In addition, he called on foreign companies that operate in Nigeria to assume corporate responsibility for their activities.

"If you contribute to corruption, you contribute to instability and increase your own costs and insecurity, not to mention the damage caused to the environment and the lives of vulnerable people – look no further than the Niger Delta."
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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INTERNET ACCESS FOR THE NEXT BILLION PEOPLE TOPS DISCUSSIONS AT UN FORUM

INTERNET ACCESS FOR THE NEXT BILLION PEOPLE TOPS DISCUSSIONS AT UN FORUM
New York, Nov 13 2007 7:00PM
Participants at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, which has brought some 1,700 delegates from government, civil society and the private sector to Rio de Janeiro this week, called today for Internet "access for the next billion" people.

"For many countries, especially developing countries, access is the single most important issue," the Forum's Executive Coordinator Markus Kummer said. "The task is now to bring the next billion to the 'Net."

Mr. Kummer said much progress had been made in the last year in expanding Internet broadband availability. But he warned of inequalities between those with access to the Internet and those without, and predicted that the World Wide Web's development aspects would become more prominent in the years ahead.

Helio Costa, Brazil's Minister of Communications, said an environment of broad and fair competition was essential to bring more people online. Efficient regulatory tools could also help to stimulate lower access prices and better services.

The availability of infrastructure must come with low-cost access solutions, Mr. Costa added. But the high costs of international connections was a burden for developing countries, and solutions should be found for routing Internet traffic increasingly closer to the users to reduce prices.

Internet supply was growing, said Jacquelynn Ruff, Verizon's Vice-President for Public Policy in International Regulatory Affairs, as operators worldwide upgraded their networks. In the last 12 months, global Internet bandwidth has risen by 68 per cent, with Latin America one of the fastest-growing regions.

The size of local markets was a problem for small countries, said Maui Sanford, President of the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Association. But competition could help create regional markets, and many countries had created regional Internet Exchange Points (IEP), through which traffic could be handled without resorting to expensive IEPs located in Europe or the United States.

At today's afternoon session on diversity, participants stressed the importance of open, non-proprietary standards as well as the use of free and open-source software.

Brazil's Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil said it was necessary to establish regulatory mechanisms to allow for multiple forms, languages and cultures to flourish on the Internet.

David Appesamy, Chief Communication Officer of India's Sify Ltd., said the "disruptive nature of the Internet" had positive social aspects. Young people were meeting online and then asking their parents to "arrange" the marriage. Relationships across social castes were also mushrooming.

Monthian Buntan, Executive Director of Thailand's Association for the Blind, said that for persons with disabilities diversity meant accessibility, and their goal was to achieve full Internet accessibility. "The Internet should be a caring, peaceful and barrier-free place," he said.

Ben Petrazzini, of the International Development Research Centre, said diversity meant localization, and development would not happen without local capacity-building. His organization was carrying out a $2 million project in Asia to develop digital content in 11 languages, and a similar project in Africa involving 24 languages. Languages with limited numbers of speakers were at risk, and a legal agreement on loosening copyright restrictions of material for local use in these languages should be devised, he added.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL ENCOURAGED BY POSITIVE MOVES IN UGANDAN PEACE PROCESS

SECURITY COUNCIL ENCOURAGED BY POSITIVE MOVES IN UGANDAN PEACE PROCESS
New York, Nov 13 2007 7:00PM
Welcoming recent positive steps in the peace process between the Ugandan Government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the Security Council today called on all sides to maximize the opportunity to make further progress and to improve the living conditions of the people of northern Uganda.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9167.doc.htm">press statement read out by Ambassador Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, the 15-member body said it was encouraged by recent progress and the resulting improved humanitarian and security conditions.

"Security Council members reiterated their support for a negotiated settlement and their hope for an expeditious conclusion to the peace process," according to the statement, which followed a briefing to the Council by Joaquim Chissano, the former Mozambican president and now the Secretary-General's Special Envoy on the peace process.

The Ugandan Government and the LRA, which have been fighting since the mid-1980s, signed a ceasefire last year, leading to hopes of a comprehensive peace accord to formally end the conflict. But disputes between the two sides had dampened hopes and many LRA members have been hiding out in southern Sudan or the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Earlier this month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement welcoming the recent official visit of a LRA delegation to Kampala, the Ugandan capital, which has led to further consultations between the Government and the rebels.

Mr. Natalegawa said Council members reiterated their call on the LRA to immediately release all women, children and other non-combatants. The group has become notorious for abducting as many as 25,000 children and using them as fighters and porters. The children were often subject to extreme violence shortly after abduction, with many girls allocated to officers in a form of institutional rape.

The Council also stressed today that anyone responsible for serious violations of human rights or international humanitarian law must be brought to justice.

<"http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2007/071113_Chissano.doc.htm">Speaking to reporters after his briefing, Mr. Chissano noted recent agreements between the two sides on various issues, including one on principles of accountability and reconciliation.

He also underlined the importance of both the Government and the LRA consulting the local population, including the victims of atrocities during the long conflict, on moving forward in the peace process to ensure that there is broad-based community support.

They are now working towards an agreement "that takes into consideration the requirements for an alternative justice, alternative to the ICC," Mr. Chissano said, referring to the indictments issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague of five senior LRA members.

"This is a complicated issue, delicate but not impossible. The lawyers of the country are keen, studying the ways of bringing new legislation which would take into consideration some cultural aspects of the problem and some cultural methods of bringing solution or making justice after commitment of grave crimes, as seen by the clans and the tribes in the country.

"The challenge is to blend this with the modern and ordinary type of judiciary systems. And, more than that, [the challenge] is to blend them with the international standards."

Reconciliation remains the key to preventing violence in the future and to building national unity, Mr. Chissano said, noting that some people in the international community have raised concerns about a route to justice that does not include the ICC.

"Some will perceive this as lack of punishment and they will say that a culture of impunity is being installed, while for the Ugandans there will be punishment enough, according to their perceptions, according to their culture. So it's delicate. It's a challenge."
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON HERALDS ROLE OF ACADEMIA IN PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

BAN KI-MOON HERALDS ROLE OF ACADEMIA IN PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
New York, Nov 13 2007 7:00PM
Academic and research institutions play a vital role in promoting development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as he kicked off the inaugural symposium of the joint Africa Series initiative of the United Nations University (UNU) and Cornell University.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11275.doc.htm">message delivered on his behalf to the symposium, held at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Ban said he was greatly encouraged by the Africa Series initiative and its potential to produce "new and innovative ideas" for how the UN and the wider human race can tackle the problems of development.

"Scholars have demonstrated the vital importance of knowledge in understanding the complexities inherent in combating extreme poverty and in charting out a sustainable path for economic development," he said in the message. "Academic and research institutions also make important contributions to capacity-building."

Today's symposium focuses on the African food system and its interactions with health and nutrition, and future symposiums are slated to examine governance, development and security crises and the socio-economic impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Mr. Ban noted that the symposium was taking place at the midpoint in the race to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the series of ambitious anti-poverty targets which world leaders have committed to try to attain by 2015.

"Many African countries have made good progress towards the Goals. But overall the continent is not on track," he said, calling for greater advances on extreme poverty, maternal mortality, gender equality and fighting AIDS in particular.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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UN OFFICIAL URGES GREATER SUPPORT FOR GLOBAL REFUGEE OPERATIONS

UN OFFICIAL URGES GREATER SUPPORT FOR GLOBAL REFUGEE OPERATIONS
New York, Nov 13 2007 7:00PM
A senior official with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today called on countries to increase their support for the agency's efforts to protect nearly 33 million refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and asylum-seekers worldwide.

Erika Feller, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, particularly highlighted the needs of the more than 4.4 million Iraqis that have left their homes, which she described as "probably the biggest refugee problem we have at the current time."

<"http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2007/071113_UNHCR.doc.htm">Speaking to reporters in New York, she pointed out that <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR is assisting some 2.2 million Iraqis who are displaced internally, as well as the more than 2.2 million who have fled to neighbouring countries, including Syria and Jordan.

"There are a number of components of this operation which give us serious reason for concern and are quite a challenge for us and our partners to address," Ms. Feller stated, including difficulties faced by Iraqi women, who make up the majority of the refugee population, as well as the high rate of detention of Iraqi asylum seekers in Lebanon.

She noted in particular the resurgence of problems such as "weekend marriages," in which young girls are made available for a traditional marriage ceremony for a couple of days for men who are prepared to pay for that marriage, and are then divorced by the end of the weekend. While not formally considered prostitution, this arrangement is "basically survival sex" in the absence of other forms of income, she stated.

Another concern is the "narrowing protection space" in host countries, Ms. Feller said, noting that while countries have opened their doors to fleeing Iraqis, "those doors are now closing." This is in part due to restrictive visa regimes, which make entry into countries and renewal of short-term visas difficult to obtain.

Despite the difficulties faced by Iraqi refugees, she said that UNHCR is not promoting repatriation back to Iraq at this time, but would facilitate the return of individuals who decided to return. "It's our sense that the security situation is still such that it's not able to sustain a return except perhaps of individuals who choose to go back and having something to go back to."

In addition, she pointed out that an underreported element of the Iraqi crisis is that Iraq itself has been a host country for refugees fleeing other nations, including some 13,000 Palestinians who reside inside Iraq, as well as many who are stuck in the "no-man's land" between Iraq and Syria.

Needs relating to resettlement, the process of transferring people from a host country to a third country for more permanent stay, remains high, she noted, urging more States to come forward to offer locations for resettlement.

She also highlighted the need for increased funding for UNHCR's activities, noting that a number of operations are well funded because they are high on the agenda of certain States or receive media attention, while others are under-funded because they are not in the spotlight.

Examples of under-funded operations include the agency's programme to repatriate some 60,000 Mauritanians living in Senegal back to their homeland, as well as assistance to refugees taken in by Yemen, which she said has generously opened its doors to boatloads of people arriving on its shores on a daily basis.

In response to a question about the recent attempt of a French non-governmental organization (NGO) to remove more than 100 young children from Chad, Ms. Feller said the lesson learned from that incident was "not to take all goodwill NGOs at face value."

She called the actions of the NGO in question, Arche de Zoe, "deplorable" and said UNHCR was currently involved with other UN agencies to assist the children, register them and trace their families.

In a related development, UNHCR reported today that Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees L. Craig Johnstone visited the 103 children – aged between one and 10 years old – at an orphanage in the eastern Chadian town of Abéché on Saturday.

Mr. Johnston urged that the 82 boys and 21 girls be urgently reunited with their families. "The children are being well cared for, but it was very painful and obvious to see that they are really missing their families and need to be returned to them as rapidly as possible so they don't become further traumatized by the deeply troubling circumstances of their alleged attempted removal to France," he said.

The children are being cared for by a Chadian group known as Action Sociale, UNHCR, the Chadian Red Cross, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and local volunteers.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON PEOPLE OF FAITH FOR SUPPORT IN CLIMATE CHANGE BATTLE

SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON PEOPLE OF FAITH FOR SUPPORT IN CLIMATE CHANGE BATTLE
New York, Nov 13 2007 7:00PM
People of faith can help inspire millions of others worldwide to take better care of the planet, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling for a concerted global effort against climate change.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11276.doc.htm">message delivered on his behalf to the annual United Nations Orthodox Prayer Service in New York, Mr. Ban said slowing or even reversing the existing trends of global warming is "the defining challenge of our ages."

He added that it was hard to contemplate success in such a challenge without the "input and energy of men and women of faith.

"All of you can help inspire millions of people around the world to become stewards of our planet. You can guide them towards healthier, more sustainable lifestyles. You can encourage them to conserve more, and to want less. And you can reinforce the belief, fundamental to all religions, that we have a sacred obligation to leave the world a better place for those who will follow."
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS ON ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA TO RESOLVE BOUNDARY DISPUTE

SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS ON ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA TO RESOLVE BOUNDARY DISPUTE
New York, Nov 13 2007 8:00PM
The Security Council today urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to implement without delay a 2002 ruling on the delimitation of their common border, stressing the need for the two African neighbours to settle their disagreements peacefully.

In a statement read out by Ambassador Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, the 15-member body urged the parties to take concrete steps to implement immediately and without preconditions the delimitation decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, as well as the Algiers Agreements which ended the war between the two countries.

"The Security Council calls upon the parties to refrain from using force and to settle their disagreements by peaceful means, to normalize their relations, to promote stability between them and to lay the foundation for sustainable peace in the region," the statement added.

The continuing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the failure to resolve their longstanding boundary dispute and the military build-up along their common border were cited as causes for serious concern by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent report.

"There is no other option but for the two parties to find common ground that would allow the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission to proceed with the demarcation of the border," Mr. Ban stated.

He noted that even as Ethiopia says that it has accepted the 2002 border delimitation decision without preconditions, the country continues to assert that the security conditions for demarcation of the border do not exist.

"I urge the parties to extend full cooperation to the Commission, without further delay, with a view to proceeding to the boundary demarcation on the basis of the Commission's 2002 delimitation decision," he said.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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MALNUTRITION RATES IN KENYAN REFUGEE CAMPS LOWEST IN YEARS, REPORTS UN AGENCIES

MALNUTRITION RATES IN KENYAN REFUGEE CAMPS LOWEST IN YEARS, REPORTS UN AGENCIES
New York, Nov 13 2007 11:00AM
Three United Nations agencies today hailed the efforts of the international community in turning around a devastating malnutrition crisis in refugee camps in northern Kenya, adding that continued support was vital to maintain the progress already made.

Thanks to a series of measures taken by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the UN World Food Programme (http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2688">WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), malnutrition rates in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps are the lowest recorded since 2000.

According to recent surveys, acute malnutrition rates among children under the age of 5 in the three refugee camps at Dadaab have dropped dramatically from 22.2 per cent last year to under 13 per cent. A similar downward trend was seen in the Kakuma camps.

Among the measures taken by the agencies to bring about this change was ensuring a regular supply of culturally acceptable foods, and the provision of energy-saving cooking stoves and soap to ensure that refugees were not compelled to sell a portion of their food to buy these basic items.

But the agencies stressed that continued support was vital if the gains were not to be quickly lost.

"Real inroads into the scourge of malnutrition are making a genuine difference to young children and their mothers," said WFP Kenya Country Director Burkard Oberle. "It would be criminal to take our foot off the pedal now simply because we can't afford to keep going. These people need more support, not less."

The agencies warned that malnutrition levels remain serious, and anaemia rates among children are reaching 81.4 per cent – a slight increase on previous figures. An inter-agency initiative is addressing this through the provision of double-fortified salt in Dadaab and a pilot project supplying micronutrient-rich "sprinkles" in Kakuma.

"These problems are not going away. It is absolutely essential that we are able to maintain a high level of assistance for the refugees, who entirely depend on outside assistance," said Eddie Gedalof, UNHCR's Acting Representative in Kenya.

WFP has maintained full food rations in the camps in recent months, ensuring the basic 2,100 kilocalorie daily requirement per refugee and a basic, balanced diet.

Thanks to donor support, supplementary and complementary feeding has been expanded, health facilities are better staffed to fight the constant threat of malaria and other diseases and refugees have a good supply of water.

"Our experience shows that we should not celebrate such short-term success, but redouble our efforts to ensure the work continues to have such a positive impact," said UNICEF Country Representative in Kenya Olivia Yambi.

The three UN agencies require a combined total of $18 million to continue their operations in Dadaab and Kakuma up to June 2008, assisting some 231,000 refugees, mostly Somali and Sudanese, over 40,000 of whom are children under the age of 5.
2007-11-13 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL LAUDS DR CONGO-RWANDA AGREEMENT ON THREATS TO PEACE

SECRETARY-GENERAL LAUDS DR CONGO-RWANDA AGREEMENT ON THREATS TO PEACE
New York, Nov 12 2007 2:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended the Governments of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda for reaching agreement on a common approach to end threats to peace and stability in the two countries and the region.

"The agreement between them on a common approach and immediate, concrete steps to carry it out marks a significant breakthrough," Mr. Ban <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2861">said through his spokesperson.

"This approach offers an opportunity for the comprehensive resolution of the fundamental problems posed by irregular armed groups in the eastern DRC," added the spokesperson, referring to a region where some 800,000 people have been displaced by fighting.

The Secretary-General reiterated his calls on all irregular groups operating in the DRC to lay down their arms, and "seize the opportunity for a normal life."

The Joint Communiqué signed by both governments on 10 November includes measures to fight impunity.

Mr. Ban's statement urged both Governments to act urgently to carry out all the agreed measures while calling on international partners to support these efforts and to increase humanitarian assistance to respond to the "dire situation on the ground."

For its part, the UN is committed to supporting Rwanda and the DRC in their common approach, and to help ensure the protection of civilians, the Secretary-General pledged.

At the end of last month, Mr. Ban reacted to ongoing violence in the eastern DRC by sending his aide, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Haile Menkerios, to the region with a mandate to "find ways to resolve the immediate crisis and to address its underlying causes."

Mr. Menkerios held meetings with local authorities as well as representatives of the civil society groups, communities and other concerned players in the DRC before heading to Kigali earlier this month.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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PRESTIGIOUS BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER SIGNS ON TO PROMOTE UNICEF

PRESTIGIOUS BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER SIGNS ON TO PROMOTE UNICEF
New York, Nov 12 2007 3:00PM
The Berliner Philharmoniker today joined the roster of advocates lending their prestige and prominence to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"UNICEF is pleased to welcome the Berliner Philharmoniker to the <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41774.html">UNICEF family," said the agency's Executive Director, Ann M. Veneman.

She paid tribute to the orchestra's Artistic Director, Sir Simon Rattle, saying that under his leadership hundreds of young people have been given an opportunity to develop their potential. "We look forward to working with the Berliner Philharmoniker to help improve the lives of children the world over," Ms. Veneman said.

"We thank you for all you have done for the children of the world, and we just hope that we can, in some small way, be of assistance," Mr. Rattle said.

By being named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, the Philharmoniker undertook to help focus attention on the world's most vulnerable children, the agency said in a news release.

The announcement comes as the Berliner Philharmoniker prepares to perform in New York, with three concerts scheduled for Carnegie Hall this week.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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EX-FOREIGN MINISTER CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES BY UN-BACKED CAMBODIA COURT

EX-FOREIGN MINISTER CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES BY UN-BACKED CAMBODIA COURT
New York, Nov 12 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia trying Khmer Rouge leaders accused of mass killings and other crimes three decades ago announced today that a former foreign minister of the South-East Asian country and his wife have been arrested and charged.

Ieng Sary, who was foreign minister under the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s, and his wife Ieng Thirith, who served as social affairs minister, were arrested after a warrant was issued by the co-investigating judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).

Ieng Sary faces charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes while Ieng Thirith is charged with crimes against humanity, the ECCC said in a statement, adding that the pair has been brought to the Court's facilities in Phnom Penh, the capital.

The husband and wife are the third and fourth people to be charged by the ECCC's co-investigating judges, joining Nuon Chea (aka Brother Number Two) and Kaing Guek Eav (aka Duch).

Under an agreement signed by the UN and Cambodia, the ECCC was set up as an independent court using a mixture of Cambodian staff and judges and foreign personnel. It is designated to try those deemed most responsible for crimes and serious violations of Cambodian and international law between 17 April 1975 and 6 January 1979.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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KEY UN CLIMATE CHANGE MEETING KICKS OFF IN VALENCIA

KEY UN CLIMATE CHANGE MEETING KICKS OFF IN VALENCIA
New York, Nov 12 2007 4:00PM
Government officials and scientists from around the world have gathered in Valencia, Spain, for a United Nations conference that will culminate with the release later this week of a seminal report on addressing the impacts of climate change.

Over the next five days, delegates to the 27th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC) will synthesize the information gathered by the Panel's various working groups, and released in a series of three reports earlier this year, into one succinct report that will form the basis of future policy action on climate change.

The Fourth Assessment Report – to be released on Saturday – will guide participants at a major summit next month in Bali, Indonesia, as they seek to try to hammer out a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which contains legally binding targets for reducing emissions but expires in 2012.

"What is produced here in Valencia is the guide that every one of the thousands of delegates attending the crucial Climate Convention meeting in Bali will be packing in their suitcases and slipping in their back pockets," the head of the UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/">UNEP) said in his <"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=522&ArticleID=5703&l=en">address to the opening of the session.

"It is the final full stop behind the question as to whether climate change is happening and the likely impacts – many of which will happen in the time-frame of people alive today, not in some far distant future," stated Achim Steiner.

Mr. Steiner added that "the momentum on climate change in 2007 has being nothing short of breathtaking," hailing the work of the IPCC and its scientists – the recipients of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, along with Al Gore. It was the IPCC which earlier this year issued a report confirming the existence of global warming likely driven by human activities.

He noted that countries facing the climate challenge now increasingly need assistance and eventually resolution on the question of national impacts – not least for national action on adaptation or "climate proofing economies."

Making governments, business, cities, civil society and citizens understand the risks but also the rewards they face is part of the "heavy lifting" needed in order to sustain the transition to a low-carbon society over the long haul," Mr. Steiner said.

Ban Ki-moon, who has made a climate change a priority issue during his term as Secretary-General, will be in Valencia for the launch of the Fourth Assessment Report on Saturday.

Over the weekend, Mr. Ban became the first UN Secretary-General to make an official visit to Antarctica to see first-hand the effects of climate change on its melting glaciers.

"Antarctica is a natural lab that helps us understand what is happening to our world," stated Mr. Ban. "It is here where our work, together, comes into focus. We see Antarctica's beauty – and the danger global warming represents, and the urgency that we do something about it."
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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GOVERNMENTS MUST TAKE THE LEAD ON USE OF BIOFUELS, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL

GOVERNMENTS MUST TAKE THE LEAD ON USE OF BIOFUELS, SAYS SECRETARY-GENERAL
New York, Nov 12 2007 4:00PM
Biofuels have the potential to cause both good and harm and governments must therefore be careful to balance the costs and benefits of developing them as energy sources, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said in Brazil as he continues an official trip focused on climate change.

<"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=1092">Speaking to journalists in Ribeirão Preto after visiting an ethanol plant there yesterday, Mr. Ban said he was aware of the controversy surrounding the biofuels movement.

"Some fear that land currently used to grow food will instead be turned over to fuel," he said. "Others worry that forests will be cut down to make way for biomass plantations. Still more worry about the effects on the environment and biodiversity."

National governments must take the lead in managing their use and ensuring that the benefits outweigh the costs, he said.

The Secretary-General described the ethanol plan he visited as "one of many green technologies that show promise in offsetting global warming and he commended both the Brazilian Government and private business enterprises in the South American country for trying to develop clean and renewable sources of energy.

"Brazil is the quiet green giant. It leads the world in renewable energy. It has one of the cleanest energy economies in the world. Brazil is one of the few nations to successfully produce biofuels on a large scale," he said, calling for increased international attention to "what Brazil is achieving."

Today, Mr. Ban travelled to the capital, Brasilia, for talks and a working luncheon with the country's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Climate change has been the focus of the UN chief's trip as he has visited Argentina, Chile and then Antarctica, where he saw first-hand the effects of global warming on the continent's melting and diminishing glaciers.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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GLOBAL EFFORTS TO CLEAR LANDMINES BY 2010 FALTERING, SAYS UN-BACKED STUDY

GLOBAL EFFORTS TO CLEAR LANDMINES BY 2010 FALTERING, SAYS UN-BACKED STUDY
New York, Nov 12 2007 5:00PM
A new report launched today by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (<"http://www.unidir.org/html/en/home.html">UNIDIR) states that not all countries are on track to meeting the deadline of removing anti-personnel landmines by 2010 as called for in a landmark 1997 treaty banning the deadly weapons.

<i><"http://www.icbl.org/lm/2007/">Landmine Monitor Report 2007: Toward a Mine-Free World</i>, published by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, says that 14 countries are likely not to meet their mine clearance deadlines under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction ("Mine Ban Treaty"), which entered into force in March 1999.

They are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Chad, Croatia, Mozambique, Niger, Peru, Senegal, Tajikistan, Thailand, the United Kingdom (for clearance of the Falkland Islands/Malvinas), Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

In addition, France, Niger, the UK and Venezuela have not even begun clearance operations, another obligation under the Treaty.

The Report also points out that Government use of anti-personnel mines declined further in 2006, with only two countries continuing to lay new mines – Russia and Myanmar.

Last year, landmines claimed the lives of over 5,700 people – three quarters of whom were civilians, adds the report, which also identified at least 473,000 landmine survivors globally as of August 2007, many of whom will require life-long care as a result of their injuries. Millions more continue to live in mine-affected areas.

Signed by 122 governments in Ottawa, Canada, in December 1997, the Treaty had 155 States Parties as of 15 August 2007.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN SOMALIA NOT REALISTIC OR VIABLE, SAYS BAN KI-MOON

UN PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN SOMALIA NOT REALISTIC OR VIABLE, SAYS BAN KI-MOON
New York, Nov 12 2007 6:00PM
Deploying a United Nations peacekeeping operation to Somalia is not realistic or viable given the war-wracked African country's security situation, the intensifying insurgency and the lack of progress towards any political reconciliation, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says.

In his latest <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2007/658">report on the situation in Somalia, Mr. Ban writes that conditions are so dire that it has not even been possible to send a technical assessment mission to the country.

"Nevertheless, a strategic assessment of United Nations interventions in Somalia has been initiated, with a view to providing an integrated approach and framework for United Nations engagement in Somalia," he says, including in maintaining support for the existing African Union Mission to the country, known as AMISOM.

"Given the complex security situation in Somalia, it may be advisable to look at additional security options, including the deployment of a robust multinational force or coalition of the willing.

"Such a force could initially be small and self-sustaining, growing over time with the achievement of specific security and political milestones. In due time, such a force could be built to a level that would enable Ethiopian forces [which are in Somalia to support the fragile Transitional Federal Government] to commence a partial, then complete withdrawal from the country."

Mr. Ban stresses that the UN continues to conduct a two-track approach to Somalia, by encouraging dialogue between the TFG and opposition groups with the aim of producing a cessation of hostilities and the creation of broad-based and inclusive public institutions, and by strengthening AMISOM to the point that would allow Ethiopian forces to withdraw and the emergence of some stability.

But he notes the difficulties of implementing the approach in a country that has not had a functioning national government since 1991 and remains riddled with violence and humanitarian suffering.

Most recently, fighting broke out in September in Laascaanood, the capital of the disputed Sool region, between forces loyal to the self-declared independent republic of Somaliland and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, because of intra-clan tensions.

The violence has only worsened since then, the Secretary-General reports, while in Mogadishu, the national capital, the security situation remains highly volatile, with daily attacks carried out by insurgents against the TFG and the Ethiopian forces.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also reported today that another 24,000 Somalis have had to flee Mogadishu in the past week because of the deadly fighting.

At least 51 civilians were killed and another 30 were wounded last Thursday and Friday alone, OCHA said in a statement, and an estimated 114,000 residents of Mogadishu have left the city this year. In total, some 850,000 people are now internally displaced across Somalia.

OCHA warned that the grave situation was being made worse because the fighting had seriously curtailed the movement of humanitarian workers. Many of the people fleeing Mogadishu in recent weeks are now living in rudimentary roadside settlements and nearby villages, placing great strain on the resources of those communities.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said "civilians are more than ever bearing the brunt of the fighting in Mogadishu. I appeal to all those with guns, whether Government, insurgent, or Ethiopian troops, to refrain from indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks affecting civilians."

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, is holding meetings in Nairobi, the capital of neighbouring Kenya, with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Somalia and also civil society groups.

In recent days he has also met with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and Ali Mahdi Mohammed, the Chairman of Somalia's National Reconciliation Congress, to try to find a political solution to the crisis.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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INTERNET RESOURCES AND ACCESSIBILITY SPOTLIGHTED AT UN FORUM

INTERNET RESOURCES AND ACCESSIBILITY SPOTLIGHTED AT UN FORUM
New York, Nov 12 2007 6:00PM
Critical Internet resources, access, openness and using the World Wide Web to assist development were among the issues tackled today at the opening in Rio de Janeiro of the second meeting of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum.

"The United Nations does not have a role in managing the Internet," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2859">message, delivered by Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang. "But we do embrace the opportunity to provide, through this Forum, a platform that helps to ensure the Internet's global reach."

The Forum "may have no power to make decisions," Mr. Ban said. "But it can inform and inspire those who are in a position to make them."

Adding his own remarks, Mr. Sha said the Forum was a unique opportunity for all interested parties to develop, under UN auspices, an innovative dialogue "freed from the constraints of negotiating a text. The Forum is also unique in that it brings together people who normally do not meet under the same roof."

Development had been one of the key priorities throughout the Internet governance debate, he said, adding that "the Internet is capable of delivering economic opportunities for all. But much remains to be done."

Sérgio Rezende, Brazil's Minister of Science and Technology and the Chair of the meeting, said the Internet embodied the spirit of compromise, cooperation and participation. "Without this spirit, the Internet loses his potential," he said.

The Internet was essential for education – thus the need for universal access. The digital divide was a factor in the current increase of inequality, and digital inclusion would lead to a fairer, more balanced world. Developing countries should intensify their efforts to make people more computer-literate, he said.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Portugal's Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education José Mariano Ago said the organizations that managed the Internet, especially the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), had shown an unprecedented capacity of response. Such a flexible and dynamic model could be improved but should continue, he said.

Paul Twomey, ICANN's President and Chief Executive Officer, said the most important item on the meeting's agenda was access. "Our discussions here will mean nothing to someone not able to get onto the network in the first place." The challenge now was to bring the next billion people online.

ICANN was committed to an open way of doing business that included many stakeholders, he said. "Anyone, from governments, the technical community, business and civil society, can participate freely, either in person or virtually."

The Forum is not a decision-making body, and there will be no negotiated outcome. But the meeting aims at creating an open dialogue on public policy issues relating to the Internet and creating new dynamics between participating institutions. During the four-day meeting, some 1,700 representatives from some 90 countries, as well as from the private sector, civil society and the academic and technical communities, will discuss Internet governance in plenary sessions as well as at 70 other events.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT URGES FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM

GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT URGES FRAMEWORK TO ADDRESS SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM
New York, Nov 12 2007 6:00PM
As the General Assembly today embarked on a wide-ranging <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/ga10656.doc.htm">debate on Security Council reform, the 192-member body's president said he looked forward to hearing the proposals of Member States and urged them to adopt a framework that would foster concrete results.

"I wish to assure you of my determination to work with all of you in an open and transparent manner to establish the most appropriate process, based on the views of the entire membership," Srgjan Kerim told the Assembly.

Mr. Kerim, who has been holding informal consultations with all interested parties since the beginning of the current Assembly session, said countries "have articulated their preparedness, taking into account the progress achieved, to use the current momentum to move forward."

He said the process must advance. "Based on these consultations, our objective should be to develop a framework, in order to begin intergovernmental negotiations, by identifying and reaching agreement on the various negotiable elements," he said, urging those present to be guided by the report of a working group dealing with the issue, and the positions and proposals of Member Sates.

The President also said countries "should have primary ownership" of the issue and welcomed their "substantive proposals and views on how to embark on the next stage in this important process so that we can achieve concrete results during the sixty-second session."

Security Council reform is an integral part of strengthening the United Nations, he stressed, encouraging all Member States to "remain actively engaged and committed to addressing this issue."

The current President of the Security Council, Ambassador R.M. Marty M. Natalegawa of Indonesia, presented the 15-member body's annual report to the Assembly, giving an overview of its "ambitious and important agenda."
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON URGES REDOUBLING OF EFFORTS TO RESOLVE MYANMAR CRISIS

BAN KI-MOON URGES REDOUBLING OF EFFORTS TO RESOLVE MYANMAR CRISIS
New York, Nov 12 2007 2:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today encouraged the Myanmar authorities and all relevant parties to redouble their efforts towards achieving national reconciliation, democracy and full respect for human rights.

"The Secretary-General reiterates that the return to the status quo that existed before the crisis is not sustainable," his spokesperson said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2860">statement issued following Mr. Ban's meeting with his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, who just returned to New York following a week-long mission to Myanmar, his second since the Government began its crackdown against demonstrators a few months ago.

"As a result of this visit, a process has been launched that will hopefully lead to a meaningful and substantive dialogue with concrete outcomes within an agreed timeframe," the spokesperson added.

Welcoming the willingness expressed by both sides to work with the UN, the Secretary-General looks forward to Mr. Gambari's early return to Myanmar, "as part of an open and regular process of mutual engagement," she said.

This afternoon Mr. Gambari will brief the President of the General Assembly on his visit and developments since the two last met on 5 October.

Following their previous meeting, Srgjan Kerim had stressed the continued interest of the Assembly in resolving the human rights situation in Myanmar as expressed by a number of resolutions adopted by the 192-member body.

The mandate of Mr. Gambari's mission originates from the Assembly, which requested the Secretary-General to continue to provide his good offices and to pursue his discussions on the situation of human rights and the restoration of democracy with the Government and the people of Myanmar.

Meanwhile, the independent UN human rights expert probing recent events in Myanmar has begun an official visit to the country, meeting with senior government officials, security forces and Buddhist monks.

Special Rapporteur Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro has said he intends to use the 11 to 15 November visit to verify allegations of abuses during the recent Government crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, determine the numbers and whereabouts of those detained or killed, and collect testimony about what happened.

Mr. Pinheiro, who had not been allowed into the country since 2003, added that the invitation by the Government to visit the troubled South-east Asian nation "sends a positive indication of the desire of the authorities to cooperate with his mandate and the Human Rights Council."

Following his arrival in Yangon yesterday, the Special Rapporteur, who works in an unpaid, individual capacity, was invited by the authorities to visit the Kya Khat Waing Monastery in Bago where he held talks with the Head Abbot of the Monastery, according to the UN Information Centre in Yangon. Later, Mr. Pinheiro met with the Board of Trustees of the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.

This morning he met with senior officials from, among others, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Law Enforcement, the Yangon Peace and Development Council and the Yangon General Hospital.

Later in the day, he met with the senior abbots of the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the State Governing Body of the Buddhist Clergy). Mr. Pinheiro also visited two monasteries involved in the recent demonstrations.

In addition, the Special Rapporteur visited the former Government Technical College, where he met with the personnel in charge of the detainees held there during the days of the demonstrations, as well as with security forces from the No. 7 Police Battalion Control Command Headquarters in Kyauktan, Thanlyin, where some people had been held.

Mr. Pinheiro, who also visited the Insein Jail, expects to interview detainees before the end of his mission and receive further details on their records.

He is expected to travel to Myanmar's new capital, Nay Pyi Taw, tomorrow.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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WORLD HAS ENOUGH LEGAL OPIUM TO MEET DEMAND, SAYS UN NARCOTICS BODY

WORLD HAS ENOUGH LEGAL OPIUM TO MEET DEMAND, SAYS UN NARCOTICS BODY
New York, Nov 12 2007 1:00PM
The current legal supply of opium, which has a number of medical purposes including pain management, is enough to meet global demand, <" http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2007/unisnar1014.html">according to the independent United Nations body tasked with monitoring the production and consumption of narcotics worldwide.

Ensuring the availability of opiates for medical and scientific purposes is an important part of the mandate of the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (<" http://www.incb.org/incb/index.html">INCB), which declared that "currently, global demand for opiates for medical purposes is fully satisfied."

The Board, which is currently reviewing the global situation of the lawful production and use of narcotics, noted that during the past five years, the total supply of opiate raw materials has exceeded the total demand for opiates needed for medical and scientific purposes.

Narcotic drugs in general, and opiate analgesics – such as morphine or codeine – in particular, are essential in the treatment of moderate to severe pain, according to the Board, which also noted that consumption is concentrated in a few regions; Europe and North America accounted for 89 per cent of the global consumption of morphine last year.

Meanwhile, the Board expressed concern at the low levels of consumption of morphine and other opiate analgesics for treating pain in the other countries, particularly those in the developing world. Concerns about addition and the reluctance to prescribe were among the main reasons for this, as cited in a recent survey among governments. The INCB is working with the UN World Health Organization (<" http://www.who.int/en">WHO) to address these issues.

During its current session, the Board will also examine the consumption of other narcotic drugs, such as methadone, whose use has increased more than three times over the past decade due to its growing use in treating opiate dependency.

As the increased availability of narcotic drugs raises the risk of their being diverted and abused, the Board requests Governments to closely monitor trends in the consumption of narcotic drugs and to adopt measures to counter such threats.

Established by the <"http://www.incb.org/pdf/e/conv/convention_1961_en.pdf">1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the INCB is the only global body with a mandate to monitor the licit manufacture and consumption of narcotic drugs around the world. Based on its activities, the Board publishes an annual report which it submits to the UN Economic and Social Council through the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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UN-BACKED FUND TO FIGHT MAJOR DISEASES APPROVES $1.1 BILLION OF NEW GRANTS

UN-BACKED FUND TO FIGHT MAJOR DISEASES APPROVES $1.1 BILLION OF NEW GRANTS
New York, Nov 12 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations-backed <" http://www.theglobalfund.org/en">Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today approved $1.1 billion of new grants to be handed out over the next two years and agreed to allocate another $130 million to five projects it had already started supporting.

This is the first time since the Fund was established in 2002 that it has passed $1 billion mark in approving new grants, the Executive Director, Michel Kazatchkine, said after a meeting of the Fund's Board in Kunming, China.

"We all know there is a tremendous need for investments in health," said Dr. Kazatchkine. "These new grants show that need is increasingly turned into high-quality demand for resources. This is a trend we must develop further."

Projects devoted to tackling AIDS account for 48 per cent of approved proposals this year, while malaria projects comprise 42 per cent and tuberculosis projects 10 per cent.

Fund officials said they were impressed by the scope and quality of much of the proposals submitted, particularly in the area of combating malaria. Almost half of grant applications were approved this year, up from an average of 40 per cent in the previous six rounds of grants.

Rajat Gupta, the Chair of the Fund's Board, said it was looking forward to scaling up the fight against the three diseases. Nearly a fifth of the approved funding is being contributing to the large-scale strengthening of national health-care systems, such as by upgrading infrastructure and buying new equipment, he noted.

For the first time, a project focused on the occupied Palestinian territory of West Bank and the Gaza Strip – a HIV prevention programme – has received money from the Fund.

In total, 73 new grants were approved and five others that had reached the end of their five-year life were renewed. More than 80 per cent of overall funding went to projects based in low-income countries, with the majority in Africa.

Since its founding the Fund has now awarded over $10 billion to projects in 136 countries as it battles the three diseases of AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, which collectively claim more than 6 million lives every year.

Programmes backed by the Fund are estimated to have averted the deaths of 2 million people by providing AIDS for 1.1 million people, tuberculosis treatment for 2.8 million people and distributing some 30 million insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria.
2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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UN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY CHIEF URGES GLOBAL ACTION TO CURB MERCURY

UN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY CHIEF URGES GLOBAL ACTION TO CURB MERCURY
New York, Nov 12 2007 9:00AM
The head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today called on governments to intensify efforts to produce an international agreement curbing the poisonous heavy metal mercury.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner made his comments as governments and experts gather in Bangkok under the auspices of the agency's Chemicals Branch to explore a range of options on how best to reduce environmental sources of mercury -- from voluntary measures to legally binding treaties.

The meeting comes amid growing concern that increased burning of coal, which is naturally contaminated with mercury, is leading to releases to the air in some parts of the world from where it can spread around the globe.

The soaring gold price may also be increasing mercury pollution locally and worldwide, UNEP said, since the poisonous heavy metal is used to extract gold from ore in many artisanal mining operations which involve millions of workers and their families.

Mr. pointed out that scientists have been warning about the dangers to human health, wildlife and the wider environment for well over a century. He acknowledged that many countries have, in recent decades, taken steps to cut mercury uses and to protect their citizens from exposure to this toxic heavy metal.

But he warned that "a comprehensive and decisive response to the global challenge of mercury is not in place and this needs to be urgently addressed."

Mercury is linked with a wide range of health effects including irreversible damage to the human nervous system including the brain and scientists have concluded there is no safe limit when it comes to mercury exposure, according to UNEP.

The report of the Bangkok meeting will be presented to environment ministers in February to UNEP's Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum.

2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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NEW UN ENVOY FOR IRAQ STARTS WORK IN BAGHDAD

NEW UN ENVOY FOR IRAQ STARTS WORK IN BAGHDAD
New York, Nov 12 2007 9:00AM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's new Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, has arrived in Baghdad where he immediately assumed his responsibilities as the top United Nations envoy in the country.

"I look forward to carrying out my responsibilities," said Mr. de Mistura, whose mandate derives from Security Council resolution 1770, which extended and expanded the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

The envoy pledged to work "in the service of the Iraqi people."

Recognizing Iraq's unique challenges, Mr. de Mistura, who arrived on Sunday, also vowed "to fulfill UNAMI's mandate by ensuring maximum UN engagement with both the Government and people of Iraq."

Mr. de Mistura, who succeeded Ashraf Qazi, has served in Iraq in various capacities in the past, including as the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative.

2007-11-12 00:00:00.000

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