WORLD AIDS DAY MARKED WITH CALLS FOR RENEWED LEADERSHIP TO FIGHT EPIDEMIC

WORLD AIDS DAY MARKED WITH CALLS FOR RENEWED LEADERSHIP TO FIGHT EPIDEMIC
New York, Dec 1 2007 12:00PM
Marking the 20th annual World AIDS Day, top United Nations officials have called for renewed leadership to tackle the global HIV and AIDS epidemic which has already claimed over 25 million lives worldwide.

Calling AIDS "a disease unlike any other," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon <http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11293.doc.htm>stressed the need for strong leadership in a number of areas, saying that "without it, we will never get ahead of the epidemic."

While "tangible and remarkable" progress has been made in a number of areas, including reducing infections and providing care, Mr. Ban emphasized the need to do more on several fronts.

"It is our crucial mission to ensure that everyone can access HIV prevention, treatment, care and support," he said, recalling the pledge made by all Governments last year to work towards universal access by 2010.

In addition, Mr. Ban called for renewed leadership in eradicating stigma associated with HIV, which he termed "the single biggest barrier to public action on AIDS" and one of the reasons why the epidemic continues to wreak its devastation around the world.

The Secretary-General also emphasized the need for leadership among Governments in fully understanding the epidemic, so that resources go where they are most needed. In addition he pledged to ensure that the UN becomes a model in responding to the virus.

"As Secretary General, I am determined to lead the United Nations family in this endeavour -- to ensure that we prioritize action on AIDS, to encourage Member States to keep the issue high on national and international agendas, and to work to make the UN a model of how the workplace should respond to AIDS," Mr. Ban said.

The Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) <"http://data.unaids.org/pub/PressStatement/2007/071201_pp_wad_statement_en.pdf">said the challenge now is to keep AIDS at the top of the agenda, and to accelera
slackening of leadership would be fatal."

"The epidemic reached global proportions precisely because it took so long for the world to act," stated Dr. Peter Piot. "And although we are beginning to make progress, there remains a long way to go."

Citing a serious shortfall in resources for AIDS, and prevailing stigma and discrimination around the disease, he noted that two-thirds of those who require anti-retroviral treatment are unable to access it. "Less than one in ten people at risk of HIV infection have the means to protect themselves," he said.

Dr. Piot stressed that sustaining leadership and accelerating action on AIDS isn't just an imperative for politicians. "It involves religious leaders, community, youth and council leaders, chief executives and trade union leaders. It involves people living with HIV, and their families and friends. It involves you, me -- each and every one of us -- taking the lead to eliminate stigma and discrimination, to advocate for more resources to tackle AIDS."

In her <http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/8039FBC3342E9605C12573A300599F74?opendocument>message to mark the Day, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that the first and primary leadership call is for Governments to step forward and provide the basic human rights guarantees necessary for HIV to be overcome.

The commitment by Governments to achieving universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support by 2010 is not only an ambitious goal, "it is also a human right," Louise Arbour stated.

To achieve this goal, she called for action on several fronts, including ending the discrimination against people living with HIV and supporting them to become strong, active players in determining policies and programmes that will prevent further infections and provide treatment.

In addition, she stressed the need for Governments to care for the most disaffected and marginalized groups, even those who engage in activities which may be illegal in some countries.

"Sex workers, prisone
men, and injecting drug users must have their human rights respected and protected, including rights to health, non-discrimination and freedom from violence," she stated. "These people are amongst the worst affected in the pandemic, yet their rights are disproportionately violated."
Highlighting the leadership role played by the General Assembly in raising awareness of the issues surrounding the epidemic, its President, Srgjan Kerim, <http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/statements/worldaidsday301107.shtml>noted that the 192-member body will hold a meeting next year to take stock of and accelerate the implementation of global commitments to combat HIV/AIDS.

Mr. Kerim also drew attention to the fact that the disease remains a major challenge for many countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. "Eight countries in Africa now account for almost one-third of all new HIV infections and AIDS deaths globally," he stated, adding that "every human life lost to AIDS is a tragedy when knowledge and resources have made it possible to prevent these deaths."

In the lead up to World AIDS Day, UNAIDS worked with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank to produce "HIV and Prisons in sub-Saharan Africa: Opportunities for Action."

While it is well known that sub-Saharan Africa has been hardest hit by the epidemic, little is known about the prison community and HIV, the three agencies said in a <"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2007-11-28.html">joint communiqué.

The new document summarizes what is known, identifies gaps in information and proposes ways forward to address this underserved population within the context of the HIV/AIDS response in the region.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has <"http://www.unicef.org/aids/index_41926.html">announced that its Goodwill Ambassador and tennis great Roger Federer will star in a World AIDS Day public service announcement to raise awareness about the transmission of HIV from mothers to their children.

Mr. Federer is among several celebri
lending their voices to the Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS campaign, launched in October 2005 by UNICEF and UNAIDS to draw attention to the impact of the disease on children and young people.

2007-12-01 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL CONVENES INFORMATION SESSION ON HIV IN UN WORKPLACE

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONVENES INFORMATION SESSION ON HIV IN UN WORKPLACE
New York, Nov 30 2007 7:00PM
On the eve of World AIDS Day, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today convened an orientation session on HIV in the United Nations workplace as part of his efforts to ensure that the world body becomes a model in responding to the virus.

Facilitated by one of the UN's coordinators on HIV in the workplace, the session was intended for all Under-Secretaries-General and Assistant Secretaries-General based at Headquarters, as well as the executive heads of New York-based UN agencies.

"The Secretary-General hopes the session will provide him and his senior leaders with important lessons and messages, while helping them set an example as managers and colleagues," Mr. Ban's spokesperson, Michele Montas, told reporters.

While sessions on HIV in the workplace have been offered to the Organization's staff on a voluntary basis in recent years, they are now becoming mandatory for all employees working at Headquarters and in the field. These sessions convey information on transmission, prevention, stigma and discrimination, care and treatment, as well as the UN's policies, initiatives and services.

Also today, Mr. Ban will address a World AIDS Day observance at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Manhattan.

Ms. Montas said the Secretary-General would emphasize the need for Government and individual leadership to assure universal access to prevention, treatment, care and support, noting that "We all need to take responsibility for the response."
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT HEADING TOWARDS UNIVERSALITY, SAYS CHIEF JUDGE

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT HEADING TOWARDS UNIVERSALITY, SAYS CHIEF JUDGE
New York, Nov 30 2007 7:00PM
The International Criminal Court (<" http://www.icc-cpi.int/home.html&l=en">ICC) is now over halfway towards achieving its goal of universal acceptance, the court's President, Judge Philippe Kirsch, told the Assembly of States Parties today, calling for ratifications and accessions by the world's countries to continue.

Judge Kirsch told the Assembly's sixth session, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, that the Court has made "significant progress" as it nears the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute in July 1998, which led to the tribunal's founding.

"The Court is fully operational," he said. "Investigations and proceedings are ongoing in four situations. Victims are participating in proceedings and the Trust Fund for Victims is functioning.

"Most importantly, it is increasingly recognized that the Court is having the impact for which it was created by the States Parties by contributing to the deterrence of crimes and improving chances for sustainable peace."

Some 105 countries have become States Parties to the ICC, with Japan and Chad the latest to do so, and Judge Kirsch called for the number of accessions and ratifications to keep rising.

"Working together, we can ensure that the Court makes lasting and sustainable contributions to justice, peace and accountability around the world."

He also stressed that the Court, which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, regards the establishment of permanent premises as a priority, and added that the Court has held fruitful dialogue on this issue with the Dutch Government.

In addition, he called for the world's countries to demonstrate greater support for the ICC, whether in practical cooperation measures such as the arrest of suspects or by advocating publicly on behalf of the Court.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo used his address to detail the work of his office, particularly in the cases it is investigating concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), northern Uganda and the Sudanese region of Darfur.

He urged States Parties to play their part to ensure the arrest of the men who have already been indicted by the Court: Joseph Kony and four other commanders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, and two figures from the Darfur conflict.

"In Rome, States created a new system of justice where the worst criminals would not be allowed in the sharing of power any longer [and] where the use of massive violence against civilians would neither be rewarded nor forgotten," he said.

"The Rome system was built upon the lessons learned from the last century when the international community failed, failed to protect entire populations," he added, cautioning that "the lack of arrest can affect the credibility and long-term deterrent impact of the Court."
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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MIDDLE EAST PEACE CONFERENCE A 'SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH,' SAYS TOP UN OFFICIAL

MIDDLE EAST PEACE CONFERENCE A 'SIGNIFICANT BREAKTHROUGH,' SAYS TOP UN OFFICIAL
New York, Nov 30 2007 6:00PM
This week's conference in the United States was "the most significant breakthrough" in the Middle East peace process in several years, but the difficult humanitarian and security situation on the ground should not be overlooked, the top United Nations political official <" http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sc9184.doc.htm">told the Security Council today.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe said violence continues to plague both Palestinians and Israelis and the humanitarian conditions in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially the Gaza Strip, were "a source of acute concern."

But Mr. Pascoe stressed that the conference, held in the city of Annapolis earlier this week, offered a "clear way forward" to end the conflict, with the leaders of the two sides having agreed to launch immediately good-faith negotiations to try to conclude a peace treaty by the end of next year that resolves all outstanding issues.

"For 60 years the Israeli State has feared for its survival and the survival of its people," he said. "For 60 years the Palestinian people have wandered and suffered in search of a State. It is time for the Palestinians to have a home of their own. It is time for the Israelis to feel at peace in their home. The time to act is now. Let us go forward and each play our part."

Reiterating the full support of the UN for the peace process, the Under-Secretary-General said more efforts have to be made to ease the situation on the ground, which remains tense.

Since his last briefing to the Council, Mr. Pascoe said 42 Palestinians had been killed, 133 others injured and at least 346 detained by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), while two Israelis were killed and six others injured as well. In Gaza, the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit entered his eighteenth month of captivity, and Palestinian militants fired over 116 rockets and 121 mortars. Factional fighting among Palestinians also intensified.

Mr. Pascoe noted that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has raised his strong concerns about the humanitarian situation inside the Gaza Strip, where the closure or restrictions of border crossing points into Israel have hurt the economy and made it difficult for local Palestinians to obtain vital health care and other services.

Turning to Lebanon, he said that the extensive diplomatic efforts to mediate between the parties – which have been divided for months over the appointment of a new president to succeed Emile Lahoud, whose term ended last week – are ongoing, aimed at bridging the political divide.

Meanwhile, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/index.html">UNIFIL) said it has observed a significant number of Israeli overflights in the past few days and is reporting these incidents to the Security Council via the Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Gen. Claudio Graziano, the UNIFIL Force Commander, has also raised the issue with the Israeli army commander, voicing his serious concern and asking them to stop the violations.

In related news, the General Assembly today concluded a two-day <" http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/ga10664.doc.htm">debate on the Question of Palestine and also held a meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

The UN Bureau of the <" http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpalnew/committee.htm">Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People also issued a statement welcoming the holding of the conference in Annapolis and the Joint Understanding that was reached by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli President Ehud Olmert.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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ENDING VISIT TO TIMOR-LESTE, SECURITY COUNCIL TEAM PLEDGES ONGOING UN SUPPORT

ENDING VISIT TO TIMOR-LESTE, SECURITY COUNCIL TEAM PLEDGES ONGOING UN SUPPORT
New York, Nov 30 2007 6:00PM
Wrapping up a four-day mission to assess the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Timor-Leste, the Security Council today said the international community will provide ongoing support for the world body's efforts in the tiny nation which only gained independence in 2002.

During their visit, the Council team gained a first-hand view of the challenges the country faces, having met with many people across Timor-Leste.

"We went all over this country and our general impression is that this country is doing very well and the security appears to be very good, but this country still needs a lot of international assistance," South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, who headed the Council delegation, said at a press conference today.

"I can assure you that there will be continued international support for the UN on the ground here to do its work, because we are very pleased with the work the UN has done," he added.

In the eastern district of Baucau, the team held talks with local authorities, political party representatives, UN officials and police officers, while in Dili, the national capital, the delegation met with civil society members and local representatives of political parties to gauge the views of the wider community about the work of the UN mission (<"http://www.unmiset.org/unmisetwebsite.nsf/MainFrame-EN.htm?OpenFrameset">UNMIT) and other UN entities and what challenges lie ahead.

The delegation also included Ambassador Liu Zhenmin from China, Luc Joseph Okio from the Republic of the Congo, Muhammad Anshor from Indonesia, Diana Eloeva from the Russian Federation, Ambassador Peter Burian from Slovakia and United States Ambassador Jackie Wolcott.

Atul Khare, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, noted that this visit is a manifestation of strong global support for the ongoing work in Timor-Leste and that the country is still a priority for assistance.

As part of his visit to Asia next month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Timor-Leste. He plans to visit UNMIT, meet with Government officials and address the National Parliament and will stop camps for internally displaced persons.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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BURUNDI'S PEACE PROCESS HAMPERED BY POLITICAL CRISES - UN REPORT

BURUNDI'S PEACE PROCESS HAMPERED BY POLITICAL CRISES – UN REPORT
New York, Nov 30 2007 6:00PM
In recent months, efforts to bring a lasting peace to Burundi have been impeded by a deteriorating political situation, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report to the Security Council made public today.

In recent months, efforts to bring a lasting peace to Burundi have been impeded by a deteriorating political situation, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new <" http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2007/682">report to the Security Council made public today.

"The peace consolidation process in Burundi has passed through a difficult period in the past six months," Mr. Ban says in a report on the work of the UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) covering the period since 17 May. "The political crises and institutional paralysis, along with the blockage in the peace process, underscores the fragility of the situation and the continued need for vigilance."

The small Great Lakes nation has been the victim of violent coups and political instability since gaining independence in 1962. Decades of ethnic conflict pit the Hutu majority against the Tutsi minority, and enormous challenges persist, the report states.

Mr. Ban also voices concern over the worsening overall security situation and ongoing human rights violations.

Welcoming the appointment of an inclusive Government earlier this month, he commended President Pierre Nkurunziza "for the leadership and the flexibility in ending the political crisis that had heightened tensions and delayed the implementation of key peace consolidation tasks."

To meet high expectations – both national and international – the new Government must endeavour to address the challenges Burundi faces in its reconstruction efforts, the report notes.

In July, the Palipehutu-FNL, the last major rebel hold-out group, withdrew from the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism set up to monitor a ceasefire it signed with the Government last year.

"There is an urgent need for the resumption and early implementation of the comprehensive ceasefire agreement within an overall political framework that addresses the concerns of the Government and FNL," Mr. Ban says.

He expresses concern over the continuing stalemate between the sides, which has had humanitarian and security consequences, and urged the FNL to resume its participation in the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism.

"I call upon the Government and FNL to meet the aspirations of all Burundians and seize this opportunity by engaging in good faith on the issues that have hindered progress to date," the Secretary-General adds.

The report urges a greater role for BINUB, which "should continue to provide political and technical support to help national actors address the root causes of the conflict, prevent a relapse into conflict and create an environment conducive to recovery and development."
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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BANGLADESH: UN AGENCIES TO RUSH AID TO CHILDREN DEVASTATED BY RECENT CYCLONE

BANGLADESH: UN AGENCIES TO RUSH AID TO CHILDREN DEVASTATED BY RECENT CYCLONE
New York, Nov 30 2007 5:00PM
United Nations agencies and their partners will begin distributing much-needed supplies to children and pregnant and lactating women living in areas recently devastated by Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.

The UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41989.html">UNICEF), the UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=3">WFP) and other partners are teaming up to deliver high-energy biscuits and family kits to children under three years of age, as well as pregnant and lactating women, in the six more severely impacted districts: Patuakhali, Barguna, Barisal, Bagerhat, Pirojpur and Jhalokathi.

UNICEF sounded the alarm today that an estimated 300,000 children under five years of age are living throughout the disaster zone in makeshift camps with their families, are living on meager food and water. They do not have proper shelter or access to basic amenities, leaving them at risk of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection and other cold-related diseases.

"Children often bear the greatest brunt of natural disasters, needing the greatest assistance and care," said Louis-George Aresnault, UNICEF Representative in Bangladesh.

"Food alone is not enough to alleviate the disease burden," he added. "If they are not fed micronutrients quickly and are not protected by vitamins and iron, and if diarrhoeal diseases spread, they will die."

Media reports note that there have already been outbreaks of diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia, fever and typhoid. Given the high prevalence of chronic and acute malnutrition among Bangladeshi children, they are now even more susceptible to illness following the cyclone, which the Government says has impacted 8.4 million people.

UNICEF is currently working to curb long-term malnutrition and tackle the expected rise in malnutrition rates by distributing supplementary feeding for some 340,000 children under five years of age and approximately 124,000 pregnant and lactating women.

The agency is also planning a Vitamin A campaign to bolster children's immune systems and curtail potential mortality from infectious diseases.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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COLOMBIA MUST SUSTAIN RECENT STEPS ON HUMAN RIGHTS, DEVELOPMENT - BAN KI-MOON

COLOMBIA MUST SUSTAIN RECENT STEPS ON HUMAN RIGHTS, DEVELOPMENT – BAN KI-MOON
New York, Nov 30 2007 5:00PM
Colombia has taken encouraging steps towards establishing peace and security across the country but these measures must be sustained and reinforced over the next few years if they are to have any lasting effect in the Latin American country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

In his <" http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2884">message to the Third International Conference on Colombia, held in Bogotá, Mr. Ban said recent progress in both the human rights and development fields "signal Colombia's resurgence from years of conflict" and pledged to strengthen United Nations support of these efforts.

The demobilization of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, a paramilitary group, had helped to dampen violence, while confessions by paramilitary leaders of crimes committed "have brought a degree of closure for victims," he noted.

"And the Government's ratification of the Ottawa Convention on landmines signalled a renewed push against such deadly and indiscriminate weapons."

The Secretary-General also welcomed the passage of legislation on the rights of internally displaced persons (<" http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3b84c7e23.html">IDPs), who are legion after decades of conflict between Government forces, paramilitary groups and rebels.

But he said that victims of paramilitary violence need greater security and protection so that they feel able to participate in the Justice and Peace Law process, which aims to bring a measure of reconciliation.

The country's ratification of the Ottawa Convention banning landmines "must be supported by real steps on the ground," he said, calling for a halt to their use by illegal armed groups.

Mr. Ban also called for Colombia's most vulnerable citizens, including its indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities, to receive more focus and resources so they can fully engage in society.

The message was delivered on Mr. Ban's behalf by Angela Kane, the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. Today's conference brings together members of the international community as well as Colombian society to map out to help the country.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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ABDUCTIONS AND KILLINGS OF CHILDREN IN HAITI DENOUNCED BY UNICEF

ABDUCTIONS AND KILLINGS OF CHILDREN IN HAITI DENOUNCED BY UNICEF
New York, Nov 30 2007 5:00PM
Condemning a recent spate of kidnappings and assassinations carried out against children in Haiti, the United Nations Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org">UNICEF) has called for action to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The agency cited local authorities who reported at least 11 kidnappings of children in November alone.

According to UNICEF, the mutilated body of a seven-year-old boy was found two weeks after he was kidnapped in the city of Cabaret, north of Port-au-Prince. His family had been unable to pay the ransom of nearly $700.

The agency called on the Haitian authorities to do everything to ensure the protection of children and bring the perpetrators to justice.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY MUST IMPROVE BEFORE DISPLACED IN DARFUR CAN RETURN HOME - UN AID CHIEF

SECURITY MUST IMPROVE BEFORE DISPLACED IN DARFUR CAN RETURN HOME – UN AID CHIEF
New York, Nov 30 2007 4:00PM
Darfur's hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons (<" http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3b84c7e23.html">IDPs) will only return to their home villages and areas once security conditions improve and basic services are operating, the top United Nations humanitarian official said today after visiting one of the war-wracked Sudanese region's biggest IDP camps.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes met with IDP representatives at South Darfur state's Ed Daein camp, which is currently home to an estimated 50,000 people.

"Clearly, after living in camps – in some cases for over three years – they are frustrated," he said. "While they expressed a strong desire to return to their home areas, all the people I spoke with were unequivocal that they would only be able to do so when security conditions were right and services were in place."

In total, at least 2.2 million Darfurians are either internally displaced or live as refugees in neighbouring countries because of fighting between rebels, Government forces, allied militia and tribal groups since 2003. More than 200,000 others have been killed.

Mr. Holmes also met today with aid workers to discuss the continuing challenges they face in trying to bring relief in Darfur, where car hijackings, assaults and harassment have become increasingly common.

"Many organizations also expressed their frustration at bureaucratic impediments which continue to hamper an effective and efficient response," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<" http://ochaonline.un.org/News/OCHANewsCentre/PressReleases2007/tabid/1120/Default.aspx">OCHA) said in a media statement.

A combination of poor rainfall, infestations and birds mean there could be a poor harvest this season, and UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are warning about a serious food gap emerging, possibly as early as January next year.

While in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, the Emergency Relief Coordinator held a short meeting with the Wali, or provincial governor, to discuss mutual concerns about the situation.

Tomorrow Mr. Holmes is scheduled to travel to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the home of the planned hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID), for talks with UN staff, partner organizations and local authorities.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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IVORIAN SUPPLEMENTARY PEACE AGREEMENTS WELCOMED BY UN MISSION

IVORIAN SUPPLEMENTARY PEACE AGREEMENTS WELCOMED BY UN MISSION
New York, Nov 30 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Côte d'Ivoire has welcomed the signing by the country's political leaders of supplementary agreements to a major peace accord that is designed to end the prolonged national crisis and bring elections early next year.

The mission, known as <" http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/unoci/">UNOCI, issued a statement yesterday in Abidjan describing the signing of the supplementary agreements as "an important step in the right direction… [that] shows the willingness of the parties to ensure that the peace process is irreversible.

"It is an encouraging sign to the international community which, on a number of occasions, has reasserted its availability to help Côte d'Ivoire put an end to the conflict which has torn it apart from more than five years."
Since 2002 the West African nation has been divided between the Government-controlled south and the rebel Forces Nouvelles-held north.

The new agreements – signed by President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro – support the Ouagadougou Peace Agreement, which was reached in the capital of neighbouring Burkina Faso in March in a bid to end the ongoing stand-off.

That 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 added that it would continue to support the parties to implement their commitments under the Ouagadougou accord and the supplementary agreements.

Young-jin Choi, the recently appointed Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Cote d'Ivoire, also held consultations yesterday in Ouagadougou with Blaise Compaoré, Burkina Faso's President and the Facilitator of the Ivorian peace talks.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PLANNED FOR VENEZUELA ALARMS UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS

CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM PLANNED FOR VENEZUELA ALARMS UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS
New York, Nov 30 2007 4:00PM
Three independent United Nations human rights experts today voiced concern about planned constitutional reforms in Venezuela, saying the proposed changes could curb civil liberties and breach the South American country's international treaty commitments.

In a joint statement, the rapporteurs say that the proposals – which will go before Venezuelan voters in a referendum on Sunday – "will curtail a set of fundamental rights that should be enjoyed at all times, including during states of emergencies," citing the right to freedom of expression and the right of access to information as two examples.

They say the reforms could also limit the work of journalists and human rights defenders and harm the independence of the judiciary.

"We call upon the Venezuelan Government to firmly commit to the protection of the set of human rights, safeguarding the institutional guarantees that ensure that democracy and the rule of law will be upheld at all times," said the statement, issued by Ambeyi Ligabo, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Hina Jilani, the Secretary-General's Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders; and Leandro Despouy, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

Sunday's referendum comes a few weeks after Venezuela's National Assembly approved President Hugo Chavez's reform proposals, which include allowing the indefinite re-election of the president, extending the presidential term by one year and ending the autonomy of the country's central bank.

The rapporteurs expressed concern that some provisions regarding the declaration of a state of emergency would hinder citizens' civil liberties, while the elimination of the Supreme Court's authority to oversee and approve such declarations would be inconsistent with Venezuela's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Amendments to three articles of the constitution also mean many "fundamental rights… [that are] stepping stones of all democratic societies" are no longer expressly guaranteed, according to the statement.

"We are also concerned about the situation of human rights defenders as the proposed reform establishes that associations with a political aim can only access funding at the national level. We fear that this definition might be selectively applied to human rights organizations to prevent them from accessing international funding," the experts said.

They also voiced concern about the situation facing human rights defenders and journalists "who have been subject to threats and attacks that not only affect their personal security, but generate a widespread atmosphere of intimidation that discourages them from engaging in their activities and from taking public stands for the defence of human rights."

Under the planned reforms the dismissal of Supreme Court judges can be decided a simple majority vote in the National Assembly, rather than the current two-thirds majority required, leading the rapporteurs to warn of the impact on judicial independence.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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UGANDAN REBEL GROUP MEMBERS AGREE TO DISARM AND RETURN HOME - UN MISSION

UGANDAN REBEL GROUP MEMBERS AGREE TO DISARM AND RETURN HOME – UN MISSION
New York, Nov 30 2007 3:00PM
Seven members of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which has been fighting Ugandan Government forces for two decades, have surrendered to the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and agreed to enter a disarmament, repatriation and reintegration scheme.

The seven combatants were escorted on Wednesday by blue helmets from the UN mission (known by its French acronym <"http://www.monuc.org/Home.aspx?lang=en">MONUC) in Ituri district and flown to the city of Bunia a day later for repatriation to Uganda, the mission reported today.

"These LRA elements have pledged to inform their counterparts, still waiting in the bush, that it is safe to surrender to MONUC and repatriate to Uganda, once they are reassured as to the commitment of the Ugandan authorities to treat them according to the terms of the DDRRR programme," the mission said in a press statement,.

MONUC has set up a programme of disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration and reinsertion for LRA fighters living in the northeast of the DRC so that they can smoothly transfer back into Ugandan society.

Last month a senior LRA commander, Patrick Opiyo Mayasi, and his wife also gave themselves up, along with their weapons and ammunition, to Congolese border police.

The LRA, which has fought a civil war with the Ugandan Government since the mid-1980s, became notorious during the conflict 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.

In October 2005 the International Criminal Court (<"http://www.un.org/law/icc/">ICC) issued its first-ever arrest warrants against five senior members of the LRA: the leader Joseph Kony, and the commanders Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.
Last year, the Government and the LRA agreed to a cessation of hostilities, but disputes between the two sides had dampened hopes of a more comprehensive peace accord and many LRA members continue to hide out in southern Sudan or the northeast of the DRC.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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MYANMAR: UN ENVOY DENOUNCES CLOSURE OF MONASTERY USED AS HIV/AIDS HOSPICE

MYANMAR: UN ENVOY DENOUNCES CLOSURE OF MONASTERY USED AS HIV/AIDS HOSPICE
New York, Nov 30 2007 3:00PM
The top United Nations envoy for Myanmar today spoke out against the closure in the South-East Asian nation of a monastery used as a hospice for those living with HIV and AIDS.

At a press conference in Phom Penh, Cambodia, Ibrahim Gambari said that "any action that runs counter to the spirit of national reconciliation in an all-inclusive manner, any ay action that will inflame passions, any actions that will undermine the dialogue between the Government and those who disagree with the policies of the Government should be avoided."

Mr. Gambari, the Secretary-General's Special Advisor, underscored that the UN has repeatedly called for the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

He met yesterday with Cambodia officials to garner its support for the UN's efforts in Myanmar, which has been rocked recently by the Government's use of violence against peaceful protestors.

Having now arrived in Vientiane, Laos, the Special Advisor will meet with the country's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister tomorrow.

This is the last stop of Mr. Gambari's three-nation tour to consult with regional leaders, which also took him to Viet Nam.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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HIV/AIDS THREATENING LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION, UN AGRICULTURE AGENCY WARNS

HIV/AIDS THREATENING LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION, UN AGRICULTURE AGENCY WARNS
New York, Nov 30 2007 2:00PM
HIV/AIDS is affecting not only humans but is also dramatically impeding livestock production, which is the main source of income for rural households, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) <" http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000717/index.html">cautioned today.

Livestock contribute greatly to the incomes and nutrition of some 70 per cent of rural households in developing countries. In East and Southern Africa, livestock account for 13 per cent of GNP, but proportionately more in terms of food security for households.

As more and more people of working age are now living with the virus – nearly two-thirds of all people between the ages of 15 and 49 worldwide living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa – fewer people are available to tend to livestock.

In addition to providing income and food, livestock are a source of draught power, manure for fertilizer and fuel. But once family savings are exhausted, animals are sold to cover medical expenses or funeral costs, surveys in sub-Saharan Africa indicate. Selling or slaughtering livestock reduces herd size, leading to fewer products – such as meat, milk, eggs and hides – to eat or sell.

"In Zambia, an FAO study showed that in the past it was fare for HIV-affected households to sell a heifer or milking cow, where now it is common place," said Simon Mack, Senior Officer in the agency's Livestock Production Group. "The short and long-term effects of this on family incomes and food security can be devastating."

FAO called for more research on how the pandemic is impacting livestock production to develop strategies to mitigate the consequences on vulnerable people as well as on the livestock sector.

The agency also pointed out that livestock – especially poultry, sheep and goats, which are easily managed, affordable and have short reproduction cycles – can play a crucial role in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS in affected communities by providing households with renewable assets, income and a chance to bolster diets.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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UGANDA'S DEADLY EBOLA OUTBREAK CONFIRMED - UN

UGANDA'S DEADLY EBOLA OUTBREAK CONFIRMED – UN
New York, Nov 30 2007 2:00PM
Uganda's Ministry of Health has confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus – with 16 reported dead – in the west of the landlocked country, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) <" http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_11_30a/en/index.html">announced today.

As of 28 November, there have been 51 suspected cases in Bundibugyo District, including three health care workers who were infected, with one fatality.

Those infected have been hospitalized in Kikyo and Bundibugyo.

The presence of a new species of the haemorrhagic virus in samples taken from cases associated with this outbreak has been confirmed by the United States National Reference Laboratories and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WHO and the Ministry of Health report that the outbreak could have occurred this September, based on initial field investigations.

A national task force – comprising WHO, the Ministry of Health and international partners – is coordinating the response, and the WHO country office is aiding the Ministry's national field team and district health officials.

The <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/">Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected persons or animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys and antelopes, and it has an incubation period of two to 21 days.

Sufferers can experience fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headaches and sore throats, as well as vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes and impaired kidney and liver function. In the most severe cases, the virus can lead to both external and internal bleeding.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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UN-BACKED GLOBAL FUND TREATS NEARLY 1.5 MILLION LIVING WITH HIV

UN-BACKED GLOBAL FUND TREATS NEARLY 1.5 MILLION LIVING WITH HIV
New York, Nov 30 2007 1:00PM
Almost doubling last year's results, the United Nations-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria <" http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/media_center/press/pr_071130.asp">announced today that over 1.4 million people living with HIV have received antiretroviral (ARV) treatment through programmes it supports.

Progress has also been made in the fight against tuberculosis – the leading cause of death among those infected with HIV – with over 3.3 million people treated with effective drugs through schemes receiving Fund support.

Regarding malaria, the Fund announced earlier this week that programmes it supports have delivered 46 million bed nets, up from 18 million last year, to families at risk.

"These results are the living proof that Global Fund investments are working," said Rajat Gupta, Chairman of the Fund's Board. "These positive figures should be an incentive to all donors, partners and the many health professionals working in the field to continue to bring the fight against the three diseases to a new level in the years to come."

Along with the United States' President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the Fund finances most major AIDS treatment and prevention initiatives in developing countries.

Earlier this month at a meeting in China, the Fund's Board approved funding for 73 new grants totaling $1.1 billion over two years, bringing the total to $9.8 billion for over 520 programmes in 136 countries.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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TABLE SALT SEEN AS LIKELY CAUSE OF MASS BROMIDE POISONING IN ANGOLA - UN AGENCY

TABLE SALT SEEN AS LIKELY CAUSE OF MASS BROMIDE POISONING IN ANGOLA – UN AGENCY
New York, Nov 30 2007 1:00PM
Contaminated table salt has been identified as the most likely cause of nearly 500 cases of bromide poisoning that led to an outbreak of a mysterious neurological illness in Angola, the United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_11_30/en/index.html">WHO) reported today.

Toxicological tests conducted in Germany and the United Kingdom have detected "very high levels" of bromide, an industrial chemical, in the blood samples of patients, while separate tests in Germany and Switzerland have found similarly high levels of sodium bromide in samples of table salt from the households of patients. Table salt should contain sodium chloride.

Health authorities in Cacuaco municipality, where the outbreak was centred, had confirmed 468 cases of bromide poisoning as of yesterday. The municipality is located in the suburbs of the capital, Luanda.

Patients have reported symptoms that include extreme drowsiness, dizziness and a loss of muscle control. Although most patients recover slowly over a number of days, many remain unable to walk without assistance. Children suffer the strongest symptoms.

WHO has been helping Angolan health officials carry out further epidemiological studies, environmental tests, laboratory analysis, a public awareness campaign and a salt replacement scheme.

"It is still unknown how the salt samples were contaminated," the agency said in a media statement. "Additional food samples are currently being analyzed to identify any potential secondary source of exposure."
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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PRISON CONDITIONS ON THE AGENDA OF UN RIGHTS CHIEF'S FIRST VISIT TO BRAZIL

PRISON CONDITIONS ON THE AGENDA OF UN RIGHTS CHIEF'S FIRST VISIT TO BRAZIL
New York, Nov 30 2007 11:00AM
United Nations High Commissioner Louise Arbour is expected to address conditions in Brazil's prison system and the Government's efforts to promote and protect human rights during her first visit to the country next week.

Yvon Edoumou of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights told reporters in Geneva today that examining prison conditions for inmates is on agenda of Ms. Arbour's 3 to 5 December visit, which will take her to Brasilia, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The Office was aware of the case of two young women who were put into cells with male inmates and were repeatedly raped with the complicity of the police, he said, adding that Ms. Arbour would use that case as an example of a wider issue that plagued the penitentiary system in Brazil.

Also during the visit, the High Commissioner is expected to meet with President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and a number of other senior Government officials, as well as representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and members of the UN family.

In São Paulo, Ms. Arbour will visit the São Paulo Stock Exchange, including "The Environmental and Social Investment Exchange," an innovative programme initiative by the private sector aimed at supporting social responsibility and human rights projects.

While in Rio de Janeiro, she will attend the opening of the South American Human Rights Film Festival and will give a lecture on poverty and human rights at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCY REPORTS DEATH OF 2 PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN IN IRAQ

UN AGENCY REPORTS DEATH OF 2 PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN IN IRAQ
New York, Nov 30 2007 8:00AM
Two sick Palestinian refugee children waiting for resettlement from Iraq died in the last two weeks, underscoring the precarious conditions faced by the group, a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today.

One of the children died in Baghdad while another died in Al Waleed refugee camp at the Iraq-Syria border, where earlier this month a 50-year-old man awaiting resettlement also died earlier this month.

"So far seven people have died there, including three young children, since Palestinian refugees started to arrive at the border in March 2006 fleeing violent attacks against them," said William Spindler.

The 3-year-old Palestinian boy who died at the camp had been suffering from rickets, a bone disease caused by lack of vitamins and minerals, as well as pneumonia. The other Palestinian child, whose resettlement approval was pending, was a 14-year-old suffering from Hodgkin's disease.

The UN refugee agency has repeatedly sought to spotlight the problems faced by Palestinian refugees in Iraq, many of whom are stranded at the border, unable to cross into Syria. Earlier this year, the agency appealed for urgent medical resettlement for vulnerable and sick children in Al Waleed camp.

So far, the agency has helped resettle one family of eight with several sick children from this camp to Norway last August. Another 11 medical cases submitted for resettlement are awaiting approval. Meanwhile, UNHCR has continued to identify other Palestinian medical cases, such as cancer patients and children with birth defects, who need urgent care.

"UNHCR continues to urge resettlement countries to make rapid decisions and facilitate the departure of those most in need," Mr. Spindler said.

An estimated 2,000 Palestinians are living in severe conditions in refugee camps along the Iraq-Syria border, unable to cross into Syria. A steady flow of Palestinians have fled Baghdad since March 2006, w
intimidation, forced evictions and attacks against their community began mounting.

"UNHCR has sought solutions for the whole group since last year and has only received positive indications from Sudan and Chile," said Mr. Spindler. Earlier this year Brazil took 107 Palestinians who had been stuck in Jordan's Ruweished camp for four years.

Meanwhile, some refugees continue to return to Iraq. UNHCR staff in Syria noted an average of 600 Iraqis returning to their country daily over the past week. "Many of them said that they had run out of money and their visas had expired," the spokesman noted.

"We welcome any improvements in the security situation and stand ready to assist people who have decided or will decide to return voluntarily. Iraqis themselves are the best judges as to how secure they feel. However, we still do not believe that the time has come to promote, organize or encourage returns to Iraq. That would be possible only when proper conditions are in place -- including material and legal support and physical safety," he said.

According to government estimates, there are some 2.2 million Iraqi refugees -- including some 500,000 in Jordan and up to 1.5 million in Syria. An estimated 2.4 million are displaced inside Iraq.

2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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UNESCO CHIEF CONDEMNS MURDER OF PAKISTANI JOURNALIST

UNESCO CHIEF CONDEMNS MURDER OF PAKISTANI JOURNALIST
New York, Nov 30 2007 8:00AM
Speaking out against the murder of Pakistani journalist Zubair Ahmed Mujahid, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today raised alarm about growing pressures on freedom of expression in the country.

"I condemn the murder of Zubair Ahmed Mujahid," Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said in a statement.

He paid tribute to the columnist for Jang who was shot dead on 23 November in the southern province of Sindh as a journalist "who gave a voice to the poor showing how important the media can be in promoting transparency and rule of law."

Mr. Mujahid was the sixth Pakistani journalist to be killed since the start of this year.

"I am particularly concerned about the working condition of journalists in Pakistan in view of the double pressure posed by growing number of heinous crimes such as the killing of Mr Mujahid, and the proclamation of a state of emergency," said the UNESCO chief, repeating his call for the authorities "to do all they can to restore democracy and freedom of expression, its natural corollary."

2007-11-30 00:00:00.000

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COOPERATION BETWEEN UN AND OSCE STRONGER THAN EVER, SAYS BAN KI-MOON

COOPERATION BETWEEN UN AND OSCE STRONGER THAN EVER, SAYS BAN KI-MOON
New York, Nov 29 2007 6:00PM
Whether it is collaboration on Kosovo or cooperation to address common economic and security challenges, the ties between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are stronger today than ever before, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a high-level gathering of the group in Madrid.

"Whether in the security sector or in the human rights and economic fields, cooperation between our two institutions continues to set the standard that others aspire towards," Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11303.doc.htm">message delivered on his behalf to the 15th Ministerial Council of the OSCE.

Mr. Ban noted that while over the past year some of the most important collaborations between the two institutions centred on Kosovo, they have also come together to tackle a wide range of other security challenges in Central Asia, the Balkans and beyond.

The combined resources and expertise of the UN and OSCE have supported the needs of tens of thousands of refugees and internally displaced persons (<"http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3b84c7e23.html">IDPs), as well as promoted human rights, good governance and the rule of law, noted the Secretary-General.

In addition, discussions are under way to establish closer ties between the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the OSCE to promote better understanding between different ethnic and religious groups, while growing ties with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (<"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html">UNODC) have led to progress on crucial issues, including terrorism, drugs and human trafficking.

"Similarly, our economic and environmental cooperation has gone from strength to strength," Mr. Ban said, noting that the partnership between the OSCE and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (<"http://www.unece.org/Welcome.html">ECE), in particular, has become a model for linking conflict prevention to the underlying socio-economic drivers of unrest.

Stressing that cooperation between the two bodies is "grounded in the bedrock of shared values and a common vision," the Secretary-General highlighted the need to "identify better and more efficient ways to work together, to address existing as well as emerging needs, and to build better lives for people everywhere."
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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UNESCO REPORT PAINTS MIXED PICTURE ON PROGRESS TOWARDS 'EDUCATION FOR ALL' GOAL

UNESCO REPORT PAINTS MIXED PICTURE ON PROGRESS TOWARDS 'EDUCATION FOR ALL' GOAL
New York, Nov 29 2007 6:00PM
The number of children enrolled in primary school, the percentage of girls attending classes and the amount of money spent on education have all soared in the past decade, according to a United Nations report released today, but adult illiteracy levels remain stubbornly high and the cost of schooling in much of the world continues to limit access for millions of children.

The report by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=41371&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO) monitors the latest progress towards the goal of "education for all," which the world's governments agreed in 1999 in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, to try to achieve by 2015.

It shows that primary school enrolment jumped by 39 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa and 22 per cent in South and West Asia – the two regions struggling the most to achieve education for all – between 1999 and 2005.

Nicholas Burnett, UNESCO's Assistant Director-General for Education, told reporters at a press conference in New York that at least 11 of the 25 countries posting the most rapid enrolment gains during the period had abolished school fees.

Solid national policies and higher domestic spending were combining to drive primary school enrolment, he said, particularly in Ethiopia, Yemen, Mozambique and Tanzania. Aid from industrialized States to low-income countries also rose from $1.6 billion to $2.3 billion in six years.

In total, an estimated 72 million children of primary school age – or about 10 per cent of the world's children of that age group – do not attend any school at all, down from 96 million almost a decade ago.

Mr. Burnett noted that, since 1999, at least 17 nations had also achieved gender parity in primary school education (including Ghana, Senegal, Malawi, Mauritania and Uganda), and 19 at secondary level (including Bolivia, Peru and Viet Nam).

But he said the goal of education for all remains elusive for many countries, with UNESCO's development index on this question indicating that 25 nations are far from achieving it. He said this number was conservative given the index does not include nations, such as those in conflict, that do not have available data.

UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said in a statement that: "We are steering the right course, but as education systems expand, they face more complex and more specific challenges. The latest report clearly identifies these challenges: reaching the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, improving learning conditions, and increasing aid."

Adult illiteracy persists, despite increased spending, in part because of the high cost of education in some countries and the poor quality of schooling in much of the world. As many as 774 million adults, or almost one in five of the global population, lack basic literacy skills – and almost three-quarters of this category live in just 15 different nations.

Mr. Burnett called on wealthy nations to increase their spending to match earlier commitments, and to target their spending more at the primary school level, rather than post-secondary education.

Poor countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, should upgrade and professionalize their system for employing and training teachers so that the quality of education is improved and there are enough new teachers to meet the growing demand thanks to the rising enrolment rates.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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ALMOST $100 MILLION NEEDED TO HELP FEED INDONESIA'S POOREST, SAYS UN AGENCY

ALMOST $100 MILLION NEEDED TO HELP FEED INDONESIA'S POOREST, SAYS UN AGENCY
New York, Nov 29 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has <" http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2703">appealed for $98 million to run a three-year project to feed the hungry in Indonesia, where millions of poor children across the South-East Asian archipelago are malnourished.

Launching the initiative yesterday in the capital Jakarta, WFP's Asia Regional Director Tony Banbury said the agency's current assistance programmes in Indonesia will be at risk unless new funding is secured soon.

The planned three-year programme – which has not received any significant contributions or pledges so far – will provide 840,000 Indonesians with direct food aid, focusing on "the poorest of the poor" in West Timor, Lombok, Madura, East Java and Greater Jakarta.

The scheme will target mothers and children in particular, with the WFP working with the Government and private sector partners to also provide health, hygiene and nutrition information.

The most recent surveys indicate that an estimated 13 million children under the age of five are malnourished in Indonesia, and in some areas, such as the province of Nusa Tenggara Timor, 30 per cent of children in that age category are classed as severely malnourished.

"Hunger is still a very real threat for too many poor Indonesians," Mr. Banbury said. "Despite Indonesia's impressive economic gains of recent years, there are still millions of poor families who cannot provide enough food for their children."

As part of the launch, WFP has recruited two well-known Indonesians, the investor and businessman Edwin Soeryadjaya and the actress and model Luna Maya, to help promote the initiative and raise public awareness.

Mr. Soeryadjaya has become a member of the Asian Philanthropist Trust, which the WFP has established with some of the continent's most influential business figures, while Ms. Maya becomes a WFP Ambassador Against Hunger.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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UN FORCE COMMANDER IN DR CONGO URGES PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO CLASHES IN EAST

UN FORCE COMMANDER IN DR CONGO URGES PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO CLASHES IN EAST
New York, Nov 29 2007 6:00PM
The Force Commander of the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (<" http://www.monuc.org/Home.aspx?lang=en">MONUC) today urged a peaceful resolution of clashes in the country's troubled eastern region, but said his troops stood ready to support Government efforts to resolve the problem militarily if necessary.

"Always the best option is a peaceful solution," General Lieutenant General Babacar Gaye said when asked what MONUC was doing in support of the Government's plan for a major military operation in the east, where forces loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda have been clashing with the DRC's army (FARDC).

Speaking to reporters following a closed-door meeting of the Security Council, General Gaye recalled that MONUC had recently obtained the surrender of a commander loyal to General Nkunda as well as 14 troops through negotiation. "We hope this trend will continue," he said.

At the same time, the Force Commander said the UN had provided support to the FARDC and would continue to do so. "During the operation what we are going to do is to focus on the security of the population," he said, ensuring that there will be no retaliation against the civilian population.

The UN would also provide logistical support, helping with transport, including evacuations of the wounded and bringing in reinforcements.

He said Gen. Nkunda's forces "are in a crisis," numbering some 3,000 troops compared to the 20,000 the FARDC has in North Kivu.

Also briefing the press was Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's outgoing Special Representative Process for DRC, William Lacy Swing, who pointed to the progress that has been achieved in recent years. "For the first time in half a century the country has legitimate institutions that came out of an electoral process," he said.

"There are however, many leftovers from the past," he added, urging action in response to the rebel forces not participating in the peace process.

"There are great achievements, including historic elections, as well as enormous challenges," said the envoy. "I leave very encouraged by the process – there is nothing externally or internally which could in the long term derail it," he said.

Mr. Swing, whose term ends next month, will be replaced by Alan Doss, currently the senior UN envoy to Liberia, who will start work in the DRC in January.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN ENVOY MEETS WITH SOMALI PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER

TOP UN ENVOY MEETS WITH SOMALI PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER
New York, Nov 29 2007 6:00PM
The top United Nations envoy for Somalia today discussed the ongoing crisis in the Horn of Africa nation with the country's President and Prime Minister.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah met with President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and recently-appointed Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein in the town of Baidoa in southern Somalia.

"I discussed with the President and Prime Minister the need to address the crisis in a peaceful manner by involving all Somalis in the future of their country," Mr. Ould-Abdallah said in a statement.

"The current situation is a good opportunity for Somalis and all their friends who would like to help join the UN in its work for peace."

Somalia, which has lacked a functioning government since 1991, has been wracked by violence in recent months which has displaced a total of 1 million people.

Mr. Ould-Abdallah's trip to Baidoa comes on the heels of his meetings last week with the Government of Djibouti, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and members of Somalia's opposition.

Since taking office this September, this is the Special Representative's second trip to Somalia.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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UN RELIEF OFFICIAL URGES SUDAN TO ENSURE THAT AID WORKERS HAVE ACCESS TO DARFUR

UN RELIEF OFFICIAL URGES SUDAN TO ENSURE THAT AID WORKERS HAVE ACCESS TO DARFUR
New York, Nov 29 2007 5:00PM
The top United Nations relief official has begun his <" http://ochaonline.un.org/News/OCHANewsCentre/PressReleases2007/tabid/1120/Default.aspx">visit to Sudan by calling on the Government to ensure safe and unimpeded access for aid workers, particularly those providing vital humanitarian assistance to people affected by the conflict in the country's strife-torn Darfur region.

In his meeting with senior Sudanese officials in Khartoum, Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes stressed the ongoing need for a "safer and more conducive environment" for humanitarian workers.

"The key issue is safety so that we can continue to assist the Government to provide assistance to these most vulnerable communities," Mr. Holmes said following discussions with Ali Karti, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hassabo Abdel Rahman, the Commissioner General of the Humanitarian Aid Commission.

A key issue was the extension of the 2004 Moratorium enabling non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to continue to operate in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others displaced in the past four years due to violence. An estimated 4 million Darfuris now depend on humanitarian aid for survival.

"My discussions today with Government were useful, and clear assurances were given to me that there would be no problem with the extension of the Moratorium," said Mr. Holmes.

While in Khartoum, Mr. Holmes also met with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative, Ashraf Qazi, as well as Ameerah Haq, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan.

In addition, Mr. Holmes, who is Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, also discussed pressing issues and challenges with representatives of UN agencies, NGOs and donors.

Mr. Holmes will travel on Friday to South Darfur where he will meet people directly affected by the conflict.

Sudan is the current stop on a three-nation trip that began in Ethiopia and will also take the UN humanitarian chief to Kenya in the coming days.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE MARKED AT UN WITH CALLS FOR ACTION

DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE MARKED AT UN WITH CALLS FOR ACTION
New York, Nov 29 2007 5:00PM
Marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, United Nations officials today called for steps to translate the promises of the peace process – most recently expressed at a major meeting in the United States city of Annapolis – into action to achieve a two-State solution to the conflict in the Middle East.

<" http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=156">Addressing a commemorative meeting in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that Palestinians "continue to suffer the indignities and violence of occupation and conflict" but called the recent talks in Annapolis "a new beginning in efforts to achieve a two-State solution."

The talks on 27 November, which brought together Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, meeting under the auspices of US President George Bush and before a wide cross-section of the international community, agreed to launch negotiations on all core issues without exception, to try to conclude a peace treaty resolving all outstanding issues in 2008.

"Implementation is now paramount," said Mr. Ban. "What we do tomorrow is more important than what we say today."

The Secretary-General said the process launched at Annapolis "must change the lives of Palestinians, and secure their independence and freedom," ending the occupation and creating an independent and viable State of Palestine, at peace with itself and its neighbours.

"It also must deliver on the vital interests of Israelis: a Palestinian State that is a true partner and not a source of terrorism, secure and recognized borders, and a permanent end to the conflict," he added.

The Secretary-General acknowledged the difficulties ahead. "We cannot close our eyes to the profound doubt and mistrust on either side about the will and capacity of the other to achieve these goals," he said. "The indignities, injustices, and fear on both sides make it difficult to build faith in the political process. But that is exactly what we have to do. We must abandon piecemeal approaches, and address all aspects of the conflict."

He also urged help for the Palestinian Authority to rebuild, reform and perform. "I hope a wide range of donors will step forward with political and financial support at the upcoming Paris conference and beyond," he said.

In addition, Mr. Ban urged humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, while cautioning that this would not substitute for a functioning economy. "The time has come for concrete initiatives to ease their suffering."

Also addressing the <" http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/qpalnew/committee.htm">Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim hailed the outcome of the Annapolis conference as a "great opportunity for a permanent two-State solution" but echoed Mr. Ban by saying "the prerequisite for success requires a resolute commitment to boldly follow words with deeds."

The President cautioned that achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace requires continuous dialogue and compromise backed by a resolute commitment to achieve a permanent solution.

"Both Israelis and Palestinians are going to have to be honest with their own people about the price of peace. This will require difficult choices and sacrifice from both sides, as part of a shared vision for a better future," he said.

"The stakes are high, but the alternatives are worse," he declared, calling on all Member States to make every effort to support the peace process.

Looking ahead, Mr. Kerim said the Paris donors' conference to be held in December offers an important opportunity to fund key proposals and lay the foundation for a viable Palestinian State.

A commemorative meeting on the issue was also held today in Geneva, with speakers underscoring the international community's obligation to assist the Palestinians and voicing support for a two-State solution.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON TO PARTICIPATE IN NEXT MONTH'S CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE IN BALI

BAN KI-MOON TO PARTICIPATE IN NEXT MONTH'S CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE IN BALI
New York, Nov 29 2007 4:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is heading to the Indonesian island of Bali next month, where world leaders will gather for a major conference on climate change, to try to press for a breakthrough in the international negotiations on devising a comprehensive agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Ban will take part in the Bali conference from 12 to 14 December, United Nations spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters today, saying he wants to maximize the opportunity provided by the summit to make progress on his signature issue.

"He feels we need a breakthrough in Bali as a critical first step," she said. "If we are to meet the challenge of global warming, we need a new and comprehensive agreement that all nations can embrace.

"We do not expect world leaders to walk away from the summit with a new global accord to succeed Kyoto," Ms. Montas added, referring to the internationally agreed Protocol for reducing emissions that is due to expire in 2012. "But the Secretary-General would expect them to agree to an agenda of issues and set a timetable for reaching such an accord."

During his time in Bali Mr. Ban will hold bilateral meetings with key heads of State and government who are also taking part in the conference, as well as with major players in the field of climate change.

The <"http://unfccc.int/meetings/cop_13/items/4049.php">Bali conference is one stop on a three-nation trip by the Secretary-General that will begin with an official visit to Thailand, where he is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and have an audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej. While in Bangkok the Secretary-General will visit the headquarters of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/">ESCAP) and meet UN staff working in the region.

After attending the conference in Bali, Mr. Ban will head to Timor-Leste to visit the UN peacekeeping mission in the tiny nation (<"http://www.unmiset.org/unmisetwebsite.nsf/MainFrame-EN.htm?OpenFrameset">UNMIT), address the National Parliament, visit camps for internally displaced persons (<"http://www.unhcr.org/protect/3b84c7e23.html">IDPs) and hold talks with senior Government officials.

The Secretary-General will then fly to Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, before heading back to UN Headquarters in New York.

Ms. Montas confirmed that on 17 December in Paris Mr. Ban will also be attending the international donors' conference for the Palestinian territories, co-hosted by France, Norway, the European Commission and the Special Representative for the Middle East diplomatic Quartet, former British prime minister Tony Blair.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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COUNTRIES MUST MAINTAIN VIGILANCE IN FIGHT AGAINST BIRD FLU, SAYS NEW UN REPORT

COUNTRIES MUST MAINTAIN VIGILANCE IN FIGHT AGAINST BIRD FLU, SAYS NEW UN REPORT
New York, Nov 29 2007 4:00PM
Despite significant advances to deal with the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu in the past two years, countries must maintain their vigilance and cooperate in the face of a possible pandemic, according to a joint United Nations and World Bank <" http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sag417.doc.htm"> report.

The new report concludes "that the capacity and understanding around communication about bird flu has greatly improved," <"http://www.undg.org/index.cfm?P=39">David Nabarro, Senior UN System Influenza Coordinator, said at a press briefing in New York.

A synopsis of "Responses to Avian Influenza and State of Pandemic Readiness" – based on data provided by 143 nations – was made public today in advance of the 4-6 December ministerial-level world conference on avian and pandemic influenza to be held in New Delhi, India.

In six countries, including Indonesia, the virus is still enzootic, which means it is continuously present and being passed between poultry.

Additionally, "we have some major anxieties about the extent to which countries' pandemic preparedness plans are really capable of being operationalized," Dr. Nabarro said.

"When the pandemic strikes, viruses will not understand borders and they will spread to all countries and all people of the world will be at risk."

Countries must bolster their readiness to respond to not just the health, but the economic and social consequences of a potential pandemic as well, Dr. Nabarro said, calling for global solidarity coordinated national strategies for dealing with pandemics.

The report called for a three to five year road map to be established urgently to "build on and strengthen efforts to date – and to drive inter-governmental action both for the control of avian influenza… and to ensure a better global readiness for future health crises."

It suggested that scientists share virus samples given the ongoing genetic evolution of H5N1 and others as part of a system managed by the UN World Health Organization (<" http://www.who.int/en/">WHO).
.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL NAMES ROBERT SERRY OF THE NETHERLANDS AS MIDDLE EAST ENVOY

SECRETARY-GENERAL NAMES ROBERT SERRY OF THE NETHERLANDS AS MIDDLE EAST ENVOY
New York, Nov 29 2007 4:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced his intention to appoint Robert H. Serry of the Netherlands as the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and his Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority.

"In this capacity, Mr. Serry will be the Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Quartet," said UN spokesperson Michele Montas, referring to the diplomatic grouping which brings together the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States.

If approved as expected by the <"http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/index.html">Security Council, Mr. Serry would succeed Michael Williams of the United Kingdom.

The Dutch official brings to the job decades of experience, having served most recently as Ambassador to Ireland. Prior to that, he was Director and Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Crisis Management and Operations at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, where among other functions he had informal contacts with Palestinian and Israeli security experts (including ex-IDF officers) on lessons learned by NATO in the Balkans.

Earlier in his career, from 1986 to 1992, he was Head, Middle East Section/Director, Africa and Middle East Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at The Hague. In that capacity, he helped to conduct a pre-Oslo quiet diplomacy initiative to promote dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians.

In the framework of the Netherlands European Community presidency, Mr. Serry participated in the events leading to the Middle East Peace Conference held in Madrid in November 1991. He has also published several articles on political and peacekeeping topics ranging from the Middle East to Eastern Europe.

"The appointment of a new Special Coordinator comes at a critical juncture, as the Annapolis conference has created renewed momentum for peace between Israelis and Palestinians," said Ms. Montas.

"Mr. Serry will play a pivotal role in coordinating all United Nations activities related to the Middle East peace process and in representing the Secretary-General in all arenas involving the parties and the international community."

In a separate action, Ms. Montas also announced the appointment, in compliance with the provisions of a General Assembly resolution on the matter, of <http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sga1110.doc.htm>Vladimir Goryayev of the Russian Federation as Executive Director of the office of the UN Register of Damage caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The office of the UN Register of Damage, based in Vienna, is a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly operating under the administrative authority of the Secretary-General.
Mr. Goryayev currently serves as Director a.i. for the Asia and the Pacific Division in the Department of Political Affairs, which he joined in 1988. Prior to that, Mr. Goryayev worked with the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

In his new capacity, Mr. Goryayev will be responsible for overseeing and administrating the work of the office of the UN Register of Damage. As an ex-officio member of the Board of the Register of Damage, he will also be responsible for reviewing all the claim cases and presenting them to members of the Board for inclusion in the Register.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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ONE-THIRD OF ADULTS IN RICH NATIONS ARE IGNORANT ABOUT AIDS, UN-BACKED STUDY FINDS

ONE-THIRD OF ADULTS IN RICH NATIONS ARE IGNORANT ABOUT AIDS, UN-BACKED STUDY FINDS
New York, Nov 29 2007 2:00PM
In what should serve as a wake-up call ahead of World AIDS Day, a new United Nations-backed survey shows that about one third of the people in seven wealthy nations admit they know little or nothing about the global HIV and AIDS crisis, and 25 per cent believe problems associated with the epidemic are "greatly exaggerated" by the media.

The Global AIDS Attitudes Survey, published by the non-governmental organization World Vision, reveals the awareness and attitudes of populations in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – all members of the "Group of Eight" industrialized nations – towards those affected by HIV and AIDS globally.

Speaking at the launch of the Survey at UN Headquarters, the Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (<"http://www.unaids.org/en/">UNAIDS) in New York underlined that "the more we understand the epidemic, the better we can make policies, the better we can make programmes.

"The contribution from World Vision and [global polling firm] Ipsos provides the kind of insight that helps us to understand this epidemic in a way that makes the efforts that are required to be more effective," Bunmi Makinwa added.

Among the main findings of the Survey is that the more people know about HIV and AIDS globally, the more concerned they are about the issue and the more compassionate they are towards those directly affected by it.

The World Vision "Index of Concern," a tool for understanding the level of concern each country feels towards the issue, finds that Canada leads the seven nations surveyed for the highest level of empathy its residents feel toward those affected by HIV and AIDS globally, with Japan ranking last. The others in order are France, Germany, US, Italy and UK.

In addition, concern about HIV and AIDS globally is "on par" with the war in Iraq. At the same time, poverty and hunger, climate change, and terrorism are of greater concern to people than HIV and AIDS or the Iraq war.

"After more than 25 years – more than a quarter of a century – of news coverage, education and prevention work, about one third of the people that we surveyed in the seven countries from this report admit that they know little or nothing about AIDS – one in three in the wealthiest nations in the world," said Richard Stearns, President of World Vision US.

"In the United States that represents about 70 million adults that say they know little or nothing about HIV and AIDS or its impact," he added.

Noting that the Survey does contain "some element of hope," he pointed out that 80 per cent of people believed their governments should do much more to help children who are orphaned by AIDS and AIDS-related illnesses.

In addition, 44 per cent are willing to pay more in taxes to help fund prevention, treatment, research and care; that number was 50 per cent in the US.

Another "astounding" statistic is that 9 out of 10 people surveyed believed that the global community has a moral obligation to respond to the AIDS crisis, he said. "The vast majority of people think their governments and individuals globally should be responding decisively to turn the tide and come to the aid of people living with HIV and AIDS."

As to why so many people admit to knowing little or nothing about the problem, he said the answer is simple. "For those millions of people the disease HIV is simply not real. It's not personal. It is somebody else's problem and somebody else's disease, and very often in a place very, very far away and remote from their everyday lives."

In response, the challenge is to make HIV/AIDS more real to the public, "to put a face on the disease" that kills 2.1 million people every year.

"AIDS will only become real, it will only become important when we see past the statistics," he stated.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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UN-BACKED (PRODUCT)RED CAMPAIGN REACHES $50 MILLION CONTRIBUTION MARK

UN-BACKED (PRODUCT)RED CAMPAIGN REACHES $50 MILLION CONTRIBUTION MARK
New York, Nov 29 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations-supported (PRODUCT)RED initiative has received more than $50 million in contributions since its inception last year, bolstering the efforts of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, organizers <" http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/media_center/press/pr_071129.asp">announced today.

Since being launched in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, (PRODUCT)RED has become on of the largest consumer-based fundraising efforts by the private sector for a international humanitarian issue, and has become a significant source of income for the Fund, which seeks to raise $6-8 billion yearly to fight AIDS, TB and malaria.

"(PRODUCT)RED has brought about a major change in the way the private sector contributes to global causes," said Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Fund, which was created in 2002. "The contributions of (PRODUCT)RED partners have already enabled hundreds of thousands of people to benefit from AIDS treatment, prevention and care."

The campaign was established to ensure a sustainable flow of private sector funds to the Fund, and also seeks to raise awareness of the African AIDS crisis.

All contributions, with no overhead, by its partners – the Gap, Hallmark, Apple, Motorola, Emporio Armani, American Express and Converse – are sent directly to the Fund to be invested in HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa.

Income generated by (PRODUCT)RED has already been distributed for grants in Rwanda, Swaziland and Ghana, focusing on women and children's health.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL TEAM HOLDS TALKS IN EASTERN DISTRICT OF TIMOR-LESTE

SECURITY COUNCIL TEAM HOLDS TALKS IN EASTERN DISTRICT OF TIMOR-LESTE
New York, Nov 29 2007 2:00PM
The Security Council delegation visiting Timor-Leste to assess the work of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the tiny nation (<" http://www.unmiset.org/unmisetwebsite.nsf/MainFrame-EN.htm?OpenFrameset">UNMIT) today travelled to the eastern district of Baucau for talks with local authorities, political party representatives, UN officials and police officers.

UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters that the discussions in Baucau focused on the needs of the people in the district, one of 13 in the South-East Asian country, and on ways in which the international community can help the Timorese to strengthen their democracy, security and development.

During their meetings with police, the members of the Council delegation reiterated the importance of ongoing collaboration between UNMIT and the police force, saying it will be critical to ensuring the future stability of Timor-Leste, which only gained its independence in 2002.

While in Dili, the national capital, the delegation met with civil society members and local representatives of political parties to gauge the views of the wider community about the work of UNMIT and other UN entities in Timor-Leste and what challenges lie ahead.
The delegation, led by South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, also includes Ambassador Liu Zhenmin from China, Luc Joseph Okio from the Republic of the Congo, Muhammad Anshor from Indonesia, Diana Eloeva from the Russian Federation, Ambassador Peter Burian from Slovakia and United States Ambassador Jackie Wolcott. It began its visit on the weekend and is due to conclude the trip tomorrow.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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MYANMAR CRISIS TOPS TALKS BETWEEN UN ENVOY AND CAMBODIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

MYANMAR CRISIS TOPS TALKS BETWEEN UN ENVOY AND CAMBODIAN FOREIGN MINISTER
New York, Nov 29 2007 2:00PM
Continuing his consultations with regional leaders, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Myanmar today conferred with Cambodia's Foreign Minister on United Nations efforts to promote dialogue and reconciliation between the Government and the opposition in the troubled South-East Asian nation.

Ibrahim Gambari met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong earlier today, UN spokesperson Michele Montas informed reporters in New York.

During his meeting, Mr. Gambari delivered a letter from Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon addressed to Prime Minister Hun Sen seeking the Cambodian Government's support for the UN's efforts in Myanmar.

The Special Envoy, who just concluded a similar visit to Viet Nam, also briefed the Foreign Minister on the world body's efforts to promote democratization, national reconciliation and the full respect for human rights in Myanmar, as well as his assessment of the situation in the country.

Mr. Gambari said he is grateful for the constructive discussions and feels that good cooperation has been established between the UN and Phnom Penh, Ms. Montas said.

The next stop for the Special Envoy, who has visited Myanmar twice since the Government began its crackdown against demonstrators a few months ago, is Laos, following which he will return to New York.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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IRAQIS RETURNING FROM SYRIA, UN AGENCY CONFIRMS

IRAQIS RETURNING FROM SYRIA, UN AGENCY CONFIRMS
New York, Nov 29 2007 8:00AM
A convoy of buses carrying an estimated 800 Iraqis has left the Syrian capital of Damascus and crossed the border on its way to Baghdad, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which said most are returning because their resources are exhausted.

Staff of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at the Al Tanf border point saw at least 15 buses, each carrying 30 to 35 people, pass through Iraq immigration later Tuesday and said they had heard that others had arrived earlier. The agency planned to give the refugees a return package, but has not been assisting in the operation and continues to raise concern about the situation in Iraq.

UNHCR protection officers interviewed many of the returnee families boarding buses in Damascus and most said they were going back to Iraq because they had run out of money and could no longer afford to stay in Syria, which is hosting more than 1.4 million Iraqi refugees, the agency said in a news release. Some said they wanted to check out the situation in Iraq amid reports of improved security across the border.

The agency said its figures suggest that only 14 per cent of Iraqi refugees are returning because of improved security conditions, while some 70 per cent say they are leaving because of tougher visa regulations and because they are not allowed to work and can no longer afford to stay in Syria.

"For the first time some Iraqi refugees are considering returning to Iraq," said Laurens Jolles, UNHCR representative in Syria, before adding: "UNHCR is not in a position to recommend return at this time but recognizes the Iraq Government's effort to support people who are returning."

During the past week, the UNHCR estimates that around 600 Iraqis have left Syria each day this week, although not all are refugees. The Iraqi Government, meanwhile, says that 45,000 Iraqis have returned from Syria in October.

The agency is continuing to help many of those remaining in Syria. It plans next mont
and distribute food for some 51,000 people others, while providing subsidized health care to Iraq refugees who seek it.

2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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UN MARITIME AGENCY URGES ACTION TO CURB PIRACY OFF COST OF SOMALIA

UN MARITIME AGENCY URGES ACTION TO CURB PIRACY OFF COST OF SOMALIA
New York, Nov 29 2007 8:00AM
The United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO) today renewed its call for measures to prevent and suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia.

Piracy jeopardizes the delivery of much-needed aid to Somalia, which is facing a deteriorating humanitarian situation.

Some 80 per cent of food assistance from the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for the country moves by sea, and pirate attacks threaten to cut the main supply route, threatening the delivery of rations for the 1.2 million people WFP expects to be feeding by the end of 2007 as drought, floods and factional fighting take their toll.

In a new resolution, the IMO appeals directly to Somaliaâ??s Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which, backed by Ethiopian forces, dislodged the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) from Mogadishu, the capital, and much of the rest of the country at the end of last year.

The agency calls for the TFG to take any action it deems necessary to prevent and suppress piracy and armed robbery against ships originating from within the East African nation, and to ensure that attacks are not launched from the countryâ??s coastline.

In addition, the resolution appeals to the TFG to ensure that all ships seized by pirates and armed robbers are released promptly, and that ships off the Somali coast do not become victims to such acts.

Todayâ??s resolution also urges the TFG to advise the UN Security Council that â?" in response to a previous IMO request â?" it consents to warships or military aircraft entering Somaliaâ??s territorial sea when operations against pirates are underway.

Due to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country, it also asks the TFG to notify the Council that it is prepared to negotiate to allow warships or military aircraft to escort WFP ships to deliver much-needed aid or leave Somali ports after unloading their cargo.

IMOâ??s resolution â?" passed by the agen
governing body â?" underscored the need for cooperation, communication and information-sharing, and called on all governments in the area to conclude a regional agreement, in collaboration with IMO, to prevent, deter and suppress piracy and armed robbery against ships.
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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UN FOOD AGENCY PLANS 6-MONTH EMERGENCY OPERATION IN BANGLADESH

UN FOOD AGENCY PLANS 6-MONTH EMERGENCY OPERATION IN BANGLADESH
New York, Nov 29 2007 8:00AM
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced a $52 million, six-month plan to provide emergency aid to 2.2 million Bangladeshis affected by the recent cycle.

The aim is to avoid a repeat of the surge in malnutrition rates that typically follows a cyclone in Bangladesh, the agency said. "This time, WFP will start longer-term distributions to families with hopes of preventing increases in malnutrition throughout the region," said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

"While immediate food aid such as high energy biscuits continue to be rushed into the cyclone-hit areas, WFP is now ready to begin a longer-term, more comprehensive food assistance programme that will get nutritious foods directly to the children who need it the most," said WFP Bangladesh Representative Douglas Broderick.

The emergency operation will follow the work of a just-completed UN assessment which found that there are approximately 4.7 million people in the worst affected districts and 2.2 million people are in need of immediate food assistance.

When the cyclone hit on 15 November, affecting more than 4 million Bangladeshis, WFP rushed in aid to thousands of the most vulnerable victims. The agency has delivered more than 300 metric tons of biscuits and more than 430 tons of rice to those in need.

UN agency provides seeds and tools to over 110,000 farmers in southern Africa

Aiming to secure the next harvest in three Southern African countries, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has distributed over 1,000 tons of seeds, as well as fertilizer and tools, to over 110,000 poor farmers in the region.

"The more we can support quality farm outputs and help diversify crops and strengthen capacities, the fewer people will need food aid and other handouts next season," said Anne Bauer, Director of FAO's Emergency Operations and Rehabilitation Division.

The $7 million operation in in Lesotho, Mozambique and Swazi
service an estimated 50,000 hectares of crops, the agency said.

The relief was distributed using a voucher system pioneered the non-governmental organization Catholic Relief Services which allowed farmers attending mobile fairs to choose what to purchase among the seeds, fertilizer, tools and tillage services on offer.

The aid comes to a region hit by a high death toll from AIDS which has left many rural households and orphans in the care of grandparents. Farmers there must also cope with crop failure caused by successive years of drought and inclement weather.

2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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MEASLES DEATHS IN AFRICA PLUMMET BY 91 PER CENT -- UN

MEASLES DEATHS IN AFRICA PLUMMET BY 91 PER CENT -- UN
New York, Nov 29 2007 7:00AM
Deaths from measles in Africa have dropped by 91 per cent -- or from an estimated 396,000 to 36,000 -- between 2000 and 2006, thus achieving the United Nations goal to cut measles deaths by 90 per cent four years early, it was announced today.

The Measles Initiative -- comprising the UN Foundation, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN World Health Organization (WHO), the American Red Cross and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- also noted that Africa-led declines helped world measles deaths to fall 68 per cent -- from 757,000 to 242,000 -- during this period.

"This is a major public health success and a tribute to the commitment of countries in the African region," said Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO. "We need to sustain this success and intensify our efforts in other parts of the world, as there are still far too many lives lost to this disease."

The extraordinary successes in Africa are thanks to national governments' firm commitment to fully implement the measles reduction strategy, including vaccinating all children before their first birthday and providing a second opportunity to be vaccinated through mass campaigns, the Initiative said.

These campaigns have had a significant impact on reducing measles deaths worldwide. Between 2000 and 2006, some 478 million children between the ages of nine months and 14 years received the vaccine in campaigns in 46 of the 47 priority countries severely impacted by measles.

"The dramatic drop in measles deaths in Africa and the strong progress being made worldwide are a testament to the power of strong partnerships and the impact they can have on child survival," said Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF. "But measles is still killing nearly 600 children under five every day, an unacceptable reality when we have a safe, effective, and inexpensive vaccine to prevent the disease."

Significant hurdles to reach the UN goal to cut measles deat
cent in 2010 globally remain, with large countries such as India and Pakistan not yet fully implementing the proven control strategy. At present, nearly three-quarters of all measles deaths worldwide occur in South Asia.

The Initiative urged countries that have put accelerated measles control activities into action must maintain the momentum by continuing to conduct conducting follow-up vaccination activities every two to four years until their routine immunization systems are capable of providing measles vaccination to all children.

The data from the Initiative's findings will be published in the 30 November editions of WHO's "Weekly Epidemiological Record" and CDC's "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report."
2007-11-29 00:00:00.000

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SERGE BRAMMERTZ APPOINTED PROSECUTOR FOR UN'S BALKAN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

SERGE BRAMMERTZ APPOINTED PROSECUTOR FOR UN'S BALKAN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL
New York, Nov 28 2007 6:00PM
The Security Council today <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9179.doc.htm">approved the appointment of Serge Brammertz, currently leading the independent probe of the 2005 killing of a former Lebanese prime minister, as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for a four-year term starting on 1 January.

In a resolution adopted unanimously this morning, Council members noted that the <"http://www.un.org/icty/">ICTY completion strategy calls for the court – which is based in The Hague in the Netherlands – to do its best to complete all trials at first instance by the end of next year and all work, including appeals, by 2010.

The four-year term of Mr. Brammertz, who is Belgian, could therefore be terminated earlier by the Council if the ICTY is able to complete all of its work.

Mr. Brammertz will replace Carla Del Ponte as ICTY Prosecutor. Ms. Del Ponte and ICTY President Judge Fausto Pocar issued a joint statement today welcoming the appointment and noting Mr. Brammertz's long experience as a lawyer in tackling organized crime, global terrorism, corruption and other issues. He becomes the Tribunal's fifth prosecutor, following Ms. Del Ponte (Switzerland), Louise Arbour (Canada), Richard Goldstone (South Africa) and Ramon Escovar Salem (Venezuela).

Since early 2006, Mr. Brammertz has served as Commissioner of the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) examining the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and other killings in the country. Earlier this month Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced plans to appoint Daniel Bellemare of Canada to replace Mr. Brammertz.

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.

Today Mr. Ban sent the latest report of the IIIC, in which it provides an overview of its most recent progress and details of measures taken to prepare for a handover to a special tribunal, to Council members.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS SUICIDE ATTACKS IN SRI LANKA

BAN KI-MOON CONDEMNS SUICIDE ATTACKS IN SRI LANKA
New York, Nov 28 2007 6:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has voiced outrage at today's twin suicide attacks in the Sri Lankan capital, which have killed or wounded dozens of people, and yesterday's aerial assault on a United Nations aid office in the far north of the troubled country.

In a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=2882">statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban condemned the attacks in Colombo, which occurred outside the Ministry of Social Services building and in the Nugegoda district, and offered his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.

Media reports state that at least 16 people were killed in the Nugegoda blast and 37 others were injured, while one person was killed and two others hurt in the earlier bombing at the ministry building.

The statement from Mr. Ban's spokesperson noted that he was also concerned about yesterday's aerial attack in the town of Kilinochchi in which the office of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was damaged.

"The Secretary-General appeals for an end to the destructive spiral of violence in Sri Lanka and calls on the parties to the conflict [Government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)] to return to the peace process while making every effort to ensure the protection of civilians," the statement said.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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ANGOLA: UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT VOICES CONCERNS OVER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

ANGOLA: UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT VOICES CONCERNS OVER RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
New York, Nov 28 2007 6:00PM
Although the freedom of religion is enshrined in the Angolan constitution, an independent United Nations human rights expert today voiced concern that the right to practise religion or belief is infringed in the Southern African nation.

Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, wrapped up a week-long visit with a statement in which she noted that the country only emerged from 27 years of armed conflict in 2002, and that many people can practise their religion freely due to "a measure of tolerance within Angolan society."

But she pointed out that a law on "freedom of religion, consciousness and worship discriminates against religious minorities… It contains stringent requirements for registration including membership of 100,000 persons who are domiciled in Angola."

Ms. Jahangir said several Christian groups and the Muslim community have yet to be recognized, even though they have submitted registration applications. "Other religious minorities have no chance of recognition," she noted.

She urged the Government to reform the law, and said she had been encouraged by its openness to review the code's provisions. The Rapporteur, who serves in a personal and unpaid capacity, acknowledged that the "Government's invitation to me represents a commitment to transparency in the area I cover, and also allows outside scrutiny of its human rights record."

In the north-western province of Cabinda, security forces continue to violate human rights, she observed. "These violations and the intra-religious conflict within the Catholic Church are inter-related and represent challenges to the full enjoyment by all of the right to freedom of religion or belief."

Four men were arrested on 12 July for peacefully protesting against the newly-appointed bishop at a mass, and three of them were sentenced to suspended sentences "under a draconian Colonial Decree dating from 1911."

In the course of her visit, Ms. Jahangir received several reports of violence, intimidation, harassment and arrests by State agents of those seen to be associated with the crisis in the Catholic Church, she said.

Angola is also affected by a "dominant global trend" linking Muslims to international terrorism, the Rapporteur said, with high-ranking Government officials reported to have stigmatized Islam's followers in the media.

In addition, she expressed concern about the negative impact of witchcraft, which is widespread and has a long history in Angola, with reports that children are sometimes accused by their families of being witches.

Ms. Jahangir's final report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva next March.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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NEW UN REPORT SPOTLIGHTS CRITICAL LINK BETWEEN HUNGER, HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS

NEW UN REPORT SPOTLIGHTS CRITICAL LINK BETWEEN HUNGER, HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS
New York, Nov 28 2007 6:00PM
In a major report released today ahead of <"http://www.unaids.org/en/MediaCentre/PressMaterials/FeatureStory/20071128_WAD_statements.asp">World AIDS Day, observed on 1 December, the United Nations World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2701">WFP) has called for paying greater attention to the link between hunger and health, pointing out that food is often cited as the greatest need by people living with HIV/AIDS.

WFP's <i>World Hunger Series 2007 – Hunger and Health</i> explores the relationships between hunger and poor health with particular reference to HIV/AIDS. It notes that while countries invest billions into anti-retroviral treatment (ART) and other medicines to address the pandemic, they overlook the fact that people receiving life-saving drugs often lack food and clean water.

The agency points out that as with any drug, anti-retrovirals are more effective when people are adequately nourished, and food support can help ensure that people who lack food benefit fully from their treatment.

"It is irresponsible to ignore the issue of hunger and malnutrition particularly in the battle against AIDS," said WFP Deputy Executive Director Sheila Sisulu. "Why should we write off the benefits of medical interventions simply because people are too undernourished to absorb and benefit from the drugs they desperately need?"

Studies show that people with HIV have special nutritional needs, the agency says, noting that even when a person consumes enough food, if they lack certain vitamins and minerals, their immune system is compromised, making them vulnerable to infections.

"Food is often cited by people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS as their greatest and most important need," said Elizabeth Mataka, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa.

Speaking at a seminar in Rome, at which the report was presented, she added that "nutrition interventions for HIV programmes are often overlooked in the international HIV policy debate and they remain critically under-funded."

In a related study, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (<"http://www.unaids.org/en/">UNAIDS) predicts that 900,000 people going onto ART in 2008 will require food assistance. It is estimated that the average cost of providing food support to a patient is $0.66 per day – less than 2 per cent of the current cost of drug programmes.

WFP, one of the first organizations to provide food assistance alongside ART in poor areas, now supports ART programmes in 16 countries in Africa, benefiting over 182,000 people. With active HIV/AIDS interventions in 50 countries worldwide, the agency is providing food assistance in 21 of 25 nations with the highest HIV prevalence rates.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL APPLAUDS EFFORTS TO CONSOLIDATE PEACE IN BURUNDI

SECURITY COUNCIL APPLAUDS EFFORTS TO CONSOLIDATE PEACE IN BURUNDI
New York, Nov 28 2007 6:00PM
The United Nations Security Council today welcomed efforts to bring lasting peace to Burundi, calling for a consolidation of progress in the country, which is rebuilding after being torn apart by 13 years of armed conflict.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9181.doc.htm">statement to the press, Ambassador Marty Natalegawa of Indonesia, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, called on the last major rebel hold-out group, the Palipehutu-FNL, "to return to the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JVMM) without delay or preconditions and called on both parties to refrain from any action that might lead to a resumption of hostilities."

The statement followed a briefing to the Council by Charles Nqakula, South Africa's Minister of Safety and Security, who is the Facilitator of the peace process in Burundi.

Voicing it support for Mr. Nqakula's work, the Council also expressed its appreciation of the work of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, which was set up last year to help prevent countries emerging from conflict from slipping back into violence. Along with Sierra Leone, Burundi became the first focus of the Commission.

The Council also welcomed the Government's strides towards fostering dialogue, national reconciliation and social harmony in the small Great Lakes region nation.

The statement urged "all political stakeholders there to maintain the spirit of consensus-building and inclusiveness that had enabled them to achieve a successful transition in their country."
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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CREATING DECENT WORK FOR ALL SHOULD BE AT THE CENTRE OF POLICYMAKING - UN REPORT

CREATING DECENT WORK FOR ALL SHOULD BE AT THE CENTRE OF POLICYMAKING – UN REPORT
New York, Nov 28 2007 6:00PM
Governments should make the promotion of employment and decent work the cornerstone of their economic and social policies, according to a report <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/dev2650.doc.htm">launched today at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

"Employment and decent work need to be not a by-product but a central objective of development strategies," said Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang at a press briefing to mark the launch of <i><"http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/social/rwss/index.html">Report of the World Social Situation 2007: The Employment Imperative</i>.

"We see a number of worrisome trends," Mr. Sha said. "Globally, despite robust rates of economic growth, employment creation is lagging behind growth of the working-age population. From 1996 to 2006, global output expanded by 3.8 per cent per year, yet unemployment rates increased from 6 to 6.3 per cent. Economic growth and job growth are not trending together, to the detriment of our societies and citizens."

Meanwhile, employment conditions are getting worse, he said. "There is a greater economic insecurity for most workers and greater levels of most forms of inequality in society. Workers with low education and low skills have been hit particularly hard," and "macroeconomic and social policies have not been successful in lowering unemployment rates to desirable levels."

Johan Schölvinck, Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development, said "the report finds employment increasingly dominated by the service sector, with a global trend towards informal and casual forms of employment.

"Economic liberalization has not necessarily stimulated economic growth, as policy-makers had hoped for," he added. "Rather, volatility in macroeconomic performance and employment has increased as a result of economic reforms, especially those relating to international trade and financial liberalization."

At the same time, emphasis on fiscal prudence led to general reductions in public expenditures aimed a promoting growth and employment, further exacerbating job insecurity.

Income distribution has shifted towards capital at the expense of labour, Mr. Schölvinck noted, creating wage differentials that contributed to raising inequality. Thus "redistributive policies should be implemented to expand access to productive assets and employment opportunities."

With public health care on the retreat and pensions and social benefits under pressure, "a consensus is emerging that the state should take the responsibility to establish a universal minimal level of social protection."
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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IN TIMOR-LESTE, SECURITY COUNCIL TEAM JOINS INDEPENDENCE COMMEMORATION

IN TIMOR-LESTE, SECURITY COUNCIL TEAM JOINS INDEPENDENCE COMMEMORATION
New York, Nov 28 2007 6:00PM
Members of a visiting Security Council delegation today joined senior Government officials in commemorating the anniversary of the Proclamation of the National Independence of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, which the United Nations helped shepherd to self-rule in 2002.

The seven-member delegation took part in an official ceremony in Dili which was also attended by President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, among other officials, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.

During their 24 to 30 November visit, the delegation will examine the work of the UN mission in the country (UNMIT) and discuss how to help consolidate progress with the Timorese authorities.

In addition to taking part in today's celebration, the delegation also met with the Bishop of Dili and travelled to the western district of Liquica, where Council members met with local authorities, political party representatives, the national police and the UN police stationed in the area. Discussions focused on the needs of the people in the district, including food security, the general security situation and policing.

They also met with former Timorese Prime Ministers Mari Alkatiri and Estanislau da Silva.

The mission, lead by South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, also includes Ambassador Liu Zhenmin from China, Luc Joseph Okio from the Republic of the Congo, Muhammad Anshor from Indonesia, Diana Eloeva from the Russian Federation, Ambassador Peter Burian from Slovakia and United States Ambassador Jackie Wolcott.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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POTENTIAL CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA'S SOMALI REGION CAN BE AVERTED, SAYS UN RELIEF OFFICIAL

POTENTIAL CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA'S SOMALI REGION CAN BE AVERTED, SAYS UN RELIEF OFFICIAL
New York, Nov 28 2007 4:00PM
Wrapping up his first official visit to Ethiopia, the United Nations humanitarian chief today called for prompt action to avert a serious crisis in the country's Somali region, where fighting has left hundreds of thousands of people in need of life-saving assistance.

The situation in the Somali region featured prominently in discussions between UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes and senior Ethiopian officials, including the Prime Minister, his Deputy and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Humanitarian conditions have worsened in the region in the past several months due to fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

Mr. Holmes, who visited the strife-torn region yesterday, shared his observations about the humanitarian situation there and expressed concerns of the aid community on the ground. He also discussed ways in which the UN could support the Government in its efforts to provide relief to affected populations.

The UN has dispatched more than 7,300 metric tonnes of food to the five military zones in the region, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA). Preparations are also being finalized to deploy 15 mobile health teams, including 10 in the area of conflict.

"There are grounds for concern regarding the potential for a very serious humanitarian crisis," Mr. Holmes said. "But we can avert this if we take all the necessary actions, working alongside the Government."

While in Addis Ababa, Mr. Holmes also met with representatives of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmee/index.html">UNMEE), including the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Azouz Ennifar, with whom he discussed issues relating to the Ethiopia-Eritrea border situation.

In addition, the Emergency Relief Coordinator held talks with the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, Said Djint.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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UN'S CÔTE D'IVOIRE ENVOY HOLDS TALKS ON PLANNED ELECTIONS

UN'S CÔTE D'IVOIRE ENVOY HOLDS TALKS ON PLANNED ELECTIONS
New York, Nov 28 2007 4:00PM
The senior United Nations envoy to Côte d'Ivoire today held talks on elections planned for next year in the country, which has been divided since 2002 between the rebel-held north and Government-controlled south.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for Côte d'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, met the President of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Robert Mambé, at the IEC office in Abidjan.

"We had a broad discussion on the electoral process," Mr. Choi said at the end of the meeting, which lasted about one hour, according to the UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unoci/index.html">UNOCI).

A peace accord signed earlier this year by leaders of the Government and rebel Forces Nouvelles in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, paved the way for the elections planned for 2008.

Mr Choi, who arrived in Côte d'Ivoire on 20 November, has already met with diplomats, donors and key political players, including President Laurent Gbagbo and the leaders of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, Henry Konan Bédié, and the Rally for Republicans, Alassane Dramane Ouattara.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCY RESUMES REPATRIATION OF SUDANESE REFUGEES FROM KENYAN CAMP

UN AGENCY RESUMES REPATRIATION OF SUDANESE REFUGEES FROM KENYAN CAMP
New York, Nov 28 2007 4:00PM
The United Nations refugee agency has resumed its repatriation of Sudanese from a camp in the north-west of neighbouring Kenya after the operation had been suspended for three months because of poor weather and road conditions and insecurity in the return areas of southern Sudan.

Some 200 refugees from Kakuma camp were flown to the town of Bor, located in Jonglei state in southern Sudan, last week and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/474d7a8e4.html">UNHCR) reported today that many more are waiting to join them.

At least 8,000 of the estimated 50,000 Sudanese refugees living at Kakuma have registered to return to their homeland, despite recent tensions between the Sudanese Government and the former southern rebels over the implementation of the January 2005 peace accord that ended their long-running civil war.

UNHCR said it expects that about 3,000 people will return, either by land or by air, between now and the end of the year, joining the 4,000 who returned before the repatriation programme was halted in August. In total, the agency has supported the return of 70,000 people to southern Sudan since late 2005, while another 90,000 have returned on their own.

Returnees were given awareness courses about HIV and AIDS and about the dangers of landmines, while they were also informed about the rights and obligations in southern Sudan, where two decades of conflict have left the region lacking basic infrastructure and services.

UNHCR is also conducting programmes in Sudan aimed at easing the reintegration of returnees into their former communities. Activities include mine clearing and building or renovating schools, health centres and boreholes.

Mohammad Arif, the agency's senior repatriation officer in Kakuma, described the mood in the camp as upbeat after it was announced the return programme was resuming.

"The refugees are really keen to go back home," he said. "Some of them have been here for more than 15 years. That is such a long time to be in exile."
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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UN POPULATION FUND RECEIVES ?32,000 FROM EUROPEAN BENEFIT

UN POPULATION FUND RECEIVES €32,000 FROM EUROPEAN BENEFIT
New York, Nov 28 2007 3:00PM
Activities of the United Nations Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=1070">UNFPA) aimed at ending the debilitating birth injury known as fistula have received a €32,000 boost thanks to a European benefit event.

The agency was the beneficiary of the 2007 'Europeans of the Year' awards gala held in Brussels on 27 November, which generated €32,000 for the UNFPA-led Campaign to End Fistula.

The awards, known as EV50, are conferred annually by European Voice, the European Union affairs newspaper, to ten individuals who have influenced the European agenda over the past 12 months. Winners were selected from among 50 nominees by European Voice editors and a distinguished panel of leading opinion makers and thinkers.

"UNFPA is delighted to be associated with the European of the Year award 2007," said Sietske Steneker, director of the UNFPA Brussels Office, at the gala ceremony.

"UNFPA works across the globe to ensure that women in developing countries can give birth as safely as they can in Europe, that all young people have equal access to the information and means to protect themselves from HIV and unwanted pregnancies, and that every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect. Without the support of European individuals, campaigners, parliamentarians, businesses, governments and the EU, this work would simply not be possible."

Thanking EV50 for the generous contribution on behalf of the Campaign to End Fistula, Ms. Steneker presented the 'Campaigner of the Year' award to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was nominated for taking action against climate change with the California Global Warming Solutions Act, and for plans to introduce an emissions trading scheme with other US states and possibly with the EU.

Obstetric fistula is a hole in the birth canal caused by prolonged labour without prompt medical intervention, usually a Caesarean section. The woman is left with chronic incontinence and, in most cases, a stillborn baby.

The Campaign to End Fistula, led by UNFPA, is an international effort to prevent and treat obstetric fistula in more than 40 countries. Since 2003, the Campaign has grown to include a wide range of non-governmental partners and foundations.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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RWANDA: UN GENOCIDE TRIBUNAL REDUCES JAIL TERMS FOR THREE MEDIA EXECUTIVES

RWANDA: UN GENOCIDE TRIBUNAL REDUCES JAIL TERMS FOR THREE MEDIA EXECUTIVES
New York, Nov 28 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations tribunal dealing with the worst crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide today reduced the jail sentences of three former media executives convicted for inciting their compatriots to kill ethnic Tutsis.

A five-member appeal panel at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (<"http://69.94.11.53/default.htm">ICTR), which sits in Arusha, Tanzania, upheld the convictions of Ferdinand Nahimana, Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza and Hassan Ngeze.

All three men, in what has been dubbed "the media case," were found guilty in 2003 of committing genocide, incitement to genocide, conspiracy, crimes against humanity, extermination and persecution. They were the first cases of their kind since the Allied Tribunal at Nuremberg at 1946 sentenced Nazi publisher Julius Streicher to death for his anti-semitic publication <i>Der Stürmer</i>.

At their trial Mr. Nahimana, founder and ideologist of the Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), and Mr. Ngeze, chief editor of <i>Kangura</i> newspaper, were sentenced to life in prison. Mr. Barayagwiza, a high-ranking board member at RTLM and the founder of the Coalition for the Defence of Republic (CDR), a political party, received a 35-year jail term.

But the appeal judges today said that because of the cancellation of certain findings of culpability against the three men, their jail terms should be reduced: Mr. Nahimana must now serve 30 years, Mr. Ngeze 35 years and Mr. Barayagwiza 32 years.

About 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered, mainly by machete, in less than 100 days starting in April 1994. The Security Council set up the ICTR later that year to deal with the worst crimes.

In a broadcast on RTLM – which became known to some Rwandans as "Radio Machete" – in April 1994, Mr. Nahimana described a "war of media, words, newspapers and radio stations" to complement a war with bullets.

The trial also heard <i>Kangura</i> targeted Tutsis for persecution by regularly stereotyping them as liars, thieves or killers, and depicting Tutsi women as femme fatales who could not be trusted. One <i>Kangura</i> publication labelled any Hutu man who married a Tutsi woman as a traitor.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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NEW UN MANUAL LAUNCHED TO HELP VULNERABLE RURAL YOUTH IN AFRICA

NEW UN MANUAL LAUNCHED TO HELP VULNERABLE RURAL YOUTH IN AFRICA
New York, Nov 28 2007 1:00PM
To help children who are made ever more vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN World Food Programme (WFP) has <" http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000707/index.html">launched a new manual on how to establish farm schools to teach orphans crucial skills.

"Children and youth are charged with the heaviest burden of the AIDS crisis," said Marcela Villarreal, Director of FAO's Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division. "Without their parents, they become more vulnerable to hunger and poverty, disease, conflict, sexual exploitation, forced migration and environmental degredation."

The new manual advises on how to create a Junior Farmer Field and Life School to educate children on how to create sustainable livelihoods and long-term food security.

"The schools are an attempt to give orphans the means and confidence to survive in an often very difficult environment," Ms. Villarreal noted.

In sub-Saharan Africa, there are over 40 million orphans, with some 11.4 million of them having lost their parents due to AIDS.

The programme has targeted several thousand youth in 11 African countries – Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe – since 2004.

The initiative aims to teach children practical skills such as local agricultural skills that may not have been passed down due to their parents' deaths, but also how to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2701">WFP supplies key food support and forms an essential part of the initiative.

"Providing a nutritional meal to children in the schools is both an incentive for them to attend lessons and gives them an energy boost to participate actively," said Robin Jackson, Chief of WFP's HIV/AIDS service.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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CAMEROON NEEDS MORE HELP TO CARE FOR CENTRAL AFRICAN REFUGEES - UN

CAMEROON NEEDS MORE HELP TO CARE FOR CENTRAL AFRICAN REFUGEES – UN
New York, Nov 28 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations relief wing today called for greater international assistance so that it can help more than 45,000 Central African refugees living in eastern Cameroon after fleeing violence and insecurity in their neighbouring homeland.

Unless more assistance is provided, local and national authorities in Cameroon may not be able to keep up with the needs of the rising number of refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA) said in a media statement.

Violence in the CAR, especially in the northwest and northeast of the impoverished country, has led many residents to flee to Cameroon or Chad in recent years, but the numbers entering Cameroon have picked up pace this year.

The Cameroon office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR) registered some 23,000 Central Africans between May and October and expects another 7,000 to 10,000 ethnic Mbororos, a nomadic people, to also seek refuge in the near future.

"These new arrivals would seriously tax the host country's ability to provide humanitarian assistance and would also increase the risk of tension, because natural resources in the area, especially water, are running low and will soon be insufficient to sustain both the host populations and the displaced," OCHA said in its statement.

The situation is particularly grim in the CAR as well: although the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the northeast has fallen recently, the numbers in the northwest keep rising because of ongoing kidnappings and other crimes and also continued clashes between the national army and rebels.

Local media reported that on Monday rebels killed one Government soldier and injured four others during an attack close to the border with Cameroon. Nomadic cattle farmers have started avoiding their usual trails and begun searching for safer routes near cities and towns.

In total, more than 300,000 Central Africans, or about 7 per cent of the national population, are either internally displaced across the north or live as refugees in other countries.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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UNICEF LAUNCHES TEACHER RESOURCE CENTRES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION IN MALDIVES

UNICEF LAUNCHES TEACHER RESOURCE CENTRES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION IN MALDIVES
New York, Nov 28 2007 1:00PM
Using technology to bridge distance, the United Nations Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41952.html">UNICEF) and the Government of the Maldives have opened 20 broadband-enabled teacher resource centres to help provide quality education to a population spread across 200 small islands.

Many teachers in the Maldives – an Indian Ocean archipelago made of 1,200 small islands – remain untrained because up to 80 per cent of teacher-training costs are related to transportation.

The high transport costs meant that qualified trainers have previously only been available in the capital, Male. Even though some 70 per cent of the population live on islands far from the capital, the new centres – equipped with state-of-the-art technology – will make it possible for them to connect remotely.

"It's down to basics. Transport is costly, making it expensive and often dangerous for children to travel between islands to get a better education and for teachers to upgrade their skills," said UNICEF Representative in the Maldives Ken Maskall.

UNICEF estimates that more than 30 per cent of teachers in the Maldives are untrained, with many islands having up to 100 students per trained primary school teacher. The centres are part of a broader programme with the Ministry of Education to provide every Maldivian child with quality education.

"All children should have access to the same opportunities, regardless of where they live," said Mr. Maskall. "A good quality education will help Maldivian children to make more valuable contributions to their communities."

The teacher resource centres also facilitate the establishment of one learning community in the Maldives – for the first time linking administrators and teachers all across the country to a common network.

Through the Educational Development Centre Teacher Resource website, teachers can sit in front of a computer in a resource centre in their atoll, search for materials for their next lessons, download syllabi, and share their own ideas with colleagues in other islands.

In addition, up to 400 teachers can simultaneously receive training by participating in an online course and interacting with one another.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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UN SUPPORTS CREATION OF FIRST 'CLOSED' JUVENILE REHABILITATION CENTRE IN AFGHANISTAN

UN SUPPORTS CREATION OF FIRST 'CLOSED' JUVENILE REHABILITATION CENTRE IN AFGHANISTAN
New York, Nov 28 2007 12:00PM
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (<"http://www.unodc.org/afg/index.html">UNODC) has created a new "closed" juvenile rehabilitation centre in Afghanistan – the first of its kind in the war-torn nation – to provide young offenders with the training and counselling they need to make better lives for themselves once they complete their sentences.

Located in the capital, Kabul, the Centre "aims to reduce re-offending and to promote rehabilitation in a more appropriate and effective way than traditional punitive measures," according to a press release issued by UNODC.

The Centre is a pilot project that the agency has begun in Kabul and hopes to expand throughout Afghanistan, which is seeking to rebuild a functioning juvenile justice system following decades of conflict.

While essentially a correctional facility for serious offenders – both boys and girls – under the age of 18, the Centre represents an "innovative system" in that it also provides educational and vocational training, as well as psychosocial counselling, Matteo Pasquali from UNODC's Country Office for Afghanistan, told the UN News Service.

The Centre provides a place to rehabilitate children in conflict with the law – as offenders under 18 are referred to under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Afghanistan is a party – rather than just punish them, Mr. Pasquali stated.

Prior to the opening of the new facility, juvenile offenders served their sentences in "open centres," which allowed the children to go home at the end of each day, he added.

The newly inaugurated Centre, constructed by UNODC with financial assistance from the Italian Government, is part of the agency's larger criminal justice reform programme in Afghanistan.

During the past three years, UNODC has also supported the establishment of a Juvenile Justice Department within the Ministry of Justice, set up new premises for the Juvenile Court of Kabul and provided training on juvenile justice and rehabilitation.
2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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UN WORKS WITH LIBERIAN GOVERNMENT TO GENERATE JOBS

UN WORKS WITH LIBERIAN GOVERNMENT TO GENERATE JOBS
New York, Nov 28 2007 8:00AM
The United Nations Mission in Liberia is supporting efforts by the Government to create more than 1 million days of work for labourers from small communities in the country, where employment has been linked to stability since the end of the civil war returned thousands of former fighters to the civilian workforce.

The joint road rehabilitation initiative is being led by UNMIL with the World Bank, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) and aims to generate 1 million days of work for 50,000 locally recruited labourers by the end of June 2008, which marks the end of the dry season.

"We cannot over-emphasize the need for road reconstruction because it means security, jobs and investment," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative, Alan Doss. "These joint initiatives are a very good example of how we must come together as partners in support of projects that make a real difference to peoples lives."

Workers hired through the scheme include ex-combatants, returnees, and young men and women who are recruited from communities along the various roads that are being rehabilitated. In addition to providing for many families in the area and reconnecting communities with each other by improving road conditions, the income workers receive also helps to boost economic revitalization in rural Liberia, UNMIL said.

During last year's dry season a similar initiative provided 700,000 working days.

2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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UN-BACKED TREE-PLANTING DRIVE HITS 1 BILLION GOAL AHEAD OF CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS

UN-BACKED TREE-PLANTING DRIVE HITS 1 BILLION GOAL AHEAD OF CLIMATE CHANGE TALKS
New York, Nov 28 2007 8:00AM
One billion trees have been planted under a drive backed by the United Nations and the World Agroforestry Centre, hitting the milestone as planned ahead of next month's international climate change conference in Bali.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, said the achievement of the goal "is a further sign of the breathtaking momentum witnessed this year on the challenge for this generation -- climate change."

The campaign, he said, proved that "given a focus and the chance to act, millions if not billions of people around this world want an end to pollution and environmental deterioration and have rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty to prove the point."

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Green Belt founder and co-patron of the campaign, welcomed the success of the drive and praised those who had participated in it while calling for continued vigilance. "Now we must keep the pressure on and continue the good work for the planet. Plant another tree today in celebration!"

Half of all those who participated were often private citizens or households planting one to three trees, according to UNEP, while another 13 per cent were planted by the private sector.

The news comes as thousands of delegates across the world prepare to travel to the Indonesian island of Bali for the next and most crucial round of global warming negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), jointly established by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization, this year concluded that the global impacts of climate change are likely to be in many cases devastating but cost effective solutions are available now to counter the worst.

The Billion Tree Campaign was launched at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi last November. The agency said it is expecting Guatemala, China and Spain to announce tha
predicted that Indonesia will plant almost 80 million trees in one day in the run up to the Bali climate convention meeting next month.

While not all numbers are in, UNEP said the top-ranking countries appear to be Ethiopia, over 700 million trees planted; Mexico, 217 million trees; Turkey, 150 million; Kenya, 100 million; Cuba, 96.5 million; Rwanda, 50 million; Republic of Korea, 43 million; Tunisia, 21 million; Morocco, 20 million; Myanmar, 20 million and Brazil, 16 million. The Green Belt Movement planted 4.7 million trees, double the number of trees it had initially pledged.

2007-11-28 00:00:00.000

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SUDANESE OBSTACLES THREATEN DARFUR PEACEKEEPING MISSION, SAY UN OFFICIALS

SUDANESE OBSTACLES THREATEN DARFUR PEACEKEEPING MISSION, SAY UN OFFICIALS
New York, Nov 27 2007 9:00PM
The full and rapid deployment of the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is in jeopardy because of a series of objections and obstacles raised by the Sudanese Government and the lack of offers for crucial force units, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today.

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told an <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/sc9178.doc.htm">open debate on the war-torn region of western Sudan that with five weeks remaining before UNAMID is due to accept the transfer of authority from the existing AU peace operation, critical gaps in mobility capabilities remain.

The mission is short of one heavy and one medium transport unit, three military utility aviation units and one light helicopter unit, while an earlier pledge for one reconnaissance company has been withdrawn, he said.

"If no appropriate offers for these missing units are identified by early 2008, it may become necessary to revert to the Council to consider options to mitigate the lack of air mobility. This may require an increase in troops. But more troops will not 'replace' military aviation and they would also require more logistic support, more land, more water, and would likely not appear in Darfur until late 2008. Another sub-optimal last-resort measure would be to 'borrow' these capabilities from other missions."

He said that despite sincere efforts by the UN to address Sudanese concerns about the composition of the force, which is supposed to be predominantly African, the Government is yet to approve units from Thailand, Nepal and Scandinavia.

The Government has also not facilitated the acquisition of land and flight operations rights for UN aircraft, impeding the ability of UNAMID to carry out its mandate, while some of its proposals for the status of forces agreement with the UN "would make it impossible for the mission to operate."

Mr. Guéhenno said that unless these sorts of problems are resolved, the international community – which agreed at the end of July to authorize the deployment of UNAMID to quell four years of fighting and suffering that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced at least 2.2 million others – may soon face a hard choice.

"Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself, and that carries the risk of humiliation of the Security Council and the United Nations, and tragic failure for the people of Darfur?"

Speaking to reporters later, he said: "If there is a humiliation, it will reverberate beyond Darfur to the whole idea of UN peacekeeping," noting that during a recent trip to China many countries in that region made clear that they have an increased confidence in UN missions after problems in the 1990s in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

"If we had one major setback, that confidence could be shattered. And then all the other countries in which peacekeeping has made a huge difference – I think of Liberia, I think of Sierra Leone, I think of Haiti today – would be at risk of not having this option of a UN peacekeeping operation when needed because the credibility of peacekeeping would have been once again challenged.

"And so avoiding such a tragedy, making sure that in Darfur, we meet the expectations, even if we do not meet all the expectations, that we make a real difference, that is really vital for the United Nations, for UN peacekeeping and for the people of Darfur."

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Darfur Jan Eliasson told the Council that Darfur's many splintering rebel groups are showing signs they are prepared to coalesce around two or three common alliances, but also warned that these unification efforts remain fragile.

In addition, Mr. Eliasson said he and his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim believe that both the rebels and the Government will need "reasonable time" to finalize their preparations for peace talks scheduled for next month.

"We should not risk the credibility of this process by rushing to convene the substantive talks if we do not have a critical mass of participants ready for them. At the same time, we must maintain the momentum through continuous engagement with the [rebel] movements and with the Government of Sudan and remind them of their commitments to the AU and UN and of their obligations to the people of Darfur."

Mr. Eliasson noted that the atmosphere around the peace process "is now less positive than it was last [northern] summer," when the Council authorized the deployment of UNAMID and successful pre-negotiation consultations were held in Arusha, Tanzania, with many of the rebel groups.

He told reporters that the situation on the ground, particularly inside the increasingly unstable camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), remained worrying, adding more people are now dying from inter-tribal clashes than from Government clashes with rebels.

Although peace talks last month in Sirte, Libya, were "positive and constructive," many rebel movements – which have fragmented into up to 16 separate factions – boycotted.

But he said consultations in the last few weeks in Juba, southern Sudan, conducted with the help of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the former rebel group from the separate long-running north-south civil war, have led to some hopeful signs.

As a result the Darfur rebel factions are looking to form two or three key groups: the Sudan Liberation Movement Army (SLM-A), the United Resistance Front (URF) and SLM-Unity.

But he warned that AU and UN mediators may need to do more work to ensure the rebels consolidate their talks about possible reunification into something more substantive.

"Unification efforts remain fragile. Loose coalitions and alliances have, in the past, failed due to competition over leadership."

Next Tuesday in Egypt Mr. Eliasson and Dr. Salim will meet regional partners to discuss the course ahead and whether to hold another meeting with rebels in the vein of this year's Arusha consultations.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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DESIGNATION OF UN DAY COULD BOOST EFFORTS TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT AUTISM

DESIGNATION OF UN DAY COULD BOOST EFFORTS TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT AUTISM
New York, Nov 27 2007 7:00PM
The designation by the United Nations of World Autism Awareness Day would provide a landmark opportunity to focus attention on a global epidemic estimated to affect 35 million people worldwide, officials associated with the initiative said today.

Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN, called on Member States to break the "barrier of shame" of people suffering from autism and raise international awareness of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

"Qatar shares the concerns of a number of countries about the high rate of autism in children in all region of the world," Mr. Al-Nasser said at a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.

Almost a month ago, the General Assembly committee dealing with social, cultural and humanitarian issues – also known as the Third Committee – approved a draft resolution, introduced by the Qatari delegation and co-sponsored by 50 Member States, on the designation of the Day. If adopted by the 192-member Assembly, World Autism Awareness Day will be observed annually on 2 April beginning in 2008.

"Combating autism is going to require worldwide effort. It is not politically, geographically or economically centred. It is an equal destroyer," said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks, a United States-based non-governmental organization that works to raise awareness of autism and fund research for its causes, prevention and treatment.

In the last two and a half years, Autism Speaks spent an estimated $60 million on scientific and medical research, he said. In the United States, children diagnosed before the age of three and then properly treated had a 50 per cent chance of graduating from public school at an appropriate age level. However, many African-American and Hispanic children and children from non-English-speaking households were not diagnosed until age seven.

Speaking of her own family's experience following her grandson's diagnosis with autism, Suzanne Wright, Bob's wife and co-founder of Autism Speaks, said that "until our lives were touched we had no idea that we were in the middle of an urgent global health crisis affecting tens of millions worldwide."

Noting that 1.5 million people had the disease in the United States and a new child was diagnosed with it every 20 minutes, she called for an immediate global response to address the epidemic.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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URGENT MEASURES NEEDED TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE TRAPPING WORLD'S POOREST - UN

URGENT MEASURES NEEDED TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE TRAPPING WORLD'S POOREST – UN
New York, Nov 27 2007 7:00PM
Without immediate action, climate change could have a disastrous impact for the world's poorest people and reverse any gains made in poverty reduction, nutrition, health and education, according to the annual United Nations <"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2007/november/hdr-climatechange-20071127.en">Human Development Report released today.

The world's 2.6 billion people living on less than $2 daily have contributed least to global emissions. But they are "paying a high price for the actions of others," Claes Johansson of the UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP), which prepared the report, told reporters in New York.

"Therefore, developed nations have a historic responsibility to cut emissions, to climate-proof their growth and to invest in efforts that can help prevent catastrophic reversals in human development," he added.

Developing countries, in turn, must do their part to reduce their own emissions, but cannot do so without the help of wealthier nations, Mr. Johansson observed.

The report – entitled "Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world" – was released as governments prepare for next week's UN Climate Change Conference in Bali, Indonesia, where delegates are expected to negotiate a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, a legally binding pact limiting greenhouse gas emissions that is due to expire in 2012.

The potential toll on humans of climate change has been understated, the report concluded, pointing out that meteorological shocks such as droughts, floods and storms, whose intensity and frequency are only increasing, contribute greatly to poverty and inequality.

"For millions of people, these are events that offer a one-way ticket to poverty and long-run cycles of disadvantage," it said. A "twin track" approach merging mitigation efforts to limit global warming this century to under 2°C with bolstered global cooperation on adaptation measures was recommended.

On mitigation, the report urged developed countries to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent of 1990 levels by 2050, and promote carbon taxation, more stringent cap-and-trade programmes and energy regulation, among others.

If developed and developing nations are able to cut emissions overall by 50 per cent by 2050, "this gives us a 50-50 chance of avoiding dangerous climate change so this is an absolute minimum required reduction in emissions," Mr. Johanssen noted.

For rich nations to help poor ones achieve this goal, the report proposed a Climate Change Mitigate Facility at a cost of $25-$50 billion per year to finance development of low-carbon energy systems in developing nations.

Regarding adaptation, the disparity in ability between rich and poor countries to respond to climate change are creating even larger inequalities both between and within countries, the report warned, calling on developed nations to make global warming a main priority in their international partnerships to reduce poverty.

Currently, only $26 million has been spent multilaterally for adaptation measures, which the report noted is the equivalent of one week's worth of spending on flood defences in the United Kingdom.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CAN BE HARNESSED AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE, UN MEETING TOLD

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CAN BE HARNESSED AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE, UN MEETING TOLD
New York, Nov 27 2007 7:00PM
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are largely contributing to climate change but also hold the key to tackling it, several experts and industry figures told a conference today at United Nations headquarters in New York.

"We cannot have a discussion on climate change in isolation from the discussion on the technologies to address the problem," said Alexander Karsner, United States Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, at the outset of a two-day meeting on the impact of ICT on climate change.

Calling for "very proactive problem-solving through the deployment of technology," Mr. Karsner said that "while waiting for the big solution we should take every bit of existing solutions along the way." On the positive side, "technology is proliferating solutions faster than our global political leadership can enforce them" and energy efficiency had become paramount for all sectors, starting from the oil industry. The right approach involved science and technology, capital markets and policy, he said, since "markets alone do not make global strategies."

"The Secretary-General sees overcoming the threat of climate change as the defining challenge of our times," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang, adding that ICT "are crucial to understanding the environment and the impact of climate change," provide tools to help cut greenhouse gas emissions and are instrumental in providing information on climate change.

General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said "ICT will be instrumental in helping to develop new, climate-friendly technologies that can help economies growth sustainably and reduce emissions in the years ahead," stressing that technology had already offered climate-friendly solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon sequestration.

IBM Vice-President for Corporate Environmental Affairs Wayne Balta said ICT companies could enact substantial energy savings in their internal operations, in design and manufacturing, and in product use. ICT could improve the energy efficiency of all economic sectors, diagnose the carbon emissions of a product or process and suggest its redesign, he said.

Xerox Corporation Environment Vice-President Patricia Calkins said the paper industry was the fourth largest user of fossil fuels, and nearly half of all office paper became waste within a day. The "paperless office" had not materialized, but industry could enable "smarter, more efficient choices," such as energy-efficient appliances that shut down automatically when not in use. Companies that measured their full environmental impact had achieved greater energy efficiency.

"For environmental impact, it all starts with design," said Tod Arbogast, Dell Computer Director of Sustainable Business, since a product's design had an impact throughout its life cycle. Efficiency was dictated by economic reasons, since servers, personal computers and monitors accounted for more that 60 per cent of global ICT-related carbon emissions and world average electricity prices had grown by 56 per cent since 2002.

Companies had minimized packaging, dematerialized products and were offering customers convenient recycling services, he said, adding that recycling substantially reduced carbon emissions due to raw material extraction, product manufacture, landfill and combustion.

The event has been organized by the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development and AIT Global Inc., a global association of management and information technology professionals.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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DR CONGO: 15 DISSIDENTS SURRENDER TO UN BLUE HELMETS IN NORTH KIVU

DR CONGO: 15 DISSIDENTS SURRENDER TO UN BLUE HELMETS IN NORTH KIVU
New York, Nov 27 2007 6:00PM
One officer and 14 troops who were part of a dissident battalion led by General Laurent Nkunda in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have turned themselves in to the United Nations mission in the country (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC).

Commander Micho Bizabaso and 14 of his heavily armed men turned themselves in to MONUC last night after attempting to retake a strategic hill in Sake.

The forces approached a UN position with an ultimatum calling for the blue helmets to retreat, according to MONUC, which said the peacekeepers refused and instead threatened to disarm the rogue troops by force if necessary.

Endeavouring to avoid a resort to force, the UN held negotiations for more than an hour, succeeding at around 2 a.m. in convincing the Commander and his men to deposit their weapons with MONUC and agree to integration in the DRC's army (FARDC).

In announcing the surrender, MONUC called on other dissident forces and fighters in the region to turn in their weapons and agree to integration in the FARDC, pledging to help all those who wish to participate in the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme – or, for the foreigners among them, to repatriate.

Fighting between General Nkunda's rebels in Sake and its environs at the beginning of September drove tens of thousands of people from their homes before the UN obtained a cessation of hostilities in the area. The UN estimates that some 400,000 people have been newly displaced in North Kivu since December 2006.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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NEXT YEAR'S UN-BACKED FORUM ON MIGRATION TO FOCUS ON RIGHTS PROTECTION

NEXT YEAR'S UN-BACKED FORUM ON MIGRATION TO FOCUS ON RIGHTS PROTECTION
New York, Nov 27 2007 5:00PM
Protecting the rights of the world's 200 million migrants – a vital issue for countries of origin, transit and destination – will take centre stage at a United Nations-backed meeting to be held next year in the Philippines, officials associated with the event said today.

Briefing reporters at UN Headquarters in New York on the preparations for the second meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, the Under-Secretary for Migrant Worker Affairs of the Philippines said that discussions would focus on "migrant protection and empowerment for development," issues that are particularly important for countries of origin such as his.

"The Manila meeting seeks to discuss practical ways to advance the cause of migrant protection," Esteban B. Conejos Jr. said, adding that the Forum, to be held next October, is not expected to issue recommendations but rather to foster an exchange of ideas on the issue.

Mr. Conejos said the Forum is inviting States to share experiences on how countries of both origin and destination can work together to come up with common solutions to common problems. He stressed the need for countries of origin to come up with imaginative ways to address protection issues, stating that "the first line of defence for our workers is not the host country. The first obligation is ours."

Over 120 Governments, 200 civil society representatives, and numerous international organizations and UN institutions took part in the Forum's first meeting in Brussels in July.

Ambassador Régine de Clercq of Belgium, who served as Executive Director of that meeting, recalled that participants had identified 57 "concrete outcomes" ranging from establishing a compendium of best practices on temporary labour migration to looking at ethical recruitment practices.

More importantly, the meeting "yielded a new approach to the whole migration debate itself by putting development so much in the centre and really looking at how these inter-linkages work and can be improved," she said.

Ms. de Clercq added that over 120 States have appointed focal points to coordinate positions at the national level across different ministerial departments. "These focal points have proven to be an excellent vehicle not only for us to communicate with the countries but also, within the countries, to start inter-governmental dialogue on international migration and development issues."

Asked about recent trends in migration, Hania Zlotnik, Director of the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), said that a lot of attention is being paid to legal migration to the United States, which is expected to remain high.

She noted that because of fears that the economies of the US and other developed countries might not be doing well in a year's time, coupled with measures being taken in many countries to reduce illegal migration, she is already starting to hear of people going back to their countries of origin or having more difficulties getting into developed countries.

"I expect that the number of migrants that are successful in establishing themselves in the developed world might not be as high as it would have been if things had continued to be as rosy as they were in the early part of this decade," said Ms. Zlotnik.

The Forum was set up by Member States as an informal mechanism to continue the talks on migration and development issues that began at the 2006 General Assembly High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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SENIOR UN ENVOY TO SUDAN HOLDS TALKS ON PROBLEMS IN NORTH-SOUTH PEACE DEAL

SENIOR UN ENVOY TO SUDAN HOLDS TALKS ON PROBLEMS IN NORTH-SOUTH PEACE DEAL
New York, Nov 27 2007 5:00PM
The senior United Nations envoy in Sudan held talks today with one of the country's Vice-Presidents on how to resolve the remaining obstacles to implementing the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running civil war between north and south.

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan, met with Ali Osman Taha in Khartoum, according to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

Their discussions focused on the efforts of the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the parties to the CPA, to resolve the pending issues from the agreement and revive their partnership in a Government of National Unity.

Mr. Qazi then headed to Juba, southern Sudan, for a two-day visit during which he is scheduled to hold talks with Salva Kiir Mayardit, the First Vice-President of Sudan and the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, and other senior officials in the region. He is also expected to meet SPLM Secretary-General Pagan Amoum.

UNMIS said these talks will also focus on resolving the pending issues between the two parties so that the integrity of the CPA can be resolved and the current crisis between the NCP and the SPLM can come to a swift end. Last month the SPLM had withdrawn from the Government of National Unity.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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THOUSANDS OF JOBS CREATED THROUGH UN DEVELOPMENT SCHEME IN SUDAN

THOUSANDS OF JOBS CREATED THROUGH UN DEVELOPMENT SCHEME IN SUDAN
New York, Nov 27 2007 5:00PM
More than 7,000 jobs in agriculture, construction and the small business sector have been created across Sudan under a scheme managed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to try to alleviate poverty and hunger in the African country.

<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP said today that its €54 million Recovery and Rehabilitation Programme (RRP), funded by the European Union, is running projects in Abyei Area and nine Sudanese states: River Nile, Red Sea, Blue Nile, South Kordofan, Upper Nile, Warrap, Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria and Northern Bahr al Ghazal.

The RRP was set up to help local communities rebuild their infrastructure and economies after the January 2005 signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan.

It is also designed to help Sudan work to achieve one of the eight ambitious socio-economic targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs): halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

At least 4,500 of the new jobs have been created through microcredit loan schemes in which members of rural communities submit a business proposal to a committee comprising local leaders and, if they are approved, agree to pay back the amount of credit borrowed and 10 per cent of profits made. The money returned is then used to extend a loan to the next entrepreneur.

Most of the other jobs are in the fields of agriculture or construction, according to UNDP.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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UN-BACKED DRIVE AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SPOTLIGHTS 5 'UNDERREPORTED' STORIES

UN-BACKED DRIVE AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE SPOTLIGHTS 5 'UNDERREPORTED' STORIES
New York, Nov 27 2007 3:00PM
The United Nations Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=1067">UNFPA) is kicking off its second annual "16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence" campaign by spotlighting five stories – involving domestic violence in Russia, sex slavery in India, self-immolation in Central Asia, gender-based violence and HIV and 'compensation' marriages – it believes deserve more global media attention.

The 16 days run from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until 10 December, International Human Rights Day.

Approximately 14,000 women are murdered by their intimate partners annually in Russia, according to UNFPA, or one woman every 35 minutes – a yearly death toll comparable to the entire published number of Soviet troops killed during the decade-long conflict between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan.

In India, prenatal sex selection has lead to a surging demand for young women trafficked from lower castes and from abroad who are forced into veritable household sexual slavery, the agency said. Often referred to as Dipraudis, these women are sometimes compelled to service more than one man.

The proportion of HIV-infected women continues to overtake that of men annually. Women are two to five times more biologically susceptible to contracting HIV from a male partner, but gender-based violence – including coercion, wartime rape, 'widow cleansing,' domestic violence and female genital mutilation/cutting – also contributes to the soaring rates, UNFPA said.

The Fund cited research showing a rise in the numbers of women and girls practicing self-immolation in Northern Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as economic crises continue and many believe they have no way out.

Meanwhile, 'compensation' marriages – the practice of forcing a girl into arranged marriages as compensation for a murder perpetration by a family member, to repay debts or settle other disputes – is prevalent in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province, Afghanistan, parts of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, UNFPA said, pointing out that girls in these situations often are systematically abused and becomes virtual slaves.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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PIECEMEAL APPROACHES WILL NOT RESOLVE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT - BAN KI-MOON

PIECEMEAL APPROACHES WILL NOT RESOLVE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT – BAN KI-MOON
New York, Nov 27 2007 2:00PM
It is time to "abandon piecemeal approaches" to resolving the <"http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=70&Body=Palestin&Body1=">Middle East conflict and start final status negotiations that deal with all the issues in dispute, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told an international meeting on the region being held today in the United States city of Annapolis.

Mr. Ban said final status talks must "begin in earnest" and deal with such issues as Jerusalem, refugees, the borders, West Bank settlements, security and water.

"The broad outlines of solutions to these issues are clear," the Secretary-General observed in his speech. "There is no reason they cannot be resolved in 2008."

He called on the international community to help the Palestinian Authority "to rebuild, reform and perform," and he also stressed the need for the situation on the ground to "improve, rapidly and visibly.

"Without implementing long-standing commitments under the Road Map and the Agreement on Movement and Access, the diplomatic process cannot succeed. Progress requires parallel action and clear monitoring."

Welcoming the commitment of both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to resolve the conflict, the leadership of the US as host of the Annapolis meeting, and the presence at the conference of many Arab countries, Mr. Ban pledged the UN's backing to the renewed peace efforts.

"The UN has few higher priorities than seeing this conflict resolved… Above all, today marks a beginning, not an end. I know that different expectations exist. But I ask you all to approach this effort with flexibility, patience and resolve. Let us base expectations on a realistic assessment and take responsibility for the things we each can do, without losing faith."

The Secretary-General stressed the need to "reverse this growing sense of despair" among Palestinians that their dream of statehood may never become a reality.

"The [peace] process must end the occupation and create an independent and viable State of Palestine, at peace with itself and its neighbours."

Mr. Ban added that, "for its part, Israel faces genuine security challenges," with a renewed threat of attack and some people questioning its very right to exist.

"We must reverse this loss of faith, and build a process that delivers on the vital interests of Israelis: a Palestinian State that is a true partner, secure and recognized borders, and a permanent end to the conflict."

He also called for concrete initiatives to ease the humanitarian suffering of the people of Gaza, where border restrictions have severely hurt the local economy.

While in Annapolis, Mr. Ban has participated in a series of bilateral discussions on the Middle East peace process, including talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the League of Arab States' Secretary-General Amr Moussa, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and the High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana. He also took part in a meeting yesterday with the Quartet, the diplomatic grouping that brings together the UN, the US, the European Union and Russia.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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UN GENOCIDE TRIBUNAL CONFIRMS 25-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR RWANDAN EX-ARMY OFFICER

UN GENOCIDE TRIBUNAL CONFIRMS 25-YEAR JAIL TERM FOR RWANDAN EX-ARMY OFFICER
New York, Nov 27 2007 2:00PM
The United Nations tribunal dealing with the worst crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide today upheld the 25-year prison sentence for a retired lieutenant colonel and former lawmaker found guilty of two counts of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity.

A five-member panel on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (<"http://69.94.11.53/">ICTR), sitting in Arusha in neighbouring Tanzania, dismissed the appeal of Aloys Simba against both his conviction and his sentence. Mr. Simba was convicted in 2005 over his participation in the massacre of Tutsis at Murambi Technical School and Kaduha Parish in the Gikongoro prefecture on 21 April 1994.

The judges also turned down the prosecution's appeal against Mr. Simba's acquittal on charges relating to killings in nearby Cyanika Parish and against the length of the sentence.

During his trial, the court heard how Mr. Simba distributed weapons at the school and in Kaduha. Militiamen, backed by gendarmes, then killed thousands of Tutsi civilians at the school, in Cyanika and in Kaduha, in what the trial judges described as "a highly coordinated operation" involving the support of local authorities and prominent people. The ICTR noted that this operation went on for about 12 hours on a single day.
Mr. Simba was a member of the "Comrades of the Fifth of July," who participated in the coup d'état that brought former President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, to power in 1973. Mr. Habyarimana died in the crash of an aircraft on 6 April 1994 in Rwanda, along with his Burundian counterpart Cyprian Ntayamira. Their deaths set off a chain of killings throughout Rwanda, with more than 800,000 people, mostly minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus, killed in the genocide.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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UN RURAL DEVELOPMENT ARM PARTNERS WITH SPAIN TO EMPOWER THE POOR

UN RURAL DEVELOPMENT ARM PARTNERS WITH SPAIN TO EMPOWER THE POOR
New York, Nov 27 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (<"http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2007/51.htm">IFAD) announced today that it has entered into a six-year partnership with Spain to combat rural poverty in developing countries by empowering the poor to better their circumstances.

"IFAD shares many development priorities with Spain," said the Fund's president, Lennart Båge. "By strengthening our relationship, we will be able to work even more effectively together to empower poor rural people to overcome poverty."

Mr. Båge signed an agreement in Rome with Luis Calvo Merino, Spain's Ambassador to Italy.

Both IFAD and Spain are committed to good governance, public participation and strengthening local community and small farmers' organization, as well as boosting rural finance systems and small rural enterprises, the Fund said in a news release. The partners are also dedicated to combating desertification and land degradation, and to achieving gender equity and the rights of indigenous peoples.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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UNESCO HERITAGE ASSESSMENT MISSION TO HEAD TO BANGLADESH AFTER CYCLONE

UNESCO HERITAGE ASSESSMENT MISSION TO HEAD TO BANGLADESH AFTER CYCLONE
New York, Nov 27 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<" http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=41341&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO) announced today that it is sending a mission of experts next week to Bangladesh to assess how to help local authorities protect the country's heritage in the wake of this month's devastating cyclone.

The mission will focus particularly on the <" http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/798">Sundarbans mangrove forest, which was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997, the agency said in a press statement issued at its Paris headquarters. The 140,000-hectare forest is home to many endangered species, including the Bengal tiger.

Large swathes of the Sundarbans, which lies in the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal, are feared to have been swept into the sea by Cyclone Sidr, which struck Bangladesh on 15 November, bringing torrential rain and winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour.

More than 3,200 were confirmed killed and another 880 remain missing as a result of Cyclone Sidr, while almost 35,000 people were injured. The category 4 storm also destroyed or badly damaged infrastructure – including at least 1,300 schools – across much of the country. More than 7,500 other schools and educational institutions were partly damaged, according to local data, and at least 1.8 million acres of crops were ruined and over 500,000 livestock have died.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<" http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA) reported today that an estimated 2.6 million people still need immediate life-saving assistance, such as food, shelter and sanitation.

UN relief agencies, which are providing assistance with the help of national authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), are drawing from a grant of $14.7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (<" http://ochaonline2.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=7480">CERF). So far more than $130 million has been contributed or offered as pledges to fund the international response to the cyclone.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN RELIEF OFFICIAL VISITS ETHIOPIA'S VOLATILE OGADEN REGION

TOP UN RELIEF OFFICIAL VISITS ETHIOPIA'S VOLATILE OGADEN REGION
New York, Nov 27 2007 1:00PM
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator arrived in Ethiopia today to visit the strife-torn Ogaden region where over 640,000 people are in urgent need of food, water, medical supplies and other assistance.

"This was a valuable opportunity to get an impression for myself of the situation on the ground, and to see the work the UN team has already done to confront the serious humanitarian challenges in the region," said Mr. Holmes, who is also UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

Humanitarian conditions have worsened in the region in the past several months due to fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and the Ogaden National Liberation Front.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA), the world body has dispatched more than 7,300 metric tonnes of food to the five military zones in the region. Preparations are also being finalized to deploy 15 mobile health teams including 10 in the area of conflict.

Mr. Holmes discussed how the UN can further help during meetings with local officials in the regional capital of Jijiga. He also discussed ways to improve the humanitarian situation in Ogaden with representatives of the UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the area.

From Jijiga, Mr. Holmes travelled to Kabridehar, where the UN recently established a field presence, and met with government officials, UN staff and NGO personnel to discuss the main needs in the area and how to address them, as well as the challenges that affect relief operations.

Mr. Holmes said he plans to raise the issues of access and freedom of commercial activity in his meetings with senior Ethiopian officials, including the Prime Minister, tomorrow in the country's capital, Addis Ababa.

He is also scheduled to meet the chief of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (<"http://www.unmeeonline.org/">UNMEE) and heads of UN agencies before departing the country for Sudan, the next leg of his current three-nation tour which will also include a stop in Kenya for talks on massive displacement in neighbouring Somalia.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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UN ANTI-CRIME CHIEF URGES ACTION TO PREVENT CHILD TRAFFICKING IN AFRICA

UN ANTI-CRIME CHIEF URGES ACTION TO PREVENT CHILD TRAFFICKING IN AFRICA
New York, Nov 27 2007 1:00PM
The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has urged the Governments of West and Central Africa to take action to protect children from human trafficking, which not only harms innocent lives but also efforts to secure peace in countries recovering from conflict.

How can West Africa build a peaceful and prosperous future if its youth is being exploited, recycled, and scarred for life?" asked Antonio Maria Costa <"http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/about-unodc/speeches/2007-11-26.html">addressing an international meeting on trafficking in children and armed conflict, which began yesterday in the Ivorian city of Abidjan.

While human trafficking is a global problem, he noted that West and Central Africa are particularly vulnerable to this crime given the large pool of "lost children" in the two regions, including orphans, child soldiers and those living in poverty and fear. "Children are particularly vulnerable in conflict and post-conflict situations, especially when separated from the rest of their family," Mr. Costa noted.

Girls are twice as vulnerable: as victims of rape and sexual harassment perpetrated by armed groups, and also because they are seldom involved in programmes for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration or provided with special rehabilitation programmes.

Mr. Costa urged action to support and rehabilitate girls victimized by conflict, including redressing injustices committed against them in times of war. "We must deepen the knowledge base on the plight of girls in conflict situations to ensure that prevention and intervention become more effective."

Given the vulnerability of internally displaced persons and refugees, Mr. Costa called for extra efforts to ensure that safe havens do not become recruiting grounds for traffickers. "I urge aid agencies to be on the look out for predators, and host countries to provide sufficient security."

He appealed to all those doing business in Africa to ensure that their supply chains and employment practices do not support human trafficking, and urged consumers to use their purchasing power more forcefully. "Do you really want to eat chocolate, drive on tires, or wear diamonds dripping with the blood and sweat of slave labour?"

He noted that another reason West and Central Africa are vulnerable to human trafficking is because of the low risks involved. "There is little threat of law enforcement, especially in countries weakened by conflict or corruption," Mr. Costa said. "In some countries, anti-trafficking legislation is weak or non-existent."

The Executive Director called on governments in the two regions to carry out the UN anti-trafficking Protocol which includes measures to criminalize human trafficking, prosecute perpetrators and protect victims.

He also pledged UNODC's assistance to Governments, including through the Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking – also known as <"http://www.ungift.org/ ">UN.GIFT.
2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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QUARTET VOICES SUPPORT FOR MIDDLE EAST CONFERENCE IN ANNAPOLIS

QUARTET VOICES SUPPORT FOR MIDDLE EAST CONFERENCE IN ANNAPOLIS
New York, Nov 27 2007 8:00AM
The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East, made up of the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and United States, has voiced its full support for a conference on the region being held today in the US city of Annapolis.

In a statement issued Monday evening in Washington, the Quartet "welcomed the commitment of the Israeli and Palestinians leaders to launch bilateral negotiations toward the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza and the realization of Israeli-Palestinian peace.

"This reflects the results of months of work by the parties and by the Quartet, including the Quartet's engagement with members of the Arab League Follow-Up Committee to expand the circle of support for peace."

The statement was issued following a meeting of the Quartet Principals: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, High Representative for European Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, and European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner, along with Quartet Representative Tony Blair.

The Quartet welcomed the parties' continuing efforts to fulfill their respective commitments under Phase One of the Roadmap, an outline peace plan, and urged the international community to provide robust support for these efforts.

Principals took note of the broad international support for the Annapolis Conference, and looked forward to the December Paris Donors' Conference to muster international financial backing for efforts to build the foundation for a "viable and prosperous" Palestinian State.

The Quartet agreed to remain closely involved, according to the statement, which anticipated another meeting next month while looking forward "to inviting members of the Arab League Follow-Up Committee to attend."

The statement also affirmed the Quartet's "commitment to seize this opport
progress towards a just and lasting negotiated settlement to this conflict, and ultimately a comprehensive peace in the Middle East."

2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL DELEGATION ARRIVES IN TIMOR-LESTE

SECURITY COUNCIL DELEGATION ARRIVES IN TIMOR-LESTE
New York, Nov 27 2007 8:00AM
A delegation of the Security Council has arrived in Timor-Leste to examine the work of the United Nations Mission in the country (UNMIT), which gained independence in 2002.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative, Atul Khare, said the visit is "an important expression of the international community's commitment to the nascent nation," according to an UNMIT news release.

The mission said the visit would underscore the international community's commitment to the stabilization and development of Timor-Leste and the need for ongoing support to bilateral and international partners aiding Timorese efforts towards self-reliance.

Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo (Head of Mission) from South Africa, Ambassador Liu Zhenmin from China, Luc Joseph Okio from the Republic of the Congo, Muhammad Anshor from Indonesia, Diana Eloeva from the Russian Federation, Ambassador Peter Burian from Slovakia and United States Ambassador Jackie Wolcott are expected to hold discussions the Timorese authorities on how to help the country consolidate progress.

"The Security Council is expressing its full support for Timor-Leste and for the United Nations presence here, and we are very grateful for that support," said Mr. Khare.

"It is an important acknowledgment - by the international community - that there has been success in stabilizing the security situation and that democratic progress has been achieved through peaceful and acceptable elections."

2007-11-27 00:00:00.000

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NEW UN INTERNET CAMPAIGN TO ERADICATE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN LAUNCHED

NEW UN INTERNET CAMPAIGN TO ERADICATE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN LAUNCHED
New York, Nov 26 2007 7:00PM
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Goodwill Ambassador and Academy Award-winning actress Nicole Kidman became the first today to add her name to a new Internet campaign aimed at eliminating violence against women.

"One in three women may suffer from abuse and violence in her lifetime," she said in a statement. "This is an appalling human rights violation, yet it remains one of the invisible and under-recognized pandemics of our time."

Despite the pervasiveness of the issue, Ms. Kidman said that "it is not inevitable. We can put a stop to this."

She urged people to add their names to the campaign – which will run until 8 March 2008, International Women's Day – and say "no" to violence against women.

"The more names we collect, the stronger our case to make ending violence against women a top priority for governments everywhere."

Today's launch follows yesterday's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, commemorated annually on 25 November.

While nearly 90 countries have laws on domestic violence and many more have national action plans or strategies to bring an end to the pandemic, "implementation of these laws is often insufficient," <"http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=644">UNIFEM Acting Executive Director Joanne Sandler said in New York.

"Impunity for perpetrators is the rule rather than the exception; so many women still fear to speak out because they know that justice remains elusive," she added.

Ms. Sandler highlighted the work of the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, which is administered by UNIFEM and has supported over 250 innovative programmes in more than 100 countries in the past decade.

Recipients of the Fund's grants "are showing how to address the interlinkages of violence against women and HIV/AIDS, how to involve men and boys in ending violence against women and how to reach marginalized groups – such as rural indigenous women – so that they, too, can benefit from improved laws and policies on ending violence against women," she said.

Despite the problem's scope, the Fund has receive in excess of $100 million in requests, but was only able to secure $5 million for grant-making last year, unlike the Trust Fund to End HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which draws on billions of dollars.

Also launched today was a UNIFEM report on gender-based violence entitled "NO MORE!!!!! The right of Women to live a Life Free from Violence in Latin American and the Caribbean."

The new study notes that between 1990 and 2007, nearly 900 Chilean women were killed, mostly by their partners or ex-partners, while in the Bahamas in 2000, almost half of all murders committed were feminicides – women being killed at the hands of their partners or because of their gender status – and rose to 44 per cent in 2001 and 53 per cent in 2002.

"The negative synergy between institutional weakness and patriarchal culture favour and provoke impunity," the report noted. "These factors are causes and consequences of the lack of power of women and girls."

The scope of the problem detailed in the report "represents only the tip of the iceberg of the many women affected who remain hidden behind silent statistics, social tolerance and impunity," Marijke Velzeboer-Salcedo, Chief of the Latin American and Caribbean Section at UNIFEM, said at a <"http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs//2007/071126_Salcedo.doc.htm">press briefing today.

Calling on governments to take greater action, the report also appealed to international organizations, civil society and the media to promote the eradication of violence against women and an end to impunity for those who commit such crimes.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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UN DECLARES 20 FEBRUARY AS WORLD DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

UN DECLARES 20 FEBRUARY AS WORLD DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
New York, Nov 26 2007 7:00PM
Recognizing the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment, the United Nations General Assembly has decided to observe 20 February annually – starting in 2009 – as the World Day of Social Justice.

In a unanimously adopted <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=a/62/l.15">resolution, the 192-member body also invited Member States to devote the Day to promoting activities at the national level in support of the objectives and goals of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development, held in Copenhagen.

Governments meeting at that Summit pledged to make poverty eradication, the goal of full employment and the fostering of social integration overriding objectives of development.

In designating the World Day, the Assembly "recognizes the need to consolidate further the efforts of the international community in poverty eradication and in promoting full employment and decent work, gender equality and access to social well-being and justice for all."

In other action today, the Assembly adopted a resolution on the link between the illicit trade in rough diamonds and the fuelling of armed conflicts around the world, stressing the need for the widest possible participation in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.

The Scheme, which came into effect in January 2003, establishes minimum acceptable international standards for national certification schemes covering the import and export of rough diamonds.

By a third resolution adopted today, the Assembly called on States that are not yet parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to consider ratifying or acceding to it without delay.

The ICC is an independent, permanent court that tries persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Adopted at a major diplomatic conference in the Italian capital in 1998, the Rome Statute currently has 105 parties.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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PHILIPPINES: MILITARY EXECUTING LEFTIST ACTIVISTS, UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT FINDS

PHILIPPINES: MILITARY EXECUTING LEFTIST ACTIVISTS, UN INDEPENDENT EXPERT FINDS
New York, Nov 26 2007 6:00PM
The armed forces of the Philippines has been executing leftist activists in recent years, an independent United Nations human rights expert said today in a new report which welcomes Government measures to address the problem while emphasizing the need to end impunity through prosecution and punishment.

"A significant number of the hundreds of extrajudicial executions of leftist activists in the Philippines that have taken place over the past six years are the result of deliberate targeting by the military as part of counterinsurgency operations against the communist rebels," said Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

During a fact-finding mission earlier this year to the South-East Asian nation, Mr. Alston – who serves in an unpaid, personal capacity – investigated the killings in depth.

He interviewed victims or witnesses to 57 incidents involving 96 extrajudicial executions. He met with Government officials of all ranks, including local military commanders as well as the President, as well as with the leaders of the communist rebels' National Democratic Front (NDF).

In a statement, he said he was "encouraged" by various measures adopted recently by the Government and by the fact that he had met with the country's Executive Secretary in New York, but also stressed that those responsible for killings must be prosecuted and punished to stop them. "The Government has undertaken a range of welcome reforms, but the fact remains that not a single soldier has been convicted in any of the cases involving leftist activists," he said.

"In some parts of the country, the armed forces have followed a deliberate strategy of systematically hunting down the leaders of leftist organization," Mr. Alston noted. "As commander-in-chief, the President must take concrete steps to end such operations."

Since 1968, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) – which has an armed faction, the New People's Army (NPA), and a civil society group, the NDF – has aimed to revolutionize what it views as the country's "semi-feudal" society.

The Rapporteur said that the military officers he interviewed "relentlessly pushed" the theory that such extrajudicial executions had in fact been committed by the rebels to simultaneously remove spies while discrediting the Government, and he reviewed all of the documentation provided to support this idea.

"The military's argument that the leftist activists who have been killed are the victims of a 'purge' by the rebels is strikingly unconvincing and can only be viewed as a cynical attempt to displace responsibility," he said.

The Rapporteur criticized the rebels themselves for participating in some extrajudicial executions of civilians who are not directly involved with the hostilities and the death threats they have made against political opponents.

"The death sentences imposed by their 'people's courts' provide only a veneer of legality for what is really vigilantism or murder," he said.

During his visit to the Philippines, Mr. Alston also investigated extrajudicial executions in western Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, which have seen armed conflict involving several insurgent and terrorist groups, including the Moro National Liberation Front, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Since witnesses in the regions live in great fear and it is difficult to ascertain who is responsible for abuses, he said that bolstered human rights monitoring is crucial to protect the civilian population.

Mr. Alston also looked into the actions of a death squad in Davao City on the island of Mindanao, interviewing victims and witnesses as well as speaking with local police, military officers and the mayor.

"The mayor's position that he can do nothing to stop men without masks from routinely killing children for petty crimes in full view of witnesses lacks all credibility," he said in the report. "Mayor Duterte should be stripped of his control over the local police, and the national Government should assume responsibility for dismantling the death squad and prosecuting its members."
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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KEY UNITS ARRIVE IN DARFUR AHEAD OF DEPLOYMENT OF HYBRID UN-AU FORCE

KEY UNITS ARRIVE IN DARFUR AHEAD OF DEPLOYMENT OF HYBRID UN-AU FORCE
New York, Nov 26 2007 5:00PM
Chinese and Bangladeshi units that will form part of the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur (UNAMID) have arrived in the war-torn Sudanese region to help in the transition from the existing AU peace operation (AMIS).

At the weekend 135 troops from a Chinese engineering company that will eventually number 315 arrived in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, to begin their deployment, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York today.

The advance Chinese troops are part of the UN's support package to AMIS and will help pave the way for the deployment of UNAMID by undertaking work critical to the establishment of the hybrid mission, Ms. Montas added.

A separate Bangladeshi Formed Police Unit (FPU) also arrived in Nyala late last week to begin work supporting AMIS.

UNAMID, which is due to take over from AMIS at the start of next year, will have an estimated 26,000 troops and police officers when it reaches full deployment. They are tasked with trying to quell the violence and suffering in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others displaced since rebel groups began fighting Government forces and allied militia in 2003.

The AU-UN Joint Special Representative, Rodolphe Adada, visited both new units yesterday after earlier holding meetings with Ali Mahmoud, the Governor of South Darfur. The two men discussed the security situation inside the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In a press statement, Mr. Adada said that he and the Governor agreed that arms inside Kalma camp posed a threat not only to other IDPs but to humanitarian workers trying to deliver assistance.

Meanwhile, the UN and AU Chief Mediators for Darfur, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun and Sam Ibok, are heading to Juba, south Sudan, tomorrow for further discussions with Darfur rebel groups based there and with members of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Task Force for the Darfur Peace Process.

The mediators are scheduled to travel to Darfur itself next week to hold consultations with the leadership of one of the region's many rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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MORE CLASHES IN DR CONGO'S NORTH KIVU WILL HARM CIVILIANS, UN OFFICIAL WARNS

MORE CLASHES IN DR CONGO'S NORTH KIVU WILL HARM CIVILIANS, UN OFFICIAL WARNS
New York, Nov 26 2007 4:00PM
A senior United Nations envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has called on parties in the country's troubled North Kivu province to avoid any actions that could harm the already beleaguered civilian population in the area.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Deputy Special Representative for the DRC, Ross Mountain, made his appeal following a weekend visit to North Kivu, where he held talks with provincial authorities as well as representatives of the UN Mission in the DRC (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC), UN agencies and humanitarian partners.

He also visited camps housing some 45,000 displaced people, most having fled their homes following engagements between the Congolese army (FARDC) and Laurent Nkunda's rebels in Sake and its environs at the beginning of September.

Mr. Mountain hailed a recent agreement reached between the Congolese and Rwandan Governments as an "important step ahead towards peace in the area." Signed in Nairobi earlier this month, the pact calls for a common approach to threats to peace in the region, including measures to end impunity.

"Certainly, in accordance with the Nairobi agreement, the planning of military operations is in hand," said Mr. Mountain, who is also the UN's Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC.

"But we continue to hope that before their implementation, the armed groups will understand the immense suffering which would be inflicted on their communities and all the population if they persist in their refusal to surrender, and as regards the Congolese armed groups, that they join the brassage process," he added, referring to a retraining programme for ex-combatants.

"I launch a call to everyone, as well as governmental forces and other involved forces so that they abstain from any actions that would put the civilian population in danger. Such acts are contrary to international humanitarian law," Mr. Mountain said.

With some 400,000 newly displaced in North Kivu since December 2006, Mr. Mountain stressed that many of them continue to live under extremely precarious conditions, some without any outside assistance.

He pledged to work with the Congolese authorities and other partners "to try to address the needs of these people."

Mr. Mountain emphasized the need for an end to violence. "Everyone must be conscious that if clashes intensify – and there already has been too much – civilians, in particular women and children, will be once more the main victims," he said.

"Our priority, today, is to seek ways and means of stabilizing this province durably, in order to allow these people, who have suffered so much, to return home and finally be able to profit from the riches of their country."

On Friday, UN Force Commander General Babacar Gaye noted that not enough dissident soldiers had joined the Congolese Army through brassage. He added that the next step may require UN peacekeepers to use force to disarm illegal armed groups, including the one led by General Nkunda.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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REVITALIZED GENERAL ASSEMBLY CRUCIAL FOR TACKLING GLOBAL PROBLEMS, SAYS PRESIDENT

REVITALIZED GENERAL ASSEMBLY CRUCIAL FOR TACKLING GLOBAL PROBLEMS, SAYS PRESIDENT
New York, Nov 26 2007 4:00PM
Underscoring its role as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly today urged Member States to impart new vigour into the 192-member body to make it stronger and more efficient.

"To promote more effective multilateralism, to find global solutions to global problems, it is incumbent upon all of us to bolster the authority and international standing of this Assembly," Srgjan Kerim <"http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/statements/revitalization261107.shtml">told delegations today ahead of a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2007/ga10662.doc.htm">debate on revitalizing the Assembly's work.

"It is first and foremost by systematically tackling the challenges that we face together and achieving results, that the General Assembly makes itself stronger, more effective and more relevant to the lives of the global public," Mr. Kerim added.

In addition, Mr. Kerim announced that a Working Group set up to identify ways to further enhance the role, authority and effectiveness of the Assembly will begin its work shortly, under the leadership of the Ambassadors of Poland and Paraguay.

He proposed that the Working Group could focus on ensuring that existing resolutions are fully implemented, as well as consider other practical steps to improve the Assembly's working methods, such as finalizing a repository of best practices for the Assembly and its subsidiary bodies.

The President reiterated his call for the Assembly to be more of a dialogue, rather than a monologue, and to be more engaging, insightful and focused on substantive results.

Specifically, he called for Member States to continue to work together enthusiastically and in cooperation to ensure progress on issues such as climate change, the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and reform of the Security Council.

Highlighting the Assembly's leadership on priority issues, Mr. Kerim announced he would convene debates on counter-terrorism in December, on climate change in February 2008, and on management reform in April.

He also stressed the need for appropriately funding and staffing the Office of the Assembly President, stating that "this would ensure each elected President has an equal opportunity to deliver results – whether from a developed or developing country, no matter how large or small.

"An entirely UN funded budget would enhance the independence of the President, and increase transparency and accountability to Member States," he added.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF BEGINS THREE-NATION AFRICA TOUR

UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF BEGINS THREE-NATION AFRICA TOUR
New York, Nov 26 2007 3:00PM
The top United Nations humanitarian official begins a nine-day mission to Africa today that will take him to Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya to meet with aid agencies and officials coping with emergencies affecting millions of people on the continent.

The first stop for Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes is Ethiopia, where he plans to visit the Ogaden region, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York.

Humanitarian conditions in that region have worsened in the past several months due to fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The situation has resulted in the doubling of food prices, inadequate access to clean drinking water and shortages of medical supplies, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Mr. Holmes, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, will then travel to Sudan. Following a stop in Khartoum, he is scheduled to go to Nyala and El-Fasher in the strife-torn Darfur region, where he will meet people who have been affected by the conflict there.

In the past four years more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others displaced from their homes because of the violence in Darfur, while an estimated 4 million now depend on humanitarian aid for survival.

Mr. Holmes will then wrap up his visit in Kenya with meetings with aid agencies and diplomats working on Somalia, which has been wracked by violence in recent months resulting in the displacement of 1 million people.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON VOICES CONCERN ABOUT VIOLENT CONFRONTATIONS IN BOLIVIA

BAN KI-MOON VOICES CONCERN ABOUT VIOLENT CONFRONTATIONS IN BOLIVIA
New York, Nov 26 2007 3:00PM
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced concern over recent violent confrontations as the Bolivian Constituent Assembly meets in the southern city of Sucre.

"In order to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights in Bolivia, the Secretary-General urges all political and social actors to remain calm, to abstain from using violence and to seek a consensus on the pressing issues affecting the Bolivian people," according to a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm11299.doc.htm">statement released by Mr. Ban's spokesperson.

The protests come amid a meeting of the Assembly to draft a new constitution.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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UN ENVOY DISCUSSES MYANMAR CRISIS WITH VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS

UN ENVOY DISCUSSES MYANMAR CRISIS WITH VIETNAMESE OFFICIALS
New York, Nov 26 2007 2:00PM
The Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Myanmar is meeting with officials in Viet Nam as part of his consultations with regional leaders on the situation in the South-East Asian nation where Government forces cracked down on peaceful protesters just a few months ago.

Earlier today, Ibrahim Gambari met with the Viet Nam's Prime Minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, and delivered a letter from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, seeking support for his good offices' effort in the Myanmar process, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters.

On Saturday Mr. Gambari also met with the country's Foreign Minister.

The Special Adviser arrived in Viet Nam from Singapore, where he met last week with regional leaders at the annual summit of the Association of South-east Asian Nations.

Mr. Gambari, who has visited Myanmar twice since the Government began its crackdown against demonstrators a few months ago, will travel on to Cambodia and Laos before returning to New York at the end of this week.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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BOSNIAN MUSLIM ARMY CHIEF TEMPORARILY RELEASED FROM JAIL BY UN TRIBUNAL

BOSNIAN MUSLIM ARMY CHIEF TEMPORARILY RELEASED FROM JAIL BY UN TRIBUNAL
New York, Nov 26 2007 2:00PM
The former head of the Bosnian Muslim forces during the Balkan wars of the 1990s, currently facing trial before a United Nations tribunal on war crimes charges, is being temporarily released from jail and allowed to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina on the understanding that he will go back before the proceedings resume.

Judges serving on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/">ICTY) confirmed on Friday that they had approved the provisional release of Rasim Delic, under certain restrictions, and a return to his homeland from 11 December until 11 January 2008.

Explaining their decision, the Tribunal judges noted that Mr. Delic has cooperated with the court so far and that the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mr. Delic himself have issued guarantees that he will comply with all orders issued by the trial chamber and return to custody before the resumption of his trial. Prosecutors had not opposed Mr. Delic's application.

Mr. Delic, who served as Commander of the Main Staff of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina from June 1993 until September 2005, is charged on the basis of his command responsibility for murder, cruel treatment and rape committed by his subordinate forces.

The charges include that he failed to take necessary and reasonable measures to punish those soldiers who executed captured Bosnian Croat civilians and soldiers in two villages in Travnik municipality in central Bosnia.

He also stands accused of failing to prevent the torture, beatings and murders – including a decapitation – committed by subordinates at Kamenica Camp, a detention centre for captured Bosnian Serb soldiers in central Bosnia.

In the most notorious murder, the decapitation of a Bosnian Serb soldier in July 1995, other prisoners were forced to kiss the severed head, which was later placed on a hook on the wall of the room where the prisoners were being held.

Mr. Delic, now 58, is also charged over the rape by his subordinates of three women at Kamenica Camp.

His trial at the ICTY, which sits in The Hague, began in July this year and prosecutors expect to wrap up their case by early next year.
2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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TIMOR-LESTE: SUCCESSFUL WEAPONS RECOVERY OPERATION CONCLUDES IN DILI DISTRICT

TIMOR-LESTE: SUCCESSFUL WEAPONS RECOVERY OPERATION CONCLUDES IN DILI DISTRICT
New York, Nov 26 2007 9:00AM
The United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) today announced that its police officers, working alongside their Timorese counterparts with support from the International Security Forces (ISF) have completed a successful weapons recovery operation in a troubled district in the capital city.

The Dili district of Bairro Pite is often the scen of fighting between gangs. Police and army officers have recently seen weapons being used during fights, according to UNMIT.

"Operation Weapons Sweep" began on Wednesday and concluded on Saturday after recovering an assortment of weapons ranging from bows, arrows, machetes, sling shots, knives, spears and homemade guns.

Community officials also participated in the Operation by assisting police in searching homes based on the written authorization of their owners, UNMIT said.

"Involving community officials in police work is essential for reducing the incidence of gang violence on Dili streets," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative for Timor-Leste, Atul Khare.

"It sends a strong message to those indulging in the violence that it will not be tolerated by the community itself, or by law enforcement authorities, and collectively we will move to confiscate the weapons needed to execute violence," he said.

2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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UNESCO CHIEF CALLS FOR PRESS RESTRICTIONS TO BE LIFTED IN PAKISTAN

UNESCO CHIEF CALLS FOR PRESS RESTRICTIONS TO BE LIFTED IN PAKISTAN
New York, Nov 26 2007 8:00AM
Voicing concern over continued press freedom repression in Pakistan, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today reiterated his call to President Pervez Musharraf to lift media restrictions.

"Curtailing the basic human rights of freedom of expression and preventing media professionals from carrying out their duties is not going to contribute to internal peace and development," said Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO. "I therefore ask President Pervez Musharraf to lift restrictions on the freedom of the media in the country."

Noting that 180 journalists have been arrested for demonstrating against censorship, he added that "the fight against terrorism must contribute to the defense of democracy, not to its erosion."

The arrests reportedly took place during a nationwide protest organized by the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists. Many protestors were injured during the demonstrations, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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LIBERIA: HIGHLIGHTING IMPORTANCE OF RULE OF LAW, TOP UN ENVOY HANDS OVER COURTHOUSES

LIBERIA: HIGHLIGHTING IMPORTANCE OF RULE OF LAW, TOP UN ENVOY HANDS OVER COURTHOUSES
New York, Nov 26 2007 7:00AM
The top United Nations envoy to Liberia has handed over recently renovated Circuit and Magistrate's courts in the southeast of the war-torn nation, underscoring the importance of the rule of law which he characterized as "the firmest pillar of good government."

The courts are in Maryland County, close to the once war-shattered nation's border with Côte d'Ivoire, and were renovated by the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through its Quick Impact Projects Initiative.

"Without the rule of law, social and economic development cannot be accomplished," said Alan Doss, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, said at a handover ceremony, urging the people of the County to respect and support the court's work as well as to work closely with law enforcement agencies to prevent crime.

Although Mr. Doss will soon be leaving his position, he stressed that UNMIL will not be leaving Liberia, which is rebuilding after a brutal 14-year civil war.

The County's Superintendent Sie-Teba Neufville thanked the Mission for its support to the Judiciary and appealed to Mr. Doss to continue to promote Liberia's tourism, agriculture and mining potential.

To date, UNMIL has constructed and rehabilitated nine courthouses, and work is ongoing on five others. The Mission has also renovated or constructed 24 police stations and seven correctional facilities throughout Liberia.

UNMIL has also been facilitating the training of court officers and lawyers to serve as defense and prosecution attorneys to allow for the fair and prompt adjudication of cases across the country.

2007-11-26 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON PLEDGES SYSTEM-WIDE UN CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

BAN KI-MOON PLEDGES SYSTEM-WIDE UN CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
New York, Nov 25 2007 12:00PM
Denouncing violence against women as "one of the most heinous, systematic and prevalent human rights abuses in the world," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has vowed to lead a campaign against the scourge.

In a message marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, commemorated on 25 November, Mr. Ban hailed progress in addressing the issue, but said there is "so much left to do to tear down the veil of tolerance which still sometimes surrounds it."

He pledged to spearhead a system-wide campaign through 2015 for the elimination of violence against women focused on global advocacy; UN leadership by example; and strengthened partnerships at the national and regional levels to support the work of Governments, civil society, the private sector and others.

"I have proposed that the General Assembly devote an agenda item every year to considering the question of violence against women. And I have called on the Security Council to establish a mechanism dedicated to monitoring violence against women and girls, within the framework of resolution 1325 on women, peace and security," Mr. Ban said.

He also repeats his longstanding support for a proposal to replace several current UN structures with one "dynamic" entity able to call on all of the UN system's resources in the work to empower women and realize gender equality worldwide.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, in her statement on the occasion of the Day, spotlighted the problem of immunity for violent crimes against women.

"Every day, in all corners of the world, countless women and girls are killed, mutilated, beaten, raped, sold into sexual slavery or tortured. Most of the survivors of this violence have little hope of seeing their tormentors pay for their crimes. And so the violence goes on," she said.

Impunity "is built on a foundation of discrimination and inequality," Ms. Arbour said. Stat
rights framework in place to prevent, condemn and punish discrimination against women, but she stressed that inequalities remain.

She emphasized that a sustained effort to end violence against women requires a commitment to ensure equality with respect to economic and social rights. "This contributes not only to the equitable allocation of public goods and services but also leads to improved law enforcement by facilitating accountability for violence against women."

Both Ms. Arbour and Mr. Ban said the issue must be addressed not only in commemoration of the International Day but every day.

Also marking the Day, two independent UN human rights experts issued a statement pointing out that despite progress, many countries fail to recognize some forms of violence against women as crimes.

"Cultural or religious paradigms are still invoked to condone female genital mutilation, the execution and murder of women, marital rape and other forms of violence," said the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Yakin Ertürk, and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak.

They note that the application of international instruments and the development of strategies to condemn and punish torture "have been slow to take into account gender-based aspects of torture, such as sexual violence, and have treated severe pain or suffering inflicted on women in the private sphere as a 'domestic affair.'"

The experts appeal to the international community, to States and civil society to make full use of all existing instruments and mechanisms designed to combat violence against women.

Commemoration of the Day kicks off "16 days of activism," an initiative from 25 November through 10 December, which is International Human Rights Day.

In Sierra Leone, the UN is working with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on a number of activities, including awareness raising workshops on the three Gender Acts recently adopted by the Ho
of Parliament -- the Domestic Violence Act; the Devolution of Estates Act; and the Registration of Customary Marriage and Divorce Act.

2007-11-25 00:00:00.000

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