SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS CHINESE REGION DEVASTATED BY MASSIVE QUAKE

SECRETARY-GENERAL VISITS CHINESE REGION DEVASTATED BY MASSIVE QUAKE New York, May 24 2008 4:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today visited one of the towns in China's Sichuan province hit hardest by the recent earthquake, pledging the United Nations' support for the East Asian nation and expressing his condolences to the Chinese people.

"My heart is filled with great sadness by what has happened to the Chinese people. It is a great natural tragedy," Mr. Ban told reporters in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, after stopping in the town of Yingxiu.

"At the same time I'm moved by such strong leadership [as] demonstrated by the Chinese Government leaders, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, and all the people who have shown such a great spirit of self-help and cooperation and resilience to overcome this natural disaster."

During his four-hour visit to China, the Secretary-General met with the Premier in Yingxiu, near the epicenter of the 12 May earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale which, according to state media reports, has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

"Natural disasters can come to any people, any country. What is important is your determined will to overcome," he noted. "The United Nations has taken initial measures to donate the necessary funds; we have sent rescue experts and officers."

Upon his return to New York, Mr. Ban said that he will consult with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Member States on what further assistance the world body can provide.

He also underscored the importance of a two-track approach that addressed both shorter-term relief and longer-term rehabilitation and reconstruction.

In a statement earlier this week, the Secretary-General announced that the UN is contributing $8 million in relief grants from its Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), saying that the funds will be used by a variety of UN agencies, funds and programmes to help Chinese authorities meet the most urgent humanitarian needs.

"The United Nations stands ready to provide further support, as required, to the Government of China in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs caused by the disaster," the statement added.

Prior to his visit to China, Mr. Ban saw first-hand the damage left in the wake of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and met with the nation's top officials. Tomorrow, he will return to Yangon to attend an international pledging conference, which is co-sponsored by the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to raise funds for the Myanmar disaster.
2008-05-24 00:00:00.000

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MYANMAR: BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR EFFICIENT AID DELIVERY TO HELP CYCLONE'S VICTIMS

MYANMAR: BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR EFFICIENT AID DELIVERY TO HELP CYCLONE'S VICTIMS New York, May 24 2008 1:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today underscored the importance of effective aid delivery to victims of Myanmar's deadly Cyclone Nargis, noting that efforts to assist the vulnerable are still in the relief phase.

"The needy and the vulnerable depend on the delivery of emergency assistance," Mr. Ban said at the opening of the Don Mueang Air Hub in Bangkok. "Therefore, the channeling of aid into Myanmar should be as efficient and logistically sound as possible."

He said that the facility will act as a "critical staging area" for the relief effort, allowing larger planes to land and more aid supplies to be flown in from around the world.

"It will save lives," the Secretary-General said at the event, which was also attended by Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary-General Surin Pisuwan.

Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar on 2 May, has left up to 2.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and the UN estimates that more than 100,000 people may have been killed.

In his remarks today, Mr. Ban thanked the Governments of Australia, Canada and Thailand for their support.

The arrangement regarding the new air hub "underscored the collaborative spirit between key ASEAN member states, the Government of Myanmar and the United Nations," he said.

Yesterday, following talks with Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe, the Secretary-General announced that the country's leader had agreed to allow international relief workers -- regardless of their nationality -- into the worst-hit areas.

"He has taken quite a flexible position on an issue that, until now, has been an obstacle to organizing coordinated and fully effective international aid and assistance operations," Mr. Ban said following what he characterized as a "good meeting" with the Senior General held in the South-East Asian nation's new capital Naypyidaw. "He has also agreed that [the] visa issue will be speeded up."

Mr. Ban said the leader had agreed that the main airport at Yangon, Myanmar's most populous city, could be used as a logistics hub for international aid.

"I hope all these agreements can produce results quickly. Implementation will be the key. Finally, we have agreed on the kind of effective coordination and consulting mechanisms we need," he said.

The Secretary-General, who today also visited the region devastated by the recent Chinese earthquake, will return to Yangon tomorrow for a pledging conference, which is co-sponsored by the UN and ASEAN, to raise funds for the Myanmar disaster. So far, over 40 countries and regional bodies have signed up to attend the conference, and the World Bank will also be represented.

2008-05-24 00:00:00.000

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DOZENS FEARED DEAD AFTER BOAT SINKS NEAR DR CONGO, UN MISSION SAYS

DOZENS FEARED DEAD AFTER BOAT SINKS NEAR DR CONGO, UN MISSION SAYS New York, May 23 2008 7:00PM Dozens of people remain missing four days after an overloaded passenger boat sank during a storm over Lake Tanganyika in central Africa and rescuers do not expect to find any more survivors, the United Nations mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) reports.

MONUC spokesperson Abou Seidou told the UN News Centre today that there are conflicting reports on the number of casualties, but up to nine people are believed to have survived the sinking, which occurred early Monday morning local time.

Officials from <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR) have been helping efforts, including the use of speedboats, to both rescue any survivors and recover bodies. So far no bodies have yet been located.

Mr. Seidou said the boat, which left Tanzania on Sunday, had been due to arrive in the south-eastern Congolese town of Moba on either Tuesday or Wednesday after crossing Lake Tanganyika.

Boats in the region are routinely overcrowded, and this boat was understood to have been carrying up to 50 passengers and their goods, despite having a capacity for around 30 people.

Three people were initially rescued and a fourth person was found alive yesterday and hospitalized for exhaustion, according to Mr. Seidou. Local officials report that five other people managed to swim to a remote village on the lake's western shore and will be transported later to Moba.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL DEPLORES AMBUSH OF UN PEACEKEEPERS IN DARFUR

SECRETARY-GENERAL DEPLORES AMBUSH OF UN PEACEKEEPERS IN DARFUR New York, May 23 2008 7:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today strongly condemned this week's ambush of four United Nations peacekeepers in West Darfur by a group of 60 armed men.

The attack happened yesterday on the outskirts of El Geneina, the state capital, when 60 men armed with machine guns, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades ambushed the four Nigerian peacekeepers serving with the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (<"http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/unamid/">UNAMID). The assailants stole rifles ammunition, telephones and cash.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack and urges once again all parties to cease military action and commit themselves to negotiations and a peaceful solution," Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3178">statement by a spokesperson.

Mr. Ban also said that he was "deeply saddened by the tragic deaths in a traffic accident on 21 May of 45 Nigerian peacekeepers who had served with UNAMID."

The peacekeepers had just returned to Nigeria after a tour of duty in Darfur.

Mr. Ban sent his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and to the Government of Nigeria and commended the "outstanding contribution of the Government of Nigeria to peace efforts on the African continent and beyond."
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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UN-BACKED GLOBAL FUND AGAINST KILLER DISEASES HAILS JAPANESE DONATION

UN-BACKED GLOBAL FUND AGAINST KILLER DISEASES HAILS JAPANESE DONATION New York, May 23 2008 7:00PM The United Nations-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria today welcomed Japan's announcement that it will donate $560 million starting next year, which takes the Asian country's total contribution so far to nearly $1.5 billion.

The new contribution means the Global Fund – created in 2002 – has now raised over $20 billion to invest in hundreds of different treatment and prevention programmes fighting the three diseases around the world.

Programmes backed by the Fund are estimated to have already provided AIDS treatment to 1.4 million patients and TB treatment for 3.3 million people. They have also distributed 46 million insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria.

The Fund's Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine praised Japan, which is now the third biggest contributor, for its ongoing support.

"These new resources will help to save millions of lives, strengthen health systems in developing nations and bring the world hope that further substantial impact against the three diseases will be achieved in the coming years," he said.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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UN TRIBUNAL GRANTS KOSOVO JOURNALIST, BOSNIAN SERBS TEMPORARY RELEASE

UN TRIBUNAL GRANTS KOSOVO JOURNALIST, BOSNIAN SERBS TEMPORARY RELEASE New York, May 23 2008 6:00PM A Kosovo journalist and two former Bosnian Serb army officials have been granted temporary provisional release by the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, it was announced today.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/">ICTY), based in The Hague, ruled that Baton Haxhiu, a well-known journalist in Kosovo, will be granted release before his trial.

He is charged with contempt of court committed during the trial of Ramush Haradinaj, the former prime minister of Kosovo, and others, when he is alleged to have revealed the identity of a secret witness in an article he published.

The tribunal also granted release today to Radivoji Mileti&#263; and Ljubomir Borovcanin for the four-day period starting 26 May.

Mr. Mileti&#263; served as a high-ranking military officials in the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), while Mr. Borovcanin was formerly the Deputy Commander of the Republika Srpska Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) Special Police Brigade.

The two, along with six others, are charged with crimes related to the notorious massacre of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica and Žepa enclaves in the summer of 1995.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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DR CONGO: UN WELCOMES SURRENDER OF COMMANDER OF RWANDAN ARMED GROUP

DR CONGO: UN WELCOMES SURRENDER OF COMMANDER OF RWANDAN ARMED GROUP New York, May 23 2008 6:00PM A high-level commander of an armed Rwandan group has laid down his arms and voluntarily returned to his own country, the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported today.

The UN mission (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC) welcomed the voluntary repatriation of Colonel Faustin Sebuhura, also known as "Minani," to Rwanda, saying in a statement that Mr. Sebuhura was a hard-line member of the Forces Démocratiques de la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) in the south of the country in 1994.
MONUC said it welcomed Mr. Sebuhuru's decision to peacefully lay down his arms, despite the serious accusations that he faces.

The mission said it hoped that this decision by an important officer in the armed wing of the FDLR, which is active within the DRC, would serve as an example and bring about the disarmament and rapid voluntary return to Rwanda of numerous other combatants.

Under the Joint Nairobi Communiqué, DRC and Rwanda have agreed to work together against threats to peace and stability in the region. In March this year a Security Council resolution called on members of Rwandan armed groups operating in eastern DRC to surrender immediately to Congolese authorities and to MONUC.

The Council said these groups had to "immediately stop recruiting and using children, release all children associated with them, and put an end to gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse," adding that those responsible needed to be brought to justice.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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UN COMMITTED TO HELPING SOMALIA DRAW UP NEW CONSTITUTION

UN COMMITTED TO HELPING SOMALIA DRAW UP NEW CONSTITUTION New York, May 23 2008 5:00PM After a call from the Somali Prime Minister for help in drawing up a new constitution, a United Nations official today said the world body is committed to providing assistance for the process.

At the start of talks on constitution-making yesterday in Baidoa, in southern Somalia, Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein urged the Horn of Africa nation's politicians to "do their utmost" with the support of the UN.

"We would like to ensure that the process promotes reconciliation, peace and stability through an inclusive and participatory process for all regions of Somalia," said Mark Bowden, the UN Resident Coordinator for the country, which has not had a functioning government since 1991.

According to Somalia's 2004 Charter, the constitution-making process must be completed within the next six months.

The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) noted that these efforts are key in restoring stability and peace, adding that they complement the work of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and other Somali groups to promote reconciliation.

On the humanitarian front, the UN reported that attacks on aid workers – including murders and kidnappings – are on the rise, particularly in central and southern Somalia, hindering relief operations. This year, 12 aid workers have been killed in the country.

On 17 May, the head of the office of the non-governmental organization (NGO) Horn Relief was killed in Kismayo, bringing the total number of killings of relief workers so far this year to three in the south-western town alone.

The security situation is deteriorating further in South Central and Juba regions due to criminal attacks targeting civilians and clashes between armed groups, while clan fighting and intensified anti-government attacks have forced many to flee in the south.

The UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/">WFP) has doubled its estimates of food requirements for the period from August 2008 to March 2009 to over 540,000 tons. During that time, the agency plans to feed some 2 million people monthly.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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ETHIOPIA'S HUMANITARIAN SITUATION RAPIDLY DETERIORATING, SAYS UN

ETHIOPIA'S HUMANITARIAN SITUATION RAPIDLY DETERIORATING, SAYS UN New York, May 23 2008 4:00PM The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today that it is concerned by conditions in Ethiopia and that the situation will deteriorate further without an immediate infusion of resources to carry out life-saving interventions.

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that eight million Ethiopians are chronically food insecure and at least 3.4 million Ethiopians are in need of emergency food relief – a figure that is likely to rise.

The agency estimates that 176,000 children are in need of urgent therapeutic care for severe malnutrition and says that the rapidly deteriorating situation is the worst since the major humanitarian crisis of 2003.

Up to six million children under 5 years of age are living in impoverished, drought-prone districts and require urgent preventive health and nutrition interventions.

"It is extremely unfortunate that the combined effects of drought, food price hikes, and insufficient resources for preventive measures resulted in an emergency that jeopardizes child survival gains in Ethiopia," said Bjorn Ljungqvist, UNICEF's Representative in the Horn of Africa nation.

UNICEF is providing therapeutic feeding to severely malnourished children. Over the weekend the agency received 90 tons of food supplies, noting that as much as 1,800 tons are needed over the next three months.

The agency also estimates that $50 million are needed for life-saving health, nutrition, water and sanitation interventions, but has received only $6 million to date.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) is facing a total relief shortfall of 181,000 tons of food, valued at $145 million.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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ARMED BANDITS FORCE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CENTRAL AFRICANS TO FLEE HOMES - UN

ARMED BANDITS FORCE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF CENTRAL AFRICANS TO FLEE HOMES – UN New York, May 23 2008 3:00PM A surge since the start of the year in the number of attacks by armed bandits across the north of the Central African Republic (CAR) is forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes and has brought economic activity to a standstill in large parts of the already impoverished and strife-torn country, the United Nations relief wing reports today.

As many as a third of the estimated 300,000 people who have become displaced have done so because of banditry, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/">OCHA) said in a statement.

Groups of between 10 and 30 armed men – known locally as "coupeurs de route" or "zaraguinas" – are roaming the northern CAR, killing or assaulting villagers and travellers, kidnapping both children and adults, looting property and burning homes.

In a particularly disturbing recent trend, the bandits have burned down entire villages, often as punishment for resistance by village self-defence groups. The villagers have fled to the bush or to neighbouring towns.

UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine Bragg spoke out against "the indiscriminate and predatory attacks" and the impact they are having.

"They are driving tens of thousands of people to the edge of survival," she said. "We need to make sure that victims have access to protection, shelter and health services.

Toby Lanzer, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the CAR, said many farmers and traders are now afraid to travel to sell their wares in towns and villages.

"People rely on aid agencies to provide seeds and tools, which are no longer available in the market," he said. "We also provide soap, basic household goods and clothes to victims who have lost everything in an attack."

OCHA estimates that one million people in the northern CAR have been affected by either civil conflict or the banditry, with nearly 200,000 internally displaced and another 108,000 fleeing as refugees to neighbouring Cameroon, Chad and Sudan. In March and April, more than 14,000 refugees entered Chad.

Although the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have launched a $96.8 million aid programme to deal with the displacement and suffering, they have received just over a third of the necessary funding.

UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_44111.html">UNICEF) Goodwill Ambassador and actress Mia Farrow, who has just completed a week-long visit to the CAR, said many of the people she met had no access to clean water or medicines, and yet were still trying to ensure their children attended "bush schools" and received an education.

"The desire of parents to give their children education is inspiring," she said, warning however that more and more Central Africans are living in fear because of the banditry. Ms. Farrow added that rape and other forms of sexual violence were also widespread.

UNICEF's Regional Director Esther Guluma called on both the Government and the international community to spend more to help those in need.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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UN COURT RULES IN MARITIME DISPUTE BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA

UN COURT RULES IN MARITIME DISPUTE BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA New York, May 23 2008 3:00PM Singapore has won sovereignty over a disputed island and Malaysia has been awarded control over a series of permanently above-water rocks in a <"http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/130/14492.pdf?PHPSESSID=92b380675da30220db4130a2e45fadfb">ruling issued today by the United Nations principal judicial organ in a maritime dispute between the Asian neighbours.

The International Court of Justice (<"http://www.icj-cij.org/homepage/index.php?lang=en">ICJ) said it had found by 12 votes to four that Pedra Blanca/Pulau Batu Puteh, a granite island in the Straits of Singapore on which a lighthouse stands, belongs to Singapore and has done so since at least 1980, when the dispute between the two countries crystallized.

In the case of Middle Rocks, which consist of a group of rocks that are permanently above water, the ICJ – which sits in The Hague in the Netherlands – ruled 15 to one that it belongs to Malaysia.

The court also noted that South Ledge, a nearby low-tide elevation, falls within the apparently overlapping territorial waters generated by Pedra Blanca/Pulau Batu Puteh and by Middle Rocks. Given that the two countries have not asked the court to draw the line of delimitation, the judges said, by 15 to one, that sovereignty belongs to the State in the territorial waters of which it is located.

Also known as the World Court, the ICJ hears disputes between States and its decisions are binding and without appeal.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL HEADS TO JAPAN FOR WEEK-LONG OFFICIAL VISIT

DEPUTY SECRETARY-GENERAL HEADS TO JAPAN FOR WEEK-LONG OFFICIAL VISIT New York, May 23 2008 3:00PM Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro heads to Japan this weekend for a week-long visit that will focus on issues ranging from climate change to human security and economic growth.

On Monday in Hiroshima, Ms. Migiro is scheduled to address the Third Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children and to participate in an inter-faith prayer for peace, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters today.

The Deputy Secretary-General is expected to speak on Thursday in Yokohama before the plenary of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on Africa's Development, which this year is examining ways to boost economic growth, ensure human security and tackle climate change and other environmental issues.

Ms. Migiro is also expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings on the margins of the conference with both Japanese and African officials, with progress far towards the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDGs) likely to be high on the agenda.

After the conference she will hold a joint press conference with UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) Administrator Kemal Dervis, World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON HAILS $500 MILLION OFFER BY SAUDI ARABIA TO DEAL WITH FOOD CRISIS

BAN KI-MOON HAILS $500 MILLION OFFER BY SAUDI ARABIA TO DEAL WITH FOOD CRISIS New York, May 23 2008 2:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed Saudi Arabia's landmark offer to contribute $500 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help with efforts to combat the global food crisis.

In a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3176">statement issued by his spokesperson today, Mr. Ban said the offer, made under the guidance of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, means the <"http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=31">WFP has achieved its target of $755 million to deal with the recent surge in food and fuel costs.

"The Secretary-General notes that this contribution of an unprecedented size and generosity comes not a moment too soon, given the needs of millions of people dependent on food rations," the statement added.

Earlier this month the UN relief chief, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, announced that $100 million is being reserved from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to tackle the immediate issues stemming from the food crisis.

Next month the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will host a major summit at its Rome headquarters to discuss how agriculture can be harnessed to produce enough food to meet the demands of the world's growing population.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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GREEK AND TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADERS HOLD 'FRUITFUL' TALKS, UN REPORTS

GREEK AND TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADERS HOLD 'FRUITFUL' TALKS, UN REPORTS New York, May 23 2008 2:00PM The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders have held "genuine and fruitful" talks in Nicosia under United Nations auspices, their second round of formal discussions on possible reunification this year, it was announced today.

In a joint statement, the leaders – Demetris Christofias (Greek Cypriot) and Mehmet Ali Talat (Turkish Cypriot) – "reaffirmed their commitment to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions."

This partnership will comprise a Federal Government with a single international personality, along with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State, which will be of equal status.

Both sides reported that they will also consider civilian and military confidence-building efforts, as well as the possible opening of crossing points, including Limnitis/Yesilirmak.

The statement also noted that Mr. Christofias and Mr. Talat will resume talks next month.

Today's discussions, the second formal meeting since Mr. Christofias' election in February, were held at the residence of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Cyprus, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, in the UN Protected Area in Nicosia.

Mr. Zerihoun also heads the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unficyp/index.html">UNFICYP), which has been in place on the Mediterranean island since 1964 following the outbreak of intercommunal violence. It is tasked with preventing a recurrence of fighting, contributing to a return to normal conditions and the maintenance of law and order.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE IN NEPAL DEPLORES RECENT KILLINGS

UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE IN NEPAL DEPLORES RECENT KILLINGS New York, May 23 2008 2:00PM The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (<"http://nepal.ohchr.org/en/index.html">OHCHR-Nepal) has condemned the recent killings and other serious human rights violations following last month's elections in the Asian country.

"OHCHR-Nepal is extremely concerned about recent killings and other serious human rights violations during the fragile period prior to the swearing-in of the Constituent Assembly," the UN office says in a statement released yesterday.

The Constituent Assembly is due to hold its first session next week following last month's countrywide elections.

OHCHR-Nepal calls on all concerned parties to cooperate fully with police investigations into alleged crimes, including the abduction and killing of businessman Ram Hari Shrestha, who was reportedly beaten to death by the Maoist army earlier this month. The office said it had been given assurances by the Maoist army that it would cooperate with all authorized investigations and human rights monitoring connected to the case.

The office adds that "law enforcement is the duty of the state," and says that "respect for human rights is essential if impunity in Nepal is not to be perpetuated."

Yesterday, the UN's top envoy to Nepal, Ian Martin, said the country still faces "very considerable challenges" on the way to establishing stability and economic development, despite the success of the elections.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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UNITED STATES RATIFICATION PUTS NUCLEAR PACT CLOSE TO ENTRY INTO FORCE - UN AGENCY

UNITED STATES RATIFICATION PUTS NUCLEAR PACT CLOSE TO ENTRY INTO FORCE – UN AGENCY New York, May 23 2008 1:00PM The United States' ratification of a key nuclear pact, which seeks to create uniformity in compensation for victims of nuclear accidents, brings it within shot of entering into force, the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/index.html">IAEA) has announced.

The US has become the fourth nation to ratify the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), following Argentina, Morocco and Romania. A further 13 States are signatories to the pact.

The most recent ratification means that only one or two more are needed for the CSC to go into effect, and is set to enter into force 90 days after ratification by at least five States with at least 400,000 units of installed nuclear capacity.

"The US ratification introduces a new dynamic in the process of establishing a global nuclear liability regime, which is particularly important given the anticipated growth in nuclear power around the world," said Johan Rautenbach, Director of IAEA's Office of Legal Affairs.

He voiced hope that the US' action will spur other nations, particularly those with large nuclear power industries, to ratify the Convention.

The CSC, adopted in September 1997, covers both citizens in States with operational nuclear power plants, but also provides compensation for damages incurred across international borders.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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MORE UN SUPPLIES POUR IN TO QUAKE-AFFECTED AREAS OF CHINA

MORE UN SUPPLIES POUR IN TO QUAKE-AFFECTED AREAS OF CHINA New York, May 23 2008 12:00PM The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is distributing hundreds of tents and quilts to provide emergency shelter for some of the victims of last week's devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province.

The first batch of 358 large tents and 1,500 quilts is due to arrive in quake-affected areas tonight, the agency reported, and follows the clothing, food, drinking water and medicines that it has already provided.

UNDP said the emergency supplies are part of the $2 million assigned to the agency out of the $8 million in relief grants contributed by the UN through its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

In a statement issued by his spokesperson last night, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the grant, saying it will be used by a variety of UN agencies, funds and programmes to help Chinese authorities meet the most urgent humanitarian needs.

"The United Nations stands ready to provide further support, as required, to the Government of China in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs caused by the disaster," the statement added.

State media report that the number of dead and missing as a result of the 12 May quake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, has climbed to more than 80,000, with about 280,000 others injured and nearly 5.5 million homeless.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) is buying a second round of relief supplies, including rice, wheat flour and cooking oil, and a shipment comprising 473 tons is expected to arrive in Sichuan by the end of the week.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is rushing additional medical supplies so that it can treat as many as 130,000 people. It is also sending experts to work with the Chinese Government on rebuilding its health infrastructure.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is also mobilizing reproductive health supplies, including clean delivery kits and hospital equipment required for Caesarean deliveries and blood transfusions.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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MYANMAR'S LEADER AGREES TO OPEN ACCESS TO FOREIGN AID WORKERS - BAN KI-MOON

MYANMAR'S LEADER AGREES TO OPEN ACCESS TO FOREIGN AID WORKERS – BAN KI-MOON New York, May 23 2008 12:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe has agreed to allow international aid workers, regardless of their nationality, into the areas worst affected by Cyclone Nargis after the two men held talks today.

Speaking to the press after the discussions, held in the country's new capital Naypyidaw, Mr. Ban reported that he had held a "good meeting" with the Senior General.

"He has taken quite a flexible position on an issue that, until now, has been an obstacle to organizing coordinated and fully effective international aid and assistance operations," Mr. Ban said. "He has also agreed that [the] visa issue will be speeded up."

The Secretary-General said the Senior General had agreed that the main airport at Yangon, Myanmar's most populous city, can be used as a logistics hub for international aid so that relief can be distributed more quickly to those in need. Aid can also be delivered to the country via civilian ships and small boats.

"I hope all these agreements can produce results quickly. Implementation will be the key. Finally, we have agreed on the kind of effective coordination and consulting mechanisms we need."

The Secretary-General arrived yesterday in Myanmar, where Cyclone Nargis has left up to 2.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people may have been killed since the storm struck on 2 May.

Yesterday Mr. Ban toured some of the worst affected areas in the Irrawaddy delta and spoke with families who had been forced to leave their homes.

"I am humbled – humbled by the scale of this natural disaster, the worst your country has ever experienced, and humbled by the courage and the resilience of the Myanmar people."

Mr. Ban added that he had heard many tragic stories. "At a refugee camp, villagers told me of the loss of their families, their loved ones, everything they owned. But I also saw homes – and lives – being rebuilt."

Saying he was encouraged by his meeting with Myanmar's leadership, the Secretary-General said: "From all I have seen, the Government, with help from the international community, have put in place a functioning relief programme. But I told them that more needs to be done. Their efforts need to be reinforced, quickly, by international experts with tested experience in handling emergencies."

Tomorrow Mr. Ban is due to attend an inaugural relief flight from the new UN staging areas in Don Mueang, Thailand. On Sunday he will return to Myanmar's largest city Yangon for a pledging conference to raise funds for the disaster. "Our goal will be to focus on the immediate relief efforts, and also to look at the recovery phase which will have to start in parallel," he said.

UN agencies, including the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have been mounting a major relief effort for victims of the severe storms, bringing in shelter, tents, food and medical supplies, though they say many people have still not been reached with aid.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today issued a warning that monsoon rains in Myanmar were increasing the risks of an outbreak of disease. WHO says it is working with the Government to set up a surveillance system to monitor possible outbreaks.

Meanwhile, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that hundreds of thousands of people in the remote areas of the Irrawaddy delta still do not have sufficient food to eat.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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UN REFUGEE AGENCY 'DEEPLY CONCERNED' OVER XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA

UN REFUGEE AGENCY 'DEEPLY CONCERNED' OVER XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA New York, May 23 2008 11:00AM The United Nations refugee agency said today that it remains "deeply concerned" over the recent xenophobic violence in South Africa, which has claimed dozens of lives and has displaced some 17,000 people, including refugees and asylum-seekers.

Many of those who have been attacked in the past two weeks – a large percentage of them being Zimbabweans – had originally moved to South Africa to escape persecution in their own countries.

"We are present on the ground and have been assessing the needs at sites near police stations where the displaced have gathered," Jennifer Pagonis, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/48344abb2.html">UNHCR), said today.

On Wednesday, the agency distributed blankets and mats to survivors, with additional supplies being released from emergency stocks yesterday. Ms. Pagonis said UNHCR is in close contact with the South African Government regarding further assistance.

Among the displaced Zimbabweans are many asylum-seekers who urgently require both assistance and protection, UNHCR said.

"While thousands of Mozambicans are reportedly streaming home, many Zimbabweans cannot consider returning home due to the well-known situation in their country," Ms. Pagonis observed.

Since many of the Zimbabweans need international protection, she called for those seeking asylum to have access to national asylum procedures in South Africa or other nations. "Zimbabweans who are refugees should be recognized as such," she noted."

In the past, UNHCR has encouraged South Africa to halt the deportation of Zimbabweans to their country, and it is calling on South Africa to grant them, on an exceptional basis, the possibility to stay in the country.

"Recent events in South Africa, as well as in their own country, are once again highlighting just how vulnerable this group is, making acting on UNHCR's appeal even more urgent today," Ms. Pagonis said.

The agency pledged its continued support to the Government in boosting the national asylum system and in protecting refugees and asylum-seekers currently in South Africa, numbering over 125,000.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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ITALY: UN AGENCY CONCERNED OVER HOW NEW MEASURES WILL AFFECT ASYLUM

ITALY: UN AGENCY CONCERNED OVER HOW NEW MEASURES WILL AFFECT ASYLUM New York, May 23 2008 10:00AM The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (<" http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/4836a3c96.html">UNHCR) today expressed its concern over how newly approved measures in Italy would affect asylum.

Illegal immigration would be criminalized as part of a draft security package under the new provisions, which were approved by the Italian Council of Minister on Wednesday in Naples.

"While we understand that states face considerable challenges in dealing with illegal immigration we are concerned about the potentially prejudicial impact of these new measures on asylum in Italy," UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva, noting that the agency is looking forward to receiving the full text of the measures to review them in detail.

Under this new package, rejected asylum seekers could potentially have to leave Italy without having their appeals heard, while asylum seekers, who often have no other option than to arrive irregularly, could be charged with committing a crime, she added.
2008-05-23 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL VOICES CONCERN AT RENEWED CLASHES IN BURUNDI

SECURITY COUNCIL VOICES CONCERN AT RENEWED CLASHES IN BURUNDI New York, May 22 2008 8:00PM The Security Council today expressed concern at the recent confrontation between rebels and Government forces in Burundi and called for both parties in the small African country to end their hostilities and fully implement the 2006 comprehensive ceasefire agreement.

"The members of the Security Council reiterated their concern at the recent confrontation between the Palipehutu-Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) and the national defence forces of Burundi, following attacks by the FNL in violation of the comprehensive ceasefire agreement," Deputy Permanent Representative Karen Pierce of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council, said in a press statement.

Ms. Pierce said Council members "noted with satisfaction" that an FNL delegation had recently returned to the capital Bujumbura and that the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism had resumed its work.

"They urged the parties to seize this opportunity to definitively consolidate peace in Burundi, by engaging without reservations in dialogue to overcome their differences, and to reach rapidly a concerted, peaceful and sustainable solution to the current crisis," she said.

They also welcomed the continued engagement of the UN Peacebuilding Commission and reiterated their support for the work of the UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) to enable the country to return to peace and stability.

In recent weeks more than 100 people have been killed in and around the capital. The Palipehutu-FNL is the last major rebel hold-out after the brutal civil war between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority was officially ended by the comprehensive ceasefire agreement in 2006.

Speaking to reporters after he briefed the Council, Youssef Mahmoud, the Secretary-General's Executive Representative in Burundi and Head of BINUB, expressed concern about "the continued political stalemate and paralysis in the National Assembly."

He also backed efforts to encourage the remaining leadership of the FNL to return to Burundi from the Tanzanian city of Dar-es-Salaam, where they are currently based.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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HUMAN SECURITY THREATENED BY DIVERSE GROUP OF CHALLENGES - ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

HUMAN SECURITY THREATENED BY DIVERSE GROUP OF CHALLENGES – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT New York, May 22 2008 7:00PM Challenges ranging from hunger and poverty to armed conflict and from environmental degradation to international terrorism all pose a threat to human security and illustrate the need to devise solutions that are both integrated and people-centred, President Srgjan Kerim today told the General Assembly's first-ever thematic debate on the issue.

<"http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/statements/humansecurity220508.shtml">Speaking at the one-day forum at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Kerim said it was a time "for a holistic approach focused on people, their protection and empowerment" and one that moves beyond the understanding of security as state security only.

The 2005 World Summit referred to the concept of human security, noting that "all individuals, in particular, vulnerable people, are entitled to freedom from fear and freedom from want, with an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potential."

The President said at today's debate that the international community should enhance its cooperation given the interconnectedness of people's insecurities.

"As the global food crisis illustrates, a well-coordinated and integrated response by the international community is needed to address both the prevention stage as well as the full range of factors that affect people's well-being."

He called for a "new culture of international relations" with the principle of human security as its foundation.

Speaking to reporters later, Mr. Kerim said: "It was stressed today that human security is relevant in many, many critical areas, important parts of the activities of people and of the global challenges of today."

The debate's keynote speaker, Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, also said the issue must be reframed to include the concepts of survivability and resilience.

Global imbalances in the realms of population growth, poverty, food, resources, ecology, migration, energy, money, peace and cultural understanding are "multipliers" of human security, in that they can exponentially affect lives by either providing stability or instability, he observed.

The Prince noted that "States have not relinquished their sovereignty to cooperate with one another more effectively, and market-driven solutions have proven incapable of addressing the systemic problems that transcend national borders."

In his speech, he also said that representatives from all sectors – government, business and civil society – must establish a global programme of action to bring about an end to poverty and ensure adequate food supplies, a clean environment and stable purchasing power, among others.

"When we say we are looking at human security, what we mean is that we want to alleviate the present situation by creating a system so that, as the future keeps arriving, it arrives in the form of better and better present situations," he said. "The consequences of what we do now must bring about a better present moment in which to live."

In 2006, an open-ended forum comprising Member States from all regions called Friends of Human Security – of which the Prince is a member – was established to encourage collaboration among nations on the topic.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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DEADLY VIOLENCE BETWEEN MALIAN FORCES, TUAREG REBELS ALARMS SECRETARY-GENERAL

DEADLY VIOLENCE BETWEEN MALIAN FORCES, TUAREG REBELS ALARMS SECRETARY-GENERAL New York, May 22 2008 7:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern today about the situation in Mali, where clashes yesterday between Government forces and ethnic Tuareg rebels in the north-east of the West African country have resulted in numerous fatalities.

"This latest incident underscores the urgent need to find an immediate and lasting solution to this recurrent conflict so that Mali can focus on its development priorities and consolidation of its democracy," the Secretary-General said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3173">statement issued by his spokesperson.

Mr. Ban said he looked forward to being briefed in more detail by his Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, who is scheduled to visit Mali in the coming days.

Media reports say that more than 30 soldiers and rebels died, and many others were injured, in the clashes at an army garrison in the town of Abeibara, close to the borders with Algeria and Niger.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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NEPAL STILL FACES CHALLENGES AFTER SUCCESSFUL ELECTION, UN ENVOY STRESSES

NEPAL STILL FACES CHALLENGES AFTER SUCCESSFUL ELECTION, UN ENVOY STRESSES New York, May 22 2008 6:00PM The political parties in Nepal will have to reach agreement on how to form a new government and then successfully draft a new constitution to give the country a chance of lasting stability and economic development, according to the United Nations' top envoy to the country.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative to Nepal Ian Martin briefed the Security Council on the situation in the country today and afterwards told reporters that Nepal still faces "very considerable challenges" following the elections for a new Constituent Assembly last month.

"The most immediate challenge is to reach agreement among the political parties on the basis for forming a new government, which ideally should provide stability and economic development while the new constitution is drafted," Mr. Martin said, adding that it was widely accepted that the Maoists would lead the new administration.

The Constituent Assembly will hold its first meeting next week, but the UN envoy said that drafting a new constitution would be a "profound challenge" since "the positions that the political parties put before the electorate are far apart," especially on the question of what kind of federalism the country should adopt.

Mr. Martin also said that the peace process in Nepal remains incomplete, noting that there are still two armies in the country and that there has been no agreement so far on "what is referred to in the peace agreement as the integration of the Maoist army and the democratization of the Nepal army." He added that other political parties were insistent that they would not join a Maoist-led Government unless violent attacks from the Maoist Young Communist League were halted.

The UN envoy listed a number of important commitments of the peace process that have not yet been implemented: compensation for victims of the conflict, investigation of disappearances and the return of property and of displaced persons to their homes. "When you combine those with some of the fresh wounds of election violence, they require an active process of local reconciliation," Mr. Martin stressed.

"Public security, which is one of the deepest wishes of people throughout the country, is not going to prevail until Nepal's consistent pattern of impunity is brought to an end," he added, saying there has not been a single prosecution in civilian courts of even the most egregious human rights violations on either side of the armed conflict, or of many killings since.

Mr. Martin deplored the recent beating to death of businessman Ram Hari Shrestha by members of the Maoist army.

In a related development today, the Maoist army's Vice-Chairman said that the army would cooperate fully with the police and a Government commission of inquiry into the businessman's death.

The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is due to wrap up its operations in the country in July. Mr. Martin said he would be engaging with political leaders on his return to the country to see whether there was a continuing need for a UN role beyond the normal activities of world body's agencies in Nepal.

After today's briefing, Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, said it was clear that UNMIN had contributed significantly to helping Nepal end its long-standing conflict and enter a democratic transition.

Mr. Sawers said the mission's future remains to be considered, given its mandate is due to expire so soon.

"We'll need to consider whether there is a role for the UN after that, but we will first look to the Government of Nepal to let us have their views and their requests for a role for the UN in that country well in advance of the 23 July date for the end of the mandate," he said.

"If there is no request, then the mandate for the UN Mission in Nepal would come to an end, but there may be scope for a scaled-down role for the United Nations there."
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES ACCORD TO END LEBANESE POLITICAL CRISIS

SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES ACCORD TO END LEBANESE POLITICAL CRISIS New York, May 22 2008 6:00PM The Security Council has welcomed this week's accord to resolve the long-running political stand-off in Lebanon and called for the agreement, which paves the way for a president to finally be elected and a national unity cabinet to be established, to be implemented fully.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sc9337.doc.htm">presidential statement issued today, the Council congratulated the leaders and people of Lebanon for the deal, reached yesterday in Doha, Qatar, under the auspices of the Arab League.

It "constitutes an essential step towards the resolution of the current crisis, the return to the normal functioning of Lebanese democratic institutions, and the complete restoration of Lebanon's unity and stability," according to the statement, read out by Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, which holds the Council presidency this month.

The agreement has been reached after deadly violence between pro- and anti-Government militias erupted recently in the capital, Beirut, and elsewhere. Since last November, when the office became vacant, there have been 18 failed attempts to conduct a parliamentary vote to select the next president.

Under the accord, a new president will be chosen, a national unity cabinet will be set up and the country's electoral laws will be addressed.

Council members said they also welcomed the decision to continue the national dialogue on ways to reinforce the authority of the State over the entire territory so as to guarantee the sovereignty and safety of the State and the people.

In addition, they noted the agreement bans the use of weapons and violence as a means to settle disputes, regardless of their nature or the circumstances.

The statement, which echoes a similar statement from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday, stressed the need for the accord to be implemented in its entirety, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and with the 1989 Taef agreement ending the civil war.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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FORMER BARBADIAN OFFICIAL AND FAMILY NGO HONOURED BY UN AGENCY

FORMER BARBADIAN OFFICIAL AND FAMILY NGO HONOURED BY UN AGENCY New York, May 22 2008 6:00PM A former deputy prime minister from Barbados and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Family Care International both received awards today from the United Nations Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/">UNFPA).

Dame Billie Antoinette Miller and the New-York based Family Care International were recognized for their "outstanding work in contributing to population and development issues, and in improving the health of individuals."

Ms. Miller was the first woman to serve as a minister in her home country and made a powerful speech for gender equality at last year's General Assembly, as well as chairing a major committee at the milestone International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994.

Family Care International seeks to ensure safe motherhood, promote sexual and reproductive health for adolescents, and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, working out of eight field offices in Africa and South America.

Presenting the awards, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka said: "Both have made significant contributions to providing life-saving information and services to individuals. Thanks to their efforts, countless people have been able to plan pregnancies, avoid recourse to unsafe abortion, practice responsible sexual behaviour, and prevent the spread of HIV."

The awards were presented today at a ceremony at UN headquarters in New York.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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CONDITIONS WORSENING FOR WORKERS IN OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, UN REPORT FINDS

CONDITIONS WORSENING FOR WORKERS IN OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, UN REPORT FINDS New York, May 22 2008 5:00PM The situation for workers in the occupied Arab territories is deteriorating, with rates of working poverty rising, genuine employment declining and individual frustration growing, according to the latest annual report on the issue from the United Nations International Labour Organization (<"http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_093578/index.htm">ILO).

Only one in three people of working age living in the occupied Arab territories, including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, was employed for all or part of the time, the report said. Unemployment is now hovering at above 20 per cent.

The report, based on missions to the region earlier this year, indicated that about half of all Palestinian households are dependent on food assistance from the international community, especially given the recent worldwide spike in the price of many basic foods.

In November last year, about 40 per cent of the population in Gaza and 19 per cent in the West Bank were classed as living in extreme poverty – an actual slight improvement on the comparable figures from a year earlier after the Palestinian Authority was able to resume wage payments to civil servants.

Prepared by the International Labour Office, the secretariat of the Geneva-based ILO, the report voices concern about the growing gap between the hopes and aims of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians and the reality on the ground.

"With the devastation of military action, and the continuing fine net of restrictions on movement, there is no doubt that economic and social hardship is mounting in the occupied Arab territories," it says, adding that the problems are compounded by what it called the systematic disregard of Arab workers' right to equality of opportunity and treatment in employment.

Institutions in the region that represent free and democratic employers and workers are also facing interference in their right to organize, according to the ILO.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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SOLUTION TO FOOD CRISIS MUST ADDRESS INEQUALITIES - UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF

SOLUTION TO FOOD CRISIS MUST ADDRESS INEQUALITIES – UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF New York, May 22 2008 4:00PM A wide-ranging approach addressing inequalities and the rights of marginalized groups is essential in tackling the current global food crisis, the top United Nations human rights official said in Geneva today.

While it is crucial to respond with humanitarian support in the short term, a medium- and longer-term plan must centre on human rights, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told a special session on the food crisis at the Human Rights Council.

"Such focus helps to analyze and confront the differing impact of the crisis on people," she noted. "It contributes to clarify the imbalances in a society that trigger or exacerbate the food crisis."

Mr. Arbour added that a rights-based approach will also take into account the voices of marginalized groups, along with human rights institutions, civil society organizations and others.

Such a solution could also help to defuse tensions and prevent civil unrest, as well as avert violations of civil and political rights in response to protests.

The current food emergency, she observed, was triggered by the confluence of several factors, including imbalances in supply and demand, unfair trade practices and distorted incentives and subsidies.

"Yet at its core and in its punitive effects, this crisis boils down to a lack of access to adequate food," the High Commissioner told the Council at the start of the day-long event, adding that this access is a right protected by international law.

Not only must the impact of the crisis on marginalized people must be studied, but the root causes of such discrimination – such as exclusion from access to land, productive resources and decent work – must be eliminated, she said.

If such comprehensive action is not taken, a "domino effect" which affects other rights, including the right to health or to education, could result, Ms. Arbour cautioned.

She emphasized the key role of States, which by human rights law must resolve such situations. "States' obligations regarding the right to food and freedom from hunger also entail the adoption of national strategies to ensure food and nutrition security for all."

The current crisis "transcends national boundaries," the High Commissioner said, calling for cooperation among States in addressing the problem.

In his address to the Council, Olivier De Schutter, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, underscored how the crisis should not be viewed as one that is solely humanitarian or macro-economic in nature, but as one that is focused on the right to food.

"What distinguishes a natural disaster from a violation from human rights is that, in the latter situation, we are capable of moving along the chain of causation, from the situation of the malnourished of the hungry to specific acts or abstentions by duty-holders," he said.

It is up to individual countries to outline their plans regarding the right to food, the independent expert said. "At the same time, the international community must ensure that an enabling environment is created, allowing such national strategies to flourish, and providing financial and technical assistance where needed."

The independent expert also called for stepped-up efforts to assist the agriculture sector in developing nations, in the face of soaring input prices.

"We must feed the hungry now, but we must also prevent famines from occurring tomorrow," he pointed out.

In a related development, poor countries relying on food imports are expected to spend 40 per cent more on food this year than they did last year, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

According to the latest Food Outlook, this year's food import bill for the Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDSs) is forecast to reach $169 billion this year.

FAO characterized this as a "worrying development," noting that by the end of this year imports could cost four times as much as they did in 2000.

"Food is no longer the cheap commodity that it once was," said the agency's Assistant Director-General Hafez Ghanem, stressing that soaring food prices will likely exacerbate the food deprivation suffered by 854 million people. "We are facing the risk that the number of hungry will increase by many more millions of people."

Although the global production outlook is favourable, this is unlikely to translate into the decline of many agriculture commodities because of the need to replenish stocks and rising utilization.

FAO predicts record cereal production this year, but tight markets will result in continued price volatility.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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UN OFFICIALS DEPLORE DEATH SENTENCES IN CASE OF MURDERED CONGOLESE JOURNALIST

UN OFFICIALS DEPLORE DEATH SENTENCES IN CASE OF MURDERED CONGOLESE JOURNALIST New York, May 22 2008 3:00PM The United Nations' top human rights official and its Special Envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today condemned the sentencing to death of three civilians by a Congolese military tribunal in connection with the murder of journalist Serge Maheshe last year.

The trio is among a group of people facing charges of complicity in the June 2007 murder of Serge Maheshe who was working for Radio Okapi, a UN and Swiss-funded broadcaster for the UN Mission in the DRC (<"http://www.monuc.org/News.aspx?newsID=17392">MONUC).

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and UN Special Envoy Alan Doss denounced irregularities in the trial, saying that the military court had refused to explore other credible leads in the case and to ask for ballistic expertise on the weapon used for the crime. They also said there had been repeated threats against the defendants, the defence lawyers and independent observers of the trial.

"I condemn the practice of military tribunals which continue to judge civilians in violation of international norms and the Congolese Constitution," Ms. Arbour said.

"The lack of willingness shown by the judicial military authorities to establish the truth about this murder and the violations of international norms on fair trials are equally deplorable."

Welcoming the acquittal of two other accused civilians in the case, Ms. Arbour and Mr. Doss said many questions remained unanswered and appealed to Congolese authorities to pursue the case in accordance with their obligations under international law.

In August last year four civilians were initially sentenced to death on the basis of confessions, which were subsequently retracted. Military magistrates were accused of obtaining the confessions under duress, but no independent inquiry was carried out to investigate these allegations.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON PAYS TRIBUTE TO ROLE OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS

BAN KI-MOON PAYS TRIBUTE TO ROLE OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS New York, May 22 2008 3:00PM The former staff of the United Nations can play a vital role as mentors and guides "to a whole new generation of international civil servants" at a time when the Organization is facing unprecedented demands, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

In a message to the annual meeting of the Association of Former International Civil Servants, held in New York, Mr. Ban noted that the world body is being called on to provide solutions to the world's most intractable problems, from climate change to food security to peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

While the current UN staff are "proving worth of these tasks… there is much they can learn from all of you," he said, in a message delivered on his behalf by Netta Avedon, the chief of staff development in the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM).

"Your accumulated wisdom and institutional memory complement their own youthful energy and dedication. That is why I welcome and encourage regular contact between us."

In his message the Secretary-General also urged the former staff members to be strong public advocates for the UN.

"Many of you already defend and explain our Organization through speeches, talks, articles and other outreach efforts. I am grateful for this support and encourage every one of you to contribute to this effort."
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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ARMED MEN AMBUSH PEACEKEEPERS SERVING WITH UN FORCE IN DARFUR

ARMED MEN AMBUSH PEACEKEEPERS SERVING WITH UN FORCE IN DARFUR New York, May 22 2008 3:00PM A Nigerian battalion serving with the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (<"http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/unamid/">UNAMID) has been ambushed by dozens of men armed with machine guns, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, the mission reported today.

About 50 to 60 armed men on horseback, dressed in military camouflage, ambushed the battalion yesterday afternoon along the new airport road near El Geneina in West Darfur state. They stole rifles, ammunition, telephones and cash.

The ambush occurred as the UN Mission in Sudan (<"http://www.unmis.org/english/en-main.htm">UNMIS) warned that continuing attacks on the staff and assets of aid agencies working in Darfur are threatening humanitarian access and worsening the already perilous conditions faced by many locals.

The hijacking of the North Darfur State Water Corporation's drilling rig by an armed group in March, for example, has meant that as many as 180,000 people may not have access to clean water this year.

In a related development, UNAMID has sent a fact-finding mission to an area of North Darfur where recent fighting over water resources has led to the reported killing of nine civilians.

Meanwhile, UNAMID has issued a statement in which the leadership and staff have voiced their deep sorrow at learning of the deaths of 46 members of a former Nigerian contingent with the mission.

The peacekeepers had just returned to Nigeria after a tour of duty in Darfur when their vehicle was involved in a road accident.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCY DISTRIBUTES BLANKETS TO VICTIMS OF XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

UN AGENCY DISTRIBUTES BLANKETS TO VICTIMS OF XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA New York, May 22 2008 2:00PM The United Nations refugee agency has distributed blankets and mats to the victims of a wave of violent xenophobic attacks in South Africa's Gauteng province since last weekend that have killed dozens of people and forced an estimated 13,000 people to flee their homes.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/48344abb2.html">UNHCR) said it has handed out about 2,000 blankets and 2,000 mats in several police stations across Gauteng, which is centred on Johannesburg, the country's most populous city.

Many of the displaced – who include refugees, asylum-seekers and other migrants – have sought protection from the angry mobs at police stations, but are sleeping in the open nearby, according to a statement issued by UNHCR yesterday.

The South African Government has opened "joint operation centres" at police stations and community centres to house some of the displaced and to coordinate aid delivery from humanitarian agencies to the victims.

UNHCR staff who have visited some of the centres say many lack sufficient toilets and washing facilities to house the sudden arrivals. In one community hall in the town of Germiston, about 2,800 people have crowded in to find shelter.

One of the arrivals, Filizarda Mbanza, told UNHCR staff that she fled her shack on the outskirts of Germiston at the weekend after a neighbour told her that a crowd was approaching.

"I was terrified!" she said. "My husband was at work and I was alone with the baby. What was I to take from our shack? The warnings were drawing closer and I was in a panic. I had to get out [of] there before my baby and I were attacked."

Ms. Mbanza, who has a three-month-old baby, said she does not know if her husband is still alive.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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CHINA: UN SUPPLIES MEDICAL KITS AND TELECOMS EQUIPMENT FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF

CHINA: UN SUPPLIES MEDICAL KITS AND TELECOMS EQUIPMENT FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF New York, May 22 2008 2:00PM Emergency health kits capable of providing assistance to 30,000 people for up to one month have been rushed into the quake-affected areas of Sichuan province in China by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).

One hundred satellite terminals have been deployed to provide accurate coordination of relief and rescue operations by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as UN aid agencies continue their humanitarian efforts.

State media report that over 41,000 people lost their lives as a result of the massive temblor on 12 May, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. Some 32,000 people are missing, while more than 250,000 others have sustained injuries. Roughly 5 million people have been left homeless.

WHO is sending an expert team to collaborate with the Government on rebuilding its health infrastructure, while about 5,000 chlorine disinfection tablets, drinking-water treatment units and mobile toilets are being supplied to control the outbreak and spread of communicable diseases such as diarrhoea.

In a statement issued today, <"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/en/">WHO said that it promotes the construction of hospitals and health facilities that can survive the impact of natural disasters, including high-intensity earthquakes. In most cases a very small increase in construction costs is sufficient to enable health facilities to withstand such disasters.

ITU said the 100 mobile satellite terminals they are supplying are easily transported by road and air and can be used by both humanitarian workers and quake victims.

"I would like to assure the Government that <"http://www.itu.int/newsroom/index.html">ITU is ready to provide expertise in carrying out telecommunication network damage assessments aimed at paving the way for the rehabilitation of the damaged telecommunications structure," said Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau.

The hand-held Thuraya satellite phones use both satellite and GSM networks and can provide accurate GPS coordinates to support relief and rescue efforts.

The UN has contributed $8 million from its Central Emergency Relief Fund (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1109">CERF) to the Chinese Government, and for use by the world body's agencies working on the ground.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR) is supplying tents and emergency shelter, while the UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?n=31">WFP) is providing relief food supplies of rice, wheat flour and cooking oil.

Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) is taking part in a mission organized by the Government to provide immediate psycho-social assistance for children suffering from emotional trauma following the tremors, and is also providing tents, blankets and school kits.

The UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) has allocated $100,000 for emergency relief activities, part of which will be put towards coordinating the aid response.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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LOSS OF ANIMAL SPECIES AND CROPS IS 'DEVASTATING' - SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN

LOSS OF ANIMAL SPECIES AND CROPS IS 'DEVASTATING' – SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN New York, May 22 2008 1:00PM The extinction of animal species, as well as the reliance on a narrow range of crops, is a major threat to the planet's development and security, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in a <"http://www.cbd.int/doc/speech/2008/sp-2008-05-22-ibd-sg-en.pdf">statement to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity.

"This Day serves as a reminder of the importance of the Earth's biodiversity, and as a wake-up call about the devastating loss we are experiencing as irreplaceable species become extinct at an unprecedented rate," he said.

About a fifth of domestic animal breeds are at risk of extinction, with an average of one lost each month, and out of the 7,000 species of plants that have been domesticated over the 10,000-year history of agriculture, only 30 account for the vast majority of food consumed every day.

"Relying on so few species for sustenance is a losing strategy," the Secretary-General said. "Climate change is complicating the picture," he added, saying that livestock production accounted for more greenhouse gas emissions than transport.

"In a world where the population is projected to jump 50 per cent by the year 2050, these trends can spell widespread hunger and malnutrition, creating conditions where poverty, disease and even conflict can metastasize."

In a separate <"http://www.cbd.int/doc/speech/2008/sp-2008-05-22-ibd-es-en.pdf">statement marking the Day, from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Convention on Biological Diversity, the CBD's Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf said: "If current extinction rates continue, it will be hard to provide sufficient food for a global population that is expected to reach nine billion by mid-century."

At the ongoing meeting on the CBD in Bonn, Germany, delegates are deciding on measures that would move the world closer to the globally-agreed goal of reversing the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Under the Convention, countries are working to protect soil biodiversity, curb the loss of pollinators, and maintain the variety of foodstuffs needed to ensure proper food and nutrition.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCY PLEDGES TO HELP PAKISTAN TACKLE ABUSIVE CHILD LABOUR PRACTICES

UN AGENCY PLEDGES TO HELP PAKISTAN TACKLE ABUSIVE CHILD LABOUR PRACTICES New York, May 22 2008 10:00AM The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has partnered with the European Commission (EC) for a five-year project to help Pakistan curb abusive child labour and take 10,000 children out of hazardous workplaces.

The 545 million Pakistani rupee, or €5.2 million Euro, scheme will focus on children working in conditions ranging from exposure to chemicals and other harmful substances to long, tedious working hours.

The "Combating Abusive Child Labour II" programme will be implemented by ILO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, provincial labour departments, employers and workers organizations, local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutions and the media, among others.

Donglin Li, the Director of ILO's Pakistan office, underscored his agency's commitment to curbing the worst forms of child labour by 2016 within the framework of the ILO Decent Work Agenda.
2008-05-22 00:00:00.000

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UN COUNTER-TERRORISM TASK FORCE NEEDS SUSTAINABLE FUNDING - ASSEMBLY CHIEF

UN COUNTER-TERRORISM TASK FORCE NEEDS SUSTAINABLE FUNDING – ASSEMBLY CHIEF New York, May 21 2008 7:00PM The United Nations task force charged with coordinating the world body's counter-terrorism efforts needs guaranteed and sustainable funding, rather than the current voluntary model, so that it can carry out its work, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim told a briefing at UN Headquarters today.

Addressing an informal briefing of Member States by the Secretary-General's Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, Mr. Kerim said the group – established three years ago – has already played an important role in identifying where the UN can assist in global efforts against terrorism.

But the task force has no standing resources of its own and has to attract funds on a voluntary basis, the Assembly President said.

"I commend the governments for providing funding for various working groups, but it is also important to ensure a stable and sustainable central support for the task force," he said. "Indeed, there is a need to complete the institutionalization of the task force, as supported by the General Assembly when it adopted the Strategy [in September 2006]."

Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Strategic Planning and chair of the task force, told the briefing that the voluntary funding model "has significantly slowed the pace" of the work of the task force.

"We have needed to collect, process and transfer funds to set the working groups on their feet financially, to help them bring on relevant experts, and to get them what they need administratively from the UN system," he said. "And we have been doing so with a skeletal staff run out of my office."

On 4 September, the General Assembly will meet in plenary session to review the implementation of the strategy so far.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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IRAQ'S NATIONAL SYMPHONY PLAYS FOR UNITY IN FIRST MAJOR PERFORMANCE IN YEARS - UN

IRAQ'S NATIONAL SYMPHONY PLAYS FOR UNITY IN FIRST MAJOR PERFORMANCE IN YEARS – UN New York, May 21 2008 6:00PM The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra (INSO) today gave a concert in Baghdad to promote unity and dialogue, its first significant performance in years, the United Nations announced.

More than 400 people attended the performance, held to commemorate the World Day for Cultural Diversity, for Dialogue and Development. It was also broadcast live on Iraqi television.

The concert, organized by the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (<"http://www.uniraq.org/">UNAMI), was the first of its kind in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation and was held under both the UN emblem and the Iraqi flag.

Intended to remind the world of what Iraqis can offer and to preserve the country's cultural heritage, the orchestra's Iraqi and classical repertoire was selected from culturally diverse folklore, both Arab and Kurdish, along with traditional tunes and classical concertos.

Part of the concert – which was addressed by Staffan de Mistura, head of UNAMI, and Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, Iraqi Speaker of Parliament – was conducted by Iraqi cellist and the Orchestra's Director Karim Wasfi, while the other portion was led by renowned international conductor Oliver Gilmour.

"Without culture a country will literally pack up," Mr. Gilmour, the first guest conductor to be invited since before United States-led forces invaded in 2003, told UN Radio, underscoring the crucial role played by the arts.

He said that a concert such as this is a source of price and "engenders a feeling of quasi-normality."

The conductor paid tribute to the orchestra's members, who represent different sects and ethnicities and who have faced danger in attending rehearsals. "In many ways what they do is inspirational and it illustrates, I think, their indomitable spirit and the power of music," he observed.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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CHINA: UN STEPS UP AID EFFORTS FOR VICTIMS OF DEADLY QUAKE

CHINA: UN STEPS UP AID EFFORTS FOR VICTIMS OF DEADLY QUAKE New York, May 21 2008 5:00PM The United Nations is continuing to rush aid to victims of last week's devastating earthquake that struck Sichuan province in China's south-west.

According to state media, over 41,000 people lost their lives as a result of the quake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. Some 32,000 people are missing, while more than 250,000 others have sustained injuries. Roughly 5 million people have been left homeless.

The UN refugee agency is supplying 11,000 tents to provide emergency shelter for 55,000 people, in response to yesterday's request by the Government.

"This urgently needed aid is an expression of our solidarity with those suffering as a result of this terrible disaster," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres.

The final details of the delivery of the tents, manufactured in China for the agency, are currently being hammered out with Chinese authorities. It is hoped that they will be delivered as soon as possible.

For its part, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is purchasing a second round of relief food supplies, comprising rice, wheat flour and cooking oil, to feed 100,000 people for three weeks.

The 473-ton shipment of aid is slated to arrive in Sichuan province by the end of the week and will be distributed as part of Red Cross emergency packages.

"WFP hopes that this food will offer strength to the survivors of this terrible tragedy," said Anthea Webb, the agency's Representative to China. "By supplying food now, we aim to allow the Government and local partners to focus on settling the survivors into safe accommodation."

The first batch of WFP supplies – enough instant noodles to feed 100,000 people for one week – reached Mianyang, a city in north-west Sichuan, and is ready to be delivered.

The WFP-managed UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) is sending airlifts of aid from Brindisi, Italy.

The Italian Government has sent two shipments of supplies, including a field hospital, tents, high-energy biscuits and medicines. So far, one arrived in Chengdu over the weekend while another is expected to touch down in China on Thursday.

WFP is organizing a third flight – on behalf of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Irish Government – containing additional tents and blankets.

Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is taking part in a mission organized by the Government to provide immediate psycho-social assistance for children suffering from emotional trauma following the tremors.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) assembled the team – including UNICEF professionals, psycho-social recovery specialists and senior government officials – in response to reports of children exhibiting signs of severe stress related to the massive earthquake.

"It is important to reach out quickly to children who have been affected by the traumatic experiences they have been through," said Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF Representative and Chair of the UN Disaster Management Team for China.

"After the 2007 Yunnan earthquake, when UNICEF provided technical assistance for child psycho-social support we found 95 per cent of children were naturally resilient and could be helped through community-based psycho-social care," Dr. Nwe added. "The remaining 5 per cent needed to be referred for psychological treatment."

Efforts to collect information on children separated from their parents have been impeded by damaged infrastructure, the agency noted. If children are suddenly separated from their families, their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation increases.

UNICEF has also procured more than $400,000 worth of supplies, including tents, blankets and school kits.

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated $100,000 for emergency relief activities, part of which will be put towards coordinating the aid response.

Also today, the UN contributed $8 million from its Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to the Chinese Government, and these funds will be used by six of the world body's agencies working on the ground.

"The United Nations stands ready to provide further support, as required, to the Government of China in its efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs caused by the disaster," said Khalid Malik, UN Resident Coordinator in the country.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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UN TO HOST SECOND MEETING OF GREEK AND TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADERS

UN TO HOST SECOND MEETING OF GREEK AND TURKISH CYPRIOT LEADERS New York, May 21 2008 5:00PM The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders will meet at the official residence of the United Nations Envoy to Cyprus this Friday for the second round of talks aimed at reuniting the two communities on the Mediterranean island, it was announced today.

UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters that the meeting will allow the leaders – Demetris Christofias (Greek Cypriot) and Mehmet Ali Talat (Turkish Cypriot) – to review progress in the process they launched in March aimed at reuniting the country's communities.

This will be their second formal meeting since Mr. Christofias' election in February.

The meeting will be held at the residence of the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Cyprus, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, in the UN Protected Area in Nicosia.

Last month, substantive talks among six working groups began after an agreement between representatives of the two leaders was brokered by the UN.

At the time, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe told the Security Council that he was optimistic that Cyprus could soon be reunified, but also cautioned that the upcoming negotiations between the two sides would not be easy.

"I think the entire world would be delighted to see Cyprus move forward on its negotiation," he told reporters after briefing the 15-member body. "We would like to see this settled as soon as possible."
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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DR CONGO: UN SUBMITS REPORT ON FEBRUARY VIOLENCE IN FAR WEST TO AUTHORITIES

DR CONGO: UN SUBMITS REPORT ON FEBRUARY VIOLENCE IN FAR WEST TO AUTHORITIES New York, May 21 2008 4:00PM The United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) said today that it has sent a report on the February 2008 violence in the Bas-Congo province to the Congolese authorities.

The report deals with human rights abuses committed by Government forces and by members of the Bunda Dia Kongo (BDK) armed movement during the February stand-off between the two sides in the far west of the country.

MONUC expects the report to be released to the public after the Congolese Government has confirmed they have received it.

The Congolese national police have been involved in violent and sometimes deadly clashes with the BDK politico-religious movement since the beginning of the year.

Meanwhile, the UN mission notes an overall decrease in the number of violations of recent agreements between the Government and various armed groups in North and South Kivu provinces in the east of the country.

Over the weekend, the UN's Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator Ross Mountain visited Goma, the main town in North Kivu Province, to assess the security and humanitarian situation in the area.

MONUC noted "with satisfaction" a decrease in the number of ceasefire violations by different military factions in the Kivus. The UN mission also called on all armed groups in the provinces and in other parts of the country to release child combatants in their ranks.

After discussing the impact of the global food crisis on already extremely vulnerable populations in the Kivus, Mr. Mountain said that the UN, in close consultation with the Congolese authorities, was looking for rapid solutions to improve the situation.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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UN CULTURAL AMBASSADORS CALL FOR EDUCATION FOR ALL

UN CULTURAL AMBASSADORS CALL FOR EDUCATION FOR ALL New York, May 21 2008 3:00PM A group of celebrity ambassadors with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO) today called for greater efforts to provide "education for all" at their annual meeting at the agency's headquarters in Paris.

"Education is a fundamental human right, yet millions of children and adults around the world are still deprived of access to basic education and technology" said Princess Firyal of Jordan and French musician Jean Michel Jarre on behalf of the 19 Goodwill Ambassadors present at the meeting.

In their statement, the ambassadors also said that respect for cultural diversity and languages is a key to social development and peace, and added that there should be a renewed focus on the environment. "Now is the time to face up to the challenges of an over-exploited planet and to take steps to preserve it for generations to come," they said.

The Goodwill Ambassadors committed themselves to work on raising awareness about global warming.

"2008 is the International Year of Planet Earth. This is a timely opportunity for us all to be less self-centred and to strive for a better future" added Jean Michel Jarre.

Meeting on the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development and during the International Year of Languages, the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors noted that half of the world's 7000 languages currently face extinction. They also made a plea to governments to promote bi- and multilingual education, and to respect mother languages in all countries.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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MEMBER STATES ELECT 15 COUNTRIES TO SERVE ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

MEMBER STATES ELECT 15 COUNTRIES TO SERVE ON UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL New York, May 21 2008 2:01PM Fifteen countries from around the world have been elected to serve on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for three-year terms starting next month after one round of balloting today among Member States at UN Headquarters in New York.

Zambia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Gabon were chosen in that order to fill the four vacant African seats on the 47-member panel, according to a formula that allots seats among regions.

The three seats up for grabs in the Latin America and the Caribbean region – successful candidates in each category must obtain an absolute majority of valid votes cast by the 192 General Assembly members – went to Chile, Brazil and Argentina.

In the Eastern European category, Slovakia and Ukraine won the two available seats, while Serbia was unsuccessful.

Six countries contested the four positions distributed to Asian States, with Japan, Bahrain, the Republic of Korea and Pakistan winning the most votes to join the panel, and Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste missing out.

The closest contest occurred in the race for the two vacant seats in the Western European and Other States category. France scored 123 votes and the United Kingdom picked up 120, edging out Spain, which garnered 119 votes.

General Assembly spokesperson Janos Tisovszky told reporters that there were 190 valid votes and two invalid votes in the Western European and Other States category. Ten of the valid votes cast were abstentions.

Some of the successful candidates today had been due to retire on 19 June, when their current term on the HRC expires – they were Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, Ukraine, Brazil, France and the United Kingdom.

Under Council rules, members serve for three-year periods and cannot run for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms. Overall, the 47 members include 13 from Africa, 13 from Asia, six from Eastern Europe, eight from Latin America and the Caribbean, and seven from Western Europe and Other States.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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FORMER RWANDAN OFFICIAL TRANSFERRED BACK TO UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

FORMER RWANDAN OFFICIAL TRANSFERRED BACK TO UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL New York, May 21 2008 2:00PM A former senior Rwandan official who stands accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide has been transferred from The Hague back to Arusha, Tanzania – where the United Nations war crimes tribunal to deal with the mass killings is based – after the Netherlands ruled that it did not have jurisdiction in trying his case.

Michel Bagaragaza was the Director General of the office controlling the Rwandan tea industry during the genocide.

According to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), he "is charged with ordering his subordinates and with instigating, aiding and abetting others over whom he did not have authority to kill hundreds of Tutsi civilians who sought refuge on Kesho Hill near a tea factory in Rubaya and in Nyundo Cathedral, both in Gisenyi Prefecture."

He was alleged to have helped establish, fund, train and arm the Hutu-dominated rebel Interahamwe militia to carry out attacks on Tutsi civilians and to have been the honorary president of a local Interahamwe unit. He also allegedly ordered tea factory employees to provide the Interahamwe with vehicle fuel, arms and ammunition from a stockpile at the factory and ordered them to help kill hundreds of Tutsis, the Tribunal said.

Shortly after surrendering to the <"http://69.94.11.53/ENGLISH/PRESSREL/2008/561.htm">ICTR in Arusha in August 2005, Mr. Bagaragaza was transferred to the detention unit in The Hague of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/">ICTY) for security reasons.

Both the Governments of Norway and the Netherlands have attempted to have the case transferred to their countries. In the case of Norway, the Scandinavian nation's Prosecutor found that its criminal law did not provide for the crime of genocide.

Last August, the order to refer Mr. Bagaragaza's case was revoked by the Netherlands on the grounds that the country does not have any jurisdiction in this instance.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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LEBANESE POLITICAL ACCORD SHOULD BE PRELUDE TO RECONCILIATION - BAN KI-MOON

LEBANESE POLITICAL ACCORD SHOULD BE PRELUDE TO RECONCILIATION – BAN KI-MOON New York, May 21 2008 2:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed today's agreement among Lebanon's political leaders on a deal to resolve their prolonged stand-off over the presidency and the direction of the country.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11586.doc.htm">statement issued by his spokesperson following the agreement in Doha, Qatar, Mr. Ban said he looked forward to the early election of a new president and the formation of a national unity government.

"He hopes this agreement will be the prelude to a lasting period of national reconciliation, political stability, peace and progress for all of Lebanon's people and for the future of their country, as well as a stepping stone toward the full implementation of the provisions of the Taif Agreement and the relevant Security Council resolutions," the statement said.

Mr. Ban also voiced his appreciation to the Qatari Government and the League of Arab States for their "crucial efforts… in facilitating this agreement."

Today's accord follows recent violence in the capital, Beirut, and elsewhere between pro- and anti-Government militias. Since November last year, when the office became vacant, there have been 18 failed attempts to conduct a parliamentary vote for president.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES INDIRECT PEACE TALKS BETWEEN SYRIA AND ISRAEL

SECRETARY-GENERAL WELCOMES INDIRECT PEACE TALKS BETWEEN SYRIA AND ISRAEL New York, May 21 2008 2:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed today's announcement that Syria and Israel have started holding indirect peace talks aimed at resolving their long-running conflict.

The two Middle East countries confirmed that they are holding talks, under the auspices of Turkey, with the hope of reaching a comprehensive peace in accordance with the 1991 Madrid Conference terms of reference for peace.

In a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11585.doc.htm">statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban commended Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "for taking this important step." He also thanked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his efforts.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA DEPLORED BY UN AGENCIES

XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA DEPLORED BY UN AGENCIES New York, May 21 2008 2:00PM United Nations agencies operating in South Africa have expressed deep concern at the outbreak of violent xenophobic attacks in the province of Gauteng in the past week that has led to the deaths of several people and many others being left injured or homeless.

In a statement issued yesterday in Pretoria by the Office of the Resident Coordinator in South Africa, UN officials said they were equally disturbed by the violence and xenophobia that has been occurring across the country in recent months.

"Most of the victims are law-abiding migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers seeking a safe and better life for their families among South Africans," the statement noted.

"We remain gravely concerned at the prospect of [a] further escalation in violence, especially against the most vulnerable, including women, children and poor families."

The officials said they welcomed the deployment of more police to affected areas to restore order, as well as the condemnation of the attacks by senior figures in the Government and public life.

"The United Nations organizations in South Africa stand ready to provide assistance and support for immediate humanitarian needs faced by the victims of attacks, as well as to find medium and long-term solutions to the unfolding developments."
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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UN TRADE LAW GROUP WELCOMES AUSTRALIAN MOVE ON INSOLVENCY

UN TRADE LAW GROUP WELCOMES AUSTRALIAN MOVE ON INSOLVENCY New York, May 21 2008 1:00PM The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today welcomed Australia's adoption of legislation – based on the Commission's model – on cross-border insolvency.

Australia becomes the fifteenth country or jurisdiction to adopt legislation based on the UNCITRAL model on this subject, which was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1997 to try to help States harmonize their laws on insolvency.

The model law deals with cases where an insolvent debtor has assets in more than one State or where some of the creditors are not from the State where the insolvency proceedings are being held.

It aims to respect individual countries' national procedural laws, but at the same time include features to resolve problems, such as by granting access to courts to foreign representatives, enhancing cross-border cooperation and recognizing foreign proceedings.

Established in 1966, the Vienna-based UNCITRAL works to remove obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON HEADS TO MYANMAR TO MEET SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE IN EFFORT TO BOOST AID

BAN KI-MOON HEADS TO MYANMAR TO MEET SENIOR GENERAL THAN SHWE IN EFFORT TO BOOST AID New York, May 21 2008 12:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is en route to the cyclone-devastated country, will meet with Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe in an effort to accelerate relief efforts for the some 2.4 million people in need of help.

Speaking with reporters at Bangkok airport, Mr. Ban said, "I will meet with senior Government officials in the Myanmar Government including Senior General Than Shwe." The Secretary-General added that it was essential to "expedite all arrangements for facilitating the free movement of international relief aid and workers."

"The Government itself acknowledges that there has never been a disaster on this scale in the history of their country," he said, stressing that it was a "critical moment" for Myanmar. Mr. Ban noted that the relief programme had so far reached only about 25 per cent of the people in need.

Up to 2.4 million people have been severely affected by the disaster, which ravaged large parts of the Irrawaddy delta in the south of the country. Approximately 60 per cent of the infrastructure in the delta has been destroyed or damaged, as have three quarters of the area's schools, the Secretary-General said.

Mr. Ban added that Myanmar's Government has estimated the losses at more than $10 billion, and said he plans to see the affected areas at first hand, and to meet with people in need.

Announcing that the UN has established a logistics hub for aid in Thailand, Mr. Ban said he hoped it would also be possible to set up forward logistics bases within Myanmar itself, in coordination with the Government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Secretary-General commended ASEAN for helping the flow of relief aid and workers into Myanmar.

The Secretary-General repeated an earlier warning that the international community needed to give thought to Myanmar's longer term needs, saying that it may already be too late for farmers to plant the next harvest, and that the economic impact of the disaster is "severe".

While in the country, Mr. Ban will also participate in a funding conference in Myanmar's largest city Yangon on Sunday. He said he plans to "reinforce a partnership between Myanmar and the international community including ASEAN and key neighbouring countries like India and China."

The Secretary-General stressed that aid and assistance to the people of Myanmar should not be politicized. "Our focus now is on saving lives," he added.

A major relief effort by UN agencies continues in Myanmar. The World Food Programme (WFP) has been given permission to use nine helicopters to fly in badly needed food supplies. WFP says it has dispatched enough rice to feed 340,000 for two weeks, but reports finding entire communities that have been forced to survive without outside assistance despite having every building destroyed.

Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are providing shelter, medical equipment and water purification tablets, and carrying out health surveillance among the affected population.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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UN AGRICULTURE AGENCY OFFICIAL RECEIVES NIGER'S TOP HONOUR

UN AGRICULTURE AGENCY OFFICIAL RECEIVES NIGER'S TOP HONOUR New York, May 21 2008 11:00AM The head of the Niger office of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000844/index.html">FAO) has been bestowed with the West African nation's highest honour for her work in the fields of agriculture and assisting the rural population.

Maria Helena de Morais Semedo, who has been in charge of the agency's office in the capital Niamey since 2003, received the award in a ceremony presided over by Minister of Agricultural Development Mahamane Moussa.

More than one-third of the 34 million people in Niger are undernourished, according to FAO. The landlocked nation, which is largely desert and dependent on farming and some mineral wealth, is among the poorest in the world.

Since Ms. Semedo's arrival in Niger, FAO's assistance to the country has climbed to more than $40 million.

In 1995, the agency launched the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS), currently active in 6 of the country's 8 regions, reaching nearly 200 villages and some 8,000 households, or roughly 60,000 people. Also as part of SPFS, Niger participates in a scheme in which developing countries assist one another, with Moroccan technicians working with farmers in Niger to boost farming conditions.

The country's first agricultural and livestock census was held by FAO in 2004. Funded by the European Union and Niger's Government, the survey showed that the country's resources have been significantly underestimated. It was revealed that Niger has more than 30 million heads of livestock, 30 per cent more than previously assumed.

FAO has also helped to enhance agriculture in Niger by promoting fertilizers and an inventory credit system allowing low-income farmers to access credit, with more than 2 billion CFA having been warranted to date.

The agency is also assisting Niger tackle virulent plant and animal pests and diseases – including the desert locust and avian influenza – which pose a risk to local and regional economies.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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UN HELPING TO TRAIN HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS IN SIERRA LEONE

UN HELPING TO TRAIN HUMAN RIGHTS WORKERS IN SIERRA LEONE New York, May 21 2008 11:00AM The United Nations is helping to train nearly two dozen newly-recruited human rights workers in Sierra Leone.

The UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (<"http://www.uniosil.org/read.asp?newsID=938&cat=">UNIOSIL) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) are taking part in preparing 23 new staff members of the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone.

The five-day induction, which began on 19 May, will provide a comprehensive understanding of the Commission's mandate, as well as basic human rights concepts, standards and mechanisms at the national and international levels.

The training will also deal with transitional justice, focusing on the findings and recommendations of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which, in 2004, made a number of recommendations regarding past abuses and violations and foster reconciliation in Sierra Leone, which is consolidating peace following a brutal, 11-year conflict.

Following this introductory session, UNIOSIL will continue to assist the Human Rights Commission organize training courses on themes such as: complaint handling and investigation; mediation and counseling; monitoring and investigation; and advocacy.
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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UNESCO HEAD DEPLORES KILLING OF INDIAN JOURNALIST

UNESCO HEAD DEPLORES KILLING OF INDIAN JOURNALIST New York, May 21 2008 10:00AM Stressing the importance of media professionals' safety, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today condemned the killing of an Indian journalist who died while covering an incident in Kashmir.

Ashok Sodhi, a reporter with a quarter century of experience, died of bullet injuries sustained while working on a story in Samba district, south of the city of Jammu. He worked for the Daily Excelsior, a newspaper in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

"The safety of journalists is a subject of paramount concern in any democracy," said Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura of UNESCO, the UN agency mandated to defend freedom of the press and freedom of expression. "It is essential that reporters be able to do their work and inform the public, even in areas of conflict. Their status as civilians must be respected."
2008-05-21 00:00:00.000

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GREATER FUNDING NEEDED TO IMPROVE PEACEBUILDING PROCESS - SECURITY COUNCIL

GREATER FUNDING NEEDED TO IMPROVE PEACEBUILDING PROCESS – SECURITY COUNCIL New York, May 20 2008 8:00PM Calling for the United Nations to play a lead role in coordinating international efforts to help countries recovering from conflict stabilize and eventually prosper, the Security Council stressed the need today for greater funding to assist in peacebuilding and to lay the groundwork for longer-term reconstruction and development.

In a presidential statement issued at the end of a day-long open <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sc9333.doc.htm">debate, Deputy Permanent Representative Karen Pierce of the United Kingdom said that Council members recognized that financing should be "available from the outset" for recovery and peacebuilding activities, as well as to help later in the longer-term processes.

The statement highlighted that the UN should lead the coordination in the field in countries emerging from conflict, working closely with regional organizations, international bodies, individual Member States, international financial institutions, civil society and the private sector to support the process.

It also welcomed the efforts of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, set up in late 2005, in providing advice and leadership and called on Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to give advice within the next year on how best to improve the UN system's handling of peacebuilding.

Earlier, he told the debate that the UN must become more coherent in coordinating its activities, increase its capacity on the ground and build up its civilian expertise.

In the presidential statement, Ms. Pierce noted that post-conflict countries face a vast array of challenges, ranging from re-establishing the institutions of government, disarming, demobilizing and reintegrating the national armed forces, reforming the security sector, respecting human rights and revitalizing the economy.

"The Security Council underlines that civilian expertise in post-conflict peacebuilding is essential in helping to meet these needs," she added.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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BOOSTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION VITAL TO SOLVING FOOD CRISIS, ECOSOC CHIEF SAYS

BOOSTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION VITAL TO SOLVING FOOD CRISIS, ECOSOC CHIEF SAYS New York, May 20 2008 7:00PM The world has the necessary knowledge and expertise to fight the current food crisis but it needs to muster the political will and the resources to ensure there is a lasting solution for the millions of people now suffering, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) said today.

Léo Mérorès told a special meeting on the global food crisis, held at UN Headquarters in New York, that the crisis of soaring food prices and shortages of basic crops is not only threatening the health of survival of ordinary people, but jeopardizing the political and economic stability of many governments.

The urban poor, rural landless peasants, women, children and other members of the world's most vulnerable are among those suffering the hardest from the current crisis, he said.

"The time to act is now," Mr. Mérorès said, stressing the need for both immediate action to meet humanitarian needs and for longer-term increased agricultural production.

"It is my view that agriculture has to be put back in the centre of the development agenda," he said. "We need to concentrate efforts on minimizing greenhouse emissions, deforestation and global warming, while finding ways to promote investments in agriculture [and] maximize the use of agro-science and technology, with the aim of reducing the costs of production and substantially increasing the productivity and output of every hectare of arable land."

The <"http://www.un.org/ecosoc/">ECOSOC President welcomed the recent establishment by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of a high-level task force on the crisis, adding that ECOSOC would do all it could to contribute.

During its substantive session in July the Council will convene round-table and panel discussions on food security and its humanitarian segment is expected to focus in part on the challenges related to the provision of food aid.

Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told today's special session that the crisis is driving an estimated 100 million people or more into deep poverty, on top of the 830 million others already facing acute shortages of basic foods.

"That represents seven lost years in the global fight against poverty and hunger," she said, adding that the progress so far towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of eight anti-poverty targets which world leaders have agreed to work towards by 2015 – could be virtually wiped out.

"Everywhere, families on the edge are cutting back. Those who ate two meals a day now get by with one. In many countries, even people with jobs and salaries are buying rice by the cup rather than the bag. Such deprivation is degrading. It breeds violence. We have seen it already in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean."

Stressing that much of the problem is man-made, Ms. Migiro urged policymakers to carefully examine the many cases, including the increasing use of biofuels, especially those that are grain-based.

"The trade-off between the energy, environment and social issues involved is subtle and immensely complex," she cautioned.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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LAST UN COLLECTIVE CENTRE FOR REFUGEES IN MONTENEGRO SHUTTERED

LAST UN COLLECTIVE CENTRE FOR REFUGEES IN MONTENEGRO SHUTTERED New York, May 20 2008 7:00PM The United Nations refugee agency has ended its emergency shelter programme for refugees in Montenegro, closing its last collective centre in the Balkan nation which is home to 24,000 people who fled from Croatia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On Monday, the Trudbenik Collective Centre, which opened in 1993 in the central cit of Niksic, was shuttered.

Its 65 residents were moved into family apartments in a new building called the European House, which is owned by municipal authorities. The move was made possible by funding from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNHCR) and its partners.

The new residence "offered a more dignified life and future for all those who have moved into it," said Serge Ducasse, UNHCR's Representative to Montenegro.

But he stressed that many refugees require assistance in accessing proper housing, as they still reside in sub-standard, privately-owned homes or are squatting in informal collective centres.

One of the last residents of the Trudbenik Collective Centre could not contain her delight at moving to their new home after 9 years.

"We still cannot believe it," said Gordana Vekic. "Although the flat is owned by the municipality, this is now our home! We finally have our own door, our own bathroom, our freedom."

But Mr. Ducasse warned that international support is still crucial to help refugees integrate who can or will not return to their home countries. "It is time they are provided with a legal status that gives them real local integration opportunities and allows them to contribute to their new society of adoption."
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL OUTLINES PATH FOR PEACEBUILDING IN SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE

SECRETARY-GENERAL OUTLINES PATH FOR PEACEBUILDING IN SECURITY COUNCIL DEBATE New York, May 20 2008 6:00PM To help countries in their struggle to stabilize and prosper after years of conflict, the United Nations must become more coherent in coordinating its activities, increase its capacity on the ground and build up its civilian expertise, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council today.

<"http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=245">Addressing an open <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sc9333.doc.htm">debate on post-conflict peacebuilding, Mr. Ban said the world body's lengthy experience in helping countries emerge from conflict – from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Liberia to Timor-Leste and Haiti – showed that while each country is different, there are always common short-term priorities.

Viable political processes that put in place legitimate national authorities must be established first to buttress nascent peace agreements, he said.

Security and the rule of law must also be restored through the development of professional and accountable justice systems and the affected population must receive immediate and tangible benefits to strengthen their support in the long-term for development.

Mr. Ban said the UN is working to streamline and improve its coordination and coherence in the field to better assist countries in the immediate aftermath of conflict.

"We have put in place structures, planning and monitoring processes to support this effort in the immediate term and throughout the transition to longer-term peacebuilding," he said, adding that the Organization aims to work even more closely with Member States, regional bodies and international financial institutions.

"Where we work together, as in Liberia and Sierra Leone, we deliver a vastly more effective response. Coordination and clarity of leadership is critical to ensuring that each partner brings its distinctive strength to the broad collective effort."

The Secretary-General said the UN needs to boost its capacity so that it can lead on the ground, with his Special Representatives given the means to identify strategic priorities, elaborate plans and mobilize funds with others.

He also stressed that the world body should expand its civilian expertise, citing the "small but agile" standing police capacity of the UN and the launch of a standby team of mediation experts as key steps in the right direction.

"But we remain desperately short of judges, prison wardens, state administrators and managers – particularly those with knowledge and experience of the countries and systems in which we operate. Not only should these be well-equipped when they are deployed; they need start-up funding at their disposal."

The extra civilian expertise is necessary in the recovery and development fields, as well, he said, noting that "all this requires early and flexible funding." He called for the explorations of a possible common start-up fund.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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UN VOICES CONCERN OVER WORSENING HEALTH CONDITIONS OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES

UN VOICES CONCERN OVER WORSENING HEALTH CONDITIONS OF PALESTINIAN REFUGEES New York, May 20 2008 6:00PM Calling for a boost in funding to continue its operations, a United Nations agency expressed its concern over the deteriorating heath conditions of Palestinian refugees, especially in the West Bank and Gaza, in a new report launched today.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (<"http://www.un.org/unrwa/english.html">UNRWA) said in the report that many Palestinian refugee families must now spend nearly two-thirds of their incomes on food.

Rising poverty rates and the lack of access to quality food are further threatening their health, Guido Sabatinelli, UNRWA's Director of Health Services, told reporters in Geneva today. The agency has also witnessed an increase in diabetes, hypertension, post-traumatic stress and other behavioural disorders related to the violence.

Though a network of 129 health clinics and 11 mobile clinics, UNRWA was able to provide 9 million health consultations to the refugees, he said, adding that the agency was satisfied that it has full control over communicable diseases, with no epidemic outbreaks.

Surging prices globally have impeded UNRWA's ability to provide all the medicines necessary to refugees. With its staff encountering problems of access, the agency has also found its ability to assist those in need has been impeded.

UNRWA is appealing for a further 30 per cent of their budget to be able to provide the same level of services to 4 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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EXPERIENCED ACADEMIC CHOSEN TO HEAD UN ANTI-NARCOTICS PANEL

EXPERIENCED ACADEMIC CHOSEN TO HEAD UN ANTI-NARCOTICS PANEL New York, May 20 2008 6:00PM A renowned Iranian physician and professor who is resident in the United Kingdom has been elected the next President of the independent body which monitors the implementation of United Nations drug control conventions.

Hamid Ghodse becomes the new head of the International Narcotics Control Board (<"http://www.incb.org/incb/index.html">INCB), the Vienna-based panel announced today, and will serve in the post for one year. A professor at the University of London, he is author of more than 300 scientific papers on drug-related issues.

Professor Ghodse, who was chosen during the board's current annual session, has been a member of the INCB since 1992 and during that period has served eight times as its President, with the most recent stint occurring in 2005.

This year's INCB session is expected to review the global supply and demand of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical purposes and discuss the growing problem of chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of drugs. They will also consider drug control situations in Ethiopia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

INCB members serve in an individual capacity and monitor compliance with the provisions of the international drug control treaties. The panel ensures that adequate supplies of legal drugs are available for medical and scientific purposes, and makes certain that no leakage from licit sources of drugs to illicit trafficking occurs. It also identifies and helps to correct weaknesses in drug control systems and determines which chemicals used to manufacture drugs should be under international control.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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UN TO HELP MAASAI PEOPLE FROM KENYA PRESERVE THEIR HERITAGE

UN TO HELP MAASAI PEOPLE FROM KENYA PRESERVE THEIR HERITAGE New York, May 20 2008 5:00PM Two people from the Maasai community of Laikipia in Kenya are to be given training in documenting and archiving their cultural heritage through a new project launched today by the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The two people from the Maasai community will travel with an expert from the National Museums of Kenya to the United States for intensive, hands-on training in documentary techniques and archival skills at the American Folklife Center and the Center for Documentary Studies, which are collaborating on the project with <"http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en">WIPO.

"Our goal is to empower tradition-bearers to preserve and pass on their own traditional cultures if they wish to do so while safeguarding their intellectual property rights and interests," Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General of WIPO, said today.

New technologies provide communities with fresh opportunities to document and digitize expressions of their traditional culture, but these can be vulnerable to unwanted exploitation, according to a statement released by WIPO.

WIPO will also provide the Maasai people with a basic kit of field equipment, computers and software for their own use when they return to Kenya.

The pilot programme announced today stems from a request made directly to WIPO by the Maasai community, and is aimed to empower indigenous communities to manage their intellectual property in a way that corresponds with their development goals.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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CYPRUS: UN-BACKED MISSING PERSONS GROUP LAUNCHES WEBSITE IN GREEK, TURKISH

CYPRUS: UN-BACKED MISSING PERSONS GROUP LAUNCHES WEBSITE IN GREEK, TURKISH New York, May 20 2008 4:00PM The United Nations-backed group in Cyprus tasked with identifying the remains of missing persons and returning those remains to the families concerned announced today that it has launched Greek and Turkish versions of its website.

The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) took the step to make its work more accessible to the people it is aiming to help.

In a press release issued in Nicosia, it voiced hope that its website will encourage those with information regarding the whereabouts of Greek Cypriots or Turkish Cypriots missing since 1964 or 1974 to come forward.

To date, the remains of 399 individuals have been exhumed, with 84 of them having been identified and returned to their families.

Created in 1981 by agreement between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities under UN auspices, the CMP is one of the only institutionalized, bi-communal committees in Cyprus.

It is composed of three members: one appointed by each of the two communities and a third selected by the International Committee of the Red Cross and appointed by the UN Secretary-General.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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SITUATION IN BURUNDI STILL VERY FRAGILE, SECRETARY-GENERAL WARNS

SITUATION IN BURUNDI STILL VERY FRAGILE, SECRETARY-GENERAL WARNS New York, May 20 2008 3:00PM The fresh outbreak of fighting in Burundi could roll back valuable progress made since a peace agreement was reached in 2000, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cautioned in a new <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2008/330">report made public today.

"The recent rapid relapse into violent conflict is alarming evidence of the extreme fragility of the situation in Burundi," Mr. Ban wrote in his report, covering the period from 23 November last year to 7 May, to the Security Council.

Strongly condemning the continued deadly clashes between the Government and the Palipehutu-FNL – the last major rebel hold-outs after the end of the brutal civil war between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority – he said that "nothing justifies the loss of innocent lives resulting from this fighting."

More than 100 people have been killed in and around the capital Bujumbura in the past few weeks, despite the signing of the Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement in 2006.

The Secretary-General warned that unless this pact is not "put back on track, the new cycle of violence could undo all the gains painstakingly made by the people of Burundi since the signing of the Arusha Agreement eight years ago."

Furthermore, he voiced concern that the resumption of hostilities and political instability in the small Central African nation could threaten the stability of neighbouring States and the entire Great Lakes region.

Ultimately, the responsibility for ending over 10 years of clashes rests with the Government and the FNL, Mr. Ban stressed, calling on both parties to end fighting and jump-start dialogue in a bid to push the peace process forward.

He urged the FNL to return to Burundi and take part in the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism and the Political Directorate, which are components of the ceasefire, while appealing to the Government to prioritize that Agreement's implementation.

In addition to putting the ceasefire into place and breaking the political stalemate, the Secretary-General said other issues spurring insecurity must be tackled.

Reintegration of ex-fighters must press ahead, and "in an environment characterized by abject poverty, high unemployment, and sharply rising fuel and food prices, former combatants are likely to turn to violent crime or join armed elements," he said, adding that the current global food crisis is also a cause for concern.

On human rights, the report noted that while numbers of violations committed by the national defence forces remained the same, those committed by the police have risen while new cases of torture and summary executions by the national intelligence service have been reported.

Mr. Ban welcomed the work of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, established to help countries recovering from war from sliding back into conflict, for its "valuable support to efforts at promoting stability in Burundi."
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN RELIEF OFFICIAL MEETS MYANMAR OFFICIALS, URGING MAJOR AID PUSH

TOP UN RELIEF OFFICIAL MEETS MYANMAR OFFICIALS, URGING MAJOR AID PUSH New York, May 20 2008 3:00PM The top United Nations relief official met in Myanmar today with key Government officials, including the Prime Minster, and said that a major push was required to assist victims of the cyclone that has devastated large areas of the country.

Speaking to the press, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said he had noted the need for early recovery in agriculture and fisheries, in parallel with the emergency relief effort, in his discussions with Prime Minister Thein Sein.

He stressed that supplies of clean water, food and medicines will be needed for some months and that recovery was a protracted process.

Mr. Holmes, who also serves as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said he had discussed all aspects of the response to the disaster, including access and coordination, and how to improve relief operations. Yesterday, he travelled to the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta area, visiting Labutta and Wakema townships and meeting with survivors and speaking with them about their situation.

The UN estimates that 2.4 million people have been affected by Cyclone Nargis and that more than half of them are in need of urgent, priority assistance, with about 500,000 people having so far received some form of international assistance. One concern is that heavy rains are continuing to hamper the relief effort.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA), as of today, some $99.6 million has been committed to relief operations with a further $107.9 million pledged.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is on his way to Myanmar where he intends to help boost the country's recovery effort. As well as meeting with senior Myanmarese officials, he will attend a pledging conference for international donors, which is co-sponsored by the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), on Sunday.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES NEED LOW-COST COMPUTERS, EXPERT TELLS UN MEETING

LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES NEED LOW-COST COMPUTERS, EXPERT TELLS UN MEETING New York, May 20 2008 2:00PM Mobile phones were not the solution to the problems of least developed countries, an information and communication technologies (ICT) expert said today at a United Nations meeting in Kuala Lumpur that brought together 150 participants from around the world.

"You cannot improve the well-being of citizens with just telephony," said Tunisia Telecom President Ahmed Mahjoub at the UN Global Forum on Access and Connectivity, adding that least developed countries needed low-cost computers as well. He said WiMAX, a technology that provided wireless data over long distances, was a good solution: it was cheaper than copper wire, was quicker to deploy and provided broad bandwidth for Internet access.

Mauritania was a good example of a successful policy, Mr. Mahjoub said. The country five years ago only had 17,000 fixed-line telephone subscribers. Mauritania had privatized its public telephone company and allowed two private companies to enter. Not only had the number of mobile subscribers greatly increased, but new state-of the art technologies and new investment had poured into the country.

"There is no digital divide – it is an economic divide pure and simple," said Cliff Missen Director of the Iowa-based eGranary Digital Library. "To improve access and connectivity we have to improve the economy."

"We are Internet-centred and broadband-obsessed," he said, adding that universities in Ghana paid $20,000 a month for five megabytes – the annual salary of a professor. Compact disks were equally effective for education, and "we have to look at low-cost, effective training."

"It is an Internet-centric proposition that you have to be on the Internet to get information, that you must be able to connect at any time," he said. "It is a proposition not applicable in the developing world, and an unnecessary one when it comes to a doctor's or to a nurse's training."

While the world was waiting for the convergence between computers and television, said Richard Fuchs of Canada's International Development Research Centre, a divergence was increasing between high-end ICT users and mobile phones users in poor countries. Social investment was required to meet the need of low-end users. Governments had to choose whether to provide the best possible services to the high-end users or adopt policies that brought down overall costs.

The idea that "telephony is the poor man's information society" should be challenged, said Parminder Jeet Singh of IT for Change, an Indian non-governmental organization (NGO). It was doubtful that the private sector would extend the Internet as it had done for mobile phones. What was needed was a rights-based approach, which did not exclude markets. But if the markets did not ensure access, everyone's right to access should be ensured, as it was a public interest issue.

Mobile phones are going to connect the least developed countries, said Isabelle Mauro of GSM Association, the trade organization representing 740 mobile operators in some 200 countries. A priority was to provide voice services to small communities, focusing on data transmission.

Each additional 10 per cent of mobile phone penetration resulted in a 1.2 per cent increase in a country's gross domestic product, she said. In the past 12 months Africa had connected 70 million people via wireless phone, yet handsets in many developing countries were still taxed as luxury goods.

Kamran Elahiah, chairman of the venture capital firm Global Catalyst Partners, cited a project his company had done for refugee camps of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR) at the Rwandan-Tanzanian border. At very small cost, the project had established an Internet telecentre powered by biofuel – the result of animal waste brought by local farmers. As a result, refugees were now using the telecentre 24 hours a day, lining up for its services.

Jim Lynch of TechSoup, a San Francisco-based non-profit organization, said TechSoup collected discarded personal computers around the world, fixed them, installed new software and distributed them to schools, non-profits and low-income families around the world. "It is a big job," he said, adding that there were some 150-200 million discarded computers in the world. One problem was that no major organization was creating human capacity, he said.

Forty-three panellists – including four ICT ministers – addressed the two-day Global Forum, which examined access and connectivity in Asia and the Pacific, in island States and in least developed countries, as well as innovative funding for ICT for development.

The results of the Forum, organized by the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development, will be fed into the ICT 2008 Conference, to be held in Lyon on 25-27 November, and the second Global Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Doha from 29 November to 2 December.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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KOSOVO JOURNALIST FACING CONTEMPT CHARGES BEFORE UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL

KOSOVO JOURNALIST FACING CONTEMPT CHARGES BEFORE UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL New York, May 20 2008 2:00PM A Kosovo Albanian journalist is being brought before the United Nations war crimes tribunal set up to deal with the war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s on charges of contempt of court after he allegedly identified a secret witness in a trial.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/?Open">ICTY) allege that Baton Haxhiu, the editor of a newspaper last year, obtained information about a witness with a protected identity and then revealed the witness' identity in an article he published.

Mr. Haxhiu was arrested today, the ICTY said in a <"http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2008/pr1252e.htm">press statement issued in The Hague, and will now be transferred to the detention unit of the tribunal. He is expected to enter a plea tomorrow.

Mr. Haxhiu is the third Kosovo Albanian to be charged with contempt of court in the past month, with all three cases relating to the recent trial of Ramush Haradinaj, the former prime minister of Kosovo, and others.

On 25 April, Astrit Haraqija and Bajrush Morina were indicted for allegedly attempting to persuade a witness with the codename PW not to testify against Mr. Haradinaj. The duo has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has been granted provisional release until the trial begins next month.

Mr. Haradinaj, who was a prominent commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the conflict with Serb forces in 1998-99, was acquitted by the ICTY last month of a series of charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, torture, abduction, cruel treatment, imprisonment and the forced deportation of Serbian and Kosovar Roma civilians.

When they announced the verdict, the judges said the tribunal had encountered many difficulties in securing testimony from witnesses during the trials of Mr. Haradinaj and his two co-accused.

Earlier this month prosecutors filed an appeal in the Haradinaj case, describing what they called the "prevailing circumstances of intimidation and fear."
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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UN 'GRAVELY CONCERNED' AT RENEWED FIGHTING IN DISPUTED SUDANESE TOWN

UN 'GRAVELY CONCERNED' AT RENEWED FIGHTING IN DISPUTED SUDANESE TOWN New York, May 20 2008 1:00PM The top United Nations envoy in Sudan today expressed grave concern over renewed hostilities which have forced up to 50,000 people to flee fighting in the disputed town of Abyei, which lies in an oil-rich area near the boundary between north and south Sudan.

Ashraf Qazi, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Sudan, expressed "his deep regret" that fighting had resumed early this morning so soon after Government and the former southern rebels had struck an agreement to end the clashes in Abyei, under the auspices of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

An impasse over the boundaries and status of Abyei has been one of the major stumbling blocks preventing the full implementation of the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan.

Fighting in Abyei has displaced between 30,000 to 50,000 people southwards, leaving the town almost deserted.

The UN has set up five humanitarian hubs to help the displaced population, but operations are being endangered by continuing insecurity. Aid workers reported aerial bombing of a position to the north of one of the hubs.

Mr. Qazi has appealed to both sides to exercise the utmost restraint and to take immediate steps towards disengaging their forces. The UN envoy said this would enable UNMIS to revive ceasefire monitoring mechanisms and pave the way for full implementation of the CPA with respect to Abyei.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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HEADING FOR MYANMAR, BAN KI-MOON PLEDGES TO DO 'UTMOST' TO SPEED AID EFFORTS

HEADING FOR MYANMAR, BAN KI-MOON PLEDGES TO DO 'UTMOST' TO SPEED AID EFFORTS New York, May 20 2008 12:00PM As he prepared to leave for Myanmar today, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he will do all he can to reinforce the immediate relief effort in the cyclone-devastated country and will also draw attention to the need for long-term reconstruction and development.

"I will do my utmost for the people of Myanmar," Mr. Ban told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York. "I want to see the conditions under which relief teams are working and I intend to do all I can to reinforce their efforts in coordination with the Myanmar's authorities and international aid agencies."

Mr. Ban will arrive in Yangon, Myanmar, early Thursday morning and is set to tour the Irrawaddy delta area – the part of the country most affected by the cyclone. He said the UN had a functioning relief programme in place but cautioned that it is a "critical moment" for the country and said that so far aid workers had been able to reach only about 25 per cent of people in need in Myanmar. According to UN estimates, some 2.4 million people have been severely affected by Cyclone Nargis.

On Sunday, the Secretary-General will participate in a pledging conference co-sponsored by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to raise funds for the aid effort from international donors.

Mr. Ban said he was travelling to Myanmar to "demonstrate my sympathy to the people and Government at this time of crisis and challenge, and to see for myself the situation on the ground." He described the disaster caused by the cyclone as "unprecedented in Myanmar's history."

The Secretary-General said he would coordinate closely with ASEAN and Myanmarese officials and said he was confident that relief efforts could be scaled up quickly. He added that the UN had received Government permission to operate nine World Food Programme (WFP) helicopters which would allow aid workers to reach areas that have so far been largely inaccessible.

Mr. Ban also stressed that the international community had to give thought to Myanmar's long-term reconstruction and rehabilitation. He said that Cyclone Nargis had "devastated Myanmar's agricultural heartland" and that it may already be too late for farmers to plant the next harvest. "In this sense the economic effects of the natural disaster that has struck Myanmar could be more severe and longer lasting than the 2004 tsunami," he added.

Major relief efforts continue in Myanmar from the WFP, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), who among them have delivered food, medical supplies, shelter materials and water purification equipment, and have been monitoring for the outbreak of disease.
2008-05-20 00:00:00.000

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HEART DISEASES AND STROKES BECOME THE WORLD'S BIGGEST KILLERS, UN REPORT FINDS

HEART DISEASES AND STROKES BECOME THE WORLD'S BIGGEST KILLERS, UN REPORT FINDS New York, May 19 2008 7:00PM Chronic conditions such as heart disease and stroke have taken over from infectious diseases as diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis as the leading causes of death around the globe, the United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) says in a new report.

Based on data collected from the 193 Member States of WHO, the annual report contains measures on 73 separate health indicators covering areas including mortality levels, availability of health-care workers and the prevalence of risk factors such as smoking and alcohol consumption.

"We are definitely seeing a trend towards fewer people dying of infectious diseases across the world," said Ties Boerma, Director of the WHO Department of Health Statistics and Informatics.

"We tend to associate developing countries with infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. But in more and more countries the chief causes of death are non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease and stroke."

This year's report highlights several key issues, including the relatively slow increase in life expectancy in Eastern Europe since 1950 when compared with the rest of the continent, the soaring cost of health care worldwide and the effect that has on the poor, and the vast imbalance between maternal mortality rates in rich and poor nations.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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UN RELIEF CHIEF SETS ASIDE $100 MILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR FOOD CRISIS

UN RELIEF CHIEF SETS ASIDE $100 MILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR FOOD CRISIS New York, May 19 2008 6:00PM The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator has decided to reserve $100 million from the world body's Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to address immediate issues stemming from the food crisis triggered by the recent surge in global food prices.

John Holmes, who also serves as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that these funds will be used for life-saving activities in the hardest-hit sectors, including food, agriculture, health, nutrition and logistics.

"Since its inception in 2006, <"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?alias=ochaonline.un.org/cerf">CERF has shown that it is a successful humanitarian funding mechanism that ensures that aid is delivered in an effective, fast and predictable way," UN spokesperson Michele Montas said today at a press briefing in New York.

Since the start of the year, the Fund – which is managed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA) – has already earmarked nearly $66 million for food interventions by UN agencies, compared to $37 million during the same period last year.

The CERF was approved by the General Assembly in December 2005, and was created to speed up relief operations for emergencies, make funds available quickly after a disaster and finance underfunded emergencies. Its funds are also made available to address the existing imbalance in global aid distribution which results in millions of people in so-called neglected or forgotten crises remaining in need. Since its inception, it has disbursed nearly $800 million.

It is evident that CERF will need to be replenished, Ms. Montas said, given the demands posed by food-related emergencies as well as multiple crises and disasters around the world.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Mr. Holmes are appealing to donors to make additional contributions to the Fund, beyond the $425 million already pledged for this year.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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UN PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION MEETS TO DISCUSS ASSISTANCE TO SIERRA LEONE

UN PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION MEETS TO DISCUSS ASSISTANCE TO SIERRA LEONE New York, May 19 2008 6:00PM Representatives of the United Nations, individual Member States, regional organizations, the private sector and civil society have gathered today in New York to discuss how to increase the level of international involvement in Sierra Leone's efforts to make the transition from years of civil conflict towards eventual stability and prosperity.

The UN Peacebuilding Commission's high-level stakeholders consultation on Sierra Leone, being held at UN Headquarters, also considered new initiatives and partnerships to generate more support for existing peacebuilding activities, the Commission said in a press statement.

Last December the Commission and the Government of Sierra Leone adopted an agreed framework spelling out what specific actions both parties will take in the short-to-medium term to deal with the remaining challenges to consolidating peace in the West African country, which has been beset by war for nearly all of the 1990s.

The framework highlights five priority areas: justice and security sector reform; youth employment and empowerment; good governance; energy sector development; and capacity building.

<"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11580.doc.htm">Addressing today's consultation, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated that effective peacebuilding is based on three principles – national ownership, mutual accountability and sustained engagement.

Mr. Ban said he hoped today's meeting would result in clear commitments for support to the implementation of the framework.

"Our collective and individual support will be critical to sustaining Sierra Leone's impressive progress towards peace, development and prosperity," he said.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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FOOD CRISIS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND INFLUENZA ARE MAIN THREATS TO HEALTH, SAYS UN

FOOD CRISIS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND INFLUENZA ARE MAIN THREATS TO HEALTH, SAYS UN New York, May 19 2008 6:00PM The global food crisis, climate change and pandemic influenza are the main threats to human health, according to the United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2008/wha61/en/index.html">WHO).

"These three critical events, these clear threats to international security, have the potential to undo much hard-won progress in public health," WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said today in Geneva.

Speaking at the opening of the 61st session of the World Health Assembly, which is WHO's supreme decision-making body, Ms. Chan said the organization had identified 21 "hot spots" around the world which are already experiencing high levels of acute and chronic malnutrition. As part of the international task force on the global crisis caused by soaring food prices, WHO is aiming to guide priority action, she said.

Ms. Chan added that an estimated 3.5 million deaths a year are caused by undernutrition, and that poor households spend on average between 50 and 75 per cent of their income on food. "More money spent on food means less money available for health care, especially for the many millions of poor households who rely on out-of-pocket payments when they fall ill."

On climate change, she said that more droughts, floods and tropical storms would add to the demands for humanitarian assistance and would result in a growing number of environmental refugees. "Again, the poor will be the first and hardest hit. Climate change is already adding an additional set of stresses in areas that are already fragile, with marginal livelihoods and thin margins of survival when shocks occur."

Ms. Chan described pandemic influenza, potentially set off by the spread of bird flu to humans, as the "third global crisis looming on the horizon." She said that "the threat has by no means receded, and we would be very unwise to let down our guard, or slacken our preparedness measures."

"As with climate change, all countries will be affected, though in a far more rapid and sweeping way," she added.

The week-long session of the World Health Assembly will also discuss female genital mutilation (FGM) and the harmful use of alcohol.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY CHIEF PAYS TRIBUTE TO INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION

GENERAL ASSEMBLY CHIEF PAYS TRIBUTE TO INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION New York, May 19 2008 6:00PM General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim paid tribute to the International Law Commission (ILC) on its sixtieth anniversary today, describing it as "a living testament to the importance that the General Assembly attaches to the progressive development of international law and its codification."

Speaking to the sixtieth anniversary session of the ILC in Geneva, in a video message from New York, Mr. Kerim said the Commission's meticulous and painstaking work over the past 60 years had served as the basis for the adoption of many multilateral conventions under the auspices of the UN.

"Its composition, representing the principal legal systems of the world, embodies the desire of the international community to advance a common understanding of international law within a multicultural and regionally representative framework," he said.

The ILC was created by the General Assembly in 1948 to promote the codification of international law.

Looking to the future, Mr. Kerim said that the global challenges faced today could no longer be addressed within a system that put the interests of States above all others, and called for "a new kind of internationalism that situates the well-being of the individual and communities at its centre."

"It is pleasing to note that the Commission in its work over the years has elaborated on topics that have strived to improve the status and protection of the individual," he said.
"The development of international law for the direct benefit of the individual should be the focus of law-making in the 21st century."
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCIES INCREASE AID RELIEF IN QUAKE-AFFECTED SOUTH-WESTERN CHINA

UN AGENCIES INCREASE AID RELIEF IN QUAKE-AFFECTED SOUTH-WESTERN CHINA New York, May 19 2008 5:00PM The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Food Programme (WFP) are stepping up their support to authorities in China as they deal with relief efforts in the wake of last Monday's devastating earthquake in Sichuan province.

<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP has allocated $100,000 for emergency relief activities, which will be used in part to help coordinate the relief response and make needs assessments, the agency announced today in Beijing. It is also providing tents, quilts, clothing, food, drinking water and medicines to some of the most affected areas.

UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters that the <"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP is also distributing some $100,000 worth of noodles, joining the support already provided by the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) and World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO).

The UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/">UNEP) is expected to procure and supply water purifying and testing equipment, while the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (<"http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=29008&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html">UNESCO) will supply emergency telecommunications.

State media report that the official death toll has risen to more than 28,000, with some 14,000 others still trapped under debris and rubble and nearly 200,000 others injured. An estimated 3.3 million homes have been destroyed and 15.6 million others have been partially damaged.

The quake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale when it struck south-western China on Monday afternoon, just before 2:30 local time. At least 4,400 aftershocks have since been recorded.

UN staff in China observed three minutes of silence today as the country began a three-day mourning period for the victims of the quake. The UN flag is also being flown at half-mast in observance.

UN Resident Coordinator Khalid Malik said the thoughts and hopes of the UN went to bereaved families.

"The ache in our souls is almost too much to bear," he said. "We believe, under the leadership of the Chinese Government, the Chinese people will overcome the devastating effects of this catastrophe. We are ready to further provide any possible support and comfort in the relief and rehabilitation efforts."
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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NEPAL: UN CONDEMNS MURDER OF BUSINESSMAN BY MAOISTS

NEPAL: UN CONDEMNS MURDER OF BUSINESSMAN BY MAOISTS New York, May 19 2008 4:00PM The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has condemned the recent killing of a local businessman, Ram Hari Shrestha, after Maoist army commanders acknowledged to the mission that the murder was committed by members of their group.

UNMIN condemned the killing as a serious breach of the commitments made in an agreement on monitoring arms and armies reached between the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) (Maoist) and the former Government, and also noted that it was a violation of fundamental human rights.

UNMIN arms monitors have conducted a preliminary inquiry and will present the results to the next meeting of Nepal's Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee.

<"http://www.unmin.org.np/">UNMIN has been informed that the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (<"http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/WelcomePage.aspx">OHCHR) is following the investigation that is being carried out by the police.

UNMIN calls on the CPN (Maoist) to cooperate fully with the police to ensure that all those responsible for ordering or carrying out the abduction or killing are apprehended and punished in accordance with the law.

Last month, with the assistance of UNMIN, Nepal held country-wide elections for a new Constituent Assembly.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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AT LEAST 3 MILLION ETHIOPIANS NOW NEED FOOD AID - UN RELIEF WING

AT LEAST 3 MILLION ETHIOPIANS NOW NEED FOOD AID – UN RELIEF WING New York, May 19 2008 4:00PM Some 3.2 million people are now in urgent need of food aid in Ethiopia because of the continued drought in the African country, up from 2.2 million just one month ago, according to the United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA).

Humanitarian agencies in Ethiopia say they face a shortfall in food aid valued at $147 million.

"I am deeply concerned about the food security situation in Ethiopia, and the consequent increasing numbers of malnourished children, as a result of the current drought," UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said in a statement issued today.

"We will need a rapid scaling up of resources, especially food and nutritional supplies, to make increased life-saving aid a reality."

The UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) warns that as many as 6 million children under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) says it is in danger of running out of supplies of relief commodities such as blended food, which is a special supplement for children and other vulnerable groups.

The shortage of blended food is already impeding the ability of the Government and humanitarian agencies to provide help to people suffering from severe acute malnutrition and the nutritional disease kwashiorkor. There has been a rapid increase in such cases in recent weeks in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR) and Oromiya Region.

UNICEF needs 1,800 metric tons of ready-to-use therapeutic food for the coming three months for Oromiya Region and SNNPR alone. It currently has only 6 metric tons in stock, and is to receive another 90 metric tons, which is expected to last just two weeks.

"The Government of Ethiopia, the UN, donors and NGOs [non-governmental organizations] are responding to the crisis, but the enormity of the problem means that more resources will be required to alleviate the suffering of those affected in the coming weeks and months," OCHA said.

Rising food prices in Ethiopia have also contributed to the deteriorating situation. The <"http://www.wfp.org/">WFP estimates that the price of maize increased by 83 per cent, sorghum by 89 per cent and wheat by 54 per cent between September 2007 and February 2008.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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UN REFUGEE AGENCY PRAISES YEMEN FOR PROTECTING PEOPLE FLEEING SOMALIA

UN REFUGEE AGENCY PRAISES YEMEN FOR PROTECTING PEOPLE FLEEING SOMALIA New York, May 19 2008 4:00PM The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNHCR) António Guterres today praised Yemen for providing protection to people making the dangerous Gulf of Aden crossing from Somalia, and called for more international support so the country can assist the refugees.

"The Yemeni Government has shown leadership in responding to the protection needs of individuals in the migratory movement," Mr. Guterres said in an address at the opening of a two-day regional conference on the issue in the Yemeni capital Sana'a.

So far this year, more than 18,000 people have made the perilous Gulf of Aden crossing aboard smugglers' boats, double the number for the same period a year ago. More than 400 people have died trying to make the voyage this year.

Yemen, despite meagre resources, has maintained an open-door policy to refugees, but it has been calling for more support from the international community, a call which Mr. Guterres echoed.

"While the Government continues to scale up to meet the challenge, it will not be able to do so alone," he said. "I strongly appeal to all countries that have the capacity and resources to do so in the region and beyond, to fully support Yemen in its generous hospitality to many refugees from Somalia during more than 15 years."

UNHCR and other international agencies have stepped up their efforts to assist Yemen and other countries in the region, and are jointly calling for global action to better address the challenges.

The Sana'a conference brings together high-level government officials from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and the Gulf Cooperation countries as well as representatives of civil society and international organizations.

Its main objective is to establish a regional mechanism and a longer-term plan of action on refugee protection and mixed migration in the Gulf of Aden region.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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UN STARTS FEEDING THOUSANDS OF SUDANESE WHO FLED DISPUTED TOWN

UN STARTS FEEDING THOUSANDS OF SUDANESE WHO FLED DISPUTED TOWN New York, May 19 2008 3:00PM United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) today started distributing food and clean water to tens of thousands of people who fled fighting in the disputed Sudanese town of Abyei last week.

"Today we are distributing vital food assistance in two locations in Agok," said David Greesly, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Southern Sudan. "A total of five food centres are being set up covering some 18 villages. We are also providing clean water and health care to the displaced people."

An initial assessment found that the most pressing needs of the displaced population were for food, shelter, water and health-care facilities. Humanitarian agencies are also beginning work on reuniting separated children with their families. However, the rainy season is hampering access to some areas in the east, while insecurity is posing challenges to the west, according to a statement issued by the office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

<"http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1080">OCHA estimates that between 30,000 and 50,000 people were displaced by the fighting in Abyei, which broke out last week despite a peace deal signed three years ago between Sudanese Government forces and southern rebels. The town lies in an oil-rich area near the boundary between north and south Sudan.

A joint meeting last Thursday between the Government and the southern rebels, under the auspices of the UN Mission in Sudan (<"http://www.unmis.org/english/en-main.htm">UNMIS), struck an agreement to end the clashes in Abyei, which is now largely deserted.

An impasse over the boundaries and status of Abyei has been one of the major stumbling blocks preventing the full implementation of the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN ISSUES CALL TO ELIMINATE SCOURGE OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS

SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN ISSUES CALL TO ELIMINATE SCOURGE OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS New York, May 19 2008 3:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today appealed for the creation of a new global pact to rid the world of cluster munitions, deadly weapons which he described as "particularly indiscriminate and unreliable."

The devices are "inherently inaccurate and often malfunction," and they pose "a very real danger to civilians, both at the time of use and long after conflicts have ended," Mr. Ban said in a video <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3162">message to the two-week Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions, which opened today in Dublin.

More than 100 governments have converged in the Irish capital to hammer out an international treaty to ban the weapons, a process which began last February in Oslo.

The Secretary-General pointed to breakthroughs in efforts to further disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, including the mine ban treaty and the recent protocol on explosive remnants of war.

"But the quest for a safer world continues," the Secretary-General said.

Curbing cluster munitions could slash deaths, suffering and deprivation that civilians face during conflicts, he noted, while ridding the world of these weapons could also allow refugees and displaced people to return to their homes, while freeing up land to be used productively.

"And we can add a new chapter to international humanitarian law, alongside those on landmines and explosive remnants of war," Mr. Ban stressed, calling for an international treaty to prohibit the use, development, production, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions.

The new pact should also require the destruction of existing stockpiles and help to clear the weapons and assist victims, he added.

Stressing the effect cluster munitions have on children, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also called on all countries to conclude a new legal instrument to do away with the devices.

Some 40 per cent of victims of these weapons are children who are injured or killed long after direct hostilities have drawn to a close, the agency highlighted. Children are particularly at risk because they are drawn to the devices, which are often small and shiny.

Used for more than six decades, cluster munitions have contaminated countries such as Laos, Viet Nam and Cambodia for over 30 years, while more recently they have been used in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and in southern Lebanon.

UNICEF estimates that there are billions of these weapons still in existing scattered across over 70 countries.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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UN TELECOMMUNICATION OFFICIAL WARNS OF WIDENING INTERNET BROADBAND DIVIDE

UN TELECOMMUNICATION OFFICIAL WARNS OF WIDENING INTERNET BROADBAND DIVIDE New York, May 19 2008 2:00PM With more than half of the world's population now becoming mobile telephone subscribers the digital divide in such phones has been largely bridged, but there remains a widening risk of an Internet broadband divide, the head of the United Nations agency for telecommunication warned today.

Speaking at the Global Forum on Access and Connectivity, which is meeting today and tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur, International Telecommunication Union (<"http://www.itu.int/net/home/index.aspx">ITU) Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré said a "complicity" between the private sector and the government was essential to increase the availability of information and communication technologies (ICT).

The private sector needed to believe in the governments' intention, he said, and governments needed to set up fair rules. The other essential element was the presence of strong ICT capacity-building programmes.

The Global Forum, organized by the UN Global Alliance for ICT and Development, brings together participants from different sectors to seek ways to expand affordable connectivity, application and services in the Asia-Pacific region.

Opening the Forum, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang noted the "phenomenal growth" in wireless communications in Asia. Although the growth had been slower in small-island developing States, many had managed to increase the penetration of mobile telephony to between 10 to 20 per cent of their populations, he said. Such growth was the result of policies that favoured infrastructure deployment and competition in the telecommunications market, he said.

With very limited funds at their disposal, Mr. Sha said, small-island developing countries were using mechanisms such as universal service funds and an audiovisual tax to subsidize the deployment of infrastructure in rural and remote areas.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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SENIOR UN ENVOY AND IRANIAN PRESIDENT CONFER ON RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN

SENIOR UN ENVOY AND IRANIAN PRESIDENT CONFER ON RECONSTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN New York, May 19 2008 2:00PM The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran today in a bid to boost support for the reconstruction of the strife-torn Asian nation.

"We had a very constructive discussion on the challenges facing Afghanistan and the importance of full cooperation with Afghanistan's neighbours to help secure peace, stability and progress for all people in the region," Kai Eide, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, said following the talks.

He said the two agreed that a stable Afghanistan will benefit Iran, and noted that they also discussed next month's Paris Conference in support of the Afghan Government and the current food crisis.

"I interpret the fact that the President received me immediately upon my arrival in Tehran today as a clear sign of support for my mission and for our work together in the future," Mr. Eide, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (<"http://www.unama-afg.org/Index.htm">UNAMA) noted.

He added that he is grateful for the Iranian people's generosity towards Afghanistan, voicing hope that the relationship between the two countries will continue to grow.

During his two-day visit to Iran, the Special Representative will also meet with the country's Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Refugees, Interior and Defence.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, UNAMI reported that a convoy of 79 trucks carrying UN World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/">WFP) aid was attacked by anti-Government elements using small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

The incident took place on Saturday on the main ring road in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province as the convoy was headed towards Herat and Nimroz provinces.

Two trucks were hit by grenades and burned down, resulting in a loss of 84 tons of wheat to feed over 10,000 people, and no casualties were reported.

In a separate incident on 8 May, a truck carrying 48 tons of wheat for 6,000 people went missing as it was making its way from Kandahar to Herat.

WFP said that there have been more than 30 attacks against commercial vehicles or convoys loaded with the agency's supplies in 2007, with 870 tons of food – worth over $700,000 – being lost. In at least four of these incidents, crew members and Afghan police escorts were either killed or injured.

"The United Nations is working to deliver life-saving assistance to Afghanistan's poorest people under a strict principle of impartiality," UNAMA's acting spokesperson Aleem Siddique told reporters in the capital Kabul. "We condemn the unscrupulous theft and pointless destruction of such life-saving food aid."

The most recent incidents come at a time when Afghanistan is facing a difficult food security situation, he said, appealing for an immediate end to the attacks which inhibit the delivery of food to communities most in need.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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HEAD OF UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL TO VISIT BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

HEAD OF UN WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL TO VISIT BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA New York, May 19 2008 1:00PM The head of the United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s will arrive in Bosnia and Herzegovina today to discuss the country's participation with the court.

During his three-day visit, President Fausto Pocar of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (<"http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2008/pa334e.htm">ICTY), which sits in The Hague, will hold talks with authorities, members of the judiciary and victims' associations.

Mr. Pocar will also visit the prison in the town of Foca, in the country's south-east.

The Tribunal is extremely concerned that Radovan Stankovi&#263;, who escaped from the prison in May 2007, is still at large. He had been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for rape and other crimes against humanity committed in Foca after Bosnia and Herzegovina referred his case to the ICTY.

Meanwhile in New York, the Security Council is meeting today on the challenges the country faces in consolidating peace, progress and stability.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN AID OFFICIAL VISITS AREAS AFFECTED BY MYANMAR CYCLONE

TOP UN AID OFFICIAL VISITS AREAS AFFECTED BY MYANMAR CYCLONE New York, May 19 2008 1:00PM The United Nations' top relief official John Holmes has travelled to the Irrawaddy delta, the area in Myanmar hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, which struck early this month and has affected up to 2.4 million people.

As the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs travels within Myanmar, UN agencies report that they are making progress in reaching victims of the cyclone, but that the operation still needs to be ramped up.

The UN World Health Organization (<"http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section1257/Section2263/Section2528.htm">WHO) said that the official toll of dead and missing now exceeds 132,000, with more than 19,000 injured. Speaking at a press conference in Bangkok, spokesperson Maureen Birmingham said that assessments of the health needs of townships was continuing. She cited Ngaputaw township as one specific example.
WHO found that the most common conditions reported there after the cyclone were injuries, followed by acute respiratory infections, gastroenteritis, dysentery and malaria. Some 46 per cent of the population of the township has been affected by the cyclone and 49 per cent of houses suffered some damage.

WHO and its partners have procured more than 350 tons of medical supplies and equipment for the cyclone-affected area. These include 3 million water purification sachets, 90,000 water containers, more than 50,000 insecticide treated mosquito nets, shelter equipment and emergency health kits.

The World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2849">WFP) says it has dispatched enough food to feed over 250,000 people with a first ration of rice – enough to last for two weeks – as well as high-energy biscuits and beans. Most of these supplies were purchased by the agency within Myanmar itself. WFP is using air transport as well as boats, barges and tugs to distribute aid.

WFP spokesperson Marcus Prior said that this was still insufficient and too slow. He said that aid workers were coming across settlements that have received little if any assistance so far.

Amanda Pitt, for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the current estimate for people who had been displaced was around 150,000. She said they are staying in 120 official or spontaneous settlements.

The UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has deployed 100 satellite terminals to facilitate in-country coordination of the humanitarian effort.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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BIODIVERSITY KEY TO TACKING GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS - UN AGENCY

BIODIVERSITY KEY TO TACKING GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS – UN AGENCY New York, May 19 2008 12:00PM Just 12 crops and 14 animal species provide most of the world's food, and this lack of diversity means that the food supply has become more vulnerable and less sustainable – according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000841/index.html">FAO).

"The erosion of biodiversity for food and agriculture severely compromises global food security," FAO Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller said today. "We need to strengthen our efforts to protect and wisely manage biodiversity for food security," he added.

Speaking at the beginning of a global conference on the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Bonn, Germany, Mr. Müller called on the international community to intensify its commitment to integrating food security and biodiversity concerns.

FAO also raised the alarm about a worldwide decline in biodiversity. It estimates that the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has declined by 75 per cent over the last century and that hundreds of the 7,000 animal breeds registered in FAO databases are threatened with extinction.

FAO says that less genetic diversity means that there are fewer opportunities for the growth and innovation needed to boost agriculture at a time of soaring food prices.

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2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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OVER 2.6 MILLION SOMALIS COULD GO HUNGRY, UN AGENCY WARNS

OVER 2.6 MILLION SOMALIS COULD GO HUNGRY, UN AGENCY WARNS New York, May 19 2008 10:00AM More than 2.6 million Somalis – comprising 35 per cent of the Horn of Africa nation's population – need food assistance due because of the deteriorating humanitarian situation triggered by skyrocketing food prices, the weak currency and worsening drought, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000842/index.html">FAO) cautioned today.

Violence has also forced nearly 900,000 people from the capital Mogadishu, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia to 1 million.

Compounding the problem is the delayed and worse-than-expected Gu seasonal rains, resulting in a potentially poor cereal harvest which will lead to shortages and push prices higher.

Due to two consecutive seasons of poor rains, 60,000 pastoralists require food aid in the country, which has not had a functioning national government since 1991.

Half of Somalia's total population could face an acute food and livelihood crisis by the end of the year if the Gu rains are greatly below normal, food prices continue to soar and civil insecurity worsens, Cindy Holleman, FAO's Chief Technical Adviser for Somalia, warned.

"It's an extremely worrying situation," she observed.

Cereal prices have surged by as much as 375 per cent in the past year, reaching historic levels.

Somalia is a net importer of cereals, and prices will remain at record highs due to the combination of climbing international prices, the sharp devaluation of the Somali shilling by more than 125 per cent in the last four months.

Although many poor urban households have slashed spending on meals and non-food items such as soap, kerosene, medicines and schooling, they still do not have enough money to meet their food needs, FAO said.

The agency appealed for safe access to crisis areas for aid workers, with risks to humanitarian actors increasing at a time of greatest need.

"The security situation is frustrating, but it hasn't stopped us," said Graham Farmer, who heads FAO's Somalia operations.

"One can bring in food, but an important complementary approach is to get money into these communities," he added. "We need to boost not only production, but also incomes and livelihoods in rural and peri-urban areas."

FAO's projects in Somalia include an emergency and rehabilitation programme, as well as livestock sector support through the provision of veterinary services and surveillance of animal health.

The agency also assists in the field of agricultural rehabilitation and diversification through integrated pest management schemes, provision of quality seeds and rebuilding irrigation infrastructures.

In the private sector, FAO helps microenterprises by providing training and boosting market linkages.

For its 2008 needs, the agency has appealed for over $18 million, and to date, it has received $3.8 million from the Governments of Sweden and Italy.
2008-05-19 00:00:00.000

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ATTACK ON IRANIAN DIPLOMATS IN BAGHDAD 'OUTRAGEOUS' -- UN ENVOY

ATTACK ON IRANIAN DIPLOMATS IN BAGHDAD 'OUTRAGEOUS' -- UN ENVOY New York, May 18 2008 6:00PM The top United Nations official in Iraq has condemned Thursday's gun attack against Iranian diplomats based in Baghdad that has left three people wounded, including two diplomats.

In a statement issued today, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Iraq, Staffan de Mistura, described the attack on an embassy convoy of vehicles in the north of the city as outrageous.

"Attacking foreign diplomats in Iraq aims to discourage normal diplomatic relations between Iraq and the international community, but will not succeed as we have witnessed increased diplomatic activities here in Iraq in the last few months," he said.

Mr. de Mistura added that he had conveyed these sentiments to Iran's Ambassador to Iraq, Hassan Qazimi Ghomi, during a meeting at UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) offices in Baghdad.

2008-05-18 00:00:00.000

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UN GEARS UP TO MOUNT RELIEF EFFORT AFTER THOUSANDS OF SUDANESE FLEE DISPUTED TOWN

UN GEARS UP TO MOUNT RELIEF EFFORT AFTER THOUSANDS OF SUDANESE FLEE DISPUTED TOWN New York, May 18 2008 6:00PM United Nations agencies are preparing to bring humanitarian relief to the tens of thousands of Sudanese who fled the disputed town of Abyei last week because of deadly fighting between Government forces and the southern rebels with whom they reached a peace deal three years ago.

Between 30,000 and 50,000 people are estimated to have been forced from the town of Abyei, which lies in an oil-rich area near the boundary between north and south Sudan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today.

Ameerah Haq, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, said UN assessment teams are now determining the needs of the displaced population, particularly regarding food, water, shelter and medical care.

"Many thousands of those people have been repeatedly displaced and have just come back home this year to be forced to flee again at a time when they were planning to till their land for the next planting season," she said.

The situation has been complicated by the arrival of the annual rainy season, which brings a heightened risk of outbreaks of malaria and other infectious diseases, especially among local children.

A joint meeting on Thursday between the Government and the SPLA, under the auspices of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), struck an agreement to end the clashes in Abyei, which is now largely deserted.

An impasse over the boundaries and status of Abyei has been one of the major stumbling blocks preventing the full implementation of the January 2005 comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) that ended the long-running north-south civil war in Sudan.

2008-05-18 00:00:00.000

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UN'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BODY TO FOCUS ON FOUR MAJOR CONCERNS

UN'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BODY TO FOCUS ON FOUR MAJOR CONCERNS New York, May 18 2008 6:00PM A leading United Nations body working to spread the benefits of information technology should concentrate on the four areas that most concern people around the world, the chair of that body said today.

Craig Barrett, Chair of the UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Development, told the third annual meeting of the Global Alliance in Kuala Lumpur that people were most interested about: getting software and hardware, connectivity, local content and ICT education.

The Global Alliance "should concentrate on programmes that focus on access," such as public-private partnerships, community centres and ICT for schools, said Mr. Barrett, who is also the Chairman of Intel.

It should concentrate "on the fundamentals of getting connectivity; on local content, which can create huge local economic possibilities; and on educating people on using the technology -- and there are marvellous new education programmes out there that are reaching millions of teachers."

The top UN official for economic and social affairs also called for a more focused scope. "The Global Alliance is at a turning point," said Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang, whose department hosts the Alliance.

"It has the brand -- it is a big name now. It has the recognition, the platform and the networks," he told some 150 participants of the Alliance's Strategic Council. "It has launched initiatives and partnerships that are already yielding initial results. It is now important to better focus the work of the Alliance on fewer activities of strong impact."

Maximus Ongkili, Malaysia's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation and co-chair of the meeting, said his country and the Global Alliance had a similar approach on the issue: both were involving all interested parties, mobilizing global partnerships, stressing the importance of human capital and emphasizing knowledge-sharing.

"ICT is gaining importance in addressing climate change and the food crisis," said International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré, a member of the 17-person Alliance Steering Committee. "On these issues, ICT is part of the solution, not part of the problem," he said.

The Alliance, which was launched in Kuala Lumpur in June 2006, had already achieved results, Mr. Barrett said, such as "improvements in education, health care and the ability of governments to communicate with their citizens." A health-care project supported by the Alliance had won an award for the best application of ICT in India, he noted.

Global Alliance Executive Coordinator Sarbuland Khan said that in the past year the body had organized or co-organized some 15 events involving over 6,000 participants, including the first-ever meeting bringing together the private sector and the UN on the issue of climate change.

Created by the UN Secretary-General in 2006, the Global Alliance seeks to mobilize the human, financial and technical resources required to bridge major gaps in ICT infrastructure, services and applications across the world. Its main areas of focus are education, health, economic development and online government services. The Alliance is self-funded, and has been able to raise close to $1 million per year from governments, corporations, foundations and other sources.

2008-05-18 00:00:00.000

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UNICEF RUSHES EMERGENCY RELIEF TO QUAKE VICTIMS IN CHINA

UNICEF RUSHES EMERGENCY RELIEF TO QUAKE VICTIMS IN CHINA New York, May 18 2008 6:00PM The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is rushing to send emergency relief supplies to the centre of China's Sichuan province, the area most devastated by last Monday's catastrophic earthquake.

The first aid, comprising 1,000 tents, 15,000 blankets and 60,000 school kits, are expected to arrive in quake-affected areas over the next 24 hours, UNICEF reported today from Beijing, with medicines, water, sanitation materials and health equipment to follow soon after.

Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF Representative in China, said the agency staff were doing their utmost to help Chinese authorities to care for and protect children affected by the massive temblor.

"It is truly encouraging to see how the whole country has rallied in support of the Government's relief response," Dr. Nwe said, adding that the relief situation had become critical.

"We need to move as fast as possible, with no delays, to speed life-saving medicines, vaccinations, water purification tablets, oral rehydration salts, obstetrics and surgical kits, water containers and the like. Families trying to cope will require basic materials like collapsible water containers, soap [and] tarpaulins to survive after losing everything."

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) has stressed that preventing outbreaks of communicable diseases has become the key public health issue, and it is working closely with the national health ministry to offer aid, supplies and guidance.

"The main needs now are water, sanitation and food," said WHO's Representative to China, Hans Troedsson. "Ensuring supply of food and safe drinking water and trying to restore good sanitation are critical because these are the basic transmission routes for communicable diseases."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced in a statement on Friday that up to $7 million will be released from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support UN relief efforts.

State media reports that the official death toll has risen to 28,881, with some 14,000 others still trapped under debris and rubble and more than 198,000 others injured. An estimated 3.3 million homes have been destroyed and 15.6 million others have been partially damaged.

The quake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale when it struck south-western China on Monday afternoon, just before 2:30 local time. At least 4,400 aftershocks have since been recorded, including 146 measuring 4 or higher on the Richter scale.

2008-05-18 00:00:00.000

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BAN KI-MOON TO VISIT MYANMAR TO SPEED UP HUMANITARIAN RELIEF OPERATIONS

BAN KI-MOON TO VISIT MYANMAR TO SPEED UP HUMANITARIAN RELIEF OPERATIONS New York, May 18 2008 6:00PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Myanmar this week to try to accelerate relief efforts in the wake of the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Nargis, which may have killed more than 100,000 people and uprooted the lives of 2.5 million others.

Mr. Ban's spokesperson Michele Montas announced today that Mr. Ban is scheduled to arrive in Myanmar on Wednesday for a three-day visit in which he will tour the areas most affected by the cyclone -- especially the Irrawaddy delta in the south of the country -- and travel to Yangon, the most populous city.

He will also hold meetings with senior officials in the Government of Myanmar, she said, emphasizing that the UN remained willing to work with authorities to try to improve the speed and distribution of relief aid. It is not yet confirmed which officials he will meet.

"The whole purpose of the trip? is to accelerate the pace of disaster relief. He hopes his presence can really make things go faster," said Ms. Montas.

She added that although the situation in the affected region remained dire, it was "not too late to try to save more people." Millions of people are either homeless or have seen their homes become badly damaged as a result of the cyclone and subsequent tidal surge.

Mr. Ban and other senior UN officials, including Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes, have voiced repeated concern that there has been slow progress in sending both aid and humanitarian workers to the areas most affected by the cyclone, which struck on the night of 2 May.

Mr. Holmes, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, arrived in Myanmar today to conduct his own assessment of the situation, and Ms. Montas said the coordination of help on the ground was now better than he had anticipated. Mr. Holmes is due to brief Mr. Ban in Bangkok, the capital of neighbouring Thailand, before the Secretary-General arrives in Myanmar.

Some UN aid officials are inside Myanmar, working with an emergency team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and others to try to bring humanitarian relief.

Mr. Ban and ASEAN officials have also agreed on holding a high-level pledging conference shortly to generate funds for further relief operations.

2008-05-18 00:00:00.000

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