INNOVATION IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS KEY TO RECOVERY FROM ECONOMIC CRISIS – UN REPORT

INNOVATION IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS KEY TO RECOVERY FROM ECONOMIC CRISIS – UN REPORT
New York, Feb 17 2009 7:10PM
The global financial crisis could provide entrepreneurial opportunities for budding information and communication technology (ICT) businesses, which in turn can power economic recovery, according to a new United Nations report.

The report, <i>Confronting the Crisis: Its Impact on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry</i>, highlights some harsh realities for the industry and explains how it can position itself for recovery in the future.

"Despite difficult times, there are reasons to be optimistic," said Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the UN International Telecommunication Union (<"http://www.itu.int/net/home/index.aspx">ITU) at the launch of his agency's report yesterday.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Mr. Touré added that innovation is the key to recovery, stressing that "having contributed consistently as a high-growth sector in its own right, ICTs can now power economic recovery across all sectors.

"Along with stimulus packages put together by Governments, the ICT industry must continue to invest in infrastructure and the roll out of cost-effective services, such as next-generation networks (NGNs)."

The report noted that although credit is now more difficult to come by and more expensive, with financing costs on average 3 to 4 per cent higher year-on-year, savvy businesses can take advantage of the economic turmoil to reposition their services for the upturn.

Funding is still available for firms with sound business models, established demand and early projected cash flows, according to the report. But it stressed that alternative sources of financing are now needed, with a growing role for government and economic stimulus packages.

Responding to the financial pressure facing the private sector, some Governments have stepped in to diminish the impact on the transition to NGNs, which can carry voice, data and media services simultaneously.

Several administrations have also announced commitments to invest in their national infrastructure, while others, such as the European Union, have included the roll-out of broadband networks in their economic stimulus packages.

The report highlighted the soaring growth in the mobile telephone business in developing countries, especially in large emerging markets, including Brazil, India and Nigeria, which registered record additional subscribers in September and October 2008, as an example of opportunity for growth.
Feb 17 2009 7:10PM
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‘GREEN REVOLUTION’ CAN ENSURE ENOUGH FOOD FOR ENTIRE WORLD – UN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"There is evidence within the report that the world could feed the entire projected population growth alone by becoming more efficient while also ensuring the survival of wild animals, birds and fish on this planet," said Mr. Steiner.

The report also underscored the fact that over one-third of the world's cereal harvest is being used as animal feed and by 2050 the ratio will rise to 50 per cent.

"Continuing to feed cereals to growing numbers of livestock will aggravate poverty and environmental degradation," UNEP warned in its press statement.

Among the key points in its plan, the report suggested that recycling food wastes and deploying new technologies, aimed at producing biofuels, to produce sugars from discards such as straw and nutshells could be a key environmentally-friendly alternative to increased use of cereals for livestock.

The amount of unwanted fish currently discarded at sea – estimated at 30 million tons a year – could alone sustain more than a 50 per cent increase in fish farming, a rise needed to maintain per capita fish consumption at current levels by 2050 without increasing pressure on an already stressed marine environment.

The report highlights a number of other measures, including the reorganization of food market infrastructure to regulate prices, a micro-financing fund to boost small-scale farming, the removal of agricultural subsidies, managing and better harvesting extreme rainfall and adopting more diversified and ecologically-friendly farming systems.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appealed to environment ministers gathered in Nairobi to help promote a green economy to tackle climate change and wasteful resource consumption, as well as re-energize economies, creating opportunities for new and better livelihoods.

"Soaring food prices brought intense focus not just on the issues of agriculture and trade but on the inflationary role of biofuel production," Mr. Ban said in a <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3714">message to the weeklong meeting.

"Wildly fluctuating crude oil costs illustrated once again our dependence on the fossil fuels that are causing climate change, and the short-sighted economic vision that has precipitated the current financial turmoil is also bankrupting our resource base," he stated.

"UNEP has been instrumental in developing the concept of the green economy, and is now identifying the tools for achieving it, but UNEP needs your support," Mr. Ban stressed.

During the Forum, UNEP and technology giant Microsoft signed an agreement to work together using information and communication technology (ICT) solutions to help address today's environmental challenges.

The partnership focuses on helping environmental organizations, such as UNEP, Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers, work more effectively by making use of new technologies.

"We view our partnership with Microsoft as key to delivering solutions on a scalable level to a community of more than 190 nations and the UN system as a whole," said Mr. Steiner.

"Without equitable access to information and the capacity for developing countries to engage on an equal level in negotiating key agreements like the climate change treaty or the biodiversity convention, we will not make much progress," he added.
Feb 17 2009 6:10PM
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ONE-THIRD OF UN MEMBER STATES SCRUTINIZED ON HUMAN RIGHTS SO FAR, SAYS OFFICIAL

ONE-THIRD OF UN MEMBER STATES SCRUTINIZED ON HUMAN RIGHTS SO FAR, SAYS OFFICIAL
New York, Feb 17 2009 6:10PM
Having completed the review of another 16 countries, the United Nations Human Rights Council is now one-third of the way through to reviewing the human rights records of all 192 Member States of the Organization, according to the President of the Geneva-based body.

"This also brings us a step closer to achieving the overall goal of the Universal Periodic Review – that is, to improve the human rights situation in every country and address human rights violations wherever they occur," Council President Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi told a news conference following the conclusion of the fourth session of the UPR Working Group on 13 February.

The UPR – a mechanism to examine the record of every Member State – is one of the reforms differentiating the Council from its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights.

"The UPR process has great potential to shed light in the darkest corners of the globe," noted the President, adding that while there is always room for improvement, the Review has made significant progress beyond the conference rooms.

"Several States who have undergone their review have already begun implementing recommendations posed to them by States and have adopted new polices, programmes and measures aimed at improving the human rights in their countries for the benefit of their citizens," he stated.

This includes the commitments from the 16 States who have just completed their reviews during the just concluded two-week session – Germany, Djibouti, Canada, Bangladesh, Russia, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Mauritius, Jordan and Malaysia.

The Working Group will hold its next session from 4 to 15 May during which it will examine the records of Central African Republic, Monaco, Belize, Chad, Congo, Malta, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Chile, Viet Nam, Uruguay, Yemen, Vanuatu, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Comoros and Slovakia.

The Council replaced the Commission on Human Rights, which had been dogged by accusations of bias and politicization, in 2006 as part of ongoing UN reform.
Feb 17 2009 6:10PM
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NEW UN ENVOY FOR WESTERN SAHARA HEADS TO REGION FOR CONSULTATIONS

NEW UN ENVOY FOR WESTERN SAHARA HEADS TO REGION FOR CONSULTATIONS
New York, Feb 17 2009 4:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara is on his way to the region for consultations with the parties, Morocco and the Frente Polisario, as part of United Nations efforts to help broker a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution regarding the Territory's status.

This will be the first visit to the area for Christopher Ross since taking up the post last month. It follows meetings he held in New York last week, including with Mr. Ban and members of the Security Council, as well as with Morocco and the Frente Polisario.

He will be in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, tomorrow, followed by Tindouf and Algiers. He will then travel to Madrid and Paris, the capitals of two of the members of the Group of Friends, from 25 to 27 February.

Mr. Ross, who replaced Peter van Walsum, is expected to return to New York following the trip for further consultations at UN Headquarters.

Several rounds of UN-led talks, bringing together representatives from Morocco and the Frente Polisario, held last year resulted in the parties agreeing to continue negotiations in good faith towards a solution to the issue.

Morocco holds that its sovereignty over Western Sahara should be recognized, while the Frente Polisario's position is that the Territory's final status should be decided in a referendum that includes independence as an option.
Feb 17 2009 4:10PM
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PAKISTAN: UN CALLS AGAIN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ABDUCTED STAFF MEMBER

PAKISTAN: UN CALLS AGAIN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF ABDUCTED STAFF MEMBER
New York, Feb 17 2009 4:10PM
The United Nations today once again appealed to those holding John Solecki, a staff member kidnapped in Pakistan two weeks ago, for his immediate and safe release.

Mr. Solecki, the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home">UNHCR) in the city of Quetta, was kidnapped during a 2 February attack in which his driver, Syed Hashim, was killed.

Last week the UN <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3712">said it is seeking information on a group called the Balochistan Liberation United Front, which on 7 February claimed in local media reports that it is holding Mr. Solecki.

In a statement issued today in Islamabad, the UN encouraged the Balochistan community leaders' continued engagement and once more asked those keeping Mr. Solecki to initiate direct contact so that dialogue can be started for his immediate safe recovery.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke over the weekend with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, and they agreed on the need to secure the safe and immediate release of Mr. Solecki, who has a medical condition requiring regular medication.

Mr. Ban, in a statement issued on Saturday, underscored the importance of the humanitarian work being undertaken by Mr Solecki and stressed that no cause can be served by prolonging his abduction.
Feb 17 2009 4:10PM
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DARFUR: UN EXPERTS ARE SHOWN MASS GRAVES AFTER RECENT FIGHTING

DARFUR: UN EXPERTS ARE SHOWN MASS GRAVES AFTER RECENT FIGHTING
New York, Feb 17 2009 3:10PM
United Nations experts have been sent to the scene of recent fighting between Government forces and armed groups in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, where local residents showed them mass graves in which they said they had buried 45 people, while many others were still unaccounted for.

An assessment team sent by the UN-African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to Wada'ah, 90 kilometres south of El-Fasher in North Darfur, which has been under the control of the Sudan Liberation Army/Minni Minawi faction (SLA/MM) for the past few years, said the damage did not seem to have been caused by combat but rather deliberately inflicted.

"Numerous buildings and equipment – houses, shops, huts, generators – were burnt to the ground as well as the market place, which was allegedly looted and where granaries set on fire were still smouldering when the UNAMID team visited the place," the mission said in a news release, adding that residents indicated that a large number of people, many reported as having fled the fighting, were still unaccounted for.

"According to the local population, medical supplies at a local dispensary, water pump equipment, goods and food, were allegedly stolen, as well as more than 2,000 cattle herded out of the area."

At the same time, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed an agreement of "goodwill and confidence-building" signed in Doha, Qatar, today by the Sudanese Government and one of the rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), for the settlement of the conflict in Darfur, where more than six years of fighting between the Government, allied militia and rebel groups have led to over 300,000 deaths and uprooted over 2.7 million people.

"The Agreement represents a constructive step in the ongoing efforts to negotiate a peaceful conclusion to this long-running conflict," a statement issued by Mr. Ban's spokesperson said. "The Secretary-General underscores that until the parties renounce hostilities, the situation in Darfur cannot improve."

Neither a precise casualty toll nor the number of possible wounded at Wada'ah could be obtained. Teams of UNAMID humanitarian, civil affairs and human rights experts have been sent to provide emergency aid, determine the exact circumstances surrounding the incidents, and stabilize the situation by engaging local leaders from all groups to resolve conflicts.

UNAMID Force Commander General Martin Luther Agwai expressed grave concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and for the lives and welfare of civilians there. He also strongly condemned the fighting and called on all parties to refrain from further violence and destruction, urging them to resolve their conflicts peacefully and protecting civilians.

Meanwhile Mr. Ban has reported that grave violations continue to be perpetrated against children throughout Sudan by State and non-State parties, including child recruitment and systematic and widespread rape and sexual violence, with children and women in and around refugee and internally displaced persons' (IDP) camps especially vulnerable.

In a report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict in Sudan, he calls on the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan, where a peace accord four years ago ended 20 years of civil war, as well as all armed groups in the country to end the recruitment and use of children in their forces and release to the UN those children already in their ranks.

He voices deep concern at the killing and maiming of children and other civilians in the course of military operations, including aerial bombardments, as well at the systematic sexual violence against girls and women that continues with impunity, especially in Darfur.

He also condemns the widespread targeting of humanitarian workers and facilities, which has resulted in the killing of humanitarian workers in Darfur and calls upon the Government to facilitate unhindered and safe access by humanitarian organizations working on child protection issues to affected populations in Darfur.

The Secretary-General notes some limited progress in establishing child protection dialogue with parties and highlights important ongoing initiatives by the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan in areas such as adoption of national legislation for the protection of children, establishment of child protection modalities in the national police and a focus on children in the national disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process.
Feb 17 2009 3:10PM
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ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SHRIMP FISHING NEED TO BE ADDRESSED, WARNS UN REPORT

ADVERSE EFFECTS OF SHRIMP FISHING NEED TO BE ADDRESSED, WARNS UN REPORT
New York, Feb 17 2009 2:10PM
A new United Nations report released today urged countries to increase efforts to halt the economic and environmental threats posed by shrimp fishing, a major source of income for many developing countries.

Rampant overfishing, harmful trawling practices and poor management of fishing sites are causing significant damage to seabeds and endangering important fish stocks, warned the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report.

Shrimps and prawns are among the most important internationally-traded fishery products, with a value of $10 billion, or 16 per cent of global industrial fishing exports, and shrimp fisheries generate substantial economic benefits, especially for many developing countries.

The Global Study of Shrimp Fisheries reviews current problems and solutions of shrimp fishing in ten countries: Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kuwait, Madagascar, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.

"For millions of poor vulnerable households, shrimp fishing is an important source of cash and employment," said Jeremy Turner, Chief of the <"http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10126/icode/">FAO Fishing Technology Service.

"But shrimp fishing is also associated with overfishing, capture of juveniles of ecologically important and economically valuable species, coastal habitat degradation, illegal trawling, the destruction of seagrass beds and conflicts between artisanal and industrial fisheries," added Mr. Turner.

Trawling in tropical regions can result in large amounts of unwanted catch that is either discarded or kept on board, further threatening endangered species and already heavily exploited fish stocks. Bycatch often includes juveniles of important commercial fish species, such as cod, rockfish, red snapper, croaker, king mackerel, Spanish mackerel and weakfish, as well as sea turtles.

FAO estimates that shrimp trawl fisheries are the single greatest source of bycatch, accounting for over 27 per cent or 1.86 million tons of discarded fish.

The report recommends that bycatch reduction efforts should focus on medium and large-scale shrimp fisheries, where significant cutbacks have already been achieved by applying modifications to fishing gear, catch quotas, discard bans and improvements in bycatch handling and marketing.

Many of the problems caused by shrimp fishing can also be mitigated by promoting sustainable, fishing management schemes, reducing fishing capacity and addressing the issue of open access according to Mr. Turner.

The report cites Australia's prawn fisheries and some cold-water shrimp fisheries as some of the best managed in the world, based on fishers' participation, managed bycatch, reduced discards and the use of property rights in management. The report also urges countries to make agencies more effective and to provide legislation protecting access to fisheries.
Feb 17 2009 2:10PM
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