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UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
1 October, 2007 =========================================================================
UN OFFICIALS ROUNDLY CONDEMN ATTACK ON AU PEACEKEEPERS IN DARFUR
United Nations officials have joined Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in strongly condemning this weekend’s deadly attack on African Union (AU) peacekeepers at a base in Haskinita, South Darfur, which killed nearly a dozen people and wounded many more, with several people also reported missing.
Mr. Ban, in a statement released yesterday, characterized the attack as “shocking and brutal” and called “for the perpetrators to be held fully accountable for this outrageous act.”
In his statement, AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konaré stressed that “this heinous and cowardly act will not deter the determination and commitment of the AU in bringing about lasting peace and alleviating the suffering of the people in Darfur.”
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.2 million others forced to leave their homes since fighting erupted in 2003 in Darfur among rebel groups, Government forces and allied militia known as the Janjaweed.
UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters today that Joint AU-UN Special Representative Rodolphe Adada is in Haskinita, where an investigation into the incident is under way.
The UN and AU Special Envoys to Darfur, Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim, expressed their shock and dismay at the attack, appealing to all parties to the conflict to demonstrate a serious commitment to the peace process and to end hostilities.
Martin Luther Agwai, Chairman of the Ceasefire Commission and the Force Commander-designate of the soon-to-be deployed AU-UN hybrid peacekeeping force to be known as UNAMID, said that “despite the casualties and loss of life, we will persevere in our efforts to keep the fragile peace on the ground while all eyes are set on the negotiation table to ensure the peace is a lasting and sustainable one.”
He added that it was regrettable that such an incident took place before the start of political negotiations between the Sudanese Government and Darfur’s rebel groups on 27 October in Tripoli, Libya.
The Security Council was briefed today on the incident by Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guéhenno.
In a related development, the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reported that a camp hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) and humanitarian convoys have been attacked in South Darfur. Nearly all localities in Darfur hosting IDPs have witness violence during the past month.
Yesterday, acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General Tayé-Brook Zerihoun met with the visiting delegation of “The “Elders.” The group is led by South African Nobel peace prize laureate Desmond Tutu and also includes former United States President Jimmy Carter, former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and Graca Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela.
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SECRETARY-GENERAL PLEDGES UN SUPPORT FOR INTER-KOREAN SUMMIT
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed this week’s inter-Korean summit as an opportunity to contribute to reconciliation, cooperation and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and pledged any United Nations support that may be needed.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban wished the leaders of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) success in “using this historic occasion to lay a solid foundation for peace and stability” on the peninsula at their three-day meeting in the DPRK capital of Pyongyang beginning tomorrow.
“The Secretary-General hopes the summit will lead to increased inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation, as well as promoting co-prosperity,” the statement said.
“He further hopes that it will contribute to the progress of the Six-Party Talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and advance security cooperation in Northeast Asia. The United Nations stands ready to provide assistance as may be required,” it concluded.
The Six-Party Talks in Beijing between the two nations, China, Japan, Russia and the United States are currently seeking to work out the details of an agreement reached in February on dismantling the DPRK’s nuclear weapons facilities.
Mr. Ban told the DPRK’s Permanent Representative to the UN today that he will “spare no efforts to facilitate such a peace negotiation” between the Republic of Korea and the DPRK.
“I sincerely hope that the leaders of both Koreas will make a great historic successful result out of this meeting and I am confident that this summit meeting will pave the groundwork for peace and security of the Korean Peninsula, ultimately leading this path to the reunification of the Korea Peninsula,” he said at the start of a meeting with Ambassador Pak Gil Yon.
“At the same time, I sincerely hope that this summit meeting will pave a good groundwork again beyond the Korean Peninsula and we’ll be able to discuss peace and security in Northeast Asia,” he added, asking Mr. Pak to convey his message to DPRK leader Kim Jong-il.
This week’s summit is the result of the “good atmosphere” generated by the Joint Declaration of 2000, Mr. Pak noted.
He said he hoped the summit will contribute to “the promotion of relations between the North and South as well as co-prosperity of the nation, of Korea, as well as the relaxation of tensions in the regional Northeast Asia as well as the world over.”
Yesterday, Mr. Ban telephoned President Roh Moo-hyun of the Republic of Korea to convey his best wishes on the eve of the historic summit. The Secretary-General, who has previously served as that country’s Foreign Minister, voiced his hopes for increased reconciliation and strengthened cooperation between the Koreas.
He is scheduled to meet with the DPRK’s Permanent Representative to the UN today to convey a similar message.
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UN ENVOY SET TO MEET WITH MYANMAR’S TOP GENERAL
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy to Myanmar has been told by authorities that he will be able to meet the South-East Asian nation’s top general on Tuesday, the United Nations announced today.
Ibrahim Gambari, who was dispatched by Mr. Ban to the region last week in response to the deteriorating situation in Myanmar, “looks forward to meeting Senior General Than Shwe,” UN Spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York.
After arriving in Myanmar on Saturday afternoon, Mr. Gambari spent the evening in the new capital, Naypyitaw.
He was received on Sunday by the Acting Prime Minister, Lieutenant-General Thein Sein, along with the Cabinet Ministers for Information and Culture and the Deputy Foreign Minister.
Later that afternoon in Yangon, Mr. Gambari met for over an hour with opposition leader and Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He also consulted with the UN Country Team and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Myanmar has recently witnessed a wave of peaceful demonstrations, which began last month to protest a surge in fuel prices and more recently have included many of the country’s monks.
In a telephone conversation today, the Secretary-General asked Mr. Gambari “to call on the Myanmar authorities to cease the repression of peaceful protest, release detainees and to move more credibly and inclusively in the direction of democratic reform, human rights and national reconciliation,” Ms. Okabe said.
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BELGIUM WARNS AGAINST WEAKENING OF UN PRESENCE IN DR CONGO’S TROUBLED EAST
The stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in serious jeopardy from the resumption of fighting in the far east of the country, where the recruitment of child soldiers proceeds unabated, Belgium’s Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht told the General Assembly today.
In an address to the annual high-level debate at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Mr. De Gucht warned that the fragile situation in DRC’s North Kivu province was also creating severe humanitarian problems.
“This is not the time to reduce our efforts,” he said, referring to the presence of the UN peacekeeping mission to the country, known as MONUC, which he said has been crucial in re-establishing peace in recent years and setting up democratic institutions after a protracted civil war.
“We urgently need a global solution, including a regional dimension, that will also allow us to make better use of MONUC’s input. The Congolese authorities are preparing for the local elections, which will strengthen the democratic culture across the country. They need our full support.”
An estimated 300,000 people have fled their homes in North Kivu since the end of last year because of fighting between Government forces, renegade troops and other armed groups. The violence and displacement has been particularly intense in the last two months.
UN humanitarian agencies reported last week that they are stretched to their limits in trying to help the people escaping the fighting.
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PACIFIC ISLAND NATIONS SPOTLIGHT PERILS OF CLIMATE CHANGE DURING ADDRESSES TO UN
Developing countries must be allowed to make voluntary commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions under any new global agreement to deal with the effects of climate change, the Deputy Prime Minister of Tuvalu told the General Assembly today.
Tavau Teii, who is also his country’s Natural Resources and Environment Minister, said the international summit being held in Bali, Indonesia, in December, “will be very important” in determining how and whether the world can respond successfully to the impact of global warming.
Any agreement emerging from the Bali summit should reconfirm the importance of the Kyoto Protocol concerning greenhouse gas emissions and encourage States Parties to make new and substantial emissions reductions, he said at the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly.
Mr. Teii said newly industrialized countries and States with economies in transition should be encouraged to take on pledges to reduce their emissions.
A new negotiation process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should also be agreed, he said, to set up a legal agreement allowing developing countries to make voluntary commitments to reduce their emissions.
“Under this arrangement we envisage that developing countries will be able to take voluntary commitments to reduce emissions from the energy, transport and forest sectors. These commitments would be linked to appropriate incentive mechanisms.”
Mr. Teii also said it was important that any reductions in emissions from deforestation should not come at the expense of the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
Vanuatu’s Foreign Minister George Andre Wells said a rapid reduction in gas emissions must take place within the next 10 to 15 years.
“It is a reality that, if it is not addressed urgently, will have irreversible effects on the agriculture and tourism sectors which constitute the core pillars of development of many of our island economies.”
Mr. Wells said the effect of climate change – such as rising sea levels – on agriculture production, water quality and infrastructure development was of critical importance to his nation.
“For many small island States and least developed countries (LDCs) meeting the challenges of climate change will only add additional stress to their financial, human and institutional capacities.”
Mongolia’s Foreign Minister Enkhbold Nyamaa told the high-level debate that climate change was already having an impact on nations large and small, coastal and landlocked – like his own.
Desertification has become rampant in Mongolia, he said, with pastures supporting the semi-nomadic lifestyle of many locals dwindling and becoming more fragile.
Extreme weather conditions have also become more common in recent years, particularly droughts and the phenomenon known as “dzud,” a cold winter with heavy snowfalls.
Any agreements that succeeds or supplants the Kyoto Protocol “should be flexible and diverse, taking into consideration circumstances in each country,” Mr. Nyamaa stressed.
“It must include all the major emitters and achieve compatibility between environmental protection and economic growth by utilizing advances in technologies to the greatest extent possible.”
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UN ROLE SHOULD BE TO INCULCATE ‘CULTURE OF DEMOCRACY’ – LESOTHO
The United Nations should strive “to aggressively inculcate the culture of democracy in all nations” and discourage losing parties from using unlawful means to contest election results, Lesotho’s Deputy Prime Minister told the General Assembly today.
Archibald Lesao Lehohla told the annual high-level debate at the Assembly that all too frequently in poor countries the losing parties resort to violence and other methods to dispute the results.
“This is despite the fact that there are always lawful mechanisms for challenging the election results,” he said. “This is one area where we see the role of the United Nations, as the universal institution, with the necessary capacity, to assist requesting Member States to reverse these trends.”
Mr. Lehohla stressed that “just as the United Nations plays a critical role in world economic development, it should see it as its role to aggressively inculcate the culture of democracy in all nations. In particular it must help the developing countries to fight the culture of impunity” around violent responses to the results of ballots.
“Victors must learn to accept victory with humility and magnanimity and losers to accept defeat with grace. In this way, the post-election period can be devoted to development, with all sides joining hands in the collective national effort.”
Mr. Lehohla also called on the UN to adopt an instrument that introduces sanctions when a Member State has an unconstitutional change of government.
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COUNTRIES MUST ENFORCE INDICTMENTS OF WAR CRIMES COURT, LIECHTENSTEIN TELLS UN
The creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been “the crowning success” of recent progress towards the rule of law and global justice, Liechtenstein’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, but that achievement must be backed up by arrests of all the people indicted by the Court.
Rita Kieber-Beck called on the UN and all Member States to cooperate with the ICC to ensure that the arrests are made and the indictees are brought to The Hague in the Netherlands, where the Court is based, for trial.
So far the ICC has issued arrest warrants for two suspects accused of war crimes in Darfur and five leaders of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda, but none have been arrested.
The Darfur indictees are Ahmed Muhammad Harun, currently the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb. The LRA indictees are the leader Joseph Kony, and commanders Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.
Thomas Lubanga, a rebel militia leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was arrested last year, while the Prosecutor’s Office has begun to probe of allegations of killings and rapes in the Central African Republic (CAR).
Ms. Kieber-Beck said the Security Council’s decision to refer the situation in Darfur – where more than 200,000 people have been killed and at least 2.2 million others forced to flee their homes since 2003 – “was a landmark decision, both legally and politically.
“It was a strong message by the Security Council that the international community does not accept impunity for the most serious crimes under international law.”
But the Foreign Minister stressed that this message needs to be backed by enforcement action on the suspects who remain at large.
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ERITREA ACCUSES SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OF ALLOWING ETHIOPIA TO DISREGARD LAW
Ethiopia seems to be planning to renounce the accord that ended its border war with Eritrea so that it can renew hostilities, the latter’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, accusing some Security Council members of accommodating the interests of Ethiopia despite its repeated breaches of international law.
Speaking at the Assembly’s annual high-level debate at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Osman Saleh said “the simple truth is that Ethiopia has refused to cooperate” since 2002 with the binding decisions of a boundary commission charged with demarcating the border between the two African countries.
“In flagrant breach of international law, the Charter of the UN, and the Algiers Peace Agreement [which ended hostilities in 2000], Ethiopia continues to occupy sovereign Eritrean territories through military forces,” Mr. Saleh said, noting that unlawful Ethiopian settlements have been in place for five years.
He said Ethiopia has been able to frustrate the implementation of the boundary commission’s decision – which were supposed to have been completed in 2003 – “because of the unwarranted positions of some UN Security Council Member States, and especially the United States of America, which has regrettably chosen to placate Ethiopia at the expense of international law and the interests of regional peace and security.”
Mr. Saleh said Eritrea had learned of a letter from the Ethiopian Foreign Minister indicating his country intended to try to renounce the two Algiers Agreements.
The Government in Addis Ababa, he said, “seems to be planning to use its unlawful attempt at renunciation… as a precursor for initiation of renewed hostilities.”
Saying the boundary commission had reached a crossroads, Mr. Saleh called on the UN and the Security Council to exercise their “unequivocal legal and moral responsibilities” to ensure the final border decision is marked on the ground in accordance with earlier agreements.
He added that “some powers with major interest in the region need to reassess their policies so that the peoples in the region can live in peace and harmony.”
Using the right of reply, Ethiopia’s representative said his country was familiar with the “baseless accusations” of Eritrea, which he said was the obstacle to the full implementation of the Algiers Agreements and the boundary commission’s decision.
Eritrea had moved its forces into the temporary security zone (TSZ) created by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) as a demilitarized area, he said, and restricted the legitimate work of the UN mission.
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WESTERN SAHARA DISPUTE AT TURNING POINT, MOROCCO TELLS UN
The issue of Western Sahara is witnessing an “historical turning point,” the Foreign Minister of Morocco said today, referring to the Non-Self-Governing Territory as “Moroccan Sahara” and advocating a settlement based on an autonomy proposal put forward by the country’s Government.
Addressing the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate, Mohamed Benaïssa said the turning point “results from the dynamic created by the Moroccan Initiative on a Statute of Autonomy,” which he said “has opened promising perspectives for overcoming the stalemate this issue faces at the UN level.”
He said the initiative “offers the fundamental elements necessary for a realistic, applicable and final political solution to a regional dispute that hinders the construction of a strong and homogenous Maghreb, interacting with its geopolitical environment.”
It also “answers the call of the Security Council since 2004 about the need for finding a political solution to this dispute” and “is in conformity with international law.”
He said Morocco has taken part in negotiations in “good faith with a constructive attitude.”
Morocco is committed “to advance this process in order to reach a final solution to this dispute within the framework of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as on the basis of the Autonomy Initiative as the ultimate objective of the negotiation process and as an open, flexible and indivisible offer.”
Earlier today, Algeria’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly that his country hopes for an agreement between Morocco and the Polisario Front that would pave the way for the people of Western Sahara to decide on their future.
Mourad Medelci said Western Sahara is the “last case of decolonization in Africa where the people are still deprived of their right to self-determination enshrined in relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council.”
He said the international community had nourished hopes for a just and lasting solution, notably through the Security Council’s support in 2003 for the peace plan put forward by James Baker, the former Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General.
Algeria welcomed recent developments on the issue, including the adoption of Security Council resolution 1754, which underlined the need to achieve a just and comprehensive solution, Mr. Medelci said, voicing hope that negotiations could lead to an agreement that would allow the people of Western Sahara to pronounce themselves, freely and without constraints, through a self-determination referendum.
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NEPAL ON SCHEDULE TO HOLD POLLS NEXT MONTH, FOREIGN MINISTER TELLS UN
The Nepalese Government is determined to hold elections for a Constituent Assembly on time next month, its Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, voicing hope that a “new Nepal” would soon emerge from the Himalayan country’s ongoing peace process.
Addressing the annual high-level debate at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Sahana Pradhan said the Government was engaged in dialogue with the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) to ensure that the polls are held as scheduled on 22 November.
Mrs. Pradhan said the country’s independent Election Commission was making the necessary preparations to conduct the balloting and she invited other countries and organizations to send observers to monitor the polls.
“We are committed to bring the peace process to a successful conclusion,” she said, acknowledging that it has faced serious challenges in recent months. The polls were originally slated to take place in mid-June but had to be postponed due to technical problems and the onset of the monsoon season.
Mrs. Pradhan noted that the Government has concluded agreements with the leaders of the Madhesi and Janajati movement recently that will allow those communities “a stronger voice in the political dispensation and a more inclusive representation in the Constituent Assembly.”
An estimated 13,000 people were killed during the decade-long civil conflict that came to a formal end when the Government and the Maoists signed a peace accord late last year, and the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is now in place to help shepherd the country through the transition process.
The Foreign Minister said the Nepalese had voiced their desire “for an inclusive, democratic and participatory restructuring of the State” that is also peaceful.
“I have every confidence that the peace process will reap numerous dividends to the Nepalese people to create a ‘new Nepal.’ We expect generous assistance from our development partners in this process, including in Nepal’s reconstruction and development needs.”
She added that the Government was also determined to end the climate of impunity that pervaded during Nepal’s armed conflict, and it is carrying out plans to set up a truth and reconciliation agreement as mandated under the peace accord.
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DEMOCRACY CANNOT BE IMPOSED FROM OUTSIDE, MYANMAR WARNS AT UN DEBATE
The current crisis in Myanmar is the result of a “neo-colonialist” attempt by powerful countries to exploit recent peaceful protests, the country’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today, adding that “normalcy has now returned” after security forces took action against the demonstrators.
Speaking at the Assembly’s annual high-level debate, U Nyan Win warned other Member States that “the destiny of each and every country… cannot be imposed from outside” and that Myanmar will proceed towards democracy in its own way.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy to Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari is slated to meet Senior General Than Shwe, the top general in the Asian nation, tomorrow to discuss the deteriorating situation.
The Human Rights Council is also holding a special session on the issue tomorrow amid widespread international calls – including from Mr. Ban and the Security Council – for Myanmar’s authorities to exercise restraint towards the protesters.
The Foreign Minister said today that an “initial protest of a small group of activists against the rise in fuel prices” had then been exploited by political opportunists.
“They sought to turn the situation into a political showdown aided and abetted by some powerful countries. They also took advantage of protests staged initially by a small group of Buddhist clergy demanding apology for maltreatment of fellow monks by local authorities.
“The security personnel exercised utmost restraint and they did not intervene for nearly a month. However, when the mob became unruly and provocative, they were compelled to declare a curfew. Subsequently, when protesters ignored their warnings, they had to take action to restore the situation. Normalcy has now returned in Myanmar.”
Describing Myanmar as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, the Foreign Minister said the “Government is fully aware of its responsibility to lead the nation in the process of transformation to a disciplined democracy,” and added that a detailed road map has been outlined to try to achieve that goal.
“The international community can best help Myanmar by showing greater understanding. They can begin by refraining from measures which would result in adding fuel to the fire.”
He also warned against “neo-colonialist attempts” to undermine the country, which he said can only result “in conflict and untold sufferings” for the people of Myanmar.
Too often, the Foreign Minister, certain countries conduct media campaigns against a targeted State, “spread disinformation that the country concerned is committing gross human rights violations,” portray the campaign as a fight for democracy and then impose sanctions and provide material support to create unrest in the country.
“I would like to stress that economic sanctions are counterproductive and can only delay the path to democracy,” he said.
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SECRETARY-GENERAL SENDS TEAM TO CôTE D’IVOIRE REGARDING ATTACK ON PRIME MINISTER
On the request of the President of Côte d’Ivoire for an independent international inquiry into the June attack against a p*** carrying Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has sent an exploratory mission to the West African country.
On 29 June, at least four people were killed when unidentified attackers fired a rocket on a p*** carrying Mr. Soro as it landed at the airport in Bouaké, situated in the north of Côte d’Ivoire.
The aim of the six-day mission is to determine the nature of the Ivorian authorities’ request and to discuss options, based on UN principles and practices, pertaining to such investigations, according to a press release issued by the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).
The Security Council had denounced the June attack, saying that it backed the March Ouagadougou agreement, which sets out a series of measures to deal with the political divide in the country, and condemned “any attempt to destabilize the peace process by force.”
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NEPAL: WORLD BODY SETS UP INTERNAL PROBE AFTER UN VEHICLE ACCIDENT KILLS TWO
The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) has expressed its deep regret at the death of two pedestrians in an accident involving one of its vehicles and said it will set up an investigation into the incident.
On Sunday afternoon, an UNMIN vehicle transporting members of the UN verification teams was involved in an accident with three pedestrians some 16 kilometres from Dhangadhi in the country’s western region. Two pedestrians died and a third was seriously injured and taken to a local hospital.
“I am deeply saddened by this tragic accident and the loss of life and injury,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Nepal Ian Martin said in a statement.
Mr. Martin, who is also head of UNMIN, said the Mission “will do all it can to support the families in their time of grief,” and has sent Deputy Special Representative Tamrat Samuel to convey condolences to the families of the deceased.
“UNMIN will of course cooperate with the police in their investigations, and is immediately establishing its own Board of Inquiry in accordance with UN procedures,” the statement added.
The Mission was established this January to support Nepal’s peace process by helping to create conditions for the election to take place in a free and fair atmosphere, and to monitor the arms and armies of the former adversaries, the Maoist army and the Nepal Army, who are confined to cantonments and barracks in the lead-up to the election.
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INDIA CALLS ON UN TO PLAY LEAD ROLE IN REFORM OF ECONOMIC AND TRADE INSTITUTIONS
A comprehensive overhaul of the world’s key financial institutions and drastic changes to the rules of international trade are necessary if poor countries are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their target date of 2015, India’s External Affairs Minister told the General Assembly today.
“The United Nations must play an important role in overseeing the reform of the international financial architecture,” Pranab Mukherjee told the annual high-level debate of the Assembly, held at UN Headquarters in New York.
“This should include measures to ensure a greater voice for and participation by developing countries in the Bretton Woods institutions,” he said, referring to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Mr. Mukherjee said these reforms must be taken to their “logical conclusion if the credibility of these institutions is to be enhanced,” noting that progress towards the MDGs – a series of eight anti-poverty targets which world leaders agreed at a UN summit in 2000 to work towards over the next 15 years – has been tardy.
“Early and substantive progress” in the current Doha round of international trade negotiations is also essential, he said, urging special attention be paid to the needs and interests of subsistence farmers in poor States.
“The overarching principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries remains a categorical imperative.”
The External Affairs Minister voiced alarm at the “regrettable inversion of global resource flows” in recent years, with a net outflow of resources from developing countries.
Overall, official development assistance (ODA) from the industrialized world fell markedly last year, he said, and remains well below the target measure of 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The ODA that is being sent is “primarily being used to finance debt relief. That this is happening after so many years of liberalization and globalization highlights our collective failure. Perhaps we should be considering mechanisms such as an international debt commission to redress the problem of developing country debt.”
Mr. Mukherjee also pressed the case for reform of the Security Council, saying it was now time for intergovernmental negotiations on the issue to begin on the latest proposals for altering the 15-member body’s membership and working methods.
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LIBYA PROPOSES SUMMIT MEETING ON SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM
The international community should convene a summit in the coming years on reform of the Security Council, bringing together national leaders from across the world to break the impasse on the issue, a senior Libyan official told the General Assembly today.
Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation, said the UN has achieved its goals in a number of areas on the reform agenda, but there has been an absence of progress towards reforming the Security Council despite intensive consultations.
A number of proposals were realistic, based on the principles of the sovereign equality of all nations, but other ideas “involve confirming control by the powerful of the organs of the United Nations and the concept that those with privileges in the Security Council hold fast to those privileges, while rejecting any active role for other actors in this respect,” he told the Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
That attitude, he said, “cannot lead to any true reform which will contribute to the realization of the purposes embodied in the UN Charter.”
Given the impasse, he proposed convening a meeting of top national leaders to address the issue. “There is an urgent need for a new world summit conference to push forward the reform process, bringing to an end the work which we began two years ago,” he said. The summit should be held at the UN Office at Geneva within the framework of the next session of the General Assembly in 2008 “dedicated to the reform process and the expansion of the Security Council.”
Holding the meting in Geneva “will provide the opportunity for all world leaders to attend, to present constructive proposals and to participate in the decision-making process regarding this thorny issue – an issue with which the entire international community is concerned,” he said.
Efforts to reform the Security Council should involve consideration of a new formula for permanent membership under which it would be awarded “to geographical blocs and not to specific countries,” he said.
The African Union, he added, should be granted permanent membership on the Council “with all the privileges enjoyed by other permanent members, since Africa is the only continent which has no representative among the permanent members.”
He said Libya supports the position adopted at the 2005 African Union Summit, held in Sirte, where countries agreed that the continent should be granted five non-permanent seats and two permanent seats.
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OMAN SEES POSITIVE SIGNS ON MIDDLE EAST PEACE, OFFICIAL TELLS UN
There are positive signs pointing to a common understanding on the need for a comprehensive and just settlement to the Middle East conflict, a senior official from Oman today told the General Assembly today, urging the international community to advance the cause.
“We sense that there are positive indicators, reflected by a new conviction at the level of political leadership and society in Israel, on the necessity to reach a peaceful solution, based on the resolutions of the United Nations, in order to end decades of conflict in the Middle East region,” said Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad AlBusaidi, the Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry of the Sultanate of Oman, as the Assembly continued its annual high-level debate.
He emphasized the longstanding position of Arab countries that peace with Israel requires the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 borders.
“We call upon the international community, especially the superpowers, to support and advanced such positive convictions within Israel and the Arab countries for the sake of achieving peace.”
He said Israeli withdrawal, the establishment of a Palestinian State, and the withdrawal of Israel from Syrian Golan Heights and Shabaa farms “will extend security and stability in the Middle East region and will encourage cooperation between the countries and people of the region.”
Abubakr Al-Qirbi, Foreign Minister of Yemen, decried the violence being suffered by the Palestinian people. While in the past, the Arabs have been criticized for not providing a vision, they have since presented a peace initiative which has been “totally ignored” by Israel and the international community, he said, even though it contains all elements needed for a comprehensive solution.
Looking to an international conference, he voiced hope that the United States would keep to its promise regarding the establishment of a Palestinian State, which must have Jerusalem as its capital. He stressed that all parties should participate in the international conference being proposed.
He called on the Palestinians to return to dialogue, unite their positions, abide by the Arab peace initiative, and “reorganize the Palestinian house” bringing together different factions in the interests of unity.
Concerning Iraq, he called for the international community to stand with the elected Iraqi Government as it works to end sectarian violence, control the militias and end the spread of anarchy by terrorists. “Each and all” must stop interfering into the internal affairs of Iraq and put an end to the occupation and reject any plans to divide Iraq, he said.
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SOLOMON ISLANDS URGES GREATER UN INVOLVEMENT IN REGIONAL PEACE OPERATIONS
The United Nations needs to become more involved in the management of regional peacekeeping operations in trouble spots or the lead countries in those missions will inevitably use them for the benefit of their own economic interests, the Solomon Islands’ Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today.
Patteson Oti said his Government has begun a parliamentary review of the legislative basis for the continuing presence in his country of the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI), which was deployed in 2003 to try to quell violent unrest after years of simmering ethnic tensions.
RAMSI comprises police, military and civilian personnel from Australia, New Zealand and 13 Pacific island nations.
While the visiting forces deserve credit for restoring law and order, Mr. Oti said, the underlying social and cultural causes of tensions in the Solomon Islands have not been addressed.
“Moreover, those who pay the piper call the tune… Howsoever dressed and rationalized, intervention and occupation allow ‘assisting’ nations to spend and earn substantial revenue for their supporting businesses and industries,” he said.
“Mine is too nationalistic a Government to become captive to the fortunes which justify our perpetual retention under siege. My Prime Minister, fellow Government ministers and parliamentarians, as well as our Attorney-General, remained unmoved by Australian resistance to our attempts to reclaim our sovereignty and independence.”
Mr. Oti said the Solomon Islands’ experience with “the Australian-designed ‘cooperative intervention’ package demonstrates the need for greater UN involvement in the leadership of future regional peacekeeping operations.”
Noting his multiple-entry visitor visa to Australia was cancelled suddenly last year on the grounds that he was “a risk to the health, safety and good order of the Australian community,” the Foreign Minister said it was an illustration of “international anxiety, insecurity and paranoia” about the threat of terrorism.
“One would have to admit that is an incredible justification for excluding democratically elected leaders of neighbouring countries unknown for breeding terrorists,” he said.
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ON WORLD HABITAT DAY, BAN KI-MOON CALLS FOR SAFER, GREENER CITIES
With two-thirds of the human race expected to be urban dwellers by 2030, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today marked World Habitat Day with a call to make cities around the world safer, greener and more inclusive.
“We are at the dawn of a new urban era,” Mr. Ban stated, noting that half of the world’s population now live in towns and cities.
Recalling this year’s theme for the Day – “a safe city is a just city” – he said surveys show that crime in urban areas is on the rise everywhere.
“And fear of crime is one of the most influential factors shaping our daily lives. In too many cities around the world, it dictates where we choose to live, shop, work and play,” he stated.
“This is bad for human progress and for economic development – especially in a world where for the first time the number of urban slum dwellers is set to top the one billion mark.”
Mr. Ban urged greater investment in children and young people, especially those at risk of becoming marginalized and turning to crime as an escape from the harsh realities of poverty and deprivation.
Noting that those living in slums and poor urban areas are particularly vulnerable as they lack security of tenure, utilities and health services, and are most at risk to disasters wrought by climate change, the Secretary-General encouraged city leaders to plan better for crime reduction, security of tenure and climate change mitigation.
He also called for stepping up efforts to be more energy-conscious. “Our cities are our biggest polluters, and require big, innovative thinking commensurate with their size.”
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AT UN DEBATE, UGANDA CALLS FOR STEPPED-UP PRESSURE ON NORTHERN REBELS
Warning that peace talks “cannot go on forever,” Uganda’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today that the international community must step up the pressure on the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to meet its commitments under an agreement aimed at ending hostilities in the long-running civil war in the country’s north.
Sam K. Kutesa told the Assembly’s annual high-level debate, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, that the LRA has not met any of the terms of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities that it signed with the Ugandan Government in August 2006.
“For example, it is stipulated that LRA forces assemble at Ri-Kwangba in southern Sudan,” Mr. Kutesa said. “They have, however, not done this. They are still camped in Garamba National Park in the DRC [Democratic Republic of the Congo].”
The Foreign Minister said the international community must pressure the LRA to assemble at Ri-Kwangba and to put a time frame on the peace talks.
“As we inch towards a comprehensive peace agreement, international support and understanding is required to balance the need for durable peace and stability on one hand and the imperative for justice on the other.”
The conflict between the Government and the LRA, which has raged since the mid-1980s, has killed more than 100,000 people and forced 2 million others to flee their homes.
The LRA has also become notorious for abducting as many as 25,000 children and using them as fighters and porters. The children were often subject to extreme violence shortly after abduction, with many girls allocated to officers in a form of institutional rape.
In October 2005 the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first-ever arrest warrants against five senior members of the LRA: the leader Joseph Kony, and commanders Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Dominic Ongwen and Raska Lukwiya.
In his address today, Mr. Kutesa also called on the Security Council to reinforce the mandate and resources of the UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) to enable it to work more effectively with the Congolese national armed forces “to totally eradicate the threat of negative forces operating on the DRC territory.”
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UN SYSTEM OF HUMAN RIGHTS RAPPORTEURS MUST CONTINUE, HUNGARY SAYS
The system of using United Nations special rapporteurs and independent experts to investigate the human rights situation around the world gives “voice to the voiceless,” Hungary’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today as she called for the network of monitors to be allowed to continue their work.
Kinga Göncz said the rapporteurs and experts – several dozen unpaid individuals who report to the UN Human Rights Council – have provided “effective action for the benefit of victims of human rights abuses” as they probe rights problems relating to specific nations or issues.
“We are firmly convinced that both thematic and country-specific mandates remain valid in the face of the numerous human rights violations still occurring on a daily basis,” Ms. Göncz told the Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
“In this regard, we concur with the Secretary-General, who emphasized the need to consider all situations of possible human rights violations on an equal footing.”
Ms. Göncz added that a particular country was not absolved from its international human rights obligations just because a special rapporteur was not assigned to it.
The Foreign Minister welcomed the consensus around the Council’s “universal periodic review” mechanism, which allows for all countries, regardless of size or status, to have their human rights record scrutinized regularly.
But for this mechanism to be truly meaningful, “we have to build a credible and robust mechanism,” she said, with contributions to the review from treaty bodies, special procedures and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Ms. Göncz also praised the Council’s recent decision to establish a forum on minority issues, voicing confidence that it will “provide a useful platform for dialogue and exchange of views between minorities, governments and other stakeholders on issues related to national or ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities.”
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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC WELCOMES UN MISSION BUT URGES MORE AID
A senior official from the Central African Republic (CAR) today welcomed the recent establishment of a United Nations-mandated, multidimensional presence in the country but said it must be accompanied by assistance to bolster national capacity there.
Addressing the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate, CAR Minister for Foreign Affairs Côme Zoumara hailed the adoption of Security Council resolution 1778. Unanimously passed on 25 September, that text set up a mission to help protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian aid to thousands of people uprooted due to insecurity in CAR, Chad and neighbouring Sudan.
At the same time, he stressed that the operation, to be known as MINURCAT, must be accompanied by real support to reinforce the CAR’s own institutional capacities.
The conflict in Darfur, as well as the presence of rebels, armed groups and roadblocks and the proliferation of light arms, has combined to foster a “generalized and permanent” insecurity in the region, he said.
As a result, CAR has faced recurrent crises which chronically tear at the country’s economic fabric, exacerbating conditions of poverty endured by the country’s people, he said.
On the general economic situation, he said CAR was working to develop its economy in a manner consistent with the principles of sustainable development, engaging in regional cooperation toward that end.
The CAR is open to private and public investments from other States, he said, thanking those which have responded positively, including France, the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, and a number of countries in the South.
Thanking also international financial institutions such as the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he appealed to them to “turn a new page on the environment and economies of poor countries.”
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SOMALIA: NEARLY 600 POLICE RECRUITS GRADUATE FROM UNDP-BACKED PROGRAMME
Nearly 600 Somali police recruits – including 50 women officers – have graduated from a training programme sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) aimed at creating a professional civilian police force to work towards restoring peace, gain the community’s trust and champion human rights.
This initiative is one component of UNDP’s efforts – which also include developing oversight mechanisms for the police by establishing Police Advisory Committees – to support the war-torn country’s police and bolster the rule of law and security.
“The training you have all successfully completed emphasized human rights principles as a core component of policing,” UNDP Country Director Bruno Lemarquis said at last week’s graduation ceremony.
He underscored the importance of recognizing that the police are responsible and accountable to the Somali people, and said he expects the graduates to strive to uphold human rights principles every day.
Representatives from the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and State authorities attended the event at Armo Police Training Academy in Puntland, in the country’s north-east.
Recruits for the programme were selected through an inclusive process taking balanced regional representation into account. This is the second group of police recruits to graduate from Armo Academy.
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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM UNDER THREAT IN MANY COUNTRIES, HOLY SEE SAYS AT UN DEBATE
The right to religious freedom continues to be ignored and even violated in many countries, the Holy See told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate today, warning that such behaviour is often the pretext for other forms of discrimination.
Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, said dialogue among peoples of different religions and cultures was no longer an option, but “something indispensable for peace and for the renewal of international life.”
He welcomed the holding of the High-Level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace, a two-day meeting starting later this week at UN Headquarters. General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim is convening the event.
“The Holy See hopes that the increased interest on the part of non-religious bodies and institutions will contribute to a greater respect for religious freedom everywhere,” the Archbishop said. “Today, the right to religious freedom continues to be disregarded and even violated in certain places. Such violation has become a pretext for various other forms of discrimination.”
Archbishop Mamberti said non-believers were not the only ones who needed to contribute to a climate of greater religious tolerance.
“If religious leaders and believers expect States and societies to respect them and acknowledge their religions to be truly instruments of peace, they themselves must respect religious freedom; they must show that they are pledged to promote peace and shun violence; they must demonstrate that religion is not and must not become a pretext for conflict; and they must declare without ambiguity that to promote violence or to wage war in the name of religion is a blatant contradiction.”
* * *
SURVIVORS OF SOUTH ASIA FLOODS MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN, URGE UN AND PARTNERS
Warning that the humanitarian crisis in South Asia could worsen, the United Nations and leading relief agencies are calling for increased resources and attention to the plight of the millions in need of assistance after this summer’s devastating floods.
A new wave of floods in the past few weeks has submerged vast areas that were just beginning to recover from earlier flooding, stranding another 100,000 people in Bangladesh and leaving millions homeless in India, according to a joint statement issued today in Geneva by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and international organizations CARE, World Vision, Save the Children, Oxfam and Mercy Corps.
“Overall, the floods which have struck with devastating effect in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan have now killed more than 4,000 people, and disrupted the lives of more than 66 million – a number larger than the population of France,” the statement added.
In addition to the loss of life, the severe weather that occurred during this year’s monsoon season has led to the death of livestock and the destruction of agricultural lands and livelihoods. Stagnant flood water, food shortages and the lack of drinking water are contributing to the outbreak of disease.
While the organizations have been carrying out relief efforts over the past several months, they stressed the need for greater resources in order to provide the assistance planned. “A more forceful international response is necessary to prevent an even greater catastrophe that will have debilitating social consequences for the affected population.”
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes emphasized that the international aid community has been a “steadfast partner” in the efforts of the affected Governments to assist their people.
“We need to reinforce those efforts, and to look to the protracted process of recovery for those affected this year and above all to improve disaster risk reduction and preparedness for those who will be affected in the years to come,” he said.
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SYRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS SECURITY COUNCIL SHOULD CONDEMN ISRAELI ACTS
The Security Council should condemn a recent Israeli “act of aggression” against Syria, the country’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly in a speech that also urged greater assistance to help Iraqi refugees and non-intervention in Lebanon’s upcoming presidential elections.
“The latest act of Israeli aggression against Syria on September 6, 2007 is a proof of Israel’s desire to escalate tension,” Walid Al-Moualem told the Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
“We reiterate that the failure of the international community, including the Security Council, to condemn this act of aggression would encourage Israel to persist in this hostile pursuit, and lead to an exacerbation of tensions in the region,” he said, charging “some sources in the United States” with spreading rumours to justify the act of aggression.
“Syria has the will to make a genuine peace that would recover the usurped rights, return the land to its rightful owners and guarantee peace for all,” he said, while the actions of Israel and United States suggested that they do not have the same will.
Regarding the situation in Iraq, he said a solution must begin with national reconciliation and stressed the need for “the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Iraq, subject to the agreement of the Iraqi Government, because this measure will contribute to curbing the violence.”
He condemned all terrorist acts committed in Iraq. “Random allegations that combatants are infiltrating into Iraq through the Syrian-Iraqi border cannot be further from the truth,” he said. “They fail to acknowledge the strict measures that Syria has put in place to control these borders.”
He said the purpose of these allegations “is assigning responsibility for the failure of the occupying power to achieve security and stability in Iraq to others.”
With 1.6 million Iraqi refugees in Syria today, he said the country is “bearing enormous financial burdens to satisfy their economic needs and provide them with services.” The international community, he added, had “failed to discharge its responsibility toward the Iraqi refugees.” Syria had received “almost negligible” assistance to date.
“The occupying power spends hundreds of billions of dollars on military operations inside Iraq but fails to allocate any resources to assist Iraqis who have been forced out of Iraq as a result of occupation and its concomitant repercussions.”
Addressing the situation in Lebanon, he said Syria had persistently supported solutions that would serve the common interests of the country’s people. “We believe that the run-up to the upcoming presidential elections constitutes a good basis for consensus building among the Lebanese to elect a president in accordance with constitutional prerogatives, free from foreign intervention and in a manner that would safeguard Lebanon’s interest and its Arab relations.”
Terrorism had spread further since the beginning of the ‘war on terrorism,’ he said, calling for efforts to address its root causes.
In addition, he said the international community must “firmly distinguish between terrorism and the peoples’ legitimate right to resist foreign occupation.”
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NIGER’S FOREIGN MINISTER SEES CENTRAL ROLE FOR UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has a decisive role to play in promoting development as a central United Nations organ, the Foreign Minister of Niger told the General Assembly today.
Welcoming a decision taken by the Assembly on ECOSOC at its last session, Aïchatou Mindaoudou said it entrusted the Council with tasks including policy coordination, the formulation of proposals relating to economic and social development, and the fulfilment of global mandates, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of time-bound anti-poverty targets for slashing a host of global ills.
“We welcome the fact that ECOSOC has already, without delay, begun to carry out these functions at its substantive session in Geneva this past July,” she said.
Jean Ping, the Foreign Minister of Gabon, called for action on the recommendations of the High-level Panel on System-Wide Coherence, which was set up to foster greater effectiveness of the world body’s operations in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and the environment.
He noted that intergovernmental consultations on “this important issue” have already begun. “The intense activity of the General Assembly these past few years testifies well to its central role as the representative principal organ charged with orienting the work of the Organization,” he said.
At the same time, he urged greater efforts to achieve reform o the Security Council, emphasizing the importance of achieving this “for the future of our Organization.”
Cambodia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Hor Namhong, echoed the call to strengthen the role of ECOSOC, saying this should serve as the prelude to reform the General Assembly and the Security Council.
“There is no doubt that the current status quo does not correspond with the challenges posed by the world today,” the Foreign Minister said, adding that any reforms – especially of the Security Council – must ensure equitable representation for developed and developing countries.
Thongloun Sisoulith, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Laos, stressed to the Assembly that reform of the UN will not be complete until the Security Council is restructured “into a more legitimate, representative, democratic and effective organ.”
Dr. Sisoulith also called for the wider UN to be made more inclusive and transparent so that the world body can meet the “daunting challenges that lie ahead,” particularly in the fields of economic development and peace and security.
* * *
GUINEA-BISSAU: DRUG TRAFFICKING THREATENS CONSOLIDATION OF DEMOCRACY, SAYS BAN KI-MOON
Despite recent progress in the fields of public finance and cooperation with international finance institutions, the consolidation of democracy in Guinea-Bissau is being impeded by numerous challenges, particularly drug trafficking, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a new report made public today.
“Drug trafficking threatens to subvert the nascent democratization process of Guinea-Bissau, entrench organized crime and undermine respect for the rule of law,” Mr. Ban writes in the report to the Security Council on the latest activities the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS).
“There is no reliable data on drug seizures, the volume of drugs in transit through Guinea-Bissau or the local consumption of narcotics,” he notes. “However, there is a growing consensus that Guinea-Bissau is a major drug trafficking transit point in the subregion.”
Anti-aircraft artillery have been deployed to the Bijagos archipelago after reports that unidentified aircraft have been transporting cocaine, and investigations were resumed in September into the alleged involvement of several high-level officials of former Prime Minister Aristides Gomes in the disappearance of nearly 700 kilograms of cocaine seized by authorities.
“Given the country’s inability to combat this new phenomenon alone, a collective response is required,” Mr. Ban writes. “Vital technical and financial support from regional and international partners is therefore urgently needed. Guinea-Bissau must join forces with regional and international partners to tackle this growing threat through cooperation within law enforcement frameworks.”
Between July and August, civil society organizations raised concerns over infringements of the freedoms of the press and expression with regard to media reports on drug trafficking. Journalists reporting on the drug trade said that they had been pressured and intimidated, the report says.
On 24 July, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) voiced concern to the Government over the case of two journalists, one of whom was charged with libel after allegedly suggesting that the Navy Chief of Staff may have been linked to drug trafficking.
“These developments marked a reversal in the positive trend of the past three years, during which time Guinea-Bissau was not cited by the press watchdog [Reporters without Borders] as being among those countries with a poor record of respect for freedom of the press,” the Secretary-General says.
He also appeals for the consolidation of the stability pact signed on 12 March by the country’s three main political parties – the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde and Guinea, the Social Renewal Party and the United Social Democratic Party – which led to the swearing in of the Government of Prime Minister Martinho Dafa Cabi.
“I am concerned about the fact that, while the political stability pact continues to provide a platform for a more consensual approach to governance and for Government sustainability, the continuing divisions and rivalry for power among political parties could undermine crucial stabilization efforts and discourage the country’s partners and potential investors,” he says.
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ISRAEL’S FOREIGN MINISTER URGES UN TO ACT ON ITS FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
The Foreign Minister of Israel today called on the United Nations to act on its founding principles by ensuring that the work of its Human Rights Council is balanced and by standing up to those who openly espouse violence.
“What is the value, we have to ask, of an Organization which is unable to take effective action in the face of a direct assault on the very principles it was founded to protect?” asked Tzipi Livni in her address to the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate.
“It is time for the United Nations, and the States of the world, to live up to their promise of never again,” she declared.
She added that “it is also time to see this same kind of moral conviction in the Human Rights Council so that it can become a shield for the victims of human rights, not a weapon for its abusers.”
Israel, she said, “has never tried to avoid genuine discussion of its human rights record. But so long as the Council maintains its wildly disproportionate focus on Israel, it weakens the UN’s moral voice, and the price of this blindness is paid by the victims of human rights atrocities in Darfur and Myanmar and throughout the world.”
The Foreign Minister also issued a call for the development “at the global level what democracies apply at the national one” – namely a universal set of standards for participation in democratic elections.
“We need a universal democratic code that requires that all those seeking the legitimacy of the democratic process earn it by respecting such principles as State monopoly over the lawful use of force, the rejection of racism and violence and the protection of rights of others.”
She cautioned against “buying off extremists” in search of a short-term fix to instability. “Instead, groups such as Hamas and Hizbollah must be presented with a clear choice: between the path of violence and the path of legitimacy.”
The Israeli Foreign Minister said responsible States agree that “Iran is the most prominent sponsor of terrorism” and that it is actively pursuing means to “wipe a Member State – mine – off the map.”
She charged that despite this, “there are still those who, in the name of consensus and engagement, continue to obstruct the urgent steps which are needed to bring Iran’s sinister ambition to a halt.”
Despite all the obstacles to the Middle East peace process, she said “there is a new moment of opportunity, an alliance that favours peace.”
Guided by shared principles regarding the need to establish two States, living side by side in peace and security, “the parties can define a common border and turn the two-State vision into a reality,” she said.
Using the right of reply, Iran’s representative said Ms. Livni had made “baseless allegations” and distortions against his country to distract the international community from the “criminal policies and… atrocities” carried out by Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere in the region.
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MULTINATIONAL MISSION NEEDED FOR BREAKAWAY REGION IN MOLDOVA, OFFICIAL TELLS UN
A multinational civil mission with an international mandate is needed to resolve the separatist conflict in Moldova’s Transdniestrian region, the country’s Foreign Minister told the General Assembly today.
Speaking at the annual high-level debate, Andrei Stratan said the “conflict remains a continuous obstacle in promoting reforms and ensuring social and economic development of our country.”
Transdniestria has been a breakaway region on Moldova’s eastern flank following fighting between Moldovan and separatist forces in the early 1990s, when the country gained its independence.
Mr. Stratan said the negotiation process has remained stalled since April last year “because of the rigid and non-constructive position of the separatist leaders supported from outside of Moldova,” adding that “this is serving as a screen for promoting some political and mafia interests foreign to the people of this region.”
He said “continuous violation of the fundamental human rights in the Transdniestrian region and the inefficiency of the existing peacekeeping mechanism” meant a multinational civil mission with an international mandate was necessary.
Mr. Stratan also reiterated Moldova’s view that the Russian troops remaining on Moldovan territory must withdraw, according to obligations assumed in a 1999 agreement, to “create the necessary premises for ratifying and applying the Adapted Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty.”
* * *
UNESCO HONOURS PROJECTS IN BELGIUM AND US FOR USING ICT TO ENHANCE LEARNING
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized the Claroline open source eLearning platform project, based in Belgium, and Curriki, a global education community based in the United States, for their use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education.
The two projects were selected as the winners of this year’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICT in Education by UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, on the recommendation of an international jury and from among 68 projects in 51 countries and one non-governmental organization (NGO).
Launched in 2005, the prize rewards the projects and best practices of individuals, institutions and NGOs in using ICT to enhance learning, teaching and overall educational performance.
Mr. Matsuura will present the prize – a diploma and $25,000 each – to the winners at a ceremony at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters on 19 December.
Honourable mentions will also be presented to Sésamath Project – Association Sésamath (France), a comprehensive mathematics curriculum honoured for its high quality, and to Enciclomedia – Instituto Latinoamericano de la Comunicación Educativa (Mexico), an easy-to-use platform installed in 145,000 primary school classrooms that provides digital multimedia resources.
Also today, the agency designated Belizean musician and singer Andy Palacio as a UNESCO Artist for Peace.
One of his country’s most popular musicians, Mr. Palacio is also one of the most prominent defenders of the regional Garifuna culture and traditions.
With his band the Garifuna Collective he has created a unique musical style known as Punta Rock, based on Garifuna rhythms. Mr. Palacio also sings in the Garifuna language, which blends many linguistic influences and which UNESCO declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001.
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UN REFUGEE CHIEF CALLS FOR NEW STRATEGIES TO TACKLE GLOBAL DISPLACEMENT
With millions of people on the move around the world, the top United Nations refugee official today called for new strategies to tackle the causes, scale and complexity of global displacement and migration.
“The present century is a time of human displacement,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres said at the opening of the weeklong annual meeting of the agency’s governing Executive Committee. “With each economic opportunity and departing vessel, with every calamity and conflict, the 21st century is being marked by people on the move.”
After several years of decline, the number of refugees fleeing conflict and persecution rose last year and continues to climb in 2007, according to UNHCR. At the end of last year, the agency was caring for 32.9 million people, including nearly 10 million refugees, 13 million people displaced internally within their own countries and 5.8 million stateless people.
Mr. Guterres told delegates gathered in Geneva’s Palais des Nations that there were several reasons for the dramatic growth in migration, including poverty and the pursuit of a better standard of living. Safeguarding refugees and others in need of protection means that “we must recognize the mixed nature of many present-day population flows.”
He highlighted the need for targeted strategies and innovative solutions to address the increasingly interlinked factors causing people to move. “Many people move simply to avoid dying of hunger,” he noted. “When leaving is not an option but a necessity, this is more than poverty. On the other hand, natural disasters occur more frequently and are of greater magnitude and devastating impact.”
It iscrucial to examine the reasons, scale and trends of present-day displacement, Mr. Guterres said, adding that “it involves much more than understanding refugee flight.”
He also noted that the more than 4 million uprooted Iraqis in and outside their country constitute the biggest single group of displaced people and largest ever population of urban refugees. Of the more than 2 million outside Iraq, most are in cities in Jordan and Syria.
The High Commissioner also provided an overview of UNHCR's ongoing internal reforms, including budget restructuring, the out-posting of more than 120 posts from Geneva and other efforts aimed at strengthening the agency’s capacity in the field.
Also addressing today’s opening session, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes predicted that the demands for humanitarian relief were likely to grow with traditional reasons for flight – conflict and persecution – compounded by new dynamics such as environmental degradation and climate change.
Mr. Holmes called on donors to support UNHCR, emphasizing the vital role the agency was playing in the humanitarian sphere. “A healthy and vigorous UNHCR is fundamental to a healthy and vigorous international humanitarian system,” he said.
The UNHCR Executive Committee reviews and approves the agency’s programmes and budget, advises on protection issues and discusses a wide range of other topics. Special sessions will focus on issues such as Iraq, refugee protection and mixed migration.
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SECRETARY-GENERAL HAILS JEWISH FEAST, MUSLIM FAST AT SUKKOT CELEBRATION
The convergence of the Jewish festival of Sukkot and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan with the United Nations General Assembly’s 62nd session is a “particularly auspicious” symbol of how people of different cultures and religions can be brought together, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at a Sukkot celebration.
“For me, there could be no better way of celebrating the opening of the United Nations General Assembly – an occasion on which we come together not only as nations, but as human beings united in our yearning for peace,” he told guests, including Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, at last night’s Celebration of Understanding and Harmony between the Peoples and Faiths of the World.
“This year, Sukkot falls at a particularly auspicious time, as we also approach the end of the Holy month of Ramadan. This reminds us that men and women of faith around the world can be brought together, rather than separated, by their convictions and their belief in something greater than themselves.”
Mr. Ban cited last week’s meeting at UN Headquarters in New York of a ministerial meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations, a UN-backed initiative to build bridges and promote dialogue between cultures and religions.
“I was delighted to see how membership of the Alliance had nearly doubled since the inaugural meeting a year ago,” he said. “This represents a growing resolve among nations to work together to heal divides in our world. I draw strength from that resolve, at a time when so many of the challenges we face are aggravated by distrust and hostility.
“And I draw strength from gatherings such as yours. Looking around this tabernacle today, and at your faces illuminated by the celebration of the Israelites’ exodus and bountiful harvest, I feel that we are all united: we are united in our choice of dialogue before confrontation; united in our pursuit of engagement before alienation; united in our embrace of harmony and understanding.”
* * *
IRAQI VACCINATORS FIGHT AGAINST ENORMOUS ODDS WITH UN HELP IN ANTI-POLIO CAMPAIGN
United Nations agencies are helping over 20,000 Iraqi mobile polio vaccinators in “a titanic effort” to reach as many as 5 million children under the age of five despite the violence raging in the strife-torn country and the added difficulty of the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
“Delivering polio vaccine in Iraq's violent heartland has never been harder,” the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in its latest update on the campaign. “Vaccinators working in central Iraq, where violence and suspicion are at their most intense, risk their lives to knock on doors and ask to immunize children.
“Others have to make the long and difficult trek out to temporary camps where displaced families eke out a precarious existence,” it added. “But vaccinators know that they carry the hopes and fears of Iraq’s polio eradication programme on their shoulders.”
UNICEF has provided transport for many vaccination teams in an effort to improve their security, as well as carriers to protect the vaccine vials. It has also supported a massive communication and community mobilization effort to lobby support from local leaders and families.
With more than 1 million Iraqis forced to flee their homes since early 2006, close-knit communities are now filled with strangers, their names and faces unknown to the local health teams. But no matter where these children live – whether in cities or remote rural areas, in conflict zones or temporary camps – vaccinators bring the polio vaccine right to their doorsteps, with help from UNICEF and the UN World Health Organization (WHO).
The campaign has a simple objective: to administer two drops of oral vaccine to every eligible child.
“Iraq's vaccinators are truly some of the world’s greatest champions for children, and among the least recognized,” UNICEF Iraq's Chief of Health Alexander Malyavin said. “Their courage alone has kept Iraq polio-free since 2000, despite the chaos brought by conflict and insecurity. To watch them work during a polio campaign is to understand what it means to challenge enormous odds – and beat them.”
Succeeding against the odds has become a tradition for Iraq’s polio campaigns, which have continued for the past seven years, through sanctions and war, to maintain the country’s precious polio-free status. The last round in December 2006 reached over 90 per cent of its intended target, immunizing almost 4.4 million children.
But concerns are high that as insecurity traps children in “hot zones” or forces them to flee, the most vulnerable will become harder and harder to reach. During this round, vaccinators are will make special efforts to include recently displaced children, many of whom have not been counted on the tally sheets vaccinators usually rely on to keep track of their progress.
“These children are probably the most vulnerable in Iraq today, and we’re determined to ensure they don’t miss out," Dr. Malyavin said. “The goal of the polio campaigns is every child, not just those that are easy to reach.”
Iraqi families appreciate that determination. One father put his feelings into words as his son received the two drops needed to remain polio-free for life. “God bless the vaccinators,” he said. “They are doing their very best for the protection of our children.”
In Baghdad’s Karrada district, experienced vaccinators are now struggling with impossible burdens. “Huge numbers of displaced families have moved into this area because of violence in their neighbourhoods,” said Alyaa Ahmed Aziz, manager of the local primary health care centre. “You can imagine the load on the vaccinators who were already required to cover a large number of children living here Karrada even before the conflict.”
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FROM WOOD PELLETS TO GREEN TAXES, UN HIGHLIGHTS TOOLS TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING
A United Nations-backed pilot project in Costa Rica to convert large stockpiles of sawdust and other polluting residues from wood industries into a profitable “green” energy source offers new prospects for the industries in developing countries to combat global warming, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.
The project, converting the residue into wood pellets that can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels, is just one scheme being highlighted this week following last month’s summit at UN Headquarters in New York on climate change.
“Costa Rica’s pioneer project will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainable development,” FAO Assistant Director-General for Forestry Jan Heino said. The FAO is working with the Government to provide technical assistance.
In many countries, surplus wood residues from sawmills occupy large amounts of space and often pollute local rivers. Their decay leads to emissions of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Moreover, the residues can ignite spontaneously and thus present a fire risk. Thus the project has a two-fold benefit: avoiding methane emissions and substituting fossil fuels with renewable wood pellets.
On the other side of the world, in Cambodia, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is holding a seminar to help the country to adopt development policies which protect the environment without limiting economic growth.
The five-day workshop in Sihanoukville is studying tools and approaches for the Government to introduce a green tax and budget reforms which take into account environmental costs, develop sustainable infrastructure such as public transport, promote cleaner production and more sustainable consumption patterns and develop eco-efficiency indicators.
The seminar is the second in a series of five aimed at helping Asia-Pacific countries which have requested aid in designing and implementing Green Growth policies. The first took place in Kazakhstan. These countries have acknowledged that the current focus on measuring development in terms of gross domestic product growth is not enough, and there is a critical need to change the mindset and embrace measures which take quality of life and well-being into consideration.
In a related development the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) announced today that New Zealand, one of the first countries to pledge a carbon-neutral future, will be the main host of World Environment Day 2008. Carbon emissions are a main source of global warming.
The focus of the global 2008 celebrations will be on solutions and opportunities for countries, companies and communities to “Kick the habit” and de-carbonize their economies and life-styles. Measures range from greater energy efficiency in buildings and appliances, including light bulbs, to a switch to cleaner and renewable forms of electricity generation and transport systems.
The focus will also be put on the role of forests in countering rises in greenhouse gases. An estimated 20 per cent of emissions contributing to climate change globally are a result of deforestation.
“New Zealand is among a pioneer group of countries committed to accelerating a transition to a low carbon and carbon-neutral economy,” UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner said. “What we need is action to slow, stop and then to reverse the growth of global greenhouse gas emissions. A transition to a low carbon economy is essential to achieving this.”
Finally in Davos, Switzerland, the global challenge of climate change and action by the tourism sector in both adaptation of destinations and mitigation of its own impacts are the focus of a four-day meeting organized UNEP, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and their partners.
The increasingly important travel and tourism sector, totalling 846 million international arrivals and some 4 billion domestic trips in 2006, is both a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, according to a new UN report to be released later this year.
According to the report, carbon dioxide emissions from the sector’s transport, accommodation and other activities are estimated to account for between 4 and 6 per cent of total emissions and, without mitigation measures, could grow by 150 per cent in the next 30 years.
“Climate change is real, its effects are proven and the tourism sector has to play its part in contributing to the solution of the challenges it poses,” UNWTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said.
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UN ISSUES ‘AGE-FRIENDLY CITIES’ GUIDE TO BOTH HELP AND TAP VALUE OF OLDER PEOPLE
The United Nations today marked the International Day of Older Persons with appeals for sustainable pension programmes and the release of the first guide on age-friendly cities, recommending a range of measures from well-lit sidewalks to bus drivers’ waiting until senior citizens are seated before starting off.
“Sobering statistics show that some 80 per cent of the world’s population are not covered by social protection in old age,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said in a message marking the Day. “Finding ways to provide economic support for a growing number of older persons, through sustainable pension programmes and new social protection measures, is a daunting task, particularly in developing countries.”
“Our views on what it means to be old are changing all the time. Where older persons were sometimes seen as a burden on society, they are now increasingly recognized as an asset that can and should be tapped,” he added, noting that population ageing brings significant economic and social challenges for developed and developing countries alike.
The growing proportion of older people in the global population is predicted to double from 11 per cent in 2006 to 22 per cent in 2050, with the trend occurring at a much faster rate in the developing world where the number is about twice that in developed countries. By 2050, some 80 per cent of older people will be living in less developed regions.
In Asia and the Pacific alone, the rapidly growing number of older persons is projected to reach 733 million in 2025 and 1.3 billion in 2050 from 410 million this year – 15 per cent of the total population in 2025 and nearly 25 per cent by 2050 from over 10 per cent now.
With more than half of the global population already urban dwellers, a proportion that is expected to reach three out of every five people by 2030, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) today released “Global age-friendly cities: a guide,” based on consultations with older people in 33 cities in 22 countries on key physical, social and services needs.
“Age-friendly cities benefit people of all ages, not just older people, and WHO is committed to disseminating and promoting the implementation of the guide worldwide,” WHO Assistant Director-General for Family and Community Health Daisy Mafubelu said of the consultations carried out in Istanbul, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai and Tokyo among other centres.
Guide recommendations include: sufficient well-situated public benches and clean public toilets accessible for people with disabilities; well-maintained, well-lit sidewalks; public buildings fully accessible to people with disabilities; and bus drivers who wait until older people are seated before starting off, and priority seating on buses.
Other steps include enough reserved parking spots for people with disabilities; housing integrated in the community that accommodates changing needs and abilities as people grow older; friendly, personalized service and information instead of automated answering services; easy-to-read information in plain language; public and commercial services and stores in neighbourhoods close to where people live rather than concentrated outside the city; and a civic culture that respects and includes older persons.
“Older people are concentrated in cities and will become even more so,” WHO Ageing and Life Course Programme Director Alex Kalache said. “Today around 75 per cent of all older people living in the developed world are urban dwellers – expected to increase to 80 per cent in 2015. More spectacularly, in developing countries the number of older people in cities will increase from 56 million in 2000 to over 908 million in 2050.”
Meanwhile, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) announced it will bring together representatives from 25 regional countries to a high-level meeting in Macao, China, from 9 to 11 October to review progress made in response to the challenges of population ageing.
“Now is the time to address the challenges and opportunities of ageing and empower older persons,” UN Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Thoraya Obaid said in a message marking the Day. “UNFPA urges all countries to recognize the great potential that the elderly offer and to tap into their wisdom, strength, courage and resourcefulness.
“By instituting policies and programmes that support the well-being of persons of all ages, Governments, civil society and the private sector can create a society for all,” she added.
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