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UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
22 May, 2008 =========================================================================
BAN KI-MOON VISITS CYCLONE-DEVASTATED AREAS IN MYANMAR
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has seen first-hand today the devastation in Myanmar left by Cyclone Nargis, which has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted the lives of 2.4 million others since it struck the country earlier this month.
Flying by military helicopter over rice fields submerged under brown sludge, Mr. Ban visited the makeshift Kyondah relief camp, 75 kilometres south of Yangon in the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta, where many women and small children who have lost their homes and family members have taken shelter.
“I am so sorry, but don’t lose your hope,” Mr. Ban told a camp resident. “The United Nations is here to help you. The whole world is trying to help Myanmar.”
During his four-hour tour of the area, he also stopped at a distribution centre stocked with dozens of bags of rice and cartons of drinking water.
Prior to visiting the delta, the Secretary-General met with Prime Minister Thein Sein, stressing that because the crisis has exceeded Myanmar’s national capacity, foreign aid experts need to be sent in urgently.
Mr. Ban said that he felt at least six months of food and medical assistance was necessary, in parallel with recovery work.
He called on the Prime Minister to allow international humanitarian experts in to coordinate the relief effort, which has left many local staff exhausted and overstretched.
Starting his day in Yangon by signing a book of condolences to the cyclone’s victims, the Secretary-General also stopped at the 2,000-year-old Shwedagon pagoda, Myanmar’s holiest Buddhist shrine, where he walked barefoot in a show of respect for the Buddhist tradition.
“The United Nations and the whole international community stand ready to help you overcome this tragedy,” he said at the shrine, where he offered flowers to the statue of Buddha. “That is why I am here. The main purpose of my coming to Myanmar is to demonstrate my solidarity and bring a message of hope.”
Tomorrow, Mr. Ban is scheduled to meet with Myanmar’s leader Senior General Than Shwe in the new capital of Naypyidaw, some 350 kilometres north of Yangon. He also expects to meet with aid workers.
He will leave the country for Bangkok tomorrow evening, heading back to Yangon on Sunday to preside over the pledging conference for Myanmar, which is co-sponsored by the UN and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Preparations for that conference are under way, and tomorrow is the deadline for participants to register. So far, 31 countries, nine UN agencies and the ASEAN Secretariat have signalled their intention to attend.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today reported that five international medical teams – from Thailand, India, China, Bangladesh and Laos – are providing assistance to those in need and are support national health-care staff in the cyclone-hit areas of Ayeyarwady and Yangon Divisions. An additional team from Singapore is expected to arrive today.
Since Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, the UN World Food Programme has dispatched over 2,100 tons of food to affected areas, with nearly two-thirds of the supplies having been distributed to 348,000 people.
A 4,000-square-metre warehouse in Yangon is operational, along with a fleet of 30 trucks, four barges, four barge pushers and two boats. Additionally, in five local hubs, six Mobile Storage Units have been or are in the process of being constructed.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has continued with its vaccination campaign in the region, with survivors in camps living in unsanitary conditions.
“My greatest single fear is a very large measles outbreak, especially in some of these camps,” said Peter Salama, the agency’s Chief of Health.
UNICEF has vaccinated roughly 1,000 children between the ages of nine months and five years against measles in Laputta Township in the Irrawaddy delta. The children’s mothers have received tetanus shots.
Meanwhile, following a visit to Myanmar from 15 to 18 May, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has underscored the need to urgently enhance coordinated storm-surge advisory systems in the Gulf of Bengal and other tropical-storm prone regions of the world.
In a joint press conference with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO/IOC) in Geneva yesterday, the WMO said that these systems should be supplemented by responses which protect people at the grassroots level.
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SOLUTION TO FOOD CRISIS MUST ADDRESS INEQUALITIES – UN HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF
A wide-ranging approach addressing inequalities and the rights of marginalized groups is essential in tackling the current global food crisis, the top United Nations human rights official said in Geneva today.
While it is crucial to respond with humanitarian support in the short term, a medium- and longer-term plan must centre on human rights, High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour told a special session on the food crisis at the Human Rights Council.
“Such focus helps to analyze and confront the differing impact of the crisis on people,” she noted. “It contributes to clarify the imbalances in a society that trigger or exacerbate the food crisis.”
Mr. Arbour added that a rights-based approach will also take into account the voices of marginalized groups, along with human rights institutions, civil society organizations and others.
Such a solution could also help to defuse tensions and prevent civil unrest, as well as avert violations of civil and political rights in response to protests.
The current food emergency, she observed, was triggered by the confluence of several factors, including imbalances in supply and demand, unfair trade practices and distorted incentives and subsidies.
“Yet at its core and in its punitive effects, this crisis boils down to a lack of access to adequate food,” the High Commissioner told the Council at the start of the day-long event, adding that this access is a right protected by international law.
Not only must the impact of the crisis on marginalized people must be studied, but the root causes of such discrimination – such as exclusion from access to land, productive resources and decent work – must be eliminated, she said.
If such comprehensive action is not taken, a “domino effect” which affects other rights, including the right to health or to education, could result, Ms. Arbour cautioned.
She emphasized the key role of States, which by human rights law must resolve such situations. “States’ obligations regarding the right to food and freedom from hunger also entail the adoption of national strategies to ensure food and nutrition security for all.”
The current crisis “transcends national boundaries,” the High Commissioner said, calling for cooperation among States in addressing the problem.
In his address to the Council, Olivier De Schutter, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, underscored how the crisis should not be viewed as one that is solely humanitarian or macro-economic in nature, but as one that is focused on the right to food.
“What distinguishes a natural disaster from a violation from human rights is that, in the latter situation, we are capable of moving along the chain of causation, from the situation of the malnourished of the hungry to specific acts or abstentions by duty-holders,” he said.
It is up to individual countries to outline their plans regarding the right to food, the independent expert said. “At the same time, the international community must ensure that an enabling environment is created, allowing such national strategies to flourish, and providing financial and technical assistance where needed.”
The independent expert also called for stepped-up efforts to assist the agriculture sector in developing nations, in the face of soaring input prices.
“We must feed the hungry now, but we must also prevent famines from occurring tomorrow,” he pointed out.
The Council later adopted a resolution by consensus expressing its grave concern at the worsening global crisis.
It called on States – both individually and though cooperation and assistance – and others to make every effort to ensure the realization of the right to food as an essential human rights objective.
In a related development, poor countries relying on food imports are expected to spend 40 per cent more on food this year than they did last year, according to a new report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
According to the latest Food Outlook, this year’s food import bill for the Low Income Food Deficit Countries (LIFDSs) is forecast to reach $169 billion this year.
FAO characterized this as a “worrying development,” noting that by the end of this year imports could cost four times as much as they did in 2000.
“Food is no longer the cheap commodity that it once was,” said the agency’s Assistant Director-General Hafez Ghanem, stressing that soaring food prices will likely exacerbate the food deprivation suffered by 854 million people. “We are facing the risk that the number of hungry will increase by many more millions of people.”
Although the global production outlook is favourable, this is unlikely to translate into the decline of many agriculture commodities because of the need to replenish stocks and rising utilization.
FAO predicts record cereal production this year, but tight markets will result in continued price volatility.
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NEPAL STILL FACES CHALLENGES AFTER SUCCESSFUL ELECTION, UN ENVOY STRESSES
The political parties in Nepal will have to reach agreement on how to form a new government and then successfully draft a new constitution to give the country a chance of lasting stability and economic development, according to the United Nations’ top envoy to the country.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Nepal Ian Martin briefed the Security Council on the situation in the country today and afterwards told reporters that Nepal still faces “very considerable challenges” following the elections for a new Constituent Assembly last month.
“The most immediate challenge is to reach agreement among the political parties on the basis for forming a new government, which ideally should provide stability and economic development while the new constitution is drafted,” Mr. Martin said, adding that it was widely accepted that the Maoists would lead the new administration.
The Constituent Assembly will hold its first meeting next week, but the UN envoy said that drafting a new constitution would be a “profound challenge” since “the positions that the political parties put before the electorate are far apart,” especially on the question of what kind of federalism the country should adopt.
Mr. Martin also said that the peace process in Nepal remains incomplete, noting that there are still two armies in the country and that there has been no agreement so far on “what is referred to in the peace agreement as the integration of the Maoist army and the democratization of the Nepal army.” He added that other political parties were insistent that they would not join a Maoist-led Government unless violent attacks from the Maoist Young Communist League were halted.
The UN envoy listed a number of important commitments of the peace process that have not yet been implemented: compensation for victims of the conflict, investigation of disappearances and the return of property and of displaced persons to their homes. “When you combine those with some of the fresh wounds of election violence, they require an active process of local reconciliation,” Mr. Martin stressed.
“Public security, which is one of the deepest wishes of people throughout the country, is not going to prevail until Nepal’s consistent pattern of impunity is brought to an end,” he added, saying there has not been a single prosecution in civilian courts of even the most egregious human rights violations on either side of the armed conflict, or of many killings since.
Mr. Martin deplored the recent beating to death of businessman Ram Hari Shrestha by members of the Maoist army.
In a related development today, the Maoist army’s Vice-Chairman said that the army would cooperate fully with the police and a Government commission of inquiry into the businessman’s death.
The United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN) is due to wrap up its operations in the country in July. Mr. Martin said he would be engaging with political leaders on his return to the country to see whether there was a continuing need for a UN role beyond the normal activities of world body’s agencies in Nepal.
After today’s briefing, Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, said it was clear that UNMIN had contributed significantly to helping Nepal end its long-standing conflict and enter a democratic transition.
Mr. Sawers said the mission’s future remains to be considered, given its mandate is due to expire so soon.
“We’ll need to consider whether there is a role for the UN after that, but we will first look to the Government of Nepal to let us have their views and their requests for a role for the UN in that country well in advance of the 23 July date for the end of the mandate,” he said.
“If there is no request, then the mandate for the UN Mission in Nepal would come to an end, but there may be scope for a scaled-down role for the United Nations there.”
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HUMAN SECURITY THREATENED BY DIVERSE GROUP OF CHALLENGES – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
Challenges ranging from hunger and poverty to armed conflict and from environmental degradation to international terrorism all pose a threat to human security and illustrate the need to devise solutions that are both integrated and people-centred, President Srgjan Kerim today told the General Assembly’s first-ever thematic debate on the issue.
Speaking at the one-day forum at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Kerim said it was a time “for a holistic approach focused on people, their protection and empowerment” and one that moves beyond the understanding of security as state security only.
The 2005 World Summit referred to the concept of human security, noting that “all individuals, in particular, vulnerable people, are entitled to freedom from fear and freedom from want, with an equal opportunity to enjoy all their rights and fully develop their human potential.”
The President said at today’s debate that the international community should enhance its cooperation given the interconnectedness of people’s insecurities.
“As the global food crisis illustrates, a well-coordinated and integrated response by the international community is needed to address both the prevention stage as well as the full range of factors that affect people’s well-being.”
He called for a “new culture of international relations” with the principle of human security as its foundation.
Speaking to reporters later, Mr. Kerim said: “It was stressed today that human security is relevant in many, many critical areas, important parts of the activities of people and of the global challenges of today.”
The debate’s keynote speaker, Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, also said the issue must be reframed to include the concepts of survivability and resilience.
Global imbalances in the realms of population growth, poverty, food, resources, ecology, migration, energy, money, peace and cultural understanding are “multipliers” of human security, in that they can exponentially affect lives by either providing stability or instability, he observed.
The Prince noted that “States have not relinquished their sovereignty to cooperate with one another more effectively, and market-driven solutions have proven incapable of addressing the systemic problems that transcend national borders.”
In his speech, he also said that representatives from all sectors – government, business and civil society – must establish a global programme of action to bring about an end to poverty and ensure adequate food supplies, a clean environment and stable purchasing power, among others.
“When we say we are looking at human security, what we mean is that we want to alleviate the present situation by creating a system so that, as the future keeps arriving, it arrives in the form of better and better present situations,” he said. “The consequences of what we do now must bring about a better present moment in which to live.”
In 2006, an open-ended forum comprising Member States from all regions called Friends of Human Security – of which the Prince is a member – was established to encourage collaboration among nations on the topic.
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SECURITY COUNCIL VOICES CONCERN AT RENEWED CLASHES IN BURUNDI
The Security Council today expressed concern at the recent confrontation between rebels and Government forces in Burundi and called for both parties in the small African country to end their hostilities and fully implement the 2006 comprehensive ceasefire agreement.
“The members of the Security Council reiterated their concern at the recent confrontation between the Palipehutu-Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) and the national defence forces of Burundi, following attacks by the FNL in violation of the comprehensive ceasefire agreement,” Deputy Permanent Representative Karen Pierce of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council, said in a press statement.
Ms. Pierce said Council members “noted with satisfaction” that an FNL delegation had recently returned to the capital Bujumbura and that the Joint Verification and Monitoring Mechanism had resumed its work.
“They urged the parties to seize this opportunity to definitively consolidate peace in Burundi, by engaging without reservations in dialogue to overcome their differences, and to reach rapidly a concerted, peaceful and sustainable solution to the current crisis,” she said.
They also welcomed the continued engagement of the UN Peacebuilding Commission and reiterated their support for the work of the UN Integrated Office in Burundi (BINUB) to enable the country to return to peace and stability.
In recent weeks more than 100 people have been killed in and around the capital. The Palipehutu-FNL is the last major rebel hold-out after the brutal civil war between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority was officially ended by the comprehensive ceasefire agreement in 2006.
Speaking to reporters after he briefed the Council, Youssef Mahmoud, the Secretary-General’s Executive Representative in Burundi and Head of BINUB, expressed concern about “the continued political stalemate and paralysis in the National Assembly.”
He also backed efforts to encourage the remaining leadership of the FNL to return to Burundi from the Tanzanian city of Dar-es-Salaam, where they are currently based.
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DEADLY VIOLENCE BETWEEN MALIAN FORCES, TUAREG REBELS ALARMS SECRETARY-GENERAL
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern today about the situation in Mali, where clashes yesterday between Government forces and ethnic Tuareg rebels in the north-east of the West African country have resulted in numerous fatalities.
“This latest incident underscores the urgent need to find an immediate and lasting solution to this recurrent conflict so that Mali can focus on its development priorities and consolidation of its democracy,” the Secretary-General said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.
Mr. Ban said he looked forward to being briefed in more detail by his Special Representative for West Africa, Said Djinnit, who is scheduled to visit Mali in the coming days.
Media reports say that more than 30 soldiers and rebels died, and many others were injured, in the clashes at an army garrison in the town of Abeibara, close to the borders with Algeria and Niger.
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SECURITY COUNCIL WELCOMES ACCORD TO END LEBANESE POLITICAL CRISIS
The Security Council has welcomed this week’s accord to resolve the long-running political stand-off in Lebanon and called for the agreement, which paves the way for a president to finally be elected and a national unity cabinet to be established, to be implemented fully.
In a presidential statement issued today, the Council congratulated the leaders and people of Lebanon for the deal, reached yesterday in Doha, Qatar, under the auspices of the Arab League.
It “constitutes an essential step towards the resolution of the current crisis, the return to the normal functioning of Lebanese democratic institutions, and the complete restoration of Lebanon’s unity and stability,” according to the statement, read out by Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, which holds the Council presidency this month.
The agreement has been reached after deadly violence between pro- and anti-Government militias erupted recently in the capital, Beirut, and elsewhere. Since last November, when the office became vacant, there have been 18 failed attempts to conduct a parliamentary vote to select the next president.
Under the accord, a new president will be chosen, a national unity cabinet will be set up and the country’s electoral laws will be addressed.
Council members said they also welcomed the decision to continue the national dialogue on ways to reinforce the authority of the State over the entire territory so as to guarantee the sovereignty and safety of the State and the people.
In addition, they noted the agreement bans the use of weapons and violence as a means to settle disputes, regardless of their nature or the circumstances.
The statement, which echoes a similar statement from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday, stressed the need for the accord to be implemented in its entirety, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and with the 1989 Taef agreement ending the civil war.
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FORMER BARBADIAN OFFICIAL AND FAMILY NGO HONOURED BY UN AGENCY
A former deputy prime minister from Barbados and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Family Care International both received awards today from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Dame Billie Antoinette Miller and the New-York based Family Care International were recognized for their “outstanding work in contributing to population and development issues, and in improving the health of individuals.”
Ms. Miller was the first woman to serve as a minister in her home country and made a powerful speech for gender equality at last year’s General Assembly, as well as chairing a major committee at the milestone International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994.
Family Care International seeks to ensure safe motherhood, promote sexual and reproductive health for adolescents, and to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, working out of eight field offices in Africa and South America.
Presenting the awards, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyotaka Akasaka said: “Both have made significant contributions to providing life-saving information and services to individuals. Thanks to their efforts, countless people have been able to plan pregnancies, avoid recourse to unsafe abortion, practice responsible sexual behaviour, and prevent the spread of HIV.”
The awards were presented today at a ceremony at UN headquarters in New York.
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CONDITIONS WORSENING FOR WORKERS IN OCCUPIED ARAB TERRITORIES, UN REPORT FINDS
The situation for workers in the occupied Arab territories is deteriorating, with rates of working poverty rising, genuine employment declining and individual frustration growing, according to the latest annual report on the issue from the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO).
Only one in three people of working age living in the occupied Arab territories, including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, was employed for all or part of the time, the report said. Unemployment is now hovering at above 20 per cent.
The report, based on missions to the region earlier this year, indicated that about half of all Palestinian households are dependent on food assistance from the international community, especially given the recent worldwide spike in the price of many basic foods.
In November last year, about 40 per cent of the population in Gaza and 19 per cent in the West Bank were classed as living in extreme poverty – an actual slight improvement on the comparable figures from a year earlier after the Palestinian Authority was able to resume wage payments to civil servants.
Prepared by the International Labour Office, the secretariat of the Geneva-based ILO, the report voices concern about the growing gap between the hopes and aims of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians and the reality on the ground.
“With the devastation of military action, and the continuing fine net of restrictions on movement, there is no doubt that economic and social hardship is mounting in the occupied Arab territories,” it says, adding that the problems are compounded by what it called the systematic disregard of Arab workers’ right to equality of opportunity and treatment in employment.
Institutions in the region that represent free and democratic employers and workers are also facing interference in their right to organize, according to the ILO.
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BAN KI-MOON PAYS TRIBUTE TO ROLE OF FORMER INTERNATIONAL CIVIL SERVANTS
The former staff of the United Nations can play a vital role as mentors and guides “to a whole new generation of international civil servants” at a time when the Organization is facing unprecedented demands, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
In a message to the annual meeting of the Association of Former International Civil Servants, held in New York, Mr. Ban noted that the world body is being called on to provide solutions to the world’s most intractable problems, from climate change to food security to peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
While the current UN staff are “proving worth of these tasks… there is much they can learn from all of you,” he said, in a message delivered on his behalf by Netta Avedon, the chief of staff development in the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM).
“Your accumulated wisdom and institutional memory complement their own youthful energy and dedication. That is why I welcome and encourage regular contact between us.”
In his message the Secretary-General also urged the former staff members to be strong public advocates for the UN.
“Many of you already defend and explain our Organization through speeches, talks, articles and other outreach efforts. I am grateful for this support and encourage every one of you to contribute to this effort.”
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UN OFFICIALS DEPLORE DEATH SENTENCES IN CASE OF MURDERED CONGOLESE JOURNALIST
The United Nations’ top human rights official and its Special Envoy to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today condemned the sentencing to death of three civilians by a Congolese military tribunal in connection with the murder of journalist Serge Maheshe last year.
The trio is among a group of people facing charges of complicity in the June 2007 murder of Serge Maheshe who was working for Radio Okapi, a UN and Swiss-funded broadcaster for the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC).
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and UN Special Envoy Alan Doss denounced irregularities in the trial, saying that the military court had refused to explore other credible leads in the case and to ask for ballistic expertise on the weapon used for the crime. They also said there had been repeated threats against the defendants, the defence lawyers and independent observers of the trial.
“I condemn the practice of military tribunals which continue to judge civilians in violation of international norms and the Congolese Constitution,” Ms. Arbour said.
“The lack of willingness shown by the judicial military authorities to establish the truth about this murder and the violations of international norms on fair trials are equally deplorable.”
Welcoming the acquittal of two other accused civilians in the case, Ms. Arbour and Mr. Doss said many questions remained unanswered and appealed to Congolese authorities to pursue the case in accordance with their obligations under international law.
In August last year four civilians were initially sentenced to death on the basis of confessions, which were subsequently retracted. Military magistrates were accused of obtaining the confessions under duress, but no independent inquiry was carried out to investigate these allegations.
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ARMED MEN AMBUSH PEACEKEEPERS SERVING WITH UN FORCE IN DARFUR
A Nigerian battalion serving with the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been ambushed by dozens of men armed with machine guns, rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, the mission reported today.
About 50 to 60 armed men on horseback, dressed in military camouflage, ambushed the battalion yesterday afternoon along the new airport road near El Geneina in West Darfur state. They stole rifles, ammunition, telephones and cash.
The ambush occurred as the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) warned that continuing attacks on the staff and assets of aid agencies working in Darfur are threatening humanitarian access and worsening the already perilous conditions faced by many locals.
The hijacking of the North Darfur State Water Corporation’s drilling rig by an armed group in March, for example, has meant that as many as 180,000 people may not have access to clean water this year.
In a related development, UNAMID has sent a fact-finding mission to an area of North Darfur where recent fighting over water resources has led to the reported killing of nine civilians.
Meanwhile, UNAMID has issued a statement in which the leadership and staff have voiced their deep sorrow at learning of the deaths of 46 members of a former Nigerian contingent with the mission.
The peacekeepers had just returned to Nigeria after a tour of duty in Darfur when their vehicle was involved in a road accident.
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UN AGENCY DISTRIBUTES BLANKETS TO VICTIMS OF XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA
The United Nations refugee agency has distributed blankets and mats to the victims of a wave of violent xenophobic attacks in South Africa’s Gauteng province since last weekend that have killed dozens of people and forced an estimated 13,000 people to flee their homes.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it has handed out about 2,000 blankets and 2,000 mats in several police stations across Gauteng, which is centred on Johannesburg, the country’s most populous city.
Many of the displaced – who include refugees, asylum-seekers and other migrants – have sought protection from the angry mobs at police stations, but are sleeping in the open nearby, according to a statement issued by UNHCR yesterday.
The South African Government has opened “joint operation centres” at police stations and community centres to house some of the displaced and to coordinate aid delivery from humanitarian agencies to the victims.
UNHCR staff who have visited some of the centres say many lack sufficient toilets and washing facilities to house the sudden arrivals. In one community hall in the town of Germiston, about 2,800 people have crowded in to find shelter.
One of the arrivals, Filizarda Mbanza, told UNHCR staff that she fled her shack on the outskirts of Germiston at the weekend after a neighbour told her that a crowd was approaching.
“I was terrified!” she said. “My husband was at work and I was alone with the baby. What was I to take from our shack? The warnings were drawing closer and I was in a panic. I had to get out [of] there before my baby and I were attacked.”
Ms. Mbanza, who has a three-month-old baby, said she does not know if her husband is still alive.
Doudou Diène, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, told UN Radio that this week’s events indicate just how widespread xenophobia is in today’s world.
He said he was especially saddened by the fact that these events are taking place in South Africa.
“Sadness, because this happened in a country where the majority of the population has been marginalized, institutionally discriminated with violence for years, and a country which has liberated itself by fighting that institutional racism.”
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CHINA: UN SUPPLIES MEDICAL KITS AND TELECOMS EQUIPMENT FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF
Emergency health kits capable of providing assistance to 30,000 people for up to one month have been rushed into the quake-affected areas of Sichuan province in China by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).
One hundred satellite terminals have been deployed to provide accurate coordination of relief and rescue operations by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as UN aid agencies continue their humanitarian efforts.
State media report that over 41,000 people lost their lives as a result of the massive temblor on 12 May, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. Some 32,000 people are missing, while more than 250,000 others have sustained injuries. Roughly 5 million people have been left homeless.
WHO is sending an expert team to collaborate with the Government on rebuilding its health infrastructure, while about 5,000 chlorine disinfection tablets, drinking-water treatment units and mobile toilets are being supplied to control the outbreak and spread of communicable diseases such as diarrhoea.
In a statement issued today, WHO said that it promotes the construction of hospitals and health facilities that can survive the impact of natural disasters, including high-intensity earthquakes. In most cases a very small increase in construction costs is sufficient to enable health facilities to withstand such disasters.
ITU said the 100 mobile satellite terminals they are supplying are easily transported by road and air and can be used by both humanitarian workers and quake victims.
“I would like to assure the Government that ITU is ready to provide expertise in carrying out telecommunication network damage assessments aimed at paving the way for the rehabilitation of the damaged telecommunications structure,” said Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.
The hand-held Thuraya satellite phones use both satellite and GSM networks and can provide accurate GPS coordinates to support relief and rescue efforts.
The UN has contributed $8 million from its Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) to the Chinese Government, and for use by the world body’s agencies working on the ground.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is supplying tents and emergency shelter, while the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is providing relief food supplies of rice, wheat flour and cooking oil.
Meanwhile, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is taking part in a mission organized by the Government to provide immediate psycho-social assistance for children suffering from emotional trauma following the tremors, and is also providing tents, blankets and school kits.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has allocated $100,000 for emergency relief activities, part of which will be put towards coordinating the aid response.
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LOSS OF ANIMAL SPECIES AND CROPS IS ‘DEVASTATING’ – SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN
The extinction of animal species, as well as the reliance on a narrow range of crops, is a major threat to the p***t’s development and security, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in a statement to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity.
“This Day serves as a reminder of the importance of the Earth’s biodiversity, and as a wake-up call about the devastating loss we are experiencing as irreplaceable species become extinct at an unprecedented rate,” he said.
About a fifth of domestic animal breeds are at risk of extinction, with an average of one lost each month, and out of the 7,000 species of plants that have been domesticated over the 10,000-year history of agriculture, only 30 account for the vast majority of food consumed every day.
“Relying on so few species for sustenance is a losing strategy,” the Secretary-General said. “Climate change is complicating the picture,” he added, saying that livestock production accounted for more greenhouse gas emissions than transport.
“In a world where the population is projected to jump 50 per cent by the year 2050, these trends can spell widespread hunger and malnutrition, creating conditions where poverty, disease and even conflict can metastasize.”
In a separate statement marking the Day, from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Convention on Biological Diversity, the CBD’s Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf said: “If current extinction rates continue, it will be hard to provide sufficient food for a global population that is expected to reach nine billion by mid-century.”
At the ongoing meeting on the CBD in Bonn, Germany, delegates are deciding on measures that would move the world closer to the globally-agreed goal of reversing the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Under the Convention, countries are working to protect soil biodiversity, curb the loss of pollinators, and maintain the variety of foodstuffs needed to ensure proper food and nutrition.
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UN AGENCY PLEDGES TO HELP PAKISTAN TACKLE ABUSIVE CHILD LABOUR PRACTICES
The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has partnered with the European Commission (EC) for a five-year project to help Pakistan curb abusive child labour and take 10,000 children out of hazardous workplaces.
The 545 million Pakistani rupee, or €5.2 million Euro, scheme will focus on children working in conditions ranging from exposure to chemicals and other harmful substances to long, tedious working hours.
The “Combating Abusive Child Labour II” programme will be implemented by ILO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Manpower, provincial labour departments, employers and workers organizations, local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutions and the media, among others.
Donglin Li, the Director of ILO’s Pakistan office, underscored his agency’s commitment to curbing the worst forms of child labour by 2016 within the framework of the ILO Decent Work Agenda.
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