Back to newsletter list
UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
28 May, 2008 =========================================================================
MYANMAR: TOP UN OFFICIALS CALL FOR RELEASE OF DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI
Top United Nations officials today expressed their disappointment over the decision by the Government of Myanmar to extend the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour voiced her “profound disappointment,” calling on the Government to unconditionally release Ms. Suu Kyi.
“Her release will be critical in facilitating national reconciliation and democratic transition, to which the Myanmar leadership has committed itself,” Ms. Arbour said in a statement.
The detention of Ms. Suu Kyi, who is the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Myanmar and a Nobel laureate, was extended on 27 May. She has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years and her current period of detention began in 2003.
“These continued severe restrictions on the freedom of expression and movement against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi contravene basic human rights,” the High Commissioner noted. “They come at a time when the people of Myanmar are suffering hard and their suffering should not be compounded by more restrictive measures.”
In addition, Ms. Arbour expressed concern at the arrest on Tuesday of at least 15 members of the NLD who were marching towards Ms. Suu Kyi’s house.
General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim also urged the release of “all political detainees” in Myanmar and expressed his “disappointment” over the decision to extend Ms. Suu Kyi’s house arrest.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Kerim “continues to believe that it is important to have serious engagement and strong commitment from all parties to continue the process of national reconciliation that needs to be credible and inclusive and must lead to concrete results as envisaged by the relevant General Assembly resolutions.”
* * *
MIDDLE EAST: POSITIVE MOVES BUT SITUATION STILL FRAGILE, SAYS UN OFFICIAL
A senior United Nations official today welcomed recent political progress in Lebanon and the start of indirect talks between Israel and Syria, but cautioned that there are still serious challenges to achieve a wider peace in the Middle East.
Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), told reporters after briefing the Security Council that the election of a president in Lebanon and the Israeli-Syrian negotiations “can change the dynamics,” adding that he was very happy to be able to report some positive developments this month.
But he also struck a note of caution, noting that he “warned the Council that all these developments are still taking place in an environment which is very fragile and nowhere is that more true than on the Palestinian-Israeli track, which still remains a central issue in the Arab-Israeli conflict.”
Mr. Serry welcomed a recent investment conference held in Bethlehem with Israeli support, which resulted in pledges of up to $1.4 billion for the Palestinian economy, as well as new steps announced by Tony Blair, the Representative of the Middle East diplomatic Quartet, to spur economic development.
“These various measures hold promise,” he told the 15-member body in an open meeting. “But action on the ground is key.”
The “complex political, security, human rights and humanitarian crisis has deepened this past month” in Gaza, the Special Coordinator said in his briefing.
He spoke out against the firing of indiscriminate rockets from Gaza into Israel, with 191 rockets and nearly 200 mortars being fired at Israeli civilian targets during the reporting period.
Mr. Serry also noted that Israel Defence Force (IDF) attacks – both by land and air – have continued. “While we acknowledge Israel’s legitimate security concerns, we deplore the killing and injuring of civilians in some of these operations.”
In his address to the Council, he said the UN strongly supports Egypt’s efforts to curb violence in and around Gaza, adding that the reopening of crossings is crucial for humanitarian relief and commercial flows.
“A calming and easing of the situation in and around Gaza is essential for genuine progress in both the Israel-Palestinian negotiations and in reuniting the West Bank and Gaza within the framework of the legitimate Palestinian Authority,” the Special Coordinator said.
He told reporters that the situation in the area “remains a very difficult, unsustainable humanitarian crisis which hasn’t become any smaller.” Condemning attacks on border crossing points by extremists within Gaza, he also noted that there was a continued Israeli policy on Gaza “which very much amounts to collective punishment,” leaving Gaza with a prolonged lack of fuel and other commodities.
“Much more needs to be done to achieve what is so important in this process which is to achieve visible and tangible progress on the ground for the Palestinians,” he said following his briefing. “That is very important if at the end of the year we may have a political agreement between the two parties on the two-state solution.”
Speaking to reporters after the open meeting, Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, said that many members “felt that for a change there were some positive elements to highlight over the last month and it wasn’t as some previous briefings we’ve had on this subject.”
He added that there was strong support on the Council for talks aimed at achieving an agreement on the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of the year.
* * *
POVERTY REFLECTED IN CHILDREN’S SCHOOLS AS WELL AS IN THE HOME – UN REPORT
Social inequality has a major impact on the kind of schooling children receive and poses a significant challenge to provide all children with equal learning opportunities, according to a report released today by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“The data reveal how social inequality affects a child’s opportunity to learn. And clearly, no country – rich or poor – is immune to these disparities,” Hendrik van der Pol, director of UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics, said.
The report, which is based on a survey of 7,600 schools in 11 countries in Latin America, Asia and North Africa, reveals a particularly glaring gap between the resources available to urban and rural schools.
In India, the report found that 27 per cent of village schools have electricity compared to 76 per cent of schools in towns or cities. Only about half of the rural schools surveyed have enough toilets for girls and fewer than 4 per cent have a telephone.
In Peru, fewer than half of village schools are equipped with electricity, a library or toilets for boys or girls. Yet, in urban areas, nearly all schools have electricity, 65 per cent have enough lavatories and 74 per cent have libraries.
In general, village schools are in greater need of repair, according to the survey results. In Brazil, half the pupils in villages sit in run-down classrooms compared to fewer than 30 per cent of pupils in urban establishments.
The survey also found wide variations in how much parents were expected to contribute financially. In Tunisia, the parents of one-third of pupils were asked to pay for textbooks. This was the case for 24 per cent of pupils in Argentina and almost 10 per cent in India. Sri Lanka was the only country to provide textbooks for free to virtually all students.
“It is disturbing to think that students get more or less resources based on where they live. But that is just part of the story,” says Yanhong Zhang, one of the authors of the report. “The inequalities in school resources are linked to their socio-economic status. In effect, these children are subject to a double-jeopardy – with fewer resources at home and in school.”
According to the study, teachers and principals in schools serving socially-disadvantaged children tend to report lower levels of pupil motivation and more behavioural problems. In these schools, teachers were generally dissatisfied with salary, parental support, class size and access to classroom materials.
The UNESCO survey was carried out in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Malaysia, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tunisia and Uruguay.
* * *
UN URGES DONORS TO FUND RELIEF EFFORTS IN MYANMAR WITHOUT DELAY
The United Nations is urging donors to turn pledges into contributions and to commit funds to the Myanmar relief effort without delay, now that visas for all international UN personnel have been approved.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports today that its Flash Appeal for $201 million is now about 60 per cent funded, but said that more support is still needed.
The UN estimates that about 40 per cent of the 2.4 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis have been reached with some form of aid from local, national or international agencies. Most of those reached are in the Yangon Division in the south of Myanmar, since they are in areas that are relatively accessible. However, UN aid officials remain deeply concerned that in the rest of the Ayeyarwady delta, and in the fifteen worst-affected townships, many victims have received little or no aid.
OCHA estimates that relief efforts will likely last for at least another six months.
In a related development, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today that it will work with the Myanmar Government to open schools in cyclone-affected areas by 2 June. UNICEF said it would focus on damaged and collapsed schools which have not yet been reached by aid agencies.
More than 4,000 basic education schools affecting approximately 1.1 million children were either damaged or totally destroyed, according to UNICEF, which says it is working with the Myanmar Ministry of Education to distribute repair materials to areas badly affected by the storms. Essential school supplies, learning materials and recreational kits for primary schools have also been distributed.
“In any disaster affecting entire communities, the opening of local schools is an important step in the recovery process. Children particularly rely on their daily routines for a sense of security, including the routine of attending school,” said Ramesh Shrestha, UNICEF Representative in Myanmar.
Across the cyclone-affected areas of Myanmar, UNICEF is providing 100,000 essential learning packages for affected children, text books for 150,000 children, 2,000 school kits for affected schools, and 200,000 roofing sheets and construction kits.
* * *
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION CAN SPUR DEVELOPMENT IN WESTERN ASIA – SECRETARY-GENERAL
Closer economic integration can help the Western Asian region overcome recent conflicts and political tensions and also spur progress towards internationally agreed anti-poverty goals, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
“Growing political tensions and intense conflicts… [have] underscored the need for greater and improved regional cooperation and economic integration,” Mr. Ban said in a statement to the current session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), being held in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.
His statement was delivered by ESCWA’s Executive Secretary Bader Omar Al-Dafa.
The Secretary-General stressed that the world is now past the midpoint in the race to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of targets relating to poverty, education and health that are supposed to be achieved by 2015, and said that too many countries are lagging behind.
“ESCWA’s research and technical support can help regional governments focus their efforts and resources on key areas, and make up for lost time,” he added.
At the opening of today’s ESCWA session, Mr. Al-Dafa said there had been noticeable economic growth in the region in recent years, but cautioned that this growth, particularly in the Gulf States, is fragile because it is closely linked to the price of oil.
“We must therefore work together to make optimum use of this opportunity and diversify the economic base, develop the capacities of institutions and build effective partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society,” he said.
The two-day conference in Sana’a has brought together ministers from 13 countries in the region, as well as representatives of UN agencies, funding institutions and regional experts.
* * *
NEW UN OFFICIAL UNDERSCORES IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN POLICING
Human rights values must be paramount to all aspects of United Nations policing in peace operations worldwide, the first-ever UN Deputy Police Adviser said today.
Ann-Marie Orler, who has two decades of police experience, told the UN News Centre in an interview that “all the policing we try to deliver to other countries must be based on human rights values.”
Individual officers should consider themselves to work for a police service, as opposed to a police force, she said.
The Deputy Police Adviser, who began her position last week, has previously served as the Secretary General of Amnesty International in her native Sweden, where she also was the Police Commissioner in the town of Västmanland.
Although this is her first position with the UN, Ms. Orler has international experience, having served as the Programme Manager for Police and Human Rights with the Council of Europe, where she took part in fact-finding missions and trained police officers in Turkey and Balkan nations, among others.
After getting settled into her new position, she hopes to examine the working methods of UN Police (UNPOL) to determine how they can be made more efficient in the face of challenges, including recruiting for large peacekeeping mission such as the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (known as UNAMID).
At present, there are over 11,000 UNPOL from 90 nations serving in peacekeeping missions worldwide. This number is set to jump to 17,000 due to new UN missions in Darfur, Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR).
Ms. Orler, who will be based at UN Headquarters in New York, pointed to the particular challenge of recruiting female police officers.
In a bid to boost their recruitment, she said that she will examine the underlying causes of why there are relatively few women in UNPOL, and then determine “what we can do as an organization to make it more attractive and more possible for women to join.”
* * *
ARAL SEA PROBLEMS WILL ONLY BE FIXED BY REGIONAL COOPERATION, UN STRESSES
Resolving the problems caused by the drying out of the Aral Sea, which has shrunk drastically in size in recent decades because of the inefficient use of water resources and climate change, will only happen when the countries of Central Asia work together, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says.
The problems “cannot be solved through the efforts of a single country,” UNDP Regional Director for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States Kori Udovicki told the Aral Sea Forum Seminar, held at UN Headquarters in New York yesterday.
She called on the countries of Central Asia, as well as international donors, regional organizations and civil society, to begin a concerted collaborative effort to produce “marked improvements in mitigating the effects of the environmental and socio-economic disaster.”
In 1960 the Aral Sea was the fourth-largest inland water body in the world, but the diversion of tributary rivers for irrigation projects has slashed its size to about 10 per cent of the original. It has raised the salinity of the area’s soil, reducing the amount of arable land, causing irreversible losses in flora and fauna and depriving millions in neighbouring countries of critical sources of income. The region is also heavily polluted.
Ms. Udovicki said the Tashkent Conference on the issue, held in March, ended with a declaration from experts and representatives of governments and civil society that assistance to the area must be enhanced.
She stressed that the “solution to these problems is possible only through transboundary cooperation and UNDP is firmly committed to support these efforts,” adding that improving the use of water resources will be key to tackling the problems.
In a separate presentation to the seminar, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said it was working with UNDP and many regional organizations on initiatives to encourage collaboration between the countries and to map out potential strategies for dealing with the problems.
UNEP noted that many people in the region are experiencing severe health problems because of the poor quality of the drinking water.
The seminar was organized by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which all lie in the basin of the Aral Sea and its tributary rivers. A photo exhibition on the subject is also being staged at UN Headquarters.
* * *
MIGIRO URGES SCALED-UP SUPPORT FOR AFRICA’S EFFORTS TO MEET DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today appealed for enhanced support for Africa as the continent endeavours to reach the internationally agreed anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their 2015 deadline.
Addressing the high-level Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), Ms. Migiro warned that no African nation is on track to achieve all the Goals, calling for urgent action.
“With a concerted drive by African governments and their development partners, we can accomplish these goals for a better world,” she told the more than 40 African Heads of State who had gathered in Yokohama for the event, which is being hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
The three-day event – co-organized by the Japanese Government, the UN Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank – kicked off today with the theme, “Towards a vibrant Africa: A continent of hope and opportunity.”
Participants, who also include high-level representatives from Asia and other regions, as well as heads of international agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will discuss how to ensure that Africa’s robust economic growth is self-sustaining and inclusive to allow poor communities to reap benefits.
The Conference will also confer on how to boost human security to allow people to live in dignity, free from fear and want.
Launched in Tokyo in 1993, TICAD aims to promote Africa development through ownership by the continent and stresses the importance of Asia-Africa cooperation.
* * *
SECRETARY-GENERAL DEPARTS FOR SWEDEN TO ATTEND IRAQ COMPACT MEETING
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is heading today to Sweden to attend the annual review conference of the Iraq Compact, the five-year plan to promote peace and development in the violence-wracked nation.
Participants at tomorrow’s meeting in Uppsala, to be co-chaired by Mr. Ban and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, are set to review the annual progress report – prepared by Iraq with United Nations assistance – which notes both the positive steps taken so far and the challenges that lay ahead.
The Secretary-General has stressed that the world body remains committed to doing its utmost to support the Iraqi Government and its people under Security Council resolution 1770.
That resolution extended the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and covers elections, reconciliation, the resolution of disputed boundaries, human rights and humanitarian concerns, as well as UN support for reconstruction and development.
Under the Iraq Compact, the Government will work to meet basic needs, protect the rights of all citizens and ensure the optimal use of the country’s resources for the common good and the country’s international partners are committed to providing financial, technical and political support.
The Conference is expected to end with the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration.
On the sidelines of the event, Mr. Ban is expected to hold several bilateral meetings with the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband, the United States’ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini and Amr Moussa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.
During his two-day visit to Sweden, he is also scheduled to meet with the King Carl XVI Gustaf of the Scandinavian nation.
* * *
SECURITY COUNCIL DELEGATION TO CONDUCT FIVE-NATION TOUR OF AFRICA
A Security Council delegation will this weekend begin a five-country visit to Africa to obtain a first-hand assessment of the crises engulfing Somalia, Sudan’s Darfur region and neighbouring Chad and to help with efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Côte d’Ivoire.
The delegation will start its 10-day mission in Djibouti, where talks are being held between representatives of the Government and the opposition in neighbouring Somalia, a United Nations spokesperson told reporters today.
The Council members then head to Sudan for three days of talks with Government officials in Khartoum and a visit to El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the headquarters of the hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) to the troubled region.
The delegation travels next to N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, for a two-day visit that will also include a trip to the far east of the country to tour camps for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) near the town of Goz Beida, which is close to the border with Darfur.
On 7 June the delegation is scheduled to arrive in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, for discussions with the country’s leadership and civil society and the UN peacekeeping mission (known as MONUC).
The group is expected to also visit Goma, the main town in North Kivu province in the far east of the DRC, which has experienced continued violent unrest since the official end of the civil war.
The last stop on the trip will be Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s commercial capital, for meetings with key figures in the implementation of the Ouagadougou peace agreement, reached last year to end the protracted political stand-off in the West African country between the Government and the rebel Forces Nouvelles.
* * *
BAN KI-MOON MAKES TWO KEY APPOINTMENTS FOR PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced he is appointing a Nigerian Lieutenant General and a Nepali Major General to two key positions in the UN’s peacekeeping operations around the world.
Lieutenant General Chikadibia Obiakor of Nigeria is to take over as Military Adviser for the UN’s global peacekeeping operations.
Currently serving as the Force Commander of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), he began his military career with the Nigerian army in 1973. Among other offices, he has served as the Commander of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Artillery Brigade in Liberia in 1996 and 1997 and also as its chief coordinator of the country’s elections.
Mr. Ban has also appointed Major General Paban Jung Thapa of Nepal as Force Commander of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).
General Thapa was recently commander of the Infantry Division in eastern Nepal during his country’s recent Constituent Assembly elections and he has also served on UN peacekeeping missions in the former Yugoslavia and in Lebanon.
* * *
BAN KI-MOON CONGRATULATES NEPAL ON CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY’S FIRST MEETING
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated the people of Nepal on the “historic” first meeting of the Asian nation’s Constituent Assembly.
“The people of Nepal have clearly spoken for peace and change through the 10 April Assembly election,” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued by his spokesperson.
He encouraged all parties to continue cooperating and to form a new government as soon as possible.
More than 500 Assembly members took their seats today, overwhelmingly voting – 560 votes in favour to four against – in support of a motion to amend the Interim Constitution, proclaiming Nepal a republic and formally ending the 240-year monarchy.
Today’s inaugural session was chaired by Kul Bahadur Gurung, the Assembly’s oldest member, while Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala addressed the body after a two-minute-long silence in remembrance of martyrs.
Adding his congratulations to the Assembly today was Ian Martin, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative to Nepal.
“The United Nations is proud to have assisted in the election of the most inclusive body Nepal has yet known,” he said in a statement.
He added that the “democratically-elected representatives have the solemn responsibility to prepare a new constitution as well as to act as an interim legislature during this next important phase of Nepal's peace process, and to fulfil the people's aspirations for sustained peace, economic and social progress, democracy and human rights.”
Nepal’s elections last month followed a 2006 peace accord between the Government and Maoist rebels which ended a decade-long civil war that claimed an estimated 13,000 lives.
* * *
TOP UN OFFICIALS WARN OF DANGERS OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim today warned of the consequences resulting from the loss of biodiversity, including the impacts on the economy, development and efforts to mitigate climate change.
“Nature’s assets underpin the very lives and livelihoods of more than six billion people. They make our very existence possible in the vacuum of space,” Mr. Ban said in a statement, delivered by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner, to a major conference on biological diversity which kicked off today in Bonn, Germany.
He stressed that inaction on the issue will jeopardize progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline, as well as impact the entire world.
“Now the economics are coming to the fore, underlining the costs of degradation but also the abundant returns if we invest in this bottom green line,” the Secretary-General observed.
In spite of progress, with more than 12 per cent of land now in protected areas, the speed of response has not kept pace with the scale of degradation, he said.
Mr. Ban pointed to the increased need to preserve natural assets to provide protection against climatic events, such as Cyclone Nargis, which devastated Myanmar earlier this month. “Half the country’s mangroves – its natural sea defenses – have been cleared over the past 30 years,” he said, adding that this made communities more vulnerably to the deadly storm.
In his address to the three-day meeting – attended by the leaders of Germany, Canada and Palau, together with 87 ministers – the Assembly President noted that “the world is now facing an unprecedented loss of biodiversity.”
He said that four species or sub-species are lost every hour, while 20 hectares of forests disappear every minute and forests covering an area four times the size of Belgium are lost annually.
Mr. Kerim underscored that if “we conserve biodiversity, we preserve our chances of developing sustainably and of living healthy lives even as the climate changes.”
As part of the International Year for Biodiversity in 2010, he voiced his support for the convening of a one-day high-level segment of the General Assembly to allow the international community to focus global attention on the biodiversity crisis.
“We have seen in various instances that leadership at the highest level is required to move issues forward,” the Assembly President pointed out.
Participants at the high-level conference are discussing measures on how to meet the globally-agreed target of substantially reducing the rate of global biodiversity loss by 2010. They are examining such issues as the expansion of expanding protected areas, developing a system for fairly accessing and sharing the world’s biodiversity wealth, the sustainable use of biofuels and the protection of the world’s forests and marine areas.
On the sidelines of this meeting, Mr. Kerim met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the two conferred on current UN steps to combat climate change and reform the world body, including modifying the Security Council.
Biodiversity and global warming were also discussed during his meeting this morning with German Environmental Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
From Germany, the Assembly President will travel tonight to Albania’s capital Tirana, where he will meet tomorrow with the South-East European nation’s President, Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament and Foreign Ministry officials. He is also scheduled to meet with the UN country team in Albania, which is one of the eight pilot countries of the “One UN” programme, which seeks to better coordinate UN operations and accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by establishing a joint office for UN development agencies.
* * *
BOOSTED INVESTMENT IN HEALTH KEY TO HELP AFRICA’S CHILDREN, SAYS UNICEF
Stepped-up investment to enhance health systems in sub-Saharan Africa is essential to help the continent’s children, according to a new report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched today.
“Every year, nearly 10 million children die before their fifth birthday and one half of these deaths occur in Africa,” said Ann M. Veneman, the agency’s Executive Director. “Where community-based integrated health systems are in place, lives can be saved.”
Child mortality has been slashed by at least 45 per cent in five African countries – Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia – between 1990 and 2006, putting them on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015.
Although child mortality has dropped 14 per cent in the same time period in sub-Saharan Africa, it remains the most difficult place in the world for a child to survive, with one in every six children dying before their fifth birthday.
The report entitled “The State of Africa’s Children 2008” spotlights recent successes in child survival and primary health-care in sub-Saharan Africa. Measles deaths in the region have dropped 91 per cent between 2000 and 2006, while four of the world’s least developed nations – Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi and Mozambique – have seen their under-five mortality rates fall by at least 40 per cent since 1990.
The new study urges continued care for children, from pregnancy into childhood and adolescence, and this care must span the household, community, local clinic, district hospital and beyond.
In a related development, experts in yellow fever are taking part in a UNICEF-backed meeting to discuss recent vaccination campaigns in Togo, Mali and Senegal that immunized millions against the disease which is caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes.
“We’re finally moving from outbreak response to preventing all children in the most vulnerable countries in Africa from contracting yellow fever,” said UNICEF Senior Health Adviser Edward Hoekstra.
Despite successes in campaigns in Togo, Mali and Senegal, “there’s more still to do, particularly with the 9 other African countries where the risk is greatest,” he said.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF show that there were over 200,000 cases of yellow fever and 52,000 deaths in 2005 in the 12 highest-risk African nations. It is estimated that the disease will cause 1.5 to 2.7 million deaths in these countries between 2006 and 2050.
The 28-29 May meeting is taking place at UNICEF’s New York headquarters and includes representatives from WHO.
* * *
FURTHER SHARP INCREASES IN GLOBAL FOOD PRICES ‘LIKELY’ – UN REPORT
Further sharp price hikes and continued volatility in markets for food supplies appear to be likely for the next few seasons, according to a report released today by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the run-up to a summit on the global food crisis which is being held in Rome early next month.
FAO lists 22 countries that it says are particularly vulnerable to food price increases because of high levels of chronic hunger and because they are net importers of both food and fuel. The report cites Eritrea, Niger, Comoros, Haiti and Liberia as being especially at risk.
“We hope that world leaders coming to Rome will agree on the urgent measures that are required to boost agricultural production, especially in the most affected countries, and at the same time protect the poor from being adversely affected by high food prices,” said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.
The report says that increases in domestic food prices, even by moderate rates of 10 to 20 per cent, can have immediate negative impacts on poor households that spend a large part of their income on food staples.
Protecting the most vulnerable in rural and urban areas will require targeted direct food distribution, food subsidies and cash transfers, as well as nutritional programmes including school feeding, FAO says.
The agency also calls for the distribution of seeds, fertilizers, animal feed to small-scale farmers through vouchers or smart subsidies.
FAO has appealed for $ 1.7 billion to provide seeds, fertilizers and other inputs to boost production in low-income and food deficit countries.
The report argues that high food prices represent an excellent opportunity for increased investments in agricultural research and infrastructure, noting that support should focus on the needs of poor farmers, many of whom farm in increasingly marginal areas.
Participants at the 3-5 June summit will discuss how agriculture can be harnessed to produce enough food to meet the demands of the world’s growing population. Many Heads of State and Government , as well as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the heads of many UN organizations and the Bretton Woods institutions, will attend the event.
In a related develoment, the new global task force on the food crisis – chaired by Mr. Ban and bringing together the heads of key UN agencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other international experts – held its second meeting today. It reviewed progress made in preparing its action plan, which the Secretary-General will present at the Rome meeting.
Meanwhile, it was announced today that Spanish football captain and FAO Goodwill Ambassador Raúl González has been awarded the Spanish prize for solidarity in sports.
Mr. González has donated the $47,000 prize money to the FAO’s Telefood Fund which provides micro-finance to poor farmers around the world.
* * *
ZIMBABWE: UN RIGHTS CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST MURDERS OF OPPOSITION ACTIVISTS
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today strongly condemned the killings of opposition activists in Zimbabwe as well as the ongoing harassment of non-governmental organization (NGO) workers and human rights defenders, among other civil society members.
Louise Arbour expressed shock at reports that several bodies of slain activists from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) – including Shepherd Jani, a provincial treasurer for the party – have been found in the Southern African nation.
“It is hard to get a very precise picture of the full range of the violence or the exact number of politically motivated extra-judicial killings,” she said. “At one level, there appears to be an increasing pattern of people being targeted for politically motivated assassination. At another, arrests, harassment, intimidation and violence – directed not just at people with political affiliations, but also at members of civil society – are continuing on a daily basis.”
The High Commissioner called on Zimbabwe’s authorities to investigate and prosecute those responsible, as well as to take urgent measures to protect the country’s inhabitants from more attacks, to create an atmosphere favourable to free and fair 27 June presidential elections.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring South Africa, many of those attacked in the recent xenophobic violence are from Zimbabwe, according to the UN.
“For some of the Zimbabweans being chased from their homes and jobs in South Africa, this isn’t simply a serious economic issue,” Ms. Arbour said. “They now face a potentially life-threatening situation in both countries. I welcome the steps the South African Government has taken recently to clamp down on the xenophobic violence, and hope that such scenes are never seen again in South Africa.”
* * *
SOUTH AFRICA’S INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION WINS UNESCO AWARD
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) selected the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation of South Africa as this year’s recipient of its Prize for Peace Education.
The Cape Town-based Institute was chosen “for its outstanding efforts in building sustainable reconciliation through education and in addressing systemic injustice in Africa,” according to the Prize jury led by Mohammed Arkoun, Professor of History of Islamic Thought.
Founded in 2000, it seeks to promote reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa and encourage peace, and has helped other African countries – including Rwanda, Sudan and Burundi – take part in a similar process.
The Institute works with governments, civil society and academics in countries of transition to enhance justice, development and human security thought policy research, analysis and capacity building.
One of its key projects called “Turning Points in History” has resulted in the first comprehensive South African history textbook for secondary schools since the end of apartheid to be published. Using oral tradition to forge a “dialogue between perspectives,” it includes personal stories.
The $40,000 prize, funded by the Nippon Foundation, seeks to boost public awareness of the need for peace. Previous recipients include Sri Lankan judge Christopher Gregory Weeramantry, Mother Teresa, Father Emile Shoufani, Bishop Nelson Onono-Onweng and Paulo Freire.
* * *
SENIOR UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL VISITS CôTE D’IVOIRE AND LIBERIA
A top United Nations human rights official is visiting Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia this week for talks aimed at ensuring that protecting the rights of civilians will remain central to the reconciliation and reconstruction efforts in the two West African countries.
Kyung-wha Kang, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, arrived late yesterday in Liberia, the second stage of her visit, for discussions with national authorities, civil society groups and members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Gender-based sexual violence and the widespread impunity for the perpetrators of such violence is likely to be a focus of the talks, according to a press release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) in Geneva.
On this trip Ms. Kang has already held talks with Government officials, diplomats and senior UN staff in neighbouring Côte d’Ivoire.
Meanwhile, the UN peacekeeping mission to that country (UNOCI) has confirmed the start of the first phase of the post-conflict re-education programme for ex-combatants from the civil war.
UNOCI officials were among the guests on Monday at a ceremony in Bouake formally inducting 250 former rebel fighters, who will receive basic professional skills in agriculture, construction and computer science to help them try to re-start their lives.
* * *
-----------------------------------------
Click here for a PDF version of the UN Daily News: http://www.un.org/News/dh/pdf/english/2008/28052008.pdf
For more details go to UN News Centre at: http://www.un.org/news
To listen to news and in-depth programmes from UN Radio go to: http://radio.un.org/
---------------------------------------------------------
To change your profile or *** go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/email/
