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UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
17 June, 2008 =========================================================================
SECRETARY-GENERAL DEPLORES DEADLY BOMBING AT BAGHDAD MARKET
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned today’s terrorist bombing at a market in northern Baghdad that has reportedly killed at least 50 people and left scores more injured.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Ban said he extended “his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims of this heinous attack.”
Media reports say a car bomb exploded in the early evening near a crowded bus terminal in the Hurriya neighbourhood in the northwest of the Iraqi capital. It is the deadliest attack in Baghdad for three months.
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UN AGENCY ASSISTS HIGHEST EVER NUMBER OF REFUGEES AND DISPLACED
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided assistance to 25.1 million people in 2007 – an all-time high – according to its latest annual global snapshot, released today.
“After a five-year decline in the number of refugees between 2001 and 2005, we have now seen two years of increases, and that’s a concern,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres said in London today after the report was released.
Using figures collected from 150 countries the report says there were a total of 11.4 million refugees outside their countries, as well as 26 million others displaced internally by conflict or persecution at the end of 2007.
“We are now faced with a complex mix of global challenges that could threaten even more forced displacement in the future,” Mr. Guterres said. “They range from multiple new conflict-related emergencies in world hotspots to bad governance, climate-induced environmental degradation that increases competition for scarce resources, and extreme price hikes that have hit the poor the hardest and are generating instability in many places.”
The number of refugees under UNHCR's responsibility rose from 9.9 to 11.4 million by the end of 2007. UNHCR also currently provides protection or assistance directly or indirectly to 13.7 internally displaced persons (IDPs) – up from 12.8 million in 2006.
In addition, the report lists other categories of concern to UNHCR, including stateless people, asylum-seekers, returned refugees, returned internally displaced, and “others.”
In all, it lists 31.7 million people entitled to UNHCR support, excluding 4.6 million Palestinian refugees helped by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Among refugees, the report notes that Afghans (around 3 million, mainly in Pakistan and Iran) and Iraqis (around 2 million, mainly in Syria and Jordan) accounted for nearly half of all refugees under UNHCR's care worldwide in 2007, followed by Colombians (552,000) in a refugee-like situation, Sudanese (523,000) and Somalis (457,000).
It says much of the increase in refugees in 2007 was a result of the volatile situation in Iraq. The top refugee-hosting countries in 2007 included Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Germany and Jordan.
Among the internally displaced, the report cites up to 3 million people in Colombia; 2.4 million in Iraq; 1.3 million in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); 1.2 million in Uganda; and 1 million in Somalia.
Some 647,200 individual applications for asylum or refugee status were submitted to governments and UNHCR offices in 154 countries last year – a 5 percent increase and the first rise in four years.
The report says the increase can primarily be attributed to the large number of Iraqis seeking asylum in Europe. By nationality, the individual claims included Iraqis (52,000), Somalis (46,100), Eritreans (36,000), Colombians (23,200); Russian Federation (21,800); Ethiopians (21,600) and Zimbabweans (20,700).
Top destination countries for individual asylum-seekers were the United States, South Africa, Sweden, France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Greece.
Some 731,000 refugees were able to go home under voluntary repatriation programs in 2007, including to Afghanistan (374,000), Southern Sudan (130,700), the DRC (60,000), Iraq (45,400) and Liberia (44,400). In addition, an estimated 2.1 million internally displaced people went home during the year.
Refugee resettlement referrals to third countries increased substantially in 2007, with UNHCR submitting 99,000 individuals for consideration by governments – the highest number in 15 years and an 83 per cent increase over the previous year.
But overall, less than one per cent of the world's refugees are resettled by third countries. By the end of the year, 75,300 refugees were admitted by 14 resettlement countries, including the United States (48,300), Canada (11,200), Australia (9,600), Sweden (1,800), Norway (1,100) and New Zealand (740).
The year also saw a decline of some 3 million people who had been considered stateless, primarily as a result of new legislation in Nepal providing citizenship to approximately 2.6 million people, as well as changes in Bangladesh. It is estimated that there are some 12 million stateless people worldwide.
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POPULAR UN-BACKED INTERNET WORD GAME FEEDS MYANMAR’S CYCLONE VICTIMS
Survivors of the cyclone which ravaged Myanmar last month will soon be receiving rice generated by the popular United Nations-backed Internet game that allows players to expand their word skills while helping to feed the world’s hungry.
FreeRice.com, in which players donate 20 grains of rice to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) every time they answer a question correctly, has already generated over 36 billion grains of rice – enough for more than 3.7 million meals.
Two consignments of rice for Myanmar have been paid for by YUM! and Unilever, the latest companies to help fund the FreeRice initiative.
WFP will be distributing the rice to many of the 755,000 people it is aiming to feed as part of relief efforts across Myanmar in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which struck the South-East Asian nation on 2-3 May.
The disaster caused the greatest damage to the Ayeyarwady Delta area and the country’s most populous city, Yangon. More than 134,000 people are dead or missing as a result, and as many as 2.4 million people were affected and need humanitarian assistance.
In recent weeks WFP has dispatched at least 11,000 tons of food assistance in the country and now has 10 chartered helicopters flying in the Delta, enabling the delivery of vital relief supplies to those who need it most.
In a related development, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said today that Myanmar’s health system is “back on its feet” following last month’s tragedy thanks to an all-out response by the Government, the UN and the international community.
The agency noted that within the first 10 days of the disaster, medical supplies had been provided to all major hospitals. Since then, teams have fanned out beyond the major centres and were now examining patients in some of the remote areas.
At the same time, WHO said that a major health concern continues to be the quality and availability of water. The agency is disinfecting some 6 million litres of water daily, enough for approximately 2 million people.
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SENIOR UN POLITICAL OFFICIAL MEETS WITH ZIMBABWEAN PRESIDENT
A senior United Nations political envoy has held talks with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe at the start of his visit to the Southern African country, aimed at reducing political tensions ahead of the run-off round of the presidential election later this month.
Haile Menkerios, Assistant-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, arrived in Harare yesterday for a five-day visit to Zimbabwe, which has been beset by deadly political violence since the first round of the presidential election on 29 March.
Mr. Menkerios discussed the current political climate with Mr. Mugabe, according to a UN spokesperson. He also held talks with Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and he is expected to meet with leaders of other political parties and stakeholders during the remainder of his visit.
In the run-off race, scheduled for 27 June, Mr. Mugabe will face Morgan Tsvangirai, a candidate from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), after the two men polled the highest number of votes in the first round.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour expressed shock late last month at reports that many MDC activists have been killed or injured in recent weeks and that human rights defenders and staff with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have also been harassed.
UN humanitarian officials have also called on Zimbabwean authorities to rescind a decision to suspend all field operations by NGO aid groups.
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CYPRUS: UN POLITICAL CHIEF HOLDS TALKS WITH LEADERS OF BOTH COMMUNITIES
The top United Nations political official today met with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders on the Mediterranean island as part of the world body’s support of discussions between the two communities on possible reunification.
B. Lynn Pascoe, the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, held separate meetings in Nicosia with Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, and also held discussions with diplomats and local civil society leaders.
Mr. Pascoe told reporters he was in Cyprus to assess the latest developments and to determine how the UN can help move the process forward.
The two community leaders conducted face-to-face talks earlier this year, after which they committed themselves in a statement to working towards “a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions.”
This partnership will comprise a Federal Government with a single international personality, along with a Turkish Cypriot Constituent State and a Greek Cypriot Constituent State, which will be of equal status.
The UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) has been in place on the island since 1964 after the outbreak of intercommunal violence. It is tasked with preventing a recurrence of fighting, contributing to a return to normal conditions and the maintenance of law and order.
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SUPPORT FOR SOMALI PEACE ACCORD FOCUS OF MEETING HOSTED BY UN ENVOY
The top United Nations envoy for Somalia met today with the country’s international partners to discuss how best to support the war-torn nation in carrying out the peace deal reached last week in neighbouring Djibouti.
Under the Djibouti Agreement, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia agreed to end their conflict and called on the UN to deploy an international stabilization force to the troubled Horn of Africa country, which has not had a functioning government since 1991.
The deal was reached following 10 days of UN-facilitated talks in Djibouti, led by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah.
Somalia’s Prime Minister and the leadership of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia attended today’s meeting in Nairobi, which included representatives of the African Union, European Union, the United States, Norway and the League of Arab States.
“I am overwhelmed by this new, widespread demonstration of goodwill, generosity and support for the Agreement and for Somalia as a whole,” said Mr. Ould-Abdallah.
The meeting addressed the budget resources required to implement the Agreement, as well as the establishment of a joint security committee and a high-level committee – chaired by the UN – to follow up on outstanding issues, as called for in the accord.
Mr. Ould-Abdallah added that the participants are counting on the Security Council, which recently met with the TFG and the Alliance during a visit to Djibouti, to come up with a “credible, prompt and effective” response to the call made in the Agreement for the UN to deploy a force to Somalia within 120 days.
“Today what is at stake is not only peace and stability in Somalia but the credibility of the international community in the country and in the region,” he stated.
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UNICEF SCALES UP EFFORTS TO ASSIST VULNERABLE IRAQI CHILDREN
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today it is scaling up its emergency operation in Iraq to address the basic needs of more than 360,000 vulnerable children inside the strife-torn nation.
After five years of conflict, more than 800,000 Iraqi children are unable to go to school and only 40 per cent can access safe water, according to the agency.
Through its Immediate Action for Vulnerable Children and Family – or IMPACT programme – UNICEF is aiming to assist over 360,000 children this year and ensure they have access to health care and are protected against malnutrition. The programme also seeks to provide safe water, emergency education and specialized care for abused and vulnerable children and women.
“In response to the emergency situation, UNICEF has reflected and worked with partners to better address the needs as we assess them and also be increasingly on the ground with partners. This is where IMPACT Iraq comes from,” said Sigrid Kaag, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“It is an adaptation to the security situation on the ground… to allow us to have better access through a number of NGO [non-governmental organization] partners, as well as communities on the ground to address the needs of education, health water and sanitation as well as protection,” she stated.
In April the UN envoy tasked with protecting the rights of children caught up in armed conflict said that Iraq’s children are “silent victims” of the continued violence.
“Many of them are no longer go to school, many are recruited for violent activities or detained in custody, they lack access to the most basic services and manifest a wide range of psychological symptoms from the violence in their everyday lives,” Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, said following a visit to the country.
She called on all parties to give unhindered access to aid workers, and urged that agencies such as UNICEF, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP), be allowed to reach children in all parts of Iraq.
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BAN RECOMMENDS SIX-MONTH EXTENSION OF UN FORCE IN GOLAN HEIGHTS
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended that the mandate of the United Nations force observing the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on the Golan Heights be extended until 31 December, in a new report released today.
Mr. Ban notes that the situation in the Israel-Syria sector has remained generally quiet, but adds that “the situation in the Middle East is tense and is likely to remain so, unless and until a comprehensive settlement covering all aspects of the Middle East problem can be reached.”
Given the ongoing tension in the region, the continued presence of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is “essential,” he writes.
Expressing his hope that determined efforts will be made by all concerned “to tackle the problem in all its aspects, with a view to arriving at a just and durable peace settlement,” the Secretary-General welcomes the news that Syria and Israel have started indirect peace talks, under the auspices of Turkey.
In recommending UNDOF’s extension, Mr. Ban also draws attention to the shortfall in the Force’s funding, noting that unpaid assessments amount to nearly $15 million. “The outstanding contributions impede the ability of the Secretariat to reimburse Member States contributing troops to the Force,” he says.
UNDOF was established in May 1974 to supervise the disengagement accord between Syrian and Israeli forces after their 1973 war.
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AVIAN INFLUENZA: SITUATION IMPROVING BUT THREAT REMAINS, UN EXPERT SAYS
Although some countries are facing continuing and significant outbreaks of bird flu, the situation in the rest of the world is improving because of major efforts by governments around the world, the United Nations System Influenza Coordinator said today.
“The situation is really improving… it doesn’t mean that we can say that the situation globally is completely under control – we have the situation in countries where it is still quite entrenched – but it does mean that in the rest of the world there is a great deal of vigilance and action under way,” David Nabarro told reporters in New York.
Dr. Nabarro cited intensive action by the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom to bring outbreaks under control, as well as financial sector exercises in Australia and the United States to prepare for the impact of potential avian influenza crises. He said that governments had invested massively in improving conditions in which poultry are reared and had increased their focus on the link between animal and human diseases.
There had also been good preparedness work in the travel and tourism sector, as well as progress on updating international health regulations that countries adopt when faced by major health crises.
In addition, Dr. Nabarro welcomed a donation by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur of 60 million H5N1 vaccines which he said added to previous donations from GlaxoSmithKline and would help build a global stockpile of vaccines in case of an avian influenza pandemic.
However, the Influenza Coordinator said that the avian influenza virus was still entrenched in five countries – Viet Nam, Bangladesh, India, Egypt and India – and said that outbreaks had been recorded in more than 60 countries by the end of 2007.
“We remain very concerned about Indonesia, where the disease seems to be concentrated among poultry, particularly in Western Java, and we’re also seeing the largest numbers of human cases,” he said.
“We do feel that it’s prudent to continue to be prepared especially as genetic studies of the current bird flu virus show that it is continuously evolving, even though it hasn’t become capable of sustained transmission among humans,” he stressed.
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UN AGENCY NOW HAS FULL ACCESS TO ASYLUM-SEEKERS IN EGYPTIAN DETENTION CENTRES
Staff members from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have met with a number of asylum-seekers in Egyptian detention centres following the Government’s decision to allow the agency unhindered access to determine their status.
In February, authorities in Egypt had suspended access of UNHCR protection staff to asylum seekers in detention. Since then, the agency had been requesting access for their protection staff to evaluate the situation of those detained.
UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva that staff from the agency had arrived in Aswan on Sunday night to prepare for UNHCR teams to carry out interviews and individual assessments of asylum-seekers in detention centres, particularly Eritrean nationals.
“Egypt has seen a surge of Eritreans entering the country illegally in recent months by land from Sudan or directly from Eritrea via the Red Sea,” Ms. Pagonis noted.
On Monday, the team visited two locations in Aswan in Shalal and Nasr ElNouba areas where they met some of the asylum-seekers. “The teams reported they saw close to 180 asylum-seekers, including a group of 40 Ethiopians,” reported Ms. Pagonis.
She added that a similar preparatory team will proceed to Hurghada today to prepare the ground for the deployment of more teams. “We also plan to send UNHCR teams to other locations in Egypt where reportedly asylum-seekers are in
detention. “In the coming days we will be discussing and reviewing the operational details with our governmental counterparts and proceed with the determination of the status of the concerned group,” she said.
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YOUNG ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS TELL THEIR STORY AT UN CHILDREN’S CONFERENCE
A young Australian filmmaker and an Indian child combating water waste are among the 700 children from over 100 countries that are sharing their stories on how to create a better, healthier p***t at a United Nations environment conference in Norway.
The biannual Tunza International Children’s Conference, organized by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in partnership with the Norwegian NGO Young Agenda 21, and with Bayer AG as one of the main sponsors, began today in Stavanger.
One of the largest global children’s conferences in the world, the weeklong gathering brings together children between the ages of 10 and 14 who are engaged in environmental issues, aiming to increase their awareness and equip them with skills to promote environmental projects in their communities.
“The 700 children attending the Tunza Conference are a powerful sign of the creativity, energy and dynamism that children are capable of to protect our p***t,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“We can all learn from them, and we should all take heart in the fact that increasing numbers of children are becoming a force for positive change as we move towards greener lifestyles,” he added. In addition to presenting environmental projects, participants will go on field trips and learn about energy, climate change and fair trade, as well as plant trees in support of UNEP’s Seven Billion Tree Campaign. They will also learn about becoming an eco-journalist, photographing the environment and planning practical environmental projects.
This year, in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNEP will highlight the initiatives of dozens of young activists through “My Story” – a series of short video clips that will be posted at www.unep.org.
Among the stories are those of a 13 year old in Australia who is making a documentary called “A Kid’s Guide to Climate Change,” for which he interviewed a local indigenous leader, visited a wind farm and a wave generator, and built a model solar car.
Other examples include a 14 year old in India who is campaigning against water waste in his community, a 13 year old in Cameroon who is running clean-up campaigns and tree plantings, and a 13 year old in the United States who has helped organize a recycling drive and collected 100,000 pounds of e-waste.
This is the seventh edition of UNEP’s Tunza International Children’s Conference, which has encouraged hundreds of children in recent years to take action on environmental issues.
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UN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AGENCY WELCOMES AFRICAN MOVE ON INDUSTRIAL DESIGN PACT
The United Nations agency tasked with protecting ownership of intellectual property has welcomed the accession of an African group representing 16 countries to a key global treaty on industrial designs.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said in a statement issued yesterday that the move by the African Intellectual Property Organization (known as OAPI) is an important step towards ensuring that the design registration system is truly international.
OAPI acceded yesterday to the Geneva Act of The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, one of three treaties governing such registration.
Businesses in all participating countries under the treaty have access to a more simple and affordable method of both obtaining and maintaining their industrial design portfolios.
An industrial design is the ornamental or aesthetic feature of a useful object – such as its shape, surface, pattern or colour – that adds to its commercial value and increases its marketability.
OAPI comprises 16 member States: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
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RURAL GUATEMALANS WIN FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM UN AGENCY
The United Nations agency tasked with reducing rural poverty is lending $17 million to Guatemala to help authorities boost development in the Central American country’s central and eastern regions.
About 30,000 smallholders, micro-entrepreneurs, artisans and landless peasants will receive upgraded infrastructure and other assistance under the project, which has a particular focus on young people, women and people of mixed Mayan and Ladino origin.
Some of the participants will be able to take part in courses in business management and marketing, and access will be increased to such resources as land, water, technology and farm credit.
The project was signed last week at a ceremony in Rome, the headquarters of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), by representatives of the agency and Guatemala.
IFAD said the scheme will now be implemented over the next six years in El Progreso, Zacapa, Jalapa, Jutiapa and Santa Rosa departments.
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SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE WILL HELP STOP DESERTIFICATION, UN AGENCY SAYS
Poor farmers and herders in countries bearing the brunt of desertification and land degradation can help stop or reverse those processes by engaging in sustainable agriculture, the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) says.
Marking World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, which is observed on 17 June, IFAD said in a statement that poor farmers and herders can form part of the solution with the assistance of international agencies.
“Ill-conceived agricultural practices, traditional or intensified, only make things worse as their poor populations have no choice but to adopt short-term survival methods, putting more pressure on increasingly scarce local resources,” IFAD said. “Climate change is increasing that pressure, and exacerbating droughts.”
This year’s theme for the Day is combating land degradation for sustainable agriculture.
The agency called for more efficient water use, improved cropping systems and better forest management, adding that hardier seeds will also help poor farmers withstand droughts and floods.
IFAD, which is tasked with reducing rural poverty, said more than two thirds of its projects are now located in ecologically fragile and marginal areas, where nearly half the world’s poor live.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a separate message marking the Day, said it was time to recognize that drylands and marginal lands are not waste lands and could be devoted to biofuel production or other uses.
“Rather, they are potential areas for agricultural intensification for both food and energy needs. Let us renew our commitment to reversing land degradation and desertification,” he said, adding that the UN Convention to Combat Desertification “could offer a long-term solution to producing more food for more people” and should be fully implemented.
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