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UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
18 June, 2008 =========================================================================
BAN WELCOMES ISRAEL-GAZA CESSATION OF VIOLENCE
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the announced cessation of violence between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
“The Secretary-General hopes that these efforts will both provide security and an easing of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and end rocket and mortar attacks against Israeli targets,” his spokesperson said in a statement.
“He also hopes that this cessation of violence will lead to a controlled and sustained opening of the Gaza crossings for humanitarian and commercial purposes. The Secretary-General looks forward to all sides acting with care and responsibility in ensuring that this cessation of violence endures.”
Mr. Ban also congratulated Egypt on its “persistent efforts to achieve calm through this agreement.”
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ZIMBABWEAN VIOLENCE THREATENS CREDIBILITY OF NEXT WEEK’S POLLS – BAN
The current violence, intimidation and arrest of opposition leaders in Zimbabwe are not conducive to credible elections, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling for an immediate halt to hostilities ahead of the presidential run-off round set for next week.
“Should these conditions continue to prevail, the legitimacy of the election outcomes would be in question,” Mr. Ban said in an informal briefing to the General Assembly.
The Secretary-General expressed his “profound alarm” at the situation in the Southern African nation, which has witnessed deadly political violence since the first round of the presidential election on 29 March.
Compounding the political crisis is “an already deep social, economic and humanitarian crisis,” in a country where as many as 4 million people are vulnerable and in need of help, he told the 192-member body.
Adding to the dire state of affairs is rapid economic decline and inflation of 355,000 per cent, collapsing social services, food insecurity and the devastating effects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, he added.
Earlier today the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that up to five million Zimbabweans could face hunger by early next year unless immediate action is taken to address the country’s food insecurity.
The Secretary-General also pointed out that the delivery of humanitarian assistance has increasingly been obstructed by authorities, community leaders, war veterans and militia members, a situation made worse by the Government’s recent decision to ban non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from distributing aid.
“It is of utmost importance that the violence is stopped immediately and that humanitarian assistance is facilitated, not prevented,” he stressed, urging the Government to rescind all restrictions on the work of NGOs, to ensure unfettered access to vulnerable populations for all agencies, and to ensure the security of all humanitarian workers.
Last week Mr. Ban dispatched Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Haile Menkerios to Zimbabwe to discuss those issues with the parties before the run-off on 27 June, in which President Robert Mugabe will face Morgan Tsvangirai from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Mr. Menkerios has met with both leaders, as well as the Foreign Minister, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, church leaders and civil society groups, including human rights organizations.
Following his meeting with Mr. Mugabe yesterday, Mr. Menkerios told reporters the UN will be supporting the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to boost its capacity to observe the election.
Regarding the security situation, he said “the reports have been about violence, people being displaced, houses being burned,” adding that the Secretary-General is concerned about what measures can be put in place ahead of the elections.
Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour today denounced the expelling of a UN human rights official by Zimbabwe as “regrettable, untimely and uncooperative.”
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, she added that the move appeared to fit with a pattern which the Government has chosen on non-cooperation with various international agencies.
The staff member in question, a Geneva-based desk officer, was on a routine mission, expecting to work with the UN Country Team and NGOs on issues relating to human rights. He was asked to leave Zimbabwe yesterday by the authorities, on the grounds that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had not given them enough warning about his visit.
OHCHR says it did alert the authorities, and Ms. Arbour said she would like to see Zimbabwe reverse its decision and allow the staff member to return.
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UN PEACEKEEPER IN DARFUR RELEASED AFTER ABDUCTION, ROBBERY BY ARAB MILITIAMEN
A staff member serving with the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was today abducted by armed Arab militiamen, assaulted and stripped of his belongings before being eventually released.
The mission said in a press statement that the man was attacked just before noon and three of his colleagues were also held at gunpoint, close to both the UNAMID military base and the airport in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state.
The staff member is now in a stable condition after being repeatedly beaten with rifles during the attack, which only ended when a member of the Sudan National Security intervened and the militiamen released the peacekeeper.
The militia had been moving in a convoy of about 1,000 men on camels, horses and in four-wheel-drive vehicles, on its way to the local headquarters of the Sudanese armed forces.
“UNAMID avoided opening fire in response to avoid further aggravating the situation and in consideration of the lives of the civilian population in that area,” according to the mission’s statement.
“UNAMID condemns, in the strongest terms, the attack on its peacekeepers. The mission is deployed to help the people of Darfur achieve peace and stability. In their attempt to resolve the conflict in Darfur, peacekeepers should not, in any way, be made party to the conflict.”
The mission and UN security officials said they are continuing to monitor the situation across Darfur, where UNAMID has been in place since the start of the year to try to end a brutal conflict that has pitted rebels against Government forces and allied Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed, since 2003.
During those five years an estimated 300,000 people have died, either through direct combat or because of disease, malnutrition or reduced life expectancy. Another 2.7 million people are now displaced, with many living across the border in eastern Chad.
UNAMID currently has around 10,000 troops and police officers on the ground in Darfur, far short of the expected total of about 26,000 when the mission reaches full deployment. It is also lacking key capacities in air transport, particularly helicopters.
The new head of the Department of Field Support, Under-Secretary-General Susanna Malcorra, has begun her visit to Darfur, an impoverished region on Sudan’s western flank.
Meanwhile, UN officials in Chad say the security situation in the northeast of that country is calm again after days of gun battles between Government forces and armed opposition groups.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative Victor Da Silva Angelo, who has just completed a field visit to the affected area, expressed his gratitude to the Irish and Dutch contingent of the European Union force (EUFOR) for the protection they provided to UN and aid workers in recent days.
Mr. Angelo, who is also head of the UN mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), said in a statement that the EUFOR contingents also responded with professionalism in Abeché and throughout the country.
“The SRSG considers the EUFOR mandate to be critical for enhancing security in eastern Chad and welcomes the reinforcement of the cooperation between EUFOR, MINURCAT and the Government of Chad as an essential element for a sustainable solution to the existing challenges,” he said.
UN aid workers have been instructed to redeploy so they can provide assistance to both internally displaced persons (IDPs) and Darfurian refugees living in camps around the town of Goz Beida.
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TOP UN OFFICIAL HAILS ADOPTION OF ‘MISSING PIECE’ IN HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION
The top United Nations human rights official has hailed the adoption of a new legal instrument which will enable people to submit complaints on violations of their economic, social and cultural rights to an international human rights body.
The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights will “provide an important platform to expose abuses that are often linked to poverty, discrimination and neglect, and that victims frequently endure in silence and helplessness,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said.
“It will provide a way for individuals, who may otherwise be isolated and powerless, to make the international community aware of their situation,” she added, calling the adoption of the text by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council “a highly significant achievement.”
Ms. Arbour noted that the lack of a complaint procedure for economic, social and cultural rights has been “a missing piece in the international human rights protection system,” since the Covenant – which has 158 States parties – opened for signature in 1966.
“As we are celebrating the 60-year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Optional Protocol reaffirms our commitment to a unified and comprehensive vision of human rights, sending a strong, unequivocal message about the equal value and importance of all human rights,” she stated.
The Protocol is expected to get the final approval by the General Assembly later this year. It will enter into force once it has been ratified by 10 States.
The adoption of the Optional Protocol was among a series of actions taken by the Human Rights Council, which is scheduled to wrap up its eighth regular session today. It also decided to extend the terms of office of eight of its Special Procedures mandate holders – rapporteurs, experts and working groups which the Council can use to explore either specific country situations or thematic issues – and appointed 13 more.
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ALL SIDES IN DR CONGO CONTINUE TO VIOLATE HUMAN RIGHTS, UN REPORT FINDS
Government troops, national police, foreign groups and local militia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continue to contribute to deteriorating human rights conditions, the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the country (MONUC) said in a report released today.
The report, assessing the human rights situation in the DRC in April, found that both the armed forces – known as FARDC – and the police (PNC) are among the main violators, including through rapes and acts of torture.
The inspector-general of the FARDC has been suspended from duty for shooting a 20-year-old street dweller in Kinshasa, the capital, while FARDC members have carried out armed robberies, extortion and many arbitrary arrests.
The number of violations by Congolese police also rose over the previous month’s figures, with at least two killings, 13 rape cases and more than 100 arbitrary arrests or acts of detention.
Other segments of the security service, as well as armed militia – including the Patriotic Resistance Front in Ituri (FPRI) and the National Congress for the Defence of the Congolese People (CNDP) – have also been implicated in human rights abuses, such as illegal detention, beatings and arrests.
The report also found that the Government had responded by prosecuting some soldiers, with five men recently given jail sentences ranging from five years to 15 years for the raping of minors.
But it also noted that, at a time when the number of jailbreaks is mounting, the Government continues to deny access to prisons in many parts of the vast country to MONUC’s human rights officials.
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MYANMAR: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONDEMNS ‘ONGOING SYSTEMATIC VIOLATIONS’
The United Nations Human Rights Council today condemned “ongoing systematic violations of human rights” in Myanmar and called on the Government to stop making politically motivated arrests and to release all political prisoners immediately.
In a resolution adopted without a vote, the Council also called on the Government of Myanmar to fully implement commitments it made to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that it would grant relief workers “immediate, full and unhindered access” to people in need in the wake of last month’s catastrophic Cyclone Nargis.
It called on the Government to refrain from sending victims of the disaster back to areas where they would not have access to emergency relief, and to ensure that any returns are voluntary, safe and carried out with dignity.
The resolution, introduced before the Geneva-based Council by the European Union, also condemned the recruitment of child soldiers by both Government forces and non-State armed groups and urged “an absolute an immediate stop of this appalling activity.”
In addition, it called for an independent investigation into reports of human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, acts of torture and forced labour, and called for those responsible for such crimes to be brought to justice.
The resolution also called on the Government “to engage in a real process of dialogue and national reconciliation with the full and genuine participation of representatives of all political parties and ethnic groups who have been excluded from the political process.”
Introducing the resolution on behalf of the EU, Slovenian representative Andrej Logar said previous resolutions had not been implemented by Myanmar and many political prisoners remained in detention.
The recent constitutional referendum was conducted in complete disregard of basic standards on such issues as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, he said.
Myanmar’s representative U Wunna Maung Lwin described the resolution as politically motivated and lopsided and said powerful States were trying to influence matters through political interference.
The representative said Myanmar was working with the international community in the response effort to Cyclone Nargis, which struck the country on 2-3 May, and was also making efforts on the political front, such as with the recent holding of the constitutional referendum.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon briefed the General Assembly today on his recent trip to Myanmar, saying that overall the relief effort there is continuing to improve and to be scaled up.
More than 134,000 people are dead or missing as a result of Cyclone Nargis and the subsequent tidal wave, and as many as 2.4 million people were affected and now need humanitarian assistance.
In his address to Assembly members, Mr. Ban stressed that the humanitarian tragedy wrought by the cyclone should not be politicized, and he plans to remain focused on the issue, drawing on the efforts of his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari.
The Secretary-General also covered other issues in his remarks to the Assembly, including his latest travels, the most recent developments in the global food crisis and the situation in Zimbabwe.
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SECURITY COUNCIL URGED TO SUPPORT SUDAN’S ‘FRAGILE’ NORTH-SOUTH PEACE ACCORD
The head of the Security Council’s recent mission to Sudan today urged the 15-member body to press the parties to the 2005 peace accord which ended the country’s long-running north-south civil war to fulfil their commitments, stressing that the landmark deal is vital to ensuring stability throughout the vast African nation.
“The Comprehensive Peace Agreement remains fragile, and the Council came away convinced that we have to do all we can to support the parties in implementing it,” John Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom told an open meeting of the Council.
Mr. Sawers, who co-led the Sudan leg of the Council’s recent five-nation mission to Africa, added that the delegation believes that the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) needed to do more to support the CPA, which he said remains “the bedrock of peace in Sudan.”
In particular, he said the Mission could do more – and that it should “interpret its mandate more robustly than it has done so far” – if it is to contribute to stability and protect civilians in the disputed town of Abyei.
While in Sudan, the Council team also discussed with President Omar al-Bashir the situation in Darfur, where the UN and African Union have deployed a joint peacekeeping operation, known as UNAMID, to try to quell the violence and suffering that has plagued the region.
The operation currently has around 10,000 troops and police officers on the ground, far short of the expected total of about 26,000 when the mission reaches full deployment, and is lacking key capacities in air transport, particularly helicopters.
The Department of Peacekeeping Operations says that in addition to the four out of six required tactical support helicopters, there is a critical shortfall for three medium utility helicopter units (providing six helicopters each) and reconnaissance aircraft. It adds that discussions are ongoing with Member States to fill the shortfalls. In a related development, the head of the Department of Field Support, Susana Malcorra, has begun a visit to Darfur.
With UNAMID’s mandate coming up for review next month, Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa, who co-led the Sudan segment of the Africa trip, urged the Council to pay closer attention to the details of the operation’s structure.
“Even I was shocked at how under-resourced UNAMID was […] this must be watched very closely,” he said, expressing concern that the operation’s current strength was not sufficient enough to respond to the fears of the people on the ground.
Recalling the reports of insecurity received from internally displaced persons (IDPs) and aid workers during the Council’s stop in Darfur, he said “the issue of UNAMID, its strength, resources and the conditions under which it will work need more attention from the Council, so it can assist the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and our humanitarian friends working on the ground.”
Mr. Kumalo also briefed the Council on the delegation’s visit to Djibouti, where UN-led talks between the Government and the opposition of neighbouring Somalia recently led to an agreement aiming to bring peace to the strife-torn nation that has not had a functioning government since 1991.
The Council had also encouraged the acceleration of the deployment of the UN mission in the Central African Republic and Chad (MINURCAT), during its stop in the latter country, reported Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, who led that portion of the trip.
He said Council members had reaffirmed their commitment to Chad’s sovereignty and stressed that the country must commit itself to dialogue with Sudan and that both countries must pledge to keep armed groups out of each others territories.
In addition to meeting with Government officials, Council members visited a camp for Chadians displaced by fighting in country’s eastern region, and were briefed by UN and other humanitarian workers on security concerns and restrictions on their movement.
While in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Council touched on the country’s continued cooperation with the UN, as well as on sexual violence and issues related to war crimes investigations by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr. Ripert reported.
The Council had expressed to President Joseph Kabila its concerns, including the need to strengthen the country’s democratic institutions, reform its justice sector, and to press ahead with the holding of local elections.
“Even with all this, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is nevertheless seeing its first real taste of democracy in the last 50 years,” Mr. Ripert said, especially with political opposition playing a role in what appeared to be a “serene” atmosphere.
Reporting on the final leg of the mission, Ambassador Michel Kafando of Burkina Faso said that the Council’s stop in Côte d’Ivoire had enabled the body to assess the progress made by the Ivorian players in adhering to the Ouagadougou Agreement, including the preparations for the holding of credible, free and transparent presidential elections later this year.
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SECRETARY-GENERAL CELEBRATES WRITINGS AND INFLUENCE OF RENOWNED PERSIAN POET
The writings of Abu Abdullah Jafar ibn Mohammad Rudaki, the poet considered to have laid the foundations of Persian classical literature, should serve as an inspiration to international efforts to combat extremism and attempts to divide peoples and cultures, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
Speaking at United Nations Headquarters in New York at a commemoration ceremony on the 1150th anniversary of the birth of Rudaki, Mr. Ban said it was fitting that the world body, given its goals, should celebrate the life of a poet “who so beautifully extolled the virtues of good and justice.
“With simplicity and elegance, Rudaki pioneered a great tradition, laying the foundation for Persian classical literature,” the Secretary-General said. “He took poetry from the realm of the abstract into contemporary life. And, in the process, he shed new philosophical light on society. Rudaki is truly the ‘Sultan of Poets’.”
Mr. Ban said Rudaki’s influence is particularly important today, given the work of the UN-backed Alliance of Civilizations, “our initiative to counter extremism and heal the divisions that threaten our world.”
Today’s commemoration, which was attended by many scholars and artists, was organized by the permanent representatives of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
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UN POLITICAL CHIEF OPTIMISTIC ABOUT PROGRESS IN CYPRUS TOWARDS POSSIBLE UNITY
The top United Nations political official says he is optimistic that the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities are making real progress in their discussions on possible reunification and could soon move into substantive talks on resolving the issue.
Wrapping up a two-day visit to the Mediterranean island, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe told reporters in Nicosia that the two community leaders had made a good start in their face-to-face discussions earlier this year.
Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat “are very committed to moving forward and to finally resolving the Cyprus problem and to getting a unified Cyprus,” he said.
Mr. Pascoe met twice this week with Mr. Christofias and with Mr. Talat, and he also held meetings with representatives of civil society and Security Council permanent members.
He was also briefed by the UN facilitators of the working groups and technical committees which the two community leaders decided to set up in March.
“It is my understanding that these working groups will continue as a supporting mechanism to help the leaders who will be working on the hard political questions,” Mr. Pascoe said.
“I think as the time goes on, hopefully, we will have some agreements out of these groups that will be out there and people will see that really they are designed to help the people of Cyprus – to make life better, to make life easier, to make life more normal.”
The two leaders’ advisers are scheduled to meet tomorrow with the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus, Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, to set a date for the leaders’ next meeting.
“An issue that has been around this long is inevitably going to have problems arise, but my strong sense is that the overall direction is a very positive one,” Mr. Pascoe said. “I remain quite optimistic that the process is moving forward and I think that we will get involved in substantive talks in the not too distant future.”
After a meeting on 23 May, Mr. Christofias and Mr. Talat committed themselves in a statement to working towards “a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions.”
The 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.
Mr. Pascoe said it was clear “there are huge expectations” among the international community about the current process.
“I think all of us hope that the future of Cyprus is united as a very strong member of Europe – a strong outpost of Europe in the south. I think it is very clear and a goal of the entire international community, and we at the UN who have been working on this issue for a very long time want to do everything we can to make it work.”
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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LJUBLJANA CHOSEN BY UN CULTURAL AGENCY AS 2010 WORLD BOOK CAPITAL
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today that Ljubljana has been chosen as the 2010 World Book Capital as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to promote literature and reading.
The Slovenian capital was picked “for the quality of its application, as well as for its diverse and complete programme, widely and enthusiastically supported by all players in the book industry (publishers, bookstores and libraries),” the selection committee said after meeting today at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
The committee brings together representatives of UNESCO and some of the main professional associations in the book industry – the International Publishers Association, the International Booksellers Federation and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said in a statement that he was delighted “to see this magnificent city acknowledged for its collective commitment to promote books and reading in a context of freedom of expression and cultural openness.”
Ljubljana becomes the tenth city to be designated as World Book Capital, following Madrid, Alexandria, New Delhi, Antwerp, Montreal, Turin, Bogotá, Amsterdam and Beirut.
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POOR, LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES REMAIN ON THE ECONOMIC FRINGE, UN OFFICIAL SAYS
Landlocked developing countries remain marginalized in the global economy, despite increased development aid, debt relief and greater access to international markets, the United Nations envoy for the world’s poorest nations said today.
Cheick Sidi Diarra, the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), told the opening of a regional review meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that there was no fundamental change in the position of the poorest countries.
“Although they represent about 15 per cent of the community of States, their share of world exports has remained well below 1 per cent,” Mr. Diarra said.
“Their unsustainable external debt continues to mount due to a combination of low productivity, low return on investment and slow export growth.”
Dozens of experts in transport, planning, infrastructure development and customs organizations are attending the Addis Ababa meeting, held to chart the progress so far towards the Almaty Programme of Action, a 2003 plan spelling out specific measures to help landlocked and transit developing countries overcome their geographical handicap.
Mr. Diarra, who is also the UN Special Adviser on Africa, told the meeting that continent’s landlocked countries were in a particularly dire situation. Transport costs are especially high, with less than a third of all roads being paved and road density only half that of Latin America.
Increased investment in transport, storage and communication is needed in landlocked and transit countries, he stressed, as many such States are unlikely to meet the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the due date of 2015.
Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), warned that soaring fuel prices were exacerbating the problems faced by many businesses on the continent.
“High transaction costs arising from numerous checkpoints, inefficient payment systems and insurance mechanisms, excessive paperwork and obsolete systems further compound this situation,” he said.
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SECURITY COUNCIL ASKS BAN TO RENEW UN PANEL MONITORING LIBERIA SANCTIONS
The Security Council has asked Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to renew the mandate of the United Nations panel looking into the issues of diamonds, timber, sanctions, arms and security in Liberia for another six months.
In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council also requested Mr. Ban to reappoint the Panel of Experts and to make the necessary financial and security arrangements to support its work.
The 15-member body also called on all States and the Government of Liberia to “cooperate fully with the Panel of Experts in all the aspects of its mandate.”
The panel was appointed by the Secretary-General in July 2007 to investigate whether UN sanctions against Liberia are being broken, after learning of allegations that former president Charles Taylor may still have access to considerable wealth.
It is also tasked with assessing the implementation of forestry legislation signed into law last October by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and with gauging the Government’s compliance with the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a mechanism established to keep “blood diamonds” from reaching world markets.
The Council also highlighted the importance of the continuing assistance of the UN’s peacekeeping missions in Liberia (UNMIL) and Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) to the work of the Panel and to Security Council committee monitoring the sanctions on Liberia.
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COCA CULTIVATION IN ANDEAN COUNTRIES ON THE RISE, UN SURVEY SHOWS
The head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is urging comprehensive, large-scale and ecologically-friendly agriculture and forestry schemes in coca growing areas, after a new survey shows a “marked increase” in cultivation in the Andean region.
According to the 2007 Andean coca survey, released today by UNODC, the total area of land under coca cultivation last year in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru was 181,600 hectares, a 16 per cent increase over 2006 – and the highest level since 2001.
The increase was due to a 27 per cent rise in Colombia, and smaller increases of 5 per cent and 4 per cent respectively in Bolivia and Peru.
“The increase in coca cultivation in Colombia is a surprise and shock: a surprise because it comes at a time when the Colombian Government is trying so hard to eradicate coca; a shock because of the magnitude of cultivation,” said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa.
The survey also points out that nearly half of all cocaine production and one third of the cultivation come from just 10 of the country’s 195 municipalities. “Just like in Afghanistan, where most opium is grown in provinces with a heavy Taliban presence, in Colombia most coca is grown in areas controlled by insurgents,” Mr. Costa noted.
However, even with the rise in coca cultivation, cocaine production in Colombia – the world’s biggest producer – remained almost unchanged in 2007, according to the survey.
The findings highlight the need for greater investments in alternative livelihood programmes, stressed the Executive Director. Coca cultivation in Bolivia, for example, rose in regions such as La Asunta and the Yungas de La Paz, which have seen little investment in development. At the same time, regions like Alto Beni that have received support for alternative livelihood schemes have been able to reduce coca cultivation.
UNODC adds that price increases for products such as coffee, palm oil and cocoa, which are being grown under alternative development programmes, have convinced many farmers in Peru not to replant eradicated coca fields. In Colombia, the agency is supporting the Forest Wardens Families Programme in assisting farmers who make a commitment to voluntarily eradicate coca, while promoting reforestation.
“With greater control over national territory, governments can help farmers switch to licit livelihoods and turn their backs on drugs,” said Mr. Costa. “This is the best way of eradicating poverty as well as coca.”
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FOOD SHORTAGES PUT MILLIONS OF ZIMBABWEANS AT RISK OF HUNGER, WARN UN AGENCIES
The lack of fertilizer and seeds, economic constraints and adverse weather have led to food insecurity in Zimbabwe and threatens to plunge five million people into hunger by early next year, warns a new United Nations report which calls for emergency action by the Government and the international community.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) estimate that some two million people in rural and urban areas will be food insecure between July and September of this year.
That number is expected to rise to 3.8 million people between October “and peaking to about 5.1 million at the height of the hungry season between January and March 2009.”
In a special joint report released today –“FAO/WFP Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission to Zimbabwe” – the agencies note that maize production in 2008 is estimated at 575,000 tonnes, some 28 per cent lower than last year.
Meanwhile, cereal supply is expected to be about 40 per cent lower than in 2007. “The food insecure population will require food assistance amounting to some 395,000 tonnes of cereals in 2008/09,” states the report.
In addition, the agencies say that “newly-settled farmers cultivate only about half of the prime land allocated to them,” owing to factors such as shortages of equipment and fuel, lack of infrastructure and absenteeism on the part of some new settlers.
The decrease in food production, coupled with the world’s highest inflation rate, has eroded the purchasing power of households “dramatically” and increased food insecurity, according to the report.
The agencies call for emergency assistance by the Government and the international community, including the supply of timely and quality seed and fertilizer. They also recommend opening up trading in cereals to private traders to ensure that cereals can be imported and moved quickly to areas of need and reform of the grain marketing system.
In addition, the report suggests that the international community and the Government work together to promote investment in agriculture and promote sustainable food production and overall food security.
The UN is currently assisting more than four million people in the country, about a third of Zimbabwe’s population.
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