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UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
8 May, 2009 =========================================================================
URGENT INTERNATIONAL SCRUTINY NEEDED IN SRI LANKA, SAY UN RIGHTS EXPERTS
A group of independent United Nations experts today called on the Human Rights Council to urgently set up an international inquiry to address the “critical” situation in Sri Lanka amid fighting between the army and Tamil rebels.
“There is an urgent need to establish an international commission of inquiry to document the events of recent months and to monitor ongoing developments,” the experts dealing with summary executions, right to health, right to food and water and sanitation said in a joint statement issued in Geneva.
Philip Alston, Anand Grover, Olivier De Schutter and Catarina de Albuquerque said the current humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka gives cause for deep concern, not only in terms of the number of civilians who have been and continue to be killed, but because of a dramatic lack of transparency and accountability.
“There is good reason to believe that thousands of civilians have been killed in the past three months alone, and yet the Sri Lankan Government has yet to account for the casualties, or to provide access to the war zone for journalists and humanitarian monitors of any type,” said Mr. Alston, the UN expert on summary executions.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says over 196,000 people have fled the conflict zone, a shrinking pocket of land on the north-east coastline, where clashes continue between Government troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), while at least 50,000 people are still trapped there.
The experts stressed that “continuing catastrophic situation of civilians” in Sri Lanka trapped in the midst of the fighting, in an area measuring less than 10 square kilometres, must be immediately addressed.
“These civilians do not have sufficient access to food, essential medical supplies or services and safe water and sanitation. Even if they do escape death or injury at the hands of the hostile parties, their continued presence in this area without access to these basic rights is an effective death sentence,” declared the experts.
They said shipments of food and medicine to the so-called 'no-fire zone' have been “grossly insufficient” over the past month and the Government has reportedly delayed or denied timely shipment of life saving medicines as well as chlorine tablets.
The experts noted that as a result of the “blackout on independent information sources,” it is impossible to verify any of the Government's claims as to the number of casualties to date or as to the steps that it says it is taking in order to minimize the further killing of innocent civilians, and ensure aid delivery.
“When people manage to escape, they reportedly continue to face scant supplies, entirely insufficient access to adequate medical treatment and severely overcrowded hospitals, providing no relief to the horrors they had been living,” said Mr. Grover, the UN expert on the right to health.
Mr. De Schutter, the UN expert on the right to food, added that access to food has also been hampered by arduous and lengthy registration procedures for the internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Meanwhile, Ms. de Albuquerque, the UN expert on water and sanitation, voiced concern about “water shortages reported at Omanthai and at most of the transit sites as well as inadequate sanitation facilities, which put the health and lives of the population at further risk.”
The group called on the Sri Lankan Government to provide “convincing evidence” to the international community that it is respecting its obligations under human rights and international humanitarian law.
They added that it is clear that the LTTE, for its part, has acted in “flagrant violation” of the applicable norms by preventing civilians from leaving the conflict area and having reportedly shot and killed those trying to flee.
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UN AGENCIES CONCERNED OVER ‘MASSIVE DISPLACEMENT’ IN PAKISTAN
The United Nations agencies tasked with protecting refugee and children’s rights today expressed deep concern over the “massive displacement” in north-west Pakistan caused by the widening armed conflict between Government forces and militants.
The provincial government estimates between 150,000 to 200,000 people have already arrived in safer areas of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) over the last few days, with another 300,000 already on the march or about to leave, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
UNHCR noted that those fleeing the latest escalation of hostilities in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat join another 555,000 previously displaced Pakistanis who had fled their homes in the tribal areas and NWFP.
The new influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs) will place huge pressure on the resources already shared by around 93,000 people sheltering in 11 UNHCR-supported camps and over 450,000 staying in rental accommodation or host families.
To date, more than 83,000 recent IDPs from Buner, Dir, and Swat have been registered, including almost 5,000 staying in three new camps and more than 78,000 people who are staying outside of camps.
In Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore and other urban centres of the Punjab, UNHCR has registered a further 40,000 displaced people mainly from Bajaur, Mohmand and Swat over the past two weeks.
As part of a joint UN response to the influx of people fleeing the fighting in Lower Dir, Buner and Swat over the past week, UNHCR has helped establish three new camps, including Jalala and Shiekh Shehzad camps in Mardan and Yar Hussain in Swabi district.
In the last two days, an increasing number of families from Swat have gone to the Jalala camp, travelling in rickshaws, cars, small trucks and buses with little more than the clothes on their backs, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters in Geneva.
New arrivals told UNHCR staff that they had trouble finding transport and had to pay steep prices to hire vehicles. One family of 20 from Buner reported paying the equivalent of $350 to travel to the camp from their home. Another man from Mingora, Swat, drove with his family in his rickshaw a harrowing seven hours to reach the safety of Jalala camp in tears.
Yesterday, a new reception centre – the first of four planned centres – opened on the main Malakand Road at Jalala to give people food, water and information about the camps and registration centres. Plans to provide medical care and transport assistance at the reception centres, as part of the joint UN response, are also underway.
UNHCR is currently responding to the emergency with relief supplies – such as tents, plastic sheets, buckets, jerry cans, and kitchen sets – for 100,000 people, while buying additional supplies for an additional 200,000.
“The majority of those worst affected are children, who have witnessed violence, experienced displacement, and faced interruptions to education and health services,” the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a news release.
UNICEF noted that it was working closely with its aid partners, as well as the Federal and Provincial governments to provide assistance for people staying with relatives and to support the three new camps established in the last week.
To prevent the spread of disease among children, UNICEF Pakistan is supplying the camps with safe water, sanitation facilities and hygiene kits. The agency has also vaccinated more than 10,000 children under five years of age at transit points, as well as provided ongoing support for orphans and unaccompanied children who are fleeing, including a primary school in one new camp with an enrolment of around 200 children.
The agency also expressed concern for the civilians, especially children, still living in combat zones and “strongly urged all parties to take immediate measures to ensure that children are protected from the effects of armed conflict, and that aid workers and supplies for IDPs and civilians in conflict areas have safe passage.”
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SECURITY COUNCIL DEPLORES RENEWED INCURSIONS IN EASTERN CHAD
The Security Council today condemned the renewed military incursions in eastern Chad, where the United Nations says ongoing clashes are hindering efforts to assist hundreds of thousands of civilians taking refuge in the area.
In a statement read by Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia, which holds the Council’s rotating presidency for May, the 15-member body spoke out against the incursions “of Chadian armed groups, coming from outside.”
The Council stressed that any attempt at destabilizing Chad by force is “unacceptable” and demanded that rebel armed groups cease violence immediately.
In addition, it voiced deep concern at the direct threat posed by the activity of armed groups for the safety of civilians and humanitarian operations in the area.
In an earlier meeting, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Dmitry Titov reported that the UN Mission in Chad and the Central African Republic (MINURCAT) was able to confirm that the Chadian National Army was conducting air strikes against a rebel column in eastern Chad, in the area of Goz Beida.
While no significant population displacements have been reported as a result of the fighting so far, the clashes have “seriously compromised” the ability of UN agencies and their non-governmental organization (NGO) partners to deliver humanitarian assistance, he said.
Just two days ago, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced increasing concern at the fighting and called for the respect of the humanitarian character of the operations of the UN and NGOs in eastern Chad.
The region is home to over 290,000 Sudanese refugees from the conflict in Darfur, more than 180,000 IDPs and a further 700,000 individuals among host communities in need of food, water and health care.
Mr. Titov said that the deteriorating security situation has prompted humanitarian actors, including three UN agencies and 11 NGOs, to relocate their non-essential staff as a precautionary measure.
With the rainy season beginning, it is critically important that the humanitarian community is able to pre-position essential humanitarian supplies and materials, especially in areas which become essentially isolated due to flooded and impassable roads, he said. “Should the current situation worsen, it could potentially jeopardize this important work.”
Mr. Titov recalled that on 3 May in Doha, the Governments of Chad and Sudan signed a new agreement to normalize relations and deny any support on their respective territories to rebel groups that are hostile to either of them. However, only two days later, a Chadian Government spokesperson accused Sudan of sending armed elements into eastern Chad, a charge which Khartoum denied.
“It is essential that both Governments act upon the Doha Agreement and past commitments to prevent further rebel incursions from either side of the border,” said Mr. Titov. “It is also essential that armed opposition groups, on both sides of the border, realize that efforts to seize power through force are unacceptable.”
He added that MINURCAT, which is tasked with protecting civilians in danger, facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid and personnel, as well as safeguarding UN personnel and facilities, still lacks some of the troops and 14 of the 18 helicopters it requires.
“As a result, the military force lacks the ability to observe and track incidents as they develop, as well as a force reserve with rapid mobility to reinforce sites or react to changing circumstances,” he said, urging the Council to join Mr. Ban in his appeal to potential troop contributors to provide MINURCAT with the assets it needs.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported today that despite the ongoing clashes between armed groups in eastern Chad, aid operations are continuing for 250,000 Darfur refugees, 18,000 Central African Republic refugees, and 166,000 Chadian IDPs and their host families.
The UN in Chad has called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and specifically to ensure protection of civilians, particularly women and children. It has also urged that humanitarian space be respected to allow aid to continue to reach those in greatest need.
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UN RELIEF CHIEF MEETS WITH VICTIMS OF RECENT VIOLENCE IN SOUTHERN SUDAN
The top United Nations relief official travelled to Southern Sudan today, where he met with some of the thousands of men, women and children who have been displaced by recent violence.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), up to 1,000 people have been killed and over 100,000 uprooted from their homes since January in seven states in Southern Sudan due to the activities of the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and inter-ethnic clashes.
Continuing his five-day visit to Sudan, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator went to Akobo in Jonglei State, where thousands are taking shelter after fleeing recent violence.
Many of those he met told Mr. Holmes of their plight, some of them recounting how they had lost relatives in the violence.
“These men, women and children are obviously in desperate need. Based on what I heard from the families I have spoken to, we urgently need not only increased humanitarian assistance but also action to reconcile differences and stop this cycle of violence,” he stated.
There are currently 24 humanitarian organizations responding to the increasing needs of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) in 7 of the 10 states of Southern Sudan, OCHA said.
Mr. Holmes also met today with Riek Machar, Vice-President of the Government of Southern Sudan, with whom he discussed humanitarian needs in the region, especially those in areas affected by ongoing conflict in Jonglei State.
Tomorrow he will travel to Darfur to meet with local leaders and aid workers, as well as visit Zam Zam camp for IDPs in North Darfur.
The UN relief chief will review the humanitarian situation in the areas, some two months after the Government expelled 13 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and revoked the permits of three local groups after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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INFLUENZA A(H1N1) INFECTIONS CLIMB TO 2,500, UN AGENCY REPORTS
The number of influenza A(H1N1) infections has risen to 2,500 in 25 countries, the United Nations health agency reported today, while adding that there were no new deaths from the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that Brazil and Poland have been added to the list of countries with verified cases of the new flu strain since yesterday morning.
Despite the increase in the number of cases, WHO Global Influenza Programme Director Sylvie Briand noted that the agency’s global pandemic alert remains at phase 5 on its six-point warning scale, which means that sustained human-to-human transmission of the disease on a community level is restricted to one of the agency’s geographic regions, in this case North America.
“We have new cases. Most of them are imported cases from travellers, returning travellers or close contact of these people,” Ms. Briand told reporters at the daily WHO briefing in Geneva.
Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan told a gathering of Asian health ministers to remain vigilant in monitoring avian flu, H5N1 influenza, in an address to a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok today. She noted that the virus is widespread in poultry in parts of the region and the agency does not know how the infection will behave if spread to other regions.
Paying tribute to the region’s leaders for monitoring the virus and largely keeping it under control for five years, Ms. Chan stressed that the world is “better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history.”
Ms. Chan noted that avian flu has “conditioned the public to equate an influenza pandemic with very severe disease and high mortality.” She explained that such a disease pattern is not inevitable during a pandemic. “On the contrary, it is exceptional.”
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MIGIRO TO ATTEND SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro is in Pretoria where she will attend, on behalf of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the inauguration of South African President-elect Jacob Zuma on Saturday.
Ms. Migiro will also hold bilateral talks with South African and regional leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Discussions will focus on issues related to regional security, economic development, and progress towards reaching a greenhouse gas emissions agreement at the Copenhagen climate change summit at the end of this year, United Nations spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York.
On Monday, the Deputy Secretary-General will travel to Hanoi to hold high-level consultations with the Vietnamese Government on its UN “Delivering as One” experience. Viet Nam is one of the pilot countries for the UN reform measure aimed at better coordinating the world body’s efforts on the ground at the country level.
Then she will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, where she will chair the Regional Coordination Mechanism Meeting of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on 14 May.
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UPCOMING UN ECONOMIC SUMMIT ‘TIMELY AND HISTORIC’ – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT
The upcoming United Nations meeting to tackle the global financial crisis is both “timely and historic,” the President of the General Assembly said, urging all States to participate at the highest level and to support the draft outcome document that he presented today.
“The participation of all Member States at the highest level is indispensable for the transcendental gathering to achieve its full potential,” Miguel D’Escoto told the 192-member Assembly. “I earnestly believe that this is an opportunity the world cannot afford not to take advantage of.”
Mr. D’Escoto is tasked with organizing the UN High-Level Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development, which was called for by participants at a financing for development meeting held in Qatar in late 2008.
He emphasized that the outcome document that leaders will adopt at the end of the 1-3 June meeting must reflect the aspirations of the Member States. “In particular, it must speak to the hundreds of millions across the globe who have no other forum in which they can express their unique and often divergent perspectives.”
Presenting the draft outcome document to the Assembly, Mr. D’Escoto said he tried his best to reflect the concerns and expectations expressed to him by the government officials he met with in recent weeks as he travelled to different countries.
“This draft outcome document may be the only document that the heads of State and government may see prior to coming to the June meeting,” he later told a news conference.
“This is the document that will make it or break it,” he said, noting that the text will be the basis on which leaders will decide whether to take the June meeting seriously or to cast it as just another kind of “international charade” that will come to nothing.
“I am hopeful that we will be instrumental in bringing tranquillity to the world that is in the midst of much anxiety caused by many converging crises, but mainly by the financial and economic turmoil.”
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HORN OF AFRICA’S CHILDREN AT RISK FROM TRIPLE THREAT – UNICEF
The lives of millions of children in the Horn of Africa are being threatened by chronic food insecurity, conflict and political instability, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned today.
Nearly 20 million people, including four million children under the age of five, are already in need of emergency relief assistance, representing a significant rise over last September’s figure of 14 million, the agency said in a news release.
“Over the last few months we have witnessed a steady increase in the numbers of children suffering from acute malnutrition, which means more children are at risk of death and disease,” said Dorothy Rozga, UNICEF’s Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.
“We are witnessing an all too familiar tragedy unfolding, and unless we act with much greater urgency the situation for children can only get worse,” she warned.
The agency said that contributing to the emergency is a combination of erratic weather patterns, the global economic crisis and heightened conflict and insecurity, including the hijacking of ships off the Somali coast.
Data indicates growing numbers of children suffering from acute malnutrition, a condition which if not treated quickly can lead to death. In addition, access to safe water and sanitation is extremely limited in the region, making it highly susceptible to outbreaks of waterborne disease.
UNICEF and its partners are seeking to boost aid to the most vulnerable, including health care, access to safe water and sanitation and treatment for malnutrition.
The agency noted that, so far this year, it has received less than 10 per cent of its projected emergency funding requirements of some $178 million for the Horn of Africa, which includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda.
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VISITS TO BAHRAIN AND SWITZERLAND ON BAN’S ITINERARY
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Manama, Bahrain and Geneva, Switzerland, starting 15 May, a United Nations spokesperson announced today.
Marie Okabe told reporters Mr. Ban’s two-day visit in Manama will focus on the official launch of the 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will take place on 17-18 May. He is set to speak at the launching ceremony, hosted by the Prime Minister of Bahrain.
“This is the UN’s first global report that identifies increasing disaster risk factors and recommends 20 actions to reduce such risks, which will have beneficial effects on broader global security, stability and sustainability,” she stated.
The report points out that investing in disaster risk reduction will help reduce poverty, safeguard development and help to adapt to climate change, she added.
While in Bahrain, Mr. Ban is scheduled to meet with Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, as well as the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister.
The Secretary-General will then travel to Geneva, where he is set to deliver the keynote speech at the World Health Assembly. He will also participate in a high-level meeting, convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), with representatives of some 20 pharmaceutical companies, to ensure that developing countries will have access to vaccines.
In addition, Mr. Ban will participate in the launch of the Innovative-8 Group (or I-8 Group) on financing for the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the globally agreed targets to reduce poverty, hunger, disease and other challenges by 2015.
While in Geneva, he will also take part in the Conference on Disarmament, as well as meet with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, Ms. Okabe said.
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UN TEAM PROBING RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN GAZA CONFLICT WRAPS UP FIRST MEETING
Members of the fact-finding mission set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council to probe rights violations during the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip wrapped up a week-long meeting in Geneva today.
The four-person team is led by the former prosecutor for International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Richard Goldstone of South Africa, who stressed the law-based approach the mission will take in preparing its report to the Geneva-based Council.
“I would like to emphasise that we will focus our investigation not on political considerations, but on an objective and impartial analysis of compliance of the parties to the conflict with their obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, especially their responsibility to ensure the protection of civilians and non-combatants,” he stated.
“I believe that an objective assessment of the issues is in the interests of all parties, will promote a culture of accountability and could serve to promote greater peace and security in the region.”
During their week-long session, the team held initial meetings with a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including Member States and representatives of the UN and non-governmental organizations. It also established terms of reference and a three-month programme of work.
The mission intends to conduct visits to affected areas of Southern Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza, and has requested the cooperation of the Government of Israel in this regard, according to a news release.
The other members of the team include Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science at the University of London; Hina Jilani, Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders; and Colonel (retired from the Irish Armed Forces) Desmond Travers, member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI).
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UN-AFRICAN UNION ENVOY TO DARFUR CONDEMNS KILLING OF BLUE HELMET
Unidentified gunmen shot dead an international peacekeeper outside his home in South Darfur last night, the joint African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) announced with “deep regret” today.
The blue helmet was killed in a carjacking incident as he was opening the gate to his residence in Nyala, the state capital. The peacekeeper was rushed to a nearby UNAMID medical centre for treatment but died upon arrival.
Joint AU-UN Special Representative, Rodolphe Adada, condemned the killing in the strongest terms, emphasizing that attacks on peacekeepers constitute war crimes.
“This attack is deplorable. UNAMID peacekeepers are here to assist the people of Darfur, and any attack on them is totally unacceptable,” said Mr. Adada. “I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of the peacekeeper who lost his life.”
The military observer's name, rank and nationality will not be released until his family are notified, but he becomes the 15th UNAMID peacekeeper killed in a hostile confrontation since the mission deployed at the start of 2008.
Mr. Adada called on the Sudanese Government and the parties to the Darfur conflict to do everything possible to bring the perpetrators of last night's shooting to justice.
Meanwhile, UNAMID, which has started its own investigation into the attack, informed local officials with Sudanese Government police and national security, who are also investigating the killing.
While the overall number of carjackings and thefts of UNAMID vehicles has declined since last year, such incidents continue across the region, particularly in South Darfur. A Nigerian peacekeeper was shot and killed during an ambush of a Mission escort patrol near Nyala on 17 March.
In a briefing to the Security Council last month Mr. Adada estimated that some 2,000 civilians have also been in killed in Darfur since UNAMID deployed last year, and that some of the previous 14 peacekeepers killed may have been rescued if helicopters had been available.
The hybrid UNAMID force was set up by the Security Council to protect civilians in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2.7 million have been forced from their homes since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.
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HIGH-POWERED CHIEF EXECUTIVES BACK UN ANTI-CORRUPTION PACT
In a letter addressed to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chief executives from some of the world's leading companies have thrown their support behind a United Nations treaty aimed at combating corruption.
The CEO's noted that the UN Convention against Corruption – signed by 140 countries and ratified by 136 to date – holds “the promise of curbing corruption and creates a level playing field for all participants in the global economy.”
The letter characterized the Convention as “an essential instrument in the fight against corruption,” which is crucial in the current period of financial and economic turmoil to prevent an “erosion of ethical standards that will be hard to reverse.”
They also underscored the importance for the Conference of States Parties to the Convention, held in Doha in November, to establish an effective implementation review mechanism. “Hoping that the Convention's measures will work, without follow-up reviews, would be a dangerous mistake,” wrote the CEOs.
“The adoption of a rigorous implementation review mechanism will send a very positive message to international business,” read the letter, whose signatories included the CEOs of Fuji Xerox of Japan, General Electric Company of the United States, IKEA of Sweden, Royal Dutch Shell of the Netherlands, Sinosteel Corporation of China, Tata Sons of India and Zurich Financial Group of Switzerland.
The letter was written at the invitation of the four global, multi-industry, anti-corruption initiatives addressing the corporate sector: the International Chamber of Commerce, Transparency International, the UN Global Compact and the World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI).
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