UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
13 October, 2011=========================================================================
AS DISASTERS INCREASE, RISK REDUCTION SHOULD A BE A CONCERN FOR ALL – UN CHIEF
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that disaster risk reduction should be a daily concern for everyone, noting that vulnerability to catastrophes is growing faster than the world’s capacity to strengthen resilience, as evidenced by the devastation wrought by the recent series of floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and droughts.
“The good news is that some countries have shown how to reduce risk from floods and cyclones,” Mr. Ban said in his message to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which is observed today. “Investments in early warning and other measures are paying dividends.”
To mark the Day, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and its partners invited children and young people to “Step Up for Disaster Risk Reduction,” saying they were the groups most affected by disasters.
An estimated 100 million young people are affected by reported disasters each year and thousands of them are killed and injured.
“We know from many courageous stories which emerge post-disaster that young people are not passive victims of events beyond their control,” said Margareta Wahlström, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNISDR.
“Around the world we have seen the evidence that young people are quick to respond to tragic events,” she said in her message. “There is ample evidence that wherever young people are empowered with information and skills training, they are important actors in disaster management and have a keen eye for where risk can be reduced in the community.”
In Nepal, for example, schoolchildren are taught the basics of building homes safely, while risk reduction and climate change adaptation activities involving children in Cuba are now being emulated in other parts of the world.
Recently, more than 600 young boys and girls in Africa, Asia and Latin America developed a Children’s Charter to reduce disaster risk, Mr. Ban pointed out.
At events across the around the world today, and in the next 12 months, UNISDR will work with its partners – the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Plan, Save the Children and World Vision – To promote the new Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction.
In the Charter, children identified five priorities to strengthen resilience in the face of disasters:
Schools must be safe and education must not be interrupted;
Child protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster to avoid threats such as child labour and trafficking;
Children have the right to participate and to access the information they need in order to protect their communities as well as themselves from disaster risks and climate change;
Special attention must be paid to those who are more vulnerable due to disability, age, gender, location and social status.
“The message is clear: Disaster risk reduction should be an everyday concern for everybody. Let us all invest today for a safer tomorrow,” said the Secretary-General.
According to UNISDR, risk reduction includes disciplines such as disaster management, mitigation and preparedness. It is also crucial for sustainable development.
According to this year’s issue of the UNISDR Global Assessment Report, the proportion of the population living in flood-prone river basins has risen by 114 per cent over the last 30 years and those living on cyclone-exposed coastlines by 192 per cent.
It points outs that, more than half the world’s large cities, with populations ranging from two to 15 million, are located in areas at high risk of seismic activity.
Meanwhile, more than 50 children from 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region met in Bangkok today to mark the Day and discuss how they can play a more active role in preventing disasters.
Co-organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Disaster Management, the Thailand Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the ASEAN Secretariat, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Asia Pacific Regional Office of UNISDR and other partners, the event highlighted the vital role that children can play in reducing disaster impacts.
“As we have seen in recent days in the newspapers, on television, or with our own eyes on the streets and fields around us, disasters disrupt the lives of millions of children, threatening their rights and their needs,” said Noeleen Heyzer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia (ESCAP).
“Children and young people are particularly vulnerable. An estimated 66 million children are affected by disasters every year, and their vulnerability is expected to increase,” said Dr. Heyzer.
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AFTER LATEST RELEASE, UN EXPERT URGES MYANMAR TO FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS
United Nations officials today welcomed the decision by Myanmar’s President to grant amnesty and release a significant number of detainees and urged the Government to free all remaining political prisoners.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all parties to redouble their efforts to set promised reforms “on an irreversible course,” and addressing the serious challenges facing the country.
“He hopes the Government will ensure that this process results in the early release all political prisoners, consistent with its commitment to uphold fundamental rights and the rule of law,” the statement said.
Mr. Ban acknowledged the ongoing dialogue between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate who was held under house arrest for much of the past 20 years before being released last November, as well as the negotiations between the authorities and ethnic groups.
The exact number of political prisoners included in the release that began yesterday has yet to be confirmed, according to a news release issued in Geneva. However, it is believed to be more than 200, including a number of prominent figures. Human rights groups estimate that there are some 2,000 political prisoners still behind bars.
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, said the release is an “important further step” by the country’s authorities to respond to international concern and advance political reconciliation.
“I am pleased that these prisoners who have suffered so long can be reunited with their families and again play a part in national life,” said the expert.
Among those released are some prisoners whose cases have been previously addressed by the Special Rapporteur as well as some individuals he had visited in jail during his visits to the Asian nation.
Mr. Quintana also voiced concern at the ongoing detention of a large number of political prisoners, many of whom are suffering serious health problems from the harsh conditions of their detention.
“These are individuals who have been imprisoned for exercising their fundamental human rights or whose fair trial or due process rights have been denied,” he said.
“Their release would be an important step for the democratic transition, and would be welcomed by people both inside and outside the country. It is imperative that the Government completes the liberation of all such prisoners.”
Mr. Quintana called on the Government to immediately improve the conditions of detention and the treatment of prisoners in compliance with international standards.
“This is a key moment in Myanmar’s history and there are real opportunities for positive and meaningful developments to improve the human rights situation and deepen the transition to democracy,” said the expert, who reports to the UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity.
“The new Government should intensify its efforts to address the many long-standing human rights concerns and advance national reconciliation.”
A new Government was established in Myanmar seven months ago, and more recently the country has received a series of high-level bilateral visits. In addition, President Thein Sein has made a pledge for Myanmar to “catch up with the changing world.”
At a meeting last month in New York of the Group of Friends on Myanmar, Mr. Ban said recent developments bode well for progress in the country, while calling on the new Government to do more to ensure to bring about an inclusive transition.
“Real opportunities for progress exist, but the Government must step up its efforts for reform if it is to bring about an inclusive – and irreversible – transition,” Mr. Ban said in a press statement, adding that the authorities must, in particular, cultivate improved dialogue with all political actors and release all remaining political prisoners.
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SENIOR UN OFFICIAL VOICES INDIGNATION AS AID WORKERS ARE ABDUCTED IN KENYA
The head of the United Nations refugee agency today voiced shock and indignation at the violent abduction from the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya of two female aid workers and the shooting of their driver.
“These MSF [Médecins Sans Frontières] colleagues were working to rescue lives,” said António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “It is wholly unacceptable that they should be made targets for kidnap. I appeal to those responsible to facilitate their immediate and safe return.”
The Dadaab refugee complex is the world’s largest refugee camp and currently hosts 463,739 refugees, most of them Somali. The camp’s population has swollen this year with the arrival of more than 190,000 refugees fleeing famine and conflict in Somalia.
The two MSF staff members were abducted from the Ifo extension area of the camps at around 1:20 p.m. local time. Their driver was shot and is receiving medical treatment in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Media reports quoted Kenyan police as saying that the hostage-takers are suspected to be members of the Somali militant group known as Al Shabaab.
Kenya sealed the border with Somalia after the abduction and mobilized the military and the police to search for the hostages, according to the press reports.
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UN GOODWILL AMBASSADOR ZIDANE TO HIGHLIGHT ANTI-POVERTY SUCCESSES IN MALI
The soccer ace and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Zinédine Zidane, will travel to Mali next week to highlight the country’s progress in the effort to alleviate poverty.
“Today I want to help,” said Zidane, who has been UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassador for 10 years. “Ending poverty takes each and every one of us. I, too, lived in difficult places where we had very little,” said the Frenchman, who retired from professional football in 2003 and is now Director of Sport for Real Madrid FC.
Zidane’s trip to the West African country, which will include visits to women’s and youth empowerment projects, as well as income-generating initiatives among some of Mali’s poorest populations, will coincide with the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is marked on 17 October.
He will meet women in the Malian capital, Bamako, who are involved in a cooperative that makes shea butter products, as well as others who manage a multi-use engine that powers machines, including a grinding mill and battery charger, thus reducing the amount of time local women spend on household chores.
Mr. Zidane will also participate in a discussion with young people on the role they can play in community development and visit an environmental protection project that promotes sustainable farming techniques.
Mali has made significant progress in poverty reduction in recent years under the eight internationally-agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include action against hunger, maternal and child deaths, disease, gender inequality and environmental degradation.
Primary school enrolment has risen from less than half of school-age children to over 90 per cent during the past decade, and more than 69 percent of Malians now have access to clean drinking water. Between 2001 and 2006, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate dropped from 1.7 to 1.3 per cent.
Despite these achievements, challenges remain in nutrition, youth employment, sustainable development and maternal and child health.
“Zinédine Zidane’s visit to Mali is significant to draw attention to what is possible when different actors come together with a common goal,” said Maurice Dewulf, the acting UNDP Resident Representative in Mali. “It’s a global message of encouragement to all those who struggle daily against poverty.”
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BLUE HELMETS DESERVE BEST SECURITY POSSIBLE, SAYS NEW UN PEACEKEEPING CHIEF
The new United Nations peacekeeping chief today stressed the need to ensure the safety of the more than 120,000 personnel serving in missions worldwide and to equip them to carry out their vital and often dangerous tasks.
Hervé Ladsous, the new Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told a news conference in New York that the killing just days ago of three peacekeepers serving with the UN-African Union force in Darfur (UNAMID) highlights the difficult and hostile environments in which the world body has to operate.
“We have to invest as much as possible to offer our peacekeepers the best security we can achieve for them,” he said, adding that this will be a priority for him as he sets out in his new job.
The seasoned French diplomat was tapped by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month to oversee the world body’s efforts to help maintain peace and security. He takes the helm of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) at a time when demand for UN-led peacekeeping is at an all-time high, with over 120,000 peacekeepers, including 98,000 uniformed military personnel, serving in 16 operations on four continents.
UN personnel continue to face risks in carrying out their duties, as evidenced by the fact that 86 peacekeepers have lost their lives so far this year, 29 of them civilians.
Mr. Ladsous lauded the courage and talents of UN peacekeepers around the world, while stressing the need to give them the protection they need, the equipment to do their jobs – including up-to-date communications and assets such as helicopters – and the skills and knowledge required to carry out increasingly complex mandates.
Nowadays peacekeepers are tasked with more than just restoring stability, and their mandates include human rights monitoring, electoral assistance and the protection of women and children.
“We must also continue investing in their skills, in their knowledge,” said Mr. Ladsous. “Peacekeepers nowadays have very complicated mandates, very complex, very specialized… we need to give them all the means to face these challenges.”
He also highlighted the priority he intends to give to partnerships and to working with governments, troop contributors, regional organizations, the peacekeepers themselves and members of the UN family – including the agencies, funds and programmes – to fulfil the mandates given to the world body.
“I want to listen to [all stakeholders] with the goal of trying to achieve the mission which is entrusted to us by the Charter – promoting peace, stability, human rights and help all those that we can help around the globe who have suffered, who have had their lives shattered by conflict, [and] help them regain hope and build something solid for the years to come,” he said.
Mr. Ladsous also announced that his first trip as Under-Secretary-General will be to visit Sudan and South Sudan.
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UN CHIEF CALLS FOR SUSTAINED SUPPORT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S HEALTH IN DEVELOPING STATES
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged developing countries today to not lose momentum in their ongoing efforts to improve women and children’s health and warned there is still much to be done to tackle this issue.
Speaking at the South-South Awards ceremony in New York, Mr. Ban said he was pleased with the progress and commitment made by developing countries since the launch of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health a year ago, of which many developing countries have been prominent supporters.
The strategy, which has received more than $40 billion dollars for its implementation, outlines ways for countries to work together to improve women and children’s health, and asks them to honour their commitments on the issue, develop a framework to ensure accountability, and work together to bring new partners.
“As of today, more than 60 countries have committed to step up efforts to improve women and children’s health. Fifty-seven are southern governments,” he said, praising the work done so far by developing countries. “It is in the South where implementation of commitments has begun in earnest.”
However, he warned that there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome and that there is a long way to go as millions of women and children are still dying due to poor health conditions.
“Political roadblocks litter the path ahead. Decisions to invest where resources are most needed can be slow. A woman’s right to access the services she needs is sometimes denied,” he said.
Mr. Ban said this was no reason to lose optimism and encouraged developing countries to scale-up their efforts.
“Our newest pledge to advance the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health comes from South Sudan – the United Nations’ newest Member State. I am extremely heartened by this important commitment,” he said.
The global strategy document is supported by Every Woman Every Child, a global effort to mobilize and intensify global action to improve the health of women and children around the world. The campaign aims to save the lives of 16 million women and children and improve the lives of millions more.
Mr. Ban stressed his commitment to improving women and children’s health, saying he was determined to make Every Woman Every Child “one of the greatest success stories in our march toward truly sustainable development.”
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CAPE VERDE RATIFIES TREATY SETTING UP INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Cape Verde is the latest Member State to accede to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) that prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The Statute will enter into force for Cape Verde on 1 January 2012, bringing the total number of States parties to 119.
The ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, welcomed Cape Verde into the tribunal system, saying: “As the first Lusophone country in Africa to ratify the Rome Statute, Cape Verde has not only demonstrated its commitment to international criminal justice but also taken us one step further towards a truly universal system of the Rome Statute, representative of all peoples, cultures and legal systems of the world.”
The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Ambassador Christian Wenaweser of Liechtenstein, also welcomed the ratification by Cape Verde, reaffirming the central role that the African region has played in support of the Court.
Established in 1998, the ICC can try cases involving individuals charged with war crimes committed since July 2002. The United Nations Security Council, the ICC Prosecutor or a State Party to the Court can initiate any proceedings, and the ICC only acts when countries themselves are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute.
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UN MEETING ON DESERTIFICATION DISCUSSES EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO LAND MANAGEMENT
Experts attending a United Nations conference in the Republic of Korea on reversing desertification today focused their attention on the “landcare approach” to sustainable land management, a community-based way designed to improve people’s livelihoods while protecting natural resources.
“Landcare provides a sound, knowledge-based approach from the bottom up,” said Luc Gnacadja, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), whose Parties are attending its 10th session in Changwon, Republic of Korea.
“We must take action in order to fight desertification, land degradation and drought with a bottom up approach, otherwise we miss meeting important international targets such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said.
Dennis Garrity, Landcare International Chair and recently designated UNCCD Drylands Ambassador, told the gathering that “what people are doing on the ground is what it’s all about.”
“Landcare is all about grassroots support for land restoration and land regeneration, and that’s what makes it so valuable for the UNCCD, because we’ve learned over the years that bottom-up approaches of communities taking charge of their environment, grappling with their problems, and drawing in support from outside is the key to land regeneration throughout the world.”
Experts from Australia, Iceland, South Africa and the United States discussed the challenges and successes they have witnessed in the landcare approach.
Terry Hubbard and Horrie Poussard of the Australian Landcare International described a project to restore the King Parrot Creek area of Victoria that had seen an increase in soil erosion and loss of native plants and wildlife. Local landowners and others collectively began restorative efforts by volunteering their time and knowledge and saw significant improvements over several years.
For every one Australian dollar invested in landcare, there was a seven-fold benefit, said Michelle Lauder of Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The figure was based on calculations of volunteer efforts compared to the cost of paying workers and buying equipment.
Hafdís Hanna Aegistóttir, the Director of the Iceland-based UN University Land Restoration Training Programme, described efforts in that country to restore degraded land and noted that landcare may help Iceland to become a carbon-neutral country.
Describing the burgeoning landcare movement in the United States, Jeff Herrick of the US Department of Agriculture reiterated the importance volunteerism to conservation.
Richard Selemela, the Director of Natural Resource Management in South Africa, spoke of the significance of building landcare programmes to help meet the MDGs, the internationally agreed targets to eradicate extreme poverty and boost development in poorer countries by 2015.
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UN EXPERT WELCOMES MEXICO’S MOVE TO RECOGNIZE FOOD AS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT
A United Nations expert today welcomed Mexico’s promulgation of a constitutional reform that recognizes the right to food in the country, and urged authorities to implement measures to give all Mexicans access to this human right.
“This is a great step forward for Mexico,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter, who carried out an official visit to the country in June. “With this reform, Mexico joins a select group of countries around the world that have enshrined the right to food in their constitutions.”
“Now is the time to implement this reform for the benefit of all Mexicans by approving corresponding legislation,” he added.
Mr. De Schutter said the reform to articles 4 and 27 of the Mexican Constitution is particularly relevant in the current context of rising food prices as it highlights the need for States to guarantee access to adequate nutrition for their citizens.
Recently, a UN report warned that high food prices are likely to continue and possibly increase over the next decade.
The report, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011, recommended that governments have a transparent and predictable regulatory environment in place that promotes private investment and an increase in farm productivity.
For his part, Mr. De Schutter said it was necessary to encourage the Mexican Government to “design a national strategy for the realization of the right to food, by re-orienting public policies on rural development, agriculture, health and trade in line with the right to food, which should not merely be understood as the right to be fed, but rather the right to feed oneself.”
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UN COMPLETES FIRST REVIEW OF HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS OF ALL MEMBER STATES
The Human Rights Council completed its first review of the records of every Member State on Thursday, with Haiti being the last country to be considered in the process, which examined records of each State for the past four years.
The process, called the universal periodic review (UPR), gives countries the opportunity to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights conditions in their countries and fulfil their obligations, and it is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their situations are assessed.
“The UPR has proved to be an innovative, transparent, collaborative instrument for change and has made it possible – for the first time ever – for all UN Member States to be reviewed on an equal basis,” said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“It has been truly universal, with government officials representing every single one of the 193 Member States, and very active participation by local, regional and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well. Some 80 per cent of government delegations were led by ministers who travelled to Geneva for the review, which clearly demonstrates the importance States attached to the UPR process,” she said.
Ms. Pillay also said that the UPR has proven to be a useful tool for countries both at national and international levels as it has provided a framework where national entities and civil society can establish a dialogue and has stimulated cooperation between countries as well as the exchange of best practices.
“I am encouraged that the UPR has already begun serving as a catalyst for change,” she said. However, she noted that thousands of recommendations had been made, and said in the future it is necessary to make pointed and constructive recommendations for the process to have an impact.
“The true measure of the effectiveness of the UPR will be in the amount of positive change that it generates on the ground – how it improves laws, policies and practices and the enjoyment of human rights by people.”
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FRENCH ARTIST HEDVA SER TO BE NAMED UN ARTIST OF PEACE
The United Nations agency tasked with conserving and promoting humanity’s cultural heritage will next week officially designate French artist Hedva Ser as an Artist for Peace in recognition of her contribution to the spirit of tolerance and bringing cultures closer together.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said the designation of Ms. Ser as an Artist for Peace by the agency’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, in Paris on Tuesday will also be in appreciation of her dedication to UNESCO’s ideals.
Through exhibitions of sculpture, tapestry and jewellery all over the world, Ms. Ser has placed her art at the service of peace, of which her monumental sculpture, ‘Tree of Peace,’ has become an emblem, according to UNESCO.
She is also the founder and co-chair of the Centre for Women Artists in the Jordanian capital, Amman, which she established in close cooperation with the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Ivonne A-Baki.
UNESCO Artists for Peace are internationally renowned personalities who use their influence, charisma and prestige to promote UNESCO’s message. They include Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, musician Gilberto Gil of Brazil, Portuguese actress and singer Maria de Medeiros and author Frankétienne of Haiti.
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IRAQ: UN HELPS FEED OVER 550,000 PRIMARY SCHOOLCHILDREN
More than 550,000 children in some of the most vulnerable districts of Iraq will benefit from a United Nations-backed school feeding programme that seeks not only to improve their nutrition but also to encourage poor families to send their children to school in the first place.
The joint programme launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Iraqi education ministry will provide a fortified midday snack to primary schoolchildren at some 1,800 schools in 24 districts over the 2011-2012 academic year.
“WFP’s vision is to reduce hunger among school children so that it is not an obstacle to their development,” WFP Country Representative Edward Kallon said in a news release today. “School feeding programmes act as a safety net in support of vulnerable schoolchildren and their families and contribute to breaking the intergenerational cycle of chronic hunger through better access to education, better learning and better nutrition and health.”
While Iraq is considered as a middle-income country, decades of war and instability have degraded infrastructure and basic social services, leaving many people poor and vulnerable. Some 7.5 million Iraqis live under the poverty line of $2 a day.
“One of the most urgent issues is to reduce the drop-out rate as it has become a serious problem especially in primary schools,” Education Minister Muhammad Tamim said.
One of the children targeted during the pilot phase of the programme in Baladrooz district in Diyala governorate said the fortified biscuits were the main reason he returned to school. “Because of the lack of adequate food in my house I left school,” said Akil, who comes from a poor family of five. “Now I no longer have to feel the emptiness in my stomach.”
In August 2010 the Government approved the national school feeding programme to be led by the education ministry. WFP was asked to support implementation and build the ministry’s capacity to manage it. The ministry is planning to take over during the course of next year.
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UN HELPS TRAIN TIMORESE POLICE ON INTERNAL DISCIPLINE IN FURTHER STEP TOWARDS STABILITY
Police officers in Timor-Leste are undergoing a three-month training course on tackling internal misconduct in a United Nations-backed initiative to enhance their credibility in the streets as the country cements its recovery from an outbreak of deadly violence five years ago.
“A police force that takes proper action to address disciplinary breaches will gain trust and credibility in the community,” said UN Development Programme (UNDP) Assistant Country Director Alissar Chaker, whose agency is supporting the project together with UNPOL, the police component of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), and the Norwegian Government.
The 160 officers from the justice section of the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL) will serve as discipline leaders once they complete the courses.
“Discipline is a key pillar of police credibility; that’s why both the PNTL and UNPOL consider this training as a high priority,” UNPOL Commissioner Luis Carrilho said of the courses, part of a $600,000 programme by the PNTL, UNPOL and UNDP to increase police capacity to deliver high-quality service to the people.
The programme supports five priority areas – legislation, training, administration, discipline and operations – as the UN continues to help the small country on the path to complete stability after tensions within the security sector led to deadly riots in April and May 2006, claiming dozens of lives and driving some 150,000 people, or 15 per cent of the population, from their homes.
At the time UNMIT was set up to replace several earlier missions in a country that the UN shepherded to independence in 2002 after it broke away from Indonesia. Earlier this year it completed the handover of full policing duties to the national force. It currently fields some 1,225 uniformed personnel, nearly all of them police officers.
“The officers in PNTL’s justice section welcome this training and the opportunity it provides to increase the responsiveness of Timor-Leste’s police force to these important issues,” PNTL Commander Carlos Almeida Sousa Jeronimo said of the programme, which began on 4 October and will run until 31 December.
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KENYAN FARMERS RECEIVE UN HELP TO WITHSTAND DROUGHT, PREVENT FOOD CRISIS
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is helping farmers in eastern Kenya make the necessary investments today to withstand drought and prevent food security crises tomorrow.
The agency is assisting over 5,000 farming households terrace their fields to conserve rain water for crop use and prevent the soils from being washed away, as well as building simple dams for better harvesting of rain water, states a news release.
In return for their labour, the farmers receive vouchers they can redeem for food and building materials for the community-owned dams.
Dan Rugabira, FAO’s Representative in Kenya, said such efforts can help farmers “hold the line” and get back on their feet quickly amid bad weather. This particular area of Kenya is subject to intense bursts of rainfall, which can strip away fertile topsoil. Rainwater is lost through run-off, leaving seasonal river beds bone dry the rest of the year.
“By building up farmers’ resilience to bad weather today, we help avoid crises tomorrow,” said Mr. Rugabira.
FAO also noted that seed stocks in the region are almost depleted and high food and fuel prices have placed an additional strain, forcing families to eat fewer meals a day or to sell off livestock.
However, the food situation in these parts of eastern Kenya, though difficult, is not as dire as in other areas of the country or in Somalia, which is facing a humanitarian crisis that is also affecting other parts of the Horn of Africa.
“That is precisely why these types of projects are so crucial right now,” said Mr. Rugabira.
“We provide families with vouchers they can exchange for basic household items or food while at the same time building vital infrastructure to improve their resilience, so they are not completely blindsided each time the rains fail.”
Most people in this arid and semi-arid area of Kenya survive by farming small plots of land and raising livestock such as a few head of cattle or some goats or sheep.
They depend on the rains to grow cereal crops such as sorghum, millet and maize, as well as grain legumes such as cowpeas, green grams, beans and pigeon peas. However, consecutive years of patchy rainfall mean that farmers here have not had a decent harvest in two – even three – seasons.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT URGES END TO MIGRATION MYTHS
The President of the General Assembly today urged the world to dispel entrenched myths about immigration and focus on migrants’ contributions to economic development in countries of origin, transit and destination.
“Fear of the ‘other’ has long plagued discussions around migration,” Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser told a meeting on Migration and Communication organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Inter-Press Service and the Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki.
“Since the onset of the world financial and economic crisis, migrants have increasingly become the target of racism and xenophobia,” said Mr. Al-Nasser, calling for a “re-balancing of the message” on immigration to ensure full respect of the rights of migrants in accordance with international human rights law and other relevant instruments.
“Strengthening dialogue and information flows around migration requires greater coordination and cooperation at the global, regional and bilateral levels,” Mr. Al-Nasser told the meeting, whose theme was ‘Re-balancing Information Flows, and Dialogue.’
“Migration is a global phenomenon that requires a global approach. If the full benefits of migration are to be leveraged, we need to work together, sharing information and best practices. Whether in government or in the media, we have a shared responsibility,” he said.
He pointed out that new migration destinations are emerging in Asia, Africa and South America, in response to the labour demands created by an increasingly interdependent global economy.
The largest shares of migrants to total population are no longer found in Europe or North America, but in the Arab States in the Gulf. In those countries, international migrants make up more than half of the working age population, he noted.
While abroad, most international migrants transfer remittances which contribute to the well-being of families and communities of origin. Last year, some $325 billion was remitted to developing countries from their citizens working abroad, a figure that outpaced official development assistance.
“Migrant workers also make important contributions to economic growth in countries of destination. As entrepreneurs, migrants establish businesses and create jobs in the countries that host them. And in the face of ageing populations, the role of migration cannot be overlooked,” Mr. Al-Nasser added.
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UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
13 October, 2011=========================================================================
AS DISASTERS INCREASE, RISK REDUCTION SHOULD A BE A CONCERN FOR ALL – UN CHIEF
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that disaster risk reduction should be a daily concern for everyone, noting that vulnerability to catastrophes is growing faster than the world’s capacity to strengthen resilience, as evidenced by the devastation wrought by the recent series of floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and droughts.
“The good news is that some countries have shown how to reduce risk from floods and cyclones,” Mr. Ban said in his message to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which is observed today. “Investments in early warning and other measures are paying dividends.”
To mark the Day, the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and its partners invited children and young people to “Step Up for Disaster Risk Reduction,” saying they were the groups most affected by disasters.
An estimated 100 million young people are affected by reported disasters each year and thousands of them are killed and injured.
“We know from many courageous stories which emerge post-disaster that young people are not passive victims of events beyond their control,” said Margareta Wahlström, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNISDR.
“Around the world we have seen the evidence that young people are quick to respond to tragic events,” she said in her message. “There is ample evidence that wherever young people are empowered with information and skills training, they are important actors in disaster management and have a keen eye for where risk can be reduced in the community.”
In Nepal, for example, schoolchildren are taught the basics of building homes safely, while risk reduction and climate change adaptation activities involving children in Cuba are now being emulated in other parts of the world.
Recently, more than 600 young boys and girls in Africa, Asia and Latin America developed a Children’s Charter to reduce disaster risk, Mr. Ban pointed out.
At events across the around the world today, and in the next 12 months, UNISDR will work with its partners – the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Plan, Save the Children and World Vision – To promote the new Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction.
In the Charter, children identified five priorities to strengthen resilience in the face of disasters:
Schools must be safe and education must not be interrupted;
Child protection must be a priority before, during and after a disaster to avoid threats such as child labour and trafficking;
Children have the right to participate and to access the information they need in order to protect their communities as well as themselves from disaster risks and climate change;
Special attention must be paid to those who are more vulnerable due to disability, age, gender, location and social status.
“The message is clear: Disaster risk reduction should be an everyday concern for everybody. Let us all invest today for a safer tomorrow,” said the Secretary-General.
According to UNISDR, risk reduction includes disciplines such as disaster management, mitigation and preparedness. It is also crucial for sustainable development.
According to this year’s issue of the UNISDR Global Assessment Report, the proportion of the population living in flood-prone river basins has risen by 114 per cent over the last 30 years and those living on cyclone-exposed coastlines by 192 per cent.
It points outs that, more than half the world’s large cities, with populations ranging from two to 15 million, are located in areas at high risk of seismic activity.
Meanwhile, more than 50 children from 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region met in Bangkok today to mark the Day and discuss how they can play a more active role in preventing disasters.
Co-organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Disaster Management, the Thailand Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the ASEAN Secretariat, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Asia Pacific Regional Office of UNISDR and other partners, the event highlighted the vital role that children can play in reducing disaster impacts.
“As we have seen in recent days in the newspapers, on television, or with our own eyes on the streets and fields around us, disasters disrupt the lives of millions of children, threatening their rights and their needs,” said Noeleen Heyzer, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia (ESCAP).
“Children and young people are particularly vulnerable. An estimated 66 million children are affected by disasters every year, and their vulnerability is expected to increase,” said Dr. Heyzer.
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AFTER LATEST RELEASE, UN EXPERT URGES MYANMAR TO FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS
United Nations officials today welcomed the decision by Myanmar’s President to grant amnesty and release a significant number of detainees and urged the Government to free all remaining political prisoners.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all parties to redouble their efforts to set promised reforms “on an irreversible course,” and addressing the serious challenges facing the country.
“He hopes the Government will ensure that this process results in the early release all political prisoners, consistent with its commitment to uphold fundamental rights and the rule of law,” the statement said.
Mr. Ban acknowledged the ongoing dialogue between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate who was held under house arrest for much of the past 20 years before being released last November, as well as the negotiations between the authorities and ethnic groups.
The exact number of political prisoners included in the release that began yesterday has yet to be confirmed, according to a news release issued in Geneva. However, it is believed to be more than 200, including a number of prominent figures. Human rights groups estimate that there are some 2,000 political prisoners still behind bars.
The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, said the release is an “important further step” by the country’s authorities to respond to international concern and advance political reconciliation.
“I am pleased that these prisoners who have suffered so long can be reunited with their families and again play a part in national life,” said the expert.
Among those released are some prisoners whose cases have been previously addressed by the Special Rapporteur as well as some individuals he had visited in jail during his visits to the Asian nation.
Mr. Quintana also voiced concern at the ongoing detention of a large number of political prisoners, many of whom are suffering serious health problems from the harsh conditions of their detention.
“These are individuals who have been imprisoned for exercising their fundamental human rights or whose fair trial or due process rights have been denied,” he said.
“Their release would be an important step for the democratic transition, and would be welcomed by people both inside and outside the country. It is imperative that the Government completes the liberation of all such prisoners.”
Mr. Quintana called on the Government to immediately improve the conditions of detention and the treatment of prisoners in compliance with international standards.
“This is a key moment in Myanmar’s history and there are real opportunities for positive and meaningful developments to improve the human rights situation and deepen the transition to democracy,” said the expert, who reports to the UN Human Rights Council in an independent and unpaid capacity.
“The new Government should intensify its efforts to address the many long-standing human rights concerns and advance national reconciliation.”
A new Government was established in Myanmar seven months ago, and more recently the country has received a series of high-level bilateral visits. In addition, President Thein Sein has made a pledge for Myanmar to “catch up with the changing world.”
At a meeting last month in New York of the Group of Friends on Myanmar, Mr. Ban said recent developments bode well for progress in the country, while calling on the new Government to do more to ensure to bring about an inclusive transition.
“Real opportunities for progress exist, but the Government must step up its efforts for reform if it is to bring about an inclusive – and irreversible – transition,” Mr. Ban said in a press statement, adding that the authorities must, in particular, cultivate improved dialogue with all political actors and release all remaining political prisoners.
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SENIOR UN OFFICIAL VOICES INDIGNATION AS AID WORKERS ARE ABDUCTED IN KENYA
The head of the United Nations refugee agency today voiced shock and indignation at the violent abduction from the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya of two female aid workers and the shooting of their driver.
“These MSF [Médecins Sans Frontières] colleagues were working to rescue lives,” said António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “It is wholly unacceptable that they should be made targets for kidnap. I appeal to those responsible to facilitate their immediate and safe return.”
The Dadaab refugee complex is the world’s largest refugee camp and currently hosts 463,739 refugees, most of them Somali. The camp’s population has swollen this year with the arrival of more than 190,000 refugees fleeing famine and conflict in Somalia.
The two MSF staff members were abducted from the Ifo extension area of the camps at around 1:20 p.m. local time. Their driver was shot and is receiving medical treatment in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
Media reports quoted Kenyan police as saying that the hostage-takers are suspected to be members of the Somali militant group known as Al Shabaab.
Kenya sealed the border with Somalia after the abduction and mobilized the military and the police to search for the hostages, according to the press reports.
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UN GOODWILL AMBASSADOR ZIDANE TO HIGHLIGHT ANTI-POVERTY SUCCESSES IN MALI
The soccer ace and Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Zinédine Zidane, will travel to Mali next week to highlight the country’s progress in the effort to alleviate poverty.
“Today I want to help,” said Zidane, who has been UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassador for 10 years. “Ending poverty takes each and every one of us. I, too, lived in difficult places where we had very little,” said the Frenchman, who retired from professional football in 2003 and is now Director of Sport for Real Madrid FC.
Zidane’s trip to the West African country, which will include visits to women’s and youth empowerment projects, as well as income-generating initiatives among some of Mali’s poorest populations, will coincide with the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is marked on 17 October.
He will meet women in the Malian capital, Bamako, who are involved in a cooperative that makes shea butter products, as well as others who manage a multi-use engine that powers machines, including a grinding mill and battery charger, thus reducing the amount of time local women spend on household chores.
Mr. Zidane will also participate in a discussion with young people on the role they can play in community development and visit an environmental protection project that promotes sustainable farming techniques.
Mali has made significant progress in poverty reduction in recent years under the eight internationally-agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which include action against hunger, maternal and child deaths, disease, gender inequality and environmental degradation.
Primary school enrolment has risen from less than half of school-age children to over 90 per cent during the past decade, and more than 69 percent of Malians now have access to clean drinking water. Between 2001 and 2006, the HIV/AIDS prevalence rate dropped from 1.7 to 1.3 per cent.
Despite these achievements, challenges remain in nutrition, youth employment, sustainable development and maternal and child health.
“Zinédine Zidane’s visit to Mali is significant to draw attention to what is possible when different actors come together with a common goal,” said Maurice Dewulf, the acting UNDP Resident Representative in Mali. “It’s a global message of encouragement to all those who struggle daily against poverty.”
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BLUE HELMETS DESERVE BEST SECURITY POSSIBLE, SAYS NEW UN PEACEKEEPING CHIEF
The new United Nations peacekeeping chief today stressed the need to ensure the safety of the more than 120,000 personnel serving in missions worldwide and to equip them to carry out their vital and often dangerous tasks.
Hervé Ladsous, the new Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, told a news conference in New York that the killing just days ago of three peacekeepers serving with the UN-African Union force in Darfur (UNAMID) highlights the difficult and hostile environments in which the world body has to operate.
“We have to invest as much as possible to offer our peacekeepers the best security we can achieve for them,” he said, adding that this will be a priority for him as he sets out in his new job.
The seasoned French diplomat was tapped by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month to oversee the world body’s efforts to help maintain peace and security. He takes the helm of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) at a time when demand for UN-led peacekeeping is at an all-time high, with over 120,000 peacekeepers, including 98,000 uniformed military personnel, serving in 16 operations on four continents.
UN personnel continue to face risks in carrying out their duties, as evidenced by the fact that 86 peacekeepers have lost their lives so far this year, 29 of them civilians.
Mr. Ladsous lauded the courage and talents of UN peacekeepers around the world, while stressing the need to give them the protection they need, the equipment to do their jobs – including up-to-date communications and assets such as helicopters – and the skills and knowledge required to carry out increasingly complex mandates.
Nowadays peacekeepers are tasked with more than just restoring stability, and their mandates include human rights monitoring, electoral assistance and the protection of women and children.
“We must also continue investing in their skills, in their knowledge,” said Mr. Ladsous. “Peacekeepers nowadays have very complicated mandates, very complex, very specialized… we need to give them all the means to face these challenges.”
He also highlighted the priority he intends to give to partnerships and to working with governments, troop contributors, regional organizations, the peacekeepers themselves and members of the UN family – including the agencies, funds and programmes – to fulfil the mandates given to the world body.
“I want to listen to [all stakeholders] with the goal of trying to achieve the mission which is entrusted to us by the Charter – promoting peace, stability, human rights and help all those that we can help around the globe who have suffered, who have had their lives shattered by conflict, [and] help them regain hope and build something solid for the years to come,” he said.
Mr. Ladsous also announced that his first trip as Under-Secretary-General will be to visit Sudan and South Sudan.
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UN CHIEF CALLS FOR SUSTAINED SUPPORT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN’S HEALTH IN DEVELOPING STATES
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged developing countries today to not lose momentum in their ongoing efforts to improve women and children’s health and warned there is still much to be done to tackle this issue.
Speaking at the South-South Awards ceremony in New York, Mr. Ban said he was pleased with the progress and commitment made by developing countries since the launch of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health a year ago, of which many developing countries have been prominent supporters.
The strategy, which has received more than $40 billion dollars for its implementation, outlines ways for countries to work together to improve women and children’s health, and asks them to honour their commitments on the issue, develop a framework to ensure accountability, and work together to bring new partners.
“As of today, more than 60 countries have committed to step up efforts to improve women and children’s health. Fifty-seven are southern governments,” he said, praising the work done so far by developing countries. “It is in the South where implementation of commitments has begun in earnest.”
However, he warned that there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome and that there is a long way to go as millions of women and children are still dying due to poor health conditions.
“Political roadblocks litter the path ahead. Decisions to invest where resources are most needed can be slow. A woman’s right to access the services she needs is sometimes denied,” he said.
Mr. Ban said this was no reason to lose optimism and encouraged developing countries to scale-up their efforts.
“Our newest pledge to advance the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health comes from South Sudan – the United Nations’ newest Member State. I am extremely heartened by this important commitment,” he said.
The global strategy document is supported by Every Woman Every Child, a global effort to mobilize and intensify global action to improve the health of women and children around the world. The campaign aims to save the lives of 16 million women and children and improve the lives of millions more.
Mr. Ban stressed his commitment to improving women and children’s health, saying he was determined to make Every Woman Every Child “one of the greatest success stories in our march toward truly sustainable development.”
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CAPE VERDE RATIFIES TREATY SETTING UP INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Cape Verde is the latest Member State to accede to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) that prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The Statute will enter into force for Cape Verde on 1 January 2012, bringing the total number of States parties to 119.
The ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, welcomed Cape Verde into the tribunal system, saying: “As the first Lusophone country in Africa to ratify the Rome Statute, Cape Verde has not only demonstrated its commitment to international criminal justice but also taken us one step further towards a truly universal system of the Rome Statute, representative of all peoples, cultures and legal systems of the world.”
The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, Ambassador Christian Wenaweser of Liechtenstein, also welcomed the ratification by Cape Verde, reaffirming the central role that the African region has played in support of the Court.
Established in 1998, the ICC can try cases involving individuals charged with war crimes committed since July 2002. The United Nations Security Council, the ICC Prosecutor or a State Party to the Court can initiate any proceedings, and the ICC only acts when countries themselves are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute.
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UN MEETING ON DESERTIFICATION DISCUSSES EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO LAND MANAGEMENT
Experts attending a United Nations conference in the Republic of Korea on reversing desertification today focused their attention on the “landcare approach” to sustainable land management, a community-based way designed to improve people’s livelihoods while protecting natural resources.
“Landcare provides a sound, knowledge-based approach from the bottom up,” said Luc Gnacadja, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), whose Parties are attending its 10th session in Changwon, Republic of Korea.
“We must take action in order to fight desertification, land degradation and drought with a bottom up approach, otherwise we miss meeting important international targets such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said.
Dennis Garrity, Landcare International Chair and recently designated UNCCD Drylands Ambassador, told the gathering that “what people are doing on the ground is what it’s all about.”
“Landcare is all about grassroots support for land restoration and land regeneration, and that’s what makes it so valuable for the UNCCD, because we’ve learned over the years that bottom-up approaches of communities taking charge of their environment, grappling with their problems, and drawing in support from outside is the key to land regeneration throughout the world.”
Experts from Australia, Iceland, South Africa and the United States discussed the challenges and successes they have witnessed in the landcare approach.
Terry Hubbard and Horrie Poussard of the Australian Landcare International described a project to restore the King Parrot Creek area of Victoria that had seen an increase in soil erosion and loss of native plants and wildlife. Local landowners and others collectively began restorative efforts by volunteering their time and knowledge and saw significant improvements over several years.
For every one Australian dollar invested in landcare, there was a seven-fold benefit, said Michelle Lauder of Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The figure was based on calculations of volunteer efforts compared to the cost of paying workers and buying equipment.
Hafdís Hanna Aegistóttir, the Director of the Iceland-based UN University Land Restoration Training Programme, described efforts in that country to restore degraded land and noted that landcare may help Iceland to become a carbon-neutral country.
Describing the burgeoning landcare movement in the United States, Jeff Herrick of the US Department of Agriculture reiterated the importance volunteerism to conservation.
Richard Selemela, the Director of Natural Resource Management in South Africa, spoke of the significance of building landcare programmes to help meet the MDGs, the internationally agreed targets to eradicate extreme poverty and boost development in poorer countries by 2015.
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UN EXPERT WELCOMES MEXICO’S MOVE TO RECOGNIZE FOOD AS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT
A United Nations expert today welcomed Mexico’s promulgation of a constitutional reform that recognizes the right to food in the country, and urged authorities to implement measures to give all Mexicans access to this human right.
“This is a great step forward for Mexico,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter, who carried out an official visit to the country in June. “With this reform, Mexico joins a select group of countries around the world that have enshrined the right to food in their constitutions.”
“Now is the time to implement this reform for the benefit of all Mexicans by approving corresponding legislation,” he added.
Mr. De Schutter said the reform to articles 4 and 27 of the Mexican Constitution is particularly relevant in the current context of rising food prices as it highlights the need for States to guarantee access to adequate nutrition for their citizens.
Recently, a UN report warned that high food prices are likely to continue and possibly increase over the next decade.
The report, The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011, recommended that governments have a transparent and predictable regulatory environment in place that promotes private investment and an increase in farm productivity.
For his part, Mr. De Schutter said it was necessary to encourage the Mexican Government to “design a national strategy for the realization of the right to food, by re-orienting public policies on rural development, agriculture, health and trade in line with the right to food, which should not merely be understood as the right to be fed, but rather the right to feed oneself.”
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UN COMPLETES FIRST REVIEW OF HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS OF ALL MEMBER STATES
The Human Rights Council completed its first review of the records of every Member State on Thursday, with Haiti being the last country to be considered in the process, which examined records of each State for the past four years.
The process, called the universal periodic review (UPR), gives countries the opportunity to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights conditions in their countries and fulfil their obligations, and it is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their situations are assessed.
“The UPR has proved to be an innovative, transparent, collaborative instrument for change and has made it possible – for the first time ever – for all UN Member States to be reviewed on an equal basis,” said Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“It has been truly universal, with government officials representing every single one of the 193 Member States, and very active participation by local, regional and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well. Some 80 per cent of government delegations were led by ministers who travelled to Geneva for the review, which clearly demonstrates the importance States attached to the UPR process,” she said.
Ms. Pillay also said that the UPR has proven to be a useful tool for countries both at national and international levels as it has provided a framework where national entities and civil society can establish a dialogue and has stimulated cooperation between countries as well as the exchange of best practices.
“I am encouraged that the UPR has already begun serving as a catalyst for change,” she said. However, she noted that thousands of recommendations had been made, and said in the future it is necessary to make pointed and constructive recommendations for the process to have an impact.
“The true measure of the effectiveness of the UPR will be in the amount of positive change that it generates on the ground – how it improves laws, policies and practices and the enjoyment of human rights by people.”
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FRENCH ARTIST HEDVA SER TO BE NAMED UN ARTIST OF PEACE
The United Nations agency tasked with conserving and promoting humanity’s cultural heritage will next week officially designate French artist Hedva Ser as an Artist for Peace in recognition of her contribution to the spirit of tolerance and bringing cultures closer together.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said the designation of Ms. Ser as an Artist for Peace by the agency’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, in Paris on Tuesday will also be in appreciation of her dedication to UNESCO’s ideals.
Through exhibitions of sculpture, tapestry and jewellery all over the world, Ms. Ser has placed her art at the service of peace, of which her monumental sculpture, ‘Tree of Peace,’ has become an emblem, according to UNESCO.
She is also the founder and co-chair of the Centre for Women Artists in the Jordanian capital, Amman, which she established in close cooperation with the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Ivonne A-Baki.
UNESCO Artists for Peace are internationally renowned personalities who use their influence, charisma and prestige to promote UNESCO’s message. They include Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, musician Gilberto Gil of Brazil, Portuguese actress and singer Maria de Medeiros and author Frankétienne of Haiti.
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IRAQ: UN HELPS FEED OVER 550,000 PRIMARY SCHOOLCHILDREN
More than 550,000 children in some of the most vulnerable districts of Iraq will benefit from a United Nations-backed school feeding programme that seeks not only to improve their nutrition but also to encourage poor families to send their children to school in the first place.
The joint programme launched by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the Iraqi education ministry will provide a fortified midday snack to primary schoolchildren at some 1,800 schools in 24 districts over the 2011-2012 academic year.
“WFP’s vision is to reduce hunger among school children so that it is not an obstacle to their development,” WFP Country Representative Edward Kallon said in a news release today. “School feeding programmes act as a safety net in support of vulnerable schoolchildren and their families and contribute to breaking the intergenerational cycle of chronic hunger through better access to education, better learning and better nutrition and health.”
While Iraq is considered as a middle-income country, decades of war and instability have degraded infrastructure and basic social services, leaving many people poor and vulnerable. Some 7.5 million Iraqis live under the poverty line of $2 a day.
“One of the most urgent issues is to reduce the drop-out rate as it has become a serious problem especially in primary schools,” Education Minister Muhammad Tamim said.
One of the children targeted during the pilot phase of the programme in Baladrooz district in Diyala governorate said the fortified biscuits were the main reason he returned to school. “Because of the lack of adequate food in my house I left school,” said Akil, who comes from a poor family of five. “Now I no longer have to feel the emptiness in my stomach.”
In August 2010 the Government approved the national school feeding programme to be led by the education ministry. WFP was asked to support implementation and build the ministry’s capacity to manage it. The ministry is planning to take over during the course of next year.
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UN HELPS TRAIN TIMORESE POLICE ON INTERNAL DISCIPLINE IN FURTHER STEP TOWARDS STABILITY
Police officers in Timor-Leste are undergoing a three-month training course on tackling internal misconduct in a United Nations-backed initiative to enhance their credibility in the streets as the country cements its recovery from an outbreak of deadly violence five years ago.
“A police force that takes proper action to address disciplinary breaches will gain trust and credibility in the community,” said UN Development Programme (UNDP) Assistant Country Director Alissar Chaker, whose agency is supporting the project together with UNPOL, the police component of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), and the Norwegian Government.
The 160 officers from the justice section of the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL) will serve as discipline leaders once they complete the courses.
“Discipline is a key pillar of police credibility; that’s why both the PNTL and UNPOL consider this training as a high priority,” UNPOL Commissioner Luis Carrilho said of the courses, part of a $600,000 programme by the PNTL, UNPOL and UNDP to increase police capacity to deliver high-quality service to the people.
The programme supports five priority areas – legislation, training, administration, discipline and operations – as the UN continues to help the small country on the path to complete stability after tensions within the security sector led to deadly riots in April and May 2006, claiming dozens of lives and driving some 150,000 people, or 15 per cent of the population, from their homes.
At the time UNMIT was set up to replace several earlier missions in a country that the UN shepherded to independence in 2002 after it broke away from Indonesia. Earlier this year it completed the handover of full policing duties to the national force. It currently fields some 1,225 uniformed personnel, nearly all of them police officers.
“The officers in PNTL’s justice section welcome this training and the opportunity it provides to increase the responsiveness of Timor-Leste’s police force to these important issues,” PNTL Commander Carlos Almeida Sousa Jeronimo said of the programme, which began on 4 October and will run until 31 December.
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KENYAN FARMERS RECEIVE UN HELP TO WITHSTAND DROUGHT, PREVENT FOOD CRISIS
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is helping farmers in eastern Kenya make the necessary investments today to withstand drought and prevent food security crises tomorrow.
The agency is assisting over 5,000 farming households terrace their fields to conserve rain water for crop use and prevent the soils from being washed away, as well as building simple dams for better harvesting of rain water, states a news release.
In return for their labour, the farmers receive vouchers they can redeem for food and building materials for the community-owned dams.
Dan Rugabira, FAO’s Representative in Kenya, said such efforts can help farmers “hold the line” and get back on their feet quickly amid bad weather. This particular area of Kenya is subject to intense bursts of rainfall, which can strip away fertile topsoil. Rainwater is lost through run-off, leaving seasonal river beds bone dry the rest of the year.
“By building up farmers’ resilience to bad weather today, we help avoid crises tomorrow,” said Mr. Rugabira.
FAO also noted that seed stocks in the region are almost depleted and high food and fuel prices have placed an additional strain, forcing families to eat fewer meals a day or to sell off livestock.
However, the food situation in these parts of eastern Kenya, though difficult, is not as dire as in other areas of the country or in Somalia, which is facing a humanitarian crisis that is also affecting other parts of the Horn of Africa.
“That is precisely why these types of projects are so crucial right now,” said Mr. Rugabira.
“We provide families with vouchers they can exchange for basic household items or food while at the same time building vital infrastructure to improve their resilience, so they are not completely blindsided each time the rains fail.”
Most people in this arid and semi-arid area of Kenya survive by farming small plots of land and raising livestock such as a few head of cattle or some goats or sheep.
They depend on the rains to grow cereal crops such as sorghum, millet and maize, as well as grain legumes such as cowpeas, green grams, beans and pigeon peas. However, consecutive years of patchy rainfall mean that farmers here have not had a decent harvest in two – even three – seasons.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT URGES END TO MIGRATION MYTHS
The President of the General Assembly today urged the world to dispel entrenched myths about immigration and focus on migrants’ contributions to economic development in countries of origin, transit and destination.
“Fear of the ‘other’ has long plagued discussions around migration,” Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser told a meeting on Migration and Communication organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Inter-Press Service and the Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki.
“Since the onset of the world financial and economic crisis, migrants have increasingly become the target of racism and xenophobia,” said Mr. Al-Nasser, calling for a “re-balancing of the message” on immigration to ensure full respect of the rights of migrants in accordance with international human rights law and other relevant instruments.
“Strengthening dialogue and information flows around migration requires greater coordination and cooperation at the global, regional and bilateral levels,” Mr. Al-Nasser told the meeting, whose theme was ‘Re-balancing Information Flows, and Dialogue.’
“Migration is a global phenomenon that requires a global approach. If the full benefits of migration are to be leveraged, we need to work together, sharing information and best practices. Whether in government or in the media, we have a shared responsibility,” he said.
He pointed out that new migration destinations are emerging in Asia, Africa and South America, in response to the labour demands created by an increasingly interdependent global economy.
The largest shares of migrants to total population are no longer found in Europe or North America, but in the Arab States in the Gulf. In those countries, international migrants make up more than half of the working age population, he noted.
While abroad, most international migrants transfer remittances which contribute to the well-being of families and communities of origin. Last year, some $325 billion was remitted to developing countries from their citizens working abroad, a figure that outpaced official development assistance.
“Migrant workers also make important contributions to economic growth in countries of destination. As entrepreneurs, migrants establish businesses and create jobs in the countries that host them. And in the face of ageing populations, the role of migration cannot be overlooked,” Mr. Al-Nasser added.
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