MINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE TAKING HEAVY TOLL ON CHAD'S CHILDREN, SAYS UN

MINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE TAKING HEAVY TOLL ON CHAD'S CHILDREN, SAYS UN New York, Aug 30 2008 7:10PM Mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are taking a heavy toll on Chadian civilians, particularly children who make up the majority of the victims of the deadly scourge in the African nation, according to the United Nations.

Some 95 people have been killed by mines and UXO this year in Chad, of whom 17 were killed and 78 injured, the majority of them children.

In the most recent incident on 28 August, one child was killed and five injured when a UXO they were playing with exploded in the eastern Chadian village of Tine, on the border with Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. Two of the five wounded children had limbs amputated.

"This is one more occurrence, in a fatal wave of UXO explosions affecting innocent civilians and especially children," said Jean-François Basse, Child Protection Specialist with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.

Prior to that, four people were killed and 30 wounded when a UXO exploded in a crowded market in N'Djamena on 4 August.

"This is just one of the dramatic aspects of continued civil warfare in this country," Eliane Duthoit from the Office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Chad said.

In a recent report, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that children continue to be the primary victims of the conflict in Chad -- where Government forces have been battling rebel groups -- whether they are recruited as soldiers, killed or hurt by landmines or denied humanitarian access.

The political, military and security situation in Chad remains "highly volatile," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote. "As a result, children are made to suffer."
"Most of the problems are in the east and south-east of the country, but also in other areas affected by the latest rounds of fighting, including indeed the capital," said Eva Faye of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which is working to support the Chadian National Demining Centre in clearing the country's territory of mines and UXO.

UNOPS, together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), has been supporting the Chadian authorities since 1998 in devising mine action initiatives. In addition, UNICEF conducts awareness campaigns among refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and local communities on the dangers posed by mines and UXO.

While Chad's Humanitarian Appeal for 2008 includes three projects in the mine action sector, totaling just over $1 million, none of them are underway due to lack of funding.

2008-08-30 00:00:00.000

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UN PANEL VOICES CONCERN OVER GROWING NUMBER OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES

UN PANEL VOICES CONCERN OVER GROWING NUMBER OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES New York, Aug 30 2008 2:10PM The United Nations body set up to assist families in determining the fate or whereabouts of disappeared relatives has expressed its concern over the growing number of cases of enforced disappearances taking place worldwide.

"Enforced disappearance is a terrible practice that affects men, women and children from all parts of the globe," the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said in a statement issued to mark the 25th anniversary of the International Day of the Disappeared, observed on 30 August.

The Day is being marked around the world with associations of relatives of the disappeared coming together to hold acts of remembrance and to call for action to find their loved ones.

The Working Group said there are a growing number of cases of enforced disappearances in places such as Chad, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Thailand. In addition, there are reports of disappearances which took place in the past and are still being received from Algeria and Nepal.

"The victims include human rights defenders, religious leaders, and people belonging to different ethnic and indigenous groups," said the Group.

The five-member panel is also concerned that "cases of disappearances are happening in certain parts of the world but are not being reported."

Given the "indispensable" role played by Governments in discovering the fate or whereabouts of disappeared persons, the Group called on authorities worldwide to take steps to address all disappearances, regardless of when these began.

It also called on all Governments to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, whose entry into force "will help strengthen Government's capacities to prevent and eradicate disappearances and will help the victims obtain their rights to justice and truth."

In addition to helping relatives ascertain the fate of their loved ones, the Group, which was established in 1980, also acts as a conduit between the families and Governments concerned.

2008-08-30 00:00:00.000

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MINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE TAKING HEAVY TOLL ON CHAD'S CHILDREN, SAYS UN

MINES AND UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE TAKING HEAVY TOLL ON CHAD'S CHILDREN, SAYS UN New York, Aug 30 2008 2:10PM Mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) are taking a heavy toll on Chadian civilians, particularly children who make up the majority of the victims of the deadly scourge in the West African nation, according to the United Nations.

Some 95 people have been killed by mines and UXO this year in Chad, of whom 17 were killed and 78 injured, the majority of them children.

In the most recent incident on 28 August, one child was killed and five injured when a UXO they were playing with exploded in the eastern Chadian village of Tine, on the border with Sudan's war-torn Darfur region. Two of the five wounded children had limbs amputated.

"This is one more occurrence in a fatal wave of UXO explosions affecting innocent civilians and especially children," said Jean-François Basse, Child Protection Specialist with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the Chadian capital, N'Djamena.

Prior to that, four people were killed and 30 wounded when a UXO exploded in a crowded market in N'Djamena on 4 August.

"This is just one of the dramatic aspects of continued civil warfare in this country," Eliane Duthoit from the Office of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Chad said.

In a recent report, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that children continue to be the primary victims of the conflict in Chad -- where Government forces have been battling rebel groups -- whether they are recruited as soldiers, killed or hurt by landmines or denied humanitarian access.

The political, military and security situation in Chad remains "highly volatile," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote. "As a result, children are made to suffer."
"Most of the problems are in the east and south-east of the country, but also in other areas affected by the latest rounds of fighting, including indeed the capital," said Eva Faye of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), which is working to support the Chadian National Demining Centre in clearing the country's territory of mines and UXO.

UNOPS, together with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), has been supporting the Chadian authorities since 1998 in devising mine action initiatives. In addition, UNICEF conducts awareness campaigns among refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and local communities on the dangers posed by mines and UXO.

While Chad's Humanitarian Appeal for 2008 includes three projects in the mine action sector, totalling just over $1 million, none of them are underway due to lack of funding.

2008-08-30 00:00:00.000

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HURRICANE GUSTAV STRIKES CHILDREN THE HARDEST, WARNS UN AGENCY

HURRICANE GUSTAV STRIKES CHILDREN THE HARDEST, WARNS UN AGENCY New York, Aug 29 2008 6:10PM Hurricane Gustav has forced some 6,300 people from their homes in Haiti, where torrential rains pounded the deforested southern peninsula of the country earlier this week, the United Nations Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) reported today.

The World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/">WFP) has begun feeding those displaced by the deadly hurricane, which raged through Haiti on Wednesday, killing at least 51 people as well as destroying homes, livestock and crops.

"With WFP stocks already in place, our partners on the ground have been able to begin distributing food to some of the affected families," said WFP Country Director Myrta Kaulard.

"Many people in these areas of southern Haiti already suffer from malnutrition or micronutrient deficiencies, and cannot afford this kind of upheaval," Ms. Kaulard added.

Residents of the urban cities of Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Leogane – most affected by the tropical storm – are already suffering from extreme poverty and soaring food prices are aggravating the situation.

"Whenever a natural disaster such as Gustav hits the region, the consequences of its impact are amplified," said UNICEF's Representative in Haiti Annamaria Laurini.

As an immediate response, WFP's partners in the area are distributing rice, beans and oil to 2,000 families, and 159 people in shelters are receiving two cooked meals a day, for an initial period of four days.

Nearly 45 per cent of the country's population is under the age of 18 and children are the most vulnerable to the grinding poverty, high food prices and natural disasters.

UNICEF is especially concerned about the hurricane's impact on schools. Already less than half of primary school age children in Haiti attend school, and the country can not afford to have this number further eroded.

"If schools are seriously damaged or used as temporary shelter, this could seriously delay children's return to school, which is due in about a week," said Laurini.

Media reports say Gustav has been responsible for 68 deaths so far across the Caribbean, and forecasters have indicated it could hit New Orleans and oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico next week as a category four or five hurricane, the most severe on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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AFRICAN OFFICIALS AGREE AT UN CONFERENCE TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS TO HEALTH

AFRICAN OFFICIALS AGREE AT UN CONFERENCE TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS TO HEALTH New York, Aug 29 2008 6:10PM African health and environment ministers attending a United Nations-sponsored conference concluding today in Gabon have agreed to form an alliance to try to reduce environmental threats to human health and well-being.

The Libreville Declaration, named after the Gabonese capital where the four-day conference was held, commits governments in the region to take measures to stimulate the necessary policy, investment and institutional changes so that synergies between health, environment and other fields are maximized.

The text of the declaration was decided after participants concurred that the root causes of environmental degradation can be found in social and economic problems such as poverty, inequality of wealth, the debt burden and unsustainable production and consumption behaviours.

Delegates noted that these problems can lead to the proliferation of diseases and conditions including malaria, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid, bronchitis and asthma.

Luis G. Sambo, the Regional Director of the UN World Health Organization's (<"http://www.who.int/en/">WHO) African office, welcomed the declaration, saying it should serve as a catalyst for necessary political and institutional action.

"The signing of this landmark declaration is the first step towards saving the lives of millions of people from the harmful effects of changes in the environment," Dr. Sambo said.

This week's conference, jointly organized by WHO and the UN Environment Programme (<"http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=543&ArticleID=5900&l=en">UNEP), was attended by health ministers, environment ministers, policymakers, bilateral and multilateral institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and high-level experts.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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SECRETARY-GENERAL CONVENES SENIOR UN STAFF RETREAT IN ITALY

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONVENES SENIOR UN STAFF RETREAT IN ITALY New York, Aug 29 2008 5:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened a retreat today in Turin, Italy, for dozens of senior United Nations officials to discuss how the Organization can best tackle key global challenges, including climate change, the food crisis, human rights and staff safety.

Under-Secretaries-General and Assistant Secretaries-General from Headquarters and other duty stations will be attending the two-day gathering, will also assess the world body's performance over the past 20 months.

"The working sessions will also address organizational matters of accountability, teamwork and building a modern, mobile and efficient workforce within the UN system," spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters.

This year's retreat – organized by the Turin-based UN staff college, the UN Institute for Training and Research (<"http://www.unitar.org/">UNITAR) and the UN Department of Management – marks the second in a row to be held in the northern Italian city.

It kicked off this morning after the swearing-in of two new senior staff members: Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Peter Taksøe-Jensen, Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs.

Following the end of the retreat, Mr. Ban will travel to Geneva, where he will address the latest session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (<"http://www.ipcc.ch/">IPCC) on 31 August, coinciding with the body's 20th anniversary.

On Monday, at a memorial ceremony for the 19 August 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, he will lay a wreath for the fallen staff and meet with survivors and the families of victims in Geneva.

The Secretary-General is also expected to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Iraq and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (<"http://www.unctad.org/Templates/StartPage.asp?intItemID=2068">UNCTAD) on science and technology cooperation.

The trip will wrap up in Spain, where he will give a speech at Exposition Zaragoza 2008 about the importance of water for social, economic and political security and meet with Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos. He will also stop in the capital Madrid for talks with Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN OFFICIAL IN DR CONGO DEPLORES RECENT FIGHTING IN NORTH KIVU

TOP UN OFFICIAL IN DR CONGO DEPLORES RECENT FIGHTING IN NORTH KIVU New York, Aug 29 2008 5:10PM The top United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has strongly condemned the recent fighting between the Congolese army and rebels in the country's east, stressing that it goes against the ceasefire signed earlier this year.

The clashes that broke out in North Kivu in the early hours of 28 August between the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) and the National Congress for People's Defense, known by its French acronym CNDP, was the first major incident since a peace agreement was signed between the parties in January.

Alan Doss, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (<"http://www.monuc.org/News.aspx?newsID=17993">MONUC), condemned the fighting "in the strongest terms," stressing that any military action by the signatories of the Actes d'engagement reached in January constitutes a violation of the ceasefire.

"MONUC calls on the parties to exercise restraint, return to their original positions and avoid any action that could lead to a further escalation of violence," the mission said in a statement.

The mission has dispatched patrols to the area and has been in touch with officials on both sides since the incident.

Meanwhile, officials from the UN, European Union and Rwanda met on Wednesday in Kigali in preparation for a meeting of the Joint Monitoring Group – through which DRC and Rwanda review efforts to tackle threats to peace and stability in their region, as agreed in a communiqué issued last November.

They discussed a number of issues, including disarmament and repatriation of the DRC-based armed group FDLR (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda), ahead of the meeting which will take place on Monday in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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INDIA: BAN EXPRESSES SADNESS FOR DEATHS AND DAMAGE CAUSED BY FLOODS

INDIA: BAN EXPRESSES SADNESS FOR DEATHS AND DAMAGE CAUSED BY FLOODS New York, Aug 29 2008 5:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed his sadness upon hearing of the death and property damage caused by devastating flooding – the worst in five decades – in Bihar state, in India's north-east.

Dozens of people have lost their lives, with the death toll still rising, after a dam broke, breaching the eastern embankment of the Kosi River, which straddles the India-Nepal border.

Mr. Ban said the United Nations is ready to assist as needed, and he extended "his deepest condolences to those affected, especially to the families of those who have been killed or who are missing," according to a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2008/sgsm11765.doc.htm">statement issued by his spokesperson.

More than a quarter of a million homes have been destroyed, affecting nearly 3 million people in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, the UN Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) said in a press release. More than 1,000 villages in Bihar have been affected, with floods damaging roads and disrupting water and electricity supplies.

A further 70,000 people have been uprooted in Nepal, where the displaced – one third of whom are children – are seeking refuge in schools.

"At a time like this, it matters little how the floods started or who or what is at fault. What is critical is urgent help to those in need," said Daniel Toole, UNICEF's Regional Director for South Asia.

He stressed that the agency's priority is to deliver urgently-needed supplies and ensure that children and women – who are must vulnerable to disease – receive medicine, clean water, sanitation and food.

"Even at the best of times, South Asia has many of the poorest people in the world," Mr. Toole stated. "These massive floods can wash away even the most basic hope that families have."

So far, UNICEF has delivered aid, including tarpaulin sheets, hygiene kits and water purification tablets, to 8,000 families in India.

In Nepal, the agency has supplied more than 10,000 people with relief supplies, and is hoping to reach nearly 50,000 more.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION IN NEPAL CREATES CONDITIONS FOR CHILD ABUSE - UN AGENCY

INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION IN NEPAL CREATES CONDITIONS FOR CHILD ABUSE – UN AGENCY New York, Aug 29 2008 5:10PM The intercountry adoption business in Nepal has created a culture of child abuse including the abduction, trafficking and sale of children, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and a non-governmental organization (NGO) said in a report released today.

"Child rights, not profit, must be at the centre of all adoptions in Nepal," says the study by <"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF and Terre des Hommes (Tdh), an international NGO.

"An industry has grown up around adoption in which profit rather than the best interests of the child takes centre stage," said UNICEF Nepal Representative, Gillian Mellsop.

Only four out of every 100 children adopted in Nepal are adopted by a Nepali family and many children put up for adoption are not orphaned but are separated from their families.

Of the some 15,000 children in orphanages or children's homes, a significant number of admissions in these homes are a result of fraud, coercion or malpractice, according to the 62-page report.

The report's main recommendation is the cessation of intercountry adoption until safeguards are in place protecting the rights of children in orphanages and significantly raising their standard of care.

"The vast majority of children in centres don't need to be there," said Joseph Aguettant, Tdh Country Representative in Nepal.

"They have family… The first priority, therefore, should be to reunite 80 per cent of the children in institutions with their families, not to re-open intercountry adoption."

Although UNICEF and Tdh welcomed the news that the Government will ratify the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (1993), they emphasized that ratification and enactment of domestic legislation should take place before intercountry adoption procedures resume.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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ZIMBABWE'S LIFTING OF AID AGENCY RESTRICTIONS 'POSITIVE' DEVELOPMENT, SAYS BAN

ZIMBABWE'S LIFTING OF AID AGENCY RESTRICTIONS 'POSITIVE' DEVELOPMENT, SAYS BAN New York, Aug 29 2008 4:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the announcement by Zimbabwe to lift the suspension of field operations of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private voluntary organizations (PVOs), which have a vital role in the delivery of humanitarian aid in the southern African nation.

"This positive development will help ensure that neutral and impartial humanitarian assistance is provided to the people of Zimbabwe," Mr. Ban's spokesperson said in a <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11766.doc.htm">statement.

The Secretary-General also welcomed the Government's invitation to all NGOs and PVOs as well as UN agencies to discuss the operational modalities following the lifting of the suspension, which has been in place since June.

"He would like to emphasize the importance of ensuring that people in need have full access to humanitarian assistance essential to their health and well-being and that humanitarian organizations have full and unhindered access to vulnerable populations in order to carry out vital relief operations," the statement added.

Prior to the ban, many Zimbabweans were already suffering from food shortages and rampant inflation, a situation made worse by the violence that plagued the country ahead of the June presidential run-off election.

Earlier this month Mr. Ban had warned that not lifting the suspension could worsen the already dire humanitarian situation. With these organizations unable to operate, only 280,000 people of the 1.5 million in need of food assistance were being reached with distributions.

"The United Nations stands ready to work together with the Government and NGO/PVO partners to continue provision of humanitarian assistance in Zimbabwe," today's statement noted.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN ENVOY WELCOMES MOVE BY SOMALI LEADERS TOWARDS RECONCILIATION

TOP UN ENVOY WELCOMES MOVE BY SOMALI LEADERS TOWARDS RECONCILIATION New York, Aug 29 2008 3:10PM Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, has welcomed an agreement signed by the Horn of Africa nation's leaders to promote reconciliation, the rule of law and good governance.

The 25 August pact – facilitated by the Ethiopian Government under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – was signed in Addis Ababa by President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Speaker of Parliament Sheikh Aden Madobe and Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein.

The three men also committed to implementing the Djibouti Agreement, a UN-brokered peace deal in which the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somali (ARS), an opposition group, have formally agreed to end all armed confrontation between them.

"I would like to congratulate the leaders on their agreement," Mr. Ould-Abdallah said. "This is a good step forward which will strengthen the TFG in their partnership with the ARS and other Somalis for peace in the country."
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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INCREASED INVESTMENT IN AFRICAN FARMERS NEEDED, SAYS UN RURAL DEVELOPMENT CHIEF

INCREASED INVESTMENT IN AFRICAN FARMERS NEEDED, SAYS UN RURAL DEVELOPMENT CHIEF New York, Aug 29 2008 1:10PM The head of the United Nations rural development arm underlined the crucial role played by African farmers in producing food and combating climate change, calling on the international community to boost their support for the agriculture sector on the continent.

"Too often agriculture is seen as an unproductive and unprofitable sector," Lennart Båge, President of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (<"http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2008/38.htm">IFAD), said at the African Green Revolution Conference underway in Oslo, Norway.

"But the truth is that agriculture and those tilling the land – men and women smallholder farmers – have the capacity to feed the world while managing and protecting some of the key assets of our global environment."

Nearly two billion people depend on the world's 450 million smallholder farms for food and livelihoods, according to IFAD.

With global demand for food expected to surge by 50 per cent in the next two decades, these planters in Africa need greater long-term investment to increase agricultural productivity, not hand-outs, Mr. Båge said.

"The world urgently needs a green revolution in Africa. And the African continent has the potential to deliver," he said. "But we are still failing, collectively, to give Africa the level of coordinated and cohesive support that it needs to do so."

The two-day Conference, which wraps up today, brought together world leaders and representatives of both the private sector and development agencies to discuss how to provide sustainable assistance to African farmers.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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OVER 2,000 DISPLACED FROM GEORGIA BUFFER ZONE REGISTER WITH UN AGENCY

OVER 2,000 DISPLACED FROM GEORGIA BUFFER ZONE REGISTER WITH UN AGENCY New York, Aug 29 2008 1:10PM The United Nations refugee agency says that some 2,300 people from villages in the buffer zone between the Georgian town of Gori and the breakaway region of South Ossetia have registered in Gori as internally displaced people.

"Many of the recent arrivals reached Gori on Tuesday and Wednesday, after being forcibly displaced by militias in villages near the boundary with South Ossetia," Hélène Caux, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters in Geneva.

Some 800 of these internally displaced persons (IDPs) are staying in a tented camp set up in partnership with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) earlier this week. Others are being accommodated in municipal centres.

"Several of the displaced told UNHCR that they had fled fighting earlier this month and had just returned to their homes over the weekend," said Ms. Caux, who added that people talked about militias entering the villages, shooting in the air, harassing the inhabitants and looting their property.

"The newly displaced in Gori all have stories of intimidation, including beatings by the militia in buffer zone villages north of Gori," she said. "Others have returned to Gori because they felt unsafe when they arrived back in their villages…They also said they feared the presence of mines."

According to Georgian officials, between 10,000 to 15,000 of Gori's inhabitants have returned to their city, out of a normal peacetime population of 70,000.

A UNHCR assessment mission on Wednesday to villages north of Gori confirmed that many returnees they met were traumatized and scared. Some people had returned to their villages even though basic services such as water supply, medical care and food supplies are no longer available.

Meanwhile, displaced people continue to return to their homes in South Ossetia. Russian authorities said more than 25,000 people from South Ossetia have returned from Russia since 12 August. People who are still housed in temporary accommodation centres in Russia are expected to go back to South Ossetia by early September.

"The situation on the ground remains complex and unpredictable in Georgia with continuing movements of people," said Ms. Caux, adding that UNHCR teams continue to closely monitor these movements, including potential displacement in the region.

More than 158,000 people were displaced during the conflict that began on 8 August – about 128,000 within Georgia and some 30,000 who fled to Russia.

Yesterday senior UN officials warned the Security Council that the overall situation in and around Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia remains tense, as they briefed the 15-member body on the latest developments in the Caucasus country.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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UN TO UNDERTAKE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY REVIEW FOR IRAQ

UN TO UNDERTAKE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY REVIEW FOR IRAQ New York, Aug 29 2008 12:10PM The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (<"http://www.unctad.org/Templates/StartPage.asp?intItemID=2068">UNCTAD) announced today that it will work with the Iraqi Government to map out a strategy for using science, technology and innovation to reconstruct its economy and accelerate its development.

The parties plan on performing a science, technology and innovation policy review (STIP) with a view to helping Iraq successfully function in a knowledge-based, globalized economy, UNCTAD said in a press release.

While Iraq's efforts in science, technology and innovation were once among the best in the region, the troubled country's intellectual infrastructure has been decimated in more recent years.

UNCTAD report estimates have put 80 per cent of the country's universities and research institutions are not fully operational, and large numbers of Iraqi engineers and scientists have left the country.

The STIP, formalised in a ceremony to be attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 1 September, will be prepared by experts working under the direction of UNCTAD and in partnership with Government officials, private-sector interests, academics and researchers.

"The major goal of the STIP will be to help Iraq ensure that its science, technology and innovation programmes become an instrument for supporting the reconstruction of Iraq, including through assisting the Government in stimulating the return of Iraqi scientists and engineers," UNCTAD said.

A memorandum of understanding on the project will be signed at the 1 September ceremony in Geneva by Iraqi Minister of Science and Technology Raid Fahmi and UNCTAD Secretary-General Supachai Panitchpakdi.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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EFFORTS TO BRIDGE AFGHANISTAN'S DIGITAL DIVIDE GETS BOOST FROM UN

EFFORTS TO BRIDGE AFGHANISTAN'S DIGITAL DIVIDE GETS BOOST FROM UN New York, Aug 29 2008 10:10AM A new agreement between the United Nations and the Afghan Government will help boost efforts to narrow the gap between those in the South Asian nation who benefit from the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and those who do not.

The agreement marks the start of collaboration between Afghanistan's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the UN Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (UN-APCICT), a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

UN-APCICT is tasked with strengthening the efforts of ESCAP member countries to use digital technology in their socio-economic development by building up human and institutional capacity for ICT.

Today's signing, which took place at APCICT's office in Incheon, in the Republic of Korea, also marks the first time an agreement has been made to have the Institute's training curriculum – known as the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders Programme – implemented nationally.

In partnership with national organizations, the Institute seeks to use this training to strengthen a country's capacities in the field of ICT and provide the necessary knowledge and skills to fully leverage opportunities presented by ICTs to achieve national development goals.

The Academy programme will be customized to meet the needs of Afghanistan's policymakers and government leaders.

Similar efforts are being finalized to have the programme in Mongolia and the Philippines as well as in the Pacific Island countries.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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TESTS CONFIRM NO RADIOACTIVITY RELEASE FROM INCIDENT AT UN LABORATORY

TESTS CONFIRM NO RADIOACTIVITY RELEASE FROM INCIDENT AT UN LABORATORY New York, Aug 29 2008 10:10AM Independent experts have confirmed the initial findings of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/PressReleases/2008/prn200810.html">IAEA) that there was no release of radioactive material to the environment after an incident at one of its laboratories earlier this month.

The test results were provided by the Austrian Research Centers (ARC), from analysis of soil, plant and water samples collected from outside the IAEA's Laboratories in Seibersdorf – some 35 kilometres from Vienna.

During the incident on 3 August, a storage room at the laboratory was contaminated with plutonium due to a pressure build-up in a small sealed bottle kept in a storage room. The laboratory regularly analyzes small samples of nuclear material, such as uranium or plutonium, as part of the Agency's safeguards verification work.

The ARC's radiation protection experts confirmed the IAEA's initial findings from the laboratory's automatic monitoring system which indicated that there had been no release of radioactivity to the environment.

Since the incident, constant air monitoring near the laboratory, undertaken by the IAEA, has also provided no evidence of any radioactive contamination.

The IAEA said a probe into the circumstances and causes of the incident is still underway. Meanwhile, the first stage of the clean-up of the storage room was successfully completed on 22 August.

According to the IAEA's nuclear regulator's assessment of the incident, the laboratory's safety systems worked properly and successfully contained the contamination.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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MELBOURNE BOOKS ITS PLACE IN UN CULTURAL NETWORK OF CITIES

MELBOURNE BOOKS ITS PLACE IN UN CULTURAL NETWORK OF CITIES New York, Aug 29 2008 9:10AM Melbourne has been declared a City of Literature by the United Nations cultural agency, joining a global network of cities set up to promote their cultural, social and economic development in fields ranging from gastronomy to music to folk art.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today that Melbourne had been selected as the twelfth member of the Creative Cities Network, which was founded in 2004, in recognition of its rich literary culture and history and its pool of creative talent.

The announcement coincides with the staging of the current edition of the annual Melbourne Writers Festival, which finishes on Sunday.

"Melbourne demonstrates the important role literature plays in the overall development of the city, through various multilingual editorial initiatives, the active development of related industries and the quality of educational programmes and public events reaching out to different audiences, reflecting the cultural diversity of local communities," UNESCO said in its evaluation of the city's bid to join the network.

The Creative Cities Network aims to give member cities a platform to present their cultural assets an opportunity to exchange and explore the know-how, information and experience of other cities, especially in maintaining and preserving cultural heritage. It encourages public-private partnerships to foster cultural development.

UNESCO said Melbourne is home to Australia's publishing sector and to a third of all of the country's writers, noting that the Booker Prize-winning author Peter Carey had also given his support to the city's bid.
Melbourne is now the second City of Literature in the Creative Cities Network, following Edinburgh's earlier selection. Berlin, Buenos Aires and Montreal have been designated as Cities of Design and Bologna, Seville and Glasgow as Cities of Music. The Colombian city of Popayán was selected for its gastronomy, Lyon for its digital media and the United States city of Santa Fé and Egypt's Aswan for their crafts and folk art.
2008-08-29 00:00:00.000

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UNICEF RUSHES AID IN WAKE OF DESTRUCTIVE FLOODS IN NORTH-EASTERN INDIA

UNICEF RUSHES AID IN WAKE OF DESTRUCTIVE FLOODS IN NORTH-EASTERN INDIA New York, Aug 28 2008 6:10PM The United Nations Children's Fund (<"http://www.unicef.org/">UNICEF) is helping to alleviate the situation in Bihar state in north-eastern India, where 1.4 million people have been affected by severe flooding.

So far, 33 deaths have been reported as a result of the breach in the eastern embankment of the Kosi River, straddling the India-Nepal border, and that figure is expected to rise.

Water has engulfed hundreds of villages and destroyed more than 200,000 homes, and the displaced will not be able to return until the embankment is repaired.

Meanwhile, some 55,000 Nepalese have been uprooted on the other side of the river, and UN agencies are mobilizing aid to assist the displaced.

UNICEF said that roads have been damaged, while water and electricity have been disrupted. Because railway tracks have been submerged, food and other essential supplies are being transported by boat.

The agency warned that camps housing the displaced could become overcrowded, increasing the likelihood of communicable diseases spreading. Further exacerbating the situation is the extreme heat, which is especially dangerous for children and pregnant women.

Children "are most at risk from disease and suffer physical and mental distress from being moved from their homes to relief camps," said Patrick McCormick, UNICEF Emergencies Communication Officer.

The agency has carried out assessments in three of the hardest-hit districts, and has worked with the Government and other partners to deliver much-needed supplies.

Cases of fever and diarrhoea are being reported in the temporary camps, where hygiene conditions are generally poor, with not enough toilets.

"UNICEF focuses its response on delivering life-saving supplies like medicines, drinking water and sanitation equipment to ward off the threat of disease amongst the affected children," Mr. McCormick said.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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NEPAL'S 'REMARKABLE' PEACE NEEDS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT - UN ENVOY

NEPAL'S 'REMARKABLE' PEACE NEEDS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT – UN ENVOY New York, Aug 28 2008 6:10PM Nepal deserves credit for the "remarkable" success of its peace process since its civil war ended two years ago, but now its energies must focus on overcoming poverty and discrimination, the chief United Nations official in the Asian country said today.

In an op-ed column published in <i>The Guardian</i>, Ian Martin, the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Nepal, called on the international community to strengthen its support so that Nepal can "sustain the still fragile success" of its peace process.

"The biggest challenges are those which go to the roots of the insurgency: poverty, injustice and discrimination," Mr. Martin wrote.

"One of the costs of the conflict has been the retreat of local governance and arrested development in a desperately poor country where over 80 per cent of the population lives in rural districts. As Nepal aspires to becoming a federal democratic republic, expectations are high among diverse groups for greater control of their lives and resources."

Mr. Martin stressed that it was also vital to promote respect for the rule of law and to tackle impunity, noting that none of the human rights abuses – such as killings, disappearances and acts of torture – by either side during the protracted conflict have been prosecuted effectively.

He added that the Maoists have entered the new Government "still with their own army – confined to cantonments, with their weapons stored under UN monitoring – and a Young Communist League which has persistently acted outside the law.

"Commitments to resolve the future of the Maoist combatants, alongside what the peace agreements call the 'democratization' of the State army, must now be implemented."

But he said the Nepali people deserved enormous credit for the "truly indigenous" peace process that has led to the end of the war, the holding of Constituent Assembly elections and the formation of a democratic government, all within three years.

The Special Representative said it was particularly impressive that this year's elections had ensured that women and previously marginalized groups will now have strong showings in the Assembly.

He concluded that the UN Mission in Nepal (<"http://www.unmin.org.np/">UNMIN) would continue to support the country's transition.

"The Maoist and non-Maoist parties have asked the United Nations to maintain a political presence while the issue of the former combatants is resolved, and we stand ready to support peacebuilding, recovery and long-term development," he said.

"From Delhi to Washington, from Brussels to Tokyo, the international community must be generous and steady in assisting Nepal to sustain the still fragile success of a remarkable peace process."
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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HAITI: UN AGENCY HELPS CONTAIN DAMAGE WROUGHT BY DEADLY HURRICANE

HAITI: UN AGENCY HELPS CONTAIN DAMAGE WROUGHT BY DEADLY HURRICANE New York, Aug 28 2008 6:10PM Initiatives by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Haiti are helping to rein in the damage wrought by Hurricane Gustav, which has claimed nearly two dozen lives so far across the Caribbean region.

The agency credits projects aimed at curbing flooding in some of the poorest neighbourhoods – including Cité Soleil and Martissant – in the capital, Port-au-Prince, with mitigating the effects of the massive storm which made landfall on Monday.

"While there are many areas which experienced serious flooding and, tragically, casualties in particular in the south, the scale of the damage in Port-au-Prince does not seem to be as extensive as we have seen in the past," said Joel Boutroue, UN Humanitarian Coordinator, who has been assessing the destruction resulting from the hurricane, which caused major flooding and mudslides.

Thousands of Haitians were evacuated by boat or truck from their homes in the West, South-East and Nippes departments with the help of blue helmets serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (<"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/minustah/">MINUSTAH).

Previously, massive trash piles would block drainage canals, leading to severe flooding. Extensive cleaning projects by the Government and the international community are helping to mitigate that problem.

For its part, <"http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2008/august/undp-assists-in-hurricane-recovery-in-haiti-dominican-republic.en">UNDP is helping through a scheme to collect garbage in a large slum to be recycled into energy to cook food.

Haiti, already burdened with huge social, economic and environmental challenges, is vulnerable to tropical storms – which can impede development efforts – during the Atlantic hurricane season, which stretches from June until November. Gustav has fluctuated in strength from a tropical storm to a hurricane as it has crossed the Caribbean.

Over 3,000 Haitians died and a further 300,000 were affected by tropical storm Jeanne in 2004, costing the country $265 million, or equivalent to 7 per cent of gross national product (GNP).

UNDP Administrator Ad Melkert, who was on a visit to the Caribbean nation, extended his tour to accompany Mr. Boutroue on his assessment mission.

He held talks with President Rene Préval and met with Cabinet ministers, focusing on the role of the international community in tackling poverty and helping Haiti to rebuild from years of stalled development.

"In my view, there are three vital areas for progress in Haiti: employment, energy, and environment," Mr. Melkert said. "Currently, Haitians have huge unemployment, limited access to energy, and severe environmental degradation."

He said that the international community, working in tandem with the Government, "should invest in policies and programmes which link these issues in a sustainable way."
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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UN MISSION DISPATCHES PATROL FOLLOWING CLASHES IN EASTERN DR CONGO

UN MISSION DISPATCHES PATROL FOLLOWING CLASHES IN EASTERN DR CONGO New York, Aug 28 2008 5:10PM The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has dispatched patrols to the country's volatile eastern region after some of the worst fighting since a peace deal was signed in January broke out earlier today between Government forces and armed rebel groups.

The clashes between the DRC Armed Forces, known as FARDC, and the CNDP (Congrès national pour la défense du people) near Rumangabo in Rutshuru Territory in North Kivu province lasted about eight hours and has now ceased, according to the UN mission, known as MONUC.

"The first thing we did was appeal to all the parties to stop the hostilities. We have also sent out patrols to determine what has actually happened, and we have combat helicopters on standby," <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/monuc/index.html">MONUC military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Paul Dietrich told the UN News Centre.

It is unclear who started the fighting or what provoked it, but Lt.-Col. Dietrich acknowledged that there was "too much tension in the air" in recent days and something was bound to happen. "But we recognize this is not the way to settle conflict," he added.

Today's incident was the first major clash since the peace accords were signed in January at the Kivus conference on peace, security and development, held in Goma. "It was quite a setback today," stated Lt.-Col. Dietrich.

MONUC has no confirmed information regarding casualties or civilian victims, and UN humanitarian staff are assessing the situation.

The Secretary-General's Special Representative, Alan Doss, met at length today with Defence Minister Chikez Diemu, and was expected to also meet Interior Minister Dénis Kalume. In addition, MONUC's Force Commander has been in contact with the FARDC Commander.

MONUC is also in contact with the representative of the CNDP to the Mixed Technical Commission on Peace and Security – one of the structures set up under the Amani programme to implement the so-called Actes d'engagement reached at the Goma conference.

In a related development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Leila Zerrougui of Algeria – who has had a distinguished career in strengthening the rule of law, particularly through the administration of justice, and in human rights – as his Deputy Special Representative for the DRC.

Ms. Zerrougui served as a judge for numerous years, and then as a legal adviser in the Ministry of Justice before being appointed to Algeria's Supreme Court in 2000.

She has been a member of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention under the UN Human Rights Council since 2001 and served as the Working Group's Chairperson-Rapporteur from 2003 until May 2008.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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NEW UN-AFRICAN UNION MEDIATOR FOR DARFUR CONFLICT TAKES UP POST

NEW UN-AFRICAN UNION MEDIATOR FOR DARFUR CONFLICT TAKES UP POST New York, Aug 28 2008 5:10PM The newly appointed chief of the joint United Nations-African Union effort to bring peace to Darfur arrived today in the conflict-wracked Sudanese region, pledging to consult as widely as possible with the warring parties to try to find a lasting solution.

Djibril Yipènè Bassolé, the Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, has assumed his duties in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the headquarters of the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping force (known as UNAMID).

Speaking to reporters after his arrival, he stressed that any negotiations to resolve the five-year conflict that has killed an estimated 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million others cannot take place in a climate of tension and mistrust.

"We have to put mechanisms in place that will not only allow a sustained ceasefire, but will also help avoid reoccurrence of violent incidents," he said.

Mr. Bassolé said his priority was to hold talks with all the players on the ground in Darfur, where the number of rebel groups has splintered in the past year or so from a handful to around 30.

Rodolphe Adada, the head of <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/index.html">UNAMID and the Joint Special Representative of the UN and the AU in the region, met with Mr. Bassolé today and promised that the mission would do everything it could to back his peace efforts.

Mr. Bassolé is slated to visit South Darfur and West Darfur over the next four days before returning to Khartoum, the national capital.

In an interview with UN Radio, he added that he hoped to bring his experiences from other peace processes and accords across West Africa to the situation in Darfur, where Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen have been fighting rebels since 2003.

"Here in Darfur, there are similarities, of course, because here you have people who seem to be marginalized, who want to be more developed, but the difficulty here is the interference and outside interference in the Darfur conflict. So it is a little bit complicated, but we will try."

Asked about Monday's deadly clashes involving Government security forces at the Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in South Darfur, the Mediator said this incident illustrated the importance of talking to all parties to avoid such situations from occurring.

"Of course there is need for security on the ground, and also I think that we should avoid and be careful that people [do not] use the camps for fighting, arms and ammunition. This specific question should be a point for our negotiation and when I was in Khartoum yesterday I talked about this situation and this consequence. For the mediation, security will be the first point of our talks."

Meanwhile, UNAMID Force Commander General Martin Luther Agwai visited the Zam Zam camp for IDPs in North Darfur, where he welcomed the recently arrived Egyptian engineering and signal company.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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GEORGIA'S INTERNALLY DISPLACED FEAR RETURNING HOME, SAY UN RELIEF AGENCIES

GEORGIA'S INTERNALLY DISPLACED FEAR RETURNING HOME, SAY UN RELIEF AGENCIES New York, Aug 28 2008 5:10PM The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern today over the worsening humanitarian crisis affecting people escaping conflict in Georgia, especially those fleeing the buffer zone between the breakaway region of South Ossetia and the town of Gori.

By late yesterday afternoon, more than 1,200 people, from villages devastated by the fighting in the 26-kilometre-wide buffer zone, had registered as internally displaced persons (IDPs) with authorities in Gori, the UN refugee agency reported in a press release.

The new UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/48b56d214.html">UNHCR) office in Gori has erected some 100 family tents on in a football field on the outskirts of the town in an attempt to shelter the growing number of IDPs.

The IDPs included newly displaced people who have fled the violent militia in the buffer zone as well as people who escaped to Tbilisi after the conflict erupted on 8 August.

Some IDPs have tried returning to their buffer zone villages but claim they were blocked by Russian checkpoints, advising them to not to continue due to widespread lawlessness surrounding the area. Others found their homes damaged and returned to Gori through fear of further attacks.

UNHCR reports that the new IDPs have arrived in Gori with similar tales of intimidation, beatings and looting by militia groups in the buffer zone villages. There have also been unconfirmed reports of civilian deaths resulting from the violence.

"Most of the villagers now escaping south to Gori said they had stayed put when the conflict broke out earlier this month because they were old and weak. The appearance this week of militias had made them change their minds, but they said they had to leave the most vulnerable behind," the agency said.

Earlier this week, a UNHCR team trying to reach the buffer zone villages were turned back at a checkpoint and told it was not safe to travel in the area. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) had also not been able to access the volatile area for a week.

In Gori itself, it is estimated some 10,000 to 15,000 locals have returned to the town compared to the pre-conflict population of around 70,000, according to the Georgian Government.

Although the United Nations Population Fund (<"http://www.unfpa.org/news/news.cfm?ID=1179">UNFPA) estimates two-thirds of the 120,000 IDPs will return home once the fighting subsides, it says those who recently returned to their homes in Gori have gone straight back to Tbilisi, "demoralized" and "devastated."

"Villagers from north of Gori and from South Ossetia can't imagine returning any time soon, particularly where there are cluster munitions, unexploded ordinance, and landmines in their villages and homes," UNFPA said in a press release.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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BAN APPLAUDS STATES FOR TACKLING TERRORISM AND EXTREMISM IN EURASIA

BAN APPLAUDS STATES FOR TACKLING TERRORISM AND EXTREMISM IN EURASIA New York, Aug 28 2008 4:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today praised an intergovernmental organization for its commitment to combating terrorism and extremism, as well as confronting the complex challenges posed by separatism across Eurasia.

Mr. Ban said it was the duty of the international community to "uphold and protect the dignity of individuals and (their) fundamental freedoms" in a message to the meeting of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

In his <"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/sgsm11762.doc.htm">message Mr. Ban highlighted the need for the SCO to work in collaboration with international efforts in fighting these threats to people's peace, security and liberty on across the globe.

"I am pleased that the SCO has working contacts with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (<"http://www.unescap.org/">ESCAP), the UN Development Programme (<"http://www.undp.org/">UNDP) and several other entities," Mr. Ban said.

The SCO is an intergovernmental organization created by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan with the aim to ensure peace, security and stability in the region.

Noting that the SCO has expanded its activities in such areas as trade, development, environment and culture, Mr. Ban added, "These initiatives not only strengthen bonds among Member States, but bring new opportunities their combined population of nearly 1.5 billion people."

The message was delivered on Mr. Ban's behalf by the Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA), Miroslav Jenca.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN RECORD SOLID ECONOMIC GROWTH FIGURES, UN REPORTS

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN RECORD SOLID ECONOMIC GROWTH FIGURES, UN REPORTS New York, Aug 28 2008 4:10PM Latin America and the Caribbean have posted positive economic gains for the sixth year in a row, despite the global downturn, with gross domestic product (GDP) rising nearly 5 per cent this year, according to the most recent estimates of the United Nations office in the region.

Economic growth for 2008 did not match the nearly 6 per cent expansion recorded last year, but GDP per capita is forecasted to increase by 3 per cent in the region for the fifth consecutive year, marking the first time this has happened in four decades.

The "Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2007-2008, Macroeconomic policy and volatility," which was released yesterday, also noted that unemployment has steadily fallen every year since 2003, decreasing from 8 per cent in 2007 to an estimated 7.5 per cent this year.

Also continuing to drop is the poverty rate, which has been slashed by over 9 per cent since 2002, propelled by economic growth, falling joblessness, higher quality employment and improved non-wage income, such as remittances.

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (<"http://www.eclac.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/prensa/noticias/comunicados/0/33890/P33890.xml&xsl=/prensa/tpl-i/p6f.xsl&base=/tpl-i/top-bottom.xsl">ECLAC) said that the region will not be immune to the current global market turmoil, but it will be better able to weather the storm due to its economic strength.

Thanks to GDP surpluses, the area's governments have been able to earmark more resources for public investment and social spending, as well as create bulwarks in case of economic turbulence in the future.

Additionally, the region's countries have substantially cut back their public debt, dropping from 36 per cent of GDP in 2006 to 33 per cent of GDP last year.

However, the report cautioned that rising inflation rates, as well as soaring food and oil prices, could slow the area's stellar growth, which it predicted will continue next year, albeit at a lower pace of 4 per cent.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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GLOBAL SOCIAL INEQUALITIES LEAD TO WIDELY DIVERGING HEALTH PATTERNS - UN REPORT

GLOBAL SOCIAL INEQUALITIES LEAD TO WIDELY DIVERGING HEALTH PATTERNS – UN REPORT New York, Aug 28 2008 2:10PM A Japanese woman will live 42 years longer than a woman in Lesotho, and such a staggering disparity in life expectancy is due to inequalities in where people are born, grow up and age, the United Nations World Health Organization (<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2008/pr29/en/index.html">WHO) said in a new report issued today.

"Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale," a commission comprised of academics including Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen, former heads of state and health ministers said after a three-year investigation.

According to their study, entitled "Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health," biology is not at fault for the odds of a woman in Afghanistan dying in childbirth being 1 in 8, compared to a mother in Sweden, where the risk is 1 in 17,400.

"The toxic combination of bad policies, economics, and politics is, in large measure, responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not enjoy the good health that is biologically possible," the report noted.

Recent years have witnessed surges in global wealth, technology and living standards, but how resources are allocated to services and institution-building in low-income countries is key.

A nation's wealth alone does not determine the health of its population, the Commission said, citing the examples of Cuba, Costa Rica, China and Sri Lanka as countries which have achieved high levels of health despite relatively low national incomes.

The report pointed to the model of Nordic countries, where resources are put towards promoting equal benefits and services, full employment and gender equality, as well as for curbing social exclusion.

It also highlighted some glaring inequalities in health within countries. An indigenous Australian male can expect to live 17 years shorter than all other men in the same country, while maternal mortality is three to four times higher among Indonesia's poor women compared to its rich women.

To broach inequalities both within and among nations, the 13-member Commission made three broad recommendations: to boost daily living conditions; to address distortions in the distribution of power, money and resources; and to understand the problem's scope.

"Health inequity really is a matter of life and death," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who was presented with the report today.

She stressed that national health systems will not trend towards equity without "unprecedented leadership" to drive people on all fronts, not just in the health sector.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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AFGHAN REPATRIATION TOPS AGENDA OF UN REFUGEE CHIEF'S VISIT TO PAKISTAN

AFGHAN REPATRIATION TOPS AGENDA OF UN REFUGEE CHIEF'S VISIT TO PAKISTAN New York, Aug 28 2008 1:10PM The top United Nations refugee official today wrapped up a three-day visit to Pakistan, during which the Government agreed to revise a plan for the repatriation of the nearly 2 million remaining Afghan refugees in the country that was due to end next year.

More than 3.4 million Afghans have returned home from Pakistan since 2002 with the help of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/48b673324.html">UNHCR), leaving an estimated 1.8 million registered Afghans still living there today.

"Pakistan is UNHCR's biggest partner, hosting the world's largest refugee population for so many years," said UN High Commissioner António Guterres. "No other country has shown such generosity towards its neighbours, and it's important to mobilize more support amongst the international community for this great effort."

During his visit, Mr. Guterres met with top Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Syed Yousef Raza Gilani and Minister of States and Frontier Regions Najmuddin Khan.

Mr. Guterres stressed that the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is among his top priorities this year. "We are working on a comprehensive strategy that involves assisting the host communities in Pakistan, fully supporting voluntary repatriation and reintegration, while keeping in mind the challenges in Afghanistan," he said.

To assist Pakistan in its efforts to host the refugees, the High Commissioner presented a pilot project proposal for the refugee affected and hosting areas (RAHA) in Balochistan and North West Frontier Province.

"The UN team in Pakistan is fully committed to the RAHA initiative and will appeal for resources to support it," he said about the project, which will rehabilitate and upgrade infrastructure and services in the sectors of water, sanitation, health care, primary education, environment and livelihood.

Mr. Guterres also announced that an International Conference on Return and Reintegration will be held in the Afghan capital, Kabul, in mid-November to galvanize support for the refugees, returnees and internally displaced people (IDPs) in that country.

While in Pakistan, he also met with the UN country team and member countries of the Group of Eight and the European Union to mobilize support for the RAHA project proposal and the upcoming conference in Kabul.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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BAN URGES REDOUBLING OF EFFORTS TO PROTECT, PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL

BAN URGES REDOUBLING OF EFFORTS TO PROTECT, PROMOTE HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL New York, Aug 28 2008 12:10PM Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today highlighted the progress made since the holding of a landmark United Nations human rights meeting in 1993, while calling for a redoubling of efforts to ensure that everyone around world is able to enjoy their rights.

"The World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna marked a watershed in the way we understand human rights, and how we act on them," Mr. Ban noted in a video <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3372">message on the 15th anniversary of the meeting.

Some 7,000 participants, including academics, treaty bodies, national institutions and representatives of more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), participated in the gathering, held in the Austrian capital in June 1993.

The conference culminated with the adoption of a common plan for the strengthening of human rights work around the world, known as the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

"In the 15 years since then, the world has increasingly understood that human rights are indivisible from development and security," said the Secretary-General.

He also noted that the UN has made "remarkable" progress in standard-setting, institution-building, and programme implementation, and a wide body of international law has emerged to ensure fundamental protection in times of peace, war, and emergency.

The international community, led by the UN, has reformed the world body's human rights machinery – culminating in 2006 with the creation of the Human Rights Council, he said. "The Council has now set up its infrastructure, and can devote its attention to the full range of current and emerging human rights challenges."

Mr. Ban remarked that the Vienna outcome also helped strengthen national human rights institutions around the world, which help ensure independent scrutiny, ascertain if States are on track, and determine what corrective measures are needed.

Noting that this year also marks the 60th anniversary of the UN General Assembly's adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mr. Ban called for redoubled efforts to ensure that human rights are protected and promoted. "Let us ensure that all humans enjoy their rights," he stated.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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UN AGENCY GIVES LAPTOPS TO YOUTH AT TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE

UN AGENCY GIVES LAPTOPS TO YOUTH AT TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE New York, Aug 28 2008 12:10PM The United Nations technology agency announced today that it will give away free laptops to each of the young participants attending its Asia conference in Bangkok this weekend.

The International Telecommunications Union (<"http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2008/24.html">ITU) is handing out the laptops at the opening of the Youth Forum, a branch of its ITU Telecom Asia 2008 conference, as part of its effort to increase access to cheap information and communications technology across the world.

Some 100 XO laptops are being donated by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the non-profit organization which developed and manufactured the machines, continuing its long-standing partnership with the ITU in the "Connect the World" initiative.

"ITU is committed to connecting the world," said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré.

"And to achieve this goal, affordable devices have to be made available for people everywhere to access the benefits of a knowledge-based information society," Dr. Touré added.

The low-cost and child-friendly XO computer, designed to inspire the cognitive development of children, has environmental safeguards as well as an innovative security system that protects children from cyber threats and the laptop from theft.

At the launch of the prototype OLPC at the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan lauded the initiative as a "truly moving expression of global solidarity," adding the laptop could unlock the "magic within each child, within each scientist, scholar or plain citizen-in-the-making."
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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PHILIPPINES: UN AGENCY BOOSTING FOOD AID TO OVER 200,000 DISPLACED BY CONFLICT

PHILIPPINES: UN AGENCY BOOSTING FOOD AID TO OVER 200,000 DISPLACED BY CONFLICT New York, Aug 28 2008 10:10AM The United Nations World Food Programme (<"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2913">WFP) said today it is scaling up food assistance to more than 220,000 people displaced by fighting in southern Mindanao between Philippine Government troops and forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The agency is delivering nearly 1,000 metric tons of rice – around one month's ration – to civilians caught up in the conflict, it announced in a news release.

"WFP is responding to a request from the Government to provide food assistance to meet urgent needs among the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the sudden upsurge in violence in southern Mindanao," said Stephen Anderson, WFP Philippines Country Director.

"We have rice stocks at a warehouse in Cotabato, close to the affected area, and we've acted quickly to move food out to where it is most needed," he added.

WFP has so far dispatched some 650 metric tons of rice to 160,000 displaced families from Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato. Another 250 metric tons of rice is being delivered to some 60,000 people in the provinces of Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan, who have been newly displaced by the conflict.

Staff from the agency's sub-offices in Iligan and Cotabato City are assessing the areas affected by the conflict to figure out a long-term and targeted response to the upsurge in violence in Mindanao.
2008-08-28 00:00:00.000

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SOUTH AFRICA: UN HELPS FOREIGNERS UPROOTED BY XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE GO HOME

SOUTH AFRICA: UN HELPS FOREIGNERS UPROOTED BY XENOPHOBIC VIOLENCE GO HOME New York, Aug 27 2008 7:10PM The United Nations is assisting foreigners displaced by xenophobic violence which swept South Africa earlier this year to return to their home countries.

The violence – which also targeted asylum-seekers from such places as Zimbabwe, Somalia and Ethiopia, as well as ethnic minorities – claimed dozens of lives and left tens of thousands more homeless.

Officials in Gauteng province had planned to shut six temporary camps housing 6,000 displaced people this month, but those plans have been put on hold by the country's Constitutional Court.

"Between the uncertainty surrounding the closure of the temporary shelters and the inability or reluctance of refugees to reintegrate into local communities, the preferred solution for a growing number of them is to return to their countries of origin," said Pamela Msizi, a <"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR protection assistant.

On 18 August, the agency helped fly 46 Congolese and six Burundians to their home countries. Another group of 23 Congolese and nine Burundians will be repatriated next month, and others have applied to return home.

As long as the countries of origin are safe to return to, UNHCR stands ready to help with voluntary repatriation from South Africa, home to more than 128,000 registered refugees and asylum-seekers.

Muchipayi Jim Comoda, who fled his native Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) seven years ago, escaped his home in South Africa's Bezuidenhout Valley after being beaten up by armed gang members.

He said UNHCR's programme increased his desire to return to his hometown of Lubumbashi. "It's better than going back to a community that doesn't want you."

Mr. Comoda had worked as a trader to support his wife and nine children. "These attacks have undone all that," he said, expressing his hesitation at the South Africans' assurances that it is safe for displaced foreigners to reintegrate back into the country's communities.

Noting that he understands that the violence was perpetrated by only a few and not the majority of South Africans, he nonetheless said that his future lies in the DRC.
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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HAITI: UN HELPS PROVIDE RELIEF AFTER DEADLY TROPICAL STORM BATTERS REGION

HAITI: UN HELPS PROVIDE RELIEF AFTER DEADLY TROPICAL STORM BATTERS REGION New York, Aug 27 2008 7:10PM United Nations officials in Haiti are working with local authorities across the south of the impoverished Caribbean country to help bring relief after Tropical Storm Gustav pummelled the nation with torrential rains and heavy winds.

Media reports say at least 14 people have been killed in Haiti, and nearly as many in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, after Gustav made landfall yesterday, a week after Tropical Storm Fay left dozens of people dead.

Thousands of Haitians were evacuated by boat or truck from their homes in the West, South-East and Nippes departments with the help of blue helmets serving with the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (known as MINUSTAH).

The mission said in a press release that it was helping to conduct patrols of key roads and bridges to determine what damage they received in the wake of Gustav, which continues to cross the Caribbean region.

UN engineers have also been deployed as part of an assessment team to decide what reconstruction activity needs to occur as a result of the storm damage.

MINUSTAH and the UN Country Team have been working with Haitian authorities on their national disaster response since Monday, when Gustav's path towards Haiti was announced.

UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Ad Melkert, who was already visiting the country, extended his tour to inspect areas damaged by the storm.

Today he inspected parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, including the harbour and the slum Cité Soleil, along with Joel Boutroue, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Haiti.
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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TOP UN ENVOY IN LIBERIA STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

TOP UN ENVOY IN LIBERIA STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION New York, Aug 27 2008 6:10PM Liberian children deserve the opportunity to attend school, the top United Nations envoy to the West African nation said today, calling on families to make their children's education a priority as the country rebuilds after years of civil war.

"All children – girls and boys – need an equal chance," Ellen Margrethe Løj, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, said at a ceremony commissioning the Banjor Community School in the country's northwest.

The school was recently rehabilitated by Nigerian peacekeepers, serving with the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), who contributed their own money to give the facilities a much-needed facelift.

They provided furniture, painted and renovated the roof and ceiling, and built perimeter walls and exit gates.

The blue helmets' efforts are "a small, but very important contribution towards the efforts being made by the Government," Ms. Løj said.

She paid tribute to the local community for its efforts to keep the school open during the past 12 years, although she noted that they were unable to prevent the region's heavy downpours and stifling heat from having a deleterious effect on conditions at the school.

"Schoolchildren and their teachers need an environment that is conducive to learning, to growth and development."
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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HEAD OF UN REFUGEE AGENCY IN SOMALIA RELEASED AFTER TWO MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY

HEAD OF UN REFUGEE AGENCY IN SOMALIA RELEASED AFTER TWO MONTHS IN CAPTIVITY New York, Aug 27 2008 6:10PM The United Nations refugee agency has welcomed the news that the head of its office in Somalia has been released today unharmed after two months in captivity in the war-torn Horn of Africa country.

Hassan Mohammed Ali, who heads the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (<"http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news">UNHCR) office in Mogadishu, is in good health and will soon be reunited with his family, the agency said in a press release.

Mr. Ali, a Somali national who is also known as Keynaan, was abducted from his home near Mogadishu on 21 June by an unknown armed group.

The agency thanked the Somali organizations and civil society members who held demonstrations to call for Mr. Ali's release over the past two months.

"We are also grateful for all the expressions of public support and solidarity received during the difficult weeks of his captivity," UNHCR said in its statement.

The agency noted that it would continue to provide aid to displaced civilians across Somalia, where they are suffering from the combined effects of violent conflict, prolonged drought and the current global food crisis.

UNHCR also offered its sympathies to aid workers who are still forcibly detained in Somalia, noting that the number of abductions and attacks against such workers has increased in recent months.

Meanwhile, a UN envoy today visited Somalia and neighbouring Kenya to spotlight the dire humanitarian situation.

UN Special Humanitarian Envoy Abdul Aziz Arrukban is also in the region to advocate for the stronger involvement of Persian Gulf countries in tackling the unfolding emergency in the Horn of Africa nation.

Mr. Arrukban toured the Bakool region of south-central Somalia and then called on the Dagahaley camp for refugees in north-eastern Kenya, which is home to more than 200,000 Somalis fleeing fighting in their homeland.

The visit is taking place in the wake of last week's Djibouti agreement, which is designed to end the long-running conflict between the country's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the rebel group known as the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia.

But deadly clashes have since taken place in the southern port city of Kismayo, displacing thousands of people and prompting Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN Special Representative for Somalia, to issue a statement calling on all sides to honour their commitments under the accord.

Mr. Ould-Abdallah briefed the Security Council yesterday on the latest developments in Somalia, stressing the need for concerted international action to try to stabilize the country, which has not had a functioning national government since 1991.

"Delivery of humanitarian assistance is made difficult because there is no security," Mr. Ould-Abdallah told journalists after the briefing, saying the situation is so dire that the international community needs to re-think its approach or face doing business as usual.

"No policeman has been paid… [since 1 January]," he added. "The congressmen are rarely paid, which pushes them to blackmail the parliament, president or prime minister."
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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UN TRIES TO REBUILD CONFIDENCE AFTER DEADLY ATTACK AT DISPLACED CAMP IN DARFUR

UN TRIES TO REBUILD CONFIDENCE AFTER DEADLY ATTACK AT DISPLACED CAMP IN DARFUR New York, Aug 27 2008 5:10PM The head of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) set up meetings today with the residents of a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a bid to ease tensions after dozens of people were shot dead there earlier this week during clashes with Sudanese security forces.

Rodolphe Adada, who is also the AU-UN Joint Special Representative for Darfur, directed that a high-level delegation from the mission hold a series of meetings today with IDPs and other concerned parties, <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/">UNAMID reports.

Another UNAMID assessment mission to Kalma camp has been scheduled to try to rebuild confidence among the camp's estimated population of 80,000 IDPs. The mission comprises police officers, military advisers, human rights staff and civil affairs personnel.

UNAMID said today it has obtained concrete evidence that 31 IDPs were killed on Monday when Sudanese military and police forces raided the camp, which is situated in South Darfur state.

The Sudanese forces had entered the camp to execute a search warrant for illegal weapons and drugs and said they only returned fire after gunshots were directed at them from behind a human shield of women and children.

Yesterday UNAMID issued a statement condemning what it called the "excessive, disproportionate use of lethal force" by Sudanese security forces, noting that those forces were heavily armed while the residents carried sticks, knives and spears.

"While the alleged presence of weapons in the Kalma camp is a real security concern for the Government of Sudan authorities, the actions taken to address it are a clear violation of the Darfur Peace Agreement," UNAMID stated.

"UNAMID strongly condemns the excessive, disproportionate use of lethal force by the Government of Sudan security forces against civilians, which violated their human rights and resulted in unacceptable casualties."

However, the statement also stressed "that the presence of weapons voids the status of IDP camps granted to them by international humanitarian law and exhorts the IDP community and its leaders and representatives to ensure that their camps are, and remain, weapons-free zones."

The residents have told the mission today that the continued armed presence maintained by Sudanese Government security forces is contributing to tensions at Kalma, one of many camps across Darfur, where rebels have been fighting Government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen since 2003.

In his latest regular <"http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/2008/558">report to the Security Council on the work of UNAMID, published today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced deep concern at the continuing violence across Darfur and its humanitarian consequences for the civilian population.

"I urge all parties to recognize the urgent need to end the suffering of innocent civilians and immediately commit themselves to an unconditional ceasefire," he wrote.

Mr. Ban stressed that although more UNAMID units will be deployed in the coming months, they "cannot be a substitute for a political process. Ultimately, the crisis in Darfur can be resolved only through political negotiations and a comprehensive and inclusive peace agreement."

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, Djibril Bassolé, arrives in the region tomorrow to take up his duties.

Mr. Bassolé is slated to arrive in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and the headquarters of UNAMID, and then will travel soon to Nyala and El Geneina, the capitals of South Darfur and West Darfur respectively.
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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ACCRA TALKS BODE WELL FOR FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS - UN OFFICIAL

ACCRA TALKS BODE WELL FOR FUTURE CLIMATE CHANGE NEGOTIATIONS – UN OFFICIAL New York, Aug 27 2008 5:10PM Important progress has been made during the latest round of United Nations-led climate change talks in Accra, Ghana, on key issues relating to a new international agreement to tackle global warming, the world body's top official dealing with the issue said today.

The Accra meeting was the latest in a series of UN-sponsored talks in the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. The aim of the negotiations is to create a successor pact to the Kyoto Protocol, with first-round commitments ending in 2012, on greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

"We're still on track, the process has speeded up and governments are becoming very serious about negotiating a result in Copenhagen," Yvo de Boer told reporters on the final day of the week-long session.

Mr. de Boer, who is the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (<"http://unfccc.int/meetings/intersessional/accra/items/4437.php">UNFCCC), said the "absolute highlight" of the session had been the mandate given by governments to the Chair of the working group on long-term cooperative action to compile proposals made so far and to be made in the coming weeks.

The achievement of the Accra meeting had therefore been in "providing the basis for real negotiations to begin in Poznan," he said, referring to the Polish city that will host this year's UN Climate Change Conference from 1 to 12 December.

Highlighting the progress made during the past week, Mr. de Boer said there was an "encouraging and important" debate on the important topic of deforestation and forest conservation, which was crucial since deforestation accounts for about 20 per cent of the greenhouse gas emissions for which humans are responsible.

"We cannot come to a meaningful solution on climate change without coming to grips with the question of deforestation," he stated, adding that countries had made it clear in Accra that they want that issue to be part of a Copenhagen agreement.

Discussions also focused on ways of improving the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows industrialized countries to offset some of their own emissions by investing in cleaner energy projects in developing countries.

Insufficient investment in Africa was cited as one of the CDM's shortcomings. "There is a real risk of Africa becoming the forgotten continent in the context of the fight against climate change unless we manage to design a regime going into the future that takes into account in a much more comprehensive way what Africa's specific needs are not only on adaptation, but also on fuelling clean economic growth," said Mr. de Boer.

The meeting also discussed "sectoral approaches" – through which countries can address emissions from a whole sector of their economy. Mr. de Boer said the debate made it clear that such approaches were not about imposing targets on developing countries, but rather about what governments may or may not choose to do on a voluntary basis at the national level.

Some 1,600 participants, including government delegates from 160 countries and representatives from environmental organizations, business and industry and research institutions, attended the Accra meeting – the third major UN-led negotiating session this year and the last before the Poznan conference in December.
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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REFUGEES WIN AS RESULT OF UN-BACKED INITIATIVE ON OLYMPIC CLOTHING

REFUGEES WIN AS RESULT OF UN-BACKED INITIATIVE ON OLYMPIC CLOTHING New York, Aug 27 2008 5:10PM Thousands of refugees in Asia will continue to be inspired by the heroism of athletes at the Beijing Olympics, even though the curtain has fallen on the Games, thanks to a United Nations-backed campaign in which competitors donated their surplus sportswear.

Some 30,000 pieces of sportswear – mainly from the National Olympic Committees of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and China – were donated during the Games, bringing the total collected so far in the "Giving is Winning" programme, run jointly by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to 82,000.

"For the refugees, these are not only useful items of clothing, but a symbol that people in the world beyond the refugee camps – especially famous athletes from the Olympics – care about them," said Veerapong Vongvarotai, <"http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/48b56d382.html">UNHCR regional representative in China.

Every athlete's room in the Olympic Village contained biodegradable plastic bags to allow them to make contributions, which poured in from competitors from teams both large and small, including Andorra, Armenia, Bermuda, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mauritius and Turkmenistan.

The clothing received prior to the start of the Games was distributed to refugees in Rwanda, Tanzania, Chad, Moldova, Georgia and Panama, while the latest donations are headed for Asia.

The "Giving is Winning" campaign, which will run until the end of the year, originally started during the 2004 Athens Olympics, during which 30,000 articles of clothing were collected to inspire young refugees in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Eritrea, Kosovo and Tanzania.
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN FORCE IN SOUTHERN LEBANON FOR ANOTHER YEAR

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS UN FORCE IN SOUTHERN LEBANON FOR ANOTHER YEAR New York, Aug 27 2008 4:10PM The Security Council today extended until the end of August 2009 the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (<"http://www.un.org/depts/dpko/missions/unifil/">UNIFIL), stating that the deployment of the mission together with the country's armed forces has helped to establish "a new strategic environment in southern Lebanon."

In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council called on all parties concerned to respect the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah following their 2006 war as well as the entirety of the Blue Line along their border.

UNIFIL is tasked with ensuring that the area between the Blue Line and the Litani River is free of unauthorized weapons, personnel and assets, and it also cooperates with the Lebanese armed forces so they can fulfil their security responsibilities.

Today's resolution also welcomed "the expansion of coordinated activities between UNIFIL and the Lebanese armed forces," encouraging them to enhance this cooperation further.

In addition, all parties concerned were called on to "abide scrupulously" by their obligation to respect the safety of UNIFIL and other UN personnel, including by ensuring the force full freedom of movement within its area of operation.

Addressing the Council today were the representatives of Israel and Lebanon, who welcomed the extension of UNIFIL's mandate, noting the important role it plays in southern Lebanon.
2008-08-27 00:00:00.000

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