United Nations News
April 2
DESPITE FEWER OUTBREAKS THIS YEAR, UN AGENCY WARNS BIRD FLU STILL THREATENS LIVES
New York, Apr 2 2007 9:00AM Although there have been fewer outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus this year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today warned that the disease continues to spread to new areas in countries where it has not been contained, threatening the lives of those working around poultry and hurting farm economies. Worldwide, "there have been fewer cases of the disease this year than last year at the same time, indicating that there is a reduction in overall viral load," said Joseph Domenech, Chief Veterinanry Officer of the FAO. Last year, 53 countries reported H5N1 outbreaks while this year, only 17 countries have been affected. Dr. Domenech said that surveillance and reporting of the virus has improved, and also he noted that the presence of H5N1 in wild birds is less this year. Last year, avian flu was believed largely to have been transmitted through the migration of contaminated birds. This season, the poultry trade is seen as main route by which the disease spreads, and the greatest threat the virus poses is that every instance a person contracts H5N1 from poultry offers a new possibility for mutation into a form which could spread rapidly between people. "The risk of a pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future," Dr. Domenech said. "This situation is a constant call to increase global efforts to contain this disease before it has an opportunity to mutate into a form that can threaten the world with a human pandemic." Although Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam have been generally successful in controlling the virus, FAO experts say that Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria have not been able to contain it, making them reservoirs of the disease for possible introduction to other countries. In Egpyt, 24 human cases of the virus have been reported since mid-February, of which 13 were fatal. Outbreaks have occurred on four commercial farms and 13 cases originated in backy the beginning of last month. The country has been hindered in curbing the disease for several reasons, including the lack compensation for farmers who lose poultry due to culling. Egypt is currently revising its plan for controlling the disease with the help of FAO and other international partners. Since the avian flu first surfaced in 2003, Indonesia has seen the highest death toll of any country, with 66 fatalities out of 171 worldwide. Only three of the 33 Indonesian provinces are bird flu free, and the virus remains endemic in Java, Sumatra, Bali and South Sulawesi, according to FAO. Disease surveillance is being bolstered by FAO's village-based Participatory Disease Surveillance system now functional in 130 of the 444 districts in the country, but more comprehensive information on nationwide outbreaks will remain spotty until surveillance coverage is increased. Containing the disease in Indonesia has been hampered by its large size and geography with 17,000 islands spread over three time zones, a weak national veterinary service and insufficient global and national financing of prevention and control. In Nigeria, authorities have not been able to control the movement of poultry and poultry products in infected areas, causing the disease to spread in many parts of the country. FAO also cautions of the spread of H5N1 to new countries. Last month, the virus was detected in Bangladesh for the first time, and the agency said that this is not a surprising development since the disease is circulating in the wider region and transmission by contaminated migrating birds cannot be rule out. 2007-04-02 00:00:00.000
UN SENDS AID, EXPERTS TO SOLOMON ISLANDS IN RESPONSE TO PACIFIC TSUNAMI
New York, Apr 2 2007 9:00AM The United Nations Children's Fund has pre-positioned emergency medical supplies to help thousands of people in the Solomon Islands while experts from the world body are poised to travel to the region in response to an earthquake and resulting tsunami which shook the region earlier today. An earthquake measuring 8.1 struck 345 kilometres northwest of the Solomon Islands' capital, Honiara, causing a tsunami, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which cited reports of damage in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Media reports put the number of deaths in the Solomon Islands at eight, though numbers are expected to increase. Some reports are claiming that villages have been "completely wiped out," OCHA said in its first situation report on the emergency. UNICEF has pre-positioned emergency medical supplies in the Solomon Islands for up to 10,000 people including 10 emergency kits, 5 'school in a box' kits and 3 recreation kits. The UNICEF Pacific Emergency Focal Point -- a member of the UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination Team -- will travel to the Islands tomorrow. The Government of the Solomon Islands is expected to make a request for international assistance, OCHA said. 2007-04-02 00:00:00.000
April 1
UN'S NEPAL ENVOY WELCOMES ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERIM GOVERNMENT
New York, Apr 1 2007 3:00PM The senior United Nations envoy to Nepal today hailed the establishment of the country's interim Government, while emphasizing that many challenges lie ahead as preparations continue for elections aimed at cementing the democratic transition in the Himalayan country. "I welcome the establishment of the new interim government as a key moment for the consolidation of Nepal's peace process, and I congratulate the leaders of the eight political parties on their willingness to share responsibilities in this transitional period," Ian Martin, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Special Representative said in a statement. He pointed out that a unified Government should be in a stronger position to face the challenges ahead, including "creating conditions for a credible Constituent Assembly election, addressing the legitimate demands of groups in Nepalese society calling for more inclusive democracy, establishing effective law enforcement across the country, and providing for the future of former combatants and a wider reform of the security sector." Mr. Martin pledged the UN's help in ensuring full compliance with the commitments made by the parties to the Agreement on the Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies, as well as to support and monitor the electoral process. "The challenges ahead cannot be overemphasized," Mr. Martin said, welcoming "the renewed commitments intended to create a conducive environment for polls and to provide for more effective monitoring of agreements, which will be crucial in transforming conditions throughout the districts and which the United Nations is committed to assist." He added that success will require effective law enforcement that respects international standards, accountability for violations of citizens' rights, and ending breaches of the commitments under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The Security Council established UNMIN in January to assist with the follow-up to the Nepa planned elections in the impoverished Himalayan country where 10 years of civil war killed around 15,000 people and displaced over 100,000 others. 2007-04-01 00:00:00.000
UN'S KOSOVO ENVOY VOICES CONCERN AT APPARENT ATTACK ON MONASTERY
New York, Mar 31 2007 9:00PM The senior United Nations envoy to Kosovo has voiced concern about a recent apparent attack on the Deçan/Deæani monastery, which he said holds great value for the province's Serb community, currently outnumbered nine to one by the ethnic Albanian majority. On Friday afternoon, a grenade launcher was found on the hillside overlooking the monastery, and a rocket engine was discovered lodged in one of its outer walls, according to the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). This follows reports of two explosive noises heard by the monks on Friday. The Police and KFOR international forces "are investigating what exactly happened yesterday," said Joachim Rücker, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Kosovo. "Violence, especially directed at minority communities, is intolerable and impermissible and has no place in Kosovo," he declared. "The Deæani monastery is a place of immense spiritual importance for the Kosovo Serb community and a treasure for the people of Kosovo and beyond. I expect quick results from the ongoing investigation." The province has been run by the UN since Western forces drove out Yugoslav troops in 1999 amid fighting and ethnic abuses. A UN envoy on Kosovo's status, Martti Ahtisaari, has presented a report to the Security Council which says that independence is the only option that will foster a politically stable and economically viable Kosovo. 2007-03-31 00:00:00.000
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: MILITARY ABUSES WILL BE PROBED, LEADER TELLS UN OFFICIAL
New York, Mar 31 2007 9:00PM In the Central African Republic (CAR), where civilians have been caught in the crossfire as rebels fight government troops, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator today said the country's president said any military abuses will be investigated. "The President and I held useful talks on a range of issues, from the urgent and immediate humanitarian needs, to the problems caused by under-development," said Under-Secretary-General John Holmes following his meeting with President François Bozizé in Bangui, the capital. "I emphasized my concern about reports of abuses by all parties against civilians, including the people in the bush with whom I had spoken. President Bozizé told me that any Government military abuses would be investigated and dealt with promptly and correctly." Mr. Holmes was wrapping up a ten-day mission to three countries, including also Chad and Sudan. While in the Central African Republic, the Under-Secretary-General visited several of the worst-affected areas in the country's northwest where civilians have been caught in the midst of the ongoing conflict between government and rebel forces. In the towns of Pendé and Paoua, he saw torched homes and entire deserted villages, and met with some of the thousands of men, women and children who are living in the bush, out of reach of basic amenities such as clean water, medicines, food and proper shelter, because they are too afraid to return to their villages. Roughly 285,000 people in the Central African Republic have been forced to flee from their homes, 150,000 in the last six months alone, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "There is an urgent need for humanitarian assistance, and the international community must increase its financial support for aid agencies providing emergency relief," Mr. Holmes said, pledging also to work towards development in CAR. "The United Nations challenges. But we also recognize that humanitarian action cannot be a substitute for a political solution, which is why I urged the government to step up their efforts aimed at political dialogue." The Emergency Relief Coordinator, who took up his post at the beginning of this month, started his first official mission on 21 March in Sudan. After continuing on to Chad and finally the Central African Republic, he travels back to New York today and is expected to brief the Security Council on Thursday. 2007-03-31 00:00:00.000
IN SOUTH LEBANON, BAN KI-MOON STRESSES NEED FOR EVENTUAL PERMANENT CEASEFIRE
New York, Mar 31 2007 3:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today visited South Lebanon, where he voiced hope that a cessation of hostilities in place since the end of last year's 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah could be transformed into a permanent ceasefire. Responding to questions at a press conference in Naqoura, Mr. Ban said both Israel and Lebanon showed interested in this goal. "It is important that the current cessation of hostilities could be transferred and developed into a permanent ceasefire. I know that Lebanese Government is very much interested. "When I visited Israel, the Israeli Government also expressed such hope, that the current cessation of hostilities could be developed into an agreement of permanent ceasefire, and we are working for that," he said. "This area, Lebanon, unfortunately has been suffering from decades-long wars, and we hope that the Lebanese people and Government will be able to enjoy genuine freedom in a secure and peaceful land," he said. "The United Nations is fully committed to support such efforts by the Lebanese people." He stressed the importance of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) engaging in "close cooperation with the Lebanese Armed forces" and having a "harmonious and cooperative relationship" with the local community. Asked about challenges facing the mission, he acknowledged that there are "some potential threats" adding that in response "UNIFIL members will have to be continuously vigilant." At the same time, he noted that situation is generally calm. "We hope that, with the increased and enhanced capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces and close coordination with UNIFIL, we'll be seeing continuing peace and security here." Mr. Ban said in his meetings in recent days with Lebanese as well as Israeli officials, he was struck by their commitment to Security Council resolution 1701, which mandated an end to the war between Israel and Hizbollah and conside "I was encouraged by the strong commitment of the Lebanese Government to fully comply with this resolution. When I visited Israel, I also urged the Israeli Government to fully comply with this resolution." He also voiced concern about reports of arms smuggling across the border. "I hope and urge that the parties concerned will fully comply with the Security Council resolution, and there needs to be an enhanced maritime capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces to ensure that there will be no such smuggling activities," he said. "We are grateful to some members of the international community, particularly the German government who offered such assistance, and as Secretary-General I am going to discuss this matter with other member of the international community who may contribute such assistance." Mr. Ban also paid tribute to the blue helmets operating in the area. "I am very much impressed and moved by all what UNIFIL officers, men and women, have been contributing to preserve peace and security in Lebanon," he said, emphasizing that this is critical also to the stability of the region and the world. 2007-03-31 00:00:00.000
Mar 30
BAN KI-MOON URGES LEBANON'S LEADERS TO SEEK NATIONAL RECONCILIATION THROUGH DIALOGUE
New York, Mar 30 2007 11:00AM United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on Lebanon's leaders to engage in dialogue to promote national reconciliation as he continued his first visit to the Middle East as the world's top diplomat. "I know that you are going through a very difficult process for national reconstruction," he said after conferring with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut. "The international community, the United Nations, and I, as Secretary-General will always be fully supportive of such efforts and I need also to see some improvements in that regard." While in Lebanon, Mr. Ban is scheduled to visit the enhanced UN peacekeeping mission sent to the country to monitor the cessation of hostilities after last year's 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah. TheInterim Force is now close to its maximum strength of 15,000, with nearly 13,000 troops and sailors from some 30 countries patrolling on land and sea. Since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1701 last August, the peacekeepers have played a key role in monitoring the Israeli withdrawal and in assisting the Lebanese army in deploying in southern Lebanon. UNIFIL also helped the army in establishing an area between the Blue Line, separating Lebanon and Israel, and the Litani River that is free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the Government and UNIFIL. In addition to its core military mandate, UNIFIL de-miners have destroyed more than 25,000 explosive devices, including rockets, grenades, cluster bombs, anti-tank and anti-personnel mines. UNIFIL peacekeepers have continued to provide humanitarian aid to the local population, including medical and dental aid, providing several thousand free health checks and medicine from bases and mobile clinics. UNIFIL, first created by the Security Council in 1978 to confirm an Israeli withdrawal from an ea August following the latest conflict. Mr. Ban discussed the mission with Mr. Berri. "We agreed on the importance of UNIFIL and the excellent cooperation maintained so far with the Lebanese Armed Forces and the people of south Lebanon," he said. The two also discussed "the Tribunal of an international character" to prosecute the suspected killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, on which the UN and Lebanon signed an agreement in February. At the time Mr. Ban voiced hope that the Government would ratify it in line with the country's constitutional requirements. "I welcome Lebanese national consensus on the tribunal but stress the importance of moving forward on this issue," he said today. "I urged the parties to find a quick solution to this issue while respecting Lebanon's constitutional procedures." Mr. Hariri's murder is being investigated by the International Independent Investigation Commission, established by the Security Council in 2005 after an earlier UN mission found Lebanon's own probe was seriously flawed and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the assassination. 2007-03-30 00:00:00.000
SIX MILLION CHILDREN IMMUNIZED AGAINST MEASLES IN DPR KOREA IN UN-BACKED CAMPAIGN
New York, Mar 30 2007 10:00AM Six million children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) aged six months to 15 years have been immunized in the first phase of a United Nations-backed emergency campaign targeting more than 16 million of the country’s 22 million people following a recent outbreak of the sometimes deadly disease. The UN Children’s Fund flew a consignment of vaccine to the DPRK within 14 days of the Government’s declaration of a nationwide measles outbreak in support of the massive campaign earlier this month. The huge undertaking comes in response to a recent outbreak that affected more than 3,500 people, most of them children. Two infants and two adults died and more than 1,000 people were hospitalized, according to reports. The second phase of the campaign, in which the UN World Health Organization (WHO) is also participating, is set to start on 10 April and will aim to reach an additional 10.2 million people between 16 and 45 years of age, UNICEF's Chief of Health and Nutrition in the DPRK Majeed Ezatullah said. Measles, one of the most contagious diseases known, remains a leading cause of death among young children worldwide, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine for the past 40 years. An estimated 345,000 people, the majority of them children, died from the disease in 2005, the latest year for which figures are available.
THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED CHADIANS RUNNING OUT OF FOOD DUE TO FUNDING SHORTFALL – UN
New York, Mar 30 2007 10:00AM Scores of thousands of displaced Chadians are running out of food in the eastern border region with Sudan and face a desperate struggle to survive absent new donations to meet the needs of a rising tide of people uprooted by continuing conflict, the United Nations World Food Programme warned today. “This is not a sustainable situation,” WFP Chad Country Director Felix Bamezon said, noting that even before the latest increase in displaced people the agency’s $85-million Emergency Operation to assist Sudanese refugees, internally displaced people, host communities and refugee-affected local people in eastern Chad from January 2007 until June 2008 had received only $39 million, leaving a 54 per cent shortfall. “Life in eastern Chad has always been precarious, but now tens of thousands of Chadians are being pushed to the breaking point. There is simply not enough food to go around,” he added of the “race against time” to pre-position as much food as possible before the rainy season starts in late June, making most roads impassable. WFP had planned to feed 50,000 displaced Chadians, but it now estimates that an additional 80,000 displaced people are in urgent need of aid, requiring 7,500 metric tons of food at a cost of $7.5 for the next six months. The agency already feeds 225,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad who have fled nearly four years of fighting between the Government, allied militias and rebels seeking greater autonomy in Sudan’s Darfur region, as well as more than 45,000 refugees in southern Chad who have fled fighting and in security in the neighbouring. But then a flood of internal displacements added to the crisis in eastern Chad, fuelled by a series of bloody inter-ethnic attacks, competition for scarce water, grazing land and other resources, reflecting a spill-over of violence from Darfur with armed, mainly Arab attackers on horseback and camels burning African villages, destroying crops, stealing cattle, terrorizing villagers and killing people. “These people were forced to leave their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs,” Mr. Bamezon said. “They are completely dependent on host communities who can barely feed themselves, and their living conditions are going from bad to worse.” A recent WFP-led assessment found nearly 130,000 displaced people living on the outskirts of villages – almost three times the number expected – the vast majority living in flimsy shelters patched together from straw or millet stalks that will not survive the rains. One in five families does not even have a roof. Few have access to potable water or latrines, and local health services cannot handle the unexpected flood of new patients. With so many new mouths to feed, local host communities are being forced to kill off their livestock, and WFP fears that soon seed stores will start to be consumed as hunger and rising cereal prices take their toll. 2007-03-30 00:00:00.000
Mar 29
FRESH FIGHTING IN SOMALIA SWELLS EXODUS FROM CAPITAL TO 57,000 SINCE FEBRUARY
– UN New York, Mar 29 2007 10:00AM Over 12,000 people have fled Somalia’s strife-torn capital, Mogadishu, in just the last week when escalated fighting left at least 24 people dead, bringing the total since the beginning of February to 57,000, according to the latest update from the United Nations refugee agency. “They are hungry and face harassment from thugs, while the mothers worry about their children not being able to go to school,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said in a news release. “Those who can afford it are looking for a house to rent, but most shelter under trees.” Violence in the capital has increased since the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), backed by Ethiopian forces, dislodged the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) from Mogadishu and much of the rest of the country at the end of last year. Mortar rounds and other fire have since killed many civilians in residential areas and settlements housing 250,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). UNHCR’s local partners said they saw hundreds of people waiting anxiously during the weekend in crowded bus stations or searching for truck drivers to take them out of the city. Others packed their meagre belongings onto donkey-drawn carts and headed for safety. The TFG told civilians to leave certain areas, apparently so that it could step up its offensive against the insurgents. Most people have headed south to the neighbouring Shabelle Hoose (Lower Shabelle) region, according to UNHCR’s local partners. Many are destitute women and children who lack clan support and access to humanitarian aid, including treatment for prevalent health problems such as diarrhoea. Since the beginning of March, 2,250 people have travelled more than 700 kilometres north-east to Galkayo, where UNHCR has a presence. Most reach the town in the autonomous region of Puntland after a jarring truck ride of up to five days. “These people remain at risk even after leaving Mogadishu,” a UNHCR partner said. “They have to travel through illegal road blocks, knowing that their belongings might attract thugs and fearing that they might be killed or see their teenage children be raped or abducted.” In Galkayo, UNHCR Protection Officer Alexander Tyler said most of the new arrivals were women and children with relatives or clan links in the town, where they either stayed with family or moved to one of 14 IDP settlements. Those moving to the settlements arrived with only the most basic household items and depended on other people to support them. “They have to live in the shelters of other IDPs and to ask them for food, which puts further pressure on the limited capacity of Galkayo to cope with already up to 25,000 IDPs,” he added. There are currently an estimated 400,000 IDPs in Somalia, which has been torn apart by factional fighting and has not a functioning central government since 1991. Thousands of others have fled to neighbouring countries. 2007-03-29 00:00:00.000
BUILDING SECTOR CAN PLAY KEY ROLE IN COMBATING GLOBAL WARMING, UN REPORT SAYS
New York, Mar 29 2007 10:00AM The right mix of appropriate government regulation, greater use of energy saving technologies and behavioural change can substantially reduce global-warming carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the building sector, which accounts for 30 to 40 per cent of total energy use, according to a United Nations reported released today. “The savings that can be made right now are potentially huge and the costs to implement them relatively low if sufficient numbers of Governments, industries, businesses and consumers act,” UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner said of the measures that range from revamping ventilation systems to replacing the traditional incandescent light bulb. “By some conservative estimates, the building sector worldwide could deliver emission reductions of 1.8 billion tonnes of C02. A more aggressive energy efficiency policy might deliver over 2 billion tonnes or close to three times the amount scheduled to be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol,” he added, referring to the pact setting legally binding emission reduction targets for 35 industrialized countries in the 2008-2012 period. The report – Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities – produced by UNEP’s Sustainable Construction and Building Initiative (SBCI), pushes for greater use of existing technologies like thermal insulation, solar shading and more efficient lighting and electrical appliances. In the lifetime of an average building most energy is consumed not for construction but for heating, cooling, lighting, cooking and ventilation. Typically more than 80 per cent of total energy consumption occurs during use and less than 20 per cent during construction. Citing the example of Europe, the report says more than one fifth of present energy consumption and up to 45 million tonnes of CO2 per year could be saved by 2010 by applying more ambitious standards to new and existing buildings. “Energy efficiency, along with cleaner and renewable forms of energy generation, is one of the pillars upon which a de-carbonized world will stand or fall,” Mr. Steiner said, noting that several countries, including Australia, Cuba and the European Union, are looking to phase out or ban the traditional incandescent light bulb that has been around for well over a century in various forms. The International Energy Agency estimates that a total global switch to compact fluorescent bulbs would, in 2010, deliver C02 savings of 470 million tonnes, or slightly over half of the Kyoto reductions. “We have to ask what the hurdles are, if any, to achieving such positive low cost change and set about decisively and swiftly to overcome them, if they exist at all,” Mr. Steiner said. SBCI Chairman Olivier Luneau added that advanced and expensive high-tech solutions were often not needed. “Simple solutions can include sun shading and natural ventilation, improved insulation of the building envelope, use of recycled building materials, adoption of the size and form of the building to its intended use, etc,” he said. “Of course you can achieve even better results if more sustainable construction system solutions are used, such as intelligent lighting and ventilation systems, low temperature heating and cooling systems and energy saving household appliances.” The report stresses the importance of appropriate government policies on building codes, energy pricing and financial incentives that encourage reductions in energy consumption. In developed countries the main challenge is to achieve emission reduction among mostly existing buildings, and this can largely be done by reducing the use of energy. In other parts of the world, especially places like China where almost 2 billion square meters of new building space is added every year, the challenge is to leapfrog directly to more energy efficient building solutions, the report says. 2007-03-29 00:00:00.000
Mar 28
INDONESIA, UN REACH ACCORD ON BIRD FLU VIRUS SAMPLES AND VACCINE ACCESS
New York, Mar 28 2007 12:00PM Indonesia will immediately resume supplying the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) with viruses from its bird flu outbreak, a vital tool in tracking possible mutations into a deadly human pandemic and producing vaccines, while the agency will seek to ensure access for developing countries to any such commercially developed vaccines. “We have struck a balance between the need to continue the sharing of influenza viruses for risk assessment and for vaccine development, and the need to help ensure that developing countries benefit from sharing without compromising global public health security,” WHO Assistant Director-General for Communicable Diseases David Heymann said after a two-day meeting in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. Indonesia, which has suffered more human bird flu fatalities, 63 out of 81 cases, than any other country, had been concerned that developing countries have supplied H5N1 virus to WHO Collaborating Centres for analysis and preparation for vaccine production, but that the resulting vaccines produced by commercial companies are likely to be unavailable to developing countries such as Indonesia. Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari called this system “unfair” and Dr. Heymann said Indonesia had raised “an issue that is very important.” Other attendees at the meeting included experts from some 20 countries which have had animal or human outbreaks, senior scientists and potential funders, including representatives from the Asian Development Bank and the Gates Foundation. The meeting endorsed WHO activities to increase safe and effective pandemic vaccine access, including mobilizing financial support to develop a vaccine stockpile with guidelines for equitable distribution, strengthening national laboratory capacity, and linking vaccine manufacturers in developed and developing countries to speed the transfer of vaccine manufacturing technology. “WHO’s best practices for influenza virus sharing were developed for seasonal influenza vaccine, which only has a market in the developed countries and a few of the developing countries,” Dr. Heymann said. “H5N1 vaccines are a totally different issue. We will now modify our best practices to ensure that they are transparent to the developing countries which are providing samples, and which have requested to share in the benefits resulting from those viruses.” There have so far been 284 confirmed human cases worldwide, 169 of them fatal, the vast majority in South-East Asia. UN officials have been on constant alert to detect any mutation that could make the disease more easily transmissible in humans. Nearly all human cases so far have been traced to contact with infected birds. The so-called Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920, which also originated from birds, is estimated to have killed from 20 million to 40 million people worldwide. More than 200 million birds have died from either the virus or preventive culling in the current outbreak. 2007-03-28 00:00:00.000
MYANMAR: UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERT CALLS FOR RELEASE OF PRIZE-WINNING JOURNALIST AND POET
New York, Mar 28 2007 12:00PM The United Nations independent expert on the situation of human rights in Myanmar appealed to the Government to release the distinguished poet and journalist U Win Tin who is the country’s longest serving political prisoner, having been jailed for nearly 18 years and all other political prisoners. “The path to which the Government has committed itself is one in which there is no place for political prisoners,” the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro said in a statement yesterday. “Rather, processes of national reconciliation and democratic transition are invariably facilitated by the release of all political prisoners.” U Win Tin, who earlier this month spent his 77th birthday in a prison cell in Yangon, is a Laureate of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Press Freedom Award, among other international accolades. He is a “human rights defender and democracy advocate whose commitment to the cause of democracy, freedom of speech and human rights have earned him the support and respect of people around the world striving to promote and protect these values,” Mr. Pinheiro said. Since he was originally imprisoned in 1989, U Win Tin has been sentenced three times, each time while behind bars. Currently, he is serving a seven year sentence following a letter he wrote to the UN about the ill treatment and poor conditions of political prisoners. There are over 1,200 political prisoners in Myanmar, several of whom are now elderly or in poor health and in urgent need of medical attention, according to the statement. U Win Tin, who has been held for extended periods of time in solitary confinement, is one of many detainees whose state of health has deteriorated partly due to detention conditions and who should be freed on humanitarian grounds alone. 2007-03-28 00:00:00.000
MALE CIRCUMCISION IS IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL STEP IN CUTTING HIV INFECTION
– UN New York, Mar 28 2007 11:00AM Male circumcision should be recognized as an additional important step in curbing heterosexually acquired HIV in men after trials showed that the procedure cut the risk of infection by up to 60 per cent, the United Nations health agency said today. Modelling studies suggest that male circumcision in sub-Saharan Africa could prevent 5.7 million new HIV cases and 3 million deaths over 20 years, the UN World Health Organization WHO) added, summarizing the findings of an experts meeting it convened earlier this month together with the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS UNAIDS). But circumcision should only be considered as part of a comprehensive prevention package that includes treatment for sexually transmitted infections, promotion of safer sex practices and provision and correct use of male and female condoms. “The recommendations represent a significant step forward in HIV prevention,” Kevin De Cock, Director of WHO’s HIV/AIDS Department, said. “Countries with high rates of heterosexual HIV infection and low rates of male circumcision now have an additional intervention which can reduce the risk of HIV infection in heterosexual men. “Scaling up male circumcision in such countries will result in immediate benefit to individuals. However, it will be a number of years before we can expect to see an impact on the epidemic from such investment,” he added. Three randomized controlled trials in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa provide strong evidence that male circumcision cuts the risk of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men by about 60 per cent, supporting numerous observational studies showing that the correlation between lower HIV prevalence and high rates of male circumcision in some countries in Africa is, at least in part, a causal association. Currently 665 million men, or 30 per cent of men worldwide, are estimated to be circumcised. But counselling of men and their sexual partners is necessary to prevent them from developing a false sense of security and engaging in high-risk behaviours that could undermine the partial protection provided by circumcision, WHO stressed. “Being able to recommend an additional HIV prevention method is a significant step towards getting ahead of this epidemic,” Catherine Hankins, Associate Director of UNAIDS Department of Policy, Evidence and Partnerships, said. “However, we must be clear: male circumcision does not provide complete protection against HIV. “Men and women who consider male circumcision as an HIV preventive method must continue to use other forms of protection such as male and female condoms, delaying sexual debut and reducing the number of sexual partners,” she added. The risks involved in male circumcision are generally low, but can be serious if it is undertaken in unhygienic settings by poorly trained providers or with inadequate instruments. Wherever the service is offered, training and certification of providers as well as careful evaluation of programmes will be needed. A significant public health impact is likely to occur most rapidly if male circumcision is first provided where the incidence of heterosexually acquired HIV is high, and countries with generalized heterosexual HIV epidemics but low male circumcision rates should consider urgently scaling up access to the procedure. In view of the large potential public health benefit, countries should also consider providing the services free of charge or at the lowest possible cost to the client. The experts’ meeting, held 6-8 March in Montreux, Switzerland, was attended by a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, civil society, researchers, human rights and women’s health advocates, young people, funding agencies and implementing partners. 2007-03-28 00:00:00.000
PROVINCIAL HAITIAN HOSPITAL TO HAVE YEAR-ROUND CLEAN WATER THANKS TO UN PROJECT
New York, Mar 28 2007 11:00AM A provincial hospital in Haiti near the country’s border with the Dominican Republic will now enjoy a continual supply of clean water thanks to the United Nations peacekeeping mission, just one of the 300 so-called Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) it has financed in the past three years to improve life in the impoverished Caribbean country. Every year the Sainte Thérèse hospital in Hinche has faced a shortage during the dry season while floods during the rainy season can contaminate drinking water supplies. But no longer. The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has funded a project to build a reservoir with wells to stock underground water and a series of gutters on the hospital’s roof to gather rainwater. The project is the third such QIP related to water that MINUSTAH has financed in Hinche. Overall 68 of the 300 QIPs in the country have been water-related, for a total amount of more than $620,000. QIPs are widely viewed as being among the most effective tools used by UN missions around the world to help local communities at ground level and at low cost, from repairing leaking roofs in schools in Georgia to opening a vocational centre in Liberia to refurbishing sanitation facilities in Burundi. In Haiti, MINUSTAH, set up in 2004 to help re-establish peace after an insurgency forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to go into exile, has focused on a wide range of such projects, from resurrecting a provincial library in the in Fort-Liberté, the main town in the north-east, to rehabilitating schools and laying out sports fields in formerly violence-ridden neighbourhoods it has helped rid of armed criminal gangs. 2007-03-28 00:00:00.000
CONCERNED AT FOOD SHORTFALL IN DPR KOREA, UN AGENCY SEEKS TO INCREASE AID
New York, Mar 28 2007 10:00AM Facing a huge shortfall in the $102 million it has already sought to feed up to 1.9 million especially vulnerable people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United Nations World Food Programme today appealed for an immediate increase in funding from donor nations just to avert a further deterioration of the situation. “We are losing ground in the struggle against hunger in the DPRK,” WFP Asia Regional Director Tony Banbury said at the end of six-day visit during which Government officials indicated that the country faced a shortfall of 1 million metric tons of food. “Last year’s harvest was smaller due in part to summer flooding and that, combined with major reductions in international assistance, has left millions of North Koreans more vulnerable to food insecurity. People are going hungry as we head into the lean season. It’s time for WFP and the donors to respond,” he added. Despite steady improvements after the famine years of the mid to late 1990s, having enough to eat is still a daily struggle for one-third to one-half of the 23 million North Koreans. In 2006, the situation again started to deteriorate because of June and August flooding of critical cropland and major reductions in WFP and bilateral food aid. WFP ended 10 years of emergency aid during which it mobilized more than 4 million tons of food valued at $1.7 billion in 2005 after the Government, citing better harvests and concerns about the emergence of a dependency culture and the intrusiveness of monitoring, said it would accept only aid addressing medium- and long-term needs. But last May WFP reached an agreement with the Government on new working arrangements, including some on-site monitoring, for the $102-million two-year deal. But to date, donations amount to less than 20 per cent of that amount. “The Government officials I met indicated a new openness toward an increase of food assistance for the DPRK through WFP,” Mr. Banbury said on his return to Beijing from Pyongyang, the DPRK capital. “I am concerned about the well-being of the people we are supposed to be helping but are not able to reach due to lack of resources, and I am concerned about millions more who need our help, who struggle to feed themselves day in and day out. Increased WFP food assistance would help address the pressing needs of the children and pregnant and nursing women that WFP is trying to help, but only if we get much-needed contributions soon,” he added. During visit Mr. Banbury spent three days in North Phyongan province and visited 12 WFP food delivery sites, an orphanage, a child centre, a paediatric hospital and a boarding school. 2007-03-28 00:00:00.000
Mar 26
PRESIDENT ABBAS IS READY FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE, BAN KI-MOON SAYS IN RAMALLAH
New York, Mar 25 2007 3:00PM United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today in Ramallah offered full support for plans by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for achieving Statehood, and stressed that the current critical juncture opens a window of opportunity for peace in the region. "President Abbas, you have shown an unwavering commitment to achieving the self-determination and an independent State for the Palestinian people," Mr. Ban said at a joint press conference given by the two men. "Today, you have explained to me your plans for advancing this goal: unity among Palestinians; negotiations with Israel; a two-State solution; a permanent settlement of all of the issues, including Jerusalem, refugees, borders, and settlements; an end to the conflict with Israel; comprehensive peace between Israel and all Arab countries." Mr. Ban told reporters that he had offered President Abbas support for these endeavors. "His vision of peace is consistent with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. I welcomed President Abbas' commitment to the Road Map, and his desire to advance its implementation," the Secretary-General said, referring to an outline peace plan put forward by the diplomatic Quartet -- the UN, Russian Federation, United States and European Union -- for achieving a two-State solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace. "I encourage this new Government, and I very much hope that its actions will show a genuine commitment to the basic principles not only of the Quartet, but of peace," Mr. Ban said. "Its immediate priorities should be to stabilize the situation in Gaza through releasing the captured Israeli soldier, consolidating the ceasefire, and bringing law and order back to the streets. Such steps would address vital Palestinian interests, and would be strongly welcomed by the international community." The Secretary-General said he and President Abbas "also discussed the importance o revenue, ease the closure and checkpoints, freeze all settlement activity, remove outposts, and cease construction of the barrier in occupied Palestinian territory." He added that he would be encouraging Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on those issues during their scheduled talks tomorrow, "as well as hearing his concerns and plans." "Above all, President Abbas and I agreed on the importance of this moment," the Secretary-General said, citing a unity government that supports President Abbas negotiating with Israel; renewed dynamism in the Arab world based on the Arab Peace Initiative; and the efforts of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to advance dialogue. The Secretary-General acknowledged the difficulties while voicing cautious optimism. "Progress will be very hard. The obstacles are enormous. Achieving peace will require all parties to go further than they have before. But it can and must be done. And my message to Israel and to the world from here in Ramallah is that I am convinced that President Abbas is ready." Addressing himself to the Palestinian people, Mr. Ban pledged the UN's continued support. "I have seen for myself the challenges that the Palestinian people face every day, and I have been moved by what I have seen this morning," he said. "My determination to ensure that we continue our support to the Palestinian people has been fortified. So has my conviction that we must find a political solution to this painful conflict. As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I will work tirelessly in that cause." 2007-03-25 00:00:00.000
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON IRAN TO COMPLY WITH SECURITY COUNCIL DEMANDS ON NUCLEAR FILE
New York, Mar 25 2007 3:00PM One day after the Security Council tightened the sanctions it has imposed against Iran over its uranium-enrichment activities, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for the country to take steps to restore trust that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. In a statement released by his spokesperson in New York, the Secretary-General noted "with satisfaction" that the Council had acted unanimously in adopting Resolution 1747, which imposed a ban on arms sales and expanded the assets freeze against Iran. He called on the Iran "to fully implement the resolution's provisions and to urgently take the necessary steps to restore the international community's trust that its nuclear programme is peaceful in nature," according to the statement. "The Secretary-General believes that a negotiated solution would strengthen the international non-proliferation regime and hopes that dialogue will resume on this issue of paramount importance." Iran's nuclear programme has been a matter of international concern ever since the discovery in 2003 that it had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the NPT. At yesterday's Security Council meeting, Iran's Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, rejected the resolution as a politically motivated scheme to deprive the country's people of their rights.
COUNTRIES MUST RATIFY ANTI-DOPING PACT IF THEY WANT TO HOST OLYMPIC GAMES – UNESCO
New York, Mar 26 2007 11:00AM The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today hailed a call by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to render cities in countries that have not ratified the UN anti-doping treaty ineligible to host the Olympic Games. “I heartily welcome the IOC’s proposition, which UNESCO will completely support,” agency Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in a statement, calling on the international community to speed up ratification of the Convention Against Doping in Sport, which promotes no-advance-notice, out-of-competition and in-competition testing. “It is already remarkable that the next three Olympic Games – Beijing in 2008, Vancouver in 2010 and London in 2012 – will be held in countries that have ratified the Convention,” he added. The treaty, the first binding and universal legal instrument seeking to eliminate doping in sport, came into force last month after receiving its 30th ratification, following its unanimous adoption by the UNESCO’s General Conference in October 2005. It imposes uniform rules, tests and sanctions worldwide and gives fresh emphasis to raising public awareness of the scourge. To date, 48 countries have ratified it. “This mobilization must be pursued, and all efforts must be made to ensure that the ideals of the Olympic movement are supported by the aspirations expressed in UNESCO’s Convention against Doping in Sport, especially ahead of the Games of 2014 and 2016,” Mr. Matsuura said. He also welcomed the present process of reviewing the World Anti-Doping Code with the aim of linking the organization of any international sporting event to the ratification of UNESCO’s Convention. “This measure bears witness to the strong backing the world of sport is lending to the fight against doping and to the effective implementation of the principles of harmonization and cooperation that are at the heart of the Convention,” he added. 2007-03-26 00:00:00.000
