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24 January, 2004
 

Table Of Contents

 
UN Deputy Secretary-General Visits India 1

The UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms. Louise Fréchette, is scheduled to visit India from 25-30 January 2004.

On 27 January, the Deputy Secretary-General will present the keynote address at the 6th Asian Security Conference on "UN, Multilateralism and International Security" organized by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi.

During her visit it is expected that Ms. Fréchette will meet with Mr. Yashwant Sinha, Union Minister for External Affairs,  Mr. Jaswant Singh, Union Minister of Finance, Mr. George Fernandes, Union Minister for Defence and Mr. K.C. Pant, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. She will also meet with the senior officials of the Ministry for External Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Ms. Fréchette will visit a UNDP collaborative project with NIS/NIIT which aims at raising HIV/AIDS awareness among young people.  This project operates in 36 NIIT centres in and around Delhi, reaching approximately 30,000 students.

The Deputy Secretary-General will also attend the Government of India's official Republic Day celebrations and meet with the heads of UN agencies and UN staff in New Delhi.

Ms. Fréchette will depart from New Delhi on 30 January.

 
D S-G Fréchette Urges Collective International Response To Emerging Security Threats  2

Deputy Secretary-General Louise Fréchette on 19 January made a strong case for the ability of the United Nations to evolve, while stressing the need for a strengthened collective response to emerging security threats.

Delivering the keynote address to the Canadian Club in Montreal, she said it is legitimate to ask whether existing collective security mechanisms _ including the UN _ can rise to the challenge posed by terrorism and other perils. In particular, she called attention to the role of international bodies in intervening in the domestic affairs of States when necessary to combat gross human rights violations, including genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Contrary to the perception of some, she said, the UN is capable of adapting to new challenges and has already, in recent years, undergone significant reform in order to function more effectively. "The principles which guide us have also evolved," she said.

Offering examples of recent successes, she cited the UN's role in fostering East Timor's independence, its help with Afghanistan's political transition, and its complex operations in African countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"The UN has also been very active in addressing terrorism and weapons of mass destruction _ and its role in that effort is more important than is usually recognized," she said, pointing to the establishment of the Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee.

But the UN has reached a critical juncture, the Deputy Secretary-General asserted. "We have to be able to fashion collective responses to challenges such as those posed by Iraq or Al-Qaida, just as we have to deal better with mass killings such as we saw in Rwanda and Srebrenica."

Towards that end, she noted that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has created a High-Level Panel to examine these issues and make concrete proposals to strengthen the international system. "We need to come out of this review with a stronger consensus within the international community on the principles and rules which must govern the pursuit of peace and security, as well as the political will to bring whatever improvement might be required to our collective mechanisms and institutions," she said.

She also called on the international community to uphold the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty and to address HIV/AIDS.

 

In Germany, S-G Urges World To Refocus On Poverty, Security 3

After a year in which Iraq monopolized worldwide attention, the international community should concentrate in 2004 on priorities such as fighting poverty, bolstering the system of collective security and rebuilding trust among peoples, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on 21 January during an official visit to Germany.

"I invite you to join me in dedicating this year to those three great tasks: to refocus the world's attention and resources on the needs and fears of the poor; to strengthen our system of collective security, so that no State feels it has to face global threats on its own; and to overcome distrust and division between people of different faiths and cultures, so that we can all live together in harmony and mutual respect," he said in the prepared text of his address on accepting the German Media Award in Baden-Baden, Germany.

The jury for the prize _ which is based on a poll of the editors of the country's most important media _ said the Secretary-General "stands, like no other politician, for the basic ideals of the United Nations, striving for a better organized and peaceful world."

On helping the poor, the Secretary-General recalled the pledges world leaders made in 2000 at a UN summit to halve poverty and hunger, halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and other major diseases, and improve the lives of 100 million slum-dwellers, all by 2015.

"Last year we let ourselves be distracted from these vital tasks," he said. "We were concerned _ and rightly so _ with issues of peace and security."

At the same time, he warned that "there will be no peace and no security, even for the most privileged amongst us, in a world that remains divided between extremes of wealth and poverty, health and disease, knowledge and ignorance, freedom and oppression."

The Secretary-General said that to help repair the system of collective security, he has asked a 16-member blue-ribbon panel, which he appointed last November, to recommend ways of dealing with threats and challenges to peace and security in the 21st century. "The object of the exercise is to find a credible and convincing collective answer to the challenges of our time."

As for rebuilding trust and confidence between peoples of different faiths and cultures, Mr. Annan noted that many recent events _ including the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the war in Iraq and the continuing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians _ have pushed the international community dangerously close to a "clash of civilizations."

"We must resist this," he said. "We must deal with all our fellow human beings fairly and objectively, judging them by their own individual words and actions, and not on the basis of generalizations or preconceptions about the group to which we think they belong."

 

Secretary-General Urges States To Show More Flexibility In Negotiations On Disarmament 4

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 20 January called on the countries participating in the Conference on Disarmament to demonstrate the necessary political will to break their current deadlock and make progress this year.

In a message delivered by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Secretary-General of the Conference, to its opening session of the year in Geneva, Mr. Annan said recent world events highlight how important it is to strengthen international arms control and disarmament agreements. 

Mr. Annan congratulated the efforts of Conference delegations last year to narrow their differences on what should form their programme of work. Last year marked the fifth in a row that delegates were unable to reach consensus on a work programme _ a necessary precondition for tackling substantive issues.

The Secretary-General said it was "encouraging" that the Conference has addressed emerging threats and challenges, including new forms of terrorism and their potential impact on proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, while also exploring ideas on how to strengthen compliance with arms control and disarmament agreements.

Mr. Annan cited several achievements of the last year, which he said proved that progress in arms control is possible. They included the fourth anniversary of the convention against landmines, a new protocol in the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, on explosive remnants of war, and the start of a process to strengthen the convention on biological weapons.

 

Citing Painfully Slow Progress, S-G Urges Extension Of UN Mission In Georgia 5

In a report released on 19 January that says progress in resolving the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict remains "painfully slow," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appeals to the Abkhaz side to abandon its "uncompromising position" and negotiate a settlement with the new Georgian Government.

Voicing his conviction that the presence of the UN Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) continues to be critical to maintaining stability along the ceasefire lines between Georgian and Abkhaz separatist forces in north western Georgia, Mr. Annan calls for a further six-month extension of the 10-year-old mission until 31 July.

UNOMIG, which consists of about 115 military observers and a civilian component seeking to resolve the conflict, was established in 1994 after an accord reached in Moscow ended fighting that had forced nearly 300,000 refugees to flee.

Mr. Annan notes in his latest report to the Security Council that some progress has been made in the area of the return of refugees and security.

"However, this progress has remained painfully slow and it took sustained efforts by UNOMIG, supported by the Group of Friends, to keep the sides focused on moving forward," he states. The Group of Friends comprises France, Germany, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mr. Annan adds that two years after the finalization of a paper on various competences, negotiations on the future political status of Abkhazia within the State of Georgia have still not started.

"While the Abkhaz side took a generally constructive approach towards increased practical cooperation, it persisted in its refusal to receive the paper on competences and its transmittal letter. It continued to invoke its unilateral `declaration of independence' of 1999," he says.

"I once again appeal to the Abkhaz side to abandon its uncompromising position and take advantage of the change of leadership in Tbilisi [the Georgian capital] to negotiate a mutually acceptable and lasting settlement," he adds.

 

Secretary-General To Consider Request For UN Advice On Possibility Of Elections 6

Emerging from what he called "a very frank and open" exchange of views with top coalition and Iraqi officials, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on 19 January he is considering a request by the parties that he send an advisory team to Iraq to examine the feasibility of elections before the end of June as well as possible alternatives.

Mr. Annan told a press conference following talks in New York with members of the Iraqi Governing Council and representatives of the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) the UN was going to be active in recovery, reconstruction, humanitarian and human rights activities in Iraq.

But on a possible UN role prior to the return of Iraqi sovereignty at the end of June, "we have agreed that further discussions should take place at the technical level, which would be focused on the most immediate electoral and security issues," Mr. Annan said after his meeting at UN Headquarters with an Iraqi delegation led by current President Adnan Pachachi, and the CPA, led by the senior US Administrator, L. Paul Bremer.

In his summary as chairman of the talks, Mr. Annan reiterated that the UN's objective was to help the Iraqi people. "We would like to see as broad a consensus as possible develop among Iraqis on what needs to be done to bring about an Iraq at peace with itself and with its neighbours _ and on the role that the UN can play in this," he said.

The Secretary-General, who proposed the meeting last month, said the aim of the talks was to hear "the assessment of the Governing Council on how the process in Iraq was evolving and what Iraq expects of the UN by way of assistance." He noted that the discussions covered a wide spectrum of issues, including the transitional political process, humanitarian relief, security and the recovery and reconstruction of Iraq.

"For my part, I would want the UN to concentrate on areas where we have a clear comparative advantage, and which all Iraqis consider vital," he said, pointing out that further discussions were needed to clarify exactly what the UN can best do to help.

Other subjects discussed included the process of drafting and finalizing the fundamental law, the future appointment of the Secretary-General's Special Representative, and the question of security agreements to be concluded between the Governing Council and the CPA.

"Obviously, the scope for operational UN activities inside Iraq will continue to be constrained by the security situation for some time to come," added Mr. Annan, who withdrew UN staff in the weeks after the August bombing of its headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 22 people, including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

He noted that the CPA and the Governing Council both offered to provide full security for UN international personnel in Iraq.

"In my view, this meeting has been an important opportunity for all of us to get a clearer understanding of each other's positions," he said. "I believe we did that. We would all agree that it was a very frank and open exchange of views, which we all aim to continue and broaden in the near future."

Responding to reporters' questions, the Secretary-General said that he had previously indicated that he did not believe there was enough time between now and May to hold elections, "but the team will go down and look into that further and report to me."

As for a timetable for the UN's return to Iraq, the Secretary-General said it depended "very much" on a security assessment team's report "and what we agree to do in the immediate phase" before the return of Iraqi sovereignty.

"If I were to send in a team following the discussions that we are going to have, depending on the nature of the work or assignments we decide to take on, it may require some UN presence before 30 June," he said. "And even if we are going to become operationally much more active after the establishment of the provisional government, we need to start planning now…It would be a gradual build-up; I don't see a massive return of the UN until the security situation improves a bit."

 
UN Continues Delivery Of Humanitarian Aid 7

Despite limitations imposed by the security situation in Iraq, the United Nations is still carrying out a wide range of assistance to the country's people through its national staff and Iraqi contractors, who are supported by several hundred international staff in the region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told representatives of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Iraqi Governing Council on 19 January.

The Secretary-General's comments on the UN's active and ongoing engagement in humanitarian and rehabilitation activities in the country came during three-way talks in New York on the world body's future role in Iraq.

Through its several regional offices, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), under the direction of acting Special Representative Ross Mountain, is coordinating the cross-border deliveries, rehabilitation projects and capacity building activities being undertaken by the various agencies.

UN agencies are also bringing in potable water, delivering medical supplies, providing fertilizer and seeds, dredging ports and helping to rehabilitate health centres, water treatment plants, pumping stations and power supply systems.

The UN is also engaged in capacity building, training and other forms of support to Iraqi authorities, ranging from training in procurement and logistics to Ministry of Trade staff to providing a start-up package to the new Ministry of Displacement and Migration. In addition, the UN will give emergency health kits and public health data to the Health Ministry while providing financial assistance to Iraqi authorities to carry out life-saving activities for children.

The UN will continue to support the ration system, which remains an essential lifeline for a majority of the Iraqi population, with about 2.3 million tons of food to be delivered by mid-2004. UN agencies are also providing nutritional support _ including high-energy biscuits _ for primary schools, kindergartens and social centres.

On refugee returns, the UN has also been assisting voluntary repatriation from Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as providing protection and assistance to refugees inside Iraq. It is also developing ways to facilitate the return and reintegration of IDPs in non-contentious areas in the north.

The UN is prepared to expand these activities when security conditions permit and has drawn up plans for further humanitarian and reconstruction activities for 2004 and beyond in areas such as education, health, food security, governance, poverty reduction, housing and infrastructure.

  
UN Calls On Israelis, Palestinians To Take Parallel Steps In Peace Process 8

The Middle East peace process has been stalemated because the two sides, lacking "the will to take risks for peace," are making sequential moves instead of parallel ones, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council on 16 January.

"The peace process will resume only when both parties recognize that their mutual concerns must be addressed through parallel steps _ and not in a sequential order, littered with pre-conditions," Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast said in a monthly update of Middle East developments.

If the Road Map for Middle East peace presented by the Quartet _ the United Nations, the United States, the Russian Federation and the European Union _ was to succeed, he said, a basic requirement was that both sides acknowledge and address each other's core concerns.

The Government of Israel's most basic concern was the security of its State and people, he said, while the Palestinians' most basic concerns were territory and viability.

Despite initial contacts between the new Palestinian government and the Government of Israel, both parties have continued to ignore each other's core concerns. "Be it on terror or on territory, they have fallen short of carrying out their preliminary, phase one commitments under the Quartet's Road Map," he said.

The Palestinian Authority took no tangible measures during the last month to establish control over the groups using violence and terror and failed to consolidate its security apparatus under the single authority of an empowered Interior Minister, he said. This made it difficult for the Palestinian Authority to claim credit for the recent drop in Palestinian violence. 

"In fact, the Government of Israel perceives the decline in violence as being the result of its military and security measures," he said.

Meanwhile, Israel had not fulfilled its core commitment to remove all settlements erected since March 2001 and, as security improved, to implement a complete settlement freeze.

"Quite the opposite has happened," Mr. Prendergast said. "Settlement outposts have increased and the Government of Israel is proceeding with the construction of the West Bank barrier."

The Palestinian Authority says Palestinian extremists are strengthened by Israeli actions like settlement expansion, barrier construction, tight closures, house demolitions and extra-judicial killings. Israel says it has continued these measures because it sees no genuine Palestinian action on security and terrorism, he said.

 

UNRWA: Israeli Barrier Will Severely Affect Palestinians In Jerusalem Area 9

Israel's construction of a separation barrier will severely affect the lives of Palestinians in the Jerusalem area in wide-ranging activities from education to health care to relief and social services, according to the latest update of a report by the main United Nations agency helping Palestine refugees.

The report by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the first in a series of regular updates, notes that 260 students out of a total 7,246 attending UNRWA schools, along with 86 out of 263 teachers, will be affected in their daily movements by the barrier, which will cut them off from places of learning.

"Beyond logistical problems of access, proximity of the schools to the barrier site is likely to have a psychologically disruptive effect on all students and teachers alike," it says.

Israel explains the need for the Wall as a direct response to Palestinian suicide attacks from across the Green Line (separating Israel and the occupied territories), intended to prevent infiltration by Palestinian militants.

While it is so far impossible to determine how many of the more than 9,000 students attending schools run by the Palestinian Authority will be affected, the number will most likely be considerable, the report says. 

On health care, it notes that the barrier will directly affect access to UNRWA's Jerusalem Health Centre, which treated more than 27,000 patients in the August-October period last year, about 60 per cent of whom came from the city's outskirts and will therefore face delays and obstructions. Two other health centres will be separated from surrounding areas. "Also access of refugees to secondary and tertiary care in Jerusalem hospitals will be severely hampered," the report adds. 

UNRWA says a "remarkable number" of barrier-related accidents involving falling or slipping are being reported. "Apparently some grease is spread at the bottom of the barrier, in order to discourage or damage `infiltrators'," the agency notes.

Noting that the barrier already built in northern areas of the West Bank is "clearly resulting in impoverishment," the report predicts a "similar effect" in the Jerusalem area."

 

UN Agency Condemns Israeli Demolition Of Palestinian Homes, Calls For New Funds 10

Condemning a week of Israeli house demolitions in Gaza, the main United Nations agency helping Palestine refugees appealed on 22 January to the international community for new funds to build shelters for nearly 600 people left homeless in the town and refugee camp of Rafah, in the south of the strip.

"Any humanitarian looking at the sheer number of innocent civilians who have lost their homes can only condemn Israel's house demolition policy as a hugely disproportionate military response by an occupation army," Peter Hansen, Commissioner General of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said.

"The nearly 15,000 people whose homes and possessions have been ground into the sand by Israel's bulldozers can hardly be blamed if they have come to believe that they are the victims of collective punishment," he added, referring to the total number of those left homeless by Israeli actions in Gaza since the start of the most recent strife more than three years ago.

"It is a policy that creates only hardship and bitterness, and in the end can only undermine hope for future reconciliation and peace," Mr. Hansen said. 

 
ILO: Worldwide Unemployment Sets New Record 11

Global unemployment rose in 2003 to a record of over 185 million, or just over 6 per cent of the labour force, but the worldwide economic recovery in the second half of the year may have helped to improve the situation, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) says in its annual jobs report, released on 22 January.

"It's too early to say the worst is over," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "However, if current estimates of global growth and domestic demand hold steady or improve over the coming year, the global employment picture may brighten somewhat in 2004."

Despite the pickup in economic growth after a two-year slump, the 2003 figures remained at record levels for men and women and escalated more sharply among young people, aged 15-24, the report says. 

"Our greatest concern is that if the recovery falters and our hopes for more and better jobs are further delayed, many countries will fail to cut poverty by half as targeted by the Millennium Development Goals for 2015," Mr. Somavia adds. "But we can reverse this trend and reduce poverty if policy-makers stop treating employment as an afterthought and place decent work at the heart of macroeconomic and social policies."

The ILO report says unemployment and underemployment during the first half of 2003 rose because of the slow pace of the upturn in the industrialized world's economies and the negative impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on employment in Asia. A drop in tourism and travel employment also resulted from armed conflicts.

The number of people who were unemployed and looking for work in 2003 reached 185.9 million, or about 6.2 per cent of the total labour force _ the highest unemployment figure the ILO has ever recorded. This was, however, only a marginal increase over the 2002, when 185.4 million were jobless.

Some 108.1 million of the unemployed were men, up 600,000 from 2002. Among women, there was a slight decline to 77.8 million in 2003 from 77.9 million in 2002. Hardest hit were some 88.2 million young people with a crushing unemployment rate of 14.4 per cent, the report says.

In the poorer countries, the "informal economy" of people without fixed jobs or steady self-employment has grown and the "working poor," defined as those living on $1 a day or less, has remained at an estimated 550 million, according to the report.

 
UNICEF: Health Of 2 Billion Can Be Saved For Only A Few Cents Per Person Per Year 12

Lack of vitamins and minerals in the diet is damaging the health of 2 billion people _ one third of the world's population - and holding back the economic development of virtually every country in the southern hemisphere despite inexpensive means of prevention, according to a new United Nations report released on 21 January.

But fighting the problem will not succeed without a more ambitious, visionary, and systematic commitment to "deploy known solutions on the same scale as the known problems," says the report from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Micronutrient Initiative, released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Initiative, a non-profit international centre based in Ottawa, Canada, is a UNICEF partner.

"When so much could be achieved for so many, and for so little, it would be a matter of global disgrace if vitamin and mineral deficiency were not brought under control in the years immediately ahead," the report declares, noting that many preventive measures would cost only a few cents per person each year.

Whole populations can be protected by tested and inexpensive methods such as
adding essential vitamins and minerals to regularly consumed foods like flour, salt, sugar, cooking oil and margarine at an annual cost of only a few cents per person, it says. Other measures include providing vulnerable groups, particularly children and women of childbearing age, with supplemental tablets, capsules and syrups, again costing only a few cents per person per year, and educating communities about foods that can increase the intake and absorption of needed vitamins and minerals. 

Summarizing "damage assessment" studies in 80 nations, the report finds that lack of key vitamins and minerals impairs intellectual development, compromises immune systems, causes birth defects and consigns 2 billion people to lives below their physical and mental potential.

It notes that iron deficiency impairs mental development in young children, lowers national IQs and undermines adult productivity, with estimated losses of 2 per cent of the gross domestic product in the worst-affected countries. Vitamin A deficiency compromises the immune systems of some 40 per cent of children under five in the developing world, leading to the deaths of 1 million youngsters each year, while iodine deficiency in pregnancy leaves up to 20 million babies a year mentally impaired.

 

WHO Scaling Up Measures To Help Those With Both HIV And TB 13

With some 14 million people worldwide suffering from both HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) on 21 January issued guidelines to increase collaboration between national TB and HIV/AIDS programmes.

"TB/HIV is a deadly combination and needs to be tackled with an approach treating the whole person," said Dr. Lee Jong-wook, WHO's Director-General. "With effective treatment, TB can be cured, HIV managed and the health of millions of people preserved."

Dr. Peter Piot, the Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), agreed that TB is perhaps the most deadly opportunistic infection associated with AIDS. "By tackling TB and HIV together, we can have a significant impact on improving the quality of life of people infected with HIV, while also controlling TB and preventing new infections," he said.

The new programme will give critical support for "3 by 5", the WHO plan to provide anti-retroviral (ARV) drug treatment to 3 million people living with AIDS by the end of 2005.

A principal focus of the programme will be Africa, where 70 per cent of the world's 14 million people who are co-infected live. Up to half of the continent's people with HIV/AIDS develop TB and almost four out of five TB patients are HIV-infected, according to WHO.

A key guideline will be to train health workers to increase voluntary HIV testing and counselling in TB programmes, with the aim of identifying and referring more than half a million TB patients who are also HIV-positive for ARV drug treatment in the next two years. In this way, TB programmes will help with HIV prevention, ARV distribution and patient care, WHO said.

At the same time, the agency promised to add screening and testing for TB at HIV/AIDS service delivery points in regions of high HIV prevalence.

By routinely screening and testing people with HIV/AIDS for TB, people without TB can be treated with prophylactic drugs that prevent the development of active tuberculosis and people with the disease can be cured, WHO said.

 

IAEA, US And UK Agree On Next Steps To Disarm Libya 14

The United Nations nuclear watchdog agency agreed on 19 January with the United States and the United Kingdom that it will verify Libya is free of weapons of mass destruction while those two countries will remove "sensitive" equipment and material.

The agreement was reached in a meeting between Mohamed ElBaradei, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and Nuclear Proliferation John Bolton and his UK counterpart, William Ehrman, to coordinate their efforts in implementing Libya's decision to abandon any nuclear-weapons-related programme and activities.

Following the talks, Mr. ElBaradei called the meeting in Vienna "constructive" and indicated that the sides had "reached agreement on what needs to be done." 

"The Agency's role is very clear," he said. "We will perform our verification responsibilities under the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty], while the UK and USA will undertake, in this regard, certain logistical activities."

Those actions would relate "to the movement of equipment, material and other sensitive items outside the country," the IAEA Chief explained.

 
UN Working Group Drafts Text Of International Disability Convention  15

Taking a step forward on the path to full equality for disabled persons, a United Nations working group has drafted the text of an international treaty protecting their rights.

In a two-week meeting that wrapped up on 16 January, representatives from 27 countries hammered out the text, which covers non-discrimination in all areas, including equality before the law and the right to work.

The draft, which will form the basis of negotiations later this year, also addresses specific concerns, such as education, accessibility, standards of living, living independently, the rights of children with disabilities and full participation in society.

The General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities will convene for a negotiating session from 24 May to 4 June.

The UN said last month that some 600 million people globally suffer disabilities and the day-to-day life of 25 per cent of the world's population is touched in some way by the condition.

The Working Group, established last year by the Ad Hoc Committee, comprised policy-makers, disabled persons' organizations and human rights experts. They examined hundreds of pages of recommendations submitted by governments, expert meetings, UN bodies, regional commissions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

 

UNICEF Urges Tamil Tigers To Stop Recruiting Child Soldiers In Sri Lanka 16

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on 22 January called on the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka to stop recruiting children as soldiers and to release those it already has back to civilian life.

In a report on children affected in 2003 by Sri Lanka's civil war, UNICEF noted that the LTTE recruited 709 children during the year _ nearly half between August and October. 

The report stated that over the same period the LTTE released 202 children either directly to their families, or to the transit centre that was opened by UNICEF in Kilinochchi in Sri Lanka's northeast in October.

But UNICEF added it was aware, from reports submitted by families, that the LTTE still had 1,301 children serving with them.

In August, the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE agreed to a UNICEF action plan to monitor, report and tackle violations of child rights in the country's northeast. The Kilinochchi transit centre was set up as part of the plan.

UNICEF's report estimates that 50,000 children in the northeast are not attending school and about 140,000 have been displaced from their homes. The agency has called for an influx of teachers, health staff and social welfare workers to help local children.

 

UN Panel Releases More Money For Claims From Iraq's Invasion Of Kuwait 17

The United Nations panel processing claims for losses and damage suffered as a result of Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990-1991 on 22 January made available over $184 million for payment to asserted value of $350 billion have been filed with the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC), which has so far approved some $48 billion and released nearly $18.2 billion.

The payment of $184,568,674.54, made available to 24 governments for distribution to 1,681 successful claimants, follows the temporary mechanism set up by the commission's Governing Council last year allowing for the release of up to $200 million every quarter.

The Commission has the same membership as the UN Security Council.