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17 July, 2004
 

Table Of Contents

 

Secretary-General: Leadership At All Levels Needed To Defeat HIV/AIDS 1

Stressing that the world is "not doing nearly well enough" in the fight against the global AIDS epidemic, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 11 July appealed for stronger leadership at every level _ including at the top positions of power _ to defeat the scourge.

"We need leaders everywhere to demonstrate that speaking up about AIDS is a point of pride, not a source of shame," he told the 15th International AIDS Conference which opened on 11 July in Bangkok, Thailand. "There must be no more sticking heads in the sand, no more embarrassment, no more hiding behind a veil of apathy."

Addressing the audience, which included Health Ministers from many nations, Mr. Annan said their leadership should translate into adequate resources from national budgets, and must mobilize the entire state apparatus and generate partnerships with every sector of society and people living with HIV/AIDS.

"But leadership comes not only from those who hold position of power," the Secretary-General stressed. "Leadership comes from partners who make sure they always use a condom. Leadership comes from fathers, husbands, sons and uncles who support and affirm the rights of women. Leadership comes from teachers who nurture the dreams and aspirations of girls."

He added that leadership also meant daring to do things differently, because AIDS was a different kind of disease, which stood alone in human experience and called for a united stand against it.

Among other key priorities, Mr. Annan pointed to the need to scale up infrastructure to support both treatment and prevention. He noted that successful programmes have shown that interventions must reach whole societies and must be developed within a country, rather than be imposed from outside.

No less pressing is the need to empower women and girls to protect themselves against the virus, Mr. Annan said, adding that the factors making women more vulnerable include poverty, abuse and violence, coercion by older men, lack of information "and men having several concurrent sexual relationships that entrap young women in a giant network of infection."

He emphasized that these factors could not be addressed piecemeal, and that the change needed would have to transform relations between women and men at all levels of society, including giving everyone the understanding that educating girls was a necessity, not merely an option.

 

S-G: How Asia-Pacific Tackles HIV/AIDS Will Affect Region's Future 2

How governments of Asia and the Pacific address the multi-faceted challenge of HIV/AIDS will affect the very future of the region, United Nations Secretary-General told a ministerial meeting on 11 July in Bangkok.

"We know that AIDS is far more than a health crisis. It is a threat to social and economic development as a whole," Mr. Annan said in opening remarks to the second Asia-Pacific Ministerial Meeting on HIV/AIDS.

"The response to this complex challenge must engage every part of society _ Government, business, civil society and people living with HIV/AIDS," he added.

Noting that in recent decades, more people in Asia and the Pacific have escaped from poverty than in any other part of the world, the Secretary-General stressed that such gains must not be reversed by HIV/AIDS.

"More than eight million people in your region are now living with HIV/AIDS, and the number is rising fast," he said, warning that left unchecked, the disease would not only devastate millions of lives, but also impose huge burdens on the region's health systems and soak up badly needed resources for social and economic development.

"So the fight against HIV/AIDS requires constant vigilance and renewal. We know, from experience elsewhere, that the spread can be turned back when _ but only when _ there is a coordinated response, from all sectors of society and every branch of Government. It requires leadership at every level," he said. 

 

HDR-2004: AIDS Is Wreaking Devastating Toll On Human Development 3

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is having a catastrophic impact on human development in sub-Saharan Africa, reducing life expectancy and living standards in many countries and reversing the effects of any gains made in other fields, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said on 15 July.

Launching the Human Development Report 2004, its flagship annual report, the UNDP says the inhabitants of at least 46 countries are poorer than they were a decade ago. Almost half of these nations are in Africa.

The biggest reason for the deterioration is HIV/AIDS. In eight countries _ Angola, the Central African Republic (CAR), Lesotho, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe _ life expectancy has fallen to below 40 years.

UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown says the disease is undermining every aspect of societies, from private family life to economic production. 

"The AIDS crisis cripples States at all levels, because the disease attacks people in their most productive years. It tears apart the foundations of everything from public administration and health care to family structures," he says.

The Report includes the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures life expectancy, adult literacy, school enrolment rates and gross domestic product (GDP) per person to build a broad picture of daily living standards in each country.

This year it measures 175 UN Member States, as well as Hong Kong and the occupied Palestinian territories. The UNDP _ which is using statistics from 2002 _ does not have enough accurate or recent data to measure 16 States, including Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Liberia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Somalia.

Norway tops the global rankings again this year: its inhabitants have a life expectancy of 79 years, a school enrolment ratio of 98 per cent, a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of $36,000. Sweden, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, the United States, Japan and Ireland complete the top 10. India is ranked 127. In all, 55 nations are classed as having high human development.

But the countries at the bottom of the HDI rankings, classed as having low human development and dominated by sub-Saharan Africa, are slipping further behind. Sierra Leone is in last place for the seventh consecutive year as it attempts to recover from a brutal and long-running civil war.

The other members of the bottom 10 are Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Ethiopia, the CAR and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The world's newest nation, Timor-Leste, is also the worst-off in Asia, ranking 158th of the 177 countries and territories measured.

The Report also contains indices of human poverty and gender equality and economic inequality to help international policy-makers better target their programmes.

 

ILO: Workplace Is Ideal Venue To Discuss AIDS Prevention 4

The workplace is an ideal venue to tackle the HIV/AIDS pandemic by discussing prevention and treatment of the viral infection, the United Nations labour agency says in a new report.

"HIV/AIDS and Work: Global Estimates, Impact and Response" prepared for the 15th International AIDS Conference in Thailand, says about 36.5 million people of working age have HIV and by next year the global labour force will have lost up to 28 million workers to AIDS since the start of the epidemic.

"HIV/AIDS is not only a human crisis, it is a threat to sustainable global, social and economic development," says ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "The loss of life and the debilitating effects of the illness will lead not only to a reduced capacity to sustain production and employment, reduce poverty and promote development, but will be a burden borne by all societies _ rich and poor alike."

While HIV/AIDS has a dramatic impact on a country's labour force, its economy and its rural communities, the workplace holds extraordinary promise as part of the solution, the report says.

"The workplace is an ideal medium for a comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS," says report coordinator Odile Frank, pointing out that prevention skills can be directly transmitted while people are on the job. 

The ILO drafted a Code of Practice in 2001 to guide responses from the world of work to the epidemic, while several countries have passed revised or new laws to lessen the impact of HIV/AIDS in the workplace and protect the rights
of people who are living with the disease.

For its part, the private sector has launched initiatives to promote prevention, behavioural changes, communication and education for workers and workplace treatment programmes, which are seen by an increasing number of enterprises as the least costly option to maintain profitability and ensure growth, ILO says.

 

Human Development Report 2004 Calls For Cultural Freedom To Become A Basic Human Right 5

Countries should treat cultural freedoms as basic human rights that are essential to life in modern, diverse societies, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says in its annual flagship report launched on 15 July.

The authors of the Human Development Report 2004 argue that countries which do not respect and even promote cultural freedoms not only lose out socially, but also struggle to reap any sustainable benefits from economic globalization.

The Report calls for nations with multi-ethnic or religious populations to establish "asymmetric" federalist structures to allow different groups to maintain both their own identity and a sense of belonging to the nation as a whole.

Citing Belgium, India, Malaysia, South Africa and Canada as working examples, it says granting some rights and powers to different groups or regions can defuse or avert conflicts and tensions.

The focus of this year's Report _ which has examined and measured human development by broad social, political and economic criteria since 1990 _ is the value of population diversity after several decades of large-scale international migration.

In the Report's foreword, UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch Brown says "allowing people full cultural expression is an important development end in itself."

Nations with rich, diverse cultures, Mr. Malloch Brown adds, are able to make swifter economic and social progress, especially in an era when mass culture is being exported around the world in films, television, books and popular music.

He says that while there is no template that will work for every country, it is critical that, as a starting point, minorities have their rights guaranteed in a constitution or in legislation.

"But unless the political culture also changes _ unless citizens come to think, feel and act in ways that genuinely accommodate the needs and aspirations of others _ real change will not happen," he cautions.

The Report debunks a number of myths about diversity, including the idea that a person's ethnic identity has to compete with their attachment to the State.

"Countries do not have to choose between national unity and cultural diversity. Individuals can and do have multiple, complementary identities _ethnicity, language, religion and race, as well as citizenship. Identity is not a zero-sum game."

Outlining the concept of asymmetric federalism, the Report says some provinces or regions enjoy different powers to others because of their individual history or identity _ this could include language rights, religious protections or regional parliaments. But all the regions and provinces still fall under a national, unified structure.

Mr. Malloch Brown says the solution is to create institutions and policies that encourage pride in national identity and symbols, as well as pride in regional or ethnic/religious backgrounds.

 

 

 

Senior Pakistani Diplomat Named New UN Envoy To Iraq 6

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 12 July named Pakistan's current Ambassador to the United States, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, as his Special Representative for Iraq.

The new envoy's predecessor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, was among 22 people killed when terrorists attacked the UN offices in Baghdad on 19 August 2003.

A UN spokesperson said Mr. Qazi would be released from his current duties in "a week to two weeks" and would travel to New York for briefings "as a first step."

Mr. Qazi's appointment as Ambassador to Washington in September of 2002 capped a long and distinguished career. Before that posting, he had been Pakistan's High Commissioner to India since 1997.

The 62-year-old diplomat was Pakistan's Ambassador to China from 1994 to 1997. He also served as Ambassador to Russia (1991-1994), the then-East Germany (1990-1991) and Syria (1986-1988). In addition, the new UN envoy held various diplomatic assignments in Copenhagen, Tokyo, Cairo, Tripoli and London.

In making the announcement in New York, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said Mr. Qazi's name had been drawn from "a short-list of three highly qualified persons" which also included Former Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and India's former Foreign Secretary, Salman Haidar.

 

Former Chilean Foreign Minister Appointed Head Of UN Mission In Haiti 7

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has named former Chilean Foreign Minister Juan Gabriel Valdés as his Special Representative to Haiti and head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Caribbean country (MINUSTAH), a UN spokesperson announced on 12 July.

Mr. Valdés, a human rights activist, was Chile's Ambassador to the UN from May 2000 until June 2003 and the country's Foreign Minister from June 1999 to March 2000. Among other diplomatic postings, he served as Chile's Ambassador to Spain from 1990 to 1994. In addition, he was a consultant to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Chile in 1994.

 

Sec-Gen Appoints First Special Adviser On Genocide 8

Secretary-General Kofi Annan informed the United Nations Security Council on 12 July that he has chosen a human rights advocate, lawyer and former political prisoner from Argentina as his first Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.

Juan E. Méndez is currently the President of the International Centre for Transitional Justice, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that helps countries emerging from conflict or misrule to make human rights violators accountable for their crimes.

In a letter to the Council President for July, Ambassador Mihnea Ioan Motoc of Romania, the Secretary-General outlined the mandate of the Special Adviser position.

Mr. Méndez's role will be to act as an early-warning mechanism to the Secretary-General and the Security Council about potential situations that could develop into genocide, and to make recommendations to the Council about how the UN can prevent these events.

His appointment follows a pledge by Mr. Annan earlier this year, as the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide neared, to designate an official to collect data and monitor any serious violations of human rights or international law that have a racial or ethnic dimension and could lead to genocide.

Mr. Méndez, 59, served as a lawyer for political prisoners in the 1970s before Argentina's military junta jailed him twice for his activities. During this period Amnesty International adopted him as a "Prisoner of Conscience."

After moving to the United States following his release from detention, Mr. Méndez worked for Human Rights Watch for 15 years, specializing in Western Hemisphere issues.

In addition, he has worked for other NGOs and as an academic, most recently teaching law at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States, where he also headed the campus Centre for Civil and Human Rights.

 

New UN Force Commander In Burundi 9

Maj. Gen. Derrick Mgwebi has been appointed commander of the United Nations peacekeeping forces for the UN Operation in Burundi (UNOB), a UN spokesman said on 13 July.

General Mgwebi, the first South African named to lead a UN peacekeeping force, headed the African Union's (AU) mission in Burundi before it was re-hatted with the UN's Blue Helmets on 1 June.

 

Myanmar 10

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has discussed with senior Thai officials the possibility of holding international consultations on Myanmar, a UN spokesman said on 15 July.

During his trip last week to Thailand, where he addressed the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok and conducted an official visit, the Secretary-General exchanged views with Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and representatives of other nations on the situation in Myanmar, according to a statement released by a spokesman for Mr. Annan.

In his talks with the Thai leaders, "the Secretary-General underscored the role and responsibility of the countries of the region in helping to accelerate the process of democratization and national reconciliation in Myanmar, beginning with the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," the statement said, referring to the Nobel Laureate and General Secretary of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).

The Secretary-General emphasized the need to engage the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

On the possibility of holding international consultations on Myanmar, Mr. Annan supported the "Bangkok Process" _ a meeting first held last December in which 10 Asian and European Governments participated _ as one format in which they could be conducted, the statement noted.

The Secretary-General also welcomed the support of Thailand and others for the continuing role of his Special Envoy, Razali Ismail, including his return to Myanmar as soon as possible.

 

Rwanda 11

The United Nations war crimes tribunal for Rwanda on 15 July sentenced a former government finance minister to life in jail for his role in the genocide that engulfed the country in 1994.

Three judges of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), sitting in Arusha, Tanzania, found Emmanuel Ndindabahizi guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, specifically extermination and murder. 

The case against Mr. Ndindabahizi _ who served as Finance Minister in Rwanda's Interim Government from April to June 1994 _ focused on events in Kibuye Prefecture, the region where he grew up and later rose through the political ranks.

In June of 1994, Mr. Ndindabahizi urged bands of Hutus to attack and kill thousands of Tutsis who had taken refuge in the Gitwa Hill area. He also distributed weapons and helped transport the killers.

Explaining that Mr. Ndindabahizi instigated, facilitated and assisted the attacks, the ICTR said he "was well aware that his remarks and actions were part of a wider context of ethnic violence, killing and massacres in Rwanda during this period."

Mr. Ndindabahizi, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges, was arrested in Belgium in 2001 and transferred to the UN detention centre in Arusha later that year.

 

ICJ: Israeli Wall In Palestinian Territory Is Illegal 12

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion 9 July that Israel's building of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal and said construction must stop immediately and Israel should make reparations for any damage caused.

Responding to a request from the United Nations General Assembly, the World Court's opinion said the Assembly and the Security Council should consider what steps to take "to bring to an end the illegal situation" created by the wall.

By a majority of 14 to 1, the judges found that the wall's construction breaches international law, saying it violated principles outlined in the UN Charter and long-standing global conventions that prohibit the threat or use of force and the acquisition of territory that way, as well as principles upholding the right of peoples to self-determination.

Observing that 80 per cent of Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territory now live between the wall and the so-called Green Line marking the 1949 boundary of Israel, the Court said the wall's route could "prejudge the future frontier between Israel and Palestine."

The ICJ _ the UN's principal judicial organ _ said construction "would be tantamount to de facto annexation" as it explained that the wall could create a potentially permanent "fait accompli" on the ground.

The judges noted that, combined with the Israeli settlements, which have been deplored by the Security Council, the wall's construction alters the demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territory and impedes the Palestinians' right to self-determination. 

Concluding that Israel could not rely on a right of self-defence or on a state of necessity to justify the wall, the Court said it was not convinced the specific route chosen was necessary for security reasons.

The judges also said Israel is obliged to stop construction immediately and dismantle the sections of the wall that have already been built. They added that Israel must nullify any laws relating to the wall's construction and make reparations for any damage caused by its erection.

Voting 13-2, the judges found that all States should not "recognize the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall" and not give any aid or assistance in maintaining the situation.

The judges' advisory opinion, released at the ICJ's headquarters in The Hague, is non-binding. It follows three days of court hearings in February. 

Last December the General Assembly, during an emergency special session on the occupied Palestinian territories, adopted a resolution asking the ICJ to urgently render an opinion on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall.

* * *

After the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its advisory opinion on the Israeli-built wall in the occupied Palestinian territory, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan forwarded the decision to the UN General Assembly, which had requested the Court's advice on the legality of the barrier.

In a statement issued in Bangkok, a UN spokesman said that Secretary-General Annan received the opinion from the Court and had forwarded it to the General Assembly, "which will determine how to proceed on this matter."

 

Sec-Gen Backs UN Middle East Envoy In Urging Peace Talks 13

A day after the senior United Nations envoy to the Middle East briefed the Security Council on the situation in that troubled region, Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 14 July echoed his call for peace talks.

Reacting to press reports that UN Special Coordinator Terje Roed-Larsen is no longer welcome in Palestinian territory, a spokesperson for Mr. Annan issued a statement voicing the Secretary-General's "full support for and confidence in" the envoy.

UN spokesperson Marie Okabe clarified that in briefing the Council, Mr. Roed-Larsen intended "to convey concerns within the Quartet and more widely in the international community regarding a lack of implementation by both parties of their Road Map obligations."

She said the Quartet _ a diplomatic grouping comprised of the UN, United States, European Union and Russian Federation _ has agreed that "the Palestinian Authority must carry out its reform process, including the full empowerment of the Palestinian Prime Minister; the Government of Israel must dismantle settlement outposts and freeze settlement activity; and both sides must return to the negotiating table.

"The Secretary-General believes that the parties need to focus on the tasks at hand in order to work towards the just, lasting and comprehensive settlement that is so urgently needed," she added. 

 

Sec-Gen Welcomes Afghanistan's Unveiling Of Presidential, Parliamentary Poll Dates 14

Afghanistan will hold presidential elections on 9 October and delay national and local parliamentary elections until April 2005, its electoral authorities announced on 9 July in a decision welcomed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The UN chief said the extra time offers "a very valuable opportunity to create better conditions for the holding of a free and fair parliamentary election," adding it allows voters and candidates to participate more meaningfully in the polls.

The Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB), the independent body mandated to conduct and supervise the elections, said it decided to delay the parliamentary elections after gathering the views of delegations, community representatives and elders.

In a statement issued in Kabul, the Afghan capital, the JEMB said the "minimum requirements" for holding parliamentary elections had not been reached and it would be unfair to many political parties and independent candidates to rush the process.

Electoral law requires the poll date to be declared at least 90 days in advance, and the JEMB said the Afghan Government's Cabinet recommended the legislative elections be held within a month of the presidential poll, slated now for 9 October.

More than 6 million people have registered to vote _ from an estimated pool of 9.5 million eligible voters _ since last December but registration levels are uneven across the country. In 19 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, for example, voter registration is below 50 per cent and many candidates would find nomination difficult.

The JEMB said a further delay is necessary because of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins in November this year, and the harsh winter in Afghanistan, when travel becomes difficult for many months.

In a statement released by his spokesman, Mr. Annan backed the JEMB's decision and said he was convinced that the elections _ Afghanistan's first in many years _ will be conducted successfully.

But he reiterated his concerns about the safety of electoral workers and the overall electoral process, condemning recent deadly attacks.

The Secretary-General said it was essential that the disarmament process is accelerated and the authorities meet targets outlined at the Berlin Conference earlier this year.

"This has been and will continue, in the eyes of the Afghans, to be one of the most important benchmarks for the holding of a genuine, democratic election," he said.

 

Security Council Condemns Elements Opposed To Peace Process In Somalia 15

With national reconciliation in Somalia mired in an impasse, the Security Council on 14 July condemned elements obstructing the country's peace process and warned that those who persist on the path of confrontation and conflict would be held accountable.

In a statement read out at an open meeting by its President for July, Ambassador Mihnea Ioan Motoc of Romania, the Council also welcomed steps by the African Union (AU) to prepare for the deployment of military monitors to Somalia, and called on the Somali leaders to cooperate with that initiative.

The statement called on the Somali parties to fully implement the ceasefire, to ensure security, and to resolve their differences peacefully.

In a series of related provisions, the Council reiterated its firm support for the reconciliation process and the ongoing Somali National Reconstruction Conference in Kenya, launched under the auspices of the East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The Somali parties should also abide by and implement expeditiously the Eldoret Declaration of 27 October 2002 on the cessation of hostilities.

The Council reiterated its concern over the continued flow of weapons and ammunition supplies into the country. The statement also again voiced the Council's serious concern regarding the humanitarian situation there, and called on Somali leaders to facilitate the delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance and to assure the safety of all international and national aid workers.

 

Arbour: Fight Against Terrorism Must Not Exclude Respect For Rights 16

The struggle against terrorism must be reconciled with the imperatives of personal safety and dignity, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has asserted.

"Respect for human rights and human security are inextricably linked," Louise Arbour, the newly appointed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on 12 July told the Geneva-based Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Ms. Arbour cited as evidence various hotspots now under international scrutiny. "Afghanistan, Darfur, Iraq _ these examples show us that the prevention of, and solution to, conflicts depends on the implementation of fundamental human right standards," she said.

The High Commissioner hailed the Committee's determination that the treaty is valid for troops serving in other countries. "Your pronouncements on the applicability of the Covenant to national contingents of international peacekeeping operations, as well as to multinational forces, and on the interdependence between principles of humanitarian law and human rights law, are important and timely," she said.

Ms. Arbour, who served most recently on Canada's Supreme Court, said her experience there corroborated this finding. "We concluded that the successful protection of citizens and the successful protection of their rights are not only compatible with each other but are, indeed, interdependent," she said.

"There can be no genuine personal security if rights are in peril, any more than legal guarantees can exist in an environment of fear and anarchy," she stressed.

 

UN Report Spotlights Ways To Reduce Potential Devastation Of Natural Disasters 17

As the frequency of natural disasters rises, along with the number of people around the world whose lives and homes are at serious risk, the United Nations has launched a report highlighting 100 examples of how people are taking steps to make their communities less vulnerable when a catastrophe strikes.

From building terraced fields in the Indonesian mountains to reduce the severity of floods to constructing earthquake-resistant buildings in Japan to producing a radio soap opera in Central America with storylines about hurricane awareness, the UN's disaster reduction arm hopes the report's examples will serve as an inspiration and as a guide.

More than 70,000 people died last year as a result of 700 separate natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and cyclones, around the world, according to the Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR). Its new report is called Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives.

These hazards cost $65 billion collectively and affected at least 600 million people _ seven to 10 times' more than the number of people affected by wars.

Launching the report on 14 July, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland said the number of disasters is increasing _ and the disasters are becoming more severe _ because of the impact of human civilization on the earth. The number of people at risk is also rising because population growth means more and more of the world's largest cities and conurbations are located in prime hazard areas.

But Mr. Egeland said the scale of human losses and damage to infrastructure and livelihoods has been reduced because countries are getting better at protecting themselves from disasters.

He said the monsoonal rains that have caused deadly floods and landslides across South Asia this week have had a much smaller impact _ while still extremely serious _ than they would have had a few decades ago, when the region was less prepared. This is "for the simple reason that we now have enormously better preventative programmes" in place, he said.

Mr. Egeland stressed, however, that international donors and aid agencies lag behind in recognizing the devastating impact that disasters have compared to conflicts.

The report also sets out strategies and priorities for countries and communities to consider when planning how to reduce the impact of natural hazards. These include setting up early-warning systems for disasters, managing land use more responsibly to reduce potential erosion and landslides and increasing construction of disaster-resistant buildings.

 

UN Supports Flood Relief Efforts In Nepal And Other Parts Of South Asia 18

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is helping to airlift relief supplies to remote areas of Nepal, where heavy monsoon rains have caused floods and landslides that have left more than 40 people dead and affected some 13,600 families.

The floods have taken a toll on northern Bangladesh as well as Assam and Bihar states in eastern India, where more than 35 people have died and more than 10 million others have been affected, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Although the Nepalese Government has not launched an international appeal for assistance, the UN Resident Coordinator in Kathmandu has stressed that financial support is needed to continue relief activities.

The Bangladeshi Government has distributed 2,650 tons of rice and 13,000 tins of biscuits to affected districts. It has also allocated $77,800 for relief assistance and $66,200 for housing assistance. OCHA said the Government is concerned that rising water levels might threaten the country's only hydroelectric dam, as well as its capital.

In India, the army and air force are conducting relief and rescue operations, with helicopters and speed boats being used to reach the marooned, according to OCHA. The Government has also released over $22 million from calamity relief contingency funds.

 

Anti-Landmine Drive To Gain Boost At Upcoming Nairobi Summit 19

The upcoming Nairobi Summit for a Mine Free World should generate international momentum towards eradicating the indiscriminate weapons, experts attending a panel at United Nations Headquarters in New York said on 15 July.

The Summit, set to take place in the Kenyan capital from 29 November through 3 December, will be "the most important event since the Oslo treaty negotiations and the signing in Ottawa" of the anti-personnel mine ban treaty, said Susan Walker of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a driving force behind that achievement.

The Ottawa Convention, negotiated outside the UN after international talks at the world body failed to produce consensus, mandates a global ban on antipersonnel landmines, the destruction of stockpiles, the clearance of antipersonnel mines, and assistance for victims of those weapons in some 20 countries.

Since the pact entered into force five years ago, 143 countries have ratified or acceded to it _ making it law in their territories _ while more than 37 million stockpiled landmines have been destroyed.

But at the current event optimism was tempered with reminders of the ongoing threat posed by these weapons. While major progress has been made since the treaty entered into force, the panelists noted that landmines were still being laid in conflicts in Chechnya, Colombia, Myanmar and Nepal. In addition, 10 million stockpiled mines have yet to be destroyed by States parties.

Canadian Ambassador for Mine Action Ross Hynes warned against complacency. In remarks made on behalf of Ambassador Wolfgang Petrich of Austria, the president-designate of the Nairobi Summit, Mr. Hynes stressed that "the challenge for Nairobi is to make sure people know it hasn't been solved and it has to be."

UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno emphasized the importance of clearing landmines for those missions to succeed. He also voiced hope that the Nairobi Summit would bring the "strong burst of energy and commitment needed to finish the job" set out in the Ottawa treaty.

 

UNESCO Report: Early Childhood Care Lagging In High Population Countries 20

Despite enormous demand, early childhood care and education remains a privilege for young children in most of the world's nine high population countries, according to a report published on 13 July by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The report finds that an average of only 32 per cent of pre-primary age children are enrolled in education structures at this level in the so-called E-9 group - Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan. 

Although there is clear awareness of the importance of the issue, this has not yet translated into concrete action, according to the study - Early Childhood Care and Education in E-9 Countries: Status and Outlook.

"Inequitable access and provision are likely to continue posing challenges," it says.

Pre-primary education is most developed in Mexico, where 76 per cent of children over three years are enrolled, followed by Brazil (55 per cent), China (39 per cent), India (29 per cent), Indonesia (19 per cent), Nigeria (18 per cent), Egypt (10 per cent) and Pakistan (eight per cent).

The report notes that several countries are concentrating their resources to achieve universal primary education, with little policy and investment attention spared for early childhood care and education. It signals that the need and demand for these services in the E-9 countries "are assumed to be enormous" and will continue to expand.

 

UN Meeting Outlines Steps To Curb Problem Of Spam e-Mail 21

A United Nations meeting has concluded that while there is no "silver bullet" to stop unsolicited commercial email, solutions involving legislation, technical innovation and international cooperation could eventually curb the worldwide abuse of "spam."

The meeting last week in Geneva organized by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was designed to launch a global effort aimed at eliminating spam, which accounts for an estimated 80 per cent of all email traffic and costs the global economy some $25 million in losses each year.

In addition to strong country laws, technical solutions and international cooperation, the meeting generated consensus on the need for consumer education and industry self-regulation as part of a multi-track solution to the nuisance.

Robert Horton, Acting Chair of the Australian Communications Authority and Chairman of the meeting, said spam has grown into a major plague affecting the digital world. "We are facing a global epidemic which can only be combated through a global and concerted action," he said.

"What is at stake is no less than the protection and preservation of the Internet as we know it," he declared. "I am convinced that we can curb spam within the next two years if we act on a number of fronts simultaneously and make sure that there are no havens for spammers anywhere in the world."

Despite the enactment of anti-spam legislation in about 30 countries and the introduction of technical solutions by Internet service providers and end-users, there has been so far no significant impact on the volume of unwanted email, with spammers sending hundreds of millions of messages per day.

Increasingly, spam is being used to support fraudulent and criminal activities, including attempts to capture financial information such as account numbers and passwords by masquerading messages as originating from trusted companies, called "brand-spoofing" or "phishing." In addition, spam can be exploited as a vehicle to spread computer viruses and worms.

Mobile networks face the problem of bulk unsolicited text messages which aim to generate traffic to premium-rate numbers. As these trends transcend national boundaries, international cooperation is essential to enforce anti-spam laws, the ITU pointed out.

 

UN Agencies Warn Asia Will Continue To Be Plagued By Bird Flu 22

New outbreaks of bird flu in three Asian countries in the past fortnight show that the virus which killed almost two dozen people and devastated the region's domestic poultry population earlier this year remains endemic and a threat to human health, United Nations agencies said on 9 July.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said it is unrealistic to expect the virus will be eradicated soon and called on governments in the affected region to recognize that the virus will continue to circulate and that different strains of the virus may appear.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that recent research indicates the virus is more widespread than previously thought _ it has also been found in wild birds _ and more deadly. It called for human trials of an experimental flu vaccine to be accelerated and said all workers involved in culling birds should be given human flu vaccines. 

Authorities in China, Thailand and Viet Nam have reported outbreaks of bird flu, otherwise known as avian influenza, in chickens over the last two weeks. These outbreaks are of H5N1, the same virus as the one that led to at least 22 deaths in Thailand and Viet Nam near the start of this year. More than 100 million birds died or were culled in at least nine countries across Southern and Eastern Asia.

WHO called on the governments of affected countries to give specimens from recent outbreaks so that its staff could compare them to observe whether they are exactly the same or whether they are distinct but from the same group of viruses. Preparations for a possible pandemic continue, WHO added, with two manufacturers in the United States producing vaccine for human trials and Asia-Pacific experts gathering in Kuala Lumpur last month to discuss the situation.