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28 August, 2004
 

Table Of Contents

Secretary-General Welcomes Al-Sistani's Effort To Broker Peace In Najaf, Iraq 1

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 26 August welcomed efforts by Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric to end the fighting in the holy city of Najaf, voiced great concern over the high death toll in nearby Kufa and other cities, and reiterated the world body's readiness to help the country's political transition.

Mr. Annan said he was encouraged by reports that an agreement to halt the armed hostilities in Najaf has been reached following intervention by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani to end weeks of fighting between United States and interim Government forces on the one hand and Shiite Muslim cleric Said Moqtada Al-Sadr's militia on the other.

"The Secretary-General calls upon all parties to respect the sanctity of the Imam Ali Mosque, which is one of the holiest shrines for Muslims all over the world," a statement issued by a spokesman in New York said.

It added that Mr. Annan was "greatly dismayed" by violent incidents in Kufa and other locations in Iraq, particularly by the high toll of dead and wounded, including civilian casualties.

"The Secretary-General expresses concern over the humanitarian situation created as a result of the recent hostilities and reminds all parties of their responsibilities under international humanitarian law, including their obligation to ensure free and unhindered access of medical personnel and humanitarian aid to all areas in need," the statement said.

"The Secretary-General reiterates that the United Nations stands ready to assist Iraqis in the transitional political process and calls upon them to resolve their differences through peaceful means," it concluded.

 

Sec-Gen Calls On Israel To Cease West Bank Settlement Expansion 2

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 24 August called on Israel to cease its recently reported expansion of West Bank settlements, calling the practice a clear contradiction of the country's obligations under the Road Map peace plan that provides for the establishment of two states _ Israel and Palestine _ by 2005.

"The Secretary-General expresses strong concern over reports of Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, through the Government of Israel's recent publication of tenders for construction of new housing units," a statement issued by his spokesman said.

Such activities "clearly contradict Israel's obligations under the Road Map" which unequivocally calls for a freeze on all settlement activity, the spokesman noted, pointing out that this also covers what is called "natural growth," namely the construction of housing within the existing boundaries of a given settlement.

The Secretary-General called on the Israeli Government to cease this settlement expansion and to fulfil its Road Map obligations.

The Road Map, sponsored by the UN, European Union, Russian Federation and United States, calls for a series of parallel and reciprocal steps leading to two States living side-by-side in peace by the end of next year.

 

Sec-Gen Condemns Deadly Attack On Political Rally In Bangladesh 3

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has deplored 21 August bombing of an opposition political rally in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, which reportedly killed more than a dozen people. 

Mr. Annan was "appalled" at the news of the grenade attack, which also injured many of the participants in the rally, his spokesman said in a statement. 

Strongly condemning the use of violence against civilians, the Secretary-General called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, and urged all concerned to show restraint in the days ahead.

 

IAEA Urges Speeding Shipment Of Radioactive Lifesaving Isotopes 4

With doctors and patients in many countries facing increasing problems in receiving lifesaving isotopes for a range of illnesses due to denials or delays in shipping radioactive materials, often for security reasons, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency is calling for a revamp of the system to speed up delivery.

"If an airline refuses to take a shipment, or is unable to take a shipment, then this increases the prospect of someone missing a cancer treatment," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Unit Leader for Radiation, Transport and Waste Safety, Michael Wangler, said of airline restrictions on radioactive materials. 

"There is a risk that if more airlines do deny, particularly where few airlines serve key regions, then this does raise a serious issue," he added. "It potentially means that medical clinics and hospitals in specific areas are at risk from being shutout for shipment."

The IAEA has hosted two meetings of experts on the issue so far this year and its General Conference will consider related recommendations and proposed actions in September.

Most countries around the world import isotopes for medical purposes, including treating cancer, diagnosing heart attacks or sterilizing equipment. Hospitals and clinics depend on these international shipments to arrive on time, particularly if the isotope has a short half-life and must be sent by air.

Industry representatives have told the IAEA of increasing difficulties in delivering lifesaving isotopes that require urgent international transport. The precise number of denials occurring worldwide is not known.

"Radioactive materials are very safely transported, based on standards developed by the IAEA which have been operating for 43 years," Mr. Wangler said. "What the current regulatory system lacks are special provisions to facilitate the rapid distribution of medical isotopes when warranted."

 

UNODC And Pakistan Sign Accord To Strengthen Battle Against Drug Trafficking, Crime 5

In a bid to enhance law enforcement in states bordering Afghanistan, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on 23 August announced a new technical assistance agreement to strengthen key agencies in Pakistan in the battle against drug trafficking and organized crime.

"Investigating and dismantling criminal groups engaged in drug trafficking and organized crime requires a strong intelligence capacity," the Vienna-based agency said in a statement. "In the context of an increased need for strengthening law enforcement capacity in countries surrounding Afghanistan, it is vital to strengthen Pakistan's intelligence capacity."

The agreement, signed by senior UNODC representative Bernard Frahi and Pakistan's Minister of Interior and Narcotics Control, Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on 21 August, provides for an $811,000 two-year project to better equip the country's law enforcement agencies to conduct intelligence-led operations against the two scourges.

The agencies will be offered advisory services, training and relevant equipment. Immediate beneficiaries include the Anti Narcotics Force, the Frontier Corps which operates in the two key border areas of North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan, and the Federal Investigation Agency.

In recognition of the importance of cross-border cooperation at an operational level among neighbouring states, the project will also support regional collaboration among Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

 

UNESCO Observes International Day For The Remembrance Of Slavery And Its Abolition 6

While slavery has been abolished by international treaties, it is still practised in new forms that today affect millions of men, women and children in the world, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on 23 August in a message to mark the International Day for the Remembrance of Slavery and Its Abolition. 

"The Day gives us the opportunity to reflect together on the historical causes, processes and consequences of the unprecedented tragedy that was slavery and the slave trade, a tragedy that was concealed for many years
and is yet to be fully recognized," Koïchiro Matsuura said at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

"It not only disrupted the lives of millions of human beings uprooted from their land and deported in the most inhuman conditions, but it brought about cultural exchanges which deeply and lastingly influenced morals and beliefs, social relations and knowledge on several continents," he added.

UNESCO and the UN General Assembly designated the Day to commemorate the 1791 slave revolt in San Domingo, which was the first known victory of slaves over slaveholders.

 

UNDP: Each One Teach Ten 7

Hectoring is out in pedagogy. Peer Education is in. Romina Chongtham, originally from the North-eastern state of Manipur that reports some of the highest prevalence rates of HIV infections in India, was trained as a Peer Educator (PE) at a workshop on AIDS awareness that she attended last year as part of her diploma in Information Technology (IT) from NIIT in New Delhi. NIIT is India's largest private IT training company and one of the top 15 IT training leaders worldwide, with over 2300 centers in 27 countries.

The transformative workshop that Romina and thousands of other youth around Delhi have attended is a part of the "Project Outreach", a pilot initiative under the India Partnership Forum (IPF) (www.indiapartnershipforum.org), an apex level arrangement between UNDP and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) to strengthen corporate social responsibility. HIV/AIDS was identified as a focus area for CSR initiatives under IPF and it was decided that IT would be used as a medium to spread the message. Students in the age group of 15 and 25 were to be the target audience for the project.

Project Outreach is a collaboration on popularizing HIV/AIDS education, between UNDP, NIIT, and NIS Sparta. NIS Sparta, originally an NIIT goup company and now an independent entity, focuses on corporate training in leadership development, behavioural transformation, customer relationship management, sales management and change management.

The IT professionals and career seekers in sales and marketing present a group who travel the country and the world for jobs and constant upward mobility. Surveys have revealed that this group is woefully short on information that is often the difference between life and death. This presented an opportunity for the three partners to pool in their technical expertise and mass reach.

"The workshop made me recall the death of two my friends", says Romina. They were victims of AIDS. It was shocking because they were from good families. Their life was snuffed out even before it began! I wanted to know why it happened to them but I never got the answer! This training made me realize that no one, not even me and my family is immune to HIV and AIDS. It took me no time to sign up as a PE, she says."

Each PE is committed to creating at least ten more. "Being IT-savvy I started by sending e-mails to many of my friends, giving them a regular dose of shocking information and statistics on HIV and its rapid spread. I requested them to forward the message to their respective friends and others they knew. This would create a chain-mail of sorts. I chatted online, sharing and gathering information on AIDS. Apart from this I discussed the issue with my family and relations, friends, colleagues and others. I then presented my work along with other peer educators at an observance function organized by UNDP in New Delhi to mark the World AIDS Day on 8 December 2003".

Says Naveen Bhatia, Vice President NIS Sparta and the force behind the idea, "IT training is hot in India. To most educated and semi-educated Indians growing up on the daily diet of IT boom stories, a diploma in IT conjures up visions of a comfortable job and even an opportunity to settle in the United States or Europe. This flood of young women and men are the likely prime targets of concern on HIV/AIDS. But they also represent the best resource we have to mount an awareness and advocacy response needed to change human behaviour".

The core idea was the reiteration of the message through incorporation of exercises and case studies at regular intervals, and, creating core group of peer educators for further outreach. Out of the nearly 3,000 students who took the training in HIV/AIDS awareness at the NIIT centres in the National Capital Territory region of Delhi and its adjoining satellite cities such as Faridabad, NOIDA and Ghaziabad, over 350 volunteered as serious PEs. The PEs in turn were instrumental in reaching out to more than 20,000 people using schools, colleges, neighbourhood community centres, municipal parks and cyber cafes for the purpose. The students were exposed to real life situations through exercises, group discussions and visuals. The inhibitions were lowered by the interactions, free thought flow and encouragement from the faculty.

AIDS cases are swelling to epidemic proportions. India accepts that over 4 million people living with HIV/AIDS exist in India, making it the second largest destination for the pandemic after South Africa. The largest number if infections in South Asia and South East Asia are coming from India.

According to the chairman and founder of NIIT, Mr. Rajender Pawar, "NIIT is actively involved in bringing about a transformation at the grassroots by using training in information technology as a platform for mainstreaming HIV/AIDS awareness, in the process carving successful and socially responsible youth.  "The thrill and satisfaction of being a socially responsible professional is going to be significantly 

higher than being merely a successful professional", Mr. Pawar avers. "My company would work with UNDP to create efficient methods of HIV/AIDS-related outreach, keeping the costs affordable and reaching out to the largest possible numbers", he says.

The technical expertise of UNDP with the mass reach of the NIIT channel and the project planning, training and implementation contribution from NIS Sparta was essential to attain the objectives. Says Sanjeev Duggal, CEO of NIS Sparta, "We understand how AIDS is capable of destroying our youth. It is a passive and uncontrollable cause for infecting millions of youth worldwide and destroying their lives, it has already taken a monstrous size. The virus has still no cure. Prevention is the only way to eradicate it". Mr. Duggal adds, "The association of UNDP with NIS Sparta, besides being educative is also enabling the youth to be non-discriminatory and more humane in their approach to HIV and AIDS and the people affected by it".

The Peer Education model has been created keeping in mind the higher susceptibility of the youth and the social unacceptability of the HIV infected. The youth is at the same time better placed than any other generation to mount an outreach response needed to meet the threat. Interactive education sessions have been conducted at 36 NIIT centres in Delhi, which included group discussion, wildfire game and situation analysis exercises.

Louise Fréchette, the first Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations visited the NIS Academy at South Extension on 28 January 2004 accompanied by Dr. Maxine Olson, UN Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative,to gain an understanding on the unique HIV and AIDS sensitizing programme jointly initiated by NIS Sparta and UNDP. Ms. Fréchette interacted with the NIS Academy and NIIT students who spoke about their entry into the project and how the initiative proved to be an eye opener for them. She congratulated the NIS Sparta team on the outstanding work that had been done with the students.

The success of the programme has prompted major government organizations such as the Indian Railways, the Delhi Police and even some of the Indian corporates to come calling on NIS Sparta for training support for their vast workforce and to include an HIV/AIDS component in each of these programmes. Project Outreach is set to be expanded to NIIT centres across India covering over six hundred thousand students, police personnel, railway employees and students from other schools.

 

UN Strongly Protests Israel's Use Of Palestine Refugee School As Detention Centre 8

The main United Nations agency helping Palestine refugees has strongly protested Israel's use of one of its schools as a detention and interrogation centre for hundreds of suspects, calling it "a flagrant violation of UN privileges and immunities."

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said Israeli military forces broke into its girls' school in Askar Refugee Camp in the West Bank on 24 August. This was not the first such abuse of the agency's humanitarian installations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with at least 10 schools having previously been occupied.

"In all these cases, the Agency has also protested to the Israeli authorities, but without result, as the most recent violation reflects," it added.

"It is unacceptable that the Israeli Army persists in using UNRWA installations for rounding up and interrogating Palestinians despite our repeated calls on them to cease this practice," the agency's Director of Operations in the West Bank, Anders Fange, said. "All the explanations given by the Israeli military as to why they use UNRWA installations for these purposes disregard the fact that they violate international legal norms."

 

S-G: Timor-Leste Making Progress Towards Self-Sufficiency And Drawing Borders 9

Timor-Leste has made significant progress towards self-sufficiency in terms of administration and security, and has advanced in border delimitation talks, but the world's newest country has not been able to bring several people accused of serious anti-independence crimes to justice, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.

In his brief to the Security Council on the work of the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET), Mr. Annan says future progress will depend on joint efforts by Timor-Leste, UNMISET and the international community, with financial help and training still needed. The UN mission's mandate will end next May.

The report also finds "significant achievements in prosecuting perpetrators of serious crimes committed in 1999" when the independence referendum was held. But Mr. Annan points out that "many of the indicted persons are still outside Timor-Leste and have not been brought to justice."

He calls on Member States to make sure that the 279 people who were indicted over the 1999 anti-independence violence but who are living outside East Timor do not enjoy impunity.

On the border discussion, Mr. Annan welcomes the "high-level cooperation" achieved in delimiting a border between Indonesia and East Timor on the island, but adds that "progress has not been as rapid or as conclusive as hoped."

 

Experts Monitoring Weapons Embargo Against Somalia Extended For Six Months 10

In a bid to continue identifying violators of the 1992 weapons embargo against Somalia and find ways to strengthen compliance, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has reappointed the members of an expert panel tracking the ban.

John Tambi of Sierra Leone, Melvin Holt Jr. of the United States, Chansheng Li of China and Joel Salek of Colombia will continue serving on the panel for an additional six months. Mr. Tambi is a transport expert, Mr. Holt has extensive knowledge about arms, Mr. Li is a customs specialist and Mr. Salek is an authority on financial matters. 

Mr. Annan's action came in response to a recent Security Council resolution which called on the experts to "continue refining and updating information on the draft list of those who continue to violate the arms embargo inside and outside Somalia, and their active supporters, for possible future measures."

According to the panel's 11 August report, the frontline and neighbouring States - Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen - should implement anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorist measures to strengthen the capacity of their financial institutions to trace any funds linked to trafficking and smuggling. 

Dhow traffic in the region should be regulated, the report says, while the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in consultation with neighbouring countries and related organizations, should develop a practical monitoring programme for Somalia's 3,200-kilometre coastline, the second longest in Africa.

Though arms transfers by air had dropped in number, Somalia's neighbours should put all their airstrips under the control of their national airport regulators and should more closely monitor their own borders and their vehicular traffic, according to the report.

 

Pakistani UN Veteran Is New Deputy High Commissioner For Human Rights 11

Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 25 August announced the appointment of a Pakistani human rights expert and veteran United Nations manager as Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mehr Khan Williams, who has worked for the UN since 1976, holding senior management positions in New York, Florence and Bangkok with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), will become an Assistant-Secretary-General.

Until this July, she was UNICEF's regional director in East Asia and the Pacific, providing leadership and oversight for the agency's work in 22 countries, and is currently Special Advisor to UNICEF chief Carol Bellamy. She has also served as Acting Director of the UN Information Centre in Sydney.

 

UN Warns Of `Silent Emergency' Over Deadly Lack Of Basic Sanitation 12

With more than 2.6 billion people _ over 40 per cent of the world's population _ lacking access to basic sanitation, and more than 1 billion drinking unsafe water, the United Nations on 26 August issued a wake-up call to global leaders for urgent action now to meet ambitious goals set by the 2000 UN Millennium Summit.

While the world is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting the number of people lacking safe drinking water to 800 million by 2015, the MDG of providing basic sanitation to 75 per cent of the global population will at the present rate of progress fall short by half a billion people, allowing waste and disease to spread, killing millions of children and leaving millions more on the brink of survival.

Most of this toll will occur in rural Africa and Asia, according to a report released on 26 August by World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). The MDG baseline date for reaching the targets by 2015 is 1990.

While more than 1 billion people have gained access to basic sanitation services, population growth has outstripped the global response, translating numerical gains into much smaller gains in proportional terms. In 1990, 49 per cent of world had access to basic sanitation facilities. Today, that figure has increased by only nine percentage points, way behind schedule for the 2015 MDG target of 75 per cent coverage.

The consequences of inaction are severe, according to WHO and UNICEF. Diarrhoeal disease currently kills 1.8 million people each year, mostly children under five, with millions more left permanently debilitated. Over 40 billion work hours are lost in Africa to the need to fetch drinking water. And many children, particularly girls, are prevented from going to school for want of latrines, squandering their intellectual and economic potential.

 

UN Lauds Sporting Values Of Teamwork And Tolerance At US Open Tennis Ceremony 13

As the international professional tennis caravan stopped off on 25 August at United Nations Headquarters in New York for the men's and women's singles draws for the United States Open, a senior UN official spotlighted the shared values of tolerance, teamwork and respect.

Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor said the world of sport can play a key role in achieving sustainable development and other global goals.

Mr. Tharoor said leading sportsmen and sportswomen have strongly supported the UN's efforts to reduce poverty, help children and fight diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

"By its very nature, sport is about participation and inclusion. It is a way of bringing individuals and communities together, as players and audience, showcasing what we have in common and bridging differences," he said in a speech at the draw ceremony.

"Like you in the world of sports, the UN upholds the principles of tolerance, cooperation, understanding and respect."

Mr. Amritraj told the UN News Centre that sport, along with music, is among the most effective methods of communicating across cultural, national, ethnic or religious divides.

"If you're competing at the highest level, it doesn't matter where you're from, or what your background, religion or nationality is. It just matters how good you are," he said.

"And if you're an average person playing sport, well then it's the best way to communicate with people...anywhere in the world, if you go to a public park somewhere, you can be invited to play - and the next thing you're having dinner with these people. It's a wonderful way to make friends."

This year's theme of the International Day of Peace, which the UN observes on 21 September, is "Peace through sport," and 2005 has been designated the International Year for Sport and Physical Education.

This was the second consecutive year that the draw ceremony for the US Open, one of four Grand Slam tournaments in tennis, was held at UN Headquarters _ the inspiration for the venue came from Vijay Amritraj, a former top tennis player from India and, since 2000, a UN Messenger for Peace.

 

UNAIDS Hails New Indian Film As Major Contribution In Battle Against Pandemic 14

The United Nations campaign to battle AIDS on 20 August hailed a new Indian film about a successful career woman who suddenly learns she is HIV-positive as a major contribution in the fight against the pandemic and the ignorance, fear, stigma and discrimination in the work place that surround it.

"When Bollywood, one of the world's largest film industries with massive audiences, produces a film about AIDS, everyone has to sit up and take notice," the Executive Director of the joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Peter Piot, said of "Phir Milenge", directed by Revathy Menon, an award-winning actress turned director.

"It is extremely significant that Bollywood is joining the struggle against the epidemic and helping to break the silence that surrounds HIV and AIDS. 

We applaud the making of this film," he added.

The Bollywood industry is huge. Based in Mumbai, it produces some 800 films a year and on any given day 15 million Indians watch such movies. An estimated 5.1 million Indians are living with AIDS, the highest number in a single country outside South Africa.