UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE

UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE

DAILY NEWS

29 December 2005

29 December - Despite a consistent and forceful Security Council response to the crisis in Sudan’s

western Darfur region, reports from there confirm a marked deterioration since September, including

an increase in ethnic clashes, destabilizing elements crossing in from Chad and continuing banditry,

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report released today.

For more than a year, the Council has sought an end to the violence, the disarming of the Janjaweed

militia, a halt to impunity and a political solution. The Council has also imposed an arms embargo,

assets freeze and travel bans on belligerents in Darfur, and has referred the situation there to the

International Criminal Court (ICC).
Since the Secretary-General’s first report in August of last year, however, the Sudanese Government has taken no major

steps to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders or perpetrators of the attacks, Mr. Annan says in his latest

update to the Council, pointing out that Southern Darfur experienced its highest rate of violence last month.

“I strongly urge the Government of the Sudan once again to take decisive steps to address these manifest failures,” he says.

Though countless lives have been saved through a massive, UN-led humanitarian relief effort, those most exposed to

violence and gross violations of human rights continue to live in fear and terror, the report states.

“Large-scale attacks against civilians continue, women and girls are being raped by armed groups, yet more villages are

being burned and thousands more are being driven from their homes,” Mr. Annan says.

The Security Council has extended through March the mandate of its Committee monitoring the targeted measures and

designating individuals subject to sanctions.

million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to return home,” the Secretary-General writes.

Given these stakes, the current round of the peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria, is “critical and must be decisive,” despite serious

difficulties encountered in the lead-up to the talks as a result of the division within the rebel Sudanese Liberation Movement

(SLM), he says. That split came about as a result of an internal leadership struggle between two rival SLM leaders, Abdul

Wahid al-Nur of the Fur people and Minni Arko Minawi of the Zaghawa people.

Mr. Annan also calls on donors to help fund efforts to meet the “massive humanitarian needs” of the people of Darfur.
Annan reaffirms UN commitment to peace in the eastern DR Congo

29 December - In the face of deadly clashes between United Nations peacekeepers and armed rebel groups in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Secretary-General Kofi Annan today reaffirmed the UN’s determination to work closely with the Congolese authorities in restoring peace in the region.

“The Secretary-General was deeply saddened to learn of the death of an Indian peacekeeper and the injury of four others serving with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the spokesman added. Mr. Annan extended his deepest sympathy and condolences to the Government of India and to the families of the victims, the statement said.

(FARDC) troops, who have been conducting operations against armed rebel groups in the Ituri region to restore the

authority of the Congolese State. One of the four wounded peacekeepers is in serious condition.
Iraq: Annan welcomes establishment of team to examine election complaints

29 December - Emphasizing that Iraqis who have complaints about their recent elections should get a hearing, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today welcomed the decision by the International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE) to establish a team of experts to examine the issue.

The team, which will include two representatives from the League of Arab States, is set to assess

developments since 15 December, when parliamentary elections were held and its interim report was issued.

In welcoming the IMIE move, the Secretary-General also voiced strong support for ongoing efforts by the IndependentElectoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) to investigate and audit all complaints received before certifying the results of thoseelections.
In a statement released by his spokesman, Mr. Annan said the UN has encouraged the IECI to invite additional internationalobservers to support this process. “It is critical that those Iraqi groups who have complained about the conduct of theelection are given a hearing,” he said. “This team of assessors, which was not involved in the conduct of the elections, offers

an independent evaluation of these complaints.”

Meanwhile in Baghdad, Mr. Annan’s envoy Ashraf Jehangir Qazi welcomed IECI’s invitation for additional internationalobservers to assess the recent elections.

Final results will be announced after all the serious complaints have been investigated and decided upon, according to thestatement.

process of government formation to commences as soon as possible,” the statement concluded.

Immediately after the elections, Mr. Qazi, Mr. Annan and the Security Council commended the Iraqi people for their active

nationwide participation and congratulated the IECI for the conduct of the poll, pledging the UN’s continued support on thepath to peace and democracy in the strife-torn country.

29 December - The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) separating Ethiopia and

Eritrea remains “tense and potentially volatile,” a spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping

mission there, which has been forced to relocate some staff because of Eritrean demands, said today.

Troop movements have been noticed on both the Ethiopian and Eritrean sides, an UNMEE spokesman

told a press briefing in the region today. The two countries fought a bitter war between 1998 and 2000

over a border dispute which remains unresolved to this day.
Eritrea's ban on UNMEE helicopters, which the Security Council and Secretary-General have

vehemently opposed, remains in place, while UNMEE patrols face restrictions on their movements.

Despite these constraints, the mission carried out 765 ground patrols throughout its area of operation over the past week. In

all sectors, UNMEE peacekeepers continued to provide medical assistance to the local population, along with supplies of

bulk water to civilian communities in the TSZ and adjacent areas.

Meanwhile, the mission's officer-in-charge has been holding talks on the peace process. Ambassador Azouz Ennifar met on

27 December with, Arman Aardal, the Chargé d'Affaires of Norway, and on 22 December with Ethiopian Foreign Minister

Tekeda Alemu.

civilian staff now in that country to Ethiopia for their safety. The Council also reiterated its previous condemnation of

Eritrea's requested pullout of UN personnel of specified nationalities, as well as the country's ban on peacekeeping flights.

A record 2 billion people took scheduled flights in 2005, UN aviation agency says

29 December - The number of passengers flying on scheduled airlines worldwide rose 7 per cent over last

year’s total to a record 2 billion this year, the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization

(ICAO) said today.

reported by those airlines so far, according to ICAO, which sets international standards and regulations for

the safety, security and efficiency of international air transport.

“The global air transport system is fundamentally safe, yet a number of fatal accidents in August and September of this year

focused attention on the urgent need to eliminate remaining systemic deficiencies so as to further improve aviation safety

worldwide,” ICAO Council President Assad Kotaite said.

Aviation to assess the current status of aviation safety, identify ways to achieve significant improvements and develop a

global strategy for aviation safety,” he added.
The Conference will take into account recent measures, including the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme

which aims to help States better respond to safety threats. Under the Programme, 42 audits were performed this year,

bringing the total to 103 since the initiative began in 2002.
Other issues to be considered at the upcoming meeting include countries with significant compliance shortcomings on ICAO

safety-related standards, such as licensing sub-standard airlines. The ICAO Council will communicate these countries’

shortcomings to all other contracting parties, the Montreal-based Organization noted.
UN operation in Burundi sponsors new projects aimed at spurring education

29 December - The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) is funding nearly a dozen new

initiatives aimed at boosting education and health across eight provinces in the country, which is

stabilizing despite continued rebel activities.

level. The new projects recently announced by ONUB involve rehabilitating primary schools,

constructing new classrooms and sanitation systems, refurbishing college facilities, stocking libraries,

and the installation of a water supply system at the Nyakabugu Health Centre.

ONUB is mandated to help Burundians restore lasting peace and bring about national reconciliation. The Security Council

recently extended the mission through mid-2006, noting that despite the recent election of a democratic government in

Burundi, the rebel Palipehutu-National Liberation Forces (Palipehutu-FNL) has yet to join the peace process.
New $15 million loan from UN agency to assist rural Venezuelans

29 December - Poor farmers and wage-workers living in semi-arid rural areas of Venezuela will benefit from

a water-management project agreed upon today between the United Nations International Fund for

Agricultural Development (IFAD), which is lending $15 million and the Government of the country, which is

contributing another $3 million.

“The Project will support IFAD’s efforts to achieve the Millenium Development Goals of halving, by 2015, the number of people living in poverty and extreme poverty,” said Jean-Jacques Gariglio, IFAD’s Country Programme

Manager for Venezuela, referring to the Goals agreed upon at the 2000 World Summit.

“By supporting economic development and better management of natural resources we can help the rural poor to generate

more income and improve their livelihoods,” he added.
Project funds will be used for the rehabilitation and conservation of watersheds, and for training and education to provide a

better understanding of the importance of existing natural resources, according to IFAD.

The project will also support soil and water conservation measures, development of a sustainable water supply for drinking

and agricultural production as well as a more efficient use of semi-arid rangelands for goat-raising.

In addition, the project will assist small entrepreneurs, rural youth and groups of small farmers through training and

capacity-building to better enable them to negotiate their demands within state, municipal, and local development

programmes.
Approximately 50,000 rural households in the Falcon and Lara states will benefit from the new project, which will have a

total of $23 million in funds available, augmented by an additional $4 million from the Andean Development Corporation

(CAF) as well as $1 million from beneficiaries.

With its loan, IFAD will have financed five projects in Venezuela for a total of US$67 million.

29 December - A micro-credit system in Ecuador set up by the United Nations and a local foundation

is fostering harmonious relations between Colombian refugees and the local population as the two

groups work together to bring their small business dreams to fruition, the UN refugee agency

(UNHCR) reported today.
The latest success story occurred today when the Integration for Progress shop – a collective business

project that brought together 35 Colombian refugees and Ecuadorians in the capital city of Quito –

opened its doors to the public with the help of the micro-credit system, the Community Credit Banks.

“The Community Credit Banks make it possible for Ecuadorians and refugees to relate to each other,” said UNHCR

Programme Assistant Angel Garcia. “By putting forward joint projects they realize they have the same needs, regardless of

their nationality. Each group has to build a relationship of trust. It's the only way they can gain support for their projects.”

A joint venture of UNHCR and Fundacion Ambiente y Sociedad, a non-governmental organization (NGO), Community

Credit Banks provides financial and emotional support for people like Jairo Martinez, a Colombian refugee who arrived in

Ecuador two years ago. Today, Mr. Martinez stacked the shop’s shelves with rice, sugar and pasta while colleagues outside

decorated the shop’s entrance with balloons and colorful garlands.

“When you come to a new country, the question of how you are going to make a living is constantly on your mind,” he

observed. “Any help is a blessing, but it is much, much better if you are given tools to build something through your own

efforts.”
The shop opened following 18 months of work by the nearly three dozen participants who received training from the FAS in

accounting, administration and marketing. It is located in the poor and crowded Solanda neighbourhood, where large

numbers of Colombians have settled in recent years.

So far, the micro-credit system has provided funding for more than 100 projects, including small businesses that make and

sell handicrafts, fast food and furniture. Like many participants, Mr. Martinez is hopeful about the future. “Right now, we

are planning seven more projects, including a bakery and an internet café, but we want to wait and see how the shop goes first,” he said.

29 December - The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has named three new senior officials to

head, respectively, its bureaus for Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa.

The Minister for Human Rights of Yemen, Amat Al Aleem Ali Alsoswa, will leave his post to direct UNDP’s

Regional Bureau for Arab States. He succeeds Rima Khalaf Hunaidi of Jordan.
Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica will be in charge of the agency’s Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ms. Grynspan, currently Director of the Sub-regional Headquarters in Mexico of the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin

America (ECLAC), will succeed Elena Martinez of Cuba.

The current UNDP Chief of Staff, Gilbert Houngbo of Togo, was named Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa. He will

succeed Abdoulie Janneh of Gambia.

All three will assume their posts at UNDP in the first quarter of 2006.

29 December - In a case concerning fishing that pits Chile against the European Community, the United Nations

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea today announced that it is extending the deadline on the proceedings for two

years, through 1 January 2008.

whether the European Community has complied with its obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to

ensure the conservation of swordfish in the fishing activities undertaken by vessels flying the flag of its Member States in

the high seas adjacent to Chile’s exclusive economic zone.

on the high seas is in breach of the Convention, and whether a related accord, known as the “Galapagos Agreement,” was

negotiated in keeping with the provisions of the Convention.

Based in Hamburg, Germany, the Tribunal was established to deal with disputes arising from the application of the

Convention, which was adopted in 1982 and entered into force a dozen years later.

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