The environment in the news wednesday, 22 August 2007 unep and the Executive Director in the News
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UN DAILY NEWS21 August 2007 ==================================================================Darfur: UN accuses Sudanese military, allied militias of possible war crimes 21 August - The Sudanese military and allied armed groups abducted women and girls and kept many as sex slaves for a month after an attack on villages in Darfur near the end of last year, the United Nations human rights office reported today, saying the abuses may constitute war crimes before theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) and naming individuals who could be held responsible. The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Louise Arbour called on the Sudanese Government to set up an independent investigation into the events that followed the attack on Deribat and eight other villages in the East Jebel Marra region of South Darfur state in late December 2006. In a report released today, issued with the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) as a follow-up to an April report on the same events, OHCHR recommended, among others, that anyone suspected of being responsible for the abductions, rapes or sex slavery “should be brought to justice in trials that meet international standards of fairness.” Any member of the Sudanese armed forces suspected of committing or ordering the abuses should be suspended immediately pending an inquiry, the report stated, adding that the Government should also ensure full reparations – including compensation – for the victims and their families. Khartoum “must protect women and children from sexual and gender-based violence,” according to a statement accompanying the report, which was based partly on testimony given by victims and eyewitnesses during a field trip by UNMIS human rights officers. It said the Government was responsible for the actions of its armed forces and for other informal allied groups or militias that were involved, particularly the Popular Defence Forces (PDF) and the Sudan Liberation Army/Abu Gasim faction. More than 200,000 people have been killed and over 2 million others forced to flee their homes since 2003 because of fighting between rebel groups, Government forces and allied militias. Last month the Security Council approved the creation of a hybrid UN-African Union force (to be known as UNAMID) to quell the violence. The OHCHR report noted that after UN officials presented their initial conclusions to local authorities in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, no investigations were carried out, although authorities indicated they have sent the allegations to the Sudanese military. Witnesses testified that several hundred armed men on horseback and camelback attacked Deribat on the morning of 26 December, joined by an aircraft and at least three vehicles. The attackers then rounded up many women and children from the town and took them to a nearby stream, where they camped and began to systematically rape the women and girls, often in front of the other captives. One witness told UN investigators that the women were badly beaten if they did not comply. The abducted women and children were held for about a month, and some of the women became pregnant or experienced serious physical injuries as a result of the rapes in addition to the widespread psychological trauma suffered by victims. No formal medical treatment and little food were provided, and the women were forced to cook and serve food for their abductors. UNMIS human rights officials said the pattern of attacks in the Jebel Marra region suggested that the victims in Deribat were tar geted because the local Fur community was perceived as being sympathizers of rebel groups that have not signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) with the Government. The officials said information gathered indicated “that the following persons may share criminal responsibility” for leading or authorizing the attack on Deribat and the subsequent rapes and abductions: Ali Mohammed Hussein, a former sergeant in the Sudanese armed forces and now a PDF commander; Yousif Ali Yousif, a PDF commander in the Malam area; and Hamid Mohammed Hamdan, a militia commander with the allied Mahamid tribe. The report stressed that the information obtained in the testimony indicated a series of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and possibly war crimes as well. “If rape, sexual slavery or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against civilians… [they] can constitute a crime against humanity, and potentially fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.” In February, the ICC’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo named a Sudanese Government minister and a militia commander as the first suspects he wants tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders to meet in September – UN 21 August - Greek Cypriot leader H.E. Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader H.E. Mehmet Ali Talat will meet on 5 September at the official residence of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the United Nations Protected Area in Nicosia, the island’s capital, it was announced today. The decision was reached by Rasit Pertev and Tasos Tzionis, the principal aides to the two leaders, who held a 45 minute meeting this morning at the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) headquarters, in the presence of Wlodek Cibor, the Mission’s Senior Adviser. UNFICYP Force Commander General Rafael Jose Barni and Mr. Cibor welcomed the aides to their headquarters before the meeting commenced. Gaza Strip: UN official warns of worsening humanitarian conditions 21 August - A senior United Nations official in the Middle East today voiced concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation inside the Gaza Strip, where the closure of border crossings and other restrictions have cut exports and forced factories to shut, leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians without jobs or income. Kevin Kennedy, the Deputy UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said in a statement that while the basic humanitarian needs of Gaza’s estimated population of 1.4 millionnpeople are largely being met, the conditions remain very difficult. UN officials have warned repeatedly in recent weeks that the closure of border crossings since intra-Palestinian violence flared in May and June and Hamas took control of the territory is threatening Gaza’s economic sustainability. Factories in import-dependent industries have had to close because of a lack of basic materials, and other businesses are also suffering because they are unable to export their products. Mr. Kennedy said “tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and income” as a result. He added that UN relief agencies are facing increased demands to provide humanitarian assistance and “much remains to be done” to help the people of Gaza. Kevin Kennedy
Hurricane Dean has now weakened from a category 5 – the highest level for hurricanes – to a category 3 storm after striking the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico earlier today, UN Spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters in New York. “The United Nations Country Team is working with authorities to prepare the region for the hurricane,” she said, noting that some 530 storm shelters – with a capacity of 73,000 people – have been set up on the eastern part of the Yucatan. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also pre-positioned medicines, food, water and blankets. The UN has sent Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) teams to Jamaica and Belize. A state of emergency had been declared in the southern part of Jamaica and some 6,500 people are temporarily living in 268 shelters. Preliminary findings reveal significant damage to roofs, storm surges, flooding, collapsed structures and impassable roadways throughout the country. There have also been reports of severe damage to power lines and to the water supply system. UNICEF estimated that 90,000 children had been directly or indirectly affected in Jamaica alone. The agency had distributed hygiene kits, water purification tablets and water containers in anticipation of the hurricane. UN agencies are assessing the situation in Haiti along with the UN mission in that country (MINUSTAH). The mission is also supporting urgent repair works and the distribution of water and food rations. Some 5,000 people were reported to be living in shelters, with 406 families affected, 244 homes destroyed and 111 houses damaged.The hurricane, which has caused several deaths in the region so far, entered the eastern Caribbean on Friday, damaging rooftops and flooding streets in Saint Lucia, Dominica and Martinique. “Thankfully the number of casualties has been remarkably low, despite the severity of Hurricane Dean,” stated UN Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes. “It demonstrates how well prepared the governments of the affected countries have been in advance of this disaster. However, given the level of economic devastation, recovery will be arduous and protracted, even under the best of circumstances,” Mr. Holmes, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, added. Citing Hurricane Dean, UN agency urges strengthening disaster early warning system 21 August - Early warning systems are the most efficient way to save lives in disasters such as Hurricane Dean now rampaging across Mexico and need to be further enhanced at local levels, the United Nations body seeking to mitigate their impact said today. “Early warning systems allow populations to evacuate ahead of time and take shelter in emergency and safer buildings,” UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Director Salvano Briceño stressed in a statement. “They give Governments enough time to protect critical infrastructures such as power plants and water tanks which can create further disasters if they are not protected.” In Mexico, thousands of tourists were alerted in advance to evacuate the coastal area of the Yucatan peninsula and hundred of workers were removed from oil rigs in the Gulf to safer places. In Jamaica, electricity was turned off and shelters were organized all over the country ahead of Dean’s approach. Schools and churches were converted into refuge shelters in Haiti. “Communities are much better prepared than during hurricanes Ivan or Wilma which hit the same region [in 2004 and 2005]. People are learning from past experiences and are evacuating in time,” Mr. Briceño said. “The fear of being looted is still a huge trauma that needs to be better addressed in community-based risk reduction programmes organized by local communities.”
fires.
Earthquakes like this month’s disaster in Peru cannot be prevented but their impact can be reduced by improving the structural resilience of key facilities such as houses, schools and hospitals and educating people on how to protect cities and villages against quake threats.
An existing WFP operation provides nutritional aid to 1.9 million especially vulnerable people across 50 counties, including many of the flood-affected counties, distributing vitamin- and mineral-enriched foods processed at local factories to young children and pregnant and nursing women.
Combatants rejoining civilian life will receive $110 to help with transport costs and an entry card into the community reconstruction service, which will allow them to work on manual labour projects such as the rehabilitation of roads, schools and sanitary systems for $2 a day for up to 90 days. If they want to set up their own business, they will be given access to microfinance through local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Former militia members wanting to enter the integrated armed forces will be transported to the city of Kisangani for training before they can enter the brigades. Last week the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the DRC – and MONUC chief – William Lacy Swing travelled with the mission’s force commander Gen. Babacar Gaye to the town of Bunia in Ituri for a two-day visit to evaluate the progress of the DDR programme. During his visit Mr. Swing stressed the need for participants to adhere strictly to the timetable of the DDR programme so that it can continue through all of its phases. He also emphasized the importance of the “one man, one weapon” concept, which is a requirement of the DDR programme’s third phase. “There are issues relating to registered troops who present themselves for DDR but do not have weapons, and others who come with a weapon but are not registered for the programme,” Mr. Swing said. UN commends Jordan for educating Iraqi school children 21 August - With the new school year kicking off on Sunday in Jordan, the United Nations refugee agency today praised the country for opening the doors of its local schools to tens of thousands of Iraqi children who have fled war in their homeland. There are currently 750,000 Iraqi refugees – half are believed to be children – living in Jordan, most of them having fled their homeland following the outbreak of violence in 2003. Until now, Iraqi children uprooted in Jordan could not receive educations unless their parents had residency permits or paid fees. “This courageous gesture by the Jordanian Government will have to be strongly supported by the international community. It deserves wide recognition,” said Peter Janssen, acting representative in Jordan for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “It will help many Iraqis give some meaning to a very difficult and, at times, hopeless situation.” Iraqis will have until 15 September to take part in the registration process, and the Jordanian Ministry of Education has said it believes at least 50,000 Iraqi children will enrol in schools nationwide. Iraqi children will follow the same curricula as Jordanian students and have access to the same school facilities. The programme is slated to include primary, secondary and vocational training as well as non-formal education where applicable. At the end of the registration period, Jordanian officials will assess needs, recruit teachers and staff and organize double shifts in crowded schools. Children are being placed on waiting lists in some schools and referred to schools running double shifts by tutoring one group in the morning and a second in the afternoon, UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva. Nearly three dozen schools in the capital Amman will operate in double shifts, while others will follow in the cities of Zarqa and Irbid. An additional 2,500 teachers are expected to be hired in the next two weeks to handle the influx of new students. Young girls enjoy start of academic year in Jordan Late last month, UNHCR and the UN Children’s Fund joined together to launch a $129 million education appeal to send 155,000 Iraqi refugee children to school in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. The funds would be used to provide prefab classrooms and buildings, upgrading water and sanitation in schools and building new schools and additional classrooms. “So far, funding has been slow to come in although there are good indications that money will be forthcoming,” Ms. Pagonis noted. Over 2 million Iraqis have fled their country, primarily to Jordan and Syria, and nearly half a million of them are of school age and most have limited or no access to education. Ms. Pagonis said that “many Iraqis still face barriers to education as many families are running out of resources and sending their children out to work, especially in female headed households. In addition, some vulnerable Iraqis are unwilling to register their children at state schools because they do not have legal status in Jordan.” UN nuclear watchdog agency team holds talks in Iran 21 August - Experts from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are in Iran to hold talks as part of efforts to resolve outstanding issues pertaining to the country’s past nuclear programme and to clarify safeguards implementation issues. The results of the visit – led by IAEA Deputy Director General for Safeguards Olli Heinonen – will be reflected in the Director General Mohamed ElBaradei’s next report to the agency’s board at the end of the month. This visit, which was announced in late July, comes on the heels of another trip by IAEA inspectors earlier this month to the Arak reactor. Iran’s nuclear programme has been a matter of international concern ever since the discovery in 2003 that it had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the NPT. In December, 2006, the Security Council adopted a resolution banning trade with Iran in all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to the country's enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy water-related activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems. It tightened the measures in March, banning arms sales and expanding the freeze on assets. Refugees living in Zambia will receive continued assistance, UN official pledges 21 August - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has assured refugees from several African countries living in Zambia that his agency will continue to assist them in their efforts to either return to their homes or to settle in local communities. During a four-day visit, Mr. Guterres held discussions with Congolese refugees at Kala camp in northern Zambia, as well as with Angolan, Rwandan and Burundian refugees from Mayukwayukwa settlement in the western part of the country. Responding to concerns about the slow pace of repatriation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mr. Guterres emphasized that UNHCR will resume and intensify voluntary return efforts as soon as conditions allow. He also encouraged Angolans willing to return home to do so, despite the official closure of UNHCR’s assisted repatriation programme earlier this year. “UNHCR will continue to assist refugees to return to Angola, even after the closure of the organized repatriation,” he pledged. Congolese refugees at Kala camp, northern Zambia While voluntary repatriation is the preferred solution for most refugees, the High Commissioner said he was aware of the need to pursue other options, including local integration. He noted that a number of Angolan refugees in Zambia are married to Zambians or were born in the country and wish to remain there. “We are discussing with the Government to consider local integration for these refugees,” he said. While in Lusaka, Mr. Guterres also attended the 27th summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – which Zambia currently chairs – and held meetings with senior Government officials, diplomats and representatives of UNHCR and sister agencies. During a meeting with Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, Mr. Guterres stressed the need for the Government to find durable solutions for the refugees, including favourably considering local integration for some of them, and pledged UNHCR’s support in the development of host communities. As part of his southern African tour, Mr. Guterres is currently in Mozambique and will head to South Africa later this week. UN urges Asia-Pacific nations to scale up domestic funds for AIDS response 21 August - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has warned that countries in Asia and the Pacific will face serious difficulties in sustaining their response to the disease unless they become less reliant on external donors and commit more national funds to their AIDS programmes. Resources for national AIDS programmes in the region, while increasing, are insufficient for a long-term response to the pandemic, UNAIDS Asia Pacific Regional Director Prasada Rao told those gathered at the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, which opened yesterday in Colombo, Sri Lanka. National budgets for AIDS programmes in the region account for only 30 per cent of the $1.2 billion allocated for AIDS, he noted, adding that, with the exception of Thailand, international donors fund the balance. Echoing his comments, Deborah Landey, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, said she hoped to see a substantial increase in domestic funding for AIDS in the region by next year. “In this third decade of the epidemic, it is becoming more and more important for countries not only to demonstrate strong political leadership, but to commit their own funds to tackling AIDS,” she stated. “This gives new meaning to the concept of national ownership.” Although prevalence rates remain low across the region, new infections rates are rising in a number of countries such as Papua New Guinea, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh. Overall, the region has seen some 1 million new infections in the last two years. Mr. Rao called on civil society groups – including people living with HIV – to continue and to increase pressure on Governments to deliver concrete AIDS programmes. “We need continued vigilance to ensure that HIV prevention and treatment are reaching people most at risk and most in need,” he said. The weeklong conference brings together more than 3,000 delegates from some 60 countries to discuss critical issues on AIDS in the region such as stigma and discrimination, access to HIV prevention and treatment and the importance of sustained political commitment on AIDS. Directory: cpi -> briefs briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news Download 296.47 Kb. Share with your friends:
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