UNIC Press Release No.91
UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION CENTRE
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PRESS RELEASE NO. 91 Tuesday, June 02, 2009.
In the headlines:
• ICC considers admissibility motion in case of Congolese militia leader
• Discussions on negotiating texts on pact to combat global warming kick off – UN
• UN agencies working to aid growing number of displaced Somalis
• Experts from 120 countries meet in Tunis for UN-backed plant diversity forum
• Nearly $720 million sought for Zimbabwe aid efforts – UN
• Ban presents UN population award to Egyptian doctor, Nicaraguan NGO
• UN envoy extends condolences over passing of former President of Sudan
• UN mission in DR Congo assists military in offensive against Hutu rebels
ICC considers admissibility motion in case of Congolese militia leader
1 June - The International Criminal Court (ICC) began public hearings today to consider challenges by defense lawyers to the admissibility of the case against alleged Congolese militia commander Germain Katanga.
This is the first time that the Court, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, will take up a challenge to admissibility based on the complementarily principle, according to a news release.
The Counsel of the accused maintain that legal proceedings were brought against him – partly for the same crimes – before the courts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The principle of complementarily requires the Court not to investigate or prosecute individuals unless the State concerned is genuinely unable to or has no intention to carry out the investigation or prosecution. The principle gives precedence to national systems.
A senior commander from the group known as the Force de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri (FRPI), Mr. Katanga was arrested and transferred to the Court in October 2007.
He faces three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes for a deadly assault on the village of Bogoro, in the province of Ituri. Hundreds of people were killed and many women forced into sexual slavery in that February 2003 attack.
In March 2008, the Court decided to join his case and that of accused Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui of the Nationalist Integrationist Front (FNI) – who is alleged to have played a key role in designing and carrying out the Bogoro attack – into one single case of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Discussions on negotiating texts on pact to combat global warming kick off – UN
1 June - Delegates from 182 nations are gathering in Bonn, Germany, today to initiate discussions on negotiating texts which could form the basis of an ambitious United Nations-backed climate change deal, to slash greenhouse gas emissions, expected to be clinched in December.
The two-week Bonn talks, the second round of UN climate change talks this year, are expected to draw over 4,000 participants, including representatives from Governments, the private sector, environmental organizations and research institutions.
The new pact, to be concluded in Copenhagen, Denmark, is intended to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012.
“The political moment is right to reach an agreement,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “There is no doubt in my mind that the Copenhagen climate conference in December is going to lead to a result.”
The current financial crisis has reinforced the need for a global response to global issues, he added.
The negotiating texts serve as a “starting point” for talks among nations, according to Michael Zammit Cutajar, who chairs the working group for long-term cooperation under the UNFCCC.
Also expected to be discussed in Bonn are how to improve emissions trading and coverage of emissions credits, among other topics.
In recent weeks, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been exhorting nations to “seal the deal” on a new climate change pact, warning that cost of inaction will be far greater than the cost of taking decisive action now.
“We live in an interconnected world,” he told business leaders last month. “An effective agreement in Copenhagen would be a powerful vote of confidence in multilateralism. By the same token, failure would be bad news for everyone.”
“We live in an interconnected world,” he told business leaders last month. “An effective agreement in Copenhagen would be a powerful vote of confidence in multilateralism. By the same token, failure would be bad news for everyone.”
In a related development, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and over one dozen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have urged climate negotiators to not leave fisheries and aquaculture out of discussions on a new pact.
As a result of climate change, millions of fishers, fish farmers and coastal inhabitants will see their livelihoods take a hit, with global warming decreasing the availability and quality of fish for food and increasing health risks, according to a policy brief issued by the groups.
Some 520 million people worldwide – or 8 per cent of the global population – depend on fisheries and aquaculture as a source of protein, income or family stability.
It also argues that without immediate adaptation and mitigation measures, many fishing and coastal communities, already vulnerable due to poverty and rural underdevelopment, will face an even worse situation.
“Through their decisions and actions, they need to avoid policies that would damage already stressed aquatic resources and human lives and, instead, implement measures that take full advantage of the environmental and food security services that healthy aquatic resources offer,” said Kevern Cochrane of FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department.
UN agencies working to aid growing number of displaced Somalis
1 June - United Nations agencies are continuing to assist the growing number of Somalis – now estimated to be at least 70,000 – who have been uprooted by the recent surge in fighting in and around the capital, the world body's humanitarian wing said today.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has begun distributing relief items, including plastic sheets, blankets and kitchen utensils, to some 50,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Afgooye corridor, a 30-kilometre stretch of ramshackle houses north-west of Mogadishu, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported.
At least 70,000 people have been newly displaced to the corridor since fresh fighting erupted between Government forces and rebel militias in Mogadishu on 8 May, according to UNHCR. Most of those displaced are in need of emergency shelter, sanitation and water.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and local partners are already serving some 250,000 IDPs in the Afgooye corridor with clean piped and trucked water. Additional water trucking is planned for 18,000 IDPs located in remote areas, OCHA said.
In addition, the World Food Programme (WFP) and a partner organization last week distributed 4,600 metric tons of assorted food commodities to around 333,900 beneficiaries in the corridor, including 80,000 cooked meals.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have begun a campaign to screen and treat women and children in the area. The two agencies and their local partners aim to reach at least 130,000 children under the age of five and 153,000 women of child-bearing age.
Also, the Government of Italy dispatched an emergency humanitarian flight carrying part of a 23-ton consignment of health care supplies into Mogadishu for distribution to five hospitals and other health institutions in the capital, OCHA said.
Experts from 120 countries meet in Tunis for UN-backed plant diversity forum
1 June - Delegates from some 120 countries today opened a United Nations-supported meeting in Tunis to discuss plant genetics and food resources, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.
Participants at the five-day meeting, the third session of the governing body of the 2004 International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, are seeking agreement on ways to further speed up the benefit-sharing aspects of the Treaty, FAO noted in a press release.
“No country is self-sufficient in plant genetic resources; all depend on genetic diversity in crops from other countries and regions. International cooperation and open exchange of genetic resources are therefore essential for food security,” stated the agency.
“Climate change has made this challenge even more pressing as there is a need to preserve all the crops developed over millennia that can resist cold winters or hot summers.
“Yet, agricultural biodiversity, which is the basis for food production, is in sharp decline due the effects of modernization, changes in diets and increasing population density.”
The agency said about three-quarters of the genetic diversity found in agricultural crops has been lost over the last century, and this genetic erosion continues.
Nearly $720 million sought for Zimbabwe aid efforts – UN
1 June - Aid agencies in Zimbabwe today issued an appeal for $718 million to meet the humanitarian needs of some 6 million people in the southern African nation, an increase of $168 million from the original appeal launched last November, the United Nations announced.
The country has witnessed a sharp decline in the provision of basic services, considered to be one of the root causes of the spread of cholera which has infected nearly 100,000 people and claimed nearly 4,280 lives to date, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
The collapse of basic social services, combined with food insecurity and hyperinflation, has left 6 million people in need of humanitarian aid.
In November 2008, agencies had requested some $550 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, of which only $246 million has been received. Those funds have helped save lives by containing the cholera outbreak, providing food and agricultural assistance to vulnerable populations, and supporting vital social services including health, water and education.
Aid requirements have, however, outstripped the funds sought previously, OCHA added.
A UN inter-agency mission that visited Zimbabwe in February stressed that the country's humanitarian crisis remains grave, and urged both the Government and the international community to support the strengthening of aid efforts.
“We hope that donors will continue to be generous to the people of Zimbabwe who need help to save and rebuild their lives after years of adversity,” said Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator.
Ms. Bragg, who led the assessment mission in February, added that adequate support now for a crucial sector such as agriculture will ensure that those who are currently dependent on food aid will be able to feed them next year.
In addition to resources to effectively contain the cholera outbreak and help improve food security, funds are also needed to enhance health care and repair water and sewage systems.
According to OCHA, 6 million people in Zimbabwe have limited or no access to safe water and sanitation in rural and urban areas. Also, some 1.3 million Zimbabweans are infected with HIV/AIDS, including 133,000 children under the age of 14. There are also 1.5 million orphaned and vulnerable children, including over 100,000 child-headed households and thousands who remain internally displaced.
Aid agencies are concerned that unless conditions change, outbreaks of water-borne diseases at the onset of the next rainy season could lead to new cholera cases, and a serious humanitarian crisis, OCHA stated.
Ban presents UN population award to Egyptian doctor, Nicaraguan NGO
1 June - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today presented the United Nations Population Award to an Egyptian doctor and a Nicaraguan non-governmental organization (NGO), in recognition of their contributions to public health and efforts to reduce maternal deaths.
Mahmoud Fathalla and Movimiento Comunal Nicaragüense (MCN) were chosen from 18 nominees by an Award Committee, headed by Ambassador Hamdon Ali of Malaysia, to receive the honour, which consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary prize.
“Dr. Fathalla has made a major impact in the field of family planning, reproductive rights and ending maternal deaths,” Mr. Ban told the awards ceremony in New York.
The Secretary-General noted that, among his achievements, he helped to found the 'Safe Motherhood Initiative,' which is saving women from dying in pregnancy and childbirth, and in 1974, established the Egyptian Fertility Care Society, one of the first family planning organizations in the Arab world.
Highlighting his work with various UN agencies, Mr. Ban paid special tribute to “his recognition of the important role of women in contraceptive research.”
He stressed that Dr. Fathalla “richly deserves the UN Population Award” for demonstrating “how science, academics and advocacy can come together to help the women of the world.”
Mr. Ban also paid tribute to MCN, which was created in 1978 to boost living conditions in Nicaragua through social and community development, gender equality and environmental protection.
He noted that the NGO has trained people in more than 2,000 local communities, “and has mobilized an impressive 20,000 people, including leaders, educators and midwives, to improve public health.”
The group's efforts have led to advances in literacy, polio eradication and reduction of maternal and child mortality rates, said Mr. Ban. “It has also improved conditions for Nicaraguans by focusing on youth, gender relations, domestic violence, sexually transmitted diseases and early pregnancies.”
Drawing inspiration from the work of the award winners, Mr. Ban called for “a world where women do not die needlessly in childbirth; where girls get the education they deserve; where young people are protected from HIV; and where couples can decide how many children to have.”
UN envoy extends condolences over passing of former President of Sudan
The Secretary-General's Special Representative to Sudan today commiserated over the passing of the African nation's former President Jaafar Nimeiri.
On behalf of the United Nations, Ashraf Qazi extended his condolences to both the bereaved family and to the people of Sudan.
According to media reports, Government officials announced on Saturday that Mr. Nimeiri, who ruled strife-torn Sudan for 16 years between 1969 and 1985, died at the age of 79 after a long struggle with an unspecified illness.
Mr. Qazi also voiced deep concern on Saturday over deadly tribal clashes in Upper Nile and Jonglei states in southern Sudan which have left hundreds killed, including many women and children, and thousands displaced.
“In recent months, the death rate in southern Sudan from violent conflict has been higher than in Darfur,” Mr. Qazi, who also heads the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS), said on the conclusion of a two-day visit to the affected areas.
At the beginning of May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that up
UN mission in DR Congo assists military in offensive against Hutu rebels
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced on Saturday that it is supporting Congolese government forces (FARDC) in an ongoing effort to flush out an ethnic Hutu militia, committing atrocities against civilians in the east of the vast African country.
The UN blue helmet operation in the DRC, known by its French acronym MONUC, has helped the FARDC plan an attack against the notorious Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) and supplied support units, the mission said in a news release.
The offensive, launched on Thursday, involved an aerial manoeuvre targeting the Lubero Territory in the embattled North Kivu province, where FDLR fighters have been operating since the end of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that left around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead.
The FDLR, the target of a joint DRC-Rwandan military operation since January, known as Kimia II, has been retaliating against civilians and attacking villages in North Kivu, committing rape and other human rights abuses which have forced close to 400,000 people from their homes, according to recent reports from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).