Dialogue 'central pillar' of global response to all conflict, violence: Annan Annan says trade talks in Doha must tackle needs of developing nations Burundi: Security Council welcomes new government, condemns attacks on civilians Afghanistan: Brahimi says former King willing to play role in country's future Top UN refugee official appeals for international help to Afghan civilians Afghanistan: UN food agency presses on with deliveries to prevent hunger in winter UN pursues anti-polio drive in Afghanistan despite insecurity Annan, Security Council offer condolences after fatal helicopter crash in Sierra Leone Security Council urges funding to bolster peace process in Sierra Leone Sierra Leone: more funds needed to set up special court, Security Council told General Assembly opens two-day debate on 'dialogue among civilizations' UN conference to urge countries to ratify nuclear test ban treaty World trade meeting should focus on development, UNDP chief says Global stability at risk without eradicating hunger, heads of UN agencies warn UN plans major aid operation to feed more than 500,000 people in Zimbabwe Actions to preserve world's forest ecosystems should be accelerated: UN agency Brahimi heads to Rome for meeting with former Afghan King UN key to bringing political solution in Afghanistan - President Chirac UN food agency begins to airlift supplies for hungry Afghans UN human rights expert urges steps to prevent security vacuum in Afghanistan Security Council consults on Liberia's compliance with sanctions regime UN helicopter crashes into sea off Sierra Leone coast To win fight against poverty, environmental damage must be reversed: UN report Great Lakes: UN mission chief in DR of Congo salutes Rwanda/Uganda meeting UN agencies respond to river flooding in Southern Somalia Climate change not just environmental issue, Annan says Dialogue among civilizations essential for UN goal of preventing conflict: Annan UN Foundation announces $35 million in new grants UN agency calls for greater efforts to end forced labour in Myanmar UNICEF raises $60 million through art auction New UN agricultural study to help reduce poverty among small farmers UN HOME NEWS ARCHIVES
				Friday, 9 November 2001 Dialogue 'central pillar' of global response to all conflict, violence: Annan 9 November – Nurturing an understanding between peoples is a central pillar of the global response to conflict and violence of every kind, particularly when it is based on bigotry and intolerance, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today as the UN General Assembly moved into its second day of debate on the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. "With this dialogue taking place in every part of the world, appeals to war will be met with appeals to compromise," Mr. Annan said. "Hatred will be met with tolerance. Violence will be met with resolve. A dialogue among civilizations is humanity's best answer to humanity's worst enemies." The Secretary-General noted that the Dialogue was not based on the premise that humanity was all the same, or always in agreement, "but rather on appreciation of the fact that we represent a diversity of cultures, and that our beliefs reflect this diversity." More to follow Back to top Annan says trade talks in Doha must tackle needs of developing nations 9 November – The current round of trade negotiations taking place in Doha, Qatar, must genuinely address the needs of developing countries in order to lift people out of poverty, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today. "The new round of negotiations you are about to launch must be a 'development round' in more than just name," Mr. Annan said in a message to the Fourth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO). "I would urge negotiators to ask themselves, at every step in the road, 'How can we resolve this problem in a way that will enable countries to develop, and enable people to escape from poverty?'" With the world economy facing the risk of a recession, the Secretary-General called for restored confidence in open markets. "Now more than ever, we need to resist the siren voices of protectionism, and work out multilateral solutions to our problems," he said. While stressing the importance of eliminating trade barriers, Mr. Annan noted that developing countries must also achieve the technological, social and economic capacity to take advantage of market opportunities. "They need to invest in education, in infrastructure and institutions," he said. "The international community can, and must, help them to do so." The Secretary-General also pointed to the auspicious occasion of China's entry into the WTO - "an event of historic proportions in the world trading system." He expressed hope that the numerous developing and transition countries still eager to join would be able to do so "through a transparent and inclusive process." Mr. Annan welcomed strengthened cooperation between the UN and the WTO, especially in advance of next year's UN International Conference on Financing for Development. "I encourage you to keep up this spirit of creative partnership," he told the delegates meeting in Doha. Mr. Annan's message was delivered on his behalf by Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Also addressing the forum, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, said that participants must ensure that the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights does not stand in the way of access medicines in poor countries. "The stakes are high: the lives and well-being of millions will be affected as a result of WTO members reconciling their divergent views and positions, and formulating an agreed Ministerial Declaration on the issues surrounding intellectual property and public health/access to medicines," she said. Back to top Burundi: Security Council welcomes new government, condemns attacks on civilians 8 November – The Security Council today welcomed the 1 November inauguration of Burundi's Transitional Government and called on all Burundians to support the broad-based and inclusive administration to make sure it succeeds in performing its duties in accordance with the agreements that led to its establishment. "The Security Council welcomes the continued engagement of the Regional Initiative and, in this regard, also welcomes the deployment of the first elements of the multinational security presence tasked with the protection of returning political leaders," the Council president, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, said in a statement read out at an open meeting of the Council early Thursday evening. "The Council calls on all the Burundian parties to support this undertaking, and expresses its gratitude to the Government of South Africa for its contribution to the cause of peace in Burundi." In the statement, the Council also condemned the recent attacks on civilians by the Force for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) and the National Liberation Front (FNL) and expressed grave concern that the frequency of such acts had increased. The Council reminded the two armed groups that the installation of a broad-based government in accordance with an internationally accepted peace process made armed rebellion an unacceptable means of political expression. It also reiterated its call for an immediate suspension of hostilities in Burundi and for armed groups to enter into negotiations to reach a definitive ceasefire. The presidential statement was read out during the Council's second meeting of the day on Burundi. Earlier, the Council was briefed by Berhanu Dinka, Special Representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the Great Lakes Region and Chairman of the Implementation Monitoring Committee. In his statement, Mr. Dinka said it was now up to Burundian political leaders, with support from the region and the international community, to ensure the success of the transitional institutions. Failure was not an alternative, he stressed. Mr. Dinka noted that one of the remaining challenges for Burundi was to ensure a ceasefire because as long as violence persisted, the peace process would remain fragile. The other task was the reconstruction and development of the country; the only way Burundians could be made to continue support for the peace process was if their lives were positively affected by recent changes. Back to top Amb. Lakhdar Brahimi Afghanistan: Brahimi says former King willing to play role in country's future 8 November – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, has indicated that the former King of Afghanistan is open to becoming involved in the country in the period ahead, a United Nations spokesman reported today. "Mr. Brahimi said that the King was willing to play a major role in the country's future without wanting anything for himself," spokesman Hamid Abdeljaber told reporters in Islamabad. "He also said that the King was willing to help in the manner that is useful and acceptable by everyone." Mr. Brahimi had met with King Zahir Shah on Wednesday in Rome, where he also held talks with Italian Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero, who emphasized the important role of the United Nations in fostering a solution to the crisis, according to the spokesman. "Mention was made, among other things, of the prospect of setting up a possible intervention force in Afghanistan," said Mr. Abdeljaber. Back to top Top UN refugee official appeals for international help to Afghan civilians 8 November – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today appealed to the international community to live up to its promises to help civilians in Afghanistan, and called on neighbouring countries to open their borders to fleeing Afghans. "As the military effort to fight terrorism enters its second month, we need to underscore the commitment made by coalition leaders to the Afghan people that this war is not against them, and that the humanitarian effort will remain a priority," Ruud Lubbers said in a statement issued in Geneva. Noting that humanitarian relief was growing more urgent as winter set in, the High Commissioner pointed out that continuing insecurity was hampering efforts to help the hundreds of thousands of people who had fled their homes. With neighbouring borders officially closed, "many desperate Afghans have nowhere to turn," he said. Mr. Lubbers said the refugee agency was examining how to continue and perhaps even expand its programmes inside Afghanistan, where UNHCR works with over 100 small non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Since 1988, it has helped more than 4.6 million Afghans to return home. Acknowledging the "enormous refugee burden" being borne by Afghanistan's neighbours, Mr. Lubbers noted that "some progress" had been made with Pakistani authorities in making camps available to those who had entered the country through back roads and mountain paths. While some makeshift camps have been established inside Afghanistan near the borders with both Iran and Pakistan, Mr. Lubbers said the agency had "serious concerns" over the security of those sites, which were located in both Taliban and Northern Alliance territory. Back to top Afghanistan: UN food agency presses on with deliveries to prevent hunger in winter 8 November – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is pressing ahead with food deliveries to Afghanistan, where the coming winter is expected to complicate relief efforts in the war-devastated and drought-stricken country, a WFP spokesman said today. "Within the first six days of November, WFP has been able to send more than 15,000 tonnes of food into Afghanistan," spokesman Khaled Mansour told reporters in Islamabad. "We are more hopeful every day that we can reach our target of bringing in 52,000 tonnes per month into this country." He said that last month, the agency had delivered over 3,000 tonnes of food for some 300,000 internally displaced persons living in camps in the drought-plagued western region of Afghanistan. Since the beginning of November, WFP has sent about 6,000 tonnes of food to the western province of Herat from Quetta, Pakistan. "This is a third of the monthly needs of the western region," Mr. Mansour explained. While expressing optimism that WFP would reach its food delivery goals in the western region, the spokesman said numerous difficulties persisted. "Up until 11 September, WFP staff would travel in double convoys with constant radio communication to reduce the risk of attack, but now that radio communication is restricted and some vehicles have been commandeered, it is impossible to operate in these insecure areas," he said. Back to top UN pursues anti-polio drive in Afghanistan despite insecurity 8 November – A United Nations drive to immunize millions of Afghan children against polio is going well despite the poor security situation in the country, according to a spokesman for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which is at the forefront of the effort. "We are told through our network of field officers inside Afghanistan that there has been very little disruption so far in the immunization activities because of military action in Afghanistan, while in Pakistan, the immunization of 30 million children is proceeding well," spokesman Chulho Hyun told reporters in Islamabad. "Just as importantly, particularly for the children of Afghanistan, millions are receiving doses of Vitamin A drops - a critical boost to the immune system," the spokesman noted. "This boost is even more important at a time when the general delivery of aid to Afghanistan has been disrupted by a combination of access difficulties, bombardment, fear, general insecurity, rumour, population displacement, serious lapses in communication and other elements that make it difficult for Afghans to know what tomorrow brings." The tense security situation has affected the UN's work, particularly in Kandahar, where several UN offices remain occupied by local Taliban authorities. Three NGOs there have reported that their office equipment and vehicles have been seized, while an NGO providing health services to people in Kandahar City had two of its ambulances destroyed in the US-led air strike, according to the UN Coordinator for Afghanistan. Back to top Annan, Security Council offer condolences after fatal helicopter crash in Sierra Leone 8 November – Calling it a "tragic accident," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today offered sympathy to those affected by the fatal crash in Sierra Leone of a UN helicopter which went down with seven people aboard shortly after takeoff on Wednesday evening. The Ukrainian MI-8 helicopter had plunged into the sea about 500 metres north of Man of War Bay, Aberdeen Peninsula, after it left the Mammy Yoko helipad of the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and headed for Lungi airport. On board were four Ukrainian crew members, one Bulgarian civilian and two Zambian military staff. In a statement released by his spokesman, the Secretary-General extended heartfelt condolences to the Governments of Ukraine and Zambia and to the bereaved families. Mr. Annan also expressed deep appreciation for "the services rendered by these UNAMSIL staff members in the pursuit of peace in Sierra Leone." According to Mr. Annan's spokesman, initial indications are that the cause of the accident is mechanical and "no foul play or sabotage is suspected." For her part, the President of the Security Council, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, expressed condolences, on behalf of Council members, to the Governments and families of the deceased. "Members of the Council also expressed their deep appreciation of the services rendered by these UNAMSIL staff members, who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of peace in Sierra Leone," she told reporters following closed-door consultations. Three bodies were recovered from the wreckage, UNAMSIL said. With four people still missing, search efforts, which had been suspended last night at midnight, continued in the area today. The three bodies, recovered after an extensive search late Wednesday, were taken to Connaught Hospital. The search was carried out using helicopters belonging to the UN mission and three fast patrol boats and crew provided by the Sierra Leone Army. The United States Embassy and the British Forces Liaison Office also supported the effort. Back to top Security Council urges funding to bolster peace process in Sierra Leone 8 November – Noting a number of positive political developments in Sierra Leone, members of the Security Council today urged international funding to bolster the country's efforts to achieve peace. In a statement to the press following closed-door consultations of the Council, its President, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, cited steps being taken to transform the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) into a political party as well as progress in the country's disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process. She said the members had noted that "this will lead to the need for additional resources, especially for reintegration." The United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was now deployed in all provinces, according to the statement, which voiced the members' appreciation to troop-contributing countries. At the same time, the Government of Sierra Leone had further extended its authority across the country in areas formally controlled by the RUF. Noting that preparations for elections scheduled for 2002 were under way, with the support of the UN and the international donor community, the members "emphasized the importance of funds not only being pledged but also being disbursed." The donor community was also urged to respond positively to the shortfall in funding for the Consolidated Appeal Fund for Sierra Leone. Meanwhile, in Freetown, the Government and the RUF agreed today to take "immediate action to facilitate fast disarmament" in all districts by 30 November, according to UNAMSIL. The two sides agreed to collect such arms from 15 November to 31 December. They also agreed to carry out "a wide publicity and sensitization effort" to ensure the programme's success. The agreements were reached during a meeting of the Joint Committee on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration. During the gathering, participants observed a minute of silence in memory of UNAMSIL personnel who had lost their lives in yesterday's helicopter crash. According to the UN operation, the meeting took place in "an unprecedented atmosphere of cordiality and constructive dialogue." The next meeting of the Joint Committee will be held in Freetown on 13 December. Back to top Sierra Leone: more funds needed to set up special court, Security Council told 8 November – Noting that more funds were needed to set up a Special Court for Sierra Leone, members of the Security Council today said justice for the country's people should not be held up. "Members expressed concerns that delay in establishing the Court is a delay in bringing justice and reconciliation to the people of Sierra Leone," the body's President, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, said in a press statement following closed-door consultations. Earlier, the Council was briefed by Under-Secretary-General Hans Corell, head of the Office of Legal Affairs, on the status of the establishment of the Court. While noting that additional funding was still required to set up the Special Court, Council members expressed appreciation to countries that had pledged contributions for it, Ambassador Durrant said. She added that the UN Secretariat was sending a planning mission to Sierra Leone at the end of the month. The Special Court is being set up to try persons deemed most responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of international humanitarian law. Back to top General Assembly opens two-day debate on 'dialogue among civilizations' 8 November – The General Assembly today opened a two-day debate on the Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations - an initiative aimed at fostering understanding across borders that is widely seen to have taken on greater importance in the wake of the September terrorist attacks against the United States. Delegates from several countries took the floor to denounce the extremist beliefs and intolerance that led to those attacks. Dialogue, they argued, had enlarged the common understanding of values and principles - including the values of liberal and participative democracy, rule of law, and tolerance - while terrorism denied the universality of those human values. Other delegates noted that the United Nations represented the diversity of the world's civilizations and was a forum for all different civilizations. In promoting dialogue, they urged the Organization to conduct the dialogue among civilizations so as to remove the negative impact of the cold war mentality from international relations; promote the principles of democracy and equality in international affairs; and push forward the establishment of a just and equitable new international political order. Tomorrow, the Assembly is scheduled to hear statements by seven members of the group of eminent persons appointed by the Secretary-General for the UN Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, as well as Ahmad Jalali, President of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference. The seven eminent persons are: A. Kamal Aboulmagd of Egypt, Ruth Cardoso of Brazil, Nadine Gordimer of South Africa, Sergey Kapitza of the Russian Federation, Hans Küng of Switzerland, Tu Weiming of China and Javad Zarif of Iran. Back to top UN conference to urge countries to ratify nuclear test ban treaty 8 November – Countries will be urged to ratify a nuclear test ban treaty at a United Nations conference early next week convened to examine ways to promote the accord's entry into force, the UN's top disarmament official said today. The Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) will be held from 11 to 13 November at UN Headquarters in New York. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan - in his capacity as depositary of the Treaty - convened the meeting following a request by a majority of ratifying States. Speaking to reporters today, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, said the first two days would be devoted to a general exchange of views by those countries that have either ratified or signed the Treaty. Seventy-nine countries are so far scheduled to speak, with 59 of them at the ministerial level, including France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. Non-signatory States and representatives of non-governmental organizations will speak on the Conference's last day before it concludes with a final declaration. According to Mr. Dhanapala, the Treaty currently has 161 signatories and 84 ratifications. The CTBT can only enter into force when 44 countries listed in an annex as possessors of nuclear research or nuclear power reactors have signed and ratified it. Of those 44 countries, 41 have signed the Treaty and 31 have ratified it, Mr. Dhanapala said, adding that three of those States have neither signed nor ratified the accord: India, Pakistan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He also noted that of the nuclear-weapon-States, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom have ratified the Treaty, while China and the United States have only signed it. The Treaty itself bans all nuclear explosions for military or civilian purposes, and after its adoption and opening for signature, the UN established a preparatory commission for the CTBT and its provisional technical Secretariat in order to prepare for the Treaty's entry into force. A global verification regime was being established to monitor compliance with the Treaty, Mr. Dhanapala said, which consisted of an international monitoring system (IMS) with communications and data management techniques, a consultation and clarification process, an on-site inspection process, and confidence-building measures. The IMS consisted of a network of 321 monitoring stations and 16 radionuclide laboratories, which would monitor the entire world for evidence of nuclear explosions in all environments. Back to top World trade meeting should focus on development, UNDP chief says 8 November – International trade ministers at this week's World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting need to achieve results that truly benefit the developing nations, particularly in light of the 11 September events, the head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said today. "There is a sense that the globalized world is an increasingly unfair one, where around 2.8 billion people - almost half of the world's population - live on less than $2 a day," Mark Malloch Brown said, stressing that nonetheless, the potential that globalization offered to developing countries was real. "The ability to leapfrog decades, to recapture lost ground, to redeem long-standing promises of prosperity to the people, is available." The fourth WTO ministerial meeting in Doha, Qatar, from 9 to 13 November, should find real solutions to outstanding problems and other unresolved trade issues, Mr. Malloch Brown said. This is particularly true in areas like technology transfer and intellectual property that have so far delivered much less than promised for developing countries. "A trade round that fails to address key issues for developing countries will be very problematic," he added. A background paper prepared for the UNDP Trade and Sustainable Development Project argues that imported blueprints rarely spark economic growth, and that opening up countries' economies for trade is hardly ever critical at the outset. A development-friendly trading regime, the paper argues, would evaluate demands of institutional reform by poor countries not from the perspective of integration into the world trading system but from that of development: "what do countries need to do to achieve broad-based, equitable economic growth?" The paper, The Global Governance of Trade: As if Development Really Mattered, says that a reinvigorated focus on development and poverty alleviation would have far-reaching implications for the way the international trading regime and the WTO function. Shifting to a development focus would foster a more development-friendly international economic environment, the paper says. "Countries would be able to use trade as a means for development, rather than being forced to view trade as an end in itself." Back to top Global stability at risk without eradicating hunger, heads of UN agencies warn 8 November – Rapid progress to eradicate hunger is necessary to avert threats to global political and economic stability, the heads of the three Rome-based United Nations food agencies warned today. "We believe that, in spite of initially slow progress, it is still possible to achieve the target of the World Food Summit of 1996 to reduce the number of hungry people by 2015," Catherine A. Bertini, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Lennart Bage, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said in a foreword to a special edition of the publication Working together to fight hunger and poverty 2001. The agency chiefs deplored the lack of resources committed to reducing food insecurity and other manifestations of poverty, as well as the widening gap between rich and poor within and between nations. They noted that the problem of hunger had been largely created by people and could be solved by people. "Most of the solutions are well understood and can be implemented in every country, provided there is sufficient political will on the part of all concerned," they said. "We see hunger as both a cause and an effect of deep poverty: we believe that unless both hunger and poverty are banished, we cannot lay strong foundations." Since 1999, the number of beneficiaries reached by joint activities of FAO, IFAD and WFP has quadrupled to almost 9 million people in all regions of the world, according to the forward. Back to top UN plans major aid operation to feed more than 500,000 people in Zimbabwe 8 November – In response to the swelling number of Zimbabweans facing hunger, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today said it was planning a large-scale relief operation to help more than 500,000 people. A team of WFP emergency experts who recently returned from Zimbabwe strongly recommended a major emergency intervention to feed 558,000 hungry people in rural areas who are not receiving assistance through bilateral food aid programmes. "What we're seeing right now is a developing, complex emergency - a variety of serious problems which when added up, gravely threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of people" in Zimbabwe, said Judith Lewis, WFP's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa. Already, many Zimbabweans average only one meal a day, or even go an entire day without food, WFP said. Many rural families have already consumed what little grain they managed to harvest last year and the ability to buy food on the market has been constrained by increasingly high prices, and limited opportunities to either earn cash through casual labour, or receive remittances from family or friends who work in urban areas or in South Africa. According to WFP, Zimbabwe is normally a food surplus country but has seen a sharp deterioration in food security due to a combination of factors, including erratic rainfall, widespread flooding, rising food prices and a sharp downturn in the economy. The agency plans to start operations later this month, with food aid arriving in December. Back to top Actions to preserve world's forest ecosystems should be accelerated: UN agency 8 November – As experts gear up to attend an international meeting in Montreal next week on threats facing the world's forests, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today urged participants to address the poverty that drives people to fell trees. "Despite their importance, forests across many parts of the globe and in particular in developing countries continue to be felled and cleared at an alarming rate," said UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer in a statement issued in Nairobi in advance of the meeting of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. "It is my sincere hope that humankind can tackle the root causes of this, which, in many countries, lie in poverty and the desperate circumstances that billions of people across the globe find themselves in." Hamdallah Zedan, the Convention's Executive Secretary, said natural forests harboured the greatest variety of animal, microbial and plant species of any terrestrial ecosystem. "Conserving and sustainably using these invaluable ecosystems is a major goal of the Convention's work programme," he said. "Research is still needed, but it is now time to accelerate concrete action to preserve the world's forests." The Montreal meeting of the Convention's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, to be held from 12 to 16 November, will provide input to ministers and diplomats attending next year's sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, which will be held at The Hague. This month's meeting, which will consider the current status of forest biodiversity and major trends and threats, will identify solutions that could be implemented locally, nationally, or globally. Participants will also address the need to expand the Convention's current forests work programme from research to practical action. The conference in Montreal will discuss three specific threats to forest biological diversity - climate change, human-induced uncontrolled forest fires, and the impact of unsustainable harvesting of non-timber forest resources, including in particular bushmeat and living biological resources. Delegates will try to identify how to manage and reduce these threats. Back to top Brahimi heads to Rome for meeting with former Afghan King 7 November – Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, left Tehran today for Rome where he met with the former King of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, according to a United Nations spokesman. Mr. Brahimi also had meetings with senior Italian officials, including Foreign Minister, Renato Ruggiero, spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters in New York. As Mr. Brahimi headed to Rome, his Deputy, Francesc Vendrell, left for Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to pursue contacts with Afghan parties and individuals. Meanwhile inside Afghanistan, UN agencies continued their race to immunize all Afghan children under five years of age against polio. The effort, which is being carried out jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), involves organizing volunteers, distributing polio vaccines and vitamin A, and monitoring the campaign across Afghanistan. According to a UNICEF spokesman, the immunizations have started as scheduled, with no incidents reported. "To raise awareness about the vaccinations among the Afghan public, the Dari and Pashto language services of the BBC and VOA have been broadcasting related announcements," spokesman Chulho Hyun told the press in Islamabad. "The local television station in Faizabad, the only operating TV station in the country, has also been airing such messages since 1 November." Back to top UN key to bringing political solution in Afghanistan - President Chirac 7 November – Underscoring that political action was essential in establishing a system that would be appropriate for Afghanistan and its neighbours, President Jacques Chirac of France has stressed the importance of the United Nations in helping to bring about a political solution in the country. Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York on Tuesday evening, President Chirac said he had discussed with Secretary-General Kofi Annan the actions taken by Lakhdar Brahimi, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, as well as ways in which they could proceed. The French President noted that while the military process in Afghanistan would take a long time, political action was crucial. He added that the present Taliban regime was not appropriate from the perspective of human rights, women's rights and the current misery of the Afghan people. Stressing the need to foster an Afghan Government rooted in democracy, the President said the UN "naturally" would have a role in this process. President Chirac also expressed concern about the plight of vulnerable Afghan civilians. "We are engaged in a process that risks being translated into a humanitarian catastrophe," he said, adding that such an outcome would be unacceptable. Emphasizing that the UN would be decisive in preventing a catastrophe, he said he had suggested to the Secretary-General that he appoint an eminent personality to coordinate humanitarian assistance. Mr. Brahimi, the President added, was certainly qualified but simply did not have the time, as he was taken up with overseeing the entire mission. President Chirac said he had also suggested to Mr. Annan that he convene an urgent meeting of donors to accelerate the aid effort and the Secretary-General had responded positively to that suggestion. The President said France, working with the United Kingdom, was preparing a draft resolution on Afghanistan for the Security Council, which would hold an open debate on the situation in that country on 13 November. If all went well, the draft would be adopted by the end of that week, he added. Back to top UN food agency begins to airlift supplies for hungry Afghans 7 November – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today began an airlift of more than 2,000 metric tonnes of food from south-western Pakistan for delivery to remote areas of northern Afghanistan. The agency is delivering the aid by Ilyushin cargo aircraft via Turkmenabad in neighbouring Turkmenistan. "The Ilyushins will enable us to get food immediately into our warehouses in Turkmenabad so that we can send it by truck into the less accessible regions of Afghanistan," said Daly Belgasmi, WFP's regional manager for Central Asia. North Afghanistan is considered to be the country's "hunger belt," where WFP is seeking to help about 3 million people stay alive until the harvest next year. The agency needs to airlift 7,000 tonnes of wheat from Quetta to Turkmenabad to cover the gap in supplies to north Afghanistan. However, due to limited resources, only 2000 tonnes could be sent in the coming few days. The United States has announced that it will provide $2 million to WFP to cover the cost of the operation. Turkmenabad is an important logistical hub in the WFP regional emergency operation because it straddles the border with Uzbekistan and sits on routes leading both east and west. WFP, which first began working in Afghanistan in 1964, is now carrying out a $230 million operation aimed at feeding up to 7.5 million Afghans, including 6 million people inside the country. The food aid agency, the largest in the world, is undertaking the airlift as another means of meeting its target of shifting 52,000 metric tonnes a month into Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today said it was encouraged by progress being made in establishing new refugee sites in Baluchistan and North West Frontier Province in Pakistan. The agency also estimated the total number of new arrivals from Afghanistan since September 11 at approximately 135,000. Back to top UN human rights expert urges steps to prevent security vacuum in Afghanistan 7 November – Seeking to prevent a dangerous and destabilizing security vacuum in a post-Taliban Afghanistan, a United Nations human rights expert has outlined a series of measures geared towards protecting the country's people. "As the possibility of the existing regime losing control becomes imminent, certain critical steps need to be taken as a matter of the utmost urgency to prevent a vacuum in which men, women and children could be exposed to the risk to their lives and property resulting from a breakdown of law and order and from possible massacres, as had happened in the past when territory changed hands," writes Kamal Hossain, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, in a report released today. The document is an addendum to an in-depth report on the same subject prepared in August. The report also recommends the establishment of internal security arrangements in areas over which the existing regime loses control "in order to prevent massacres and protect the life and property of citizens." In addition, the expert says access should be provided to media, including the possible establishment of a UN-sponsored radio station to give voice to Afghan people. "This would harness the energies of Afghans in building consensus and mobilizing opinion in support of any political plan which emerges," he writes. The report notes that overall, while the events of 11 September and their aftermath have in certain critical areas exacerbated the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, they have also given rise to "opportunity and space for the Afghan people to become active participants in bringing about fundamental change." As for the global response to the terror attacks against the United States, the Special Rapporteur calls on the international coalition to review the conduct of its military operations so as to strictly comply with international humanitarian law. "Appropriate measures must be taken immediately to prevent damage to civilian lives and property and disruption in the delivery of humanitarian assistance," he says. Back to top Security Council consults on Liberia's compliance with sanctions regime 7 November – After an extensive discussion of the effectiveness of sanctions against Liberia, members of the United Nations Security Council today reaffirmed their commitment to remain engaged with the country and its people and encouraged positive developments in the region. In a press statement issued after closed-door consultations, the Council's current President, Ambassador Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, said that the 15-member body had "full and detailed discussions" centring on whether the sanctions were having the desired effect, as well as on prospects for modifications in the present regime, the possibility of additional measures, and ways of ensuring that the present embargo remained targeted. During their deliberations, Council members focused on the implementation of Council resolution 1343, which asks Liberia to end financial and military support to the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone, to expel rebel members from Liberia and to prohibit their activity on its territory. The resolution also reapplied an arms embargo against the country. As part of the discussions, the Council reviewed several reports, including the report of a committee monitoring the sanctions, the report of the Panel of Experts on Liberia (S/2001/1015), and reports by Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Liberia (dated 31 October, 11 October, 5 October, and 30 April). The Council members decided to request the committee monitoring the embargo to review recommendations made by the expert panel and to "submit a report on these recommendations to the Council for consideration as soon as possible." Back to top UN helicopter crashes into sea off Sierra Leone coast 7 November – A helicopter with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) plunged into the sea this evening near the coast of the capital, Freetown, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday. According to the spokesman at UN Headquarters in New York, the aircraft was carrying seven UN personnel when it crashed around 8 p.m. Sierra Leone time. One body has been retrieved and UNAMSIL was continuing its search and rescue operations throughout the evening, the spokesman said. Back to top To win fight against poverty, environmental damage must be reversed: UN report 7 November – Human activity is altering the planet on an unprecedented scale, with more people using more resources - and leaving a bigger "footprint" on the earth - than ever before, according to a new report released today by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA's State of World Population 2001: Footprints and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change warns that global poverty cannot be alleviated without reversing the environmental damage caused by rising affluence and consumption as well as growing populations. It calls for increased attention and resources to balancing human and environmental needs. The report, which examines the close links between environmental conditions, population trends, and prospects for alleviating poverty in developing countries, finds that expanding women's opportunities and ensuring their reproductive health and rights are critically important, both to improve the well-being of growing human populations and to protect the natural world. Introducing the report at a press conference in New York, UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Obaid noted that over the last 70 years, world population had tripled but water use had increased sixfold. In the last century, world population had quadrupled but carbon dioxide emissions increased twelve-fold. The world's wealth was some $30 trillion, but half of the world lived on $2 a day or less, she said. According to the report, there are now 6.1 billion people on Earth, twice as many as in 1960, and the population is projected to grow by half - to 9.3 billion, by 2050. "Of course, increasing population does not by itself mean increasing damage to the environment," she noted. "Growing populations can equip themselves to sustain and protect their environment, but to be sustainable, growth must be accompanied by access to resources and technology, and the political will to use them responsibly." By the same token, she pointed out, slower population growth by itself offered no guarantees of environmental protection. Industrial countries were using resources and creating waste at many times the rate of developing countries. "What we need now is the political will and the tenacity to stay the course: to invest in the future of all of us by investing in the human development of those among us who are marginalized and excluded," she said. Back to top Great Lakes: UN mission chief in DR of Congo salutes Rwanda/Uganda meeting 7 November – The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today saluted the meeting held on Tuesday in London between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. In a statement issued in Kinshasa, the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) said the "mini-summit" came at a crucial moment of rising tensions between the neighbouring countries - both of which are implicated in the conflict in the DRC - and coincided with a resurgence of violence in the eastern part of the country. The talks also came in advance of the 9 November meeting of the political committee and the UN Security Council on the preparations to enter MONUC's third phase, which involves the deployment of UN troops and military observers towards the east of the country, MONUC said. "For all these reasons, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the DRC, Mr. Namanga Ngongi, salutes the London meeting, which has the support and encouragement of the Security Council and the Secretary-General [Kofi Annan]," the statement said. "[He hopes] that the meeting will contribute to eliminating all misunderstandings between the two countries, to the great benefit of the peace process and the upcoming additional deployment of UN troops in the DRC." Mr. Ngongi also invited all the signatories to the Lusaka peace accords to increase high-level contacts that favour the path to peace rather than to a military solution. Due to the frank discussions that such meetings engender, such talks also help to eliminate numerous obstacles in the path to peace by "maintaining and reinforcing the current momentum in favour of dialogue and harmony," the MONUC statement said. Back to top UN agencies respond to river flooding in Southern Somalia 7 November – United Nations agencies and partner organizations are working to save lives and protect agricultural land across flood-affected areas of southern Somalia, the Office for the UN Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today. In a statement issued in Nairobi, Kenya, OCHA said that heavy seasonal rainfall in catchment areas of the Juba and Shabelle Rivers had led to rising water levels and limited flooding. On Wednesday, senior UN officials, including the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative and staff from the World Food Programme (WFP) flew to the affected area to conduct an aerial survey. Already, more than 750,000 people face a serious humanitarian crisis across Somalia, following the failure of the rains during the main Gu season from May to July in key food-producing areas. Drought conditions away from the riverine areas have left thousands of families without access to food, and malnutrition rates have risen dramatically in the past three months, OCHA said. "Let's be clear. The current river flooding will not alleviate drought conditions. These different events are happening at the same time in different locations," said Randolph Kent, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. "Flooding along the Juba and Shabelle Rivers will in fact increase hardship if riverine crops are destroyed." River flooding in southern Somalia is a chronic seasonal problem. While many parts of southern Somalia still have not received rain, heavy rains in Ethiopia have caused the rivers downstream in Somalia to swell. From bases in the Lower Juba, Middle Shabelle and Bay regions, UNICEF is now providing emergency supplies to flood-affected families. UN agencies are assessing additional requirements for medical, food and seed assistance while calling upon Somali communities to ensure secure conditions for access to allow urgent humanitarian activities to be carried out. Back to top Climate change not just environmental issue, Annan says 7 November – The fight against climate change is not just an environmental issue but also a matter of fundamental development, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today in a message to ministers and policy-makers gathered in Marrakech, Morocco, to finalize rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol. In his message to the Seventh Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Secretary-General said the adverse impacts of climate change endangered economic and social progress and that the world community's response to it would require significant, long-term changes in economic and social behaviour. He also emphasized that following the agreement last July in Bonn on the climate change treaty, joining forces against global threats to human society and the planet has never been more important. "Success in Marrakech would sustain this momentum, generating hope that the Kyoto Protocol could be ratified by the industrialized countries and enter into force in time for next year's Johannesburg Summit," Mr. Annan said, referring to the UN conference on sustainable development, in the statement delivered on his behalf by Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Meanwhile UNEP warned today that harvests of some of the world's most important food crops could fall by as much as a third in some crucial parts of the planet as a result of climate change, with the decline coming at a time when there was an urgent need to raise yields to feed a growing global population. In addition, key cash crops such as coffee and tea in some of the major growing regions would also be vulnerable over the coming decades to global warming, forcing desperate farmers into higher, cooler, mountainous areas and resulting in greater pressure on sensitive forests and threatening wildlife and the quality and quantity of water supplies. Scientists have found evidence that that rising temperatures, linked with emissions of greenhouse gases, can damage the ability of vital crops such as rice, maize and wheat, to flower and set seed, UNEP said in a statement. The new studies indicated that yields could tumble by as much as 10 per cent for every one degree Celsius rise in areas between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, including large swathes of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Back to top Dialogue among civilizations essential for UN goal of preventing conflict: Annan 7 November – Dialogue among civilizations is essential in order for the United Nations to achieve one of its main goals - preventing conflict through the creation of understanding and mutual respect, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report. "Dialogue does not mean appeasement of the arrogance of violence or the arrogance of might," Mr. Annan says in his report to the UN General Assembly on the UN Year of Dialogue among Civilizations and the work of his Personal Representative for the Dialogue, Giandomenico Picco. Instead, it can help lessen the fear of diversity and serve as a tool in the ongoing struggle against terrorism. "It may be a soft tool of diplomacy but, in the long term, it can prevail," writes the Secretary-General. The idea of a dialogue has generated wide interest among academic societies, non-governmental organizations and international institutions, Mr. Annan says, and several countries, along with the UN system, have throughout the year held various activities to promote and celebrate the International Year. "The conferences and activities have also shown that the United Nations remains the natural home of dialogue among civilizations; the forum where such dialogue can flourish and bear fruit in every field of human endeavour," Mr. Annan says. "Without this dialogue taking place every day among all nations - within and between civilizations, cultures and groups - no peace can be lasting and no prosperity can be secure." At a UN press conference in New York, Mr. Picco and some members of the Secretary-General's Group of Eminent Persons for the Dialogue among Civilizations launched a new book, "Crossing the Divide." The book explains the context and the goal of the Dialogue, and sets out a new paradigm of global relations and advocates a key role for the UN. "The United Nations itself was founded in the belief that dialogue can triumph over discord, that diversity is a gift to be celebrated and that the world's peoples are united by their common humanity far more than they are divided by their separate identities," Mr. Annan writes in his foreword to the book. Back to top UN Foundation announces $35 million in new grants 7 November – The United Nations Foundation - set up to execute philanthropist Ted Turner's $1 billion gift in support of UN causes - announced today a major round of investments totalling $35 million to various projects around the world. The docket of grants, spread over 18 different projects submitted by UN agencies and programmes, was approved today by the UN Foundation Board of Directors at a meeting in New York. Of the $35 million approved, $25 million comes from the Foundation itself, while the remaining $10 million was funded by its partners. "When Ted Turner made his $1 billion commitment to the United Nations, he promised to use his gift as a catalyst to encourage the public-private partnerships necessary to address the world's most pressing challenges," Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation, told a press conference in New York. "With nearly half of the funds we are announcing today coming from other sources, we are making good on that promise." The new projects include a one-year effort by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) to support a campaign to address the grave health emergency now facing Afghan women. Other projects address safe motherhood, HIV/AIDS, renewable energy, sustainable development, children's health, conflict prevention and human rights. Speaking to reporters in New York, Mr. Turner, who serves as Chairman of the Board for the UN Foundation, said efforts were made to funnel as much money as possible into the developing world to "basically in a small way to make a contribution to making a more equitable world." Explaining his reason for contributing such a large sum of money to the UN, he said, "about 10 years ago I started to become wealthy, and you can't just sit on money, it doesn't do any good - it's not like eggs, you don't hatch and grow chickens with it, so I thought I'd just hold on to it for a little while and pass it on to somebody that needed it more than I did." Back to top UN agency calls for greater efforts to end forced labour in Myanmar 7 November – The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) today reported that despite new legislation in Myanmar, forced labour still existed in the country. Myanmar had taken steps to address the problem after a 1998 ILO commission of inquiry reported that forced labour was a "widespread practice" in the country. In October 2000, the Myanmar authorities adopted, for the first time, a framework of measures banning forced labour and criminalizing the practice. A recent four-week ILO mission to the country, in findings released today, concluded that the impact of the legislation had been limited. "In particular forced labour is practiced in its various forms (portering, building of military camps, agricultural work, etc.) in areas affected by military presence and especially in border areas where fighting may still be ongoing," the agency said. The report identifies a number of obstacles which might explain the limited result, including the de facto impunity of the military from criminal prosecution and the authorities' lack of alternative arrangements to carry out public works in the absence of forced labour. In response, the report calls for economic modernization in Myanmar, a consistent effort to eliminate forced labour there, and the engagement of the international community in this campaign. The ILO notes that "the eradication of forced labour represents not only the discharge of a fundamental moral and legal obligation for Myanmar but also offers an historic opportunity for this country to accomplish its modernization." Back to top UNICEF raises $60 million through art auction 7 November – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has raised more than $60 million through the auction of an art collection bequeathed to the agency by a Belgian benefactor. Last night's auction at Christie's in New York of 25 sculptures and paintings by modern masters raised $73 million, of which more than $60 million will go to the UN agency. The collection belonged to René and Jane Gaffé and was left to UNICEF on Mme. Gaffé's death in October 2000. Among the paintings, one by Fernand Léger sold for $16.7 million, a record for the artist. Two paintings by Joan Miro sold for $12.6 million, also a record, and $11 million, while a Picasso sold for $5 million. "UNICEF is enormously grateful to have received this generous bequest from Mme. Gaffé," the agency said in a statement. "The monies raised at auction last night will allow UNICEF to help millions of children to be immunized, to go to school, and to be protected from conflict, HIV/AIDS and discrimination." Back to top New UN agricultural study to help reduce poverty among small farmers 7 November – With international investment in agriculture at an all-time low and more than 70 per cent of the world's poor living in rural areas, a landmark United Nations study on the future of agriculture in developing countries identifies options for poor farmers in more than 70 different farming systems around the world. Entitled "Farming Systems and Poverty: Improving livelihoods in a changing world," the study by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Bank says governments and institutions intent on helping farmers in developing countries must first understand the world in which they live and the many choices they have to make each day. Detailed analyses were conducted on 20 of the world's 70 farming systems, which together support nearly two billion farmers and their families, about 80 per cent of the agricultural population of the developing world. According to FAO, in some systems, farmers may escape poverty principally by intensifying or diversifying their production. In others, increasing rural non-farm employment offers the best pathway out of poverty, while in some of the poorest systems, many farm families will inevitably abandon their farms and seek better lives in the cities. The feasibility and attractiveness of these different options depends not so much on which province, state or even country the farmers live in, but rather upon the nature of the farming system in which they live, the UN agency says. The emphasis on poverty reduction calls for increased attention to support farm level diversification and growth of off-farm income to supplement intensification of existing production patterns, FAO says. "The farming systems approach will help [the World Bank and other development agencies] set their priorities for investment in food security, poverty reduction and economic growth by funding broad-based agricultural development that reaches and benefits the poorest and hungriest small-scale farm families," says John Dixon, FAO senior farming systems officer and one of the co-authors of the report. Back to top |UN Newservice |UN Home Page |