Insecurity and corruption hinder UN assistance in Afghanistan: UN official
21 December 2009 – The United Nations warned today that insecurity and corruption continue to disrupt humanitarian efforts to the most vulnerable groups in Afghanistan, hindering delivery of food and other forms of aid this winter.
Export value of Afghan opium plummeting, says UN anti-drug agency
17 December 2009 – The potential export value of Afghanistan’s opium has dropped 18 per cent this year, the United Nations anti-drug body reported today, but it cautioned that further progress hinges on rooting out corruption in the South Asian nation.
UN preparing to build 10,000 homes in Afghanistan to house returning refugees
14 December 2009 – The United Nations refugee agency is slated to build a further 10,000 homes in Afghanistan next year in a bid to ease the return of Afghans who have fled decades of violence in the war-wracked nation and encourage more to come home, a senior official told reporters in Kabul today.
Asian railway integration gains momentum at UN-backed meetings
14 December 2009 – Transport ministers and experts from across Asia and the Pacific opened a week-long series of meetings at United Nations headquarters in Bangkok today to accelerate regional integration by further linking national railway networks and setting up major hub stations connecting inland economic centres.
Myanmar: UN reports ‘worrisome’ rise in opium cultivation
14 December 2009 – Opium cultivation in Myanmar has increased for the third year in a row, with the number of hectares rising by 11 per cent – a total of almost 50 per cent since 2006 – although production was down due to a fall in yield per hectare, the United Nations anti-drug agency reported today.
UN pays tribute to fallen staff members on second anniversary of Algiers attack
11 December 2009 – United Nations staff members gathered today to pay tribute to the 17 colleagues killed two years ago in a terrorist attack at the world body’s offices in the Algerian capital.
UN marks Human Rights Day with call to end all forms of discrimination
10 December 2009 – The United Nations marked Human Rights Day today, the 61st anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by stressing the enduring need to eliminate all forms of discrimination, with officials in the world’s most crisis-plagued regions – from Iraq to Afghanistan to Somalia – appealing for tolerance in the interests of peace.
Senior UN envoy urges more coordinated assistance for Afghanistan’s development
09 December 2009 – The top United Nations envoy in Afghanistan today called for the country’s key partners to ensure they work together in a more coordinated and streamlined way to move forward with supporting national development efforts.
UN-backed anti-drug centre opens in Central Asia to curb flow of Afghan heroin
09 December 2009 – A United Nations-backed intelligence sharing centre for Central Asian countries on the front line of the battle against drug trafficking from Afghanistan opened in Kazakhstan today, just a day after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council called for greater global cooperation in the war on narcotics.
As drug trafficking undermines peace and security, UN calls for global measures
08 December 2009 – The Security Council today called for greater international cooperation in fighting drug trafficking, with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon terming it a leading threat to global peace and security.
