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Friday, 02 July 2004
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Secretary-General Hears of Serious Violations of Human Rights in Darfur, Sudan

UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, says that during his visit to camps of displaced people from Darfur in Sudan and Chad, he has heard about serious and systematic violations of their human rights. Thousands of people have been killed in militia attacks and more than a million forced from their homes most taking shelter in makeshift camps with little access to clean water or proper sanitation. Mr. Annan has said international troops could be sent to Darfur if the situation does not improve. The Secretary-General is in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, to meet with President Omar Al Bashir.

New Human Rights Chief Says Saddam Hussein Trial Should Be Monitored

The new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, who took up her duties on Thursday, will take part in the Third Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ms. Arbour told reporters today that the human rights situations in Sudan and Cote d'Ivoire top her priority list. She also answered questions about the trial in Iraq of former President Saddam Hussein:

"At this particular stage, I think the critical part is for the international community to be very vigilant in ensuring that this process respects all human rights standards and provides victims with an appropriate voice while unfolding in a fair and credible manner."

Louise Arbour, the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

UNHCR Concerned about Suicides by Indigenous Young People in Colombia

The UN Refugee Agency is gravely concerned about a number of suicides by indigenous young people in north-western Colombia. UNHCR Spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis, says the indigenous organization CAMIZBA blames the trend on the conflict affecting virtually all of the country's more than 80 indigenous groups. In recent months, thousands of indigenous people have been displaced by massacres or fighting between irregular armed groups in different parts of Colombia:

"In just over one year, 17 young people from the Embera and Wounaan indigenous communities, aged between 12 and 24, committed suicide or attempted to kill themselves. According to the local indigenous organization, indigenous young people are "losing the will to live" because of the impact of the Colombian conflict on their communities."

In a bid to prevent further suicides, UNHCR is starting a project to provide culturally-appropriate psycho-social support and advice to young people and their families, as well as cultural activities to strengthen indigenous identity and traditional values.

90% of Countries have Signed Anti-Tobacco Treaty

The World Health Organization says nearly 90% of countries have signed its anti-tobacco treaty, which closed for signature this week. And over half the required ratifications are now in place for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to become binding international law by the end of 2004. WHO Spokesman, Ian Simpson believes this target can be reached:

"The European community has agreed to sign it and there have been indications that a lot of countries within the European Union will sign, will ratify, and then we are aware of other countries. It's a prediction, but we believe the other 17 will be ratified by the end of this year."

The convention is meant to manage what has become the single biggest preventable cause of death. There are currently an estimated 1.3 billion smokers worldwide. Half of them, some 650 million people, are expected to die prematurely of a tobacco-related disease.

Cambodia First in Protecting Children from Parasites

Cambodia has become the first country to protect three-quarters of its children from parasites. The World Health Organization says that just five years ago, more than 70% of Cambodian children were infected with intestinal worms. WHO spokesperson Maria Cheng:

"There's 105 countries in the world that still have this problem and of those countries, Cambodia is the first to achieve this target."

In 2001, WHO set a target of covering at least 75% of school-aged children with regular treatment as the global goal for parasite control by the year 2010.