UN Commemorates 200 years
of Abolition of Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
On
Monday the UN General Assembly commemorated the 200th
anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. Representatives
of member states, UN officials and government ministers
bowed their heads as they began the ceremony. Ambassador
Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa, who spoke on behalf
of the African States, said that slavery may have been
about the sale and subjugation of Africans, but its
impact has been felt throughout the entire African continent:
"Up to this day, the waters of the Atlantic
Ocean are said to remain dark and murky with the blood
of Africans stolen all along the western coast as far
south as the windy coast of Namibia, and all the way
to the dry shores of the Sahara desert."
Acting President of the General
Assembly, Ambassador Boniface Chidyausiku of Zimbabwe,
recalled that the slave trade began in the 15th century
when European kingdoms were able to expand overseas.
Deputy Secretary-General Asha Rose Migiro reminded participants
that African slaves rose up against their subjugation.
Kinshasha Returns to Normal
Following Last Week's Clashes
The
situation in Kinshasa returned to normal following last
week's clashes between the armed body guards of Senator
Jean-Pierre Bemba and Congolese troops. The spokesman
for the UN Mission in he Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Kemal Saiki, while not minimising the recent
crisis, is optimistic that efforts to stabilize the
country will continue:"In spite of what happened,
there is still determination by the political players
to forge ahead and try not to jeopardize the return
of the country to a more normal situation and towards
democracy."
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EDITION
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SG's Envoy Sees Loopholes
in Latest Cote d'Ivoire Accord
The
Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Cote d’Ivoire, Abou Moussa, says an agreement
recently signed by President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote
d’Ivoire and the leader of Forces Nouvelles Gillaure
Soro providing for the creation of a new transitional
government has loopholes . "The agreement
falls short of being precise on specific issues such
as what is the role that the UN will be playing beyond
the role they have been assigned to the impartial forces
in the agreement which is to assist them in overseeing
the disarmament process."
WHO Says Drug Resistant TB
Poses Threat To Fight Against HIV/AIDS
On
World Tuberculosis Day, UN health experts warn of the
threat posed by the extremely drug resistant tuberculosis
to the fight against TB and HIV and AIDS. The head of
the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan says
despite positive results in the fight against TB, several
challenges remain."The first one is co-infection
of HIV and TB. The second challenge is the recent emergence
of extensively drug resistant TB, what is known as XDR
TB. The third challenge is the ageing of the global
population."
An NGO Report Says Minorities
Are At Risk in Africa
Minority Rights Group International has issued its
report on the State of the World’s Minorities
2007, in which it says there is good and bad news from
Africa on the protection of minorities. The spokesperson
for the NGO, Ishbel Matheson says Somalia is at the
top of the list of countries where minorities are at
risk.
Transcript
PILOT EDITION Real Audio
Tenth anniversary of the Rwandan
genocide: Why did the genocide happen? Why was the
UN unable to prevent the killings or stop the massacres?
What lessons have been learned? Transcript
