South Africa Pushes the African
Agenda in the Security Council
South Africa, for the first
time, presided over the Security Council last month.
In this, the first of a two-part interview, Ambassador Dumisani
Khumalo talks about South Africa's achievements and some
of the challenges that African countries face in the Counci.
"Basically
in our national interest of trying to consolidate the African
agenda I think we managed to move the agenda forward."
Fighting Causes Suffering to Thousands
of Somalis
The recent intensified fighting in
Mogadishu once again brought 
suffering
to thousands of Somalis who have been forced to flee their
homes. Although the situation has been somewhat calm since
Monday, UN agencies are concerned about the plight of the
displaced people, some of whom have fled to the southern
part of the country. Jose Diaz, the spokesman for
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, says:
"The worry remains that civilians will again bear the
brunt of fighting if the ceasefire in place since Sunday
does not hold."
Guinea Bissau Becomes Transit
Point for Drugs to Europe
Guinea Bissau, which has been facing
a political crisis recently, is also grappling with the
problem of being used as a transit point for drugs passing
from Latin America to Europe. The Representative of the
Secretary-General in the country, Shola Omoregie, says this
is a serious problem.
Transcript
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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."
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
