New York, A new partnership involving the United Nations will ensure the rapid dissemination of weather updates from African meteorological experts to disaster managers in vulnerable communities. Pedro Basabe, the head of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) Regional Office for Africa, announced on Monday that the UN’s partnership with the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development would potentially help millions of Africans at risk from hunger and malnutrition. “The failure to mobilize an adequate and timely response to the food crisis on the Horn of Africa when the alarm was first raised 18 months ago has led to many unnecessary deaths,” said Basabe. “This scenario is in danger of repeating itself across the Sahel this year where more than one million children are at risk of severe malnutrition and 10 million people face hunger,” he warned. The Sahel has regularly been afflicted by food insecurity as drought, poor harvests and rising food prices have left the region on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. Last year, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that several areas of the Sahel had ...
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Damascus, The deadly violence in Syria threatens to permanently divide the country along sectarian and ethnic lines, a senior United Nations official warns, urging community and religious leaders and civil society groups to lead the way in reducing communal tensions. Edward Luck, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, told the UN News Centre yesterday that he was deeply concerned that the situation in Syria – where thousands of people have died in the Government’s crackdown against a pro-democracy uprising – was becoming “more of a sectarian conflict,” with targeted attacks against certain groups. “There are signs that the nature of the conflict has changed, and that is very worrisome,” he said, citing reports of fresh attacks in recent days, particularly in the city of Ho On Monday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay briefed the UN General Assembly on the latest developments in Syria, and urged the world to take action to protect the civilian population. “The longer the international community fails to take action, the more the civilian population will suffer from countless atrocities ...
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New York, The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar arrived in the country on Monday for a five-day visit in which he will meet with Government authorities, political parties and civil society representatives, as the Asian nation moves ahead with planned refor The United Nations recently welcomed the decision by Myanmar’s President Thein Sein to grant amnesty and set free a significant number of prisoners of conscience, and acknowledged other reform measures, including dialogue between the Government and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Special Adviser Vijay Nambiar told participants at a conference on development and policy options in Naypyitaw, the capital, that this is a crucial time for the country as it has the opportunity to address many development issues that will shape its future. “Since the launch of the reform agenda, we have seen progress in various areas,” Nambiar said. “The challenges ahead are many and complex. The reform agenda might be ambitious, but it is achievable,” he said, adding that participation, partnerships and solidarity – not only between Myanmar’s various sectors but also with other countries – ...
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New York, Criminal gangs are becoming a threat to the world’s glaciers, which are already receding as a result of climate change, the United Nations said on Thursday, citing a case in Chile where police are investigating the theft of some 5,000 kilograms of millennia-old ice from the Jorge Montt glacier. Mining for ice could pose a major additional threat to the 454 square-kilometre glacier, which is situated in Chile’s Bernardo O’Higgins National Park, and is part of the 13,000-square kilometre Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the third largest frozen land mass in the world after Antarctica and Greenland, according to the UN International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). The Jorge Montt glacier is melting at a rate of one kilometre per year, making it one of the world’s most iconic symbols of global warming, UNISDR noted. “The authorities in Chile are to be congratulated on clamping down on this illegal activity,” said Margareta Wahlström, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNISDR. “The Jorge Montt glacier and other major ice-fields are a precious part of our common world ...
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NEW YORK/VIENNA : The United Nations (UN) on Monday announced that a group of international experts is assessing the radiation damage caused by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last year. The group of sixty experts kicked off a week-long meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday in order to identity critical gaps in the data which is available, where additional focus is required, and how to ensure the quality and reliability of what the assessment is based on. "We are putting together a jigsaw puzzle, evaluating the exposures of the general public, of workers, and radiation effects, and looking for the missing pieces," said Wolfgang Weiss, Chair of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The power plant was damaged in March 2011 when a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami struck to eastern coast of Japan. The disaster knocked out water cooling systems at the plant, contaminating air, water, plants and animals with radioactive plumes dozens of kilometers (miles) from the site. Data is being collected and evaluated from different sources, including Japan, the UN Food and ...
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United Nations, UN has hailed a series of decisions made at the Climate Change Conference in the South African city of Durban, stating the meeting represented a major achievement that would redefine the way the global community would tackle the issue (climate change) in the future. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday the new accord is "essential for stimulating greater action and for raising the level of ambition and the mobilisation of resources to respond to the challenges of climate change." Following extended talks over the weekend, the 194 participants in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) agreed on a package of decisions, known as the Durban Platform, which include the launch of a protocol or legal instrument that would apply to all members, a second commitment period for the existing Kyoto Protocol and the launch of the Green Climate Fund. Mr Ban also welcomed the agreement to establish a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, stating it will "increase certainty for the carbon market and provide additional incentives for new investments in technology and the infrastructure necessary to ...
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United Nations, The world body has expressed concern about the continued violence in Egypt and asked the Middle Eastern nation's military authorities to make sure that all residents can enjoy basic rights. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who spoke to Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Egyptian armed forces, deplored the loss of many lives and injuries to a large number of people. According to information released here yesterday by the spokesperson for the UN chief, Mr Ban restated his view that the ruling military should protect basic human rights. He also urged that credible elections should be held leading to the establishment of a democratic society. The first phase of parliamentary elections, since the overthrow of the regime under President Hosni Mubakarak, are slated to begin tomorrow. Mubarak stepped down in February, after ruling the country for three decades, following weeks of protests in the now famous Tahrir Square over his rule. Regimes were changed in other Middle Eastern nations like Tunisia and Yemen. Unrest has been reported elsewhere in region, including ...
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New York, United Nations human rights experts spoke out on Thursday against newly adopted legislative amendments in Belarus, warning that the changes could severely curtail basic rights such as those of freedom of assembly, association and expression. The three independent experts issued a joint statement in Geneva in which they said the amendments recently adopted by the Eastern European country’s National Assembly could worsen the "current climate of fear and intimidation" in Belarus. Under the new laws, organizing public assemblies without the prior and explicit consent of the authorities is a criminal offense, and organizers also face reporting liabilities regarding the financial resources used for any assemblies. Public calls for initiating assemblies and disseminating information -- including through social media platforms -- about assemblies without permission is also banned. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are prohibited from storing funds in banks on foreign territory, and receiving foreign grants or donations could also be a criminal offense in some circumstances. One of the experts, Maina Kiai, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of ...
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New York, A new United Nations study released on Wednesday provides policy-makers with technical and economically feasible guidelines on how to cut down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions so governments can meet their environmental targets by 2020. Bridging the Emissions Gap, released by the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), argues that the world already has the solutions to avert damaging climate change, and gives specific recommendations to put these into action, highlighting the need for changes in the energy system and examining various economic sectors such as electricity production, transport, aviation, forestry and agriculture to consider for emissions reductions in the next 10 years. “The annual UNEP Gap Report is a vital contribution to the global effort to address dangerous climate change,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “It shows that we have much to do, both in terms of ambition and policy, but it also shows that the gap can still be closed if we act now. This is a message of hope and an important call to action.” The report also examines research on the gap between the pledges made by countries to cut their GHG emissions and what measures will be ...
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United Nations, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Jan Kubis of Slovakia as his special representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). Kubis succeeds Sweden's Staffan de Mistura, who will complete his assignment as the special representative Dec 31, Xinhua reported citing a statement from Ban's spokesman. "The secretary-general is grateful to Mr. de Mistura for his dedication and leadership of UNAMA, serving in one of the most challenging duty stations during a period that has seen important developments, including parliamentary elections, a high-level international conference held in Kabul, and the beginning of the transition of security responsibilities to the Afghan government," the spokesman said. "Kubis, who from 2009 served as the executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), brings with him more than three decades of experience in the areas of diplomacy, foreign security policy, and international economic relations, both in his own country and internationally," he said. Kubis served as the minister for foreign affairs of Slovakia from 2006 to 2009, as chairman of the Committee ...
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New York, A top United Nations official on Tuesday praised Timor-Leste’s efforts to respond more effectively to natural disasters and encouraged the country’s authorities to support more communities to ensure that vulnerable regions are better protection. Disaster risk reduction has become an important issue in Timor-Leste due to its propensity to floods, landslides, and prolonged dry spells that can trigger food insecurity, diseases and insect infestations. The country is also situated on a high-risk area for earthquakes and tsunamis. According to a news release issued by the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), the country suffered from 470 disaster events in the past decade alone. “Timor-Leste is working hard to respond more effectively to natural disasters,” said Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström during a three-day visit to Dili, the country’s capital. “A cohesive strategy that focuses on prevention as well as response will help Timor-Leste to protect its development gains and achieve the set targets.” During her visit, Wahlström met with Government ...
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United Nations, Noting that there has been no let up in terrorist violence in Afghanistan, India has called for concerted action to isolate and root out the syndicate of terrorism including elements of Al Qaeda, Taliban, and Laskar-e-Taiba. "These groups are ideologically and operationally fused and their bonds have strengthened over the years," India's Permanent Representative Hardeep Puri said Monday speaking on 'The Situation In Afghanistan' in the UN General Assembly. "We need resolute determination and political will to firmly deal with safe havens for terrorist groups outside Afghanistan's borders," he said. Puri said India fully supports an Afghan-led and Afghan owned inclusive and transparent process of reconciliation, accompanied by an inclusive political process and intra-Afghan dialogue and include renunciation of violence, cutting of ties to terrorist groups and abiding by the Afghan constitution. "India believes in a strong, independent, sovereign, stable, united, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours," he said. "Recent history has shown that an end to Afghanistan's suffering requires an end to external interference ...
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