UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
29 August, 2016
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UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
29 August, 2016
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AT START OF WORLD WATER WEEK, UNICEF HIGHLIGHTS HOW WOMEN AND GIRLS LOSE VALUABLE TIME AND OPPORTUNITIES COLLECTING WATER
As World Water Week kick off today, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has highlighted that the opportunity cost from a lack of access to water disproportionately falls on women and girls who collectively spend as much as 200 million hours – or more than 22,800 years – every day collecting this vital resource.
"It would be as if a woman started with her empty bucket in the Stone Age and didn't arrive home with water until 2016. Think how much the world has advanced in that time. Think how much women could have achieved in that time," UNICEF's Chief of Section of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Sanjay Wijesekera, said in a news release issued by the agency today.
The message from the UN children's agency comes as experts from around the world gather in the Swedish capital of Stockholm for World Water Week to discuss and develop new solutions to the globe's most pressing water-related challenges.
The theme of this year's Week is 'Water for Sustainable Growth.' In the news release, UNICEF noted that the UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for water and sanitation – Goal 6 – calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030.
"The first step is providing everyone with a basic service within a 30-minute round trip, and the long term goal is to ensure everyone has safe water available at home," UNICEF stated. "However, UN estimates are that in sub-Saharan Africa, for example, for 29 per cent of the population (37 per cent in rural areas and 14 per cent in urban areas), improved drinking water sources are 30 minutes or more away."
The UN agency noted that the people who are devoting time to such activities are almost always women and girls.
A study of 24 sub-Saharan countries revealed that when the collection time involved is more than 30 minutes, an estimated 3.36 million children and 13.54 million adult females were responsible for water collection. In Malawi, for instance, the UN estimates women who collected water spent 54 minutes on average, while men spent only six minutes.
"No matter where you look, access to clean drinking water makes a difference in the lives of people," Mr. Wijesekera said. "The needs are clear; the goals are clear. Women and children should not have to spend so much of their time for this basic human right."
UNICEF also noted that spending excess time for collection considerably shortens the time available to spend with their families, on child care, other household tasks, or in leisure activities. For children, water collection takes time away from their education and sometimes even prevent their attending school altogether.
Furthermore, water collection can also affect the health of the whole family, and particularly children: when water is not available at home and even if it is collected from a safe source, the fact that it has to be transported and stored increases risk of disease by the time it is drunk. This in turn increases the risk of diarrhoeal disease, which is the fourth leading cause of death among children under five years of age, and a leading cause of chronic malnutrition, or stunting, which affects 159 million children worldwide.
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REVERSE 'NEGATIVE TRAJECTORY' AND RESTORE HOPE FOR TWO-STATE SOLUTION, SAYS UN MIDDLE EAST ENVOY
The United Nations senior official coordinating efforts towards the peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict today reiterated a call for both sides to work towards a negotiated two-state solution which envisages the co-existence of Palestine and Israel as amicable neighbours.
"Both sides should work to reverse the negative trajectory, to build trust and to restore hope that a negotiated two-state solution is not just a political slogan but a reality that can be achieved through negotiations in our lifetime," the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, told the Security Council in his regular briefing on the situation in the region.
The envoy noted that recommendations offered by the so-called Middle East Quartet – the United States, the Russian Federation, the European Union and the UN – on the way forward in the peace process have been ignored, pointing to a surge in Israeli settlement-related announcements and continuing demolitions of Palestinian buildings as an example of this. The Quartet's recommendations include an end to Israel's settlement policy and a halt to Palestine's incitement to violence.
More than 37 years ago, the Security Council determined that Israeli settlements in occupied territory have no legal validity […] That determination was true in 1979, and is equally true and even more urgent of a concern today
In the briefing, Mr. Mladenov recalled that more than 37 years ago, the Security Council determined that Israeli settlements in occupied territory have no legal validity and are an obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.
"That determination was true in 1979, and is equally true and even more urgent of a concern today," he said, urging the leaders on both sides, with support from the region and the international community, to end the conflict on the basis of relevant Security Council resolutions, and in a manner that meets the legitimate national aspirations of both peoples.
He reported that since 1 July, Israel has advanced plans for over 1,000 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem – in Pisgat Ze'ev, Ramot, Har Homa, and Gilo – as well as 735 units in Ma'ale Adumim and other settlements in the West Bank.
Israel has also published tenders, some new, for 323 units in East Jerusalem settlements and reissued tenders for 42 units in Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, he added, for which it also allocated more than $13 million in new funding.
All of these and other plans would essentially create new illegal settlements, and it is difficult to read in such actions a genuine intention to work towards a viable two-state solution, the UN envoy said, calling on Israel to cease and reverse these decisions.
"Let me be clear: no legal acrobatics can change the fact that all outposts – whether 'legalised' under Israeli law or not, whether located on state land, or absentee land, or private land – just like all settlements in Area C and East Jerusalem, remain illegal under international law," Mr. Mladenov said.
The Special Coordinator also noted that, according to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 91 structures across 26 communities in Area C were demolished due to the lack of Israeli building permits in August alone, displacing some 125 people and affecting the livelihoods of at least 2,100 people.
Other topics covered in his briefing included security-related incidents in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.
"With no prospect for resuming negotiations in sight, developments on the ground continue to undermine an already precarious situation," he noted, adding that although the past month has been relatively calm, a number of security-related incidents occurred last week,
These incidents included the apparent extrajudicial execution by the Palestinian Security Forces of a man in custody; the firing of two rockets from Gaza, to which Israel responded by directing some 60 missiles and shells at 30 suspected military installations in Gaza; and the killing by the Israeli Security Forces of a Palestinian man who was reportedly under psychiatric care.
Preparations under way towards October elections
In a positive development however, the UN officials said, political parties had signed an electoral code of conduct on 25 July to which all parties and candidates must adhere to in the Palestinian local council elections taking place on 8 October and which are expected to be the first simultaneous polls in the West Bank and Gaza since 2006.
Conducting the local elections in line with established international standards can contribute to advancing Palestinian reconciliation, Mr. Mladenov said, while also underlining that "the lack of unity, however, or any attempt to influence the outcome of the elections, including through intimidation, threats, violence or coercion, risks widening divisions and undermining the Palestinian national cause."
Turning to Gaza, he said that while progress has been made on reconstructing the physical damage since the ceasefire agreement two years ago, repairing the psychological damage of the conflict is "miles away" from being over. "We need a radical overhaul of how we deal with the problems of Gaza," he said.
On the issue of the Golan heights, the Special Coordinator said the situations remains volatile and continues to undermine the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. He flagged that fighting between the Syrian armed forces and armed groups in the areas of separation and limitation is continuing, with several incidents across the ceasefire line being reported.
Mr. Mladenov also drew attention to a nearly $100 million shortfall in the core budget of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which would affect the agency's key services for vulnerable Palestine refugees throughout the region.
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YEMEN: UN HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR 'DEEPLY CONCERNED' BY FAILURES TO PROTECT CIVILIANS
A senior United Nations humanitarian official said today he "is deeply concerned" by the devastating impact that the recent upsurge in fighting is having on civilians in Yemen and along the border the country shares with Saudi Arabia.
"In Yemen, seven people have been confirmed dead and one injured following an attack on a market in Baqim in Sa'ada Governorate," the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Jamie McGoldrick, said in a statement issued by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), referring to the marketplace attack which took place on 25 August.
Baqim is a district within the Sa'ada Governorate which lies in northern Yemen. Part of the governorate sits on the country's border with Saudi Arabia, where media reports indicate that attacks from the direction of Yemen have caused an unconfirmed number of civilian casualties, according to the OCHA statement. It also noted that civilian infrastructure continues to be hit and power plants were attacked across both sides of the border.
In the statement, Mr. Goldrick also said that the continued closure of Yemen's Sana'a airport to commercial flights is having serious implications for patients seeking urgent medical treatment abroad, given the inability of the national health system to treat all medical cases, particularly chronic or life-threatening diseases such as cancer.
Initial statistics from Yemen's national airline, the statement added, indicate that thousands of people cannot leave while many others remain stranded outside of the country, facing financial hardship and administrative hurdles due to expired visas.
Mr. McGoldrick called on the relevant authorities for the immediate reopening of the airport and the resumption of commercial flights into Sana'a to alleviate some of the suffering of the civilian population, strongly echoing a recent reminder from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to all parties of the utmost necessity to protect civilians and to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Also in the statement, the humanitarian official underlined that "a political solution is the only viable option to bring the safety and security that the people of Yemen deserve."
On 6 August, the UN's Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, announced a one-month break in the Yemeni peace talks, during which "the focus will be on working with each side separately to crystalize precise technical details."
On 17 August, alarmed by escalating airstrikes and ground fighting in Yemen and along the shared border with Saudi Arabia in the wake of the suspension of the talks, the Secretary-General repeated his call on all the parties to the conflict to immediately cease all hostilities.
Eight days later, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, called for the establishment of an international, independent body to carry out comprehensive investigations in the country. His call came as his office released a report on the situation of human rights in Yemen which outlines a number of serious allegations of violations and abuses committed by all sides to the conflict.
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ON WORLD DAY, TOP UN OFFICIALS CALL FOR PROMPT ENTRY INTO FORCE OF NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY
Marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, senior United Nations officials today called for the entry into force of a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments.
"Today marks a quarter of a century since the closure of the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan, ground zero for more than 450 nuclear tests," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day. "The victims there are joined by others scattered across Central Asia, North Africa, North America and the South Pacific."
"A prohibition on all nuclear testing will end this poisonous legacy," Mr. Ban added, noting that it will boost momentum for other disarmament measures by showing that multilateral cooperation is possible, and it will build confidence for other regional security measures, including a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.
A prohibition on all nuclear testing will end this poisonous legacy
In 2009, the UN General Assembly declared 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests through the unanimous adoption of a resolution to that effect. It also called for increasing awareness and education "about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world." The resolution's adoption also commemorated the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan in 1991.
In his message, Mr. Ban also noted that this year marked the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the Assembly.
"Given the catastrophic risks posed by nuclear weapons to our collective human and environmental security – even our very existence – we must reject this stalemate," said the UN chief.
To date, 183 countries have signed the treaty and 164 have ratified CTBT. For the treaty to enter into force, ratification is required from the so-called Annex 2 States. Of these, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States, have yet to ratify it.
"Those States whose ratification is required to bring the treaty into force should not wait for others. Even one ratification can act as a circuit breaker," Mr. Ban said in his message, calling on all countries and peoples to work for CTBT's prompt entry into force on the path towards a nuclear-weapon-free world.
He also stressed the power of political will that can break longstanding deadlocks, as demonstrated in the adoption of ambitious new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.
General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft, in his message for the Day, said that CTBT must also be seen as "an important tool in our endeavour to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons," adding his voice to the call on those States which have not yet done so to sign and ratify CTBT to enable its entry into force.
Mr. Lykketoft also noted that moratoriums on nuclear testing have had a positive impact on the international security environment, and he recalled the need for continued systematic and sustained efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally and fulfil the ultimate objective of general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
Mr. Lykketoft noted that to enhance awareness and education about the effects of nuclear test explosions and the need for their cessation, he will convene an informal General Assembly plenary meeting on Wednesday at the UN Headquarters.
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UN RAPPORTEUR CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DISPLACED PEOPLE IN NORTH-EASTERN NIGERIA
Speaking at the end of a four-day visit to Nigeria, the United Nations expert on internally displaced persons (IPDs) has called on the country's authorities and the international community to act urgently to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of displaced people in its northeast are protected.
"The situation must no longer be downplayed and it is not too late to save many lives," the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of IDPs, Chaloka Beyani, said in news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
"The Government must act urgently to ensure that food, shelter, medical care, water, sanitation and other essential services reach IDPs without delay," he added.
The Special Rapporteur also expressed concern at the lack of international attention and resources to meet the needs in the region, and called on donors to provide support to meet immediate needs as well as to enhance their long-term support in the region.
According to a recent report by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Children on the Move, Children Left Behind, in addition to 2.6 million people currently displaced in the Lake Chad region because of the violence, some 2.2 million people are feared to be trapped in areas under the control of Boko Haram and need humanitarian assistance.
The OHCHR news release noted that the situation resulting from the Boko Haram violence, as well as Nigerian Government counter-insurgency measures, are indicative of a crisis of the highest category.
It noted that civilians, including children, leaving areas recently liberated by government forces bear the signs of advanced malnutrition and of deep trauma, while also flagging that humanitarian access is limited in some areas due to security concerns.
"Due to a gross underestimation of the crisis, the existing supplies will only cover needs for a very short period of time and will be soon outstripped by demands," Mr. Beyani said.
He added that a vast majority of the displaced live outside camps, with little or no assistance, and that urgent steps are needed to assess their needs as well as the needs of the host communities supporting them with their own resources.
During his visit, the Special Rapporteur visited IDP camps in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where he said that food is scarce, medical care is insufficient and that the people are in need urgent protection, psychosocial support and counselling.
Highlighting the direness of the situation in the camps, he spoke of reports of women and girls facing demands for sex to access food or to leave the camps and that early pregnancy and marriage are commonplace.
"Many do not report abuse due to stigmatization, cultural factors and the knowledge that perpetrators can abuse with impunity," he noted, calling for protection measures to be stepped-up and camps to be quickly placed under trained civilian management to prevent abuses.
The OHCHR news release also noted positive measures taken by the government, including a plan for rehabilitating northeast Nigeria and the establishment of oversight systems by the Parliament.
A full report of the Special Rapporteur along with his recommendations will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in June next year.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
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UN CHIEF CONGRATULATES GABON FOR PEACEFUL PRESIDENTIAL POLL, URGES ACCEPTANCE OF RESULTS
While congratulating the people and Government of Gabon for the holding of a peaceful and orderly presidential election on Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today also urged all Gabonese to accept the poll results.
"The Secretary-General calls on all Gabonese to accept the results of the election and to address any disputes they may have through existing legal and constitutional means," according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban's spokesperson. "He asks all stakeholders to refrain from inciting or taking part in any acts of violence. The successful conclusion of the electoral process will mark an important step forward in the consolidation of democracy and rule of law in the Gabonese Republic."
According to media reports, the election was closely contested between the candidates – incumbent President Ali Bongo, seeking a second seven-year term, and opposition candidate Jean Ping, a former chairman of the African Union Commission – with the outcome still pending.
In the statement, Mr. Ban's spokesperson said the UN chief hopes the same spirit of peace and transparency will prevail before and following the official announcement of the provisional results, which should reflect the will of the people.
"He stresses the importance for all political stakeholders to abide by the electoral law and refrain from making remarks on the outcome of the election before it is known," the statement added. It also noted that the Secretary-General has asked his Special Representative for Central Africa and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa, Abdoulaye Bathily, to continue his engagement with all relevant stakeholders to defuse tensions.
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UN CULTURAL AGENCY HAILS CREATION OF WORLD'S LARGEST MARINE PROTECTED AREA
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today welcomed the establishment by US President Barack Obama of the largest nature reserve in the world, done through expanding a marine reserve in the state of Hawaii.
"This decision is a powerful symbol of determination to protect the environment. It is a way to strengthen the resilience of societies threatened by climate change, to understand and protect the natural ecosystems on which our lives depend," UNESCO's Director-General, Irina Bokova, said in a news release today.
Located roughly 250 kilometres northwest of the main Hawaiian archipelago, the marine reserve Papahanaumokuakea was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2010 for its rich biodiversity, considered to be unparalleled in the world. The archipelago is home to more than a fifth of known fish species.
The marine reserve has now been quadrupled in size, and the expansion comes just days before the opening of International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, also taking place in Hawaii.
"This is a strong reminder of the fundamental role of the ocean, its fauna and flora, to life on earth, just days before the opening of IUCN Congress on 1 September, in Honolulu," Ms. Bokova said. "I see this as a call to the international community to commit fully to sustainable development and the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement adopted in 2015."
According to UNESCO, the Papahanaumokuakea reserve also has deep cultural significance. The Hawaiian people view the site as the embodiment of the concept of kinship between people and the natural world, and as the place where it is believed that life originates and to where spirits return after death.
The marine reserve also includes archaeological remains related to settlement and land use in pre-European times, and it stretches almost 2,000 kilometres from its southeast to its northwest limits.
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SUDAN: TWO UN AGENCIES TEAM UP TO HELP SMALLHOLDER FARMERS, PROMOTE FOOD SECURITY
Two United Nations agencies – the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) – today agreed to strengthen their cooperation in Sudan to help smallholder farmers improve their production and thus promote food security.
While the two agencies, both headquartered in Italy, have been promoting food security in the African country for decades, this is the first time that they have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize their partnership there.
"We fully expect that this collaboration will strengthen our ongoing efforts to promote resilience and self-reliance among the vulnerable communities that we support," the Head of Programme for WFP's Sudan operation, Marco Cavalcante, said in a joint press release.
"IFAD Country Office is pleased to sign this agreement with WFP today, which is an excellent example of extended collaboration between the Rome-based agencies here in Sudan," said an IFAD Country Programme Officer, Ahmed Subahi.
According to the WFP website, Sudan remains a least-developed and a low-income food-deficit country. In the UN Development Programme's 2013 Human Development Index, Sudan ranked 166th out of 187 countries on the index and as the fifth most food-insecure country according to the 2013 Global Hunger Index. The country remains one of WFP's most complex humanitarian emergencies characterized by recurrent conflict, new and protracted displacement, regional insecurity, crisis levels malnutrition and food insecurity, chronic poverty and a deteriorating economy.
Under the agreement, IFAD and WFP will work to enhance smallholder farmers' access to agricultural resources, including improved seeds and training on agricultural credit and methods to reduce post-harvest losses. The agencies will also work to improve the availability of market services for produce.
The agreement will also enable the two agencies to strengthen cooperation on analysis of climate impact on agricultural activities to help communities adapt to changing climate patterns.
In 2010, WFP implemented its innovative Farmers to Market (F2M) Programme to assist smallholder farmers as part of its efforts to promote food security and build resilience among vulnerable communities.
Through this programme, WFP partnered with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Bank of Sudan to enable smallholder farmers to access markets for training, insurance, and credit.
According to the joint release, WFP is currently assisting 45,000 smallholder farmers across Sudan to improve production and become self-sufficient, seeking to expand the F2M programme to reach more than 80,000 smallholder farmers by next year.
For its part, the joint release noted, IFAD has invested $257 million to finance 20 programmes and projects since inception of its activities in Sudan in 1979. By the end of 2015, IFAD had been implementing eight projects that stretched over 11 states in 50 localities, encompassing areas with a high concentration of the rural poor. Currently, IFAD projects extend to 731 communities and more than 400,000 direct beneficiaries.
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'MAKE HUMAN RIGHTS THE PRIORITY IN ALL CONSERVATION EFFORTS' – UN EXPERTS URGE GOVERNMENTS
Ahead of the world's largest forum for the adoption of conservation policies on protected areas, two United Nations experts on environment and indigenous peoples today highlighted that effective and sustainable conservation requires respect for human rights.
"The escalating incidence of killings of environmentalists, among them many indigenous leaders, underlines the urgency that conservationists and indigenous peoples join forces to protect land and biodiversity from external threats, notably lucrative resource exploitation," the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights and the environment, John H. Knox, and on the rights of indigenous peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, said in a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Organised every four years by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Conservation Congress (WCC) brings together heads of States, high-level government officials, business leaders, representatives from indigenous groups and leading civil society organisations along with scientists and academics. This year's WCC takes place from 1-10 September in the US state of Hawaii – both UN experts will attend with the aim of advocating a human rights-based approach to conservation and biodiversity.
"Protection of biodiversity is a human rights issue as a healthy ecosystem is important for the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights," Mr. Knox said. "The loss of biological diversity has negative impacts on a wide range of human rights including the rights to life, food, housing, health, water and sanitation and culture. At the same time, the exercise of human rights, including rights to information, participation, and remedy, can provide useful tools for the effective protection of biodiversity."
At the WCC, Ms. Tauli-Corpuz will present her just-released 2016 report to the UN General Assembly, in which she explores how conservation affects indigenous people and recommends measures to increase respect for indigenous peoples' rights.
"The conservation community, through IUCN resolutions, has taken important steps by recognising the rights of indigenous peoples, however practical implementation and advancement of these rights remains sorely lacking," she said.
"I urge conservation organisations and government agencies to move beyond commitments on paper and ensure that indigenous peoples are actively involved in the management of protected areas and that all conservation measures include continuous monitoring of compliance with indigenous peoples' rights," Ms. Tauli-Corpuz added.
The expert recently launched a project on biodiversity and human rights, which will culminate in a report to the Human Rights Council in March 2017.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
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UNESCO'S HEAD CONDEMNS KILLING OF INDIAN PAPER'S BUREAU CHIEF
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today condemned the murder of a bureau chief of a domestic daily newspaper in India.
"I condemn the murder of Kishore Dave," the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, said in a statement, referring to daily Jai Hind's bureau chief in the city of Junagadh in the western state of Gujarat.
According to UNESCO, Mr. Dave was killed on 22 August and his assailants are reported to have been arrested.
"I trust that legal proceedings already underway will shed full light on this crime, which undermines journalists' ability to carry out their work and contribute to open and informed public debate," Ms. Bokova said in the statement.
UNESCO issues statements on the killing of media workers in line with Resolution 29 adopted by the entity's member states in 1997, entitled 'Condemnation of Violence against Journalists.'
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UN AGENCY STRESSES IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN COLOMBIA'S RURAL COMMUNITIES IN WAKE OF PEACE ACCORD
A senior official at the United Nations rural development agency has stressed the importance of investing in Colombia's small farmers and rural communities to ensure lasting peace in the country.
"The country now has a historic chance to achieve a lasting peace. The only way to seize this opportunity, however, is to ensure that investments in poor rural people lead to increased agricultural productivity and sustainable rural development," said Perin Saint Ange, an Associate Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in a news release issued by the agency today.
"Let's not forget that there can be no peace without rural development and no rural development without peace," he added.
Mr. Saint Ange's call comes as he is about to undertake a three-day visit to the country shortly after the Colombian Government signed a definitive peace agreement with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army (FARC-EP).
The IFAD official also pledged the agency's support to the Colombian Government's efforts to reconstruct rural areas now that the 50-year conflict is over.
Highlighting that the peace accord is a massive step forward and that it has created an enabling environment to invest in the country's rural communities, Mr. Saint Ange said that the UN agency wants to ensure that small-scale farmers and rural entrepreneurs will experience significant improvements in their well-being and prosperity.
"The road is long and much more needs to be done, but there is no doubt that Colombia is on the right path. Both parties to the conflict are clear on the need to reverse the neglect that rural areas have been subjected to in the past," he said.
Colombia, he added, can count on IFAD's support to the country's rural development and thereby, to the peace process, for years to come.
"We want to play our part in building a new, peaceful and prosperous Colombia. We want to assure the Colombian people and authorities that IFAD's 40 years of experience in rural development is – now more than ever – at their disposal," he said.
During his visit, the IFAD Associate Vice-President will meet with senior government officials as well as visit an agricultural research centre where he will explore ways of putting innovations developed by the centre to the service of small farmers, not only in Colombia, but in the Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole.
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UPCOMING PEACE CONFERENCE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM MYANMAR – UN RIGHTS EXPERT
Speaking ahead of a major peace conference in Myanmar, a United Nations independent expert has urged its participants to prioritise human rights issues in their discussions over the coming days, and to do more to ensure the process is fully inclusive.
"A lot is at stake with this Panglong Conference," the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said in a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). "As with the peace process generally in Myanmar, this is the opportunity to transform the country, into a state that the people of Myanmar have wanted for several decades. But to do so it must be fully inclusive."
In the release, she added that discrimination, land rights and equitable sharing of natural resources are at the heart of the Southeast Asian nation's conflict and, therefore, must also be at the heart of the peace discussions and solutions. "It is only by addressing and prioritising these issues that the durable peace desired by the people of Myanmar can be achieved," she said.
The 21st Century Panglong Conference, which will take place in the country's capital, Naypyidaw, from 31 August to 5 September, is the first major peace conference held in Myanmar since Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy assumed power in late March 2016, according to OHCHR.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to attend the event on its first day.
In the news release, Ms. Lee described the conference as "a historic moment" but cautioned against celebrating too much too early.
"This is the first brick into the paving of a long road ahead. There is so much, much more to be discussed and negotiated after the first 21st Panglong Conference," the expert said, while also calling for all parties to "be committed and to work together in full steam to achieve a sustainable, inclusive and transformative peace."
Ms. Lee drew special attention to women's participation as a vital ingredient in successful and transformative peace agreements, and noted that women will be underrepresented in the coming discussions despite making up over half of the population in Myanmar.
She also flagged the importance of civil society organisations to be fully involved in the process at every level, and the need for youth to also have a voice at the upcoming gathering and in future discussions. "But the young people themselves must also remember the importance of inclusivity not just amongst armed groups but within all communities," she added.
"This is the beginning of the process of creating a beautiful mosaic of a diverse, harmonious, and peaceful new Myanmar," emphasised the UN Special Rapporteur.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
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UN RIGHTS EXPERT CONDEMNS IRAN'S 'ILLEGAL' EXECUTION OF 12 PEOPLE ON DRUG-RELATED CHARGES
The United Nations rights expert on the situation of human rights in Iran has expressed outrage over the execution of 12 people on drug-related charges, just days after he had publicly appealed to the Iranian authorities not to go ahead with the capital punishment.
"The execution of individuals for drug-related offences is simply illegal," the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, said in a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
According to the release, Mr. Shaheed noted that international law only allows the imposition of the death penalty for the "most serious crimes," where there is intentional killing, and after a fair trial that respects the most stringent due process guarantees. None of these conditions were respected, the release added, at least in the case of one of the people executed, Alireza Madadpour.
According to OHCHR, Mr. Alireza Madadpour was arrested in November 2011 after 990 grams of crystal meth were found during a raid on a house he cleaned. He was tried by a Revolutionary Court and his state-appointed defence lawyer never met him, with the trial lasting only 20 minutes. Furthermore, Mr. Madadpour's request for pardon and retrial were not granted.
"Combating drug trafficking, a serious concern in Iran, does not justify the use of the death penalty in drug-related cases," the Special Rapporteur said. "The execution of Mr. Madadpour and 11 others shows the Iranian authorities' complete disregard of its obligations under international human rights law and especially of international fair trial standards and due process guarantees."
The UN expert also renewed his call on the Government of Iran to end all executions and to immediately institute a moratorium on the death penalty.
Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.
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Posted by: Afrika Watch <afrikawatch@yahoo.com>
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The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
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The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
When the white man came we had the land and they had the bibles; now they have the land and we have the bibles.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Voice of the Poor, the Weak and Powerless.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Post message: afrocarpus@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: afrocarpus-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: afrocarpus-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
List owner: afrocarpus-owner@yahoogroups.com
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Please consider the environment before printing this email or any attachments.
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