 Tuesday, 25 September
2001
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| UN
Secretary-General | Annan issues plea
to help avoid potential humanitarian disaster in Afghanistan
25
September – Backing a recent statement issued by the heads of United
Nations relief agencies, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today urged the
world community to help ward off a potential humanitarian disaster
involving civilians and refugees from Afghanistan.
"Innocent civilians should not be punished for the actions of their
government," Mr. Annan said in a statement released at UN Headquarters in
New York. "The world is united against terrorism. Let it be equally united
in protecting and assisting the innocent victims of emergencies and
disasters."
On Monday, the heads of the UN agencies and programmes dealing with
children (UNICEF), refugees (UNHCR), human rights (UNHCHR), food security
(WFP), emergency coordination (OCHA) and development (UNDP) warned of the
possibility of a humanitarian crisis "of stunning proportions" in
Afghanistan and appealed to the world community to provide assistance to
the fragile country.
"I strongly support the statement issued yesterday by the leaders of
all the branches of the United Nations involved in humanitarian action,"
Mr. Annan said in his statement today. "The plight of the civilian Afghan
population is indeed desperate."
The Secretary-General noted that more than two decades of conflict,
seven years of oppressive rule by the Taliban regime, and three years of
severe drought have left more than five million people dependent on
foreign aid for their very survival.
"Now, tragically, that aid has been interrupted," he said. "Those who
deliberately withhold food supplies from starving people, and attack or
impede humanitarian relief workers - whether local or international -
should know that the international community will hold them responsible."
The Secretary-General said that many Afghans trying to flee the country
have found it difficult to cross the borders. "In accordance with
international law, the borders must be open to civilians seeking refuge,"
he said. "At the same time, the international community must send swift
and generous help, so that refugees do not become an impossible burden on
the neighbouring States."
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UNHCR continues
preparations for massive exodus of Afghans to neighbouring
countries
25 September – The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today said it was
continuing preparations for a massive exodus of Afghans into neighbouring
countries, having received nearly $7 million in pledges to help those
nations cope with the expected influx.
UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski told a press briefing in Geneva that
agency staff in Quetta were meeting with local authorities on the
possibility of moving Afghans from the border area to Dara camp in
Pakistan, about 12 kilometres away, where there they will receive tents,
food and other relief items.
The UN agency had transported 2,000 tents, 6,000 quilts, 2,000 kitchen
sets, and 4,000 buckets to Quetta three days ago, where they are ready to
be loaded onto trucks for the border as soon as permission is given to
move, Mr. Janowski said.
Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) were on standby to cover the medical sector, and UNICEF
was ready to help the local authorities and non-governmental organizations
with providing water and sanitation. The UN's World Food Programme (WFP)
would provide food, Mr. Janowski said.
A UNHCR team that visited the Chaman border on Sunday estimated there
were 5,000 to 10,000 people waiting unsheltered in the open on the other
side. "Groups of women and children were visible sitting in forlorn groups
with their baggage," Mr. Janowski said, adding that health and sanitation
were concerns for a group that large.
In Iran, UNHCR and government refugee officials continued to identify
possible refugee campsites in the border area. A total of 12 proposed
sites have been identified so far. The number of Afghans spontaneously
returning to Afghanistan from Iran has fallen sharply from about 600
people a day to less than 200 a day, in the first such drop since June.
However, no new arrivals in Iran have been reported since the 11 September
terrorist attacks in the United States, according to Mr. Janowski.
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As Afghanistan's humanitarian crisis deepens, UN relief
official urges more aid
25 September – Underscoring the
urgent need for aid to the beleaguered people of drought-stricken,
war-torn Afghanistan, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator
today stressed that any anti-terrorism actions must take account of
humanitarian concerns.
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing in New York, Kenzo Oshima
noted the international community's strong resolve to fight terrorism,
stressing that "any action based on this commitment must be designed to
protect innocent civilian populations."
Mr. Oshima warned that events following the 11 September terrorist
attacks against the United States were "likely to aggravate the already
dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, with potential regional
ramifications."
In the face of this deepening crisis, the UN and its partners would
continue to protect and assist Afghan populations in and around
Afghanistan, he said, appealing to donors to contribute resources to those
efforts. He also appealed to countries in the region to help prevent a
further tragedy "including by ensuring that their borders are open to all
those who deserve protection and assistance."
The UN was responding by strengthening its ability to prepare for
contingencies in the region, said Mr. Oshima. "People in Islamabad and on
the ground in other places - as well as at Headquarters - are working
around the clock to do this." Key UN agencies have dispatched senior
officials to Islamabad to respond to emerging developments.
Describing the complex problems impeding the relief effort, Mr. Oshima
said very few commercial trucks were operating inside Afghanistan, while
all international UN staff had been withdrawn from the country. Food
stocks were dwindling. The Taliban authorities had sealed off contacts
between the UN and local staff in the country. "Without means of
communication, our operation is made extremely difficult if not
impossible," he said.
Mr. Oshima will head to Berlin next week to attend a meeting on 5
October of the Afghan Support Group, which brings together key donor
countries, in an effort to shore up assistance to Afghanistan.
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UN agency to resume food
shipments to Afghanistan
25 September – The United Nations
World Food Programme (WFP)
today said it would resume badly needed food aid shipments to Afghanistan
suspended in the wake of the 11 September attacks against the United
States.
The restart of shipments on a trial basis is an effort to reach
hundreds of thousands of hungry people in northern and western
Afghanistan, the epicentre of the country's devastating food crisis, WFP
said in a statement from its headquarters in Rome. However, using existing
stocks inside the country, the agency has continued to feed up to a
million people since international staff were withdrawn beginning 12
September.
Deteriorating security conditions and lack of commercial transport had
forced the UN agency to suspend food shipments on 12 September, shortly
after it had launched a multi-million dollar appeal to save millions from
the hunger caused by a vicious cycle of drought and war.
WFP said an estimated 1.6 million people would run out of food by
December without the additional aid. Overall, there are currently only
enough WFP food stocks inside Afghanistan to feed the normal countrywide
caseload of 3.8 million people for three weeks, the agency said.
For the past few days, the agency has also mobilized staff and
pre-positioned stocks in warehouses in neighbouring countries. "We are
confident that Afghans who may cross the borders in the coming few days
will receive WFP food," said Khaled Adly, Regional Director for WFP in
West Asia and the Middle East. " Moreover, we are looking into concrete
plans of helping those who could be stranded on the Afghan side of the
borders."
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| Mary
Robinson | Terror attacks on US were
crimes against humanity, UN rights official says
25
September – The United Nations top human rights official today called
the recent terrorist attacks against the United States "crimes against
humanity" and said that every country in the world had an obligation to
bring the perpetrators to justice.
"Those who planned this carnage, hijacking civilian aircraft, taking
over control of those aircraft and crashing them into highly populated
buildings must be taken to have intended the maximum loss of life," Mary
Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told journalists at a
briefing in Geneva.
"If these are crimes against humanity, every country would owe a duty
to work with the United Nations, [and to] work with the United States, to
bring the perpetrators to justice," Mrs. Robinson stressed. She added that
all members of the Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva today for a
one-day informal session, had begun their meeting by standing to observe a
minute of silence in honour of the victims of the terrorist attacks.
In her opening remarks to the Commission, Mrs. Robinson, who personally
visited 'ground zero' in New York last week, said that without being
there, it was difficult to appreciate the suffering, trauma, dislocation
and disruption that the atrocities have caused in the United States.
At the same time, she lauded the "extraordinary spirit of community"
that developed in the aftermath of the attacks, particularly in New York.
"Those who saw television coverage of the massive prayer service held in
Yankee Stadium on Sunday last - and that must be millions across the world
- would have been left in no doubt of the resilience of the American
people," she said.
"They would also have seen something else in the capacity crowd: the
sheer ethnic and religious diversity of New Yorkers," Mrs. Robinson said.
"The common messages of solidarity and sympathy delivered by
representatives of so many faiths were inspiring and deeply hopeful."
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| Dr.
Brundtland | States must build
capacity against biological, chemical attacks: UN agency
25
September – Countries need to strengthen their capacity to cope with
the consequences of biological or chemical agents used as weapons,
according to the Director-General of the United Nations World Health
Organization (WHO).
"We must prepare for the possibility that people are deliberately
harmed with biological or chemical agents," Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland told
a meeting of health ministers from the western hemisphere in Washington,
D.C. on Monday. She said proper surveillance and a quick coordinated
response were vital in order to contain any deliberate use of agents such
as anthrax or smallpox before they infected large numbers of people.
Dr. Brundtland said WHO had stepped up its own ability to assist States
in the event of attacks. "During the last week we have upgraded our
procedures for helping countries respond to suspected incidents of
deliberate infection," she told the 43rd Directing Council of the
Pan-American Health Organization. "Guidelines for containing the resulting
disease outbreaks - whether caused by anthrax, haemorrhagic viruses, other
pathogens, biological toxins or noxious chemicals - are available to the
medical profession through the WHO website."
Any infectious agents or toxic chemical could in theory be engineered
for deliberate use as a weapon, according to WHO. Experts in this field
believe that smallpox, anthrax, botulism and plague are the pathogens most
likely to be used. However, most if not all outbreaks of infectious
disease, whether natural or deliberate, would quickly be detected by the
"Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network." This overarching network of
72 global and regional networks of laboratories, public health experts and
Internet-based information systems monitors reports and rumours of disease
events around the world.
"These networks are linked together as a global system, backed by WHO,
with expertise, pre-positioned resources and support from more than 250
laboratories," the agency chief said. "The global network is linked to the
International Health Regulations - the legally-binding instrument which
governs the reporting of epidemic-prone diseases and the application of
measures to prevent their spread. It also has the capacity to work with
countries - investigating dangerous pathogens and confirming case
diagnoses."
Dr. Brundtland said the world had the capacity and the experience to
control serious disease outbreaks, but stressed that national capacity and
contingency plans, especially in countries where infectious disease
outbreaks are rare, should be strengthened.
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UN has key role to play in preventing conflict, General
Assembly told
25 September – As the United Nations General
Assembly today continued its consideration of Secretary-General Kofi
Annan's annual report on the work of the Organization, many countries
urged wide-ranging support for the world body's crucial role in preventive
diplomacy.
Several speakers from among the numerous countries taking the floor
this morning echoed calls by Mr. Annan to move the UN from a culture of
reaction to one of prevention. The representative of Slovakia, Peter
Tomka, told the Assembly that preventing conflicts was a moral imperative,
and the UN had an essential role in preventive diplomacy by virtue of its
mandate, legitimacy and wide-ranging capabilities.
For his part, the representative of the Netherlands, Dirk Jan Van Den
Berg, called for UN support so that increasing global demands did not
challenge decision-making in the Secretariat. The UN was active in
eliminating the root causes of conflict, which were also the breeding
ground for the insanity of terrorism, he said. However, despite increased
responsibilities only a "negligible amount" of the world gross domestic
product was spent on the United Nations Secretariat, funds, programmes or
agencies.
On Monday as the Assembly debate began, many countries condemned the 11
September attacks against the United States and placed the United Nations
at the centre of the fight against the scourge of international terrorism.
Others speakers emphasized the importance of peacekeeping operations,
inter-agency coordination and development issues.
The Assembly was expected to continue its consideration of Mr. Annan's
report on Wednesday.
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Annan welcomes US approval of $582 million payment to UN
for back dues
25 September – Secretary-General Kofi Annan
today welcomed the decision by the States legislature to release over half
a billion dollars for back dues owed by Washington to the United Nations.
A spokesman for the Secretary-General said in a statement that Mr.
Annan was "pleased by the decision of the United States Congress to
authorize payment of $582 million dollars, in partial settlement of the
dues owed to the United Nations."
Mr. Annan also paid tribute to philanthropist Ted Turner, who
contributed over $31 million of his own money to the United States to help
resolve the arrears problem. "[Mr. Annan] wishes to thank Mr. Ted Turner
for his remarkable role in facilitating this payment, and salutes him for
his visionary leadership as a true global citizen," the spokesman said.
Looking to the future, the Secretary-General expressed hope that "all
outstanding financial issues between the United States and the United
Nations can be resolved as soon as possible, in order to put this issue
behind us once and for all."
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UN says security concerns slow down return of refugees
from FYR of Macedonia
25 September – The rate of refugee
returns to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia from Kosovo has
fallen to just under 200 per day amid uncertainty over security after NATO
ends its arms collection mission on Wednesday, the United Nations refugee
agency said today.
Kris Janowski, a spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), said the 4,700-strong NATO contingent was completing its mission
to collect firearms in the country, and NATO was expected to announce a
transitional security arrangement soon. Discussions among its members
indicated a small force would remain to secure international observers
monitoring progress in the implementation of the 13 August agreement.
"UNHCR believes this is insufficient, and has warned that a security
vacuum could trigger a new round of violence and displacement," Mr.
Janowski said. In the meantime, the agency had stepped up its field
presence and confidence-building programmes, and begun a bus service in
the Tetovo region to allow all communities to cross ethnic lines and
checkpoints.
According to UNHCR, more than 54,400 refugees have returned from Kosovo
while 27,400 remain there. The Macedonian Red Cross has registered at
least 70,000 people displaced within the country, 60 per cent of whom are
ethnic Macedonians.
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Stalemate continues over prices of Iraqi crude for US
market, UN reports
25 September – An impasse in the Security
Council has blocked the setting of prices for Iraqi crude destined for the
United States market, according to the United Nations office running the
oil-for-food food programme, which allows Baghdad to use a portion of its
petroleum revenues to purchase humanitarian relief.
"The stalemate in the Security Council over the issue of the frequency
for reviewing prices for Iraqi crude oil deliveries, which are submitted
by the Iraqi State Marketing Organization, has continued," the Office of
the Iraq Programme reported in its weekly update, issued today. "This has
prevented the approval of prices for Iraqi crude oil to the United States
market in September."
Despite the deadlock, the flow of Iraqi exports remained strong over
the past week, according to the update, which reported that Baghdad sold
16.4 million barrels of crude, earning an additional €410 million (euros)
or $379 million during that period.
The Office also reported that, reversing recent trends, the number and
value of contracts placed on hold by the Security Council committee
monitoring the sanctions against Iraq outweighed those newly placed on
hold. A total of 54 contracts worth $179.5 million were released from hold
last week, while 34 new contracts, valued at $111.4 million, were placed
on hold.
Overall, nearly $4 billion worth of contracts are currently on hold,
according to the update. Contracts are generally placed on hold because
more information is sought on their end-use in Iraq.
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UN tribunal welcomes
voluntary surrender of high-ranking Bosnian officer
25
September – The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY) has welcomed the voluntary surrender today of a former
Bosnian army leader charged with atrocities committed by forces under his
command.
After surrendering to the ICTY, Sefer Halilovic was transferred to its
detention unit. His initial court appearance will be scheduled for a later
date, according to The Hague-based Tribunal.
According to the indictment against the suspect, which was unsealed
today, Mr. Halilovic held the post of Deputy Commander of the Supreme
Command Staff of the Bosnian Army (ABiH ) as well as Chief of the Supreme
Command Staff of the ABiH from 18 July 1993 to November 1993. From 21
August 1993, Mr. Halilovic was also Head of an Inspection Team to command
and coordinate offensives which killed scores of Bosnian Croat civilians,
and as such was the most senior military commander for the operation in
the field.
The indictment alleges that, notwithstanding his duties as a commander,
Mr. Halilovic did not take effective measures to prevent the killing of
civilians, nor did he take steps to carry out a proper investigation to
identify the perpetrators and, as commander of the operation, to punish
them accordingly. Mr. Halilovic also allegedly planned and was
instrumental in the implementation of military operations carried out by
the units that took part in the operation against the Bosnian Croat
civilians.
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Donor nations laud 'remarkable' efforts by UN agency
aiding Palestine refugees
25 September – The European Union
(EU) will continue to urge the Israeli authorities to ease restrictions
imposed on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), an EU representative told a meeting of
donors in Amman, Jordan today.
Following a briefing by the Agency on the limits it faces in trying to
provide humanitarian assistance to millions of Palestine refugees, the
European Union representative, Leo D'Aes, said, "if we can support UNRWA
in any way we will gladly do so."
He welcomed the report on UNRWA's access problems, saying, "This gives
the EU the additional information it needs for its contacts with the
Israeli authorities."
"The European Union is always impressed by UNRWA's performance," said
Mr. D'Aes, calling the Agency's accomplishments "truly remarkable compared
with the limited resources" available.
According to a statement released by UNRWA in connection with the
meeting, the Agency has 42 truckloads of medical supplies stranded in the
West Bank which are destined for distribution in Gaza. "In defiance of
international convention, Israel insists these supplies must be unloaded
and searched," the Agency said. The 72 checkpoints operating in the West
Bank have delayed or halted the delivery of supplies to health clinics,
schools and food distribution centres.
UNRWA staff have been unable to get to work, school days have been lost
because of closures, and the Agency has been forced to spend money
intended for humanitarian aid on storage fees for goods blocked by the
Israeli authorities, the statement said. Agency representatives told the
meeting that UNRWA's humanitarian work is being "choked" by the actions of
the Israeli Defence Forces.
Also at the meeting, UNRWA welcomed the European Commission's
announcement that it will increase its contribution to the Agency's
general fund next year from €120 million to €174 million (euros).
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Sierra Leone: disarmament begins in two more districts,
UN Mission reports
25 September – The United Nations Mission
in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) announced today that disarmament of armed
combatants had begun in two more of the country's districts.
When the effort began yesterday, 64 combatants from the Civil Defence
Force (CDF) were disarmed in Mongeri, located in the government-controlled
Bo District, while three fighters from the rebel Revolutionary United
Front (RUF) handed in their weapons in Batkanu, Bombali District, at a
ceremony attended by UNAMSIL chief Oluyemi Adeniji. Another three RUF and
two CDF were reported to have disarmed yesterday in Makeni.
Weapons handed in by the RUF ex-combatants included a G3, an AK-47, a
rocket-propelled grenade, bombs and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. In
Batkanu, villagers cheered, sang and danced as the weapons were turned
over to UNAMSIL military observers and disabled by the ex-combatants.
According to RUF officials, the apparent slow start in the disarmament
exercise in Bombali District was due to the choice of the disarmament camp
- set up at St. Francis Secondary School by the National Committee for
Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, UNAMSIL said. The RUF's
Eldred Collins told UNAMSIL officials that they would have preferred to
have used the military barracks in the area.
While conceding that the slow start of the disarmament process was a
disappointment, Mr. Adeniji said both parties were committed to the peace
process.
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UN's recruiting practices for field missions must be
improved, internal audit finds
25 September – Recruiting
practices for United Nations peacekeeping operations have often been
improvised in the absence of written guidelines, raising doubts that the
best-qualified candidates are selected, according to the results of an
internal audit released at UN Headquarters in New York.
The report by the Office of Internal Oversight Services reviewing the
policies of the Department for Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) says that
the selection process for the UN's 45 worldwide missions frequently did
not ensure that candidates were chosen competitively. Inconsistencies were
found in determining salary levels and reference checks were seldom
conducted, resulting in staff with low morale or candidates hired for jobs
for which they were ill-suited.
The Department also lacked benchmarks for evaluating the efficiency and
effectiveness of its recruitment activities and failed to properly analyze
the workloads of its staff, which increased dramatically with the
emergence of large and complex new missions during the period from January
1999 to October 2000 covered by the report.
With a recent independent expert panel recommending that field missions
be allowed to do their own recruiting, the report highlights the critical
need for published guidelines. "The absence of written procedures exposes
the recruitment process to inconsistency and arbitrariness and raises
doubts about whether it is geared towards selecting the best available
candidates in a fair and transparent manner."
To strengthen the process and enhance transparency, the report makes a
number of recommendations, such as implementing a monitoring mechanism to
ensure that the Department follows the UN's personnel policies. DPKO
should also establish a roster of qualified, pre-screened candidates;
develop standard job descriptions; apply grading criteria consistently,
and conduct reference checks before staff is hired.
Other suggested improvements include setting up written procedures for
recruiting international civilian staff as well as deploying qualified
human resources specialists and providing training to existing staff
before allowing field missions to do their own recruiting.
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Global AIDS and Health
Fund to start disbursing money by late 2001
25 September –
As contributions to the Global AIDS and Health Fund - an initiative of
Secretary-General Kofi Annan - continue to pour in, the United Nations and
its partners are finalizing the Fund's technical aspects so that it can
become operational by the end of this year.
"Only if the Fund is run in an effective and imaginative way will the
various public and private donors make contributions to it," said the
Secretary-General, who was briefed on Monday in New York by Dr. Chrispus
Kiyonga, the Chairman of a transitional working group tasked with setting
up the Fund.
Starting with the founding contribution of the United States last May,
the Fund has already received nearly $1.5 billion in commitments from a
wide range of donors - governments, foundations, the corporate sector and
individuals.
"These next three months will give me some of the greatest challenges I
have ever faced," said Dr. Kiyonga, a Ugandan Cabinet member who served
previously as his country's Health Minister and Finance Minister. "Our
task is to develop a new structure and working methods that will enable
the Fund to spend resources most cost-effectively and in ways that produce
measurable results."
The decision to create a transitional working group and secretariat was
taken at a meeting in July of nearly 40 donor and developing countries, as
well as multilateral organizations, foundations, non-governmental groups
and the corporate sector. The group's mandate is to build the foundations
of the Fund itself. In doing so, it will seek to ensure that money coming
into the Fund is additional and complementary to already existing
resources, linked to the achievement of measurable results, supportive of
country-led processes, not likely to increase transaction costs for
countries and donors, and representative of a genuine international
partnership.
The Fund's ultimate goal will be to build on the existing high-level
political commitment to mobilizing additional resources, and to channel
them to developing countries to ensure rapid progress in addressing the
huge challenges caused by HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
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East Timor group promotes protection of women's rights in
constitution: UN mission
25 September – A group promoting
the inclusion of gender issues into East Timor's constitution today turned
over its report on women's rights to the head of the United Nations
Transitional Administration in the territory (UNTAET).
The report to UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello by the East Timorese
Gender and Constitutional Working Group reflects the aspirations and
desires of women from all 13 districts, based on meetings, congresses and
interviews conducted since last year. The report will be presented to the
recently elected Constituent Assembly for its consideration when drafting
the territory's Constitution.
The Working Group will meet the 23 female members of the 88-member
Assembly on Saturday to garner support for the report's 10 principles and
their incorporation into the Constitution, UNTAET said. The report, which
will be presented along with over 8,000 signatures backing it, spells out
the political and social rights of women in East Timor.
On 21 August, Mr. Vieira de Mello opened a "Support Women in the
Constitution" seminar held by the Working Group. The Gender and
Constitution Working Group is part of the Constitutional Working Group, a
coalition of national and international organizations working to promote a
participatory constitution-making process.
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| Azraq
oasis | $6 million UN-backed project
pumps life back into Jordanian oasis
25 September – The
Azraq oasis in Jordan's eastern desert is staging a "remarkable"
ecological recovery thanks to a $6 million rehabilitation initiative
funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global
Environment Facility (GEF), UNDP announced today.
According to the agency, the project has restored a mosaic of critical
habitats at the core of the oasis' wetlands that were degraded beyond
recognition a few years ago, and is helping to improve livelihoods in the
community.
By pumping water back into the oasis, the initiative is reviving
habitats for an array of wildlife, including hundreds of thousands of
migrating birds, which made Azraq famous among nature lovers around the
world, UNDP said. Thousands of tourists are once again visiting the Azraq
region to enjoy its vegetation, set like an island amid one of the driest
deserts in the Middle East. Visitors can see water buffaloes, blue-necked
ostriches, Nubian ibexes, dozens of dragonfly species, and archaeological
sites that include renowned desert castles.
"Many of the birds for which the oasis was so well known are coming
back," said Chris Johnson, Director of Development of the Royal Society
for the Conservation of Nature, a civic organization in Jordan. "Over 160
bird species have returned to the wetlands." Mr. Johnson also noted the
re-introduction of the killifish, a fish species found nowhere else in the
world.
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| Hand-painted
ostrich eggs are for sale in Azraq's new nature
shop | The project has also created new
jobs, including reserve management staff, rangers, ecologists, community
liaison officers and arts and crafts workshop managers. The workshop has
trained young women from the community in production of handicrafts and
sweet foodstuffs made from locally grown dates.
Azraq's problems began decades ago when increasing demand for water for
agricultural use and for use in the capital, Amman - where about half of
the country's 5.5 million people live - drained the oasis. By 1993, after
more than 20 years of pumping, the springs dried up and fires burned
across the landscape.
According to UNDP, fundamental changes in national water policies to
ease pressure from growing urban demand are needed to protect Azraq in the
long-term. In response, the Government will soon launch a $600 million
project to supply 100 million cubic metres per year of additional water to
Amman.
The project is funded in part by GEF, a financial mechanism that
provides grant and concessional funds to developing countries and those
with economies in transition for projects and activities that aim to
protect the global environment.
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United Kingdom pledges
major backing for UN project to save great apes
25 September
– The Government of the United Kingdom today pledged substantial support
for an international project to save the Earth's remaining great apes - a
move that was immediately hailed by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), which launched the
effort.
In a statement to a gathering of government representatives at UNEP's
headquarters in Nairobi, the United Kingdom committed to providing
significant expertise and crucial financial backing to the Great Apes
Survival Project, known as "GRASP."
The project, which has brought together wildlife groups and charities
from across the globe to save humankind's closest-living relatives, was
announced in May by UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer. At that time,
he had warned that "the clock is standing at one minute to midnight for
the great apes." Today, Mr. Toepfer said, London's support means "we have
shaved a few seconds off this Doomsday clock."
Calling on private industry and other governments to join in the
endeavour, the UNEP chief said rescuing the great apes was not just about
saving the animals, but was "a blueprint for sustainable development." In
conserving and guaranteeing a future for the great apes, the world would
also be tackling the poverty and environmental degradation that are
blighting the lives of people where the species is found - in Africa,
Sumatra and Borneo.
GRASP, which aims to raise an initial $2.9 million over two years, is
drawing plans for key ape projects in those areas. According to UNEP, some
of the sites involved need equipment as well as training for wildlife
protection staff and park rangers. Others require help in developing
eco-tourism schemes to give local people alternative livelihoods.
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Vigorous response to terror needed, Annan tells General
Assembly
24 September – On the day that should have seen the
opening of the annual high-level debate in the United Nations General
Assembly, Secretary-General Kofi Annan told
the UN's principal legislative body today that the terrorist attacks
against the United States were also a strike against everything the UN
stood for.
"Peace, freedom, tolerance, human rights and the very idea of a united
human family," Mr. Annan said as he presented to the Assembly his annual
Report on the
Work of the Organization. "It struck at all our efforts to create a
true international society, based on the rule of law."
"Let us respond by reaffirming, with all our strength, our common
humanity and the values that we share," he said at the outset of the
debate, in which representatives of over 60 countries were expected to
address the Assembly. "We shall not allow them to be overthrown."
The Secretary-General noted the need for a vigorous response to
terrorism, which the General Assembly will address in greater detail on 1
October. He also underscored the need to reaffirm the rule of law: "No
effort should be spared in bringing the perpetrators to justice, in a
clear and transparent process that all can understand and accept."
Mr. Annan warned, however, that responding to the attacks should not
distract from the rest of the UN's work and that rather than resorting to
violence, cooperation and partnership was the only route that offers any
hope of a better future for all of humanity, with the United Nations
squarely in the centre of any such efforts.
"The United Nations must provide a framework of shared values and
understanding, within which their free and voluntary efforts can interact,
and reinforce each other, instead of getting in each other's way," Mr.
Annan said.
The Secretary-General called for a strengthening of the international
trade system to ensure that its benefits were available to all, especially
the developing countries. He also encouraged the Assembly not to see the
attacks as setbacks to pledges made in last year's Millennium Declaration
on reducing the number of people who live on less than $1 a day, ensuring
universal primary education for all children, or halting and beginning the
reversal of the spread of HIV/AIDS.
"Let us reject the path of violence, which is the product of nihilism
and despair," Mr. Annan said. "Let us prove by our actions that there is
no need to despair; that the political and economic problems of our time
can be solved peacefully; and that no human life should be sacrificed,
because every human being has cause to hope."
With representatives of over 60 countries inscribed to address the
Assembly on the Secretary-General's report, the debate is expected to
continue on Tuesday.
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In a joint appeal, UN agencies warn of major humanitarian
crisis in Afghanistan
24 September – Warning of the
possibility of a humanitarian crisis "of stunning proportions" in
Afghanistan, United Nations relief agencies today appealed to the world
community to provide assistance to the fragile country, and to keep in
mind basic tenets of international law in addressing the problem of
terrorism.
"We urge a world wounded by the horrific and deplorable terrorist
attacks of 11 September to be mindful of the principles of international
humanitarian law and to take all measures to protect the civilian
populations, especially the millions of children and women," said the
joint statement signed by the heads of the UN agencies and programmes
dealing with children (UNICEF),
refugees (UNHCR), human
rights (UNHCHR),
food security (WFP), emergency
coordination (OCHA) and development (UNDP).
According to the statement, 20 years of brutal conflict, 3 years of
severe drought, large-scale human rights abuses and significant population
movements spurred most recently by the present geo-political crisis have
left more than 5 million civilians - the vast majority of them women and
children - with a fragile grip on survival. Nearly 20 per cent of those in
need are children under the age of five, many of whom are already
struggling to survive.
UN agencies and other aid organizations continue to operate camps for
displaced people and food delivery with the help of hundreds of devoted
Afghan staff, but lack of international humanitarian access is hastening
the deterioration of the situation. No additional food supplies can be
delivered to Afghanistan at the moment and WFP estimates that food
reserves in the country will be exhausted within two to three weeks.
"We call on the entire international community - especially the
countries in the region - to help prevent further tragedy by supporting
humanitarian relief efforts, by pressing for safe access to all
populations in need, by assuring the safety and security of relief
personnel, by supporting all measures that lessen the chance of a
humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan and neighbouring countries, and by
opening borders to those in need," the statement said.
Recognizing the enormous burden already carried by Pakistan and Iran in
hosting 3.5 million Afghans, the statement joined UNHCR's call earlier
today for more international support for asylum states to ensure that
their borders are open to all those who deserve protection and
humanitarian assistance. In that statement, UNHCR had announced plans to
start screening thousands of Afghan refugees currently camped in the
desert along the border area just inside Pakistan.
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General Assembly's high-level debate not likely before
late October - UN officials
24 September – Senior New York
City officials have told the United Nations that its annual high-level
General Assembly debate - which normally attracts the participation of
national leaders from around the world but was postponed following the
terrorist attacks against the United States - should not be held before
October or early November.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan asked New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
last week when the New York security team could handle an influx of heads
of State and Government for the high-level debate, according to a UN
spokesman. "The Mayor said it should not be before late October or early
November at the earliest," spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters in New
York, adding that Mr. Guiliani had suggested that the issue be revisited
in a few weeks.
The Secretary-General then conveyed this information to the President
of the General Assembly, who continues to consult with regional groups on
possible dates for the two-week debate, Mr. Eckhard said.
According to a spokesman for the President of the General Assembly, the
regional groups are not considering other venues for the gathering, but
have instead said they wanted the meetings to be held in New York.
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Taliban seal off UN offices in Afghanistan, disrupting
aid efforts
24 September – The Taliban authorities have
sealed off United Nations offices in Afghanistan, causing the disruption -
and in some cases stoppage - of aid activities in some parts of the
war-torn and drought-stricken country, UN officials said today.
According to Stephanie Bunker, a spokesperson for the Islamabad-based
UN Coordinator for Afghanistan, Taliban authorities locked UN offices in
Kabul on Friday, sealing all communications equipment. "Over the weekend,
similar actions were taken in some other locations inside the country,"
she said, noting that the UN had previously maintained 24-hour contact
with its offices in Afghanistan.
"It is possible that any attempt to communicate with the outside world
could put staff at risk of their lives," said Ms. Bunker.
In a final communication to workers sent out on Friday, the UN
Coordinator advised them to comply with the Taliban directive and cease
communication "entirely and immediately" both within and outside of
Afghanistan. According to Ms. Bunker, while some UN humanitarian aid
activities continued in locations without communications, many UN efforts
had been disrupted or had ceased entirely.
In another development over the weekend, local authorities took over
the UN's offices in Kandahar. "Under such circumstances, it is not
surprising that more national staff have decided to stop working and/or
leave their duty stations, further diminishing the UN's already low
capacity to operate," Ms. Bunker noted.
The spokesperson expressed particular concern that de-mining activities
inside the country could be interrupted. "Afghanistan probably has the
most serious landmine and unexploded bomb problem of any country in the
world," she said. "As fear of dramatically escalating armed conflict
increases within Afghanistan, we have seen the beginnings of mass
migrations of the population, which significantly increases the likelihood
of more mine- and bomb-related injuries."
The Director of the UN Information Centre in Islamabad, Eric Falt, told
the press that "the UN systems in Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to
brace for what we are afraid could become one of the largest humanitarian
operations the United Nations has ever had to take charge of."
UN relief workers in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province are
well-prepared, "with high morale and fully conscious of their
responsibilities," Mr. Falt said. Staff members of UN aid agencies "are
ready to deliver and have a strong sense of their mission," he added.
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UN staff raise over $100,000 for victims of terror
attacks against US
24 September – United Nations staff
members have raised over $100,000 for a special relief fund set up by
their union to help victims of the 11 September terror attacks against the
World Trade Center in New York.
In a circular to all staff announcing the establishment of the fund,
the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management, Rafiah
Salim, notes that the full impact of the "heinous acts of terrorism" is
only beginning to be felt.
"It is evident, however that these wanton attacks have claimed
thousands of lives in the city of New York alone," she observes. "In
addition to the loss of life and physical destruction, these attacks are
sure to scar the emotional life of the city and its inhabitants for years
to come."
Noting that "words along cannot adequately express our sense of grief
and sympathy for the victims and their families," Ms. Salim says the fund
was established "in an expression of solidarity with the people of the
City of New York, the host city for the United Nations."
According to the circular, the fund will be managed by a committee
which will disburse the resources after consulting with the appropriate
city officials. It remains open to contributions through 24 October.
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Annan warns of danger of discrimination, violence in wake
of terror attacks
24 September – Secretary-General Kofi
Annan has extended condolences to the Sikh community after one of its
members was murdered following the 11 September terrorist attacks against
the United States.
"On behalf of the United Nations, I wish to convey my deepest
sympathies with the Sikh community at this time of trial," Mr. Annan said
in a message to the memorial ceremony for Balbir Singh Sodhi, held in
Phoenix, Arizona, on Saturday. "Men and women from all faiths have been
outraged by the acts of violence and discrimination that have taken place
in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks, both against Sikhs and
people from other faiths and cultures."
The Secretary-General emphasized that the perpetrators of terrorist
attacks are never defined by religion or national descent. "No people, no
region and no religion should be condemned, assaulted or targeted because
of the unspeakable acts of individuals," he said.
Mr. Annan lauded the authorities and people of Phoenix who showed
solidarity with the Sikh community, as well as New York City Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani and US President George W. Bush for their leadership in
condemning the post-terror violence. "To do otherwise, and to allow
divisions between and within societies to be exacerbated by acts of
terrorism, would be to do the terrorists' work for them," he said.
Pledging that the UN will be continuing to defend victims of
discrimination, he said "We stand with the Sikh community and with all
people of tolerance, at this difficult moment for us all."
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Annan concerned at Israel's move to set up military zone
in Palestinian territory
24 September – The United Nations
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, today voiced his concern over an announced
move by Israel to set up a closed military zone in a section of the
occupied Palestinian territory.
"The Secretary-General is concerned by the announcement earlier today
by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) that is has established a closed
military zone in the northern part of the occupied Palestinian territory,"
Mr. Annan's spokesman said in a statement.
He added that the creation of such a zone "will impose additional
restrictions on the Palestinians' movement."
"It is a unilateral and provocative act, contrary to the signed
agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, and it can only undermine
ongoing efforts to find a way out of the present crisis," spokesman Fred
Eckhard told reporters in New York.
The spokesman acknowledged Israel's legitimate security concerns, but
emphasized that they "can in the end only be satisfied through a decisive
effort to reach a peaceful settlement to the conflict in accordance with
Security Council resolutions 242 and 338." Those resolutions, adopted
respectively in 1967 and 1973, embody the principle of 'land for peace.'
An early and productive meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon
Peres and President Yasser Arafat would be an important step towards
achieving a settlement, the spokesman added.
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Facing financial crisis, UN relief agency for Palestine
refugees seeks urgent funds
24 September – Facing a severe
budget deficit, the United Nations agency helping millions of Palestinian
refugees urged donors gathered in Amman today to contribute to its
activities as a force of stability in the Middle East.
Peter Hansen, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), told
representatives of 25 countries and the European Union that the Agency's
financial difficulties stem from a $31 million budget shortfall.
"The level of expected income is currently estimated at $280 million
against the General Assembly approved budget of $311 million," said Mr.
Hansen, noting that of the pledged income, $65 million remained
outstanding. Only the last minute arrival of $20 million from the European
Union would allow UNRWA to pay staff salaries for October, he added.
The Commissioner-General said recent events heightened the importance
of the Agency's work. "We are passing through a very difficult political
stage in the region and the Agency has in the past been credited with
having contributed to stability," he said. "Now more than ever, there is a
vital need for this role."
"The refugees need to be assured that the commitments of the
international community to their welfare will continue," he stressed.
Describing deteriorating conditions faced by UNRWA, Mr. Hansen said its
school buildings were crumbling. "They are a risk and a danger to pupils
and teachers and exemplify the situation we are in," he said. "What we
face today is a threat to the infrastructure of the Agency."
In the West Bank and Gaza, Israel's closure policy had caused an
economic downturn which forced almost 80 per cent of all refugees under
the poverty line. "Clearly this is an explosive situation that we all have
a responsibility to try to avoid," said Mr. Hansen. Israeli blockades and
closures were also forcing UNRWA to engage in a "daily struggle" to reach
camps and villages.
Today's meeting began with a minute of silence for the victims of the
11 September terrorist attacks against the United States.
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UN expert panel opens session to examine children's
rights in 10 countries
24 September – A United Nations
expert panel today opened its latest session to examine the promotion and
protection of children's rights in 10 countries.
During its current three-week session, the Geneva-based Committee on
the Rights of the Child will look at first-ever reports from Mauritania,
Kenya, Oman, Qatar, Uzbekistan, Gambia, Cameroon and Cape Verde on their
efforts to promote children's rights. Paraguay and Portugal will be
presenting their second reports.
The 10-member Committee was formed in 1991 to monitor the
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has
been ratified by or acceded to 191 countries, making it one of the most
widely-accepted human rights treaties ever. Only Somalia and the United
States have not ratified it.
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Preparatory panel on International Criminal Court begins
session in New York
24 September – The United Nations panel
laying the groundwork for the eventual establishment of the International
Criminal Court opened a two-week session at United Nations Headquarters in
New York today, hearing a call for the inclusion of terrorism in the
court's Statute.
"During the last two weeks, there emerged a general consensus that the
world has entered a new period as a result of these horrible terrorist
attacks" against the United States said Turkey's representative, Daryal
Batibay. "International terrorism has emerged as the most urgent and
compelling crime the world is presently confronted with."
The meeting began with a moment of silence in memory of the recent
terrorist attacks against the United States. "Even those of us who were
not immediately and personally affected by that violence felt painfully
assaulted and feel a profound sense of loss indeed," said Commission
Chairman Ambassador Philippe Kirsch of Canada, extending condolences on
behalf to the United States, New York and all those who were grieving for
the loss of their loved ones.
The Chairman noted that as of today, 38 States had become parties to
the Court's Statute, which will enter into force once it has been ratified
by 60 countries. During the meeting, representatives of Peru, Poland,
Mexico and Switzerland announced plans to ratify the Statute soon.
Poland's representative, Piotr Ogonowski, said the attacks heightened
the importance of the session. "This unprecedented attack against innocent
civilians makes us all the more aware of the relevance of the work that we
are carrying out," he said. The very purpose of the establishment of an
International Criminal Court is to prevent atrocities against innocent
people and massive loss of human life."
The Preparatory Commission has the task of negotiating practical
arrangements to pave the way for the eventual functioning of the Court.
Specific issues currently under consideration include drafting a
relationship agreement between the Court and the UN as well as a
relationship agreement between the Court and its host country, the
Netherlands. Negotiators are also working to define the crime of
aggression. In addition, they are setting up the Court's financial rules
and regulations as well as its first-year budget.
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East Timor: newly formed Council of Ministers holds first
formal meeting
24 September – The newly formed all-Timorese
Council of Ministers - which replaces the East Timor Transitional Cabinet
- held its first formal meeting today, marking another step on East
Timor's path toward full independence, the United Nations Transitional
Administration in the territory (UNTAET) said in a statement.
Attending the meeting on an exceptional basis, UNTAET chief Sergio
Vieira de Mello reiterated his support for the Council, also known as the
Second Transitional Government.
"I am very pleased because this Council of Minister represents, in a
concrete way, the dream of freedom for which so many Timorese fought and
died," said Mr. Vieira de Mello, who formerly chaired the meetings of the
Transitional Cabinet. He added that the process was part of the UN's plans
to grant the people of East Timor gradual self-governance before
independence.
Referring to the "innovative relationship" between UNTAET and the
Council of Ministers, Mr. Vieira de Mello said East Timor was about to
initiate something that had never been done before - an administration
that is still the UN, but in which the executive power was in the hands of
an East Timorese Government with democratic legitimacy. "This phase is
perhaps the most demanding one so far," he said.
Also speaking at today's session, the Chief Minister and Minister of
Economy and Development, Marí Alkatiri, briefed Council members on a range
of economic issues. Members also heard the Senior Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Cooperation, José Ramos-Horta, who spoke about East Timor's
foreign policy in general and its relationship with other countries, in
particular Indonesia.
The Second Transitional Government and its Council of Ministers will
govern East Timor during the remaining transitional period before its
independence as a democratic and sovereign State, which is expected early
next year.
The Transitional Government has its powers reinforced, formulating
policies and supervising a newly formed Public Administration. According
to the regulation establishing the Government, the Transitional
Administrator, who has legislative and ultimate executive authority over
the body, shall be regularly consulted by the Council of Ministers.
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UN and United Kingdom team up to bolster livestock
production in poor States
24 September – Responding to the
growing need for livestock in developing countries, the United Nations
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
and the United Kingdom today announced a new joint initiative to help cut
poverty while promoting safe farming.
The UK Department for International Development will grant $13 million
to the six-year project, which aims to promote policy reforms in support
of poor livestock producers and reduce their exposure to risks such as
drought and animal diseases.
Demand for livestock could double in the next two decades, prompting
producers to move from dry to more humid areas where animal disease can
more easily spread, according to FAO. The agency warned that an increase
in livestock production close to cities could severely damage the
environment and pose public health risks.
The initiative will serve to "break down the financial, technical,
social and cultural barriers that restrict the access of poorer people to
the potential offered by livestock," said Louise Fresco, Assistant
Director of FAO's Agriculture Department.
The new project will also serve to raise awareness among opinion
makers, especially in developed countries, about issues associated with
livestock and the poor, according to FAO.
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UN agency to launch major
report on new approaches to mental health disorders
24
September – The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that its annual
World Health Report will confront the problem of mental health
disorders, culminating a yearlong campaign by the agency to address the
issue.
The report promises to provide information on policy and treatment
responses to mental and neurological disorders, which currently affect
some 450 million people worldwide, according to WHO.
"While it is true that millions never seek or receive treatment for
these disorders, the positive news is that appropriate and cost-effective
treatments are available and that solutions to deal with the burden of
mental health disorders do exist," the agency said in a statement released
in Geneva.
The report, which will officially be launched by WHO Director-General
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland in Geneva on 4 October, brings together the
latest information on mental and neurological disorders and their impact
on societies, and discusses the policy options available to governments
interested in managing the emerging burden of these illnesses in their
countries.
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UN refugee agency prepares to screen Afghans camped
inside Pakistan's border
24 September – The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) today announced plans
to start screening thousands of Afghans currently camped in the desert
along the border area just inside Pakistan.
UNHCR welcomed the fact that registration could begin tomorrow, calling
the development "a positive sign that thousands of Afghans waiting at the
Charman border crossing will soon be able to move."
In an update released in Geneva, the agency said Afghans would be moved
to an empty refugee settlement about a dozen kilometres from the border.
"The site has a good water source and UNHCR staff believe it can
accommodate up to 20,000 new arrivals."
UNHCR's efforts to help the Afghans will be supported by other UN
agencies, including the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which will provide
provisions to those arriving in Balochistan.
Meanwhile, a WFP spokesman told reporters in Islamabad today that the
food agency continues to help more than 1 million people inside
Afghanistan despite increasingly difficult conditions.
Although food shipments into the country have been temporarily
suspended, "we still have enough stocks inside Afghanistan to continue
full normal operations for three weeks at least," spokesman Khaled Masour
said. He added that the agency was not able to reach all 4 million people
that had been accessible before 11 September.
Underscoring the worsening situation facing local staff inside
Afghanistan, Mr. Masour called on the Taliban to allow the UN to contact
them. "More than any time before we need to stay in touch with them for
solely humanitarian purposes," he stressed.
In a related development, WFP today released the preliminary results of
a survey conducted throughout the country this summer. "We have some
disturbing results showing that about 320,000 people in the northern
provinces will not have enough food to sustain them by the end of this
month in Faryab and Balkh provinces," said Mr. Masour, warning that some
1.6 million people in the area would run out of food by December.
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Citing insurance concerns, UN temporarily pulls staff
from Somalia
24 September – The United Nations today
announced a temporary pull-out of all its international personnel from
Somalia, citing the withdrawal of war risks coverage by the insurance
company that covers UN flights.
The lapse of the appropriate war-risk coverage for UN flights was a
result of the enormous insurance claims arising from the attacks in the
United States two weeks ago, the UN Country Team in Somalia said in a
press release. The Team said it would renegotiate its insurance policy
with the underwriters and hoped to resume UN flights as soon as possible.
Some 54 international staff will be flown to Nairobi before the
insurance coverage expires at midnight Monday. The UN system employs some
560 national staff in Somalia and they will be continuing programme
operations to ensure maximum provision of services during this period.
"I would like to stress that this decision has nothing to do with the
security situation in Somalia, which remains stable and unchanged," said
the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Randolph Kent. "My
colleagues within the UN Country Team and I remain determined that
humanitarian and development programmes will continue during this time."
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Italy proposes moving UN food summit to another
venue
24 September – The Government of Italy has proposed
moving a key United Nations meeting on food security from Rome to the
coastal resort town of Rimini.
In a letter from the Prime Minister's office to the head of the UN's
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
the Italian Government expressed its willingness to bear the additional
cost of moving the "World Food Summit: five year later."
Italy's proposal, which has been forwarded to the members of the FAO
Governing Council for a decision early next week, also suggests that an
agreement on the change should be signed with the UN agency.
The World Food Summit, scheduled for 5 to 9 November, will review the
progress made towards the eradication of hunger and to raise both the
political will and the financial resources to accelerate the fight against
hunger.
At the 1996 World Food Summit, representatives of 185 nations and the
European Community pledged to work towards eradicating hunger and set a
target of halving by 2015 the number of hungry people - still more than
800 million.
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UN tribunal for Rwanda requests more judges to tackle
heavy caseload
24 September – The International Criminal
Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has asked
the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly for a pool of
ad litem - or short-term - judges to help accelerate its work.
The Tribunal is seeking 18 judges to handle work both in trials and
pre-trial proceedings, according to a letter released today at UN
Headquarters in New York, The by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which
forwards the request by the ICTR President, Judge Navanethem Pillay, notes
that preliminary estimated cost of setting up the short-term judges for
the 2002-2003 biennium would be about $23.6 million.
Such a pool of ad litem judges has already been set up for the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
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Most Guatemalans have yet to feel benefits of peace, UN
mission reports
24 September – The lack of implementation of
key commitments contained in Guatemala's peace agreements has prevented
widespread enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by the
country's population, according to a report released today at United
Nations Headquarters in New York.
According to the report by the UN Verification Mission in Guatemala
(MINUGUA), a large part of the Guatemalan population - especially
indigenous people, women and poor peasants - has yet to feel the benefits
of peace. The Mission also warns that lack of implementation of the peace
accords threatens to raise the level of conflict in the country.
MINUGUA's verification work, which has recently turned its focus to the
police, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the judiciary, is being carried
out amid difficult circumstances that limit the enjoyment of human rights,
such as criminal violence, lynchings and "social cleansing" operations,
the report says. Earlier, the Mission focused on verifying the
demobilization of the URNG (Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca),
the redeployment of the armed forces and the disbanding of the military
commissioners and the Voluntary Civil Defence Committees.
"In addition to the climate of threats and intimidation, there have
recently been attacks that curtail the action of members of the judiciary,
journalists and human rights defenders," says the report, which was
forwarded to the UN General Assembly by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "The
inherited pattern of impunity is becoming a systematic, cross-cutting
phenomenon, as illustrated by the failure to clear up and punish almost
all the serious violations that took place during the armed conflict and
most of the significant cases that have occurred more recently."
According to MINUGUA, the influence of situations left over from the
armed conflict is "obvious" and the State authorities "must give priority
to eradicating them." The Public Prosecutor's Office bears special
responsibility for breaking the vicious circle of impunity. The armed
forces, for their part, must promote a policy that eliminates any
possibility of obstruction of justice, the report says.
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