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UN Daily News
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Issue DH/5762
In the headlines:
• Secretary-General says UN committed to moving
• UN envoy on Western Sahara continues meetings
• UN rights expert calls Myanmar election process
• Land loss to speculators, industries and cities result
• UN Goodwill Ambassador Nicolas Cage urges action
•
closer to Somali people
‘deeply flawed’
against organized crime
•
Women integral for peace, Ban stresses
in North Africa
in hunger – UN rights expert
Cyprus: 25,000th landmine cleared by UN
• UN sounds alarm over children malnutrition in
conflict-hit parts of Yemen
• Haiti: post-quake aid operations must continue
• UN suspends prize offered by Equatorial Guinea
• UN official alarmed by reports of renewed Israeli
• UN human rights experts appalled by death of
through next year, UN official says
settlement construction
pending further consultations
Angolan migrant
More stories inside
Secretary-General says UN committed to moving closer to
Somali people
21 October - The United Nations is making efforts to move closer to the people and
authorities in Somalia to nurture the development of State institutions and restore stability
in the Horn of Africa country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Security Council
today.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left)
and Security Council President
Ruhakana Rugunda attend meeting on
Somalia
The United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and the world body’s Country
Team will focus on strengthening the capacities of Somali ministries, in addition to meeting
with committees dealing with security arrangements and reconciliation, Mr. Ban said at the
Council’s open meeting.
“In each of these areas, the United Nations will continue its ‘light footprint’ approach in
order to be closer to the Somali people and authorities,” he added.
The Secretary-General said the Organization is striving to ensure that its efforts in the country are coordinated and said he
will bring to the Council for consideration, in the coming months, proposals for an integrated UN operation in Somalia.
Despite humanitarian and security obstacles in Somalia, he noted that there are “glimmers of hope” in the war-ravaged
country, pointing to the appointment of a new Prime Minister and the continued commitment of the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) to peace and reconciliation, despite recent internal divisions.
For information media not an official record
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21 October 2010
Mr. Ban enumerated the steps the UN is taking to end conflict and re-establish stability in the country, which has had no
fully functioning government since 1991.
Somalia has been riven by factional warfare that has left more than two million people in need of humanitarian aid and
driven 1.4 from their homes.
“Support to the TFG – its reconciliation efforts and its fight against extremism – will go a long way,” the Secretary-General
said. “But the international community must act now if it is to make a difference.”
UN efforts under way include reconciliation efforts between the TFG and groups who have renounced violence but have not
signed onto the Djibouti peace process, which seeks to restore peace and stability in Somalia through the re-establishment of
State institutions in the country.
Mr. Ban said the UN is also backing the TFG in its efforts to wrap up priority tasks under the Transitional Federal Charter,
especially consultations on the drafting of a new constitution, before the interim authority’s mandate expires next August.
The world body, he told the 15-member Council, is strengthening its political presence in the self-declared autonomous
regions of Puntland and Somaliland to help the TFG implement agreements with regional authorities.
Further, the UN Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is providing critical logistical support
to the mission and strengthening its military capability.
More international support, however, is required for AMISOM, which has been dogged by lack of resources, a factor that
could threaten its effectiveness, Mr. Ban said.
“In a country that has been in conflict for two decades, peace requires sustained efforts and a long-term strategy,” he
underlined, paying tribute to AMISOM, troop-contributing countries, Somalia’s neighbours, and others contributing to that
goal.
At the end of today’s meeting, the Council, in a press statement, expressed its concern at the continuing instability and
deteriorating humanitarian situation in Somalia.
The body’s members reaffirmed their support for the UN-facilitated Djibouti peace agreements and peace process “as the
basis for the resolution of the conflict in Somalia” and reiterated their support for the TFG’s efforts to realize peace, security
and reconciliation.
The Council also restated its support for AMISOM, expressing continued appreciation for Burundi and Uganda’s
commitment of troops to the mission.
“The members of the Security Council condemned any attacks on the Transitional Federal Government, AMISOM and the
civilian population by armed groups, foreign fighters and their supporters who undermine peace and stability in Somalia,”
the statement said.
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UN rights expert calls Myanmar election process ‘deeply flawed’
21 October - An independent United Nations human rights expert expressed
disappointment today that Myanmar’s process for its upcoming elections – the nation’s first
in two decades – is “deeply flawed,” urging the release of all prisoners of conscience,
including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Tomás Ojea Quintana, Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea
Quintana, told reporters in New York today that “conditions for the general elections are
limited under the current circumstances,” adding that the potential for the polls to bring
meaningful change remain uncertain.
“I believe that the Myanmar Government needs to send a strong signal to the international
community about its commitment to hold genuine elections, and the unconditional and immediate release of prisoners of
conscience would be such a signal,” he said.
Yesterday, the expert presented his report focusing on the landmark 7 November elections, only the third multiparty poll in
more than 60 years since independence, to the General Assembly.
He told the 192-member body that the freedoms of expression and assembly have been further restricted through the
implementation of election laws, while party registration requirements and the high cost of registering candidates have
hampered parties not backed by the Government.
“It is clear that the process has not been inclusive,” Mr. Quintana stressed.
The Government, he said, has rightfully pointed out that elections are only one step in Myanmar’s transition to democracy.
“We must remember that true national reconciliation and a commitment to protecting and promoting human rights are also
necessary for any real transition.”
The Rapporteur, who serves in an independent and unpaid capacity, underlined the key role played by justice and
accountability in this transition.
“We have seen too many cases in the world of incomplete transitions that have sacrificed justice for the mistaken notion that
this would achieve peace and stability,” he said. “Now is the time to end the widespread and systematic violations of human
rights that have been occurring in Myanmar for decades.”
Since assuming his position in May 2008, Mr. Quintana has visited Myanmar three times, meeting with prisoners of
conscience and senior executive and judicial authorities.
He expressed regret that his last request to visit the country in August was not granted. “I strongly believe that direct
dialogue with the authorities and other stakeholders through country visits is indispensable for the conduct of my mandate.”
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UN Goodwill Ambassador Nicolas Cage urges action against
organized crime
21 October - Nicolas Cage, renowned actor, filmmaker and Goodwill Ambassador for
Global Justice for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), today spoke
of the anguish of victims, especially the young, of organized crimes around the world,
urging States to join a UN pact designed to fight the scourge.
Nicolas Cage
“It’s often the most innocent people, the ones who don’t have suspicion or cynicism within
them, who are led astray to make mistakes by predators who abuse them for their personal
gain and for money,” Mr. Cage told a UN conference in Vienna, Austria.
“If a young child is forced to become a soldier or a drug mule or a prostitute, is that child a criminal – or a victim? If a
teenaged boy sees no future for himself other than joining a gang, a drug mafia, or a band of pirates, isn’t he also one of
crimes casualties?” Mr. Cage asked delegates attending the conference on progress towards the adoption of the UN
Convention against Transitional Organized Crime.
He recalled his mission with UNODC to Kenya and Uganda, last year where he met a 15-year-old boy who is serving a 10year jail term in the Kenyan city of Mombasa after he was captured as part of a group of marine pirates off the coast of
Somalia. In Uganda, children who had been abducted and forced to become soldiers narrated heart-wrenching stories of
atrocities they had been forced to commit, as well as the sexual slavery some had endured.
“[Fifteen-year-old] Rashad is considered a criminal because he was a pirate. But it is important to recognize that he is also a
victim of transnational organiz ed crime. We must not forget there are many kinds of victims of organized crime, and that
children are among the most vulnerable,” Mr. Cage said.
“Organized crime is a deadly infection that preys on human beings. It sows fear and violence in cities, towns and villages
around the world. Its poison spreads quickly, damaging communities and institutions-sometimes to the point of failure. It
targets vulnerable states and regions weakened by conflict, lawlessness, extreme poverty and corruption. It feeds off
instability, and also makes instability worse,” he added.
The Convention was adopted in 2000 in Palermo, Italy, and is the main international instrument in the fight against
transnational organized crime.
It is supplemented by three Protocols, which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime – the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children; the Protocol against the Smuggling
of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their
Parts and Components and Ammunition.
Mr. Cage, who has starred in more than 60 movies and worn an Academy Award for Best Actor in for the film Leaving Las
Vegas, said efforts to combat organized crime can only succeed if States work together.
“The Convention is a formidable tool with far-reaching potential. But the Convention and its Protocols can only stop
criminals if States make use of them,” he said, making an impassioned plea for the ratification and implementation of the
pact.
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Women integral for peace, Ban stresses
21 October - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reiterated his pledge to empower
women, underlining the crucial role they play in peacemaking, peacekeeping and
peacebuilding.
“Whether we are discussing sustainable development, public health or peace, women are at
the core,” he told participants at the Global Open Day on Women and Peace and Security
held at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Female police officers serving in UN
peacekeeping operations in Haiti
That event showcased recommendations that emerged from dozens of so-called Open Days
held in countries in the midst of conflict or emerging from violence, seeking to enable
direct dialogue among women’s peacebuilding groups, women community leaders and senior UN le adership in these
nations.
Mr. Ban noted today that these meetings shed light on women’s perspectives and helped to pinpoint areas of common
concern and divergence, thanking all of the women who took part in the Open Days for their candour.
The recommendations, he said, show that “we have a long way to go.”
The Secretary-General pointed to two “landmark” steps in promoting women’s rights. Firstly, the 1995 Beijing Platform for
Action, he said, recognized that women’s full participation is crucial to preventing and resolving conflict, as well as
maintaining peace.
Then, in 2000, the Security Council passed resolution 1325, which linked women, peace and security, and also set up a
framework to guide the UN’s actions and policies.
“But today we must admit that we have failed to build sufficiently on these conceptual foundations,” Mr. Ban said.
“Women still face obstacles to engagement at all stages of the peace process. Sexual violence remains an all-too-common
tactic of war and often continues well after the guns fall silent.”
His Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström, is endeavouring to raise awareness and spur
action on the issue.
“But, on this tenth anniversary of 1325, even as we acknowledge where we are falling short, let us also recognize where we
have moved forward,” the Secretary-General said.
“Advancing the cause of women, peace and security must be integral to our peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding
efforts, not an afterthought,” he emphasized.
Mr. Ban expressed hope that the newly-created UN Women will help the world body implement resolution 1325 through
better coordination and enhanced activities in the field.
UN Women merges four UN entities: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement
of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training
Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
Established in July by a unanimous vote of the General Assembly, the first UN super-agency on female empowerment will
oversee all of the world body’s programmes aimed at promoting women’s rights and their full participation in global affairs.
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Addressing reporters at a press conference on the 10th anniversary of the historic resolution, Anne Marie Goetz of UNIFEM
today pointed out that three goals were consistently expressed during the 27 Open Days held around the world.
First, she said, women said they need to participate in making decisions on their future, be it at peace talks, elections or
donor conferences, while secondly, they urged justice and security sector reform, stressing, “we need to be safe.” Lastly,
women underscored the need to improve their situation regarding employment, land rights and economic security.
Ms. Goetz also pointed to the “gigantic problem” of resources, with UNIFEM research finding that less than 6 per cent of
post-conflict spending addresses women’s needs.
Speaking at the same briefing, Said Djinnit, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative and head of the UN
Office for West Africa (UNOWA), told reporters that all of the region’s countries will have a national plan of action on
resolution 1325 by the end of this year.
Yesterday, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) launched a new report that found that discrimination against women not only
exposes them to the worst effects of disaster and war, including rape, but also deprives their countries of a prime engine for
recovery.
The State of World Population 2010 “is about the three Rs: resilience, renewal and redefining roles between boys and girls
and men and women,” Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid said at the official launch in London of the report, which
uses stories of individuals affected by conflict or catastrophe in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Liberia, the
occupied Palestinian territory, Timor-Leste and Uganda to bring home its message.
It shows how communities and civil society are healing old wounds and moving forward, while stressing how much more
still needs to be done to ensure that women have access to services and have a voice in peace deals or reconstruction plans.
Haiti: post-quake aid operations must continue through next
year, UN official says
21 October - Despite the achievements of aid agencies following January’s devastating
earthquake in Haiti, the relief effort must continue through 2011, a senior United Nations
humanitarian official said today.
A truck from the Yéle Haiti Foundation
delivers water at a new camp site in Croix
des Bouquets
“We can be proud of what the humanitarian community has accomplished, together with
the Haitian people and the Government,” said Assistant Secretary-General for
Humanitarian Affairs Catherine Bragg, who just wrapped up a three-day visit to the
impoverished Caribbean nation.
“The humanitarian objective – to provide life-saving aid – has been met,” she stressed.
The country continues to rebuild in the wake of the devastating January earthquake, which killed an estimated 200,000
people and displaced about 1.3 million others. Countless buildings, including Government facilities, hospitals and schools,
were also destroyed.
Every day, more than 6,000 cubic metres of water are delivered to 1.1 million people, and widespread malnutrition has been
avoided, with 4.3 million people having received food rations in the past 10 months. In addition, over 1.5 million people
have been given emergency shelter.
During her visit, Ms. Bragg held talks with Government officials, local authorities and aid workers from camp committee
organizations, as well as with local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN officials.
In four camps she visited in and around the hard-hit capital, Port-au-Prince, she saw first-hand the overcrowded conditions
that residents must endure.
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“This situation is not acceptable,” the official stressed. “I admire the strength and courage of the Haitian people living in
these conditions, and pledge that we will do everything possible to help.”
At the Tabarre Issa and Montpellier sites, which are often cited as model camps, she saw much-improved transitional
shelters that are already accommodating 80,000 people across Haiti. An additional 15,500 are slated to be erected.
With many Haitians still living in poor conditions, not only in camps, but in the remains of their destroyed homes, a sizeable
aid operation will be necessary well into 2011, Ms. Bragg underlined.
She also emphasized the need for speeding up early recovery efforts. “Only then can an exit strategy for humanitarian actors
be envisaged. This is why it has to happen as soon as possible – so that people can leave the camps and return to their homes
and communities.”
UN official alarmed by reports of renewed Israeli settlement
construction
21 October - A senior United Nations official today voiced alarm over reports concerning
new Israeli settlement housing units in the occupied Palestinian territory, warning that
renewed settlement activity will only further undermine trust as direct Israeli-Palestinian
talks have stalled.
Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, stressed that
renewed settlement construction – which is illegal under international law – runs counter to
the international community’s repeated appeals to the parties to create conditions conducive
to negotiations.
Robert Serry, Special Coordinator for the
Middle East Peace Process
He also pledged the world body’s continued support to promote the resumption of successful negotiations.
Israel’s partial settlement moratorium expired late last month, despite calls on Israel from the diplomatic Quartet –
comprising the UN, European Union, Russia and United States – to renew it. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has
indicated he will not continue with negotiations unless Israel freezes settlement activity.
“We have a brief and crucial window to overcome the current impasse,” Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs
Oscar Fernandez-Taranco told the Security Council on Monday in its regular monthly briefing on the Middle East.
He added that United States-led intensive diplomatic efforts, supported by the Quartet, are ongoing facilitate the
continuation of the negotiations.
UN envoy on Western Sahara continues meetings in North
Africa
21 October - The top United Nations envoy on the status of Western Sahara is continuing
discussions in North Africa ahead of the next round of UN-backed talks to resolve the longrunning dispute that dates back to 1976 when fighting broke out between Morocco and the
Frente Polisario after the end of the Spanish colonial regime.
Christopher Ross, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Personal Envoy, today left the
Algerian town of Tindouf, his second stop in the region after visiting the capital, Algiers.
A MINURSO officer chats with a group
of local Western Saharans
Yesterday, he held talks with senior officials of the Frente Polisario, including with its
Secretary-General.
Those discussions addressed the need to overcome the status quo, the requirements of the negotiations and the pace of work
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in managing confidence-building measures.
The Frente Polisario confirmed its readiness to take part in the next round of talks, slated to be held early next month.
Mr. Ross is now heading to Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, and then to Rabat, Morocco, to wrap up preparations for
the November talks.
“As with my previous visits, this tour of the region has as a principle goal the clearing of roadblocks on the path to
constructive negotiations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente Polisario,” he told reporters after meeting with
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers on Monday.
“There is no doubt that the status quo is untenable in the long term, given the costs and dangers that it entails, and the parties
must now demonstrate the necessary political will to surmount it. This demands negotiations without pre-conditions and in
good faith… to achieve a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution which provides for the self-determination of the
people of Western Sahara.”
Morocco has presented a plan for autonomy, while the position of the Frente Polisario is that the territory’s final status
should be decided in a referendum on self-determination that includes independence as an option.
“My hope is to see the parties emerge from the current impasse and start intensive and substantive negotiations in the future
of Western Sahara,” the UN official said.
Land loss to speculators, industries and cities result in hunger –
UN rights expert
21 October - An estimated 500 million small-scale farmers across the world are hungry,
partly as a result of losing their farmland to industrial expansion, urbanization or
environmental degradation, the United Nations independent expert on the right to food told
the General Assembly today.
“As rural populations grow and competition with large industrial units increases, the plots
cultivated by smallholders are shrinking year after year,” Olivier De Schutter, the UN
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, said as he presented a report to the Assembly.
“Farmers are often relegated to soils that are arid, hilly or without irrigation. This poses a direct threat to the right to food of
rural populations.”
Speaking to reporters, Mr. De Schutter stressed the need to protect land users from “land grabbers” and speculators who
may, for example, want to use farmland for large-scale mechanized farming to produce agrofuels.
“Access to land is what is needed to realize the right to food,” he emphasized, adding that agrarian reform may be necessary
in situations where there are large inequalities in land distribution or in circumstances where people’s access to land is so
limited that they are unable to growth enough food for themselves.
The new report said that up to 30 million hectares of farmland are lost due yearly to environmental degradation, conversion
to industrial use or urbanization. With rural populations growing and competition with large industrial units on the rise, plots
cultivated by small farmers are shrinking every year, relegating them to arid, hilly or dry soils. This poses a direct threat to
the right of rural populations to food.
Also presenting a report to the Assembly today was Cephas Lumina, the UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human
rights.
According to the publication, debt forgiveness for poor countries has eased their burdens and made resources available for
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poverty-reduction, but it noted that ‘vulture’ funds have seized the opportunity to acquire defaulted State debts cheaply and
seek repayment of the full value later.
“By forcing HIPCs [Highly Indebted Poor Counties], through litigation and other means, to divert financial resources saved
from debt cancellation, vulture funds diminish the impact of, or dilute the potential gains from, debt relief for these
countries, thereby undermining the core objectives of internationally agreed debt relief measures,” it said.
“Vulture funds profiteer at the expense of both the citizens of HIPCs and the taxpayers of countries that have supported
international debt relief efforts.”
In her report to the Assembly yesterday, Gay McDougall, the UN Independent Expert on minority issues, highlighted the
need to pay attention to issues of concern to minority groups at an early stage.
“According to a recent survey, over 55 per cent of violent conflicts of a significant intensity between 2007 and 2009 had
violations of minority rights or tensions between communities at their core,” she told the Assembly.
“In a further 22 per cent of conflicts, minority issues were raised in the course of the conflict. This evidence indicates that
Governments, donors and intergovernmental organizations need to allocate significant attention and resources to minority
issues as sources of conflict.”
The report found that existing early warning and conflict prevention mechanisms are poorly equipped to identify and
respond early enough to issues and grievances to make a difference before problems arise.
“More typical early warning indicators, such as small arms flows and movements of displaced peoples, tend to reflect a
situation that is already rapidly spiralling into violence,” the expert noted. “By the time those indicators trigger attention,
grievances may have festered for decades, perhaps generations – generations of lost opportunities to heal rifts, to avert
conflict and to build a cohesive society.”
Cyprus: 25,000th landmine cleared by UN
21 October - The United Nations cleared its 25,000th landmine in Cyprus today, a
landmark in efforts to clear the island of the deadly weapons and eliminate barriers between
its two communities.
Since late 2004, teams of de-miners working with the UN Mine Action Centre in Cyprus
(UNMACC) have been working to rid the 180 kilometre-long buffer zone of landmines laid
during the outbreak of inter-communal violence in 1974.
Landmine clearning
“Reaching this milestone is another important step forward in our activities serving the two
communities and will hopefully serve as a prelude to a successful and satisfactory follow-on phase as we move towards our
stated goal of a mine-free buffer zone, and eventually, we hope, a mine-free Cyprus,” said Lisa Buttenheim, SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative.
Since launching its operations six years ago, the UNMACC has cleared nearly 10 million square metres of land for farming
and other uses, as well as 71 minefields in the buffer zone.
Of the 25,000 destroyed landmines, 17,000 were anti-personnel and 8,000 anti-tank mines left behind from the 1974
fighting. It is estimated that up to 15,000 landmines remain on Cyprus, with 2 million square metres of land still possibly
contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance.
The bulk of the work is carried out by de-miners from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, together with G4S Ordnance
Management, a private company. Each of the four de-mining teams comprise 12 people and there is also one 6-person
mechanical team operating the recently-acquired Mini Minewolf, a remote-controlled tiller system.
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“Landmine removal and disposal is a painstaking and hazardous business involving precision, patience and, above all,
expertise,” said Max Dyck UNMACC Project Manager.
Since the start of its work, UN de-miners in Cyprus have suffered several casualties, including the death last October of
Felisberto Novele, a Mozambaican team leader who was killed in an explosion in a now-cleared minefield some 10
kilometres from the capital, Nicosia.
His death and other casualties, including an accident in which a de-miner lost his leg, highlight the dangers involved in
mine-clearing work and the threats still posed by the weapons.
Ms. Buttenheim also underlined the political impact that clearing the mines will have, since it is tearing down a physical
barrier between the two sides.
“Our hope is that today’s announcement will instill an even stronger commitment on the part of both communities to rid the
island completely of its deadly landmine heritage driven by the recognition that landmines have no place in any civilized
society,” she stressed.
The leader of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities met earlier this week to continue UN-backed negotiations
on reunifying the island.
The talks began in 2008 after the then-leaders of the two communities committed themselves to working towards a bicommunal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions.
UN sounds alarm over children malnutrition in conflict-hit parts
of Yemen
21 October - Children in the conflict-affected province of Sa’ada in northern Yemen are
suffering from high levels of malnutrition, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
has reported, saying that in one area, three in four children were found to be malnourished.
A UNICEF-supported survey carried out by the Yemen’s public health and population
ministry and released earlier this month showed that almost half of the 26,246 children aged
between six and 59 months in five districts in western Sa’ada were suffering from acute
malnutrition, the agency said in a press release yesterday.
Yemen children
In general, the survey showed that 17 per cent of the children screened suffered from severe acute malnutrition and 28 per
cent from moderate acute malnutrition.
“Malnutrition is the main underlying cause of death for young children in Yemen, and therefore this grim situation could
spell disaster for the children of Sa’ada,” said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF Representative in Yemen. “As winter approaches,
thousands of children are at serious risk if we are not able to act immediately.”
Conflict had hampered access of humanitarian agencies to some of the areas where people most in need live, making
delivery of basic relief supplies, including ready-to-use therapeutic food, difficult, UNICEF said.
The agency, however, added that food aid alone is not enough to solve the problem of malnutrition and called for efforts to
support household food security for families, change of feeding practices and the provision of basic health and nutrition
services, including therapeutic food, and ensuring that those affected by the conflict have access to clean water, proper
sanitation and hygiene.
UNICEF urged parties to the conflict as well as the international community, including the Qatari mediation delegation
currently visiting Yemen, to ensure immediate access for aid workers to the whole of Sa’ada governorate so that children are
given life-saving assistance.
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UN suspends prize offered by Equatorial Guinea pending further
consultations
21 October - The executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today suspended a prize named for the President of
Equatorial Guinea, pending the outcome of ongoing consultations among all parties
concerned.
The 58 members of the board said the discussions over the UNESCO-Obiang Nguema
Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences will continue “in a spirit of
mutual respect” until a consensus is reached.
Irina Bokova, Director-General of
UNESCO
“I take note of this decision by our Member States, which has been reached by consensus
and with respect and dignity towards all concerned parties,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova.
The agency’s executive board meets twice a year to oversee the implementation of the programme adopted by its General
Conference, and it responsible for the setting up and management of all UNESCO prizes. The board’s 185th session opened
on 5 October and will wind up today.
Equatorial Guinea had last month called for prize to go into effect immediately, saying the deferral was announced because
the award is the initiative of an African leader.
The prize was created in 2008 with the intention of rewarding the projects and activities of individuals, institutions or other
entities for research that improves the quality of human life. It was meant to be an annual accolade, with up to three
laureates chosen each year and granted $300,000 between them.
Representatives of some countries, however, accused the Government of Mr. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in
power since 1979, of widespread human rights abuses and said UNESCO should not agree to award such a prize.
In June, UNESCO’s Executive Board endorsed a proposal from Ms. Bokova to defer awarding the prize while consultations
continue.
UN human rights experts appalled by death of Angolan migrant
21 October - United Nations independent experts on human rights today voiced concern
over the reported death onboard a flight of a man being deported from the United Kingdom
to Angola, in the custody of guards for a private security company, after his appeal to
remain in the European country was rejected.
Jorge A. Bustamante, Special Rapporteur
on the human rights of migrants
“I am disturbed at seeing the manner in which migrants are being treated, with no dignity at
all, due to the criminalization of irregular migration which leads to such a situation,” said
Jorge Bustamante, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, in a
statement.
Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan national, reportedly died 50 minutes after boarding a British Airways flight at Heathrow
airport in London on 13 October. He was reportedly surrounded by three guards working for G4S, a private security
company, when he died.
“I hope the fact that British Airways staff responsible for safety and security on board did not intervene, despite numerous
cries for help, is not a reflection of a growing indifference to the human rights of persons under custody of an authority,”
Mr. Bustamante said.
UN News Centre • www.un.org/news
UN Daily News
- 12 -
21 October 2010
He and the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries both welcomed the UK Government’s probe into the incident.
“Although G4S employees are not law enforcement officials, they are contracted by the United Kingdom Government to
carry out governmental functions outsourced to them and as such, the Government should ensure that they are subject to the
same rules as the law enforcement officials who would normally carry out these functions,” Alexander Nikitin, who heads
the Working Group, said.
Ban urges Cypriot leaders to maintain peace process
momentum
21 October - Noting that process to reunify Cyprus has been slow recently, SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon today urged the Mediterranean island’s leaders to achieve concrete
advances in their talks to maintain momentum in the peace process.
During separate conversations with Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias and Turkish
Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, Mr. Ban called for progress to be made on the issue of
property, which has been the focus of United Nations-backed negotiations in recent months.
Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders
Dervis Eroglu (podium) and Demetris
Christofias at opening of
Yesilirmak/Limnitis crossing
The property aspect of the talks tries to resolve numerous complex claims between the two
sides on property seized decades ago.
The talks began in 2008 after the then-leaders of the two communities committed themselves to working towards a bicommunal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as defined by relevant Security Council resolutions.
According to Mr. Ban’s spokesperson, the Secretary-General is closely following developments in the negotiations through
his Special Adviser, Alexander Downer.
Last week, a new road crossing between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities was opened, a step Mr.
Downer said proved the pessimists wrong and raised hopes that the island can be reunited.
“There is hope that the two leaders now can bring this country together and reunite Cyprus,” he said.
The new Limnitis/Yesilirmak crossing in the northwest of the island required upgrading some six kilometres of road and is
the seventh such link facilitating movement between the two communities.
The peacekeeping mission known as UNFICYP has been in place in Cyprus since 1964 following an outbreak of intercommunal violence.
The UN Daily News is prepared at UN Headquarters in New York by the News Services Section
of the News and Media Division, Department of Public Information (DPI)