[07 November, 2005]

GENERAL ASSEMBLY CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRUCE DURING 2006 OLYMPIC GAMES

New York, Nov 3 2005 6:00PM The United Nations General Assembly today unanimously adopted a resolution urging all countries to observe the Olympic Truce during the XX Olympic Winter Games, to be held in Turin, Italy, in February 2006. The truce should also be observed throughout the Paralympic Winter Games, which will be held in that same city next March, the Assembly said. The resolution asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to draw the attention of world public opinion to the contribution the Olympic Truce can make to the promotion of international understanding, peace and goodwill. In a separate measure, the Assembly welcomed widespread commitment for commemorating the International Year of Sport and Physical Education throughout 2005 and requested that the Secretary-General elaborate an action plan to expand and strengthen UN partnerships with governments, sport-related organizations and the private sector. (UN News Service)

[31 October, 2005]

UN PEACEKEEPERS FACE LAND RESTRICTIONS IN ERITREA

New York, Oct 24 2005 2:00PM United Nations peacekeepers monitoring the Eritrean-Ethiopian border, already subject to a flight ban by Eritrea, now face restrictions on their land movements there as well, a UN spokesman said today. The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), which has been monitoring the Temporary Security Zone between the two countries, reported an increase in restrictions to the freedom of movement of its patrols at the local level during the past two weeks, especially after dusk. "In some areas patrols have indeed been warned 'to confine their land vehicle movements to the main roads' in the 25-kilometre (16-mile) wide demilitarized buffer zone," spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the daily noon briefing in New York. "The issue has been taken up at the Sector level and with the Eritrean Commissioner for Coordination with the Peacekeeping Mission... (UN News Service)

[24 October, 2005]

PAKISTAN: ANNAN WRITES TO LEADERS OF ALL UN MEMBERS TO BOOST QUAKE RELIEF AID

New York, Oct 21 2005 4:00PM Calling the next few weeks critical for millions of survivors of Pakistan's devastating earthquake, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a letter today to the leaders of all 191 Member States urging "an immediate and exceptional escalation" of the global relief effort. At the same time, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), with its powerful airlift capabilities, told the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland that it is planning to increase joint operations with the world body in the scramble to save quake victims threatened by inaccessibility and oncoming winter. "As winter approaches, it is a race against time to provide shelter to the over 3 million homeless who are still, for the most part, sleeping in the open and risking exposure," Mr. Annan wrote, underscoring the need for helicopter air support, winterized tents and other temporary shelters. Air evacuation is the only hope for most of the 67,000 injured people so far estimated to be "in dire need" of medical assistance, including thousands trapped in towns and villages cut off by a severely damaged road network, the letter said. More than 40,000 people have already died in the disaster... (UN News Service)

[17 October, 2005]

UN AND BURUNDI WILL START PREPARATORY TALKS ON POST-CONFLICT TRUTH COMMISSION

The United Nations Operations in Burundi (UNOB) will initiate preparatory talks in the coming weeks on a mixed Truth Commission and a Special Chamber within its court system on crimes committed during past ethnic conflicts, as agreed by the Bujumbura Government, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said. "These discussions will focus on the nature of the Truth Commission and the Special Chamber proposed in the assessment mission report and on the negotiation and national consultations processes," he wrote in a letter to the Security Council earlier this week. President Pierre Nkurunziza and the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Clotilde Niragira, have indicated their intention to nominate a small committee to liaise with the United Nations on the details of the proposed legal framework, he said. On the basis of the preliminary results of the consultations, a UN team would be dispatched to Burundi to negotiate the practical implementation of the legal framework involved, he added.

[10 October, 2005]

UN TO HELP COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE

New York, Oct 8 2005 11:00AM Following a massive earthquake in Pakistan that affected also Afghanistan and India, the United Nations is working with the governments of those countries on an emergency response. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is exploring ways in which the United Nations can assist in all efforts required to support relief and rescue operations and in subsequent recovery and reconstruction, a spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in New York. The spokesman said Mr. Annan is deeply saddened by the loss of life and destruction caused by the quake, which had a magnitude of 7.6 and struck 95 kilometres outside of Islamabad. (UN News Service)

[03 October, 2005]

SECURITY COUNCIL EXTENDS MISSION'S MANDATE IN DR OF CONGO UNTIL END OF OCTOBER

New York, Sep 30 2005 4:00PM The Security Council, faced with the mandate of its peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) expiring today, extended it for one month, until the end of October. Noting that the situation in the DRC continued to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region and taking note of several resolutions on the matter, it also decided "to remain seized of the matter." The Council has before it a report from Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling for more troops for the peacekeeping mission, the United Nations Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC), and a one-year extension of its mandate until October 2006, after the installation of a newly-elected government... (UN News Service)

[26 September, 2005]

UN REPORT WARNS OF GLOBAL RESURGENCE OF RACISM AND RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

New York, Sep 22 2005 2:00PM As a result of the proliferation of anti-terrorist policy, discrimination against religious groups, minorities and migrant populations is on the rise, particularly at waiting areas at airports, ports and borders, the United Nation's top official for monitoring racism warns in his latest report to the UN General Assembly. "The General Assembly is invited to draw the attention of Member States to the alarming signs of a retreat in the struggle against racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia as a result of the growing number of counter-terrorism policies that generate new forms of discrimination against groups and entire communities, religions and spiritual traditions," writes Doudou Diene, the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on racism and related intolerance. In that context, he said that discrimination against Muslims must be given special attention, but greater vigilance might also be needed against anti-Semitism and "Christianophobia." As discrimination is increasing in waiting areas of transportation facilities, the report recommends that Assembly Members take measures to prevent those areas from becoming so-called "no rights zones." (UN News Service)

[19 September, 2005]

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO HOST MINISTERIAL MEETING ON HAITI AT UN ON SATURDAY

New York, Sep 16 2005 7:00PM Aiming to bolster high-level international support for Haiti and the United Nations Stabilization Mission there (MINUSTAH) as the country prepares for elections, Secretary-General Kofi Annan will chair a ministerial meeting on the Caribbean country tomorrow. As the UN General Debate gets under way, Haitian Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue will attend the ministerial meeting at UN Headquarters in New York, as will members of the Core Group established by the Security Council last year. The Core Group, generally chaired by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and MINUSTAH chief Juan Gabriel Vald?s, usually includes his deputies, the MINUSTAH Force Commander and representatives of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), other regional and sub-regional organizations and the international financial institutions (IFIs). Its goal is to facilitate the implementation of MINUSTAH's peacekeeping mandate, promote the international community's interaction with the Haitian authorities and to enhance the effectiveness of the community's response in Haiti. (UN News Service)

[12 September, 2005]

UN STEPS UP AID TO US IN WAKE OF HURRICANE KATRINA

New York, Sep 8 2005 2:00PM The United Nations is stepping up its aid to the United States in the recovery efforts from Hurricane Katrina, with three UN teams already working with the Government on the ground while its specialized food, health and children's agencies are preparing to send in help through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Working closely with the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), an initial UN presence has now been established in Atlanta and is moving to Baton Rouge Louisiana, today, with a staff of eight, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported. The UN also has a presence in Denton, Texas, with six staff on the ground today. Both teams are working with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Regional Coordination Centres... (UN News Service)

[06 September, 2005]

US ACCEPTS UN OFFER TO RUSH AID TO VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA

New York, Sep 4 2005 2:00PM The United Nations announced today that the United States Government has accepted the world body's offer of help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A small UN Coordination team is in Washington now consulting with government officials on how the UN can best complement the US's own emergency efforts. "The UN's coordination team in Washington will be based at the newly established USAID Hurricane Katrina Operations Center, where offers of international assistance are being coordinated," a UN spokesman said in a statement released in New York. Among those "ready to provide emergency staff and a wide variety of relief supplies as and when necessary" are the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), according to the statement. (UN News Service).

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