UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST - 27 January

UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
27 January, 2012 =========================================================================

UNICEF APPEALS FOR NEARLY $1.3 BILLION TO ASSIST CHILDREN IN 2012

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appealed today for $1.28 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to children in over 25 countries this year, with nearly one-third of the total amount earmarked for the crisis in the Horn of Africa.

“We have achieved many positive results in emergency settings in 2011 but the urgent and long-term needs of millions of children and their families will continue in 2012,” said Rima Salah, UNICEF’s acting Deputy Executive Director.

The agency’s 2012 Humanitarian Action for Children report, launched today in Geneva, highlights the massive humanitarian operation in the Horn of Africa, where UNICEF activated its highest level of emergency response to run an operation to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and women on the brink of survival.

It also describes the nutrition crisis currently facing the Sahel region, as well as the emergencies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR), among others, that require funding if their most vulnerable people are to survive.

The needs of children and their families displaced by violence stemming from the November 2010 elections in Cote d’Ivoire and the independence of South Sudan from its northern neighbour, Sudan, are also featured.

The report also discusses the five million people affected by a second year of flooding in Pakistan and the operation to rebuild Haiti two years after an earthquake shattered the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

In addition, it cites the humanitarian needs arising from the wave of political turmoil and change in the Middle East and North Africa, especially in Yemen, which is already affected by a long-standing emergency crisis.

“This report presents some of the most extreme difficulties faced by children, but it also highlights the promise of a timely and effective response to their needs – malnourished children restored to health, children in conflict still able to learn, and all children, whatever their circumstances, better able to realize their rights to survive and thrive,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake writes in the foreword to the report.

“In 2012, this is a promise we must keep. With your support, we will.”


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UN HONOURS MEMORY OF CHILDREN WHO PERISHED IN THE HOLOCAUST

The United Nations today honoured the memory of the more than 1.5 million boys and girls who perished in the Holocaust, with top officials stressing the need to speak out against intolerance and to protect the lives and human rights of children around the world.

“We will never know what these children might have contributed to our world. And among the survivors, many were too shattered to tell their stories. Today, we seek to give voice to those accounts,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message for the seventh annual International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

“That is why the United Nations continues to teach the universal lessons of the Holocaust,” he said. “It is why we strive to promote children’s rights and aspirations – every day and everywhere…

“Today, as we remember all those lost during the Holocaust – young and old alike – I call on all nations to protect the most vulnerable, regardless of race, colour, gender or religious beliefs.”

The UN held a ceremony at its New York Headquarters today to mark the International Day, which is observed annually on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. The event marked the culmination of a series of events held this week, focusing on the theme “Children and the Holocaust,” that included film screenings, exhibits and talks, sharing children’s stories during that era and spreading awareness of their experiences.

“Without doubt, the best tribute to the memory of the children who perished in the Holocaust – and to those who survived – is to keep teaching its universal lessons,” Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, said at the ceremony.

This, he added, is the most important objective of the UN Department of Public Information’s Holocaust and the UN Outreach Programme, which organized this week’s events.

“Today, the United Nations remembers these children and pledges to continue to work to ensure the protection of the lives and human rights of children around the world,” said Mr. Akasaka.

Noting the presence of survivors and their families at the ceremony, General Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser said “the presence of each of you here today tells us that every human being has a sacred duty to speak out in the face of injustice and intolerance, regardless of any colour, religion or ethnicity.”

He called for honouring all the victims by taking preventive action so that hatred, injustice, discrimination, inhumanity, ethnic cleansing and mass killings have no chance to occur anywhere to anyone.

The Holocaust, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, serves as a reminder of the perils of discrimination and intolerance, of how powerful the incitement to racial hatred can be, and of the importance of intervening early to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.

She also stressed the importance of ‘learning from the past’ so that young people today are aware of historical events and can understand the impact of their words and attitudes towards those who are different from them.

“Hateful words can translate into hateful actions and the consequences can be dire. Children and young people must be taught their history, including the terrible mistakes of the past, so that they can be vigilant against all manifestations of hatred from the outset,” she said in a statement.


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PRIVATE INVESTMENT CRITICAL TO ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL ENERGY ACCESS, BAN TELLS DAVOS FORUM

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the importance of private investment to ensure universal and sustainable energy access, as he called on business leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, to mobilize their resources and strengthen their partnerships with the public and non-governmental sectors to achieve this goal.

“By providing sustainable energy for all, we can revitalize economic growth, protect the planet, protect the environment and spread the benefits of development more equitably. This can be called a triple win,” Mr. Ban said at a panel discussion on his Sustainable Energy for All initiative, held at the World Economic Forum.

The initiative seeks to ensure universal access to modern energy services, double the rate of improvement in energy efficiency and double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, all by 2030.

Globally, one person in five still lacks access to modern electricity and twice that number – three billion people – rely on wood, coal, charcoal, or animal waste for cooking and heating.

The initiative is “ambitious but achievable,” Mr. Ban said, calling for a “massive mobilization of partnerships” in the private sector, finance, governments, international organizations and civil societies.

Mr. Ban emphasized that mobilization will require strong political will as well as firm partnerships with the private sector. “Private investment is critical. We are working actively with global CEOs and investors to expand energy access, improve efficiency and ramp-up renewables. Our initiative will actively work with the private sector to generate a clean energy revolution,” he said.

“Developing countries, especially the least developed, stand to benefit most. Access to modern energy will improve productivity, public health, and education. It can also enable countries to leapfrog the energy systems of the past.”

Mr. Ban also voiced his hope that a full range of actors will be prepared to announce their commitment towards sustainable energy at the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20), which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June.

“By working together, by dedicating our energies and resources to our common cause, we have the chance today to move the needle for generations to come. We can create the future we want,” Mr. Ban told reporters after the event.

While in Davos, the Secretary-General also held meetings today with the President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, with whom he discussed national reconciliation, drug trafficking and the next general elections in the country.


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UN STAFFER HELD IN YEMEN RELEASED UNHARMED

The United Nations confirmed today that a 34-year-old Norwegian staff member who had been held in Yemen for nearly two weeks has been released unharmed.

The staffer was reportedly held somewhere in the governorate of Ma’rib, 173 kilometres east of the capital Sana’a, where he was taken by armed tribesmen involved in a tribal dispute on 15 January.

“I am happy to be free again and I wish to thank all those who have worked hard for my release,” commented the freed UN worker. “I am relieved that this experience is over.”

He is in good health and is receiving standard medical examinations and psychological counselling, according to a press release issued by his employer, the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

“We are delighted to have our colleague back with us, unharmed, and we greatly appreciate the timely and determined efforts of Yemeni authorities in negotiating his release,” said Jens-Toyberg-Frandzen, UN Resident Coordinator in Yemen.

“We are also grateful for the close coordination and support we have received from the Norwegian Government throughout this ordeal,” he added.

The staff member, who has worked as a Governance Team Leader, will recuperate in his home country before resuming his duties with UNDP.


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SENIOR UN HUMANITARIAN OFFICIAL URGES END TO WEST BANK HOME DEMOLITIONS

A senior United Nations official has called for an immediate end to Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, as he witnessed first hand the suffering and destruction caused by this ongoing practice.

“Israel, as the occupying Power, has a fundamental responsibility to protect the Palestinian civilian population under its control and to ensure their dignity and well-being,” stated Maxwell Gaylard, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory and Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

“The wholesale destruction of their homes and livelihoods is not consistent with that responsibility or humanitarian ideals,” he said.

Mr. Gaylard visited the Anata village on the outskirts of Jerusalem yesterday where he saw the ruins of seven Palestinian homes demolished earlier in the week and met with representatives of the displaced families.

Bulldozers and troops had arrived in the middle of the night of 23 January, he was told, and that 52 people, including 29 children, had been forced from their homes, which were then destroyed.

The visit by Mr. Gaylard came on the same day that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a new report showing that almost 1,100 Palestinians, over half of them children, were displaced due to home demolitions in the West Bank by Israeli forces in 2011 – over 80 per cent more than in the previous year.

The report, entitled “Demolitions and Forced Displacement in the Occupied West Bank,” added that an additional 4,200 people were affected by the demolition of structures related to their livelihoods.

Mr. Gaylard noted that these figures represent a dramatic increase compared with previous years, and that a much greater number, in the tens of thousands, remain under threat of dispossession, demolition and displacement.

“The current policy and practice of demolitions cause extensive human suffering and should end,” he stated. “Palestinians urgently require ready access to a fair and non-discriminatory planning and zoning system that meets their needs for growth and development.”


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ITALY MUST URGENTLY ACT TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, UN RIGHTS EXPERT SAYS

Italy must do more to protect women from violence and urgently address the underlying structural causes of gender inequality and discrimination, an independent United Nations human rights expert warned after visiting the country.

Rashida Manjoo, the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, wrapped up a 12-day visit to the Mediterranean country during which she focused on instances of violence against women in four specific areas – the home, the community, violence perpetrated or condoned by the state, and violence in the transnational context.

During the visit, Ms. Manjoo met survivors of domestic violence in various anti-violence shelters located in the country’s major cities, such as Rome, Milan, Bologna and Naples. Her trip also included stops in camps for Roma and Sinti communities as well as detention centres for irregular migrants.

“Most manifestations of violence are under-reported in the context of a family-oriented and patriarchal society where domestic violence is not always perceived as a crime, there is economic dependency, and there are perceptions that the state response to such complaints will not be appropriate or helpful,” Ms. Manjoo noted.

She also added that a fragmented legal framework, inadequate investigation of and punishment for perpetrators, and poor compensation for women victims of violence, also contributes to the silencing and invisibility surrounding this issue as do systemic, structural inequalities and discrimination which ultimately facilitate violence against women.

Despite the multiple forms of violence and discrimination faced by minority women in both private and public sectors, Ms. Manjoo emphasized that Italy retains a vast amount of expertise regarding the provision of legal, social, psychological and economic assistance to women victims of violence and that such a framework should not be lost in the tenuous economic climate.

“I call on all relevant stakeholders to take on the responsibility at this crucial time to promote human rights for all, and most importantly, to keep the issue of violence against women on the national agenda,” said Ms. Manjoo.

The expert will present the findings of her mission to Italy at the June 2012 session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.


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UN OFFICIAL SURVEYS TYPHOON DAMAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES

The head of the United Nations office dedicated to disaster risk reduction wrapped up her visit to the Philippines today by comparing the damage caused by Typhoon Sendong to that of major tsunamis such as the one that struck Japan last year.

Typhoon Sendong claimed 1,430 lives after it struck in the middle of the night on 16 December, making it the second most deadly disaster of the last 12 months, according to a news release issued by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

The Philippines topped the disaster league table last year with 33 major reported events, affecting 12.5 per cent of the population, added the office, whose chief, Margareta Wahlström, visited the typhoon-devastated coastal cities of Iligan and Cayagan de Oro in Mindanao this week.

“What I have seen in Kalakala in Cagayan de Oro reminds me of the impacts made by major tsunamis such as the one which hit Japan last year or the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. In Kalakala you really feel the magnitude of the disaster and the force of the water which took so many lives, uprooted trees and swept away houses,” she told Foreign Minister Albert F. Del Rosario today.

Ms. Wahlström, the Secretary General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Foreign Minister discussed the need for social mobilization to be linked to early flood warnings to ensure timely evacuations.

They also discussed the combination of environmental factors which contributed to the disaster, including illegal logging; the need to develop risk-sensitive comprehensive land use plans; and the need for greater cooperation between the public and private sectors to reduce risk.

“The Philippines has a very sophisticated disaster response system and it has the capacity to be a world leader in disaster risk reduction,” said Ms. Wahlström, who met with representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), churches and 20 local mayors during her visit.

“I am confident the Government will act on the lessons learned from Typhoon Sendong to ensure better coordination and improved dissemination of early warnings as well as implementing existing legislation on land use and deforestation,” she added. “The UN system will be fully engaged in helping the country in the recovery phase.”


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URUGUAYAN FOOTBALL MANAGER ÓSCAR TABáREZ NAMED UN CHAMPION FOR SPORT

Uruguayan national football team manager Óscar Tabárez, known as El Maestro (The Teacher), will help promote education and sports programmes for vulnerable children in his native country, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today, as part of his new role as Champion for Sport for the agency.

Mr. Tabárez’ nomination comes “in recognition of his commitment to promote education and sport programmes for vulnerable children in Uruguay, his charitable activities in the framework of the Tabárez Project, and his dedication to the ideals and aims of the Organization,” UNESCO stated in a news release.

He will officially take up his new position during a ceremony at the agency’s headquarters in Paris on Monday. Diego Lugano, captain of the Uruguayan national team and defender of the Paris Saint Germain football team, will also attend the event.

Born in Montevideo in 1947, Mr. Tabárez began his career in football with the Montevideo Football Club (Institución Atlética Sud América) in 1967 and, after qualifying as a teacher, combined careers in teaching and football. He later worked in primary schools in poor neighbourhoods and contributed to literacy training for adults and education for the visually handicapped.

In Uruguay, Mr. Tabárez works with programmes such as Sport for Peace and Development and Sport for All, which use sports to promote inclusion of the under-privileged.

After playing for one Mexican and five Uruguayan teams, Mr. Tabárez became a professional coach. His trophies as national football manager include the 2011 Copa América, won by Uruguay, and the country’s fourth place in the 2010 World Cup (South Africa). He has also coached teams in Colombia (Dportivo Cali), Argentina (Vélez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors), Spain (Oviedo) and Italy (Cagliari and AC Milan).

Mr. Tabárez will join other international sports stars who are also Champions for Sport such as World Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher, Olympic judo champion David Douillet, football player Pelé, and pole vault Olympic champion Sergey Bubka.


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UN WELCOMES LAUNCH OF BUSINESS INITIATIVES TO END HIV AMONG CHILDREN BY 2015

The United Nations and the United States Government initiative for AIDS relief (PEPFAR) welcomed today the launch of two programmes by business leaders to end new HIV infections in children by 2015.

“We will not reach our goal of zero new HIV infections among children without the passion and determination of the world’s business leaders,” the Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Michel Sidibé, said as the initiatives were presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“The private sector not only brings financial resources, but also their expertise in management, marketing and connecting with people at the grassroots,” he said.

The Business Leadership Council and the Social Media Syndicate initiatives will both work towards the same goal, but will use different means to do so.

The Business Leadership Council will focus on eliminating new HIV infections among children in 22 countries – mostly in sub-Saharan Africa – and on keeping their mothers alive.

Meanwhile, the Social Media Syndicate will focus on raising awareness on HIV/AIDS and generating political will by coordinating with the most influential, individual publishers online to share messages and actions needed to welcome a “Generation Born HIV Free.”

“I commend these business leaders for their commitment and partnership,” said the Global AIDS Coordinator for the US, Eric Goosby. “The launch of the Business Leadership Council and the Social Media Syndicate is a clear sign that the private sector is ready to step up.”

According to UNAIDS, an estimated 390,000 children were newly infected with HIV in 2010. Most of the new HIV infections were in low- and middle-income countries. In high-income countries, the number was close to zero. The cost of protecting a child from HIV can be as little as $300 and saves at least three times more in health care costs alone for a child living with HIV.


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CôTE D’IVOIRE MUST ENSURE SECURE SPACE FOR POLITICAL PARTICIPATION – UN EXPERT

A United Nations human rights expert urged Ivorian authorities today to ensure a secure and peaceful environment for political participation following the violent clashes between the supporters and opponents of President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan last Saturday which led to the death of one person and the wounding of six others.

Calling the clashes “a step backwards compared to the dynamics of the democratic elections held in December,” the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, Doudou Diène, called on the Government to ensure the freedom of association and expression and respect for political and cultural diversity as well as guarantees of impartial justice.

Mr. Diène called for the creation of and respect for a secure space for political participation to “ensure the expression of democratic life in the country,” and recommended that the Government ensure that the police are provided with conventional means to enable them to maintain order.

He also urged the authorities to set up an independent, impartial investigation with a view to bringing to justice the perpetrators of last week’s violence. “I hope that effective measures will be taken to determine who was responsible for the incidents on that day, and to ensure the exercise of freedom of association and expression,” he said.

“That is what it takes to ensure political pluralism,” he added, hoping that “the participation of all democratic parties in the upcoming municipal elections will demonstrate political will and the reality of an irreversible democratic culture taking root in Côte d’Ivoire.”

According to a preliminary investigation by the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) on 21 January, individuals armed with stones and pieces of wood claiming to belong to the Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la démocratie et la paix (RHDP), a movement close to Mr. Ouattara, stormed a political rally of the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) party, the party of former president Laurent Gbagbo. Stones were thrown at FPI supporters, who were then chased all the way into homes and communities where they sought refuge.


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CHOLERA FIGHT IN DR CONGO RECEIVES $9 MILLION BOOST FROM UN FUND

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) received $9.1 million today from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to fight off cholera, which has affected more than 22,000 people and killed 500 over the past year in the central African country.

“Despite all our previous efforts, we have been one step behind the disease. This new funding will allow us to reinforce the entire response chain,” said UN Humanitarian Coordinator in DRC Fidele Sarassoro.

In a news release, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that there has been a spike in cases in recent weeks, with the majority of them occurring in eastern provinces where cholera is endemic.

OCHA underlined that in addition to the actual caseload, there are thousands of collateral victims as the disease is hampering agricultural and commercial activities, school attendance, family well-being and the livelihood of households that are already among the world’s poorest.

The UN and other humanitarian agencies have been working with the Congolese Government for over a year to combat the disease, and the response has included establishing cholera treatment centres, providing water chlorination points and refurbishing water points, conducting awareness campaigns using the media, training of medical staff, and disinfecting boats.

However, OCHA stressed that in spite of this multi-pronged response strategy, efforts to curtail the disease have yet to be successful. “The UN and NGOs [non-governmental organizations] expect the CERF funding to boost the response to the disease that is compounding an already grave humanitarian situation for millions of Congolese,” OCHA said.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) will receive $4.4 million and $4.7 million, respectively, and will work with a number of international and national NGOs as well as Congolese authorities to maximize the impact of their efforts.

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with the bacterium known as vibrio cholerae. The disease has a short incubation period and produces a toxin that causes continuous watery diarrhoea, a condition that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not administered promptly. Vomiting also occurs in most patients.

CERF was created in 2005 to pre-position funding to respond in a timely fashion to humanitarian crises. Last year, it allocated $4 million to fight cholera in the provinces along the Congo River.


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KENYA: UN SCALES UP REFUGEE TRAINING TO IMPROVE ASSISTANCE IN CAMPS

The United Nations refugee agency today announced new strategies to ensure uninterrupted assistance and services in its largest complex in Kenya, including training and mentoring of refugees as well as involving them in the day-to-day running of the Dadaab camps.

“Refugees have always had a role in making camps work. However, at Dadaab that role is being expanded,” said Andrej Mahecic, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), during a press briefing in Geneva. “Hospitals, for example, have remained open throughout this difficult period, staffed by refugees, nationals, and a limited number of international staff,” he said.

Part of the new strategy includes reaching out to different groups within the refugee population such as elders, the business community and youth so they can contribute in distinct ways. Mr. Mahecic stressed that refugee leaders and refugees working for partner agencies are being trained to identify individuals who require urgent attention so they can get life-saving assistance immediately.

“In situations when international or national staff cannot get to camps the health posts are managed by refugee staff who have been trained over the years to provide basic medical services and refer more serious cases to the camp hospitals,” Mr. Mahecic said. “Refugee staff are also getting refresher courses on management of sensitive cases of sexual or gender-based violence,” he added.

According to UNHCR, since the beginning of this year, over 150 vulnerable people and families have been identified by the agency and its partners, and brought to the agency’s offices in Dadaab where they have received medical and psychological help.

Refugees are also helping to improve the camps’ conditions by building new latrines on sandy and rocky ground, and by collecting and transporting solid waste by donkey carts to allocated waste disposal sites.

In addition, UNHCR is also engaging with young refugees to enhance their skills and work experience. “More than 30 camp schools remain open and are run by refugee teachers. Despite insecurity, the Kenyan National Exams took place in the camps at the end of last year and the results were an improvement in the average score in comparison to last year. The exams were made possible because the community patrolled the schools and guarded the gates,” Mr. Mahecic said.

He stressed that UNHCR will continue to identify specific groups for outreach such as business and religious leaders, and would also strengthen awareness through radio and other means such as free mobile texting.

The Dadaab refugee complex shelters more than 460,000 refugees. A third of this refugee population arrived in 2011 alone, fleeing the conflict, drought, famine and human rights abuses in Somalia. The camps in Dadaab opened two decades ago and were originally designed to host some 90,000 refugees.


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INDEPENDENT UN EXPERT CALLS ON BRAZIL TO SUSPEND SãO PAULO EVICTIONS

An independent United Nations human rights expert today urged Brazilian authorities to suspend evictions from the Pinheirinho settlement in São Paulo and find durable solutions with residents.

Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, called on the authorities to find a “peaceful and appropriate solution,” including housing alternatives, for those evicted this week from the settlement, located in the capital’s São Jose dos Campos city.

About 6,000 residents have been affected by the eviction order dictated by a judge in late December last year, according to a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

“I’m appalled by the excessive use of force reportedly used during the evictions on 22 January,” the Special Rapporteur said.

She cited information she has received suggesting that the military police of São Paulo used tear gas and rubber bullets against the residents, including children and the elderly. Twenty residents were reportedly injured, one severely, and 30 arrested.

“I’m told Pinheirinho is still under siege and that nobody is allowed to enter the area,” Ms. Rolnik said. “The current situation of the evictees is extremely worrying; with no housing alternatives they are vulnerable to other human rights violations.”

The expert, who reports in an independent and unpaid capacity to the UN Human Rights Council, appealed to the authorities of the State of São Paulo to suspend the eviction order and the police action in Pinheirinho, stating that this which would allow the authorities to resume negotiations with residents to find a peaceful solution.


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