Good News Agency – Year III, n° 10
Weekly - Year III, number 10
– 17 May 2002
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Rome Law-court registration
no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all over the world
relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non governmental
organizations, and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life – news
that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day.
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International legislation - Human rights – Peace and safety - Economy
and development
Solidarity - Health
- Environment and wildlife - Culture and
education
International Court of Justice
While the United States
formally advised United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan that it does not
intend to become a party of the Rome Statute of The International Criminal
Court, Benin and Niger seised the Court of a boundary dispute between them.
By joint
letter of 11 April 2002 the two States notified to the Court a Special
Agreement, which was signed on 15 June 2001 in Cotonou and entered into force
on 11 April 2002.
Under
Article 1, the Parties have agreed to submit their boundary dispute to a
Chamber to be formed by the Court, pursuant to Article 26, paragraph 2, of the
Statute of the Court, and that each of them will choose a judge ad hoc. (…) The
Parties accept as final and binding upon them the judgment of the Chamber
rendered pursuant to the present Special Agreement. From the day on which the
judgment is rendered, the Parties shall have 18 months in which to commence the
works of demarcation of the boundary.
Finally,
"pending the judgment of the Chamber, the Parties undertake to preserve
peace, security and quiet among the peoples of the two States."
“The
Statute has come into force; the court will come into being,” as stressed by
the UN spokesman notifying the United States decision.
Source: http://www.un.org/news
States parties to Law of Sea
Convention conclude twelfth meeting, approve $7.8 million 2003 budget for
International Tribunal
26 April - The
States parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea concluded
their twelfth meeting this morning, approving a $7.8 million budget for the
International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea for 2003.
With a view to providing the
Tribunal a subsidiary body created under the Convention, with the necessary
financial means to consider cases next year, in particular those requiring
expeditious proceedings, the meeting further approved some $987,000 as
contingency funds. All States and
international organizations that were parties to the Convention would finance
both the budget and the contingency (contained in document SPLOS/L.27).
In a related decision, the
States Members also decided to provide the Tribunal -- chiefly a
dispute-settlement forum with exclusive jurisdiction in matters concerning deep
seabed mineral resources -- with a financial “safety net” of $500,000, enabling
that body to provide advisory opinions and examine cases in the event of
temporary shortfalls in funds. Those
funds -- savings from 2001 to be appropriated to the Tribunal's Working Capital
Fund -- would be made available on an exceptional basis, pending a yearly
review based on the Tribunal’s burden of cases. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/sea1744.doc.htm
Governments 'Say Yes' as agreement is
reached on global goals and plan of action for world's children
UN Special Session on
Children: 21 New Targets Are Set - Child Delegates Bring Openness and
Inspiration
New York, 10
May - The United Nations wrapped up its
Special Session on Children late Friday with unanimous agreement on a new
agenda for the world's children, including 21 specific goals and targets for
child health, education and protection over the next decade, UNICEF announced. (Read
the 21 agreed-upon goals)
The UN General Assembly
Special Session on Children concluded after a week of inter-governmental
negotiations on the new agenda for children, scores of supporting events
delving into everything from immunization to child trafficking, and a
refreshingly frank exchange between Heads of State and young people from around
the world.
Friday evening,
representatives from some 180 nations adopted the conference outcome document,
entitled "A World Fit For Children." More than 18 months of
consensus-building resulted in a strong future agenda focused on four key
priorities: promoting healthy lives; providing quality education for all;
protecting children against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating
HIV/AIDS. Elusive language on child rights, reproductive health, and other issues
was resolved in good-faith negotiating sessions that lasted through the night
Thursday and wrapped up successfully Friday evening.
"I am enormously proud
and pleased at what has been accomplished this week," said Carol Bellamy,
Executive Director of UNICEF. "If leaders keep the promises they have
made, we can bring about enormous positive change in the world in less than a
generation." (…)
http://www.unicef.org/broadcast/brolls/specialsession/
Historic Permanent Forum on
Indigenous issues breaks new ground for world’s indigenous peoples
10 May - The inaugural meeting
of a new United Nations body, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues -- which
will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday, 13 May, -
will bring together indigenous leaders and civil society from all parts of the
world. This is the first time that
indigenous voices will be heard at such a high level by the world
Organization. The new Forum represents
an historic advance in indigenous peoples’ efforts to reach the ear of the
international community and make their needs and concerns known. While they have made steady progress at the
United Nations -- from their first approach to the League of Nations, to the
Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the subsequent establishment of the
International Decade -- the creation of the Forum as a subsidiary body of the
Economic and Social Council is a breakthrough achievement. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/hr4588.doc.htm
Trafficking of women in Peace Mission
areas to be discussed by international experts at meeting in Turin
Vienna, 8 May - The
trafficking of women in peace mission areas and how to tackle it will be
discussed by international experts at a meeting this week in Italy. The two-day conference "Trafficking,
Slavery and Peacekeeping: the Balkans
Case" is being organized by the United Nations Interregional Crime and
Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) in collaboration with the Transnational
Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at the American University from 9-10 May
at the UNICRI headquarters in Turin, Italy.
A number of distinguished
high-level experts will be involved in the meeting. They will come from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping
Operations, the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention
(ODCCP) and other international organizations including the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Staff College, the
International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Health Organization (WHO),
the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the European Union, as well
as from national governmental agencies and military forces and NGOs. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/soccp244.doc.htm
European Union adopts
declaration condemning racism
3 May - EU justice and home
affairs ministers adopted a declaration condemning in strong terms racism and
xenophobia (…) The declaration was initiated earlier this month by France,
Belgium, Germany, Spain and the UK in connection to racist violence sparked
across Europe by the Middle East conflict. However, the declaration received a
particular symbolic importance after that the Presidential elections in France
brought the prospect, so far considered impossible, of an ascension of the far
right to power. (…)
East Timor leadership to open
park built by UN Volunteers
Service of 3,000 UN Volunteers
to be recognized at independence celebrations
Dili, East Timor, 15 May -
During the past three years of transition towards independence for East Timor,
the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) has built up its largest single
presence ever. Some 3,000 UN Volunteers from more than 100 countries have
supported the East Timor Public Administration, including electoral processes,
and carried out a range of activities nationwide as part of the UN Transitional
Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). No other UN operation has made such
extensive use of UN Volunteers and their expertise.
UN Volunteers have been
essential in preparing for the East Timor's Independence Day ceremonies and
celebrations. UN Volunteers designed and built the International People's Park
and Football Field (IPP) in Dili. The IPP will be officially opened on the
occasion of the VIP reception, six hours before the UN flag will be lowered and
the new East Timorese national flag will be raised. The reception, hosted by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, will be attended by Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Jose Ramos-Horta, president-elect Xanana Guzman and many other senior East
Timorese, UniteNations and diplomatic delegation officials. (…)
Based in Bonn, Germany, UNV is
the volunteer arm of the UN system. It extends hands-on assistance for peace
and development in 140 countries. Created by the UN General Assembly in 1970
and administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNV works
through UNDP country offices to send volunteers--two-thirds of them from
developing countries—and promote the ideals of volunteerism around the world.
http://www.unv.org/infobase/news_releases/2002/02_05_15TMP_indep_cel.htm
Zanzibar water projects take
load off women's backs
10 May -
Tourists may find the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar a paradise of beautiful
beaches, but living conditions for many Zanzibaris are difficult, not the least
because of lack of clean and safe water. To help improve water supplies UNDP is
supporting six projects to upgrade water and sanitation systems for more than
45,000 people on Zanzibar and its sister island of Pemba. The projects are
"essential to improving the health and well-being of the people and
supporting Tanzania's poverty reduction efforts," said Inyang
Ebong-Harstrup, Acting UNDP Resident Representative. "This initiative
means that many women in Zanzibar will no longer have to walk long distances to
fetch water," she said. Zanzibar's poverty reduction plan stresses development
of water and sanitation systems to meet hygiene and sanitation requirements.
The UNDP Tanzania Small Grants
Programme is providing US$245,000 for the two-year initiative, as part of the
UNDP country programme that provides $1 million for community-based projects
each year. Both the government of Zanzibar and the recipient communities will
provide support in cash and in kind for implementing the water supply projects,
and two projects are co-financed by the Government of Japan. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Johannesburg, 9 May -
Lesotho's economic recovery has been given a boost with the launch of several
projects that aim to provide work and training for the Basotho. The projects
are a result of a Joint Bilateral Commission of Cooperation (JBCC) programme
between the tiny mountain kingdom and South Africa. South African Foreign
Affairs Minister Nkosozana Dlamini-Zuma and her Lesotho counterpart, M.T.
Thabane, signed the JBCC agreement on Wednesday.
Lesotho has been struggling to
overcome the economic impact of the 1998 riots that destroyed the capital
Maseru's commercial district, and plunged the economy into its first recession
in 40 years. There has also been a loss of remittances from mine workers who
had been retrenched from South African mines. It is estimated that half its
population live in poverty. (…)
Job programme helps to ease
tensions in southern Serbia
2 May - A
programme providing short-term jobs set up by UNDP in southern Serbia in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is providing relief for communities hard-hit by
unemployment and social instability. The instability stems from ethnic tension
stirred by the conflict in neighbouring Kosovo in 1999-2000, and the collapse
of state-owned companies and lack of investment have produced widespread
unemployment.
The Rapid Employment
Programme, started in April, will generate temporary jobs for about 6,000
people in one of the Balkans' most underdeveloped areas. The European Agency for Reconstruction is
providing US$3.5 million for the programme. The initiative carries out
labour-intensive projects to rehabilitate public infrastructure and protect the
environment. The UNDP team began consulting local communities in March to
identify projects in the towns and rural villages of four municipalities --
Presevo, Bujanovac, Medvedja and Vranje -- where ethnic conflicts have been the
most severe. With the planning phase almost complete and the projects underway,
the programme is already having an impact. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Baltimore, May 10 - Catholic
Relief Services (CRS) has committed an initial $20,000 to victims of the
increased violence in Chocó, Colombia, in the Diocese of Quibdó, including
those affected by the May 2 mortar explosion in the Church of Bellavista that
killed 119 people and injured more than 100 others who were seeking refuge in
the church. The funds will assist the CRS local partner in providing food,
medicine, bedding, basic hygiene items, and trauma counseling for more than
2,900 people who have been displaced by the heavy fighting between
paramilitaries and the leftist guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC). CRS is also working with the Diocese of Quibdó to develop a
comprehensive emergency response plan. CRS and partners estimate that up
to 20,000 people may be displaced by continued violence between the paramilitaries
and guerrillas and by an aerial bombing campaign initiated by the Colombian
Armed Forces in an effort to regain control of the area. (…)
http://www.catholicrelief.org/
New York, May 10 2002 - The
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today it was
mobilizing a major campaign to combat what may be the worst locust outbreak to
hit Afghanistan in 30 years. An infestation of Moroccan locust (dociostaurus
maroccanus) threatens the wheat harvest in northern Afghanistan, just as the
country is struggling to recover from years of war and deprivation, FAO said in
a statement released in Rome. The 30-40 day emergency campaign aims to limit
crop damage to the lowest possible level until the harvest is well under way,
when the threat will pretty much be over. So far, the campaign has yielded
encouraging results, according to the agency. (…)
Despite the difficulties posed
by mountainous terrain, FAO is reporting progress in meeting its objectives,
with only few reports of damage received so far. When the emergency campaign is
completed, it will give way to a medium-term plan aimed at prevention through
the use of even more environmentally benign materials.
The locust control campaign is
being financed by FAO from its own resources, with major contributions from the
US Agency for International Development and the British Department for
International Development. Its efforts are supported by several NGOs,
including the Irish NGO "Goal", which is backed by the European
Commission.
New York, May 9 2002 -
Philanthropist Bill Gates today joined the head of the main United Nations
children's agency to launch the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) -
a new initiative aimed at helping eliminate the vitamin and mineral deficiencies
that threaten more than 2 billion
people. Hailing the new venture, Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the
UN Children's Fund, stressed that good nutrition - both before and after birth
- is essential to helping children's bodies and brains develop properly.
Despite some successes in this area, micronutrient deficiencies are still
common in populations in developing countries, she told a joint press
conference at UN Headquarters in New York, where a special session of the
General Assembly on children is currently under way.
Adding vitamins and minerals
to staple foods like flour and milk has been a common practice in the
industrialized world for decades. The new initiative "will bring the
benefits that the industrialized world has had an opportunity to enjoy for some
time much sooner to those who are not able to enjoy those at this point,"
she added. (…)
According to GAIN partners,
funds available for the first year will be between $20 and $25 million, with
more than $70 million committed over five years, including $50 million from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (…)
Blantyre, 9 May
- The United States is to provide Malawi with US $5.4 million in emergency food
aid in response to the government's appeal for international assistance to help
overcome the country's food crisis. A statement released on Wednesday said the
US Agency for International Development (USAID) would provide the UN World Food
Programme (WFP) with 11,330 mt of food aid, including 10,000 mt of maize, for
shipment to Malawi in June and July.
The relief assistance would be
distributed through an NGO consortium working closely with district
authorities, the National Economic Council's (NEC) Safety Net Programme and the
Department of Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation (DDPRR), the
statement said.
USAID Malawi Assistant
Director Dwight Smith told IRIN that the food would benefit 90,000 families or
450,000 individuals. The aid would be used for direct feeding to the most
vulnerable, including children, pregnant and lactating mothers, people living
with HIV/AIDS and the elderly.
The statement said the
programme would also be complemented by food for work initiatives to provide
food to those who are able-bodied but cannot afford to purchase maize at market
prices. (…) http://www.irinnews.org/
Atlanta, May 3 - CARE, a
leading international organization fighting poverty, today announced receipt of
a $500,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide
emergency food aid for more than 2 million people – many of them children – who
are going hungry in the southern African country of Malawi. The money is part
of a $1 million grant from the foundation being shared equally between CARE and
the international aid organization Save the Children. (…)
CARE has a long-standing
presence in Malawi and has broadened its programs in response to the
increasingly short supply of food. CARE has expanded its agricultural
activities and is distributing extra cuttings of cassava, a fast growing staple
food, for farmers to plant. Together, CARE and Save the Children will begin a
house-to-house survey in four districts of Malawi on May 15 to determine to
what degree families are suffering from malnutrition. The survey also will
serve to check the status of their food supplies. CARE also belongs to a
network that has called for the government to distribute free maize to people
most vulnerable to hunger, including children, and to establish a plan to keep
this disaster from recurring. This network is distributing pamphlets in local
languages to 90,000 farmers with information about what people can do to
support members of their communities. In addition, CARE is preparing a
long-term emergency response.
http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2002/may/05012002_gates.asp
Sierra Leone: Major
distribution of relief items to vulnerable farmers
2 May - In an effort to help
internally displaced persons and refugees resettle in their home villages, the
ICRC and the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) have begun distributing
seed and farm tools to nearly 40,000 vulnerable farm families (about 240,000
people) in Kono and Kailahun districts. Also included in the relief package are
shelter materials, blankets, buckets, kitchen sets, mats, mosquito nets, mugs,
used clothing and soap.
The operation is the largest
in the eastern region so far. For the communities involved, which face the task
of rebuilding their lives after 10 years of crisis in Sierra Leone, it will
provide vital support in their efforts to achieve food security and economic
self-sufficiency.
The Red Cross
is distributing rice seed, groundnut seed and hoes to about 20,000 families in
seven chiefdoms in Kono district and to another 20,000 families in six
chiefdoms in Kailahun district. The most vulnerable of the beneficiaries will
receive non-food items as well. Before the operation was launched, needs were
assessed and the beneficiaries were registered by community representatives
using criteria set by the Red Cross. A joint ICRC/SLRCS team later checked that
those registered were entitled to assistance. (…)
MSF starts
emergency operation in Chipindo for 18,000 civilians in distress
After surviving three years of
war, violence, looting and isolation, these people are now in immediate danger
of dying from starvation.
Angola, 2 May - The
international medical relief organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is
starting an emergency feeding and medical programme in Chipindo, in the
province of Huila in Angola to come to the rescue of 18.000 people, who had
been isolated there with inadequate food supplies. (…) Chipindo is the fourth
of these emergency situations that MSF has come across since it was able start
exploring parts of the provinces of Huambo, Huila and Bie - which were
inaccessible until the cease-fire at the beginning of last month. In the other
provinces where MSF is working, the teams are seeing similar phenomena. (…)
UN ‘Convoy of
Hope’ sets sail for Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo, to restore trade
and ensure food security
Kinshasa, 30 April - A convoy
of barges has sailed from the port of the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, carrying
more than 1,000 tons of medicines, food, salt, sugar, spare parts, construction
materials, fuel, clothing, agricultural inputs and fishing materials. The destination of the so-called “Convoy of
Hope”, which set sail yesterday, is Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo's Oriental Province, where between six and seven million people are in
critical need of food and other necessities. (…)
It will take the
convoy three weeks to complete the 1,700-kilometre journey on the Congo River
to Kisangani. It is the result of a
collective mobilization of resources by 26 partners: Congolese organizations, United Nations agencies, international
non-governmental organizations, religious organizations and donors, including
Belgium, European Union, United States, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
(…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/SAG101.doc.htm
10 May - Togo's Red Cross
association launched a two-year project against the spread of HIV/AIDS this
week, as part of a continent-wide health initiative by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The HIV/AIDS initiative includes an
education and sensitisation campaign targeting those aged above 15, considered
to be at most risk. The aims of the project include teaming up with religious,
community and youth leaders to encourage the adoption of safe sex behavior,
including use of condoms. (…)
10 May - Togo's Red Cross
association launched on Wednesday a two-year project against the spread of
HIV/AIDS, as part of a continental initiative by the International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC).
The education and
sensitisation campaign targets those aged above 15, who are the country's most
vulnerable. The Red Cross also aims to provide income-generating projects to
those living with the disease, and team up with religious, community and youth
leaders to encourage the adoption of safe sex behavior, including use of
condoms.
More details: http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=1297
New formula of oral
rehydration salts to help millions of children, UN agency says
New York, May 8 2002 - A
new formula of oral rehydration salts just released by the World Health
Organization (WHO) is expected to save the lives of millions suffering from
acute diarrhoea and dehydration, a killer which particularly affects children
under five.
Oral rehydration therapy has
cut childhood deaths from diarrhoea in half over the past 10 years, and
governments at this week's special session of the General Assembly devoted to
children are expected to endorse a new goal: reducing deaths from
diarrhoea a further 50 per cent by 2010. To accomplish that, the use of oral
rehydration salts (ORS) must be expanded dramatically.
According to WHO, the use of
the new improved formula, which is low in both sodium and glucose, will result
in fewer hospitalizations and secondary infections, as well as lower
health-care costs. And like its predecessor, it can be administered at home by
family members. (…)
Rotary presents Polio Eradication
Champion Award to Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
New York, 7 May -In
recognition of her involvement and leadership in securing US$110 million in
contributions from the government of the Netherlands to support the global
effort to eradicate polio, Rotary International today presented Eveline
Herfkens, Minister for Development Cooperation, with the Polio Eradication
Champion Award.
The award, presented by Luis
Giay, chairman of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, was
established in 1995 to recognize world leaders who have made outstanding
contributions toward the goal of global polio eradication. (…) The donation is
earmarked for poliovirus surveillance and response activities. (…)
A highly infectious disease
that can cause paralyses and sometimes death, polio still strikes children
mainly under the age of five in the remaining 10 polio-endemic countries, which
are India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Niger, Somalia, Egypt, Angola,
Ethiopia and Sudan.
Polio eradication is extremely
close to completion. From 2000 to 2001, the number of polio-endemic countries
was reduced from 20 to 10. The number of new cases globally was slashed by more
than 80 percent, from 2,979 in 2000 to 537 in 2001. This represents a greater
than 99.8 percent reduction since 1988, when polio paralyzed more than 350,000
children in 125 countries.
The Americas were declared
free from polio in 1994, as well as the Western Pacific region in 2000. Europe
will be the next block of countries expected to be declared polio-free this
year. Once eradicated, polio will be the second disease after smallpox ever to
be eliminated worldwide. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsandinfo/presscenter/releases/127.html
CARE and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention renew commitment to cooperate on health care in
poor communities
Atlanta, May 6- CARE today
announced it is renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal of this Memorandum is to
strengthen the capacity of CDC and CARE to assess, analyze and implement
disease prevention and control programs with a primary focus on communities.
Areas of collaboration for CARE and CDC include environmental health, public
health management, public health emergencies, HIV/AIDS and other infectious
diseases, and reproductive health. (…)
The original Memorandum, from
1997, has been revised to reflect the strong partnership between the two
organizations and references successes from the first phase of collaboration,
through the CARE-CDC Health Initiative (CCHI). For example CARE and the CDC
joined forces to spread valuable knowledge to the international community. CARE
staff combined field work in some of the poorest and most remote areas in the
world with the CDC's scientific expertise to produce articles recently
published in the American Journal of Public Health in its first ever global
health issue. The papers included research on innovative ways to prevent
cholera and diarrhea, novel public information campaigns using folk media to
prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and public health messages for safe motherhood.
http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2002/may/05062002_cdc.asp
ADRA Morocco launches
anti-tobacco campaign in school
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA,
3 May - Approximately 1,300 children aged 8-12 years in the Wilaya school
district of the capital city of Rabat attended tobacco education programs
organized and presented by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
in Morocco. The programs were presented April 22-25, 2002. Using puppets, the
presentations provided a thirty-minute program that explained the impact of
tobacco. In addition, the program included thirty-minutes of interaction with
the children. Teachers of the participating classes were given a packet with
additional activities to reinforce the information shared during the puppet
show. (…)
ADRA is part of the national
committee in Morocco that is coordinating plans to fight the effects of
tobacco. The committee includes representatives from the government ministries
of Youth and Sports, Education, Agriculture, Finance, Religious Affairs, and
Environment. (…)
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/050302.html
3 May - South Africa's
HIV/AIDS programme received a boost last week with the announcement of a US
$165.2 million grant from the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and
Malaria.
South Africa's grant awards
cover two proposals, focusing on treatment, care, and support of people with TB
and HIV. The Fund awarded almost US $93 million to the country's coordinating
mechanism, the South African National AIDS Council.
More details: http://www.irinnews.org/AIDSreport.asp?ReportID=1288
UN Population
Fund, Development Gateway launch portal on population and reproductive
health
New York, 29 April - The
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
and the Development Gateway Foundation today announced the launch of the
POP/RH Portal, an Internet initiative focusing on population and reproductive
health. The Portal will provide a
community-built database of shared population information, including data,
research, projects, ideas and dialogue.
It will also seek to promote
innovative knowledge-sharing arrangements among expert organizations in the
field.
The POP/RH Portal
(http://www.developmentgateway.org/pop) is being built
in collaboration with 12 partner institutions from the population community,
linking it to resources on their Web sites and to those of other population and
development organizations. It covers
the key topics and actions identified in both the Programme of Action of the
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) convened in Cairo
in 1994 and the 1999 United Nations General Assembly special session which
reviewed implementation of the ICPD.
With the launch of
the POP/RH Portal, the UNFPA becomes the first United Nations agency to
establish a topical Web site within the Development Gateway system. The UNFPA will manage and “guide” the Portal
with technical support from the Development Gateway team. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/POP827.doc.htm
UN
Environment Programme and Tongji University open new Chinese Institute to aid
environment and sustainable development
Shanghai, Bangkok, 9 May - The
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Shanghai’s Tongji University
today announced the establishment of the UNEP-Tongji Institute for Environment
and Sustainable Development.
The new Institute aims to
develop new educational programmes to build research, technical and managerial
capacity among developing countries of the region, contribute to UNEP’s global
and regional environmental assessments, and disseminate information on best
practices and technology developments.
The Institute
is also expected to establish a field ecological station to monitor the
long-term land use changes resulting from the construction of the Three Gorges
Reservoir and the resulting relocation of 1.1 million people.
Its work programme will also
assist environmental planning for the 2008 Olympic Games and China’s Great
Western Development Programme. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/envdev636.doc.htm
9 May - UNDP and UN Volunteers (UNV) are teaming up with several
private sector partners in Lebanon on a project to enhance awareness of
corporate social responsibility and how it relates to environmental issues. The
springboard for the initiative -- and the origin of its name -- is the 'Go
Green' motto and environmental programme of Schtroumpf, a Lebanese
restaurant chain. Coca-Cola Middle
East, FTML-Cellis
and Tetra Pak are the other corporate
partners. (…)
Go Green is organizing an
environmental awareness contest for university students, an environmental
workshop to mark World
Environment Day on 5 June, a three-day environmental forum, and activities
for corporate volunteers. The contest, open to nearly 20,000 students, will
award $11,000 in prizes for projects on environmental engineering and artwork
on the environment. The partners have given seminars at seven of Lebanon's
leading universities to sensitize students about corporate social
responsibility and environmental protection. A press encounter encouraged media
representatives to provide coverage on these issues.
The project is part of a
programme that UNDP and UNV are carrying out in seven countries in cooperation
with the New Academy of Business in
Bristol, UK, to develop new models of business-community relations. The other
countries are Brazil, Ghana, India, Nigeria, Philippines and South Africa. Go
Green also serves as an example of new ways by which UNDP can forge national
partnerships among the private sector, civil society and government ministries
on issues relating to key programme priorities.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Nairobi, 10 May - The Geneva
Conventions have been published in Amharic - the first time ever they have been
officially translated into an African language. The International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) presented the 245-page document to the President of
Ethiopia on Wednesday.
The four 1949 Geneva
Conventions set out humanitarian rules for armed conflict and are the
cornerstone of international humanitarian law.
The translation was prepared
by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry, Addis Ababa University and the ICRC over a
period of two years. The President said the ICRC had been at the forefront in
promoting international humanitarian laws and had always retained its
neutrality. (…)
Non-Governmental Organizations
are ‘Vital Partners’ in implementing aims and goals of Special Session on
Children, UN Secretary-General Says
8 May - Following are some
passages of the remarks of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the NGOs meeting
held during the special session of the General Assembly on children:
“You non-governmental
organizations give life and meaning to the concept of "We, the
Peoples", in whose name our United Nations Charter was written. Let me
also say that you are vital partners of governments in pursuing the
United Nations agenda for peace and development, and in implementing the aims
and goals of the special session on children and I have always maintained that
without you, we cannot do what we do.
“In the long-standing debate
over the proper place for civil society in the United Nations, I think we can
all agree that the work for children is one area where the role of NGOs is
beyond question. You are indispensable
to that work.
“We have had some success in
treating children as a "zone of peace" in conflict zones. Let us treat children as a "zone of
consensus, of agreement" here at the United Nations. Let us use the United Nations as common
ground where governments, NGOs and the rest of civil society can work together
for the common good –- and for our children and for our common future. (…)
“After the work
to finalize the outcome document is over, you NGOs will have an especially
crucial role to play. Just as you have
been so active in promoting the implementation of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, we will look to you to act as watchdogs and monitor progress in
implementing the promises that have been made at this session. Do keep us on our toes!”
Fonte: UNIC, Rome
In time of global uncertainty,
Buddha’s vision of peace more relevant than ever, says Secretary-General, in
message on Buddhism’s day of Vesak
6 May - Following is the
message of Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Day of Vesak, observed on 26
May:
It gives me
great pleasure to send you my warmest greetings on this happy occasion, marking
the birth, enlightenment and passing away of Guatama Buddha.
The Buddha’s lofty ethical and
humanitarian ideals have given birth to a vibrant spiritual tradition that
continues, more than 2500 years later, to ennoble the lives of millions of
people. Today, all over the world,
Buddhists celebrate joyously the message of compassion, understanding and
mutual respect that the Buddha brought to mankind.
In this time of global
uncertainty, the Buddha’s vision of peace and of humanity’s highest potentials
may be more relevant than ever before.
Indeed, if we want to have a chance of overcoming the many challenges
that face us today -- in the fields of peace and security, development, and the
protection of our global environment -- we must think beyond our narrow,
short-term self interests, and raise ourselves to a universal perspective from
which the well-being of the broader human community appears as important as our
own well-being. Each of us shares the
hope of a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. Our actions -- as individuals and as members
of our communities -- must be guided by that common dream.
On this Day of Vesak, let us
remember that whatever our origin, our race, our culture or our belief, we are
not essentially different. Above all,
we share the same home, a shrinking planet on which we are bound to live
together. So, let us work together
towards the common good and the harmonious and peaceful coexistence of all the
world’s people.
I wish you all happy Vesak.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2002/sgsm8225.doc.htm
The IFLAC Dialogues between
Israelis and Palestinians to build a culture of peace
Professor Ada Aharoni,
President of IFLAC (International Forum for the Culture of Peace), wrote to the
Good News Agency: “Despite the hard times we are going through in our region,
our monthly IFLAC Israeli Palestinian dialogue in Haifa at the
International IFLAC Center is going strong, and even gaining impetus. It
draws people from the silent majority who crave for peace from both
sides, and who are asking for the end of the carnage and the return to the
peacemaking table, leading to a peace Treaty that would satisfy
both the Palestinians and the Israelis”.
The next IFLAC dialogue,
organized by IFLAC and the Moshe Sharett Educational Center, will take place on
29 May in Haifa and Prof. Aharoni will introduce the guest speaker Prof.
Amatzia Baram, who will speak on the theme: “SULHA: The Reconciliation”. After
the lecture and the discussion session: readings of peace poetry in Hebrew,
Arabic and English.
For further information: adah@matav.net.il
Academic Network for legal
studies on immigration and asylum in Europe is organising a European Summer
School on European Union Law and Policy on Immigration and Asylum, from 1-12
July, in Brussels. The aim of the Summer School is to provide its participants
with an extensive understanding of the immigration and asylum policy of the
European Union (EU) from a legal point of view. Each class is given both in
French and in English. Participation in the Summer School is rewarded with a
certificate of attendance.
For more information: odysseus@ulb.ac.be Website: http://www.ulb.ac.be/assoc/odysseus
The World Peace Prayer Society,
Day of Prayer in Each World Nation, on Sunday May 19, Mt. Fuji, Japan.
More than 10,000 people will
gather at the foot of Mt. Fuji Sanctuary to pray for peace of the world. Bonnie
Mansdorf, founder of The Foundation for A Healing Among Nations, will be an
emissary for peace, representing over 45 Los Angeles Spiritual and Peace based
organizations from Los Angeles, The City of Angels. This event is the
invocation that will culminate in The Peace Sunday, World Day of Prayer in Los
Angeles, December 15, 2002. Ms. Mansdorf will be presenting the 'Heart of
Humanity' award on behalf of the Unity and Diversity World Council to the World
Peace Prayer Society. In addition, Bonnie will travel with a small team to
Hiroshima and bring some offerings of healing and prayer to redirect the
potential of any further nuclear abuses on our planet and in space.
19the General IPRA Conference:
Korea, July 1-5
The next International Peace
Research Association conference will be held at Kyung Hee university in South
Korea on July 1-5, 2002. The general theme is 'Globalization, Governance
and Social Justice: New Challenges for Peace Research'. The purpose of IPRA is to
advance interdisciplinary research into the conditions of peace and the causes
of war and other forms of violence. To this end, IPRA encourages worldwide
cooperation designed to assist the advancement of peace research and, in
particular: to promote national and international studies and teaching related
to the pursuit of world peace; to facilitate contacts and cooperation between
scholars and educators throughout the world; and to encourage worldwide
dissemination of results of peace research. All enquires should be sent to IPRA
secretariat c/o Kodama, Dept. of Humanities, Mie University, 1515 Kamihama,
Tsu, Mie Japan 514-8507 tel/fax: +81-59-231-9156 e-mail: kkodama@human.mie-u.ac.jp
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non-profit educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979. The Association
operates for the development of consciousness and supports the activities of
the Lucis Trust, the Club of Budapest, the Earth Charter, Radio For Peace
International and other organizations promoting a culture of peace in the
‘global village’ perspective based on unity within diversity and on
sharing. Via Antagora 10, 00124 Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscalinet.it
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