Good News Agency – Year III, n° 12
Weekly - Year III, number 12
– 14 June 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.
Good News Agency is
distributed free of charge through Internet to the editorial offices of more
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International
legislation
- Human rights – Peace and safety - Economy and development
Solidarity - Health
- Environment and
wildlife -
Culture and education
Address by UN Secretary-General to the World Food Summit - Rome, 10 June
56
Countries sign international treaty crucial to food security
Rome, 13 June - The World Food Summit: five years later is ending with positive results for food security and sustainable development, as 43 new signatories to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, bring the total number of signatories to 56, including 35 developing countries and 20 developed countries, and the European Community.
The Treaty was adopted by
consensus at the FAO Conference in November 2001. Its objectives are the
conservation of plant genetic resources, their sustainable use, and the fair
and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use, including monetary benefits
resulting from commercialization.
Plant genetic resources are
essential to sustain agriculture and food security for humanity now and in the
future. FAO estimates humans have used some 10 000 species for food throughout
history. Today, no more than 120 cultivated species provide around 90% of our
food. In addition, most of the biodiversity of these cultivated species has
been lost in the 20th Century.
This binding International
Treaty provides for farmers rights, and establishes a multilateral system to
exchange the genetic resources of some 64 major crops and forages important for
global food security.
media-office@fao.org
Commission on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: http://www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/
Geneva, 3 June - The 90th
Session of the International Labour Conference opened today,
electing as its president, Mr. Jean-Jacques Elmiger, Secretary of State of the
Federal Department of the Economy of Switzerland. (…) Delegates to the
International Labour Conference are to consider a wide range of issues, from
decent work in the informal economy to safety and health, child labour and the
situation of workers in the occupied Arab territories.
The annual Conference will
meet until 20 June and is expected to draw some 3,000 delegates, including
labour ministers and leaders of workers' and employers' organizations from most
of the ILO's 175 member States. Each member country has the right to send four
delegates to the Conference: two from government and one each representing
workers and employers, each of whom may speak and vote independently.
The role of the International
Labour Conference is to adopt and oversee compliance with international labour
standards, establish the budget of the Organization and elect members of the Governing Body. Since 1919, the
Conference has served as a major international forum for debate on social and
labour questions of worldwide importance.
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2002/26.htm
New York, 6 June - The United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has "warmly welcomed"
today's signing in Kabul of a decree establishing the Afghan Independent Human
Rights Commission.
"The signing of the
Decree is symbolic of the close cooperation between the Afghan Interim
Administration, Afghan civil society and the United Nations," Mary
Robinson said in a statement released in Geneva. "The process has been
transparent and inclusive, and the decree vests the Commission with broad scope
and competence for promoting and protecting the human rights of the Afghan
people," she added. Mrs. Robinson assured the Afghan authorities of her
Office's continued support "as this important institution faces the
challenges of becoming effectively established and appropriately equipped to
discharge its mandate."
Geneva, 5 June - The first World Day
Against Child Labour will be observed worldwide on 12 June 2002.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) will formally launch this global
day with an event at its Geneva offices on 11 June, the eve of the first World
Day.
Around the world, the World
Day Against Child Labour is expected to see an array of activities,
ranging from gatherings of child workers and their supporters to school events,
children's art shows and drama performances, child-adult information workshops,
activities organized by worker and employer representatives, media events and
other public activities.
"This first World Day
Against Child Labour is intended to help spread the message that child labour
remains a serious problem and that we must do more to combat it," said
International Labour Office (ILO) Director-General Juan Somavia in a statement
for the day. (…)
The World Day will be held
annually to intensify support for the global campaign against child labour. The
World Day will also serve as a catalyst for enhancing the growing
worldwide movement against child labour, as reflected in the steadily mounting
ratifications of ILO Conventions Nos. 182 (on its worst
forms) and 138 (on minimum age),
as well as the work of the ILO International Programme on the
Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). (...)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2002/27.htm
4 June - This year the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees has decided to dedicate World Refugee Day to women
refugees in recognition of the vital role they play in refugee camps and in
keeping their uprooted families together. A photo gallery showing the many
roles refugee women play throughout the world can be visualised on: http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/womengallery
Progress
among women reported in seven Arab countries
1 June - Women’s access to
education and healthcare has increased considerably in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon,
the occupied Palestinian territories, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and
Yemen. Yet the fight for gender equality remains a continuous battle, according
to the recently launched UNIFEM report, 'Paving the Road Towards Empowerment.’
The report states that women’s participation in the economy, environment and
decision-making spheres is steadily growing, but that the patriarchy within
Arab society is sustaining gender inequality through the socialization process.
It also states that the proportion of men who are active participants in the
call for gender equity is low and, regrettably, efforts to involve them have
been limited.
The UNIFEM report tracks the achievements made and challenges encountered by Arab women’s governmental and non-governmental organizations in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action’s 12 critical areas of concern, in an effort to report on progress regionally, much as ‘Progress of the World’s Women’ does globally.
For more information or to get
a copy of the report, contact Dana Malhas, National Programme Officer, UNIFEM,
at dana_mkhan@unifem.org.jo.
Report
of the UNMAS Emergency Mine Action Project in Sudan: May 2002
3 June - The UN Emergency Mine
Action Project in Sudan is now in its second reporting month and continues to
make steady progress. The Mine Action Co-ordination Office in the Nuba
Mountains is now operationally active; to date some 37,000 sq m has been
cleared. (…)
The United Nations Mine Action
Service (UNMAS) was formed in October 1997 to serve as the UN focal point for
mine action. At the global level, it is responsible for coordinating all
aspects of mine action within the UN system. At the field level, it is
responsible for providing mine action assistance in the context of humanitarian
emergencies and peacekeeping operations.
Unanimous
approval of final declaration for World Food Summit: five years later
182
countries call for international alliance against hunger
Rome, 11 June - A total of 182
countries renewed their commitment to reduce by half the number of hungry
people in the world no later than 2015, according to the final declaration of
the World Food Summit: five years later. Heads of State and Government
unanimously approved the Declaration on the opening day of the four-day Summit,
calling on governments, international organizations, civil society
organizations and the private sector "to reinforce their efforts so as to
act as an international alliance against hunger." These efforts are aimed
at ending the tragedy of more than 800 million people going hungry around the
world.
The countries invited the
Council of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to "elaborate,
in a period of two years, a set of voluntary guidelines to support Member
States' efforts to achieve the progressive realization of the right to adequate
food."
The Declaration said, "With a view to reversing the overall decline of agriculture and rural development in the national budgets of developing countries, in official development assistance (ODA) and in total lending in international financial institutions, we call for an adequate share for those sectors of bilateral and multilateral ODA, lending by International Financial Institutions and budgetary allocations of developing countries. We urge developed countries that have not done so to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7 percent of gross national product (GNP) as official development assistance to developing countries."
The Declaration stresses that
a "speedy, effective and full implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which should be fully financed through additional
resources, is critical." In addition, all countries are urged to implement
the outcome of the Doha Conference regarding the reform of the international
agricultural trading system. (…)
New York, 10 June - The United Nations International Labour
Organization will soon establish an urgent plan for creating jobs in the occupied
Arab territories, the head of the UN agency announced today, calling on the two
sides to do their part to achieve peace.
"I appeal to Palestinian
and Israeli constituents to take the risk of embarking on social dialogue
across the present divide," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said in his
address to the 90th International Labour Conference, which is meeting in
Geneva. "We shall assist and support you in all possible ways," he
pledged.
Addressing delegates from the
175 ILO member States, which include representatives of governments as well as
worker and employer organizations, the Director-General said the agency's jobs
plan for Arab workers and other constituents aimed to address "the
humiliation and frustration felt by Palestinians as a result of the combination
of closures and military action by Israel." Pointing out that peace and
security remain "the deepest hope of the large majority of Palestinians
and Israelis," Mr. Somavia underscored international responsibility for
achieving this goal. "The world must help them to get there," he
said.
Lagos, 10 June - The World
Bank has approved loans totaling US $237 million for Nigeria to improve its
health sector and reduce poverty in urban areas, officials said.
A statement by the World Bank
country office in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Friday said $127 million will be
used to develop management capacity in the health system. Another $110 million
will be devoted to poverty reduction efforts through community-based urban
development projects.
The Bank said public
spending per capita on health was less than $5 and as low as $2 in some
parts of Nigeria, contrary to $34 recommended for low-income countries by the
World Health Organization. The funding will be used to redress the decline in
the provision of basic health care services in 35 of Nigeria's 36 states, it
said. (…)
7 June - The German government
has agreed to provide funding to the sum of 18.450 billion CFA (about US $26.6
million) for development projects in agriculture, health, water and sanitation
in Burkina Faso. This was announced on Tuesday by Burkina Faso's Finance
Ministry.
The funding is a result of
negotiations launched last year between the two governments. It will be used,
among other things, to build and improve rural roads, and to boost HIV/AIDS
protection by increasing the distribution of condoms.
7 June - The Eritrean
government has commissioned an extensive study into the commercial potential of
Assab, the country's second-largest port after Massawa. Starting next month, a
team of US-based consultants will assess how to upgrade the port and its
facilities to an international standard, so that it can become a regional hub
for shipping in the Horn of Africa. The government is hoping to attract
Ethiopian and Sudanese regional and transit trade, lost during the recent
border conflict with Ethiopia. Before the war, most of the cargo that came
through Assab was coming to or from Ethiopia, which has no direct access to the
Red Sea. However, when the border dispute began in 1998 Ethiopia switched to
nearby Djibouti.
Full story at: http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28061
6 June - Delegates of five
least developed countries and international experts are meeting in Geneva (6-7
June) to share their experiences and develop best practices on efficient and
transparent investment promotion practices at a workshop organized by UNCTAD.
The workshop is part of a larger UNCTAD initiative, launched at the May 2001
Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, on upholding
good governance in investment promotion and facilitation and thereby building
national capacities in developing countries to attract foreign direct
investment (FDI).
Officials of investment
promotion agencies from Ethiopia, Lesotho, the Maldives, Mali and Tanzania will
be joined by international experts from UNCTAD, the United Nations Development
Programme, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development,
Transparency Switzerland, other international organizations and the private
sector to exchange views on enhancing the efficiency, transparency and
competitiveness of their FDI promotion services. These five countries are
committed to developing a client-oriented and transparent administrative system
that will encourage inward investment by foreign companies. (...)
http://www.unctad.org/en/press/nc0238en.htm
5 June - Small farmers across
sub-Saharan Africa, many of them women, are at the centre of a strategy to
introduce new rice varieties developed in West Africa that can dramatically
boost harvests, reduce poverty and save millions of dollars in imports.
The new varieties, known as
NERICA (New Rice for Africa), combine the best qualities of African and Asian
species. They can yield up to 50 per cent larger crops without fertilizer than
varieties now grown, produce up to twice the yield with fertilizer and improved
management, and are substantially richer in protein. Because of their high
productivity, it is estimated that NERICAs will save West and Central African
countries $88 million in rice imports by 2005.
The African Rice Initiative, spearheaded by
the West Africa Rice Development
Association (WARDA), will invest more than US$15 million over the next
five years to spread the new rice among farmers in seven pilot countries,
focusing on small-scale and women farmers. The countries include Benin, Côte
d'Ivoire, the Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. The initiative will also
promote the rice in another 18 countries across the sub-continent.
Prime Minister Pascal Affi
N'Guéssan of Côte d'Ivoire launched the initiative in March in Yamoussoukro,
the Ivoirian capital, in a ceremony that brought together farmers, agricultural
scientists, government ministers and representatives of donor agencies. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
IFAD provides USD 11.76 Million to boost support to
community development in north and central province in Cameroon
Rome, 29 May 2002 – The
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will loan USD11.76
million to the Republic of Cameroon to finance the Community Development Support
Project in North and Central Province, totally amounting to USD
18.29 million. A loan agreement was signed today at the Fund’s Headquarters, by
His Excellency Mr. Michael Tabong Kima, Ambassador of the Republic of Cameroon
in Rome, and Mr. Cyril Enweze, Vice-President of IFAD.
The project
will cover two provinces. The first is the Extreme North Province, a semi-arid
Sudano-Sahelian zone with 2.5 million inhabitants. The second, the Central
Province, is a humid forest area of bimodal rainfall, with 2.3 million
inhabitants. In both provinces, extensive agricultural activity with low
productivity typifies the livelihood of the majority of the population. (...)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2002/30-02.htm
The African Development Bank
(ADB) has signed an agreement with the Tanzanian government to provide a loan
of over US $46.8 million and a grant of over $1.6 million to finance a water
supply and sanitation scheme for the commercial capital and largest city, Dar
es Salaam.
The rehabilitation initiative
was intended to "improve the economic and social wellbeing of the
people... by providing them with better access to clean water, thereby reducing
the incidence of waterborne diseases among vulnerable groups", according
to the bank. (…)
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28096]
New York, 7 June - A top
United Nations aid official today welcomed the announcement by the United
States Agency for International Development that it would contribute an
additional 100,000 metric tons of food aid to the Democratic People's Republic
of Korea (DPRK).
The donation came after the UN
Emergency Relief Coordinator, Kenzo Oshima and the heads of the UN World Food
Programme and the UN Children's Fund appealed on 30 April for increased
humanitarian funding to prevent conditions in the country from deteriorating.
(…)
The Emergency Relief
Coordinator voiced confidence that other States would also provide support to
the humanitarian programme in the DPRK. According to the UN's mid-year review
of the Consolidated Appeal for the country, a critical lack of funding in the
health sector, particularly for essential drugs and emergency nutritional
rehabilitation programmes, places vulnerable groups at risk of dying
preventable deaths.
7 June - The government of
Japan on Monday contributed US $2.85 million to Nigeria's fight against polio,
officials of the Nigerian health ministry said. The money would allow Nigeria
to buy polio vaccine, 104 storage refrigerators, vaccine carriers and cold
boxes. The money is part of a $17-million Japanese fund to eradicate the
disease in five countries, including Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana and Sudan. The
aid falls short of the $15 million which, according to the coordinator of
Nigeria's National Programme of Immunisation, is necessary to eradicate the
disease by the end of the year. Polio is endemic in Nigeria.
7 June - Following the deaths
of 10 Somali refugees from malnutrition and disease, the local authorities in
northeastern Kenya have allowed aid workers to set up three supplementary
feeding centres, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
reported. Construction work on the first centre, near the town of Mandera, is
set to begin on Wednesday, and is expected to be completed within a week, a
UNHCR spokesman said in Geneva. This centre will cater for refugees at a nearby
makeshift camp - which hosts up to 5,000 Somali refugees - along the volatile
Kenya-Somalia border area. The other two centres, to be set up in Mandera
itself, will meet the supplementary feeding needs of the local population and
refugees living with family and friends. http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28151
7 June - The Kenyan government
and the World Food Programme (WFP) have jointly sent emergency food aid to some
47,000 residents of Tana River District, eastern Kenya, who have been cut off
by heavy rains that have caused flooding in western and eastern parts of the
country in the past few weeks.
A road convoy carrying relief
food left the north eastern Kenyan town of Garissa on Monday under military
escort, heading for Ijara division, Tana River District, where some 40,000
residents were in urgent need of emergency relief. Tana River is the latest
area to be affected by heavy rains and flooding in recent weeks, considered the
worst since the El Nino phenomenon in 1998. (…)
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=28117]
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA,
June 6 - In early June, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
office in Georgia began providing counseling and health services to 150
survivors of the earthquake that struck on April 25, 2002, in Tbilisi, the
capital of Georgia.
The local government met the
immediate needs of shelter, food, clothing, and blankets for people whose homes
were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. In coordination with
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), ADRA Georgia has organized a three-month
program that provides medical assistance and psychological counseling for 150
homeless survivors. (...)
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/060602.html
Indonesia - ICRC seminar on emergency treatment for
wounded patients
6 June - From 27 to 31 May,
in cooperation with the provincial Ministry of Health and the Indonesian Red
Cross Society (IRCS), the ICRC held a seminar in Banda Aceh on "Advanced
first-aid and emergency techniques for wounded patients" for health
personnel working in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province.
The seminar, which was led by
ICRC head surgeon Chris Giannou, was opened by the provincial Minister of
Health, the ICRC head of sub-delegation in Aceh and the chairman of the Aceh
chapter of the IRCS. It drew on the ICRC's long experience of the treatment of
war casualties to show how lives could be saved by improving emergency care for
patients with wounds or other injuries requiring surgical treatment before they
can be transferred to medical facilities. More than 50 doctors from district
hospitals and health centres attended, along with IRCS doctors and medical
staff from the police and armed forces. (...)
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/5AUM69?OpenDocument&style=custo_final
UNDP helps rebuild homes in war-torn Sierra Leone
6 June - UNDP is cooperating
with the Government in a community reconstruction programme in the Kambia
district in northwest Sierra Leone to rebuild homes destroyed in the country's
ten-year conflict. (…)
The eight-month initiative,
launched in December with funding from the Swedish Government, provides support
for rebuilding homes, training in construction skills and creating job
opportunities. Participants build three
and four bedroom homes using local materials. So far, 240 of the 400 houses
planned are constructed up to lintel level and roofed. All the houses need to
be covered by roofs by July to protect the mud bricks and concrete plastering on
the exteriors from heavy rains expected then.
More than 4,000 people will
benefit from the project. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Baltimore, June 5 - Heavy rains in parts of Central America have resulted in flooding and landslides in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, with rainfall exceeding norms by 278 percent in Nicaragua's capital city of Managua. Officials have reported four deaths in Honduras and El Salvador, and nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated from the Pacific regions of Nicaragua because of tremendous material damage. Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has responded immediately by working with partners to assess damages and monitor the weather conditions throughout the region. (…) CRS is working with local partners throughout the region to provide immediate assistance to victims of the floods. (…)
http://www.catholicrelief.org/
But
more help is needed as the country rebuilds
Kabul (June 4) - CARE’s
emergency shelter and rehabilitation project has improved the lives of 120,000
needy people here, creating jobs, providing shelter and rehabilitating the
city’s key infrastructure. The just-completed project, funded by The European
Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), generated jobs for more than 8,000
people, improved city sanitation by removing almost 16 million cubic feet of
garbage and debris and digging nearly 125 miles of drainage ditches. Workers
also resurfaced more than 100 miles of roads with gravel, allowing traffic to
move more smoothly.
In addition, CARE provided
materials to help tens of thousands of people repair war damage to their homes,
including displaced families in the former Soviet Embassy compound. (...)
http://www.careusa.org/newsroom/pressreleases/2002/jun/06042002_afghanistan.asp
Kabul, 31 May - Essential
medical equipment and supplies, valued at over $200,000, were delivered to two
of Kabul's principal maternity care facilities this week. The United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) provided the lifesaving equipment to the Malalai
Maternity Hospital, and the Rabia Balkhi Women's Hospital in response to an
urgent request from Afghanistan's Minister of Public Health, Dr. Sohaila Siddiq.
(…)
Ambulances for each of the
facilities were provided earlier, and are now in daily use transporting
patients to the hospitals, and delivering major cases to other referral
facilities when needed.
The material was procured and
shipped to Afghanistan under a major emergency assistance project funded with
contributions from the Governments of Luxembourg, Italy, the Netherlands and
Norway. (...)
http://www.unfpa.org/news/2002/pressroom/afghanistansupp.htm
New York, 7 June - Three
United Nations agencies today announced plans to team up with the Organization
of African Unity (OAU) in the fight against diseases spread through tsetse
flies, which cause sleeping sickness in humans and Nagana in livestock.
The proposed strategy brings
together the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Atomic Energy
Agency and the World Health Organization in an effort which the agencies said
would incorporate new technologies while protecting the environment. The
"area-wide integrated pest management" approach will involve active
tsetse control strategies, including the use of sterile flies to ultimately
eliminate the tsetse population and the diseases they carry.
Tsetse-transmitted
trypanosomiasis, a disease unique to Africa, threatens 50 million people and 48
million cattle. (…)
Global
alliance between the European Commission and WHO
to fight against communicable diseases, tobacco and other health threats
Brussels, 6 June - The
European Commission and the World Health Organisation (WHO) today held a series
of high-level consultations in Brussels to take forward their global alliance
in tackling tobacco and other health threats. Health and Consumer Protection
Commissioner David Byrne met WHO Director-General Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland to
discuss joint strategies to address a wide range of health issues, including
combating smoking, fight against communicable diseases, and nutrition and food
safety. Dr Brundtland then had meetings with Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy,
Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, Development and Humanitarian Aid
Commissioner Poul Nielson as well as senior officials from the Commission's
Directorate-General Environment to discuss co-operation in further key areas
such access to medicines, health and development, health research, and
environment and health.
The range of issues addressed
during the second high-level meeting between Commissioner Byrne and
Director-General Brundtland show the extent of co-operation between the
Commission and the WHO. (...)
http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-45.html
New York, 10 June - The United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today welcomed the signing of an agreement
by southeast Asian nations designed to prevent a repeat of the suffocating smog
caused by forest fires that plagued the region in 1997 and 1998.
On Monday in Kuala Lumpur,
environment ministers signed the Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which was drafted with the
assistance of UNEP. The agreement, which addresses policy and technical
matters relating to monitoring, preventing and mitigating smoke from forest
fires, follows four rounds of negotiations arranged by the ASEAN Secretariat.
UNEP Executive Director Klaus
Toepfer congratulated the ministers on the accord, saying the legal framework
provided another layer of resolve and preparedness against future forest fire
episodes. (…)
7 June - Fish and birds have
returned to Havana Bay in Cuba in the last five years as pollutant levels have
decreased. But sources of pollution remain, particularly the highly
contaminated Luyano River. The UNDP
Global Environment Facility (GEF) unit and the Government are funding
construction of a sewerage treatment plant upstream on the Luyano, and Italian
Cooperation is funding a similiar plant already under construction downstream.
The UNDP/GEF share is US$3.7 million and the Government share is $714,000. As
part of the initiative, the Government of Norway is providing funding through
UNDP for construction of "zero emission" homes near the bay that
release no pollutants.
One million people live or
work on Havana Bay or visit its shores, underscoring the importance of efforts
to revive it, noted Luis Gómez Echeverri UNDP Resident Representative and UN
Resident Coordinator. UNDP has supported ongoing efforts to clean up the bay,
Cuba's most important, since 1994. The Government of Belgium has also provided
funding for the clean-up through UNDP, and Japan is considering contributing
support for the effort as well. (...)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
WRI,
Cameroon Ink Pact to monitor forests, curb illegal logging
Yaoundé, Cameroon and
Washington, DC, June 6 - The World Resources Institute's Global Forest Watch
and the Government of Cameroon signed an agreement today to share data and maps
about the country's forests in a bid to curb rampant illegal logging. (...)
This is the first map-based monitoring agreement of its kind in Africa, and is
the first entered into by the two-year-old Global Forest Watch. (…) The
agreement stipulates that Cameroon's Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MINEF) will provide Global Forest Watch with information on forest concessions
and allocations in the country. In turn, WRI will produce reports on the state
of forest concessions in Cameroon and create maps that will enable MINEF
officials to detect illegal logging in the country.
Maps of logging roads created
by Global Forest Watch from satellite imagery, combined with accurate
information on where logging may legally take place, will permit the
identification of problem areas and prioritize them for field audits. (…) The
information will be publicly available and can be accessed through the website,
http://www.globalforestwatch.org. (...)
http://www.wri.org/wri/press/gfw_cameroonpact.html
Paris, June 6 - UNESCO
Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education
to the City Montessori School (India) on June 5 following its recommendation by
the prize's international jury. Meeting on June 3 and 4 at Organization
Headquarters, the jury commended the school "in recognition of its efforts
to promote the universal values of education for peace and tolerance and to
renew the principles of secularism at a time when these values and principles
are increasingly being challenged."
The City Montessori School
(CMS), founded in 1959 in Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh, is not a
school like any other. It is distinctive not only for its size -- with 25,000
pupils from kindergarten up to high school level, it figures in the Guinness
Book of Records as the biggest private school in the world -- or the quality of
its teaching. Its students systematically score higher on exams than the
national average. More than anything it stands out because of it its
philosophy: for more than 40 years it has educated students to respect the
values of tolerance and peace and sought to make them citizens of the world.
(...)
http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-41e.shtml
Paris, June 5 - The Fila Cup -
Open des Jeunes Stade Français - Paris 2002 tournament, which will bring
together some 300 12 to 14-year-old tennis players from about 50 countries,
will be held under the auspices of UNESCO from July 4 to 14. The Organization
will put on a range of educational and cultural activities, as well as games,
transforming this high-level sporting meeting into a major inter-cultural
event.
In a space at the centre of
the tournament site's "Rainbow Village", UNESCO will present
participants and spectators with a range of films, videos, publications and
exhibitions highlighting the co-operation among its 188 Member States to place
education, culture, science and communication at the service of development.
Workshops on culture and heritage, AIDS prevention education and a culture of
peace will also be held. (…) Throughout
the tournament, UNESCO will be running a game, a kind of journey of initiation
to the essential values that make a champion such as respect, tolerance,
dialogue, and solidarity. (...)
http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-avis18e.shtml
Paris, June 5 - Reconstruction
work on the Stari Most, or the Old Bridge of Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina),
which was destroyed during the war in the former Yugoslavia, is about to begin,
after more than two years of scientific and archeological research to
consolidate its foundations and those of the banks of the Neretva River. (…
The reconstruction of the
bridge, built in the 16th century by the Ottoman architect Mimar Hajreddin and
destroyed at the end of 1993 during the fighting in the former Yugoslavia, is
the final phase of a project on which UNESCO, the World Bank, and local
authorities have worked for more than two years. (…)
Italy, Turkey, France, the
Netherlands and other donors contributed US$15 million for the rebuilding of
the bridge and its two towers, as well as the rehabilitation of the 11
buildings in the historic section of Mostar that were badly damaged during the
fighting. Of the total budget, US$2 million dollars came from the municipality
of Mostar and US$660,000 dollars came from the Croatian government. (...)
http://www.unesco.org/bpi/eng/unescopress/2002/02-avis20e.shtml
UNITED
Youth for Understanding
The aim of the training is to
promote the idea of understanding and non-violent conflict resolution by
learning and exchanging knowledge on history interpretations as a source of
conflicts and misunderstandings. Special attention will be given on educating
caring and responsible citizens open to other cultures and able to prevent
conflicts or resolve them by non-violent means. The Course will have a look at
regional and European historical developments, to enlarge knowledge about
history as science and see how it is taught in school. An important part of the
training is to see how the media, state and society are dealing with history.
Linked through UNITED, more
than 550 organisations, many prominent individuals, private supporters and
volunteers from a wide variety of backgrounds, from all European countries,
work together on a voluntary basis.
Pause
The World Day – September 2, 2002 : Calm Down, “Cool Out”, Be Nice and Plant A Seed to
celebrate the Wonderful World that we all live in.
“ We are asking the world to
Pause. This special day is entitled "Pause The World" and will be
observed on September 2, 2002. The date is significant because it will bring
recognition to the up-coming UN World Summit for Sustainable Development
(Rio+10) to be held in South Africa from 26 August to 4 September.
“ September 2, 2002 is also Labor Day in America
(USA is supposed to Pause!). This date will now become the day for our annual
event. An important way to participate in Pause The World Day is to stop what
you normally do and give attention to the environment and for peace on Mother
Earth. (…)
"Please join us in
celebrating this day, endorse the Earth Charter (www.earthcharter.org), partake in
activities that are being organized, or do your own thing to show your love for
the Earth and our fellow brothers, sisters, animals and all living things. We
ask the media companies of the world (who are, after all, just "human
beings") to only put good news on
their front page/prime time because that is all we will watch/listen/read. (…)
”
Plans
to continue successful education programme in Ethiopia
June 6 - Ethiopia is aiming to extend an education programme for millions of children to ensure it meets the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Getahun Gebru, who heads an Ethiopian education programme at the World Bank, told IRIN on Thursday the Bank was considering funding a second round of the five-year programme aimed at boosting primary education across the country.
Under the current US $100
million Ethiopia Education Sector Development Programme (ESDP), the number of
children attending schools has increased dramatically. Just 30 percent of
children were at school when the scheme started in 1998 and now some 50 percent
are attending school. "It has been successful in achieving the access
objective," Getahun said. (...)
http://www.learningchannel.org/
Bridging
the gender digital divide in Jordan
1 June - UNIFEM’s partnership
with Cisco Systems, the Government of Jordan, YMCA, UNRWA and UNDP is helping
to bridge the gender gap in the nation’s information technology (IT) sector.
Two hundred and seventeen female students recently underwent a two-month training
in IT skills. The training was specially designed to help female students build
upon their technological knowledge to improve their competitiveness in the job
market. A job-placement program, established in cooperation with the private
sector, will now help students put their newly acquired skills to use. The
UNIFEM-Cisco project also includes a tracking system to follow the careers of
graduates in an effort to evaluate the benefits of the training courses.
For more information, contact
Deema Bibi, National IT Program Manager, UNIFEM, at unifem@nets.com.jo.
World
Congress on Global Vision and Strategies for Peace, Non-Violence and Harmony
10-14
August 2002 – The Temple of Consciousness, Aliyar, India
Themes of the Congress
include: Review of the major problems of humanity and their time-bound
solutions; Realization of Cosmic Connections; Economic Order for Global
Prosperity; Social and Spiritual Obligations of Science and Technology; Role of
Religions and Intellectuals; Inner Peace and Personal Development through
Holistic Education; One World Government for Humanity through Strengthening the
UNO; Activities and Practical Strategies of the World Community Service Centre
for Peace and Harmony.
World Community Service Center (WCSC), Chennai, founded by Vethathiri Maharishi in 1958, aims at individual peace through practices of systematic meditation, introspection and physical and psychic exercises combined with understanding of the Self, Society, Nature and the Law of Cause and Effect.
www.vethathiri.org/worldcongress
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ADDRESS BY UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL KOFI ANNAN
TO THE WORLD FOOD
SUMMIT - ROME, 10 JUNE 2002
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At the World Food Summit here in Rome in 1996, the international
community set the goal of cutting by half the number of hungry children, women
and men by 2015. Nearly a third of that
time has already passed, and progress has been far too slow.
We have no time to lose
if we are to reach our target – which is also one of the Millennium Development
Goals agreed by world leaders in September 2000.
Every day, more than 800 million people worldwide – among them
300 million children – suffer the gnawing pain of hunger, and the diseases or
disabilities caused by malnutrition.
According to some estimates, as many as 24,000 people die every day,
as a result.
So there is no point in making further promises today. This Summit must give renewed hope to those
800 million people by agreeing on concrete action.
There is no shortage of food on the planet. World production of grain alone is more than
enough to meet the minimum nutritional needs of every child, woman and man. But while some countries produce more than
they need to feed their people, others do not, and many of these cannot afford
to import enough to make up the gap.
Even more shamefully, the same happens within countries. There are countries which have enough food
for their people, and yet allow many of them to go hungry.
Hunger and poverty are closely
linked. Hunger perpetuates poverty,
since it prevents people from realizing their potential and contributing to the
progress of their societies. Hunger makes people more vulnerable to diseases.
It leaves them weak and lethargic, reducing their ability to work and provide
for their dependents. The same
devastating cycle is repeated from generation to generation – and will continue
to be, until we take effective action to break it.
We must break this cycle, and reduce hunger and poverty
over the long-term. About 70 per cent
of the hungry and poor of the developing world live in rural areas. Many of them are subsistence farmers or
landless people seeking to sell their labour – who depend directly or
indirectly on agriculture for their earnings.
We must improve agricultural productivity and standards of
living in the countryside by helping small subsistence farmers and rural
communities increase their incomes and improve the quantity and quality of
locally available food. For that, we
must give them greater access to land, credit, and relevant technology and
knowledge that would help them grow more resistant crops, as well as ensuring
plant and animal safety.
But success will also depend on developments beyond the farm
gate, such as improvements in rural health care services and education, and in
rural infrastructure, which includes roads, the supply of irrigation water, and
food safety management. Such
improvements would also do much to stimulate private sector investment in
downstream activities, such as food processing and marketing.
And we must secure a central place for women, who play a
critical role in agriculture in developing countries. They are involved in every stage of food production, working far
longer hours than men, and are the key to ensuring that their families have
adequate supplies of food.
Nowhere are strategies for sustainable agricultural and rural
development more important than in Africa, where nearly 200 million people --
28 per cent of the population -- are chronically hungry. Indeed, today -- for
the first time in a decade -- several countries in southern Africa face a risk
of outright famine over the coming months.
We must therefore bring all our innovative thinking to bear on
helping Africa fight hunger. The
African-owned and led New Partnership for Africa’s Development must be
supported as a potentially important tool in that fight.
We must also fulfill the promise given at last November’s
meeting of the World Trade Organization in Doha, and make sure that the new
round of trade negotiations removes the barriers to food imports from
developing countries. For instance, the
tariffs imposed on processed food, like chocolate, make it impossible for
processing industries in developing countries to compete.
We must also evaluate carefully the impact of the subsidies that
are now given to producers in rich countries.
By lowering food prices in the poorest countries, they may help to alleviate
hunger in some cases and in the short term, but dumping surpluses can also have
devastating long term effects – ranging from disincentives for national
production to unemployment – while making it impossible for developing
countries to compete on the world market.
However, even if markets in developed countries were
opened further, these countries would still need help to take advantage of
these opportunities, especially in the agriculture sector. The application of some international norms
and standards cannot be met without technical assistance and further
investment.
The fight against hunger also depends on the sustainable
management of natural resources and ecosystems, which contribute to food
production. With world population
expected to reach well over seven billion by 2015, pressure on the environment
will continue to mount. The challenge
of the coming years is to produce enough food to meet the needs of one billion
more people, while preserving the natural resource base on which the well-being
of present and future generations depends.
But the hungry poor also need direct help today. Food aid can make a big difference -- both
in emergencies and in situations of chronic hunger. Direct nutritional support to pregnant and nursing women helps
their babies grow into healthy adults.
School feeding programmes not only feed hungry children but also help to
increase school attendance – and studies show that educated people are best
able to break out of the cycle of poverty and hunger.
If we want to reverse the
current trends and halve hunger by 2015, we need a comprehensive and coherent
approach that addresses the multiple dimensions of hunger, by pursuing
simultaneously wider access to food, and agricultural and rural
development. We need an anti-hunger
programme that could become a common framework around which global and national
capacities to fight hunger can be mobilized.
We know that fighting hunger makes economic and social
sense. It is a key step towards
achieving all the Millennium Development Goals. It is fitting,
therefore, that this summit comes in the middle of a crucial cycle of
conferences aimed at helping us improve the lives of people everywhere -- from trade in Doha, via financing for
development in Monterrey, to sustainable development in Johannesburg.
Hunger is one of the worst violations of human dignity. In a world of plenty, ending hunger is
within our grasp. Failure to reach this goal should fill every one of us with
shame. The time for making promises is
over. It is time to act. It is time to do what we have long promised to do --
eliminate hunger from the face of the earth.
(UN Information Centre, Rome)
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