UN URGES ALL STATES TO RATIFY GLOBAL TREATY BANNING NUCLEAR TESTS

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging all Member States that have not yet done so to ratify the United Nations-backed treaty banning nuclear tests, saying it is important to build on the momentum made on disarmament and non-proliferation over the past year.

In a message marking the first-ever International Day against Nuclear Tests, which is observed on Sunday, Mr. Ban stressed that “a world free of nuclear weapons is achievable,” adding that there had been important progress in 2010.

“The successful conclusion of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference invigorated the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime,” he said. “Bold initiatives by world leaders and civil society are showing the way toward changed policies and reduced arsenals.”

The Secretary-General said he was looking forward “working with partners to rein in spending on nuclear programmes and rid the world of the nuclear threat. A central pillar of this strategy is the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).”

Of the 182 countries that have signed the treaty, 153 have ratified it. Nine more countries – China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States – must still ratify it before the pact can enter into force. Indonesia announced on 3 May that it had initiated the CTBT ratification process.

The International Day against Nuclear Tests was established by the General Assembly in January to enhance “public awareness and education about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.”

The Day was proposed by Kazakhstan – which shut down the notorious test site in Semipalatinsk on 29 August 1991 – and the “idea won unanimous support, reflecting the international community's deep concern about the dangers posed by such tests,” Mr. Ban’s message stated.

In his message to mark the Day, General Assembly President Ali Treki noted that this year’s celebration serves as an opportunity for promoting educational activities and public awareness about the harmful and long-lasting effects of nuclear tests.

It is also high time, he added, for the international community to firmly embrace the idea of expanding the nuclear-weapons-free zones worldwide, including in the Middle East, as well as renew the commitment to achieve the ultimate goal of a world free of these weapons.

Annika Thunborg, a spokesperson for the organization set up to help implement the test ban treaty (CTBTO), said the Day has a vital awareness-raising benefit on the need for non-proliferation and disarmament.

Those issues represent a top priority of Mr. Ban, and he put forward a five-point plan in 2008 that includes recommendations on increasing security, verification, establishing a legal framework for nuclear disarmament, transparency and conventional weapons.

Beyond a global observation of the Day, seminars, awareness-raising events and commemoration ceremonies are being held this week at UN Headquarters in New York; Vienna; Astana, Kazakhstan; and other locations worldwide.

Mr. Ban sent a message yesterday to a high-level conference on the Day that is being held in Astana, noting that with “Kazakhstan having banished nuclear weapons and joined in creating a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia, Semipalatinsk has become a powerful symbol of hope.”

Traditionally, there are three types of nuclear tests: underground tests, atmospheric tests and underwater tests. With each possessing a tremendous potential for destruction, the CTBT bans them all.

To monitor the detonation of nuclear devices, the CTBTO has created a worldwide monitoring system that uses seismographs, infrasound, hydro-auditory and radionuclide detection technologies. The International Monitoring System (IMS) has 337 installations worldwide.

Despite the de facto moratorium on nuclear testing since the enactment of the CTBT, there have been six nuclear tests since 1996 – two each by India, Pakistan, and the DPRK.


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UN REPORTS MORE PAKISTANIS IN NEED OF HELP AS UNRELENTING FLOODS SPREAD

The surging Indus River in Pakistan continues to inundate more areas and swell the numbers of people in need of humanitarian assistance, the United Nations reported today, saying another 1 million people have been displaced by floods in the southern province of Sindh during the past two days alone.

“We are working day and night to bring relief to millions of women, men, and children, but the floods appear determined to outrun our efforts,” said Martin Mogwanja, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan. “We have been scaling up, but must scale up even further,” he added.

The Indus River is raging at 40 times its normal volume, with the largest surge of water now in the Thatta district of Sindh.

“People had been warned. But only after the river broke its banks and the water started to inundate their villages, they escaped,” said Andro Shilakadze, head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sindh’s provincial capital, Karachi. “It was very sudden. People had to leave in a rush, many of them during the night, taking almost nothing with them. Many are still stranded, and are now being rescued by the national authorities.”

The UN and its partners are providing assistance to millions of people in all flood-affected areas. In Sindh, emergency shelter has reached approximately 120,000 people, out of 1.1 million reached nationwide, while clean water is being provided on a daily basis to only 50,000 people.

“We are scaling up response to reach all those in need,” said Manuel Bessler, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Pakistan. “But with 1 million more displaced people in Sindh over the past two days, and thousands more people being affected almost every day, needs quickly outplace our capacity, our supplies, and our resources.”

An estimated 17.2 million people have been affected across the country, from the Himalaya mountains in the north, to the Arabian Sea in the south. “The closer we get to our targets in terms of beneficiaries to be reached, the more these targets increase,” said Mr. Bessler.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it is facing a $90 million shortage in the funding it needs to continue providing assistance those affected, and urged donors who have already made pledges to expedite disbursement.

WFP’s portion of the $460 million Pakistan Initial Floods Emergency Response Plan launched earlier this month is $150 million.

The funds are needs quickly to ensure that the food pipeline for flood survivors does not break as the number of those in need rises, WFP spokesperson Emilia Casella told reporters in Geneva.

WFP is also responding to the needs of those with special nutritional needs, particularly children, some of whom require supplementary ready-to-eat foodstuff to prevent malnutrition, she said.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said there were increased risks of disease outbreaks, particularly waterborne diseases, especially in Sindh and Punjab. People were seeking treatment mainly for acute respiratory infections, diarrhoeal diseases, skin infections and suspected cases of malaria, said WHO’s spokesperson in Geneva, Fadela Chaid.

The UN Children’s Fund said more than 1 million children and women had received vaccinations against various health problems.


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BAN WELCOMES DPR KOREA’S RELEASE OF DETAINED US NATIONAL

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the release of Aijalon Mahli Gomes, a United States national who was freed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on humanitarian grounds during a visit to Pyongyang by former US President Jimmy Carter.

Mr. Carter reportedly secured the release yesterday of Mr. Gomes, a 31-year-old American who has been in the DPRK’s custody since January after being arrested for entering the country illegally, and who was sentenced in April to eight years of hard labour and a fine of $700,000.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General appreciated the decision of the DPRK to release Mr. Gomes on humanitarian considerations, and commended Mr. Carter for his humanitarian mission.

Mr. Ban is also encouraging emergency humanitarian assistance to DPRK, which has been affected by recent flooding.

Heavy downpours last week swelled the Yalu River, which forms part of the border between DPRK and China, sending water spilling over its banks on both sides. The floods have reportedly washed away homes, roads, railways and farmland and caused an unspecified number of deaths.

The Secretary-General “has been closely following with concern on the flood situation in the DPRK and its possible impact on the already vulnerable humanitarian situation there and the funding gaps faced by the UN Humanitarian Country Team,” said the statement.


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CONDEMNING MIGRANT KILLINGS IN MEXICO, UN RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION

The United Nations human rights chief today strongly condemned the killing of 72 migrants in northern Mexico and called on the authorities to take urgent steps to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

The Mexican Navy discovered a site on 24 August that contained 72 corpses, including 14 women, who had apparently been executed by members of organized crime.

The victims were reported to be undocumented migrants from Central and South America, according to a news release from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

“I am deeply shocked about these killings, which highlight the critical situation of migrants in the country,” said High Commissioner Navi Pillay.

She called on the authorities “to conduct as a matter of urgency a thorough, transparent and independent investigation into these killings, and to preserve the dignity of the victims by ensuring their identification and return to their families.”

The High Commissioner also urged them to prosecute and punish those responsible and adopt preventive measures.

“Ensuring that there is no impunity is crucial to avoid a repetition of such a heinous crime,” she stated.

An estimated 400,000 migrants transit through Mexico each year, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, who added that most of them are victims of trafficking by transnational gang networks also involved in smuggling and drugs.

Ms. Pillay called on the authorities to take all necessary steps to protect the life and integrity of migrants, particularly women and children, in line with Mexico’s international obligations.


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EQUATORIAL GUINEA: UN HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERTS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER EXECUTIONS

Independent United Nations human rights experts today voiced serious concern at last weekend’s execution in Equatorial Guinea of four men over their alleged involvement in an armed attack on the country’s presidential palace last year.

Three former military officers and one civilian were executed after a military trial in which they were found guilty on charges of treason and terrorism, according to a statement issued in Geneva by two members of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries.

The working group’s Amada Benavides de Pérez (chairperson) and José-Luis Gomez del Prado, who visited Equatorial Guinea in the days before the execution, said they strongly condemned it, noting it “follows a summary trial that severely lacked due process.”

Mrs. Pérez and Mr. Gomez del Prado also voiced concern that the sentence was carried out the same day as it was issued, denying the defendants – José Abeso Nsue, Manuel Ndong Anseme, Alipio Ndong Asumu and Jacinto Michá Obiang – any possibility of appeal.

“The [working] group could not obtain information on how the four men, who had taken refuge in Benin, were brought back into the country. They appear not to have been subjected to formal extradition procedures.”

Mrs. Pérez and Mr. Gomez del Prado issued a series of preliminary recommendations to authorities in Equatorial Guinea, including “full information in a transparent manner” regarding all matters connected to the armed attack by alleged mercenaries on 17 February 2009.

Two other civilians were each sentenced in the same trial to 20 years’ imprisonment, even though a civil court had acquitted them over the same events earlier this year.

Seven Nigerian nationals were arrested by the Government over the same attack and the working group said it had received information that two had since died in detention while the other five have been jailed for 12 years.

“It has also received information that the Nigerian embassy has not been granted access to them, nor officially been informed of their arrests, the charges held against them, the status of proceedings and the death of two of them.”

The independent experts criticized the “lack of transparency regarding these trials,” despite repeated requests from the working group to visit the detainees and access the judicial decisions.

The statement said this “points to severe shortcomings in the implementation of international human rights standards in the administration of justice by the Government of Equatorial Guinea.”

Turning to the attempted coup d’état in 2004 and its aftermath, the working group members said they considered the case to be “a clear example of the link between the phenomenon of mercenaries and PMSCs [private military and security companies] as a means of violating the sovereignty of the State.”

The mercenaries involved in the coup attempt were mostly former personnel of PMSCs or in some cases still employed by a PMSC.

While President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo last year pardoned all foreigners linked to the incident, “a number of reports indicated that [the earlier] trials failed to comply with international human rights standards and that some of the accused had been subjected to torture and ill-treatment.”

During their five-day visit to Equatorial Guinea, Mrs. Pérez and Mr. Gomez del Prado held meetings in Malabo, the capital, with Mr. Obiang and numerous senior officials of the executive, judiciary and legislature, as well as with representatives of the UN, political parties, the diplomatic corps, civil society and PMSCs.

The two experts noted that Equatorial Guinea, which has important natural resources such as oil, has experienced several coup attempts involving mercenaries, paramilitaries and ex-combatants from neighbouring countries.

“In this regard the working group believes that in addition to the right and the duty of States to defend its borders and natural resources, the Government would reduce its vulnerability to mercenary attacks by promoting and strengthening democracy, economic, social and cultural rights and development in general as well as good governance.

“Therefore the group calls on the Government to ensure free political participation, the independence of the judiciary and a transparent and efficient administration of justice.”

Other preliminary recommendations include: calling on the Government to develop laws criminalizing the presence of mercenaries; inviting the country to accede to a 1989 convention against the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries; and grant both the Nigerian embassy and the Red Cross immediate access to the Nigerian detainees.


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LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES TO BENEFIT FROM ADVOCACY BY UN-APPOINTED EMINENT PERSONS

Development problems plaguing the world’s poorest countries (LDCs) will occupy the minds of the Group of Eminent Persons appointed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon earlier this week as they examine obstacles to economic progress and recommend new paradigms for transforming low-income economies.

“The Group of Eminent Persons will give visibility to the problems of LDCs [least developed countries],” Cheick Sidi Diarra, the United Nations High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, told the UN News Centre.

The group will also examine the effectiveness of the 2001 Brussels Programme of Action, which outlined measures by both industrialized nations and the 49 LDCs themselves to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development.

The programme had identified specific commitments on good governance, enhancing the role of trade in development, reducing vulnerability to natural disasters, protecting the environment, mobilizing financial resources, and speedy implementation of steps to reduce the debt burden on poor countries.

“The Group of Eminent Persons will make the final assessment of the programme of action, see whether it had an impact and identify the challenges,” Mr. Diarra said.

The group will also look into the Brussels Programme of Action in relation new global challenges, including climate change and the food and energy crises.

They are also expected to look into how LDCs, many of which depend on the export of primary commodities, can benefit from adding value to their exports and diversifying their economies, Mr. Diarra said.

The group will also make suggestions on how the low-income countries can be further supported in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight basic social development targets which States have set out to attain by 2015.

Their recommendations will be presented to the 4th UN conference on LDCs, which is scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, between 30 May and 3 June next year.

The group is co-chaired by Alpha Oumar Konaré, former president of Mali, and Jacques Delors, former president of the European Commission.

Other members are Sir Fazle Hassan Abed, the founder and chairperson of BRAC, the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee; Nancy Birdsall, the founding president of the Center for Global Development; Kemal Dervis, vice president and director of Global Economy and Development at Brookings Institution, and a former head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP); and James Wolfensohn, chairman and CEO of Wolfensohn & Company and former President of the World Bank.

Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Sumitomo Chemical Company Ltd.; Louis Michel, a member of European Parliament and formerly the European commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid; Louis A. Kasekende, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda and formerly executive director at the World Bank; and Sir Richard Jolly, Honorary Professor of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, are also members.


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ICC TELLS SECURITY COUNCIL OF SUDANESE LEADER’S KENYAN TRIP DESPITE INDICTMENT

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today informed the Security Council that Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the tribunal on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, travelled to Kenya, which, like other States, is obliged to enforce the court’s arrest warrants against him.

Last month, the ICC issued a second arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir, adding genocide to the list of charges for crimes he allegedly committed in the war-ravaged Darfur region of western Sudan. In March 2009 the Sudanese leader became the first sitting head of State to be indicted by the Court, which charged him with two counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity.

Today, Mr. Bashir travelled to Nairobi at the invitation of the Kenyan Government to attend a public function to promulgate the country’s new constitution. The ceremony was attended by several other African heads of State and other dignitaries.

The Security Council will “take any measure they may deem appropriate” regarding Mr. Bashir’s presence in Kenya, the ICC said in a press release.

The ICC noted that the warrants of arrest against Mr. Bashir are yet to be executed.

“The Republic of Kenya has a clear obligation to cooperate with the Court in relation to the enforcement of such warrants of arrest, which stems both from the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1593, whereby the United Nations Security Council ‘urge[d] all States and concerned regional and other international organizations to cooperate fully’ with the Court, and from article 87 of the Statute of the Court, to which the Republic of Kenya is a State Party,” the ICC said.


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CôTE D’IVOIRE: UN PROBE FINDS SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS DURING FEBRUARY PROTESTS

Serious human rights violations were committed during the demonstrations held in Côte d’Ivoire in February following the dissolution of the Government and the national electoral authority, according to the United Nations mission in the West African nation.

“Among the violations, we recorded abusive and extrajudicial executions, physical violence, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of people arrested, as well as illegal arrests and detentions committed by agents of the Defence and Security Forces of Côte d’Ivoire (FDS-CI),” said Simon Munzu, head of the human rights division at the UN mission, known as UNOCI.

The report of UNOCI’s investigation, which was released on Thursday, noted that 13 people died and at least 94 were injured during the demonstrations, which were organized by the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) after President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved the Government and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

The President’s actions followed a period of rising tensions after voter registration for the country’s presidential elections – which were supposed to have been held as far back as 2005 but have been repeatedly postponed – were suspended.

Mr. Munzu told a news conference in Abidjan yesterday that, in addition to the deaths and injuries, many cases of physical violence, plunder and destruction of private and public property were committed by demonstrators. The report estimates that the demonstrations resulted in damage valued at $1.8 million.

“The conclusions of the investigation into the events of February should serve as a lesson in order to avoid past errors in this pre-electoral period,” said Mr. Munzu.

The report makes a number of recommendations to the Government, political party leaders, the UN and the international community.

For example, it invites the UN to examine all requests for a waiver of the arms embargo on Côte d’Ivoire to help the country import anti-riot materials, “since the lack of these materials leads the law enforcement forces to resort to firearms,” the mission said in a news release.

A new Government and IEC were established following the events in February, and it was announced earlier this month that the elections are now scheduled to be held on 31 October.

UNOCI was established by the Security Council in 2004 to facilitate the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire – which became split by civil war in 2002 into a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south – including those related to elections, disarmament and all aspects of the reunification of the country.

The mission has been providing logistical and technical assistance for the preparations for the presidential elections.


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TURKEY, A MAJOR SHIP RECYCLING NATION, SIGNS UN CONVENTION

Turkey, one of the five major ship recycling nations in the world, has signed the United Nations-backed treaty promoting the environmentally friendly recycling of ships.

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, adopted in May last year, is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled at the end of their operational lives, do not pose an unnecessary risk to human health and safety or the environment.

It was signed yesterday in London by Ünal Çeviköz, Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the International Maritime Organization – the UN agency that developed the convention – at IMO’s headquarters in London.

The convention deals with all major issues surrounding ship recycling, including the fact that ships sold for scrapping may contain environmentally hazardous substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, ozone-depleting substances and others. It also tackles concerns about the working and environmental conditions at many ship recycling locations.

In addition, the convention regulates the design, construction, operation and preparation of ships so as to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling – without compromising the ships’ safety and operational efficiency. It focuses on the operation of ship recycling facilities in a safe and environmentally sound manner, as well as on establishment of an appropriate enforcement mechanism for ship recycling – including certification and reporting requirements.

The text of the convention was developed over a three-year period, with input from IMO Member States and relevant non-governmental organizations (NGOs), in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

The Convention has been open for signature by any State since 1 September 2009 and will remain so until next Tuesday. Thereafter, it will be open for accession by any State.

It will enter into force 24 months after the date on which 15 States, representing 40 per cent of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, have either signed it without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or have deposited instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the IMO Secretary-General. The combined maximum annual ship recycling volume of those States during the preceding 10 years must constitute not less than 3 per cent of their combined merchant shipping tonnage.

To date, the Convention has been signed, subject to ratification or acceptance, by France, Italy, the Netherlands, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Turkey.

At the signing, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos and Mr. Çeviköz expressed the wish that other major ship recycling nations would join the convention as soon as possible.


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UN AGENCY MOVES TO ASSIST CENTRAL AFRICANS UPROOTED BY REBEL ATTACKS

The United Nations refugee agency has moved to improve the plight of about 1,500 Central African refugees scattered along the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a spokesperson said today.

The refugees, who had been scattered following attacks between March and May by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a notorious Ugandan rebel group, are being moved to a newly constructed refugee camp where they will be at less risk.

In addition to protection and shelter, the new camp provides safe drinking water and allows better humanitarian access, said Adrian Edwards of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It is located some 70 kilometres inside the DRC.

Following the attacks, the refugees had found shelter in several, isolated border villages in Bas-Uélé district in northern DRC, Mr. Edwards said. Yet their situation remained precarious, as the LRA has displaced some 280,000 people in DRC’s Haut and Bas-Uélé districts since December 2008.

Owing to difficult access conditions where the refugees had settled, many have been compelled to move to the new camp by foot – although the most vulnerable are being transported on motorbikes.

Together with the Congolese authorities, UNHCR has set up way stations and a transit centre along the route, where refugees get cooked meals. On arrival at the camp, all refugees are registered and receive food and other aid.

The new site is located at Kpala-Kpala, where the rocky terrain had posed challenges in establishing the camp. However, in June and July, UNHCR and its partners were able to construct emergency shelters and latrines, as well as several water points. The operation is being run in close cooperation with UNHCR's partners and other UN aid agencies.

Unfortunately, owing to logistical challenges in gaining access to refugees along the border, it is feared that some may be beyond the agency’s reach.

The LRA has been active in parts of the Central African Republic (CAR) since 1993 and in Uganda since 1986. It has left a trail of killings and mayhem, and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes in the DRC and other neighbouring countries. Since December 2008, it has forced nearly 20,000 Congolese to seek refuge in Sudan and the CAR.


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KENYA: BAN WELCOMES PROMULGATION OF NEW CONSTITUTION

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated Kenyans and their leaders on the occasion of the promulgation of the country’s new constitution, which was backed by a large majority of citizens in a referendum earlier this month.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, represented the Secretary-General at the historic promulgation of the new constitution in a ceremony today in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

Mr. Ban said that Kenyans and their leaders had shown vision and statesmanship, adding that the new charter had opened a hopeful fresh chapter in the country’s democratic governance.

Mr. Pascoe will then proceed from Nairobi to Cairo, Egypt, for a meeting of Special Envoys, Representatives and other officials involved in African peacemaking, as part of events marking the African Union’s Year of Peace celebrations.

He is also due to travel to Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia before returning to Kenya for discussions on peace and security issues in the Horn of Africa, including the situation in Somalia.

His trip to East Africa will conclude in Burundi, where he will have discussions on consolidating the peace process in that country.


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BAN COMMENDS SOLOMON ISLANDERS FOR PEACEFUL LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended Solomon Islanders for taking part in peaceful and orderly parliamentary polls that led to the selection this week of Danny Philip as the new Prime Minister of the Pacific archipelago.

The conduct of the elections “demonstrates the commitment of Solomon Islanders to peace and democracy,” according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson.

A team from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), working with other development partners, trained, briefed and helped deploy international observers who monitored the elections as they took place earlier this month.

UNDP’s involvement followed a request from the Solomon Islands Government and electoral authorities in the country.

“The Secretary-General notes the statements of observer groups detailing both the successes and the areas that require attention in any proposed electoral reforms in Solomon Islands,” the statement added. “He encourages the Government to address and implement these recommendations in order to improve the electoral process for the future.”

Solomon Islands, which has been independent since 1978, has a 50-member national parliament whose members are elected to four-year terms. The previous legislative polls were held in 2006.


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UN AGENCY SIGNS COOPERATION DEAL WITH EUROPEAN NUCLEAR RESEARCH ORGANIZATION

The United Nations agency tasked with helping to protect intellectual property has struck a cooperation agreement with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), known as the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.

Francis Gurry, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN, signed the agreement last week in Geneva, WIPO announced today.

The pact focuses of four main areas: capacity building, awareness raising and knowledge sharing; transfers of technology and know-how; cooperation in the fields of technological, scientific and patent information; and alternative dispute resolution options.

Mr. Gurry said the agreement should provide mutual benefits to CERN and WIPO, which was established in 1967.

“CERN’s groundbreaking research in the field of particle physics is a fertile seedbed for innovation and technological development,” he noted. “This makes WIPO a natural ally in the mutual endeavour to facilitate technology transfer and to support enhanced and broad access to scientific and technological information.”


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UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MISSION ON FLOTILLA INCIDENT CONCLUDES VISIT TO TURKEY

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s international, independent fact-finding mission of high-level experts inquiring into the Gaza flotilla incident on 31 May has wrapped up a week-long visit to Turkey.

The three experts interviewed Government officials and witnesses who provided first-hand information on the incident, according to a press statement issued today by the Council in Geneva.

Technical and legal experts accompanying the mission also held meetings with forensic and judiciary officials and inspected the ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of the flotilla.

The team now heads to Jordan on Sunday for a seven-day visit in which they will interview witnesses based in Jordan and neighbouring countries.

The 47-member Council voted in early June to dispatch the mission to inquire into the incident regarding the flotilla, which had departed Turkey and was bound for the Gaza Strip. It is slated to present its report at the Council’s next session in September.

Judge Karl Hudson-Phillips, a former judge with the International Criminal Court (ICC), chairs the mission, and the other members are Sir Desmond de Silva, a former chief prosecutor at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), and Shanthi Dairiam, a former member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Also expected to deliver a report in September is Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s panel of inquiry into the incident.

That four-member panel, which started discussions earlier this month on how to carry out its work, is not designed to determine individual criminal responsibility, but to examine and identify the facts, circumstances and the context of the flotilla incident.

As part of that, the panel will receive and review the reports of national investigations into the incident and request clarifications and information as it needs from national authorities.


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UN BACKS CALL FOR DIALOGUE IN WAKE OF LEBANESE CLASHES

The top United Nations envoy to Lebanon today backed the call made by the country’s leaders for dialogue to avoid further tensions following armed clashes earlier this week between Shi’a and Sunni Muslim groups in the capital, Beirut.

Three people were reportedly killed on Tuesday when members of the Hizbollah and Al-Ahbash groups fought each other with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

According to media reports, the groups stated that the incident had stemmed from a personal dispute and that each side had agreed to immediately end their differences.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said he welcomed the efforts of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and of the country’s leadership in restoring calm in the city.

“The United Nations strongly encourages the call for dialogue, led by President [Michel] Sleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, to avoid any further tension and any similar incidents to those which occurred on Tuesday evening,” Mr. Williams said in a statement following his meeting with the Minister of Social Affairs, Salim Sayegh.

In addition to the clashes, the two men also discussed the political situation and recent developments in Lebanon, including the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the conflict between Israel and Hizbollah that erupted in 2006.

“We also discussed the work of the Lebanese institutions in promoting stability and security in the country and in addressing the social and economic problems that need to be tackled,” Mr. Williams added.


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UN WARNS ALIEN SPECIES ARE THREATENING BIODIVERSITY OF WADDEN SEA

A wide range of species not native to Europe’s Wadden Sea have invaded its ecosystem, threatening the biodiversity of the World Heritage Site, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report unveiled today.

A diverse range of alien species are increasing at an alarming rate in the sea, which borders the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, according to the report, delivered at a conference in Bonn, Germany, to mark Wadden Sea Day. Many species have become abundant and several can be regarded as invasive with a significant impact on the recipient ecosystem.

The Wadden Sea includes mud and sand-flats, salt marshes, islands, dunes, estuaries, gullies and open waters that stretch over 500 kilometres along the North Sea coast. It is one of the last remaining natural inter-tidal ecosystems in Europe and supports a huge number of plant and animal species. Between 10 and 12 million birds visit the Wadden Sea during their migratory journeys every year.

The alien species could also become a serious problem to human health, according to the report. For example, the sharp shells of Pacific oysters can cause injuries to the feet of mud-flat walkers and oysters or other aliens may carry agents that cause infections. Oysters covering blue mussel beds reduce fishermen’s yield.

Grasses, mussels and jellyfish are among the most damaging invaders. The common cord-grass (Spartina) is the main invasive plant in the Wadden Sea as it facilitates the build-up of sediment, thus transforming the sea’s tidal flats into salt marshes. The plant was deliberately introduced into the Wadden Sea to enhance the development of such salt marshes. Efforts to eliminate the plant failed and the spreading of the species increased.

Pacific oysters were introduced from Asia in the 1990s. Since then, they have begun to invade native blue mussel beds and create their own oyster reefs throughout the Wadden Sea, causing a food shortage for birds that feed on blue mussels.

Although there has been an increase in blue mussel populations in the Dutch parts of the Wadden Sea, numbers in the Danish and German areas have dropped. There are major concerns that the Pacific oyster might displace domestic blue mussel beds.

An invading jellyfish species could also be threatening fish populations. The sea walnut is originally native to the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and was first recorded in the Wadden Sea in 2006. It is thought that the species was introduced via ballast water – water carried by a commercial ship for stability that is then discharged upon arrival at its destination.

The sea walnut consumes zooplankton, crustaceans, other jellyfish and the eggs and larvae of fish. Elsewhere, this species is being blamed for the striking decrease of anchovy in the Black and Caspian Seas. Conservationists are concerned that the same phenomenon might occur in the Wadden Sea if the numbers of sea walnut continue to rise.


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SRI LANKA: UN OFFICIAL CALLS ON DONORS TO ‘STAY THE COURSE’ TO HELP DISPLACED

The top United Nations humanitarian official in Sri Lanka is appealing to the international community to “stay the course” in helping displaced persons return to their former communities in the wake of last year’s end to the country’s protracted civil war.

Neil Buhne, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka, warned in a briefing to international donors that “the job is not yet done,” his office reported yesterday.

“It is still a critical period and we ask for your continued support to meet the remaining crucial needs,” he said, adding that “the welfare of the returned people is an important element in reconciliation and, ultimately, sustainable peace and development.”

About 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned to their villages in the north of the island since late last year. But about 70,000 others are estimated to still be displaced or in transit sites near their home areas, and another 35,000 are in emergency sites.

Government forces declared victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May last year after a conflict that had raged on and off for a quarter of a century. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were left displaced by the fighting.

This year UN humanitarian agencies have helped to provide more than 30,000 tons of food to nearly 750,000 Sri Lankans in need and distributed poultry, seeds, water pumps and crop sprayers to thousands of households.

At least 300,000 people have also received access to clean drinking water and decent sanitation facilities.

But Mr. Buhne said that while much progress had been made, there were still shortfalls in many areas, including basic infrastructure, agriculture and health.

“Difficult, hard and urgent work was done. Lives were saved and people helped to get back their strength to rebuild lives… However, as all of us know – there is much more to be done – recently returned people are still vulnerable.”


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THREATS AGAINST JOURNALISTS IN EASTERN NEPAL ALARM UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIALS

United Nations human rights officials in Nepal are voicing concern over continued reports that journalists operating in the country’s eastern Terai districts are facing serious threats and intimidation.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal issued a press statement yesterday from Biratnagar in which it said it had received at least nine reports of threats against journalists in that region since the start of May.

Many journalists have also told OHCHR that they increasingly feel insecure in Nepal, where a decade-long civil war that killed an estimated 13,000 people ended in 2006 with a peace accord. Political tensions still persist in the South Asian country.

“The situation jeopardizes the right to freedom of expression and the right to liberty and security of journalists, who are at the forefront in defending the rights of other peoples,” according to the press statement.

“Freedom of expression is fundamental in a society that respects human rights and is a core element of a democratic society.”

The office stressed the need for State authorities in Nepal to build an environment in which media professionals can feel they can carry out their work free of threat or intimidation.


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UN RIGHTS EXPERT URGES SOMALIS TO HELP PREVENT FURTHER BLOODSHED AFTER LATEST ATTACK

An independent United Nations human rights expert has called on all Somalis to help prevent the kind of bloodshed witnessed this week when 33 people were killed during a hotel bombing in the capital, and to assist in bringing those responsible to justice.

“I urge a grassroots effort to prevent a repetition of this atrocious act,” said Shamsul Bari, the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, referring to the 24 August attack on the Muna Hotel in Mogadishu.

Four members of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Parliament died in the attack, which was strongly condemned by UN officials and the Security Council, and is the latest act of violence to hit the strife-torn Horn of Africa nation.

“This deplorable attack once again demonstrates that the extremists will stop at nothing in their desperate attempt to seize power by force,” said Dr. Bari.

“However, the perpetrators of these desperate acts during the holy month of Ramadan will never win the hearts and minds of Somali people,” he added.

Violence in Mogadishu has led to some 3,000 conflict-related casualties so far this year and uprooted around 200,000 people from the city, which has been the scene of ongoing clashes between Government troops and Islamist militant groups, including Al-Shabaab.

“I appeal to the international community, as a matter of urgency, to rethink and renew its commitment to giving the protection of civilians and their access to humanitarian assistance the highest priority in Somalia,” said Dr. Bari.

In a related development, the head of the UN agency tasked with defending press freedom has deplored the death of Somali journalist Barkhad Awale Adan, who was killed while fixing the transmitter on the roof of his radio station, Hurma Radio, amid fighting on Tuesday.

“The Somali press is paying an exorbitant price for the instability prevailing in the country,” Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), stated in a news release.

“Combatants must respect journalists’ immunity. Without it, without security, no freedom of expression worthy of the name can exist, even though it is a fundamental human right.”

Mr. Adan, 60, was standing on the roof of the radio station, helping a technician to repair the transmitter, when he was hit in the stomach by a bullet, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-governmental organization. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.


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MORE THAN 100,000 AFGHANS RETURNED HOME THIS YEAR, REPORTS UN AGENCY

The number of Afghan refugees voluntarily returning home from Pakistan and Iran has topped 100,000 so far this year, the United Nations reported today, noting that this is almost twice as many as in 2009.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said some 95,000 of the returnees are from Pakistan. Almost 70 per cent of these are from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with the rest from Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh.

Returnees have cited economic reasons, difficulties in Pakistan, and local improvements in security in some parts of Afghanistan as the reasons for coming back, UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.

A third of the returnees head to eastern Afghanistan, another third to the central region, and the rest mainly to the northeast, he added.

The Afghanistan voluntary repatriation programme remains UNHCR’s largest worldwide, with more than 5 million Afghans, or 20 per cent of the country’s 25 million people, estimated to have gone back home since 2002.

The number of returns can vary significantly from year to year. Last year the number of Afghan returnees from Pakistan and Iran was only 54,000, compared to the 278,000 that returned in 2008.

UNHCR had attributed the decline to insecurity, limited economic opportunities and political insecurity in the wake of the Afghan presidential polls held last August.


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UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
26 August, 2010 =========================================================================