UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST - 23 January

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

UN-FACILITATED TALKS BETWEEN CYPRIOT LEADERS BEGIN IN NEW YORK

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met today with the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities as they began two days of United Nations-facilitated talks on reunifying the divided Mediterranean island nation.

This is the fifth time that the Secretary-General is present at talks between Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Dervis Eroglu, as they continue the negotiations begun in 2008.

Ahead of the talks, Mr. Ban said he looked forward to “a productive meeting and concrete progress” during the two-day session being held at the Greentree Estate on Long Island.

The UN-facilitated talks are aimed eventually setting up a federal government with a single international personality in a bi-zonal, bi-communal country, with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot constituent states of equal status.


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UN RIGHTS CHIEF SPEAKS OUT AGAINST US FAILURE TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO DETENTION FACILITY

The United Nations human rights chief today spoke out against the failure by the United States to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and to ensure accountability for serious violations – including torture – that took place there.

“It is 10 years since the US Government opened the prison at Guantanamo, and now three years since 22 January 2009, when the President ordered its closure within 12 months,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated in a news release.

“Yet the facility continues to exist and individuals remain arbitrarily detained – indefinitely – in clear breach of international law,” she added.

Ms. Pillay voiced disappointment that instead of closing the facility, the US Government has “entrenched” a system of arbitrary detention, with the new National Defense Authorization Act. Signed into law last month, the Act now effectively codifies such indefinite military detention without charge or trial.

“This piece of legislation contravenes some of the most fundamental tenets of justice and human rights, namely the right to a fair trial and the right not to be arbitrarily detained. Nobody should ever be held for years on end without being tried and convicted, or released,” she stated.

While fully recognizing the right and duty of States to protect their people and territory from terrorist acts, she reminded the US Government of its obligation under international human rights law to ensure that individuals deprived of their liberty can have the lawfulness of their detention reviewed before a court.

“Where credible evidence exists against Guantanamo detainees, they should be charged and prosecuted. Otherwise, they must be released.”

Ms. Pillay also stressed that individuals found to have perpetrated, ordered, tolerated or condoned torture and ill-treatment should be brought to justice, and urged the Government, so long as Guantanamo remains open, to ensure that conditions of detention comply fully with human rights standards under international law.

She said she was disturbed by the Government’s failure to allow independent human rights monitoring of the detention conditions at Guantanamo.


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HAITI: UN OPENS PROBE INTO CASES OF ALLEGED CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

The United Nations announced today that it is investigating two cases of sexual exploitation of children allegedly committed by its police personnel in Haiti.

The first case involves UN Police (UNPOL) officers based in the capital, Port-au-Prince, while the second case involves one or more members of the Formed Police Unit (FPU) in Gonaives, UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York.

“The United Nations is outraged by these allegations and takes its responsibility to deal with them extremely seriously,” stated Mr. Nesirky.

He added that the police contributing countries concerned have been informed. However, unlike cases involving UN military personnel, investigations into allegations involving UN police personnel fall under the responsibility of the UN. For this reason, a UN team was dispatched to Haiti on Saturday to investigate the allegations.

The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) stated in a news release that an investigation was immediately opened after the allegations were made.

In addition, the UN Police Commissioner relieved the two suspects of their duties as a precaution to prevent them from having any contact with the population and to prevent any attempts to interfere with the investigation.

“I want to reiterate my commitment to uphold the policy of zero tolerance of abuse by the staff of the Mission” said Mariano Fernández, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of MINUSTAH. “Each member of the UN personnel, whether he or she is a civilian, member of the military or police, must observe a standard of exemplary conduct.

“This is a commitment that is required when joining the United Nations, anywhere in the world. We will continue to take the strictest measures to ensure, where appropriate, that the perpetrators of such acts are punished with the utmost severity,” he added.

The UN has a strategy in place to assist victims of exploitation and sexual abuse. In Haiti, MINUSTAH implements it in coordination with other UN agencies and national stakeholders. This mechanism is meant to guarantee that the victims receive medical and psychological support as fast as possible.


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WORLD NEEDS 600 MILLION JOBS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH OVER THE NEXT DECADE – UN REPORT

The world needs to create 600 million new jobs over the next decade to sustain economic growth and maintain social stability, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) said in its annual report on global employment unveiled today.

According to the report entitled ‘Global Employment Trends 2012: Preventing a deeper jobs crisis,’ the world faces the additional challenge of creating decent jobs for the estimated 900 million workers who subsist on less than $2 a day, most of them in developing countries.

“After three years of continuous crisis conditions in global labour markets and against the prospect of a further deterioration of economic activity, there is a backlog of global unemployment of 200 million,” according to the report. More than 400 million new jobs will be needed over the next 10 years to absorb a labour force expansion of an estimated 40 million people.

“Despite strenuous government efforts, the jobs crisis continues unabated, with one in three workers worldwide – or an estimated 1.1 billion people – either unemployed or living in poverty,” said Juan Somavia, the ILO Director-General. “What is needed is that job creation in the real economy must become our number one priority,” he said.

The economic recovery that started in 2009 was short-lived, according to the report, which notes that there are still 27 million more unemployed workers than at the start of the crisis.

The fact that economies are not generating enough employment is reflected in the employment-to-population ratio (the proportion of the working-age population in employment), which suffered the largest decline on record between 2007, when it was 61.2 per cent, and 2010, when it fell to 60.2 per cent, according to the report.

There are nearly 29 million fewer people in the labour force now than would be expected based on pre-crisis trends. If these “discouraged workers” were counted as unemployed, then global unemployment would swell from the current 197 million to 225 million, and the unemployment rate would rise from 6 per cent to 6.9 per cent.

The report presents three scenarios on the employment situation in the future.

The baseline projection shows an additional 3 million unemployed for 2012, rising to 206 million by 2016. In the second scenario, if global economic growth rates fall below 2 per cent, then unemployment would rise to 204 million in 2012.

The better scenario assumes that there will be a quick resolution of the euro zone debt crisis, which would lead to global unemployment dropping by one million this year.

Some 74.8 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 were unemployed last year, an increase of more than 4 million since 2007, according to the report. Young people are nearly three times as likely as adults to be unemployed. The global youth unemployment rate, at 12.7 per cent, remains a full percentage point above the pre-crisis level.


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ICC SENDS PROMINENT KENYANS TO TRIAL FOR CRIMES RELATED TO POST-ELECTION VIOLENCE

The International Criminal Court (ICC) today ruled that four prominent Kenyans, including the deputy prime minister, are to stand trial for crimes against humanity and other offences allegedly committed following general elections in late 2007.

The ICC pre-trial chamber confirmed charges against Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; William Samoei Ruto, former Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology; Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Head of the Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet; and Joshua arap Sang, Head of Operations for KASS FM radio station.

With respect to Mr. Ruto and Mr. Sang, who are charged with crimes against humanity, deportation or forcible transfer and persecution, the pre-trial judges found that “on the basis of the evidence presented, that they are responsible for the charges levied against them,” according to a summary of the pre-trial chamber’s decision.

“These crimes resulted in the death of hundreds, and the displacement of thousands of civilians from Turbo town, the greater Eldoret area, Kapsabet town and Nandi Hills. The Chamber also found that these crimes were committed as part of an attack directed against particular groups, namely, Kikuyu, Kamba and Kisii, due to their perceived political affiliation to the Party of National Unity.”

As regards Mr. Kenyatta and Mr. Muthaura, the court found that the prosecution had established substantial grounds to believe that the crimes of murder, deportation or forcible transfer, rape, other inhumane acts and persecution were committed in an attack on the civilian residents of Nakuru and Naivasha towns between 24 and 28 January 2008.

“With respect to the criminal responsibility of Mr. Muthaura and Mr. Kenyatta, the chamber was satisfied that the evidence also established substantial grounds to believe that they are criminally responsible for the alleged crimes, as indirect co-perpetrators.”

“As a result of the decisions issued today, Mr. Ruto, Mr. Sang, Mr. Muthaura and Mr. Kenyatta are committed to trial. They will be tried before a different chamber for the charges confirmed. To this end, one or more trial chambers will be established by the Presidency of the ICC,” the pre-trial chamber stated in its ruling.

The pre-trial chamber declined to confirm charges against two other suspects – Henry Kiprono Kosgey, former Minister of Industrialization, and Mohamed Hussein Ali, the Police Commissioner at the time of the violence, saying that the prosecution had not produced sufficient evidence to link them to the charges against them.

“It is our utmost desire that the decisions issued by this chamber today bring peace to the people of the Republic of Kenya and prevent any sort of hostility,” pre-trial judges Ekaterina Trendafilova, the presiding judge, and her colleagues, Hans-Peter Kaul and Cuno Tarfusser, said in their decisions.

“The decisions are the result of intensive and committed judicial work of the chamber, conducted impartially, independently and conscientiously in the interests and in the service of justice,” they added.

More than 1,100 people were killed, 3,500 injured and up to 600,000 forcibly displaced in the violence that followed the December 2007 elections. There were also hundreds of rapes, possibly more, and at least 100,000 properties were destroyed, according to ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.


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UNESCO URGES MARITIME RESTRICTIONS FOR WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN ITALY

The United Nations agency tasked with safeguarding the world’s cultural heritage called on Italy today to restrict maritime access to its most culturally and ecologically sensitive areas, including the lagoon city of Venice.

In the wake of the recent Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) urged the Italian Government to quickly develop alternative plans for seafaring traffic around the World Heritage site of Venice.

The Northern Italian city is a renowned tourist destination and is visited by almost 300 large cruise ships each year.

On 13 January, the hull of the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia was torn open after it ran aground off the coast of Tuscany’s Giglio Island. According to media reports, 15 people died and at least 18 are still missing. The ship was also carrying a reported 2,400 tonnes of fuel, prompting widespread concerns about a potential environmental disaster.

“The tragic accident reinforces longstanding concern over the risk that large cruise liners pose to sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, particularly the Venice Lagoon and the Basin of San Marco,” wrote Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, in a letter to the Italian Ministry of the Environment.

Mr. Bandarin, who was writing on behalf of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, also expressed the agency’s condolences for “the tragic loss of life” caused by the accident and praised the efforts of rescue teams and the local population in dealing with the disaster’s aftermath.

The regular cruise liner traffic in Venice has contributed to damaging the fragile structure of the city, according to the agency. The massive ships cause water tides that erode the foundations of buildings and contribute to polluting the natural environment of the surrounding lagoon.


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GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT AND SOMALI MINISTER DISCUSS SECURITY IN MOGADISHU

The President of the General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, held talks today with the Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, in which he discussed the developments in the security situation in the country.

Hussein Arab Isse, who is also Minister of Defense, told Mr. Al-Nasser that the security situation had significantly improved in Mogadishu, the capital, since last July.

During the meeting, Mr. Al-Nasser stressed the necessity of carrying through the implementation of the Somali Roadmap adopted last September to ensure meeting the August 2012 deadline for the end of the transition process, and reaffirmed the Assembly’s readiness to offer assistance to the Somali people.

The Roadmap spells out priority measures to be implemented before the current transitional governing arrangements end next August in the areas of security, writing a constitution, reconciliation and good governance.

It also calls on the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to lead the implementation, working with the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP), regional entities, and all sectors of society, including women, the business community, religious leaders, elders and youth.

The two men also discussed the agenda for the upcoming London Meeting on Somalia, which will be held on 23 February with the aim of addressing the issue of development and humanitarian aid to the country.


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DARFUR: SECURITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS ATTACK ON UN-AFRICAN UNION PEACEKEEPERS

The Security Council today strongly condemned this weekend’s attack on a United Nations-African Union patrol in Darfur, which resulted in one death, and called on the Sudanese Government to bring the perpetrators to justice.

One Nigerian peacekeeper serving with the mission, known as UNAMID, was killed in Saturday’s attack and three others were wounded, one of them seriously.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their condolences to the family of the peacekeeper killed in the attack, as well as to the Government of Nigeria,” Ambassador Baso Sangqu of South Africa, which holds the 15-member body’s presidency for this month, said in a statement read out to the press.

“They called on the Government of Sudan to bring the perpetrators to justice, and stressed that there must be an end to impunity for those who attack peacekeepers,” he added.

Council members also reiterated their full support for UNAMID and called on all parties in Darfur to cooperate with the mission.

Fighting and large-scale displacement has convulsed Darfur since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the Government, whose military forces responded with the support of allied militiamen.

Deployed at the start of 2008, UNAMID is tasked with protecting civilians, promoting an inclusive peace process and help ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance across Darfur, an arid region on Sudan’s western flank.


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AT COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE, UN SEEKS TO ENSURE UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO RADIO SERVICES

Over 3,000 participants from 150 countries have gathered in Geneva today for a United Nations conference to review and revise the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency and satellite orbits and which will focus on ensuring universal access to radio services worldwide.

The four-week conference, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), will examine the technical, regulatory and operational aspects involved in the allocation and sharing of radio frequency in various services such as maritime and aeronautical transport, as well as for environmental purposes such as meteorology and disaster prediction, mitigation and relief.

“The World Radiocommunication Conference will review and modify global spectrum regulations to ensure that this most precious resource is used effectively to benefit all players,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré.

“The aim is to ensure reliable radio services are available everywhere and at any time enabling people to live and travel safely while enjoying high performance radiocommunications.”

In a news release issued by ITU, the agency stressed the importance of making the most of resources available at a time of rapid technological developments in information and communication technologies (ICTs).

In addition to the representatives of ITU member States, some 100 observers from among the agency’s 700 private sector members along with international organizations are attending the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12).

“The decisions taken by the ITU membership during WRC-12 will play a vital role in contributing towards improved access and development of ICT wireless infrastructure, in particular in meeting the challenges of mobile broadband and ensuring that ICTs work for the benefit of all the world’s people,” said François Rancy, Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau

He added that the main objective will be to “enable the introduction of the latest technological developments, while protecting investments and favouring economies of scale.”

WRC-12 will also seek to advance the introduction of mobile broadband and other technologies such as the development of Ultra High Definition Television (UHDTV), as well as consider the potential for radiocommunications to act as a catalyst to reduce the impact of human activity on the environment.


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COMMODITY-PRODUCING COUNTRIES NEED TO BENEFIT FROM VALUE-ADDED EXPORTS, SAYS UN

Low-income countries need help to enable them to benefit from the added value derived from the agricultural produce and natural resources that are the mainstays of many of their economies, experts attending a United Nations-backed forum said today.

Speakers at the third Global Commodities Forum, hosted by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said that despite a decade’s worth of rising commodity prices, the so-called commodity dependent developing countries (CDDCs) have been unable to benefit from the higher prices, diversify their economies and raise living standards.

The theme of the two-day forum in Geneva is ‘harnessing development gains from commodities production and trade.’

“There has been ongoing debate on diversification for CDDCs. From 2002 to 2010, the number of CDDCs increased from 85 to 91,” said Supachai Panitchpakdi, the UNCTAD Secretary-General, in his address to the forum.

“While we have been trying to find ways to advise countries to be less commodity-dependent, CDDCs have actually become more heavily dependent on commodities exports, and the number of countries that are dependent has increased,” he said.

There is need to use the benefits that come from higher prices for “long-term development purposes,” he said. Royalties and wages earned by developing countries from commodities frequently are only a small portion of the final sales prices of the finished goods made from them. The bulk of the profits accrue overseas, he added.

Mr. Supachai said the mining of natural resources in developing countries, for example, often results in “enclave economies” that do not generate broad economic “spill over” benefits for the producer nations.

Ways should be found “to spawn wider economic activities” coming from mining, he said, so that more of the upgrading of these natural resources occurs domestically, creating jobs with higher wages.

Ibrahim Al-Adoofi, Vice President of the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board, told the meeting that the forum is part of broad efforts to prepare the way for the UNCTAD XIII quadrennial conference to be held in Doha from 21 to 26 April.

“New developments in the global economy have exposed the limitations in our current development model,” said Mr. Al-Adoofi. “It is necessary to steer commodities development efforts in new directions.”


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SENIOR UN OFFICIAL ENCOURAGES STRONG HUMANITARIAN PARTNERSHIP WITH OMAN

A senior United Nations official today hailed Oman’s growing role in responding to disasters and in search and rescue operations, while calling for strengthening of the world body’s partnership with the country on humanitarian issues.

“The relationship between Oman and OCHA has developed substantially in recent years, and OCHA attaches great importance to the increasing role of the Sultanate in regional and international humanitarian affairs,” said Valerie Amos, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Ms. Amos, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, met with a number of senior officials during her one-day visit, which followed a visit yesterday to neighbouring Qatar.

“Oman has built a strong national capacity to respond to natural disasters and shown its commitment to disaster preparedness through a comprehensive reorganization of its disaster management and emergency response systems,” she stated.

“Oman has a wealth of experience to share with the entire international humanitarian community, and OCHA stands ready to support and facilitate any such exchange of information and knowledge.”

Examples of collaboration include a workshop in the capital, Muscat, in January 2010 that established the Regional Humanitarian Information Network for the Middle East, and Oman’s hosting of a course in 2009 on training disaster responders from the region in humanitarian coordination and assessment.

The country is also an active participant in the global International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) network of countries and organizations dedicated to urban search and rescue and operational field coordination.


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SOUTH SUDAN: UN ENVOY URGES SENDING MORE GOVERNMENT FORCES TO TROUBLED STATE

The top United Nations envoy in South Sudan stressed today that the best way to protect civilians in the strife-torn state of Jonglei is through military deterrence and urged the Government to deploy more troops and police in the area to patrol buffer zones between rival communities and defuse tensions.

Hilde Johnson, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), told reporters in New York via a video-link that the UN had stepped up operations in Jonglei and is now flying daily reconnaissance missions and deploying troops into areas where civilians are most at risk of attacks.

She voiced deep concern over hate speech emanating from individuals and groups inside and outside Jonglei, and warned those responsible that inciting ethnic violence is a violation of international law and a crime under South Sudan’s domestic laws.

“The United Nations condemns this in the strongest terms,” said Ms. Johnson. “I have called the leadership at all levels in Jonglei state and nationally to demand a halt to this invective. The same message of condemnation came from the President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, in his address to the national legislative assembly today,” she said.

She also urged the Government to bring the full force of the law to bear on those responsible for instigating ethnic animosity through hate speech.

Deadly clashes between the Lou Nuer and Murle communities in recent weeks have displaced tens of thousands of civilians and prompted UN agencies to launch a major humanitarian operation to assist those in need.

UNMISS took decisive measures last month when a column of an estimated 8,000 armed Lou Nuer youth was detected advancing on the town of Pibor, which is inhabited by the Murle ethnic group.

“We moved our forces to where civilians were under greatest threat and committed about half of our combat-ready personnel to heavily populated areas like Pibor County. Eight of our 15 companies were mobilized for this operation,” said Ms. Johnson.

“Our deterrent measures and early warning alerts enabled a large number of civilians in Jonglei state to move out of harm’s way ahead of time, thereby saving thousands of lives,” she said, adding that the number of casualties would have been much higher had UNMISS not acted.

She praised the Government’s decision to conduct an investigation into the violence and to bring those responsible to justice. “The instigators of these terrible attacks and counter-attacks must be held to account.” The Government’s decision to create a peace team to lead reconciliation efforts in Jonglei is also commendable, Ms. Johnson added.

Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that humanitarian interventions in areas such as South Sudan would greatly benefit from improved telecommunications given the level of the need for relief services and the remoteness of some of the areas where aid is required.

“There is currently no public telecommunications infrastructure in South Sudan,” said Arthur Sawmadal, the WFP Head of Information Technology in South Sudan.

“We rely on the mobile network and this is limited to the capital cities and a few locations in the field. Satellite services by commercial providers have overstretched capacity so what connectivity we do have is not only expensive, but unreliable.”

As the global leader of the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, WFP is collaborating with the Directorate for Development Cooperation of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs and telecommunications company Ericsson to develop a cutting-edge solution to assist the entire humanitarian community operating in disaster situations.

‘emergency.lu’ is a comprehensive solution to address the challenge of rapid response capacity by filling the communications gap that often occurs at the onset of large-scale disasters, especially in remote locations. The solution consists of satellite infrastructure and capacity; communication and coordination services; satellite ground terminals for long-term and rapid deployment; and transportation of equipment to the disaster area.


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BAN APPOINTS NEW FORCE COMMANDER FOR UN OPERATION IN LEBANON

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Major General Paolo Serra of Italy as the new head of the United Nations mission responsible for helping foster stability in southern Lebanon.

As Force Commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Major General Serra will be at the helm of what is considered to be one of the most dangerous peacekeeping operations in the world.

He succeeds Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas of Spain, whose tour of duty is slated to end on 28 January, after three years of service. The Secretary-General expressed his gratitude to Major General Asarta Cuevas for his “excellent service and leadership.”

During his visit to the mission’s headquarters in Naqoura over a week ago, Mr. Ban emphasized the unique risk faced by UNIFIL, saying that while peacekeeping was always dangerous, it was “especially deadly in Lebanon.”

The mission has lost 293 personnel since it began in 1978. And just last month, five French peacekeepers were wounded in a roadside bomb near the port city of Tyre – the third such attack in 2011.

Major General Serra brings with him wide-ranging experience in commanding troops in multinational peace operations, including in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Mozambique.

UNIFIL currently has around 12,100 military personnel from 35 countries and about 1,000 national and international civilian staff members.


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NEW ONLINE TOOL FEATURING VIDEO TESTIMONIES OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS DEBUTS AT UN

Students everywhere will have the opportunity to learn more about the Holocaust thanks to a new online educational resource that debuted at United Nations Headquarters today and showcases video testimonies of survivors of one of the world’s greatest tragedies.

IWitness – produced by the Shoah Foundation Institute at the University of Southern California – provides teachers and students access to the video testimonies of more than 1,000 Holocaust eyewitnesses from the Institute’s archive of nearly 52,000 testimonies.

“As students learn more about the Holocaust and the significance of this history today, they will soon discover its connection to their own lives and communities,” said Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information.

The UN partnered with the Shoah Foundation Institute in bringing more than 350 high school students to the world body’s Headquarters to discuss their experiences with IWitness and to interview Holocaust survivor Roman Kent, whose testimony they have studied as part of IWitness.

“Our collaboration with the Shoah Foundation Institute is another wonderful example of how the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme works with organizations around the world to help young people – like yourselves – understand the history and horrors of one of the world’s greatest tragedies that occurred many, many years ago before you were born,” Mr. Akasaka told participants at the event.

“With the IWitness online application, students everywhere can search, watch and learn about the real life stories of more than 1,000 Holocaust survivors,” he said. “You will also learn about the dangers of hatred and prejudice in our world today.”

The Shoah Foundation Institute was established by United States filmmaker Steven Spielberg in 1994 to collect and preserve the testimonies of the survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust. It maintains one of the largest video digital libraries in the world – nearly 52,000 video testimonies in 32 languages and from 56 countries.

“Through IWitness, survivors will continue to teach students about the Holocaust, inspire them to oppose intolerance, and empower them to develop the literacies needed for the 21st century,” said Stephen D. Smith, the Institute’s Executive Director. “We are grateful to the nearly 52,000 witnesses who have entrusted their memories to the Institute as a guiding light for all humanity.”

Today’s programme was held as part of a series of events to mark the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, which is observed annually on 27 January. This year’s theme is “Children and the Holocaust.”

In a related development, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced that Samuel Pisar, a Polish-born Holocaust survivor and acclaimed international lawyer, author and human rights activist, will be designated as an Honorary Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust Education.

Mr. Pisar will receive the designation at a ceremony on Friday at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris.


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IN BANGKOK, UN OFFICIAL STRESSES DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT FOLLOWING DEADLY FLOODS

The head of the United Nations agency dealing with disaster risk reduction met today with officials in Thailand to discuss new proposals on risk management and to urge government support for business continuity plans following the costliest disaster in the country’s history.

The cost of the severe floods which hit the Thai capital, Bangkok, in October – the worst in five decades – is estimated at $40 billion. More than 1,000 factories were shut down and 700,000 people were out of work. Over 800 people died in the disaster.

“In each of the last two years 15 per cent to 16 per cent of Thailand’s population has been affected by disasters, mainly floods,” noted Margareta Wahlström, the head of the secretariat of the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR)

“I welcome the details of the government’s plan to mitigate future flooding, including a re-forestation programme and improved procedures around the release of water from hydro-electric dams,” she said.

“What we have clearly seen now is that disaster risk is following economic development pathways in Thailand as it is in many other parts of the world,” added Ms. Wahlström, who is the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction.

“I appreciate from my meetings with the government, private business people and the Chamber of Commerce that the sheer scale of the economic losses provides an opportunity for a major re-think about the role of risk management and disaster risk reduction in preventing a recurrence of this type of disaster.”

Ms. Wahlström met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Kittiratt Na-Ranong, visited the ancient site of Ayutthaya and met with representatives of the Fine Arts Department, who explained that flood defences were insufficient to protect the heritage site.

“It is important for future generations that the protection of heritage is included in the overall national water and flood management plan,” she stated. “Climate change and increased weather variability means that we can expect more floods and we need to be prepared.”

According to figures released last week by UNISDR, floods claimed over 5,000 lives in 2011 while storms claimed over 3,000.

In addition, more than 45 per cent of the disasters that occurred in 2011 took place in Asia. Over 85 per cent of those killed and those affected globally and 75 per cent of economic damages were also in Asia.


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ONLINE FEATURES ESSENTIAL FOR FUTURE OF POSTAL SERVICES – UN REPORT

Online services that allow users to track and trace packages, find post office locations, transfer money and pay bills electronically, among other activities, are becoming increasingly important for the postal industry, according to a study released today by the United Nations global post agency.

The study points to a rapid growth in postal e-services in recent years with 85 services of this kind having been introduced in 2010 alone, compared to 33 in 2007.

“What this study shows is that, as physical mail volumes decline, posts are not standing on the sidelines,” said Edouard Dayan, Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). “They are being innovative and making strategic use of new technologies to diversify their products and services to meet customers’ increasingly changing needs.”

The report provides an index ranking electronic postal services worldwide and places Switzerland, Belarus, Italy, Germany and Qatar at the top of the list of countries with the best overall development of postal e-services, followed by Tunisia, France, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the United States and Canada.

The report stresses that even though industrialized countries provide on average twice the number of e-services than their counterparts in developing countries, several of the latter are providing innovative solutions.

“Innovation capacity is totally independent of wealth, which is why several posts from developing countries are considered leaders in some areas,” Mr. Dayan said.

The study divides 55 electronic services into four categories which include e-post, e-finance, e-commerce and e-government. E-post services are the most developed, followed by e-finance and e-commerce. E-government is still relatively new, with the number of countries providing such services insufficient to allow for the development of an index for this category.

In addition, the report also identified services which are considered strategically important but are currently underdeveloped. These include providing electronic signatures, notifying customers of deliveries via mobile text messages or e-mail, online changes of addresses, the provision of electronic postal certification marks, postal registered electronic mail, and electronic customs documents and digital identities.


Even though postal e-services are considered increasingly important, the study also reveals that some posts are still not giving them enough attention in terms of financing, market development and organizational management.


The study further suggests that such services currently contribute modestly to the bottom line – an average 1.5 per cent of a post’s global revenues.

“A few posts are reporting confidentially that e-services are generating upwards of 30 per cent of their revenues,” said Farah Abdallah, UPU e-services expert, who co-authored the study. “This shows that if posts develop a comprehensive digital strategy, there is potential for sustainable growth,” she added.


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EXPERTS FROM UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG AGENCY TO VISIT IRAN NEXT WEEK

Experts from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will visit Iran next week in an effort to resolve outstanding issues related to the country’s nuclear programme, it was announced today.

Last November the head of the IAEA said there is “credible” information that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon and had called on the country to agree to a visit by a high-level team to clarify the nature of its nuclear programme.

In a statement issued today in Vienna, where the Agency is based, Director General Yukiya Amano announced the upcoming visit, which will take place from 29 to 31 January.

“The overall objective of the IAEA is to resolve all outstanding substantive issues,” said the statement.

The team will be led by the Deputy Director General for Safeguards, Herman Nackaerts, and will include the Assistant Director General for Policy, Rafael Grossi.

“The Agency team is going to Iran in a constructive spirit, and we trust that Iran will work with us in that same spirit,” said Mr. Amano.

Iran has repeatedly stated that its nuclear programme is for the peaceful purpose of providing energy, but many countries contend it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The Security Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions against Iran, citing the proliferation risks of its nuclear programme and its continued failure to cooperate with the IAEA.


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UN TRIBUNAL WELCOMES ARREST OF FORMER MEMBER OF SERB PARAMILITARY FORCES

The United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s welcomed the arrest of Radovan Stankovic, a former member of a Serb paramilitary unit who faces multiple charges for crimes against humanity.

Mr. Stankovic was arrested over the weekend in Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than four years after he escaped from prison in May 2007.

“Today’s apprehension of Stankovic is significant for the victims of the grave crimes he has been convicted for,” said Serge Brammertz, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

“I hope that this arrest reflects an increased commitment of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to support the process of bringing to justice those responsible for the grave crimes committed on their territory in the early 1990s.”

Mr. Stankovic was first indicted by the ICTY, which is based in The Hague, in 1992. He was then transferred by the Tribunal to Bosnia and Herzegovina in September 2005, where he was convicted to 20 years in prison by the State Court for war crimes, including the rape and enslavement of Muslim women and girls. However, he escaped from prison in Foca two years after his sentencing.

Since then, the ICTY had repeatedly called for his arrest and emphasized the importance of apprehending him to make progress in bringing those responsible for war crimes in the region to justice.


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