UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST - 30 January

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

WITH NEW BLUEPRINT IN HAND, BAN CALLS FOR ACTION TO CHART MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for action on a new blueprint for creating a sustainable planet, a just society and a growing economy, stressing that the current path will not lead to a fair and resilient future for the world’s people.

“We need to chart a new, more sustainable course for the future, one that strengthens equality and economic growth while protecting our planet,” he stated. “Sustainable development offers our best chance to change course.”

Speaking at the launch in Addis Ababa of the report prepared by his High-level Panel on Global Sustainability, Mr. Ban stressed that sustainable development is a top priority for his second term of office.

“Sustainable development is a social, economic and environmental imperative,” he stated. “I call on all sectors of society to join in this effort. We need everyone – government ministers and policymakers, business and civil society leaders, and young people – to work together to create a future worth choosing – a future we want.”

The 22-member panel, established by the Secretary-General in August 2010 to formulate a new blueprint for sustainable development and low-carbon prosperity, was co-chaired by Finnish President Tarja Halonen and South African President Jacob Zuma.

The group’s final report, Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, contains 56 recommendations to put sustainable development into practice and to make it a part of mainstream economic policy as quickly as possible.

“Today our planet and our world are experiencing the best of times, and the worst of times,” states the report. “The world is experiencing unprecedented prosperity, while the planet is under unprecedented stress.”

It adds that because of the array of overlapping challenges the world faces, it is more urgent than ever to take action to embrace the principles of the sustainable development agenda. “It is time that genuine global action is taken to enable people, markets and governments to make sustainable choices.”

The report calls for integrating social and environmental costs in how the world prices and measures economic activities. It also calls for a set of sustainable development indicators that go beyond the traditional approach of gross domestic product (GDP) and recommends that governments develop and apply a set of “Sustainable Development Goals” that can mobilize global action and help monitor progress.

It underscores the importance of science as an essential guide for decision-making on sustainability issues. It calls on the Secretary-General to lead efforts to produce a regular Global Sustainable Development Outlook report that integrates knowledge across sectors and institutions, and to consider creating a science advisory board or scientific adviser.

“The need to integrate the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development so as to achieve sustainability was clearly defined a quarter of a century ago. It is time to make it happen,” states the report.

“The opportunities for change are vast. We are not passive, helpless victims of the impersonal, determinist forces of history. And the exciting thing is that we can choose our future.”

The report serves as an important contribution to the UN’s work on sustainable development, particularly in preparation for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil this June.


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UN EXPERTS BEGIN ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS OF FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR ACCIDENT

Sixty international experts assessing the radiation exposures and health effects resulting from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last March kicked off a week-long meeting today in Vienna.

“We are putting together a jigsaw puzzle, evaluating the exposures of the general public, of workers, and radiation effects, and looking for the missing pieces,” said Wolfgang Weiss, Chair of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).

The power plant was damaged following a massive earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011 that knocked out water cooling systems at the plant, contaminating air, water, plants and animals with radioactive plumes dozens of kilometres from the site.

This week’s meeting will explore where there are critical gaps in the data that are available, where additional focus is required, and how to ensure the quality and reliability of what the assessment is based on, according to Mr. Weiss.

Japan is providing data to the Committee together with input from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A preliminary report will be provided to UNSCEAR’s annual meeting, to be held between 21 to 25 May, and a final report to the UN General Assembly in 2013.

Established in 1955, UNSCEAR is tasked with undertaking broad reviews of the sources of ionizing radiation and the effects on human health and the environment.

Its assessments provide a scientific foundation for UN agencies and governments to formulate standards and programmes for protection against ionizing radiation.


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UN WELCOMES IRAQI RATIFICATION OF PACT ON RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

The United Nations welcomed today the ratification by Iraq of a convention that protects, promotes, and ensures the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified last week by the Iraqi Government, covers a number of key areas such as accessibility, personal mobility, health, education, employment, habilitation and rehabilitation, participation in political life, and equality and non-discrimination.

“The ratification of this convention by Iraq marks a historic step in ensuring that persons living with disabilities enjoy full participation in the Iraqi society and can contribute to the community to their full potential,” said Francesco Motta, chief of the human rights unit of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Iraq.

Mr. Motta stressed that the ratification represents the Government’s recognition of the “potential contribution which persons with disabilities can make to society if given the same opportunities enjoyed by other Iraqi citizens.”

UNAMI noted in a news release that the ratification requires Iraq to introduce measures such as anti-discrimination legislation, the elimination of laws and practices that discriminate against persons with disabilities, and considering these persons when adopting new policies and programmes. Other measures include making services, goods and facilities accessible to them.

“The important thing now is for the Government of Iraq to ensure that the provisions of the convention are implemented,” Mr. Motta said. “The best way to do this is in consultation with civil society organizations and representatives of people with disabilities so as to ensure that measures taken to implement the convention promote and protect their right to participate equally in the economic, social and political life of Iraqi society without discrimination.”


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UN AND INTEL UNVEIL INITIATIVE ON TECHNOLOGY-BASED TRAINING FOR MIDWIVES

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the computing company Intel today unveiled a joint effort to strengthen the skills of midwives and community health workers through technology, in a bid to reduce the number of pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths across the world.

The initiative will increase the capacity of health workers around the world through software and technical assistance provided by Intel Corporation, and wider availability of higher-quality education through training and materials from UNFPA.

Intel will build on its commitment to the UN Every Woman, Every Child initiative to help train one million frontline health workers by 2015 under the Intel 1Mx15 Health project.

An estimated 360,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth and up to two million babies die within the first 24 hours of life, largely because of a lack of access to properly trained health workers, according to the UN.

The UNFPA-Intel initiative will use an existing health care education platform to provide open access multi-media content delivery in an “anytime, anywhere” capacity. The content delivery and assessment platform will train midwives and other health-care workers.

Intel will also work with various governments to help increase the availability, affordability and usage of technology.

UNFPA, for its part, will develop the training content with relevant partners and professional organizations. The agency will also engage stakeholders to ensure the sustainability and multiplier effect of the programme.

“By increasing the accessibility and affordability of ICT [Information Communications Technology] solutions, we would be able to equip the workforce with the correct tools to improve women and children’s health,” said Mike Gann, director of global health care for the World Ahead Program at Intel. The programme will pilot in countries with high rates of maternal and newborn deaths.

“With this innovative collaboration, we are putting game-changing technology into the hands of the people who are saving the lives of women and newborns around the world,” said Werner Haug, the director of UNFPA’s technical division. “UNFPA is inspired by Intel’s commitment and we look forward to strengthening the work for safe motherhood.”


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UNESCO FORUM TO DISCUSS ROLE OF HOLOCAUST EDUCATION IN FIGHTING PREJUDICE

Historians and researchers will gather in Paris tomorrow for a United Nations forum designed to address the impact that Holocaust remembrance can have in stemming the tide of intolerance around the world.

The conference, which will be hosted by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), will provide an opportunity to debate the role of Holocaust education in the global fight against racism and anti-Semitism. It will also allow the attending experts to discuss the need to preserve the memory of the Holocaust in areas of the world where it is less well known.

Last week, the UN marked the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, which is observed annually on 27 January, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp.

In a declaration marking the occasion, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova emphasized the need for Holocaust education as part of the overall fight against intolerance.

“Transmitting the memory of the Holocaust is a vital part of the struggle to combat ignorance and prejudice through education in humanist values, the sharing of cultures and knowledge of history,” Ms. Bokova said.

“Education is a key front in this struggle and also UNESCO’s unique contribution, through our work for youth, training of teachers and curriculum design,” she added.

The UNESCO conference will feature debates and lectures from leading international Holocaust experts as well as a talk delivered by Henri Borlant – a survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The forum will also feature a special ceremony focusing on the theme of “Children in the Holocaust” to pay tribute to the estimated 1.5 million children who perished during the genocide.


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TOP UN OFFICIALS DISCUSS PREPARATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE

The heads of the General Assembly and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) met today to discuss preparations for the UN Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20), which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June.

The discussions between Assembly President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser and UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova took place in Paris, a day before a conference entitled “Towards new global governance for the environment,” which was organized by France and in which Mr. Al-Nasser will deliver the keynote speech.

During their meeting, the two officials also discussed the latest developments in the Middle East as well as mediation, the dialogue of civilizations and disaster risk reduction, according to a note released by Mr. Al-Nasser’s spokesperson.


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BAN URGES EGYPT TO ADHERE TO ROADMAP ON TRANSITION TO CIVILIAN ADMINISTRATION

Secretary-General Ban today urged Egypt to maintain its commitment to implementing the roadmap to an early transition to a civilian administration, and expressed his satisfaction that the recent legislative elections were generally conducted in an orderly manner.

At a meeting with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Ali Amr on the sidelines of the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Mr. Ban noted that the timetable for the presidential elections has been set and expressed the United Nations’ readiness to support an Egyptian-led reform process by proving technical support in capacity building.

They also discussed events in the region, especially Egypt’s cooperation with Libya and the situation in Syria.

Mr. Ban also conferred with President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire during which the UN chief welcomed the generally peaceful environment in which the legislative elections took place last month.

He commended Côte d’Ivoire for its political reintegration in the West African region, and the country’s economic growth achieved so far.

The Secretary-General stressed the need for the Ivorian Government to focus on urgent priorities, including security sector reform, demobilization and reintegration of former fighters and national reconciliation.

He reaffirmed the UN’s commitment to working closely with the Government, including through his Special Representative and the UN peacekeeping operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) to address the country’s priorities, including sustainable peace, security and economic recovery.

Separately, Mr. Ban met with the President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia to discuss the country’s support for the UN, especially in peacekeeping operations.

The Secretary-General also had discussions with United States’ Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns on a wide range of issues, including Sudan, North Africa and Somalia. They also talked about the situation in the Middle East and Iran’s nuclear issue, and Mr. Ban briefed Mr. Burns on his priorities for his second term.


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MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ENHANCE DARFUR’S PEACE PROCESS – UN OFFICIAL

A strong political will, adequate financial resources and strengthened operations to help Darfur’s vulnerable population are needed to accelerate the peace and reconciliation process in Sudan, a senior United Nations official said today.

Wrapping up his six-day visit to the African country, Assistant Secretary-General for the Rule of Law and Security Institutions, Dmitry Titov, stressed that efforts need to be increased in the areas of security and justice as well as in the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) signed in Qatar last year.

Mr. Titov emphasized that the recent positive steps by the Government and one of the rebel groups to implement the agreement represent a new stage for Darfurians and underscored the importance of keeping this momentum going by bringing non-signatory parties into the peace process.

The Sudanese Government and the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) signed the DDPD in July last year, with the document forming the basis for a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive peace agreement to end the fighting that began more than eight years ago.

During his visit Mr. Titov met with Government officials in Khartoum as well as local officials in North Darfur. He underlined the need to strengthen cooperation between UN Police and local law enforcement forces in conjunction with the capacity of the local judiciary and prosecution service.

He also reiterated the supporting role of the UN-African Union (AU) joint peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to help the country build up its security capabilities, but stated that to do this UNAMID requires freedom of access to all areas concerned, as well as the lifting of restrictions on the movement of UN staff. In this context, he stressed that the AU and the UN are here to assist the authorities of Darfur to establish peace.

“We are here to understand the current needs and priorities of the mission, and provide support and guidance,” Mr. Titov said.

Citing changing attitudes in the Government’s cooperation with UNAMID, Mr. Titov discussed the need for additional advocacy, awareness raising, training, capacity building and other forms of support in the areas of rule of law and security institutions. Regarding ongoing discussions between UNAMID and the Government on ordinance disposal activities, it was agreed that those activities will continue while discussions proceed on expanded cooperation in this area.

During his visit, Mr. Titov also visited the Abu Shouk community policing centre and Tawila camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), where he met with IDP representatives and registered their concerns for safety and security at their places of origin and the level of humanitarian support.


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