Last week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with former United States Vice President Al Gore to discuss climate change.
In his meeting, Ban said he was “very much encouraged by his firm commitment, as well as voluntary willingness to help the cause of the United Nations” regarding global warming. Ban also noted that he hopes to work closely with Gore to mobilize countries and “enhance the awareness of the international community with this issue.”
The United Nations refugee chief has pledged to step up efforts to improve local access to water in the Darfur region.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres toured areas adjacent to the Sudanese-Chadian border and met with African Union (AU) officials in West Darfur yesterday, the third day of his visit to Sudan.
An estimated 25,000 Chadians have sought refuge in West Darfur, despite the conflict in that part of Sudan, because of fighting across eastern Chad in recent months between rebels and Government forces.
Guterres acknowledged the vital importance of water to everyone living in the area and promised that UNHCR would do all it could to find better solutions for the refugees.
About 100,000 tons of World Food Program aid is being held at the Port of Sudan by government officials who contend that the food is genetically modified. The food aid is mostly sorghum wheat donated by the United States and meant for distribution in Darfur.
According to the WFP it has been certified by independent laboratories as not genetically modified.
“We had it tested by a French laboratory along with Canadian split peas which the Sudanese are also objecting to, and neither food consignment is GM. In any case, there is no GM sorghum on the market, it doesn’t exist,” said the WFP’s Caroline Hurford.
News of the hold up comes as the new head of the WFP, former U.S. Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs Josette Sheeran, visited Sudan on Wednesday. Perhaps Khartoum seeks to embarrass a key member state pushing for UN peacekeepers in Darfur. Whatever the reason, a responsible government would not hold hostage aid intended to feed their own citizens.
According to the latest United Nations human rights report on Iraq, large-scale killings and targeted assassinations continue to impede efforts to bring lasting stability and security to Iraq.
Although Government officials declared a drop in the number of killings in late February after the Baghdad Security Plan was launched, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) says the number of reported casualties rose again in March.
UNAMI also voiced concern regarding the handling of suspects arrested as part of the Plan. The new procedures “contained no explicit measures guaranteeing minimum due process rights.” Rather, the report argues, “they authorized arrests without warrants and the interrogation of suspects without placing a time limit on how long they could be held in pre-trial detention.”
by Elizabeth McKee
Director, Nothing But Nets
Today, April 25th, is the first time the United States will officially observe National Malaria Awareness Day. The President is hosting an event at the White House to commemorate what has been celebrated by the rest of the world as Africa Malaria Day since 2001. A forgotten disease that was eradicated in the United States, malaria affects over 500 million individuals a year, killing a child in Africa every 30 seconds. The United Nations has made this issue a priority, listing it as one of the Millennium Development Goals and stating the need to halt and reverse the incidence of malaria. Shrinking Africa’s economy by $12 billion a year, malaria is one of the main causes of poverty. Ironically, one of the most cost-effective and simple approaches to combat malaria is through the use of inexpensive insecticide-treated bed nets, which can prevent malaria transmission by at least 50 percent.
The President’s Malaria Initiative has pledged $1.2 billion to the prevention and treatment of malaria. The Global Fund has committed to $2.6 billion. My grandmother in Texas donated $10 to the prevention of malaria through Nothing But Nets. We all have a role to play and Nothing But Nets makes it simple for individuals to make a difference.
Nothing But Nets is a global, grassroots campaign to prevent malaria. Inspired by Sports Illustrated’s Rick Reilly, the Campaign was created by the United Nations Foundation in 2006. The National Basketball Association’s NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church and Major League Soccer have joined the campaign and helped to raise over $5 million. A $10 donation covers the cost of purchasing, distributing and educating families on the proper use of a bed net.
Today the Campaign is kicking off a multi-city tour in Miami to bring the issue of malaria to Americans everywhere. Even American Idol is getting behind this issue through tonight’s unprecedented television special, Idol Gives Back. Tonight viewers will have the opportunity to make donations throughout the show.
You too can get involved by Sending a Net and Saving a Life. $10 saves a life, maybe two, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match it dollar for dollar. After all, if the Secretary General, Simon Cowell, and my grandmother is behind this issue, you too can join in on this special day. Visit www.NothingButNets.net and donate your own life saving dollars.
The African Union (AU) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have renewed their partnership to fight hunger and enhance food security, education and emergency response.
Their cooperation agreement was signed by African Union Commissioner Rosebud Kurwijila and WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.
“The African Union is an important ally in our fight to ensure food security in Africa,” said Ms. Sheeran during a two-day visit to Ethiopia, her first overseas mission as chief of WFP. She voiced hope that the partnership would serve as “the wind beneath our wings” in aiming to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving global hunger by 2015.
The SC: The Security Council today held its last consultations under the Council Presidency of ROK. Tomorrow, Russia will take over the rotating Presidency of the Security Council for March under Ambassador Vitaly Churkin.
The SG: At the Fifth Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations in Vienna, Austria today, the SG emphasized the role of youth in ensuring a “prosperous, equitable and peaceful future.”
The SG: In Ethiopia over the weekend, the SG is now in the United Arab Emirates. Today he met with Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, where the two discussed developments in the region, including Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan, and in the Middle East Peace Process.
