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United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service |
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Serving the UN system and NGO community since 1975 |
NO 96 FEBRUARY — MARCH 2003
| UN UPDATE | NGO AND OTHER NEWS | FOCUS |
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UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on 13 February 2003, appointed former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique
Cardoso to chair a High-Level Panel assessing UN
relations with civil society. The creation of the Panel was originally proposed in the Secretary-General’s report to the General Assembly on Strengthening of the United Nations (A/57/387), which said the relationship between the UN and civil society needed to be based on procedures and policies that reflected greater coherence, consistency and predictability. The report recognized the long-standing relationship between the UN and civil society in humanitarian and development activities, but said the extensive interaction of civil society actors with the intergovernmental process is more recent, largely as a result of the world conferences of the past decade. This has given rise to several concerns: the ability of the UN, its facilities and resources to handle the growing demand of NGOs to participate in meetings; standardizing the variety of procedures involved in accreditation processes; the growing demand of NGOs to participate meaningfully in intergovernmental deliberations; the balance between numbers of NGOs from industrialized and those from developing countries participating in UN activities; clarifying the role of actors such as parliamentarians and the private sector; and the number of NGO focal points in the UN system. As a result, the High-Level Panel has been assigned four main tasks: first, to review existing guidelines, decisions and practices regarding civil society organizations’ access to and participation in UN deliberations and processes; second, to identify best practices in the UN system and other international organizations with a view to identifying new and better ways of interaction with civil society; third, to examine the ways in which the participation of civil society actors from developing countries can be facilitated; and fourth, to review how the UN Secretariat is organized to facilitate, manage, share experiences and evaluate the relationship between the UN and civil society. Chaired by President Cardoso, the Panel of Eminent Persons includes 11 additional members, who are affiliated with governments, NGOs, academia and the private sector: Bagher Asadi, Ambassador to the UN (Iran); Birgitta Dahl, former Parliamentarian and Minister (Sweden); Peggy Dulany, Chair of the Synergos Institute (United States); André Erdös, former Ambassador to the UN (Hungary); Asma Khader, Coordinator of Sisterhood is Global Institute (Jordan); Malini Mehra, Director of the Centre for Social Markets (India); Juan Mayr, former Minister of the Environment (Colombia); Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Civicus World Alliance for Citizen Participation (South Africa); Mary Racelis, former Regional Director for UNICEF office for the East and South Africa Region (Philippines); Prakash Ratilal, Managing Director of ACE Consoltores (Mozambique); and Aminata Traoré, former Minister of Culture and Tourism (Mali) The Panel is expected to hold its first meeting in April 2003, and will suggest ways in which civil society may make contributions to the assessment, among other things. Contact: United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service, Room DC1-1106, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, fax +1-212/963 8712, e-mail <ngls@un.org>, website (www.unsystem.org/ngls).
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The Secretariat for the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was established in January 2003 as a branch within the Division for Social Policy and Development (DSPD) of the Department for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The Forum is the first UN office exclusively dedicated to indigenous issues. The Secretariat’s job is to assist the Permanent Forum in carrying out its mandate covering the areas of economic and social development, culture, environment, education and health and human rights, by providing technical support and recommending key issues to the different agencies of the UN and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It will also work to raise the profile of indigenous issues and coordinate activities relating to indigenous issues within the UN. The Secretariat will additionally administer the Voluntary Fund for the Permanent Forum and coordinate a system that aims to improve the living standards and quality of life for millions of indigenous peoples around the world. Acting Chief of the Secretariat, Elsa Stamatopoulou, said that one of the new body’s most important tasks will be fighting discrimination. “You cannot have equality simply by declaring it,” she said, “measures need to be taken, long-term policies need to be adopted.” The 16-member Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, a subsidiary organ of the ECOSOC, was established by the Council on 28 July 2000 on the recommendation of the UN Commission on Human Rights. The first session of the Forum was held at UN headquarters in New York from 13-24 May 2002 (see NGLS Roundup 93). The new Secretariat is in the process of establishing office systems, communication networks, a website, and preparing for the second session of the Forum, to be held from 12-23 May 2003. Contact: Elsa Stamatopoulou, Acting Chief, Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, DSPD/DESA, Two UN Plaza, Room 1772, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-917/367 5100, fax +1-212/963 3062.
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The first-ever election of the required 18 judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) took place at UN headquarters in New York from 3-7 February 2003 as part of a resumed session of the Assembly of the States Parties to the Court. Forty-three candidates were nominated by as many States Parties, and 85 States Parties had the right to vote, having ratified the Rome Statute establishing the Court in time to participate in the election. Chaired by Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein (Jordan), the session elected the 18 judges in 33 rounds of secret balloting. For the election process, a procedure was used to meet minimum requirements for the representation of the principal legal systems of the world, equitable geographical representation and a “fair” gender representation. Some of the judges were required to have a background in criminal law, some in the legal protection of women and children, and others in international law. One-third of the judges will serve for a three-year renewable term, one-third for a six-year non-renewable term
and the rest for a nine-year non-renewable term, so as to renew the judges regularly every three years. Lots were
drawn following the election to determine the three categories of judges. Seven of the elected judges were women. Three judges came from the Group of African States, three from the Group
of Asian States, one from the Group of Eastern European States, four from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean
States, and seven from the Group of Western European and Other States. The role of the judges, and the Prosecutor (to be elected by consensus at a later date), are key to shaping the Court and making it an independent, fair and effective institution to deal with crimes of the most grievous nature committed by individuals. The 18 judges were sworn in during a ceremony on 11 March 2003 at the ICC headquarters in The Hague (the Netherlands). Biographical information on them can be found online (www.un.org/law/icc/elections/judges/ clark/ clark.htm). The Court is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2003. The treaty establishing the Court entered into force on 1 July 2002, and has thus far been ratified by 88 countries. Contact: Arnold Pronto, UN Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone
+1-212/963 5360, e-mail <pronto@un.org>, website
(www.un.org/law/icc) or (www.icc.int). |
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| Migrant Workers Convention Enters into Force | |||
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The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families will enter into force on 1 July 2003, following Guatemala’s ratification of the
treaty on 14 March 2003.
The Convention seeks to play a role in preventing and eliminating the exploitation
of migrant workers throughout the entire migration process. In particular, it seeks to put an end to the illegal or
clandestine recruitment and trafficking of migrant workers and to discourage the employment of migrant workers in an
irregular or undocumented situation. It provides a set of binding international standards to address the treatment,
welfare and human rights of both documented and undocumented migrants, as well as the obligations and
responsibilities on the part of sending and receiving States. More than 150 million migrants, including migrant workers, refugees, asylum-seekers, permanent immigrants and others, live and work in a country other than that of their birth or citizenship and represent 2% of the world’s population. Persons who qualify as migrant workers under the provisions of the Convention are entitled to enjoy their human rights regardless of their legal status. The Convention also imposes a series of obligations on States Parties in the interest of promoting “sound, equitable, humane and lawful conditions” for the international migration of workers and members of their families, including the establishment of policies on migration; the exchange of information with other States Parties; the provision of information to employers, workers and their organizations on policies, laws and regulations; and assistance to migrant workers and their families. The Convention was adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by the General Assembly in December 1990. To date, it has been ratified or acceded to by the following 21 States: Azerbaijan, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uganda and Uruguay. |
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| UNRWA Appeals for International Support | |||
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Peter Hansen, Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has issued an appeal to the international community not to let the West Bank and Gaza
slide down its list of priorities as the world focuses on the situation in Iraq.
Mr. Hansen also issued a warning that UNRWA’s emergency activities in the West Bank and Gaza will run out of resources and come to an end by late March—including the feeding of 1.1 million people—unless donations are received immediately. UNRWA is the largest humanitarian agency in the region. In December, UNRWA asked the donor community for US$94 million to support its emergency programmes in the territories for the first six months of 2003. So far, no funds have been received, and only a small portion of the agency’s needs have been promised. The lack of donations means that UNRWA has already been forced to cut the size of the ration package it gives to 120,000 refugee families in Gaza, while in the West Bank, 1,600 emergency staff are to be laid off, and payment for refugee hospitalization is being stopped. Urgent humanitarian operations, including the rehousing of refugees made homeless by Israel’s military, will have to be cancelled, just as demolition operations are escalating. Since September 2000, UNRWA has distributed over two million family food parcels; doubled the number of patients it treats in its clinics; and provided work for thousands of Palestinians in order to alleviate the effects of the violence, curfews and closures on the West Bank and Gaza Strip. UNRWA says in spite of these efforts, two-thirds of the population are living in dire poverty; thousands have been made homeless by demolitions or injured by fighting; and malnutrition rates for children have reached crisis levels. Mr. Hansen said, “We are scraping the bottom of every barrel and stretching every dollar we have, but without immediate donations, our emergency operations are going to grind to a halt. The cutbacks come at a time when the uncertain regional situation makes it ever more imperative that we maintain a lifeline to the refugees in the territories. And yet the paradox is that our emergency funding for the year may be threatened because donors are holding back to see what is needed in Iraq.” Contact: UNRWA, HQ Gaza, PO Box 140157, Amman 11814, Jordan, telephone +972-8/677 7333 or +972-08/282 4508, fax +972-8/677 7555, website (www.un.org/unrwa/index.html). Maher Nasser, Chief, UNRWA Liaison Office, New York, One United Nations Plaza, Room DC1-1265, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 2255, fax +1-212/935 7899. |
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| UNHCR Warns of Lack of Funds | |||
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On 3 February 2003, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned that its special operations budget has received less than 10% of the US$204.7 million appealed for this year and, as a result, some of its most pressing programmes—such as refugee return and reintegration efforts in Afghanistan, Angola and Sri Lanka—“could fall through.” Citing the fact that world attention is currently focused on the Middle East, UNHCR says a number of its emergency or return operations have dropped out of the limelight in recent months and some of the most pressing needs are not being met. In addition to its 2003 regular annual budget of US$836.2 million, UNHCR has appealed for US$204.7 million for its supplementary programmes to support special operations in 2003 for which planning could not be finalized in 2002. These programmes will ensure that new refugees fleeing war-torn regions like West Africa receive the necessary support, and that others whose countries are finally at peace can make a durable return this year to their homeland Under the supplementary programmes, Afghanistan remains the agency’s biggest operation for 2003, with more than US$156.9 million needed to begin the procurement of materials to help rehabilitate 60,000 homes and to buy the necessary relief items for returnees. So far, only US$1 million has been received. Approximately two million Afghans returned home in 2002 and UNHCR is preparing to assist up to 1.5 million returning refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) this year. Contact: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Geneva 2 Dépôt,
Switzerland, telephone +41-22/739 8111, website (www.unhcr.ch). |
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| Experts Urge Fairness in Globalization Process | |||
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Observing that hundreds of millions of people have either been adversely affected by
globalization or left out altogether, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged that the process be shaped so that
there are not winners and losers, but only winners.
“Globalization is bringing many of us more choices and opportunities,” Mr. Annan said, introducing speakers at a lecture held at UN headquarters in New York on 14 March 2003. “Yet millions around the world do not share those opportunities. Instead, they find that globalization is disrupting their lives, threatening their jobs or sweeping away their traditions." The first speaker, Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor in Economics at Columbia University (USA), expressed the view that globalization would proceed and that on balance the phenomenon had had a positive impact. The central questions were how best to integrate, and how best to deal with the downsides of integration. He emphasized that developing countries required adjustment assistance to deal with liberalization, and that NGO-government collaboration resulted in better policy choices, in what he called “shared success.” Joseph Stiglitz, Professor in Economics and Finance at Columbia University and Nobel laureate for economics, focused on the question of how governments could best shape their policies to address globalization. He cited India and several countries in East Asia as examples of governments that had “globalized judiciously” by closing technology gaps and developing sound management policies. Professor Stiglitz said that economic globalization had outpaced political globalization, and stressed that governance mechanisms, particularly those emphasizing collective action, had to be created. The way in which globalization was currently being pursued, he said, was undermining democracy. Other key issues that Professor Stiglitz identified included trade regime asymmetries that were solely benefiting developed countries and contributing to poverty elsewhere; the reluctance of the international financial institutions (IFIs) to address problems of market failure, which were resulting in a net transfer of resources from developing to developed countries and making developing countries bear the brunt of exchange rate risk; and the foisting of a variety of capitalism upon developing countries that developed countries like the United States had not even adopted for themselves, which forced central banks to focus exclusively on inflation at the expense of other concerns, such as growth. Jeffrey Sachs, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, felt that a governance analysis was too limited, and pointed to other factors like the geographical location and natural resources of a country, environmental issues, prevalence of disease, food security, etc. In his view, developed countries had experienced continued growth due to innovation, and developing countries experiencing success had found ways of transitioning from reliance on commodities to manufacturing. Countries that continued to rely on commodity production and trade would continue to experience declining growth, he said. Mr. Sachs recommended regional integration in areas like Africa for the expansion of markets and the creation of
improved infrastructure. He also stressed the importance of corporate social responsibility, especially with regard
to access to low-cost or free pharmaceuticals. Mr. Sachs emphasized the need to begin with a “proper diagnosis” of
the benefits and problems caused by globalization. |
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| Anti-Personnel Mine Treaty's Fourth Anniversary | |||
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1 March 2003 marked both four years since the Convention banning anti-personnel mines entered into force and the date when many of the Convention’s States Parties were required to comply with the Convention’s first deadline for stockpile destruction. Almost 30 million landmines have been destroyed under the treaty. “This
Convention is about States taking meaningful actions to disarm, promote
peace and address the humanitarian impact of anti-personnel mines,”
said Ambassador Jean Lint of Belgium, President of the Convention’s
Fourth Meeting of the States Parties. “And action is exactly what we
have seen from the 55 States Parties that either have eliminated
anti-personnel mines from their arsenals or will soon complete their
destruction programmes.” “At a time when there is a great deal of pessimism surrounding multilateral affairs, this Convention serves as a beacon of hope that citizens and their governments, working in partnership, can make a difference,” said Susan B. Walker of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate International Campaign to Ban Landmines. “The actions taken by States Parties to destroy almost 30 million mines mean these weapons will never threaten to take life or limb of an innocent civilian, or affect the socio-economic development of some of the world’s poorest countries.” Mr. Lint noted that the States Parties serve as examples to those countries that remain outside of the Convention. “Our actions have demonstrated our firm belief that the humanitarian impact of these weapons necessitates their elimination,” said the Ambassador. “At the same time we, the 55 States that have destroyed mines, have demonstrated that our armed forces can live without these weapons. We encourage States that have not yet joined the Convention to follow our lead.” The drafting of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction was completed in Oslo on 18 September 1997, and was opened for signature in Ottawa in December 1997. On 1 March 1999 it entered into force. As of 27 February 2003, a total of 131 States had formally accepted the Convention, including almost every State in the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, as well as 45 mine-affected countries. An additional 15 States signed the Convention but have not yet ratified it. A total of 48 States have not signed or acceded to it, including China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States. Some States have destroyed large amounts of mines, including Italy, which recently completed destruction of over 7.1 million mines and Japan, which destroyed almost one million mines. The States Parties’ 5th annual meeting will take place in Bangkok (Thailand) from 15-19 September 2003. |
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| WHO Convention on Tobacco Control | |||
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On 1 March 2003, 171 Member States of the World Health Organization
(WHO) agreed on a
final text for a WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) governing tobacco taxation, smoking prevention
and treatment, illicit trade, advertising, sponsorship and promotion, and product regulation as part of efforts to
control tobacco supply and consumption. But some countries—such as the United States, Germany and China—indicated
they will not adopt the treaty in its current form.
The negotiations, the final round of which began on 17 February 2003, concluded almost four years of work to produce an international tobacco control treaty. The agreement is part of a global strategy to reduce tobacco-related deaths and disease around the world. “Tobacco kills in every country of the world, and probably most of us know someone who has died as a result,” said WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland. “Due to the actions that will follow from our shared commitments, millions and millions of lives will be saved. The treaty is based on the determination and inspiration of the many who have worked so hard to conclude an effective and strong convention.” Developing countries are projected to account for 70% of tobacco-related deaths in the next 20 years. The final text will be presented to the World Health Assembly in May 2003 for adoption. Once it has been adopted, the FCTC will be opened for signature by Member States, and the treaty will come into force after it has been ratified by 40 countries. The treaty would impose high taxes on tobacco products, require tobacco companies to reveal all ingredients in cigarettes and cover at least 30% of tobacco product packaging with warning labels. It would also place a total ban on advertising and promotion of tobacco products in countries in which such a measure would be constitutional. The United States, however, said it “cannot accept” provisions related to packaging, advertising and sales, which it said would violate its laws. Germany also said it could not implement the provisions. Anti-tobacco advocates said the United States tried to water down the treaty, while American Lung Association spokesman Alfred Munster said Washington “squandered an opportunity” to lead the campaign against tobacco, adding, “It has instead chosen to be the handmaiden of the tobacco industry.” “The United States Government is working methodically to weaken virtually every aspect of this treaty,” said John Saffron, head of the American Cancer Society. “We call on the US Government to observe the first rule of the Hippocratic Oath: Do No Harm.” The final text requires signatory Parties to implement comprehensive tobacco control programmes and strategies at the national, regional and local levels. In its preamble, the text explicitly recognizes the need to protect public health, the unique nature of tobacco products and the harm that companies that produce them cause.
Some of the key elements of the final text include: The elements of the treaty reflect WHO and World Bank policies on a comprehensive plan to reduce global tobacco consumption. While there have been nearly 20 World Health Assembly resolutions to support tobacco control since 1970, the difference with this treaty is that these obligations will become legally binding for Parties to the convention once it comes into force. Contact: Julie Archer, Information Officer, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone
+41-22/791 1426, e-mail <archerj@who.int>, website
(www5.who.int/tobacco/index.cfm). |
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| Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria | |||
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Meeting from 29-31 January 2003, the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria approved 100 grants committing up to US$866 million over two years to help 60 countries
scale up programmes to stop the three diseases. Much of the money for the second round of proposals will go to
NGOs and the private sector, complementing the efforts of governments.
Africa was awarded the majority of funding, receiving 60% of all financial support, and Ethiopia received the greatest support as it will be provided with up to US$93.3 million over two years for programmes to combat AIDS and malaria. “The Global Fund’s newest grants are quickly taking public/private partnerships to scale to make a broad global impact against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria,” said Richard Feachem, Executive Director of the Global Fund. “Not only is the Global Fund encouraging the most effective players to work together to get the job done on the front lines of the epidemics, it is also helping donors coordinate efforts, reduce waste and focus on achieving results.” Sixty per cent of the second-round grant money will go to fight HIV/AIDS. The Global Fund will increase six-fold the number of people being treated with antiretrovirals (ARVs) in Africa with grants from its two initial proposal rounds, ensuring that 500,000 additional people receive these medicines in developing countries. All of the AIDS grants include prevention components; 98% use targeted communication campaigns to change the behaviour of vulnerable groups, including youth and school children, and 70% include prevention of mother to child transmission and voluntary counseling and testing. The AIDS grants will also provide care and support to 500,000 AIDS orphans and vulnerable children. With the new funds, 30 million African families will now be protected from malaria with treated mosquito nets. In addition, Global Fund grants will provide more than four million courses of treatments of the new and more effective arteminisin-based medicines for Africans with resistant strains of malaria. Currently, only 15,000 people in Africa are being treated each year with these medicines. The new grants will also help treat two million people with tuberculosis over the next five years. One-third of the TB grants also contain a component for curing people with drug-resistant strains of the disease. Along with the grants awarded in April 2002, the second round grants commit the Fund to disbursing up to US$1.5 billion in 2003 and 2004. Based on performance, these grant recipients are eligible for up to US$2.2 billion more after 2004. However, during the Board meeting, financial statements revealed that the Global Fund lacks the resources to approve a third round of grants in October 2003. At least US$6.3 billion in additional total contributions are needed over the next two years. Also during the fourth Board meeting Tommy Thompson, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, was elected as Chair of the Board of the Global Fund. Mr. Thompson was elected by consensus of the Fund’s Board, which include donor and recipient governments, as well as NGOs, foundations and the private sector. Contact: Robert Bourgoing, Global Fund Communications Officer, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Secretariat, 53, Avenue Louis-Casaï, 1216 Geneva-Cointrin, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 1714, fax +41-22/791 1701, e-mail <robert.bourgoing@theglobalfund.org>, website (http://www.theglobalfund.org/).
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| UNAIDS Hosts Sex Workers’ Workshop on AIDS | |||
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The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS) conducted a first of its kind
workshop from 21-22 January in Geneva bringing together some 35 representatives from 16 countries, including
governments, the UN, sex work networks, and sex worker organizations. According to Aurorita Mendoza, Prevention and
Vulnerability Adviser at UNAIDS, while sex workers have been one of the groups most affected by HIV, they have also
been mobilized and empowered to become leading advocates and educators on HIV prevention and care.
“Over the years, we have witnessed sex workers become one of the biggest mobilizers in the AIDS response, both on the care and prevention front. Despite this, they still face many stumbling blocks, including stigma and discrimination, and laws which criminalize them, and prevent them from receiving needed information and services,” said Ms. Mendoza. The workshop, a consultation on sex work and HIV/AIDS, identified strategies for the UN and sex worker communities to work together to prevent the spread and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS among sex workers. Representatives of sex work networks and organizations discussed effective ways of mobilizing sex workers and preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS among them. While sex work is a global phenomenon, it is also frequently illegal and, therefore, clandestine, UNAIDS said, also pointing out that sex workers are often victims of exploitation and violence and have limited access to health services. Sex work is also a significant social and economic sector in many countries. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates, the sex work industry accounted for more than 2% of gross domestic product in four South-East Asian countries in the late 1990s. In countries where heterosexual intercourse is the main mode of HIV transmission, HIV epidemics tend to be concentrated initially among sex workers and their clients before becoming established in the wider population. “Experiences in many countries show that when HIV infection rates among sex workers rise, it is an indication that HIV rates in the wider population are very likely to increase unless effective prevention efforts are introduced,” said Ms. Mendoza. Experiences in the field indicate that sex workers are among those most likely to respond positively to HIV prevention programmes. Some countries—such as Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, and Thailand—have succeeded in reducing HIV prevalence among sex workers, primarily due to policies supporting condom use with clients and to initiatives directly involving sex workers in condom promotion. One of the keys to successful HIV prevention among sex workers is to involve them directly in the development and implementation of care and prevention programmes, said Mahbooba Mahmood, Director of Naripokkho, a women’s activist organization that mobilizes sex workers in Bangladesh. “Building the capacity of sex workers to take the lead in programmes that respect human and citizen rights has proven to be one of the most successful strategies in preventing the spread of HIV. It promotes solidarity, enables them to reach more of their peers and share their knowledge on health matters. They no longer need to rely on outsiders, thus giving them increased control over their own health,” she stressed. Experts agree that much can be done to address factors that force men and women to use sex work, whether formal or informal, as a means of survival, protect the sex workers, and assist them in leaving sex work, if they so wish. “The ultimate challenge is for governments to make access to HIV prevention and care available to sex worker communities, implement policy and legal frameworks that do not discriminate against sex workers, set up programmes that empower young women, and work towards eliminating violence against women,” said Lin Lean Lim, Manager of the ILO’s Gender Promotion Programme. Contact: Dominique de Santis, UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 4509, fax +41-22/791 4898, e-mail <desantisd@unaids.org>, website (www.unaids.org). Lin
Lim, ILO Gender Focal Point/Sector Coordinator, ILO, 4 route des
Morillons, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/799 7843,
e-mail <lim@ilo.org>, website
(www.ilo.org/dyn/gender/gender.home). |
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The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have joined forces to cope with the growing links between HIV/AIDS, regional food shortages and chronic hunger. The agreement, signed on 6 February, will increase their co-operation to save lives—especially in Africa, South-East Asia and the Caribbean. “Food aid plays a pivotal role in responding to HIV/AIDS. The first thing poor families affected by AIDS ask for is not cash or drugs, it is food. And food has to be one of the weapons in the arsenal against this disease,” said James T. Morris, WFP’s Executive Director. “People living with HIV/AIDS as well as those who are malnourished are caught in a vicious cycle,” said Peter Piot, UNAIDS Executive Director. “Those who are infected are often unable to feed themselves. Without good nutrition, they are robbed of one of the defences against AIDS-related illnesses and early death. At the same time, hunger often forces people to engage in high-risk survival strategies, such as sex work….” Under the agreement, WFP and UNAIDS will direct their joint efforts to emergency situations with a special focus on pregnant women and orphans, among the most vulnerable to the impact of HIV/AIDS. At the same time, they will strive to make food security an integral part of the battle waged by governments and partners against HIV/AIDS. WFP will be responsible for the management of HIV/AIDS-related food programmes, while UNAIDS will offer technical assistance; promote access to care, including home-based care; undertake impact evaluation; reduce vulnerability to HIV/AIDS; and identify appropriate local partners. WFP and UNAIDS will work to improve the access of orphans and other vulnerable children to WFP school-feeding programmes. Both organizations will also explore other options to relieve needy children, such as take-home rations, food for work, food for vocational training and apprenticeships. UNAIDS will support WFP in advocating for research in nutrition and food security issues related to HIV/AIDS. Both agencies will seek a wide range of partnerships from other UN agencies, governments, bilateral donors and with international NGOs and civil society groups in order to build a global response to HIV/AIDS. “Action is required urgently,” Mr. Morris emphasized. “Only through building partnerships can we hope to avert catastrophe and prevent HIV/AIDS from threatening the very existence of so many people in desperate need of our help.” Contact: Caroline Hurford, Public Affairs Officer, WFP, Via Cesare Giulio Viola 68, I-00148 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/6513 2330, fax + 39-09/6513 2840, e-mail <caroline.hurford@wfp.org>, website (www.wfp.org). Dominique de Santis, Press Officer, UNAIDS, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone
+41-22/791 4509, fax +41-22/791 4898, e-mail <desantisd@unaids.org>, website
(www.unaids.org). |
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| ECOSOC High Level Segment on Rural Development | |||
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“Promoting an integrated approach to rural development in developing countries for
poverty eradication and sustainable development” has been chosen as the theme for the High-Level Segment of the
Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) 2003 substantive session, to be held from 30 June-25 July in Geneva.
ECOSOC selected the theme in order to promote an integrated, holistic and multisectoral approach to rural development. The theme will be examined in the context of integrated follow-up to the major UN conferences and summits, and aims to bring together their respective outcomes, particularly those of the Millennium Summit, the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), the International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD), the World Food Summit, and the Third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-III). This approach should help bring together the economic, social and environmental dimensions of rural development, and, in this context, explore different approaches to its application. Many sub-topics have been chosen for the High-Level Segment Roundtable discussions and reflect the multidimensional nature of this year’s focus: the role of land distribution in rural development; the role of culture and customs in rural development; addressing the needs of LDCs/Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in rural areas; forest areas and rural development; agro industries and informal sector development in rural areas; market access for the rural poor; population issues, MDGs and rural development; experiences of rural development in Africa; and inequities and inequalities in rural health care. In preparation for the High-Level Segment, scheduled for 30 June-2 July, ECOSOC will hold a brainstorming dialogue session on 30 April in New York that will focus on rural development and its connection to the MDGs. The one-day informal meeting will bring together ministers, ECOSOC ambassadors, agencies and organizations of the UN system, representatives of civil society, the private sector and academia. A previous dialogue session was held on 24 March in New York and focused on two areas: the policies, goals and commitments related to an integrated approach to rural development; and implementation and best practices. Contact: Masumi Ono, Economic Affairs Officer, Division for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, United Nations,
New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 4946, fax +1-212/963 1712, e-mail <ono@un.org>, website
(www.un.org/esa/coordination/ecosoc). |
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The Third Big Table meeting of African Finance Ministers and their counterparts from
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) took place from 18-19 January 2003 at the
UN
Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) headquarters in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). This year’s discussion focused on
economic and development issues arising from the Fourth World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in
Doha (Qatar) in 2001, the International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD) in Monterrey (Mexico), and
the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg (South Africa), both held in 2002.
Participants monitored the performance of Africa and its partners towards meeting shared goals in the context of mutual accountability. The notion of mutual accountability is a hallmark of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and a manifestation of its appeal for a new “compact” between Africa and its external partners. This compact calls for African countries to undertake the political and economic reforms needed to place their economies on a path towards sustainable growth. In turn, external partners would invest—through aid, debt relief, and market access—the resources needed to help African countries in this effort. The foundations for mutual accountability are the principles of open, accountable governance under NEPAD, the principles of good governance of aid as now incorporated in the Monterrey Consensus and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Key results of the Big Table meeting included a commitment to improve the effectiveness of aid and build stronger capacity in Africa to help reduce poverty. World Bank Vice President for Africa, Callisto Madavo, who served as chair, said that the meeting had witnessed the transformation from a donor’s club to a genuine partnership with Africa. “We are committed to aligning donor programmes behind national strategies, and reducing the burden on African partners by simplifying donor procedures.” The last Big Table took place in Amsterdam (the Netherlands) in October 2001 and considered key issues relating to operationalizing a new African development cooperation framework. The first Big Table was held at the ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa and discussed Pro-Poor Growth Policies and the MDGs, lessons learned from the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process, and Emerging Capacity Building Needs. The first Big Table is credited with placing the focus on transforming Africa’s development relationship with its partners. Contact: Max Bankole Jarrett, UN/ECA, PO Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, telephone +251-1/44 50 98, fax +251-1/51 03 65, e-mail <ecainfo@uneca.org>, website (www.uneca.org/thebigtable). |
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“Literacy as Freedom” is the theme of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012),
launched on 13 February 2003 at UN headquarters in New York by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the
United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, and Natsagiin
Bagabandi, President of Mongolia.
The aim of the Decade is to give new impetus to efforts worldwide to reduce high rates of illiteracy. According to UNESCO statistics, some 861 million people, or 20% of the world’s adults, cannot read or write or participate fully in the organization and activities of their societies. Two-thirds of these people are women. Another 113 million children are not in school and therefore not gaining access to literacy either. There is still a long way to go to achieve the goal set at the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar (Senegal) to halve adult illiteracy by 2015. If progress is not accelerated, UNESCO estimates that 15% of the world’s adults—or 800 million people—will still be illiterate by that date. Sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia, and the Arab States and North Africa account for 70% of the world’s illiterate adults. An estimated 186 million people, or about 14% of the population, are illiterate in the countries of East Asia and Pacific. While in Latin America and the Caribbean, some 39 million people, or 11% of the population, is considered illiterate. UNESCO says that illiteracy is not just a problem for the developing world. The International Adult Literacy Survey, which compared literacy skills in 12 industrialized countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States) in the mid-1990s, found that at least 25% of adults in these countries failed to reach the minimum level of literacy proficiency considered necessary for coping with the demands of everyday life and work in the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). “This
situation is unacceptable and underlines the need for greater joint
efforts,” said Mr. Matsuura in his message to mark the launch. “The
success of the Decade will depend on strong partnerships and the
mobilizing of governments, UN agencies, civil society and NGOs, local
communities, the private sector and individuals.” The
Director-General’s message also emphasized that priority will be given
to most disadvantaged groups, especially women and girls, ethnic and
linguistic minorities, indigenous populations, migrants and refugees,
out-of-school children and youth, and persons with disabilities.
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Investing in secondary and tertiary education—and not just primary education—pays dividends, according to a study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on 16 emerging economies (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and Zimbabwe). Financing Education: Investments and Returns examines the link between the level of education of the labour force and economic growth in the countries taking part in the UNESCO/OECD World Education Indicators programme (WEI), which tracks and compares their education development. The report finds that investments in human capital over the past two decades may have accounted for about a half a percentage point in the annual growth rates of those countries. However, the study also finds that access to secondary and tertiary education—the key to building a skilled and knowledge-based workforce—is progressing slowly. According to the authors, in 1960, adults in the surveyed countries had spent an average of 3.4 years in school. By 2000, this had climbed to 7.6, almost three years short of the 10.2 years in the rich economies of the OECD Member States. At this rate, the report says it will take another 30 years for some of these countries to reach current OECD levels. In order to accelerate their participation in education, the report shows that the WEI countries are mobilizing funds from a wide range of private sources, including individuals and households, which contribute much more to education in these countries than in the OECD Member States. The report notes that in Chile, China and Paraguay, more than 40% of the total amount spent on education comes from such private sources, while the OECD average is 12%. This trend has given rise to the rapid development of private education services—from private, independent institutions to schools that have been “sub-contracted” by governments to non-governmental organizations and municipalities. In Zimbabwe and China, for example, government-subsidized, community-managed schools are the backbone of the education system. Across the WEI countries an average of one in six primary pupils attend private schools (mostly State-subsidized), compared to only one child in ten in OECD Member States. Private enrolment rates increase at secondary and tertiary levels. In Brazil and the Philippines, for example, independent private institutions respectively account for 63% and 73% of university students, compared to only 10% in OECD countries. The report warns that private sector development does not solve the problem of access in the survey countries, which often have high levels of inequality and poverty, and where the poor may not be able to pay for education. Without effective and increased investment in human capital, the report concludes, knowledge—which has become a key economic resource—will be scarce. With effective investment and equitable distribution, knowledge can become not only abundant but renewable and self-generating—a distinction that will separate economic winners from the less successful. Contact: Albert Motivans, UNESCO Institute for Statistics, CP 612B Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec
H3C 3J7, Canada, telephone +1-514/343 6111, fax +1-514/343 6882, e-mail <a.motivans@unesco.org>, website
(http://portal.unesco.org/uis/ev.php?URL_ID=2867&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201). |
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The United Nations Population Division’s World Population Prospects:
The 2002
Revision projects that future fertility levels in most developing countries will likely fall below 2.1 children
per woman—the level needed to ensure the long-term replacement of the population—at some point in the twenty-first
century. By 2050, the medium variant of the 2002 Revision projects that three out of every four countries in the
less developed regions will be experiencing below-replacement fertility.
The 2002 Revision indicates a worsening of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in terms of increased morbidity, mortality and population loss. Although the probability of being infected by HIV is assumed to decline significantly in the future (particularly after 2010), the long-term impact of the epidemic remains dire. Over the current decade, the number of excess deaths because of AIDS among the 53 most affected countries is estimated at 46 million and that figure is projected to reach 278 million by 2050. Despite the devastating impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the populations of the affected countries are generally expected to be larger by mid-century than today, mainly because most of them maintain moderate fertility levels. However, for the seven most affected countries in Southern Africa, where current HIV prevalence is above 20%, the population is projected to increase only slightly, from 74 million in 2000 to 78 million in 2050, and outright reductions in population are projected for Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa and Swaziland. The 2002 Revision confirms key conclusions from previous revisions. Despite the lower fertility levels projected and the increased mortality risks to which some populations will be subject, the population of the world is expected to increase by 2.6 billion during the next 47 years, from 6.3 billion today to 8.9 billion in 2050. However, the realization of these projections is contingent on ensuring that couples have access to family planning and that efforts to stop the current spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are successful in reducing its growth momentum. The 2002 Revision reveals an increasing diversity of population dynamics among the countries and regions of the world. Whereas today the population of the more developed regions of the world is rising at an annual rate of 0.25%, that of the less developed regions is increasing nearly six times as fast, at 1.46%, and the subset of the 49 least developed countries is experiencing even more rapid population growth (2.4% per year). The 2002 Revision predicts that such differences will persist until 2050. As a result of these trends, the population of more developed regions, currently at 1.2 billion, is anticipated to change little during the next 50 years. In addition, because fertility levels for most of the developed countries are expected to remain below replacement level during 2000-2050, the populations of 33 countries are projected to be smaller by mid-century than today (14% smaller in Japan; 22% smaller in Italy, and between 30-50% smaller in the cases of Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine). The population of the less developed regions is projected to rise steadily from 4.9 billion in 2000 to 7.7 billion in 2050 (medium variant). Particularly rapid growth is expected among the least developed countries whose population is projected to rise from 668 million to 1.7 billion despite the fact that their fertility is projected to decline markedly in the future (from 5.1 children per woman today to 2.5 children per woman in 2045-2050). With sustained annual growth rates higher than 2.5% between 2000 and 2050, the populations of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Uganda and Yemen are projected to quadruple, passing from 85 million to 369 million in total. According to the study, large population increments are expected among the most populous countries even if
their fertility levels are projected to be low. Thus, during 2000-2050, eight countries (India, Pakistan, Nigeria,
the United States, China, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in order of population
increment) are expected to account for half of the world’s projected population increase.
Contact: Joseph Chamie, Director, Population Division, UN, 2 United Nations Plaza, Room DC2-1950, New York
NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 3179, fax +1-212/963 2147, website (www.unpopulation.org). |
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Emphasizing the responsibilities of States to end impunity and prosecute those
responsible for egregious crimes perpetrated against children, the UN Security Council met on 30 January 2003,
calling on all parties to armed conflict who are recruiting or using children in violation of their international
obligations to halt such practices immediately.
Unanimously adopting resolution 1460 (2003), the Council reiterated its commitment to address the widespread impact of conflict on children in support of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s call for “an era of application” of international norms and standards for the protection of war-affected children. The action followed the Council’s 14 January 2003 public debate on the issue prompted by the Secretary-General’s groundbreaking report (S/2002/1299), which listed 23 parties to conflicts on the Council’s agenda—including both governments and insurgents—that continue to recruit or use child soldiers (see Go Between 95). The report focused on situations in Afghanistan, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Somalia, but also highlighted other hot spots not on the Council’s agenda where demobilization and reintegration programmes for child combatants were under way. “By exposing those who violate standards for the protection of children to the light of public scrutiny, we are serving notice that the international community is finally willing to back expressions of concern with action,” Mr. Annan said. The resolution calls on the parties identified in that list to provide information on steps they have taken to halt their recruitment or use of children in armed conflict to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu. The Council also requested the Secretary-General to submit a report by 31 October 2003 on the implementation of this resolution and of resolution 1379 (2001), which would include, among other things, progress made by the parties listed in the Annex of his report in ending the recruitment or use of children in armed conflict and an assessment of violations of rights and abuses of such children. In addition, the Council asked Mr. Annan to ensure that in all his reports to the Council on country-specific situations, the protection of children in armed conflict is included as a specific aspect of the report. The Council also noted with concern all the cases of sexual exploitation and abuse of women and children, especially girls, in humanitarian crises, including those cases involving humanitarian workers and peacekeepers. In that regard, it requested contributing countries to incorporate the Six Core Principles of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee on Emergencies into pertinent codes of conduct for peacekeeping personnel and to develop appropriate disciplinary and accountability mechanisms. Contact: UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Room S-3161, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/963 3178, fax +1-212/963 0807, e-mail <SRSGCAAC@un.org>, website (www.un.org/special-rep/children-armed-conflict/index.html). The final results will be published in a UNEP report in March 2003. |
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According to a recent report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) Innocenti Research Centre (IRC), many urban children around
the world live in chronic poverty and are marginalized. Many spend
their days digging in rubbish heaps searching for something they can
sell and spend their nights on the streets where they risk violence and
exploitation. Asserting that tens of millions of urban children around
the world are living in life-threatening environments, UNICEF is urging
municipal authorities to place the best interest of the child at the
forefront of their decision making. “These children deserve to live in a protective environment—one that safeguards them from abuse and exploitation. This was the commitment reaffirmed by Heads of State and Government in 2002 at the Special Session on Children and we need to take it seriously and translate it into action,” stressed UNICEF Deputy Director Kul Gautam. “At a time when the HIV/AIDS pandemic is rising, millions of children orphaned by AIDS are drawn to the city in search of a livelihood. These children are vulnerable to all types of exploitation—including child labour and trafficking,” said IRC Director Marta Santos Pais. “They lack a secure home, cannot afford access to health or education, and there is nowhere safe for them to play.” Poverty and Exclusion among Urban Children points out that during the 20th century, the world’s urban population grew more than tenfold and the average size of the 100 largest cities increased more than eightfold. The proportion of people living in urban areas grew from less than 15% in 1900 to an estimated 48% in 2002. This rise has been fuelled by the expansion in the world’s economy, most of which has taken place in industrial and services enterprises located in urban areas. This trend is likely to continue, says the report, and in 2002, an estimated one billion children lived in urban areas—close to half the world’s children. Over 80% of these children live in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and their numbers are growing fast. Many low-income countries still have urban child mortality rates as high as 100 to 200 per 1,000 live births, with large percentages of poor urban children only partially vaccinated, or not vaccinated at all. There are also elevated levels of anaemia and an increasing proportion of severely undernourished children. The report notes that while urban children are generally considered to be better off than rural children, healthier, better housed, better educated and with access to a wider range of services and opportunities, the reality is that hundreds of millions of urban children live in deep poverty, squalor and misery. Basic infrastructures and services are often lacking in the poorest quarters of the world’s cities, depriving children of their right to live in a healthy environment. However, the report says that there is room for optimism and offers examples of cities and towns where municipal authorities “have grasped the opportunity to help children living in poverty, to ensure respect for their human rights and to involve them as partners in urban decision making; in brief, to institutionalize a system of local governance for children’s rights.”
The report cites seven key elements for a city to be “child-friendly”: Contact : Cecilio Adorna, Chief, Office for Public Partnerships, UNICEF, 3 UN Plaza, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/326 7532, e-mail <cadorna@unicef.org>, website (www.unicef.org).
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In February 2003, States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child expanded the membership of the Committee that monitors compliance with the Convention by electing 13 experts—five to replace current members whose terms will expire and eight new ones—bringing to 18 the total number of members. The Committee on the Rights of the Child, formed in 1991 to monitor implementation of the Convention, is the principal children’s treaty encompassing a range of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. The Convention seeks to protect children from discrimination, neglect and abuse. Elected in the first ballot were: Joyce Aluoch (Kenya, two years); Jakob Doek (the Netherlands, four years); Kamel Filali (Algeria, four years); Moushira Khattab (Egypt, four years); Hatem Kotrane (Tunisia, four years); Lothar Krappman (Germany, four years); Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea, two years); Lucy Smith (Norway, two years); Majorie Taylor (Jamaica, four years); and Nevana Vuckovic-Sahovic (Serbia and Montenegro, two years). Elected in the second ballot were Noberto Liwski (Argentina, four years), Awa N’Deye Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso, four years), and Rosa Ortiz (Paraguay, four years). Amended article 43 of the Convention, by which the Committee’s membership was enlarged from 10 to 18 independent experts, was approved by the General Assembly in December 1995 (resolution 50/155) and entered into force on 18 November 2002. In his opening remarks, temporary Chairperson Bacre Ndiaye, Director, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, informed States Parties that two Optional Protocols had entered into force early in 2002: the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict (46 States Parties), and the Optional Protocol on the sale of children for prostitution and child pornography (45 States Parties). These Protocols would increase protection available to children worldwide, he said, but monitoring their implementation would add to the Committee’s already heavy workload. According to Mr. Ndiaye, the Convention, with 191 States Parties, remained the most widely accepted human rights instrument, and the increased membership would enable it to address several significant challenges and to provide guidance to States Parties on various aspects of the Convention. Contact: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Palais Wilson, 52 rue des Pâquis, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland, e-mail <crc@ohchr.org>, website (www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/).
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The 28th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women took place at UN headquarters in New York from 13-31 January 2003, reviewing the reports of eight States Parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), including Albania, Canada, El Salvador, Kenya, Luxembourg, Norway, the Republic of Congo, and Switzerland. The Committee, chaired by Ayse Feride Acar (Turkey), focused on a broad range of issues, including constitutional and legislative reforms; customary laws and traditional practices; women’s participation in economic decision making and political life; rural women; immigrant women’s rights; and access to health care and education. The Committee also identified a number of crosscutting concerns, including the persistence of stereotypical attitudes towards the gender roles of women and men; violence against women; and trafficking in women and girls. Considering the country reports, the Committee experts expressed concern over the regression of women’s progress in Albania following its transition to a market economy, particularly with regard to the lack of women’s participation in the political sphere, violence, and social inequality in general. A major concern was the revival of customary law in the country. While praising Canada for significant strides in advancing the rights of women, the Committee expressed concern over the high number of women living in poverty in the country, with limited job training, little education and poor health. Experts also focused on the systematic discrimination suffered by aboriginal women in Canada. The Committee commended El Salvador on the establishment of its Institute for the Advancement of Women, while noting the severe shortage of women in senior political, international and corporate posts. The Committee expressed optimism that the newly elected Government of Kenya would commit itself to countering traditional and customary discrimination, such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation and stereotypical roles. The importance of educational and sensitization efforts in that regard was discussed, as well as the importance of continued work with NGOs. Commending Luxembourg for its commitment to promoting gender equality, experts also cited concern about the sexual exploitation of women, especially as it related to Luxembourg’s large immigrant population. Describing Norway as a “haven for gender equality,” the Committee nevertheless expressed concern at the persistence of discrimination in economic decision making, violence against women, prostitution and the rights of immigrant women. Responding to questions posed by the Committee, the Republic of the Congo noted that since ratifying the Convention in 1983, it had identified discriminatory legislation and drawn up draft laws on adultery, protection of minors, sexual harassment and equal rights in the family. Noting that Switzerland was in the forefront of many human rights issues, the Committee expressed concern over the unclear locus of responsibility for further progress in gender equality, given the unique structure of the Swiss Confederation. Many experts were concerned over the pace of change, noting that Switzerland had ratified the Convention relatively late and had only given the vote to women in 1971. Other experts were concerned about the victims of sex trafficking. Contact: UN Division for the Advancement of Women, Two UN Plaza, Room 1250, New York NY 10017, USA,
fax +1-212/963 3463, e-mail <daw@un.org>, website
(www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw). |
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A US$40 million trust fund to help the world’s least developed countries participate in Codex Alimentarius was launched in Geneva on 14 February 2003 by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Codex Alimentarius sets food standards that protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in food trade. The FAO/WHO Project and Fund for Enhanced Participation in Codex is expected to run for 12 years and has already received its first contribution from Switzerland. It will help some 120 developing countries and countries in transition increase their participation in the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which was established in 1962 by FAO and WHO. The fund will also help regulators and food experts from all areas of the world to participate and enhance their capacity to develop effective food safety and quality standards, both within the framework of the Codex Alimentarius and national food safety systems in their own countries. Speaking during the extraordinary session of the CAC, WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland said, “We believe that through their increased participation in Codex, all 168 Codex Members will be better able to create and govern their domestic food standards and food safety systems. This will enable all Codex Members both to improve the quality and safety of food at home, and to be more effective when trading their food internationally.” In his message, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf said, “Developing countries say they often find it difficult to take part in Codex and have their voice heard. Due to limited resources, governments in developing countries cannot always give Codex activities the high priority they deserve. This must change. All countries, especially the developing countries, need to be fully involved in the international debate and in drawing up policy guidance on food safety and trade.” Food safety standards have become increasingly important in recent years, as countries faced a number of food safety crises, such as mad cow disease, dioxin contamination of animal feed and listeria contamination of milk products and ready-to-eat foods. FAO says harmonized food standards contribute to a rule-based trading system that is predictable and non-discriminatory, which supports the agriculture sector and promotes development in general. Contact: John Riddle, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/5705 3259, fax +39-06/5705 3699, e-mail <john.riddle@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org). Gregory Hartl, Communication Adviser, Sustainable Development and Healthy Environments, WHO, 20 avenue Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland, telephone +41-22/791 4458, fax +41-22/791 4858, e-mail <hartlg@who.int>, website (www.who.int). |
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“Despite
high rates of deforestation, progress in implementing sustainable
forest management around the world has been steady and encouraging.
However, improvements are needed to bring about further environmental,
economic, social and cultural benefits,” says the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) annual report The State of the World’s Forests 2003 (SOFO 2003). Sustainable forest management refers to meeting present needs for forest goods and services, while ensuring continued availability of these goods in the long term, and SOFO 2003 recommends stronger integrated policies and better linkages across sectors, including agriculture, transportation and trade to increase such sustainability. It particularly recommends innovative partnerships among governments, organizations, the private sector and civil society. The report underscores the major roles of forests in the context of climate change: — as a source of carbon dioxide (CO2) when they are destroyed or degraded; — as a sensitive indicator of a changing climate; — as a source of biofuels for the substitution of fossil fuels; — and as a CO2 sink when they are managed sustainably. “Forests can help to reduce food insecurity, alleviate poverty, improve the sustainability of agricultural production and enhance the environment in which many impoverished rural people live,” says the chapter on forests and poverty alleviation, one of the issues that FAO calls attention to as needing to be resolved when negotiations for the next commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change begin in 2005. Other chapters of SOFO 2003 analyze the important role of forests in freshwater resources, the contribution of
forests to the conservation of biological diversity, and the state of science and technology in the forest sector,
including the widening gap between advanced and least developed countries. A final chapter analyzes recent fiscal policies trends in the forest sector in Africa and ways to improve them. Contact: Pierre Antonios, Information Officer, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy, telephone +39-06/570 53473, e-mail <pierre.antonios@fao.org>, website (www.fao.org). |
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At its opening session on 12 February 2003, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called
on the Special Committee on Decolonization and those countries responsible for administering the final 16
Non-Self-Governing Territories “to reinvigorate the decolonization process” in order to “close this unfinished
chapter in history.”
Citing Timor-Leste, formerly known as East-Timor, as it took its place in the United Nations as a sovereign nation last year, the Secretary-General said that for many years before that, the East Timorese had been able to use the Special Committee as an important international forum in which to voice their aspirations. Mr. Annan also said the Special Committee would continue to base its work on the principles of the UN Charter as well as General Assembly resolutions 1514 and 1541 containing the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. These documents established that Non-Self-Governing Territories could exercise a full measure of self-government, based on the freely expressed wishes of the territorial peoples, through one of three options: free association; integrations with another State; or independence. The Secretary-General emphasized the importance of productive cooperation between the Special Committee and the administering Powers, recalling that at the inception of the UN, the administering Powers had undertaken under the Charter obligation to bring the territories under their administration to an appropriate level of self-government. Since the creation of the Special Committee, many of the 16 remaining Non-Self Governing Territories had made considerable progress towards self-government by developing their constitutional, political and economic systems, he said. The newly elected Chairman, Earl Stephen Huntley (Saint Lucia), in his opening statement, said that the issue of decolonization had been with the international community for too long, and by now should have disappeared from its agenda. He said it could be achieved through faithful implementation of the mandate by all of the political actors in the process—Member States, the UN machinery and the wider UN system. He also said a successful, meaningful and peaceful decolonization process could not take place without the administering Powers’ support. Regarding the role of the wider UN system, he said that the regional commissions, specialized agencies and bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) should continue to assist the peoples of the territories in the development of their capacity to assume the responsibility of governance, as they advanced toward a full measure of self-government. He also noted that cooperation between the Third and the Fourth Committees, as well as collaboration between the decolonization and the human rights committees, was important. The inclusion of the territories in the programmes of action of the Durban Declaration, the World Summit on Sustainable Development and other world conference outcome activities was also highly desirable, Mr. Huntley said. The Special Committee on decolonization—formally known as the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, and commonly referred to as the “Special Committee of 24”—was established by the General Assembly in 1961. It meets annually, hears appointed and elected representatives of Non-Self Governing Territories and petitioners, dispatches visiting missions to those Territories, and organizes seminars on the political, social, economic and educational situations. The 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories covered by the Committee are: American Samoa; Anguilla; Bermuda; British Virgin Islands; Cayman Islands; Falkland Islands/Malvinas; Gibraltar; Guam; Montserrat; New Caledonia; Pitcairn; St. Helena; Tokelau; Turks and Caicos Islands; United States Virgin Islands; and Western Sahara. The current administering Powers are France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. More information can be found online (www.un.org/Depts/dpi/decolonization/main.htm). |
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Preparations are underway for the Fifth International Conference on New or Restored Democracies (CNRD), which will be held in Ulaanbatar (Mongolia) from 18-20 June 2003 under the theme Democracy, Good Governance and Civil Society. A Civil Society Forum will be held prior to the main conference. Beginning as a small gathering in Manila in 1988 after the “People Power” revolution in the Philippines toppled the Marcos regime, participation in the conference has swelled since the collapse of Communism and other political systems in ensuing years. Subsequent conferences were held in Nicaragua (1994), Romania (1997) and in Benin (2000). The UN General Assembly took notice that the process had originated outside the UN context and made “support of efforts of governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies” a UN goal (see document A/56/499 and resolutions 56/96 and 56/269.) The UN Development Programme (UNDP), which actively promotes democratization as essential to good governance, now supports the work of the conference. The sub-themes of this year’s conference are in fact expected to reflect the challenges to the democratization process identified in UNDP’s 2002 Human Development Report entitled Deepening Democracy (see Go Between 93). Rather than focusing primarily on external aspects of democratization, the organizers of the conference have chosen to focus on the new or restored democracies themselves. The conference aims to provide an opportunity for participants to exchange information and experiences on promoting good governance, sharing best practices for developing participatory democracy, and creating an enabling environment for more dynamic participation of civil society in democratization and development. It will also focus on the best ways and means of strengthening international and regional cooperation in this field. In addition, the conference is expected to focus on: implementation of the Cotonou Declaration that emerged from the 2000 conference in Benin; progress in the development of democracy indicators; the inadmissibility of unconstitutional changes of governments established by popular elections; and identification of the international legal principles and norms in support of the democratisation process. Contact: Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the UN, 6 East 77th Street, New York NY 10017, USA, telephone +1-212/861 9460, fax +1-212/861 9464, e-mail <Mongolia@un.int>, website (www.un.int/mongolia/ ICNRD5_home.htm). UN Department of Political Affairs, Room S-3780, United Nations, New York NY 10017, USA, fax +1-212/963 5065, website (www.un.org/Depts/dpa/docs/ democratization_copy(1).htm) and website (www.undp.org/governance).
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The overwhelming share of the profits made from illicit drug trafficking does not occur in countries where illicit drug crops are cultivated, but in countries where finished products are illegally sold and abused, according to the International Narcotics Control Board’s (INCB) annual report, which focuses on the impact of illicit drug cultivation, trade and abuse on overall economic development. The report was released during the Board’s five-day session that met in Vienna from 3-7 February 2003. The Vienna-based independent expert body, which reviews the global drug situation annually, categorically dispels the myth that drug trafficking may constitute a route to prosperity by stressing that illicit drug production prevents economic growth and does not lead to sustainable development in the long term. According to the report, the farmers growing the illicit crops do not make the profits: in fact, only 1% of the money ultimately spent by drug abusers is earned as farm income in developing countries. The remaining 99% is earned at various other points along the drug trafficking chain. The report also notes the destabilizing effect of illicit drug production on the State, economy and civil society, and how it is damaging long-term economic development. The Board concludes that national long-term economic development is not possible without an effective drug control system. The INCB continues to focus attention on the drug cultivation and drug trafficking situation in Afghanistan. Reviewing the most recent drug related developments in the country, the Board stresses that Afghanistan has to develop a comprehensive and coherent national drug control strategy to include all drugs illicitly cultivated, produced and trafficked . Recognizing the efforts of the current government, the Board calls for urgent support and cooperation from the international community as well as from countries in the region while stressing that the era | |||