Fwd: UN DAILY NEWS DIGEST - 19 November

UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
19 November, 2014
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UN SPOTLIGHTS CHILDREN'S RIGHTS AS WORLD GEARS UP TO MARK 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF LANDMARK TREATY

As the global human rights community readies to celebrate tomorrow the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations committee charged with its implementation highlighted the right of children to actively participate – and not just be heard – in discussions that affect their lives and communities.

"Let us stop talking about 'allowing' young people to participate – it is, firstly, a right of the child," the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child emphasized today in a press release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

"Secondly, when children take part in discussions on matters affecting their lives, problems they face are more likely to be addressed meaningfully if their views are taken into account," the Committee added.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 20 November 1989 and to date has been ratified by 194 countries, making it the most widely ratified international human rights treaty. Its adoption marked the first time that children were explicitly recognized as having specific rights.

Noting that since the Convention's adoption, it could point to improvement in children's lives worldwide, the Committee underscored that too many children still "suffer violations of their rights and especially violence, exploitation and neglect, discrimination, denial of health services or a decent education."

It is important to remember that children can be "active agents of change in their families, in their schools, in their communities and in their countries," the Committee said. While children may at times have views different than those of adults, "this is as it should be. Children are valuable members of our societies as children," the Committee stressed.

"Creating the future we want, the future that will shape the lives of children and their children, depends on how we act now, and for that children's participation is as important as that of adults," the Committee added.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child comprises 18 independent experts and monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by its State parties. It also monitors implementation of two Optional Protocols to the Convention, on involvement of children in armed conflict and on sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

As part of celebrations to mark the anniversary of the Convention's adoption, the General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters in New York tomorrow morning on the promotion and protection of the rights of children. An interactive panel discussion on the theme of 25 Years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: is the world a better place for children?, co-chaired by Queen Silvia of Sweden and Ms. Laura Vargas Carrillo of Mexico, will be held in the afternoon.

Also tomorrow morning, a high-level panel discussion on the "25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: recalling its vision," organized by the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, will be held at the UN in New York. Several missions will also hold side events.

In addition, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) will hold a musical celebration tomorrow morning at UN Headquarters to mark the anniversary of the Convention, as well as the 60th anniversary of the agency's Goodwill Ambassador Programme and the 35th anniversary of the Music for UNICEF concert.

The occasion will also serve to launch the UNICEF #IMAGINE project, a musical and technological initiative to highlight the challenges children face the world over. The agency will also use the opportunity of the occasion to launch its latest State of the World's Children report.


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EBOLA CASES NO LONGER RISING IN GUINEA, LIBERIA – UN HEALTH AGENCY

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported today that the number of Ebola cases is "no longer increasing nationally in Guinea and Liberia, but is still increasing in Sierra Leone", and that preparedness teams have been sent this week to Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal.

Earlier today, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper, had appealed for funding for Ebola preparedness in the swath of Africa consisting of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal making up one of the poorest regions in the world.

WHO, in its most recent update, said the evolving Ebola outbreak "highlights the considerable risk of cases being imported into unaffected countries."

"With adequate levels of preparation, however, such introductions of the disease can be contained before they develop into large outbreaks," it said.

WHO attributed the success of Nigeria and Senegal in halting Ebola transmission to "strong political leadership, early detection and response, public awareness campaigns, and strong support from partner organizations."

The United Nations and its partners are accelerating the deployment of preparedness strengthening teams to help countries build upon their existing work and planning, and this week, teams have been deployed to Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Senegal, it said.

Meanwhile in Mali today, the head of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Anthony Banbury, explored ways to support the Government not only in its efforts to end the current crisis, but to put in place the necessary capacity to react quickly should there be any new cases in the future.

There have been 6 reported cases of Ebola with 5 deaths in Mali to date.

Mr. Banbury met President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and the Minister of Health and Public Hygiene, Ousmane Koné, and praised their leadership in managing the crisis, including through the appointment of a national coordinator, Professor Samba Sow.

"A strong national leadership is an absolutely essential component of an effective response to the Ebola crisis," Mr. Banbury said. "The President is playing that role and the United Nations is committed to supporting him and his government in bringing this crisis to a close."

The WHO report issued late today in Geneva said 15,145 cases of Ebola virus disease had been reported in six affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain and the United States of America) and two previously affected countries (Nigeria and Senegal) with 5,420 reported deaths.

A total of 584 health-care workers are known to have been infected, 329 of whom have died, according to the report.

"In the three countries with widespread and intense transmission, reported case incidence is no longer increasing nationally in Guinea and Liberia, but is still increasing in Sierra Leone," the report said.

"The outbreaks in Guinea and Liberia now appear to be driven by intense transmission in several key districts, whereas transmission is intense throughout the north and west of Sierra Leone," where "the worst affected area remains the capital, Freetown," it said.

The report said the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is the lead agency in social mobilization during this outbreak and that a joint WHO-UNICEF team visited Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to review and assist them with their social mobilization plans.

WHO identified the 15 countries that have been prioritized for technical assistance on preparedness from specialist WHO teams and partners: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, and Togo.


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SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR THOROUGH INVESTIGATION INTO ALLEGED MASS RAPE IN NORTH DARFUR

Echoing calls from the wider United Nations community, the Security Council today expressed concern at allegations over the mass rape in late October of 200 women and girls in Tabit, North Darfur, calling on the Government of Sudan to conduct a thorough investigation.

In a press statement, the Council called on the Sudanese Government to fulfil its obligation to allow, in accordance with its agreement with the UN and the African Union (AU) concerning the status of the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) and relevant Council resolutions, the "full and unrestricted freedom of movement without delay throughout Darfur to UNAMID, so as to enable them to conduct a full and transparent investigation, without interference, and verify whether these incidents have occurred."

Further to the statement, the Council called on Khartoum to ensure accountability, if the allegations are verified.

The Council noted that proper access to Tabit and its population for UNAMID is "essential to conducting a full investigation into the allegations in order to determine their veracity and, if verified, to ensure accountability."

On Monday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply troubled" by the persistent allegations, and urged Government officials to grant unfettered access to the town so that investigators can verify the reports.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq subsequently announced that UNAMID had again asked for access to Tabit and will deploy a team immediately, once such access has been granted.

UNAMID first visited Tabit, which is located 45 kilometres south-west of El Fasher, in North Darfur, on 9 November, after declaring that it would conduct an investigation into the veracity of the claims. However, the heavy presence of military and police in Tabit made a conclusive investigation difficult.

On 7 November, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, also expressed concern about the allegations and called on the Government of Sudan to allow immediate and unhindered access for an investigation.

Tensions have been simmering across Darfur throughout the past few months. In October, an attack on UNAMID peacekeepers by armed militants claimed the lives of three peacekeepers.

The UN estimates that some 385,000 people have been displaced by the conflict between the Government of Sudan and armed movements in Darfur since the start of 2014. The world body has repeatedly called on all sides to join negotiations aimed at achieving a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive peace for the people of Darfur, which has witnessed fighting since 2003.

UNAMID, formally established in 2007, has been mandated to protect civilians, support humanitarian assistance, monitor and verify implementation of agreements, contribute to the promotion of human rights and the rule of law, and assist in the political reconciliation following the 2003 civil war between the Government of Sudan and militias and other armed rebel groups.


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'INSECURITY ON THE MARCH AGAIN' IN AFRICA'S SAHEL REGION, UN RELIEF OFFICIAL WARNS

Insecurity is on the march again in the countries of Africa's Sahel belt, where extremists have displaced 1.5 million people in Nigeria and the threat of Ebola is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis, the United Nations humanitarian regional coordinator said today.

"The Sahel, despite all the priorities around the world, continues to be a preoccupation for the United Nations and humanitarian teams," UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Robert Piper, said at a press briefing in Geneva on the "chronic emergency" confronting the countries of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal, making up one of the poorest regions in the world.

Mr. Piper said the situation in northern Mali has deteriorated substantially through the course of the year; while immediately outside of the Sahel, insecurity in Darfur has sent refugees into Chad; and hundreds of thousands have fled the Central African Republic into Chad and Cameroon, and Libya continues to boil over.

He noted that Ebola has touched the Sahel in Senegal and Nigeria, but praised the governments in those countries for their success in stemming the virus' spread.

"Mali is the next place of concern," he said of the re-emergence of the Ebola virus there.

"Nigeria is, however, by far the biggest concern," according to Mr. Piper, who said the situation has deteriorated dramatically this year, and that in the course of a few months, the number of people fleeing Boko Haram fundamentalists have jumped from 600,000 six months ago to more than 1.5 million people.

He said the displaced from Nigeria have been seeking shelter in neighbouring countries such as Niger, "the poorest country on the planet," and Cameroon.

"The scale of the challenges there is truly very, very worrying," he said.

The humanitarian coordinator noted that Burkina Faso is "relatively calm" in the wake of recent civil unrest, and he hoped the transition process continued to be a peaceful one.

Mr. Piper also stressed that Ebola preparedness needs to be given more attention in the Sahel region.

"Work has begun," he said, and "preparedness teams are visiting the countries one by one…but funding is very short. We seek $25 million in Ebola preparedness."

Describing the extent of the humanitarian crisis, Mr. Piper noted the number of internally displaced peoples, refugees and returnees who have been "wrenched from their homes and their livelihoods" has jumped from 1.3 million at the beginning of the year to 3.3 million today.

Further, since the beginning of the year, the number of people considered food insecure had jumped from 20 to 25 million in the Sahel, and half of the 1.2 million severely malnourished children died last year in the region.

The regional humanitarian appeal of some $2 billion is currently 54 per cent funded. Ten years ago, the region's needs amounted to some $200 million, he recalled.

To reverse the dire situation in the Sahel, Mr. Piper noted that there needs to be a focus on basic structural and governance issues, as well as on challenges like climate change, access to basic health services and clean water, and countering the demographic growth projected in the region.

Without addressing "structural vulnerability," he said, it is like saving a girl from acute malnutrition, and then returning her to the same household without access to clean water and with possibility of marriage looming by the times she is 15 years of age.

"These issues need to be addressed successfully for us to imagine an exit strategy," he said.


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LIBYA: UN MISSION BROKERS 'CRITICAL' 12-HOUR HUMANITARIAN TRUCE IN BENGHAZI

The head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced today that all parties to the conflict in Benghazi have agreed to an unconditional humanitarian truce to evacuate civilians and retrieve the bodies of the dead.

The truce, which was facilitated by the Mission, and announced by UNSMIL chief Bernardino Leone, commenced at 7 a.m. local time this morning, 19 November, for a period of 12 hours, subject to extension by the parties, according to a statement.

This humanitarian truce is critical to giving the people of Benghazi, where fighting has been the fiercest, a much-needed reprieve from violence, the Mission explained.

As agreed with all parties, the Libyan Red Crescent will evacuate civilians from the two affected areas, retrieve the bodies of the dead and facilitate the removal of sewage from the affected areas.

Civilians will also have the opportunity to attend to the injured and restock food and other necessary supplies.

In the meantime, UNSMIL continues to urge all parties to fully abide by their commitments during the truce. Since 2011 uprising that ousted former leader Muammar al-Qadhafi, violence amongst armed groups has spread throughout the North African country causing a humanitarian crisis.

According to numbers provided by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), at least 106,420 people had fled their homes in October alone. Since May, a total of 393,400 people have been displaced.

Earlier in the summer there seemed to be steps in the right direction with the election on 25 June of a national Parliament, a move the UN Mission hoped would thrust Libya toward political resolution.

However earlier this month, Libya's Supreme Court declared the national Parliament unconstitutional.

On 11 November, Fatou Bensouda, a Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) warned the UN Security Council about growing political instability in Libya. She said that the country is currently split with two governments vying for legitimacy.

Ms. Bensouda said a particularly worrisome aspect of the "deleterious" situation is the ongoing spate of assassinations in Benghazi, threats to media workers, human rights defenders and women in particular, as well as to prosecutors, judges and lawyers.


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ENSURING WOMEN'S ACCESS TO SAFE TOILETS IS 'MORAL' IMPERATIVE, SAYS BAN MARKING WORLD DAY

With one out of three women worldwide lacking access to safe toilets, it is a moral imperative to end open defecation to ensure women and girls are not at risk of assault and rape simply because they lack a sanitation facility, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged today on World Toilet Day.

In his message for the Day, commemorated annually on 19 November – with this year's theme Equality, Dignity and the Link Between Gender-Based Violence and Sanitation – Mr. Ban said that addressing the sanitation challenge requires a global partnership and called on Member States to "spare no effort to bring equality, dignity and safety" to women and girls around the world.

"A staggering 1.25 billion women and girls would enjoy greater health and increased safety with improved sanitation. Evidence also shows safe and clean toilets encourage girls to stay in school," the UN chief said.

In all, some 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have adequate toilets and among them 1 billion defecate in the open – in fields, bushes, or bodies of water – putting them, and especially children, in danger of deadly faecal-oral diseases like diarrhoea.

In 2013, more than 340,000 children under five died from diarrhoeal diseases due to a lack of safe water, sanitation and basic hygiene – an average of almost 1,000 deaths per day.

But women who do not have access to adequate toilets are especially at risk, since they are vulnerable to shame and potential violence when they seek a place to defecate.

Ensuring that women have access to proper sanitation and toilets is especially crucial as countries work to formulate a sustainable development agenda for the period beyond the year 2015, Mr. Ban urged.

"Communities must be supported as they strive to become open defecation-free. Advocacy efforts must step up and taboos must be broken," the Secretary-General added. These are the objectives of the UN Call to Action on Sanitation to mobilize global, national and community efforts to improve hygiene, change social norms and eliminate open defecation by 2025.

In its remarks on the Day, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that slow progress on sanitation and the entrenched practice of open defecation among millions around the world continue to put children and their communities at risk.

"Lack of sanitation is a reliable marker of how the poorest in a country are faring," said Sanjay Wijesekera, head of UNICEF's global water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes.

"But although it is the poor who overwhelmingly do not have toilets, everyone suffers from the contaminating effects of open defecation, so everyone should have a sense of urgency about addressing this problem," he added.

The call to end the practice of open defecation is being made with growing insistence as the links with childhood stunting become clearer. India, with 597 million (half the population) practising open defecation, also has high levels of stunting.

"The challenge of open defecation is one of both equity and dignity, and very often of safety as well, particularly for women and girls," Wijesekera noted. "They have to wait until dark to relieve themselves, putting them in danger of attack, and worse, as we have seen recently."

In May, the hanging of two teenage girls in Uttar Pradesh who had gone out after dark to defecate caused international shock and dismay, and highlighted the security issues involved in open defecation.

UNICEF's Community Approaches to Total Sanitation addresses the problem at the local level by involving communities in devising solutions, and has led to some 26 million people across more than 50 countries abandoning the practice of open defecation since 2008.

Eighty-two per cent of the 1 billion people practising open defecation live in just 10 countries: India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Niger, Nepal, China, and Mozambique. The numbers of people practising open defecation are still rising in 26 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, though they have declined in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. In Nigeria, numbers of open defecators increased from 23 million in 1990 to 39 million in 2012.

Globally, some 1.9 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990. However, progress has not kept up with population growth and the Millennium Development Goal target on sanitation is unlikely to be reached by 2015 at current rates of progress.

The inter-governmental Open Working Group on the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals have recommended that the new goals include a target of achieving adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation by 2030.

Several events were organized at Headquarters to mark the Day, including a press conference with Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, who has spearheaded efforts around the initiative, including towards ending open defecation.

Mr. Eliasson said there are so many reasons to get involved in this issue. Firstly, sanitation is the most lagging goal of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The issue of sanitation has wide implications as it touches on economic development, waste management and the ever-increasing scarce water resource. Managing sanitation makes good economic sense, he said, adding that one dollar investment in sanitation equals to four dollars in economic growth.

"And then basically, it's a matter of human rights…and to me it is also a matter of dignity," Mr. Eliasson said. This year's focus on women and sanitation is especially important. In some 20 countries, there are horrible examples of girls that go out in the field get attacked, rapped and even hanged.

"This has been a bit of a personal commitment, I actually saw children die in front of me in Somalia in 1992 of dehydration and diarrhoea," he said.

Many times in schools there is only one hole in the back and that is reserved for boys. Girls are too ashamed to go and so it becomes impossible for them to go to school. Investing in water and sanitation has horizontal benefits.

Singapore's Representative to the United Nations, Karen Tan, who has also led efforts on the initiative, said that people don't like to talk about toilets.

"Pooing" and "peeing," she said, are extremely taboo, but hopefully, even if people laugh and snicker, Governments will make steps to take action and raise awareness about this very serious issue.

There are many critical aspects to this Day, including education, equality, dignity, and human rights. Particularly, it is important to pay special attention to the challenges that women and girls face when they do not have access to toilets and proper sanitation.

Chair of UN-Water, Mr. Michel Jarraud said "we need to talk about open defecation – no matter how taboo it may feel."

Ending open defecation is a crucial way to speed up development. "We have to work in every possible way to address the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by women who lack access to toilets and sanitation. In a number of countries, there is evidence that girls do not go to school if there are no toilets," he said, echoing Mr. Eliasson.

"We need to close the gap between the ones who have and the ones who do not have," he said, urging the need to put water and sanitation at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda.

World Toilet Day was established by the "Sanitation for All" resolution, adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2013, designating 19 November as World Toilet Day. The Day is coordinated by UN-Water in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders.


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EVERY DOLLAR INVESTED IN WATER, SANITATION BRINGS FOUR-FOLD RETURN IN COSTS – UN

For every dollar invested in water and sanitation, there is a $4.3 return in the form of reduced health care costs for individuals and society around the world, where 2.5 billion people still lack access to basic sanitation services, with 1 billion practicing open defection, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today.

WHO released a major new report behalf of UN-Water that showed that while global efforts to provide improved water and sanitation are gaining momentum, "serious gaps" in funding continue to hamper progress.

The UN health agency also noted that "At the time of writing, poor WASH [water and sanitation] conditions in communities and institutional settings, especially health facilities, have been exacerbating the spread of Ebola in West Africa."

According to WHO estimates, the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water published bi-annually, presents data from 94 countries and 23 external support agencies. This year's report was also released in connection with events to mark World Toilet Day.

Two thirds of the 94 countries surveyed recognized drinking-water and sanitation as a universal human right in national legislation. More than 80 per cent reported having national policies in place for drinking-water and sanitation, and more than 75 per cent have policies for hygiene, the report said.

"Now is the time to act," Michel Jarraud, Chair of UN-Water and Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said in a press release.

"We may not know yet what the post-2015 sustainable development agenda will look like. But we do know that water and sanitation must be clear priorities if we are to create a future that allows everyone to live healthy, prosperous and dignified lives."

International aid for water and sanitation is on the rise: according to the report, financial commitments increased by 30 per cent between 2010 and 2012 – from $8.3 billion to $10.9 billion. And aid commitments are increasingly targeted to underserved regions, notably sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia and South-eastern Asia.

"Despite these gains, 2.5 billion men, women and children around the world lack access to basic sanitation services," WHO said. "About 1 billion people continue to practice open defecation. An additional 748 million people do not have ready access to an improved source of drinking-water."

"And hundreds of millions of people live without clean water and soap to wash their hands, facilitating the spread of diarrhoeal disease, the second leading cause of death among children under five," the report said.

The report also said that "many other water-borne diseases, such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis, are prone to explosive outbreaks. Poor sanitation and hygiene can also lead to debilitating diseases affecting scores of people in the developing world, like intestinal worms, blinding trachoma and schistosomiasis."

The report also said that investments in water and sanitation yield substantial benefits for human health and development.

"Economic benefits include an overall estimated gain of 1.5 per cent of global GDP and a $4.3 return for every dollar invested in water and sanitation services due to reduced health care costs for individuals and society," the report said. "Millions of children can be saved from premature death and illness related to malnutrition and water-borne diseases. Adults can live longer and healthier lives."

"Gains in quality of life include improved school attendance, greater privacy and safety – especially for women, children and the elderly – and a greater sense of dignity for all," WHO said.

UN-Water is the United Nations (UN) coordination mechanism for freshwater related issues, including sanitation. UN-Water is comprised of UN entities with a focus on, or interest in, water related issues and its main purpose is to complement and add value to existing programmes and projects by facilitating synergies and joint efforts, so as to maximize system-wide coordinated action and coherence.

The work of UN-Water is organized around thematic priority areas and task forces as well as awareness-raising campaigns such as World Water Day (22 March) and World Toilet Day (19 November).


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UN ASIA-PACIFIC FORUM OPENS MEETING TO ADVANCE GENDER EQUALITY

More than 700 representatives from governments, inter-governmental organizations, UN bodies and civil society in Asia and the Pacific began meeting today to advance gender equality and women's empowerment with the keynote speaker highlighting the urgency of eliminating violence against women and girls.

The "Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review" is being convened in Bangkok, Thailand by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in cooperation with UN Women, from 17 to 20 November.

In her keynote address at the opening of the conference, Her Majesty Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk, the Queen Mother of Bhutan, highlighted the urgency of eliminating violence against women and girls.

The "eradication of violence from the lives of women and girls, along with peace, democracy and sustainable development in the region, will become possible when women and girls are valued, when their ability to fully and freely exercise their human rights is wholly supported, when there is equality in the exercise of power and when decisions are made to fully resource comprehensive and evidenced-based interventions," she said.

ESCAP Executive Secretary, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, in her opening address to more than 700 participants including ministers and representatives of civil society said the Conference "provides a unique opportunity to recommit Asia and the Pacific to the goal of gender equality and the means of accelerating the realization of human rights and opportunities for all women and men, girls and boys."

Over the next two days, delegates to the Conference will discuss and identify strategies for accelerating implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted by the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, as a key means of achieving gender equality, including such measures as strengthening Government institutions and accountability, forging stronger partnerships and enhancing financing.

The Asia-Pacific Conference concludes on 20 November with the anticipated adoption of the "Asian and Pacific Ministerial Declaration on Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment," which will serve as the regional voice in next year's global discussions and agenda setting.

In her video message to the Conference, the Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, said: "Member States are moving into the final stage of crafting the post-2015 development framework, it is vital that in your regional and global development cooperation you remain vigilant in this process to maintain a strong gender goal as well as the targets and indicators on gender equality across other goals."


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SOMALIA CANNOT AFFORD TO REPEAT 'PATTERN OF DIVISION, PARALYSIS' – UN POLITICAL CHIEF

Somalia's positive strides do not mean "plain sailing", the United Nations political chief stressed today, telling a high-level forum in Copenhagen that the international community must continue to support the Horn of Africa nation in its efforts to stabilize and build sustainable security.

In his opening remarks at the two-day High-Level Partnership Forum (HLPF) on Somalia held in Copenhagen, Denmark, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Jeffrey Feltman explained that Somalia simply "cannot afford to repeat the pattern of division and paralysis."

"Overall, Somalia is in a better state than it has been in a generation," Mr. Feltman said, adding that in a world of relentless crises, conflict and human suffering, Somalia has stood out as different – a positive narrative in the making.

"Of course this does not mean plain sailing," he said, underscoring that "some of Somalia's old shadows still haunt us."

Yet, gains have been the result of a strategic, effective partnership among Somalia's federal leadership that gave Somalis and those in the international community faith and confidence.

For instance, the Secretary-General's visit to Mogadishu last month along with the President of the World Bank and other regional partners was yet another sign of broadening and deepening international engagement in Somalia, he said.

Joining the UN political chief in Copenhagen are top officials including Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, representatives of Puntland and the Interim Jubba Administration, and Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, among others.

HLPF Copenhagen aims to maintain the momentum in the political transition process, within the framework of the Somali New Deal Compact, a document endorsed by the Somali Government and international partners at the Brussels Conference in September 2013.

The Compact is seen as a road map for promoting State-building and peace-building priorities in Somalia between 2014 and 2016.

"The Compact we will renew today remains the right tool to marshal our efforts for long-term peace and development," said Mr. Feltman.

Supporting Somalia in its comprehensive approach to counter-terrorism is imperative. The campaign against Al-Shabaab has advanced, in no small part to Somali security forces and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), he said.

On the progress in partnership for transparent finance through the Financial Governance Committee, Mr. Feltman explained that it was critical to build confidence in Somalia's economy at home and abroad.

"Much more needs to be done. But international economic investment is already significant and growing," he added.

Spurts of violence over the past few weeks in the country are unfortunately not new, said Mr. Feltman as he urged the President and other officials to resolve the current crisis in a way that ensures political stability through to 2016.

He also welcomed the role of the regional Intergovernmental Authority of Development (IGAD), of which Somalia is a founding member, in facilitating the search for a lasting solution.

For their part, international partners must live up to the principles pledged, and fulfil commitments of the New Deal Compact to "ensure that our investment and commitment in Somalia is matched by results on the ground."

"We also must redouble our efforts to improve the lives of ordinary Somalis, remembering that some 3.2 million remain in need of humanitarian assistance," Mr. Feltman said.


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AT HIGH-LEVEL DEBATE, UN, SECURITY COUNCIL RENEW PLEDGE TO COUNTER FOREIGN TERRORIST FIGHTERS

As foreign fighters continue to flood the world's zones of conflict, exacerbating already tenuous security situations and further destabilizing States, the United Nations Security Council reiterated today its pledge to counter the global terrorist threat by adopting a statement reaffirming its commitment towards the preservation of international peace and security.

At a high-level debate held today in UN Headquarters in New York, the 15-member body unanimously approved the text, which calls on Member States to increase cooperation in their efforts to address the perils posed by foreign terrorist fighters around the world – from helping each other build capacities to address terrorist threats to collaborating in suppressing the transit of violent extremists between states.

According to a recent UN assessment, the number of foreign terrorist fighters in the Syria and Iraq conflicts alone has grown to over 15,000 from more than 80 countries while other fighters are reportedly seeking to join militant groups in Somalia, Yemen, as well as several countries in the Maghreb and Sahel regions.

The bulk of the prospective fighters seek out well-known terrorist groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Al-Nusrah Front (ANF), and other entities associated with Al-Qaida, which continue to terrorize local populations while also committing atrocities.

The Council reiterated its "grave concern" about these terrorist groups and "the negative impact of their presence, violent extremist ideology, and actions on the stability of Iraq, Syria and the region," including the "devastating humanitarian impact on the civilian populations."

Since January 2014, in fact, an estimated 1.9 million people have been displaced across Iraq as they fled the violence and persecution of ISIL's recent offensives. According to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), close to 50 per cent of the displaced have found refuge in the high altitude areas of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, where winter temperatures can plummet to well-below zero.

In addition, the statement highlighted the "continued need to improve the visibility and effectiveness of the UN's role in countering the spread of violent ideologies" adding that terrorism "in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security."

In his remarks to the Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended the body for its "unity of purpose" in addressing a threat which continues to cause "profound suffering" for the millions living under the control of such groups.

"We are increasingly seeing terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crime grow in intensity and feed off each other," Mr. Ban said. "The international community and the UN must ensure the full implementation of our many tools for action – including Security Council resolutions and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy."

The Security Council last met for a high-level debate on terrorism in September when a resolution calling on Member States to cooperate in efforts to address the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters was adopted.

However, noted Mr. Ban, since then a number of specific steps had been taken towards combatting the spread of extremist ideologies and their deadly offshoots, including a preliminary analysis prepared by the Counter-Terrorism Committee's Executive Directorate focusing on the principal capacity gaps in Member State implementation of resolution 2178; the creation of a UN coordination mechanism to mobilize action to support the needs of Member States; and the initiation of a UN system-wide programme on foreign terrorist fighters to develop inter-agency projects to assist Member States.

In addition, he added, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime was also working to "strengthen the legal and criminal justice capacity of Middle East and Northern African countries to address the threat posed by foreign fighters."

"Violent extremism is a multi-dimensional challenge that needs to be effectively addressed at the grassroots level," the Secretary-General continued, remarking that the "scourge of violent extremism" also had its socio-economic roots that needed to be addressed.

"We must continue to think more deeply into the fundamental conditions that allow extremism to thrive. Looking at these challenges solely through a military lens has shown its limits."


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UN EXPERTS WARN AGAINST RELEASE OF FORMER COMMANDER CONVICTED IN SREBRENICA GENOCIDE

A group of United Nations human rights experts today have voiced alarm over the potential imminent release of Milorad Trbic, who was convicted in 2009 by the Bosnian State Court of committing genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The experts' call comes after the Bosnian Constitutional Court overturned the verdict and ordered a retrial.

"The release of convicted criminals undermines efforts made by the Bosnian State Court and the international community to achieve justice, especially in light of the wider failure by the Government to adopt and implement a comprehensive transitional justice strategy," the experts jointly said in a press release published by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

The experts include Pablo de Greiff, Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence; Ariel Dulitzky, Chair-Rapporteur, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Juan E. Méndez, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and Gabriela Knaul, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.

Mr. Trbic was charged in April 2005 by the UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) with crimes against humanity for his role in planning and carrying out the massacre in 1995 of 1,000 Bosnian Muslim men from Srebrenica. Mr. Trbic joined the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) when the war in Bosnia started. He was found guilty of genocide by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2009.

Emphasizing the necessity of ensuring that the rights of victims to truth and justice are respected, the experts also called on the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to take "all necessary steps" to protect victims and adopt a comprehensive transitional justice strategy as a matter of priority.

The experts noted that the Bosnian Constitutional Court has overruled more than a dozen other convictions for war crimes and aiding genocide throughout the past year, following its "highly questionable" legal interpretation of the European Court of Human Rights judgment in Maktouf and Damjanovic.

"Each decision has led to a prisoner's release pending retrial and retrials have led to much lower sentences," the experts stressed.

"There is a grave risk that the convicted criminal will flee to another jurisdiction, as happened recently in the case of war criminal Novak Ðukic," they added. Ðukic, a former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army's Ozren Tactical Group, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for ordering an artillery squad to shell the town of Tuzla in 1995.

This is the first case that concerns someone convicted not for having aided but for having directly committed genocide, which makes the decision "even more alarming," the experts said.

Moreover, the experts noted that the interests of justice require that people convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other serious crimes, including torture and enforced disappearances, whose guilt is not in question, should not be released pending retrial and that punishment should be consistent with the gravity of the offence.

"Such decisions are a slap in the face for victims and pose serious challenges with regard to the protection of victims from violence, re-victimization and intimidation," said the experts, who have previously engaged with the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on these issues.

The experts also said that "these decisions feed into a disturbing narrative propagated in some quarters that those convicted of war crimes and genocide have been unfairly targeted," and warned that "this type of discourse seriously risks any prospects for reconciliation."


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AT GLOBAL FOOD CONFERENCE, UN OFFICIALS SOUND THE CALL FOR BETTER GLOBAL NUTRITION

The international community must intensify its efforts towards eradicating hunger and malnutrition, top United Nations officials declared today at the opening of a major global food conference held in Rome, Italy, as 170 Member States adopted a series of pledges aimed at ensuring that that all citizens around the world gain better access to healthier and more sustainable diets.

In a video message delivered to the International Conference on Nutrition – organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon observed that while "a great deal of progress" had been made since his Zero Hunger Challenge was first issued, the world needed to "redouble" its efforts in eliminating hunger and improving nutrition.

"This Conference marks a new stage in our quest to banish global hunger and malnutrition for good," Mr. Ban told the gathered delegates. "I know from my own country's experience the crippling effect that hunger and malnutrition can have."

The Conference was inaugurated with the immediate adoption of the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and a Framework for Action, as more than 90 ministers and hundreds of government officials agreed on recommendations for policies and programmes to address nutrition across multiple sectors.

According to an FAO press release, the Declaration "enshrines the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food" while committing governments to preventing malnutrition and hunger. At the same time, the Framework for Action sets out 60 recommended actions that governments may incorporate into their national nutrition, health, and agriculture plans.

Mr. Ban noted that more than 100 developing countries across Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean had committed to ending hunger by a 2025 deadline while 54 countries had already taken measures recognizing the importance of nutrition to their social and economic development. Many countries, he added, were also responding to what he described as "the increasing challenge of obesity."

While the prevalence of hunger has fallen by 21 percent since 1990-92, over 800 million people in the world still go hungry, the UN agriculture agency has reported. Over two billion people are affected by micronutrient deficiencies, or "hidden hunger," due to inadequate vitamins or minerals. Undernutrition, meanwhile, is linked to almost half of all child deaths under five years of age, some 2.8 million per year.


Video message by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the Second International Conference on Nutrition.Against this backdrop, the scourge of obesity also claims victims with around half a billion people now obese, and three times as many overweight. Some 42 million children under the age of five are already overweight. Moreover, different forms of malnutrition often overlap, with people living in the same communities-sometimes even in the same household-suffering from hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.

Overall, the FAO notes, half the world's population is affected by some sort of malnutrition.

"We have the knowledge, expertise and resources needed to overcome all forms of malnutrition," FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva confirmed in his message to the Conference. "Governments must lead the way, but the push to improve global nutrition must be a joint effort, involving civil society organizations and the private sector."

He cautioned that while both the Rome Declaration and Framework for Action were "the starting point of our renewed efforts to improve nutrition for all," they were not "the finishing line."

"Our responsibility is to transform the commitment into concrete results," he concluded.

The Conference, which runs until 21 November, will also seek to address the way food is produced, processed, distributed, marketed and prepared for human consumption as healthy diets are considered central to establishing a stable bulwark against malnutrition. As a result, governments will be encouraged to support local food production and processing, especially by smallholder and family farmers.

"The world's food system – with its reliance on industrialized production and globalized markets – produces ample supplies, but creates some problems for public health," WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, explained.

"Part of the world has too little to eat, leaving millions vulnerable to death or disease caused by nutrient deficiencies," she continued. "Another part overeats, with widespread obesity pushing life-expectancy figures backwards and pushing the costs of health care to astronomical heights."

Governments will be urged to tackle the widespread use of trans-fats, saturated fats, sugars and salt in foods and drinks through a series of necessary regulatory and voluntary instruments without which, the FAO suggests, it would be difficult to protect consumers from the noxious elements found in many packaged goods found around the world.

"Global nutrition problems require global solutions," the UN agency remarked in its press release, "while nutrition deserves much greater attention on the international development agenda."


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