[afrocarpus] UN DAILY NEWS from the UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE

 

UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
31 May, 2016
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DAILY HIGHLIGHTS from the UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
31 May, 2016
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NO NEED TO CANCEL OR POSTPONE OLYMPICS DUE TO ZIKA, SAYS UN HEALTH AGENCY

The World Health Organization (WHO) has determined that based on the current assessment of the Zika virus circulating in almost 60 countries globally and 39 countries in the Americas, there is no public health justification for postponing or cancelling the 2016 Olympic Games.

In a news release, WHO noted that Brazil is 1 of almost 60 countries and territories which to date report continuing transmission of the Zika virus by mosquitoes, and therefore cancelling or changing the location of the Olympics – which are scheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August – will not significantly alter the international spread of the virus.

"People continue to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of reasons. The best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice," the agency said.

WHO said it advises pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing Zika virus transmission, which includes Rio de Janeiro. In addition, pregnant women's sex partners returning from areas with circulating virus should be counselled to practice safer sex or abstain throughout the pregnancy, the agency said.


WHO noted that among the precautions that people considering travel to the Olympics should take include:

Following the travel advice provided by their countries' health authorities, and consulting a health worker before travelling;
Whenever possible, during the day, protecting themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellents and by wearing clothing – preferably light-coloured – that covers as much of the body as possible;
Practicing safer sex or abstaining from sex during their stay and for at least four weeks after their return, particularly if they have had or are experiencing symptoms of Zika virus;
Choosing air-conditioned accommodation (where windows and doors are usually kept closed to prevent the cool air from escaping, and mosquitoes cannot enter the rooms); and
Avoiding visiting areas in cities and towns with no piped water or poor sanitation, where the risk of being bitten by mosquitoes is higher.
WHO said that, along with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), it is providing public health advice to the Government of Brazil and the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee on ways to further mitigate the risk of athletes and visitors contracting Zika virus during the Games. An important focus of the advice revolves around measures to reduce populations of Aedes mosquitoes which transmit chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever in addition to the Zika virus, the agency said.

WHO added that it will continue to monitor the situation and update its advice as necessary.

* * *

CHAD: TWO MILLION PEOPLE FACE HUNGER IN SAHELIAN BELT, UN AGENCY WARNS

About two million people, or half the population, in the Sahelian belt of Chad face hunger and more than a quarter of them are in severe need of external assistance to meet their minimum daily food needs, the United Nations food relief agency said today.

According to an emergency food security assessment conducted by the Government of Chad, the World Food Programme (WFP) and other partners, which covered the eight regions of the Sahelian belt, the food insecurity and malnutrition situation has worsened over the past year.

"For vulnerable families throughout the Sahelian belt, the lean season this year will be extremely difficult," said WFP Country Director Mary-Ellen McGroarty.

Over the past year, food insecurity rates have been steadily rising from 46 per cent to 58 per cent in the Kanem region, and from 40 per cent to 49 per cent in the Bahr el Ghazel region. Malnutrition rates have also worsened since November 2015 in six regions, namely Bahr El Ghazel, Batha, Kanem, Lac, Sila and Wadi Fira.

Among the factors contributing to the worsening food security and nutrition situation are erratic rainfall during the 2015/2016 growing season, which has led to 11 per cent less food being produced compared to the previous year.

Insecurity and violence spilling across the border from neighbouring Nigeria due to the Boko Haram insurgents has led to borders being closed and disrupted trade.

A drop in livestock price due to disruptions to the cross border trading has negatively impacted the pastoralist communities.

Food assistance will be provided throughout the lean season, which runs from June to September. This will be accompanied by specialized nutritional support for children, pregnant women and nursing mothers suffering from malnutrition.

Such assistance will be followed by projects aimed at mitigating the impact over the longer-term, such as water harvesting and management systems being put in place.

The assessment was conducted with 4,821 households with 10,226 children under five in March and April.


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THOUSANDS OF DESPERATE CIVILIANS ON THE RUN AS BATTLE FOR FALLUJAH CONTINUES – UN

Nearly 3,700 people, or 624 families, have fled Fallujah over the past week amid a new offensive by Iraqi forces to retake the besieged city from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh), the United Nations said today, with humanitarian officials also reporting that those civilians left behind risk being used as 'human shields' by the terrorists.

According to figures provided by authorities, about 1,300 of them are staying in the al-Iraq camp in the Ameriyat al-Falluja district, where the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working to provide assistance.

Others are scattered in one of several other Government-run camps in the district or staying with relatives.

"Iraqi forces are helping to transport families escaping the city, and have set up a hotline to provide information to people wanting to leave," said UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler.

UNHCR has received reports of casualties among civilians in the Falluja city centre due to heavy shelling, including seven members of one family on 28 May.

He also noted that 500 men and boys over 12-years-old are held for security screening, which can take five to seven days, and some 27 men were released yesterday.

Meanwhile, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the country reported today that around 50,000 civilians trapped inside the Iraqi city of Fallujah, risk being turned into "human shields" by the terrorist group Da'esh, according to Lise Grande told UN Radio that the UN and other agencies were doing all they can to protect them.


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ON WORLD NO TOBACCO DAY, UN URGES PLAIN PACKAGING OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO SAVE LIVES

As the global community marks World No Tobacco Day, the United Nations is advocating for the use of plain packaging of tobacco products in an effort to save lives by reducing demand for such products, which kill nearly 6 million people every year.

"Tobacco use is one of the largest causes of preventable non-communicable diseases, including cancers, heart and lung disease," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message on the Day, which is observed annually to highlight the health risks associated with tobacco use and to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.

"On this World No Tobacco Day, I call on Governments around the world to get ready for plain packaging," he added.

As laid out in the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the plain packaging of tobacco products entails restricting or prohibiting the use of logos, colours, brand images or any promotional information other than brand and product names displayed in a standard colour and font.

Noting that tobacco also "diverts valuable household income," Mr. Ban said that plain packaging reduces the "attractiveness of tobacco products, restricts tobacco advertising and promotion, limits misleading labelling, and increases the effectiveness of health warnings."

In his message, the UN chief also highlighted that Sustainable Development Goal 3 aims to "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages."

 
As part of that approach, he noted that Governments have committed to strengthen the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in all countries to reduce the proportion of people who use tobacco.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control entered into force in February 2005. Since then, it has become one of the most widely embraced treaties in the history of the UN, with 180 Parties, covering 90 per cent of the world's population.

Along those lines, Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, noted in her message on the Day that tobacco packaging is a form of advertising and promotion that often misleads consumers and serves to hide the "deadly reality of tobacco use."

"Now, WHO is drawing attention to the role of plain packaging of tobacco products as part of a comprehensive approach to tobacco control, including comprehensive bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship and graphic health warnings. We do this for a very good reason: plain packaging works," she stressed.


WHO: World No Tobacco Day 2016 – Get ready for plain packaging
Dr. Chan highlighted that new evidence from Australia, the first country to fully implement plain packaging, shows that changes to tobacco packaging there led to more than 100,000 few smokers in the country in the first 34 months since implementation in 2012.

"The evidence tells us that plain packaging reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products," Dr. Chan said. "It restricts tobacco advertising and promotion. It limits misleading packaging and labelling. And it increases the effectiveness of health warnings.

The Director-General said that the strength of the evidence had been "rigorously tested," including recently in the High Court of England and Wales, which rejected all 17 of the industry's challenges to the United Kingdom plain packaging law.

In doing so, the court stated that some of the tobacco industry evidence was "wholly untenable and resembled diatribe rather than expert opinion," Dr. Chan said.

 
The decision came in the same week that arbitrators revealed that they refused to hear a Philip Morris claim against the Australian law on grounds that the company had engaged in an abuse of process in bringing the claim.

"These results are a cause for celebration, but governments must remain vigilant," the Director-General said.

"We have seen over and over again how industry, fuelled by its deep pockets, has been able to develop new strategies in an attempt to protect profits generated from its deadly products. In the case of plain packaging, it has been the target of a massive tobacco industry misinformation campaign dating as far back as 1993," she added.


WHO had stood up against that campaign, replacing falsehoods with the facts, Dr. Chan said.

"While plain packaging represents a power tool for tobacco control, it also builds upon other measures that governments have at their disposal to curb tobacco use. It is recommended that plain packaging be used as part of a comprehensive multi-sectoral approach to tobacco control," the Director-General said.

"On this World No Tobacco Day, we are telling the world to get ready for even more comprehensive tobacco control," she concluded.

* * *

TWO MILLION MORE PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV ON LIFE-SAVING TREATMENT IN 2015 – NEW UN REPORT

The number of HIV-positive people taking antiretroviral medicines more than doubled to an estimated 17 million people from 2010 to 2015, with two million people gaining access to the life-saving drug last year alone, the United Nations agency leading the world's HIV/AIDS response announced today.

"I urge all countries to seize this unprecedented opportunity to put HIV prevention and treatment programmes on the fast track and end the AIDS epidemic by 2030," Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said upon the launch of a new report, Global AIDS Update 2016.

Released ahead of the UN General Assembly's High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, slated for 8-10 June, the report shows that global coverage of antiretroviral therapy reached 46 per cent at the end of 2015. Gains were greatest in the world's most affected region, eastern and southern Africa, where coverage increased from 24 per cent in 2010 to 54 per cent in 2015, reaching a total of 10.3 million people.

Botswana, Eritrea, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe all increased treatment coverage by more than 25 percentage points between 2010 and 2015.

In South Africa, 3.4 million people had access to treatment, followed by Kenya with nearly 900,000.

The extraordinary scale-up of antiretroviral treatment since 2010 has reduced AIDS-related deaths from 1.5 million in 2010 to 1.1 million in 2015

The extraordinary scale-up of antiretroviral treatment since 2010 has reduced AIDS-related deaths from 1.5 million in 2010 to 1.1 million in 2015. As more countries adopt new guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat everyone diagnosed with HIV immediately, public health benefits are being realized for individuals and for wider society.

The report was launched in Nairobi, Kenya, one of the countries showing the most remarkable progress in expanding access to antiretroviral medicines and reducing the number of new HIV infections.

"The Kenyan government, in partnership with UNAIDS and other development partners, is committed to the fast-track approach to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030," said Cleopa Mailu, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Health. "We must catalyse investments across different sectors, with a focus on cost-effective and socially inclusive programmes, if we are to succeed."

The UNAIDS fast-track approach to treatment is proven to work in countries adopting it. The momentum must continue to achieve the UNAIDS 90–90–90 treatment target by 2020, whereby 90 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 90 per cent of people who know their HIV-positive status are accessing treatment and 90 per cent of people on treatment have suppressed viral loads.

Reaching the 2020 treatment target will set the world on course to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Preventing new HIV infections by countering stigma and discrimination and ensuring that 90 per cent of people have access to HIV combination prevention services will also be crucial to ending the AIDS epidemic.

The report shows that declines in new HIV infections among adults have slowed alarmingly in recent years, with the estimated annual number of new infections among adults remaining nearly static at about 1.9 million. The global figure masks striking regional disparities that must be addressed to achieve the reductions required to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

The largest reduction in new adult infections occurred in eastern and southern Africa. There were about 40,000 fewer adult HIV infections in the region in 2015 than in 2010, a four per cent decline.

More gradual declines were achieved in the Asia-Pacific region and western and central Africa. Rates of new adult HIV infections were relatively stable in Latin America and the Caribbean, western and central Europe, North America, the Middle East and North Africa. However, the annual number of new HIV infections in eastern Europe and central Asia increased by 57 per cent.

Adolescents, especially young women and girls, are still being left behind in the AIDS response

In the report, UNAIDS urges countries to continue to scale up HIV prevention efforts while continuing to roll out treatment, since many people are still not being reached. Young people and adolescents, especially young women and girls, are still being left behind in the AIDS response.

Adolescent girls and young women 15-24 years old are at higher risk of HIV infection globally, accounting for 20 per cent of new HIV infections among adults globally in 2015, despite accounting for just 11 per cent of the adult population.

In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women account for 25 per cent of new HIV infections among adults. Harmful gender norms and inequalities, obstacles to education and sexual and reproductive health services, poverty, food insecurity and violence are the key drivers of this increased vulnerability.

The report also shows that more than 90 per cent of new HIV infections in central Asia, Europe, North America, the Middle East and North Africa in 2014 were among people from key populations and their sexual partners, including gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers and people who inject drugs. In sub-Saharan Africa, key populations accounted for more than 20 per cent of new HIV infections. These groups of people are still not being reached with HIV prevention and treatment services despite having the highest rates of HIV prevalence.

The report urges countries to work closely with partners, particularly civil society, communities and people living with HIV, to ensure that they know where their epidemics are concentrated and that they have the right services in the right places.

* * *

CÔTE D'IVOIRE: UN ENVOY WELCOMES PROGRESS MADE IN ADDRESSING SEXUAL VIOLENCE CRIMES

Concluding a three-day visit to Côte d'Ivoire, the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict has welcomed progress made thus far by the Government, and in particular by the national armed forces, in addressing sexual violence crimes in the country.

"I have been able to interact with the national authorities and [Forces Républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire] FRCI leadership, and see for myself the practical and operational steps being taken to prevent and respond to sexual violence crimes," said Zainab Hawa Bangura, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

"We have been able to identify remaining challenges in the implementation of the FRCI Action Plan to combat conflict-related sexual violence and discussed the way forward towards the delisting of the FRCI from the annex of the annual report of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence," she added.

The Special Representative noted that the FRCI was included in the annex of the annual report of the Secretary-General on conflict-related sexual violence in 2012 as a party credibly suspected of being responsible for committing rape and other sexual violence crimes during the post-electoral crisis in 2010-2011.

As part of her official visit, Ms. Bangura met with senior Government and UN officials to discuss the progress being made in Côte d'Ivoire to address sexual violence crimes committed during the post-electoral crisis and beyond.

During her stay in Abidjan, she met with Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan; the Minister of State on Interior and Security; Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals; Minister on the Promotion of Women, Family and Children Affairs; the Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Solidarity, Social Cohesion and Victims Compensation; the Chief of Army Staff; Head of the Gendarmerie; the leadership of the UN's Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI); and the UN country team.

In meetings with the national authorities and military leadership, the Special Representative noted the progress made, including the development and implementation of the FRCI Action Plan, training and sensitization of FRCI soldiers, signing of undertakings by senior commanders of the FRCI, and the review of the code of conduct of the FRCI.

"It is important that such positive steps are shared with countries facing similar challenges. For this reason, later this year my Office will convene a meeting in Côte d'Ivoire, which will bring together African national armies from countries where we work – namely, the Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Somalia and South Sudan – to facilitate an exchange of good practices in addressing conflict-related sexual violence," the Special Representative said.

Ms. Bangura also discussed remaining challenges faced by Côte d'Ivoire, including the need for legal reform to harmonize national laws with international standards, prosecution of perpetrators of sexual violence crimes committed during the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011, the provision of reparations to victims, and the improvement of multi-sectoral services to survivors.

"The political and military authorities in Côte d'Ivoire have confirmed my long-held view that when national authorities demonstrate leadership and responsibility, they create an environment in which sexual violence crimes can be prevented and addressed," Ms. Bangura noted.

"My Office, through the Team of Experts on the Rule of Law/Sexual Violence in Conflict, will build on this progress and support the Government in addressing the remaining challenges of justice and accountability," she added.


* * *

DEATH TOLL 'SOARS' AS MORE THAN 200,000 PEOPLE CROSS MEDITERRANEAN IN 2016 – UN

At least 880 people appear to have died over the past week as their vessels either wrecked or capsized in the Mediterranean, bringing the total fatalities along the dangerous crossing route to 2,510 so far this year, the United Nations refugee agency said today.

The agency said that comparatively, some 1,855 died in the crossing in the same period in 2015 and 57 in the first five months of 2014. So far this year, 203,981 people have made the journey on the Mediterranean.

"The odds of being among the dead are currently one in 81," said William Spindler, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"This highlights the importance of rescue operations as part of the response to the movement of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean, and the need for real, safer alternatives for people needing international protection," he added.

According to new information from people who landed in Augusta over the weekend, 47 people were missing after a raft carrying 125 people from Libya deflated. Eight others were reported separately to have been lost overboard from another boat, and four deaths were reported after fire aboard another. These figures bring last week's death toll to 880.

The Turkey-Greece route accounted for three quarters of the nearly 204,000 people who made the journey prior to the end of March.

Some 46,714 travelled to Italy. The North Africa-Italy route is dramatically dangerous: 2,119 people, or one in 23, died.

UNHCR is working to better understand the possible reasons and dynamics behind these movements.

The majority of boats departing Libya are at present reported to be leaving from the Sabratah area to the west of Tripoli. And as in the past they remain more crowded than those that have normally been seen on the Turkey-Greece route, often carrying 600 or more passengers, and sometimes being towed by larger fishing boats which in turn puts them at risk, Mr. Spindler said.

According to some unconfirmed accounts, the recent increase in numbers is linked to efforts by smugglers to maximize income before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, in the coming week, he said.

Survivors told that smuggler hubs operating in locations including Niger remains active in feeding people from West Africa through to Libya, where many remain for many months before being put onto boats for the crossing to Europe.

Nigerians and Gambians are the most prominent nationalities travelling from Libya to Italy so far this year. Somalis and Eritreans, who are among countries more commonly associated with refugee movements, accounted for nine per cent and eight per cent respectively.

Reports of trauma from sexual and other forms of gender-based violence among women making the journey – or being trafficked – appear common. Some women have told they were subject to sexual slavery in Libya. Arrivals of unaccompanied children are on the rise.


* * *

SENIOR UN RELIEF OFFICIALS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER SYRIANS TRAPPED BY FIGHTING IN NORTHERN ALEPPO

Two United Nations humanitarian officials expressed deep concerned over the fate of an estimated 8,000 Syrians trapped by fighting around the towns of Mare'a and Sheikh Issa in northern Aleppo Governorate following advances in the past three days by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) into areas controlled by non-State armed groups.

An unknown number of people are also unable to flee due to fighting and the closure of the main road leading north towards the town of Azaz in northwestern Syria, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement today.

Fighting is also reported to be continuing near the towns of Kaljibrin and Kafr Kalbin, where some 6,000 people are living. Of the estimated 1,650 individuals recently displaced to informal settlements in the Yazibag area, northeast of Azaz, most have come from areas where fighting has been reported.

"We call on all parties to the conflict to ensure the unhindered movement and protection of civilians trying to reach safety, as well as their access to life-saving assistance at their current locations or en route to other destinations," said Yacoub El Hillo, the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria.

"We further remind all parties to the conflict, and those with influence over them, of their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law to protect civilians and persons no longer participating in the hostilities from attack," said Kevin Kennedy, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis.

The officials said there have been allegations of extra-judicial executions and unlawful arrests by ISIL.

With shifting frontlines and ongoing conflict, some 163,000 internally displaced persons already reside within the Azaz corridor. The majority were displaced due to fighting that started in early 2016, the officials noted.


* * *

UN ENVOY WELCOMES ISRAELI OFFICIALS' COMMENTS ON ARAB PEACE INITIATIVE

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process today welcomed statements by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on the Arab Peace Initiative.

"This can help advance negotiations on achieving a two-state solution," said Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

"It follows the call by the President of Egypt to Israelis and Palestinians to continue the historic step toward peace taken by Israel and Egypt 37 years ago," he added.

On Monday, media outlets reported that Mr. Netanyahu, in response to a speech this past week by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, had said that the Arab Peace Initiative includes "positive elements that can help revive constructive negotiations with the Palestinians."

Mr. Mladenov noted that the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East peace process has repeatedly emphasized the significance and importance of the Arab Peace Initiative "with its vision for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and as an opportunity for building a regional security framework."

"This opportunity should not be missed and must be followed up with concrete and timely action," he stressed.

The Arab Peace Initiative was adopted at the Arab League's 2002 Summit.


* * *

UN RIGHTS OFFICE CONDEMNS EXECUTIONS CARRIED OUT BY GAZA AUTHORITIES

The United Nations human rights office has condemned the execution of three men by authorities in Gaza today, despite serious and widespread concerns that international fair trial standards were not respected, and in spite of appeals by many local and international actors to halt the executions.

According to Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the executions were carried out without the approval of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as required under Palestinian law, effectively denying these men their right to seek pardon or commutation of their sentence.

This right to seek pardon or commutation is also enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Palestine acceded in 2014, he told the regular bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.

"We remain deeply concerned about further planned executions in the near future [and] reiterate that death sentences carried out pursuant to unfair trials are in violation of international law," he said, urging the authorities in Gaza to halt any future executions and to uphold their obligations under national and international law to respect the rights to life and to a fair trial.

"We call on the Palestinian President to urgently establish a moratorium on the death penalty in line with the global trend, with a view to its abolition," added Mr. Colville.


* * *

BAN SAYS GUILTY VERDICT AGAINST FORMER CHADIAN PRESIDENT MARKS 'HISTORIC' DAY FOR COUNTRY'S PEOPLE

The verdict announced by a special court in Senegal on the conviction of the former President of Chad, Hissène Habré, of crimes against humanity sent "a strong signal" to those who perpetrate serious crimes of international concern, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said.

According to a statement issued by Mr. Ban's spokesman, the UN chief took note of the delivery of the trial judgment yesterday by the Extraordinary African Chambers in the Senegalese Courts, as it "marks a historic day for the people of Chad, the region and beyond, as well as for international criminal justice."

"The Secretary-General's thoughts are with the victims of the crimes for which Hissène Habré has been found guilty," the statement said.

Mr. Habré has been found guilty of forced sexual slavery, voluntary homicide, kidnappings of individuals followed by their disappearances, summary executions and torture.

The Secretary-General congratulated the African Union and Senegal on the establishment of the tribunal and expressed his gratitude to all those States who have contributed to this achievement, the statement said.

"The judgment sends a strong signal to those who would perpetrate serious crimes of international concern, including those at the highest echelons of political power, that they will be held accountable for their actions," it added.


* * *

DPI/NGO: ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES – A FORCEFUL ARGUMENT FOR GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

While global citizenship means many things to many people, discussions at the sixty-sixth United Nations/Non-Governmental Organizations Conference maintained that cultivating empathy, a scientific appreciation for the natural world and responsibility towards future generations must be at the core of education for global citizenship.

During a roundtable discussion entitled 'Global Citizens as Stewards of the Planet: Energy, Environment and Climate Change,' Alexander Leicht, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) section chief of Education for Sustainable Development, saw challenges posed against the environment as a strong argument for global citizenship.

"Political agreements, technological solutions or fiscal incentives are not enough. We need a change of mindsets and actions that only education can bring about," he said from the dais.

In today's era of global pollution, natural resource depletion and threats to biodiversity, societies are reassessing the value placed on the natural environment and exploring how formal and informal education, training and grassroots advocacy can strengthen humankind's capacities to exist on the planet.

Mr. Leicht underscored the importance of understanding the scientific facts of climate change and the economic processes that bring it about. He urged all to "participate in societal and political processes that address climate change, and take steps in the local environment to mitigate it."

While global education has, for years, been taught in schools under the social sciences, the voices and teachings of indigenous cultures are helping to identify the values and skill sets necessary for sustainable production and consumption to protect all life.

According to Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, indigenous peoples can impart vital knowledge on protecting the environment. She considered Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13, on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, as the most important of the 17 SDGs , because it serves as the basis for all the others.

"Indigenous peoples have used their knowledge to keep their communities healthy. They have been properly managing natural resources for centuries with ideologies that have been developed over generations," Ms. Ibrahim pointed out.

She explained that the rules defined by indigenous populations can help. "People must respect Mother Nature first. They must respect the water, respect the trees, respect the animals."

Indigenous teachings affirm reverence for all relations, the kinship of all life.

"Our elders and we have been observing changes in the planet for a long time – sadly of our own making. We noticed that the glaciers in the Andes were disappearing and that animals in the north were moving to the south because of the changing weather," said Leonzo Barreno, a Guatemalan Mayan, who moderated the discussion.

Mr. Barreno expressed gratitude that the UN is leading the combat against climate change.

"Now people around the world can see nature as part of themselves. When we indigenous used to say 'Mother Earth' or 'Father Sun' people would laugh, but for us it was real. This is why so many indigenous people around the world would defend the land with their lives. There was no disconnection between us and the earth, between us and the animals, between us and the lakes and the rivers."

Youth Ambassador for Native Children's Survival Ta'Kaiya Blaney shared a similar perspective.

"Having a deep connection of belonging and a kinship with both each other and the land is a founding principle of indigenous ideology," she said. "This concept is severely lacking in our current society and there are many untold indigenous stories that are crucial in changing the narrative, which can change the mainstream perspective of the truth of this world."

Ms. Blaney also asserted that indigenous peoples had a valuable part to play in combating climate change, since the majority of corporate industrial operations – most likely to contribute to climate change – were on indigenous territory.


* * *

UN RIGHTS OFFICE CONCERNED OVER DENIAL OF PARTICIPATION FOR JOURNALIST'S GROUP, LGBT ORGANIZATIONS

The United Nations human rights office today added its voice to the concerns raised over a decision this past week by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to deny the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) consultative status.

"We believe the decision not to allow this well-established NGO to take part in UN meetings, including those of the Human Rights Council here in Geneva, is unwise, unfair and arbitrary, and flies in the face of other initiatives by UN Member States to offer better protection to journalists worldwide," said Rupert Colville, spokesperson of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in a press briefing in Geneva earlier today.

Mr. Colville noted that CPJ is a "key and respected voice" on the issues of protecting journalists and press freedom, and said the statistics it provides on killings, attacks and imprisonment of journalists around the world are "widely viewed as among the most reliable in existence."

He said that, in effect, the votes of just 10 States have meant that CPJ's "voice and important research" continues to be excluded from all relevant UN debates and processes.

Of the 19 States that make up the NGO Committee, six voted in favour of giving CPJ consultative status, and three abstained.

The vote came after CPJ's application, first made in 2012, had already been deferred seven times by the NGO Committee, Mr. Colville said. CPJ, an independent NGO that promotes press freedom worldwide, is headquartered in New York City and is made up of about 40 experts from around the world.

The spokesperson said that as High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein notes in a report that has just come out and will be formally presented to the Human Rights Council on 20 June, "the deferral of a large number of NGO applications for consultative status, sometimes for years on end, and apparently for arbitrary reasons, has deprived international debate of important civil society contributions."

Mr. Colville said OHCHR also has strong concerns about the recent refusal of permission by Member States for 11 civil society organizations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and other marginalized communities to attend the High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS taking place from 8 to 10 June at UN Headquarters in New York.

He noted that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had made an important speech on the subject yesterday in the Republic of Korea, lamenting that "freedom is under threat, including at the last place this should happen: at the United Nations."

"The High Commissioner fully shares that concern, as we see more and more evidence of more and more States clamping down on the freedoms of expression association and assembly, with the media and human rights defenders in the frontline," Mr. Colville stressed.

"While this may be in the interests of authorities wishing to crush criticism and retain power, it is clearly not in the interests of their populations. This unfortunate episode involving CPJ is emblematic of this unfortunate and very negative trend," he added.


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The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.
I have loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore I die in exile.
The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.
When the white man came we had the land and they had the bibles; now they have the land and we have the bibles.
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The Voice of the Poor, the Weak and Powerless.

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