Warm clothing, tents among urgent needs for China's children after earthquake
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said it is preparing to dispatch warm clothing, school tents and supplies to help children affected by last week's earthquake in western China who are at particular risk from sub-zero temperatures in the area.
 The 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck remote Yushu prefecture in China's Qinghai province on April 14 killed more than 1,700 people while some 256 people are still missing and 12,128 others injured.
Some 6,870 people have been rescued from debris in the town of Jiegu, where 85 percent of the buildings have been destroyed, rendering 100,000 residents homeless.
UNICEF is especially worried about the immediate danger to children from cold weather, as many residents of Jiegu - located on the 4,000-metre high Tibetan plateau - sleep in the open in sub-zero temperatures.
The agency, at the request of relevant authorities, will dispatch 5,000 sets of warm children's clothing, 150 school tents and 2,000 blankets. It is also preparing to supply 2,000 children's winter boots, 5,000 student kits and shoulder bags, 500 blackboards, ambulances, generators and medical equipment.
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Next Afghan elections must be as transparent as possible, says UN envoy
The upcoming parliamentary elections in Afghanistan must be an improvement over last year's presidential polls, the top United Nations envoy there told the new head of the country's national electoral body, urging that the process be as transparent as possible.
 The April 19 meeting followed a news conference in Kabul on Saturday, in which Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General's special representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), welcomed President Hamid Karzai's decision to adopt the agreed election guidelines for 2010.
It is hoped that these implementation guidelines will ensure more credible and transparent elections than those held last August, which were marred by fraud.
The special representative congratulated Fazel Ahmad Manawi on his appointment as the new Chairperson of the Independent Election Commission, and pledged the full technical and logistical support of the UN to the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled to be held on September 18.
With the appointment of Mr. Manawi and the endorsement of the implementation guidelines, the special representative has recommended that the international community release funds as soon as feasible to allow electoral operations to begin.
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Key to successful peacebuilding efforts is political will, Ban tells Security Council
At a Security Council meeting on Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need for strong political commitment by post-conflict countries and their international partners, saying it is the key to building lasting peace in the aftermath of war.
 "Peacebuilding is a complex and multifaceted undertaking. It requires significant amounts of human, financial and institutional resources," Mr. Ban noted in his remarks on post-conflict peacebuilding.
"But the most important tool we can deploy is the political commitment of national and international actors," he stated.
Since its establishment in 2006, the UN Peacebuilding Fund has provided resources to 16 countries, with 88 percent of this funding going to countries with either peacekeeping missions or political and peacebuilding missions.
The Fund also serves as a pillar of support for the UN Peacebuilding Commission, which was set up in 2005 to help struggling states avoid slipping back into war and chaos by providing strategic advice and harnessing expertise and finance from around the world to aid with recovery projects.
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UN report on Bhutto murder finds Pakistani officials 'failed profoundly'
Security arrangements by Pakistan's federal and local authorities to protect assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto were "fatally insufficient and ineffective" and subsequent investigations into her death were prejudiced and involved a whitewash, an independent United Nations inquiry reported last week.
 The UN Commission of Inquiry, appointed last year by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the request of the Pakistani government, reached no conclusion as to the organizers and sponsors behind the attack in which a 15-year-old suicide bomber blew up Ms. Bhutto's vehicle in the city of Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007.
But it found that the government was quick to blame local Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud and Al-Qaida although Ms. Bhutto's foes potentially included elements from the establishment itself.
"A range of government officials failed profoundly in their efforts first to protect Ms. Bhutto and second to investigate with vigour all those responsible for her murder, not only in the execution of the attack, but also in its conception, planning and financing," the Commission said.
"Responsibility for Ms. Bhutto's security on the day of her assassination rested with the federal government, the government of Punjab and the Rawalpindi District Police. None of these entities took necessary measures to respond to the extraordinary, fresh and urgent security risks that they knew she faced." Read the report Related Headline |
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Week in Pictures
Port-au-Prince Prosthetic Clinic
April 12 - A patient at the Handicap International Clinic in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, waits to be fitted with a prosthetic leg. UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro visited the clinic during her trip to Haiti. UN Photo/Sophia Paris
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National Elections in Khartoum, Sudan 
April 14 - A voter looks over a ballot in Khartoum, Sudan. Sudan's national elections are the first to take place in almost 25 years and will determine regional and national posts, including the presidency. UN Photo/Tim McKulka |
