Secretary-General outlines need for long-term transitional arrangements in Libya
Swift and decisive action by the international community has stopped a humanitarian disaster from emerging so far in Libya, but the country's transition to genuine democracy will take time and require concerted global support, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on March 29.
 | |
March 29, 2011 - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) speaks at an international conference of over forty delegations, in London, United Kingdom, on the situation in Libya where coalition troops continue a campaign of air strikes against forces loyal to Col. Muammar Al-Qadhafi. Seated beside Mr. Ban is David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. UN Photo/Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK
|
"For now, we have prevented a humanitarian catastrophe," Mr. Ban said in a statement to an international conference, held in London and involving dozens of countries and regional organizations, on the situation in Libya.
Mr. Ban said "thousands of lives" were saved by the actions of the international community, with a Security Council resolution earlier this month authorizing "all necessary measures" to protect civilians and then individual United Nations Member States launching air strikes as part of the implementation of that resolution.
The Secretary-General pledged the ongoing support of the UN to resolve the crisis in Libya and noted that the world body was already engaged in "strong diplomatic efforts."
He reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire between the military and opposition forces, and said he and his Special Envoy for Libya, Abdel-Elah al-Khatib, remain in close contact with both Libya's authorities and the opposition.
Read more
Related Headlines
Access to food a major concern as fighting rages on in Libya, says UN agency
As influx from Libya to Tunisia continues, UNICEF sets up sanitation facilities
No evidence that Libya is fulfilling its obligations to protect civilians, UN chief says
|
UN staff killed during attack in northern Afghanistan
United Nations personnel working in Afghanistan have been killed today after demonstrators attacked a UN compound in the country's northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
 The attack took place at an operations centre for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), according to information released by the Secretary-General's spokesperson.
The exact number of UN staff killed is not yet clear and UNAMA said it was working to ascertain all the facts and to take care of affected staff.
Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and the head of UNAMA, is now travelling to Mazar-i-Sharif to deal with the situation.
More information will be posted at www.unicwash.org as it becomes available.
|
Côte d'Ivoire: UN urges restraint amid reports of abuses by pro-Quattara forces
The United Nations human rights office has urged forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the internationally-recognized president of Côte d'Ivoire, to show restraint after reports suggested they have been committing serious rights violations during their advance towards the country's commercial capital of Abidjan.
 | |
March 30, 2011 - A wide view of the Security Council as members unanimously adopt resolution 1975 (2011), urging former president of Côte d'Ivoire Laurent Gbagbo to immediately step down from office, imposing sanctions on Mr. Gbagbo and his senior officials, and calling on state institutions to yield authority to rightfully elected President Alassane Ouattara. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
|
Troops supporting Mr. Ouattara reportedly appear poised for a final push to oust Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step aside following his defeat in the UN-certified presidential election held in November.
Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told a news conference in Geneva of having received "unconfirmed but worrying" reports of human rights violations committed by the pro-Ouattara group known as Forces Républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI) during their advance towards Abidjan.
Read more
Related Headlines
UN mission deploys troops to Ivorian church to protect civilians seeking refuge
Demanding end to violence in Côte d'Ivoire, Security Council imposes targeted sanctions
Côte d'Ivoire: UN condemns firing at helicopter and killing of civilians
|
UN chief urges 'bold' action to transform global AIDS response
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders to take bold decisions to tackle the AIDS epidemic, as he launched a new United Nations report on March 31 that warns that recent gains, while laudable, are fragile.
 The report, Uniting for universal access: towards zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths, comes 30 years into the AIDS epidemic and just months ahead of a high-level meeting of the General Assembly in June on the issue.
"Ten years ago, the international community came together at the General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS and set targets for the year 2010. Now it is time to take a hard look at where we failed ... where we succeeded ... and why," Mr. Ban said at the launch of the report in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The report, based on data from 182 countries, highlights that the global rate of new HIV infections is declining, treatment access is expanding and the world has made significant strides in reducing HIV transmission from mother to child.
Read more
|
UNICEF appoints actor Liam Neeson as global Goodwill Ambassador
The Irish actor Liam Neeson, a long-time campaigner and advocate on behalf of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), became a worldwide Goodwill Ambassador for the UN agency on March 29.
 | |
Liam Neeson is now a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. © UNICEF/2011/Stedman
|
Accepting the appointment, Mr. Neeson said he was "committed to working with UNICEF to help children overcome poverty, violence, disease and discrimination," according to a press release issued by the agency.
Mr. Neeson said he was particularly keen to use his profile to spotlight the work UNICEF does to reduce the number of children who die each day from preventable causes.
"It is shocking to me that in this day and age, 22,000 children are still dying every day for want of the most basic things like clean water to drink, a safe place to live or access to medicines when they are sick," he said.
Read more
|
|
Week in Review
Darfur Village Abandoned after Heavy Clashes
 | |
March 27, 2011 - A community leader and two small boys are among the small population remaining in Hashaba, a village 20 kilometers from Shangel Tubaya, North Darfur. Most villagers have fled to camps for internally displaced because of recent heavy fighting between Government of Sudan and rebel forces. Hashaba, Sudan. UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran
|
_______________________________ National Police Resumes Responsibility in Timor-Leste  | |
March 27, 2011 - Luis Carrilho (front, right), United Nations Police Commissioner for Timor-Leste, hands over the flag of the Timorese police to Longuinhos Monteiro, General Commander of the Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL), at a ceremony at the Government Palace in Dili, commemorating the 11th anniversary of PNTL. The handover takes place five years after Asia's newest nation asked the UN for assistance following an outbreak of conflict. The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) will maintain a police presence of up to 1,280 personnel to support the PNTL until after elections in 2012, when UNMIT is planning to withdraw from Timor-Leste. UN Photo/Martine Perret
|
|
|
Week in Numbers
50 Percent
Nearly three years into the major renovation of the United Nations headquarters complex in New York, the project is on track to being completed within its almost $2 billion budget, the official overseeing the  overhaul said on March 31. Michael Adlerstein, the Executive Director of the Capital Master Plan (CMP) said. When completed, the landmark 39-story building towering over the East River and First Avenue in Manhattan will possess the 21st-century trappings of eco-friendly energy conservation, and its now dulled glass façade will be replaced with a new glass curtain resplendent with the same bluish-green tint as in its first incarnation in 1952. "We project a 50 percent reduction in energy consumption, as compared to pre-CMP conditions," said Mr. Adlerstein. "Our greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 45 percent, and our water consumption will be reduced by 40 percent."
Read more
|
|
