The Security Council has extended the mandate of the expert body dealing with United Nations sanctions imposed on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) for nuclear arms testing and the panel of experts established last year to monitor and enforce sanctions against Iran because of its failure to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding its nuclear programme.

 

In the resolution adopted on North Korea on June 10, the Council also urged all states to provide "any information at their disposal" on the implementation of previous resolutions that imposed sanctions against the country, tightened an arms embargo, and called for tougher inspections of cargo suspected of containing nuclear and ballistic missile equipment.

 

The North Korea resolution extends the panel's mandate until June 12, 2012, and requests a report from the group by November of this year.

 

The Iran resolution, adopted by a vote of 14 in favor with 1 abstention (Lebanon), extends the group's mandate for one year through June 9, 2012.

 

The Council has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran since 2006, including a ban on all items which could contribute to the country's enrichment of uranium, a necessary step for both peaceful and militaristic uses of nuclear energy, and arms sales and a freeze on assets.  

 

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Serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law were committed following last November's presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire, according to investigators tasked by the United Nations Human Rights Council with probing alleged abuses.

 

File Photo - Ivorians vote in their country's run-off presidential elections at a polling station at the Abobo Social Education Centre in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire last November. UN Photo/Basile Zoma

The International Commission of Inquiry, which submitted its report to the Council in Geneva on June 9, said the violations were committed by both the Forces de Défense et de Sécurité (FDS), loyal to Côte d'Ivoire's former president Laurent Gbagbo, and the Forces Républicaines that fought for President Alassane Ouattara, who defeated Mr. Gbagbo in the elections.

 

The Commission also calls for the establishment of an independent mechanism on the human rights situation in Côte d'Ivoire, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a statement issued on June 10. The UN Human Rights Council will consider the report on June 15.

 

The Commission visited Côte d'Ivoire from May 4-28, going to the commercial capital, Abidjan, and to the western, northern and southern regions of the country including Duékoué, Guiglo and Korogho. It also traveled to neighboring Liberia where thousands of Ivorian refugees fled during the conflict.

 

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The head of the United Nation entity tasked with promoting gender equality has reiterated that economic empowerment of women, political participation, ending gender-based violence and raising women's involvement in post-conflict peacebuilding are the priorities of the body.

 

Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women

Michelle Bachelet, the Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), told a news conference in Geneva on June 10 that her office would also work with other UN agencies and partners on topics ranging from education for women and girls to sexual and reproductive health.

 

Asked how she intended to address the problem of sexual violence against women, Ms. Bachelet said prevention was most effective way of dealing with the scourge. Prevention methods included raising awareness and educating both girls and boys to eradicate gender stereotypes in society.

 

On gender-based violence in conflict situations where UN peacekeeping forces are deployed, Ms. Bachelet said UN Women will use best practices developed by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) to train soldiers prior to their deployment to increase their tactical readiness to respond to reports of sexual violence.

 

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More than half of the world's estimated 215 million child laborers are engaged in hazardous work which puts them risk of injury, illness or death, the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) said in a new report unveiled on June 10.

 

ILO Photo: Lissac P.

The report, "Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do," cites studies from both industrialized and developing countries that indicate that a child laborer suffers a work-related accident, illness or psychological trauma every minute.

 

The document says that although the overall number of children aged 5 to 17 in hazardous work declined between 2004 and 2008, child workers in the 15-to-17 age bracket rose by 20 percent during the same period, from 52 million to 62 million.

 

The ILO Global Report on child labor warned last year that efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor were slowing down and expressed concern that the global economic crisis could halt progress toward the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labor by 2016.

 

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