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- Ban names UN panel for Sri Lanka
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed a three-man panel Tuesday to advise on human-rights violations committed during the Sri Lankan government's decisive offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009. Thousands of civilians died during the military action and both sides have been accused of war crimes by human-rights advocates. The panel will seek to help Sri Lankan authorities ensure accountability for abuses but will not investigate individual incidents. CNN (6/22) , BBC (6/22)       - UNODC: Peru, Colombia drive world's cocaine trade
Peru now produces more than 45% of global coca-leaf supply, making it the single largest producer in the world, according to a report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Colombia, now the second largest producer of coca leaf, still produces the world's largest amount of processed cocaine, UNODC says. Google/Agence France-Presse (6/22)   | - Brazil gives aid to region struck by floods
The government of Brazil has pledged $100 million in aid to an area of northeastern Brazil where hundreds of people remain missing after heavy flooding. The food and reconstruction aid will go to some 115,000 people displaced by floods that killed at least 41 people. Thirty cities northeast of Sao Paulo are struggling with emergency conditions, leading governor Eduardo Campos to appeal for potable water and food aid. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva established a $700 million relief fund from which the aid will be drawn. Los Angeles Times (6/22) - Bank: Small steps will net climate treaty
Agreement on methods to help developing countries finance their efforts against climate change and protect their forests are interim steps climate negotiators can back at international climate talks in November, says Kathy Sierra, World Bank vice president for sustainable development. Efforts to forge an international climate treaty have been hobbled by differences in emissions target goals and distrust between developed and developing countries, but small step, Sierra argues, could help progress the process. AlertNet.org/Reuters (6/22) - UN assembles climate science team to write fifth report
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has selected 831 scientists from a pool of some 3,000 applicants to write its fifth report on global climate change -- a report that will cover climate observations, global climate-change impacts on society and global climate-change prevention strategies. The fifth report comes even as a review of the fourth report, released in 2007, is under way. The new report is scheduled to be published in 2014. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (6/23) - Kenya looks to lead Africa on carbon trading
Kenyan authorities are planning to create a regional carbon-emissions trading mechanism to streamline African carbon-trading efforts, and promote conservation and poverty-reduction efforts inside Kenya. Under the plan, communities will be able to generate revenue by planting trees and supporting government efforts to address environmental degradation. AllAfrica Global Media/SciDev.net (6/21) - South Africa draws fire over World Cup courts
An expedited court system set up by South African authorities specifically to cope with World Cup-related crimes and incidents is drawing fire for excessive sentences. Authorities tasked more than 250 prosecutors to work 56 courts operating 15 hours a day to maintain public order. Critics argue trials and sentencing for a man who mistakenly wandered into the English team's locker room and Dutch women for wearing attire with a corporate logo not associated with the World Cup sponsor are not representative of the kind of crimes authorities should be concerned with. The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (6/22) - Son of Congolese leader to pursue war crimes charges against Belgium
Francois Lumumba, son of Patrice Lumumba -- the first democratically elected leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo -- will file war crimes charges against 12 Belgian officials suspected in the senior Lumumba's assassination. The complaint, which Lumumba will file in October, will come just a week before Congo celebrates its 50th anniversary as an independent state. The charges argue that Belgian officials transported to the place where he was tortured and killed and failed to protect him. The Independent (London) (6/23) - UN reports 2 German aid workers were kidnapped in Darfur
Seven men -- some of them armed with assault rifles -- abducted two German aid workers in southern Darfur, where kidnappings have been on the rise since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in March 2009. Kidnappings have forced some aid organizations to change their operations or withdraw from the beleaguered region entirely. Google/Agence France-Presse (6/23) - Israeli defense minister, security adviser diverge on development
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak fired a shot across the bow at other officials in the Israeli government who approved a plan to raze 22 Palestinian homes in order to make way for Israeli development -- a move that threatens the ongoing, indirect peace talks brokered by the U.S. But Israeli National Security Adviser Uzi Arad told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the prospects for a U.S.-brokered peace are dim and that the Palestinian plight for statehood has damaged Israel's reputation within the global community. The New York Times (free registration) (6/22)  | |  | | | | | | | | Executive Director | Cultural Survival | Cambridge, MA | | Online Communications Senior Associate, Public Affairs Girl Up Campaign | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Campaign Associate, Girl Up Campaign | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Communications Associate, Public Affairs Girl Up Campaign | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Systems Administrator | United Nations Foundation (UNF)/Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Pledge Guarantee for Health (PGH) Associate | United Nations Foundation (UNF)/Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | Managing Director, Thought Leadership | United Nations Foundation (UNF) / Better World Fund (BWF) | Washington, DC | | UNITED KINGDOM DIRECTOR | Human Rights Watch | London, United Kingdom | | | |  | |  | |
- Should all country governments allow refugees to return to their homes no matter how long they have been displaced?
 | Yes | | No |
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