| |
- Council demands protection for DR Congo
The United Nations Security Council delivered a strongly worded statement Thursday demanding peacekeeping forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo take any and all possible measure to prevent incidents like a recent mass rape in North Kivu province. A five-day spree of rape and assaults on civilians this month occurred in a town just 20 miles from a UN peacekeeping base. The council demanded a thorough investigation into the events and why peacekeeping forces were made unaware of the situation for a week after the assaults. AlertNet.org/Reuters (8/26)        - Pakistan's shattered infrastructure
Officials in Pakistan fear that recent flooding has set back the country's infrastructure by years -- possibly even decades. About one-fifth of the country's total area has been affected by the monsoon floods. With roads, hospitals, schools and communication networks destroyed by the rising waters, Pakistan's campaign to combat extremism within its sovereign territory is certain to take a back seat to rebuilding. The New York Times (free registration) (8/26) - Scientists unlock wheat genome, promise of higher-yield crop
British scientists have revealed draft sequences of the wheat genome in hopes of building a better strain of wheat. Scientists believe that by enabling other scientists and breeders around the world to engineer new genetic sequences for wheat, they may produce higher-yield strains of the grain. BBC (8/26) - Developers fear fate of clean coal in China hinges on carbon offsets
Chinese officials say that they fear that "ultra-supercritical" clean-coal plants may fail without the support of the UN's Clean Development Mechanism, which denied support for a similar project in India last month. Developers say that the proceeds from carbon trading for even small-scale clean-coal plants are crucial to the success of the enterprise. Reuters (8/25) - Egypt's rights battle unfolds online
Egyptians have turned to social-media tools to spread information on government and security forces abuses, and push for reform. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and individual blogging platforms have become central battlegrounds between rights activists and authorities. In some cases, the online activism has forced officials to open investigations into cases of abuses, while in others the online activism has spurred charges against the activists. National Public Radio (text and audio) (8/26) - Carter returns from North Korea with U.S. detainee
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter secured the release of a U.S. citizen who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labor for crossing into North Korea illegally -- though it is unclear whether Carter met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. Carter returned with Boston man Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who was detained and sentenced in late January by North Korean authorities. Even as Carter visited North Korea to argue for the man's release, North Korea's Kim traveled to China for reasons that remain unclear, though observers speculate that Kim was there to introduce his heir to Chinese authorities and request aid. The Boston Globe (8/27) - Bahrain arrests raise questions about individual rights
Dozens of arrests in the run-up to October elections has opposition leaders convinced Bahrain's royal family is no longer committed to protecting political rights. More than 150 Shiite political and human-rights leaders and activists have been targeted for arrests, with most held without charge or access to lawyers. Authorities say the detentions are a result of suspected security or terrorism violations. The New York Times (free registration) (8/26)  | - UNHCR details Rwandan violence
The Rwandan military and allied rebel groups pursued "systematic, methodical and premeditated" campaigns against ethnic Hutus sheltering in eastern Congo twice in the late 1990s -- slaughtering the elderly, women and children -- and committing gross war crimes, leaked copies of a United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report charges. The systematic murders of survivors in camps and use of non-firearm weapons such as hammers to kill Hutus points toward possible charges of genocide, the report says. Google/Agence France-Presse (8/26) , CNN (8/27) , The Guardian (London) (8/26) - UN: Arms embargo contributes to Côte d'Ivoire abuses
An exception in the Security Council arms embargo on Côte d'Ivoire should be put in place to allow security forces purchase of anti-riot gear, United Nations officials said in a report Thursday. Ivorian security forces opened fire on civilians during demonstrations that erupted after President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved the government and electoral commission in February. The UN's investigation concluded the country's inability to import nonlethal gear was a contributing factor. AlertNet.org/Reuters (8/26)  | |  | | | | | | | | Deputy Director, Women and Population | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Executive Director, Europe and Central Asia Division | Human Rights Watch | London, United Kingdom | | SENIOR ADVOCATE/RESEARCHER (International Financial Institutions) | Human Rights Watch | Washington, DC | | Senior Associate, Foundation Relations | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Online Communications Associate | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Operations Assistant | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Executive Director, United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | Director, Maternal Newborn mHealth Initiative (MNMI) | United Nations Foundations | Washington DC, DC | | PROGRAM ASSISTANT FOR UNAIDS COMMUNICATIONS AND CONSULTATION FACILITY | International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO) | Toronto, Canada | | | |  | |  | |
 | - Who do you believe is responsible for achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?
| Me |  28.20% | | International organizations |  25.87% | | Other |  18.60% | | Foreign governments |  18.60% | | U.S. government |  8.72% | |
 | Key Sites
| | |
This SmartBrief was created for eleccion@yahoogroups.com
| | | About UN WIRE | | UN Wire is a free service sponsored by the United Nations Foundation which is dedicated to supporting the United Nations' efforts to address the most pressing humanitarian, socioeconomic and environmental challenges facing the world today. | | | | | | | | Recent UN Wire Issues: - Thursday, August 26, 2010
- Wednesday, August 25, 2010
- Tuesday, August 24, 2010
- Monday, August 23, 2010
- Friday, August 20, 2010
| | | Lead Editor: Adam Mazmanian
Contributing Editor: Juliette Terzieff | Kriston Dean Capps
Mailing Address:
SmartBrief, Inc.®, 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20005 | | | | | | © 1999-2010 SmartBrief, Inc.® Legal Information | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment