Good News Agency – n° 3
Weekly - Year I - Number 3 –
21 July 2000
Editor: Sergio Tripi
Rome Law-court registration
no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all
over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non
governmental organizations, and institutions engaged in improving the quality
of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day. Good News Agency
is distributed through internet to editorial offices of the daily newspapers
and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an
e-mail address and is available in its web site: http://www.goodnewsagency.org
Good
News Agency is a service activity of Associazione
Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered
non-profit educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979. The Association
operates in support to the Lucis Trust activities, the U.N. University for
Peace, Radio For Peace International and other organizations engaged in the
spreading of a culture of peace in the ‘global village’ perspective.
Via Antagora 10, 00124 Rome,
Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscalinet.it
Contents:
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Human
Rights
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Culture
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Solidarity
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Health
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Peace
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Safety
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Education
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Environment
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Economy
and Development
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(TOP)
Canada ratifies legal instruments on prospective world court, and on
child soldiers
Canadian Foreign Minister deposited on 7th July his country's
instruments of ratification to the Rome Statute on the prospective
International Criminal Court (ICC) and to the optional protocol to the
children's rights convention regarding armed conflict.
In depositing these instruments with United Nations Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, Canada became the 14th State to ratify and deposit its ratification
to the Rome Statute and the first to ratify the optional protocol, a UN
spokesman said in New York.
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#3
The United Nations Children’s Fund hailed U.S.
President Bill Clinton’s signing (5 July 2000) of two UN protocols that
strengthen global standards for the protection of children.
The two protocols signed by the U.S. president are:
The optional protocol on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography focuses on the criminalization of these
violations of children's rights and emphasizes the need for increased public
awareness and international co-operation in efforts to combat them.
The optional protocol on the involvement of children
in armed conflict, among other provisions, makes 18 the minimum age for
compulsory induction into the armed forces. Fifteen is the current minimum age.
International Conference on Self-Determination
August 11-13, Geneva
The International Human Rights Association of American
Minorities (IHRAAM) and the International Council on Human Rights (ICHR) are
sponsoring an international conference on self-determination and the United
Nations from August 11-13 in Geneva.
Similar to
civil society’s successful efforts concerning the environment, land mines and
the International Criminal Court, once again international NGOs are stepping
into the breach to spur global policymakers to address another pressing global
issue: this time the particularly thorny and
difficult issue of self-determination. A series of workshops on four prototype
national minorities - Kashmiris,
African Americans, Native Americans and Dalits - will examine the issues in
greater depth. Resolutions resulting from the Conference deliberations will be
submitted to the UN Commission on Human Rights, as well as to the UN Working
Group on Minorities, and other pertinent bodies, to contribute to the
understanding of these issues
For additional information: Diana James, Public &
Press Relations Officer, IHRAAM, by e-mail at
ihraam@usa.net.
World Federalist Movement email wfm@igc.org
Source: Radio For Peace International: http://www.rfpi.org
On World Population Day (11th July), UN calls for changes to improve the
lives of women
Under an overall theme of "Saving Women's
Lives," the United Nations today marked the annual World Population Day
with calls for action amid grim statistics about the risks that women face,
including pregnancy-related deaths, HIV infection, violence, poor education
opportunities and a lack of adequate health care.
"Change calls for commitment, action and
leadership," said UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Nafis Sadik. She stressed
that men and women have equal rights to education and health care, and called
for changes in laws, practices, attitudes, and behaviour. Leadership, she said,
must "motivate change; set goals; remove obstacles; dispel fears; maintain
momentum."
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#33
UNIFEM, ITU and
UNDP Sign New Agreement to Ensure Women Benefit from Communication Revolution
New York - The U.N Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the U.N. Development
Programme (UNDP) on July 6th
signed a formal agreement that will enable more women to shape the
information, technologies and policies of the 21st Century.
The agreement guarantees that the impact of
information and communications technologies (ICTs) on women is incorporated in
policy dialogue and decision-making. The agencies will encourage governments
and the telecommunications industry to recruit, employ, train and advance
women's fair and equitable access to ICTs. The agreement, which will benefit
both women and men, was signed by UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer,
ITU's Secretary-General Yoshio Utsumi and UNDP Administrator Mark Malloch
Brown.
http://www.unifem.undp.org/pr_itu.html
New study examines links between asylum policies and human trafficking
A new, independent study commissioned by the United
Nations refugee agency shows that human trafficking is the only escape route
for many genuine refugees who flee persecution and seek protection in Europe.
The report, Trafficking and Smuggling of Refugees -
The End Game of European Asylum Policy?, recommends that countries of that
continent review their migration and asylum policies with a view to opening
legitimate channels for people fleeing persecution in their native countries.
The study makes it clear that criminals exploiting the
human rights of migrants through human trafficking deserve the full weight of
international justice, but it also points out that traffickers and smugglers
are often the last resort of genuine refugees who deserve asylum.
The report says enforcement measures alone are
unlikely to provide a solution to the trafficking and smuggling of people. It
emphasizes that in order to successfully tackle the problem, all refugees must
be given legal and safe migration opportunities.
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#3
Human Rights Committee holds sixty-ninth session at
Geneva from 10 to 28 July
Reports submitted by the Governments of Kyrgyzstan,
Ireland, Kuwait and Australia on measures taken to implement the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights are being considered by the Human Rights
Committee at its sixty-ninth session.
The countries presenting reports are among the 145
States parties to the Covenant which was adopted in 1966 by the General
Assembly. The Committee, as a monitoring body, periodically examines reports
submitted by States parties on their promotion and protection of civil and
political rights. Representatives of those Governments introduce their country
reports and respond to oral and written questions by the Committee’s 18
members, who serve in their personal capacity.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20000707.hrct566.doc.html
Thirty-sixth session of International Law Seminar to
be held in Geneva from 10 to 28 July
The thirty-sixth session of the International Law
Seminar, which has been organized on the basis of General Assembly resolutions
every year since 1965 by the United Nations Office at Geneva on the occasion of
the annual session of the International Law Commission, is taking place at the
Palais des Nations from 10 to 28 July.
The Seminar also serves as a forum for an exchange of
views among jurists representing different legal systems on the agenda topic
under consideration by the Commission and on international law in general, as
well as on the various activities of the United Nations and other international
organizations based in Geneva. Finally, the Seminar provides the participants
with the opportunity of meeting with the members of the Commission and of
benefiting from their experience as specialists in international law.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2000/20000707.l2964.doc.html
(TOP)
The Italian Senate
approved on July 13th the law for the foreign debt reduction of the Highly
Indebted Poor Countries. The Italian Government is now presenting this new law
to the G7 meeting in Okinawa on July 21-23 in order to stimulate a productive
discussion on this dramatic issue.
The approved law
incorporates many of the instances of the “Jubilee 2000” campaign and
constitutes a very meaningful precedent in the international arena. In addition
to the parliamen-tary forces, this result has been achieved also with the
contribution of the many voices of the civil society that, particularly in
these last few months, joined “Jubilee 2000” in Italy, as well as with the
thousands citizens who signed their support to the Campaign and to the request
to cancel the debt of the poorest countries during the jubilee year. The number
of signatures is rapidly reaching one million.
There are several
innovative elements in this approved law. It is particularly important the
request of advice to the International Court of Justice for an assessment of
coherence between the international regulations that rule the external debt of
the developing countries, and the general principles for man’s and peoples’
rights. This request, put forward by other countries, could be the first step
to identify ways for an independent international arbitration for the
regulation of debt at the international level.
Sdebitarsi Jubilee 2000 - MOVIMONDO: molisv@flashnet.it
53rd Annual DPI/NGO Conference
Global Solidarity: The Way to Peace and
International Cooperation
28-30 August - United Nations
Headquarters, New York
This year's conference, Global Solidarity: The Way to
Peace and International Cooperation, will provide a forum for representatives
of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations System, and
Governments to explore ways in which civil society can work with the United
Nations and Governments to implement the action plans that were agreed upon
during the major United Nations and NGO conferences of the 1990s.
The world conferences, organized by the United Nations
and NGOs during the 1990s, negotiated a remarkably cohesive set of actions
plans designed to achieve sustainable development for all people in the coming
decades. At the same time, the burgeoning of NGOs, spurred in part by the
multifaceted process of globalization, has enabled the organization of potent
civil society campaigns over the past five years. These have included campaigns
to ban landmines, establish an International Criminal Court, cancel crippling
foreign debts and address the negative aspects of the current global financial
architecture. The conference will look at existing campaigns, and explore new
areas where progress can be made.
http://www.un.org/MoreInfo/ngolink/53conf.htm
Uganda’s petition scrolls to be hanged in Washington
Civil society organisations led by Uganda Debt
Network, and Jubilee 2000 presented on July 11 scrolls of petitions to the
World Bank country representative in Uganda. The World Bank country
representative commended Uganda’s Poverty Action Fund for its performance so
far and promised to use his office to air out the campaigners outcry to the
delegates at the G8 summit in Japan on July 21-23.
On 20 June, 1990 the G8 approved the Cologne Debt
Initiative (the Enhanced HIPC Initiative) which was to give deeper, broader,
and faster debt relief. Under this Initiative, Uganda was the first to get
extra debt service relief of about USD 1.3 billion. Uganda's eligibility for debt relief was partly recognition by
the international community of the progress made in implementing sound economic
reforms and poverty reduction programmes. Debt relief resources have been
directed to poverty reduction programmes especially in the social sector where
it is expected that poor people will directly benefit. The savings from Debt
relief are channelled through the Poverty Action Fund (PAF). The areas
identified include primary education, primary health care, water and
sanitation, road infrastructure and agriculture. Other areas recently added in
the PAF budget 1999/2000 include restocking, adult education, micro-finance and
others.
Uganda Debt Network e- mail: udn@infocom.co.ug Http//: www.udn.or.ug
The United Nations World Food Programme announced on
4th July that it is dramatically widening its emergency operation in the
northern Caucasus to help an average 325,000 people affected by the long
military conflict in Chechnya last winter.
WFP will address what it describes as a
"critical" humanitarian situation by more than doubling the number of
people to whom it gives food aid in the remote, mountainous region of southern
Russia.
The new six-month operation, going into effect on 1
July with a budget of $14 million, targets two basic groups of displaced
Chechens: an average 155,000 who fled to the neighbouring Republic of Ingushetia
and an average 70,000 who remained inside the semi-autonomous region of
Chechnya.
The remaining beneficiaries include the food-insecure
local population in Chechnya -- people who got trapped in the territory,
particularly the capital Grozny, when the bombardment began because they were
too weak or otherwise unable to flee to the countryside.
http://www.wfp.org/prelease/2000/0704002.htm
Japan donates state-of-the-art machine to help UN demining effort in
Afghanistan
The Government of Japan today officially donated on 7th
July a new demining machine to the United Nations to aid in the removal of
mines in Afghanistan, where the device is expected to speed up the clearance
process by 300 to 500 per cent in difficult terrain conditions. Through UN
agencies and other international organizations, Japan had donated more than
$400 million worth of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people during the
two decades of war, the Government spokesman said, adding that $15
million had been earmarked for mine clearance work.
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#3
Rotary: Post-War Trauma Center for
Children Opens near Zagreb, Croatia
A revolutionary counseling center for Croatian
children traumatized by the war in the Balkans opened the end of June, near
Zagreb, Croatia. It is the first of its kind in Eastern Europe, helping to provide
psychiatric counseling services to children suffering from conditions related
to post-war trauma. A three-year, $420,000 grant from Rotary International has
made the center possible along with a joint partnership between the Rotary
clubs of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Zagreb, Croatia. Together, the two clubs
worked for nearly a year to renovate a facility that can serve as a both a
counseling and training center.
The center is located in the city of Velika Gorica,
Croatia, which was considered the frontline of the Croatian-Serbian war. If
successful, the Rotary clubs hope to open more centers in other areas of the
Balkans that have been ravaged by war.
http://www.rotary.org/press/releases/63.htm
(TOP)
Casualties caused by mines in Kosovo have been reduced
dramatically, from 140 per month last summer to 20 per month from November 1999
onwards, the head of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in
Kosovo (UNMIK), Dr. Bernard Kouchner, said on 6th July.
Speaking at a live mine disposal demonstration in
Pristina, he said over 14,350 mines had been removed or destroyed in Kosovo.
"The speed at which clearance is occurring is unprecedented anywhere in
the world," he said. At this pace, he added, Kosovo's mine problem could
be solved in three years.
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#3
(TOP)
UNU and Kwangju Institute of science and technology announce joint
scholarship programme in "Science and technology for sustainability"
The United Nations University (UNU) and the Kwangju
Institute of Science and Technology (K-JIST) have agreed to cooperate in the
development and implementation of programmes in the area of science and
technology as well as in other joint activities of mutual interest.
K-JIST, located in Kwangju, Republic of Korea, is a
government-sponsored institution of higher education. It was established in
1993 for the purpose of educating qualified scientists and engineers and
promoting joint international studies to meet the ever increasing demands of
academia and industry. The K-JIST graduate school, which has nearly 600
domestic and international students, offers academic programmes leading to
master's and doctoral degrees in the various areas of science and engineering.
http://www.unu.edu/hq/rector_office/press2000/pre-22.00.html
http://www.kjist.ac.kr/hindex.html
(TOP)
UN information summit urges global cooperation to close "digital
divide"
Deeply concerned that the potential of information and
communication technology for advancing development, particularly in developing
countries, had not been fully captured, the Economic and Social Council has
called on all members of the international community to work cooperatively to
bridge the "digital divide" and to foster "digital
opportunity."
The appeal came in the "Ministerial Declaration
on Development and International Cooperation" that was adopted by the
Council on 7th July at the conclusion of its three-day segment on
information and communications technology. The high-level segment of ECOSOC's
2000 session, which was described as "historic" by the Council's
President, Makarim Wibisono of Indonesia, featured statements by Heads of
State, heads of international agencies, as well as representatives of the
private sector.
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#33
Rotary and U.N. Population Fund hold Conference on
Population Growth
Zurich, Switzerland, 28 – 30 July
The Conference on World Population Growth and
Sustainable Development Concerns “will show how Rotarians can take action and
use the programs of Rotary and the grants and scholarships of the Rotary
Foundation to assist families struggling to feed, clothe, shelter and educate
their children”, wrote Frank J. Devlyn, President of Rotary International in
his address to the 1.2 million Rotarians all over the world. The trends that
trigger this dramatic situation are summarized by these figures: world
population doubled in the past 50 years and it grows by 8o million each year.
The underlying theme of the Conference is represented by the conclusion
reported to the world by the Cub of Rome in 1997 and included in the Conference
programme: “There is no possibility of improving the living standards of the
poorest populations until any economic improvement that is achieved, any
quantity of food and water, any level of health care and education is reached,
must be shared by an ever increasing number of people”.
Rotarian Initiative for Population and Development: www.rfpd.org
(TOP)
Close of governmental experts meeting on Convention to protect
underwater cultural heritage
Two-hundred nine governmental experts representing 84
countries ended (Paris – 7th July) their third meeting on the Draft
Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage at UNESCO
Headquarters reporting progress towards a consensus, notably fine-tuning the
definition of cultural heritage to be covered by the Convention.
While there is unanimous agreement on the need to
protect underwater cultural heritage from destruction and pillaging, more
negotiations are required in several areas, including: whether to place
warships under the Convention; how to deal with cultural heritage vestiges
located on the continental shelf beyond the 12-mile territorial waters;
regional agreements; and whether rivers and lakes should be covered by the
Convention.
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/upanglo.htm
(TOP)
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) calls for replication and expansion of
successful efforts to reduce AIDS drug prices
On the eve of the XIII International AIDS
Conference (9th July), the medical aid agency Doctors Without
Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) released a report demonstrating how some
developing countries have already significantly reduced the prices of AIDS
drugs, and suggested steps to replicate and expand upon these successes.
By producing quality generic medicines,
countries such as Brazil have made AIDS drugs affordable to tens of thousands
of people who would otherwise go untreated because they could not afford
branded products. Through an analysis of ten essential drugs for HIV/AIDS in 8
countries, the report, entitled "HIV/AIDS Medicines Pricing," shows
how the minimum price for AIDS drugs in the developing countries studied is on
average 82% less than in the US. This difference has not resulted from
discounts by multinational companies, but rather from generic competition and
initiatives by national governments.
In parallel to the efforts of individual
countries, the report also recommends the UN, led by UNAIDS, should develop a
system to facilitate the bulk purchasing of AIDS drugs by putting out a tender
to multinational pharmaceutical drug companies and local and international
generic producers.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/pr/pr092.htm
(TOP)
Following last year’s tragic accidents in the Mont
Blanc and Tauern tunnels a UN/ECE (1) Ad Hoc Multidisciplinary
Group of Experts on Safety in Tunnels has been created and met for the first
time in Geneva on 10 and 11 July 2000.
The Ad hoc Group is expected to prepare a set of
internationally agreed recommendations aimed at reducing the risk of traffic
accidents in European tunnels and minimizing the consequences of such accidents
in case they occur.
(1)
The UN/ECE is the Geneva based European branch
of the United Nations. Its membership comprises all European countries, the
United States of America, Canada, Israel and the Republics of the Caucasus and
Central Asia.
http://www.unece.org/press/00trans7e.htm
(TOP)
Recycled glass will pave the way of London
street
Recycled wine bottles will be used to resurface London
streets under a local authorities' pilot scheme being launched today by Deputy
Mayor Nicky Gavron, reported the Evening Standard, London, on July 13th.
A new material called Glasphalt will be used. More than a million bottles are
needed for a mile of road, and it could prove a huge boost to the waste
industry at a time when London is said to recycle less household rubbish than
any other comparable European city.
Developed by RMC Aggregates, in partnership with
London Waste Action and Valpak, Glasphalt contains 30 per cent crushed glass
and is used as a core layer beneath the main outer surface of the road. Up to
5,000 bottles go to make a ton of the material. If successful, the pilot project
could go London-wide and signal a new used-bottle doorstep collection service.
Contact info for RMC Aggregates: http://www.jxj.com/suppands/iswa/companies/56780.html
Valpak: http://www.jxj.com/suppands/iswa/companies/56780.html
Source: Radio For Peace International - http://www.rfpi.org
UN-sponsored meeting to combat harmful pesticides in Russia
Environmental, health and agriculture officials from
15 countries of Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Baltic States
gathered in St. Petersburg, Russia from 11 to 14 July for a United Nations-sponsored
meeting aimed at reducing the region's reliance on pesticides that are harmful
to the environment, wildlife and human health.
The main objectives of the meeting are to review
current pesticide use, identify more sustainable strategies for pest
management, and explore realistic alternatives to "persistent organic
pollutants." These substances stay in the atmosphere for a long time
before they break down; travel long distances; accumulate in the tissue of most
living organisms when absorbed through food, water or air; and cause wide range
of toxic effects on humans and wildlife.
The re-emergence of malaria in the Caucasian and
Central Asian region was also high on the agenda, as well as how to deal with
the fact that countries of the region will need assistance in controlling this
mosquito-borne disease without relying on DDT.
http://www.un.org/News/dh/latest/page2.html#33
Green churches
A number of churches and city governments in
California and other spots around the U.S. are leading the push for clean
energy by powering their houses of worship and city halls with solar, wind, and
other renewable sources. Twenty-five Episcopal churches in California
have switched to green power, as have Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant groups
in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Renewable energy company
Greenmountain.com is trying to make deeper inroads into religious communities
by offering $35 to church members in some areas who decide to buy the company's
green power for their homes. On the municipal level, Oakland, Calif., recently
became the largest
U.S. city to pledge to buy green power for its public facilities, following the
lead of other cities in the state.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/07/17/MN66592.DTL
Advertising campaign in California for junking cars
and trucks
Thousands of Californians are embracing a new state
program that gives residents $1,000 to junk cars and trucks that fail to meet
emission standards. The program, launched July 7, aims to take 50,000
polluting clunkers off the roads over the next four years. Residents can
alternatively get up to $500 to make repairs that will help their vehicles pass
smog checks. The state is spending $2.7 million on radio and TV ads this
summer to advertise the program, and the publicity drive is working.
Between 550 and 1,000 Californians have been calling the government each day
for program information and applications.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environ/20000717/t000067163.html
Advertising campaign in California for
junking cars and trucks
Travelers to some U.S. cities can now rent eco-friendly
cars. EV Rental Cars opened its first site at the Los Angeles airport in
December 1998 and has since expanded to several other California
airports. The company recently struck a long-term deal with Budget
Rent-a-Car and has plans to open sites this year in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston,
Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Washington, D.C. Its fleets include natural gas,
electric, and gas-electric hybrid cars made by Honda, Toyota, and others.
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/07/17/f-p12s3.shtml