Good News Agency – Year II, n° 17
Weekly - Year II, number 17
– 26 October 2001
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
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.
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Trust, the Club of Budapest, the Earth Charter, Radio For Peace International
and other organizations promoting a culture of peace in the ‘global village’
perspective based on unity within diversity and on sharing. Via Antagora 10, 00124 Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscalinet.it
Contents:
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International legislation
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Energy
and safety
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Human rights
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Science
and technology
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Economy
and development
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Environment and wildlife
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Solidarity
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Culture
and education
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Health
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(TOP)
High-level meeting on gender responsive budgets – Bruxelles, 16-17 October
In support of a global vision that all countries
commit to undertaking a gender responsive budget initiative by 2015, the
Government of Belgium is hosting a High Level conference in Brussels on 16-17
October 2001 sponsored by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) and supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the
Government of Italy, UNIFEM, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the
International Development Research Centre.
Gender responsive budget initiatives refers to a
gender analysis of government budget policies and allocations. The goal is to
mobilize political and financial support to meet the increasing demand from
governments as well as civil society organizations to strengthen capacity to
carry out these initiatives. For more information, please contact Elizabeth
Villagomez, Economic Governance Advisor, at elizabeth.villagomez@undp.org
General conference to focus on cultural diversity,
bioethics and education for all
Paris, October 12
- A new legal instrument designed to safeguard cultural diversity in the
age of globalization, the preparation of new legal instruments on ethical
issues relating to the gene revolution and the international drive to provide
universal access to quality basic education will be among the principal items
on the agenda of the upcoming 31st session of the General Conference, UNESCO’s supreme governing body, October 15 to November 3.
Some 3,000 participants are expected to attend the General Conference,
including several heads of state and close to 200 government ministers.
UNESCO’s 188 Member States, gathered at the General Conference, will be invited
to adopt a Declaration on Cultural Diversity to preserve human dignity and to
defend and promote cultural diversity, along with an Action Plan for its
implementation. It will be the first international instrument in this field.
The Declaration aims to serve as a benchmark in the formulation of national
cultural policies. It stresses the importance of greater co-operation between
the countries of the North and developing nations and emphasizes the need to
help the latter stimulate their cultural industries, organize viable local
markets and obtain access to international distribution systems.(…) For the full text of the Declaration: http://www.unesco.org/human_rights/hrbc.htm
More information about the General Conference,
including its agenda and documents, can be found on the Web: http://www.unesco.org/confgen/index.shtml
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2001/01-103e.shtml
Making the International
Criminal Court a reality
Human Rights Watch
On October 3, the Central
African Republic became the forty-first country to ratify the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court. We are now over two thirds of the way towards
the 60 ratifications required to make the court a reality. The International
Criminal Court will complement existing national judicial systems. It will be a
permanent tribunal that will investigate and prosecute those individuals
accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of war.
http://www.kabissa.org/kfn/newsletter.php?id=3305
(TOP)
West Africa: Officials to
discuss ways to fight human trafficking, 21-27 October
13 October - A week-long
meeting to discuss ways of combating human trafficking and corruption is due to
open on 21 October in Ghana's capital, Accra, an official of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) told IRIN on Tuesday. The meeting,
organised by ECOWAS and the UN Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention,
will also examine measures to end drug trafficking and money laundering, which
go hand in hand with terrorism, PANA reported.
Meanwhile the Nigerian
Senate's committee on women's affairs and youth has announced that it will hold
public hearings to investigate child labour, sex trading and other forms of
exploitation to which minors are subjected, AFP reported on Sunday. (…)
Chile first in Latin America to launch Global Compact
10 October - More than 350 participants from
government, civil society and the private sector joined in a seminar on
corporate social responsibility last week in Santiago to start implementing the
Global Compact, making Chile the first Latin American country to do
so.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan introduced the compact
in 1999, calling on business leaders to embrace its nine principals upholding
human rights, labour rights and environmental responsibility to make
globalization work for all the world's people.
UNDP Chile and Fundación PROHumana organized the
seminar and have promoted the Global Compact over the past 18 months through
round tables with business, civil society and government. (…) A next step is to
follow up on the suggestion by Chilean business leaders to set up a learning
network on corporate social responsibility. The network would include a service
center to support initiatives, as well as tools such as criteria for corporate
social responsibility activities, an inventory of activities and documentation
of best practices.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Agreement to end child labour on cocoa farms
Geneva 1st October - The International
Labour Organization (ILO) today welcomed the agreement between two members of
the U.S. Congress and representatives of the world chocolate industry to
eliminate child slavery on West African cocoa plantations and end the worst
forms of child labour in the global cocoa-chocolate sector.
"This is another step forward to eradicating
everywhere the exploitation of children in the work place," said ILO
Director-General Juan Somavia. "The ILO - through its International Programme for the
Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) - and all the others involved in this new initiative
is delighted at the outcome."
The "Harkin-Engel Protocol", named after
U.S. Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Elliott Engel who spearheaded talks
with the Chocolate Manufacturers Association and the World Cocoa Foundation,
resulted in the agreement being signed in Washington to better identify and
address abusive child labour practices in the cocoa-growing areas of West
Africa. (…)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2001/32.htm
(TOP)
Biennial
FAO Conference – Rome, 2-13 November
Rome, 22
October - On World Food Day the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations announced his decision to seek a
postponement of the”World Food Summit: five years later”, scheduled for 5-9
November 2001, in view of the current international situation. At the end of
this month, the FAO Council is expected to decide on a new date in 2002.
Meanwhile, the biennial FAO Conference will proceed as planned at FAO
Headquarters in Rome from 2-13 November.
Mali: ADF support for rural
development
13 October - The African
Development Fund (ADF) has approved a loan of some US $19.68 million for a
project to support rural development in Mali's Mopti region, the African
Development Bank (ADB) said in a news release on Wednesday. The project seeks
to improve food security and reduce poverty by diversifying and increasing
agricultural production and promoting income-generating activities, the ADB
reported. The project also hopes to help put in place basic social
infrastructure, including boreholes and latrines, and build the operational and
institutional capacity of the Mopti Rice Authority, the ADB reported. The ADF
is the small-loans branch of the ADB group.
UNCTAD report on the Palestinian economy reasserts
interdependence of development and peace
The widespread economic crisis that has crippled the
Palestinian economy since October 2000 provides the focus for the UNCTAD
secretariat's annual report on UNCTAD's assistance to the Palestinian people (TD/B/48/9). The report, to be reviewed by the Trade and
Development Board (1-12 October), examines the impact of the Palestinian
economic crisis in the context of structural constraints and imbalances. While
recognizing the development challenges which the crisis poses for Palestinian
Authority economic policymakers, the secretariat reasserts ''confidence in the
realistic hopes for a better development future for the Palestinian people".
(…)
Referring to a recent quantitative investigation by
the secretariat, the report underscores the possibility of setting the economy
on a sustainable development path through responsive policies, which target
long-standing structural weaknesses. The secretariat assessment concludes that
"following a decade of economic crises and recoveries, high expectations
and unmet promises, the recent crisis has in fact reaffirmed the strong
interdependence between development and peace". (…)
http://www.unctad.org/en/press/pr0133en.htm
Bolivian communities' premium coffee finds markets in
Japan
12 October - Four Andean communities in Bolivia are
taking a big step into the international gourmet coffee market, and women are
in the forefront of this venture that is improving local livelihoods.
With support from UNDP, the state of La Paz, and the
Government of Japan, the small-scale coffee growers in the communities are
producing premium quality Bolivian Mojsa ("delicious" in the Aymara language) high
mountain coffee for markets in Tokyo and Nagoya.
The communities of Calama, Coroico, Chijchipani and
Ulyunense are nestled in tropical highland valleys. With the help of coffee
experts from Colombia, they have transformed local growing and processing
methods to bring out the full potential of their unique environment in
producing the highest quality coffee beans. Instead of intensive cultivation
with 10,000 trees per hectare, for example, the communities grow only 1,500
trees per hectare in harmony with the fragile ecosystem, shaded by the tropical
forest and usually shrouded by fog. (…)
The project began in Calama with support from the UNDP special unit for Technical Cooperation
among Development Countries. With its expansion to three neighbouring communities, about 2000
families are producing Mojsa coffee. (…) The project, which is cooperating with Bolivia's National Association of Coffee Exporters
(ANDAC), is also
seeking new international markets.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Switzerland renews support for multifunctional
platform in Mali
11 October - The Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation is supporting the second phase of a project in Mali promoting the multifunctional
platform -- a
diesel-powered system that relieves village women of burdensome tasks and
offers new opportunities to generate income.
Switzerland is providing US$1.5 million for the
three-year initiative (…). The platform can power various tools, including a grain mill, husker,
power saw and other carpentry tools, oil press, water pump, welder, and
electric power generator.
The project has installed 65 platforms in villages in
the Bougouni, San, Sikasso and Mopti regions. The next phase aims to multiply
that number several fold, and the project is also introducing the platform in
Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. The project works with local women's
associations, providing training in using the platform and managing its
business operations. As an added boost to village enterprises, the project also
trains local mechanics and electricians to maintain and repair the platform.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
IFAD to support natural resource project in Republic
of Bolivia
Rome, 5 October - The ‘Management of Natural Resources in the Chaco and High
Valley Regions Project’ will receive a USD 12 million loan from the International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). A loan agreement was signed today at
the Fund’s Headquarters by Mr. David Blanco Zabala, Ambassador of the Republic of
Bolivia to Italy and Mr. Lennart Båge, President of the Fund. (…)
The project aims at reducing rural poverty, natural resource deterioration and
desertification through the enhanced capacity of beneficiaries to significantly
improve their economic standing and the value of their productive assets.
Expected results from the project include improved natural resources and
enhanced capacity of small farmers to manage them rationally and in a
sustainable manner, and access to rural non-financial services. The project
will also operate a contest/award scheme based on IFAD’s
prior experiences in the highlands of Peru. Families, groups, communities and
organizations will contest with others from similar ecological and/or
productive environments, creating a competitive spirit with regard to
environmental management and conservation.
With this programme, IFAD has financed a total of 9 Projects in the
Republic of Bolivia, for a total loan amount of approximately USD 81 million.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2001/01-27.htm
$7 million grant from
Islamic Development Bank through the World Bank to support Palestinian economy
Ramallah, October 1 - The World Bank and the
Islamic Development Bank (IDB) today signed a grant agreement in the amount of
US$7 million for the Emergency Response Program, which is designed to help
offset the effects of the current economic crisis in the West Bank & Gaza
(WBG). This grant is part of a total allocation of US$20 million the IDB has
committed to employment generation programs in the health, education and infrastructure
sectors. (…)
The Emergency Response Program, initiated in
December 2000 by the World Bank, will aim to alleviate hardships for thousands
of families through the provision of employment for unskilled and semi-skilled
laborers. Local suppliers and contractors will also benefit through the
increased demand for materials and works.
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/news/pressrelease.nsf
A Focus article in the
Bangalore Deccan Herald gives many good
reasons for small and medium scale industries to have a closer look at Cleaner
Production. Headlined as "A cleaner way to savings" the article
focuses on the activities of the Karnataka Cleaner Production Centre (KCPC) which was set up as
the south's first regional cleaner production centre in November 1997. India's
National Cleaner Production Centre is in New Delhi, other centres are in
Gujarat, West Bengal and Punjab.
The decision to set up the National Cleaner Production
Centres (NCPC) Programme in was made by UNIDO and UNEP in1994. Since then,
twenty-one NCPCs have been established. Of these, ten are fully
established and receive no further programmatic funding from UNIDO (Brazil,
China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Mexico, Slovakia, Tanzania, Tunisia,
Zimbabwe), while nine are still in the process of being built up (Costa Rica,
Croatoa, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique,
Nicaragua, Viet Nam), and two will be established in late 2001 (the Republic of
Korea and in Uganda). (…)
http://www.unido.org/periodical.cfm?pername=UNIDOScope
(TOP)
West Africa: MRU humanitarian
victims receive aid
13 October - The European
Commission (EC) has adopted a global plan worth euro 5.1 million (about US $4.7
million) for victims of the "continuing humanitarian crisis" in the
countries of the Mano River Union, the EC Humanitarian Aid Office, ECHO,
reported. The targeted beneficiaries are refugees, returnees and internally
displaced persons (IDPs) in Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Guinea hosts an estimated
200,000 refugees from Sierra Leone while there are up to 30,000 Guinean IDPs,
ECHO said.
WFP
steps up food deliveries into Afghanistan
Rome, 10
October – The United Nations World Food Programme plans a major acceleration of
its overland deliveries into Afghanistan with food aid convoys scheduled to
cross the border into the war- and drought-ravaged country from Pakistan, Iran,
Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
The convoys will be carrying a collective total
of 3,285 metric tonnes of food aid – enough to feed almost 700,000 hungry Afghans
for one week. The food will raise the total food stocks inside of Afghanistan
to over 12,000 tonnes, sufficient for the needs of over 3.4 million people for
one week. However, distribution networks have been disrupted and must first be
rebuilt. (…)
http://www.wfp.org/newsroom/press_releases/index.html#
5 October - Morbidity and
mortality rates remained high in many parts of Angola in August, but nutrition
levels stabilised in areas where humanitarian partners had sustained access and
where food security interventions continued, OCHA said in its latest monthly
analysis. OCHA said nutrition levels in Kuito, the capital of Bie province, had
stabilised in August. Tens of thousands of people fleeing fighting around the
central highlands province began converging on Kuito early this year, most of
them ill and in states of severe malnutrition. Mortality rates in the town
dropped from 17 percent in June to 8.3 percent in July, OCHA said. (…)
http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/sa/countrystories/angola/20011004.phtml
(TOP)
Africa: continental campaign
against sleeping sickness
13 October - Burkina Faso's
prime minister, Ernest Paramanga Yonly, launched a campaign on 5 October to
eradicate the tsetse fly and sleeping sickness from Africa in the next five
years. The Pan African Tsetse Fly and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign
(PATTEC) was launched at a five-day meeting in Ouagadougou, attended by some
300 scientists from Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe.
According to WHO, 60 million
people are at risk in 37 countries while 300,000 are already infected. It says
25,000 people die every year and the situation is worsening because 40,000
persons are infected annually. Rural and agricultural development also suffers
as a result of the tsetse fly. It attacks animals, leading to reduced meat and
milk production which increases the risk of famine and a further descent into
poverty.
South Africa: GlaxoSmithKline
grants licence to local drug firm
13 October - Pharmaceutical
giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) had granted a South African company a licence to
manufacture and market three key AIDS medicines in South Africa, the company
announced on Sunday. Aspen Pharmacare CEO Stephen Saad, told PlusNews on Monday
that his company had been granted a voluntary licence on patents to GSK's
antiretroviral drugs AZT and 3TC, and a third pill, Combivir, which combines
the two. He said the company would be allowed to sell its versions of the
widely-used AIDS drugs to the public health system, charities and non-profit
organisations in South Africa, while GSK continued to supply private markets.
Other countries in Africa were not part of the deal.
GSK was one of several
pharmaceutical companies which took the South African government to court to
prevent it from passing a law which would enable the import and manufacture of
cheaper generic drugs. The companies dropped the lawsuit in the face of immense
public pressure. http://www.irinnews.org/
Mozambique granted US $11.5
million for AIDS programme
13 October - The United States
Agency for International Development (USAID) has granted US $11.5 million
dollars to Mozambique for an anti-HIV/AIDS programme, AFP reported on Tuesday.
The programme, called the Development Corridor of Hope, will involve
individuals and communities living along the Maputo Development Corridor - a
key road and rail link between South Africa and Mozambique – in the distribution
of information designed to combat HIV/AIDS and encourage safe sexual practices,
the report said. (…)
World AIDS campaign: men
key to reducing HIV/AIDS
New campaign targets widely
held beliefs about masculinity
Melbourne, 7 October - This year's World AIDS Campaign will chip
away at masculine behaviours and attitudes that contribute to the spread of
HIV, according to Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations
Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). "Part of the effort to curb the AIDS epidemic must include
challenging negative beliefs and behaviours, including the way men view risk
and how boys are socialized to become men," said Dr Piot. (…)
The new Campaign aims to
involve men, particularly young men, more fully in the effort against AIDS. It
also aims to bring about a much-needed focus on men in national responses to
the epidemic and to involve leaders both as politicians and as individuals in
taking action against AIDS. (…)
Although men need to be
encouraged to adopt positive behaviours and to play a much greater part in
caring for their partners and families, prevention programmes aimed at women
and girls continue to be essential. The World AIDS Campaign aims to complement
these programmes and promote a focus on gender awareness and sensitivity for
both sexes.
http://www.unaids.org/whatsnew/press/eng/pressarc01/WAC_071001.html
(TOP)
Tanzania: World Bank approves
$183 million credit for Gas Power Development
Washington, October 10 - The
World Bank has approved the Songo Songo Gas Development and Power Generation
Project for Tanzania. The $183 million interest-free credit from the International
Development Association, the World Bank's lending arm for the poorest
countries, will catalyze foreign private investment aimed at developing
Tanzania's natural gas reserves to produce least-cost power generation for
domestic and industrial use in an environmentally sustainable and efficient
manner.
The project involves the
development of a gas gathering system at Songo Songo Island, the construction
of a 25 km marine pipeline and a 217 km land pipeline to Dar es Salaam and Wazo
Hill. The gas will be transported to an existing thermal power station, which
will be converted to gas-firing and privatized. (…)
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/news/pressrelease.nsf
(TOP)
Biogas and clean water for women in Viet Nam
A team of scientists and development specialists is
helping women in rural and mountainous areas in Viet Nam take advantage of
science and technology to improve their lives, promote equality and reduce poverty.
Two projects, one promoting biogas as an alternative energy source and the
other providing access to clean water, are examples of how technology can be
used by and for women. The team, from the ministry of science, technology and
environment, is headed by deputy director, Dr. Tran Xuan Dinh. It is
participating in a regional assessment on women and technology carried out by
the Asia Pacific Gender Equality Network (APGEN) and the UNESCO South-east Asia regional office for
science and technology.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
(TOP)
One of the world's most famous rivers, the Yangtze,
set for pioneering flood reduction plan
Beijing/Nairobi, 12 October - A multi-million dollar bid to reduce the risk of devastating floods on one of the world's mightiest rivers, the Yangtze, has been drawn up by scientists. The ambitious scheme, the brainchild of researchers in China and at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), aims to restore thousands of lost lakes and natural drainage systems so that the river, whose banks and basins are home to 400 million people, can cope better during times of heavy and prolonged rains.
Studies, carried out by UNEP in the wake of the devastating floods of 1998 in which millions were made homeless, thousands were killed and economic losses from industries such as agriculture totaled $31 billion, have found that siltation of the river has also made it far more vulnerable to flooding. The project plans to restore natural forests, grasslands and other key habitats in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze to reduce soil erosion and soil sweeping into the river. (…)
Australia cleans up its
Antarctic research base
12 October - Urging other
countries to follow its lead, Australia began a massive cleanup of its
Antarctic research base today. As many as 330,000 tons of waste, the
detritus of decades of research and exploration, is strewn over the otherwise
pristine environment of Antarctica. The waste includes chemicals,
batteries, oils, and building materials. Australia contracted a French
company to haul its waste back home, and has offered to let other nations use
any remaining space in the garbage containers to clean up their acts as well.
Rome, 11 October - Officials from over 100 governments
are meeting here this week (8-12 October) to prepare for the entry into force
of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure (PIC) for
certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade and to
oversee the implementation of the voluntary interim PIC procedure.
The Rotterdam Convention contributes to the reduction
of the risks associated with the use of chemicals, particularly in developing
countries, and limits the introduction of hazardous chemicals and pesticides
into countries that cannot safely manage them.
(…)
The Rotterdam Convention was adopted and signed by
Ministers and senior officials on 11 September 1998 in Rotterdam. It has
received 73 signatures and has thus far been ratified by 16 governments; it
will enter into force 90 days after the 50th ratification. (…)
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/OIS/PRESS_NE/PRESSENG/2001/pren0167.htm
Canada: search for power
supply from the ocean
9 October - The ocean may
supply Canada with power for the first time if the Canadian company B.C. Hydro
proceeds with plans to build wave-energy plants in British Columbia.
Although a few such plants exist in Europe and others are being tested in
Washington state, the ocean is a relatively untapped energy source. The
Canadian plants would produce between three and four megawatts of electricity,
enough to power up to 4,000 homes. B.C. Hydro will make a final decision
on the plants in November.
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/
Båge calls on UNCCD COP V to urgently increase
financial support for combating desertification
Rome, 8 October - Lennart Båge, President of the International Fund for
Agricultural Development, this afternoon, addressed the Fifth session of
Conference of Parties of the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) that is meeting in Geneva.
In his statement
to the high level segment of the COP V, he reaffirmed IFAD's commitment to
implement the goals of the Convention. In reference to the current global
economic shocks, Båge urged member nations to strengthen the UNCCD and the Global Mechanism (GM) with
additional resources for effective implementation of their objectives. IFAD
hosts the GM of the UNCCD and has committed to date USD 5 million towards its
activities. (…)
Desertification threatens the livelihoods of 1 billion people,
particularly in the rural areas of the world. Over 630 million poor rural
people live at risk in areas suffering from severe water stress: 375 million of
these people are in Asia alone. Solutions to this daunting problem are embodied
in the UNCCD. (…) Over the past 23 years, IFAD has committed in total over USD 3.5
billion to support dry land development and combat land degradation throughout
the world. 70% of IFAD-supported projects are located in ecologically fragile,
marginal environments. (…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2001/01-28.htm
(TOP)
On the basis of the studies commissioned by the Earth Council, the experience of the World Conservation Union - IUCN- in environmental mediation, and the mandate of the United Nations University for Peace, the ombudsman initiative has gained considerable momentum of late. This newly created entity, the International Ombudsman Centre for the Environment and Development, or “OmCED”, is an important step forward in the follow-up to both the Stockholm and Rio Conferences. OmCED will in this inception phase work in close cooperation with its founding organisations, as well as with the staff of the University.
At the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992, a consensus emerged as to the need for a more effective means of preventing and resolving disputes arising from environmental, natural resources and sustainable development issues. The Earth Council, a global non-governmental organisation formed as a result of the Earth Summit to follow up and implement its results, undertook to investigate the feasibility of establishing a mechanism to meet this need.
Two important studies,
conducted in 1996 and 1998 by two specialized independent institutes, provided
the Earth Charter with positive research evidence. The Earth Council carried
out extensive consultations, which resulted in a decision by the Earth Council
at its meeting in 1998 to proceed with the design of an “ombudsman” function.
Subsequently, two other organisations with relevant experience and interests in
the field, including mediation of conflicts, IUCN and the UN University for
Peace became partners, each in its own way, to the initiative. IUCN is the
world’s foremost international conservation organisation and has an extensive
network of governmental and non-governmental members throughout the world. The
University for Peace was established and mandated by the UN General Assembly to
undertake studies and programs which support the peace and security objectives
of the UN Charter and inter alia
focuses on environmental and natural resources issues and conflict resolution.
The relationship of OmCED with its two
co-founding organisations - the Earth Charter and IUCN - is significant to better understand the role
of OmCED. IUCN has a long history of involvement with investigating conflictive
issues, alerting actors to potential contentious results of their actions and
creating opportunities for mediation and problem solving. The Earth Council,
through its link with UNCED and its unique constituency, has been playing an
increasingly crucial role in advancing the cause of sustainable development. To
have these two organisations act as co-founders of an objective international
mechanism of this nature was determinant in carrying the initiative forward and
actually merging some of their functions. And the fact that the United Nations
University for Peace has shown a keen interest in the initiative and has
offered its campus for OmCED’s headquarters, thus allowing for the creation,
over time, of a ‘critical mass’ of expertise, was also an important factor
leading up to the launching of OmCED. (S.T.)
Costa Rica - Peace Studies and Peace
Journalism
Radio For Peace International and the International Center for Human Rights in Media present a 10 week study course dealing with social justice, human rights, ethics in journalism, history of racism and xenophobia in media, researching and documenting intolerance in media, researching and preparing articles for publication, radio and news production with elective Spanish language training. Students live with a Costa Rican host family. Four overnight excursions, special activities included. Session start dates for 2002: Jan 6, March 24, June 9, September 1.
IPC, SBO 66, P.O. Box 025292, Miami, FL 33102. Tel: +506-205-9092, FAX: +506-249-1095
Interactive Workshop On Racism In
Media
A two day workshop presented at your location by the International Center for Human Rights in Media dealing with extreme hate groups (Nazis, skinheads, white supremacists, violent homophobes, etc.), their use of media and the internet to proliferate their messages of hate internationally, the provocation of violence and terrorism resulting from hate and intolerance, and how individuals, communities and educators can respond. For more information on how to bring this workshop to your college, university, organization or community contact Gilbert Carmichael, Tel: +506-205-9092, FAX: +506-249-1095, e-mail: info@rfpi.org
Benin: Church organisation
targets girls' education
13 October - The Catholic
Relief Services (CRS) has embarked on a one-year project which hopes to improve
long-term food security in Benin by promoting the education of some 10,000
rural primary school students. Under the project, funded with over US $1
million by the United States Department of Agriculture, CRS and its local
partner, the Global Food for Education Initiative, will expand the formal
education programme to about 60 new schools in the impoverished northern
regions of Benin. The project aims to establish community-run canteens and a
facility for girls to receive take-home rations to increase their participation
in primary education.
Children orphaned by AIDS gain schooling in Burkina
Faso
11 October - In Burkina Faso, 3,500 children orphaned
by AIDS began school this week, thanks to a pilot project supported by the
National HIV/AIDS Commission, UNDP and several donors.
The project is assisting children from 40 local
associations in 17 provinces around the country. France, Germany, the
Netherlands and the United States are contributing to the US$70,000 project. (…)
The
Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates that more than 200,000 children in Burkina
Faso have lost their mother or both parents to AIDS.
Burkina Faso, under the aegis of UNDP, held its first
round table on HIV/AIDS in June, raising pledges of more than $100 million from
donors, including governments, international organizations and the private
sector. On the basis of this support, the government and its partners are
developing several major programmes.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Democracy networks in the
Middle East and North Africa
11 October - The World
Movement Web site has launched a new section for the Middle East and North
Africa. The section provides links to existing networks in the Middle East and
North Africa region, including the Middle East Network for Democracy (MEND),
which emerged from the Second Assembly of the World Movement in Sao Paulo last
November. It also includes information about organizations participating in the
World Movement in the region, participants' activities and projects,
publication and research materials, potential funding sources, and useful
links.
http://www.wmd.org/mena/mena.html
Tanzania: World Bank
approves Primary Education Project
Washington, October 10 - The World Bank has
approved the Primary Education Development Program Project Adjustment Credit
for Tanzania. The $150 million interest-free credit from the International
Development Association, the World Bank's lending arm for the poorest
countries, will support efforts by the government of Tanzania to improve
education quality, expand school access, and increase school retention at the
primary level. The PEDP will introduce measures to increase resource
availability and improve their allocation and utilization; improve educational
inputs; and strengthen institutional arrangements that ensure quality primary education.
(…)
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/news/pressrelease.nsf
Political participation of Timorese women
9 October - In preparation for the East Timor elections, 145 women were trained in the electoral process in workshops organized by UNIFEM and the Gender Affairs Unit (GAU) of UNTAET. Twenty-six registered as candidates and one was successfully elected. Some of the UNIFEM-trained women who decided not to run for office formed a Women’s Political Caucus, which actively supported all women candidates for election, regardless of party affiliation. (…)
Another group, GOMUTIL, or Group of Women
Observers East Timor formed with support from The Asia Foundation included at
least another ten of the women trained in the UNIFEM-GAU workshops. Among these
women were the President and Secretary of GOMUTIL. Some of the women
trained were also selected by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to
become official observers. (…) For further information, please contact Lorraine
Corner, Regional Programme Director for East and South-East Asia, at unifem-bkk@mozart.inet.co.th.
Workplan to support women in Chinese village
polls
9 October - In Linqu County, Shandong Province, UNIFEM provided gender analysis training to representatives of 26 agencies which comprise the Working Committee on Women and Children—the national women’s machinery at the county level. (…) After discussing factors affecting women’s political participation in the county, a six-month workplan was drawn up to prepare village women in five pilot villages for the upcoming village elections.
A baseline survey on rural women’s
political and economic participation will be conducted as part of the project.
Gender and empowerment training will be given to the women in the five pilot
villages. Study tours will be held to model counties to learn good practices in
promoting women’s political participation at the grassroots level. The County
Programme for the Development of Women – local version of the national action
plan, the National Programme for the Development of Chinese Women – will be
drafted and finalized. For more information, please contact Lanyan Chen, Gender
Advisor for Northeast Asia, at lanyan.chen@undp.org
Bologna, 5 October 2001 -- Recognizing the power of
the media to invoke social change, Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), awarded the first ever FAO/Prix Italia
Special Award for a documentary on the battle to fight AIDS in South Africa.
Dr. Diouf presented the award to the producer and
co-director Jacqueline Fox of the South African Broadcasting Corporation for a
documentary entitled "Together We Can: South Africa's Youth Against
AIDS." The programme was inspired by the death of Nkosi Johnson, a young
boy who became a national symbol of hope in the fight against AIDS. It focuses
on the way schoolchildren, the government, non-governmental organizations and
the rural community, are fighting to contain the spread of HIV and AIDS in the
country. (…)
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/OIS/PRESS_NE/PRESSENG/2001/pren0164.htm
Arab Gulf Development Programme (AGFUND) and UNESCO to
launch Arab Open University
Paris, October 5 - An Arab Open University, designed
to meet a shortage in university places in the Arab region and improve women’s access to higher education, is to start operating in
October 2002. Focusing initially on courses in business administration,
computer science and technology, English, and teacher training, the Open
University will be headquartered in Kuwait with branches in Bahrain, Egypt,
Jordan, and Lebanon.
The project for an Arab Open University was initiated
by the President of the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development
Organizations (AGFUND), Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who signed
a co-operation agreement on the project with UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro
Matsuura in Paris today.
AGFUND will provide over US$1.5 million for the Arab
Open University - covering approximately half its total cost - with an initial
allotment of US$200,000 to UNESCO to fund the Organization’s contribution to the project. UNESCO’s input will notably centre on developing the
university’s strategy for distance higher education, setting up a distance learning
centre, multimedia production, satellite network and videoconferencing, virtual
library, recruitment of experts and staff training. (…)
Since its creation in 1982, AGFUND has provided
funding to over 600 United Nations projects, including more than 60 UNESCO
projects.
For more information: http://www.agfund.org/eaou.html
http://www.unesco.org/opi/eng/unescopress/2001/01-102e.shtml
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Next issue: 16
November 2001
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