Good News Agency – Year V, n° 3
Weekly - Year V, number 3 – 27
February 2004
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. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti. Good News Agency
is published in English on one Friday and in Italian the next. It is distributed free of charge through
Internet to the editorial offices of more than 2,400
media in 48 countries, as well as to 2,500 NGO and service associations.
It is a service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della
Buona Volontà Mondiale, NGO associated with the United Nations Department of Public
Information. The Association has been recognized by UNESCO as “an actor of
the global movement for a culture of peace” and it has been included as an
international organization in the web site http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development
Solidarity – Peace and security – Health
– Energy and Safety
Environment and
wildlife
– Culture and education
Editorial - 8
March, International Women's
Day: Being A Woman Today
Rotterdam
Convention enters into force
Rome/Geneva, 24 February --
The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for
Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade becomes
international law and thus legally binding on its members today. (…) Jointly supported by FAO and UNEP, the
Rotterdam Convention enables countries to decide which potentially hazardous chemicals
they want to import and to exclude those they cannot manage safely. Where trade
is permitted, requirements for labelling and providing information on potential
health and environmental effects will promote the safer use of chemicals. (…)
The Convention starts with 27
chemicals, but as many as 15 more pesticides and industrial chemicals,
identified during the interim PIC procedure, are flagged also for inclusion at
the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties. This includes a range of
highly toxic pesticides that are moving in international trade, such as
parathion and monocrotophos, as well as five additional forms of asbestos,
including chrysotile asbestos which accounts for more than 90% of asbestos
presently used and traded. (…)
http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/
Council
of General Assembly Presidents meet in Valletta, Malta, discusses contributions
to UN reform, Assembly revitalization
19 February - The Council of
Presidents of the General Assembly of the United Nations held a special meeting
in Valletta, Malta on 4 – 5 February 2004.
…) The Council discussed the present and future role of the United
Nations, the revitalization of the General Assembly, furthering the objectives
of the Millennium Declaration and particularly, how the Council might
contribute to the reform of the United Nations, including the revitalization of
the General Assembly, and support and promote the ideals of the Charter.(…)
The President of the
fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly, Mr. Julian R. Hunte, outlined to
the Council the work of the session to date, including the successful outcome
of the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development and other important
aspects of the work of the session.
President Hunte also outlined
the key provisions of resolution 58/126 entitled, “Revitalization of the work
of the General Assembly”, which was adopted by the General Assembly on 19
December 2003. The Council gave its
full support to the early and comprehensive implementation of this resolution,
which followed on earlier revitalization initiatives and which would enhance
the role and authority of the General Assembly and bring about significant
improvements in its work methods. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/ga10229.doc.htm
Geneva/Nairobi, 18 February
(UNEP) -- The 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
will become legally binding on 17 May 2004, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) announced today. The 90-day countdown to the treaty’s entry
into force was triggered on 17 February 2004 when France became the fiftieth
State to ratify the agreement. …
Governments will pursue a
rapid start to action under the treaty when they meet for the first session of
the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP 1) in Punta del Este,
Uruguay, in early 2005.
One of this meeting’s
priorities will be to assist countries to combat malaria by replacing DDT with
the increasingly safe and effective alternatives. The COP will also establish a Committee for evaluating other
chemicals and pesticides that could be added to the initial target list of 12
POPs (…). Still another key goal for the COP will be to finalize guidelines for
promoting “best environmental practices” and “best available techniques” that
can reduce or eliminate releases of dioxins and furans (perhaps the most toxic
of all the POPs) from a wide range of industrial and other sources. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/unep204.doc.htm
18 February - Brazil is the
latest Latin American country to have set up a national committee responsible
for the dissemination and implementation of humanitarian law. The committee was
inaugurated on 12 February at Itamaraty Palace, seat of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in the capital, Brasilia, at a ceremony presided over by the minister
himself, Celso Amorim. The event was attended by all the committee members, who
represent the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Defence, Health, and
Education and Culture, the Presidential Cabinet, the Special Secretariat for
Human Rights and the National Congress.
The Brazilian Red Cross and
the ICRC, which was one of the motors behind the establishment of the
committee, will have permanent observer status. (…)
In parallel, the ICRC’s
travelling exhibition Even Wars Have Limits was opened in the presence of the
Foreign Minister. This collection of 30 photos of conflict situations and acts
of solidarity from around the world illustrate better than any words the importance
of respect for humanitarian law.
USA: International gathering of women - March 8 to 13
Women of Vision
& Action launched an international project “Gather The Women” in March of
2003, by activating regional meetings in the U.S. and worldwide in 67
countries, and supporting these connections on their website (www.gatherthewomen.org ). Since
these initial gatherings the project has grown exponentially. In October of
2003, WOVA hosted an international Gather The Women conference in San
Francisco. The conference entitled “Weaving A World That Works” was
attended by representatives from over twenty non-profit organizations in the
U.S. (representing 50,000 co-members), and delegates from as far away as The
Congo, The Middle East, and Australia.
The purpose of the “Gather The Women” project is to connect women
worldwide, to listen to each other, to learn from our multiple perspectives,
and to share our wisdom for the challenge of stepping into feminine leadership
roles around the world. Carol Hansen Grey, Executive Director of WOVA
extends this invitation, “We invite women around the world to join in a week of
collaborative daily activities that begins on Monday, March 8 - International
Women's Day. The daily activities are designed to help us activate and
mobilize the wisdom and power of women to weave a world that works, and we
invite you to participate in whatever way is comfortable for you -- personally,
locally and/or globally.”
The United Nations
Association of the United States of America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization that supports the work of the United Nations and encourages active
civic participation in the most important social and economic issues facing the
world today. As the nation's largest grassroots foreign policy organization and
the leading center of policy research on the U.N. and global issues, UNA-USA
offers Americans the opportunity to connect with issues confronted by the U.N.,
from global health and human rights to the spread of democracy, equitable
development, and international justice. Today, UNA-USA is bigger and more
diverse than even its founder, Eleanor Roosevelt, could have predicted; they
have more than 20,000 members spread among 175 local chapters in 43 states.
What's more, they now are comprised of a number of affiliated organizations,
including the Business Council of the United
Nations, which promotes greater cooperation between the
United Nations and the business community; the Council of Organizations, a
program of affiliation for national organizations supporting the work of the
UNA; and Adopt-A-Minefield, which helps the United Nations'
effort to resolve the global landmine crisis by raising funds for mine
clearance and survivor assistance.
20 February - President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva took an important step to conserve the unique Caatinga
forest in drought-prone northeast Brazil through a US$27 million initiative he
launched earlier this month. The project will also improve livelihoods in the
region, one of the country's poorest, with a population of 18.5 million. (…)
The forest is home to many
animals and up to 20,000 kinds of plants.
It covers 10 per cent of the country's land area, and its wood fuels
local steel, brick and tile industries and nearly three quarters of small and
medium-sized rural homesteads. Excessive tree cutting is causing soil erosion
that degrades lands and reduces water quality, substantially diminishing
economic productivity and threatening plant and animal life.
The project, administered by
UNDP, will develop a framework to guide conservation and sustainable use of
forest resources for 160 communities and determine the most appropriate land
use for different areas. It will also work with industries and communities to
improve wood-fuelled ovens so they burn more efficiently and cleanly. (…)
http://www.undp.org/dpa/index.html
Economic
and Social Council reviews efforts to stem poverty in 50 poorest nations
17 February - The Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC) today gathered top United Nations officials, donors and
heads of international institutions to examine worldwide efforts to lift the 50
poorest nations –- home to 720 million people -- out of poverty and
instability.
During a day-long meeting in
preparation for its high-level segment, set for 28 to 30 June, the Council
reviewed progress made in mobilizing resources for poverty eradication in the
least developed countries since adoption of an action plan in Brussels in 2001.
The Brussels Programme of
Action, a set of key commitments for implementing the Millennium Development
Goals, includes seven specific commitments made by the least developed
countries and their development partners, including mobilization of financial
resources as well as governance, trade and sustainable development.
Marjatta Rasi of Finland, the
first woman to ever head the 54-member Council, stressed that stemming the tide
of poverty for least developed countries would ultimately depend on renewed
efforts at the national, regional and global levels, based on the spirit of
shared responsibility and global partnership forged at Brussels. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/ecosoc6102.doc.htm
Governing
Body of Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to hold first meeting in Kuala Lumpur,
23 - 27 February
Montreal, 15 February (UNEP)
-- More than 1,000 delegates representing governments and relevant
organizations will convene in the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur, from 23 to 27
February 2004, for the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving
as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, or
COP-MOP 1.
The Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety was adopted in January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Its objective is to protect biological diversity from the potential
risks that may be posed by living modified organisms (LMOs), or what are
commonly referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), resulting from
modern biotechnology.
The five-day meeting will
consider a number of issues that are central to the implementation of the
Protocol. These include, among
others: information-sharing and the
Biosafety Clearing-House; capacity-building; liability and redress; compliance;
and handling, transport, packaging and identification of living modified
organisms. It is also expected that the
meeting will adopt a medium-term programme of work for the Protocol over the
next 4 to 5 years. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/unep203.doc.htm
UNCTAD
releases new guidelines on corporate environmental accounting, adopted first by
CIBA Specialty Chemicals
Geneva, 13 February (UNCTAD) –
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is today
announcing the release of new guidelines on eco-efficiency indicators that link
the environmental performance of corporations to their financial
performance. The guidelines have now
been adopted by Ciba Specialty Chemicals, making it the first multinational
company to base its environmental reporting on the UNCTAD model.
The Manual for the Preparers
and Users of Eco-efficiency Indicators is one of the first publications in the
field of corporate environmental accounting to standardize the presentation and
disclosure of a company’s environmental performance and how this relates to
financial results. It describes a
method for providing systematic and consistent information on environmental
performance over time. Such information cannot be assessed by the conventional
accounting model but is increasingly demanded by stakeholders, especially in
the post-Enron era. The guidelines meet
this need by using financial and environmental performance indicators together
to measure a company’s progress in attaining eco-efficiency or sustainability. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/tad1973.doc.htm
UNEP
champions sustainable consumption approach
Bangkok, 9
February (UNEP) -- A new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) project
has been launched to help make growing middle class consumerism in Asia more in
tune with the environment. With recent figures showing Thailand’s stock market
more than doubling its value in the past year and China officially projecting
its economy to quadruple by 2020, UNEP says there are now more ‘middle to high
income’ consumers -- those earning more than $7,000 per annum -- in Asia and
the Pacific than in Western Europe and North America combined.
And if roads of the region’s
mega cities aren’t crowded enough, UNEP points out 200 million new vehicles
could be on the planet’s roads -- twice the number as those in the United
States today -- if India, Indonesia and China reach the average global car
ownership figures.
The European Union funded
project, called Sustainable Consumption Asia or “SC.Asia”, aims to transfer
knowledge and experience of consumption issues from European to Asian
countries.
According to the project
manager, UNEP’s Bangkok-based Industry Officer Niclas Svenningsen, Asia would
face an ecological disaster if consumption levels reached those currently seen
in Europe or North America. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/UNEP200.doc.htm
Economic
and Social Council decides, on exceptional basis, on NGO participation in
Commission on Sustainable Development
6 February - Adopting a draft
decision this afternoon, the Economic and Social Council decided, on an
exceptional basis, that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other major
groups accredited to the World Summit on Sustainable Development could
participate in the first two-year implementation cycle of the Commission on
Sustainable Development.
That decision applied to those
NGOs and other major groups that had submitted their applications for
consultative status with the Council or that had expressed, during the first
implementation cycle and preferably by 14 April, their wish to participate in
that cycle.
Speaking after the Council’s
adoption of the text, the representative of the Russian Federation said that
finding agreement had required a lengthy negotiating process. The participation of NGOs in the work of the
United Nations should help to increase their real contribution to the
implementation of the Organization’s tasks and goals. (…) The representative of the United States said
the decision marked an important moment to enhance the work of the Commission
on Sustainable Development and underscored the need to harness the collective
powers of all stakeholders in order to achieve the internationally agreed
development goals. The United States
favoured efforts to streamline and enhance the effectiveness of the process by
which NGOs engaged in the Commission’s work. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/ecosoc6100.doc.htm
Pediatricians
to award Rotary International for Polio Project
Washington,
D.C., February 20 - The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will present its
Excellence in Public Service Award (EPSA) tomorrow to Rotary International for
its work to eradicate polio worldwide. Each year, the AAP honors national
officials and organizations for distinguished service on behalf of children and
adolescents and their health care.
"Rotarians are child
advocates in action. They have raised $500 million, and delivered vaccine
around the globe to prevent children from contracting a crippling and
life-threatening disease," said AAP President Carden Johnston, M.D.,
"Rotarians, like pediatricians, know prevention is much better than
treatment."
The American
Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 57,000 primary care pediatricians,
pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated
to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents, and
young adults. The Academy is a partner in the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative, spearheaded in part by Rotary, that has helped reduce the cases of
polio from approximately 350,000 cases in 1988 to fewer than 1,000 cases in
2003.
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/184.html
Bam, Iran, 19 February -
UN-HABITAT has been invited by Iran to assist with reconstruction in the
historic Silk Road city of Bam following a devastating earthquake that claimed
more than 43,000 lives and destroyed homes, schools, offices and other
infrastructure. (…)
With aftershocks frequent, the
city is covered in rubble, and those families whose houses were not completely
destroyed are afraid to return, while others remain too traumatised to start
clearing it. But with the support of least 75 NGOs, international agencies and
UN humanitarian organisations the government has been able to sucessfully
undertake relief operations.
The Iranian government is now
poised to launch a reconstruction programme, which it intends to carry out on
the basis of revised master plan of the city. A two-member UN-HABITAT
assessment team, which visited Bam 5-14 February, reviewed how to effectively
address the shelter needs of families affected by the earthquake. (…)
http://www.unhabitat.org/iran.asp
Gonaïves,
Haiti, February 17 - CARE is launching the largest urban food distribution in
its 50 years of work in Haiti, the international humanitarian organization said
Tuesday. The emergency relief action should be enough to meet important needs
of the entire population of the city of Gonaïves. Civil unrest has effectively
cut off Gonaïves from the rest of the country, creating food shortages and high
prices. (…)
CARE's warehouse in Gonaïves
contains food donated by the U.S. Agency for International Development's Food
for Peace program, used in regular aid activities. Food for Peace has approved
the release of supplies for emergency relief. CARE said the distribution should
reduce but not eliminate the risk of looting. (…)
Representatives of CARE, the
Government of Haiti, the Resistance Front, the Haitian Red Cross, and other
civil society groups are cooperating on relief efforts, and the United Nations
and the International Committee of the Red Cross are overseeing negotiations
aimed at opening humanitarian corridors.
ADRA
Afghanistan strengthens community-based healthcare
Kabul, Afghanistan, February
17 - The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in Afghanistan
has been awarded funding worth $1.99 million from the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) to implement a three-year basic health
project in Panjab and Waras districts of Bamyan province. Begun in October
2003, the REACH project seeks to improve the health of women of reproductive
age and children age five and younger by reducing the most common causes of
mortality and morbidity. (…)
The REACH program is focusing
on strengthening the capacity of the health system to provide quality health
services, with an emphasis on maternal and child care, Ministry of Health
oversight, and development of each communities' capacity to manage health
services to create relevant, accessible and acceptable services. (…)
In the past, access to
healthcare for women has been severely restricted. A recent study by UNICEF in
four Afghan provinces indicates the country still has one of the highest
maternal mortality ratios in the world, estimated at 1,600 deaths per 100,000
live births.
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/021704.html
Kabul, 16 February - A new National Solidarity Programme aimed
at strengthening a network of some 30,000 self-governing local community
institutions in Afghanistan has been established by the government with the
support of UN-HABITAT. The programme, started in December 2003 and set to
expand rapidly in coming months, represents an important milestone in the
Afghan Government’s reconstruction efforts to help rebuild trust among
themselves and with the government. The flagship NSP is the largest and most
visible of the government’s development programmes and pivotal to its strategy
to rebuild the country after 23 years of war.
With more than a decade of experience
in urban Afghanistan, UN-HABITAT is the largest of more than 20 partners
working on the programme with core funding from the World Bank and co-financing
from a number of additional donors. A total of US$ 302,550 in grants was
approved for projects ranging from schools, to public baths, water supply,
roads, bridges, carpet weaving and micro-hydroelectric power.
The communities themselves
have committed over US $30,000 of support in-kind. They will work with the
government through representatives elected by secret ballot to their own
Community Development Council (CDC). Regular consultations and consensus among
community members is a very important principle of the program. (…)
http://www.unhabitat.org/afghan_kabul.asp
February 18 - As political
leaders disputed over the slow-moving and often problematic road map to peace
in the Middle East, Jewish and Arab youth from the region were able to express
their personal and political thoughts on what it is like to grow up amidst the
conflict. The January/February 2004 issue of the literary Middle Eastern youth
magazine, Crossing Borders, serves as an open forum for young people to share
their thoughts and experiences with one another. In Israel, the project is managed by Givat Haviva’s Jewish-Arab
Center for Peace.
Crossing Borders opens with
two powerful editorials, written by Jihan Abdallah of East Jerusalem and Bakria
Mawasi of Nazareth. Their words convey
a hopeful vision for Palestinian and Israeli co-existence, and a message for
young people that the power of positive change lays in their hands. Jihan
Abdallah asks, While violence, hatred, and discrimination were surrounding us,
what did we do? Did we try to make a
difference or were we mere spectators?
It is evident that the young
people who fill the pages of this edition of Crossing Borders with their hopes
and disappointments, triumphs and personal tragedies, are changing the
political and social landscape of their communities. Their essays reflect on their personal struggles with identity,
as Jews, Muslims, and Christians; and as Palestinians, Arabs and Israelis. They
grapple with questions of justice and morality, and express their views on
social inequalities. (…)
16 February - Last week, 10
boys were reunited with their families in rural Burundi after being used as
child soldiers in violation of international law.
The details of their stories
may be quite different, but their ordeal was the same. Some had fled Burundi
with their families following the outbreak of fighting in 1993, and were living
in refugee camps in Tanzania when they were recruited by armed groups who took
them off to fight in Burundi and later in the eastern Congo. Others were
abducted by armed groups while attending school in Burundi, and then also taken
to fight in eastern Congo. All of them were less than 15 years of age – the
youngest only 11 – when this happened. Most were sent into combat; others
carried munitions. Several were wounded or fell sick and were simply left by
the wayside to fend for themselves.
One way or another, all 10
ended up in transit centres in eastern Congo, where they were visited by ICRC
delegates. The organization traced their families in Burundi and put them in
touch by means of Red Cross messages (brief personal messages to relatives made
unreachable by armed conflict). Both the children and their families said they
wanted to be reunited. (…)
12 February -
Germany will donate $ 1 million in aid to help central Thua Thien Hue and Quang
Tri provinces to remove landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) this year,
announced the German Embassy in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi yesterday. (…)
Germany will help the
provinces raise local people's awareness of the threats and dangers of the
ordnance, marking explosive areas and training troops for the job. On the
Vietnamese side, around $ 500,000 will be spent on improving infrastructure
facilities in the areas.
Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri
provinces were hard hit by the war, with nearly 50% of their land unavailable
for use because of the amount of unexploded mines and bombs. Since 1975, UXO
has claimed more than 3,000 lives and wounded 6,000 others in Quang Tri.
http://www.mineaction.org/countries/_refdocs.cfm?doc_ID=1821
Geneva, 12 February (UN
Information Service) -- The Conference on Disarmament today approved by
consensus a decision concerning the enhancement of the engagement of civil
society in its work. It also heard
statements from Poland, China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and
the United States on how to start substantial negotiations in the Conference,
as well as on issues concerning non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.
Among other things, the
decision concerning civil society states that non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) shall be entitled to make written material available to the members of
the Conference outside the Council Chamber twice per annual session. After the Conference adopts a programme of
work, it will allocate one informal plenary meeting per annual session to NGOs
to address the Conference. Only NGOs
whose activities relate to the work of the Conference will be able to address
it, and a formal selection process will be put in place to consider requests
from NGOs to participate. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/dcf435.doc.htm
UN
Secretary-General, US Secretary of State, French Foreign Minister among those
calling for effective action
6 February -
“Let us all seize this opportunity to end a long-running nightmare that has
disgraced humankind. Let us consolidate
the peace, and make the peace process irreversible”, Kofi Annan, United Nations
Secretary-General, said as a two-day international conference aimed at
addressing Liberia’s reconstruction needs concluded with a ministerial-level
pledging event today.
Organizations and governments
pledged more than $500 million towards reconstruction and humanitarian
assistance, against a $660 two-year assessment need. However, five major donors only pledged for 2004 and indicated
possible additional pledges for 2005.
Other assistance, such as training and technical assistance and
alleviation of the debt burden, was also pledged.
Co-sponsored by the United
States, the World Bank and the United Nations, the Conference was organized by
the United Nations Development Group (UNDG).
(…)
The conference was meant to
demonstrate international solidarity with Liberia at a decisive moment. At the same time, Liberia’s reconstruction
was also a regional issue, he said.
There was a pressing need to curb the ominous, continuous movement of
mercenaries and flows of illicit arms. In that area, subregional organizations
such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Mano
River Union could play a significant role. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/AFR827.doc.htm
In London on 3 April there
will be an all-day conference open to the public, entitled 'Britain's Role in
the 21st Century - Peace Builder?' Featuring a range of expert speakers,
it will explore the difference having a Ministry for Peace in government could
make to life here and overseas.
The process we have adopted
for our work is open, democratic, transparent, co-operative and creative with
the emphasis on non-violent communication and on non-confrontational approach.
The intent is that the means will reflect the ends. Full details can be found
on the MfP website - www.ministryforpeace.org.uk
West
Africa mobilizes for final assault against polio: 63 million children to be
immunized in 10 countries as Nigerian outbreak threatens African success story
Dakar/New York/Geneva, 23
February - One month after an emergency meeting of Health Ministers committed
to end polio transmission in 2004, Africa is responding with a massive,
synchronized polio immunization campaign, aiming to vaccinate 63 million
children over the next few days. From 23 February, 10 countries will hold
simultaneous polio immunization campaigns, targeting 63 million children in
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon (20 February), Central African Republic, Chad
(joining in March), Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. Political, religious
and traditional leaders will team up to launch the activities, and tens of
thousands of vaccinators will go house-to-house to administer the vaccine
directly to every child over the following three days.
In recent months, polio has again spread across west and central Africa,
paralyzing children in seven previously polio-free countries - most recently
the Central African Republic - and putting millions more at risk. But
partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative say that if upcoming
campaigns over the next several months reach every child, polio in Africa could
be stopped in its tracks in 2004.
The Global Polio Eradication
Initiative is spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF. The poliovirus is now
circulating in only six countries, down from over 125 when the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative was launched in 1988. The six countries with
indigenous wild poliovirus are: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Niger,
Afghanistan and Egypt.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_19333.html
The 'Day Centers' aim to be a place
for learning and mutual understanding to bridge the gap between MSF
beneficiaries and society
Yerevan/Tchambarak, 20
February - Today, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) expands its mental health
program in the Armenian province of Gegharkunik, with the official opening of a
'Day Center' for mental health in the town of Tchambarak. The 'Day Center',
which is being launched in partnership with the NGO 'Mission Armenia' and the
cooperation of the municipality of Tchambarak, aims to improve support for
people with mental health problems.
This is the second 'Day
Center' for mental health that MSF has opened in the region. A third is due to
open in the town of Gavar at the beginning of March. The centers, which are
free of charge, guarantee confidentiality to their visitors. A wide variety of
therapeutic activities are provided with the assistance of the services of
psychologists, animators, and social workers. (…)
Over
200 volunteers from the US, Canada and Europe will travel to India to immunize
children against polio
Evanston, Ill., USA, 16
February - As global health officials expect to stop the spread of the
poliovirus by the end of 2004, about 200 business professionals from the US,
Canada, and Europe departed for India, where the last vestiges of this
crippling disease are persistently holding on, in mid Februrary. These
volunteers are members of Rotary, which has made eliminating this crippling
disease its flagship humanitarian program.
While in India, the Rotary group
will participate in an intense vaccination campaign on February 22, which is
supported by the Indian government, Rotary International and its partners of
the Global Polio Eradication Initiative; the World Health Organization, US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF. The volunteers will
administer the drops of oral polio vaccine to children, deliver the vaccine to
health clinics and recruit fellow volunteers. The goal will be to immunize
every child under the age of five against polio. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/183.html
New York, 13 February (UNFPA)
-– A national campaign to end fistula -- the most devastating of all
pregnancy-related disabilities -- was launched in Uganda this week with the
participation of the First Lady, Janet Museveni. Through the campaign, 12 regional hospitals will receive
much-needed equipment and supplies for fistula surgery, and local doctors will
be trained in surgery and post-operative care.
Advocacy activities will also take place to raise awareness about the
problem and efforts will be made to include fistula training in the curricula
of medical institutions. (…)
Obstetric fistula is a
preventable and treatable condition, yet more than 2 million women remain
untreated in developing countries.
Fistula is caused by prolonged and obstructed labour, coupled with a
lack of appropriate medical intervention -- typically a Caesarean section -- to
relieve it. The woman is left with
chronic incontinence and in nearly all cases the baby dies. (…)
The UNFPA is leading the
first-ever Global Campaign to End Fistula.
The long-term goal is to make fistula as rare in developing areas as it
is in industrialized countries today.
The campaign is currently providing support to more than 20 countries in
sub-Saharan Africa, ArabStates and South Asia.
Fistula initiatives in Uganda are largely supported through grants from
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Government of Finland.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/afr838.doc.htm
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Friday, 13 February 2004:
UNDP, with funding from Denmark, is helping 14 countries in the Pacific develop
national energy policies and action plans to bring electric power to poor communities.
Access to electricity and other modern forms of energy is crucial to improving
lives and livelihoods, and by supporting efforts to expand access, the
initiative will help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goal of
halving the rate of extreme poverty by 2015.
Participating countries
include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru,
Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and
Vanuatu.
The proportion of their people
without access to electricity varies widely, from 10 per cent to nearly 100 per
cent. There are a number of strategies to widen energy access, including doing
more to encourage the use of renewable sources, such as solar and wind power,
and promoting regional cooperation. These countries face such challenges as
providing power to small, isolated island communities, high prices and limited
storage areas for petroleum fuels, and environmental vulnerabilities, including
the threat of a rising sea level related to global climate change, risk of
storm damage, and threats to fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs from
pollution. (…)
UN
ICT Task Force Global Forum on Internet Governance to be held, 25 – 26 March
New York, 5 February (UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs) -- A Global Forum on Internet
Governance will be held on 25-26 March 2004 at United Nations Headquarters in
New York, to bring together leading actors and all relevant stakeholders,
including Member States, civil society and the private sector, interested in
Internet governance issues. Organized
under the auspices of the United Nations Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) Task Force, the Global Forum will be an opportunity to
engage in an open discussion on all aspects of Internet governance.
The views expressed from
around the world in on-line discussions to be organized with other partners in
the weeks ahead will contribute to the Forum to ensure as broad and
comprehensive a reflection of perspectives and ideas on the issues to be
addressed. The Global Forum will
contribute to the world-wide consultation process to be organized by the
Secretary-General. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/pi1558.doc.htm
The decision of the Parties to call
on the UN General Assembly to act urgently to protect deep water corals and sea
mounts is particularly noteworthy.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 20
February – The 7th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD CoP7) has ended with a major advance on protected areas, WWF
said today. However, by failing to agree on clear measures to preserve rich and
productive marine and coastal areas, governments missed a unique opportunity to
significantly boost the protection of the oceans, the conservation organization
added.
WWF deplores the fact that
although only 0.5 percent of the oceans are currently protected – against 11
percent for terrestrial areas – the parties to the CBD postponed the adoption
of targets that would have given the green light to activities to halt the
current loss of marine biodiversity, and to restore the health and productivity
of the world's oceans and coasts.
These targets will now be
deferred to the next Conference of the Parties in 2006 in Brazil. (…)
UN Environment
Programme announces launch of tool to map mysterious lives of marine turtles
Cambridge/Bangkok, 13 February
(UNEP) -- The first comprehensive online system to map the nesting and
migrating habitats of endangered sea turtles is being launched today. Despite years of intensive study, relatively
little is known about the life history of these ancient mariners once they
leave their natal beaches. The new
system, focused initially on the Indian Ocean/South-East Asia region, comprises
an interactive mapping tool that will help policy-makers, scientists and
conservationists alike to understand and better protect these unique species.
(…)
The Marine Turtle IMapS will
allow researchers worldwide to pool basic information collected locally, in
order to get a bigger picture of the status of marine turtles. (…) The first
phase of the Marine Turtle IMapS has been developed to support an international
conservation agreement known as the Indian Ocean-South-East Asian Marine Turtle
Memorandum of Understanding, based in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the latest in a series of
collaborative projects undertaken by UNEP's World Conservation Monitoring
Centre (UNEP-WCMC) on behalf of the global Convention on Migratory Species
(CMS), to which the IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU is affiliated. (…)
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/unep202.doc.htm
UNDP
partnership announces winners of Equator Prize 2004 to recognize local
conservation efforts
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 19
February - Seven communities from throughout the tropics received international
recognition today as winners of the United Nations Equator Prize 2004. The
Prize honours their extraordinary work to reduce human poverty while conserving
biological wealth.
Following deliberations by a
distinguished international Jury––including economist Jeffrey Sachs, Nobel
Peace Prize winners Oscar Arias and Rigoberta Menchu, Yolanda Kakabadse of
IUCN, and Princess Basma of Jordan––seven winners were announced for the
prestigious Equator Prize 2004. Representatives from the winning communities
each received US$30,000 at a special gala ceremony held on the closing day of
the Seventh Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in
Kuala Lumpur. (…) Full details on the
seven winners, and all 26 finalists, are available on the Equator Initiative website. (…)
TRANSCEND:
Two of the forthcoming seminars:
The
TRANSCEND Approach to Nonviolent Conflict Transformation - Trainer: Johan
Galtung March 31, Berkeley, USA
Why is there so much misery in
the world despite an abundance of human intelligence and imagination?
Professor Galtung's innovative methods for conflict transformation address this
question and offer a refreshing approach to resolving our pressing social,
economic, and political
problems. Contact
Person: Marilyn Langlois langlois-rine@comcast.net
The
Philosophy and Theory of Nonviolent Actions: “From Gandhi to Modern Social and
Political Movements” Trainer: Jorgen Johansen - May 5 – 6, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
A two-days international
training programme organised by the Romanian Peace Institute (PATRIR) in
cooperation with TRANSCEND. - Throughout the 20th century non-violence was used
as an effective tool for overthrowing violent, dictatorial and colonial
regimes. The focus of this training programme will be on the large scale
use of non-violent means to transform and overcome direct and structural
violence in conflicts. Drawing upon case-studies and experiences from
around the world, The Philosophy and Theory of Nonviolent Actions will help
practitioners and scholars to weave together a cohesive view and understanding
of the legacy and contributions of non-violent struggles in the 20th, and 21st
centuries. Contact Person: Alex Moldovan Training Programmes Coordinator,
PATRIR alex@patrir.ro
Mosaic
Harmony: Unifying the world, one song at a time
As a
human mosaic, we strive to illustrate and encourage unity in the midst of
diversity
Washington,
DC, 10 February - Mosaic Harmony is a
multi-faith, interracial community choir that draws on the rich heritage of
African-American Gospel music to celebrate the rich diversity of the human
condition. Now in our eleventh year, and growing in size and complexity,
we remain committed to the challenges of living as one human family.
The types of events where we
perform reflect that commitment. We sing in many different settings (…)
Other community-outreach concerts include singing for disturbed youth through
ChildHelp USA and with youth belonging to nine major world religions through
the Interfaith Council of Washington. Given our interracial membership,
we are often asked to perform at events honoring the ideals of Dr. Martin
Luther King.
As we prepare to release our
second CD, we have just learnt that we have been nominated for two Wammie
Awards by the Washington DC Area Music Association. It is a joy to be
recognized, but what we recognize all the
time is how this music creates joy and the feelings of unity wherever we find ourselves. As a
human mosaic, we strive to illustrate and encourage unity in the midst of
diversity, one song at a time.
Bringing the soul to
work: how women's leadership
can transform the workplace
A one day
workshop with Debby Edelstein on 25 March,
Johannesburg, South Africa
There's a quiet revolution
going on as more and more working women choose to work from home and negotiate
flexitime options so that they can care for their children in
addition to playing an increasingly vital role in the growth of the
economy. These workplace pioneers are reinventing the way they work
because they are no longer prepared to lose at life in order to win at
work. Many of them are unaware of the radical transformation of the
workplace they're helping to affect.
The workshop will take place
at the Sunnyside Park Hotel, Parktown. A selection
of the workshop content: Women as
Peacemakers, Women as Rulebreakers,
Trends of the New Leadership and the Feminine Advantage, Simple Ways to Bring Your Soul to Work,
How to
Nurture Your Inner Warrior. The workshop
objectives include: to develop confidence in the leadership
ability of participants; to develop strategies for fulfilling leadership
potential; to become more comfortable with developing the 'warrior' archetype; To develop a support
network for Women leaders. http://www.qualitylife.co.za/event.asp
* * * * * * *
by Sergio Tripi
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International Women’s Day is
celebrated by women’s associations and groups all over the world and is a
national holiday in many countries. It has been defined by the United Nations
as the “Day for women’s rights and international peace” since 1977. Few causes
promoted by the UN have generated more intense and widespread support than that
generated by the campaign to promote and protect women’s rights.
It is now an established fact that in every part of the world
women are in worse conditions than men. They have less power, less liberty,
less money, more work and more responsibility. The UN’s researches indicate
that the women in the world work about two-thirds of all the working hours. One
of the few generalizations which is valid everywhere is that unpaid domestic
work is considered as “women’s work”. Actually, it is hard and important work,
which has for a long time been awaiting a just recognition and consideration by
the institutions and the male population. In fact, still today domestic work is
not considered “real work”, is unpaid and is taken for granted. Yet the value
of women’s work only in the domestic sphere, if it were given an economic
value, would increase the gross national product of the world by a third. And
what about all those women in our western countries who, besides taking care of
the children and looking after the house, have professional commitments or
carry out a work activity in the office or the factory?
In fact, the world is predominantly a world of men. Men hold the
major positions of power, wealth and decision-making, thus reinforcing the
domination of the masculine principle throughout society. From this point of
view, ours is a seriously unbalanced world. This imbalance faces us with a
crisis of extreme urgency. It is not that feminine or masculine characteristics
are superior; they all have an equal value and are certainly complementary. The
present human problems demonstrate the danger which arises when one of the two
elements predominates and the other is suffocated and denied self-expression.
The qualities closely related to masculinity are extolled and the systems with
patriarchal values cultivate a sort of contempt for those qualities described
as “yielding” or feminine. On the other hand, if we are to live in peace, care
for the environment, protect the weak and undefended, choose as our priority
tasks the satisfaction of the real human needs – in other words, if the human
species is to survive and have the kind of world which we would like our
children to inherit – this will happen because feminine values will have begun
to gain weight. They are the values of compassion, of forgiveness, of cooperation,
of the life of relationship and of justice with pity, values which constitute
the key to our very survival.
One of the most important changes which are improving the state
of women in the world today is a better access to education. And it is undoubtedly
very significant that the Ministers of Education of the nine most densely
populated countries, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia,
Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan, reaffirmed at their fifth ministerial meeting,
which took place in Cairo last December, their commitment to dealing with the
educational needs of their respective populations and to wishing to collaborate
more closely to reach the six goals fixed at the World Forum on Education held
in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000. This renewed commitment is a fact of no little
importance in the global process of spreading literacy, which is directed in
primis to women and children, since in those nine countries, which constitute
the so-called E-9 group, more than half the world population lives and it is
estimated that it includes 70% of illiterate adults, especially women. In a
declaration published shortly before the meeting in Cairo, the E-9 Ministers of
Education highlighted the improvements obtained in their countries in the last
four years, including an increase in enrolments and an improvement in the rate
of enforcement of compulsory schooling (especially for women), but also
recognized “they still had many challenges to face”, among others, poverty and
“the unequal access to quality services by disadvantaged children, particularly
girls”.
Another observation should be made about the gap in education,
which is certainly diminishing but is still significant. The first years of
infancy are passed above all in the company of the mother or of other female
relatives or helpers. These first years of life are the most easily influenced
years and so the role of women on the future generation is very significant and
their attitudes and their vision of the world are of critical importance for
the education of the new generations. This social situation indicates clearly
the evident necessity of intensifying the training process of girls and women,
who are naturally in charge of carrying out such an important role in the
development of the young.
Today there
is a tendency, at least in principle and particularly in the western countries,
towards an egalitarian participation by men and women in social and
institutional life. Numerous international agreements have been negotiated by the United Nations to guarantee
the equality of the sexes in areas such as political rights, employment,
matrimonial rights and the concept of equal retribution for work of equal
value. One result of these agreements is that most states (but not all) have
included in their constitutions and their legislature the principle of equal
rights between the sexes. This, however, is only the first step towards
guaranteeing equal rights to women before the law. Now it is necessary to give
substance to these principles, annulling those laws which allow discrimination
to continue and promoting concrete programmes which support equality in an
affirmative, open and declared way.
From a pragmatic point of view, an important step towards this
important goal has been the success which many women have had in gaining access
to influential positions in the existing social structure, even though it must
be recognized that this is only the beginning and that these women are still a
small minority. The process of transformation of the feminine role is, however,
in progress and is destined to have a profound effect on society. It is an
extremely significant recognition, which has taken shape through the growing
awareness of the need to balance male and female characteristics in society and
that these two great psychological forces are in fact already present in every
person. The masculinist picture of the hard and aggressive man is a stereotype
which debases what a complete and balanced man should be. At the same time, the
prospect of growth in the feminine world consists in having faith in exploring
and maintaining the real feminine values and in finding the necessary strength
and capacity to bring these values into every aspect of family and social life.
Doing justice to the highest spirit of femininity, the women’s
movement has transcended the illusion of being “anti-men” and is emerging as a
movement for equality, life, peace and justice. The future which awaits us now
largely depends on the voice of women as a voice which is finally listened to
and taken into consideration. This new era depends, more than anything else, on
the united action of women and men, on their reciprocal comprehension and on
their working together creatively in a relationship of equality. In this frame
of reference, the results are positive from all points of view: fullness of
relationships in the family and in society;
balancing of all the qualities which constitute our human race and full
utilization of its intellectual, moral and material resources for balanced
social progress.
One of the most beautiful thoughts, perhaps the most beautiful,
which synthesizes poetically the absurd imbalance between the masculine and
feminine role and which at the same time allows one to glimpse the beauty and
fullness of a new equilibrium, is that expressed by the Russian writer Helena
Roerich: “The flight of humanity’s spirit cannot be supported by a single
wing”. Here is the synthesizing force of a poetical expression! Nothing else
needs to be added, don’t you think?
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* * * * * * *
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