Good News Agency – Year VIII, n° 4
Weekly - Year VIII, number 4 –
16th March 2007
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 (in charge) and
Elisa Peduto. 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 3,700 media in 48 countries and to 2,800 NGOs.
It is an all-volunteer 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 in the web site http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/uk/uk_sum_monde.htm
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development
Solidarity – Peace
and security – Health – Energy and Safety
Environment and wildlife – Culture and education
Boosting
the diversity of European TV and on-demand services: Commission paves the way
for the new Directive "Audiovisual without Frontiers"
Brussels, 9 March - The
Commission has unveiled today a consolidated text of the modernised
"Television without Frontiers" Directive. After a first reading in
the European Parliament and the Council, there is now broad agreement with the
Commission about the future legal framework for Europe's audiovisual sector.
The new rules, which have been called for especially by the European
Parliament, are a response to technological developments and create a new
level-playing field in Europe for emerging audiovisual media services (video on
demand, mobile TV, audiovisual services on digital TV). (…) The Commission also
proposes to ensure the independence of national media regulators. The
consolidated text of the new Directive will now go into a second reading by the
European Parliament and Council. (…)
The modernisation of the
"Television without Frontiers" Directive of 1989 was proposed by the
Commission on 13 December 2005 (see IP/05/1573 and MEMO/06/208) and since then
has made rapid progress in the European Parliament and in the Council of
Ministers. The new Directive intends to help Europe's audiovisual industry to
become more competitive by allowing all audiovisual media services to profit
from the internal market, regardless of the transmission technology used. (…)
At the heart of the new Directive is the country of origin principle, which was
already the cornerstone of the original "Television without
Frontiers" Directive of 1989. (…)
The new Directive also
enhances media pluralism in the 27 EU Member States by opening up national
media markets to more competition from other EU countries and by facilitating a
diversified offer of TV- and audiovisual on-demand content from all over
Europe. (…)
European
Council agrees on integrated climate and energy policy
Heads of State and Government
of the 27 Member States of the European Union attending the European Council in
Brussels on 8 and 9 March 2007 agreed on elements of an integrated climate and
energy policy, including a firm independent commitment to achieve at least a
20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 compared to 1990. The
European Council also endorsed binding targets of 20% and 10% for renewables in
general and biofuels in particular, respectively.
The Energy Policy for Europe
will pursue the following three objectives, fully respecting Member States'
choice of energy mix and sovereignty over primary energy sources and
underpinned by a spirit of solidarity amongst Member States:
The European Council endorsed
the following targets related to renewable energies:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/home_en.htm
UN in
Liberia report shows decline in sex abuse allegations; envoy says some progress
9 March - As part of
continuing efforts by the United Nations to stamp out sexual exploitation and
abuse wherever it occurs, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) today released its
latest report on the problem which shows a fall in the number of allegations
against its own staff last year compared to 2005. Thirty allegations were
reported last year compared to 45 a year earlier, according to the report,
which is released annually as part of UNMIL’s efforts to implement the world
body’s policy of keeping the public informed about efforts being made to
eradicate any incidents of such abuse by UN personnel. (…)
The 2006 UNMIL Report on
Sexual Exploitation and Abuse shows that the decrease in the number of
allegations compared to the previous year was mainly due to preventive measures
taken by the Mission, and its Conduct and Discipline Unit, which became fully
operational last year. Such preventive measures include a compulsory induction
course for all military and civilian staff members to raise awareness about the
effects and consequences of sexual exploitation and abuse.
UNMIL has also adopted a
collective approach to prevention by involving Liberia’s Government,
non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the local communities in various
programmes aimed at raising awareness. So far, 35 local NGOs have been trained
to spread the UN’s zero tolerance message on preventing sexual exploitation and
abuse, the Mission said in a press release. (...)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/ticker/tickerstory.asp?NewsID=21817
No excuse for violence against
women and girls – New project in Bosnia and Herzegovina
UNICEF,
UNFPA and Medica Zenica Mark International Women’s Day with the launch of a New
Project to address violence
Sarajevo, 8 March - The launch of a new project to improve gender-based violence and
child abuse referral mechanisms in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) is the expected
result of a collaboration in which UNFPA and UNICEF BIH are joining
efforts with the NGO, Medica Zenica.
The project will contribute to the development of a comprehensive mechanism for
identifying, recording, reporting, treating and referring victims of violence.
In 2008, this model will be piloted and evaluated in selected municipalities.
(…)
Over a five-year period,
UNICEF has supported the training of 750 professionals from the social work,
police, health, judiciary, media and NGO sectors in 63 municipalities. Last
year, UNICEF supported the BIH Government in preparing a national report on
violence as its contribution to the UN Global Study on Violence Against
Children. (…) UNFPA has been collaborating with a number of women’s NGOs in
advancing the rights of women to a life free of violence. UNFPA efforts have
been directed toward the elimination of all forms of violence against women,
especially sexual gender-based violence, and fulfilling the reproductive health
rights of women. UNFPA and Medica
represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Brussels International Symposium on
Sexual Gender Based Violence in Conflict and Beyond in 2006, where they
committed to future cooperation and the improvement of the position of women in
the country, in order to achieve the Brussels Call for Zero Tolerance to
Violence.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_39025.html
Human
rights conference to tackle "R2P" resolution (U.S.A.)
by Yasmin Anwar, www.berkeley.edu
8 March, Berkeley – A year
after the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted the
"Responsibility to Protect" resolution, human rights groups are pressing
world leaders to act on their declaration to stem genocide and other
atrocities. At the University of
California, Berkeley, next Tuesday (March 13), the campus's Human Rights Center
will launch the West Coast's first conference on how to implement the ambitious
U.N. principle known as "R2P." The "Stopping Mass
Atrocities" conference is being co-hosted by Human Rights Watch and the
Genocide Intervention Network. The keynote speaker is Lt. General Romeo
Dallaire, former commander of the U.N. peacekeeping troops during the 1994
genocide in Rwanda. In addition to his sold-out opening speech at 7 p.m. on
Tuesday, Dallaire will speak at a campus press conference at noon on Wednesday
(March 14). Also speaking at the press conference will be Sudanese refugee Valentino
Achak Deng, the subject of Dave Eggers' novelized autobiography "What Is
the What," and Juan Méndez, special advisor to the U.N. on the prevention
of genocide.
Among the conference's
noteworthy panelists is Ken Rutherford of the Landmine Survivors Network. He
lost both legs when his vehicle ran over a landmine during a relief mission in
Somalia in 1993.
In a testament to growing
youth concern over global massacres, many students have signed up to attend the
conference, including a dozen members of Wood River High School in Blaine
County, Idaho. "Some of our students are campaigning locally against the
sale of blood diamonds by local jewelers. Others are writing letters on behalf
of prisoners of conscience," said Wood River High teacher and Amnesty
International advisor Jean Jacques Bohl, who will be traveling to Berkeley with
the student group. (…)
http://www.landmine.de/en.titel/en.news/en.news.one/index.html?entry=en.news.0df702f30b200000
International
Women's Day:
A
Small but Significant Step in the Fight against Domestic Violence
In
Cusco, a community initiative based on a simple but powerful strategy is taking
a stand against domestic violence and building a culture of peace in Peru.
7 March - "We've broken the cycle," says Martha Galarza,
grassroots community leader and President of a local Defensorías Comunitarias
(Community Defense) group in Cusco, Peru. The defensoras (or "defenders,"
as the monitors are known locally) emerged from Cusco's crowded outskirts as a
community project to help victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and
harassment by providing support for filing legal complaints and conducting
follow-up.
The Defensorías Comunitarias
trains local leaders to promote and protect the rights of women, girls and
children. The Quechua-speaking defensoras are volunteers drawn from the local
community (70% Quechua speaking), which makes them easier to approach for help
when domestic violence or abuse occurs. Last week, Rocío Franco of the
Institute for Legal Defense (IDL), the Peruvian NGO behind the Defensorías
Comunitarias, traveled to Ghana to share the lessons learned from this
initiative, which won first prize in the 2005-2006 Experiences in Social
Innovation competition organized by ECLAC and the Kellogg Foundation.(…)
But in Cusco -- where 69% of
women report having suffered domestic violence -- the number of legal
complaints denouncing abuse was extremely low. Violence against women has been
made invisible by fear, shame and obstacles faced by the public sector in
assisting victims. According to one survey, 72% of abused women had never
sought help from existing institutions. The Defensorías Comunitarias were
created to confront domestic violence as a first step in reversing a widespread
climate of aggression within families and promoting a culture of peace. This is
accomplished by creating broad awareness of rights and spreading the message
that domestic violence cannot be tolerated or justified under any
circumstances. And this message is whispered, spoken, stated and shouted
through public awareness campaigns.(…)
UNFPA:
Ending Violence Against Women
The United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) has launched a
new publication entitled Ending Violence Against Women: Programming
for Prevention, Protection and Care. The handbook, intended primarily for
development practitioners, provides practical points to consider when designing
and implementing projects addressing violence against women. It is a collection
of good practices drawn from ten case studies described in a complementary
volume Programming to Address Violence Against Women. The approaches
are based on an appreciation of culture and the role it plays in this issue.
Ending Violence Against Women is available online. Also available on
the UNFPA website is an Online Exhibition: Ending Violence Against
Women, which includes cultural sensitive programming
approaches, case studies and other related resources.
http://www.internationalwomensday.com
UN
Trust Fund in support of actions to eliminate violence against women
The year 2007 marks the 10th
anniversary of the United Nations Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate
Violence against Women, which is managed by the United Nations Development Fund
for Women (UNIFEM). In establishing
the Trust Fund, the General Assembly (resolution 50/166 in 1996) highlighted
eliminating violence against women as critical to accelerating the
implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action. The Trust Fund is the only multilateral grant-making mechanism that
supports local, national and regional efforts to combat violence. Since it
began operations in 1997, the Trust Fund has distributed nearly US$13 million
to 226 innovative programmes to address violence against women in more than 100
countries, including projects that conduct public education and awareness
campaigns, build coalitions, involve law-enforcement, judicial and government
agencies, train educators, healthcare personnel and police officials to respond
to and prevent violence. Many projects strive to alter community attitudes and
involve men as allies. Further information is available online.
http://www.internationalwomensday.com
iKNOW Politics
The first virtual network
linking women in politics throughout the world was launched on 27 February 2007
at the United Nations: the International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics
(iKNOW Politics). The initiative was founded in partnership by the
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, the
Inter-Parliamentary Union, the National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations
Development Fund for Women.
The global platform is
specifically designed to promote gender-sensitive governance and advance the
role and number of women in political and public life. It connects parliamentarians,
representatives, candidates, political party leaders and members, researchers,
academia and practitioners across borders, generations and faiths, equipping
them with the materials, expertise and best practices to make their political
mark.
Drawing on a database of over
100 experts on women in politics, iKNOW Politics allows users to access an online library
with more than 400 reports, handbooks and training materials in English, French
and Spanish from leading international agencies, research institutions,
academia and civil society groups. More information is available online.
http://www.internationalwomensday.com
European
Commission and IFAD commit to increased investment in agriculture for rural
poverty eradication
Brussels and Rome, 9 March -
The European Commission (EC) and the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) have committed to stepping up investment in agriculture as a
means of eradicating rural poverty in developing countries around the world.
These commitments occur at a time when major donors, international institutions,
and the private sector are focusing on agriculture and its role in meeting the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Clear signs of this renewed interest are
the recent commitment by African leaders to invest 10 per cent of their
countries’ budgets in this sector, the choice of agriculture as the theme of
the 2008 World Bank World Development Report and substantial increases in EC
development assistance directed to rural areas. Today the President of
IFAD, Lennart Båge, met in Brussels with senior officials from Europe Aid
Co-operation Office and the Directorate General for Development of the European
Commission. Båge reiterated that investment in agriculture is the key to
meeting the MDGs given that 75 per cent of the world's poorest people, living
on less than a dollar a day, live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and
related activities for their livelihoods.(…) "The new 2007-2013 EC Food
Security Thematic Programme (FSTP) is already a concrete sign of the EC's
steady commitment towards achieving MDG1 on hunger particularly in Sub-Saharan
Africa. With an allocation of Euro 925 million in the coming four years the
FSTP intends to improve the food security situation of the poorest and the most
vulnerable through a set of better coordinated and increasingly coherent
actions," said Koos Richelle, Director General of the EuropeAid
Co-operation Office of the EC.(…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2007/20.htm
US$19.9
million IFAD-supported project will create jobs in rural Upper Egypt
Rome, 7 March – A new
development project will help create about 30,000 jobs, establish 44,000 small
and micro enterprises and make financial services available to 200 small
businesses in poor rural areas of Upper Egypt. The US$19.9 million Upper Egypt
Rural Development Project will be partly financed by a loan of US$15.1 million
and a grant of US$950,000 from the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD). The loan and grant agreement was signed today by
Ashraf Rashed, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and Lennart Båge,
President of IFAD. The Government of Egypt will contribute US$3.7 million to
finance the project. Although agriculture has been a key economic sector for
generations in Egypt, most of the country’s poor people live in rural areas.
Project activities will focus on enabling small farmers and producers to set up
marketing associations, improving people’s access to microfinance services and
strengthening farmers’ access to markets. The Ministry of Agriculture and Land
Reclamation of Egypt and the Social Fund for Development (SDF) will manage the
project. The SFD is an organization established by Egypt’s government and
funded by several donors.(…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2007/19.htm
Chad:
ICRC launches income generating projects to displaced women and those hosting
them in eastern Chad
March 7- The ICRC has recently
introduced several income generating projects to benefit groups of women among
host and displaced communities in the conflict affected regions of Assoungha
(Alacha/ Goungour towns) and Dar Sila (Tour/Dogdoré towns) respectively.
These projects have all been
designed in close collaboration with the concerned communities and respond to
very specific local needs. The aim of all the projects is to boost existing
income generating activities by providing mechanisms which will generate a
higher output at a faster rate for the women who are normally the primary
cultivators and sellers of cash crops. (…)
Since the beginning of 2006,
the ICRC has been assisting over 40,000 displaced people in eastern Chad, in
the regions of Assoungha and Dar Sila, bordering Sudan, who have been the
targets of cross border incursions by cattle raiders as well as victims caught
in the crossfire of inter-communal violence fuelled also by the growing
internal conflict between Government forces and armed opposition groups. (…)
The ICRC has been assisting
internally displaced people in Chad since October 2005 when the first major
displacement occurred. Its assistance comprises food and basic non-food items,
seeds and tools and is complemented with water projects specifically intended
to increase the supply to both the displaced and host populations in order to
meet increased demand caused by the large influx of displaced people. The ICRC
also assists health posts serving IDP and host communities.
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/chad-news-070307
More than 800 applicants to
the Social Innovation Competition, round three
Projects from 20 Latin American and Caribbean
countries have applied, with Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Peru
leading the list
27
February - A total of 806 innovative
projects to benefit communities in 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries
have signed up to participate in the third round of the "Experiences
in Social Innovation" competition (2006-2007
cycle), organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC) and the W.K.
Kellogg Foundation. The competition, first launched in 2004, identifies
successful new initiatives in social development to disseminate them and
contribute to the best practices and policies on behalf of the region's poor.
Brazil tops the list of competition entries with 145 applicants, followed by
Argentina (137), Colombia (127), Mexico (122), Chile (70) and Peru (66).
Programmes for youth make up the front-running category (21%), followed by
health projects (17%), rural development (14%), education (13%), income
generation (11%) and volunteer work (8%).(…)
Ethiopia brings in third
consecutive bumper harvest
FAO/WFP report looks at
Ethiopia’s improved crop and food situation
Rome, 26 February - A crop and
food supply assessment report on Ethiopia issued Friday night by the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme finds the East
African country, which has faced serious food crises in past decades, can
expect better crop yields this year.
The joint report attributes
the improved yields to more land area being cultivated, well-distributed
rainfall on crops and higher financial returns to grain growers prompting
increased investment in inputs as well as wider availability of fertilizers and
improved seeds and credit.
Read: “Special Crop and Food
Supply Report on Ethiopia” at this link:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/j9325e/j9325e00.htm
Boosting
the commercialization of coconut water
Cold
preservation could help small farmers to gain market share
21
February, Rome - In an effort to boost the commercialization of coconut water by small
farmers and companies, FAO has published a training guide promoting a simple
cold preservation process that could increase sales of bottled coconut water.
“The cold preservation process requires little investment and skills, and it
offers small entrepreneurs a chance to enter the market of bottling coconut
water of good quality,” said Rosa Rolle of FAO’s Rural Infrastructure and
Agro-industries Division. The process was developed and evaluated in Jamaica,
in close collaboration with the University of the West Indies, the Coconut
Industries Board and the Jamaican Scientific Research Council. To date, most
coconut water is still consumed fresh in tropical countries.
Once exposed to air, and warm
temperatures, it rapidly deteriorates. Present commercial production of canned
coconut water has a drawback. Sterilizing the product using high temperature
and short-time pasteurization destroys some of the nutrients in coconut water
and almost all of the delicate flavour. The cold preservation process
recommended by FAO instead protects the natural flavour of coconut water. The
process involves filtration, bottling and rigorous temperature control. It
allows farmers to produce bottled coconut water that stays fresh from 10 days
to three weeks. This will help to meet demands from domestic retail markets.(…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000500/index.html
UN /OECD meeting to promote
sustainable development strategies in Asia
Bangkok, 2 March - Rapid economic growth in Asia and the
Pacific has come at a heavy environmental cost, and countries in the region are
in urgent need to develop policies with a long-term perspective. In response to
this challenge, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESCAP), the Organisation
for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
(UNDESA) are jointly
organizing a Workshop on Developing Sustainability Strategies in Asia at the
United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok from 8 to 9 March 2007.
UNESCAP regional participants
come from Bangladesh, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand, Tuvalu and Vietnam. They will join colleagues
from the 30 industrialized member countries of OECD and representatives of
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank,
and Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) to discuss ways to incorporate environmental and
social concerns into development planning. (…)
A recent report by UNESCAP
warns that Asia and the Pacific is already living beyond its ecological
carrying capacity. To ensure continuing economic growth, countries in the
region will have to move away from the current ‘grow first, clean up later’
mentality and to embrace a ‘Green Growth’ model. (…)
http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2007/mar/n08.asp
In
Eastern Mali, ADRA provides food for life
March 9 - The Adventist
Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing essential nourishment for
vulnerable children in Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world.
The West African nation
suffers from low literacy, low per capita income, food insecurity, and limited
infrastructure. Mali has one of the world's lowest life expectancies and
highest under-five mortality rates. The region of Gao, located in eastern Mali,
along with the regions of Mopti and Timbuktu, is extremely food insecure.
In response, ADRA Mali is
implementing Food for Life, a one-year project to distribute food to
malnourished children at health centers and schools in nomad locations. HELP
International and ADRA Germany, in partnership with the World Food Programme
(WFP), are financing this project.
From January to December 2007,
ADRA plans to distribute in Gao a minimum of 180 tons of enriched flour, 20
tons of oil, and 15 tons of sugar. According to the WFP agreement, the project
objectives include improving the nutritional status of children by providing
food for children aged six months to 59 months, schoolchildren, and their
families. (…)
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=5683
CARE
ready to respond to latest disaster in Indonesia
Jakarta, Indonesia, March 6 -
CARE emergency teams are ready to deploy in response to two major earthquakes
that struck the disaster-prone Indonesian island of Sumatra early Tuesday.
Early news accounts report 70 killed and thousands displaced by the shocks,
which flattened hundreds of buildings. CARE, which has extensive networks of
emergency staff already in the area responding to recent flooding in northern
Sumatra and the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, is coordinating closely with the local
authorities and other agencies in the affected areas to determine the extent of
the response needed.
"So far, the information
we have is that the situation is within the scope of the government's
capabilities to respond," says Assistant Country Director Johan Kieft, who
led CARE's emergency responses to the Yogyakarta earthquake in 2006 and the
recent floods in Jakarta and Aceh. "However, it is a remote area, and in
similar events in the past such as last year's earthquake in Yogyakarta,
casualty figures increased rapidly as more information flowed in. Our emergency
team is ready to provide immediate assistance if needed."
CARE has more than 40 years of
experience in providing emergency response in Indonesia.
http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2007/03/20070306_indonesia_quake.asp
DKK
14 million to fight HIV/AIDS
Copenhagen,4 March - 19.000
voluntary collectors all over Denmark spent a couple of hours on a lovely sunny
Sunday and ensured that DanChurchAid’s annual door-to-door Parish Collection
reached a fantastic result of DKK 14 million (EURO 1,880,240).
Equipped with a collecting
box, 19.000 collectors spent their Sunday raising money for DanChurchAid’s
HIV/AIDS work in Africa, Asia and Russia. Although the number of volunteer
collectors in Copenhagen in particular was lower than last year, DanChurchAid
succeeded in raising DKK 14 million at the annual door-to-door collection
today. (…) The incredible result was due to the record-breaking collections in
1250 participating parishes and the new cooperation between DanChurchAid and
Denmark's leading consumer goods retailer, COOP. (…)
Occupied
Golan: ICRC supports local communities by transporting apples
March 2 - The ICRC is in the
process of transporting 10,000 tonnes of apples from the occupied Golan into
Syria proper. The organization is acting in its capacity as a neutral
intermediary and at the request of local farmers and the Syrian and Israeli
authorities. The operation is being coordinated with all the parties concerned.
The apples are transported
from warehouses in the occupied Golan to the Israeli checkpoint at the Kuneitra
crossing. Then they are transferred to three ICRC trucks and delivered to
buyers waiting on the Syrian side. The operation is expected to last at least
six weeks.
This is the third year that
the ICRC has conducted such an operation at the Kuneitra crossing. In 2005, it
transported 4,000 tonnes and last year close to 5,000 tonnes.
The organization has been
carrying out humanitarian activities in the occupied Golan since 1967 and has
maintained a permanent presence there since 1988. In its role as a trusted
neutral intermediary, it provides a range of services addressing problems that
arise from movement restrictions imposed on the population, as well as legal
and administrative difficulties resulting from the occupation.
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/golan-news-020307
Counterpart
International marks 10 years of assisting Azerbaijan's needy
Gathering,
shipping and distributing more than $54 million worth of humanitarian
assistance, Counterpart has helped Azeris improve their quality of life and
create opportunities for long-lasting positive change.
Washington, DC, March 2 –
March marks the 10-year anniversary of Counterpart International's humanitarian
work in Azerbaijan – providing, for instance, more than 400 large containers of
crucial aid worth more than US$54 million over the period. Since 1997,
Counterpart's dedicated Community and Humanitarian Assistance Programs (CHAP)
provided food, clothing, medical equipment, housing items and many other living
essentials to orphans, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, the
elderly, people with disabilities, families and needy children throughout
Azerbaijan's 52 regions.
Last year, Counterpart brought
clean drinking water to a camp for internally displaced persons – a
comprehensive project that involved cleaning water tanks, plastering tank walls
and constructing a water drainage system. The reconstructed water tanks have
now decreased the risk of water-borne illnesses and contagious diseases. (…)
Operating on five continents,
Counterpart is supported by the generosity of its corporate and individual
donors, foundations, host countries, multilateral institutions and several U.S.
government agencies. For further information, visit www.counterpart.org
http://www.counterpart.org/Default.aspx?tabid=340&metaid=H46O4507-df7
Restoring
dental health to families along the Gulf Coast
March 2007 - Hurricane Katrina
completely destroyed Coastal Family Health Center’s dental facility in Biloxi
which cared for more than 400 patients a month, leaving Biloxi and the coastal
region without dental services for low-income patients. Now a new mobile dental
van, equipped by Project HOPE through a $150,000 Johnson and Johnson grant, is
restoring dental health to families along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast. (…) The new
mobile dental unit has two fully-equipped dental operatories, x-ray units and
developer, sterilization units, an array of hand pieces and accessories, a
handicapped lift, sanitary facilities and a mini-waiting room. (…)
When the land-based dental
clinic is completed, the mobile dental clinic will continue to circulate
throughout the coastal area providing services to outlying and isolated populations.
This mobile unit will also provide readiness in the event of another
debilitating Gulf storm.
Since November 2005, Project
HOPE has provided more than $1.2 million in cash and gift-in-kind support to
CFHC to re-establish primary health care services to families still impacted by
Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.projecthope.org/headlines/view.asp?id=12387919
Haiti:
UN peacekeepers extend crackdown on criminal gangs
9 March – United Nations
peacekeepers and Haitian police are extending their crackdown on armed gangs in
Port-au-Prince, the capital, arresting criminals, seizing weapons and restoring
services in cleared areas – from rehabilitating a school used by the gangs as a
refuge to building a football field. “The UN peacekeepers are going to continue
to pursue the criminals who threaten Haiti’s security,” UN Stabilization
Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) military spokesperson Laurie Arellano said in her
latest update.
This week, 235 UN peacekeepers
and police joined their Haitian colleagues and carried out two operations in
one of the violence-ridden country’s most dangerous areas, the Cité Soleil
neighbourhood, where they have already arrested dozens of suspects, capturing
15 more suspected members, including key leaders, of the Evans gang. Evans
himself has so far evaded capture. (…)
Thanks to the improved
security in Cité Soleil, the Saint Thomas de Boston school reopened its doors
this week after being restored by MINUSTAH soldiers following its use as a gang
headquarters. Returning the school to the community, the UN distributed 150
school kits, 80 sports uniforms and other sports equipment. The mission has
already transformed other gang lairs into medical centres and water
distribution points. (…)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/ticker/tickerstory.asp?NewsID=21815
UN
resumes voluntary resettlement of Sudanese refugees (Sudan)
by Geresom Musamali, www.newvision.co.ug
8 March - THE United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees on Tuesday resumed the voluntary return of
Sudanese refugees. A 13-truck convoy
travelling with an ambulance, three cars and carrying about 300 refugees, left
Imvepi settlement in Arua for Yei in the Central Equatorial Province of Sudan,”
the agency said in a statement. It added that the exercise was stopped
following the outbreak of meningitis in Arua, Yumbe, Moyo, Adjumani, Koboko,
Nebbi, Masindi and Kotido districts in Uganda. The agency’s representative in
Uganda, Stefano Severe, revealed that about 170,000 sudanese refugees have been
residing in Uganda. (…)
About 27,000 refugees have
volunteered to return to their homes in Sudan following the signing of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended two decades of war in southern Sudan.
Their return has however been
marred by insecurity caused by the Lord’s Resistance Army, landmines in Sudan
and the meningitis outbreak.
http://www.landmine.de/en.titel/en.news/en.news.one/index.html?entry=en.news.0df7028e0a950000
Uganda
President H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museven to be patron of 4th IIPT African
Conference - Kampala, Uganda, May 20-25, 2007
Stowe, Vermont, USA March 7 -
H.E Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President, Republic of Uganda, will formally open
the 4th IIPT African Conference on Peace through Tourism being held at the
newly opened Kampala Serena Hotel and Conference Center, Kampala, Uganda, May
20, 2007. Theme of the Conference is
"Building Strategic Alliances for Sustainable Tourism Development, Peace
and Reconciliation on the African Continent."
IIPT Founder and President,
Louis D'Amore stated: "We are most honored to have President Museveni as
Patron of the 4th IIPT African Conference, which promises to be our most
exciting and successful African Conference to date. More than 400 delegates
from some 50 countries of Africa, Asia, Europe, North, South, and Central
America and the Caribbean are anticipated to take part in the Conference."
Conference goals are to
broaden awareness of the social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits
of tourism, identify new markets, facilitate product development and investment
opportunities, and contribute to reconciliation, peace, wealth creation and
poverty reduction throughout the African Continent.
Belgium
criminalizes investment in cluster bomb manufacturers
Lisl Brunner at 12:56 PM ET
March 2 - [JURIST] Belgium has
become the first country to criminalize investment in companies that make
cluster bombs [JURIST news archive; FAS backgrounder]. Legislation passed the
Belgian Senate on Thursday, and the Parliament plans to publish a list of
companies that manufacture cluster munitions. Belgian banks KBC and Fortis have
already terminated their investments in such companies, and KBC has published
its own list of manufacturers. The new law will prohibit Belgian banks from
owning shares in cluster bomb manufacturers or offering them credit.
Last week, 46 countries
pledged to develop a new international treaty to ban the use of cluster bombs
by 2008 at the Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions. Last year, Belgium was the
first country to ban cluster bombs. Although the US did not attend the Oslo
conference, top Democratic lawmakers recently introduced a bill in the US
Senate that would ban federal funds for the use, sale or transfer of cluster
bombs. Cluster munitions, which have been used by at least 23 countries, are
considered by many to be inaccurate weapons designed to spread damage
indiscriminately and could therefore be considered illegal under multiple
provisions of Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions (1977). Reuters has more.
Indymedia has local coverage.
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/03/belgium-criminalizes-investment-in.php
Japan's Emergency Assistance
to improve the humanitarian situation of the Palestinians
On March 2, the Government of
Japan decided to extend Emergency Grant Aid of a total of 7.2 million US
dollars to UNDP, UNRWA and UNFPA in order to improve the humanitarian situation
of the Palestinians. The Middle East Peace Process is in critical phase such as
the forming of a Palestinian national unity government. In such a circumstance,
Japan decided this assistance to improve the dire humanitarian situation in the
Palestinian territories and to support President Mahmoud Abbas of the
Palestinian Authority in his efforts for peace. This assistance is expected to
improve medical care and alleviate unemployment and poverty through provision
of medical supplies and equipment, rehabilitation of medical facilities and job
creation.(…)
Japan will continue to engage
positively in efforts toward early resumption of the Middle East Peace Process
through assistance to the Palestinians, political talks and confidence-building
measures between the parties concerned.
http://www.mofa.go.jp/announce/announce/2007/3/0302-2.html
Polisario
Front destroys second landmine stockpile
Geneva/Tifariti, 1 March – On
27 February, the Polisario Front’s mine action team destroyed 3’321
antipersonnel mines in Tifariti, Western Sahara. This is the Polisario Front’s
second stockpile destruction since it signed the Geneva Call “Deed of
Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Antipersonnel Mines and for
Cooperation in Mine Action” in November 2005. By signing the Deed of
Commitment, the Polisario Front committed to destroy all antipersonnel
landmines in its possession and to collaborate in mine action in the areas it
controls.(…)
Geneva Call and the SCBL
congratulate the Polisario Front for a successful destruction operation. This
achievement illustrates how engagement of non-State actors such as the
Polisario Front on the landmine ban can bring concrete humanitarian results,
despite the unresolved status of the Western Sahara conflict.
http://www.genevacall.org/news/testi-press-releases/gc-01mar07.html
Teen
cancer patient returns to Peru
Thanks
to Beaverton Rotary, Rony Montalvan goes home with a bright prognosis, a supply
of meds and the best wishes of an entire community
Beaverton, Ore., USA, 10 March
- Eighteen-year-old Rony Montalvan, the Peruvian cancer patient who touched the
hearts of an entire community, leaves Beaverton, Ore., for his hometown of
Toquepala on March 25.
Rony is the Rotary Youth
Exchange student who, just days before his year-long Oregon stay was to have
ended in June 2006, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a
life-threatening disease that required immediate and intensive medical
treatment. A long flight home to Peru would have put his life at risk, so the members
of the Rotary Club of Beaverton did what Rotary does best -- they rallied to
help a family in need.
The club quickly arranged to
sponsor Rony for an additional year in order to continue his health care
coverage. The club also raised more than $20,000 to help cover medical costs
and assisted members of Rony’s family as they traveled back and forth from Peru
to be at his side. During his stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Portland,
several Rotary members took turns delivering meals and providing transportation
for Rony and his relatives to and from Legacy Children’s Hospital.
Thanks to the community’s
support, Rony returns home with a two to three-year supply of cancer-fighting
drugs. He will continue his treatments at a hospital in Lima. Rotary clubs in
Peru will continue to assist the family. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/2007/304.html
PCI
Youth Radio shows change lives in Central America
Popular
dramas teach youth about HIV/AIDS and sexual health
March 7 – PCI, a global
not-for-profit producer of TV and radio shows in over 25 countries, celebrates
the impressive first-year results of two of its youth radio programs: “Que
Ondas con tu Vida” (What’s Up with Your Life?) and “La Ruleta: Donde las
Emociones se Funden” (The Roulette – Where Emotions Melt) produced and
broadcast in Honduras and Guatemala, respectively.
Co-produced through PCI’s
innovative “My Community” program, both dramas tackle critical public health
issues that are often seen as taboo – issues such as emergency contraception,
HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and reproductive health rights. Each
mini-drama was written, acted, and produced by local talent, and broadcast within
a weekly live show along with music, interviews, and contests. (…)
PCI's “My Community” Program
fosters social and behavior change communications programs throughout Latin
America through an intensive program of training, seed grants, and technical assistance.
For more information about “My Community” - Latin America, please click here.
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=5678
Offering
free health care in a neglected region of the DRC
26 February - By taking over
the hospital in Lubutu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
Médecins Sans Frontières aims to fight mortality in an area hit by a
catastrophic health crisis. (…) Since
MSF started working in the Lubutu hospital, just over two months ago, the
number of patients has been increasing steadily. The hospital was almost
completely run down when, on November 28, MSF stepped in and took charge of the
104-beds facility, introducing free health care for the patients. The hospital
is located in a highly isolated part of Maniema Province, in the east of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). (…)
MSF has worked in the DRC
since 1981. Today, up to 2,500 Congolese staff work alongside over 200
international staff to bring medical assistance to the Congolese population,
with 26 projects across the country.
(top)
Tapping termite technology for
green gold mining
Editorial by Achim Steiner, Executive Director of
the UN Environment Programme, who is visiting Brazil between 5 and 7 March 2007
When the Presidents of Brazil
and the United States meet next week, the surprising topic of termites might be
high on the agenda. For in the race to develop the next or second generation
biofuels, these humble life forms are attracting a great deal of scientific,
financial and political attention. US Government-backed scientists claim
microbes living in the guts of termites have potent enzymes able to efficiently
and cost effectively transform woody wastes into sugars for ethanol production.
Ethanol yields from termite technology could, within a few years, out strip
those from crops like maize and even sugar cane. The US is investing billions
of dollars in alternative fuels, a slice of which is now earmarked for
termites. Similar studies are being undertaken at Kenyan tropical insect labs
with funding from Europe. (...)
Domestically Petrobras has
indicated plans to expand production 15 fold and increase exports to 200
billion litres—up from three billion—over the next two decades. The future
would seem to be rosy and like the sugars used to make ethanol, sweet. But
there is another future harvest that may prove a more bitter one. Concerned
groups and anti-biofuel alliances are being forged drawn from environmental,
social and food security backgrounds. Strident voices, in some cases
reminiscent of those opposing nuclear power, are starting to be raised. There
are fears that energy crops will consume wildlife habitats and economically
productive forests. There are also concerns that the new drive may perpetuate
poor working conditions in the agricultural sector and aggravate food
insecurity by diverting food from hungry mouths into petrol tanks. Energy
companies are worried that a consumer backlash may be looming that could
trigger boycotts undermining biofuel investments. (…)The future of biofuels
clearly lies in the soils. The question is whether that future is in crops or in
second generation fuels like those possible from termite enzymes. Or perhaps
like so much of Brazil’s transport fuels, a blend of both—of the old
established technology and the new rapidly emerging ones.
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=502&ArticleID=5533&l=en
Global
report cites progress in slowing forest losses
Progress
in forest management welcomed
Rome, 13 March – A number of
regions of the world are reversing centuries of deforestation and are now
showing an increase in forest area, according to FAO's State of the World’s
Forests report, released today.
The report, which was launched
at the opening of the 18th Session of FAO's Committee on Forestry, underlines
the positive effects of economic prosperity and careful forest management in
saving forests, noting that over 100 countries have established national forest
programmes.
“Many countries have shown the
political will to improve forest management by revising policies and
legislation and strengthening forestry institutions. Increasing attention is
being paid to the conservation of soil, water, biological diversity and other
environmental values,” said David Harcharik, FAO Deputy Director-General.
“However, countries that are facing the most serious challenges in achieving
sustainable forest management are those with the highest rates of poverty and
civil conflict.”
Global forest cover amounts to
just under four billion hectares, covering about 30 percent of the world’s land
area. From 1990 to 2005, the world lost three percent of its total forest area,
an average decrease of some 0.2 percent per year, according to FAO data. From
2000 to 2005, 57 countries reported an increase in forest area, and 83 reported
a decrease. However, the net forest loss remains at 7.3 million hectares per
year or 20 000 hectares per day, equivalent to an area twice the size of Paris.
Ten countries account for 80 percent of the world’s primary forests, of which
Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Brazil saw the highest losses in
primary forest in the five years running from 2000 to 2005.
WWF
launches marine protection campaign in the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean, Antarctica, 1
March – With the official launch of the International Polar Year today, WWF is
looking to stop unsustainable fishing, marine pollution and climate change in
the Southern Ocean. In particular, the global conservation organization wants
to create a network of marine protected areas in the southern waters by 2012,
including the Ross Sea near Antarctica.
The Ross Sea is a physically
and ecologically unique part of the Southern Ocean and home to many species
including the colossal squid, the world’s largest invertebrate. (…)
According to scientists, parts
of the Antarctic Peninsula are among the fastest-warming regions on the planet.
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change recently warned that sea
ice would shrink in both poles by the end of the century. (…)
Following two recent shipping
incidents in Antarctic waters, one of which resulted in an oil spill in the
pristine waters off Deception Island, WWF will lobby for better protection of
the Southern Ocean at the next Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting, to be
held from 30 April 30 to 11 May 2007 in New Delhi, India. (…)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=95080
International Women’s Day and Education
March 8 - On International
Women’s Day, educators worldwide are demanding that governments act to halt
violence that endangers women’s lives, violates their rights, harms their
families and poses an affront to humanity and international law. According to
Education International (EI), the federation of organizations representing over
30 million teachers and other education workers, women around the world
continue to face systemic discrimination and inequality that restricts their
choices, limits their ability to act and undercuts their enormous potential to
contribute to peace and development.
EI and its member
organizations are urging governments to pursue the Education for All goals and Millennium Development Goals related to
education, by: guaranteeing the fundamental right to education to all girls
worldwide; strengthening opportunities for post-primary education for girls
while meeting commitments to universal primary education; making schools
girl-friendly; recruiting female teachers from the communities in areas where
the school enrolment of girls is low due to cultural factors and traditional
practices that pose impediments to education; implementing international
conventions prohibiting child labour and setting minimum age for labour;
combating violence against girls and women; taking measures to prevent,
suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children; and
providing sexual health education and access to quality public services by
adolescents, poor women and disadvantaged groups. More information is available
online.
http://www.internationalwomensday.com
What’s
being done to support youth education in coffee-producing communities?
An
education forum in Cartagena, Colombia
8 March, Cartagena, Colombia -
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is hosting a two-day forum March 8th
and 9th for educators working in coffee-producing communities, coffee industry
representatives working on corporate social responsibility and members of
international organizations that support public-private partnerships in order
to find creative solutions to the educational needs identified in the region.
The forum targets corporate social responsibility concerns of the coffee sector
as they relate to education. During the two day event, participants will
explore the education needs among coffee-growing communities, current programs
that respond to such needs, and matching-fund programs for private investment
in education. (…)
In attendance will be senior
staff of USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank, major coffee companies,
Procter & Gamble representatives, education specialists working in these
communities such as the Colombian Coffee Federation, Fundación Luker and
Fundación Manuel Mejía, and European organizations such as 4C.
Education Development Center,
Inc. (EDC) is one of the world’s leading nonprofit education and health
organizations, with 325 projects in 50 countries. EDC brings researchers and
practitioners together to advance learning and healthy development for
individuals of all ages and institutions of all types. For more information,
visit www.edc.org
http://main.edc.org/newsroom/press_releases/columbia-coffee.asp
UNICEF calls for
entries for children’s broadcasting award
New York, 7 March - UNICEF and the International Academy of Television Arts
& Sciences today called for entries from broadcasters for the 2007
International Children’s Day of Broadcasting Award. The ICDB Award will
go to the broadcaster whose programming best reflects the 2006 International
Children’s Day of Broadcasting them, Unite for Children. Unite Against AIDS,
and who demonstrates an overall dedication to youth participation in media.
Radio broadcasters also are encouraged to submit their programs, as UNICEF will
also be awarding the 2007 ICDB Award for Radio Excellence. To be eligible
for the ICDB Award, broadcasts must have taken place on or around Sunday, 10
December 2006 in conjunction with the 2006 International Children’s Day of
Broadcasting. The deadline for entries is 18 May 2007. More information
and entry forms can be found at www.unicef.org/icdb. To encourage more youth participation in
media throughout the year, the award judges will not only consider the quality
of the work, but also will consider the commitment broadcasters make to
engaging with youth on an ongoing basis.(…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_38976.html
Nation's
Governors hail Ford PAS program
Project
is a collaboration of Ford and EDC
Newton, MA, USA, 27 February -
In honoring Ford Motor Company with its Public-Private Partnership Award, the
National Governor's Association singled out the development and growth of the
Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies (Ford PAS), developed by Ford Motor
Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of Ford Motor Company, in collaboration
with EDC.
Ford PAS is a high school
program for the 21st century designed to engage and excite students in
business, science, technology, engineering, design and math while building
critical problem-solving and innovative thinking and learning skills. Ford PAS,
originating in Michigan, is currently used in 130 sites across 21 states and
has reached more than 10,000 students since its inception. (…)
EDC provides ongoing technical
assistance, in partnership with Ford Motor Company Fund, for all sites and
partners implementing Ford PAS by hosting an interactive Web site and toll-free
hotline and offering a variety of professional development activities. Ford
Motor Company Fund and EDC also work with states, districts, and colleges and
universities to build collaborations that enhance the success of Ford PAS
within schools and communities. (…)
Ford Motor Company was chosen
for the award by an independent selection committee. Areas of consideration
included education, environment, health care and public safety.
For more information about
Ford PAS, visit www.FordPAS.org
http://main.edc.org/newsroom/press_releases/nga-ford.asp
EU -
The new Culture Programme
The
Culture Programme is a Community programme established for seven years
(2007-2013)
The programme shall be
implemented over a period starting on 1 January 2007 and ending on 31 December
2013. The general objective of the programme shall be to enhance the cultural
area common to Europeans through the development of cultural cooperation
between the creators, cultural players and cultural institutions of the
countries taking part in the programme, with a view to encouraging the
emergence of European citizenship.
The Programme shall be open to
the participation of non-audiovisual cultural industries, in particular small
cultural enterprises, where such industries are acting in a non-profit-making
cultural capacity.
The specific objectives of the
programme are:
·
to promote the transnational mobility of people working in the cultural
sector;
·
to encourage the transnational circulation of works and cultural and
artistic products;
·
to encourage intercultural dialogue.
The Culture Programme is
established by the Decision No1855/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council, published in the Official Journal n° L 372 of 27 December 2006.
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/eac/culture2007/cult_en.html
The
European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
support the audiovisual sector of the ACP countries
Bruxelles, 28 February - In
close partnership, the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat elaborated a
new EU-ACP Film & Television Programme. It will be managed by the ACP
Secretariat and financed by the EU's 9th European Development Fund (EDF). The
programme's overall aim is to promote the development and structuring of the
film and television industries in the ACP countries and to enable them to
create and distribute their own images. In this way, the programme will help to
protect cultural diversity, highlight the cultural identities of the ACP
countries and promote intercultural dialogue.
The grants will be allocated
to stimulate the emergence or strengthening of production capacities in the ACP
film and television industries as well as to improve distribution of film and
other audiovisual works originating in the ACP countries – as a priority in
those countries, but also in the EU and internationally.
The programme has a total fund
for grants of 6.5 million euro (4.263.720.500 FCFA). It consists of the
following three components: support to the production of films by ACP
directors; support to the distribution, exhibition and promotion of ACP films
and networking of ACP professionals; support to training for the professional
development of the ACP audiovisual sector.
The first call for proposals,
which covers all three components, should be published during the last quarter
of 2007 by the ACP Secretariat. The second call for proposals is foreseen for
2008.
Website for the calls for
proposals (grants) and calls for tender:
www.ec.europa.eu/europeaid www.acp.int
* * * * * * *
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Message by H.E. Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa the
President of the UN General Assembly
United Nations
Headquarters, New York, 8 March 2007
International
Women’s Day , 8 March 2007
Violence against women and
girls is widespread in all societies. The United Nations Charter affirms faith
in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and
in the equal rights of men and women. The right to live without fear of
violence is a basic human right for all people, including women and girls. The right to seek equal justice, without
discrimination, is a basic human right. We have a moral and political duty to
uphold these rights.
The comprehensive study on
violence against women issued during the 61st Session of the General Assembly
includes strong recommendations that can end the impunity of violence committed
against women. We have made huge advances in setting global standards to
prevent, punish and eradicate these heinous crimes. Our efforts have gone far to reverse what used to be the
traditional lack of response. But progress in ending violence and impunity
remains insufficient and inconsistent in all parts of the world. States have
binding obligations and can be held accountable. The failure to comply with
international standards or to exercise due diligence is a violation of the
human rights of women.
Sates cannot abdicate their
international obligations to punish perpetrators and prevent violence against,
and the exploitation of, women and girls. Neither can they hide behind cultural
and religious reservations to international treaties condemning this violence.
We must demonstrate by our actions that we intend to keep our promises.
We also need to recognize that
ending violence against women and girls is not only the responsibility of the
State. It also requires a change of mindset. It requires us to demonstrate,
once and for all, that there are no grounds for tolerance and no tolerable
excuses. If we are going to stop violence against women and girls – we must
begin by speaking out. We must ensure that women and girls enjoy their basic
human rights without discrimination.
Criminal impunity must end. Every crime must be prosecuted.
When the Charter was being
signed, Eleanor Roosevelt said that universal human rights begin in small
places, close to home. Most violence against women and girls happens at home -
not only physical, but sexual and psychological violence too. To change
attitudes, to prevent and prosecute violence against women and girls we need to
begin in the home.
* * * * * * *
Next issue: 13 April 2007.
* * * * * * *
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