im Rahmen der Reihe Talking for Peace. A Karl Kahane Lecture Series laden wir Sie sehr herzlich zu der

folgenden Veranstaltung ein:

Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 7.00 p.m.

WOMEN CARRY THE BURDEN CONFLICT PREVENTION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Opening event in the framework of the 2010 International Meeting of National Committees for UNIFEM (Part of UN Women) presented by DER STANDARD

Welcome: Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek, Federal Minister for Women and Civil Service

Introduction to UN Resolution 1325: Maj. Gen. Johann Pucher, National Security Policy Director, Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports

Keynote: Inés Alberdi, Executive Director of UNIFEM (Part of UN Women)

Contributions:

Sonja Biserko, Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Serbia

Taghreed El-Khodary, New York Times, Gaza

Liberata Mulamula, Executive Secretary, International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, Burundi

Anat Saragusti, Executive Director of Agenda, Israel

Moderator: Gudrun Harrer, Senior Editor, DER STANDARD

In cooperation with

the Austrian National Committee for UNIFEM (Part of UN Women)

and the support of the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Ministry for Women and Civil Service,
the Federal Ministry of Defence and Sports (Directorate for Security Policy,
and the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation.

Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogue | Armbrustergasse 15 | 1190 Wien

Please register: Tel.: 3188260/20 | Fax: 318 82 60/10 | e-mail: einladung.kreiskyforum@kreisky.org

Melitta Campostrini
Bruno Kreisky Forum
for International Dialogue
Armbrustergasse 15
A-1190 Vienna

 http://asiasociety.org/style-living/food…

Fasting this Ramadan? Follow these few key guidelines to eating well and staying healthy during the holy month.

(Photo by ulterior epicure/Flickr)

By Rafaya Sufi

Fasting this Ramadan? Or have friends who are? Follow these few key guidelines to eating well and staying healthy during Ramadan.

Since its foundation, Ramadan is celebrated with vigor amongst Muslim communities. A typical day of fasting consists of consuming an overnight breakfast at dawn, restricting any food and drink till sunset. Muslims may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set till the next morning’s fajr prayer at dawn.

The key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle during the month depends on a few practical points.

1. Water: For starters, proper hydration is essential. Fasting does not mean that all bodily functions stop requiring water. Headaches, fatigue, fuzzy thinking, irritability, and illness are often caused by inadequate hydration. We need half our body weight each day to just maintain normal bodily functions. To determine your water needs, use this simple formula:

Your body weight in pounds/2 = The amount of water you need to drink in ounces a day

So, If you weigh 180 lbs/2 = 90 oz/day, minimum

2. Replace Sugar With Fruit (when possible): What’s better than eating a delicious slice of cake (or baklava, or brownie, or some chocolate mousse, or….) once you break your fast? Fruit! Yes, this is a hard one, so quit complaining and follow these instructions for healthier you. You may think you deserve a piece of your favorite dessert after all those hours of restraining, but sugar robs our bodies of minerals and vitamins. During a period of fasting, our bodies need to hold on to as many minerals and vitamins as possible, so don’t let them escape just by giving in to your craving (after all, this is a month of self-restraint). Try baking this nutritious Fried Banana recipe at home as an alternative to sugar-loaded desserts.

3. Soup: A quick, easy, and nutritious food to consume during Ramadan is soup. Soup provides deep nourishment and is easily absorbed by the body. It is also a great way to meet your water needs, and if you blend all the good stuff together, picky eaters will never question what they are eating! After you break your fast, have some soup, and make it a staple diet for the month. Try making some delicious, vitamin-packed Mulligatawny soup at home.

4. Eat Slowly/Don’t Overdo It: What’s the rush? You have all evening! There is a tendency to eat really fast amongst people breaking their fasts. Trying to pack in 101 activities within the first few minutes of breaking your fast, which includes eating 101 foods, can cause some serious indigestion. Avoid that awful feeling by slowing down. Take small bites so you can chew well. The longer you chew your food, the less work your digestive track needs to do and you absorb more nurturance. So overall, it’s a win-win situation.

5. Vitamins and Minerals: Load up on them! Unfortunately, food today is not as nutritious as it was once. Unless you’re consuming 100 percent organic foods, you’ll probably need to replenish your body with lost electrolytes and vitamins. The top nutrients to look at are vitamins C, B-complex, zinc, E, and A. Vitamins C, A, and E along with zinc are known as antioxidants, and unless you’re living under a rock, antioxidants are in–they’re the latest health trend these days because they do wonders for your body. Eat fresh fruits, berries, and vegetables in abundance! B-complex vitamins are great at relieving stress, so be generous with those. Most Americans are already deficient in the B-complex vitamins due to eating high amounts of refined and processed foods, so skip the white bread, and opt for a whole-wheat option instead. Enjoy this healthy Ginger Tea to combat that tired feeling after fasting all day.

That’s all for now, folks. Have a healthy Ramadan!

Watch and learn how to make Harira soup

Traditional Moroccan Soup (Ramadan Special)

cookingwithalia

• Harira -  moroccan soup /soupe marocaine (Ra…101,767 views sousoukitchen
• queue Soupe Harira moderne

Fareed Zakaria discusses CC with Jeff Sachs (Columbia), Pat Michaels (Cato, ex-UVA) & NASA’s Gavin Schmidt.
http://bit.ly/cCQO4Y

Pat Michaels says he is 40% funded by Petroleum Industry. There is no need to fight global warming.

Gavin Schmidt says he thinks we’re too sane not to do something about global warming.

Jeffrey Sachs says – if we do not act we will end up with a catastrophic planet.

Is it clear?

===============

Fareed Zakaria talks to Hirsi Ali who rejected Islam and Irshad Manji who wants to reform Islam.

Hirsi Ali, African Black, born in Mogadisho, Somalia and immigrated to Holland where she went to university and after 9/11 left Islam to become an atheist that says if you need a God take Christ. Her family says she risks hell for leaving Islam.

She says don’t lock 1.57 billion Muslims in a book written in the 7th century. She wrote “Nomad” about her leaving Islam.

She worked with Teo Van Gogh on a movie “Submission” about women in Islam, when he was killed. She was a member of the Netherlands Parliament, and now lives with security in the US and is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

She says that most Americans are unaware of Saudi Funded proselytizing in America.

Irshad Manji , with Pakistani African complexion, born in Uganda, with her family escaped to safety the US in Idi Amin’s days. She heads project Ifthihad at the Moral Courage Institute at NYU. She wants to reform Islam. Good popular cause backed by a good university, but who listens? She tells about a group of young boys in Detroit listening to her mother.

AHEAD OF THE REFERENDUM IN SOUTH SUDAN – WATCHING THE BIRTH OF A NEW NATION.

Juba: Facing a serious challenge in the future.

 http://ethiopianreporter.com/english/ind…

By Zekarias Sintayehu,

The pilot instructs passengers to fasten our seatbelt as we approach to Juba International Airport. I try to get a glimpse of the city through the cabin window but all I can see is a marshy green area.
Some shanty houses are seen scattered here and there. The plane makes the final turn and safely touches down.

There was a drizzle when I got off the plane but I could still feel gust of the humid air gushing over my face. I quickly headed to the so-called terminal. I believe that most of the time the passenger terminal tells you a lot about the country. And I tried to visualize how the city would be like.

The terminal is very small and operates its activities in an old house. While I queue up to pass through the terminal, an immigration officer asked me to give him my yellow fever vaccination card. I told him that I didn’t have it. Then he told me to pay 20 Sudanese pounds which is above 8 USD. “Why should I pay the money?” I requested. He replied confidently, “It is a fine for not bringing the card.” He then pointed to a bunch of his colleagues’ and told me to talk to them.

A slim young guy approached me and uttered “What is the problem?” I told him that I did not bring my vaccination card. “Did he tell you to pay 20 USD” was his quick response, referring to his friend. I was a little bit surprised with the drama at the airport. Finally, he lets me go because I told him that I didn’t have an exchange.

After all the hustle at the airport, I was lucky enough to pass through the terminal. Another friend told me a true story about the immigration officers which took place a couple of years ago. They used to ask for a yellow fever vaccination card when passengers departed from Juba. I finally met a friend who was waiting for me outside the terminal. While driving to my hotel with him, I thought I was still in Ethiopia because the city resembles the Gambella region.
We arrived at Habesha Continental Hotel, which is owned by an Ethiopian businessman. The checking-in process took a few minutes and then I headed to my room. After I take a nap, I went to the hotel’s restaurant.

The big screen was blazing Ethiopian music at the open air bar. High ranking Ethiopian officials and businessmen came here every day to chill out and update each other. There were also Sudanese, Ugandans and Eritrean at the open air bar. As one friend told me, most of the officials stay at hotels since they don’t have homes. Meanwhile, the government has decreed that officials should build their own homes, as it cannot afford the exorbitant hotel expenses.

Habesha Continental Hotel is located on a riverside and the graceful White Nile draining from Lake Victoria streams down to Khartoum. I was very pleased to see ships carrying folks and goods on the river. As I heard, the ships take three weeks to get from Juba to Khartoum. I also saw small boats passing by the river. In addition, the locals fish on the river. Though I didn’t get a chance to see the Blue Nile, it was a marvelous experience to watch the graceful White Nile.

Unlike Ethiopia, the Injera (Ethiopian bread) is made from rice. I was very eager to test the white rice Injera. To be honest, there is a remarkable difference from with teff Injera but I can still stomach the rice Injera.

The next morning I went out to explore the city. The famous means of transportation at the town are the motorbikes which are called “Boda Boda.” Most of the motorbikes are owned by Ugandans. After I negotiated the price with driver to drop me off at my friend’s house in Juba, I jumped on and started to enjoy a ride on the “Boda Boda”.  While riding the bike, the wind was constantly blowing the sand into my eyes, so I had to hide my face behind the back of the driver.

I also visited the biggest market place in the city called “Konyo Konyo.” Unfortunately, at that day was a public holiday most of the shops were closed. Everything is sold in “Konyo Konyo” staring from consumers goods to electronics and cars. The shops which were open were selling fruits, onions, potatoes, meat, and other consumers goods.

That day the city was somehow calm since it was commenting the fifth year of John Garang’s death memorial. Officials and many folks memorized their hero by going to his funeral place.

I also had the chance to travel by minibuses which are mostly owned by Ethiopians and Eritreans. The locals refer to Ethiopians and Eritrean as “Habesh.” Though the Habeshs’ own the minibuses, they can’t drive in the city due to the new legislation imposed by the government. All the taxi drivers are Sudanese.

Most of the big hotels in Juba are owned by Eritreans and the hotel I stayed is the only big hotel owned by an Ethiopian. But there are many small bars and hotels owned by Ethiopians. I visited a Ugandan bar which is located next to my hotel. There are many tents in the compound which are ready for rent. Their price, 100 USD per day, amazes was what amazes me most during my stay at Juba.

The temperature, which was around 31 degree centigrade, was relatively cold during my visit of Juba. But I still needed to be in my air conditioned room after midday. The city badly needs network infrastructures if it is to cop up with the emerging economy. The city gets electricity from generators and areas in the outskirt of the city are still in darkness. Frankly, a tough homework awaits Juba city, which will be the capital city of the Southern Sudan after the 2011 referendum.

——————-

August 10, 2010 (KHARTOUM) as per www.SudanTribune.com – Southern Sudan Referendum Commission denied its intention to ask the Sudanese presidency to postpone the referendum scheduled for January 2011.

The official denial comes after statements published last Saturday by a member of the commission saying that some arrangements required in the conduct of referendum will have to be skipped if the vote was to be held as planned in January.

Pagan Amum, Secretary General of Southern Sudan’s ruling party SPLM, rejected the request stressing “any attempt to delay the referendum would be considered as reneging on the CPA”.

The Chairman of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, in remarks aired by the Sudanese radio on Monday dismissed reports about the intention of the Commission to submit a request for the president to delay the referenda on southern Sudan’s independence.

Demanding to delay the referendum is a “political valuation and the Commission has a legal and constitutional mission according to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Interim Constitution and the referendum law,” Khalil pointed out.

Tarek Osman Al-Tahir, a member of the commission who requested the delay said that it would be impossible for the commission to achieve the completion of voters’ registration three months before the vote as required by the law.

“We have only two choices left: skip some of the procedures, which would be unacceptable because it could affect the endorsement of the referendum result or resort to the other choice of a limited delay to the referendum timetable to complete these procedures,” Tahir said.

However Khalil said they filed a letter to the presidency in which they demanded more support to enable the referendum commission to perform its functions. He said the commission will start work next week.

He said that in the south 80% of structures of the Commission had been completed, adding that they are currently preparing a budget for the referendum process.

He said the referendum body signed a number of agreements with the United Nations and U.S. Aid to provide technical and logistical support for the referendum.

Ramadan crescent expected on Tuesday evening

by Arabian Business staff writer

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/594308-ramadan-crescent-expected-on-tuesday

on Saturday, 07 August 2010

CRESCENT COMMITTEE: The committee will meet on Tuesday at the judiciary department headquarters. (Getty Images)

The UAE Minister of Justice, Dr Hadef Jouan Al Dhahiri, will form a panel of experts to confirm the sighting of a crescent moon reported government news agency WAM on Saturday.

The panel will comprise government officials, religious counselors and astronomers and will announce the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan in the UAE.

The committee will meet on Tuesday at the judiciary department headquarters.

Dr. Hadef Jouan Al Dhahiri confirmed that the lunar months verification committee is affiliated with the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department and that any moon sightings would need to be verified in the central, eastern and western regions of the emirates.

After the committee members agree the sighting an official announcement about the beginning of Ramadan will be made.

Bookmark www.arabianbusiness.com for more news about the holy month of Ramadan.

UN REFUGEE AGENCY CALLS ON SAUDI ARABIA TO STOP DEPORTING SOMALIS.

The United Nations refugee agency today called on Saudi Arabia to halt deportations of Somali refugees and asylum-seekers to the conflict-stricken capital, Mogadishu, where dozens of civilians were killed in escalating clashes this week.

In June alone, more than 1,000 Somalis were reported from Saudi Arabia, according to local reports from Mogadishu, said Melissa Fleming, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UHNCR).

So far this month, nearly 1,000 more Somalis are already estimated to have been forcibly returned.

Monitoring reports indicate that most deportees say they fled Somalia due to conflict, indiscriminate violence and human rights abuses, with most coming from southern and central Somalia, which includes Mogadishu.

A majority of those being sent back from Saudi Arabia are women, including a young woman who was detained on her way to a market and deported to Mogadishu with her two infants.

“UNCHR consider such deportations to be incompatible with UNHCR’s guidelines on international protection needs of Somali refugees and asylum-seekers,” Ms. Fleming said.

“Given the deadly violence in Mogadishu, UNHCR is urging the Saudi authorities to refrain from future deportations on humanitarian grounds.”

The spokesperson said that the agency is in contact with Saudi officials about introducing a joint screening procedure before deportation decisions are taken, characterizing this as “an encouraging measure.”

UNHCR has consistently called on governments to provide protection to Somali civilians fleeing violence and grave human rights abuses in their country.

“It is our view that involuntary returns to central and southern Somalia under today’s security and humanitarian circumstances in the country place people at risk,” Ms. Fleming stressed.

Fighting between Government forces and the Al-Shabaab militia in Mogadishu has claimed the lives of dozens of civilians, wounding scores more this week. The violence has also driven many more from their homes.

UNHCR today deplored the continuation of indiscriminate fighting in the Horn of Africa country, which has often targeted civilians and homes in heavily-populated parts of the capital.

More than 300,000 of the 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), out of a total population of nearly 8 million, are sheltering in Mogadishu. Most of the uprooted live in poor conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia.

This week’s events, UNHCR said, highlight the importance of assessing asylum claims from people coming from the area in the broadest possible way.

“Where refugee status is not granted, UNHCR is advising governments to extend complementary forms of international protection, which would allow Somalis legal residence until conditions improve for safe return,” Ms. Fleming stated.

The following are examples from today’s publication of the UN’s best friend – the $1 Billion UN Foundation’s UN Wire.

I see [Saddam Hussein] like Nebuchadnezzar, the emperor of Mesopotamia — an utterly ruthless, brutal man who sat with a revolver in his pocket and could use it to shoot you.”
Former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix. Read the full story - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/world/…

Blix faults U.S., British over pre-Iraq war intel
Former United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission chief Hans Blix testified Monday at a British inquiry that British and American intelligence officials gave too much credence to assertions of Iraqi defectors on weapons of mass destruction ahead of the 2003 war. Blix said U.S. and British authorities ignored recommendations and findings from the commission and should have allowed more time for investigations. The Independent (London) (7/28) , The New York Times (free registration) (7/27)
 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/pol…

 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/world/…

—–
U.S. audit blasts Iraq reconstruction funds process
An audit by the U.S. Special Investigator for Iraq Reconstruction reports that 95% of the $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil and gas funds earmarked by the U.S. Defense Department for reconstruction cannot be accounted for. The audit report indicates sloppy record keeping and a lack of clear process leaves the Defense Department unable to detail the use of funds. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)/The Associated Press (7/28)
 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/worl…

==================

Security Council mulls future of Darfur mission:
The security situation has deteriorated in Darfur and United Nations agencies are no longer able to gain access to many areas, the Security Council heard Tuesday. The council is expected to decide on an extension of a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission this week. CNN (7/28)
 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa…

Kidnapped German, American aid workers in Darfur speak out:
Kidnappers in Darfur released two German aid workers Tuesday after more than a month in captivity. The two said they were well treated. Another kidnapped aid worker — an American woman — was able to speak with a journalist Tuesday and reported food, water and shelter to be scarce. The kidnappers have demanded ransom from the Sudanese government for her release. AlertNet.org (7/27) , AlertNet.org (7/27
 http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk…

 http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk…

–

International terror networks taking root in DR Congo?
Intelligence analysts fear the conflict-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo may have a new security concern to contend with — international terrorism. Ugandan investigators believe Congolese group ADF-NALU was involved in the July 11 Kampala bombings alongside al-Qaida-linked Al Shabaab militants from Somalia. Interviews with recent defectors have provided evidence of foreigners visiting ADF-NALU camps on the mountains of eastern DR Congo. The Christian Science Monitor/Africa Monitor blog (7/28
 http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/Af…

Excerpts from “At UN, Of Africa Days and Al Qaeda Evenings, Burundi and Bacardi Gold.”
By Matthew Russell Lee.

UNITED NATIONS, July 15 — With small countries in Africa dominating the Security Council’s July 15 schedule … one of the four countries already on the “Peace Building Commission” (PBC) agenda, Burundi, recently had a one party election marred by tossed grenades and now the threat of attack by Al Shabab.

Burundi has soldiers in Somalia {and this is the reason why it has become fair game to Al Shabab}. Inner City Press spoke this week with the UN’s envoy to Burundi Charles Petrie. He put a positive spin on the one party election, saying it was not as violent as it might have been.

Petrie said the opposition is weak, and the UN must play the counter-balance that civil society and opposition parties would in other countries. He should know: he was thrown out of Myanmar by the government, then served for a time in a humanitarian role on, but not in, Somalia. He was in the French military …. The Council should have heard from him but didn’t.

The same might be said of the UN’s new envoy to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga. He went into the Council’s quiet room on July 14, but was not heard from by the Council as a whole. He met with the Permanent Five, one by one. He stopped to speak to Inner City Press, about including Al Shabab on the Al Qaeda sanctions list under Council Resolution 1267 in the wake of the Kampala bombings {This again, because Uganda has military forces for peace Keeping in Somalia.}.

Later on July 14, at an ill-attended UK reception on climate change in the General Assembly lobby, Inner City Press asked UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant about 1267 and the Shabab. He pointed out that they are already on the Somalia sanctions list, and who knew who is or is not truly affiliated with Al Qaeda. An Ethiopian diplomat added, not surprisingly, they are “definitely” with Al Qaeda.

But the Council sticks to its schedule. Guinea Bissau was the topic for July 15. The coup leader now heads the military; the UN “took note” of it. A Presidential Statement is to be drafted in the coming days.

Still and all, the Permanent Representatives of France, Japan and Mexico strode into the Council just after 10 a.m..

{Liberia is now becoming the fifth small African Country on the PBC operating table.}
* * *
{And further at the UN} - In Wake of Uganda Bombing, UNSC Statement Does Not Assign Blame, Even After Al Shabab Takes Credit.

UNITED NATIONS, July 12, updated — A day after the Kampala double bombing which killed more than 60 people, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had yet to issue any kind of statement. In front of the Security Council on Monday morning, one non-permanent member’s spokesperson wondered under what agenda item the Council might issue a statement: Somalia?

Another spokesperson said moves were afoot for the issuance of a press statement, later in the day. Would it say who is responsible? After the bombing of trains in Madrid, the Council issued a statement blaming it on ETA. When Al Qaeda later took responsibility, the Council’s statement was never retracted.

Here, nearly all speakers including Uganda authorities are pointing the finger at Islamist Somali insurgents. They had vowed retaliation for the Ugandan and Burundian AMISOM peacekeepers’ shelling of a market in Mogadishu. Others pointed out the targeting of “Ethiopian Village,” given antagonism between irridentist Somalia and Ethiopia. Motive is certainly there– and, the media pointed out, opportunity.

As the draft text of the press statement was distributed to members, a Council diplomat told Inner City Press it did not assign blame, only the Council’s “standard terrorist attack language.” Might that change?

Update of 3:20 p.m. — Nigeria’s Ambassador, the Council’s president for July, read out a four paragraph statement. As Inner City Press predicted this morning, it did not assign blame. But in the interim, the spokesman for Al Shabab has taken credit for the bombings, saying they were months in the planning.

Inner City Press asked Nigeria’s Ambassador on camera why blame was not ascribed, and if this might not discourage countries from sending peacekeepers to Somalia. She declined the first, and to the second question said “there is a peace to keep in Somalia.”

Afterward, Inner City Press was told that Al Shabab’s confession came after the statement was circulated and concurrence obtained. They didn’t want to delay it. But wouldn’t it have been stronger if more specific? An Ethiopian diplomat spoke about Eritrea. If ten Taliban are coming off the 1267 Al Qaeda sanctions list, does that mean there’s room for Al-Shabab?

In Kampala, the Ethiopian Village?

Incoming UN envoy on Somalia, Tanzania’s former Ambassador Mahiga, spoke to Inner City Press at the UN in New York last week, including about the peacekeepers’ use of “long range artillery” and the civilian casualties caused. Will Mahiga take this so-called “collateral damage” more seriously than Ould Abdallah did?

———————————–

From the above we see clearly that when it come to the need to blame an Islamic insurgency, the UN is very slow at pointing a finger. There clearly must internal UN be reasons for that.

Now let us see what Fared Zakaria and his high-brow participants in his circle of policy reviewers think about the situation:

His program included Jeffrey Gettleman, the New York Times Bureau Chief in East Africa Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya) who saw the situation on location in Somalia, and Ken Menkhaus of Davison College in New Jersey, who served as UN Political Advisor in Somalia 1993-94.
 http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/fareed.z…

 http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/podcast…

—————-

Chaos and lawlessness rule in Mogadishu, Somalia. And Al Shabab, a Somali affiliate of Al Qaeda, is exploiting that power vacuum and exporting terror.

Al Shabab claimed responsibility for the bombing of World Cup viewers in Uganda and is practicing an extreme form of Islamic justice.

What exactly is Al Shabab doing in Somalia and what can we expect next? Is there anything the U.S. or its allies can do to help the country that is called “the world’s worst failed state?”

—————

Somalia is a country of 6-8 million people and at the end of the cold war they were the most militarized country in the world. Now there are 1-1.5 million people living outside Somalia and the country was destroyed – not by bombings but by small caliber guns. There is no central authority in the country and it has become ideal terrain for an Al Qaeda base.

In 1992 the First President Bush had there 20,000 troops and left to avoid worst disaster leaving behind total vacuum.

The locals are incapable of establishing a functioning government. Foreign funds that go to an interim government are dissipated but nevertheless there is a will on the outside to view this government as a transition – the question transition to what?

The Al Shabab is widely unpopular but viewed as an alternative to useless government. This Al Shabab practices the most tuthless of Islam justice – like the cutting off of arms for suspected thieves.

In this second level of vacuum move in the foreigners – be these the Al Qaeda people from Pakistan who want to see if they can move here as a new home base, and some more benevolent home comers from among the Somali diaspora that actually are ready to provide their skills in building government at locality levels like cities. These are very welcome by the elders who are ready to back their efforts with the elder prestige.

This latter is the hope – but this is a bottom up government – and who will say that this will lead to a National government in its present borders? Would it not make sense to let them rule according to the ethnic divisions of the country and resulting in two or three smaller States that can then go their own ways? Jeffret Gettleman has seen this function on the ground in several locations where the situation is thus much better then in the country at large.

The importance of this goes well beyond Somalia and the case that came to mind in this CNN/GPS program was Iraq.

With the Iraqi elections held 133 days ago and a Parliament that todate has met only for the grandiose time of 18 minutes, and with the upcoming holidays, the evidence that nothing else can be expected before September and the US troops starting by then to leave the country, is Iraq going to be next Somalia?

So – the conclusion is that government can be built only bottom up if the idea is to reach up to democracy – and then why insist on having a non-unified country when the only evidence at hand is that the people actually hate each other and belong to various groups with the only semblance of unity is the unity of cleptocrats?

This disaster of Somalia may turn out to speak not only of Africa, but also of Iraq and why not of Afghanistan?

These problem go well beyond the limited scope we started out with.

—————————
 http://ipsterraviva.net/UN/currentNew.as…

Somalia Centre Stage Ahead of AU Summit.
Joshua Kyalimpa -   ipsterraviva.netKAMPALA, Jul 18 (IPS) – The African Union summit opens in Kampala on July 19 amid heightened security following twin bomb attacks a week earlier. The official theme of child and maternal mortality will likely be overshadowed by discussion of the AU’s mission in Somalia.

The blasts, which killed at least 74 people and wounded 82 others watching the World Cup finals on big screens at the Ethiopian Village Restaurant in Kampala’s Kabalagala neighbourhood, and at the Kyaddondo rugby grounds. The attacks came just two days after a spokesperson for Somalia’s al-Shabaab group, which is fighting against the weak Transitional Federal Government (TFG) for control of the country, said Uganda would be targeted for its role in the conflict.

Questioning military solutions Some analysts argue that a troop surge will achieve little, pointing to the difficulties faced by Ethiopia. Ethiopian soldiers entered Somalia in December 2006 to push back the Union of Islamic Courts, an Islamist group with ambitions to establish sharia law in Somalia, from which al-Shabaab subsequently emerged. But while the UIC’s bid for control was halted, this larger force was unable to fully capture the capital or impose itself in the countryside; the Ethiopians pulled out and were replaced by the Ugandan-dominated AMISOM. Makerere University political scientist Yassin Olum believes it is time for Uganda to review its position in Somalia, with a view to withdrawing. “We have to ask ourselves why other African countries are not sending troops to Somalia. Maybe they have realised it’s a hot potato or they view it as an internal matter,” says Olum.

Targeting the AU mission in Somalia

Uganda contributes the majority of the 5,000 troops in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which has helped the TFG maintain a tenuous hold over parts of the capital, Mogadishu, but little more.

“We are sending a message to every country who is willing to send troops to Somalia that they will face attacks on their territory,” said al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamoud Rage following the attacks. He added that Burundi, the second-largest troop contributor to AMISOM after Uganda, “will face similar attacks if they don’t withdraw.”

Bahoku Barigye, spokesperson for AMISOM, told IPS that the mission’s mandate should be expanded from peace-keeping – its terms of reference originate in a U.N. resolution authorising a “training and protection” mission – to one of peace enforcement, for which more soldiers would be needed.

“We have troops guarding the airport, the presidential palace, the port and other key installations this leaves us with few men to defend the civilians,” says Barigye.

Security personnel in Uganda have so far made 20 arrests; two men have also been detained in neighbouring Kenya in connection with the bombings.

Despite previous commitments by members of the African Union to contribute to a force of 20,000 peacekeepers, there are only about 5,000 troops in the Somali capital in support of the weak transitional federal government. Over 3,000 of these are from Uganda, the rest are from Burundi.

Uganda undeterred

At a Jul. 14 meeting called after the Kampala bombings, the Inter Government Authority on Development, a regional bloc of countries in the Horn of Africa, agreed to send an additional 2,000 soldiers.

Uganda has indicated it will send in more of its own troops if other countries are not willing.

Addressing a news conference at his private home in Ntugamo, western Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni said, “It was a very big mistake on their side; we shall

Development goals overshadowed by conflict? African civil society has voiced concerns that the AU summit to be held in Kampala from Jul. 17-19 could be dominated by the Somalia question. The official theme of the summit is “Maternal, Infant and Child Health and Development in Africa,” but consideration of this development goal seems likely to suffer the same fate as previous themes on water and sanitation and promotion of agriculture: a formal declaration will be made, but the summit will be dominated by al-Shabaab’s bombing of Uganda, the leading contributor of troops to the AU’s mission in Somalia. Civil society organisations organised a forum in Kampala ahead of the summit to enable civil society, ordinary citizens and key stake holders deliberate on the key issues and demand action, but now doubt they will get a platform to present their case to African leaders.

l deal with the authors of this crime.” He is also reported to have assured the U.S., which takes an active interest in Somali Islamist activity, that Uganda would not try to disentangle itself from the conflict in Somalia.

The U.S. ambassador to Uganda, Jerry Lanier, said, “We believe the Uganda mission is more important than ever now.”

The ambassador said the U.S. planned to increase assistance to Uganda and AMISOM.

Political scientist Yassin Olum says the Ugandan president needed more time to reflect on the matter before making statements.

“What this means is that we are no longer neutral in the conflict and we are fighting on the side of the Transitional Federal Government which is dangerous. This is not conventional warfare where you need more troops to defeat the enemy.”

Fred Bwire, a Kampala city resident, voices the attitude of many ordinary Ugandans towards the Somali mission. “What are we doing there? Our people are being killed for nothing. Why aren’t Kenyans – who are neighbors with Somalia – bothered?”

Hussein Kyanjo, an opposition member of parliament, believes the main beneficiary of Uganda’s continued involvement in Somalia is President Museveni himself. “He knows that the United States of America opposes the al-Shabaab and so he fights U.S. enemies to blind them to his dictatorial tendencies.”

Amama Mbabazi, Uganda’s minister for security, responds that Kyanjo forgets that Uganda was suffered terrorist attacks long before it sent troops to Somalia.

“The Allied Democratic Forces – another rebel outfit with links to Al-Qaeda – killed many people in the past and my friend Kyanjo seems to have forgotten this.”

In their struggle against the government, the Islamist ADF rebels attacked police posts, schools and trade centres in the west of the country beginning in 1996; in 1998, it carried out several bombings in Kampala, killing five and wounding six others. Military action by the Ugandan army largely destroyed the group the following year.

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July 21, 2010 as per official UN NEWS we are not convinced the UN has the faintest idea of what to do about Somalia beyond calling for wasting some more money on it:

UN DAILY NEWS from the
UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE
21 July, 2010 =========================================================================

UN SOUNDS THE ALARM AS DIRE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION CONTINUES TO GRIP SOMALIA .

As Somalia remains in the grip of a humanitarian crisis, it is vital to ensure adequate funding to assist the 3.2 million people – or more than 40 per cent of the population – who rely on international aid, a senior United Nations aid official stressed today.

UN agencies and their partners have so far received only 56 per cent of the $600 million needed to fund critical areas such as health, water and sanitation, nutrition and livelihood support in Somalia, which is recovering from drought and years of chaos and is also in the throes of ongoing violence.

“My major concern at this time of the year is that there is a renewed emphasis on ensuring that we do address the funding gaps in Somalia to help us to sustain the achievements that can continue to be made in one of the world’s most difficult and acute humanitarian crises,” said Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Somalia.

He told a news conference in New York that the situation in the Horn of Africa nation is characterized by severe child malnutrition, loss of livestock and livelihoods, as well as ongoing displacement owing to continued clashes between Government forces and Islamist militant groups.

The conflict has led to Somalia being one of the countries with the highest number of uprooted people in the world – an estimated 1.4 million displaced within the country and almost 595,000 living as refugees in neighbouring countries.

“Conflict is the driving cause behind displacement and most of it comes from Mogadishu,” he said, noting that 20,000 people were displaced in the capital in June, and an estimated 200,000 people have been displaced from the city this year.

In addition, fighting in Mogadishu since March this year has led to more than 3,000 conflict-related casualties.

“What I genuinely hope is that we try to find some way of reducing the impact of this conflict on the civilian population and all parties need to find more peaceful means of settling their disputes,” he said, adding that where that is not possible, to at least avoid the considerable collateral damage on civilians.

Despite the ongoing crisis, Mr. Bowden noted that the situation in Somalia “isn’t all bad news,” although it is one of the most complicated humanitarian situations the UN is facing.

Some major achievements include keeping the country free of polio amid a resurgence of the disease in a number of other African countries. This is thanks to the provision of clean water to 1.3 million people, as well as vaccination campaigns that were carried out, even in volatile areas.

“We are able to make progress in terms of managing humanitarian operations in extremely difficult circumstances, which include control of large parts of the country by rebel groups and active conflict in other parts,” he noted.

————————————

And Inner City Press from the UN continues its bleak reporting from the UN that really shows again and again that the UN will not lead the Somalis out of their misery.

See - http://www.innercitypress.com/un1soa0721…

Killing of Civilians by UN Supported Troops in Somalia Admitted But Not Acted On.

By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, July 21 — In the wake of the World Cup finals bombing in Uganda, there has been even less discussion of the civilians being killed in Mogadishu by the peacekeeping mission which the UN is supporting. But a memo leaked from within that AMISOM mission notes continued firing into civilian neighborhoods.
Inner City Press asked UN Humanitarian coordinator Mark Bowden whether there is a special responsibility on the UN to ensure that the troops to which it provides logistical support through its UNSOA office are not killing civilians. “Yes there is,” Bowden said, adding that he’s “had discussions” with Ambassador Diarra of the African Union about “reducing civilian casualties.” ………..  it continues

–

On Child Soldiers Supported by UN in Somalia, UNSC Will Respond After 3 Years.

By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 16, updated — Days after the UN-supported Somali Transitional Federal Government’s use of child soldiers was widely exposed, the UN Security Council’s lack of seriousness on the issue was on display on Wednesday. Mexican foreign minister Patricia Espinosa presided over a day-long series of speeches about children and armed conflict. At noon, Inner City Press asked her what she and the Council would do about their support of the TFG, which uses children as young as nine and 12 to wield AK-47s in Mogadishu.

This has not been raised to the Security Council, Secretary Espinosa replied, not even to the Working Group. …… more

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RECEIVED FROM: Editeur : RIAED | Réseau international d’accès aux énergies durables
http://www.riaed.net/portail

from RIAED | Réseau international d’accès aux énergies durables reply-to dufail@gret.org date Mon, Jul 19, 2010 subject: La lettre d’information du RIAED, n°41

THIS IS THE INFORMATION No. 41 from RIAED WHICH IS THE INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR THE FRENCH SPEAKING COUNTRIES OF WEST AFRICA, BUT THEY HAVE ALSO A LINK TO THE ENGLISH FORM OF THIS LETTER. THE POSTING IS INTERESTING AS IT SHOWS LOTS OF ACTIVITIES THAT GO ON IN THE REGION SINCE 2006 AND CONTINUE TO DATE.

=====================================================

THE BLOGGS LINK IS THE FOLLOWING BUT IT SEEMS  OLD: http://www.riaed.net/spip.php?rubrique41

FROM:            Women’s Dialogue for Action / Cecilia Attias Foundation

CONTACT:     Rubenstein Commuications

Tom Chiodo (212) 843.8289 tchiodo@rubenstein.com

Iva Benson (212) 843.8271  ibenson@rubenstein.com

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

More than 100 NGO’s,

50 Public & Private Sector Executives,

20 Media Leaders

Including Cindi Leive of Glamour Magazine,

Sade Baderinwa of ABC News,

Alison Smale of the International Herald Tribune,

Gisel Khoury of Al Arabiya and

Pamela Gross of Avenue Magazine

To Participate In

Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women’s Dialogue for Action

***

Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women’s Inaugural gathering will unite NGO’s, media, civic and business leaders from around the world to define and work towards solving the most pressing issues affecting women across all five continents.

***

www.ceciliaattiasfoundation.org

New York, NY – (June 10, 2010) – The Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women’s Dialogue for Action, being held June 24 in New York City, today announced that Cindi Leive, Editor, Glamour Magazine, Dina Powell, Chairwoman, Goldman Sachs Foundation, Sila Calderon, Former Governor of Puerto Rico, Minister of State Innocence Ntap, Senegal, Zeinab Salbi, President, Women for Women International and Dr Edit Schlaffer, President, Women Without Borders will join the many other leaders who be taking part of the Round Table discussions at the inaugural Dialogue for Action.

“I am pleased that so many prominent individuals have recognized the need to immediately gather around the same table and collaborate to find solutions to the many dire issues affecting women,” said former First Lady of France and Foundation President Cecilia Attias, “We need to work now to find implementable solutions and give a voice to the millions of women who are not able to speak out on their own.”

The first annual Dialogue for Action to take place in conjunction with the New York Forum (http://www.ny-forum.com) will bring together an exceptional group of NGO leaders, experts and influencers from the private and public sectors.  This unique, interactive format provides a new platform, where action-driven discussions will focus exclusively on identifying and finding solutions to the main issues facing women per continent.

Following the Dialogue for Action, The Cécilia Attias Foundation for Women will see that dedicated initiatives are implemented where needed.  Local regional meetings will be organized as part of the follow-up in the field to assess the progress of each initiative.

The International Herald Tribune is the Official Media Sponsor of The Dialogue for Action. WANGO, The World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations is the strategic partner of the Dialogue for Action whose global network of NGOs and affiliates has become an international leader in tackling issues of serious global concern.

——————————————–

THE PROGRAM

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23
2:00 – 6:00pm
Registration
Park Avenue Room, Mezzanine Level
109 East 42nd Street at Grand Central Terminal  Tel: +1 212 883 1234

THURSDAY, JUNE 24
7:00am
Registration
Park Avenue Room, Mezzanine Level

7:15am
Welcome Coffee
Ballroom Level

ALL SESSIONS TO TAKE PLACE IN THE EMPIRE STATE BALLROOM

8:00am
Key Note Address by Cecilia Attias, Founder and President, The Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women

8:30-10:00am
AFRICA ROUND TABLE

Facilitated by Sade Baderinwa, Anchor/Reporter WABC-TV

NGOs:
· Bazaiba Masudi Eve, Senator and President of Congolese Women League for Election
· Esther Ibanga, Pastor Women on the Plateau Peace Initiative
· Molly Melching, Executive Director Tostan
· Promise Mthembu, Executive Director Her Rights Initiative

EXPERT RESPONSES:
· Letty Chiwara, Chief of the Africa Division for UNIFEM
· Innocence Ntap, Minister of Civil Service, Labor and Professional Organizations, Senegal
· Prinitha Pillay, Medical Doctor, Doctors without Borders

With the Support of:
· Fatou Sow Sarr, Professor at Dakar University

Special Closing Address by: Sophie Delaunay, Executive Director Doctors Without Borders

10:30-12:00pm
AMERICAS ROUND TABLE

Facilitated by Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief Glamour Magazine

NGOs:
· Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Hour Children
· Rosario Perez, CEO, Pro Mujer
· Sima Quraishi, Executive Director, Muslim Women Resource Center
· Dale Standifer, Executive Director, Metropolitan Center for Women and Children

EXPERT RESPONSES:
· Adrienne Germain, President of the International Women’s Health Coalition
· Pamela Gross, Editor at Large, The Hill
· Ambassador Craig Stapleton, Former Ambassador to France
· Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO of Partnership for New York City

Special Closing Address by: Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO of Women’s World Banking

12:30-2:00pm LUNCH BALLROOM I

2:30-4:00pm
ASIA AND MIDDLE EAST ROUND TABLE

Facilitated by Anita Pratap, Documentary Filmmaker, Author, Journalist
NGOs:
· Sakena Yacoobi, Executive Director, Afghan Institute of Learning
· Dr. Basmah Omair, CEO of Khadija Bint Khawilid Center for Businesswomen
· Manju Kochar, Chairman, Prasad Chikitsa
· Guy Jacobsen, Founder Redlight Children

With the Support of:
· Lucky Chherti, Founder and Program Director, Empowering Women of Nepal
· Bandana Rana, President, SAATHI

EXPERT RESPONSES:
· Chékéba Hachemi, President, Afghanistan Libre
· Dina Powell, President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation and Global Head of the Office of Corporate Engagement
· Zainab Salbi, Founder of Women for Women International
· Mu Sochua, Member of Cambodian Parliament and Human Rights Advocate

4:30-6:00pm
EUROPE ROUND TABLE

Facilitated by Alison Smale, Executive Editor, International Herald Tribune

NGOs:
· Sophie Romana, Executive Director, PlaNet Finance
· Edit Schlaffer, Chairman and Founder, Women Without Borders, SAVE – Sisters Against Violent Extremism
· May de Silva, Director, Women into Politics
· Inna Tymchyk, Board Member, Faith, Hope and Love

EXPERT RESPONSES:
· David Arkless, President, Global Corporate & Government Affairs, Manpower Inc.
· Kat Rohrer, Director/Producer, GreenKat Productions
· Fernando Villalonga, Consul General of Spain

6:00pm
Closing remarks Cecilia Attias, Founder and President, The Cecilia Attias Foundation for Women

Probe at UN climate talks after Saudi sign smashed

Saturday, 12 June 2010 10:06
author:Reuters
POLITICS & ECONOMICS / NEWS
by Reuters, Saturday, 12 June 2010

SAUDI STANCE: Saudi angered many by blocking study of global warming. (Getty Images)

UN climate negotiators agreed to an investigation on Friday after protesters smashed a sign emblazoned “Saudi Arabia” and dropped it in toilet after Riyadh blocked a study of deeper cuts in greenhouse gases.

Many countries condemned the protest, after Saudi Arabia blocked a request by small island states at the May 31-June 11 talks for a study of tougher cuts in greenhouse gases to help slow a rise in world sea levels.

Mexico’s delegate Luis Alfonso de Alba, whose country will host the main climate talks in late 2010, said he was initiating an investigation by the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat.

June 8, 2010 – The Second UN Celebration of The World Ocean’s Day and a Look At The UN Law Of The Sea. Was There A Review of the Effects of Stealing From The Global Commons and The Rape of the Environment as We Witness Now Perpetually on our TV Screens? There Is A UN Law Of The Sea They Say! In 2001 Our “Promptbook” was Published on These Topics.

THESE DAYS  THE WHOLE WORLD WATCHES THE US LOSING THE GOLF OF MEXICO ENVIRONMENT TO THE GREED OF MINING FOR OIL AT UNBELIEVABLE DEPTH WITHOUT HAVING BEEN PREPARED TO AN EVENTUALITY OF A MISHAP.

THIS MINING FOR OIL GOES ON IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF SOVEREIGNTY CLAIMS OF ANYONE – IN EFFECT THIS HAPPENS AKIN TO PIRACY AT HIGH SEA – ROBBERY FROM THE GLOBAL COMMONS AS WE CLAIMED IN OUR PROMPTBOOK TO THE JOHANNEBURG SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WHICH YOU CAN READ RIGHT HERE ON www.SustainabiliTank.info.

THE UN IS CELEBRATING TODAY “THE WORLD OCEAN’S DAY” AND WE WOULD HAVE WANTED TO BE PRESENT AND POSE SOME RELATED QUESTIONS – BUT THE UN Department of Public Information, even now, after the Departure of UN Official Ahmad Fawzi, IS STILL LEARY OF HAVING PRESENT JOURNALISTS THAT ARE NOT UNDER THEIR CONTROL.

WE PROMISE NEVERTHELESS TO FOLLOW THE SUBJECT AND FIND OUT IF THERE WAS ANYTHING BUT PLATITUDES AT THAT PRESS CONFERENCE.

8 JUNE 2010, 11:00 am    Dag. Ham. Auditorium

Press Conference: by the Department of Public Information about World Ocean’s Day.

Participants: Professor David Freestone, Lobingier Visiting Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence, George Washington University;

Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Georgraphic Explorer-in-Residence and Adviser to Disneynature on the film “Ocean”;

and H.E. Mrs. Isabelle Picco, Permanent Representative of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations.

Related Link: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/reference_fi…

8 June -  World Oceans Day

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, as from 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day” (resolution 63/111, paragraph 171).  Many countries have celebrated World Oceans Day following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans.

——————

8 June 2009 – The first observance of World Oceans Day allows us to highlight the many ways in which oceans contribute to society. The UN Secretary General declared:  “It is also an opportunity to recognize the considerable challenges we face in maintaining their capacity to regulate the global climate, supply essential ecosystem services and provide sustainable livelihoods and safe recreation.”

Indeed, human activities are taking a terrible toll on the world’s oceans and seas.

Vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as corals, and important fisheries are being damaged by over-exploitation, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, destructive fishing practices, invasive alien species and marine pollution, especially from land-based sources. Increased sea temperatures, sea-level rise and ocean acidification caused by climate change pose a further threat to marine life, coastal and island communities and national economies.

Oceans are also affected by criminal activity.  Piracy and armed robbery against ships threaten the lives of seafarers and the safety of international shipping, which transports 90 per cent of the world’s goods.  Smuggling of illegal drugs and the trafficking of persons by sea are further examples of how criminal activities threaten lives and the peace and security of the oceans.

Several international instruments drawn up under the auspices of the United Nations address these numerous challenges.  At their centre lies the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It provides the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out, and is the basis for international cooperation at all levels.  In addition to aiming at universal participation, the world must do more to implement this Convention and to uphold the rule of law on the seas and oceans.

The theme of World Oceans Day, “Our oceans, our responsibility”, emphasizes our individual and collective duty to protect the marine environment and carefully manage its resources.  Safe, healthy and productive seas and oceans are integral to human well-being, economic security and sustainable development.

————

8 June 2010 – Programme Second observance of World Oceans Day

“Our oceans: opportunities and challenges”
Observance at United Nations Headquarters:
i. Message by the Secretary-General
ii. Press Conference
(DH Auditorium at 11:00) with:
-Prof. David Freestone, Lobingier Visiting Professor of Comparative Law and
Jurisprudence, George Washington University;
-H.E. Mrs. Isabelle PICCO, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the
Principality of Monaco to the United Nations; and
-Dr. Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and Adviser to
Disneynature on the film “Oceans”
iii. Roundtable discussion on “UNCLOS 15 years after its entry into force”,
sponsored by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of
Legal Affairs (Conference Room 1 at NLB, 15:00 – 17:30)
1. How effectively is UNCLOS operating, as the legal framework for the
oceans and seas?
Focusing on:
The right of States to establish Maritime Zones under UNCLOS
- Prof. Bernard H. Oxman, Richard A. Hausler Professor of Law,
University of Miami
Combating piracy, in particular the case of piracy off the coast of Somalia

-  Prof. Robert Beckman, Director, Centre for International Law, National
University of Singapore
The conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, including MGRs

-  Ms. Emma Romano Sarne, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of
the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations
2. UNCLOS into the 21st century
Focusing on:
How to enhance the implementation of UNCLOS at the national level
- Professor Ted L. McDorman, Faculty of Law, University of Victoria
Is regional cooperation a way to enhance ocean governance?

-  Prof. Lucia Fanning, Director of Marine Affairs Programme, Dalhousie
University

Moderator
- Prof. David Freestone, Lobingier Visiting Professor of Comparative Law
and Jurisprudence, George Washington University

—-
iv. Screening of the Disneynature feature “Oceans”, co-sponsored by the
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, and
the Permanent Mission of Monaco to the United Nations (18:00 – 20:00)
(General Assembly Hall)

—-
Observance outside United Nations Headquarters:

v. Empire State Building in New York City (Lighting, from white, blue to purple to
signify the entirety of the oceans from the shallows to the darker depths, to
mark the observance of World Oceans Day by the United Nations)

That is a time we will spend rather at the:

Oil Spill Forum, Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Richard Attias (born 1959 in Morocc) – he is a  global events producer. As chairman of PublicisLive Attias was the producer of the World Economic Forum in Davos for over fifteen years. His personal history and the history of the organizations he was involved with are plainly fascinating and we write this longer posting because we feel that he is embarking now upon even a greater voyage with his new NEW YORK FORUM, then in his previous activities.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, which brings together top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world, including health and the environment. Beside meetings, the WEF produces a series of research reports, and engages its members in sector specific initiatives. WEF also organizes the “Annual Meeting of the New Champions” in China, and a series of regional meetings throughout the year. In 2008 those regional meetings included meetings on Europe and Central Asia, East Asia, the Russia CEO Roundtable, Africa, the Middle East, and the World Economic Forum on Latin America. In 2008 it launched the “Summit on the Global Agenda” in Dubai.

The WEF was founded in 1971 by Klaus Martin Schwab, a German-born business professor at the University of Geneva. Originally named the European Management Forum, it changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987 and sought to broaden its vision further to include providing a platform for resolving international conflicts.

In the summer of 1971 Schwab invited 444 executives from Western European firms to the first European Management Symposium held in the Davos Congress Centre, under the patronage of the European Commission and European industrial associations, where Schwab sought to introduce European firms to US management practices. He then founded the WEF as a non-profit organization based in Cologny, Geneva, and drew European business leaders to Davos for their annual meetings each January.

Schwab developed the “stakeholder” management approach which based corporate success on managers taking account of all interests: not merely shareholders, clients and customers, but employees and the communities within which the firm is situated, and governments. Events in 1973 including the collapse of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate mechanism, and the Arab-Israeli War, saw the annual meeting expand its focus from management to economic and social issues, and political leaders were invited for the first time to Davos in January 1974.

As the years went by, political leaders began to use Davos as a neutral platform to resolve their differences. The Davos Declaration was signed in 1988 by Greece and Turkey, helping them turn back from the brink of war. In 1992 South African President F. W. de Klerk met with Nelson Mandela and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi at the Annual Meeting, their first joint appearance outside South Africa. At the 1994 Annual Meeting, Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat reached a draft agreement on Gaza and Jericho. In 2008 Bill Gates gave a keynote speech on Creative Capitalism, a form of capitalism that works both to generate profits and solve the world’s inequities, using market forces to better address the needs of the poor.

Frederik de Klerk and Nelson Mandela shake hands at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum held in Davos in January 1992.

———————-

For The New York Forum

Contact:         Rubenstein Communications, Inc.

Iva Benson (212) 843-8271,  ibenson at rubenstein.com

Thomas Chiodo (212) 843-8289,  tchiodo at rubenstein.com

——————–

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The interesting day was organized by an active excellent Media Relations Officer of the New York office of the US Department of State – Ms. Melissa Waheibi. She worked this out with the UN MALU (Media Accreditation and Liaison Unit) as we had to get a Temporary Media Pass to the UN.

Our UN hostess was Ms. Robin Dellarocca an Information Officer with the Department of Public Information (DPI), Strategic Communications Division, who was with us at the beginning and at the end of the day, as well as at that Noon Briefing. Most of the day we were accompanied by Ms. Isabelle Broyer, who is the new Chief of MALU within the UN DPI. She was previously Chief of Guided Tours Section in the UN Outreach that also belongs under the DPI, and she was very gracious and started the day by giving us the tour of the old UN – that is the tall building that blocks for the Manhattanites the view to the East River. The problem is that this building is being mothballed for a while because of the need to remove plenty of asbestos that was put into its construction back in the years  1949-1950  when the real estate firm of Wallace Harrison, the personal architectural adviser for the Rockefeller family, was the lead architect for the building. The final project derived from the drawings of Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier. Now, a so called temporary North Lawn building (TNLB), was created this year, and for all practical purposes the UN has changed a lot. We did not go to that building.

Our group numbered 11 people. Seven that had no UN Press Credentials, including our leader from the Foreign Press Center, New York, and four who were actually accredited journalists with the UN DPI. Our Event was called a “United Nations Seminar For Foreign Journalists.” These people come from all over the world and report about the US which in most cases, at least for those stationed in new York, includes interest in the UN. Many do not have a UN accreditation because of the difficult process of getting one, in a few cases their beet does not include the UN – they were all clearly eager to learn more about the UN. The fact that some UN Press-Card holders were also on the tour is a result from the simple reality that the UN DPI does not have such introductory tours for its own newly accredited correspondents – and those that participated in the Seminar were clearly interested in getting some minimal insight into the general workings of the UN. After all – not all journalists covering the UN believe that rewriting UN Press Releases is called journalism.

Eventually we settled around a large table in the office the DPI has for its liaison to the NGOs accredited with DPI, and later, when that room was no more available, we moved next door to class-room setting, and speakers from various departments from the UN and from some affiliates came to tell us about their ongoing activities.

Our morning covered three activities beyond the introductory welcome-tour: The Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); The Acting Chief, UN Resources – Promotion and Distribution Unit, UN Multimedia of DPI; and the Noon Briefing.

Our afternoon covered four sessions and closing:  The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Deputy Director;  The Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO); The Chief of External Communications at the United Nations Development Programme who was specific on the Millennium Development Goals; and The Chief of the Security Council Secretariat Branch that introduced us to the work of the UN Security Council.

So what about the Noon Briefing?

Combining my notes with the official transcript

Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

From the Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, May 25, 2010.

Today’s noon briefing was by Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Good afternoon everybody.

I understand we have a number of international journalists joining us today from the New York Foreign Press Centre.  So, welcome to you and welcome to everybody else at the briefing.

**Press Conference and Stakeout Today

A couple of press conferences today, immediately following Security Council consultations, Ad Melkert, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, will speak to correspondents at the Security Council stakeout position.  And then at 12:30 p.m., here in this auditorium, there will be a press conference on the launch of several campaigns to combat violations of children’s rights.

**Secretary-General’s Remarks

This morning, the Secretary-General marked today the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with UNICEF’s new Executive Director, Anthony Lake.

The two Protocols — one on prostitution and child pornography, the other on children and armed conflict — have been endorsed by two thirds of all Member States so far.

Mr. Nesirky spelled out further, beyond the language of the official release, that in too many places children are still treated as commodities.

The Secretary-General urged all countries to adopt these instruments within the next two years in order to provide children with a moral and legal shield.  He said that in too many places children are seen as commodities, treated as criminals, instead of being protected as victims, and that in too many conflicts, children are used as soldiers, spies or human shields.  We have his full remarks in my office.

And this afternoon, the Secretary-General will address the pledging Conference for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.  And that’s at 3 p.m., in the ECOSOC Chamber of the North Lawn Building.

**Security Council

The Security Council heard a briefing by Ad Melkert this morning — that’s the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq.  Melkert told Council members that the recent elections and the Government expected to be formed based on the election results offer a new opportunity to strengthen Iraq’s sovereignty.  It will also allow Iraqis to move with greater determination towards reconciliation.  He added, however, that a host of challenges remain, including the continued violence across Iraq, which so far this year has claimed 2,000 lives and wounded 5,000 civilians.

The Council is now in consultations on Iraq, after which Melkert intends to speak to reporters at the Security Council stakeout position.  We have copies of his remarks to the Council in my office.

And following the consultations on Iraq, the Security Council will hold an open meeting on the situation in Chad, the Central African Republic and the subregion.

**Israel-Palestine

The Secretary-General sent a message today to the UN International Meeting in Support of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process, which is being held in Istanbul under the theme “Ending the Occupation and Establishing the Palestinian State”.

The Secretary-General’s message was delivered by Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.  In it, the Secretary-General expressed his satisfaction that, after a prolonged period of delay and setbacks, proximity talks are finally under way.  He also encourages the parties to avoid provocations or breaches of the Road Map or international law.  He welcomes the modest progress that has been achieved, with the Government of Israel facilitating a number of priority projects and widening the list of commercial goods allowed into Gaza.  We have copies of his message in my office.

And separately, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that Gaza’s agriculture sector is being hit hard.  OCHA says that more than 60 per cent of Gaza households are now food insecure, a situation that agriculture could have helped redress.  However, Israel’s import and access restrictions continue to suffocate the local agriculture sector and directly contribute to rising food insecurity.  There is more in a press release from OCHA in my office.

** Haiti

We have an announcement from the United Nations Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH.

President [René] Préval and the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Haiti, Edmond Mulet, have agreed to establish an independent commission to investigate the incident in Les Cayes Prison on 19 January.  The Commission will be a joint United Nations-Haiti effort.  Further details on its composition and mandate will be soon provided by MINUSTAH.

**Press Conference Tomorrow

A couple of press conferences for tomorrow:  at 11 a.m., there will be a press conference to launch the updated 2010 United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects report.  And at 12:30 p.m., Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Sports for Development and Peace, will hold a press conference about the upcoming 2010 FIFA Football World Cup in South Africa, to take place from 11 June until 11 July, and the activities of the UN system around this event.  And finally at 1 p.m., there will be a press conference by Ambassador David Balton, the Chair of the Review Conference on the Fish Stocks Agreement, who will brief on efforts to strengthen international action to manage and conserve fish stocks on the high seas.

**Secretary-General on Africa Day

So I can also tell you that today is Africa Day, and in a message to mark the Day, the Secretary-General says that this year’s celebration has particular significance as it marks the fiftieth anniversary of independence of several Francophone African States and Nigeria, the continent’s most populous nation.

The Secretary-General also notes in his message that by consistently reminding the international community of its responsibility to the most vulnerable, and affirming that we are all members of a global family of nations, Africa has helped to reshape the global agenda.

==================================

So questions, please.  Yes.

{ and there were four correspondents that asked questions – just only four }

===============================

**Questions and Answers

(A) Mr. Laolu Akande, Bureau Chief (North America) THE GUARDIAN of NIGERIA. His questions are usually about Africa and the African Union.

Question:  A couple of questions.  One, yesterday the Secretary-General announced that he was going to Nigeria. Do you have more details as to when he is going to go and, apart from the President, who else he is going to be meeting?

Then secondly, on the issue of child rights, I see that the Secretary-General has spoken about that already today.  There is a senator in Nigeria who just married an Egyptian 13-year-old girl.  I was wondering whether the Secretary-General will say something about that?

Spokesperson:  The second, I didn’t quite get that.

Correspondent:  There is senator in Nigeria…

Spokesperson:  Yes.

Correspondent:  …Senator [Ahmad Sani] Yerima, who just married a 13 year old Egyptian, and I was hoping that the Secretary-General will say something about that.

Spokesperson:  Well, on the first question, which is the precise schedule for the Secretary-General’s trip to Nigeria, we don’t yet have the precise layout and the full itinerary.  But we will let you know as soon as we do.  But it will be after the trip to South Africa.  As the Secretary-General mentioned, there is then a leg of that particular trip which takes him to South Africa, to West Africa, I beg your pardon, and Nigeria is part of that.  But exactly where, at what point in the schedule hasn’t been fixed yet.  So we will let you know as soon as we can.

On the second, I don’t think I need to say more than has already been stated about the rights of children.  I think the Secretary-General has been quite clear on that.

===============

(B) Mr. Masood Haider, who is registered with THE DAILY DAWN of Karachi, Pakistan, Leading English Newspaper of Pakistan, but when I looked it up already three years ago, I did not find there articles by Masood. On his personal google listings there is much material about him being the President of the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA), and articles on www.MaximsNews.com.  His questions always involve the Middle Eas and end up with an attack on Israel.

So, Masood.

Question:  …specifically about this particular senator, I know that he has made comments.  I want to know whether the United Nations considers itself as having a moral voice, you know, to speak, you know, when such violations of something that it thinks is important to talk about when there is direct violation even by the people who have the power.  Doesn’t the Secretary-General mean to raise the moral voice against such things?

Spokesperson:  The Secretary-General’s moral voice on this question is very clear.  But that doesn’t mean that we have to comment on the specific cases.  But I have stated what the general principle is and so has the Secretary-General.  And I think that that’s a fairly clear answer.  Yes, Masood.

MASOOD HAIDER:  Talking about the moral voice, the disclosure yesterday in the newspaper in London that Israel offered South Africa nuclear warheads in exchange for certain things, and how is that going to impact the nuclear negotiations going on over here at the United Nations on NPT, which Israel refuses to join nor was it disclosed how many weapons it has.  So the Secretary-General was asked this question yesterday, which he did not answer, I mean [inaudible].

Spokesperson:  Well, the Secretary-General did answer the question yesterday, and I have no need to elaborate on what he said.

Question:  But in his…  So what you are saying is it will not have any impact whatsoever on the NPT and the negotiations over there?  Or [inaudible crosstalk]

Spokesperson:  What will have, not have an impact?

Question:  …Middle East nuclear-free zone that he has been espousing?

Spokesperson:  It’s not just the Secretary-General that’s espousing this.  This is an agreement that goes back quite some way.  And it’s not simply the Secretary-General’s voice on this. That’s the first thing.  The second is that the Secretary-General spoke out very clearly yesterday about what’s required of the States parties who are taking part in this Review Conference; that there are people, everybody is watching; the world is watching, and that it’s clear that it’s not easy to reach an agreement.  And it’s clear that there are complications that you are alluding to.  But that doesn’t mean that the countries who are taking part in this Review Conference shouldn’t focus on making their best effort to reach a deal.  That’s what the SG, the Secretary-General, was talking about yesterday.  And I think that there is not much more that I can add to that.  Further questions?  Yes.

====================================

(C) Ms. Catherine Mercier, CBC Radio-Canada, Producer – United Nations.

Question:  Yesterday the Secretary-General in his press conference mentioned that he wanted to make this building the greenest building possible.  I was wondering if there was a clear plan, for instance, regarding the cafeteria, because it seems to me that even now it could be made much greener than it is.  Not using disposable cups for instance; there are no real glasses, real cups and many people of course it means like hundreds and hundreds of beverages every day.  So is there a clear plan or will there be one?  Maybe it’s a question for Mr. [Michael] Adlerstein, but I just wanted to hear you on that.

Spokesperson:  I’m pretty sure you are right that that is a question for others, not specifically for me.  But that doesn’t mean that I can’t find out, try to find out an answer to it.  But what’s important here is that the idea of transforming this building into a green building is one that will take some time to realize.  We’re not there yet, as everybody knows.  In the meantime, measures can always be undertaken to try to improve the environment or impact that everybody here, whoever it is and whatever we’re doing.  So there is always room for improvement.  So I am sure that folks in the relevant section, the relevant department, can look at measures that could be taken.  Okay.

=================================

Yes, Matthew.

MASOOD HAIDER  again

Question:  I just wanted to find out…

Spokesperson:  I said Matthew, and then I’ll come to you, Masood, again.  Sorry?

Matthew Russell Lee:  Okay, and then I, you can, then I’ll pass it back to you, Masood.  Unless you’re going environmental?

Spokesperson:  Yeah.  Are you going environmental?  Are you going green?

Masood Haider:  Go ahead, Matthew.

===============================

(4) MATTHEW R. LEE, of INNER CITY PRESS – The only real investigative reporter at the UN for years. His questions mostly do not get official answers but his postings are most enlightening.

Question:  Okay.  It’s reported that in South Sudan the UN has pulled its staff out of Jonglei state due to unrest.  Is that the case, and what can, what does the UN, doesn’t UNMIS [United Nations Mission in the Sudan] have a protection of civilians mandate?  I mean, are they, what’s the relation between it being too dangerous for civilians staff, or are military personnel of UNMIS going to this location?

Spokesperson:  Well, I’ll try to get further guidance on this.  We’re aware of the reports and we’ll try to get further guidance.  This is always a difficult balancing act here — to get it right, to balance the need to be on the spot, to help the people you are there to help, but at the same time to balance that against your duty of care to the staff you have sent to do that job.  So it’s sometimes a dilemma to do that.  But that’s as a general principle.  I don’t know the full details of this particular case and we’ll try to find out more.

===============================

Masood.  What’s you question, Masood?

Question:  Okay.  What I am saying is, IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] has now got this thing from Iran.  Now, how will that impact the negotiations over here if it keeps a point of report that Iran in fact is on its way to comply, as the Brazilians and the Turkish people, Turkish [inaudible].  How will that impact the negotiations over here?

Spokesperson:  Well, first of all, as the Secretary-General said yesterday, he spoke to the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr. [Yukiya] Amano, and the communication that was received from the Iranians is being analysed and assessed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.  So we still don’t know what it said precisely, and we still don’t know precisely what it means.  And therefore it’s difficult to assess what impact it might have on Security Council consultations that are going on.  I’m sure that members of the Security Council, if you ask them, would have their views on it.  The Secretary-General has made clear two things:  one, that this is in general in the hands of the Security Council; and the second thing, that the proposal or the deal struck between Iran, Turkey and Brazil would represent a positive step if combined with the full compliance that the international community expects of Iran with existing Security Council resolutions.

===============================

Matthew.

Question:  Sure, on Sudan, I wanted, actually, two questions, both about sort of related to yesterday’s press conference by the Secretary-General.  One was this question of both Mr. [Ibrahim] Gambari and Mr. [Haile] Menkerios going to the inauguration of Omer Al-Bashir, given his International Criminal Court indictment.  Was there some — and I have gone over the Secretary-General’s answer a number of times — had, did, particularly for Mr. Menkerios, who is solely a UN not AU employee, was this, did the Office of Legal Affairs, who essentially sort of authorized what seems to many to be a change of policy, even going back as far as, I mean, to have UN officials engage with an indicted, someone indicted for crimes of war is something new.  And who signed off on that?

Spokesperson:  It’s just not true that it’s new. It’s just not true.  The point is that both these gentlemen, Mr. Gambari and Mr. Menkerios, are appointed by the Secretary-General under a Security Council mandate to carry out a job in Sudan — in the case of Mr. Gambari jointly under the African Union, as you pointed out.  Their job is to interact with the Sudanese Government.  That’s their job, to ensure that the missions, the important missions, the large missions trying to do the work that you mentioned in the previous question; they interact.  That’s obvious.  And as the Secretary-General said yesterday, this is no more, no less than their participation in an event that carries political significance as well as being a ceremony.  It has political significance, but crucially, they have a mandate to be there and to interact with the Sudanese authorities.

Question:  [inaudible] keep contact at the high level such as the Secretary-General, I would assume Mr. Menkerios to a minimum necessary to carry out the operational functions, because, I mean, Human Rights Watch has said this is legitimizing, or really, minim… making a mockery of the fact that if somebody is indicted for war crimes and yet can meet openly and be celebrated by UN officials.  Is that, what’s the Secretary-General’s response to that?

Spokesperson:  Well, first of all, Human Rights Watch are entitled to their view, and they do extraordinary work. The second thing is they have a job to do, large missions to run.  They need to be able to interact with the Sudanese authorities and they have a mandate to do so.

Question:  To follow up on that, you say there is no change in policy, but were there any precedents before of such top-level UN officials coming close to someone who was indicted by the ICC?

Spokesperson:  Of course, when it’s been operationally necessary with President Bashir, that’s the case.  But when it’s been necessary for the operational reasons that we’ve talked about here before.  Yeah.

Question:  [inaudible]

Spokesperson:  I don’t think I need to repeat again — I already did once — I don’t think I need to repeat again what the Secretary-General said yesterday.  Okay.  Other questions?

Question:  I have a follow-up?

Spokesperson:  Yeah.

=============================

Laolu Akande joins the question about Sudan -

Question:  I’m sure you know that it’s a rather tough issue, but we have to ask the question.  Do you think by allowing those two top UN officials to go and be part of that inauguration, simple question, do you think that undermines the work of the Tribunal?

Spokesperson:  Absolutely not.  No.  The fact is Mr. Bashir was elected by the Sudanese people as the President in the recent elections.  That’s a fact.  And there is an inauguration.  That’s also a fact.  It’s a political event as well as a ceremony.  It involves the swearing-in, the inauguration of the Head of State of that country where we have two sizeable missions, with people doing difficult work to help the people of Sudan. And that’s the reason why they are there, and that’s the reasons why the need to interact with the Sudanese authorities.

=========================

Matthew Lee about Sri Lanka -

Question:  Last Monday, about eight days ago, when this International Crisis Group report came out about Sri Lanka, you’d said that the UN would study it and would have some response to the report, particularly to the part that said, that called for an investigation of the UN’s own actions pulling out of Kilinochi, ineffectively calling for a ceasefire and funding internment camps.  Is that response, is, when can we expect the responses, particularly the factual ones of just how much money was spent on the camps.  Is that ready?

Spokesperson:  Not yet.

Question:  [inaudible] I wanted to, maybe, this goes back to yesterday’s press conference by the Secretary-General.  I was, I’m still trying to understand, I sort of recited the, this, the critique of the ICG.  And he seemed to say, I totally reject it.  That…

Spokesperson:  No, I think, Matthew, that’s wrong.  What he was rejecting was the catalogue of allegations that you listed that were not in the ICG report.

Question:  There was only one that was additional.  So that’s the one that he… he was only rejecting that one?

Spokesperson:  Go through the list and maybe you will see what I mean.

Question:  But I want to, I am going to ask you about that allegation, because I want to know what he rejects about it.  Philip Alston has said that a number of LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] leaders who were, came out to surrender after having spoken with Vijay Nambiar, the Chief of Staff, were in fact — he believes, Alston believes — summarily executed by the Sri Lankan Government.  So the question is, and it’s a question that Alston himself has raised, at least in the corridors, what was Chief of Staff Vijay Nambiar’s role in encouraging them to come out?  No, I don’t know what the role was, but it seems like it’s a fair question to say should there be an investigation to find out whether the Chief of Staff either, you know, God forbid, knew they would be killed or had reason to not tell them to come out if in fact they were killed.  So, what’s he rejecting about that, I guess, that’s the factual question?  And what’s the answer?  What did Vijay Nambiar know when he told them to come out?

Spokesperson:  The Chef de Cabinet { Mr. Vijay Nambiar from India }has talked about this publicly and made clear that this was, that he had no direct contact with the people who were being asked to surrender.  He had no direct contact with them.  He spoke to the Sri Lankan leaders and was conveying a message that was relayed to him not by someone from the Tamil community.  I will be able to give you the exact ins and outs if you need it, but he has spoken publicly about it.

Correspondent:  [inaudible] I really try to cover it very closely.  I’m not, I’m not…

Spokesperson:  Yes, yes he has.  He did so quite recently in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Question:  Can we get, I guess…?

Spokesperson:  Well, you can ask Al Jazeera.

Question:  Maybe, get, I mean…?

Spokesperson:  Have a look at what he said on Al Jazeera.  That’s probably not a bad idea.

Correspondent:  Actually, Al Jazeera is no longer shown in the UN.  It used to be on UNTV, but that’s not…

Spokesperson:  Now look, let’s not go down this road.

Correspondent:  No, I understand, but…

Spokesperson:  Do you know at the moment I can’t see any TV channels at the moment, Matthew?  In my office I can’t see any TV channels because of the technical work that’s going on in the building.  There are difficulties.  So we don’t need to go down that route.

Question:  Can I get a transcript of what he said?  I am assuming that the UN kept a transcript?

Spokesperson:  Just watch Al Jazeera, okay?  You can ask them, I’m sure they can help you.

Spokesperson:  Other questions?  No?  Okay.  All right, we have our guests waiting for us.  Thank you very much.

* ***

=============================

So what we just witnessed was that one investigative reporter (Matthew Lee) wanted to know about steps the UN has taken in Sudan and Sri Lanka.

In the case of Sudan the UN sent two high officials to participate at the reinauguration of President Bashir who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court of war crimes. It seems that if needed the UN has to deal with Bashir, on a de facto basis – but by going to his party – this is nothing less then an acceptance de jure of his stolen election and a slap at the judges of the ICC.

In the case of Sri Lanka, the question is if the Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was involved in delivering rebels to be executed by the government. If you do not ask these questions you will never know that it is difficult to get straigt answers – and only one journalist at the UN bothers looking for answers – seemingly most others are Press-Release mincers while doing that work in their UN cubicles.

A second active person clearly came there to look for loopholes to attack Israel. That is clearly his right but it reflects on the UN.

A third active Journalist was there because he gathers information on how to better Africa. This is Laudatory.

The Fourth Journalist, the lady from Canada, Catherine Mercier, was gratifying to us – she actually tried to find out if the UN is serious about its professed intent of appearing green – and the truth is indeed very far from the UN stated goals. In all these last, nearly 20 years since the Rio Conference of 1992, and the call for an Agenda 21,  the UN has done in its own buildings absolutely zero.

===========================

Further, in 2006 the UN used to show these Noon Briefings to the Press on Manhattan Chanel 78 on New York TV. That used to be an inducement to get into the Briefing room many more journalists. Mid – 2007 this was discontinued and when I asked about it from journalists and DPI members no-body knew of any other venue. Now, in this tour, I learned from the lady that spoke on UN Media Resources that the UNTV is being seen in Manhattan on Chanel # 150 on Time Warner Cable and it includes the Noon Briefings.

With this knowledge I followed up by watching the programs on this Thursday May 27th, and Friday May 28th. I was curious to follow up and see who, and how many of the Journalists show up and are active at Question time.

So, for Thursday May 27, 2010:

- There was a journalist from the Republic of Korea who had many questions relating to the Korea situation. He was told that the Secretary-General said that he expects the Security Council to take action to which there was an expression of wonder about the idea of a UNSG telling the Security Council what to do.

- Masood Haider was asking on the situation in Gaza at the time that in Istanbul there is an attempt to restart the proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The answer was that any action that can increase tension while the proximity talks wer started have to be watched very carefully.

- Masood was joined by a correspondent from Lebanon who wanted to know about Israeli actions in Lebanon.

- Matthew Lee implied that the UN must have safeguards to guard it from itself as per a complaint from a member of the Somali delegation who complained about UN spending funds in Mogadishu. Same goes for the EU.

Matthew Lee had specific questions regarding a Sierra Leone UN paid person who declared he will run for elections in Sierra Leone while on UN pay. Thw answer was tat such a thing is clearly not right. The question was specific but the answer was generic.

Matthew continued with questions about the Security Council discussing the renaming of the mission to Congo – what are the priorities? He was answered that on Friday he will have a chance to ask the question from the guest.

- Matthew continue with questions about payments to a UN official in Congo who is under scrutiny.

We had thus again just 4 people – Masood and Matthew and two new participants. One that was seemingly on the Masood team, and a new face interested in Korea.

————–

For Friday May 28, 2010:

Today there were only questions from Masood and Matthew.

The topic for Masood was the Rio meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations under the chairmanship of President Lula, and with the Participation of UNSG Ban Ki-moon. Also about the bombing in Lahore.

Matthew’s questions dealt with the UN in Congo.

Will UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon succeed in shouldering over to Turkey all the World’s problems with Islamic countries? Today’s effort covers Somalia.

UN DAILY NEWS from the UNITED NATIONS NEWS SERVICE.
21 May, 2010 =========================================================================

BAN ARRIVES IN TURKEY TO ATTEND INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT ON SOMALIA

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived today in Turkey to take part in a major international conference in Istanbul on bolstering the fragile peace process in Somalia.

The gathering – co-hosted by the United Nations and the Turkish Government – seeks to help consolidate political stability, security and reconstruction in the conflict-ravaged Horn of Africa nation, which has not had a functioning central government in two decades.

The Horn of Africa nation continues to be plagued by fighting between Government forces and its supporters and Islamist rebels, as well as by drought, poverty, food insecurity and heavy flooding.

It remains the scene of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), some 575,000 refugees and nearly 3 million people dependent on aid, out of a total population of nearly 8 million.

Participants at the international conference, which kicks off tomorrow, will also explore ways to combat rampant piracy off the Somali coast.

The Secretary-General today held talks with President Abdullah Gul, discussing a host of issues, including Somalia, Cyprus, the Middle East and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.

Iran’s nuclear programme was also a subject of their conversation. Tehran holds that the country’s activities are for peaceful purposes, while some nations contend that they are driven by military ambitions. In 2003 it was discovered that Iran had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Last week, Mr. Ban welcomed an initiative by Turkey and Brazil regarding nuclear fuel for an Iranian reactor, underscoring the need for bolstered transparency to help resolve concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Under the agreement brokered by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan of Turkey and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Iran will ship its low-enriched uranium out of the country in exchange for high-enriched uranium for use at a civilian nuclear research site in Tehran, media reports say.

The Secretary-General today commended Mr. Gul for expanding the scope of the country’s foreign policy.

Mr. Ban also held talks with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and the two men then discussed the situation in Somalia at a dinner with President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, during which the Secretary-General underscored the importance of political stability and effective use of aid from the international community.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Ban lauded Turkey’s leadership in world affairs in areas ranging from UN peacekeeping missions to diplomacy.

“Leadership comes naturally to Turkey,” he said in an address to Bogazici University earlier today. “For centuries, you have been a bridge among countries and cultures.”

But he exhorted the nation to take on a stronger global role through its participation in the so-called Group of 20 (G20) industrialized and developing economies and in the Security Council, where Turkey is currently a member.

“Turkey has earned the right to speak out, forcefully, on issues of global importance,” the Secretary-General said. “Let your voice be heard, loud and clear.”

He also spotlighted the country’s efforts to foster tolerance and mutual respect, as well as stand up to extremism and intolerance.

At the initiative of Turkey and Spain, the Alliance of Civilizations was launched by the UN in 2005 to help overcome prejudices between nations, cultures and religions.

“Over the decades, Turkey has built a robust democracy,” Mr. Ban said.

“Like other nations, you do not always agree on the next steps,” he added. “The important thing is that the debate goes on with full respect for democratic principles.”

Paying tribute to the country’s “remarkable strength and vigour,” the Secretary-General said that “the path you have chosen may not always be easy, but it is the right path.”

* * *

UN IDENTIFIES MOST PERSISTENT USERS OF CHILD SOLDIERS IN ARMED CONFLICTS

The United Nations today for the first time named the military forces and rebel groups that are the most persistent violators of children in armed conflicts, identifying groups in Asia, Africa and Latin America which continue to recruit child soldiers and use them to wage war.

The annual report of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict shows that 16 different armies and insurgent groups – in conflicts ranging from the Philippines and Myanmar to Darfur, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Colombia – have recruited or used child soldiers for at least the past five years.

The report also identifies the groups which subjects minors to the most brutal violence, such as killings, maimings, rapes and other sexual assaults.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, warned that “we still live in a world with those who would use children as spies, soldiers, and human shields.

“The shifting nature of conflict has put many children on the front lines. Too often children become collateral damage during military operations. Every year the release of this report should give us pause. Let us remember that we must protect the most innocent and most vulnerable,” she added.

The persistent violators include Abu Sayyaf, the New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), three insurgent groups that are active in the Philippines. Myanmar’s national army, known as Tatmadaw Kyi, and the rebel Karenni Army and Karen National Liberation Army were also identified.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) continue to recruit and use child soldiers in their fight against Government forces and paramilitary groups in the South American country, the report noted.

In the DRC, the report named violators on both sides of the conflict still flaring in the east – the national army (known as the FARDC) and the rebel Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), Nationalist and Integrationalist Front (FNI), the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and various militias that are known as the Mai-Mai.

In Sudan, pro-Government militias in Darfur and the southern-based Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) were included in the list, while Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was also named.

But the report, which has been sent to the Security Council, makes clear that progress has been made with some groups which have recently signed action plans in which they aim to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The MILF, the SPLA and the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist have all signed such plans.

Burundi has been removed from the annexes to the report following UN verification that all children associated with the National Liberation Forces (FNL) have been reunited with their families and that the group has ceased recruitment.

By contrast, some groups have been named for the first time as recruiting or using children in armed conflict. These include the Afghan National Police, the rebel Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Somalia’s Hizbul Islam militia.

Somalia’s Al-Shabaab, an Islamist rebel force, and the TFG both stand accused of killing and maiming children in the Horn of Africa country.

Several groups involved in fighting in the eastern DRC were named as being responsible for rapes and other forms of sexual violence against children. They are the FARDC, LRA, FDLR, the Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri district (FRPI), the FNI and the Mai-Mai.

The report lists several recommendations to the Security Council for consideration, including more vigorous measures against those groups and individuals

——–
DO NOT FORCE REFUGEES BACK TO STRIFE-TORN SOMALIA, UN URGES GOVERNMENTS.

The United Nations today again appealed to governments worldwide not to forcibly return refugees to Somalia, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and some 2 million displaced by years of fighting, as the situation deteriorates even further in the Horn of Africa country.

“Today, we are appealing to all States to uphold their international obligations with regard to non-refoulement,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva, citing the principle in international law on protecting people from being returned to places where their lives or freedoms could be in danger.

“In recent months there have been incidents of returns . . . These have included a further reported deportation, of over 100 Somalis from Saudi Arabia to Mogadishu [Somalia’s capital] in mid May,” said, noting that inconsistencies in the way that countries deal with people fleeing Somalia were allowing returns to happen and putting lives at risk.

Today’s appeal came as a major international conference on Somalia got under way in Istanbul, Turkey. The three-day event is being co-hosted by the UN and the Turkish Government in a bid to consolidate political stability, security and reconstruction in the Horn of Africa country, where the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is embroiled in a raging conflict with Islamist militants.

UNHCR has issued repeated warnings over recent months and on 11 May issued guidelines aimed at strengthening international protection for people fleeing the country, urging countries facing large numbers of arrivals to grant protection to people from southern and central Somalia on a group basis, and to extend complementary forms of international protection where refugee status is not granted.

Ms. Fleming said “a consistent international approach” is needed to ensure the international protection needs of refugees from Somalia, where the situation has been worsening for some time, with food aid suspended in January by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and fighting reported almost daily in Mogadishu.

By UNHCR estimates some 1.4 million people are displaced internally and more than 570,000 are refugees in neighbouring and other countries. People being returned risk being sent into a war zone and can therefore be in considerable danger.

The principle of no forced return, or non-refoulement, is a central element of international refugee law and UNHCR believes no refugee or asylum-seeker in any country should ever be refouled.

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MIGIRO URGES AFRICA TO FORGE AHEAD WITH PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE, HUMAN RIGHTS.

Africa must keep pressing ahead with promoting good governance, respect for human rights and empowering its own people as it seeks to enhance continental integration, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today.

It is “clearly understood that Africa’s future is first and foremost for Africans themselves to decide,” she told a conference in Bologna, Italy.

Ms. Migiro welcomed a raft of measures the continent has taken, including the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU) and the body’s clear commitment to upholding basic human rights and democracy, among others.

She lauded the “new and emerging African architecture of institutions,” such as the AU Peace and Security Council and AU peacekeeping efforts in Somalia and the joint AU-United Nations peacekeeping operation in the war-wracked Sudanese region of Darfur.

Africa, the Deputy Secretary-General said, has also demonstrated its ability to tackle its own challenges through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), an agreed vision for economic and social development adopted by African leaders in 2001, as well as through the African Peer Review Mechanism System, “a home-grown African effort to consolidate good governance and the rule of law at national and international levels.”

She noted that many African nations have undertaken “bold and courageous efforts” to create a better future for their people, with these steps bearing fruit in the form of economic growth, reaching 5 per cent annually for several years until the onset of the global recession.

“African countries themselves have been the first to acknowledge that in an era of globalization… their individual efforts will accomplish only limited results unless African countries come together to achieve regional integration and exploit economies of scale,” the official said.

Recognizing the complexities involved in bringing together dozens of independent nations, the continent has taken a gradual approach towards integration, starting with enhanced collaboration among regional economic commissions.

Ultimately, she said, an African Economic Community will emerge from these efforts. “This is Africa’s own vision and we welcome and support it.”

Ms. Migiro acknowledged that there are many roadblocks in this quest, “but African leaders are well aware that the ultimate goal of regional integration offers the best opportunity for Africa and its people to fulfil their potential, harness the continent’s vast human and natural wealth, and become a full partner in the global community.”

She pointed out that today’s Bologna gathering comes as 17 African nations celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence this year and “at a time when Africa both needs our assistance but is also poised to surprise us with its own accomplishments.”

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And From Inner City Press on Somalia and the UN: http://www.innercitypress.com/los9somalia052210.html

On Somalia, UN Ban’s Ould Abdallah “Takes All the Money,” Bumbles in Politics.

UNITED NATIONS, May 22 — At the conference on Somalia in Istanbul, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon read out an unequivocal call for funding and support for that country’s Transitional Federal Government, whose control over a few square blocks of Mogadishu is only maintained by Ugandan and Burundian troops shooting wildly including into civilian areas.

What Ban did not mention was even the Somali Parliament’s opposition to UN Special Representative Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, who most recently bumbled by issuing loud support to a move by Somali’s president which was nearly immediately reversed as illegal.

The UN often says it will not comment on internal legal matters of sovereign states. But Ould Abdallah is allowed by Ban to do whatever he wants, including having called for a moratorium on media reporting of the killing of civilians by the Ugandan and Burundian troops.

Inner City Press has been told by sources in the meeting that when the TFG contingent met with Ban last week, they complained about how Ould Abdallah is taking all the funding, leaving them with nothing.

He gets $25 million, they said, while they get less than a million dollars. Ban said he’d never heard of this. Perhaps this explains his Turkey call for more funding to the TFG?

UN’s Ban and Ould Abdallah, Somali complaints not shown or acted on

At the UN’s May 18 noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban’s spokesman Martin Nesirky:

Inner City Press: Yesterday there was a statement put out about the UN – let me see how to put it — backing the President of Somalia’s sacking of the Prime Minister of Somalia. It was put out in your Office that the UN supported the move by the President to fire the Prime Minister. Now the Prime Minister is saying that that was illegal under the Somali Constitution and that the President had no right to do it. What I am wondering is [Ahmedou] Ould-Abdallah essentially taking sides in an internal dispute of Somalia, is it something he did based on legal advice from OLA [Office of Legal Affairs]? Was it his reading — apparently it was — that this was a legal move by the President? And what does the UN say now that many in Somalia dispute the right of the President to make that move?

Spokesperson: First of all, Mr. Ould-Abdallah is well briefed — it’s his area of expertise. As you know, he was here and spoke to you last week. He will be present at the conference in Istanbul on Somalia this coming weekend, and I am sure at the latest at that meeting there will be a chance to discuss this particular matter. I do not have any further comments to add to what we have from yesterday.

Inner City Press: In the briefing that he gave with Mr. Pascoe, there was this question of 300 parliamentarians saying that Ould-Abdallah should in fact — that the UN should look into his actions there and should fire him — that is what they called for. He was the one that responded, and he said that was just a website. I mean, it’s Associated Press which does have a website. But I wondered, I’d wished Mr. Pascoe — and I guess I am asking you now on behalf of the Secretariat — what is the Secretariat’s response to a host country — 300 parliamentarians of a host country — saying that the SRSG should not be in the job? What is the procedure? I mean, I know that Mr. Pascoe said he is well seasoned or whatever he said, but what is, we often hear that the UN can only do things with the consent of a host country and a host Government, so what is the response to a complaint of the host Government in this case?

Spokesperson: As far as I know, there is a difference between the Government and Parliament in a country.

Inner City Press: Could it just be the President? As long as President Sharif… I mean, I am just wondering.

Spokesperson: I think you know how Parliaments and Governments work. There is a distinction between the two. But what is more important here is that Mr. Ould-Abdallah is the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and, therefore, clearly is there doing that job, not in Somalia itself as you know, posted in Somalia, but covering that topic because the Secretary-General wants him to.

But then, the President’s move was reversed as illegal. The BBC cites experts that it undermine the credibility not only of the president but also of the UN. Inner City Press sought comment from Ban’s Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson, but none has been received.

Rather, just before Ban and his Spokesman Martin Nesirky headed to Istanbul on May 20, Inner City Press asked:

Inner City Press: Just one more on Somalia since you’re going to Turkey… Yemen…

Spokesperson Nesirky: Yeah, I am just about to run.

Inner City Press: Absolutely. Yemen has announced the death penalty against six Somali pirates. Given, you know, the role of the UN and of OLA [Office of Legal Affairs] and Patricia O’Brien and sort of suggesting to Member States how pirates should be addressed, what does the UN, does the UN Secretariat, OLA or Secretary-General, what do they think of these death sentences recently announced in Yemen?

Spokesperson: Well, there are two points. You are quite right that this is a topic — not the specific case, but the question of piracy — this is a topic that is clearly part of the agenda at this conference on Somalia in Istanbul on Saturday. The second point is, as you well know, the United Nations speaks out quite clearly on the use of the death penalty, namely that it should not be used.

Inner City Press: So, this is the speaking out clearly about these death sentences?

Spokesperson: I beg your pardon?

Inner City Press: I mean, is this the speaking out clearly about these particular death sentences?

Spokesperson: The use of the death penalty anywhere is something that the United Nations would not be in favour of. I am going to hand over now to Mr. Adlerstein with apologies for being slightly late. And also Marie, very kindly, is going to moderate. Okay, thanks very much.

Then neither Nesirky or Marie Okabe answered for two days this question:

“Now that the President of Somalia has reversed his firing of the Prime Minister after being advised it was illegal, and with the BBC reporting “Analysts say the row has severely weakened the president’s credibility, and the UN’s, which had backed him” (see below) – I want to reiterate my question from Tuesday, now on deadline:

was ‘Ould-Abdallah essentially taking sides in an internal dispute of Somalia, is it something he did based on legal advice from OLA [Office of Legal Affairs]? Was it his reading — apparently it was — that this was a legal move by the President? And what does the UN say now’?”

If and when an answer is provided to this question, we will publish it. Watch this site.

On Somalia, UN’s Ould Abdullah Dismisses 300 MPs as Web Sites, Hasn’t Read Report

UNITED NATIONS, May 12 — The UN’s envoy on Somalia Ahmedou Ould Abdullah, fresh from being denounced and asked to resign by over 300 members of the Somali parliament, dismissed the criticism on Wednesday as being the product of web sites. “I don’t consult web sites, except yours from time to time,” he told Inner City Press.

He went on to say that the AP report of 300 MPs was “based on a letter not signed.” He did not respond to the rejection of the Norway-funded deal he unilaterally made with Kenya, about Somalis’ rights to their shelf continential shelf. As to the criticism that rather than mediating he has taken sides in the Somali conflict, he said “yes I take sides.. for peace, stability, legality, human rights.” Video here, from Minute 21:33.

But he has in fact defended violations of human rights by Ugandan and Burundian troops in Mogadishu, who have fired into civilian areas trying to “drain the sea” to get at Islamist rebels. Ould Abdullah earlier called for a moratorium on the reporting of the killing of civilians by AU peacekeepers. Now he says reports by human rights groups are overblown.

Ould Abdullah on May 12, all critics are mere web sites

Speaking of reports, UK Deputy Permanent Representative Philip Parham told the Security Council on Wednesday that he would “like to register our disappointment that the Secretary-General’s report was issued less than 24 hours before this meeting.”

Ould Abdullah claimed that he had only read the first draft of his report, trying to explain why in person he was more dismissive of claims of aid diversion than the report was. What exactly is Ould Abdullah doing? He is a man of action. He does not read UN reports, he does not read web sites (except this one, from time to time). He is not based in Mogadishu but rather Nairobi, Kenya. Soon he will be in Turkey beating the drum for donations. But does he have support in Somalia? Apparently not. What is the UN going to do about this? Watch this site.

The different levels of demeaning a woman in the Islamic world:

Burqa is a most complete body-cover – the covering of the eyes may or may not be also required.

Hijab is a legal term in Islamic law – “curtain” or “cover” that covers everything except face and hands in public.

Niqab is just a veil – least offensive.

Khimar is a headscarf or veil as mentioned in the Quran. This is the way women should cover themselves as per the Quran.

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From the UN information of May 12, 2010 that does not mention that Turkey is now leading the OIC and as such is trying to replace the ineffective Arab League.

To us, we long argued that Turkey is much better positioned as leader of its neighboring Islamic World then in its futile attempt of chasing after acceptance to the unintegrated Europe, we see in the following material proof that Turkey may finally be finding its correct location on the globe.

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SOMALIA: UN LOOKS TO ISTANBUL FORUM AS KEY STEP TO AID WAR-TORN NATION

On the eve of a major global conference on Somalia, the top United Nations envoy in the war-torn nation urged the world community to provide the needed resources on the military, political and humanitarian fronts now to prevent an even worse scenario from arising.

“If we do not make the right commitments and take the right action in Somalia now, the situation will, sooner or later, force us to act and at a much higher price,” Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told the Security Council.

Speaking on the same day that the UN refugee agency called for stepped-up funding to help the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting in what he called a “horrendous” humanitarian situation, Mr. Ould-Abdallah praised next week’s conference in Istanbul as “an exceptional opportunity to show that Somalia has true friends ready to make a difference…

“This conference is first and foremost a show of political solidarity with the Somali people who have suffered so much and been taken hostage by various groups and individuals,” the envoy said, referring to the gathering to be convened by the Turkish Government and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 22 May.

“It is also a sign of hope sent to Somalis that they are not alone. In addition to addressing security issues and global threats including piracy, the conference will also provide a platform for the Somali private sector, international business and Governments to launch new initiatives for reconstruction and job creation.”

Despite suggestions that it is either too early or too late for such a high level meeting, “we should all recognize that, after years of anarchy, there will never be a right time in Somalia. We have to act, and to act now,” he added of a country that has had no central government and has been torn by factional conflict for nearly two decades.

The top UN political official also stressed the importance of the Istanbul meeting today. “We would not at any time, of course, underestimate the difficulties and the fragility of Somalia but we do believe that progress has been and can be built upon,” Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe told a news conference.

He cited the survival of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) against numerous attacks, its first steps towards developing its own police and security forces, and the interest it has aroused in the Somali business community and in bringing back investment to the country.

“This effort has to succeed but is clearly going to require determined, sustained efforts by both the Somalis and the international community to make it happen,” he said. “This is where the Istanbul conference fits in. It will give an opportunity to look at how far we’ve come and what still needs to be done. It should help us increase international awareness of what’s at stake in Somalia and increase international commitment to help in a coordinated way.

“It should also help focus the attention of the Somalis themselves, including the TFG, on where they need to step up their efforts.”

On the military front, Mr. Ould-Abdallah called for a big increase in and help for the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which now numbers less than 7,000 troops, as it carries out its task of protecting the TFG institutions and assisting the needy in the face of violent attacks from Islamic militants. At the same time, the international community should provide equipment and salaries for the TFG’s own nascent forces.

In the political field, he urged the TFG to show unity and a common purpose, calling on the international community to fulfil its commitments, especially by disbursing pledged resources. He noted that the TFG had succeeded in reaching out to other groups committed to peace, signing an accord with Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa, a key religious and resistance movement, which could provide a blueprint for future agreements.

“I would like to reiterate that the door of peace is open to all Somalis wishing to end the agony of their country,” stressed Mr. Ould-Abdallah, who serves as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS).

On the humanitarian front, where the situation “remains horrendous” despite the laudable work of the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other agencies, he called for full cooperation between Governments, development agencies, business associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), urging the agencies to again show a physical presence in the violence-shattered land.

“If we want to make a decisive difference, there is no alternative to moving the international community to Mogadishu to be closer to the victims,” he stressed. “The remote control from Nairobi (capital of neighbouring Kenya) is not leading to progress.”

Once this close collaboration is established, it can lead to a major move away from past practices of managing the status quo. “In that context, the Istanbul conference comes at the right time,” Mr. Ould-Abdallah declared. “It shows the Somalis and their leaders that there are personalities, countries and organizations that are genuinely ready and committed to working with them for peace and stability.”

In Geneva today, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) launched two supplementary appeals totalling $60 million for the nearly 2 million Somalis displaced both inside and outside their country, bringing its total budget for 2010 for Somalia and its four neighbouring countries – Kenya, Yemen, Ethiopia and Djibouti – to nearly $425 million.

“The displacement crisis is worsening with the deterioration of the situation inside Somalia and we need to prepare fast for new and possibly large-scale displacement,” Deputy High Commissioner Alexander Aleinikoff said. “We need to be ready.”