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Youth Education and Employment key to Progress in Africa

 30 June 2011 –

The United Nations today urged African countries to empower the continent’s youth through schooling and jobs, stressing that the foundation for peace and development lay in giving young people opportunities to build better lives for themselves.

“If we are to bring lasting peace and sustainable development to the continent, we must empower Africa’s youth,” Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told heads of State at the annual African Union (AU) summit, which is being held in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, and whose theme is youth empowerment for sustainable development.

She pointed out that 35 per cent of Africa’s total population is between the ages of 15 and 35, the phase in people’s lives when they lay foundations for their future, build careers and plan families.

“For too many young adults in Africa, this is a time of dashed hopes, frustration, and political, economic and social exclusion,” said Ms. Migiro. “But there is a way for African nations to defuse the youth time bomb – by empowering youth and reaping the benefits. You have recognized this yourselves – by choosing the theme of this meeting and by prioritizing youth development in your development agenda,” she added.

She said that the United Nations will continue to work closely with Africa’s leaders to maintain and strengthen peace by supporting the efforts of the African people to realize their right to choose their own leaders.

“Countries that prioritize democratic principles generally fare better in avoiding armed conflict, promoting stable and equitable development, and building socially inclusive societies,” Ms. Migiro.

“The young men and women of Africa need to know that their dreams can and will be achieved – not through violence and crime, but through the ballot box and the decent jobs that will come from thriving economies,” she added.

She pointed out that the continent has over the past decade undergone a period of rapid economic growth, a stark contrast to the stagnation and reversals of previous years.

Attractive investment opportunities are expanding beyond the minerals and energy sectors, and a middle class is also emerging in several countries, although extreme poverty, hunger and inequality remain a major concern.

“For Africa, this is, in many ways, an era of opportunity. Our job is to ensure that it is an era of opportunity for all,” she said.

Ms. Migiro reminded the African heads of State that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the coming into force of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The protocols prohibit the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched a global campaign to promote the universal ratification of the protocols, Ms. Migiro said, but only 18 AU Member States are parties. “I call on all 53 AU Members to become parties and implement them fully,” she said.

On Sudan, Ms. Migiro noted that despite the recent outbreaks of violence in Southern Kordofan and Abyei, the upcoming independence of Southern Sudan was another milestone for Africa, and for the continent’s partnership with the UN.

“The United Nations will remain committed to supporting South Sudan’s peaceful development and to good neighbourly relations between north and south,” she said

She also reiterated that the UN remains committed to the search for a political solution to the ongoing crisis in Libya.

“There should be no doubt about our aims. The objective – and the obligation – of the international community is to protect civilians and to work for a durable peace that meets the legitimate aspirations of Libyan people,” she added.

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In Africa, UN Chief Spotlights Progress in Improving Women’s and Children’s Health

 25 May 2011 –Visiting with health workers in Ethiopia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today spotlighted the progress made in improving the health of women and children, while also stressing the need to do more to avoid needless deaths.

“We have seen so many women and children dying needlessly from preventable diseases,” Mr. Ban told reporters at the Ambo Mesk health post in Bahir Dar, in Ethiopia’s northern state of Amhara.

“Training good health workers [and] training good midwives can save a lot of women’s and also children’s lives.”

The Horn of Africa nation knows all too well the challenges associated with ensuring maternal and child health. Every 25 minutes, another Ethiopian woman dies from complications related to child birth. Most are in rural areas, far from any clinic.

At the health post, Mr. Ban met with the staff providing essential services to communities previously living without ready access to such care.

He also visited a larger health centre, a few kilometres away, which supports the health post by providing it with supplies and on-the-job training. There he spoke with doctors and nurses about their work, as well as with some patients.

“I hope that the Government will try to expend these posts, clinics and centres and also hospitals,” said the Secretary-General.

At a major UN development summit in New York last September, participants adopted the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, committing $40 billion in resources to a global effort to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015.

The Strategy identifies the finance and policy changes needed, along with vital interventions to help improve health and save lives. It is expected to prevent, between 2011 and 2015, the deaths of more than 15 million children under five, as well as 33 million unwanted pregnancies and the deaths of 740,000 women from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth.

Mr. Ban commended Ethiopia on its commitment to improve maternal and child health, including its goal of quadrupling the number of midwives. The country is a good example of how a little investment can go a long way in saving many lives, he added.

The UN chief is now in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where he is attending an Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on the State of Peace and Security in Africa.

On the sidelines of that meeting, he met with the Vice President of South Africa, the President of Equatorial Guinea, the President of Senegal and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

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UN Cites Urgent Need to Boost Humanitarian Aid in Aftermath of Ivorian Crisis

27 April 2011 –The post-electoral crisis in Côte d’Ivoire may have ended but thousands of civilians are still suffering from the consequences of the four months of turmoil that engulfed the West African nation and require increased humanitarian assistance, the United Nations said today.

UN aid officials have estimated that up to 1 million Ivorians have been displaced by the violence, with some internally displaced and others forced to flee into neighbouring countries – particularly Liberia, which is hosting 135,000 Ivorians.

The crisis ended earlier this month when Laurent Gbagbo finally surrendered, ending months of violence that erupted in the wake of his refusal to step down after he lost the UN-certified presidential run-off election last November to Alassane Ouattara.

While the fighting has ended, UN relief officials say ongoing insecurity in some places, as well as difficulties in accessing essential health, education and sanitation services, is increasing the vulnerability of the population.

“A greater proportion of the population has been directly or indirectly affected by the crisis which started late last year. These populations should be assisted without further delay to enable them to live in acceptable conditions and regain their dignity,” said the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Côte d’Ivoire, Ndolamb Ngokwey.

The UN has already deployed an evaluation team, known as UNDAC, to Abidjan and the country’s west, both of which bore the brunt of the recent violence. In the west, the team confirmed persistent needs in the areas of shelter, food security, health care, water and sanitation, access to education and protection.

The priority needs in the area include the distribution of tarpaulins, kitchen utensils, mats and other non-food items, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In addition, the presence of arms and the risk of sexual abuse require urgent attention.

In the area of health, OCHA noted that despite the looting of health centres, pharmacies and maternities, medical personnel have started to resume work. It also cited the need to accelerate vaccination programmes for children, as well as rehabilitate water pumps and promote basic hygiene practices.

In the commercial capital of Abidjan, assessment teams have highlighted the need to assist the Government in the areas of civilian protection, health, education and public hygiene, including lightening the burden put on overstretched referral hospitals due to an absence of operational dispensaries and community health facilities.

“With the impending rainy season, clearing of drainage and cleaning of conduits, markets and other public places would be necessary to prevents epidemics of diseases such as cholera,” stated Laurent Dufour, UNDAC’s Team Leader in Côte d’Ivoire.

Earlier this month, UN agencies and their partners launched an appeal for $160 million to provide food security, nutrition, education, protection, water, health care and sanitation to as many as 2 million people throughout Côte d’Ivoire. To date, the appeal is 20 per cent funded, according to OCHA.

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Preventing Genocide Only Real Way to Honour Rwandan Victims – Ban

7 April 2011 –The only way to truly honour the memory of the more than 800,000 people who perished in Rwanda 17 years ago is to ensure that such tragedies never occur again, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, as the United Nations observed the annual day of remembrance of the victims of the genocide.

“Preventing genocide is a collective and individual responsibility,” Mr. Ban said in a message for the day, which is observed every year on 7 April. “Rwanda’s survivors have made us confront the ugly reality of a preventable tragedy.”

More than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutus were murdered in the tiny African nation, mostly by machete, during a period of less than 100 days beginning in April 1994.

The Secretary-General noted that the recognition of the collective failure of the international community to come to the assistance of the people of Rwanda, and to shield the victims of the wars in the Balkans, led to the endorsement by the 2005 World Summit of the responsibility to protect.

Recent measures by the Security Council in response to the crisis in Libya, in particular the adoption of Resolutions 1970 and 1973, mark a significant step along this path, he added.

In addition, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international courts are sending a “strong signal” that the world will not tolerate impunity for gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

“My Special Advisers on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect monitor developments worldwide looking for early signs of risk. We must remain ever vigilant.”

Mr. Ban paid special tribute to the people and Government of Rwanda for the resilience and dignity they have shown in working towards national recovery and managing the trauma of the genocide.

This year’s commemoration includes a memorial ceremony to be held at UN Headquarters in New York this evening that will honour the victims, as well as the survivors, and emphasize ways in which education can help reconciliation. It will feature musical performances as well as testimony from Immaculée Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide.

In addition, a student conference will be held on Friday focusing on genocide prevention and feature Francis Deng, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and Clemantine Wamariya, genocide survivor and student at Yale University.

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New Energy-efficient UN Offices in Kenya Serve as Model for Sustainable Future – Ban

31 March 2011 –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today officially opened the new energy-efficient United Nations office complex in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, calling it a model for environmentally sustainable architecture in Africa and beyond.

“This building is beautiful, comfortable and efficient. But more than any of that, this building is a living model of our sustainable future,” Mr. Ban said at the opening of the facility at Gigiri, which houses the new offices of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

According to UNEP, buildings are responsible for more than one third of global energy use and are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in most countries. The Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that emissions from buildings will rise to 11.1 billion tons by 2020.

The manufacture of building materials contributes a further 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, a figure that is increasing with the continuing rise in construction globally, most of it in developing countries.

“If our growing population is going to survive on this planet, we need smart designs that maximize resources, minimize waste and serve people and communities,” said Mr. Ban. “This facility hits all of these targets.”

From the 6,000 square metres of shimmering solar panels to the environmentally-friendly paint on the walls, the new UN offices – which comprise four buildings that can accommodate 1,200 staff – boast myriad environmental features, while capitalizing on the natural benefits of Nairobi’s climate.

The features of the energy-neutral complex include automated low-energy lighting for workspaces, energy-efficient computers and water-saving lavatories. Rainwater is collected from the roofs to feed the fountains and ponds at the four entrances, and sewage is treated in a state-of-the-art aeration system and recycled to irrigate the landscaped compound.

“This facility embodies the new, green economy I have championed for years now. An economy that can usher in a cleaner future, create jobs and spur economic growth,” said Mr. Ban, who was joined at the inauguration ceremony by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner and UN-HABITAT Executive Director Joan Clos, as well as other UN officials and dignitaries.

Calling the facility a “model for green architecture in Africa and beyond,” Mr. Ban said he hoped all UN offices will reach the very high bar set by those in Nairobi.

He added that the Organization is aiming to make its Headquarters complex in New York, which is currently undergoing major renovations after 60 years of existence, one of the cleanest, greenest buildings in the world.

While in Nairobi, Mr. Ban also held separate meetings with Mr. Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He also had a range of meetings with senior UN officials either based in Nairobi or visiting for the Chief Executives Board (CEB) gathering. That meeting, held twice a year, brings together the heads of the specialized agencies, funds and programmes in the UN system.

Also today, he launched his report on HIV/AIDS ahead of the high-level meeting on the topic at the General Assembly in June.

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Resource-rich Africa Well Placed to Transition to ‘Green Economy’ – UN official

Windmills along the coast of Tunisia, (picture-alliance/dpa)

28 March 2011 –Africa is well poised to take advantage of a host of opportunities on the continent for building a ‘green economy,’ one that generates decent jobs in an environmentally sustainable way, a senior United Nations official said today.

“This continent is in many ways the envy of the 21st century world,” Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), told African ministers of finance, planning and economic development gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“Africa is rich in the kinds of natural resources that in many parts of the world have been over-exploited and diminished by centuries of unsustainable development,” he stated.

This includes not just precious and semi-precious metals, but also nature-based resources such as forests and biodiversity, which support tourism and could also underpin inventions and pharmaceutical breakthroughs.

At the same time, many parts of the continent are rich in so-called natural fuels such as wind, solar and geothermal.

“The fundamental question,” said Mr. Steiner, “is how will all this potential be harvested for the benefit of Africa’s citizens and in a way that promotes stability in Africa and beyond.”

He noted that the green economy is not a substitute for sustainable development, but a way of realizing it. “It is as relevant to developing economies and it is to developed ones; it is as central to more state-led economies as it is to more market-led ones. It is not a straitjacket, nor is it prescriptive.”

In February UNEP released a report outlining how investing 2 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 10 sectors can catalyze the transition to a green economy.

It also provided a global compilation of case studies from across the globe, including Africa, where forward-looking policies by governments are “watering the green shoots” of the global green economy.

One example is South Africa, whose Green Economy Plan focuses on investments that create more decent jobs, and where nearly $1 billion is being spent on railways, energy-efficient buildings, and water and waste management.

He also highlighted Kenya’s new green energy policy, including a feed-in tariff and 15-year power purchase agreement, which is catalyzing an initial target of 500 megawatts of energy from geothermal, wind and sugar wastes systems.

Later this week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Kenya’s main geothermal sites, located north-west of Nairobi, to learn first-hand how these developments have been achieved, as well as how they are set to generate thousands of new jobs in the clean energy sector while reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels.

“The rest of the world can learn from Africa, but Africa can also learn from other continents,” said Mr. Steiner.

He added that the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development, set to be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 – 20 years after the Earth Summit of 1992, could prove to be one of the most transformative moments in international affairs.

“In 1992, we could only perhaps glimpse the scale some of the challenges emerging on the radar from climate change and the loss of healthy, productive cropland,” he noted.

“But in the world of the here and now, many of those challenges have become all too real. There is an urgency to swiftly and decisively evolve the sustainable development agenda onto a far more focused and far reaching level.”

He said that the question now emerging is not whether a green economy is desirable but how to realize a green economy in practical terms.

“Rio+20 offers an opportunity to accelerate and scale-up transitions, already under way across this region and indeed across the world in order to catalyze growth and employment opportunities for around nine billion people by 2050,” he stated. “But in a way that also maintains and enhances the regional and global planetary services that underpin wealth generation in the first place.

“Africa’s experience on what has worked and what has not worked over the past two decades offers an invaluable foundation upon which a transformational outcome next year can be built.”

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Speedy, Decisive International Action to Protect Civilians in Libya is Cital – UN Chief

24 March 2011 –A week after the Security Council authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya from Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi’s forces, speedy and decisive action by the world community remains crucial amid serious concerns of human rights abuses, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

“The international community has acted together to avert a potential larger-scale crisis. I expect the international community to continue to exercise full diligence in avoiding civilian casualties and collateral damage,” he told the 15-member body in a briefing requested by the resolution at the start of consultations on the air and missile strikes launched by several countries to enforce a no-fly zone and hit pro-Qadhafi forces besieging civilians in cities.

“Given the critical situation on the ground, it is imperative that we continue to act with speed and decision. The resolution places great responsibilities on the UN system. I assure you that we will work closely with Member States and regional organizations to coordinate a common, effective and timely response,” he said, citing the resolutions goal of stopping “the brutal campaign of violence by the Libyan regime against its own people.”

Mr. Ban stressed that although the Libyan authorities have repeatedly claimed to have instituted a ceasefire, there has been no evidence that that is the case.

“To the contrary, fierce battles have continued in or around the cities of Ajdabiya, Misratah and Zitan, among others. In short, there is no evidence that Libyan authorities have taken steps to carry out their obligations under Resolutions 1970 or 1973,” he said, referring to last week’s resolution and an earlier one calling for a ceasefire and full protection of civilians.

“We continue to have serious concerns… about the protection of civilians, abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, and the access of civilian populations to basic commodities and services in areas currently under siege.”

He detailed the recent visit to the North African country by Special Envoy for Libya Abdel Elah Al Khatib. In Tripoli, the capital, Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa told Mr. Khatib the Government had been forced to act by perceived threats from Al-Qaida and Islamist terrorists, adding that it offered amnesty to rebels who laid down their arms and rebel forces should also be required to abide by any ceasefire.

In Tobruk, eastern Libya, Mr. Khatib met with the armed opposition, who reiterated their call for a ceasefire and lifting the siege Government forces on some cities in rebel hands. “They also expressed deep concern about the hardships inflicted on the Libyan people and demanded an end to the use of tanks and heavy weaponry targeting civilians,” Mr. Ban said.

Yesterday Mr. Ban discussed with African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping cooperation between the UN and the regional organization on Libya, and tomorrow, Mr. Khatib will go to Addis Ababa for an AU meeting which representatives of both the Libyan Government and the opposition will attend in a bid to reach a ceasefire and political solution.

“My Special Envoy’s mission [to Libya] was too brief to reach definitive conclusions about the human rights situation, but they found many worrying signs, including threats and incitement against the armed opposition,” Mr. Ban said.

“Colonel Qadhafi’s threats were aired repeatedly on national television. Journalists continue to be arrested. Foreign reporters in Tripoli told the UN mission about the population’s general state of fear, tight control by the security services, and instances of arrest and disappearances.”

He noted that some 336,000 people have left or fled Libya since the beginning of the crisis, which began five weeks ago as mass protests by civilians seeking an end to Mr. Qadhafi’s 41-year rule, and there are also contingency plans to deal with possible new waves of migrants and refugees of up to 200,000 to 250,000. Meanwhile, the $160 million flash appeal to deal with the exodus and other aspects of the crisis is 63 per cent funded.

Mr. Ban, who was speaking to the Council on his return from a visit to Egypt and Tunisia, where largely peaceful mass protests led to the ousters of entrenched leaders in those countries before the eruption of violence in Libya, said that he was setting up an expert panel, as requested by the resolution, to monitor implementation of sanctions, which include an arms embargo and assets freeze on Libyan Government officials.

As also requested by the resolution, he noted that so far the United Kingdom, France, United States, Denmark, Canada, Italy, Qatar, Belgium, Norway, Spain and the United Arab Emirates have sent letters confirming their participation in the actions to protect Libyan civilians. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has also informed him of its decision to begin an alliance operation in support of the arms embargo.

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UN to Send Aid to Eastern Libya Amid Reports of Hardship and Attacks on Civilians

22 March 2011 –United Nations agencies prepared today to rush aid into eastern Libya as rebels told a senior UN envoy on the ground there that cities and towns were under siege and civilians being targeted by the tanks and heavy weaponry of Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi’s forces.

“Providing humanitarian assistance under current circumstances is very challenging,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva, announcing that the agency will send truckloads of aid tomorrow, including 5,000 blankets and 5,000 sleeping mats, to Benghazi, the eastern city that is the rebels’ main base, where people are camped out in schools, universities and with families.

“There are reported shortages of medical supplies and basic commodities in the eastern part of the country, with prices having increased dramatically,” he said.

The aid will go in on a convoy organized by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), which plans to move 19 tons of lentils and 11 tons of vegetable oil in the next two days from Egypt into eastern Libya.

The agency, which has already moved more than 1,500 tons of food into eastern Libya and pre-positioned more than 6,000 tons more in emergency supplies, has airlifted to Egypt six prefabricated warehouses, six mobile offices and other supplies that will be pre-positioned on the Libyan border as part of contingency planning for establishing logistics hubs inside Libya.

Yesterday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Libya, Abdel Elah Al Khatib, held his first meeting with rebel leaders in the eastern city of Tobruk as part of a mission that took him to Tripoli for talks with Government officials last week.

“They described the various aspects of the situation and pointed out sufferings and hardships endured by some Libyan cities and towns,” he said. “They reiterated their demand for lifting sieges imposed by Libyan Government forces on those cities and for a quick ceasefire there.”

They wanted to see an end to the use of tanks and heavy weaponry and to the targeting of civilians by Government forces, he added.

Mr. Khatib met with the chairman of the Libyan Transitional National Council Mustafa Abdel Jalil and other members, discussing with them last week’s Security Council resolution, which set up a no-fly zone over the North African country, authorized Member States to take “all necessary measures” for the protection for civilians, and called for an immediate ceasefire.

He reiterated Mr. Ban’s and the Council’s call for a solution to the crisis that responds to the legitimate demands of the Libyan people. Mr. Ban has said Mr. Qadhafi lost his legitimacy when he declared war on his people.

Some 325,000 people have fled the violence in Libya, most of them non-Libyan migrants crossing over to Tunisia and Egypt since what started as peaceful civilian protests demanding Mr. Qadhafi’s ouster erupted last month. Only about 40,000 are Libyan nationals.

Libyans at the Egyptian border have told UNHCR they fear reprisal attacks by pro-Government supporters in eastern parts of the country. People are afraid to go out after 4 p.m., some have seen their homes completely destroyed, and mobile phone networks have not been working since Thursday, fuelling fears and generating greater uncertainty, Mr. Colville said.

On the Tunisian border UNHCR staff report hearing distant gunfire inside Libya and Libyan pro-Government supporters yesterday staged a show of support at the frontier. New arrivals continue to report facing intimidation and harassment at border checkpoints between Tripoli and the Ras Adjir crossing, with a group of Sudanese men telling UNHCR yesterday that they had all their money and possessions taken. But others say they could leave with little or no interference.

Significant progress has been made with repatriating third-country nationals from the Egyptian border and by the end of yesterday only around 1,700 remained, Mr. Colville said. Efforts to repatriate people from the Shousha camp on the Tunisian border, current home to some 4,700 people, continue.

UNHCR and the inter-governmental International Organization for Migration (IOM) have run some 265 flights to repatriate more than 58,000 people from Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria since the start of March.

WFP is expanding its food safety net programmes in Egypt and Tunisia to assist hundreds of thousands of people in communities hard hit by the loss of remittances previously sent home by migrant workers.

In Egypt it is making local purchases of 1,280 tons of rice, vegetable oil, and fortified date bars for distribution in the southern governorates of Assiut and Sohag, enough to feed 90,000 people for one month. In Tunisia, it is purchasing food locally for 280,000 people whose families have been affected by the turmol.

UN News Service

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