Brussels / October 2006 No. 3

United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe

Magazine

www.unric.org

DSG, Mark Malloch Brown in Brussels ….……….…….…... 2 Partnership: UNRIC - ‘Friends of Europe’ … 3 European Development Days …. 4 UNRIC Activities ……………… 6 UN Day in Western Europe …... 8 Fact Sheet on Darfur ………….. 9 Public Private Partnerships …… 10 Going back in time ……………. 11 UN Staff College …………...…. 12 Cartooning for Peace ………… 13 Human Rights Council ………... 15 Violence against Women ..……. 15 Stand-Up against poverty …….. 17 Report launches ……………… 18

CONTENTS

Jan Pronk, the chief United Nations envoy to Sudan left Khartoum on October 23d after the Sudanese government or-dered him out for writing in his web blog that its forces had suffered two major defeats in fighting in the Darfur region.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan re-quested Mr. Pronk to re-turn to New York for consultations after the country's Government officially requested his withdrawal. The action against Mr.

Pronk was apparently provoked by an entry he made in his blog that said the Sudanes armed forces had suffered two major defeats against rebels in Darfur in the past six weeks. He also reported that generals had been fired and the government had

collaborated with the so called Janjaweed Arab militias, which are held responsible for pillaging villages and killing and raping their residents. The Sudanese armed forces cited the blog entry in calling Mr. Pronk a threat to national security and asking that he be expelled. The order issued for Pronk to leave was the second serious incident involving the United Nations and Sudan in three months.

Sudan Expels UN’s Special Representative

"It's a typical Oriental style.. he is soft-spoken, but inside he has a strong view and strong motiva-tion. He's an iron fist in a velvet glove". Yoon Young Kwan, Ban's predecessor as South Ko-rean Foreign Minister.

Quote of the Month

Applauding in acclamation, the United Nations General Assem-bly appointed at its meeting 13 October Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon of the Republic of Korea as the world body’s next Secretary-General, to succeed Kofi Annan when he steps down

on 31 December. Smiling, waving and nodding to the members of the 192-nation body, the man who will become the world’s top diplomat for five years on 1 January, was escorted by the UN Chief of Protocol through the Assembly central aisle to the podium. Addressing the assembled

delegates, the Secretary-General-designate, who will be the UN’s eighth chief and the second from Asia, pledged to carry out re-forms, building on Mr. Annan’s legacy.

Ban Ki-moon to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General

(for more)

(for more ) >

Violence against children: “Sparing the rod makes good sense”

(for more) >

When people hear the phrase ‘violence against children’, they think first of all of the kinds of violence that hit the headlines: school shoot-ings, mass killings in war-time, little girls sexually abused and dumped in ditches, little boys beaten to death by bullies often no older than their victim. These horror stories stick in our minds and leave us with feelings of dread. They should not be forgot-ten because they are real and we need to make sure they are not re-peated. But the apparently small, repeated, daily acts of violence that punctuate children’s lives are also incredibly damaging to them. They undermine children’s health and development. Children testify to the hurt – not only physical, but ‘the hurt inside’ – that such violence causes them. It is made worse by the fact that adults so often seem to accept it, even approve of it, as though it is some-how part of ‘being a child’. Corporal punishment of children by their parents is perhaps the best example. Many people defend hitting their children on a number of grounds: they argue that it does no harm and often say they were beaten themselves and survived. The fact that someone survives a beating is hardly a justification for allowing it to continue. In fact research shows dramatically that many children die as a result of the beatings they re-ceive at the hands of parents – the very people entrusted with their protection – and that many, many more are harmed both physically and psychologically. This despite the fact that there are proven, non-violent ways to teach a child and to discipline children when they do something that adults know is wrong.

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro

UNDP photo SUDAN

UN Photo 126441 UN Photo/Eskinder

Interview with Dora Bakoyannis, Minister of Foreign Affairs Greece go to interview

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Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown addresses UN reform in speeches to two major think tanks in Brussels

UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown arrived in Brussels 2nd October for a two day visit in which he addressed two pres-tigious Brussels based think tanks on his vision of a “21st century United Nations” as well as meetings with senior European and Belgian leaders. On October 2nd the DSG addressed “Friends of Europe”, the prominent Brussels-based think-tank for EU policy analysis and debate. Mr Malloch Brown was guest speaker at the “Friends of Europe”´s Breakfast Policy Spot-light speaking on the subject: “UN Reform- Ongoing Process or Distant Dream?” He stressed that a much-needed shake-up of the UN would remain a distant dream until it could combine reform of its management and governance structures. He outlined the pro-gress that had been made to date: "When it comes to reform, I would say we have cov-ered the first mile, but this will be a mara-thon." In a well attended press conference at the of-fices of the United Nations Regional Informa-tion Centre (UNRIC) in Brussels Mr Malloch Brown stressed that “Multilateralism (was) back due to the overwhelming range of prob-lems affecting the international community and the exhaustion of the role of the US as the only partner on the scene”, adding in a separate ex-clusive interview with Italian Corriere della Sera that the pattern of a UN- European Union partnership was emerging in this new context, “reflecting the increasing role that Europe is playing within the various UN fora.”

Later the DSG met EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn, a selected group of Belgian Senators and UN heads of Agencies before giving a speech at Belgian Royal Insti-tute of International Relations - "Building a 21st Century United Nations." Mr Malloch Brown argued that for the last fif-teen years not only the UN, but also the Euro-

pean Commission and NATO had been “in a profound crisis of legitimacy, mandate and purpose.” As for the UN the DSG saw lack of reform of the Security Council as one of the roots of the crises pointing out that countries such as India, Brazil, Germany, Italy or “a sin-gle African State” did not have a permanent seat in the Council. He said that it was not as much a question of leaving out big important Powers, as “about leaving out voices that are critical to solving the kinds of problems around the world”: “It is very hard, for example, to deal with the problem of the Sudan and Darfur,

unless all those with oil companies in the Sudan are part of a common diplomatic front to press the Khartoum Government to accept UN de-ployment”, Mr Malloch Brown told the Belgian Royal Institute. “And, it is simply impossible for the traditional western Powers to solve the problem of North Korea without the full in-volvement of China, certainly, but also other Asian regional powers as well”. The DSG added that the UN was “held down by its 1945 roots” and nothing symbolized that better than the management and institutional arrangements of today’s United Nations. “ The United Nations of 60 years ago -- even the United Nations of 10 years ago -- was a rather stable, static Secretariat, which largely wrote reports and organized conferences”, Mr Mal-loch Brown said, “but it bears little relation-ship to the exploding new business of opera-tions in some of the world’s most difficult neighborhoods that consumes us today. “The next Secretary-General”, he said “will have to do much more in the area of management re-

form, and I sincerely hope that he or she will be given the space to do it.” On October 3rd the Deputy Secretary-General met Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and For-eign Minister, Mr. Karel De Gucht as well as EU Commissioners Siim Kallas and Peter Man-delson and addressed, the Development Com-mittee of the European Parliament on topics that included the new Peace Building Commis-sion, the Millennium Development Goals and Darfur.

Struck by the way political cartoonists in the Arab world portray Israelis and how their Israeli counter parts draw the Arabs, the French cartoonists Plantu went to New York to ask Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s support for a UN seminar on the responsi-bility of political cartoonists. A few weeks later, the violent response in the Muslim world to the Danish cartoons of Prophet Mohammad sadly proved the

urgent need for such an initiative. Months of hard work and much good will from our partners out side the UN and our colleagues within the Organization was well rewarded on Monday October 16th when thirteen celebrated political cartoonists from the four corners of the world came to the UN Head Quarters in New York to participate in the first edition of a whole day animated conference called “Cartooning for Peace”. The conference was opened by the Secretary-General Kofi Annan and moderated by Under Secre-tary-General Shashi Tharoor. It was thrilling to hear the cartoonists speak with passion and convic-tion, and above all humor, and even more exciting to see them illustrate

their words with their work. The cartoons of twenty-two other cartoonists were presented in an ex-hibit inaugurated the same day at the visitor’s lobby. At the end of the two day trip to the UN Head Quarters, the cartoonists and the UN’s partners in Cartooning for Peace-Emory University’s Halle Institute and the municipality of the French village of St. Just-le-Martel, left New York convinced that this was to be the first of many more conferences of Cartoonists for Peace around the world.

Plantu’s initiative has inspired other Friends of the United Nations. We have since been approached by fash-ion Designers who want to know what Designers can do for peace?

E D I T O R I A L - By Afsane Bassir-Pour

UN Reform: The first mile in a marathon

Political Cartoonists recognize their responsibilities… and assume them

Jean Plantu, addresses a press conference on "Cartooning for Peace: The Responsibility of Political Cartoonists?

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In a partnership agreement, UNRIC and the Brussels based Think-Tank “Friends of Europe” co-host a series of high level de-bates on some of the “Problems without Borders” or other priority issues on the UN agenda. The first of these events was held on

October 2nd on the topic of UN reform with the Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch-Brown. The topic of the second event was International Migration with UN’s Special Representative Peter Sutherland and the Deputy President of the European Com-mission Mr. Franco Frattini.

The next joint event, on October 6th, at the “Friends of Europe” is called History of the UN told by its Secretaries-General with guest of honour Javier Perez de Cuellar. Future events will address Human Rights, Global Health, Public-Private partnerships.

Partnership: UNRIC - “Friends of Europe”

In August, Sudan rejected a U.N. Security Council motion that proposed replacing the understaffed and under-equipped African Union force in Darfur with a much bigger U.N. peacekeeping operation. Kofi Annan asked members of the Security Council in a special session on Darfur on September 11th to try to convince Khar-toum to allow UN peacekeeping in Darfur. He urged the international community to live up to its promise at the World Summit last year to protect civilians in trouble and immediately press the Sudanese Government to accept United Nations peacekeepers. “It is time to act. Not only in Darfur, but by people around the world, this is seen as a crucial test of the Council’s authority and effectiveness, its solidar-ity with people in need, and its seri-ousness in the quest for peace,” he said. Sudan reiterated its opposition to planned UN peacekeeping force in Darfur when Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir told the General Assembly on September 19 that Khartoum refused “all forms of dic-tates” about Darfur. Al-Bashir criticized the 31 August Security Council Resolution, when it voted to deploy more than 17,000 blue helmets to replace the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). The under-equipped and under-manned AMIS was due to end its mission on 30 Sep-tember but the AU Peace and Security Council 20 September extended its mandate until 31 December. Subsequently Sudan ac-cepted a UN support package. Meanwhile fighting continued in Darfur where as many as 400,000 people have been

killed and another 3 million people displaced since 2003. On October 5th , more than three weeks later after his dire warnings to the Security Council, Mr. Annan warned in his report to the council that Darfur had reached a critical stage, with humanitarian groups at risk of withdrawing or drastically reducing their operations unless security conditions improved rapidly.

On October 3d the United Nations human rights office called on the Sudanese Govern-ment to order an independent inquiry into recent “massive” attacks by Arab tribesmen in Darfur that may have killed hundreds of civilians from “African” tribes in an assault apparently conducted “with the knowledge and material support” of Government au-thorities. At the same time, a host of other UN agen-cies condemned a “massive upsurge” of rape and violence against women and children. Extreme violence has been a feature of the Darfur conflict since it erupted in 2003 be-tween the Government, allied militia and rebels seeking greater economic benefits. But in the past months attacks on women

and girls, both within and outside camps for the displaced, have soared, the agencies stressed. Meanwhile, the UN´s humanitarian arm re-ported that an estimated 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region en-joyed greater access to aid workers during September. Unfortunately the number of attacks and security incidents there also jumped in the same month.

Sudan Humanitarian Overview, re-leased on October 12th by the Of-fice for the Coordination of Humani-tarian Affairs (OCHA), reported an increase in attacks on aid workers’ vehicles, from hijackings and am-bushes to acts of looting. “The atmosphere of fear and insecu-rity” inside IDP camps is also deep-ening, the overview said, with armed men at many sites – especially in the evenings when there is no interna-tional presence – and several assaults

reported. Despite some progress, Darfur´s IDPs re-main in desperate need of protection and assistance, “Faced with a situation like Dar-fur, the role of organizations such as ours is severely constrained,” UN High Commis-sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres told the opening session of the week-long annual meeting of the agency’s governing Executive Committee in Geneva on October 2nd.. Facing what he called a “moment of truth,” Mr Guterres called for fully expanding its mission from assisting those displaced from their countries to also helping the tens of millions uprooted within their own home-lands.

Continuation: Sudan Expels UN’s Special Representative

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The launch of the first edition of European Development Days (http://www.eudevdays.eu) will take place in Brussels on 13 November 2006, and events will continue throughout the week. This initiative sym-bolizes the European development community's determination to take action on two pressing matters: enhancing public awareness about de-velopment cooperation issues, and strengthening the effectiveness of EU development assistance in view of the implementation of the Millen-nium Development Goals. The event is to be annual and will be part of the follow-up to the new European Consensus on Development, which emphasized the common values, principles and commitments of the European Union in favour of poverty eradication. In light of this agenda, the European Development Days shall work in an inclusive and participatory manner towards shar-ing our perspectives about key issues of international cooperation. This year, a positive message about “Africa on the move” shall be advo-cated, comprising two core clusters (i) a “wider public” cluster, aiming at increasing public awareness on development cooperation throughout the organization of various events, mainly cultural and entertaining in nature, such as the African Art Exhibition and the African Cinema Festival amongst others;

and (ii) a “specialists” cluster, whereby European development profes-sionals would be given an opportunity to meet, exchange and reflect on a key issue of development cooperation, namely: governance – in all its various aspects, whether political, social, economic or other. The added value of the EU Development Days is threefold: First, the Union’s visibility on development issues will be enhanced through a high-profile conference which will also bring to the fore a certain “European way.” This will be based on a participatory process, bringing together NGOs, academics, project-based operatives, European and non-European officials. Second, the European Development Days shall become an essential vehicle and faire-valoir for Europe’s prospective capacity. On a non-committing basis, the aim is to provide an opportu-nity for collective introspection and brainstorming to explore emerging challenges and to discuss new trends and issues that will need to be addressed. Third, the cohesion of European development professionals will be enhanced. The aim is to become “the place to be”, where one can meet and contact European counterpart organisations, as well as get an update on “who does what, where and how”. This will thus be an opportunity for horizontal networking, which would contribute to facili-tating the implementation of European goals in the field of enhanced aid effectiveness.

“My tenure will be marked by ceaseless efforts to build bridges and close divides. Leadership of harmony not division, division not instruc-tion, has served me well so far. I intend to stay the course as Secretary-General,” he said. Mr. Ban referred to his own reputation of modest demeanour. “Asia is also a region

where modesty is a virtue. But the modesty is about demeanour, not about vision and goals. It does not mean the lack of commitment or leadership. Rather it is quiet determination in action to get things done without so much fanfare,” he declared. Mr. Ban, who is no stranger to the world body,

promised an open administration and pledged to work closely with all Member States and with the media. Earlier in his diplomatic career he served in his country’s mission to the UN and in 2001 was Chef de Cabinet to then Gen-eral Assembly President Han Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea.

Continuation: Ban Ki-moon to succeed Kofi Annan as UN Secretary-General

Biography - The New Secretary-General designate

Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General designate is Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea since January 2004. Born June 13 1944, Minister Ban graduated from Seoul National University in 1970 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1985, he earned a master’s de-gree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Rising through the ranks in the Foreign Ministry, he has represented his nation for more than three decades around the world. From 1990 to 1992, he served as Director-General of American Affairs and then spent three years at the Korean embassy in Washington. In

1995, he became Deputy Minister for Policy Planning. He was appointed National Security Advisor to the President in 1996. He became Vice Minister in 2000. His most recent assignment was as Foreign Policy Advisor to the President. Minister Ban has nurtured longstanding ties with the United Nations, dating back to 1975 during his days as a staff member of the UN Division at Seoul office. The work expanded over the years with assignments as 1st Secretary at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Republic of Korea in New York, Director of the UN Division in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to Vienna. Mr Ban served as the Chef de Cabinet to the President of the 56th General Assembly which opened on 12 September 2001. Minister Ban is married to Yoo Soon-taek. They have one son and two daughters.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Mrs. Nane Annan (left) pictured at a dinner hosted in Mr. Annan's honour by Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and Mrs. Ban Yoo Soon Taek.

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In September, Greece com-pleted its second presidency of the UN Security Council. What, would you say, were the highlights? It was a great honor to chair the Security Council. Greece was guided by the principles of her foreign pol-icy: commitment to peace, respect for international law, democracy and human rights, the eradication of hunger and poverty, and strengthen-ing international cooperation among the peoples of the world. The goal of Greece as a non-permanent mem-ber of the Security Council is to retain a permanently open channel of communication with all parties involved in disputes and crises, to allow differences to be bridged and mutually acceptable solutions to emerge. That said, a presidency’s priorities are mostly set by the agenda of the day. Both our 2005 and 2006 presidencies focused on Africa and the Middle East. One of the key issues this past September was the Middle East and specifically the quest for peace in the Palestinian - Israeli conflict, in the wake of last summer’s Lebanese crisis. For the first time in over twenty years a meeting at the ministerial level was held to discuss the problems of the Middle East and the Palestinian issue. It was quite a constructive meeting. In your address to the UN Gen-eral Assembly you said, “We need a powerful and productive UN”, how do you envisage the future of the Organization? The UN is the main forum to pro-mote global multilateral policies. That is why the UN is important, it needs to be powerful and produc-tive. You know, a lot of people are quick to judge and criticize the UN. Why? Because we all expect a great deal of it. We all believe in the UN. We all believe in its ideological back-bone, in its capacity, in its people

and its vision. We are all proud of the exceptional work the UN is doing across the globe. The UN operates in the midst of troubled areas, it’s personnel often risk their lives to relieve suffering, to maintain peace, to resolve conflict, to build security. If it is to remain useful and be-come even more relevant in

the future, the UN must remain vigilant and adaptable. It must con-tinuously reinvent itself. It must do so to better cope with the plethora of challenges it faces and will face in the future. What about problems without borders, how could they be better tackled? By co-operation. History has taught us that co-operation, mutual respect, and common goals are the very foundations for progress, peace, and prosperity. Diversity is the heritage of our world and should be valued, cherished, and nurtured. Division, however, is its nemesis. It is no longer a case of divide et impera – of divide and rule. In order to progress towards the future we all dream of, there must be a spirit of unity. For instance, a micro scale example is that of a region closer to home. The Balkans. We believe that the best way to tackle the region’s issues is through their EU perspective. We believe in having common goals and common visions. This is one of the reasons why we support their EU perspective. The only way forward in today’s interconnected world is through co-operation. We must all work together to combat terrorism, poverty, wars, violence, human traf-ficking. We must help safeguard the environment. We need to focus on sustainable development, on human development, on the poorest of the poor. We need to work towards mutual tolerance and understanding. These are the cornerstones of a peaceful and secure future. The MDGs, and especially the eradication of poverty, is a ma-jor issue on the UN agenda. How does Greece contribute to the achievement of the Goals? It is important that the Millennium Goals be achieved within the time-frame set by the heads of state and

government in the 2000 and 2005 sessions. The Goal of reaching 0.7% in development assistance to those countries which face severe eco-nomic difficulties is key for us. We are committed to this Goal. We finance development co-operation programmes, and we are extremely active in humanitarian assistance. As an indication, last May, Greece signed a memorandum of co-operation with the UN’s World Food Programme. Greek donations, until September 2006, amounted to 1.84 million euros including funding for several crucial but less publicized WFP programs in Guinea-Bissau and Malawi as well as food assistance to the people of Lebanon. Indeed, pov-erty reduction remains our over-arching goal. Are you optimistic about the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the im-plementation of resolution 1701 on Lebanon? The Middle East faces political issues which require political solutions. These political solutions must be formulated and reached through diplomacy. As a country, we con-stantly strive for the peaceful resolu-tion of crises. This is why we called for an immediate ceasefire in the Lebanese crisis. We acted swiftly, decisively, and effectively to provide the safe passage of many Greek and non-Greek nationals from Lebanon. Greece was also present in terms of humanitarian assistance. Moreover, in co-operation with our partners, Greece greatly contributed in pre-paring the Security Council Resolu-tion which put an end to active warfare. Our country is an impor-tant player in the region, a valuable friend who has a deep knowledge of the neighborhood and the wisdom of a long historical presence in the region. It is ready to face challenges in our wider region, ready to help solve crises and ready to engage in dialogue. It is important that Resolution 1701 be implemented fully. Now, 1701 is the result of long and arduous nego-tiations and, hence, it is imperfect. It is a compromise and we understand that. Nonetheless, it is a significant and extremely vital step towards sustainable peace. The Resolution sets the groundwork for a political solution to an extremely complex issue. It also provides the framework

for a political process with a con-crete set of goals, benchmarks, and timeframes. The Middle East region must find peace. Its problems must be solved. There must be a swift reconstruc-tion of Lebanon and the Siniora government must be strengthened. The captured Israeli solders must be safely returned to their homes and families. The Palestinian issue must, finally, be resolved. President Abbas must be supported and strength-ened. More moderate governments must be supported in the region. Terror and despair must be replaced by peace and prosperity. How do you evaluate the Kofi Annan decade? What would you like to wish the next SG? Secretary-General Annan had a very difficult task at hand. It is not easy to head an organization such as the United Nations and to respond to the daily challenges with consistency and unnerving commitment. I think that Kofi Annan did this, and that he can be proud of his time as Secre-tary-General. He maintained the prestige and the moral authority of the UN. Moreover, he has ap-proached matters with sensitivity, compassion and tolerance. He has demonstrated a commitment to humanity. He has acted responsibly and with sincerity. He has made concrete steps for the advancement of peace and security in the world. To Mr. Ban Ki-moon, our next Secretary-General, I want to extend my warmest wishes. We were firm supporters of his candidacy and we believe he will honour the position. Mr. Ban Ki-moon is a man of great qualities, all extremely useful and valuable to the UN. I know him personally and he is an impressive man. He is an experienced diplomat. He is a uniter. He is a man who builds bridges, a man who builds alliances. I am totally confident that a man as able, as competent and as experienced as Ban Ki-moon, will be an invaluable asset to the UN. I am confident that he will make an excel-lent Secretary- General. My best wish for him is that when the time comes for him to step down he will look back proudly. I hope that he will see that he took important steps towards making our world a safer, more prosperous, more humane, and more environmentally-friendly place to live.

Interview with Dora Bakoyannis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece By Dimitrios Fatouros

“The UN must remain vigilant and adaptable, it must continuously reinvent itself”

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Belgium

15 November: EU Development Days. Deputy-Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown in Brussels for the launching of the first edition of the European Development Days. 1 November: UN Grand Award: UNRIC Director to present the UN Grand Award for outstanding achievement in public rela-tions. The Award was established in 1990 to recognise excellence in public relations campaigns that address priority issues be-fore the UN; it is jointly sponsored by the Department of Public Information and the International Public Relations Association. Location & Time: Waldorf Hotel, Strand, London; 7.30pm.

Denmark

26 October : A debate on the UN, poverty and development in the perspective of 2015 held in Medborgerhuset Blågården, Blågårds plads 3, Copenhagen, Denmark. 189 heads of states and govern-ments adopted in the year 2000 the UN Millennium Declaration. The Danish UNA invites to a debate on the questions: Are the Millennium goals attainable? how far have we gone? What resources are needed to fulfill the goals before 2015?, What is the role of the Millennium goals in Danish development Aid. Christine Drud of UNDP, Denmark will lead the debate but other participiants are Anni Herfort Ander-sen,Executive Director of the Danish UNA, Kristian Pihl Lorentzen, member of the Danish parliament´s Foreign affairs committee Rune Lund, UN-spokesman of the Unitiy list.

France

24 October: “Diplomats in the making” meet at UNESCO: 200 hundred GCSE students participate in a simulation exer-cise « grandeur nature » on international diplomatic negotiation at Paris-based UNESCO. These young “diplomats”, from the Collège Jean-Jaurès in Levallois Perret and the Lycée espagnol Luis Buňuel in

Neuilly-sur-Seine, have the five following current topics on their discussion agenda: the issue of child-soldiers; freedom of the press in conflict zones; drug trafficking and economic accountability/transparency; promoting education to combat HIV/AIDS; and promoting women’s independ-ence (objective of Millennium Develop-ment Goals - MDGs). Surrounded by Sciences Po Association for the UN students, the students are divided into distinct groups to represent countries concerned by the aforementioned issues; the goal of this exercise being to initiate and sensitize youngsters to the process of international negotiations, which includes the elaboration of national positions and defending national interests, coalition-building, and finally coming up with a proposition and voting the resolution. This grandeur nature simulation, co-organized by UNRIC, is the result of ongoing peda-gogical work carried out by teachers from these schools all year long as well as by students of the Sciences Po Association for the UN. For more information: www.unric.org/MUN_France.html

Greece

24 October (non-related to UN Day): The State of the World Population 2006 report presented in Athens by the Interna-tional Organizations’ Watch. Location: Athens Bar Association; Time: 12:00 25 October: A Conference on the Future of International Organizations to be held in Athens by the University of Indianapolis and the Greek United Nations Association Location: Indianapolis University Cultural Centre; Time: 5pm From 30 October to 2 November: The first-ever Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to take place in Athens. More than a thousand participants from different back-grounds – government, private sector, civil society, academia and Internet community – to hold interactive discussions on a wide array of issues related to Internet govern-ance. These discussions to be organized around eight main sessions which will fo-cus on the Internet’s openness, security, diversity and access. Location: Divani Apollon Hotel

Germany

20 October: UN Talks: In cooperation with the City of Bonn and the German UNESCO Commission, UNRIC hosts the annual “UN Talks”. This year, the talks will focus on the UN Decade “Education for Sustainable Development”. This year’s guest speaker will be Alpha Omar Konaré, Chairperson of the Commission of the Af-rican Union and former President of the Republic of Mali. Several hundred guests are to attend the event.

France

16 October 2006: Cartooning for Peace organized an exhibition in New York. The event was initiated by Le Monde’s cartoonist Plantu.

Belgium

12 October: Global challenges, global responses? Migration and development – Peter Sutherland, UN Special representa-tive on International Migration and Devel-opment, presented the outcome of the Sep-tember 2005 UN High-level dialogue on Migration and Development at a policy briefing hosted by the Brussels-based European Policy Center think-tank. 12 October: Migration: Time for a Global Conversation – Speaking at the State of Europe within the context of a global migration debate organized by the think-tank “Friends of Europe” in con-junction with UNRIC, UN special envoy for migration Peter Sutherland, outlined the positive effects of migration.

Activities

Upcoming Events …. Past Events ….

Panel from ‘Cartooning for Peace’ selection in St. Just le Martel Show

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Afsané BASSIR-POUR Director

Jan FISCHER

Deputy Director and Desk Officer for UK and Ireland

Jean-Pierre BUGADA

Desk Officer for France and Monaco

Jean-Luc ONCKELINX Desk Officer for EU and Benelux

Arne MOLFENTER

Desk Officer for Germany

Ana Mafalda TELLO Desk Officer for Portugal

Carlos JIMENEZ

Desk Officer for Spain and Andorra

Dimitrios FATOUROS Desk Officer for Greece and Cyprus

Arni SNAEVARR

Desk Officer for the Nordic Countries

Fabio GRAZIOSI Desk Officer for Italy, Malta, San Marino

and the Holy See

Lothar MIKULLA Junior Professional Officer for Germany

Marie-Noëlle MADEBÈNE-BASTERRA

Junior Professional Officer for France

Daniela SALVATI UNICRI Information Officer and UNRIC

liaison in Italy

Karen DAVIES Research Assistant

Dorothee REINKE Reference Assistant

Geneviève ROUSEREZ

Library Assistant

Nenad VASIC Webmaster

Philippe CHABOT

ICT Co-ordinator

Jorge VARAS-MARDONES IT Assistant

Sonsoles MASSA

Administrative Assistant

Chris BEYKO Finance Assistant

Marianne de REE

Administrative Assistant

Corinne HUTSE Secretary

Sonia FIALHO

Secretary

WHO WE ARE AT UNRIC Activities Franco Frattini, European Commission Vice President and Commissioner for Jus-tice, Freedom and Security agreed that the EU needs a comprehensive migration policy.

Italy

5 October 2006: European Depression Day: a series of conferences were organized all over Italy by UNRIC and the European Depression Association. Doctor Vincenzo Costigliola, President of the European Medi-cal Association (EMA) and the General co-coordinator of the project “European De-pression Day” (EDD), together with Italian health associations and medical representa-tives, organized an overall awareness-raising campaign on the existence of the EDD, aimed at the media and general public.

France

21 September 2006: International Day of Peace :‘Poets for Peace’: a poetry reading event to mark the International Day of Peace. Location: UNESCO, Paris.

Migration: a Global Challenge On 12 October, Peter Sutherland, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on migration and development, visited Brussels where he attended two conferences on the global dimension of the phenomenon and the relating aspects and met with European and Belgian high-ranking officials. Introducing himself at the European Policy Cen-tre’s session on “Global challenges, global responses? Mi-gration and Development” as a “facilitator to make the process work”, Sutherland briefed on the positive out-come of last September’s High-Level dialogue that en-dorsed the SG’s proposal of setting up a Global Migration Forum. The Forum, he explained, was not meant to be a decision-making body, but rather an opportunity for dis-

cussion and exchange of good practices among member states, run by governments and sup-ported by the UN. He praised Belgium for its initiative of holding the inaugural session of the Forum in July 2007 in Brussels. Talking afterwards at the think-tank “Friends of Europe” on “Migration: Time for a Global Conversation” jointly with Franco Frattini, Deputy President of the European Commission, Sutherland highlighted the Commission’s backing to foster dialogue on migration and development and stressed Europe’s key role in formulating relevant policies. “Europe is bound to grow into a multicultural society”, he said, adding that “migration is a global topic of our time, which needs to be addressed globally”.

From left to right: Mr. Peter Sutherland, SGSR on Migration and Development and Mr. Franco Frattini Deputy President of the European Commission

Promotion on Paris City boards

Kouyate reading with general view of artists (Jouffroy, Grand Corps Malade, Barrault, Uccinai Bastard

8

Towards the end of the Second World War, in 1945, representative of 50 nations attended the UN Conference on International Organizations in San Francisco, leading to the signing of the UN Charter on June 25, 1945, which came into force in October 24, 1945 and UN Day has since been celebrated on this date. This year the following activities will take place in various capitals of Western Europe: Belgium, on 23 and 24 October, the Flanders UN Association, in cooperation with Flemish Universities and UNRIC, will hold an interna-tional conference on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Belgian UNA “The UN and Africa: A partnership for Progress.” France, l’Association de Soldats de la Paix will pay tribute to UN peacekeepers on Octo-ber 23, at the Arc de Triomphe, Paris. Also to commemorate the Day a UN Model Simula-tion, will be held at UNESCO in Paris, on the 24th of October. This event is organized by the Sciences Po UN Model Association, the French UNA and the Paris National Educa-tion Administration and will involve 200 stu-dents from all over France.

Germany, UNRIC, in cooperation with the city of Bonn and the German UNESCO Com-mission, will host the annual “UN Talks” on the 20th of October. The talks will focus on the UN Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” and will have as guest speaker Alpha Omar Konaré, Chairperson of the Com-mission of the African Union and former President of the Republic of Mali, On the 21st of October a one-day open-air information programme for UN Day will be held in the market place. It will be opened by the Lord Mayor of Bonn, Ms. Bärbel Dieckmann. It is coordinated by UNRIC and the City of Bonn, all Bonn-based United Nations agencies and programmes, the Foreign Ministry, the Minis-try of Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment, the UNA and UNICEF Committee, the Development Service and the Foundation for International Development and other local NGOs and educational institutions. Greece, will mark UN Day with the tradi-tional UN flag-raising ceremony at the Acropolis, and with the laying a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier on October 24, 2006. The same day, an exhibition to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Barcelona Conven-tion will be opened in Athens by Foreign Min-ister Dora Bakoyannis with a welcoming speech by Paul Mifsud, Coordinator of the UN Environment Programme/Mediterranean Ac-tion Plan (UNEP/MAP). A concert by the National Symphony Orches-tra will mark this year’s celebration of the UN Day. The concert is sponsored by the Govern-ment and the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. On the 25th , a conference on the Future of International Organizations, organized by the University of Indianapolis, the Hellenic UN Association and the Interna-tional Organizations Watch will be held. Holland, The day will be celebrated with a series of events ranging from a concert to a movie. The event “Night of the UN” will be held on the 24th of October starting at 6pm.

Italy, the Director of the UN College, Staffan De Mistura, will organize an event in Turin. The President of the Republic, Mr. Napoli-tano, is expected to attend the celebrations, which will include a concert featuring RAI’ s orchestra. To conclude the event, the Turin landmark building “Mole Antonelliana” will be lit up by the President. Portugal, A UN exhibition will be held at the University of Minho, with the sponsorship of UNRIC. The exhibition will display various publications and posters and will be followed by a conference on “UN and International Peace.”

Spain, The Deputy Prime Minister will read a statement on UN Day at the Council of Minis-ter meeting on the 20th of October, and on the 24th there will be a flag raising ceremony at the Casa Asia in Barcelona.

Sweden, 23 October 2006: The UN and good violence, Stockholm´s Concert hall, ( Stockholms Konserthus), 9.30-12.30. Among speakers are Carl Bildt, Sweden´s new Foreign Minister

United Kingdom, On October 24, the UNA-UK Lobby of UK government on UN-related issues by UNA-UK, Action for UN Renewal and a coalition of NGO partners on UN-related issues. UNA London and Southeast Region will launch its UN Travelling Road-show. UNA Norwich & District - United Na-tions Day service will be held at Princes Street United Reformed Church at 7pm. There will be an address by Julia Hausermann, Director of UK Association of Rights & Humanity, on ‘Your Rights - My Responsibility’. UNA Westminster Branch will hold a meeting to discuss UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security at 6.30 pm. The speakers include Joan Ruddock MP and Dr. Shatha Beserani, founder of Iraqi Women for Peace and Democracy Campaign.

UN Day in Western Europe

Permanent UN Headquarters site

Secretary-General Trygve Lie (left) and chief Architect William Harrison (centre) seal the corner stone (UN Photo)

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In the rooms upstairs, bit by bit the world gets smaller, the problems less intangible and the potential solutions closer. Working with so many inspirational and strong characters opens your eyes to what the world has to of-fer. It reinforces your determination to achieve your goals and work for a better future. The world is again your oyster.

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9

Fact Sheet

What does the latest Resolution on the Sudan say? Resolution 1714, adopted unanimously on 6 October 2006, deems that the situation in the Sudan continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security and: - Decides to extend the mandate of UNMIS until 30 April 2007, with the intention to renew it for further periods; - Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council every three months on the implementa-tion of the mandate of UNMIS; - Calls upon the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the Darfur Peace Agreement and the N’djamena Humanitarian Cease-fire Agreement to respect their commitments and imple-ment fully all aspects of the Agreements without delay, and calls upon those parties that have not signed the Darfur Peace Agreement to do so without delay and not to act in any way that would impede implementation of the Agreement; - Decides to remain actively seized of the matter. What is UNMIS? The UN Security Council established the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) with its

unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 1590 on 24 March 2005. UNMIS was initially estab-lished for a period of six months to: - facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and dis-placed persons;

- provide de-mining assistance; and - contribute towards interna-tional efforts to protect and promote human rights in Su-dan. Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, UNMIS is authorized to: - take the necessary action, in the areas of deployment of its forces, - protect United Nations per-sonnel and ensure their secu-rity and freedom of movement, - protect civilians under immi-nent threat of physical violence. The mandate authorizes UN-MIS to have up to 10,000 mili-tary personnel and an appro-priate civilian component, in-cluding up to 715 civilian police personnel. What is the current situa-tion in Darfur, in terms of: (a)…security? - Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in dis-placed-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in

neighboring Chad; and more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival. - The atmosphere of fear and insecurity in the camps for in-ternally displaced people (IDPs) is growing with armed men at many sites – especially in the evenings when there is no in-ternational presence – and several assaults reported. (b)…humanitarian assis-tance? - Humanitarian access deterio-rated between June and July with the number of beneficiar-ies out of reach jumping from 290,000 to 470,000. - Increased insecurity, banditry and fighting increased humani-tarian needs. Some 50,000 peo-ple have been displaced in the last four months. In North Darfur alone, 355,000 people have gone without food aid for two consecutive months. Large parts of Jebel Marra, with an estimated population of more than 100,000, are inaccessible due to militia attacks. - Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur enjoyed greater access to aid workers during September but the num-ber of attacks and security inci-dents there also jumped in the same month. (c)…health and Sanitation? - Government Water, Environ-ment and Sanitation WES and UNICEF conducted several training sessions on hygiene promotion from 15 to 21 Sep-tember, in Mallit town, includ-ing on Acute Watery Diarrea

(AWD) and disinfection of wa-ter sources. 22,700 people took part in the training. - In an attempt to raise level of hygiene and sanitation in As Salaam camp, Oxfam distrib-uted 63,195 pieces of soaps to 25,278 beneficiaries. (d)…education? - UNICEF launched the Go To School (GTS) campaign. More than 1,000 people, including school children, women groups, and local authorities attended the occasion. (e)...food - 3,249 tons of food was dis-patched to locations in both South and West Darfur during the first weeks of October. - A World Food Program secu-rity assessment has declared the road from Nyala to Seise-ban safe, which has enabled some 52 tons of food to be successfully dispatched to serve 3,280 recently displaced benefi-ciaries. - An influx of IDPs has arrived at Otash Camp due to in-creased violence in Buram. On 6 October, World Vision Inter-national (WVI) verified and registered 2,408 new arrivals at Otash Camp and WFP has dis-tributed about 20 tons of emergency food rations for 15 days to cover for the period before the next regular camp distribution.

For more information

http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=88&Body=Sudan&Body1=

08-31 hcr - Darfur

10

The tragedy and magnitude of the 26 December 2004 tsunami disaster touched our common humanity and prompted an out-pouring of help from across the world. An unprecedented amount of support came from the private sector, and Coca-Cola was among many compa-nies that quickly provided assis-tance.

The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), its bottling partners and employees contributed over $20 million, including both finan-cial and in-kind donations, to the tsunami relief and reconstruction partnership efforts. Local com-pany volunteers worked around the clock to help transport bot-tled water and emergency sup-plies to disaster areas. Of the direct cash support from TCCC, over $1 million was contributed to and matched by the United Nations Foundation (UNF). Both the United Nations and TCCC were also keen at making this

more than a cash contribution. As partners, the idea was to support the longer-term recon-struction effort, with a focus on sustainable, community-based water and sanitation activities. In early discussions, for example, the United Nations Develop-ment Programme (UNDP) asked whether Coca-Cola could loan a staff member on a full-time basis to help build and manage new partnership activities. TCCC agreed and that was when my career at Coca-Cola took a new and unusual turn—in November 2005, I began a one-year “loaned executive” assignment at the UNDP Regional Centre in Bang-kok, Thailand. The secondment is something of an experiment for Coca-Cola and UNDP, indicative of how both are looking to be more creative in their approach to public-private partnerships in a way that goes beyond the tradi-tional check-writing mentality. At

the heart of this partnership is an opportunity to support the on-going tsunami recovery efforts, learn more about “partnership for development” and contribute to an issue of particular impor-tance to TCCC, the United Na-tions and the international com-munity, namely water and sanita-tion. The project activities build upon ongoing UN tsunami re-covery efforts and are assisting affected communities in remote areas of Thailand, Sri Lanka, In-donesia and the Maldives. The projects, designed and imple-mented in close collaboration with local authorities and com-munity leaders to ensure local relevance and ownership, sup-port the goal of “building back better”. In Thailand, the project fits into a broader partnership between the Government and UNDP to bolster the recovery of Lanta Island in the southern part of the country. Our activities are

helping tsunami-affected commu-nities like the fishing village of Sanga-U to plan, operate and manage a series of initiatives to alleviate water shortage prob-lems. For example, ten check dams have been built along the Sanga-U village stream to collect and retain rainwater for use in over 100 households. Says local fisherman Young Hantalay: “Normally this stream dries up in the dry season. Now we have some water to spare. It is a big relief!” In Sri Lanka, the UNDP-led project activities are reaching two badly-hit areas of the coun-try: Kattankudi in the east and Kalupe, Hikkaduwa in the south-ern district of Galle. Work in both locations is focused on providing improved access to water and sanitation, as well as building greater community awareness on water, sanitation and hygiene issues.

Public-Private Partnerships: Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction

Buy Peace, not war...it’s cheaper!

"Polemos Pater Panton" - "War is the Father of All Things" said Heraclitus. By no means would I dare to challenge my famous ancestor but I'm certain that if the philosopher of Ionia could know the cost of his “father war” 27 centuries after his death, he would surely call it the “Father of All Expenditures”. Not long ago, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reported that world mili-

tary expenditure in 2005 alone reached an estimated $1.1 trillion (i.e. 2.5 percent of the world Gross Domestic Product). In other words, we each pay a yearly average of $173 for mili-tary expenses. The number of UN peacekeeping operations and missions to pre-vent and stop wars has increased by 400% since the end of the Cold War and this has helped to reduce the number of armed con-flicts worldwide. At this moment in time the United Nations has almost 90,000 personnel serving in peacekeeping missions and since 1945, it has assisted in ne-gotiating more than 170 peace settlements. A study published by the Rand Corporation found that UN peacebuilding operations have a two-thirds success rate and are

highly cost-effective. In fact the world spends 200 times more on arms per year than the United Nations spends on running seven-teen peace operations. Peace-keeping is far cheaper than war. Military expenditure is 200 times higher than the annual spending on UN peacekeeping. The Security Council's has reassured the international com-munity’s confidence in UN peacekeeping by adopting three resolutions that could increase UN peacekeeping levels around the world by 50 percent, raising costs to $8 billion a year and the number of peacekeepers to well over 100,000. The world decided to “buy” more peace by re-enforcing UN peace-keeping partly because UN peacekeeping operations are less expensive than other forms of

international interventions. Ac-cording to a study by Washington D.C.’s Henry Stimson Center, when UN costs per peacekeeper are compared to those of troops deployed by the US, developed states, NATO or regional organi-zations (such as the AU) the UN is by far the least expensive op-tion. UN peacekeeping services are less expensive, often more effi-cient and moreover impartial and legitimate. My sincere apologies to Heracli-tus, but war is the “devastator of all things” as Mr. Georgios Bab-iniotis, President of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, said. Devastator of human beings, political institutions, principals and values. The UN is struggling to curb war. Let’s all do the same. In any case, peace is much cheaper.

By Stuart Hawkins

(for more) >

By Dimitri Fatouros, UNRIC Information Officer for Greece and Cyprus

11

Going back in time ….

The United Nations Charter comes into force Ratified by twenty-nine states

Washington, 25 October (Reuters) – The Organisation of the United Nations started its legal existence yesterday, 24 October at 21h47 (G.M.T.) when US Secretary of State M. James Byrnes signed the protocol for ratification of the UN Charter. Mr Byrnes declared having received the majority of ratifications, including those of the Big Five: the United Kingdom, the United States, Soviet Russia, France and China. The protocol stipulates that the conditions agreed upon for the Charter to come into force have been fulfilled. The Soviet Union, Belarus and the Ukrainian Republics handed in their official ratification documents to the State Department, bringing the number of nations having ratified the Charter to twenty-nine. “Maintaining peace does not depend on one document but on men’s goodwill” During the Ceremony, Mr Byrnes declared that: “The date of 24 October is memorable to all pacific nations. How-ever, as I have often said, maintaining peace does not de-pend on one document but on men’s goodwill. All nations desire peace, but they have to get organised to preserve it and the UN Charter will allow them to reach the sought-after goal. In the coming days, we will do all we can, coop-erating with the other United Nations, to maintain peace and contribute to the well-being of our peoples”.

To the UN’s executive committee London, 24 October (A.F.P) – The UN’s Executive Committee did not finish its works today and will meet again tomorrow morning to examine procedural issues. The Preparatory Commission’s first meeting, to be held in London in the second part of November, is expected to last about two weeks and will decide on the remaining measures before the first General Assembly meeting on 4 December. Whatever the Preparatory Commission’s conclusions, it is understood that the Assembly will remain in control of its agenda and procedure. Big Three negotiations During a press conference, Mr Byrnes answered many questions regarding Soviet Russia. For instance, he said that American’s attempts to overcome the impasse in which the London Foreign Ministers’ conference put them have not yet been successful. Foreign correspondence between the White House, London and Moscow has yielded no results. Russians have not as yet answered the American invitation to join the Far East Consultative Com-mission”. American Secretary of State announced that the Peace Treaty with Italy would soon be published.

Le Soir - 25 October 1945

UN Charter signing ceremony

12

UN Family in Brussels Food and Agriculture

Organization

http://www.fao.org/world/lobr/index_en.htm

ILO International

Labour Organization

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/

brussels/index.htm

IOM International

Organization for Migration

http://www.belgium.iom.int/

UN/DESA UN Department of

Economic and Social Affairs

http://www.un.org/esa/desa/

desaNews/desa56.html

UN/OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination

of Humanitarian Affairs

http://ochaonline.un.org/

UNAIDS - Joint UN Programme on

HIV/AIDS

http://www.unaids.org/en/

UNDP United Nations Office Brussels/

United Nations Devel-opment Programme

http://www.undp.org/french/

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

http://www.unep.ch/roe/

liaison_brussels.htm

UNFPA United Nations

Population Fund Liaison Office

UNODC UN Office on Drugs

and Crime

UN-HABITAT United Nations

Human Settlements Programme

UNHCR

United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees

UNICEF United Nations

Children’s Fund

http://www.unicef.be/

WFP World Food Programme

WHO World Health Organization

WHO - European Observatory on

Health Systems and Policies

WIPO World Intellectual

Property Organization Coordination Office

World Bank – Joint EC/WB Office for South East Europe

UNU-CRIS

United Nations

University Comparative

Regional Integration Studies (College of Europe, Bruges)

The Turin-based UN Staff Col-lege, created in 1996 and inde-pendent UN organization as of 2002, has taken a fresh look at its program activities. As the new Director, Staffan De Mistura

stresses, “less is more”, and thus the College will concentrate on few programs having a stra-tegic impact across the UN system. The College provides learning and training ac-tivities helping UN bodies and staff to: - Develop skills and competencies necessary for work at the inter-agency level; - Provide strategic leadership and management development at the institutional level; - Promote change in the UN system within the context of ongoing UN reform; - Enhance expertise in the areas of learning, training and staff development. It works at inter-agency level to serve multiple organizations without duplicating learning and training activities of other UN entities in 4 ar-eas. Learning Support This is the foundation for all other activities and the raison d’etre of the College. While all agen-cies in the UN system have their own staff de-velopment units, the College has an important niche in capitalizing on its cross-agency role to facilitate inter-agency dialogue and enhance learning throughout the system. The College manages a vibrant community of learning practi-tioners, whose highlight is the annual three-day Forum. The College also is the guardian for the Organisational Learning Framework, which sets the standard for best practice learning through-out the UN. Among the new initiatives: the e-course portal, a repertory of all the growing number of e-learning courses developed by UN agencies; a learning object repository for learn-ing materials developed by one agency which can be recycled to others; team development tools; a consultants data base to help agencies find the best consultant for the myriad of learn-ing and training needs they face. The College hopes that through its research into best prac-tice in learning as well as capitalizing on each agency’s specific wealth, and making these avail-able to all, the standard of learning and training delivery throughout the system will be en-hanced. Leadership Development While most UN organizations deliver their own management training, the College was given the privilege to fill a niche: cross-agency leadership development for the most senior management in the UN system.

UN Staff College: A key tool to strengthen the performance of the

UN system

(for more) >

By: Staffan De Mistura

13

FIFTH SEMINAR IN UNLEARNING INTOLERANCE SERIES

TO FOCUS ON CARTOONING FOR PEACE The fifth seminar in the “Unlearning Intolerance” seminar series of the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), entitled “Cartooning for Peace: The esponsibility of Political Cartoonists?”, was be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 16 October 2006 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., in partnership with Emory Univer-sity’s Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning. The divisiveness engendered at times by cartoons and caricatures dem-onstrates the power and the necessity of responsibility in this art. The choice of this particular topic at this time offers an opportunity for the United Nations to be a forum where difficult but necessary questions are raised and addressed, not only to suggest answers but to spur non-confrontational thought, debate and enquiry. Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the seminar and Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor will introduce and moderate the programme. French car-toonist Jean Plantu, who has worked with Le Monde since 1972, gave give a keynote address. The panel discussion in the morning focused on the question “Should the Cartoonist Educate?”, followed by the afternoon session that will discuss “Should Responsibilities Abridge Rights?”

Invited participants included Baha Boukhari of Palestine, Cintia Bolio-Marquez of Mexico, Jeff Danziger of USA, Liza Donnelly of USA, Car-sten Graabaek of Denmark, Hassan Karimzadeh of Iran, Michel Kichka of Israel, Mike Luckovich of USA, Hussein Moustafa of Egypt, Ranan Lurie of USA, Godfrey Amon Mwampwemba (GADO) of Kenya, Jean Plantu of France, Ann Telnaes of USA and Norio Yamanoi of Japan. The seminar was webcast live at: http://www.un.org/webcast

As part of this seminar, an exhibit mounted in the South Gallery of the Visitor’s Lobby of the United Nations Secretariat showcases 40

cartoons of the participants and others such as Patrick Chappatte of Switzerland, Sue Dewar of Canada, Pierre Kroll of Belgium and Marlene Pohl of Germany. The exhibit, which will travel to Geneva, Brussels and other cities, was conceived Plantu, the Outreach Division of DPI, the United Nations Regional Information Center for Western Europe (UNRIC Brussels) and the ‘Salon international du dessin de presse et d'humour de Saint-Just-le-Martel’, with the support of 'Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning, Emory University', Atlanta (Georgia), and the Ministry of Culture and Communication of France. The “Unlearning Intolerance” seminar series is organized by the Aca-demic Initiative Section of DPI’s Outreach Division to examine differ-ent manifestations of intolerance and explore ways to promote respect and understanding among peoples. It offers opportunities to discuss how intolerance, wherever it exists and for whatever reason, can be “unlearned” through education, inclusion and example. The first semi-nar, “Confronting Anti-Semitism: Education for Tolerance and Under-standing”, was held on 21 June 2004; the second, “Confronting Islamo-phobia: Education for Tolerance and Understanding”, on 7 December 2004; the third, “Fanning the Flame of Tolerance: The Role of the Me-dia”, on 3 May 2005 as part of the World Press Freedom Day com-memoration; and the fourth, “Critical Perspectives in Combating Genocide: What We Can Do to Prevent. What We Can Do During. What We Must Do After” on 21 November 2005. Coverage of these seminars is online at http://www.un.org/chronicle

The seminar was open to academia, educators, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), media representatives and the public who regis-ter in advance.

14

In the first phase of the partner-ship work in Indonesia, The Coca-Cola Foundation Indonesia provided $300,000 in parallel funding to the German Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources to help the Indonesian Government obtain comprehensive hydrogeological data on water resources in the Pidie and Sigli districts of Aceh. This resulted in the first-ever comprehensive mapping of fresh-water supplies in the hard-hit region. Building on these results through a joint UNDP/United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) initiative, the second phase pro-vides safe and regular water sup-ply and sanitation facilities to roughly 7,700 people in six vil-lages in the districts of Pidie and Aceh Besar. In the Maldives, the project, jointly implemented by UNDP, UN-HABITAT and the United Nat ions Chi ldren’s Fund (UNICEF), is providing a sustain-able sanitation system in Dham-bidhoo, one of the first islands in the country outside of the re-sorts and the capital city to pro-vide sustainable sanitation ser-vices for all its residents. Lessons learned are intended to provide the Government and the devel-opment community with a model that can be applied to future island-based environmental sani-tation projects in the Maldives and beyond. The partnership activities be-tween TCCC and the United Nations have involved a lot of “learning by doing”. Here are a few of the initial lessons we have learned together: - In addition to providing support towards immediate disaster relief activities, it is important that resources are invested in helping communities rebuild and re-spond to longer-term needs. In partnering with UNF, TCCC in the immediate aftermath of the disaster was able to allocate funds to be set aside for targeted

rebuilding projects that fit into the overall national recovery plans. - Multi-stakeholder partnerships require lots of time, patience and ongoing efforts to build mutual trust. From the outset, a shared commitment is essential, as is clarity regarding what each part-ner brings to the table. The UNF/TCCC post-tsunami water and sanitation efforts were built on the collective trust formed over many years of partnership activities between the UN agen-cies and Coca-Cola operations around the world. This partner-ship has provided the foundation upon which UNF and TCCC have since developed and launched The Global Water Challenge, an initiative that brings together corporations, foundations and aid organiza-tions. The aim is to save lives and reduce suffering in the develop-ing world by providing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education. - When it comes to public-private partnerships, one promis-ing area for continued focus cen-tres around what companies can contribute to the development agenda in a way that goes be-yond writing a check. This can be in the form of employee volun-teers and secondments, access to distribution networks and making available technical exper-tise and marketing, and commu-nications skills. What are the prerequisites for this work? For starters, new thinking, willingness on both sides to experiment and constant, open communication between the partners involved. - Ensure that everything is an-chored locally and demand-driven. Multi-tiered partnership projects need to have ownership at both the headquarters and country levels. Project activities must be locally driven, taking their cues from the needs and aspirations of the communities they are seeking to serve. As in the Sanga-U example, this means

constantly listening and respond-ing to community demands and priorities, and involving commu-nity leaders from the outset in decision-making, planning and project design. - One further observation is that partnerships between UN agencies and companies like TCCC are more likely to work when there is a fit with the com-pany’s vision, goals and core expertise. What has been clear is the exciting point of intersection between where the UN system is heading in its partnership ap-proach and where the Coca-Cola system is going in its vision around sustainable growth, wa-ter stewardship and stakeholder partnerships. For the United Nations, the partnership impera-tive has been articulated in a series of reports and leadership statements, while at the same time TCCC continues to change and evolve. A great deal of work has gone into developing and rolling out our sustainable growth vision worldwide. This new framework centres on five “Ps”—people, profit, partners, portfolio and planet—all interlinked and un-derpinned by a series of shared values, such as collaboration, innovation and leadership. Under “planet” and “partners”, efforts around water–an area of consid-erable focus at TCCC—will con-tinue to offer a point of conver-gence in our partnership work with UN agencies and the wider development community. Our “Manifesto for Growth”, as we call it, is a vision of where we want to be and what we want to accomplish over the next ten years and beyond. Now, it’s all about action. Building on this new thinking around sustainable growth, and the increased spirit of collabora-tion between Coca-Cola and the UN system, TCCC became a signatory in March 2006 to the United Nations Global Compact. In many ways, this is a natural

extension of the company’s work on sustainable growth and part of its commitment to deepen the way it engages. I believe there is much TCCC can and will con-tribute in terms of advancing the goals and principles of the Global Compact. There is plenty of work ahead, but the resolve and commitment is there. Through this secondment assignment, I have been privileged to work with and learn from some out-standing colleagues in the UN system and I am definitely en-thused about our deepening collaboration ahead and the con-tinued opportunity we have through partnership to make a real difference in people’s lives. This is part of a series of articles exploring the many facets of partnerships supported by the United Nations Fund for Interna-tional Partnerships (UNFIP). In the series, some of the UN pri-vate sector and foundation part-ners will convey their views on how partnerships with the United Nations are being built and are achieving impact on the ground.

UN Chronicle Feature Service United Nations, L-172 New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212)-963-0797 Fax: (917) 367-6075

Continuation: Public-Private Partnerships Provide Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction -A Deepening Collaboration

BIO S tu a r t Hawk in s wa s seconded by Coca-Cola to the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok in November 2005. He was previously based in Hong Kong as Public Affairs Manager for Coca-Cola Asia.

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Human Rights Council ends its second session: Giving voice to the voiceless?

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan left no one in doubt about the importance of the meeting in his message to the second session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, 18 September, when he reminded the delegates about the crucial nature of the task given to them by the Heads of State and Government at the 2005 World Summit when the Coun-cil was created: “They agreed that the Coun-cil should address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations. They looked to you, in other words, to give voice to the voiceless victims of abuses throughout the world.” Mr Annan stressed that it was up to the delegates at this particular session to lay the true foundations of the Council. He said that in the first sessions the delegates were rightly concerned with the tragic events in the Middle East: “I trust you will focus the same vigilance on violations and abuses wherever they may occur. At the present time, I feel I must draw your attention espe-cially to those to which the people of Darfur are being subjected, and which threaten to get even worse in the near future. Distin-guished delegates, do not disappoint the hopes of humanity. During the next three weeks, as you work to build an effective and credible Human Rights Council, let the founding resolution be your guide.” the Sec-retary-General said in his message. Three weeks later on , 6 October, the Hu-

man Rights Council ended its second session but decided to put off any decisions on draft resolutions until 27 November “because of the large number involved after three weeks of wide-ranging discussions covering every-thing from racism to counter-terrorism.” Once the Council concludes taking action on the proposals next month, it will immedi-ately open its third session, a UN spokesman told reporters in New York, adding that since the debates began in Geneva on 18 September, nearly 50 resolutions had been tabled. Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico, the President of the Council, said in his con-cluding statement that more than 40 reports had been heard during the three weeks, while dialogue had also been undertaken with the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He said that the large number of resolu-tions submitted was an indication of dele-gations’ interest in substantive matters but acknowledged that better working methods were required to deal with each and every subject. These were no meagre results, he said, but added that the challenges facing the Council were even greater than the pro-gress that had been made.

It is clear that the Council is under much pressure to improve the record of its prede-cessor, and as the second session was about to wind up in Geneva UN Deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown in a rare criti-cism of a UN body said in a speech in Brus-sels: “But now, in Darfur, we see the princi-ple put to the test…Unfortunately, the Council has gotten off to a bad start. Its first item was Israel, and it is already divided along North-South lines, with a group of recidivist countries opposing the pro-human rights ones. It is absolutely essential that the HRC members create progressive cross-regional coalitions, in order for it not to head down the path of the former, discred-ited Commission on Human Rights.”

Violence Against Women

At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime. More than 130 million girls have been sub-jected to female genital mutilation. Violence against women and girls is a universal prob-lem of epidemic proportions. Perhaps the most pervasive human rights violation that we know today, it devastates lives, fractures communities and stalls development. The latest United Nations report on vio-lence against women found that the major form of violence takes place at the house-hold level and is pervasive throughout all societies. Half of all Member States did not have legislation on domestic violence, mari-tal rape and sexual harassment and in those that did, implementation was slack and the problem of impunity persisted.

Outlining how to combat deeply embedded cultural norms that sometimes punish women who try to assert their rights, the study showed that violence emanating from negative cultural practices was regrettably also enforced by women. Efforts to work within local communities to gradually change the value system were required, starting with families, children and schools. It was also important to engage men, since the situation would not be changed by women alone. Education, awareness campaigns and sensiti-zation were the key to helping even women understand that violence against them con-stituted a violation of human rights. The report highlighted the significant contri-bution of women’s movements in transform-ing the issue of violence against women into

a global concern, and developing and apply-ing norms at the country level. * Having made the problem a public issue, it is hoped that the report will oblige the inter-national community to act and put the pri-vate sector, NGOs and Government institu-tions into “action mode” to ensure that those responsible for violence against women would be prosecuted. * Amnesty International has launched a 14-Point Programme for the Prevention of Domestic Violence www.amnesty.org/actforwomen

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This is true for family discipline and in other settings where children are learning – in school, in alternative care institutions and of course if they ever find themselves facing the law. All forms of violence against children should be banned in law, including the violence disguised as discipline that happens in the child’s home. This is not because parents who smack their children should be put behind bars! A law is not only a framework for punishment. It is also a loud, clear signal that society as a whole has decided that some things are not acceptable – in this case that it is no more acceptable to hit a child than to hit anyone else. Some argue that lawmakers should stay out of the family home, the last bastion of privacy. The privacy of the home is in fact enshrined in inter-national law and no-one would dispute this. But children’s right to protection is also enshrined in international law and this right – like that of adult family members -- cannot end at the door of the family home. Many countries have set a precedent for legal protection within the family home through legis-lation outlawing domestic violence. All over the world, communities have shown that they will not tolerate one partner in a relationship using physi-cal and psychological violence against another partner. In many countries, there are laws that protect the family pet from beatings and maltreat-ment. How, then, can we tolerate a family mem-ber inflicting harm, in the name of discipline, on a younger family member? A 2003 report by the Innocenti Research Centre

in Florence, Italy, shows that, in industrialized countries, infants under the age of one year face around three times the risk of being killed -- al-most invariably by parents -- than children aged one to four, and twice the risk of those aged five to 14. The World Health Organization estimates that the highest rates of homicide in the under-fives are found in Sub-Saharan Africa and North America, where ‘shaken baby syndrome’ is a leading cause of death in infants. A substantial proportion of homicides of children under 10 is committed by a parent’s boyfriend or girlfriend, or by other people known to the victim. These facts are shocking. And most parents would not recognize themselves in these descrip-tions. But the truth is that corporal punishment of all kinds is harmful – the fact that a child does not show the physical marks, or does not end up in hospital or worse is not a reason to suggest that some corporal punishment is ‘good’ and some is ‘bad’. The United Nations General Assembly has already recognized this – in 2005 the Member States voted overwhelmingly for a ban on corpo-ral punishment in schools and penal systems. Why should the child receive less protection at home? Most parents are ‘good’ parents who love their children and want to do right by them. Many would say that ‘disciplining’ a child is part of raising them right. But if we use the words that children themselves use instead of ‘discipline’, and recite the list of actions that are recorded in the statistics when children present with injuries, it becomes clear that even ‘good’ parents may be crossing the boundaries of violence: smacking,

slapping, beating, thrashing, hitting with a stick, hitting with other implements, burning, humiliat-ing, locking in a confined space, leaving outdoors in intemperate weather, name-calling, insulting, belittling… Surely these cannot be considered ‘acceptable’ by parents who want to give their children the best start in life, including teaching them right from wrong? Interestingly, the reasons given by perpetrators of domestic violence for beating a partner are almost identical to those given by parents who inflict corporal or humiliating punishment on their chil-dren: “She needed to be taught a lesson”, “he didn’t do what I asked”, “it’s for her own good”, “you have to be cruel to be kind”. It really is time to consign these homilies to the history books where they belong. Today’s chil-dren deserve to benefit from the better, more reliable and scientific evidence we have about behaviour and human relationships. They have a right to be protected from all forms of violence wherever it happens. And we have a responsibil-ity to make sure that protection is enshrined in law. Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro Independent Expert United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children

In 2002 the Chief Executives Board (CEB) for coordination, gathering the heads of all UN agencies, programs and funds, established the Senior Management Network, mandated to bring together the executive echelon in all agencies to jointly explore ways to enhance strategic vision, lead-ership and management of the UN. The initiative is closely linked to UN Reform and ongoing change. As part of the SMN activities, the Secretary General and the CEB asked the College to develop a leadership programme for the 600 Network members. The College will work with the Erasmus University, Rotterdam School of Management to design the programme to be delivered as from mid 2007. UN Country Teams Much of the effectiveness of the UN can be measured at country level. The way the country teams are managed and work as teams, in a coop-erative interagency manner, is critical to the UN collective mission and its reform process. The programs run by the College at country level for resident coordinators and for UN Country teams since the 90s have contributed to the effective delivery of programs and services. A new pro-gramme that was successfully launched this month will fill a niche in the interagency training market. Peace and Security One of the flagship programs, now in its 7th year, is the Early Warning and Preventive Measures programme, helping staff identify the early warn-ing signs and prepare for political and other crises the UN is expected to respond to. On a more personal level, the security and safety of United Nations staff is a real and pressing issue. Modeled on the success of pre-assignment security training for staff assigned to the Iraq operation, the College will work closely with the UN Department of Safety and Security to provide this training in a wide range of countries, where the security situation is precarious. The development of the programme will begin in early 2007. The College is small - only thirty staff and a budget of 10 million dollars. It has the potential, however, to have an impact on the UN system be-yond its size through the multiplier effect: using staff learning as the catalyst, forming strategic alliances and generating added value through economies of scale. Its new focus augurs well for the coming years. Staffan de Mistura Director of the United Nations System Staff College

continuation … A key tool to strengthen the performance of the UN system

continuation … Sparing the rod makes good sense

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Launched by the United Nations Millennium Campaign, STAND UP is an exciting challenge to set an official Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people ever to Stand Up Against Poverty and for the Millennium Develop-ment Goals. The world record for the most people to 'Stand Up Against Poverty' in 24 hours was set on 15 - 16 October 2006 for the United Nation's Millennium Campaign and involved a massive total of 23,542,614 participants in 11,646 events around the globe. Six years ago, 189 world leaders sat down and agreed to end poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. On October 15&16, over 23 million people across the world stood up to remind them of this promise. Read the Joint Press Release STAND UP is part of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty month of mobilization around The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP).

Stand Up because: - Every day 24,000 people die from hunger - Every day more than 100 million children are denied the chance to go to school - Every day 1.1 billion people have to drink polluted water - Every day 8,200 people die due to HIV/AIDS

Why Stand Up?

What is Stand up?

Employees and officials gather on the north lawn of United Nations Headquarters in New York to "Stand Up Against Poverty" and read a pledge urging everyone to do their part for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's). The group joins millions of people at events around the world to set a new Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people to stand up against poverty in a-24-hour period.

UN Photo 129398 Mark Garten

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Editor-in-chief Afsane Bassir-Pour

Editor

Jan Fischer

Deputy Editors Arni Snaevarr Karen Davies

Technical Editor

Sonia Fialho

Intern Editors Danaé Anastopoulos Katarina Ausenius

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KYUNG-WHA KANG OF REPUBLIC OF KOREA On 18 September 2006 UN SG Kofi Annan announced the appointment of Ms. Kyung-wha Kang ( Republic of Korea) as Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. The ap-pointment is at the Assistant Sec-retary-General level. LIEUTENANT GENERAL GIOVANNI RIDINÓ On 21 September 2006 UN SG Kofi Annan announced the appointment of Lieutenant Gen-eral Giovanni Ridinó as Direc-tor of the newly established Strategic Military Cell (SMC) for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Appointments Observances

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Report launches

Global Employment Trends The report focuses on labour market trends and underlines the main employment challenges – both at the global level and in eight regions of the world. The report draws attention to key pol-icy challenges posed by the identi-fied trends, but it does not aim at presenting comprehensive policy recommendations to overcome these challenges. Every attempt has been made to incorporate the latest available information in an ongoing process; the ILO will update and revise both global and regional estimates as information becomes available from national and international sources. Empha-sis has been laid on the growth of employment and unemployment, youth unemployment and the em-ployment of women. Such devel-opments are profiled in the light of economic and general labour mar-ket conditions in a worldwide context.

Report launches Editorial Contact

17 October 2006 International Day

for the Eradication of Poverty

17 November 2006 World Philosophy

Day (UNESCO)

16 October 2006 World Food Day

24 October 2006 UN Day

Pneumonia: the forgotten

killer of children

P n e u m o n i a causes almost 1 in 5 under-five deaths world-wide: more than 2 million chil-dren each year. It

kills more children than any other disease - more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Yet lack of attention to pneumonia means too few children have access to currently available interventions. This joint UNICEF/WHO publica-tion is a call to action to raise awareness and reduce child deaths from pneumonia, which will con-tribute to achieving the Millen-nium Development Goal on child mortality.

World Food Programme Working in Partnership

WFP has al-ways engaged in partnerships in its opera-tions, but in recent years the number and

quality of those partnerships have increased exponentially. WFP’s broad range of partners includes United Nations organi-zations, governments, and inter-national and local non-governmental organizations. This publication details WFP’s work with UN and inter-governmental organizations.