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| UN Wire |
| February 27, 2009 |
Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast. Read the full story.
The Sierra Leone decision is another notch on the slowly tightening belt of international accountability. This is a good day for potential future victims of crimes against humanity everywhere, as it takes the world a little further down the track of deterring future crimes.
Excerpts from UN Dispatch
UN Dispatch: There's nothing wrong with planning for the best possible outcome, but Ban Ki-moon seems a little sanguine when it comes to the prospects for Somalia becoming stable enough to host a UN peacekeeping mission by June or July. UN Dispatch (1/21)
United Nations Radio
Thousands of Somalis returning to Mogadishu despite renewed fighting: UNHCR UN Radio (12/14)
UN court acquits former Serbian president of crimes against Albanians
In its first decision establishing widespread Serbian crimes against Albanians in the late 1990s, the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ruled that former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic played no role in what was deemed an illegal plot to forcibly expunge Kosovo of its ethnic Albanian population. Though the court convicted five other senior Serbian officials, the decision came as a blow to prosecutors. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (2/27)
Report details larceny, neglect in wake of Nargis
Eyewitness reports documented in a new report by Johns Hopkins University and the Emergency Assistance Team in Myanmar reveal that the military junta refused international aid in the wake of the devastation of Cyclone Nargis. Military and police erected checkpoints to stifle the delivery of aid organized even by Myanmar's own people, while the junta insisted that it was fully capable of repairing the damage done to nation and people. International aid packages were instead confiscated and sold, while surviving men, women and children were forced to labor on reconstruction projects. Chris Beyer, director of the human rights center at Johns Hopkins characterized the neglect and larceny as being a possible war crime. The Guardian (London) (2/27)
Dread reckoning: Somalia's hard-to-read plight
International observers don't know how many people still live in Somalia, after the flight of an estimated 6 million refugees to neighboring countries. Its problems of piracy and civil strife are well-known, but details of life on the ground are hard to come by, because the country is so dangerous to aid workers and journalists. The Economist (2/26)
World Bank and partners to deliver rescue package for Eastern Europe
In partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank, the World Bank is providing a bailout of $31 billion over two years for Eastern European banks and businesses -- a decision that signals a change of heart on behalf of Germany, which initially expressed hesitation about the need to send assistance to the region. Western leaders fear that financial destabilization in Eastern Europe could spread farther west. The International Monetary Fund has worked to stem a financial meltdown, pumping billions into the coffers of Latvia, Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine and Hungary. The Washington Post (2/27)
WHO: Resistant malaria strain found along Thai-Cambodian border
A strain of malaria that is resistant to the most powerful drug used against the disease has broken out along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, the World Health Organization reports. The emerging resistance to the drug Artemisinin could threaten efforts to control the deadly disease, said WHO, which will tap a $22.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to battle the outbreak. Reuters (2/25)
Scientists mull "hacking" Earth
Climatologists from Royal Society researchers to university academics are researching possible outcomes of of geo-engineering -- effectively hacking the planet in order to stave off the effects of global warming. Such ideas include deflecting the sun's rays with orbital mirrors and large-scale carbon dioxide removal. New Scientist (2/25)
Campaign takes aim at U.S. penchant for soft toilet paper
A new campaign by Greenpeace will try to convince Americans to replace their preferred super-soft, multi-ply toilet paper with environmentally friendly recycled rolls. "Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution," said a scientist at Britain's Natural Resources Defence Council. The Guardian (London) (2/26)
New toilets collect urine for use as fertilizer
It's now possible to capture urine for use as a fertilizer, reducing the amount that ends up in wastewater treatment facilities and waterways. Sweden's "NoMix" urine-division toilet collects waste for future use by farmers. "If they can use urine and it's cheap, they'll use it," said professor Petter Jenssen of Norway's Agricultural University. NYTimes.com (2/27)
Escape network helps gay Iraqis flee death squads
Gay Iraqis are taking refuge in safe houses throughout the country in order to avoid fundamentalist death squads sanctioned by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shia cleric. The network was established in 2006 by the Iraqi LGBT organization, which also helps gays leave the country. "Our efforts have got gay refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees," said the group's coordinator. The Guardian (London) (2/25)
UN: Intelligence agents visiting Guantanamo violated human rights
UN special investigator on human rights Martin Scheinin has determined that foreign intelligence agents who interrogated or even observed interrogations of detainees at Guantanamo Bay violated human rights -- an indictment of intelligence officials from at least 18 nations invited to Guantanamo to interview detainees. Though Scheinin has praised U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to close the detention facility, he has urged the Obama administration to seek accountability and prosecutions and not ignore for political purposes the crimes against humanity that took place there. The Washington Post (2/27)
Bangladeshis find mass grave in mutinous guards' HQ
At least 30 bodies of hostages seized by the Bangladesh Rifles were discovered in a mass grave after Bangladeshi police officers entered the headquarters of the rebel border guards. The victims appeared to be officers killed during the two-day uprising, which ended Friday after a show of force by the government. The mutinous guards had demanded participation in lucrative UN peacekeeping missions, changes in the force's command and control organization and better pay. NYTimes.com (2/27)
Bishop's apology for Holocaust views disdained by critics
The Catholic bishop who sparked an outcry with his controversial views of the Holocaust has issued a "thoroughly ambiguous" apology that is being disdained by religious leaders and historians worldwide. If Bishop Richard Williamson "is looking to repent, he needs to admit that he was wrong in denying the truth," said a spokeswoman for the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. The Times (London) (subscription required) (2/27)
Gaza aid and political realities at the heart of Hamas-Fatah talks
The administration of Gaza is a central issue in the reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah currently taking place in Egypt. Hamas seeks reconstruction aid for the 1.5 million people living in the Gaza Strip, but as a political body, Hamas is shunned by the international community. Fatah, on the other hand, hopes to raise $2.8 billion at an international conference and would seek a greater hand for the Palestinian Authority in directing affairs in Gaza. Egypt, for its part, hopes to reassert itself as a strong regional voice -- its reputation damaged by its relationship with the U.S. -- by bringing about the reconciliation of Palestine. Los Angeles Times (2/27)
West urged to engage as Bosnian Serbs threaten independence
The U.S. and the European Union are ignoring signs of trouble in Bosnia, where Serb leaders are again agitating for independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina, experts warn. In a worst-case situation, a move toward Serbian independence could result in Croatia sending in troops and Bosnian Muslims taking up arms, said Bosnian specialist Srecko Latal, who urged the West to "engage not just for the sake of Bosnia but because the world can't afford to allow what happened the last time." NYTimes.com (2/26)
Mexico's Calderon anticipates drug victory by 2012
Mexico President Felipe Calderon anticipates subduing his nation's drug cartels by the time his term ends in 2012 and disputes reports that Mexico is "a failed state." Calderon said he hopes the Mexican army and federal police eventually can leave the drug fight in the hands of local law enforcement authorities. Google/The Associated Press (2/26)
World Bank approves $100 million emergency grant to Congo
The World Bank has approved a $100 million emergency grant for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, allowing the struggling nation to continue importing essential goods and pay teachers' salaries and government utility bills. The grant is the first of $420 million in aid being sought by the Congo as it attempts to recover from deep losses in the mining sector. AlertNet/Reuters (2/27)
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