GENEVA, Switzerland, March 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) (http://www.unitar.org) has just launched the 2014 edition of the online training courses in financial management, international trade and intellectual property. These courses are intended for trade and finance professionals and officials from developing countries including least developed countries and economies in transition. Since the introduction of online courses in 2003, over 10,000 officials mainly from developing countries benefited from our courses.Logo UNITAR: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/unitar-1.pngDowload the Calendar of Events (pdf): http://www.apo-mail.org/140301.pdfUNITAR is dedicated to delivering innovative e-Learning courses by high-level experts in a flexible…
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ABUJA, Nigeria, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Good and inclusive governance is essential to ensuring minority rights, equality and peaceful coexistence for all of Nigeria’s citizens, the United Nations Independent Expert on minority issues, Rita Izsák, said* today at the end of her first official visit to the country. “I found evidence that in States where inclusive governance prevails and communities placed trust in their leadership, there are fewer communal fractures and concerns about minority rights,” Ms. Izsák noted. “However, the exclusion of some groups, partisan politics, corruption, and the reality or the perception of bias and favouritism…
NAIROBI, Kenya, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Africa Environment Day/Wangari Maathai Day 2014 What: Activities marking Africa Environment Day/Wangari Maathai Day When: Monday 3 March, 9.00am – 1.00pm Where: Conference Room 1, UNEP Headquarters, Gigiri, Nairobi Who: Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director Wanjira Maathai, Greenbelt Belt Movement/Wangari Maathai Institute Judy Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary for Env. Water and Natural Resources, Kenya Augusta Abate, Food and Agriculture Organization Ayub Macharia, National Environment Management Authority Laura Darby, Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP) Suzanna Owiyo, UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Paula Kahumbu, Wildlife Direct Paul Mbugua, Kenya Wildlife ServiceAfrica Environment…
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM Tanzania, in close collaboration with the Tanzanian Regional Immigration Training Academy and IOM African Capacity Building Centre (ACBC), is this week organizing a six-day workshop on “Return Management: Lessons Learned from Mtabila Camp Closure, Operation Kimbunga and the Way Forward in Western Tanzania”.The workshop, which targets senior immigration officials from Burundi and Tanzania, is taking place at the ACBC in Moshi and will run through 4th March 2014.The programme focuses on international norms and principles of protection and best practices in managing voluntary returns, with specific reference to the closure…
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Ethiopian diaspora in the United States, Canada and Europe is continuing to support IOM efforts to help fellow Ethiopians returning home from Saudi Arabia.The latest show of support came this week from the Ethiopian diaspora community in Dallas, Texas, with a donation of USD31,000.Mac Mekonnen, Executive Director of the Mutual Assistance Association for the Ethiopian Community in Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas visited the US Association for International Migration (USAIM), IOM’s non-profit partner in the US at the IOM Washington office to hand-deliver the donation.“The Dallas Ethiopian Community is pleased to have…
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — At least nine Ethiopian migrants drowned after a boat ferrying them capsized in the Gulf of Aden, north of Obock City in Djibouti, the night of 26th February.It is believed that 17 people were in the boat when the tragedy occurred. Preliminary investigations have shown that eight other passengers are missing. Rescue efforts have been launched to retrieve their bodies.The boat capsized as a result of strong winds, when the engine stalled at sea between the islands called ‘‘Seven Brothers” and the locality of Guen. They were en route to Yemen.Seven…
PARIS, France, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Thousands of people who fled violence in the Central African Republic have now arrived in Sido, southern Chad and eastern Cameroon. These civilians have had no choice but to escape the violence in their country. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) calls all other humanitarian actors to mobilise quickly and provide assistance to refugees in these neighbouring countries. The thousands of refugees who fled Car and have arrived in neighbouring Cameroon and Chad, now lack clean water, decent shelter and food, warn MSF. CHAD: Refugees who reached Sido in southern Chad,…
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM has released updated profiles of 54 displacement sites in Bangui, CAR.Due to escalating violence in CAR, there are now approximately 276,500 displacedpeople (IDPs) living in 62 displacement sites in Bangui.In coordination with partners, IOM rolled out its Displacement Tracking Matrix in December to assess and address urgent needs.The tool has allowed IOM to create profiles to provide an overview of the situation at each site. Profiles provide in-depth information on health, shelter, security, and other humanitarian needs.The primary need identified at the majority of the sites is food. Primary needs…
BISSAU, Guinea Bissau, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda, today called on the political and military authorities of Guinea-Bissau “to address the critical needs of the poorest and most marginalized as a matter of priority.” “The people of Guinea-Bissau cannot wait any longer for state policies to become effective,” Ms. Sepúlveda said* at the end of her visit to the country. “All State authorities must act with the vision to ensure that all women, children, young adults, and future generations to come, will have a better…
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Following a malaria outbreak in a cyclone-affected area of Puntland, Somalia, IOM, in coordination with the Puntland health authorities and UN agencies, has distributed a total of 3,050 mosquito nets to 15,250 people in nine internally displaced persons (IDP) settlements in Bossaso. In November 2013, a devastating cyclone hit the north-eastern region of Puntland. The cyclone brought heavy rain and flash floods, which left over 100,000 people in need of assistance. As the hygiene situation has worsened, for the first time since November 2012, a malaria outbreak was declared in the…
GENEVA, Switzerland, February 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — I am deeply concerned by the grave humanitarian situation in South Sudan, where, despite the recent ceasefire agreement, the lives of millions of civilians are threatened by lack of food, outbreaks of disease, and continued violence.Malakal, a city in Upper Nile State that I visited just a month ago, saw shocking violence and human rights abuses last week. More than 100 people were reported killed and injured, some of them attacked in the hospitals and churches, places of sanctuary, where they had sought refuge. The situation remains tense, with bodies left…
KHARTOUM, Sudan, February 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the sudan a.i., Mr. Adnan Khan, has welcomed the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel’s (AUHIP) invitation to the Sudanese Government and the sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) to re-engage in direct talks on 28 February in Addis Ababa. Mr. Khan urges the Government and the SPLM-N to take immediate steps to ensure that humanitarian needs can be addressed while political dialogue continues. “After almost three years of armed conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile there is an urgent and critical…
JUBA, South Sudan, February 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press InvitationSouth Sudan | 27 February 2014The Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, cordially invites members of the media to a press briefing with Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of Norwegian Refugee Council, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (2003-06). The press briefing will update on the humanitarian situation after their mission to Bor, Jonglei State and Minkaman, Lakes State.Mr. Lanzer will also update on his recent mission to donor capitals; Brussels, Copenhagen, London, Oslo and Stockholm, to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in…
WASHINGTON, February 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Media NoteOffice of the SpokespersonWashington, DCFebruary 26, 2014The Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) announces the design/build award, through best value determination, for a new U.S. Embassy in N’djamena, Chad to BL Harbert International of Birmingham, Alabama.This project includes construction of a chancery, a U.S. Marine Corps residence, two access pavilions, a warehouse and shops, a utility building, and recreational facilities.Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners of Santa Monica, California is the design architect, and Page of Arlington, Virginia will be the architect of record.OBO’s mission is to provide…
WASHINGTON, February 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn Kerry Secretary of StateRussell D. Feingold Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Washington, DCFebruary 26, 2014SECRETARY KERRY: Thanks, all, for coming in. Just want to say how much I appreciate Senator Russ Feingold’s efforts with respect to the Great Lakes region, and I’m particularly grateful to Ben Affleck, who’s had a longtime engagement on this. He testified before us in the Senate. We worked on this issue for some period of time. And they’ve just – have you already testified or –MR. AFFLECK: This…
PARIS, France, February 26, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — FIDH firmly condemns the “Anti-homosexuality” law promulgated yesterday by President Museveni as it blatantly violates a wide range of human rights principles and risks fuelling hatred against a category of the Ugandan population. Homosexuality was already severely criminalised in Uganda. But this new legislation further criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults, by notably imposing sentences of life imprisonment for homosexuality, same-sex marriage or “aggravated homosexuality”. The law also provides for prison sentences for the “promotion of”, the “conspiracy to engage in” homosexuality and for any “person in authority” who fails…
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, February 26, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Paolo Mauro, visited Tanzania during February 12–25, 2014. The mission completed the assessment of the recent performance under the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) and discussed a possible new Policy Support Instrument (PSI) program.i The mission met with Hon. Saada Mkuya Salum, Minister of Finance, Professor Benno Ndulu, Governor of the Bank of Tanzania, and other senior government officials.Mr. Mauro released the following statement at the end of the mission:“Performance under the government’s IMF-supported SCF program has been broadly favorable.…
BERLIN, Germany, February 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Christoph Strässer, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid, today (25 February) issued the following statement on the signing into law of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill by the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and on the publication of a list of Uganda’s “top homosexuals”:I condemn the signing into law of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the strongest possible terms. I also condemn the publication of a list of names of “top homosexuals” on the front page of a Ugandan newspaper. Such a publication violates the…
TOKYO, Japan, February 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — 1. On February 24, the Government of Japan decided to provide emergency relief goods worth 13 million yen (tents, blankets, etc) to the Republic of Zimbabwe, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in response to the request following serious damage from the floods.2. In Zimbabwe, heavy rain caused the floods from late January. On February 9, the Government of Zimbabwe declared a State of Disaster for parts of the affected areas. The Government of Zimbabwe reported, as of February 12, approximately 32,000 people were affected. The rainy season is expected…
PARIS, France, February 26, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Last Night, Sudanese President arrived to Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to participate in a summit of Heads of State and Government of the Common Market of East and South Africa (COMESA). He is subject to an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his alleged responsability in the genocide in Darfur. As a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, the DRC is under the obligation to immediately execute the arrest warrant and transfer Bashir to The Hague.After having been notified by…