Asylum-seeker numbers fall to almost half levels of a decade earlier, UN reports
March 28, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Asylum applications lodged in 44 industrialized countries, 2001-2010
28 March 2011 – The number of asylum-seekers seeking to live in the industrialized world continues to fall and is now almost half the level it was a decade ago, the United Nations refugee agency reported today as it released its annual snapshot of asylum trends.
The report from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) finds that 358,800 applications for asylum were lodged last year in 44 developed countries – a drop of 5 per cent on the 2009 figures and about 42 per cent below the levels of 2001, when nearly 620,000 applications were made.
Unveiling the report, High Commissioner António Guterres said the global dynamics of asylum had changed in recent years.
“We need to study the root causes to see if the decline is because of fewer push factors in areas of origin, or tighter migration control in countries of asylum,” Mr. Guterres said.
Serbia – including Kosovo – provided the biggest number of asylum-seekers in 2010, with 28,900 claims lodged, compared to only 18,800 the previous year.
UNHCR said the sharp rise was probably due to the European Union’s December 2009 decision to grant visa-free entry to holders of Serbian passports.
The other leading countries of origin of asylum-seekers were, in order: Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Russia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
Mr. Guterres noted that the developing world is still “carrying the lion’s share of responsibility for hosting refugees,” with countries such as Liberia and Tunisia playing host to asylum-seekers despite their own problems and challenges.
Within the developed world, the United States was the biggest recipient of asylum claims, with 55,500 lodged last year, due in part to an increase in applications from Chinese and Mexicans. France was second, with 47,800 claims, drawn largely from Serbian, Russian and Congolese asylum-seekers. Germany, Sweden and Canada rounded out the top five recipient nations.
UNHCR defines an asylum-seeker as an individual who has sought international protection and whose claim for refugee status has not been determined. A person is considered a refugee if he or she fulfils criteria set out in the 1951 Refugee Convention.
The 44 recipient countries used for the report were the 27 members of the European Union, as well as Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Croatia, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Liechtenstein, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
UN agencies begin aid assessment in wake of deadly quake in Myanmar
March 25, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Damage to the road in Tarlay Sub-Township
25 March 2011 – United Nations aid agencies have begun assessing the humanitarian needs in eastern Myanmar, where a major earthquake has killed dozens of people and destroyed or damaged hundreds of buildings, including hospitals, homes and monasteries.
The quake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale, had its epicentre in Shan state, close to the border with Laos and Thailand, and struck just before 8:30 p.m. local time yesterday. The official death toll has reached 73 and is expected to climb further.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that at least six aftershocks have been reported since the initial quake and the risk of landslides is considered high.
A preliminary joint assessment by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Myanmar Red Cross Society in the hardest hit area has found that at least 400 houses were damaged or affected, while one rural hospital has also been damaged.
UNICEF is dispatching emergency health kits and first aid kits to Tachileik township, close to the epicentre, and is also preparing to send water purification items if needed.
Both UNICEF and the UN World Health Organization (WHO) have deployed staff members to the area to assist local authorities, while the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have all confirmed they either have emergency materials or staff on standby if local authorities request them.
Myanmar: Cyclone Giri DREF operation n° MDRMM003 Final report
March 21, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Summary: CHF 250,000 was allocated from the IFRC's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 29 October 2010 to support the Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) in providing immediate assistance to 3,750 families (18,750 beneficiaries) affected by Cyclone Giri.
On 22 October 2010, the category 4 Cyclone Giri hit western Myanmar's Rakhine State, triggering storms, heavy rains and huge tidal surges in coastal areas. According to official data and assessment reports of various agencies, the disaster affected more than 220,616 households (1,116,199 people), leaving 20,380 houses completely destroyed and 101,923 people homeless,.
MRCS immediately responded to the disaster by mobilizing rescue teams and trained volunteers in the field to rescue affected people and provide them with first aid, shelter and other necessary relief assistance. Following this and based on the findings of detailed assessments carried out in the affected areas, the National Society distributed safe drinking water, emergency shelter kits and non-food relief items to affected people and provided them with emergency health and care services, and water and sanitation support.
The DREF allocation enabled MRCS to conduct detailed assessments in affected areas and distribute safe drinking water through emergency water treatment units, emergency shelter kits and non-food items to 3,750 most-affected households. The relief assistance alleviated the suffering of affected people to some extent and helped them in settling down temporarily during the emergency and returning to normal lives after the disaster. The affected families have returned to their original locations and resumed livelihood activities. The DREF operation is part of the MRCS's overall emergency response which targets 13,912 families with the support of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and other partners.
Close coordination was maintained between MRCS and Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners, as well as with the authorities at all levels. As a member of the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and the International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO) Forum, and a convener of the emergency shelter cluster in natural disasters, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and MRCS closely coordinated with UN agencies and national and international non-governmental organizations, and hosted emergency shelter cluster meetings.
This DREF operation was concluded by the end of January 2011. The DREF fund (i.e. the allocation provided for Cyclone Giri) was replenished by AusAID1 (via Australian Red Cross), Canadian Red Cross and the Netherlands Red Cross.
IFRC, on behalf of the Myanmar Red Cross Society, would like to thank all donors for their generous support of the DREF.
In North Africa, Ban urges world community to ‘speak with one voice’ on Libya
March 21, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) holds press conference with Secretary General of Arab League Amre M. Moussa
21 March 2011 – The international community must “continue to speak with one voice” on the unfolding developments in Libya, or the humanitarian situation in the North African country will only worsen, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today during his visit to the region.
Speaking to journalists in Egypt, Mr. Ban urged the full implementation of last week’s Security Council resolution on Libya, which authorized United Nations Member States to take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians.
“It is imperative that the international community continue to speak with one voice to fully implement the Security Council resolutions,” he told journalists in Cairo after a meeting with Amr Moussa, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. “Thousands of lives are at stake. We could well see a further humanitarian emergency.”
North Africa and the Middle East have been swept this year by popular protests and calls for wide-ranging reform and greater democracy. The long-standing leaders in Tunisia and Egypt were toppled while in Libya the regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi has waged a fierce military offensive against the opposition movement.
Mr. Ban pledged that the UN was moving “quickly to take effective action” in Libya and trying to both bring an end to the fighting and provide humanitarian relief.
More than 320,000 people have now fled Libya, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and nearly 9,000 others remain stranded at the country’s borders with Tunisia and Egypt.
The number of people leaving Libya continues to rise, with about 2,700 people crossing into Egypt alone on Saturday.
Many of the new arrivals at the borders, particularly migrant workers, say that they are being denied access to food, health care and other basic services in Libya and are also being harassed or robbed at checkpoints.
OCHA reported that food prices have increased exponentially within Libya, notably for wheat, rice, bread and vegetable oil.
About $99 million has been received so far for the UN’s regional flash appeal for the Libyan crisis – just below two-thirds of the $160 million sought.
Rashid Khalikov, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, yesterday wrapped up a three-day visit to Saloum, located on the Egyptian-Libyan border, where he met with people who had fled the violence and held talks with humanitarian partners on contingency plans in the event of a surge of people leaving.
Mr. Ban is on the second day of a visit to North Africa, and later today he is scheduled to travel to Tunisia. While in Cairo today, he also met with Prime Minister Ezzam Sharif and Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
The Secretary-General commended the Supreme Council for its role in Egypt’s transition to greater democracy, but he also asked its members to lift the state of emergency well before elections and to listen to the many voices within Egyptian society in charting the course ahead.
In addition, Mr. Ban spoke at the El-Sawy Cultural Centre, telling an audience of civil society organizations, youth and women’s groups that they are the voice and face of Egypt’s future.
Nuclear emergency response must be upgraded in light of Japanese crisis – UN atomic chief
March 21, 2011
ARAKANLAND
IAEA Board of Governors meet to discuss report of Director General Yukiya Amano's visit to Japan on 17 March 2011
21 March 2011 – The international emergency response framework for dealing with nuclear power plant accidents needs to be reassessed and communications improved in light of the current crisis in Japan, the head of the United Nations agency that coordinates global nuclear safety said today.
“Nuclear power will remain an important and viable option for many countries as a stable and clean source of energy,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano told an emergency meeting of his Board of Governors in Vienna, noting that the situation at Japan’s earthquake- and tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant remains very serious although “we are starting to see some positive developments.”
Mr. Amano, who has just returned from a flying visit to Japan, said the current emergency response framework was designed largely in the wake of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the then Soviet Union, the worst ever civilian nuclear accident, and before the impact of the so-called information revolution.
“It reflects the realities of the 1980s, not of the 21st century,” he stressed, putting the speed and huge volume of information among the most significant changes since then.
“The responsibility of the IAEA is to provide authoritative and validated information as quickly as possible, but doing this under the current arrangements inevitably takes time and has limitations,” he said. “Some countries are reviewing their plans in the light of Fukushima. The agency’s role in nuclear safety may need to be re-examined, along with the role of our safety standards.”
It is already clear that arrangements for putting international nuclear experts in touch with each other quickly during a crisis need to be improved, he added, highlighting the role of the IAEA as the forum where discussion on the lessons learned from Fukushima should take place. “A thorough review of the accident will be necessary, in which peer review will have an important role to play,” he said.
Turning to the latest situation at Fukushima, Mr. Amano noted the high levels of contamination measured near the plant and the concerns of millions of people in Japan, neighbouring countries and further afield about possible dangers to human health, environmental contamination and risks to foodstuffs.
“The agency is doing all it can to provide accurate and factual information. I have confidence that the Japanese Government will address public concerns properly,” he said.
IAEA radiation monitoring experts have begun sending back measurements to Vienna headquarters, first from Tokyo and now from locations close to the Fukushima site, and additional staff will fly out from Vienna shortly to strengthen the team. The agency is also deploying its in-house expertise on radiation contamination of foodstuffs.
“I have no doubt that this crisis will be effectively overcome. Nature can be cruel. But human beings are brave, resourceful and resilient, as the people affected by the tsunami have shown in the last 10 days,” Mr. Amano said, calling the work of the emergency teams labouring mostly without electric power and at elevated radiation levels nothing short of “heroic.”
Explaining IAEA’s role, he noted that its Emergency Centre was activated immediately after the 11 March quake and tsunami, which according to latest media reports have killed at least 15,000 people, and has been working around the clock ever since, in constant communication with counterparts in Japan and other countries.
But he stressed that the IAEA is not a “nuclear safety watchdog” and that responsibility for nuclear safety lies with Member States. The agency acts as a hub for international cooperation, establishing safety standards and providing expert advice, but, in contrast to its role in the nuclear non-proliferation (NPT), nuclear safety measures are applied voluntarily by each individual country, with IAEA’s role being supportive.
On his trip to Japan, Mr. Amano said he assured Prime Minister Naoto Kan, other Government ministers, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) that operates the Fukushima plant,- and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) that the country could count on the full support of the international community, both practical and moral, in overcoming the very serious situation.
He urged the Japanese authorities to further improve the provision of information to the IAEA. “My message was well received,” he said. “Prime Minister Kan expressed his strong commitment to ensuring the highest transparency in information sharing and said every effort would be made to improve the collection and provision of information.”
Libya: Ban welcomes Security Council authorization of measures to protect civilians
March 19, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Members of the Security Council vote to adopt Resolution 1973 dealing with Libya
18 March 2011 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for “immediate action” on the Security Council’s authorization of the use of “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya, terming it a “historic” affirmation of the global community’s responsibility to protect people from their own government’s violence.
The Council yesterday passed a resolution permitting the use of all necessary measures, including the imposition of a no-fly zone, to prevent further attacks and the loss of innocent lives in Libya, where the regime of Muammar al-Qadhafi has conducted a military offensive against citizens seeking his removal from power.
Following the adoption of the resolution, media reports stated that Libyan authorities had declared a ceasefire. Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa was quoted as saying that the truce was intended to “to protect civilians.”
The Arab League last weekend requested the Council to impose a no-fly zone after Mr. Qadhafi was reported to have used warplanes, warships, tanks and artillery to seize back cities taken over after weeks of mass protests by peaceful civilians seeking an end to his 41-year rule.
Mr. Ban said that in adopting Resolution 1973, the Council had placed great importance on the appeal of the League of Arab States for action.
“Given the critical situation on the ground, I expect immediate action on the resolution’s provisions. I am prepared to carry out my responsibilities, as mandated by the resolution, and will work closely with Member States and regional organizations to coordinate a common, effective and timely response,” the Secretary-General said in a statement issued overnight.
The resolution requested Mr. Ban to inform the Council immediately of any actions taken by the Member States as well as to appoint an eight-member expert panel to monitor implementation of its terms, including an arms embargo.
“Once again, I join the Council in calling for an immediate cease-fire, a halt to all attacks on civilians and full humanitarian access to those in need. Our strenuous diplomatic efforts will continue,” Mr. Ban said.
He said his Special Envoy for Libya, Abdul Ilah Khatib, yesterday met with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States in Cairo following his visit to Libya. Mr. Khatib was due to brief the Secretary-General at the weekend. “I myself will travel to the region to advance our common efforts in this critical hour,” said Mr. Ban.
Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which provides for the use of force if needed, the Council adopted the resolution by 10 votes to zero, with five abstentions, authorizing Member States “to take all necessary measures… to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamhariya, including Benghazi, while excluding an occupation force.”
The abstentions included China and Russia, which have the power of veto, as well as Brazil, Germany and India.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also welcomed the Council’s move, terming it an important manifestation of the international community’s commitment to the principle of responsibility to protect civilians.
“We are extremely worried about reprisals against opposition supporters by pro-Government forces and security agents in Libya. No one knows what has been going on in the towns that were first of all held by the opposition and then recaptured by Government forces,” Rupert Colville, the OHCHR spokesperson told reporters in Geneva.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), meanwhile, reported that the number of Libyans fleeing to Egypt has been on the rise over the past few days, with about 1,490 of the 3,163 Libyan refugees already in Egypt arriving on Wednesday.
The agency’s spokesperson in Geneva, Melissa Fleming, told reporters that UNHCR and its partners have done extensive contingency planning and are ready to work with the Egyptian Government to prepare for a massive influx of people fleeing the violence in Libya.
A total of 300,706 people, most of them foreign workers, had fled Libya to neighbouring countries as of 16 March, according to UNHCR.
Earlier, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, expressed grave concern over reports of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas in Libya and called on the authorities to refraining from the use of such weapons in populated areas.
Greater openness needed on nuclear crisis, UN atomic chief tells Japan’s leaders
March 19, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, experienced system failure after the massive quake and tsunami
18 March 2011 – The head of the United Nations agency that coordinates global nuclear safety told Japanese leaders today that they must provide faster and fuller information about the country’s nuclear reactor crisis amid reported criticism that they have not been as open as they should.
At the same time the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it does not at the moment have health concerns either in Japan or more widely from released radiation, although that could change if the situation worsened.
On a flying visit to Tokyo, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano met with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, other ministers and TEPCO electricity company officials to discuss how the agency can help mitigate the crisis caused by loss of power to the reactor cooling systems when the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was damaged by a devastating earthquake and tsunami a week ago.
“The director general stressed the importance of providing faster and more detailed information about the situation at the nuclear power plants including to the international community,” IAEA Special Adviser on Scientific and Technical Affairs Graham Andrew told a news briefing at agency headquarters in Vienna, at which he reported that, as yesterday, the situation remains very serious but with no significant worsening.
“He also emphasized the importance of Japan working closely with the international community to resolve the crisis,” Mr. Andrew said, adding that the Japanese affirmed their willingness to strengthen their cooperation with the agency.
IAEA has sent a monitoring mission to Japan, which at the moment is focusing on radiation levels in Tokyo, where first measurements show no indication of iodine-131 or caesium-137, major radioactive hazards present in nuclear fission products. A second sampling was to be carried out overnight. “We will move towards the Fukushima region as soon as possible,” Mr. Andrew said.
“We don’t have concerns at the moment both in Japan and, if not in Japan, clearly more widely for human health. If the situation changed dramatically, then we’d have to make a reassessment.”
He noted that the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said today that international flights and maritime operations can continue normally into and out of Japan’s major airports and seaports and that there is no medical basis for imposing additional measures to protect passengers.
On the situation at the Fukushima reactor site, more than 200 kilometres to the north of Tokyo, Mr. Andrew noted that spent fuel ponds at units three and four of the six-unit plant remain “an important safety concern,” with information lacking on cooling water levels and temperatures. As for the first three units, perhaps half of the fuel in some cases is uncovered, “which is not positive,” he said.
“We want all of the fuel to be covered, but it’s not oscillating, it’s not going down dramatically. So certainly for the units one, two and three the situation, taking on board the pressure and the water levels, remains fairly stable, which is positive,” he added.
Security Council authorizes ‘all necessary measures’ to protect civilians in Libya
March 19, 2011
ARAKANLAND
A group of people heading towards the Libyan border with Tunisia
17 March 2011 – The Security Council today effectively authorized the use of force in Libya to protect civilians from attack, specifically in the eastern city of Benghazi, which Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi has reportedly said he will storm tonight to end a revolt against his regime.
Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which provides for the use of force if needed, the Council adopted a resolution by 10 votes to zero, with five abstentions, authorizing Member States “to take all necessary measures… to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamhariya, including Benghazi, while excluding an occupation force.”
The abstentions included China and Russia, which have the power of veto, as well as Brazil, Germany and India.
Expressing grave concern at the deteriorating situation, the escalation of violence, and the heavy civilian casualties, the Council established a no-fly zone, banning all flights – except those for humanitarian purposes – in Libyan airspace in order to help protect civilians. It specifically calls on Arab League states to cooperate with other Member States in taking the necessary measures.
The Arab League last weekend requested the Council to impose a no-fly zone after Mr. Qadhafi was reported to have used warplanes, warships, tanks and artillery to seize back cities taken over in what started out a month ago as mass protests by peaceful civilians seeking an end to his 41-year rule.
The resolution further strengthens an arms embargo that the Council imposed last month when it unanimously approved sanctions against the Libyan authorities, freezing the assets of its leaders and referring the ongoing violent repression of civilian demonstrators to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Council called on Member States today to ensure strict implementation of the embargo, including through inspection of suspect ships on the high seas and of planes going to or from Libya, deplored the flow of mercenaries into Libya whom, according to media reports, Mr. Qadhafi has recruited.
Demanding an immediate ceasefire and a complete end to violence and all attacks against and abuse of civilians, and condemning the “gross and systematic violation of human rights, including arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and summary executions,” the Council noted that the attacks currently taking place may amount to crimes against humanity.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has already opened an investigation into Mr. Qadhafi, some of his sons and members of his inner circle for such crimes in repressing peaceful protesters. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said Mr. Qadhafi lost his legitimacy when he declared war on his people.
Mr. Ban spoke with Libya’s Foreign Minister Musa Kusa by phone yesterday and, through him, urged the authorities to immediately halt the violence against civilians.
In its resolution, the Council condemned acts of violence and intimidation committed by the Libyan authorities against journalists, media professionals and associated personnel, and the head of the UN agency entrusted with promoting the right to freedom of expression today urged the authorities to respect human life and ensure that citizens are not denied their rights, notably the right of children to education in a safe environment.
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Irina Bokova reiterated her previous call to the Government to respect freedom of expression and ensure that journalists can carry out their duties freely without fear of intimidation or attack.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP), meanwhile, has boosted aid delivery to people fleeing the violence in Libya with the provision of more than 15,000 daily hot meals cooked in a transit camp along Libya’s border with Tunisia. Some 300,000 people, mainly migrant workers, have fled over the borders to Tunisia and Egypt in the past month.
Over the past week, WFP and its partner humanitarian organizations have been running the two largest food distribution points in Choucha transit camp on the Tunisian border. The centre hosts between 15,000 and 18,000 people, mainly Bangladeshis and African migrant workers, waiting to depart for their home countries.
The recent protests in Libya are part of a broader wave of unrest across North Africa and the Middle East that has led to the ousting of long-standing regimes in Tunisia and Egypt.
Japanese nuclear reactor crisis ‘very serious,’ says UN atomic chief on eve of visit
March 16, 2011
ARAKANLAND
The Fukushima nuclear power plant ablaze after the massive quake and tsunami hit Japan on 11 March 2011
16 March 2011 – Repeatedly calling the nuclear reactor crisis in Japan “very serious,” the head of the United Nations agency that coordinates global nuclear safety announced today that he will make a flying visit to the country to see what further help he can offer.
But International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano said he would spend one night in the country and then report back to the IAEA Board of Governors.
“I will fly to Japan as soon as possible, hopefully tomorrow, to get the latest information from them and learn from our Japanese counterparts how best the IAEA can help them,” he told a news conference at IAEA headquarters in Vienna.
Mr. Amano, who said he would like to receive better information from the Japanese, is also sending two teams of experts to Japan, one on nuclear safety, the other on radiation protection, in response to the nuclear crisis that resulted from power being cut to the reactors’ cooling systems at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant when a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck the country last Friday.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to again extend his sympathy at the catastrophic impact of the quake and tsunami, which may have claimed well in excess of 10,000 lives, according to media reports, and cut a vast swathe of total devastation along the north-eastern coast of Honshu, the largest island.
The two also discussed the situation at Fukushima. “The Secretary-General remains very concerned while appreciating the Government of Japan’s efforts to contain the risk to the population,” spokesperson Martin Nesirky told a news briefing in New York, adding that Mr. Ban assured Mr. Kan that the UN stands ready to provide any additional support if requested.
The Security Council began its meeting today with a minute’s silence for the victims of the quake and tsunami. Meanwhile the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been asked to assist in relief efforts, providing specialized logistics support in delivering water, tents, and blankets to families who have spent many nights already in freezing temperatures without heating and other necessities.
Mr. Amano began his news briefing with the stark comment: “The situation is very serious.” He cited confirmed damage to three cores, which remain partially uncovered by cooling waters.
“We do not know the exact situation inside the reactor vessels, but the pressure inside remains above atmospheric pressure; this suggests that they remain largely intact,” he said, noting that increased temperatures have also been observed at spent fuel ponds and the radiation dose rates in Tokyo and other cities have increased “very slightly” to levels that he stressed are not dangerous to humans’ health.
Mr. Amano said he would like to have high-level contacts during his brief trip but did not know yet whom he would meet. “If I wait until everything is fixed it will be too late, so there are some uncertainties, but I decided to go and do my best to reach the people who are handling this issue… it is like running and thinking, this is unavoidable in such a situation,” he noted.
While stressing that he did not mean that he was frustrated, Mr. Amano said he would like to see “better communication of information both in quantity and quality. There is constant information but there certainly is room for improvements,” he added.
Neither Mr. Amano nor agency experts would be drawn on whether the situation was out of control at the Fukushima Daiichi plant when quizzed on the issue.
UN nuclear agency to send team of experts to Japan to help in reactor crisis
March 16, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, experienced system failure after the massive quake and tsunam
15 March 2011 – The United Nations agency that coordinates global nuclear safety is sending an environmental monitoring team to Japan after the partial meltdown at reactors there, as its chief said today the situation differed from the world’s worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl 25 years ago.
“I continue to think that Chernobyl and these Fukushima reactors are different,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano told a news briefing at its Vienna headquarters, after another explosion and fire dramatically shook the Fukushima power plant that was crippled by last week’s earthquake and tsunami, increasing the release of radiation.
He cited the fact that Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors were shut down, a chain reaction is not talking place, the cause of the accident was a natural disaster, not a power output surge, and the Japanese reactors do not have a huge amount of graphite that can catch fire. “In all elements there are differences, and I continue to think the cases are different,” he stressed.
Just last week in a report to the Board of Governors of the 151-Member State agency, Mr. Amano noted that global nuclear safety has improved significantly since Chernobyl, when an estimated 8 million people in what is now Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were exposed to radiation, and thousands contracted thyroid cancer and other diseases.
Mr. Amano, who came to the news conference after briefing Member States, said he was setting up an agency coordinating team under his own leadership – “I felt I needed to raise the level of response on the part of the IAEA.” He also said he would soon send a small team of staff who have expertise in environmental monitoring at the request of the Japanese Government, which has said this is the area where the agency can be most helpful.
“This is the start, this is not the end,” he stressed, noting that the IAEA has already intensified its cooperation with other international organizations, including the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which can help coordinate global information on wind directions, showing where any radioactive clouds might be bound. The IAEA will discuss with the Japanese Government what other services it can provide.
Meanwhile, UN disaster assessment officials will tomorrow tour parts of Japan that received the brunt of Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami as they continue their efforts to help the country in what Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called its worst disaster since World War II.
The UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team, based in Tokyo to help with information management and international offers of aid, plans to send a reconnaissance mission to the prefectures of Fukushima and Miyagi, where more than 10,000 people, at least, are estimated to have died.
Upon request from a disaster-stricken country, an UNDAC team can be deployed within hours to carry out rapid assessment of priority needs and support national authorities and the UN resident coordinator to coordinate international relief on-site.
The General Assembly today observed a minute’s silence at the start of its session today in memory of those who had died and in a show of solidarity with the Japanese people.
For its part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) pledged to help protect the youngsters affected by the catastrophe and provide critical services in the days ahead.
“As in all emergencies of such devastating magnitude, children are the most vulnerable,” UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement. “This double catastrophe has left the country and its friends stunned and bereaved, and new threats caused by the quake and its aftermath continue to be of utmost concern to us all.”
1st Teleconference of WAO-USA Executive Committee successfully held on Sunday, March 13, 2011. This teleconference is first time for 2011 and took 9:30pm to 11:30pm Eastern Standard Time. There were ten active EC members discussed in the conference.
This teleconference discussed following cases,
1, WAO-USA Finance
2, Giri Cyclone Victims Results
3, Miscellany
During the meeting U Sein Tun, President of WAO-USA undertook as conference speaker delivered opening speech and briefly explained the intent of calling the meeting. Ko Hla Kyi, Vice President of WAO-USA reported the update usage of WAO’s donation by Rakhine ThaHaYa Assiociation (ygn).
All attendees are discussed deeply and agreed following decisions.
To request Rakhine ThaHaYa Association (ygn) to review WAO’s donations and their efforts, including pictures information and last transfer Donation record for US$ 17000.
To reimburse over US$3000 used from Emergency Relief Fund as the first wave of assistance for Giri Cyclone victims and reserve it for future emergence purposes.
To quickly and effectively spend recently received fund on selected projects and look forward proposals from Giri cyclone effected townships.
To explore the suitable location for the 6th WAO USA Annual Meeting and set a date in the upcoming teleconference.
U Tun Won, patron members of World Arakanese Organization delivered closing speech and Ko Zaw Zaw Tun, joint secretary of WAO-USA served as master of ceremony in the conference.
According to WAO-USA update information source said that WAO received total donation $32680.00 and it made donation $ 24,600 to Cyclone Giri affected area in Arakan State.
Japan informs UN atomic watchdog of explosion at nuclear power plant
March 14, 2011
ARAKANLAND
International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters
12 March 2011 – The United Nations atomic watchdog agency today reported that Japan''s nuclear safety body has informed it of an explosion at one of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which was affected by yesterday''s massive earthquake, and that an assessment is under way.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Japanese authorities have extended the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to a 20-kilometre radius from the previous 10 kilometres, according to information provided to IAEA by Japan''s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA.)
The explosion occurred outside the reactor's primary containment vessel, whose integrity remains intact. Japanese authorities reported that four workers were injured in the explosion.
At the nearby Fukushima Daini plant, the evacuation zone has been extended to a 10-kilometre radius from the previous three kilometres.
Japanese authorities also reported that they are making preparations to distribute iodine tablets to residents in the area of both the plants. Iodine can be used to help protect the body from radioactive exposure.
The IAEA has reiterated its offer of technical assistance to Japan, should the Government request it. The agency said it will continue to liaise with the Japanese authorities, and is in full response mode to monitor the situation closely.
The earthquake, which struck at 2:46 p.m. local time yesterday, measured 8.9 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was undersea, about 400 kilometres northeast of the Japanese capital, Tokyo.
The subsequent tsunami inundated towns, villages and farmland along the coast.
Media reports indicate that at least 1,000 people were killed, with the death toll expected to rise significantly. Hundreds more people are missing.
UN voices sorrow, pledges assistance after quake and tsunami hit Japan
March 14, 2011
ARAKANLAND
A view in Tokyo in the aftermath of the earthquake
11 March 2011 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep sorrow today and offered the full support of the United Nations after a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan, killing dozens of people and destroying towns, villages and large swathes of infrastructure.
UN agencies say they are on standby to assist in Japan and any other countries that may also be hit by tsunamis in the wake of the quake, which was one of the strongest in recorded history.
The quake, which struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, measured 8.9 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was undersea, about 400 kilometres northeast of the Japanese capital, Tokyo. The subsequent tsunami inundated towns, villages and farmland along the coast.
Media reports indicate that hundreds of people are confirmed to have been killed, with the death toll expected to rise significantly. Hundreds more people are missing.
“The world is shocked and saddened by the images coming from Japan this morning,” Mr. Ban told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.
“I want to express my deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the Japanese people and Government, and most especially to those who lost family and friends in the earthquake and subsequent tsunami… We will be watching closely as the aftershocks are felt across the Pacific and South-East Asia throughout the day.”
Mr. Ban said the UN would do all it could to mobilize humanitarian assistance and disaster risk reduction teams as soon as possible.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that its officials are in contact with their Japanese counterparts to see how it can help with relief efforts. The UN has also alerted the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), a global network of 80 countries and disaster response organizations under the UN umbrella.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Japanese authorities have shut down several nuclear power plants and have extinguished a fire at one of them.
An emergency situation has been declared at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where the supply of offsite power was cut and diesel generators intended to provide back-up electricity to the plant’s cooling system were disabled by tsunami flooding.
The IAEA said it had been informed that local officials are working to restore power to the cooling systems of one of the reactors at the plant. The agency continues to liaise closely with Japanese authorities about the situation at Fukushima Daiichi.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has staff on standby across the Asia-Pacific region so that they can respond to calls for assistance. The agency’s depot in Malaysia has stocks of high-energy biscuits and emergency equipment in place.
In his remarks today the Secretary-General noted that Japan is one of the most generous benefactors to other countries in the wake of a disaster or other major crisis.
“I sincerely hope that under the leadership of Prime Minister Kan Naoto, and the full support and solidarity of the international community, the Japanese people and Government will be able to overcome this difficult time as soon as possible.”
Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Yukiya Amano, the Director General of IAEA, are among the other UN officials to express their condolences following the disaster.
UN peacekeepers and crime fighters team up to combat drugs, crime in conflict zones
March 7, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Alain Le Roy (left) and Yury Fedotov shake hands after signing pact to fight organized crime in conflict areas
2 March 2011 – The United Nations peacekeeping and crime fighting divisions today launched a joint action plan to further strengthen their cooperation in the battle against drugs and crime, particularly in West Africa, which has become a hub in the illegal narcotics network from South America to Europe.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) have mandates and comparative advantages that complement each other, UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov told a news conference at which he signed the cooperation agreement with the head of DPKO, Under-Secretary-General Alain Le Roy.
“This complementarity enhances the impact of both of our departments and the efforts to strengthen peace and stability and support the United Nations security and development agenda,” Mr. Fedotov said, giving West Africa as an example.
“Organized crime has turned this region into a hub for the traffic in illegal drugs, weapons and contraband goods. Criminals are exploiting West Africa’s strategic location, porous borders, weak governments and institutions, widespread poverty, corruption.”
It is estimated that at least 50 tons of cocaine transit West Africa annually, heading north to European cities, where they are worth almost $2 billion on the streets.
In Guinea-Bissau, joint action by the two divisions supports a national counter-narcotic plan and security sector reform, Mr. Fedotov said, noting that UNODC has also provided $4 million for the West Africa Coast Initiative, in which it has teamed up with DPKO, the UN Department of Political Affairs (DPA), the UN Office for West Africa (UNOWA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Interpol to fight ship-borne drug smuggling.
Traffickers are also using planes to replace camel caravans in their circuitous routes across West Africa. In 2009, investigators found the debris of a Boeing 727 jet in the Gao region of Mali, an area plagued by insurgency and terrorism.
UNODC officials say drug trails crisscross West and East Africa, with cocaine pouring into the west, and 30 to 35 tons of Afghan heroin trafficked annually into the east, and the Sahara becoming “a free economic zone” for all sorts of trafficking, whether drugs, migrants, guns, natural resources or hazardous waste, mainly due to the chaotic situation in Somalia.
The two illicit streams meet in the Sahara, creating new trafficking routes across Chad, Niger and Mali, with cocaine and heroin becoming a new sort of currency, being traded at par.
The discovery of seven laboratories in Guinea a year ago shows that West Africa is also becoming a producer of the synthetic drug amphetamine and of crystal cocaine refined from the base paste.
“Our combined efforts to build peace and security in post-conflict regions will benefit women and men, families and children who now live in fear of becoming victims of drug traffickers or other criminals,” Mr. Fedotov said. “Together we can help build and restore communities that are safe, healthy and just and that would be the best reward for us.”
Mr. Le Roy, too, stressed the “many ways we can strengthen our capacity in the rule of law” to fight drugs and crime while keeping and building peace in conflict-stricken regions.
Women collect water from a well in Kyaukypu township shortly after Cyclone Giri.
FAMILIES in areas of Rakhine State affected by Cyclone Giri are still struggling to find safe drinking water, despite the collection of rainwater in ponds rehabilitated after the storm, aid agency officials said earlier this month.
“Winter rains have filled some rehabilitated ponds in cyclone-affected areas, but the water is not suitable for drinking because the ponds are still contaminated with seawater, especially in Myebon township,” said U Thar Mya Kyaw, secretary of the Rakhine Thahaya Association (Yangon), which has established the Cyclone Giri Relief Committee (Rakhine Families in Yangon) with 21 other Rakhine organisations.
He said the Myebon township villages of Ye Ni Gyi, Wa Baw Gyi, Thin Paung Chaung and Seik Tara were particularly short of safe drinking water sources.
U Thar Mya Kyaw said the Cyclone Giri Relief Committee (Rakhine Families in Yangon) had planned to dig tube wells in the four villages but that had proved unfeasible.
“We did some testing and discovered that the tube wells wouldn’t be able to provide fresh water because of their location. Instead, we’ve arranged a boat to transport fresh water to those villages. It costs more than K1 million a month in rental and fuel charges, and we’re covering the cost from donations to the committee,” he said, adding that the group began the project in the first week of February.
“We are aiming to keep providing the transportation assistance until the monsoon rains begin and water can collect in village ponds,” he said.
Mr Dara Johnston, chief of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said recent assessments had shown some villages will need help with water supplies until June.
The most affected villages are located in Myebon, Pauktaw and Kyaukpyu townships, the assessment found.
“We have discovered that a number of villages depend entirely on ponds [for clean water]. There were no springs or wells or anything else in the area. People had to completely empty their ponds when seawater came in during the cyclone because it made the water salty,” Mr Johnston said.
“The cyclone occurred at end of the rainy season and the affected areas have had no significant rainfall from post-monsoon precipitation. Those are the villages that we are concentrating on because they don’t have any alternative [water supply]. If they can’t get water, it will be a desperate situation.”
Mr Johnston said the agencies in the WASH cluster – made up of national and international aid organis-ations and UN agencies – have secured US$5.8 million in funding to provide water, sanitation and hygiene assistance through June.
The funding has come from a number of international donors, including Australia, Japan, the European Union and United Kingdom.
“The funding is for immediate relief supplies such as hygiene kits, water purification tablets and chemicals, as well as rehabilitation of wells and other water systems and promotion of good hygiene practices. It also includes probation for providing water for villages which run out of water in the next four or five months,” he said.
He said several villages have been identified by agencies in the cluster as being in need of water already, and agencies are delivering water from spring sources or wells to those villages by boat. In line with international humanitarian standards, aid organisations are providing a minimum of five litres of water a person each day.
Mr Johnston said most of the rehabilitation of water sources, such as ponds and hand-dug wells, will be completed in the next three to four months.
“Most activities began in January after the bulk of the relief work was done in December. It is starting to speed up and it will take three or four months more,” he said.
“We are trying to get back to the condition before the cyclone. Assessments of the damage show that 11 percent of the people in the area are at risk of having no water source in the height of the dry season. The WASH cluster will work with local government to ensure that intermediate solutions are found until the rains come.”
Mr Daniel Collison, director of program development and quality for Save the Children, said in an email that Cyclone Giri had left some communities particularly vulnerable to water shortages.
He said low-lying coastal areas of Myebon township are a priority for assistance with drinking water this year. In the area where Save the Children is working in southern Myebon, the organisation has identified 7300 people in six villages who have no immediate source of safe drinking water.
Mr Collison said the cleaning and repair of water sources damaged by the storm is underway, but ponds will have to be cleaned again after the first rains, as salinity in the floor and sides of the ponds builds up over the dry season. Save the Children’s project aims to repair 30 ponds and 30 wells.
In order to provide villages with water, Save the Children staff and local volunteers have built a 4-metre-high concrete dam on the island of Ngwe Twin Tu. The dam stores water from a spring source and a 1-kilometre-long pipe channels this to a shore-side storage and distribution site, where four bladders transship the water into bladders on waiting boats, from where it is transported to the target villages and pumped into other storage bladders.
A sand and gravel filter system is also being constructed at the storage site, which will further improve the quality of the water, and will be usable in years to come in an area that suffers chronic dry season water shortages.
The dam holds more than 3 million litres of water, and the team distributes up to 30,000 litres a day to both the target population and additional communities who come to collect from the distribution point. Distribution started in early December and will continue through to May.
Mr Collison said the WASH cluster estimates that up to 120,000 people in the cyclone-affected area need assistance so they can access safe drinking water. However, many of these people suffer from water access and quality problems every year, rather than being particularly affected by Cyclone Giri.
He said, however, that the untimely rainfalls in December and January have helped many of the communities that rely on spring sources for their water. The rains have meant that the springs have flowed for longer than usual, and more water can be stored for use later in the dry season.
Graft plagues global anti-narcotics efforts – UN panel
March 2, 2011
Melvyn Levitsky
2 March 2011 – Corruption is a major impediment in combating illicit drug trafficking, the independent United Nations body tasked with monitoring the production and consumption of narcotics worldwide said today in its annual report, while also warning that the production of synthetic stimulants is growing.
The vast profits generated in the drug markets often exceed the financial resources of State institutions, the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) says in its report, adding that the criminal organizations with drug trafficking empires have in some cases become political forces with the power and authority of legitimate institutions.
The INCB is an independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body mandated to implement United Nations international drug control conventions.
“By employing corruption and violence [drug traffickers] are able to avoid law enforcement, interdiction, eradication of drug crop and such things as extradition to jurisdictions that want to prosecute them,” Board member Melvyn Levitsky told reporters at UN Headquarters.
“Corruption plagues not only our area of drug control, it also weakens governments and institutions,” said Mr. Levitsky, who is also Professor of International Policy and Practice at the University of Michigan in the United States.
According to the report, so-called “designer drugs” such as mephedrone, which mimics the effects of cocaine, are being produced faster and in growing numbers. Detailed instructions for the manufacture of these synthetic drugs are often shared via the Internet, adds the report.
“Given the health risks posed by the abuse of designer drugs, we urge Governments to adopt national control measures to prevent the manufacture, trafficking in and abuse of these substances,” says Hamid Ghodse, the President of the Board.
On the other hand, licit drugs needed for medical treatment are not readily available in all parts of the world, the report says, noting that more than 80 per cent of the world’s population lack or has insufficient access to pain relief drugs.
While Western countries consume 90 per cent of the medicines on the market, many countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas have very little or no access to drugs for medical purposes, the report points out.
Barriers include lack of education of health professionals, regulatory constraints, difficulties in distribution, and the absence of a comprehensive health policy that includes pain treatment. The INCB urges Governments to take action, for example, by collecting statistical data on licit drug requirements, adapt legislation and improve education and training.
Drug trafficking organizations based in Mexico dominate the market for cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine in the United States, according to the report, which also notes an increase in the abuse of all drugs, except cocaine, in the US in 2009.
In Mexico drug trafficking organizations responded with unprecedented violence to vigorous law enforcement measures by the Government to disrupt trafficking operations, the report says, adding that more than 28,000 people have been killed in drug-related incidents in the country since 2006.
In 2009, the total area under coca bush cultivation in South America decreased for a second consecutive year, due to a significant reduction of that area in Colombia.
Among the other findings, the report notes that cocaine abuse is spreading in Europe, possibly replacing amphetamines and ecstasy as the drug of choice in countries such as Denmark, Spain and the United Kingdom.
In addition, heroin continues to be the primary drug of abuse in China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Viet Nam, with most countries in the region reporting declining or stable trends in heroin abuse, while South Asia has become one of the main regions used by drug traffickers to obtain the chemicals needed to produce synthetic drugs.
General Assembly suspends Libya from rights body; Ban says regional change must come ‘from within’
March 1, 2011
ARAKANLAND
Secretary-General addresses General Assembly meeting on suspending Libya’s membership in the Human Rights Council
1 March 2011 – The General Assembly today suspended Libya from the United Nations Human Rights Council for “gross and systematic” human rights violations because of President Muammar Al-Qadhafi’s violent repression of peaceful protesters demanding his ouster.
The vote by the 192-member Assembly, for which a two-thirds majority was required, followed a request last Friday from the Geneva-based Council itself that it suspend the North African country – one of the top UN right’s body’s 47 elected members – and was passed by acclamation.
It was the latest measure taken against Mr. Qadhafi’s regime by the UN, where the Security Council has already imposed sanctions and requested that the International Criminal Court investigate it for possible crimes against humanity. Only Venezuela expressed reservations about Tuesday’s suspension on the grounds that an investigation was needed first – but it did not stand in the way of the vote.
Terming the Qadhafi regime’s actions “flagrant human rights violations,” the President of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss, warned that there can be no security or development without respect for rights.
“The credibility of the international community, the United Nations General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council is at stake in ensuring that these rights are respected and that human rights violations are punished,” he told the representatives gathered in the hall before the vote.
“Today it is up to us, the General Assembly, to do our part. We must show unity and resolve in our determination to promote the fundamental values of the [UN] Charter,” Mr. Deiss added. “This is our duty to all the men and women who are hoping and struggling to have their rights respected and who, today, are running the greatest risks. Their hopes must not be dashed.”
Also addressing the Assembly before the vote, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced grave concern at the continued loss of life, “the ongoing repression of the population and the clear incitement to violence against the civilian population by Colonel Qadhafi and his supporters.”
Mr. Ban said the actions taken by the various UN bodies send a strong and important message – “a message of great consequence within the region and beyond: that there is no impunity, that those who commit crimes against humanity will be punished, that fundamental principles of justice and accountability shall prevail.”
The Human Rights Council was established in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights, which had been considered ineffective. The 47 countries that make up the Council’s membership are elected by secret majority vote of the General Assembly based on geographical distribution, and serve for three years, with no more than two consecutive terms. Libya was elected last year with its term scheduled to end in 2013.
Mr. Ban warned of a crisis marked by on-going violence, a growing humanitarian emergency and a political situation that could quickly deteriorate further. He cited reports that government had opened arms depots and arsenals “to gangs who terrorize communities” and that its forces had fired indiscriminately on peaceful protesters.
The Secretary-General stated that the international community must recognize that any changes to societies in the region “must come from within.”
“Above all, this means local ownership and local leadership, consistent with popular aspirations for dignity and justice,” Mr. Ban said. “In this great and noble quest, the United Nations stands ready to assist in every way possible, should the people of the region and their governments request our help.”
He noted that while the death toll from nearly two weeks of violence in Libya is unknown, it is likely to exceed 1,000, with thousands injured. “Credible and consistent reports include allegations of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detention and torture,” the Secretary-General said.
Citing a growing crisis of refugees and displaced persons, with nearly 150,000 people already fleeing to Tunisia and Egypt, he warned that the violence could disrupt distribution networks and lead to food shortages.
“In these difficult and unpredictable circumstances, it is critical that the international community remain united,” he said, citing his meeting yesterday in Washington, D.C., with United States President Barack Obama, and talks he plans to hold with other world and regional leaders in the coming days.
“Our collective challenge will be to provide real protection for the people of Libya – first, to halt the violence and, second, to deal with the growing humanitarian emergency,” Mr. Ban said. “The arms embargo, travel ban and assets freeze imposed by Security Council resolution 1970 [on Saturday] must be swiftly and effectively enforced. We need concrete action on the ground to provide humanitarian and medical assistance. Time is of the essence. Thousands of lives are at risk.”
In the coming days, UN assessment teams will deploy to organize the humanitarian response, working on the ground where they can in the eastern and western regions of Libya, Mr. ban said, adding that he would bring together the heads of UN humanitarian agencies and international and regional groups including the Arab League, the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Conference to consolidate the response, for which he plans to appoint a Special Envoy.
del.icio.us
