MORE MUST BE DONE TO CONSOLIDATE PEACE IN SIERRA LEONE, SAYS BAN

Greater efforts are needed by all Sierra Leoneans to build on the momentum generated by the signing of a key peace pact that led to the cessation of political violence earlier this year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wrote in a new report released today.

Measures taken to implement the 2 April communiqué signed by the governing All People's Congress (APC) and the opposition Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) "have enabled the strengthening of the peace consolidation process in Sierra Leone," Mr. Ban said.

It has also set up a framework for bi-party consensus on youth issues, illicit drug trafficking and bolstering the West African nation's democratic institutions, he added in his latest report on the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL).

But the Secretary-General underscored the need for stepped-up efforts by all sides to ensure that the current momentum is sustained, particularly the continued support of international development partners as well as dealing with political intolerance and violence ahead of the 2012 elections.

High youth employment and drug trafficking continue to impede the consolidation of peace, he said. Also hurting Sierra Leone is the global economic downturn, which has decreased foreign aid, external investments and overseas remittances.

"Especially worrying," Mr. Ban emphasized, "is the fact that Sierra Leone continues to register extremely high infant and maternal mortality and poverty levels, which call for increased engagement by the international community to help reverse those negative trends."

Concluding the process of constitutional reform is "long overdue," he said, noting that UNIPSIL stands ready to provide technical support.

Given the assistance being provided by UNIPSIL to help Sierra Leone progress on the road to peace, the Secretary-General called for a one year extension of its mandate.

Last August, the Security Council authorized the creation of UNIPSIL to replace the UN political office in the country, known as UNIOSIL, and gave it an initial mandate of 12 months.

UNIPSIL, which works closely with the UN Peacebuilding Commission, is tasked with providing political support to national and local efforts for identifying and resolving tensions and threats of potential conflict. It also monitors and promotes human rights, democratic institutions and the rule of law, including efforts to counter transnational organized crime and drug trafficking.

Sierra Leone is one of the first two countries, along with Burundi, to receive support from the Commission, which was established in 2005 to help post-conflict countries determine the priority areas for rebuilding out of the vast array of challenges they face.
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NEPAL HAS MIXED RECORD IN TRANSITION FROM WAR TO PEACE, UN REPORT FINDS

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has stressed the importance of deepening democracy and strengthening the rule of law in Nepal, in a report on the country's transition from war to peace, released in Kathmandu today.

"Nepal is in transition from conflict to peace and from authoritarian rule to democracy, and has the chance to redefine both the nation and the State," the 2009 Nepal Human Development Report</I> says.

"It is an opportunity for political 'transformation', to root out age-old practices by ensuring equality, justice and a greater voice for excluded groups. Deepening democracy and strengthening the rule of law are critical in order to give peace a chance of success."

The report notes that the underlying causes of 10 years of conflict in Nepal have not been resolved, and nor have the consequences been addressed. It calls for efforts to deal with the effects of this divided past, which include poverty and discrimination on the basis of caste and ethnicity, and an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 displaced people who have not yet returned home.

The report adds that while Nepal has made some gains in human development, the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged regions and caste or ethnic groups is widening or remains the same. Literacy rates for Dalits remain significantly lower than those for Brahmins and Chettris. Similarly, the survival chances of children aged under five from the Dalit and other marginalized communities are lower than those of children born to advantaged castes.

"Successive Human Development Reports have documented Nepal's profoundly uneven development patterns," said UNDP Resident Representative Robert Piper as he launched the report.

"Today's report indicates these patterns remain largely intact despite important progress on a number of nation-wide indicators. The message in this report is that the 'absence of war' will alone neither assure a lasting peace nor deliver prosperity. Nepal's ambitious post-conflict transformation must successfully address centuries of discrimination and exclusion so these patterns are broken for ever."

The 2009 Nepal Human Development Report is the fourth in a series of reports that have provided an analytical framework for Nepal's progress on key human development indicators and the challenges that the country faces in improving the quality of life of its people.
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BAN URGES LEADERS TO CONSOLIDATE PEACE IN AFRICA’S GREAT LAKES REGION

While tensions in Africa's Great Lakes region have eased in the past year, there are still serious issues to be dealt with, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, calling on leaders there to move quickly to carry out existing peace agreements.

Addressing the third summit of heads of State and government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), taking place in the Zambian capital of Lusaka, Mr. Ban commended in particular the commitment of the leaders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda to promote peace and stability in the region.

In a message delivered by his Special Envoy for the region, Olusegun Obasanjo, the Secretary-General welcomed last week's summit between the Presidents of the two countries, as well as the exchange of their ambassadors.

"This is no doubt a result of the collective efforts of the two countries and the region," he noted. "It is also an example of how the ICGLR can serve as an effective instrument for change."

He also highlighted the 23 March agreements between the DRC Government and armed groups in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, and appealed to all parties to pursue the full implementation of the accords.

In addition, he drew attention to the Pact on Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region, which he described as "one of the most far-reaching agreements that the region has ever seen."

Under the Pact, which entered into force in June 2008, countries of the region committed themselves to tackling the underlying causes of the many conflicts that have raged there in recent decades and to deal with key security, governance, development, humanitarian and social issues from a regional perspective.

"It is now crucial to move from commitment to implementation," the Secretary-General said, adding that this requires strong leadership.

At the same time, Mr. Ban said the region still faces "profound" security, humanitarian, developmental and environmental challenges.

"I urge you as members of the ICGLR to make full use of this unique mechanism to quickly consolidate peace. This is, of course, an essential ingredient to sustainable development," he stated.

The core members of the ICGLR are Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), DRC, Kenya, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
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UN ADVISER TAKES PART IN SUMMIT ON SPORT AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN LONDON

The United Nations official tasked with promoting sport for development and peace today joined retired sports stars Ian Thorpe, Michael Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo and senior international political, religious and business figures such as Tony Blair, Desmond Tutu and Richard Branson at a London summit on how sport can drive social change.

Wilfried Lemke, the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, took part in a panel discussion on the role of sport in education, one of a series of panels on the third and final day of the Beyond Sport Summit.

The summit – attended by more than 350 high-level participants – aims to generate ideas for ways in which sport can promote development or other socially useful activities and to help set up strategic partnerships between government, business, philanthropy and the sports community.

Earlier this week Mr. Lemke attended the 13th General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees in Africa, which was held in Abuja, Nigeria. Since taking up his role as Special Adviser in April last year, Mr. Lemke has given special attention to Africa, particularly sports programmes that empower women and girls or people living with physical or intellectual disabilities.
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SECURITY COUNCIL RENEWS UN PRESENCE IN GUINEA-BISSAU FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS

The Security Council today extended the mandate of the current United Nations mission in Guinea-Bissau for another six months, and requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to establish an integrated peacebuilding office in the country, beginning on 1 January 2010.

The UN Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNOGBIS) will continue its tasks until 31 December 2009, according to the resolution adopted unanimously by the Council.

That office will then be succeeded by the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau, to be known as UNIOGBIS, which will be set up for an initial period of 12 months, starting on 1 January 2010, as proposed by Mr. Ban in his recent report to the Council.

The new office will be responsible for, among others, strengthening the capacity of national institutions, supporting the establishment of efficient law enforcement and helping to mobilize international assistance.

The country, which has been rocked by a series of civil conflicts, coups d'état and uprisings in recent decades, has witnessed a string of political killings in recent months. In early March, President Joao Bernardo Vieira and Chief of Staff Tagme Na Waie were assassinated, and then earlier this month, Baciro Dabo, a candidate in the 28 June presidential elections, and Helder Proenca, a Member of Parliament and former Minister of Defense, were killed.

The Council, in today's resolution, "calls on the Government of Guinea-Bissau to conduct credible and transparent investigations into the political assassinations in March and June 2009, and to bring to justice those responsible for these acts."

It also called on the Government and all political actors "to work together in order to set up the best conditions for national reconciliation and to consolidate peace and security throughout Guinea-Bissau."

In particular, the 15-member body urged Guinea-Bissau's political leaders o refrain from involving the military in politics, and requested them to use legal and peaceful means to solve their differences.

In addition, all members of the Armed Forces, including its leaders, were urged to abide by civilian rule and to refrain from any interference in political issues, and to guarantee the security of the national institutions, as well as the population in general.
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SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS AGAIN ON ISRAEL TO EASE GAZA BLOCKADE

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeated his call on Israel to ease its blockade on Gaza during a meeting today in New York with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman.

Mr. Ban also called for a freeze on all settlement activity, including natural growth, and for Israel to allow the resumption of stalled United Nations projects in Gaza, according to information provided by his spokesperson.

On Wednesday, a group of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called for an end to the blockade on Gaza, which has now been in force for two years and has left the population of 1.5 million almost totally dependent on international aid.

In addition to Gaza, the Secretary-General and Mr. Liberman discussed a number of regional issues including Lebanon. Mr. Ban briefed the Foreign Minister on his upcoming report on Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbollah.

On the Middle East Peace Process, the head of the UN reiterated the need for a political process based on the two-State solution and negotiations on all core issues, as envisaged in international law, Security Council resolutions, and existing agreements.

The two men also discussed Iran, with Mr. Ban reiterating his belief that the nuclear issues can and should be resolved through peaceful means, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions.
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Rebuilding Gaza – No Progress Without Lasting Peace

As Egypt prepares to host an international conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (starting 2 March) the ICRC warns that emergency aid and reconstruction will not be enough to resolve the crisis in Gaza unless there is a prospect of a lasting peace.

More than a month after the end of the conflict, tens of thousands have had their homes partially or completely destroyed and thousands still remain without access to water. The damage from the January conflict comes on top of Israeli restrictions on the movement of goods and people into Gaza. Most materials essential for rebuilding and restoring the economy are unavailable. In turn, the numbers of people in Gaza without jobs and a regular income has risen sharply. Poverty rates already stood at 70 percent before the conflict, and many are now left struggling to cover basic costs.

What is needed, the ICRC says, is sustainable economic development. Emergency assistance will not suffice. Gazans need machinery and spare parts. As a first step, the ICRC is calling for an end to Gaza's isolation, and a lifting of restrictions on the movement of people and goods.

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Since the conflict ended five weeks ago, normal life is starting to return in the Gaza Strip. The schools have reopened, the debris is being cleared away and some supplies are again available for sale in the shops and markets.

But the damage from the bombings has wiped out much of the industrial sector of the Gazan economy. Amr Hamad, the Executive Manager of the Palestinian Federation of Industries says the latest conflict "left more than 270 industrial establishments totally or partially damaged." According to Hamad, more than 35 thousand employees have lost their jobs in the industrial sector, but despite this, he remains optimistic for the future: "We assure everybody if the borders are opened, in one year we can again rebuild the whole of the Gaza Strip."

Tayseer Abu Eida, owned a concrete factory which it is estimated will cost around 15 million dollars to rebuild. Most of the 100 people who worked there are now unemployed.

In GazaCity, the shops are again open for business but there are still shortages and prices for basics have sky-rocketed. Oussama Boustan managed to open his supermarket for brief periods during the war even though there was very little for sale. But now the conflict is over, Boustan says, " the crossings should be open to the outside world so that we could have cement and steel brought in, jobs could be found and then there would be work."

Salah Ahmed Saleh is a pharmacist. He has five children and until the January conflict lived in a house with 14 members of his family. His home was destroyed during the conflict and he wonders if it will ever be possible to resume a normal life.

"Our situation goes from bad to worse," he says. "There is an embargo. The ingredients of a good life do not exist either for an individual, a child or a family."