Ban Tells Libya To Cease Firing On Civilians

Violence against civilians in Libya must stop and those responsible for the attacks must be held responsible in courts of law says United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.

“The reported nature and scale of attacks on civilians are egregious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.“ the Secretary General told reporters this afternoon. “Those responsible for brutally shedding the blood of innocents must be punished” 

Ban cut short an official trip to Los Angeles today,  returning to UN headquarters in New York to discuss the situation in Libya with his senior advisors.

Earlier in the day the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) , an international body that counts Libya as a member, announced it will hold a Special Session on the situation in Libya on Friday. This will be the first time a special session is convened to discuss the human rights situation in UNHRC member state.  

Ban said he welcomed UNHRC’ Special Session as well as the possible creation of an international inquiry into the reported attacks and violence that have so far forced thousands of Libyan to flee the country. 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) was able to confirm that at least 5 000 people have arrived along the border with Tunisia and 15 000 more at the crossing with Egypt. 

Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said earlier today his country is concerned the collapse of the regime in Libya could lead to a massive influx of immigrants, estimating that anywhere between 200 000 to 300 000 could seek refuge in Italy in the near future. 

Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says the UN refugee agency has appealed to countries in Europe and North Africa not to return those fleeing violence and repression in Libya. 

UN Condemns Bahrain Crackdown On Protests, Calls For Reform

Secretary General Ban Ki Moon says reports of a violent crackdown against demonstrators in Bahrain are “deeply troubling”, and urged Bahraini officials to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice. 

“The United Nations has been urging the leaders in the region, as elsewhere around the world, to listen attentively to the people and to respond to their legitimate aspirations” said the Secretary General “I will be reaching out again in the days ahead to leaders in the region to reiterate that message. I will say it once again: The situation calls for bold reforms, not repression.” 

According media reports from Bahrain’s capital Manama, several people were killed and hundreds more injured early this morning when security forces tried to clear out Pearl Square, where several thousand people had been gathering since the start of the week to demand political reforms from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. 

Ban said governments in the Middle East and North Africa have obligations to respect the human rights of peaceful protesters.  

“Across the region, people are standing up to voice their legitimate aspirations” said Ban “Each country is unique, each situation is different but there are common challenges in the region and important principles to  uphold.”

Ban said he believed the protests in Bahrain and through out the Arab world  had been fueled by a lack of economic opportunities and basic freedoms.

“Freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of communication should be fully guaranteed. Those have been largely neglected in the region. That is the lesson which leaders should learn and try to change as soon as possible, reflecting such strong voices from their own people”

US Ambassador Refuses To Comment CableGate Spying Revelations, UN Looking For Answers

US Ambassador Susan Rice declined to comment on the authenticity of the State Department cables released by Wikileaks yesterday that show American diplomats were directed to collect personal information like credit card numbers, passwords and even biometrics information from Security Council members and top UN officials such as Ban Ki Moon.

“Our diplomats are doing what diplomats do around the world every day, which is build relationships , negotiate, advance our interests and work to find common solutions to complex problems. Thats what they do. And they do it extremely well, with great  integrity with hard work.” said Rice, “I’m not going to get in to commenting on classified material or alleged classified material and its contents . “

Rice was also unwilling to speak about the damage the cables might have on American diplomacy at the UN, and instead tried to highlight the Obama administration’s efforts at strengthening the US participation within the world body.”This has been a time when the United States, under president Obama’s leadership, has made enormous progress in repairing and rebuilding our relationships with partners and allies around the world.”

The Secretary General’s deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said the UN could not comment  on the authenticity of the documents but noted that the organization relied on member states to adhere to the UN Charter, Headquarter Agreements and 1946 Convention that protect UN property and assets as inviolable. 

Haq says the Secretary General was informed of contents of the cable by Ambassador Rice before they were released by Wikileaks yesterday and that the UN would further investigate the claims.”Certainly we will need further information on this and we will respond as appropriate. We will talk to our US counter parts at various level, but at this stage, I don’t have precise details” said Haq

Rape with impunity a part of every day life in the Congo

On his visit to Goma, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated the UN's commitment to ending sexual violence throughout the country. At Heal Africa, a holistic center set up to provide psychological and medical healing to rape victims --some as young as two years of age, he spoke about the every day ills women in the country suffer.

Many women and young girls have suffered at the hands of Ugandan LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) and FDLR (Revolutionary Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) rebels who have fought over ownership of land thick with natural resources like gold and minerals. MONUC (The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) is dealing with these cases on a day by day basis as the increase of incidents citing brutal rape and other forms of sexual violence continue. TRNS sat down with Virginie Mumbre, a counselor at the Heal Africa center to find out the latest on these sex crimes.

Fight against AIDS going well, but "far from over"

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said while "fewer are being infected with HIV," there is "no room for complacency" in the fight against AIDS.

In a luncheon presented by UNAIDS, Moon said via webcast that while there have been successes in the fight against HIV/AIDS, it is still one of the "top ten causes of death worldwide" and the leading cause of death in Africa. He felt that the worldwide goal should be to "create a future without AIDS.

President of the UN Foundation and Better World Fund and Former Sen. Timothy Wirth (D-Colo.) felt the issues of AIDS treatment and family planning have "got to be brought together" worldwide. He said that while there are approximately 35 million people with HIV/AIDS in the world, there are almost 200 million couples who want family planning services but cannot get them.

Wirth said the focus of AIDS prevention should be on "adolescent girls in particular." Wirth claimed that over half of all new AIDS infections are women. He said that bringing prevention and treatment to women has been more difficult because anti-women forces have "reared their head." Director of the Washington Office for UNAIDS John Hassell echoed Wirth's statements saying HIV/AIDS is "definitely not a gay disease.

Thembi Nkambule, National Coordinator of the Swaziland National Network of People Living with AIDS, said that while "more people than ever" have access to care, the fight is "far from over." She estimated that in her home country of Swaziland, around 20 percent of the population is infected. She advocated that HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention should be "priorities in the global agenda." "We need to keep people living with HIV alive as long as possible," remarked Nkambule.

Jahnabi Goswani, General Secretary of the India Network of People Living with AIDS, said that HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment should focus on "vulnerable communities" as well as women. She also stated that people with AIDS must be proactive in educating communities because they understand the virus "better than anyone."