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Friday, October 03, 2008 - 10:54 PM

NEW UN PEACEBUILDING OFFICE OPENS UP SHOP IN SIERRA LEONE

Press Release - UN News Center

Oct 1 2008

A new United Nations peacebuilding office opened in Sierra Leone today to assist in the continued recovery following the civil war that wracked the West African country during much of the 1990s.

The UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL), mandated by the Security Council in August to replace the UN political office known as UNIOSIL, is the latest in a series of UN missions over the past 10 years that have helped the country get back on its feet.

UNIPSIL will provide political support to national and local efforts for identifying and resolving tensions and threats of potential conflict, whatever the source and will coordinate the work of all UN funds, agencies and programmes.

It will also monitor and promote human rights, democratic institutions and the rule of law, including efforts to counter trans-national organized crime and drug trafficking.

With a staff of about 70, the new office will work on consolidating good governance reforms, with a special focus on anti-corruption instruments such as the Anti-Corruption Commission. It will support decentralization and review the country's 1991 constitution as well as the enactment of relevant legislation.

UNIPSIL will closely coordinate its work with the UN Peacebuilding Commission, which is already active in the country.

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.

Friday, October 03, 2008 - 10:52 PM

UN SEEKS TO HELP LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES OVERCOME THEIR HANDICAP IN TRADE

Press Release - UN News Center

Oct 1 2008

The United Nations today began three days of high-level consultations aimed at boosting foreign direct investment in the world's 31 landlocked developing countries to strengthen their participation in international trade and the global economy.

"As we attempt to find long-term solutions to their plight, external investment is critical in enabling landlocked developing countries to substantially mitigate their unfavourable geographical locations," Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro told a high-level investment forum at UN Headquarters in New York.

Speaking on the eve of a two-day High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly devoted to the mid-term review of the Almaty Programme of Action, a 2003 plan setting out specific measures to help landlocked countries, she noted that despite "much progress" in the past five years many still remain marginalized from the world economy with limited access to global markets and to the sea for external trade.

"The Almaty Programme highlights the role that foreign direct investment could play in this process," Ms. Migiro said. "Foreign direct investment has a great potential as contributor to growth and development. It can bring capital, technology, management know-how and access to new markets. In comparison with other forms of capital flows, it is also more stable, with a longer-term commitment to the host economy."

Although LLDCs represent about 15 per cent of States, their share of world exports has remained well below 1 per cent.

Cheick Sidi Diarra, the UN High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), also noted the progress made since 2003. But he warned: "The high cost of international trade continues to hinder their trade and economic development."

The Almaty Programme is the first global action plan negotiated at ministerial level to provide a framework for cooperation between landlocked and transit access developing countries, promising reductions in red tape and transportation costs and time.

At the time of its adoption transport services through access countries consumed on average 15 per cent of export earnings of LLDCs - and as much as half for some African nations. In comparison, other developing countries spent an average of only 7 per cent on transport services, and the developed countries only 3 to 4 per cent.

The Programme established for the first time agreement in principle on compensating landlocked countries for their geographical handicaps with improved market access and trade facilitation.

With seven years left for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the ambitious targets set by the UN Millennium Summit of 2000 to slash poverty, hunger, preventable illness and a host of other socio-economic ills, all by 2015, Ms. Migiro called for accelerated progress in the LLDCs. "These countries require our collective special attention," she said.

Friday, October 03, 2008 - 10:50 PM

GEORGIA: UN RIGHTS EXPERT TO ASSESS PLIGHT OF THOSE DISPLACED BY RECENT CONFLICT

Press Release - UN News Center

Oct 1 2008

An independent United Nations human rights expert today began a four-day visit to assess the current situation of those displaced by last month's conflict in Georgia, which uprooted some 192,000 people from their homes.

Walter Kälin, the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), plans to start with meetings in the capital, Tbilisi, where he will meet with Government officials, civil society, international organizations and IDPs.

He will then travel to Gori and surrounding areas to assess the situation and meet with displaced persons and relevant actors involved in addressing the human rights of the displaced.

"Mr. Kälin hopes to be able to also visit Tskhinvali and surrounding conflict-affected areas in the near future," according to a news release issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mr. Kälin, who serves in an independent and unpaid capacity, will present his findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In recent months he has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sri Lanka, the Central African Republic and Azerbaijan.

Friday, October 03, 2008 - 10:48 PM

UN FUND TO BENEFIT OVER 1 MILLION VICTIMS OF UNREST IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

Press Release - UN News Center

Oct 1 2008

More than a million people struck by violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), including 110,000 who have been uprooted from their homes, will receive life-saving assistance under funding announced today by the new United Nations Common Humanitarian Fund.

"The pooled fund will help to make humanitarian action in the country more efficient and better coordinated," UN Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said of the $2.5 million allocated to 16 priority projects focusing on health care, access to water, the survival of infants and the young, and aid to help those displaced to return home.

"Thanks to the fund, aid organizations on the ground can channel the money where it is most needed and respond to a breaking emergency faster than ever," added Mr. Holmes, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs.

CAR has been hit by violence in several regions from rebels and a spill-over of instability in the north from neighbouring Chad and Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, and the new funding will target 110,000 displaced people, 83,000 more who recently returned to their devastated villages and 1 million others affected by the unrest.

Overall, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have launched a $114 million aid programme for CAR in 2008, of which donors have so far funded 80 per cent.

Friday, October 03, 2008 - 10:46 PM

Statement by the IMF Staff Mission to Burkina Faso

Press Release - UN News Center

October 2, 2008

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Mr. Norbert Funke, visited Burkina Faso during September 17-October 1, 2008 to conduct the third review under the three-year economic program supported by the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), the IMF's concessional facility for low-income countries. It reviewed economic developments and prospects, the impact of high food and oil prices, and the authorities' policies to consolidate macroeconomic stability and promote high economic growth and reduce poverty. The mission held very fruitful discussions with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Lucien Noël Bembamba, Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) National Director Bolo Sanou, other ministers and senior government officials, representatives of the private sector, labor unions, nongovernmental organizations, and development partners.

The mission issued the following statement in Ouagadougou on October 1:

"There are signs that economic activity is recovering, and real GDP growth is projected to increase in 2008 to about 4.5 percent. Favorable weather conditions augur well for a rebound in agricultural production, an important driver of the pick-up in activity. The good harvest is also expected to reduce inflation towards the end of the year.

"In a difficult external environment, characterized by high food and oil prices, economic performance has been broadly in line with objectives under the PRGF-supported program. The IMF Executive Board is expected to consider the third review under the PRGF arrangement in December 2008. Continued efforts to strengthen tax and customs administration have helped to offset the loss in revenue associated with the temporary measures (suspensions of customs duties and value added tax (VAT) for a few basic products) to alleviate the impact of high world food and oil prices.

"The mission and the authorities agreed that the 2009 budget has to strike a balance between preserving debt sustainability and social and infrastructure needs. Plans to limit the fiscal deficit to below 5 percent of GDP in 2009 would be an important step towards reducing the deficit in the medium term to below 3 percent of GDP and stabilize debt ratios. Reducing the fiscal deficit will require sustained revenue administration efforts and moving ahead with tax policy reform. Priority areas include revising the business tax, streamlining tax exemptions, and strengthening VAT.

"Subsidies and transfers need to be better targeted to effectively reach the most needy segments of the population. The mission's analysis suggests that this is typically not the case for the temporary suspensions of customs duties and VAT and limited pass-through of international oil prices. International experience points to the advantages of better targeted measures, such as school feeding programs, reductions in fees for basic health services, and cash transfer systems. Based on our analyses, full pass-through of international fuel prices would help eliminate losses of the national oil company that may ultimately have to be borne by the government.

"Structural reforms, as envisaged by the government, should help to put the economy on a strong, sustainable growth path. Financial sector reforms need to facilitate access to finance and strengthen the stability of the sector. The mission welcomes the focus on measures to strengthen public financial management, increase productivity in the cotton sector, further enhance a business friendly environment, and improve governance.

"The mission team would like to thank the authorities for their hospitality, close collaboration, and very fruitful policy dialogue."