UN REACHES 1.2 MILLION AFGHAN CHILDREN WITH POLIO VACCINE AFTER NEARBY OUTBREAK
The United Nations World Health Organization has vaccinated more than 1.2 million children in Afghanistan against polio after an outbreak of the sometimes deadly disease in neighbouring Tajikistan, where it was thought to have been eradicated nearly one decade ago.
Most of the 200 cases reported as of 5 June were near Tajikistan’s border with Afghanistan, the target of WHO’s vaccination drive earlier this month.
The agency vaccinated more than 1 million children in Tajikistan against polio last month.
To guarantee that no child is left unvaccinated in Afghanistan, where health coverage is poor in remote areas, WHO took a four-pronged approach, setting up immunization posts at border crossing points to reach all children travelling between the two countries; carrying out house-to-house visits; setting up mobile clinics; and having fixed teams in hospitals.
Afghanistan’s Badakhshan region has been polio-free for some 10 years, making it all the more important to contain possible spill-over effects from outbreaks in neighbouring areas.
Polio, sometimes called poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious and sometimes fatal disease, and is often marked by acute flaccid paralysis among sufferers. It has been eradicated from much of the world, but experience shows that the virus can travel far relatively rapidly.
(VN: Jun, 7, 2010)
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Gezondheidszorg
woensdag 9 juni 2010
donderdag 25 maart 2010
VN vraagt om herziening amnesty wet in Afghanistan
Een hoge medewerker van het VN-kantoor voor de Mensenrechten heeft opgeroepen om een controversiële amnestie wet in Afghanistan te herzien. De Verzoeningswet gaat om een pardon en immuniteit voor leden van gewapende facties die voor december 2001 acties hebben bedreven.
TOP UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL IN AFGHANISTAN CALLS FOR REPEAL OF AMNESTY LAW
The United Nations human rights office in Afghanistan today called for the repeal of a controversial amnesty law in the Asian country, saying that it green-lights impunity for serious crimes and continued rights violations.
“This law relieves Afghan authorities of their obligation to investigate and prosecute, on their own initiative, those allegedly responsible for gross violations of human rights,” Norah Niland, the Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told journalists today in Kabul.
“The law is likely to undermine efforts to secure genuine reconciliation, which is of course about bringing together different elements of a fractured society,” Ms. Niland added.
In 2007, Afghanistan’s Parliament approved the Reconciliation and General Amnesty Law, which provides blanket immunity and pardons former members of Afghanistan’s armed factions for actions committed prior to December 2001.
The UN has a global position that blanket amnesties are troubling, Ms. Niland said, because they prevent a country from dealing with the past and moving out of a crisis.
Asked if she supported repealing the law, Ms. Niland said: “The answer is the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Afghan civil society and human rights NGOs [non-governmental organizations] in and outside of the country have asked that the law be repealed.”
Ms. Niland also criticized the Shi’a personal status law – parts of which appear to sanction rape within the marriage – saying it “legitimized discriminatory practices against women.”
Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, met today with representatives from Hezb-e-Islami, a political party in Afghanistan.
The meeting was held in consultation with President Hamid Karzai and in accordance with the expanded mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which gives the operation a wider supporting role in preparation for parliamentary elections slated for September.
Mr. de Mistura indicated that the ongoing discussions with Afghan authorities further underscored the importance of Afghan-led dialogue to bring stability to this country.
UNAMA said in a pres release following the visit that the UN, as per its traditional role and expertise, will always be available to assist Afghans to find proper avenues for pursuing constructive political dialogue.
(VN: Mar 25 2010)
TOP UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL IN AFGHANISTAN CALLS FOR REPEAL OF AMNESTY LAW
The United Nations human rights office in Afghanistan today called for the repeal of a controversial amnesty law in the Asian country, saying that it green-lights impunity for serious crimes and continued rights violations.
“This law relieves Afghan authorities of their obligation to investigate and prosecute, on their own initiative, those allegedly responsible for gross violations of human rights,” Norah Niland, the Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told journalists today in Kabul.
“The law is likely to undermine efforts to secure genuine reconciliation, which is of course about bringing together different elements of a fractured society,” Ms. Niland added.
In 2007, Afghanistan’s Parliament approved the Reconciliation and General Amnesty Law, which provides blanket immunity and pardons former members of Afghanistan’s armed factions for actions committed prior to December 2001.
The UN has a global position that blanket amnesties are troubling, Ms. Niland said, because they prevent a country from dealing with the past and moving out of a crisis.
Asked if she supported repealing the law, Ms. Niland said: “The answer is the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Afghan civil society and human rights NGOs [non-governmental organizations] in and outside of the country have asked that the law be repealed.”
Ms. Niland also criticized the Shi’a personal status law – parts of which appear to sanction rape within the marriage – saying it “legitimized discriminatory practices against women.”
Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, met today with representatives from Hezb-e-Islami, a political party in Afghanistan.
The meeting was held in consultation with President Hamid Karzai and in accordance with the expanded mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which gives the operation a wider supporting role in preparation for parliamentary elections slated for September.
Mr. de Mistura indicated that the ongoing discussions with Afghan authorities further underscored the importance of Afghan-led dialogue to bring stability to this country.
UNAMA said in a pres release following the visit that the UN, as per its traditional role and expertise, will always be available to assist Afghans to find proper avenues for pursuing constructive political dialogue.
(VN: Mar 25 2010)
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