De gezant van de Verenigde Naties voor Kinderen en Gewapende Conflicten heeft donderdag opgeroepen tot een grondige beschouwing van procedures nadat NAVO-luchtaanvallen het leven hebben geëist van negen kinderen.
Radhika Coomaraswamy, de speciale gezant van VN-secretaris-seneraal Ban Ki-moon, zei in een verklaring: “Kinderen die in Afghanistan worden gedood door luchtaanvallen is een reden tot grote bezorgdheid.”
De jongens van 12 jaar oud en jonger werden dinsdag gedood toen ze brandhout aan het sprokkelen waren in de Oost-Afghaanse provincie Kunar en door de NAVO onder vuur werden genomen.
De commandant van de NAVO-troepenmacht in Afghanistan, generaal David Petraeus, heeft inmiddels excuses aangeboden voor de tragedie. Hij schreef de oorzaak ervan toe aan een communicatiefout over de locatie van militanten.
Mevrouw Coomaraswamy verwelkomde de verontschuldigingen van de generaal, maar vraagt gelijktijdig om een diepgaande evaluatie van procedures om te waarborgen “dat alle nodige voorzorgsmaatregelen worden getroffen om ervoor te zorgen dat kinderen geen slachtoffer worden van geweld in Afghanistan”.
Coomaraswamy merkte op dat de buitenlandse troepen eerder vorig jaar nieuwe richtlijnen hebben ingesteld met als doel burgers beter te beschermen tegen luchtaanvallen. Hierdoor zijn in 2010 aanzienlijk minder kinderen gedood door regeringsgezinde strijdkrachten.
Het verslag van de VN:
UN envoy calls for military review after air strikes kill Afghan children
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vrijdag 4 maart 2011
UN envoy calls for military review after air strikes kill Afghan children
The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict today called for a thorough review of procedures after NATO air strikes killed nine children in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province on Tuesday.
“Children killed in Afghanistan by air strikes is a cause of serious concern,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Radhika Coomaraswamy.
According to media reports, the boys – aged 12 and under – were killed while gathering firewood. NATO commander General David Petraeus has reportedly apologized for the fatalities, which he said occurred due to a communication error about the location of militants.
Ms. Coomaraswamy, in a statement issued by her office, welcomed Gen. Petraeus’ apology for the incident and his commitment to investigate.
At the same time, she urged a thorough review of procedures “to ensure that all necessary precautions are taken to prevent children from becoming casualties in the complex and volatile situation in Afghanistan.”
The Special Representative noted that early last year, the international forces introduced technical directives aimed at better protecting civilians during air strikes, which had resulted in a significant decrease in the number of children killed by pro-Government forces in 2010.
(VN: New York, Mar 3, 2011)
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Excuses NAVO voor dood 9 Afghaanse kinderen
“Children killed in Afghanistan by air strikes is a cause of serious concern,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Radhika Coomaraswamy.
According to media reports, the boys – aged 12 and under – were killed while gathering firewood. NATO commander General David Petraeus has reportedly apologized for the fatalities, which he said occurred due to a communication error about the location of militants.
Ms. Coomaraswamy, in a statement issued by her office, welcomed Gen. Petraeus’ apology for the incident and his commitment to investigate.
At the same time, she urged a thorough review of procedures “to ensure that all necessary precautions are taken to prevent children from becoming casualties in the complex and volatile situation in Afghanistan.”
The Special Representative noted that early last year, the international forces introduced technical directives aimed at better protecting civilians during air strikes, which had resulted in a significant decrease in the number of children killed by pro-Government forces in 2010.
(VN: New York, Mar 3, 2011)
Zie ook:
Excuses NAVO voor dood 9 Afghaanse kinderen
woensdag 9 juni 2010
VN ent 1,2 miljoen kinderen in tegen polio in Afghanistan
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)
Zie ook:
Gezondheidszorg
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)
Zie ook:
Gezondheidszorg
vrijdag 14 november 2008
Top UN human rights official urges halt to Afghan executions
The United Nations human rights chief voiced her dismay today after several prisoners were put to death in Afghanistan in recent days and urged the Government to stop any further planned executions.
VN willen eind aan golf executies in Afghanistan
VN willen eind aan golf executies in Afghanistan
zondag 26 oktober 2008
Afghan anti-corruption efforts receive financial boost with UN grants
Three Afghan civil society groups working to combat corruption in the fledgling democracy will be able to boost their activities to promote accountability and transparency thanks to grants being provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Integrated Approaches for Community Development, Integrity Watch Afghanistan, and Saba Media Organization will each receive grants of up to $50,000 to carry out activities in the areas of monitoring, awareness-raising and capacity development, media and access to information, and training on anti-corruption and ethics.
The grants are provided through UNDP’s Accountability and Transparency (ACT) Project’s Accountability and Transparency Grants Facility, which seeks to complement anti-corruption activities carried out by the Afghan public sector.
The Grants Facility was set up “to encourage the active involvement of civil society and media in the fight against corruption,” said Manoj Basnyat, UNDP Country Director for Afghanistan.
The ACT Project is working to facilitate broad public awareness and education initiatives on the complex issues of corruption and to engage more civil society actors and local think tanks in this process.
Among other things, it is designed to support the Government in developing a broader anti-corruption strategy, as well as raise awareness and educate civil servants on the scourge.
The Afghan Government has taken a number of steps to combat corruption, including becoming a State Party to the UN Convention against Corruption, adopting new anti-corruption legislation and establishing a new anti-corruption body.
At the same time, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, has noted that corruption must also be tackled “from the bottom up” with the people, Afghan civil society and the media having a crucial role in supporting Government efforts.
According to a recent survey by Integrity Watch Afghanistan, the average Afghan household pays an estimated $100 in petty bribes every year – this in a nation where around 70 per cent of the population survives on less than $1 per day.
(UN: New York, Oct 23 2008)
Zie ook
Gemiddeld Afghaans huishouden betaalt 100 dollar aan omkoopsommen, extra geld voor drie organisaties
Integrated Approaches for Community Development, Integrity Watch Afghanistan, and Saba Media Organization will each receive grants of up to $50,000 to carry out activities in the areas of monitoring, awareness-raising and capacity development, media and access to information, and training on anti-corruption and ethics.
The grants are provided through UNDP’s Accountability and Transparency (ACT) Project’s Accountability and Transparency Grants Facility, which seeks to complement anti-corruption activities carried out by the Afghan public sector.
The Grants Facility was set up “to encourage the active involvement of civil society and media in the fight against corruption,” said Manoj Basnyat, UNDP Country Director for Afghanistan.
The ACT Project is working to facilitate broad public awareness and education initiatives on the complex issues of corruption and to engage more civil society actors and local think tanks in this process.
Among other things, it is designed to support the Government in developing a broader anti-corruption strategy, as well as raise awareness and educate civil servants on the scourge.
The Afghan Government has taken a number of steps to combat corruption, including becoming a State Party to the UN Convention against Corruption, adopting new anti-corruption legislation and establishing a new anti-corruption body.
At the same time, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Kai Eide, has noted that corruption must also be tackled “from the bottom up” with the people, Afghan civil society and the media having a crucial role in supporting Government efforts.
According to a recent survey by Integrity Watch Afghanistan, the average Afghan household pays an estimated $100 in petty bribes every year – this in a nation where around 70 per cent of the population survives on less than $1 per day.
(UN: New York, Oct 23 2008)
Zie ook
Gemiddeld Afghaans huishouden betaalt 100 dollar aan omkoopsommen, extra geld voor drie organisaties
vrijdag 24 oktober 2008
Top UN envoy deplores recent attacks against Afghan civilians
The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan has condemned recent attacks against civilians in the violence-wracked nation, including a suicide bombing on Monday that killed five children in Kunduz, the murder of a number of passengers on a bus in Kandahar and the killing of a foreign aid worker in the capital, Kabul.
“I have stressed many times over the past months the need for proper protection of civilians during combat. With these incidents there was no combat,” Kai Eide, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said in a statement issued yesterday.
“The purpose of such attacks is to stoke fear among the wider population,” he noted. “I strongly condemn all such acts.”
The Special Representative said his thoughts, as well as those of all those working for the UN in Afghanistan, are with the families and friends of those who have been killed and of those that remain missing.
Gayle Williams, a 34-year-old dual British-South African national who worked for the Christian non-governmental organization (NGO) known as SERVE Afghanistan as a volunteer on projects assisting the disabled, was shot dead on Monday as she walked to work in Kabul.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke out against the killing as well as those of two local UN staff members in Somalia during the past week, and voiced his alarm at the growing number of attacks against humanitarian workers in both countries.
Also on Monday, five children were among those killed in a suicide car bomb attack in the northern province of Kunduz.
Meanwhile, Taliban militants seized a bus in the volatile southern province of Kandahar over the weekend and reportedly executed at least two dozen passengers, beheading some of them.
(UN: New York, Oct 22 2008)
Zie ook
Kai Eide veroordeelt recente aanvallen tegen burgers Afghanistan
“I have stressed many times over the past months the need for proper protection of civilians during combat. With these incidents there was no combat,” Kai Eide, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, said in a statement issued yesterday.
“The purpose of such attacks is to stoke fear among the wider population,” he noted. “I strongly condemn all such acts.”
The Special Representative said his thoughts, as well as those of all those working for the UN in Afghanistan, are with the families and friends of those who have been killed and of those that remain missing.
Gayle Williams, a 34-year-old dual British-South African national who worked for the Christian non-governmental organization (NGO) known as SERVE Afghanistan as a volunteer on projects assisting the disabled, was shot dead on Monday as she walked to work in Kabul.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke out against the killing as well as those of two local UN staff members in Somalia during the past week, and voiced his alarm at the growing number of attacks against humanitarian workers in both countries.
Also on Monday, five children were among those killed in a suicide car bomb attack in the northern province of Kunduz.
Meanwhile, Taliban militants seized a bus in the volatile southern province of Kandahar over the weekend and reportedly executed at least two dozen passengers, beheading some of them.
(UN: New York, Oct 22 2008)
Zie ook
Kai Eide veroordeelt recente aanvallen tegen burgers Afghanistan
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