Good News Agency – monthly, year 14th, no. 223 – 11 April 2014
Good News Agency
A culture of peace is emergingin all fields of human endeavour
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non governmental organizations and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day. It is distributed free of charge through Internet to 10,000 media and editorial journalists in54 countries and to 3,000 NGOs and 1,500 high schools, colleges and universities.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, an educational charity associated with the United Nations Department of Public InformationIt is a supporter of the Global Movement forthe Culture of Peace.In the final report of the Decadefor a Culture of Peace project (2001-2010) provided to the UN Secretary-General for presentation to the UN General Assembly, Good News Agency is included among the three NGOs that have been playing an active role in the field of Information through Internet.*
Contents
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health – Energy and Safety – Environment and wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
The Future of My People, a dialogue by A. Ghebreigziabiher
International legislation
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Denmark destroys its stockpile of cluster munitions strengthening the global ban
March 20 – Denmark made a strong start to 2014 by announcing it has completed the destruction of its stockpile of cluster munitions, in line with its obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Having ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2010, Denmark finishes its stockpile destruction 4.5 years in advance of the eight-year deadline set by the convention. The Cluster Munition Coalition warmly congratulates Denmark for this great achievement. Denmark joins 18 other states, including other former large stockpilers such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, which have also finished their destruction of cluster munition stockpiles.
Denmark’s swift ratification of the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the early completion of its stockpile destruction demonstrate the country’s strong commitment to the convention and its goal of preventing further harm from the deadly and indiscriminate weapon.
More major stockpilers including Italy, Sweden, Germany and Japan have indicated plans to complete destruction within the next two years.
Burmese armed group commits to child protection and the prohibition of sexual violence
March 19, Geneva - Representatives from the Burma/Myanmar armed non-State actor - the Chin National Front (CNF) and its armed wing the Chin National Army (CNA) – signed Geneva Call’s Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict and the Deed of Commitment prohibiting sexual violence in armed conflict and against gender discrimination.
The CNF/CNA, which signed a ceasefire with the Government in 2012, has been fighting for more autonomy for the Chin people – an ethnic group living in the north west of the country – for more than three decades.
In signing these two Deeds of Commitment, the CNF/CNA commits to the highest international norms in terms of child protection and prohibition of sexual violence. In 2006, the CNF/CNA signed the Deed of Commitment banning AP mines and has taken measures to implement this commitment, including destruction of components previously used to make these devices. By signing these instruments, it becomes the first armed group in Burma/Myanmar to have signed all threeof Geneva Call’s current Deeds of Commitment.
UN welcomes International Criminal Court conviction of former DR Congo militia leader
March 7 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his top envoy for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today welcomed the verdict issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against a former Congolese militia leader for war crimes in relation to a 2003 attack in the country’s east.
Human rights
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As ratifications lag, UN experts renew call for States to sign Treaty on migrant workers’ rights
New York, April 7 - The expert members of the United Nations panel dealing with the rights of migrant workers and their families renewed today their appeal to all countries to sign the international treaty on the rights of those workers, which went into effect almost 11 years ago.
After being adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1990, it took 23 years for the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families (ICRMW) to come into force – the longest of any of the 10 core international human rights instruments – due to its very slow ratification rate.
The Committee – composed of 14 independent human rights experts whose task is to oversee the implementation of the Convention by States parties – notes that many of the 47 States parties to the Convention are not only nations of origin of migrant workers but now also transit and destination countries, because of the changing patterns of migration.
The Committee estimates that more than 200 million people worldwide are international migrants, 30 million of whom are estimated to be irregular migrants. According to the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), almost 21 million people are trapped in forced labour.
Bridging the gap- -International documentary film festival
Call for entries: regular deadline, 24 May 2014 - the entry form:
We are delighted to announce the 17th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival), which was originally conceived to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The 17th UNAFF will be held from October 16-26, 2014 inPalo Alto, StanfordUniversity, East Palo Alto and San Francisco. The theme for this year is BRIDGING THE GAP.
UNAFF celebrates the power of films dealing with human rights, environmental themes, population, migration, women's issues, refugees, homelessness, racism, health, universal education, war and peace. UNAFF has screened some of the most awarded and talked about documentaries in the industry including seven that went on to win Academy Awards and twenty-three that were nominated.
Economy and development
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Improving national development indicators
Workshop for the UNSD-DFID project on “Improving the collation, availability and dissemination of national development indicators, including MDGs” will take place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 21-25 April.
The workshop “CountryData: Building better dissemination systems for national development indicators,” organized by UN DESA’s Statistics Division, is the fourth in a series of international workshops planned by the Statistics Division - Department for International Development (DFID) Project on “Improving the collation, availability and dissemination of national development indicators, including MDGs”.
Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation -
High Level Meeting, Mexico City, Mexico - April 15 - 16
The Global Partnership was created at an important High Level Forum of governments, development agencies (like Oxfam) and businesses on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea in 2011. Attended by over 3000 delegates the forum marked a critical turning point in cooperation between a wide variety of international development agencies.
The Partnership brings together governments, the private sector,and civil society to ensure funding, knowledge and policy produce maximum impact for development. Over 1300 development leaders will join Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría in Mexico City to:
° review global progress in making development co-operation more effective;
° agree on actions to boost progress; and,
° anchor effective development co-operation in the post-2015 global development agenda.
The leaders who will come together in Mexico City include heads of state and government, ministers, parliamentarians and leaders from international organisations, business, civil society and foundations.
effectivecooperation.org/
US$34 million IFAD loan and grants to strengthen post-harvest interventions and resilience to climate change in Rwanda
April 7, Rome – A new project recently launched in Kigali by the Government of Rwanda and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will advance the country’s efforts to reduce post-harvest losses. The Climate Resilient and Post-harvest Agribusiness Support Project (PASP) will target over 32,400 rural households (155,518 people) in 10 districts located in Rwanda. The project will provide opportunities for smallholder farmers to acquire the skills, knowledge and access to specialized service providers to create and operate viable businesses capable of delivering larger volumes of improved produce to the market and managing the climate risks in post-production processes.
To buffer growing range of climate-induced stresses, new agricultural investment programmes need to incorporate improved post-harvest processing and storage techniques. This is exactly what the PASP will also do. It is supported by an IFAD loan of US$13.45 million and grants of US$13.45 million and US$7 million provided by IFAD’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Program (ASAP).
With the total cost of US$83.35 million, the project will be cofinanced by the Government of Rwanda and the beneficiaries through loans from the national commercial banking sector and will be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources under the supervision of IFAD.
Senegal farmers, entrepreneurs to boost business skills, incomes with volunteer experts’ help
April 2, – The USAID-funded West Africa Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program launched activities in Senegal today, April 2, 2014. Implementers ACDI/VOCA and NCBA CLUSA formally introduced the program’s new phase, which will provide short-term technical assistance to Senegalese farmers and entrepreneurs, helping them gain new business skills and connections. F2F will help nurture the country’s agricultural sector at the grassroots level, working to boost market competition and rural households’ incomes.
The program’s kickoff event—titled “Volunteer Technical Assistance to Improve Food Security and Enhance Competitiveness”—brought together representatives from USAID, Senegal’s Ministry of Agriculture, partner organizations, and potential program participants. Attendees discussed how technical assistance provided through volunteer experts will help Senegal foster agricultural growth. They examined opportunities for sharing knowledge and learning between the F2F volunteers and local farming groups over the next five years. F2F West Africa is a five-year, USAID-funded program implemented by ACDI/VOCA in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Liberia, and by NCBA/CLUSA in Senegal.
Women entrepreneurs shine at Kyrgyz Trade Fair: USAID program supports businesswomen at major garment industry event
March 31, Bishkek– The 8th National Garment Trade Fair saw national Kyrgyz garment companies come together in Bishkek. Over 80 garment companies from Bishkek and other regions, as well as providers of equipment and fabrics from Turkey, China, and Europe exhibited products at the event. The event was hosted by the Association of Light Industry Enterprises “LEGRPOM” and sponsored by the Women’s Leadership in Small and Medium Enterprises (WLSME) program.
WLSME is funded by USAID and implemented by ACDI/VOCA and the Bai-Tushum Banking Group. The program promotes the growth of women-owned businesses in the KyrgyzRepublic to fight poverty. Since 2012 WLSME has engaged with close to 600 women entrepreneurs throughout Kyrgyzstan through business and technical training and tailored assistance. This work aims to nurture the growth of female-headed small and medium-sized enterprises and to increase their numbers and business acumen. One major objective is to strengthen the social capital of the women business owners through better connections with suppliers, buyers, industry associations, and service providers.
First six countries to benefit from Africa-led fund
March 28, Tunis - The Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Niger and SouthSudan signed agreements with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to receive $2 million each from the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund.
The contributions will be used to bolster a wide range of projects to improve food security, nutrition, agriculture and rural development. They include policies and programmes to increase opportunities for youth employment; improve natural resources management and the quality of food production; increase the resilience of livelihoods in conflict-affected areas; and rapidly increase the availability of nutritious food through programmes like cash transfers, school feeding and school gardens.
The Fund was launched officially in June 2013 with a funding package of $30 million from Equatorial Guinea. Additional funding from Angola ($10million) and a group of civil society organizations in the Republic of Congo have brought the total amount to $40 million. The government of Cameroon has also pledged to add to the fund and other countries are expected to join in the coming months. FAO will provide technical assistance for implementation of the projects in cooperation with partners.
Strengthening livelihoods and resilience to climate change in Viet Nam: IFAD invests in rural communities hit by erratic weather and sea level rise in the Mekong Delta
March 28, Rome – A project supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will improve rural livelihoods and strengthen people’s capacity to adapt to climate change, benefitting 125,000 vulnerable people, in Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta region.
IFAD is providing US$34 million to finance the Project for Adaption to Climate Change in the Mekong Delta in Ben Tre and TraVinhProvinces. The project includes a US$12 million grant from the Adaption for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP).
Although Viet Nam became a middle-income country in 2010, growing inequality between rural and urban areas and among ethnic groups threatens overall economic growth and prosperity.
The project will target poor communities, specifically female-headed and ethnic minority households. The project will work to develop climate-resilient agricultural systems, salinity-tolerant fish varieties and off-farm livelihood opportunities.
Joint action to avoid food crisis in the Central African Republic
March 21, Rome - - The World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the government of the Central African Republic are joining forces to help prevent a full-scale food and nutrition crisis in the conflict-stricken nation.
The World Bank is funding an $8 million agreement with FAO as part of a $20 million programme to support food aid and agriculture production, which is being implemented in coordination with the World Food Programme (WFP).
Thanks to total funds received so far, FAO will distribute a total of 2 400 tons of staple crop seeds as well as hand tools such as hoes to 105 000 vulnerable families in 15 prefectures by April.
But more funds are needed to help farmers in the country: FAO is aiming to provide support to 150 000 families under a plan by the United Nations Food Security Cluster, which is seeking a total of $180 million to assist 1.25 million people. The Organization has called for $45 million and has so far mobilized $25 million with contributions from the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund, Belgium, the Central Emergency Response Fund, the United Kingdom, the World Bank and the United States of America as well as from FAO’s own funding mechanisms.
IFAD and EU join hands to boost sustainable agriculture and food security in Kenya
Innovative public-private partnerships to move smallholder family farmers from subsistence to commercial agriculture
March 19, Rome – The Government of Kenya is partnering to finance a new programme that will support smallholder farmers in the East-African country to increase productivity and profitability. The US$30.1 million Kenya Cereal Enhancement Programme (KCEP) programme is co-financed by the Government of Kenya (€2.4 million), the beneficiaries (€3.6 million), the EU (€17.6 million as a grant), the private sector (€3.6 million) and Equity Bank (€ 2.9 million). Equity Bank will also supply equipment and technology to build the capacity of smallholder farmers allowing them to link up to financial services.
Kenya is a food deficit country which, even in a good harvest year, must import up to 20% of its annual cereal requirements. The KCEP aims to decrease Kenya’s reliance on cereal imports. Implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of Kenya and under the supervision of IFAD, KCEP will benefit over 100,000 households eight counties. Particular attention will be paid to women headed households and youth given the specific constraints they face in accessing agricultural services. The programme will introduce the electronic scheme to improve farmers’ access to agricultural inputs within the value chain approach.
Solidarity
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Swiss contribution will boost nutrition for mothers and children in Sudan
April 7, Khartoum - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed two contributions from the government of Switzerland that will improve the poor nutritional status of children, pregnant women and nursing mothers in Sudan. Switzerland is giving WFP Sudan a total of US$5.2 million in two separate contributions including an in-kind donation of 600 metric tons of dried skimmed milk, valued at US$4.1 million, and a cash donation of US$1.1.
WFP will use the dried skimmed milk in its nutritional programme to prevent and treat moderate acute malnutrition and chronic undernutrition among children aged 6 to 35 months old as well as for pregnant and nursing mothers. This in-kind contribution will provide support for 250,000 mothers and children with nutrient-dense food rations for four months. The cash contribution will be used to support WFP’s voucher programme in KassalaState in East Sudan.
Switzerland is currently WFP Sudan’s third largest bilateral donor in 2014. Over the last five years, the Swiss government has contributed more than US$31 million to WFP’s Emergency Operation in Sudan, in addition to US$685,000 for the UN Humanitarian Air Service, which is managed by WFP. Sudan remains one of WFP’s largest and most complex operations.
Australian Bank donates $92-million for IT scholarships